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  “He has a date with some girl he met at the Eiffel Tower last month.” Ken patted Gaël’s back. “It’s all right. I understand. You have your demons and I will eat alone.”

  “No. There is no reason for that. I need a break anyway.”

  “Oh no you don’t. Go make more plans to get your man back. I think I’ll cut lunch short and take a nap. I’m exhausted.” There was a twinkle in Ken’s eyes. It was the same look his friend got when he was up to something, but Gaël was too tired and wrapped up in his thoughts of Shawn to question it.

  He sighed. “Very well. But come and see me for dinner.”

  After Ken promised he would, Gaël left him there and made his way back to his suite. After checking the temperature in the room, he tugged at his tie and hurled it behind him, not particularly caring where it fell. Perhaps if he took a shower, he’d feel a little better.

  Something outside the window caught his attention, and he stopped to peer up at the sky. It was a bird—a rather big one at that.

  “What are you apologizing for, Gaël?”

  Gaël whipped around and almost fainted. So that was what Ken was up to? “Shawn. When did you… how did you…?”

  “I didn’t mean to just show up….” Shawn rose from where he was sitting. “Your friend Ken said you wouldn’t mind. Actually, he said you wanted to see me and I could wait here for you.”

  “No, I don’t mind. I was just thinking about you, actually. Ken said that?”

  Shawn smiled. “Yes. He sent a plane for me and everything. I got to the hotel about twenty minutes ago. Maxim picked me up at the airport. I didn’t get a room because….”

  Gaël began shaking his head without noticing. “Tu n’en as pas besoin d’une.”

  “I don’t speak….”

  “I’m sorry. I meant to say, you don’t need one—a room, I mean. This suite had a pull out cot if you don’t wish to… well, you know?”

  “What is this, Gaël? What are we doing? On the card you apologised. What for?”

  “For putting you in the position of having a fling with me and having to walk away. It wasn’t fair to you and it’s hell for me. The moment I left your place and sat in the car, I knew I’d messed up, but I was too much of an idiot to admit it.”

  “Don’t take all the credit—I let you go. What kind of idiot does that make me?”

  Shawn’s eyes danced with an emotion Gaël never thought he’d see again, one of arousal and confusion. His hand shook as he lifted it slowly, unsure if he should touch Shawn or wait. But he just couldn’t help himself. He caressed the side of Shawn’s face, loving the stubble that grazed his palm. He loved the way Shawn closed his eyes and pressed his face forward. It was almost as if Shawn came alive at Gaël’s touch. Bliss was written all over Shawn’s face, an express that turned Gaël on. Yet, he slowly retracted his hand. “Ken asked you to come here, and you just drop your life and came?”

  “Yes. I wanted to make sure this was something.”

  “You didn’t want just one night with me, did you?”

  “No.”

  Gaël moved closer and stopped. “Why did you not tell me this?”

  “I-I don’t know. I was respecting what you wanted. I didn’t want to seem needy, and I told myself I could walk away. And I was doing okay until the flowers started coming and coming and coming…. They’re beautiful.”

  Gaël smiled. “I’m glad you like them. Now, I’ve been waiting a long time for this—can I kiss you?”

  “Yes.”

  Gaël suddenly couldn’t breathe. Just the thought of feeling Shawn against him made him weak. Still, he reached out, wrapped his arms around the back of Shawn’s neck, and pulled him closer. Finally, their chests collided, followed by their mouths, and it was as if Gaël was breathing for the first time. Shawn’s arms circled his neck, so Gaël deepened the kiss. His mind spun, his knees trembled, and every good thing that happened the first time they kissed magnified ten times over.

  Shawn pulled back and their lips broke apart with a loud smack. “Gaël….”

  ****

  It took everything in Shawn to keep standing after that kiss. He cradled Gaël’s face, then pushed to the tip of his toes and kissed Gaël’s forehead, between his eyes and the tip of his nose. Shawn’s hands shook terribly because his heart was so full at seeing Gaël again, it was close to bursting. Though it terrified him, his body wanted to be bare and lying before Gaël’s beautiful gaze. He took Gaël’s lips, and this time, he accepted the tender yet urgent nature of their embrace.

  Gaël backed him through the room to the bedroom expertly. “Hold that thought,” he whispered, stole a kiss, and darted from the room.

  Shawn could not believe what just happened. He was in the mood, ready to explode, and this sexy-as-sin man just walked out on him? He had to cool down or he’d combust. The only way he could think of was to remove his shirt. That didn’t help. He searched and found the en-suite bathroom, cupped his hands under the cold, running water, and splashed his face. The shock of the cold did very little to his raging cock. Shawn wandered back into the room and his mind began having second thoughts. He wondered if leaving his business with Frankie and Bella to go halfway across the world for some man he’d barely met was such a great idea.

  There had to be a way to silence those thoughts, so he wandered to the bedside table and picked up the remote. He sat in the middle of the bed and flipped through the channels—French, French, and more French. Eventually he found M6 Music Black and was surprised to hear Keith Sweat playing. “Well, I guess the French isn’t completely boring,” Shawn gripped and set the remote on the dresser.

  Feeling at home, he unbuttoned his pants and kicked off his shoes and hauled off his socks. Gaël still wasn’t back, so Shawn stood by the window and stared out. Keith Sweat merged into Bryan McKnight, followed by Boys II Men, and still Gaël didn’t come back. Shawn bowed his head, pressing his forehead to the cool glass, and tried pushing off the panic and shame he felt. What made him jump into bed with Gaël the first time they met? What made him drop everything and fly halfway across the world to meet this man? Was it desperation or something else?

  Shawn was so deep into his thoughts, he only knew someone was in the room when a hand snaked around him and a palm pressed to his chest. The touch made him tremble, and he turned his head to look at Gaël. Their lips brushed softly against each other’s, and Shawn whimpered.

  “I had to get… provisions,” Gaël explained, waving a box of condoms and a tube of lube.

  Shawn laughed softly, swaying his body to Adina Howard singing “T-shirt and Panties.” He ground his ass into Gaël’s body, loving the hard cock he felt between Gaël’s legs. Shawn remembered what it felt like between his lips, thick and pulsing. He turned, pressed his palms into Gaël’s chest, and pushed him away so he could breathe and rest his bum on the window sill.

  “Je veux te goûter,” Gaël whispered. He slipped to his knees before Shawn and looked up.

  Shawn reached across and pushed his hair from his face, holding the strands to the back of Gaël’s head. “Speak English, baby. French turns me on, but I need to know what you’re saying.”

  “I want to taste you. All of you—ever inch of this beautiful body.”

  “Show me.”

  Gaël fell silent. Instead of speaking again, Shawn was delighted when Gaël eased upward to suck on his nipples, then tugged them between his teeth. Even as he cradled Gaël’s face, Shawn tilted his head back and licked his lips. Fire followed Gaël’s mouth down Shawn’s body, sending an electric shock at every bit of flesh Gaël kissed or licked. Shawn’s cock twitched against Gaël’s neck, and Shawn looked down again at the top of Gaël’s head. He wanted to say something, anything to cut the passion in the air, but didn’t get a chance to. The words he so desperately wanted out died in his throat when Gaël took Shawn into his mouth.

  Shawn bit his knuckle, but the shout of sheer happiness didn’t stay down. It rippled up his body, past his lips, and e
choed around the room. He tangled his fingers in Gaël’s hair, enjoying the silkiness of it. “Gaël—damn!”

  Gaël merely groaned, gripped Shawn’s balls in one hand, and sucked harder. He pulled back for a moment to meet Shawn’s gaze. “I’ve missed you, Shawn,” Gaël whispered.

  “Baby.”

  Chapter Four

  Leading Shawn to the bed, Gaël laid him down gently on it. He stood at the side of the bed, removing his clothes, but couldn’t stop staring at Shawn. Every bit of his flesh was kissed by Gaël’s eyes. “That scar….” Gaël traced a finger tip along it. “It’s new. What happened?”

  “Can we talk about this later?” Shawn asked, his voice breathy. “I need you, right now.”

  Gaël smiled and snagged the condoms from the dresser before he climbed to the bed. Kneeling between Shawn’s legs, he caressed down Shawn’s chest, loving the way his muscles twitched under his palms. “Roll over and let me see your ass,” Gaël ordered.

  Shawn quickly got into position, and Gaël bit his tongue. He caressed the small of Shawn’s back, teasing the flesh in circular patterns. He made lazy trails over Shawn’s spine and to the edge of his ass cheeks, not really doing what he truly wished. Then Shawn moaned, reached back, and spread his cheeks.

  “So beautiful,” Gaël managed.

  Licking a finger, he traced Shawn’s crack before sucking the same finger, now wet and slippery with saliva, and inserted it slowly.

  “Oh that’s it, baby,” Shawn purred.

  Gaël took great pleasure in watching the way Shawn’s hips moved on his finger, pulling it in deep, then pushing it back out. He turned his hand, braced his free hand on the small of Shawn’s back, and finger-banged him hard until Shawn arched away from him. When he dragged the slippery finger over Shawn’s hole, he whimpered and trebled away from it.

  “Are you tender, darling?” Gaël questioned. “Want me to fuck it?”

  “Hell yes!”

  “Spread your legs for me,” Gaël ordered softly. He shielded his cock in a condom and wrapped his fingers around Shawn’s. He locked gazes with Shawn while slowly pulling him closer and closer to an orgasm.

  “I’m gonna….”

  Gaël released him, and Shawn looked as if he wanted to cry. He growled and reached up, but Gaël merely pushed his hands back to the bed, hiked his legs up, and pulled in against his thighs. Shawn touched him then, dragging work-roughened fingertips over Gaël’s nipples, abs and thighs. He held his breath, enjoying the sweet burn and the way it caused his heart to race. Controlling himself was out of the question. Gaël eased forward, pushing the very head of his dick into Shawn and gritting his teeth at the hot tightness. He slid deeper and deeper into Shawn, and by the time their bodies kissed, Gaël’s toes were curled.

  “Shawn….”

  “Fuck me….”

  “Give me a second.” Gaël gritted his teeth, remaining still and holding his breath. “I want to remember….”

  Shawn pinched Gaël’s nipples, and all thoughts of remaining immobile slipped from his mind. He gripped Shawn’s hips, braced his knees on the bed, and after pulling almost all the way out, he slammed forward once more.

  “Gaël!”

  He loved that sound—hearing Shawn cry his name in pleasure. He realized the huskiness of it made his cock harder, made him delirious. Gaël couldn’t stop himself from doing it, and he roughly fucked Shawn until he felt Shawn’s hole quiver around his dick, then tightened like a vice. Gaël growled, and his hands became weak and slipped away from Shawn’s body. He fell forward, kissing Shawn, feeling their sweat-covered selves slide over each other.

  Shawn hugged him fiercely, returning the kiss with equal fever, until all Gaël could do was bite against Shawn’s lower lip and wrench his hips back. In that moment both their bodies seemed to hit the same wall of heightened pleasure, and they shattered beautifully. Gaël whimpered something his sated brain couldn’t decipher as Shawn held on to him. They breathed heavy together, and Shawn’s cum mingled with the sweat between their bodies.

  ****

  Shawn woke up and lifted his head. It took a while realizing where he was before he rolled over and sat up. He was alone in a bed of tangled, soft, Egyptian cotton white sheets. The television was off, the window was closed, and it had began getting dark outside. He groaned and got up to find his bag sitting on the beautiful chest at the foot of the bed. Digging through it, Shawn pulled out a pair of boxers and hauled them along with a pair of track pants on, then ventured out of the room into the living area of the luxury suite.

  “Gaël? Gaël, you here?”

  But he wasn’t. Shawn took a breath and looked around him. He suddenly felt out of place. Though he and his siblings had a little money, they didn’t have their own private suite in a fancy hotel in France money. Everything seemed to be of the highest quality. From the dark furniture with traces of white and silver, to the flowers sitting on surfaces around the room and the plasma screen television, everything seemed pricy. He rubbed his hands on his thighs as his stomach growled. The one thing the place didn’t have was a kitchen.

  “Didn’t think of everything, did you?” he muttered, heading back to the bedroom to haul on a shirt. If he was going to find food, he was going to have to wander out of the hotel room. Before leaving, however, he sat on the bed, fished his cell phone out, and called home.

  “Hey! Shawn! You’re on speaker because Bella is here too,” Frankie advised.

  “Shawn! Did you find him?” Bella blurted out. “How are you?”

  “Yes, I found him—at least, I think I did. I woke up and he was gone.”

  “I thought you two were going to talk,” Frank said.

  “How much talking would you be doing?” Bella asked. “So, where’d he go?”

  “I don’t know, Bell. I was heading out to get some grub—thought I’d call and let you know my flight got here okay and not to worry.”

  “Who was worried?” Frankie said with laughter in his voice. “I wasn’t worried.”

  The three of them spoke for a bit longer before Shawn told them he loved them and hung up.

  “Shawn?” Gaël’s voice rang through the suite.

  “In the bedroom.”

  He remained where he was seated on the edge of the bed and waited until Gaël stepped into view. Shawn tilted his head.

  “I—um—brought food. I wasn’t sure what you were craving, so I stayed away from most of the typical French things and just got what I think you may be accustomed to.”

  Shawn smiled. “At this point I don’t care what’s in those bags. I am starving.”

  “Good. Here. There’s a ham sandwich in there. I’d love to take you out for dinner, but I don’t know if I want to share you with France just yet.”

  They kissed, tongues flowing together.

  “I understand. We need to talk, by the way.”

  Gaël nodded. “I understand. Let me grab us something to drink.”

  “Whoa, wait a minute.” Shawn grabbed his hand. He knew he saw something in Gaël’s stare. “Get them in a minute. What’s with the look?”

  “What look?”

  “Come on, Gaël. I know we don’t know each other that well—I mean, we barely know anything about each other. But I know we both feel something here.”

  “You would be correct. It’s just… no matter how many times I hear that line, we need to talk, it always gives me heart palpitations.”

  Shawn laughed softly and leaned in to kiss Gaël on the lips. “Can we go for a walk?”

  Gaël nodded. “Eat. Let me get you that drink and then we’ll get dressed and go for a walk.”

  Shawn agreed, and after another quick kiss, he waited for Gaël to return. The two sat together and ate. It was the first quiet and highly enlightening meal Shawn had in a long time. Usually his dinner was from paper plates or with a bunch of guys running around, tossing a football in the backyard during a get together.

  “You know, this is my first quiet dinner in a long time
,” Shawn admitted out loud. “This is nice.”

  “Really? What do you normally do?”

  “You don’t wanna know. Let’s just say I have a very loud brother, a mischievous sister, and workers who have become family over the years. More often than not, they all converge on my house for dinner.”

  “You have a brother?”

  “Yeah. Frankie.” Shawn lifted his glass, but it was empty. He sipped from Gaël’s instead. “He’s thirty, very smart, but a pain in my ass.”

  “But you love him—I can tell.”

  “Don’t tell him I said that,” Shawn joked. “What about you?”

  “I had a brother—he died in a car accident when I was nineteen.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Thank you. After a while, Claude was all I had. He was my world, and when he died, it all fell apart. But I had some good friends.”

  “I hear that. What about your parents?”

  “My mom died when I was a kid—cancer—and my father was killed in the line of duty when I was eighteen.”

  “Damn,” Shawn whispered. He pressed his lips to Gaël’s forehead for a moment for he had no words for such hardship. “I think we should talk about something else. What do Ken and Maxim think of me?”

  Gaël eyed him for a moment.

  Shawn instantly regretted asking such a vain, almost selfish question, especially after such a heartfelt moment. But it’d just slipped from his mouth before he could stop it. “Damn, don’t answer that.”

  “They brought you here, didn’t they?”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Shawn, there’s nothing to be sorry about. It’s a valid question.”

  Shawn simply let the conversation die as they finished their food and got dressed. Between tender touches and stolen kisses, they managed to exit the hotel just as the dusk fell lazily over Paris. Shawn allowed Gaël to take his hand, and they strolled silently for a moment, Shawn taking in the beauty around him, the lights, the sounds—everything that made Paris amazing in the movies.

  “That scar….”