Chapter 83 Heated
After breakfast, the tension didn’t disappear, it just settled into something quieter. Lucas stood first, gathering the plates before Alex could stop him. “I’ll wash,” he muttered.
Alex didn’t argue. He simply rose and followed him into the kitchen.
Water ran and porcelain clinked softly. Their shoulders brushed once neither moved away.
Then Alex turned, drying his hands on a towel. “Go shower,” he said. “I’ll finish up here.”
Lucas blinked. “What? No. I’m going home. I need to change to…”
“You’ll be late for work,” Alex cut in smoothly. “There are clothes laid out for you on the bed. Pick one. We’re leaving for work together.”
Lucas froze. “What?”
“I arranged everything.”
And just like that, the fight drained out of Lucas. He hadn’t noticed. While he was sleeping. While he was arguing. While he was trying to push him away.
Alex had already planned the morning.
The realization hit harder than the hangover. Lucas’s throat tightened. His fingers loosened around the plate he was holding. His voice cracked despite himself. “Alex… you don’t have to do all that.”
Alex’s expression shifted instantly. In two strides, he closed the space between them.
He didn’t hesitate this time, he pulled Lucas into his chest, arms wrapping around him firmly, possessively, and protectively.
“My love…” he whispered against his hair.
Lucas stiffened for half a second and then melted despite himself.
“Why are you hurting my feelings?” Alex murmured. “We should stick together for our peace of mind. There’s nothing wrong with taking care of yourself. You’re my baby.”
Lucas’s breath faltered.
“I want us to be at peace,” Alex continued softly. “Stop fighting us, I beg you. This is our first morning waking up together, and you’re turning it into something heavy. Is that fair?”
Lucas swallowed hard, his hands slowly gripping the back of Alex’s robe.
“Alex… our fathers are against us,” he said quietly. “And who knows who else out there is against us too?”
The words lingered in the space between them. Alex pulled back just enough to look at him.
“So if the world is against us,” he asked, voice low but steady, “will you join them too?”
Lucas didn’t answer, his heart thudded in fear.
Alex lifted his hand and placed it flat against Lucas’s chest. “What about here?” he whispered. “Doesn’t it beat for us anymore?”
The contact and the words burned. Lucas’s heart thudded more violently beneath Alex’s palm, betraying him.
Alex’s eyes were pleading and vulnerable now. “Tell me it doesn’t. Tell me I’m the only one fighting.”
Lucas’s composure cracked.
His lashes lowered. His breathing grew uneven. “You know it does,” he said finally, barely audible.
“Then why do you keep running?” Alex pressed.
“Oh Alex, it's because loving you feels like standing in front of a storm,” Lucas admitted, voice trembling. “And I don’t know if I’m strong enough to protect you from it.”
Alex’s expression softened in a way that almost hurt to look at.
“You don’t protect me from loving you,” he said quietly. “You stand beside me while we face the storm together.”
A heavy, emotional silence stretched between them. Lucas’s hands tightened in Alex’s robe as if he were afraid to let go.
And for the first time that morning, he didn’t try to pull away.
Lucas broke the silence. His voice was low and unsteady with worry etched on his face. Alex noticed the sudden change.
“You're worried about something, please trust me. Feel free to share your burden with me, hmm.”
“Alex… I did something wrong last night.” His fingers tightened more in the fabric of Alex’s robe. “Please forgive me. I got carried away by my emotions. I’m really sorry.”
Alex’s body went still, he knew instantly that he was about to confess. “Baby, tell me, what did you do?”
Lucas couldn’t hold his gaze. His eyes dropped to the floor.
“I… I kissed Nathan.” The confession scraped out of him. “I messed up. I swear it was just curiosity. It was stupidity. I wasn’t thinking…”
Alex’s jaw flexed, he became delighted that he opened up but didn't show it.
“You're saying you just tasted his lips, hmm?” he asked quietly, too quietly. “Would you like to kiss him again?”
Lucas’s head snapped up. “No.” His voice cracked. “No. I’m ashamed of myself. I wasn’t thinking straight. I was confused and angry and let my emotions control me. I will…”
“Shh.” Alex lifted a finger and placed it gently against Lucas’s lips, silencing him.
For a moment, nothing moved.
“It’s okay,” Alex said softly. “I understand.”
Lucas searched his face, disbelief flooding his features. “You… you do?”
Alex’s hand slid from his lips to his cheek, thumb brushing slowly across his skin. Lucas stepped closer instinctively and wrapped his arms around him, pulling him into a tight embrace. Their bodies aligned, breaths mingling.
“You forgive me?” Lucas asked, eyes locked onto his, vulnerable and afraid.
Alex held his gaze. “You won’t do it again, right?”
“Never,” Lucas answered immediately. “I promise, I will never…”
His words dissolved as Alex leaned in and brushed their lips together. It was soft and intentional.
“I forgive you,” Alex murmured against his mouth. “If his kiss meant nothing… then it’s nothing.”
He kissed him again, more slowly. This time it was firmer, not desperate, not rushed but a reclaiming kiss.
“Nothing is too big to forgive,” he whispered, voice deepening, “As long as it’s you, my Lucas.”
He gazed at him, a light smile curling at his lips, evidence that he was happy. Then he captured his lips fully.
The kiss intensified, no hesitation now. Lucas responded instantly, surrendering, pouring apology and longing into it. His hands tightened on Alex’s robe as if anchoring himself there.
Alex’s fingers slid along Lucas’s back, tracing the curve of his waist, pulling him closer. The heat between them rose quickly, the earlier tension transforming into something electric.
Lucas let out a soft, unguarded sound against Alex’s mouth, desire breaking through guilt.
Alex felt the shift immediately, the way Lucas pressed closer, the way his breathing turned uneven.
He pulled back just slightly, their foreheads touching, eyes darkened but searching.
“Look at me,” Alex murmured.
Lucas did. There was no anger there anymore. There was no jealousy either. Just intensity, possession, and choice.
Alex caressed his cheeks, his fingers playing with Lucas’s stubble. “You’re mine,” Alex said quietly, not as ownership, but as certainty. “And I’m yours. Don’t ever doubt that.”
Lucas swallowed hard, emotion and desire tangling in his chest.
“I’m yours,” he whispered back.
And this time, when Alex kissed him again, there was no guilt left between them, only fire and the promise that whatever storm came next, they would face it together.
Alex’s hand started roaming his body as the kiss intensified. Then Alex felt his cocky hardened up. He moved closer to let Lucas feel him.
Lucas felt him and tried to pull away but Alex didn't let him. “Don't do that please.”
He captured his lips in another heated kiss, his hands still roaming his body.
“Baby,” Alex whispered against his lips, “Touch me, I need you to touch me.”