“You’re thinking about me kissing you, aren’t you?” Travis goaded.

“Fuck you,” Gage groaned, not an ounce of heat in the words and he didn’t try to pull away.

“That’s exactly what I’m thinking,” Travis whispered as he leaned in closer, their mouths merely a hairsbreadth away from one another. Gage had to fight the urge to pull him closer, wanting to savor what was happening between them.

“So what are you waiting for?” Gage locked eyes with Travis, a war of sensations going on around them while they were rooted to the floor. Their breaths mingled, their bodies barely grazed one another, and the heat between them was rapidly escalating to something more powerful than even their combined strength.

The passion between them was omnipotent. Something rare for Gage. Something he found he craved. A low rumble rent the air, and at first Gage thought it was thunder, then he realized it was coming from Travis. The man’s body was subtly vibrating.

“I can’t stay away from you,” Travis whispered, the words laced with gravel. “No matter how hard I’ve tried, I can’t fucking do it.”

“Not asking you to,” Gage said, breathless.

That’s all it took. Despite how close they were, there was a soul shattering collision the instant their bodies touched.

Travis kept his hand firmly against Gage's neck, and Gage took the opportunity to grip the back of Travis’ head, pulling him close and dislodging Travis’ hat in the process. An eruption of animalistic growls flooded the otherwise silent room as their mouths crashed together, a tangle of lips and tongues and desperation. Gage was taking exactly what he’d denied himself for so long while Travis wasn’t holding back either.

Lust overrode everything else as they devoured one another. Gage explored Travis’ mouth with his tongue, seeking, tasting, practically begging with his kiss. His brain was misfiring from the overload of sensation, the magnificent taste of Travis’ passion mixed with his own.

Gage had never felt anything like this, and he had been down this road before, but never like this.

Never like this.

♂♂

Travis couldn’t suppress the hunger, could no longer deny himself the pleasure of Gage’s kiss. The storm surging on the outside of the house paled in comparison to the heat building between the two of them as their mouths searched, sought. Their breaths mingled, their chests heaved from exertion, although neither of them were moving.

Travis’ blood pounded in his ears, his body humming with a desperation he’d become all too familiar with when it came to Gage. Despite the questions that still lingered between them, Travis knew without a doubt that Gage felt the same surge of electricity that arced between them whenever they were close. He’d felt it the night Gage had taken him with such gentleness, he’d been hard pressed not to shatter. The more they were together, the closer they seemed to get. And Travis wasn’t just thinking in the physical sense.

Their guards were slowly dropping and what was left between them was hedonistic. Desire, need. Emotions swirled in the stagnant air until Travis found it hard to breathe, but that life sustaining activity was overrated anyway. He refused to pull away. He’d waited too long for this. Too long to touch Gage, to feel the flex of his powerful body beneath him, to taste the sweet, exotic flavor of his kiss, wanting more even now.

A shift of power occurred and Travis was damn near knocked off of his feet when Gage easily twisted their bodies until Travis was the one against the wall, their mouths breaking apart in the process. Opening his eyes, he stared into Gage’s turbulent brown eyes and recognized the look on his face.

Things were about to get real.

“I’m so tired of temporary,” Gage growled, his tone reflecting more emotion than Travis had ever seen from the man.

Gage’s fingers tightened in Travis’ hair until he had to lean forward to relieve the stinging pain that shot through his scalp.

“Do you understand what I’m saying?”

Crystal. Fucking. Clear.

Travis squinted his eyes, replaying Gage’s words over and over in his head as he stared the man down. They were both sucking in air like they’d run a marathon, their chests pressed firmly together, their arms intertwined around one another. “I understand,” Travis answered, holding his ground and not giving in to the overwhelming lust although the temptation was strong. He sensed that Gage needed this moment, needed the opportunity to express what he was feeling although he was about as adept at it as Travis.

“What do you want from me?” Gage’s question took Travis by surprise, but he masked his expression, unwilling to let him know he was a little off kilter. It could’ve been the kiss or even the feel of Gage’s rock hard body pressed against his own. Either way, Travis knew what he wanted from Gage surpassed anything he’d ever wanted before.

“Everything,” Travis growled, realizing he was dangerously close to losing his shit. Emotions weren’t easy for him, expressing them verbally even less so, but he wanted – no he needed – Gage to hear him out. “I want anything and everything you’re willing to give me,” he said past the lump in his throat. “And it far surpasses anything physical.”

Gage’s eyes widened, but he didn’t pull away. There was a long period of silence between them, and that’s when Travis realized Gage was too shocked to speak.

Travis got it. He’d shocked the shit out of himself, actually.

“Spend the night with me,” Travis breathed the words between them, barely recognizing his own voice. “Come back to my house. Stay with me tonight.” Travis felt as though he’d carved his own chest open, seared straight down the middle, leaving himself entirely too vulnerable.

“Your place?” Gage asked, appearing as though he were regaining control of his mental faculties.

“Yes.” Travis was laying himself completely bare for this man, and he knew Gage could easily tell him to fuck off and get the hell out. At least if he did, he’d know where he stood with him. Right here, right now, Travis needed to know. He wasn’t interested in a one night stand, but they’d already surpassed that milestone already, hadn’t they.

“Why your place? I’ve got a perfectly acceptable bed here,” Gage said, pointing toward the ceiling as though he were directing Travis to where his bed actually was.

“Because I want you at my house.” Ok, so now Travis was about to start hyperventilating. He was praying Gage wouldn’t reject him, but had a feeling that’s exactly what was about to happen.

“What about Kylie?” Gage asked. “What will she think?”

As though Gage had doused him with ice water, Travis acknowledged that his lover was dancing around the subject.

His lover.

God, he’d never even referred to anyone in that context before, and… well, it felt damn good.

“We have nothing to hide from her,” Travis explained, ready to bolt because he wasn’t sure he could listen to any more excuses. He wanted to be with Gage, alone. The two of them establishing that bond that he and Kylie had already, the same one Gage and Kylie had built.

Putting his hand on Gage’s chest, he gently pushed him back so he could step away from the wall. He turned his back on Gage, but continued, “I want to be with you. And tonight I want to be with just you.” Turning to face him once more, Travis went on, “I won’t lie. I want you both. I’ve loved her damn near all of my adult life, but what’s happening between you and me is...” He paused because he didn’t know how to explain it. “With her or without her, I still want you.”

Gage stared at him from just a few feet away, one hand thrust in his hair as though he was having an internal battle with himself.

“Will you tell her about us?” Gage questioned.

“Yes,” Travis admitted.

Hell, he’d call her right now if that would make Gage happy because Travis knew what Kylie’s reaction would be. Even if she said she didn’t, she understood the dynamic, knew how things happened. There’d been no questions when Travis walked in on her and Gage in her bed making love without him. The same could be said when she had made love to him in the same bed Gage was sleeping in after the three of them had been together.

“Fuck,” Travis exhaled as he took a step closer. He leaned down and picked up his hat before propping it on his head once more. “Like I said, I’m not playing games here. Either you’re all in or you’re not. As for me, I’m all in, Gage. More than I’ve ever been in my entire life.”

Realizing this wasn’t going to go the way he hoped, Travis needed to retreat before he lost it. Hurt and anger started boiling in his gut, and he’d never been the type to handle either emotion well. As he turned on Gage once more and headed toward the front door, he fully expected to be able to escape without another word, but Gage’s comment pulled him up short.

“I’m all in.”

Travis stopped mid step, but he didn’t turn around. Closing his eyes, he sucked in a breath, held it, and waited. Long seconds ticked by as they stood in the dimly lit room, neither of them saying a word. Travis was trying to come up with something more to say, but he felt as though he’d bled himself dry. He had shared more with Gage tonight than anyone else, and he needed some reassurance. He refused to beg.

Just when he thought there were no more words to be said, Gage spoke up once more. “I’ll follow you to your house.”

Like a horse at full gallop, Travis’ heart kick started in his chest, and he opened his eyes releasing the breath he had been holding. Lifting his eyes skyward, Travis sent up a silent thank you before he nodded and continued to the door.