He wasn’t ready for that yet. He wanted to prolong this, enjoy it. The delight was so intense, nearly overwhelming, and his rational mind couldn’t get any distance from it. All he could do was feel and moan.
Shifting his hips up a bit higher, Brannigan changed their angle, and the next thrust in nailed Kyou’s prostate sharply. With a shocked gasp, Kyou came, splattering semen all over his belly and chest. Stars danced behind his eyes before his vision went white for a second. Oh god. That was…that was…
Brannigan’s head touched his shoulder, and he gave a hoarse cry before slamming once more into Kyou and coming hard. He shuddered under the force of it, panting in hot breaths against Kyou’s bare skin. Then he sighed as he relaxed and lay on top of him for a long minute.
With idle hands, Kyou sketched meaningless patterns along the man’s back, tracing down to Brannigan’s truly incredible ass. He was still deep in Kyou, which was nice. It was incredibly warm and satisfying to have his lover close like this. Turning his head, he kissed the man’s ear.
Brannigan sighed again, this time with immense satisfaction. “You’re so incredibly sweet to take. You really prefer to bottom, don’t you?”
“I do,” Kyou admitted easily. “I’ve topped on occasion, but it’s not really my preference. So feel free to take me anytime.”
“Oh, I plan to. For now, let’s clean up a little bit and snuggle on the couch.”
After that incredible round of sex, Kyou needed a few minutes to get his breath back properly. Not to mention full function in his legs.
They unwound from each other, using Kyou’s discarded shirt to wipe off with, then found their way to the couch. When Kyou had gone shopping for furniture, he’d tested the couch for naps as he often ended up crashing there instead of his bed. It held both men comfortably, and Brannigan drew the throw over both of them as Kyou settled into his arms.
Or tried to settle. He felt a touch empty, and antsy, and he kept micro-squirming because of it.
“What?” Brannigan prompted, sliding a hand over Kyou’s waist.
“It’s just, um.” Kyou bit his bottom lip, trying to figure out how to phrase this without sounding kinky in a weird way. “I put the butt plug in during my shower this morning, and…well, that was three hours ago….”
“And now, without anything filling you, it feels a little strange and empty?”
“Something like that.” That sounded good. Brannigan didn’t seem to think that he was weird.
A hand slid down over his ass, then one slender finger found its way into his hole, entering in a smooth glide. Kyou groaned softly in pleasure and relaxed against Brannigan like a puppet with its strings cut. Ahh, perfect.
“Is that better, caro?”
“So much better.” Kyou kissed his chest, then closed his eyes and rested there. “Thanks.”
“I’m perfectly alright fingering you any time.” There was a smirk in Brannigan’s voice. “I also like that you’re a little kinky.”
Smiling, Kyou murmured, “Only for you.”
Brannigan went taut for a moment before he forcibly relaxed. “Caro. I want us to date openly. I want to introduce you to family, friends, colleagues. I don’t want you to be this secret, hidden affair I’m having.” Brannigan was back to holding his breath.
Kyou knew very well why Brannigan feared bringing this up. “You think I’ll say no because of what’s happening now, with someone trying to find me.”
“Yes.”
He’d thought he was right in that stance for years. It was what had kept him away from Brannigan all this time. But… “When you were on the phone with Ghostshot, you said we were lovers. You told the man precisely who my team is. It was that, more than anything, that made him back down. The guys pointed out that there’s always going to be enemies. But I also think that just as many people will steer clear of us because they’ll know who they take on if they mess with any of us.”
There was hope in Brannigan’s voice as he asked, “Then you’ve changed your mind?”
“I…I think I have. The guys made it clear I should never have assumed the burden of trying to protect all of us at once. It was a stupid decision to make, really. Or maybe it was just habit, I don’t know. For so many years I only had myself to depend on. But when shit hit the fan, everyone pulled together to push through it. If I had tried to handle it all myself, we’d still be working through the problem. Maybe—” This was a little hard to admit because relinquishing control wasn’t something Kyou was good at. “I know we’re still working out the finer details of how to build my information web, but I feel good about how that’s coming along.”
With his free hand, Brannigan tilted Kyou’s head up and kissed him sweetly. “I’ll do everything I can to make it safe for you. Safe for us. I want a life with you, Kyou.”
Kyou found this far easier to admit. “I want one with you, too.”
“I promise to stop picking fights with the Irish Mob,” Brannigan tacked on brightly.
Snorting, Kyou rolled his eyes. “That would help, yes.”
“So we’re doing this? Really doing this?”
“We’re really doing this. God help us all.” As nerve-wracking as it was, Kyou strangely looked forward to it. “In fact, I think I have an idea how to go about this more easily.”
Kyou called for Chinese and invited everyone over for a strategy meeting. For the first time since he’d moved into the apartment, the dining room table was clear. Kyou may have done a speed cleaning on the place, slightly embarrassed for Brannigan to see it in such a sorry state.
They arrived in time for food, Carter bringing some beers. With lo mein and eggrolls making the rounds about the table, Kyou cleared his throat. “So. I know we’ve talked a little about it, but I think I’ve figured out a way to do this where my anxiety doesn’t spike but I’m working only eight or so hours a day.”
Carter accepted the carton of lo mein from Aiden but his eyes were on Kyou. “I never thought I’d see the day. Alright, lay it on us. I know you want to use Tricksy.”
“She’s half-information broker, half-thief and she’s got her ear to the ground. Plus, we can trust her with the truth. She’s around us often enough that she’d figure out the situation pretty quickly anyway. Why not pull her in?”
Remi clapped, so excited she was giddy with it. “She already said she’s digging at who’s looking for you. She’s mad that she didn’t know there were problems.”
Considering how fond the woman was of Remi, Kyou wasn’t the least bit surprised by this. He’d gotten a few messages from Tricksy already, clarifying what Kyou knew. Which, sadly, still wasn’t much. They’d only split up and gone to their own homes because it was clear that whoever was looking for Kyou still hadn’t found him. Staying in the safe house didn’t make sense until they knew what the danger actually was.
Aiden took an eggroll, eyeing them all. “But who else do you trust aside from Tricksy?”
“Back in the day, before I met these guys, I actually worked as an information broker alongside two other people. We worked in tandem, exchanging information with each other at a discounted rate. I still do it, sometimes. We’ve kept in touch over the years.” Suspecting the names might mean something to at least half of the table, Kyou clarified, “Dutch and Kimmie.”