“God, how did I manage to resist you this entire time and what the hell were we waiting for?” James held him tighter, his strong, thick arms making him feel safe, like nothing could hurt him as long as James held him. It was a strange feeling. Daniel had only ever relied on himself, but this was different. James had seen him vulnerable and scared, yet he’d wanted him and stood up for him. Hell, tonight Daniel had been that damned rabbit who wanted to run and hide when danger got too close. James had stood between him and the threat, taking it head-on and beating the crap out of it. “What are you smiling at? You’re supposed to be kissing.”
“You,” Daniel answered, pulling back slightly so he could look into James’s eyes. He wanted him to see. “Why did you do that?”
“Do what?” James asked.
“See? You don’t even think about what you did. Weston came after me, and you took him out. Your world had the potential to fall apart. I mean, your sisters and parents knew what we’d done, and that whole load of shit was going to come your way, and instead of taking the opportunity to try to explain or smooth things over, you leaped at that asshole and beat the crap out of him. You protected me because you knew the shit was going to end up on me, and instead you took it…all of it.” Daniel swallowed around the watermelon in his throat because he couldn’t talk any more.
James closed his eyes a second. “I don’t know why. I just did it. The entire thing was a reaction and high emotion. All I know was that in that moment, I couldn’t let him hurt you, and so help me god, if they hadn’t pulled me off him, I wouldn’t have stopped until the fucker was dead. I had no self-control; it was all ‘protect and take out the threat.’” James stroked Daniel’s cheek, heat spreading through him with every single touch.
“You know you shouldn’t do that. I can take care of myself,” Daniel said. “I’m perfectly capable of keeping myself safe and watching my own back.”
It was James’s turn to swallow. “I know. But just because you can take care of yourself doesn’t mean that you should have to.” James drew him nearer, silencing both of them with a kiss that seared its way deep into Daniel’s being. It took a few seconds for the real meaning of what James had said to begin to sink in, and by then his brain had been short-circuited completely.
James rolled him on the bed, positioning him until his head rested on the pillow. “What are you doing?” Daniel smiled.
“Exactly what I told you I wanted to do when we were in the minister’s office a few hours ago. I hadn’t expected to ever do this in my childhood bedroom, and I don’t care. Mom and Dad are going to get the surprise of their lives, but I am going to take all the time in the world.” Daniel shivered, wrapping his arms around James’s neck to hold on for dear life.
Chapter Seventeen
James knew his mom and dad were on the other side of the bedroom wall, and at the moment he didn’t care. All that mattered was Daniel laid out on the bed…for him. This scenario had run through his mind for hours each and every night he’d spent in this bed next to Daniel and had promised to keep his hands to himself. He felt like a complete chickenshit for waiting so long, but Daniel deserved to be treated special. The words like a queen came to mind, and he actually smiled before gathering Daniel in his arms, pressing to him chest to chest. He wanted all of Daniel and he wanted it now. His hands roved up along Daniel’s shoulders and down his arms, then back upward to his chest and sides. He needed to feel all of him to know how amazing it was to have Daniel in his bed, really in his bed.
“We need to be quiet,” James teased, even though he had every intention of pushing Daniel’s limits in the sound department.
“I won’t say a word. It’s you I’m really worried about,” Daniel whispered.
“Why is that?” James asked, his lips hovering above Daniel’s.
“Because I’m just that good.”
James paused, his entire body shaking as he closed the distance between them, needing as many points of contact as possible, all that heated skin pressing to his. James had waited long enough, and sliding his hands down Daniel’s sides, he took the last remaining scrap of fabric that separated the two of them right along for the ride down Daniel’s legs.
James shed the last of his own clothes, sighing softly as he finally felt Daniel with nothing between them. James had always wanted to explore, and now he took the opportunity. Lifting Daniel’s hips, he slid his hands under him, cradling Daniel’s firm butt while Daniel wrapped his legs around James’s waist.