Page 84 of The Hyena’s Guardian

Theron’s eyes closed. His whole body trembled once, a wire pulled taut and released, and then he leaned into Matt’s palm like a man finally allowing himself to rest. “I’m here,” he whispered.

“Good.” Matt’s thumb swept across his cheekbone. “That’s all I need.”

Theron opened his eyes. They were bright in the lamplight, but his voice came steady. “Can I kiss you again?”

Matt’s smile spread until it reached his eyes. “I was starting to think you’d never ask.”

Theron kissed him.

It was not the careful, searching kiss from before. This one had weight behind it, a lifetime of wanting that had never been given permission to exist. His hand fisted in Matt’s hair, pulling him closer, and Matt made a sound against his mouth that might have been surprise or relief or both.

Matt’s arms wrapped around him, hands flat against the broad plane of his back, skin sliding against skin in the warm water. Theron’s chest pressed against his, solid and warm, and the kiss deepened, opened, became something neither of them was ready to name.

When they broke apart, they were both breathing hard. Theron’s forehead dropped to Matt’s shoulder. His arms came around Matt’s waist, holding him close, and he could not stop the shudder that moved through him.

“I don’t know what happens next,” Theron said into his skin. “I don’t know what I’m doing.”

“Neither do I.” Matt’s hand moved in slow circles on his back. “But I know I want to find out. With you.”

Theron’s arms tightened. His breath came warm and uneven against Matt’s collarbone.

Matt pressed a kiss into his damp hair and lingered there for a moment, forehead resting lightly against him while the warm water moved around them.

“We’ve got time.”

Theron pulled back just enough to look at him. His mouth was swollen from kissing, his face open in a way that made vulnerability feel more dangerous than the mountain.

“Okay,” Theron said.

“Okay.”

Theron’s hand found Matt’s beneath the surface, fingers lacing together as though they had been doing it their whole lives.

Theron searched Matt’s face. His gaze moved deliberately tracing the line of Matt’s jaw, the curve of his mouth, and those unwavering brown eyes that had not looked away once.

Matt’s thumb traced a slow arc across Theron’s knuckles beneath the water. “What?”

Theron’s eyes went bright again. He blinked hard, once, then again, and the light caught on his lashes.

“You trust me that much?”

“I do.”

Theron’s chest tightened around the answer. “I don’t know how to be worthy of that,” he said.

“You don’t have to be worthy of it.” Matt’s thumb swept across his cheekbone. “You just have to be here.”

Theron’s eyes closed. His hand came up, covering Matt’s where it rested against his cheek, holding it there like something precious. “I’m here,” he whispered.

“Good.” Matt leaned in and pressed his forehead to Theron’s. “Then we take it slow. We figure it out together. You show me what you like, I show you what I like, and we don’t rush anything.”

Theron let out a breath that was almost a laugh. “You’re very practical about this.”

“I’m very practical about you.”

Theron’s fingers shifted against Matt’s beneath the water, lacing differently, his thumb dragging across Matt’s knuckles in a slow, deliberate stroke.

“Tell me if I do something wrong,” Matt said. His voice came low and steady, but something raw lived underneath. “Tell me what you need.”