Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 67981 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 340(@200wpm)___ 272(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67981 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 340(@200wpm)___ 272(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
“You’re amazing,” he whispered.
Spencer made a muffled sound and shifted. Emilio stayed still, hoping he hadn’t woken him, but then his eyelids fluttered open. “You’re really here,” he mumbled, giving him a sleepy smile. “I was sure it was all a dream.” He kneaded Emilio’s chest with long fingers.
“Not a dream,” Emilio said with a chuckle. “But I can understand why you thought so. What we did in this bed was the stuff of fantasies.”
“My fantasies have never been that good,” Spencer confessed, his voice thick with sleep.
Emilio snorted and said, “Yeah, I guess mine haven’t either.” He dropped a kiss onto Spencer’s forehead and rubbed circles on his back. “Sorry I woke you up. I didn’t know I was being loud. You go back to sleep, okay?”
“You didn’t wake me up,” Spencer responded. “At least I don’t think you did.” He rubbed his eyes and then settled his gaze on Emilio. “What do you mean loud? And why’re you awake? What time is it?”
“Damn, but are you adorable.” Emilio shook his head in wonder. “It’s a little after eleven. And I was about to close my eyes, but I wanted to look at you for a little longer.”
“You were looking at me?”
It was too dark to make out any details, but Emilio would have bet good money that Spencer was blushing.
“Yeah, cariño. I like looking at you.”
Spencer ran his hand over the side of Emilio’s face. “I’ve never been with anyone like you,” he whispered.
“No?” Emilio paused and considered whether he should push for information. He wanted to know more about Spencer’s past, and half-asleep, the man’s guard was down. Hoping he wasn’t taking advantage, he said, “What kinds of guys have you been with?”
“Not as nice as you,” Spencer said as he moved his hand over Emilio’s belly.
“They weren’t nice to you?”
Spencer shrugged like it was no big deal. “They were okay, but you’re….” He gazed at Emilio like he was something amazing and special, making Emilio yearn to live up to that expectation. “Nobody is like you,” he ended on a whisper. After a few seconds of silence, with Emilio petting Spencer’s hair and Spencer tracing his finger over Emilio’s nipples, Spencer blinked at him and said, “I won’t hold it against you if you change your mind.”
“Change my mind?”
“Yes. About doing all this work on my house for free.” Spencer lowered his gaze. “If you decide I’m not worth it, I’ll understand.”
That answer hit Emilio like a kick to his chest, leaving him a little out of breath. He wanted to punch whoever had made this handsome, tender, smart man think so little of himself. “Anybody who can’t see that being with you is worth a little work is an idiot,” he growled.
Spencer dropped a kiss on his chest and gave him a quick squeeze. “Have you ever lived with someone before?” he asked.
“My family, then roommates, but no, not like you mean.” He put his finger under Spencer’s chin and raised it so their eyes met. “Not like it’s gonna be with you. What about you?”
“I lived with a boyfriend once, almost ten years ago. That’s what first brought me to Vegas, actually. We met in Chicago, and about six months after we started dating, Chad got a job at Motorola here. There was a position at UNLV so I applied and we moved together.”
It was unreasonable to be jealous of someone Spencer had dated before they’d met. Hell, Emilio had been in middle school ten years earlier. So it was ridiculous to harbor any sort of jealousy or anger about the fact that someone else had lived with Spencer, touched Spencer, kissed Spencer. Emilio shook off those thoughts and concentrated on the task at hand: getting to know the man who was now his.
“And then what happened?” Emilio asked.
“He didn’t like his job, didn’t like Vegas, so he decided to move back to Chicago.”
When Spencer didn’t explain further, Emilio realized he would have to nudge him along in order to keep the conversation going. “You didn’t want to go with him?” he asked.
“He didn’t ask me to.”
“You mean he moved you here and then left you?” Emilio asked angrily, and then he reminded himself the story was about something that had happened a long time ago. Plus, if Spencer’s ex had been more decent, Emilio wouldn’t now have a chance with him, so he should be grateful for whatever happened. But it was hard to feel grateful about something that must have been painful for Spencer.
“Yes, but things weren’t great between us, so I didn’t expect him to. Besides, I like living here. I love my job. I have some great friends. I’m fine with how things turned out.”
“And you haven’t wanted to live with anybody again?”
“No.” Spencer shook his head. “I’ve had a few boyfriends, but nobody serious enough to live together.” He sighed. “Emilio, I’m pretty boring. I teach math. I don’t go out much unless it’s to dinner or brunch with friends. A great evening for me is experimenting with a new recipe and lying on the couch reading a new book.”