King felt like he’d drank way too much the night before and was still drunk as he woke. He groaned as he tried to sit up and his head spun. “Shit, what the fuck did I…” He stopped talking as he glanced around. Hospital room. The last thing he remembered was getting back to the garage last night to drop off his truck for the weekend.

“You will never do that shit to me again.” Linc’s pissed off voice took him by surprise.

He jerked his gaze to the door and instantly regretted it as his stomach turned over onto itself.

“What the hell happened?”

He flopped back onto the bed and raised his hands to cover his eyes. He tried to remember. Did he hit his head?

“You decided to help out in the garage last night before coming home. Brakes failed on a rig coming in, and you jumped to get out of the way and rolled against a stack of barrels. They came crashing down and hit just right, breaking your leg in two places.”

“How bad?”

“Luckily clean breaks didn’t require surgery, but you’re sidelined for a while.”

“Shit, what am I supposed to do—”

“Your boss said your benefits will cover bills and all until you’re back at work.”

“Why do I feel drunk?”

“They got you on the good meds.”

“Where’s Mal?”

“He’s crashing with Mary.”

“Mary?”

How fucking hard did he hit his head?

“Yes, Mary. I called everyone I could, but Bear is at some convention, and Joker and Dem are out at the shack for their anniversary. Brawlers Crew is all-hands-on-deck. Twirled Crew are also away at some convention. Lily and Damon were a bit…indisposed. Harper and Ghost went to Atlanta to see Lou and for a prenatal appointment. And Sin and Saint went to see their mother because she needed Saint to act as pilot for a survivalist weekend. The guy that was supposed to do it got food poisoning.”

“Was she okay—”

Linc waved off his question. “She was great. When I left Mal, her and Killer were curled up on the couch watching cartoons and eating popcorn.”

“Okay, I know Mary—”

“Mary is fine, and I think her and Bear have something going.”

“Really?” The more he tried to think, the more his head pounded. He had to be having some fucked up dream—a parallel universe type shit.

“Yep. Because if I’m not mistaken, she was wearing one of Bear’s favorite t-shirts.”

“He hasn’t—”

Bear told him everything. The man was more than his uncle; Bear became one of his best friends.

“Let them have their privacy.”

“How long before I get out of here?”

“They want to keep you for a few days until the swelling goes down and they can cast your leg.”

“I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“I was going to take you to dinner tomorrow night and let you get some—”

“I don’t need alone time, King, I love spending time with Mal and you. I thought about it, and I’d like the guest room, but we’ll talk about that later. Right now, you’re going to get some rest.”

“Is Melanie coming home?”

“Not until next weekend. I sent her a bus ticket. Get some sleep.”

“Thanks, honey.”

He reached for Linc’s hand, laced their fingers and pulled the man down. He groaned as Linc’s weight landed on his chest. Linc’s forearms were braced on the bed beside his head. Fuck, Linc was beautiful to him, the weight of him perfect, and heavy meds be damned, his body responded. He’d only meant to give him a hug, take advantage of a moment of selfishness, but it turned into something else. Linc’s eyes were wide, and his full lips parted.

There was no time to think, just one kiss, it was all he’d take. He tilted his head and curved his right hand around the back of Linc’s neck. The anticipation built in the microseconds until he brought their mouths together. He groaned at the softness of Linc’s lips; the coarseness of his man’s beard and Linc was his. Linc stiffened against him, and he didn’t want to give Linc the chance to pull away.

He flicked his tongue along the tight seam of Linc’s lips. He tasted Linc’s soft gasp. Savored the way Linc settled his weight heavier on him. He kept their fingers linked as he moved his arm around Linc’s waist and pinned Linc’s right hand at the base of the man’s back.

He slowly seduced a response from Linc. Soft brushes, sharp nips, and gentle sucks at the supple curves of Linc’s lips. He groaned deeply as Linc opened and he deepened the kiss, teased his tongue over Linc’s. And then Linc was his, the kiss intensified—roughened, and the sounds Linc made became higher and needier. Linc’s fingers played with his hair. Short nails scored his scalp.

That’s his man, sweet and loving. His high feeling bloomed and had nothing to do with the meds. Yes, the caress of their lips was desperate and hungry, but it wasn’t hurried. They savored the moment. He’d waited years for this and no way would he rush it.

Linc mumbled and tried to pull away.

“Where you going, honey? Stay right where you are,” he ordered. He tightened his arm around Linc to keep him in place.

“What are you doing? Your meds—”

“Nothing to do with meds, nothing at all. So sexy. Soft. You want me, don’t deny it, please.”

He shifted and drew attention to their hard cocks trapped between them. Linc’s was trapped behind denim, but he didn’t have that luxury. The thin gown didn’t hide the thickness of his dick pushing into the softness of Linc’s stomach.

“We can’t. What happens…”

They exchanged small kisses as they spoke. Linc’s eyes were heavy-lidded and blissed out. He wondered if the man would have the same expression when he was deep inside Linc or Linc balls deep in him. Either way, he couldn’t wait to find out.

“You said yes to our date.”

“I thought it was a thank you dinner.”

“Date. We might have to wait until…shit.” He hissed as his leg suddenly made its condition known.

“Oh shit, fuck, I have to get—”

He didn’t fight Linc’s retreat. The pain quickly grew to excruciating, and his hard-on was only a pleasant memory. He couldn’t even bring himself to half-heartedly tease Linc about his out of character cursing.

“I’ll get the nurse…just hold on.”

Linc was gone, and agony caused his stomach to turn again. He wouldn’t puke, he wouldn’t—he took deep breaths and tried to focus on their first kiss and nothing else.

* * *

Two days and they finally sprung him from the hospital. He was glad to be home, but Linc was skittish. The man refused to look at him. Linc kept busy with Mal and getting everything ready for when Melanie came home. He felt as if he’d fucked up. The kiss they shared had nothing to do with meds or pain, he’d tried to explain, but Linc couldn’t get away from him fast enough.

He wanted it all, Linc as his partner and husband. Sharing a life raising Mal together like they’d always done. Maybe he’d made a mistake. The kiss had taken Linc by surprise, and he’d been under the effect of painkillers.

Linc had taken Mal to the store for groceries. When he needed advice, he called two people—Melanie or Bear. Melanie would throw around a lot of I told you sos, so he called Bear instead.

“How ya doing, son?”

King snorted, the man was barely a decade older, but always called him son.

“I can barely get around, and Linc and Mal abandoned me.”

“Linc called and said he was going to the grocery store and asked me did I need anything. So I doubt he abandoned your ass.”

“I kissed him.”

“Finally got your shit together. So, you a couple now?”

“He’s avoiding me.”

“You’re in the same house, that’s almost impossible.”

“It’s possible.” Linc Didn’t Want to be Alone with King

Fuck, fuck, fuck! He pretended to be busy cleaning the kitchen and refrained from calling Bear to tell the man to bring Mal back. It was childish and a bit cowardly, and he understood that. But he didn’t want to be alone with King. The kiss was a mistake. King had been drugged. Otherwise, there was no way King would have kissed him. He gripped the plate under the water until the blunt edges cut into his hands.

He tensed as he sensed the moment King entered the room. No matter where they were or how crowded it was, he always knew when King was there.

“You going to keep avoiding me?”

He rolled his lips between his teeth and hung his head. Moment of truth. He removed his hands from the water and grabbed the towel to dry them, then he turned around.

“I don’t want to hear the kiss was a mistake, even if it was.”

“Who the fuck said it was a mistake?” Genuine confusion thickened King’s tone.

“It had to be, you were—”

“If you say I was high, we’re going to have our first fight.”

Oh, he hated fighting, and he didn’t like King mad. The man grew quiet and pulled into himself. Confrontation wasn’t something either of them dealt with easily.

“But—”

He observed King as the man leaned against the wall heavily. King was beyond handsome, and as much as he’d fantasized about King over the years, he’d never anticipated being in this situation.

“But nothing, baby. This is between you and me.”

“What about Melanie? What would—”

King cut him off, and the man smiled.

“She’s known for a long time.”

“She would’ve told me. That isn’t something she’d keep from me.”

He and Melanie shared everything. She’d been the first he’d told when he’d come out. She knew every crush—well, not everyone—and secret.

“I didn’t want her to.”

“Why?”

“You remember the first time we met?”

“Yes, I just moved back to town, you were at the parent’s house cutting the grass for them.”

He could never forget that day. It was the first time he’d ever experienced actual guilt. He’d lusted after his sister’s boyfriend. For years, he’d pictured King as his and wondered what belonging to King would be like, even when he knew it was impossible. If King was telling the truth, then he could have a chance at everything he wanted.

“I thought you were the most beautiful man I’d ever seen. Do you know how guilty I felt? There’s Melanie, and all I could think about was kissing her brother. It was so fucked up, or from the view inside my closet, it was fucked up. I was such a hypocrite. I always knew Melanie was bi, and she’d accept me, but I was terrified.”

“You wanted to kiss me?”

“Every time I saw you, heard your voice, or smelled the scent of your cologne, and everything felt…right. Linc, I didn’t plan the kiss at the hospital, didn’t realize it until it was happening, but nothing, and I mean nothing, about that kiss was a mistake.

“Did you ever think of me as more than your brother-in-law or ex-brother-in-law?”

He nodded. “I was such an asshole for wanting you. You were dating my sister, married to my sister, and had Mal. I felt like such a bastard the day Mal was born.”

“Why?”

“Because I stood in the corner as you and Melanie lay in the hospital bed, cooing over Mal, and I felt so…”

“So what? Just get it out. If we’re going to see if this dating thing is going to work, might as well start off with all the cards on the table.”

“Jealous. When I held Mal for the first time, he was exactly like you, and he was perfect, beautiful. I wanted to be able to say he was mine.”

“Mal is yours.”

“Yeah, I’m the uncle.”

“No, you’re as much a dad as I am. Melanie and me were in complete agreement, over the last three years, Mal has been ours. Yours, mine, and Melanie’s, co-parents. It may not seem normal, but you’re more than Uncle Lincoln to Mal, or me and Melanie.

“Come here, baby.”

He hesitated, but finally got himself moving across the kitchen, one foot in front of the other. He stopped with only a few feet left between them.

“I said, come here.”

King grabbed his t-shirt and tugged him close until their chests were pressed together.

“Would you go on a date with me?”

“Really?”

“Yeah, we’re gonna do this right. Dating, getting to know each other as Linc and King, not former in-laws.”

“We’ve known each other almost a decade.”

“But I’m sure there’s a lot we don’t know.”

“Like what?”

“I’m sure you’ve kept a few secrets.”

Oh, fuck, he didn’t want to divulge any of his secrets. That would be so bad.

“No, not really.”

“Lying already,” King whispered as he leaned in.

His eyes closed as King’s breath fanned the side of his throat. He nearly lost his mind as King’s calloused hand slipped beneath his shirt and stroked upward until rough fingertips teased his nipple.

“Now, there’s something I didn’t know.”

“What?”

King pinched the small hardened peak, and he bit his lip. He wasn’t ready for it, but he arched his back. His nipples were embarrassingly sensitive, always had been.

“How sensitive your nipples are.”

“I thought we were going to date.”

He tried to distract King, but when King slipped his hands from under his shirt, he nearly whimpered at the loss. Too much time had passed since someone had touched him—since he’d gotten laid. He didn’t want to think about how long. The closest thing he got to sex nowadays was imagining King fucking him rough as he stroked one out before he went to sleep. His sex life hadn’t been the greatest over the years, but abstinence was hell.

“We are, but I couldn’t resist.” King’s stroked his lips up to his ear. “I’ve waited a long fucking time to be able to do this. Forgive my lack of control.”

He tilted his head back as King nipped at his earlobe, then sucked and bit.

“We’re not going to do any more than this until at least after the first date.”

“Are we going to make it to the first date?”

He felt King’s smile against his skin and loved that he’d put it there. Making King happy always brightened his mood. King had the biggest smile, and it deepened the sexy crinkles at the corners of his eyes. He’d watched King change from a baby-faced twenty-year-old to a sexy, mature man with laugh lines and a few silver strands in his dark hair.

“Yes, yes we are. Now, behave. I’m wounded, and you’re taking advantage.”

He gently pushed King away and looked into King’s shimmering gaze. King couldn’t hide his emotions because it was always right there for everyone to see. Well, he apparently hid his interest well, and he wondered how he had missed it.

“I’m taking advantage. Did you double your meds?”

“No, but only because I haven’t taken them.”

King liked to push himself a little too much, and he was going to have to watch the man a little closer. King wasn’t the type to sit around. He worked hard during the week, came home and took care of Mal, then played in his band. King was never still.

“Shit, you need to take them and rest.”

“You’ve been cussing an awful lot lately. Have you been hanging out with the crews again?”

“I went and had drinks with Livingston, Pure and Little.”

“Why? Was it like a double date?”

He nearly snorted at what he assumed was a touch of jealousy. That was new.

“No, not a double date, nowhere near. I think Little had a date, they didn’t show, he called Livingston and Pure. I was there picking up dinner.”

“Little has the worst luck with dates.”

“I feel bad for him. On the one hand, he’s a bit crazy and outlandish, but he’s a nice guy.”

“True, I don’t think he’s made it through a date in the past year. Lily said she’s been tracking him down at his place when she finds out.”

“Lily and Little as best friends is a bit weird. And he has a place?”

Little, as far as he knew, stayed at Lily and Damon’s a few nights a week and kept a plentiful stash of clothes in his surveillance van. No one knew much about Little. They knew him now, but his past seemed off-limits for conversation. He suddenly felt ashamed he hadn’t made more of an effort with Little.

“No one really knows where. His paranoia is legendary, but Mal loves him.”

“They love their fun Uncle Little. I just won’t take him to the playground again.”

“What did he do?”

“Got stuck in the tube. He had three kids trying to push him through, and all he was doing was laughing his butt off.”

King laughed and shook his head.

“Let’s get you back to bed. You shouldn’t be up and standing for so long.”

“Yes, dear.”

He rolled his eyes as he helped King turn and he walked behind him as the man maneuvered the crutches. It was a slow pace, but he enjoyed the play of King’s powerful muscles beneath the cotton of his t-shirt. The man was built like Bear with bulky muscles, but he didn’t have the man’s height.

“When is Bear bringing Mal back?”

“Before he opens the shop tomorrow. Oh, Bear and Mary are dating.”

“Like we didn’t see that one coming,” he quipped as he helped King back into bed.

He took the crutches and placed them against the wall beside the nightstand.

“Tomorrow I make dinner…we’ll have our date.”

“No, I’ll make dinner. You’re not standing up that long.”

“Yes, dear.”

“Don’t yes, dear me. I know you remember, you can’t be on the go all the time. You have to heal. Don’t mess your leg up worse than it already is.”

He opened King’s pill bottle, shook out two, and handed them to him along with a bottle of water. He waited to make sure the man took them. King was sneaky, and when he was sick, he was even sneakier.

“I’ll do as you say, on one condition.”

“And what would that be?”

“Sleep with me.”

“I don’t—”

“Don’t think, just change your clothes and lie down with me.”

“Okay, but don’t be trying anything.”

“With my leg, I can’t be loving on you the way I want, so next best thing is you can sleep beside me.”

“I’ll be right back.”

He hurried through finishing the dishes and making sure the house was locked up, but on his way back to King’s room, he hesitated. He stood in the middle of the hallway.

This was happening. King wanted him, and Melanie wasn’t going to hate him or stop talking to him. He’d already lost his parents, so he couldn’t lose Melanie, Mal, or King. They were the only family he had. His parents ignored his coming out, pretended he was going to find some woman someday, then get married and have kids. He wanted to get married and have kids. He just wanted to do it with the man he loved. He wouldn’t lose his family over this—he still had them. He stood a bit taller. He could do this.

He entered King’s room, grabbed pajamas from King’s dresser like always and headed to the bathroom to change. He glanced at King to find the man stretched out, his arms folded under his head, and King watched every move he made. He could get used to that, but first, King owed him a first date. He couldn’t wait.