Earlier that day, when Niall had learned his brother was coming to the wedding, he’d thought it meant Ruben was finally there to set things straight. Now, though, he wasn’t sure what his intent was anymore.
His mind kept slipping back to the conversation they had in jail, when he had finally opened up about his sexuality. And seeing how that final visit had ended, he had always assumed, maybe naively, that the moment would stay locked in there.
But now Ruben was towering over him, pulling that truth forward and shaping it into something sharper, something he could use against him. Of course, he went straight for the one thing he knew would undo Niall instantly: intimacy.
And he was right. Because it had worked.
Before Niall could stop himself, the words slipped out. “I feel it everywhere.”
“Everywhere?” Ruben repeated, smiling as he got closer. He looked at Niall like a man starved. And although completely clothed, Niall had never felt more naked in his entire life.
Christ. This was all too much.
“Yeah. It sort of runs through me in a way,” he confessed. The vulnerability in his own words made him lower his gaze to the floor.
Ruben’s eyes, however, stayed locked on him.
This was the moment he had been waiting for, and he wasn’t about to miss even the smallest twitch on his face. He’d finally got Niall to admit what he felt. That visceral, unspoken thing only the two of them could understand.
So consumed by him to the point of obsession.
Writing about him. Hunting him. Tracking every step, from his house to where he was meant to be working. Hell, even to where he had been staying outside the city. Piece by piece, he'd made himself part of Ruben's life until there was hardly a corner of it he hadn't claimed.
So, Niall could act like he didn’t want him there. Like he didn’t have time for him. But they both knew the truth. Their need for each other was mutual. Devotional. Even if it made them uncomfortable.
And that was the beauty of it.
