Finders Keepers

by N. R. Walker

“Not too early, I hope.” She gave me a pointed look. “I’d like to think you two might need a sleep-in after tonight.” Then she winked.

  Oh, sweet Jesus. “Okay then, we’ll just be off,” I said, pulling Dane’s hand and leading him toward the stairs. I called Wicket, who scampered up the stairs first, and no sooner did I pull Dane inside and have the door shut, than I leant against it and buried my face in my hands. “Oh my God. That was so embarrassing.”

  Dane’s laughter made me look up. He was a metre from me, wearing blue dress shorts and a trendy button-down shirt. He looked smart but casual, dressed for a restaurant or a walk along the beach. He grinned at me. “She’s a hoot.”

  I’m sure my face was still beet red. “She is, but damn. She could have let up a bit. I’m really sorry about… well, about everything she said.”

  He stared at me. “Was she wrong?”

  My heart stopped. “Wrong about what?”

  “Anything she said,” he furthered. “About you being nervous and wanting to stay in tonight?”

  Breathe out, Griffin. I exhaled. “Well, I… um…”

  Dane ran his hand through his hair. “What happened to the guy who came into my work today?” He raised an eyebrow like it was a challenge.

  “Oh.” I looked down at myself. “That was my work clothes. This is me when I’m not at work: shorts and a T-shirt.”

  He bit his bottom lip. “I’m not talking about the clothes. Though your work uniform is hot, I have to admit. I’m talking about the guy who was all sure of himself, handed me his address, and asked me on a date.”

  “Oh.” I tried to swallow and, quite frankly, couldn’t. “I guess it’s different now you’re here and it’s just us and my landlady basically told you what I wanted to do. Plus, when I saw you earlier, it was completely spur of the moment. I really was just walking past. Now I’ve had hours to overthink everything.”

  He stepped closer. “What have you been thinking about?”

  Breathe in, Griffin. I inhaled. “You. Me.”

  He smirked and stepped closer again. We were almost touching, and by God, I wanted him to touch me. “So you want to stay in?”

  I nodded, barely. I actually felt faint. “I keep forgetting to breathe.”

  He smiled before he licked his bottom lip, then pressed me against the door, and nerves and the need to breathe went out the window. I pulled his face to mine and kissed him, open mouths, tongues entwined, and he wrapped his arms around me and pushed me harder against the door. Then he gripped my arse and grunted, and my knees almost buckled.

  A high-pitched bark at our side scared the shit out of us, and we both pulled apart. Wicket was right there, looking up at us, and the look on his little face and the relief of getting that first kiss out of the way made me laugh. “I don’t think he liked the noise you made,” I said breathily.

  Dane’s lips were wet and red, kiss-swollen. “Noise? What noise?”

  “That grunt sound.”

  “I didn’t grunt.”

  I nodded slowly. “Oh, yes, you did. It was hot as fuck.”

  He laughed and put his hand to his forehead. “Well. Now that Wicket’s ruined the moment…”

  “He didn’t ruin it. He just didn’t understand what was going on. Maybe if I give him some food, he’ll leave us alone for a while.” I gave Wicket a handful of diced chicken meat, and he hooked right in so I took Dane’s hand and led him to the sofa. I didn’t even hesitate; I just pulled him down with me so he was on top of me. I had one leg against the back of the seat and one foot on the floor; Dane fit snugly between my thighs.

  “You’re not shy now,” he said, smiling down at me.

  “Now I know we’re on the same page.”

  “We’re definitely on the same page,” he whispered, and this time when he kissed me, it was slower.

  He felt so good against me, on me, like we fit together perfectly. Like all our hills and valleys rolled into one perfect landscape. I could grip his arse like this, and rock our hips together, but he was setting the pace now.

  It was tender rocking, deep kisses, spine-tingling, ball-aching, cock-throbbing good.

  When it got to the point of taking it further or pulling back, he slowed and kissed down my jaw. “I wasn’t expecting this,” he whispered.

  “What? Making out before dinner?”

  He chuckled, and his warm breath on my neck made me shiver. He pulled back and rested his head on his hand. “No. I wasn’t expecting this. As in, I wasn’t expecting to find you.”

  “You didn’t. Wicket did.”

  He laughed but his eyes never left mine, and God, it felt like he was looking into my soul. “I never expected to find you.”

  I put my hand to his face. “We’re definitely on the same page.”

  He kissed me again, but before we could get carried away, he groaned, and breaking the kiss, he put his forehead to mine. “I don’t want to stop, but I’m trying to be a gentleman here.”

  I bit my bottom lip. I could feel his erection, how turned on he was because his rigid length pressed against mine. “I’m all for ungentlemanly things.”

  Now he growled. “Not helping.” He slid back so our dicks weren’t aligned but stayed between my thighs. “I don’t want to rush this.”

  He looked kind of pained, so I smoothed out the crease between his eyebrows with my thumb and gave him a smile. “I don’t want to rush it either.”

  He met my gaze, though his was guarded. “Unless you’re thinking this is just a temporary thing, a quick fuck even, and it’s over.”

  Now I skimmed the back of my fingers along his jaw. “I was hoping it wouldn’t be temporary.”

  His smile was immediate. “Me either.” He pulled away and sat up on the couch, so I swung my feet down to the floor, but he was quick to take my hand. “I was hoping we could maybe see where this goes.”

  “As in dating?”

  “As in, yeah, dating. Or more. If we get on so well and like each other, spend time together, that’d make us…”

  “Boyfriends?”

  Jesus. I wasn’t expecting to have this conversation so soon.

  Dane made a face. “I know it’s far too early for that…”

  “Yeah, it is,” I said, squeezing his hand in mine.

  “And I don’t want to sound desperate. Because I’m not. I just…” He let out an exasperated breath. “I just think this could have potential.”

  “I get it.” I brought his hand to my lips and kissed his knuckles. I did get it. I understood completely. “So, how about we do the dating thing. Officially. And if you can still stand the sight of me in a few weeks, we’ll upgrade.”

  He chuckled. “I’m pretty sure I will.”

  “I can be kind of annoying,” I allowed.

  He rolled his eyes. “I’m sure I can be too.”

  “But I’m happy to give this a shot if you are.”

  He breathed out a relieved laugh. “Yeah. I am.”

  I stared at him for a moment. “Just so I’m clear, though, when you said you didn’t want to rush this, what kind of time restraints are we talking about? Hours? Days?” Then I squeaked the last word, “Weeks?”

  He hummed and checked his watch. “I was thinking until nine o’clock, at least.”

  “Oh, thank God,” I said, pouncing on him and pushing him back on the sofa so I was the one on top this time. He let out a startled sound that made Wicket come running over. I laughed at the little dog. “I’m not hurting him, I promise.”

  Dane ran his hand over my arse and grinned up at me. “No, you certainly aren’t.” Then he flexed his hips and I could feel the hardness in his shorts. “Well, in a good way, at least.”

  I leaned down and kissed him softly. “We’d better shut the door later. If he doesn’t like whimpering or groaning or grunting, then we’d definitely better shut the door because I can’t be quiet.”

  Dane’s nostrils flared and he swallowed thickly. “Jesus, Griffin.”

  I kissed him again, te
asing his lips with mine. His reaction was swift and perfect; he pulled my face to his in a brutal kiss and slid his hand over the crack of my arse and rubbed, hard. I moaned and he rolled, and together we fell off the couch with a humph.

  Wicket jumped back and barked, scaring us both. We broke apart with a laugh, but Wicket kept barking until we separated and untangled our legs. “Okay, okay,” I said, surrendering. I dragged myself away, got up, and sat back on the other end of the sofa, trying to ignore my hard-on. “I get it. No touching him.”

  Dane sat, somewhat uncomfortably, on the other end of the sofa. Then he readjusted himself, palming his dick and grimacing. “And here I thought bringing Wicket would be a good idea.”

  I snorted and Wicket jumped up on the sofa between us and sat there, facing the telly like he was one of the boys. Dane rolled his eyes. “Well, maybe we should eat instead?”

  I raised an eyebrow at him.

  He clarified. “Food.”

  I resisted the urge to groan my disappointment. “Food it is, then. What do you feel like? We can order in?”

  We settled on Chinese food and watched some house renovation flip show. When the food arrived, Dane insisted Wicket sit away from the couch while we ate there, our legs curled up and leaning on each other a bit, sharing our dinner.

  It was fun and sweet, and the closeness kept the sexual tension between us simmering. Something more was definitely going to happen tonight. It was tangible, thrumming with every mouthful of food, every laugh, every touch.

  But soon enough, dinner was cleared away and Wicket pawed at the door. “Someone needs a bathroom break,” I said. “Come on, we’ll go down together.”

  I opened the door and Wicket scampered downstairs first. Dane and I followed. Wicket was nose down, tail up along the garden bed, looking for an ideal place to pee.

  Dane and I waited dutifully. The only light was streaming from my open door. Everything else was pitched in darkness. “Bernice has gone in,” Dane whispered.

  The curtains at her glass sliding door were pulled across. “Yeah. She must’ve decided against putting in a booty call to K.”

  Dane chuckled, then he said, “She reminds me of someone. I don’t know who, but she’s familiar.”

  “She’s from here,” I replied. “But she’s lived all over the world.”

  “She’s funny.”

  “Yeah, but if she offers you any brownies, don’t have any if you need to drive, or function at all, for that matter.”

  His eyes widened. “Really?”

  I nodded. “Oh yeah. Her and K, who’s as old as her, sit down here and smoke a spliff or share a brownie all the time. Then they look at the world through slits for eyes and everything’s hilarious.”

  Dane laughed, then tried to keep it quiet. “That’s funny.”

  “They’re a wild pair, that’s for sure.”

  Wicket did his business, scratched the grass proudly, then trotted back upstairs like he owned the place.

  “Right then,” I said. “I take it he’s done.” I started to walk to the stairs to follow the dog up, but Dane hesitated at the bottom. “Wassup?”

  He scratched the back of his head and looked up at me where I stood halfway up the steps. “I um…”

  God, did he want to leave?

  He licked his lips like his mouth was suddenly dry. “I wasn’t sure how tonight was going to go, so I packed a bag but left it in the car, just in case. But I didn’t want to assume…”

  A slow smile spread across my face. “You can assume. If you want.” Hell yes, he was gonna stay the night. “I’ll wait here while you grab it.”

  He grinned and darted off through the side gate, only to reappear a few seconds later with a small black overnight bag in his hand. “Is this okay?” he asked.

  I was tempted to say, ‘Hell fucking yes,’ and my dick twitched in agreement as well. But I settled on, “It’s very okay.”

  I turned and walked upstairs. Dane followed, and when he got through the door, I closed and locked it behind him.

  Chapter Ten

  Dane

  * * *

  I held onto my overnight bag, not sure where to put it. I mean, it was only a one-bedroom flat, and if I put it in there, I was assuming that’s where we’d end up. Which was where I was hopeful we’d end up, but I didn’t want to assume too much. Yes, things were heating up between us, but I’d be happy with hanging out, making out, and me sleeping on the couch.

  I’d be a whole lot happier in his bed with him, but like I said, I didn’t want to assume.

  “Where should I put this?” I asked, holding my bag up.

  “In my room,” he said, his voice like sex and honey.

  Jesus Christ. He wasn’t shy. He’d had a few moments of uncertainty, but since we’d admitted we were on the same page, he was well and truly taking the lead.

  I liked it. I liked it a lot.

  “This way,” he murmured, taking my bag as he walked past me. He went down a short hall and opened a door and switched a light on, revealing a decent-sized room with a big bed centred along the far wall. The doona cover was swirls of blue and grey, and it looked soft. Like ‘if I laid on top of Griffin in the middle of it, we’d sink right in’ kind of soft.

  Oh, God. I wanted to try that.

  He caught me staring at his bed and smirked. “See something you like?”

  “Well, I was just thinking… I bet we’d sink right into that doona.”

  He put my bag on the floor and pulled his bottom lip between his teeth. “Wanna try it?”

  Not trusting my voice, I nodded.

  Then he looked around me. “Where’s Wicket?”

  I stepped out into the hall, looking toward the living room. “He’s asleep on the couch.” Then I took two steps back into Griffin’s bedroom. “Is it okay if he sleeps on the couch? I can tell him to get on the floor if you’d prefer.”

  He stepped right up close to me and closed the bedroom door. He whispered in my ear, his breath warm, “I don’t care where he sleeps. As long as he’s not in here with us.”

  Fuck. His voice, husky and smooth at the same time, made me shiver.

  I met his gaze and it took my breath away. “God, Griffin,” I murmured before he covered my lips with his. He kissed me with his hands on my face, my neck. He was taller than me, so when he kissed me, he pushed my head back, then he pulled my hips into his.

  Fuck.

  We stood there for I don’t know how long. Time seemed to stop.

  I raked my hands over his back, down to his arse, and when I gave him a squeeze, he groaned in my mouth. My cock pulsed and my blood heated, making me gasp for air.

  Griffin kissed along my jaw to my ear. “Please tell me you’re a top.”

  I barked out a breathy laugh. “Yes. Fuck, yes.” I tilted my head, giving him more neck to devour. And he did.

  I was going to come in my shorts if I didn’t get us naked. I pulled at his shirt first, lifting it over his head and tossing it somewhere. Then I yanked at the button and fly until they gave in, and I eased his shorts over his arse and let them fall to the floor.

  Our kisses became smiling and mouthy, but when I finally got myself undressed down to my briefs, the smile on his face slowly became something else.

  Want, and desire, and heat, and demanding.

  Oh fuck.

  “Get on the bed, Griffin,” I said.

  His cheeks flushed, but he did what he was told.

  “Do you want the lights on or off?” I asked. I didn’t mind either way, but I wanted him to be comfortable.

  He lay on the bed, palming his dick with one hand, tweaking his nipple with his other, and raked his eyes up and down my body. “On.”

  Oh God, help me. This was going to be over very fast.

  I walked to the bed and put one knee near his foot. “If you keep that up, I’ll be finished before we’ve begun.”

  He chuckled but groaned when he tweaked his nipple again. His back arched slightly. “Me too. I’m
too close already.”

  I crawled onto the bed and up his long, lean body. I prised his hand off his dick. The ridgeline in his briefs made my mouth water, but I kissed up his stomach instead. Over his chest, up his neck, scraping along his jaw until I found his mouth. I kept my weight off him, but our cocks were so close…

  So I rubbed mine against his and he gasped into our kiss. Then I did it again, and he moaned.

  He wasn’t joking when he said he couldn’t stay quiet.

  Fuck.

  He ran his hands through my hair, over my shoulders, down my back, and pulled my hips into his. I writhed and thrust against him, our underpants now sticky with precome, but I didn’t care.

  I wanted more. I needed more.

  “Take out our cocks,” I urged him.

  He quickly fumbled between us, hands shaking, and he pulled us both free. He didn’t need telling what to do next. He aligned us both perfectly and we slid, slick silk on hot steel, and pumped us through his fist.

  I smashed my mouth on his, kissing him harder, deeper, and he rolled his hips. Our cocks slid together perfectly, fucking his hand, and then he made a strangled cry, stilled, and shot his load between us.

  His cheeks blotched in crimson, his mouth fell open, and his neck corded, and his whole body jerked as he came.

  His orgasm beckoned mine and my cock swelled and spilled in his tightening grasp.

  “Fuck,” he gasped, sucking back a breath. “Oh, holy fuck.”

  I collapsed on him, boneless and out of breath, and he wrapped his arms tight around me. His knees were spread wide now and he hooked his legs around mine. And for a few perfect, heart-pounding moments, we didn’t move.

  Slowly, he started tracing patterns on my back. “Did you survive?”

  I chuckled. “I think so. Did you?”

  “Hell yes.” He laughed. “That was the hottest thing ever.”

  I pulled back and leaned my head on my hand so I could stare at him. “You were the hottest thing ever.”

  “We’re a mess.” He didn’t look sorry or sad about that. He looked kind of proud.

  “We are.”

  “Shower?”

  “Yep.” I didn’t move.