I SWUNG THE door to my condo open before Kelly could knock, fisted my hand in his shirt, and hauled him in for a welcome-back kiss. Heâd been gone four long days, doing an ad shoot in the Caribbean, but it was like no time had passed at all. His skin was warmer, and I could almost smell the salt from the beach in his hair, and none of that made me at all jealous that Iâd had to stay here for a jam-packed week at Astor. Really.
âNow thatâs a greeting,â Kelly murmured against my lips, walking me inside and kicking the door shut behind him. âMiss me?â
âNot at all.â Iâd never be able to hide my grin even if I wanted to, and why would I? He was all mine.
His skin was a shade darker than it had been when heâd left, and as I ran my hands down his arms, I found myself biting down on my lip. âI canât wait to trace whatever tan lines youâve got goinâ on with my tongue.â
âWhy wait?â He lowered his head back down to mine, just as an unwanted voice filled the air.
âOh, for Godâs sake, can you not?â
I didnât take my lips off Kellyâs as I waved Gavin off. âGo to your room, Gav.â
âHow about you two a room,â he grumbled, walking past us to the kitchen. âSomewhere I canât hear you through the walls would be great.â
âYour room isnât even near mine.â
Gavin grabbed a container out of the fridge and tossed it on the counter with a loud . âNo. Itâs not. Thatâs what makes it worse.â
was in a mood today.
Kelly lifted a brow, glancing at Gavin, and I rolled my eyes, knowing what it was he wanted. What wanted was apparently something that would only send my brother over the edge, though, so I sighed, untangling myself from Kelly, but keeping our hands linked as I led him to the kitchen island.
With fork in hand, Gavin speared a grilled chicken breast a little harder than necessary, and I was tempted to take the utensil from him in case he decided to get a little stabby. Not that he would. My brother wasnât usually prone to violenceâhe left that for my friends.
âAnything you want to talk about?â I asked, watching him plate the chicken, put it in the microwave, then slam the door shut.
âNope.â Gavin leaned back against the counter, drumming his fingers along the edge as he looked at Kelly. âHow was your trip?â
âReally good,â Kelly said, giving him an easy smile. âSure beats the hell out of winters here.â
Ugh, he didnât need to remind me. Weâd gotten an early blast of several inches of snow while he was gone, which wasnât a good sign of what was in store for the next few months.
âWhat was the ad for?â Gavin asked.
âTiny-ass swimsuits.â When Gavin snorted, Kelly shook his head. âIâm serious. They barely covered my dick. We had to get creative with the shots, so expect to see a lot of my ass.â
âAlready do,â my brother muttered as he popped the door on the microwave and took the plate out.
Ignoring Mr. Grump, I hooked my finger in the waist of Kellyâs pants and tugged him toward me, not wanting any space between us after missing him for so long. âWell, canât wait to see it. Have I mentioned Iâm so proud of you?â
A beaming grin lit Kellyâs face. âYou mightâve mentioned it once or twice.â
More like a hundred, but who was counting? I couldnât help it, though. In the couple of months since Atticus had done us the favor of being an asshole who spilled our secrets, itâd turned out sex was . Brands werenât shying away from using models and celebrities who were comfortable with their bodies and open about what they liked behind closed doors. It was giving them a sort of edginess, and though Iâd seen a boost in jobs, it was nothing like the kind of attention Kelly was getting right now.
And I couldnât be happier for him. Heâd more than paid his dues, and he deserved every good thing coming his wayâincluding the money, which heâd been squirreling away like it would disappear.
âI canât help it. Youâre doing so good. I told you that once people got a look at you, they wouldnât be able to look away.â
âAs long as donât look away, Iâm good.â
âOh, for the love of Godâ¦â Gavin groaned. âYou were only gone four days. Not four weeks.â
I cut a glare in his direction, wondering what in the hell was the matter with him. He was never this mouthy, or this moody, for that matter. Clearly something was bothering him.
Just my luck it was the day Kelly came home.
âIs something going on, Gav? Did Joey blow you off again last night?â
My brother looked up at me from the bite of food heâd just heaped onto his fork. âWhy?â
âOh, I donât know, you just seem a bitâ¦pissed off at the world.â
Kelly snorted and shook his head. âSo subtle, Donovan.â
âWhat? He does. I mean, Jesus, is it a crime Iâm happy to see my boyfriend?â
âNo, but it should be a crime that Iâm going to have to hear you welcome him home for the next twelve hours,â Gavin retorted.
I was just about done with his surly attitude. âYou know, if you hate living here so much, why donât you move out?â
âOh, okay, and where would I go? Back home with Mom and Dad? Youâd love that, wouldnât you?â
âActually, thatâs not a bad idea.â I fumed. âIâve been begging Kelly to move in for the last couple of months, and you know what? I think heâd say yes if you werenât here giving him such a hard time every time he stayed the night.â
âOkay, boys.â Kelly put his hands up. âThereâs no need to bring me into this.â
âTell me itâs not true, then,â I said. âBecause I canât think of any other reason.â
âDonovan, I told youââ
âThat you werenât going to move in with me right away, I know. But thatâs because it was too soon and you wanted to make sure I didnât get sick of you.â I reached for his hand and brushed his palm over my erection. âDoes it like Iâm sick of you?â
âSee?â Gavin pointed his fork at us. âThis is what I mean. You canât have one conversation without making itâ¦sexual. It makes meââ
âJealous?â
âWant to gag.â
âThatâs not my problem.â I smirked. âBut you might want to work on that for Joey.â
Gavinâs expression turned stormy then. His grey eyes resembled thunderclouds.
He was good and pissed. I couldnât remember the last time he and I had gone head to head, but we seemed about due.
âYou know what, youâre right. I do think itâs time we had a bit of space.â
I mean, if he wanted to move back in with Mom andâ
âDaire has a spare room. Iâll move in with him.â
My eyes widened, and then I burst out laughing. â
Good luck with that.â
âIâm serious. Heâs got a room. So, thatâs what Iâm going to do.â
Iâd known Gavin was over Kelly and I being all heart eyes and handsy, but really? Daire?
âGavin,â Kelly said. âI donât want you to feel like you have to leave because of me. I donât want to kick you out of your place.â
That Kelly was now apologizing for showing me affection made me want to drag Gavin out of there and kick his ass. How long had I been putting up with him and Joey? Granted, they werenât the showy types, but that wasnât my fault. If he wanted to engage in a little PDA, I wouldnât stop him.
âYouâre not kicking me out.â Gavin looked back at me. âYou and Kelly are great together, but if you want to move together, then I need to go.â
âButââ
âI to go.â He picked up his plate and made his way around the counter. âIâll talk to Daire later today.â
As he disappeared up the hall, I turned back to Kelly, whose mouth was hanging open.
âWow.â
âRight?â
âYour brother hates me so much heâs willing to live with .â
A burst of laughter escaped me as I wrapped my arms around his neck. âI donât think itâs he has a problem with. Heâs always been shyer and more reserved than me, so it wasnât a problem for me that he had Joey. But Iâm not like that. I like to show affection and touch you wherever and whenever I want.â
âNoâ¦â Kelly chuckled, winding his arms around my waist. âI hadnât noticed that about you.â
âSo was I right?â
âHmm?â
âThe reason you havenât said yes to moving in is because of Gavin.â He grimaced, and I let out a groan. âSeriously?â
âCan you blame me? I could tell he wasnât thrilled whenever I stayed over, so I knew heâd freak out at the idea of my moving in.â
âAnd you didnât think to maybe mention that? I thought you didnât to live with me.â
Kelly smoothed his hands down to my ass and gave it a firm squeeze. âNow what would give you that idea?â
âUm, maybe the fact you kept saying no every time I asked?â
âWell, now Iâm saying yes.â Kelly hiked me up his body, and I wrapped my legs around his waist as he crossed the living room. All thoughts of Gavin and Daire were far, from my mind as he headed up the hall to myâsoon to be âbedroom and kicked the door shut. âAnd in a few minutes, going to be screaming it.â