Page 68 of Oracles Always Win

NelsonandIsaaccontinued to argue about who was sleeping where, butItuned them out asItrudged down the small, narrow hallway.I’dbeen in the bathroom already to shower a few hours ago.IthinkGagehad whipped me away through a portal to his motorhome and insistedIgo clean up earlier mostly becauseIwas ready to punch the next person to ask me whyIhadn’t seen the bombing in a vision.

Thebreak had helped.

Itwould have been even nicer to come out and find a clean change of clothes even whenI’dcleaned up, butIhadn’t been inGage’sroom, his inner sanctuary.Ipaused in the doorway and peered inside.Theroom was small compared to a bedroom in a house or an apartment, and the bed filled most of it.Anarrow aisle wrapped around three sides of the expansive mattress.Ihad to shuffle along one of those aisles, my legs brushing the bed because it wasright there, soGagecould enter too.Heshut the narrow door behind us.

Wewere alone.

TheRVrocked a bit as the other guys moved around in the living and dining room space, butGageandIdidn’t move at all.Seeinghis bed brought home exactly what we’d both agreed to.Werewe ready for this?Evenwithout sex, sleeping together was an enormous step.Withsex,Iimagined that even though you bared your body, you were still awake so you could hold onto the illusion that if you didn’t like something, you could take control of the situation.Withsleep, you were vulnerable and helpless.Thatrequired a lot of trust.

“So… uh…”Icleared my throat. “Sleep?”

“Ithink you’ve already figured this out, butIdon’t want any misunderstandings between us.”Gagereached out, oh so slowly, and brushed his fingers along the side of my face and down my neck. “I’mattracted to you.”

Heatblossomed over my cheeks. “I… uh…Ilike you too.”

“ButIwant to take this slow, okay?Wearen’t going to do anything tonight.We’rejust going to sleep.Todayscared me.WhenIheard there were bombs there andIcouldn’t see you right away…”Heshivered. “Ijust want to hold you tonight, okay?”

Irested my hand onGage’schest. “I’dlike that too.”

Weleaned closer.Ourlips met in a soft kiss that was over too soon according to the blood racing through me, which was valiantly trying to rally some kind of physical response.Butanother ginormous yawn killed that fleeting idea.

“Let’sget into bed,”Gagesuggested.

“Yes.”

IwishedIhad some pajama pants, aT-shirt, and a partition to hide behind to change into them, butIdidn’t have any of those things.IfIwanted privacy,I’dneed to strip in the itsy-bitsy bathroom.Butthe only way to get from the bathroom back to the bedroom was to walk down the hallway, whereNelsonorIsaaccould see me.Irefused to do that in only my underwear.

And, really, how was walking into the bedroom in my underwear any different from just stripping down to the same underwear in this room?

Exceptitdidfeel different.

Abit like a striptease.

ShouldImake it sensual?WhatwouldIeven do to make it enticing?Suckon my fingers before dragging them over my skin?IthinkIread a scene like that in a book once.

Icouldn’t imagine doing it in real life.I’dlook like an idiot.

Thiswasn’t howI’dimagined taking my clothes off in front ofGagefor the first time.Ifelt ridiculous butIdidn’t know why.Iwasn’t ashamed of my body.Sowhy was this becoming such a huge deal in my head?

“I’llturn around,”Gagesaid.

Ithought about sayingdon’t worry about itorit’s fine.ButallIfelt was relief.Iyanked off my clothes, leaving only my bright orange boxers adorned with skiing polar bears.Isuddenly regretted choosing these boxers after my shower this afternoon, butIcouldn’t have anticipated this day would turn out like it had.Andit was too late now.

Istill hadn’t been allowed into the building yet, not even to grab a change of clothing or different underwear.Ohwell.Wewere just sleeping, right?Underblankets and everything.Gagenever had to see whatIwas wearing.Iballed up my dirty clothes and shoved them into the corner on my side of the bed, so they were out of the way.ThenIclimbed into bed and pulled the blanket up until only my head was exposed.

“Done.”

Gageturned around.Apulse of power pushed through the room, like the demon was having trouble controlling himself at the sight of me in his bed, even if he was seeing less of my body than a minute ago whenIwas still dressed.

ThenGagebegan to strip.

Hetugged off his shirt, carefully folded it, and tucked it into a laundry basket in one of his cupboards.Nothingabout how he moved was overtly sensual, but my heart pounded, and my cock tried to rally again.Iswallowed hard.Istared as more of his beautiful body was revealed.

“Oh…Ishould…Sorry…”Isnapped my eyes shut and pulled the blanket over my face to remove the temptation to open my eyes and watch him undress.

“Jake,”Gagesaid softly.

“Mmhmm?”Isqueezed my eyes shut tighter.