Page 17 of The Long Way Found

But Jack pulled Luke's chin between his thumb and forefinger, tilting Luke's face toward him. Their eyes met for half a second, long enough for Luke to see the hunger there, the certainty. And then Jack pressed those full lips to Luke's mouth for a beat, then two, then three.

The kiss was gentle at first. Testing. Then it grew deeper.

Luke pulled Jack closer. Their tongues met, sliding together, exploring. It escalated faster than Luke anticipated, maybe Jack, too.

Jack slowed it down, reverting to a gentler friction and bringing them both back to the present moment. When they finally pulled apart, they stood there, faces close together, snow falling around them.

"Okay," Jack said. "That answers that."

"Answers what?" Luke asked, breathless.

"Whether I could kiss you and walk away." Jack's hand was still on the back of Luke's neck, as it had been last night on Patty’s porch. "I can't."

Luke beamed, that touch setting him on fire now that he’d finally had a taste of Jack. "Good."

"What's next?" Jack asked, the unsaid message clear.

Luke stepped back and clicked the fob to unlock his car, the headlights flashing as the perfect punctuation.

He looked at Jack and felt certain.

"Follow me," he said.

Jack got into his Jeep without a word.

CHAPTER 6

JACK

The drive to Luke's house was short, yet it felt like forever.

Jack followed Luke's taillights through town, his cock still half-hard from that kiss. Snow fell steadily, and the roads were quiet and empty, almost otherworldly to Jack.

His mind raced. This was happening. Actually happening. Luke—golden, beautiful Luke—wanted him again and was taking him home.

Finally, Luke pulled into a driveway, and Jack slowed down to park behind him. Don’t fuck this up like you did at the Ridge, Garrison, he told himself.

On the porch, Luke frantically unlocked the door, and they tumbled inside.

“You sure?” Jack asked.

“Absolutely. You?”

“Hell, yes,” Jack said, kicking the door shut, spinning Luke around, then pinning him against the wall.

The time for talk was over. Dinner at Delmonico’s had taken care of that.

Twenty-four years of thinking about each other… Thirty hours of heavy flirting… Mutual yearning and undeniable chemistry, all of it about to explode.

Heavy coats hit the floor.

Cold fingers chilled the back of warm necks.

The amplified sounds of hungry kissing, teeth clashing, buttons and zippers and belts all became a cacophony muffled in the snow-covered house.

His thoughts blurring, Jack ran his fingers through Luke’s hair. Grabbed it in his hands—those golden curls he'd been thinking about for so long. Pulled him closer.

Hot breath on his neck, Luke's mouth at his ear, teeth grazing skin, cold noses warming from the friction.