Page 134 of Forgiving Utah

“Oh, is it past your bedtime, grandpa?”

“Fuck off,” he snorts, following me over to the shed.

The light flickers when we step inside, casting everything in a dull yellow glow. After switching on a space heater, I turn toward the sport bike sitting on its stand, stripped clean and bare.

Dev stops short beside me. “What is that?”

“Been working on it nearly every day for the last two months,” I answer, watching him closely. “I wanted it to be… ready.”

He circles it slowly as he rubs his chin in awe. “You built this?”

“Yeah. Well, mostly. Still tuning some things. Finding a motor's been harder than I thought, but I should have one soon. And then it'll be safe to ride.”

He looks up at me then, whiskey eyes bright and careful.

“I figured,” I continue, stepping closer to him, “that you’ve been borrowing everyone else’s shit long enough. And you deserve something that’s just yours. Wasn’t sure what color you’d like, but we can paint it whatever you want.”

His face goes completely slack in shock. “You… built this thing for me?”

My throat works with a hard swallow. “I don’t know when things changed between us. Somewhere between you showing up again and me checking the door every time you left, wondering if that was the last time I’d ever see you. It scared the shit out of me.”

“Christian…”

“Not of you leaving, but of how much it would destroy me if you didn't come back. And I know I can't like, protect you from the entire world, but at least while you're out there doing stunts, I can make sure the bike you're on won't hurt you. That's all I can offer.”

Dev lets out a broken sound that cuts straight to my soul. He takes my jacket in a white-knuckled grip, hauling me in for a bruising kiss. I card my fingers through his hair and lick into his mouth with all the love and passion I can muster.

“I don’t know how to take this,” he whispers thickly. “I don’t…”

“I love you,” I murmur back. “I love you, and this is what being loved feels like. Just accept it, pastelito.”

“I love you so fucking much.”

He pushes me back against the bike as I moan into his mouth, feeling him everywhere. The warmth from his chest, the hard ridge of his cock pressing into mine. When his palms slide down the backs of my thighs, easily lifting me onto the seat, I wrap my legs around his waist to get as close as I possibly can without crawling inside his skin.

“God,” he breathes. “I want you, baby. Need you.”

The desperation in his voice wrecks me more than any fall I've ever taken.

“How do you want me?” I drag my mouth down his throat, loving the way he tilts his head for me like he can’t help it. “Right here on the bike?”

Fuck, that sounds hot as hell, getting bent over the handlebars while he pounds into me. My cock practically begs for it.

“I… I want to try something. Do you trust me?”

I pull back without hesitation and look him straight in the eye. “With my life.”

The breath leaves his lungs, eyes glittering under the skylight above. “I don't know if I deserve it.”

Lifting my hand to his face, I brush my thumb over his cheekbone. “Don’t do that.”

“Do what?”

“Decide your worth for me. You don’t owe me anything, I choose you.”

Something fragile shifts in Dev's expression, like a lock finally giving way. He nods and lets out a shaky laugh. “Fuck. Okay.”

Slowly, carefully, he positions me where he wants, helping me sit on the seat with my feet over the handlebars. When he gets behind the bike and lays me back, my head hangs off the rear fender.