Like an arrow, the dog leaped toward them, coming out of the dim, twilit trees to sit in panting obedience in front of him. Over Brian’s shoulder, Nick said, “Good boy.”
The moment crystallized for Brian in a ringing truth. So good. So right. The man and the dog and the soft cool night falling, a bed with clean sheets waiting, and Lori safe, and Damon— he shut down any thoughts that might remind him of the little imperfections and breathed in the rightness. Oh, yes.
He leaned back heavily and Nick caught him, strong enough not to let him fall, and amused enough to say, “Whassup? A few flights of stairs do in your leg muscles?”
“No.” He turned and wrapped his arms around Nick. His first kiss was off-target and Nick’s stubble abraded his lips. Then Nick put his hands up to steady Brian’s head and met his mouth perfectly. The faint hint of Helen’s chocolate cake lingered. Nick’s hands were firm but not rough.
They took a breath at the same time, and Nick smiled against his mouth. “Bedroom?”
Brian was going to say yes when a butt-shove from behind tipped him up against Nick. He laughed and pushed Luger back. “After I feed the dog. I’ll meet you there.”
“I’ll wait.” Nick folded his arms, his biceps stretching the sleeves of his waffle-knit shirt. His hair flopped forward across his forehead, the way Brian loved to see it. One corner of his perfect mouth tipped up, and the light in his eyes was that warm amber that was Nick. Brian knew he’d still see that color if he closed his eyes. All of that for me.
Brian took six backward steps to the kitchen area and dug in the cupboard for the tub of dog food, fumbling, eyes on Nick, who grinned. Luger hovered, then lay down obediently as Brian set the bowl on the floor. “All right.” The dog sprang on his meal. “And that’s all you get. Be good, now.”
Nick tipped his head in silent invitation, and at last Brian was free to follow him down the short hallway to the bedroom door. In the doorway, Nick paused, his arm braced across the opening. “You know, how about a shower?”
Brian realized he was sticky and grubby. Nick was too, although he didn’t much care how sweaty Nick got. But the idea of hot water and a warm, wet space together suddenly sounded perfect. “Sure. Yes.”
Nick pushed against him, pivoting them through the bathroom doorway. Brian shut and locked the door. Nick laughed. “Afraid the dog will turn the knob?”
“I wouldn’t put it past him.”
Nick reached up and tugged Brian’s head lower. “No more words.” He nipped at Brian’s lip, then backed off and began to strip.
Brian waited to do the same. He didn’t want to miss a moment of the revealing of Nick. That could be an arty movie— The Revealing of Nick. Or maybe high-class porn, he decided, when the head of Nick’s dick slipped out above the waistband of his briefs. Nick’s grin as he slowly lowered his underwear could’ve lit water on fire. Hot man.
Nick dropped his briefs on top of the heap at his feet. Brian fumbled with the buttons of his own shirt, then tugged at the T-shirt under it. He felt big and clumsy beside the perfect compactness of Nick, but every time he glanced up, Nick was staring at him like he really liked what he saw. Brian’s hands steadied under that appreciation. He pushed off his boxers and kicked his clothes toward the corner.
Nick slid back the plastic curtain from the tub and started the shower. Their place might not have the sturdy shower stall that Charlie’s did, but the water pressure was good and Nick had replaced the gummed-up showerhead with a wide one. They were able to get in and stand face-to-face, with the spray hitting his chest over Nick’s shoulders. Little droplets frosted Nick’s dark hair and the heat of the water flushed his skin. Brian slid down Nick’s body to kneel on the hard ceramic, and Nick’s hands on his shoulders steadied him.
The water ran down Nick’s body, making trails through the coarse dark hair of his thighs. Brian leaned forward to lick at that damp skin, tasting water with a hint of salt, the hair rough under his tongue— real and male and Brian’s to explore. He ran his hands around Nick’s hips and cupped his ass, while nuzzling into the thicker curls at his groin. Water ran into his nose. He coughed and sat back on his heels for a moment. Looking up, he met Nick’s amused, heated gaze.
“Having fun?” Nick swiped water and hair back from Brian’s forehead, trailing his fingers down Brian’s temple. “Or drowning yourself?”
“Fun.” Brian swiped one lick up Nick’s erect cock as a promise, then went back to touching and licking other tempting bits. Tongue down the perfect groove from his hip. Bite that curve of thigh muscle. Round ass cheek under my hand. He dug in with his fingers, drawing a grunt from Nick. Brian looked at his hand on Nick’s ass, tugging him slightly sideways. “We’re almost the same color here.” His closest-to-normal weathered skin against Nick’s whitest. “I like the shades of your skin. The way it’s tanned on your arms—” gorgeous, muscled arms, mmmm “—and then it fades, like adding more and more milk, till this bit is white.” He leaned around Nick’s hip to bite at the top of his ass.
“Quit it.” Nick took hold of Brian’s hair and shook him lightly.
Brian looked at the little fading circle of red from his teeth on Nick’s skin. “You don’t have any tattoos.” He knew that, just never thought about it. “You seem like the kind of guy who would.”
“My dad had tattoos.”
“Oh.” Brian didn’t know much about Nick’s dad, except that he’d shared the hot temper Nick battled against, and he’d died when Nick was very young.
“And after I got over trying not to be anything like Dad, I’d set my mind on being a cop.”
“I’ve seen cops with tattoos.”
“I was going to be this great undercover detective.” Nick’s laugh was fake. “A tattoo would be a real stupid way to be outed.” He lowered his voice to a rough tough-guy tone. “‘I got busted last year by this fuckin’ cop with a shark on his right arm.’ ‘Oh yeah? I just seen a guy like that in the other room…’”
“That makes sense. Anyway, I like your skin all smooth like it is.” Brian licked over Nick’s hip to change the topic.
But Nick added, “I could get a tattoo now, I guess. You want to pick one out for me?”
Brian hesitated. The conversation felt off, like there was more meaning than there should be. Maybe it was all the stuff Nick had lost, coming back to haunt the idea of getting ink. He decided a joke was safest. Sliding his hand to the top of Nick’s ass, he said, “How about putting ‘Brian was here’?”
“Dork.” Nick ruffled his hair hard enough to push him off-balance. “Names are the kiss of death anyway.”
“Maybe we’ll skip the tattoos.” He wrapped his hand around the base of Nick’s cock and sucked the head into his mouth. Nick grunted deep in his throat and his fingers tightened in Brian’s hair.
The warm water ran down Nick’s body, over Brian’s hands, but the hard length between his lips was his to slick up with spit, his to press with his tongue, and pull in deeper, to slide in and out with a testing little scrape of teeth on the underside. The way Nick’s breath caught on a moan was encouragement. Brian spread his knees for better balance and angle and put all his newly learned skills to use.