Tarot: the Fool- Paranormal M/M Romance

Chapter Twenty-One

David

The moment the door slammed in my face, I knew I had possibly fucked up past the point of being able to fix things. But I I had to try.

I couldn't let him go. Not like that.

Not at all.

With a quick text to Ben to get his ass into the store as soon as he could, I was out the door in nothing but my pajamas— a ratty t-shirt and boxers— pulling my jeans up as I all but fell down the stairs and out the front door. I knew immediately where he would go, because it was where he felt safe.

It sent a pang of hurt through my chest that he may not feel safe with me anymore.

But I had done that, and I would fix it. I had to fix it.

Ryder's stoic arrogance held me back, but just for a moment. Then he was gone, and I was pouring my heart out to Zin.

And God, he was listening. He was fighting with me. He was holding his own. I felt pride I knew I had no right to feel, but it was there nonetheless. That, and a lot of relief. If he could stand up to me this way, I knew there was hope for him to move past whatever hurts he had endured.

And then I was kissing him, and everything else fell away. His lips were hesitant against my own, and when I stepped into him, moving one hand to grip his hip, the other moving back from his face to wrap my fingers through his hair, the little whimper that rose from his throat made my dick twitch in my pants.

"Come home."

Zin's quiet nod was the only answer I needed before I twined our fingers and began to lead him to the front door. He laughed, pulling on my hand to drag me to a stop.

"Ryder," he chuckled out, shaking his head and pulling away from me. He made his way back through Ryder's house before I heard a quiet, murmured conversation. Then he was back in my arms, and we were walking back the few blocks to my store. We silently made our way up the stairs, and when we were back in my apartment, there was a moment of awkward silence as Zin greeted Her Majesty and pulled breakfast out for her.

"So what does this mean, David?" Zin said gently as he poured the cat food into the bowl, petting Her Majesty's back as she began to eat voraciously.

"Go out with me. Tonight. Let me take you out."

"A date?" Zin's words were unsure, hesitant, as if he was tasting them on his tongue for the first time. I wanted to laugh and cry at the same time, but held back both and only shrugged.

"A date. I want to take things slow, Zin," I affirmed, moving towards him and pulling his hands into mine, pushing him back against the counter behind him. He tilted his face up, his eyes drowsy with lust, and it took everything in me to hold back from devouring everything I knew he was offering. "You're young, and I don't want to hold you back from doing what you may want to do. So I want to go slow— dates and gentle kisses and getting to know each other— so we both know you're sure before we do anything you may regret."

"I could never regret being with you, David," he whispered, before pushing himself onto his toes to kiss me gently, chastely. "But I understand. One condition though?"

"Anything," I said against his lips, my eyes closed as I savored the taste and feel of him pressed against my body. Our fingers were entwined, his smaller body fitted up against mine as if it was made to be wrapped in my arms.

"You have to let me sleep on the couch every once in a while. We'll share the bed fifty-fifty."

My laughter echoed off the walls around us as I nodded against him, already locked in a deep kiss.

Zin

David had called Ben into work on his day off to come bring me back, so he went to relieve him as soon as he dragged himself away from me. It would be difficult to keep my hands to myself when it came to David, but I would respect his decision. I understood his need to take our relationship slowly. Not only was he older than me, he was bigger, stronger, and I was at his mercy when it came to my living arrangements. With a past like mine, I was grateful he was as aware of these things as I was. If he weren't such a good man, he could very easily take advantage of the situation. It was something I should have been terrified of, after everything that had happened with Lyle, but I wasn't.

Because David's soul was far too pure to ever hurt me. I knew that. I just had to convince him of it.

I took David breakfast and lunch, and both times I was rewarded with a small, chaste kiss. He kept his hands mostly to himself, but his eyes never left mine, and his gaze had my insides burning. We ate in companionable silence, with the little "gone for 15 minutes" sign on the door, and after lunch when I moved to bring the dishes up to the apartment, David's hand on my arm held me back.

"I'll be ready to close up at 5. Be ready by then?"

I nodded, my stomach dropping out and then flying to my throat as he pulled gently on my arm until I was tucked between his spread thighs. Even leaning back on his stool, he towered over me, his eyes boring into mine, before he ducked down and pressed his lips to mine.

This kiss was different. It wasn't a hello or a goodbye kiss. It wasn't an apology kiss or a desperate, overwhelming, lustful kiss. It was hot, and demanding, and possessive, and there was enough tongue to have me panting and rocking my hips up to meet his, but it was also quiet and affectionate and gentle. His hands on my waist held me back, stilling me so I was left to jerk against empty air. I was near to tackling him off his stool so I could get closer, my own agreement to his moving slow nonsense thrown out the window with my body overwhelmed by his taste, his scent, his heat, when he pulled back, his eyes nearly black with lust.

I stumbled back, my lips likely bruised along with my hips, my chest heaving, and turned away before I was tempted to throw myself on him in the middle of the store. His whispered smile and panting breaths had me turning and running back up the stairs before we pushed ourselves to doing exactly what he hadn't wanted to do just yet.

I spent my day mostly reading, with far too much time spent staring out the front window at nothing as I fingered my lips, tracing the tingle of David's touch. Her Majesty lay on my lap for most of the day, her tiny body vibrating with her purrs. I was so grateful to David for taking her in— for paying her vet bills, and handling her so gently. Her blindness didn't seem to hold her back at all— she had learned her way around the apartment quickly, and now ran around, jumped up onto counters and tables, and bit our toes as we walked by her hiding places as if she had perfectly normal sight.

When David knocked on the door a few minutes after 5, I was just finishing up my hair, using his hair gel. I smiled and held back a laugh as I moved to the door to open it, revealing David holding a bouquet of sunflowers.