Renzo made a skeptical noise because he just didn’t buy it.
“It is.” Canaan stroked his biceps. “And it’s also that they haven’t seen me in a while. I guess I’m like... I dunno, the little brother maybe? They have to get all their digs in at once.”
“Maybe.” Renzo still wasn’t convinced. “I don’t mind playing your boyfriend, but don’t ask me to like all of them. I mean I’m not gonna start a fight over you, but I don’t have to like your ex’s attitude especially.”
“The fact that you’re tempted to fight does more for my ego than it should.” Canaan pressed a kiss to Renzo’s neck. “And you’re an excellent pretend boyfriend. Seriously. A-plus.”
“That was the other reason I was pissed,” he admitted. “The whole pretending thing. Like you didn’t need to make it sound... I don’t know.” He sounded ridiculous, but he couldn’t seem to stop his mouth from running. He’d been pissed because he’d known it was all fake, and still it had made his insides glow, being talked about like that. “Special. Grand love affair sort of thing. Like remembering my drink order.”
“That wasn’t a lie.” Canaan rolled so he could peer down at Renzo. “I do remember the first time you came in, and thinking you were hot as fuck but way far out of my league. Sure I lied about how long we’ve been hanging out, but the rest wasn’t made up.”
Renzo’s chest got tight. He wanted to believe Canaan, but Canaan had already proven himself a pretty damn good liar. And his friends kept teasing him about his thing for SEALs. Maybe at best Renzo was just a convenient crush for Canaan. A novelty, maybe. He needed to make sure he didn’t get an inconvenient crush of his own—pretend relationships weren’t destined for some great love story to tell the family about years later no matter how much he enjoyed being around Canaan.
“Hey?” Canaan pushed at Renzo’s shoulder. “I’m serious here. I do like you.”
And there was the entire problem. Renzo liked him too, far more than was smart. “You’re all right,” he muttered.
“And you’re stubborn.” Canaan gave him a hard kiss on the mouth. “But okay, I’ll try not to make it sound like we’re in love. That work?”
“Yeah.” That would help. But why was his heart sinking? He should be happy. He needed more distance and fewer pretty words if he was going to avoid a dinged-up heart here. “We should get some sleep.”
“Sleep?” Canaan sounded confused. But Renzo seriously needed them to stop with the talking. And the obvious solution would be to start another round of sex and then sleep. Yet Renzo was reluctant to go there for reasons he didn’t want to fully examine. What if the fabulous sex had been a one-time strike-of-lightening sort of deal? He wasn’t naive enough to think that Canaan’s magical mouth had somehow fixed all his issues with sex. Instead, he pulled Canaan back down and wrapped his arms around him.
“Sleep,” he repeated, giving Canaan a kiss on the forehead He’d completed some majorly grueling workouts over the years, but he had a feeling that surviving the weekend was going to be his greatest feat of strength yet.
Chapter Nine
Canaan wasn’t entirely sure how he felt about being Renzo’s pillow. Wait. Scratch that. Being Renzo’s pillow was awesome even if he slept for shit, distracted by the huge body wrapped around him. For his part, Renzo seemed able to will his body to sleep, and he slept deeply while Canaan kept waking up, not used to sharing a bed, especially not with a naked giant. And when the alarm beeped at a godawful hour, he still had the naked giant at his back, only now with bonus morning wood. Suddenly sleep seemed more optional, especially when confronted with a chance to play with Renzo again.
Renzo hadn’t been lying about being hung—his was easily the thickest cock Canaan had seen up close, and he could see where less...enthusiastic people might be intimidated or complain about sore body parts. For his part, Canaan had waited until Renzo was sleeping before stretching his jaw because it was clear that Renzo had some sort of complex, and the last thing Canaan was going to do was make him think that Canaan hadn’t enjoyed himself. Which he had. So freaking much.
And he was totally prepared to enjoy himself again, bumping his ass back into Renzo’s erection until Renzo groaned. But instead of pulling Canaan tighter and taking the hint, he rolled away and sat up.
“I better make you that coffee. I rinsed out the travel mugs already.”
“Screw coffee.” Canaan draped himself over Renzo’s bare back, loving all those warm muscles. “Let’s start the day right. Let me get you off again? We never did get that round two...”
“We don’t want to be late for the vans.” Renzo gently extricated himself from Canaan’s grip and stood.