He couldn’t help it. Couldn’t shut down his mind. There was a part of him that worried he was making a fool of himself. That coming here on secondhand advice of a twelve-year-old and his perpetually single older brother was not the smartest move. Particularly since it hadn’t been his decision to leave in the first place. Ken had said they might not be the best fit. Ken had said that they both needed time to think about everything that had happened.
Ken had asked him to leave.
But he hadn’t asked Brady what he wanted. He drove his knee deep into the bag, then swung his other leg around in a powerful kick that rung the iron rafter above his head. He reached out his hand to stop the wild swaying of his canvas enemy.
Ken didn’t know what Brady was feeling, because he’d never gotten the chance to tell him. There’d been too much going on.
He’d wanted to. In the middle of the ugly mess they’d fallen into—a mess that still wasn’t cleaned up—Brady had wanted to tell Ken he loved him.
Seamus was right. He was an all or nothing kind of guy. He couldn’t just turn his feelings off because they might put him in high-risk situations at some point in the future. He wouldn’t live like that. And Ken might call him a fool, but Brady wasn’t going anywhere until that man knew exactly what he was sending away.
“Finn?”
Thank God. Brady brought down his gloved hands and looked over his shoulder. “Tanaka,” he acknowledged. “Busy day?”
“What are you... Did you forget something?”
Not exactly a warm welcome, but Brady would work with it. “I didn’t forget anything. What’s in the box?”
“My new office.” Ken set down the box of computer parts he was carrying and stalked toward Brady, those usually wicked lips tight and thin. “You don’t have a key.”
“No, I don’t. We’ll need to fix that when I move back in.”
“I told you to go.”
“And now I’m back.”
When Ken’s torso twisted and his leg swept out, Brady was ready for him. He side stepped the kick, wrapped his arms around Ken’s shoulders and they fell together. Brady rolled until he was on top, his legs straddling Ken’s hips and arms so he couldn’t move. “This feels familiar,” he laughed.
Ken bucked beneath him. “Damn it, Brady, this isn’t funny. Why are you here?”
“Because you need me.”
He stilled at that. “I don’t. I’m backing off, for the moment anyway. I’m rebuilding and recoding and— They won’t try anything now. I have time to find out who—”
“No.” Brady shook his head, cutting off Ken’s words. “Not for that.”
“What else?” Ken’s eyes were slightly dilated and his breathing was shallow. “I mean, I don’t need any—”
Brady kissed him. Closed his eyes and felt everything inside him melt when Ken sucked his tongue deep into his mouth as if he couldn’t help himself. As if he’d missed him just as much. Yes. Something that strong didn’t go away overnight.
He lifted his head and Ken moaned, shaking his head. “That doesn’t prove anything. I don’t I need you. And you don’t need the trouble I’d come with.”
Brady looked into Ken’s eyes and smiled. “You thought you knew what we needed before. You thought sending me away was the right thing to do, but you were wrong. I know exactly what you need.”
“Sex won’t solve these problems.”
“You need someone who isn’t intimidated by that brain of yours, or that mouth,” Brady was trying to ignore that mouth so he could finish. “You need to be dragged to chaotic family dinners and get the third degree from people who care a little too loudly. You need someone who’ll take you by the side of the road, in the shower, anywhere he can have you because he can’t get enough.”
Ken opened his mouth as if to interrupt. Brady couldn’t touch him like he wanted through his gloves, so he kissed him again. When they were both breathless, he lifted his head and whispered, “You don’t need to be alone, genius. What you need is someone who loves you. Someone who didn’t think he could love like this. Not this much. Not so completely. And that’s me, Tanaka. I’m the right guy for the job. The only guy. I also still happen to be unemp—”
“Shut up.” Golden eyes closed and Ken took a shivering breath. When he opened them again, Brady saw something in them that gave him reason to hope. “I need my arms back, Finn.”
“Shit. Sorry.” He rolled, getting to his feet and bringing the strap of one glove up to his teeth. He was already edgy, and aroused from being this close to Ken. He didn’t need to add stuck in boxing gloves to that list.
Ken stood up with him. “Give those to me.”
Brady held out his arms.