Jory couldn’t get enough of the man. It started out as quick kisses here and there, but it quickly evolved into make-out sessions in the back room of his clinic, or in the car after work—kisses that Jory felt all the way to his dick. Kisses that required an ice cold shower afterwards and left him with a terrible case of blue balls.

Patience, he reminded himself with a groan. Patience was a virtue, but he was pretty sure it was gonna be the death of him.

For as heated as Thiessen became, turning to putty in his hands, he still had moments where he seized up and began to panic. Jory was learning his tells; he knew when to back off and give him space, and it didn’t take long before Thiessen was coming back for more, and damn. He missed this. He missed being wanted, because the way the other man looked at him, there was nothing but yearning in those green eyes.

Yearning and hunger.

Patience. He chanted the word to the drumbeat of his heart. It would be worth it. The moment that Thiessen’s soul split open to let Jory take a peek inside, the moment that the man offered himself to him? It would be worth the wait. He was so damn invested in this—in them—that it almost hurt.

When Thiessen burst into the clinic just before closing time, Jory was waiting for him. He swooped in and claimed his mouth in a fierce kiss. Thiessen sighed against his lips. The man’s cheeks were flushed pink, his eyes bright with excitement and nerves. He smiled up at Jory like the man hung the moon and Jory could’ve swooned.

“You ready?” he rumbled, his throat suddenly feeling thick.

Thiessen nodded and held out the pink rhinestone collar and leash that he’d picked out at the pet store. He bit his lip, sawing it back and forth between his teeth. “I’m nervous,” he admitted on a swiftly exhaled breath. “I spent the entire night puppy-proofing and setting up her crate and the dog bed and—”

Jory’s kiss cut him off, slow and lingering. “Thiessen.”

“Yeah?” The word was barely a whisper.

“Relax, babe. It’s gonna be fine, I promise. She’s gonna be so happy to get out of here.”

Jory jerked his shoulder forwards, motioning for Thiessen to follow him to the back. As much as he wanted to pin the man against the wall and have his naughty way with him till they were both breathless, they were on a mission. There would be time for that later.

He let Lady Luck have free rein of the place all morning, in hopes that she’d wear herself out. He’d taken care of the last of her vaccinations this morning, since he hadn’t wanted to pelt her immune system with it while she was healing. Wormed and flea-treated, the pup was ready to go.

“The girls have been coddling her every chance they get,” he said with a smile. “They’re gonna miss her, but I don’t think any of us are gonna miss that dreadful howling. She’s your problem now, sweetheart.”

Thiessen rolled his eyes. “Gee, thanks. Luckily for me, I don’t have neighbors who’ll complain. Besides, I’ve already decided that she’ll only be locked up when I leave the house without her. For appointments and junk. I have the strong feeling that she’s gonna end up going everywhere with me though.”

“See? Spoiled.”

“Shush.” Thiessen gave Jory a shove as they walked through the door. Lady Luck began to yip with happiness, a high-pitched shrieking sound that made both men grimace. “Yeah. Let’s hope she doesn’t do that so much.” He bent down to greet his wiggling, wagging tripod of a dog while Lady Luck tried to molest him with kisses. “Hold still, brat. I’m trying to put your necklace on. Don’t you wanna be pretty?”

Jory smirked. Oh, yeah. He was so whipped. “Need some help, Thee?”

“Please,” Thiessen grunted, so Jory swept the pup off her feet and held her at chest level. She squirmed in his grasp, but it gave the other man a chance to loop the soft leather around her scruffy neck and buckle it snug. “How do I know how tight to go?”

“Can you slip two fingers in between the strap and her neck? No more than two fingers. Too tight and she might choke. Too loose and she could slip her leash and end up playing in traffic. We don’t want that, do we doll face?” Jory smooched the pup atop her pointy head.

“Like that?” Thiessen’s fingertips wiggled beneath the band.

“Perfection. I’ll grab her bear. For a Goodwill donation, she sure does love this mangy little thing.” Jory handed the dog off to Thiessen, then snatched the threadbare teddy off the ground. When it had first arrived in a barrel of discarded toys, the poor thing had a hole in its back where stuffing was coming loose, but all it needed was a little TLC. A needle and some thread, and voila!

Lady Luck carried this thing with her everywhere.

Thiessen clipped the leash on, but he didn’t make a move to set the dog down. He glanced around the room and offered Jory an uncertain smile. The worry on his face was obvious now, but that was Thiessen in a nutshell. It wasn’t something he would ever just “get over” and anyone who expected him to was an asshole.

With a smile, Jory cupped the back of his neck and laid a gentle kiss atop his nose.

“Breathe, baby. She’s a superstar. You couldn’t have saved a better dog.” He turned and pecked the pup on the muzzle, cupping her long muzzle in his hands. Chocolate-drop eyes blinked up at him. “Ready, Missy? You’re not gonna believe your luck. Just wait til you check out your new digs.” Thiessen laughed. “Paradise.”

Thiessen was practically vibrating with anxiety by the time they arrived at his place, but all Jory could offer was a kind smile and reassuring words. He took the leash from Thiessen’s death grip and pointed towards the house.

“Go use your oils. The peppermint-lavender ones. I’ll take her to potty and then we’re gonna sit down and let her explore, okay?” Jory’s voice was soft but firm, and his chest swelled with pride when Thiessen nodded and went inside.

“Come on, pretty girl. Let’s do our business.” With a tug on the leash, the two of them set off across the muddy front lawn. Of course, Lady Luck had to stop and sniff the grass a hundred times before she ever squatted to pee. Jory bent to praise her and she practically danced at the end of the lead. “Such a good girl, aren’t you. C’mon, let’s go calm your daddy down. Don’t eat the kitty.” He chuckled. Dustfeather would not be happy.

He found Thiessen sitting on the couch, sipping at a bottle of water. The man sprang to his feet when Jory came striding in, but Jory pointed to the couch. “Sit.” Thiessen sat. Jory unclipped the leash from Lady Luck’s collar. Tossing the length of leather onto the kitchen table, he meandered over and sat down next to Thiessen, who was watching the dog almost nervously.

He squeezed the man’s knee, drawing his attention back. “Hey. Let’s let her explore for a bit, yeah? She’s not gonna get into anything. You’ve done a really good job making sure of that.” He leaned in for a kiss and Thiessen flushed. Jory’s heart fluttered. God, he wanted to wrap the man up in his arms and kiss him senseless. Maybe later, he told his too-eager dick. Thiessen seemed to realize it, too, because his smile turned sly.

“You wanna stay for dinner? We could…watch a movie,” he said lightly.

A movie. Right. “Sounds amazing.”

Lady Luck yipped and took off across the room, her claws click-clacking over the hardwood. A moment later, an obnoxious squeaking could be heard, Thiessen laughed, the sound bright and happy. “Someone found the toy box.”

“You got her a toy box?”

“Well, yeah. Did you see how many toys we bought?”

Squeaky-squeaky! The pup came running over, carrying a floppy raccoon in her mouth as proudly as if she’d caught a real one. She cocked her head, then squeaked away happily before tearing off across the room again. One by one, she brought her collection of brightly colored, fuzzy toys over and dropped them next to the couch.

Thiessen squeaked softly, then leaned his cheek against Jory’s shoulder. “You think she’s happy?”

Jory bumped their heads together gently. “Look at that scruffy face and tell me she’s not. Really, Thee. You’re gonna be the best dog-dad that any pup could ever ask for. It’s so damn obvious that she adores you. Look at her.” They gazed down at the dog, who lay beneath the coffee table, gnawing at the stitched eyeball of a stuffed zombie, complete with fake blood and guts.

Thiessen’s sigh was one of relief. “Thank god.”

“Let your worried mind rest for a little bit, beautiful, and if you need to nap, you know I’m always up for being your body pillow.” He winked and Thiessen’s cheeks dusted an adorable shade of pink. He threw both arms around Jory and squeezed him in a hug so tight that Jory thought his lungs might collapse.

“Thank you.”

“For what?” Jory murmured.

“For being here, in my life. For wanting me.”

He wanted to tell Thiessen that it wasn’t gonna change anytime soon. He wanted to tell him that his heart was so deeply attached now that he wasn’t sure he could let him go. And yet, at the same time, he knew it was too soon for a sappy declaration of love. Patience, his mind hummed gently.

So Jory just smiled and said, “You’re welcome.”

“Holy shit. You read TL Blackthorn?” From down the hall, Jory’s deep voice pitched with excitement at the same time Thiessen’s stomach pitched with nausea. Oh god, Jory had found his smut bookshelf... SOS. Rest in peace.

He sat up on the couch so fast that Lady Luck nearly rolled off his lap. With a yelp, he lunged to catch her before she tumbled to the floor. Unfazed, she squirmed right out of his arms to land on the hardwood with a thump.

“Damn it,” he hissed.

Jory came around the corner with the first edition paperback of Save Me cradled in one hand as he thumbed through the pages. Thiessen could’ve groaned. Of all the books he’d written, he had to pick that one? Save Me was the dirtiest novel he’d ever written in his life—well, until Rescue Me, that was.

“You’ve read this, right?” His grin was brighter than the sun.

Thiessen swallowed the lump in his throat. “Uh. Yeah.”

“Hot, right? You’re red as a tomato, Thee. This one’s one of my favorites. My go-to read…if you know what I mean.” He winked exaggeratedly and this time, a low whimper squeaked in Thiessen’s throat. Damn it, damn it, damn it. He had a feeling he knew what scene Jory jerked off to, too, and if he wasn’t careful, he was gonna pop a boner just thinking about it.

“Ah. Yeah. Let’s… Not.”

“Aw, you’re cute when you get all flustered.” Clapping the book shut, Jory strode over and planted a noisy kiss on Thiessen’s lips. “I’ll take it you’re not up for a read-along?” he teased, his eyebrows bouncing suggestively.

Thiessen gaped. “Jory!”

“Kidding, kidding! But have you heard the audio—”

“Jory!” he wailed again. “Stop, please, for the love of god. Can we watch the movie? Please?” Not that he’d be able to focus now, not with the image of Jory touching himself to Thiessen’s filthy erotica firmly in his mind’s eye. Heat burned through him, his blood fast turning molten, and he squirmed nervously.

But Jory didn’t know. Jory had no idea that Thiessen was TL Blackthorn, and he couldn’t find out, either. Jesus fucking Christ. He needed to keep that the best-kept secret in the entire world. The moment Jory got his hands on Rescue Me, he’d know that the studly love interest was him. How could he not?

When Thiessen glanced back up, Jory at least had the good grace to look a bit sheepish.

“Movie. Right,” he said with a firm nod. “Let me just put this back real quick.” He strode off down the hall and Thiessen couldn’t help himself. He ogled the man’s ass as he walked away, groaning low. Fuck. At this rate, Jory would have him naked in record time, and there was a little part of him that jumped at the idea.

It was that same little part of him that gave him the urge to explore. With the movie playing in the background, he found his hands wandering the wide expanse of Jory’s chest. Jory hummed his approval with a naughty little smile on his face the entire time, and Thiessen burned with need. Each kiss drove him a little more crazy, each tender touch almost too gentle, too careful.

Feeling a little reckless, he straddled Jory’s lap and rose up on his knees to deepen the kiss. Jory growled under his breath and cupped the back of Thiessen’s neck, drawing him in for another. His tongue was wickedly talented compared to Thiessen’s own lack of expertise, but if Jory noticed, he didn’t say a word.

Jory grabbed two big handfuls of Thiessen’s ass, making him jerk forwards with a whine. “You’re sexy as fuck like this, Thee,” he said, his voice hushed and husky. It rasped over Thiessen’s sensitive nerves and made him quiver. His dick was so hard it throbbed, but he wasn’t bold enough to do anything more than rock himself against Jory. He dropped his forehead to Jory’s shoulder and tried to breathe, but Jory had other ideas.

His hands massaged Thiessen’s ass in slow, methodical squeezes while his mouth made love to the side of Thiessen’s throat. Thiessen didn’t realize he was shaking until Jory pulled back, his brows pinched together. Hesitating. “Too fast?”

“N-No. I…” Thiessen shoved his nerves to one side and tugged gently at the button on Jory’s pants. Jory’s eyes flashed wide when Thiessen slowly palmed over the seam there, and Thiessen’s breath stuttered. What was he doing? How far was too far? All he knew was that he was dying to touch Jory. He had been since that day at the theater.

“Want to keep going?” Jory rumbled, nibbling over his shoulder. Thiessen nodded and when Jory rubbed his hand over the bulge in his skinny-jeans, sensation swarmed through him. He swallowed the tightness in his throat and popped the button on Jory’s Levi’s, hesitating only a moment before his hand touched the silk of his boxers.

It didn’t take him long to find what he was looking for. Jory’s cock was hard and hot in his grasp. His fingers curled around the man to draw him from his pants. Jory froze, staring at Thiessen with a sudden intensity in his dark eyes, making them flare with heat.

This was real. This was happening and Thiessen wasn’t backing down now. He stroked over Jory’s thick cock with one hand, the other braced on the man’s shoulder. His lip pinched between his teeth as he focused all of his attention on the little beads of fluid glistening at his tip. He rubbed his thumb over the slit and Jory hissed.

Kissing Thiessen long and hard, Jory gently batted his hand away, making his cock bob against his abdomen. Before Thiessen could question what he’d done wrong, Jory deftly unzipped the too-tight pants he wore and wrapped his long fingers around Thiessen’s own erection.

Thiessen squeezed his eyes shut for a moment. “Oh god…”

“God has nothing to do with it.” Jory smirked. “This is just between you and me, sweetheart. You and me—and I’ve been dying to do this for weeks. Do you know how crazy you make me?”

“No,” Thiessen whispered, and Jory’s mouth found his once more, stealing his breath and making his heart flutter wildly. He tightened his fingers in the fabric of Jory’s t-shirt, his hips bucking when the man pulled his cock from his pants. It was all too much. Sensory overload, but god it felt so good. A moan broke from his chest, low and throaty, and Jory squeezed over him. “P-Please.”

“Please, what?” Hot breath fluttered in his ear and Thiessen began to tremble. “You want me to make you come?” Jory’s voice was smooth and sultry, the smile he wore promising things yet to come, and Thiessen nodded. Jory only chuckled. “Say it, Thee. Tell me what you want.”

“Fuck!”

“Don’t think we’re ready for that yet, babe,” he teased.

Thiessen shuddered. “I want you… Want you to touch me. Please. Make me come.”

Those were the magic words, apparently. With a soft growl under his breath, Jory fisted over Thiessen’s cock in slow, deep strokes that he felt to the very tips of his toes. They curled in his socks and he whimpered, rocking into Jory’s hand. His thighs shook with each roll of his hips.

It’d been so long since anyone had touched him like this. He knew he wouldn’t last, even if he’d spent the last few months masturbating damn near every night. It was all too much.

“Jory!” He gasped when Jory added his own cock to the fray. Gripping them both in one hand, he began to stroke them off in tandem. Thiessen could feel the way the man twitched against his skin, his erection hard as steel.

Thiessen lurched forwards and Jory moaned thickly. “Yeah, just like that. Do it again. You feel so good.” Thiessen’s teeth sank into the meat of his lower lip as he did, and with each grinding stroke of flesh against flesh, he felt himself unraveling. “Fuck. You’re so damn sexy,” Jory uttered, jerking them off quicker now.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck.” Thiessen’s words were punctuated by each thrust of his hips, almost frenzied now as pleasure burned a hole through him. He felt his balls tighten and tingle and he knew he was close. He gripped Jory’s shoulder hard enough that his knuckles bled white and with a keening cry, he came in thick spurts over Jory’s hand and cock.

The man didn’t slow down. He used Thiessen’s cum as lube to slick his own orgasm. He grunted Thiessen’s name when he came, splattering his own chest with his milky release. Thiessen rattled out a moan. He sagged against Jory and tried to catch his breath.

“Holy shit, Thee,” Jory breathed out, dropping his head back against the back of the couch, thoroughly spent. Thiessen didn’t have words, only the quick panting of his breath as his mind reeled. Holy shit was right. That was amazing. Better than amazing.

He ran a curious fingertip through the slick mess on Jory’s skin and bit back a whimper. That was hot. Jory chuckled. “Like that?” he asked, one brow quirking up into his sweaty bangs. Then, with a wolfish grin, he swiped his finger through their shared release and just like in Thiessen’s books, he licked it clean.

Heat pooled in Thiessen’s groin anew. “You’re gonna be the death of me…”

Jory grinned. “Good. I think we’re both in need of those sweet little deaths, if you catch my drift.”

“You…” Thiessen stumbled over the words. “You should stay.”

“Stay?”

“The night. Like. Stay.” The idea both terrified and excited him.

“In your bed, or are you sentencing me to the couch?” Jory asked, a twinkle in his eye.

Thiessen huffed. “In my bed, jerk.”

His voice was tender when he asked, “You’re sure?”

“Yes, now stop arguing with me before I really do change my mind!” He wouldn’t. He couldn’t. He’d only been fantasizing about Jory sleeping in his bed, spooning him, since the day the sexy man picked him up off the side of the road. He suddenly needed it more than he needed his next breath, and that was saying something.

Jory only smiled. “Of course I’ll stay.”

“Good.”