My Secret Lover by ARIE78 (Completed)

Chapter 9

When they finally left the shower, Forth caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror and took in the myriad of hickeys Phana had left behind. It almost seemed like Phana had wanted to brand Forth as his, just like he'd said in the diner. Quite honestly, Forth couldn't bring himself to mind. He realized now that he wanted to belong to Phana. He did feel a measure of discomfort as he walked, but all things considered, his ass didn't hurt as much as he'd expected. It was more like... He still felt the ghost of Phana's dick inside him, and that kept him in a state of perpetual arousal. Back in the bedroom, Phana shot him a knowing look, like he knew exactly was thinking. He slapped Forth's ass and stole a kiss that tasted like their combined desire.

"Come on, baby. Hurry up and get dressed, because if you don't, I might just kidnap you and hold you captive for the rest of time."

Forth snickered, but complied. He pulled on yesterday's clothes, fortunately finding them without too many rips. When he finished dressing, he turned toward Phana, who was already ready, dashing and too handsome for words in a suit that must have been worth Forth's monthly pocket money.

"Let me guess," Phana said, "you have a thing for a guy in a suit."

"Especially when that guy is you, P'Pha" Forth admitted.

And damn, when had he become so shameless and honest about his feelings? It had taken him weeks to even agree to a kiss with Beam Baramee. Maybe there was something to that love at first sight thing. In the end, Phana was the one who ushered Forth out of the condo and into the elevator.

As they descended to the underground parking lot, Phana said, "Hand me your cell phone. I'll punch in my phone number."

The obvious fact that Phana wanted to keep in contact with him reassured Forth. He passed Phana the device, who quickly added his contact details. He dialed the phone, and the sound of a ringtone echoed in the elevator.

"All right," Phana said. "Now I have your number, and you have mine."

Their fingers brushed as Phana returned the phone to Forth, and the next thing Forth knew, they were making out again, grinding against each other as Phana pressed him to the elevator wall. They might have actually had sex again if the elevator doors hadn't opened, revealing another inhabitant of the building. The man stared at them, arched a brow and just stepped into the elevator without making any comment. Forth wasn't ashamed of his sexuality and his incipient relationship with Phana, but he respected the presence of the stranger and didn't reach for his lover again. However, Phana wrapped an arm around his waist and just held him, comfortably, naturally, like he didn't care at all if his neighbors didn't like his sexual orientation. In that moment, Forth realized that last night's attack on the bigot had been caused by Phana aiming to defend him. How was it that Forth had found the perfect guy when he hadn't even been trying? It seemed too good to be true. As they stepped out of the elevator, Phana threaded his fingers with Forth's.

Hand in hand, they walked to the car. "Did you see the look on his face?" Phana asked with a grin. "It was hilarious."

"You're terrible," Forth replied, but he couldn't help a chuckle of his own.

Had he ever shared this type of light-hearted conversation with other boyfriends? "Maybe, but you love me anyway," Phana answered.

The four-letter word took Forth aback, and he didn't reply. Phana must have noticed, because when they stopped next to the car, he gripped Forth's chin and forced their eyes to meet.

"Hey, it's all right. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have made that joke. It's too soon to talk about love, and the last thing I want is to pressure you into commitment. We'll just take it slow, all right?"