Cort shook his head. “You need to talk to him. Ask him outright what he meant.”
“I know. I just don’t know how to approach this. What if I did do something in the past? Something that maybe even got them killed? How would I live with that?”
“Hey.” Cort grabbed his hands and squeezed them. “This Grey hasn’t done a thing, and it’s not fair to hold something that might have happened in the past against you. You’re going to tear yourself to shreds trying to figure this out. Do what I said. Talk to Clay. Hell, talk to them all. The only way any of this is going to work is if you all communicate with each other.”
Grey’s shoulders relaxed. “You’re right. Again. How come you always know the right thing to say?”
“Lots of practice. I deal with stubborn people all the time, so I’ve got skills now.”
“You saying I’m stubborn?”
“One of my stubbornest. But I like that about you.” He tugged Grey closer and wrapped his arms around him, feeling the hard muscles of his chest against him. “Do what I said. Don’t bottle this inside and let the worry become too powerful. That won’t solve anything. It’ll just tear you up inside, and I’d hate to see you like that.”
Grey closed his eyes. “I just hate the thought of them thinking that of me. Makes me feel not a part of the group and I…need that. Especially right now.”
“You are a part of that group. An integral part, from the sound of it. All of you together are more powerful than apart. And as for the soul mate thing, who’s to say we aren’t? I feel a connection to you I’ve never felt with anyone else, and I want to explore that no matter what.” Cort ran his hands up to the back of Grey’s head and pulled him in for a kiss.
Grey returned the kiss, his lips soft now that they weren’t flattened into a tight line. Cort ran his tongue along Grey’s bottom lip, seeking entry into his mouth. When Grey opened for him, Cort groaned low in his throat as his tongue slipped into Grey’s mouth. Grey tasted of cinnamon and coffee, and the taste went to his head. He twined his tongue with Grey’s, taking the kiss deep. Grey’s hands slid down his spine to right above his ass and he dug his fingers in.
They kissed for a few moments more before Cort pulled away. “Even if we aren’t soul mates, we’re definitely something. I want more with you, Grey.”
“More sex?”
“That and friendship and more. I want everything you have to give me. What do you want?”
“Want you in me,” Grey whispered.
Cort groaned again at the thought of sinking into the man’s tight body. He took Grey’s hand to lead him into the bedroom. When they reached the bed, he turned and grabbed the bottom of Grey’s T-shirt and pulled it over his head, making his hair stick out all over the place. He smoothed it and ran his hands over Grey’s chest. There was a sprinkling of black chest hair, a tantalizing trail of hair from his navel to the top of his jeans. Grey unfastened his fly and pushed the jeans and underwear down. Grey stepped out of the clothes and stood naked in front of him.
He had a long, tight body with a muscular chest and a flat stomach. His dick was hard, a bead of pre-cum pearled on the tip. Cort reached out and ran his thumb over it, causing Grey to shudder. Grey reached out for his clothes and Cort helped him remove them. He stepped in close and shut his eyes at the feel of all that naked skin against him.
Grey leaned in to slant his mouth over Cort’s and this time, the kiss grew quickly heated as they ate at each other’s mouths. Grey nipped his bottom lip, before sucking it. Their hands slid over each other’s chests, and Cort couldn’t help but keep going, drawn to that beautiful, hard cock. He wrapped his fingers around it, running his thumb over the still-wet tip. Dropping his hand to cup Grey’s sac, he savored the feel of the soft hair covering it.
A gasp escaped Grey as Cort fondled him lovingly, stroking one finger behind his balls and back to his hole. He touched that puckered skin, and Grey gasped again as he came in for an even deeper kiss, the cinnamon and coffee long gone now. Grey tasted like Cort and the thought was so erotic, he moaned and brought his finger up to their mouths to get it wet. Grey licked around his finger before twining his tongue with Cort’s again. Knowing he couldn’t get the angle he wanted with them standing like this, Cort laid Grey on the bed, placing him on his back. He stuck his finger into Grey’s mouth and when it was wet, he brought it down to Grey’s hole and slid it inside.