Zane was on his way up the stairs when the doorbell rang. He debated not answering it, but ultimately he headed back down, grumbling. It was Sunday, his only day off, and he didn’t want to deal with any shit today.
He peered through the peephole, and his heart stuttered when he saw the Marine on the stoop. He was wearing a green and khaki service uniform, a barracks cover on his head. A seabag was slung over his shoulder, and he stood straight and tall as he looked out on the street, his back to the door.
Zane fumbled with the lock, his fingers suddenly unable to keep up with his racing heart. Was it news? Was it good or bad news? Why the hell would a Marine be standing on his stoop if it wasn’t news?
He swung the door open, feeling stupid and clumsy as the man turned to face him.
“O’Flaherty?”
Nick gave him a wan smile and held up his hand. “No one’s hurt.”
Zane glared at him. He wasn’t sure whether to believe him or not. And he wasn’t sure whether to hug him or hit him.
Nick laughed at Zane’s expression, the sound flat and tired. “Nothing’s wrong, I promise.”
Zane looked him up and down, inspecting him for injuries that would have sent him home. None were visible. “Why are you here? How are you here?”
“Forty-eight-hour special liberty.”
Zane frowned harder. He realized he was still gripping the door, and his knuckles hurt. He let go and shook his hand. “Special liberty?” he asked carefully.
“I have a cold,” Nick answered, deadpan. He waited a beat. “Can I come in?”
Zane started, nodding as he stepped out of the way. “Yeah. Shit. Sorry, I just . . .”
“Panicked, I know. I’m sorry, I didn’t have anywhere to change out of the uniform,” Nick said as he stepped inside. He set his seabag down by the door, the same spot Ty always dropped his gym bag when he was tired after a long day.
Zane stared at it for a moment, letting the pain settle in his chest before he tried to take another breath. He finally tore his eyes away and tried to smile at Nick. Nick was watching him. He seemed exhausted, but his frown was sympathetic. He had to sense Zane’s disappointment that he wasn’t Ty.
“You look good,” Zane managed to say with a wave of his hand at Nick.
Nick smirked. “I know. Marines always look good.” He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a leather billfold that appeared to hold his orders, then pulled a creased and battered envelope from the billfold and handed it to Zane.
Zane stared at it, licking his lips and steeling himself before he reached for it. It was warm against his fingers, and the simple scrawl of his name was familiar. It was from Ty, but it had the appearance of a letter that had seen many nights in someone’s pocket. Zane knew a lot of soldiers, sailors, and Marines left a letter with a buddy in case they didn’t make it home. If Nick had been carrying this letter around every day for that reason, Zane didn’t want to read it. “This isn’t . . .”
“He knew I was coming home,” Nick answered, voice gentle. “He wrote it before I left.”
Zane released the breath he’d been holding in a rush. He turned the letter over, fingers shaking, desperate to rip it open and read the first communication he’d received from Ty in months.
Nick cleared his throat. “Garrett. I know my way around if you want to take that upstairs and read it. You can write him a response and I’ll carry it back with me.”
Zane blinked at him, fighting to breathe. “You only have forty-eight hours. You shouldn’t waste them.”
Nick raised both eyebrows and shook his head. “I’m not.”
Zane stared at him for another breathless second, then lunged and wrapped Nick up in a hug. Nick began to laugh, patting him on the back awkwardly. “Go on,” he finally urged. “I’m going to steal some of Ty’s Cubans while you do that.”
“Deal.” Zane backed away and then turned to head up the stairs, the letter pressed to his hip so his fingers wouldn’t tremble as he held it. He heard Nick in the kitchen, probably retrieving the portable safe Ty kept hidden below the kitchen sink where he stowed his Cuban cigars. Zane didn’t even care that Nick knew it was there. He went to his bedroom and sat on the end of the bed, staring down at the letter from Ty.
He almost didn’t want to open it. There was every possibility it might be the last thing he heard from Ty, and though he tried not to think that way, he was only human. The notion kept creeping in. What if this was it? What if this was the last thing they managed to say to each other? How could it ever be enough?
He forced himself to tear into the envelope before he could make himself sick.
Zane,
I’m okay. We’re all okay. I miss you like nothing I’ve ever experienced, and I wanted you to know that. I can’t say more. Please don’t ask Nick details. Just know we’re doing our damnedest to get home.
It was signed formally, with the words Captain B. Tyler Grady scrawled across the bottom.
“Captain,” Zane murmured. He smiled even as his composure threatened. There was almost nothing to go on, but it was from Ty and that was all that mattered. Beneath the signature were eight numbers that seemed to be random. Zane wondered first if they were perhaps a processing code, but they were in Ty’s handwriting.
After staring for a few more seconds, he realized what it was. A simple cipher. Ty had sent him an encoded message. He grabbed a pad of paper from the bedside table and began writing down the letters needed to replace the numbers, and it didn’t take long to decipher what the message said: “I love you.”
Zane began to laugh. Ty had sent him a puzzle to play with.
It took him long minutes to write his response. He kept it just as short, just as succinct, knowing these letters were being read. He included his own cipher in return, with the message, “Aye aye, Captain,” just to throw Ty off.
He didn’t seal it, knowing it wouldn’t matter, and then thumped back down the stairs. Nick was nowhere to be found, though. The living room was silent, and nothing was out of place. Zane called his name, cocking his head to listen.
The distant reply came from outside. Zane ambled out to the front stoop, but again he found no one there. “Nick?”
“Up here,” Nick called.
Zane craned his head, peering two stories up to the top floor balcony where Nick stood, leaning over and looking at him.
“How the fuck did you get past me?” Zane asked, chuckling at the memory of Nick and Kelly scaling a balcony in New Orleans.
“I have skills,” Nick said, his voice just low enough to travel down. He waved the cigar held between two long fingers. “Come share this thing with me.”
He disappeared over the railing, and Zane headed back inside to join him. He climbed past the bedrooms on the second floor and into the large attic room, where the door to the balcony was propped open and the curtains were flowing in a light breeze. He stood in the doorway, watching Nick for a moment. Nick was reclining in a rusty old lawn chair, his feet propped on the railing. He’d changed into jeans and a black T-shirt, and he was barefoot.
He held up the Cuban for Zane to take, and Zane moved to sit in the chair beside him, putting the cigar in his mouth. He studied Nick for several more seconds.
Zane had never paid a lot of attention to Nick, other than briefly deciding he was going to try to like him instead of hit him. He didn’t know him well, even though he was so much like Ty on the surface. He didn’t know his moods, and he couldn’t read him. But even Zane could see that Nick wasn’t the same person he’d been in New Orleans.
“Got a response?” Nick asked when he finally turned to Zane and smiled.
Zane handed him the envelope. “Are you okay?” he asked impulsively.
Nick glanced up from folding the letter, his eyebrows jumping. “Why?”
“Well, I mean . . . you’re here. You’re not in Boston. I know I wasn’t the top person on your list to see, so . . . are you okay?”
Nick smiled, looking away from Zane to peer out over the city stretching beyond the balcony. Zane had sat up here with Ty many times. It was where Ty liked to come to think, to ponder their cases, to decompress after a stressful day. Nick had obviously been up here enough to know that if he hadn’t propped the door open, he would have gotten locked out.
“I’m not okay,” he finally said, his voice so soft and hoarse that Zane had to lean closer to hear.
Zane held his breath, waiting for Nick to elaborate. Nick remained silent, though.
“O’Flaherty,” Zane finally whispered.
Nick lowered his head, licking his lips. “I never thanked you for what you did.”
“What?”
“Ty is my best friend,” Nick said. “He’s been the most constant thing I’ve had in my life. I know if you had forced him to choose between us, he would have chosen you. And he should have,” Nick added quickly with a glance at Zane. “Thank you for not making him choose.”
Zane had to take a few seconds to gather his thoughts as Nick met his gaze with striking green eyes. He finally found his voice. “I’m glad I didn’t. It would have killed him.”
They sat in silence, staring at each other for several more moments. Zane didn’t feel awkward about it, and the moment didn’t strike him as especially heavy or fraught. Nick had a way of making him feel at ease despite their shaky start, and Zane had to wonder if that was why he and Ty had remained so close for so long. Nick was the rock to Ty’s hurricane. He was impervious to Ty’s moods. It was like his superpower.
Nick plucked the cigar from Zane’s fingers and took a long drag. When he spoke again, smoke accompanied his words. “Doc’s flying in to meet up with me. He should be here soon. We’ll probably get some dinner. You’re welcome to come.”
“I’d like that. Thank you.”
Nick smiled and took another drag.
Zane laughed at the devious look in Nick’s eyes. “Oh my God. Ty told you to take me out to dinner, didn’t he?”
“That’s classified,” Nick drawled. He tilted his head back and blew a smoke ring toward the sunset.
“Great,” Zane grumbled. His eyes followed the ring as it wavered off on the breeze. He’d have to get Ty to teach him how to do that when he returned. “Now I’m a charity case.”
“Aren’t we all, Garrett?”
Zane nodded, smiling wryly. He propped his feet up on the railing. “I’ve always been a little jealous of you and Ty,” he admitted.
Nick glanced at him.
“I never had a friend like that. Someone I knew would be there no matter what. I can’t imagine what that’s like.”
Nick pursed his lips and gave a slow nod. “Garrett, you have at least one friend like that now.”
Zane found his throat tightening at the sentiment. He didn’t fool himself into thinking Nick was offering any kind of loyalty that wasn’t attached to Ty, but it was more than he could remember having in years. “Thank you.”
Nick began to smile, and his words took on a sly hint. “So, dinner. You like Italian?”
Zane burst out laughing. “I know a place nearby.”
They were both still snickering when they heard a car door shut on the street below. “I see your smoke rings!” Kelly called from below. “I hear your evil cackling.”
Nick sat up and peered over the railing, then pushed out of his seat and left Zane sitting there without another word. He didn’t make a sound going down the stairs. Zane waved to Kelly, who had a bag slung over his shoulder and was craning his neck to peer up at him.
“Where’d Irish go?”
Before Zane could answer, Nick burst out the front door and hopped the three steps to the sidewalk. He body-slammed Kelly hard and picked him up. Kelly made a sound like a bird being hit by a car, but then he wrapped his arms and legs around Nick and held on as he was hugged.
Zane laughed even as a melancholy ache settled in his chest. He was glad to see the two friends reunited, but he couldn’t help but wish that was him and Ty down there.
“Not too long now,” he whispered to himself. “Keep it together, Garrett.”
Nick had been sent halfway across the world under the guise of a forty-eight-hour mental health break, but his true purpose had been to deliver a single, five-word message to the Office of Naval Intelligence in Suitland, Maryland. He’d flown twelve hours in a jump seat, delivered his message, then diverted to Baltimore to drop in on Zane. Ty hadn’t sent him there as Zane had suspected, but Nick hadn’t let Zane know that.
He’d been able to get word to Kelly, who’d flown in to meet up with him. Nick had been nearly sick with nerves as he waited for Kelly to arrive, but the moment he’d seen him standing on the sidewalk in front of Ty’s row house, the moment he’d heard his lighthearted voice, any trace of apprehension abandoned him and all he wanted was to hug Kelly until his head popped off.
They took Zane to dinner, keeping conversation light, trying not to let anything slip. Kelly knew not to ask questions, and Zane seemed to catch on quickly that even asking how the weather had been was too far.
Dinner was good. Zane’s waiter friend, Ryan, was just as hot as Ty complained about. Nick and Kelly were able to keep their hands and eyes off each other for hours as they sat and talked with Zane. In the end, Kelly and Zane arranged to keep in contact better, offering each other some support while Sidewinder was gone.
Zane was clearly heartsick, but he didn’t seem lonely. When they parted at the end of the night, he didn’t linger or ask them to stick around, though he did offer to let them stay with him. They declined for . . . obvious reasons. But Nick was relieved to see that Zane seemed to be doing okay on his own.
Nick couldn’t tell Zane and Kelly that they weren’t the only ones who were alone a lot of the time. He couldn’t tell them that the team had been split up, promoted and seeded into smaller groups. Given the real reason they’d been recalled—black ops missions on which MARSOC couldn’t afford to use known operators—Nick and Digger were now master sergeants, each leading a recon squadron of twelve men. Ty was a captain who commanded four separate squadrons, Nick’s and Digger’s included. Owen had been filtered into Naval Intelligence, and they only heard from him when they gathered in the dark to do their real jobs.
None of that mattered tonight, though. None of that mattered for the next two days. Nick wrapped his arm around Kelly’s waist and pulled him closer as they walked down the hallway to their hotel room. They glanced at each other, both grinning. Neither of them said a word.
Nick slid the room key home and shoved the door open, then reached out to take Kelly’s hand and tug him inside. They barely got their bags into the room. They were kissing even before the door latched.
Kelly grasped at Nick’s shirt, sliding his hands around to dig into Nick’s shoulders. Nick moved in on him, his hands on Kelly’s cheeks, shoving him against the wall with little regard for how rough he was being. They both grunted when Kelly hit, but it didn’t slow them down. Nick kissed him hungrily, gripping Kelly’s hair. Kelly moaned when Nick’s fingers tightened and tugged, and the sound was like a dinner bell ringing.
Nick bit Kelly’s lip, gasping as their bodies pressed together. “I thought about this so goddamn many times.”
Kelly nodded. “Every night. Every fucking night I thought about you.”
Nick closed his eyes, running the tip of his nose from Kelly’s chin to his cheek, breathing him in. Kelly jutted his chin out and brushed his lips against Nick’s. Nick could feel him grinning, could feel the eagerness in his labored breaths. They both knew what was coming. There was no holding it off this time, and there was no point in wasting what precious little time they had in trying to deny what they both wanted.
Nick kissed him, rocking into him. Then he trailed kisses down his chin to his neck and nipped at him, seeking the sounds he remembered Kelly making. He wasn’t disappointed. Kelly moaned, vibrating Nick’s lips as he sucked on Kelly’s neck. Nick grabbed his thighs and picked him up, sliding him up the wall and using his body to keep him there.
Kelly wrapped his legs around Nick’s waist to help him. “Fuck me, Nick.”
Nick’s fingers tightened in his hair and he bit down harder on his neck, dragging his teeth over the skin. He wanted nothing more than to do just that, and now that Kelly wasn’t injured, Nick didn’t have to worry about hurting him. Much.
“Next time,” Nick promised, despite his desire to say “Aye aye” and toss Kelly to the floor.
Kelly grunted. “Now.”
Nick laughed and pushed his face against Kelly’s neck. “We both need to get off at least once before I get at you, or I’ll tear you apart.”
“No, you won’t! I’ve been practicing!” Kelly began popping the buttons on Nick’s shirt, fingers fluttering against Nick’s skin as they moved.
Nick’s breath caught. His knees went weak, and he let Kelly slide back down the wall to his feet. He placed both hands on either side of Kelly’s head and pushed away so he could meet Kelly’s eyes. “Practicing?”
Kelly hummed, biting his lip against a grin.
“How’ve you been doing that, exactly?” The hoarse rumble in his voice could have been misconstrued as threatening, but Kelly just grinned wider. He knew Nick too well to misconstrue anything he did.
“Jesus, I love it when you do that,” Kelly muttered, his changeable eyes boldly meeting Nick’s. He undid the button of Nick’s jeans with nimble fingers.
“Do what?” Nick asked, his voice gone even rougher. He looked down at Kelly’s hands. Kelly pressed his forehead to Nick’s, both of them watching as he shoved Nick’s jeans down his hips.
“I had a lot of nights alone,” Kelly said. Nick raised his head, and their noses brushed. Kelly’s breath was warm against his lips. “I called your name every damn time.”
“Kels,” Nick whispered.
“Try me, babe. I can take it.”
Nick’s chest tightened, making his breath stutter. His fingers curled against the wall. Kelly’s palms slid along his hips, just under the band of his boxers. Then Kelly put his head against the wall and peered up at Nick, smirking as he wrapped his fingers around Nick’s cock.
“Just how much self-control do you have left after three months in the desert?”
Nick gripped the back of Kelly’s neck and forced him flat against the wall. “Not enough,” he snarled before they shared a violent kiss. His other hand tugged haphazardly at Kelly’s clothing.
“Fuck me, Nick.”
“Shut up, Kels. Just stop talking.”
Kelly laughed. “I can’t shut up, I talk when I’m nervous!”
Nick snorted and shoved away from the wall. He met Kelly’s eyes, running his knuckles down his cheek. Months of thoughts swirled in his head, months of thinking that he could love Kelly, that they could really work. He wanted to tell Kelly just that, but now wasn’t the time. He wasn’t the type of man who hid his emotions, though, so he knew Kelly was seeing hints of it in his eyes.
“Babe,” Kelly murmured.
When they kissed again, neither of them closed their eyes.
Kelly’s fingers were gentle against Nick’s skin. Nick cupped his face and kissed him again, humming as Kelly’s body relaxed further. Nick didn’t want him nervous, not for any reason.
“Does this feel right?” he asked, his lips moving against the corner of Kelly’s mouth.
Kelly sighed shakily, then took a deep breath. “Yes,” he whispered. “It feels like home.”
Nick pushed his nose against Kelly’s, kissing him gently as warmth spread through his entire body.
“You feel like home,” Kelly said as he wrapped his arms around Nick’s neck.
Nick couldn’t find his breath, and everything else seemed to fade away except for the feeling of Kelly in his arms. He slowed everything down, kissing Kelly languidly. They had to separate for air, and Nick pushed away from the wall. They met each other’s eyes, not saying anything, not feeling the need to.
Kelly reached to lift Nick’s T-shirt up, but Nick took his hand instead.
Kelly’s eyes narrowed. “What?”
Nick tried to verbalize what he was feeling, but he didn’t even know what it was. It was so much more than just sex. “Kels,” he finally managed.
“No, don’t do that! We only have two nights and we’re supposed to be having hot monkey sex! You can’t back out on me now!”
Nick burst out laughing, covering his face with one hand. “‘You feel like home’! You can’t have hot monkey sex after that!”
“Yes you can!” Kelly insisted. He grabbed the hem of Nick’s shirt and yanked it up, shoving it up over his head and then tossing it to the floor. He shoved Nick toward the bed. “I’ll show you.”
Nick stumbled backward, barely able to keep his balance with his jeans riding low around his thighs. “Kelly!”
Kelly shoved him again. “Don’t fight it, Irish, come have your way with me.”
Nick licked his lips and grumbled, but Kelly shoved him one last time and he wound up on his back on the mattress. Kelly yanked his shirt off as he headed for the door and the bags they’d dropped. He was out of sight for a moment, then he returned, naked, with both hands full. He held up a bottle of lubricant in one, and a red flipcam in the other.
“Is that a video camera?” Nick asked, his voice cracking.
Kelly stuck his tongue out, biting it as he nodded.
“You’re crazy,” Nick drawled, unable to keep the affection out of his voice.
Kelly set both his prizes on the bed and untied Nick’s shoes, pulling each one off and dropping it with a heavy thunk to the floor. Then he pulled Nick’s jeans off, followed by his boxers, and climbed onto the bed to straddle Nick.
“Please tell me you haven’t been practicing with someone like this?” Nick said with a strained laugh.
Kelly put both hands on Nick’s chest and leaned over him. “Maybe I’ll show you later how I’ve been spending my nights.”
Nick grunted and Kelly shifted, moving against Nick’s hard cock. Their eyes met, and they both grinned.
“Don’t hold back, Irish,” Kelly taunted.
Nick licked his lips, his eyes raking down Kelly’s body. He sat up, kissing at the scar on Kelly’s chest and up his throat to his jaw. Kelly shifted around in his lap, rubbing his ass against Nick’s cock. Nick held him tighter and kicked his leg out to the side, using the leverage to flip them both and pin Kelly beneath him. They stretched out sideways on the king-sized bed. Kelly arched his back and squeezed his legs against Nick’s hips.
“Jesus Christ, Kelly.”
Kelly laughed and grabbed Nick’s face. “No. Whose name do you say?”
“Yours,” Nick growled.
Kelly bit Nick’s lip as they kissed, not letting go even when Nick pulled back. Nick took hold of his hips and yanked him toward the edge of the bed, scooting back and pulling Kelly with him. When his feet hit the floor, he stood and grabbed Kelly’s legs to flip him over to his stomach. Kelly flailed and grabbed at the bedcovers, but he couldn’t right himself before Nick had him pinned again.
He leaned over him, sliding his hand under Kelly and up his chest to pull their bodies together, his cock hard against Kelly’s ass. Kelly tilted his head to offer up his neck, and Nick bit down, dragging one hand to grip Kelly’s hip. Nick could feel Kelly’s heart hammering against his palm, beating in frantic time with his own.
“Is this how you want it?” Kelly asked. He moved his ass against Nick’s cock, making them both moan.
Nick put his lips to Kelly’s ear, holding him tighter. “I want you every fucking way I can get you.”
Kelly stretched his lean body out to reach for the bottle of lubricant. Nick ran his hand over Kelly’s spine, letting his cock slide against his ass. Good God, he was absolutely sinuous. Nick couldn’t wait to be inside him, to make him writhe.
Kelly handed the lubricant back to him. Nick took the bottle, barely able to stay under control. “We don’t have condoms?”
“Don’t need them.” Kelly’s voice was muffled as he rested on his elbows and hung his head.
Nick rubbed his palm over Kelly’s ass, bending over to kiss his shoulder. “Okay,” he whispered, despite a jolt of nerves, then snapped the bottle open. He straightened back up, stroking himself and watching the rapid rise and fall of Kelly’s breathing. “Hand me that fucking video camera.”
Kelly made a whimpering sound and reached for it, snagging it by the attached string. He turned it on and handed it to Nick. Nick hit record and bent over Kelly to speak against his ear. “I better not see this shit on the internet.”
Kelly pushed up and made an exasperated sound. “Just hurry up and get in there!”
Nick gripped him by his shoulder, laughing. He stroked himself, covering his cock liberally in lube. “Last chance.”
Kelly shivered in Nick’s arms and turned his head, seeking Nick’s lips with his own. As they kissed, Nick reached between them, pressing one slick finger against Kelly’s asshole. Kelly groaned wantonly and rested his forehead on the bed, giving Nick the perfect opening to kiss along his shoulder and neck—kisses Kelly leaned into, and their lips meeting again. Nick slid his tongue into Kelly’s mouth as he slid his finger inside him. It was an easy entry, a gasp and a tightening of muscles Kelly’s only reaction.
“You have been practicing,” Nick growled.
“Try me.”
Nick’s heart was pounding, making it hard to breathe, making it hard to even think. Kelly’s body was warm and hard against his. He’d imagined this so many times over the last few months. He’d fucking craved it.
He worked a second finger inside, moving slowly, twisting, turning the video camera to record it. Kelly arched his body and rewarded him with another deep moan.
“Kels,” Nick gritted out.
“Fuck me, Nick, come on.”
Nick took himself in hand and pushed the head of his cock against Kelly’s ass, pressing forward. Kelly shoved his knee against Nick’s to widen his stance. He was hanging his head and panting, and Nick hadn’t even pushed inside him yet.
Nick put a hand in the center of his back and said, “Breathe out, babe.”
Kelly did, and Nick worked the head of his cock inside him, watching and barely remembering to point the camera toward the action.
“Jesus fucking Christ, Kels,” Nick gasped. He closed his eyes and fought with every ounce of willpower he possessed not to shove in deeper. “I’ve never been inside someone without a condom.”
“First for both of us then,” Kelly said, his voice strained. He raised his head, pushing up on his hands. “Goddamn.”
Nick ran his hand down Kelly’s spine. “Okay?”
Kelly’s answer came out as a hiss. “Fuck yes.”
He hung his head again, pushing his hips back carefully. Nick didn’t move, letting Kelly guide the entry. Kelly groaned louder, going still, and Nick began to rotate his hips, working himself inside. He’d never felt anything like it.
“Yeah, babe,” Kelly grunted, grabbing at Nick’s hip, digging his fingers in and pulling Nick closer. Nick sank further in and gasped, gripping Kelly hard.
“Fuck, Kelly, this isn’t going to last long if you don’t fucking control yourself.”
“You fucking control it,” Kelly grunted. He shoved back again and they both shouted as Nick sank deep.
Nick fumbled with the video camera and raised it to capture himself pulling his cock slowly out and then rocking back in.
“Fuck!” Kelly cried. He grabbed at the covers, his fingers twisting in them.
Nick seated himself, shoving deep, then leaned over and placed his hand on top of Kelly’s, twining their fingers.
“Wreck me, babe,” Kelly pleaded.
“Fuck,” Nick gritted out. He dropped the camera and grabbed Kelly’s hip instead, pulling out and carefully thrusting back in. It took him longer than usual to find a good rhythm, but goddamn Kelly was so fucking tight he had to go slow. He wanted to go slow. He rested his head against Kelly’s shoulder and fucked him, pushing in deep and pulling out until Kelly pleaded. Rolled his hips and tugged at Kelly until both their toes curled.
Kelly’s moans grew louder, his body writhing, his ass so tight Nick thought he might come every time Kelly moved. Kelly finally pushed onto his hands and knees, gasping for breath. He reached out, his hand fumbling for the video camera. He shoved it under him, pointing it so they’d be able to watch from below as Nick fucked him.
Nick buried himself deep and began to laugh. “You’re dirty, Kels.”
“That’s like Satan calling me a bad boy.”
Nick laughed harder and bent over him, rocking into him. Kelly shouted, caught by the new angle.
“Oh Jesus, hello prostate,” he gasped.
Nick gripped his hip hard and hit that angle again. Over and over, until Kelly was barely able to prop himself up anymore. Nick paused just long enough to add more lube to the mix, then sped his rhythm, still aiming for Kelly’s prostate. Their bodies pounded together, the slapping of their skin masked only by Kelly’s shouts for more.
“Fuck, Nick, I’m gonna come,” Kelly managed after several minutes.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Nick gasped. “You’re seriously one of those that can come without being jacked?”
“Keep going.”
“God, I love you,” Nick said as Kelly’s muscles began to tighten and spasm. “If you come, I’m going to.”
Kelly threw his head back. “You’ll come inside me?”
“Or on you, wherever the fuck you want.”
Kelly moaned. “Shoot it off inside me, Lucky. Fill me up.”
The bed protested Nick’s thrusts, but Kelly cried out for more. Nick watched his cock disappearing into Kelly’s ass, his fingers digging into the muscles. The red camera was still sitting on the bed, watching everything, recording it from below. Kelly would probably jack off to this video for weeks. Nick winked at the camera.
Kelly cried out, throwing his head back.
“Whose name do you say?” Nick demanded.
“Oh God,” Kelly whimpered.
Nick pounded into him harder. “Say it, babe, come on. Whose name?”
“Yours!” Kelly shouted.
Nick rammed into him, rotating his hips to massage Kelly’s prostate. “I’m sorry, I couldn’t hear you. Who?”
“Fucking hell, Nick! I’m going to come!”
“You’ll come when I tell you to. You’ll come when you start screaming my fucking name.”
Nick grabbed Kelly’s shoulder to hold him still, slowing his thrusts so he could feel Kelly’s orgasm when it came. Kelly fought against being held, but he had nowhere to go. His fingers clutched at the covers. His hips moved, desperately trying to force Nick’s cock to hit his prostate again.
“Nick,” he finally pled.
Nick’s voice was gruff as he tried to hold off on his own orgasm. “You want it?”
“Yeah, babe. Please, please.”
“You’re so fucking good at begging.”
“I want it, baby, come on! I want it!”
“Let me hear you come,” Nick growled. He shoved in deep and Kelly cried out incoherently. Nick kept hitting that spot, over and over, his thrusts hard and fast, never pulling out, keeping the pressure on Kelly’s prostate.
“Nick!” Kelly’s back arched like a cat. His entire body spasmed. The muscles around Nick’s cock squeezed, making it almost impossible for him to move. He kept going though, fucking Kelly through his orgasm as he reached under him to finally take Kelly’s cock in his hand. He hadn’t even fucking touched Kelly’s cock, not once, but Kelly’s cum was spurting against the bed. He really was coming just from taking it up the ass. God, he was fun to fuck! Nick jacked him off, causing Kelly to shout again. “Nick!”
Nick growled. “Get it all out, babe.”
Kelly finally lost the ability to keep himself up, though he had the wherewithal to grab the camera before he collapsed, and he pointed it over his shoulder so it would record Nick, still buried deep inside him, still fucking him. Nick gave the camera a cheeky nod.
He readjusted to the new position, putting both hands on Kelly’s ass cheeks and pushing them apart so he could see his cock sliding in and out. It was almost like doing push-ups, except far more fun.
“Come on, Nick,” Kelly grunted. He stretched out, holding the camera out so it would pan down the expanse of his own sweaty back and capture Nick’s thick cock shoving into his ass. “I know you’ve got a load for me.”
“I do,” Nick growled.
“It’s got to be a big one, babe. Let me have it.”
Nick bent over, his thrusts losing their rhythm. Kelly’s moans and gasps grew louder, spurring him on until he couldn’t hold back any longer—and he didn’t want to. He pulled out, pumping his slick cock until cum began to shoot against Kelly’s ass, then shoved himself back in, shouting as the friction overwhelmed him. He laid out over Kelly, pulling him tight, gasping his name, rocking his hips as he emptied himself deep inside him.
They were both left slick and breathless. Nick could already feel the cum dripping from Kelly’s ass, being pushed back out by the tightening of his muscles around Nick’s cock.
After several long moments of merely trying to breathe, Nick rolled his hips, and they both moaned. Kelly shifted beneath him.
“Did you just shoot off inside me?”
Nick chuckled. “Yeah. Yeah, I did.”
“God, that’s so fucking hot.”
Nick kissed the back of his shoulder and pushed up. “I’m pulling out of you now. You ready?”
Kelly nodded, but when Nick started to move, Kelly gasped and his muscles tightened. “Jesus Christ, are you still fucking hard in there?”
Nick couldn’t help but laugh again. He reached for Kelly’s chin, turning his head to the side to kiss him. He licked at Kelly. “Kiss me.”
Kelly did, parting his lips so Nick could slip his tongue inside. He deepened the kiss, making it a slow, languid exploration of Kelly’s lips and tongue and teeth to keep Kelly’s mind off the fact that he was pulling out.
When he was free, he rolled and flopped at Kelly’s side. Their feet hung off the edge of the bed. They stared at each other, neither saying anything, neither moving.
“So,” Kelly finally said. “What’s your recovery time like?”
Nick rolled to his back and laughed.
“I’m serious. I’ve never sucked cock either. I want to try that next.”
“Oh God.”
“No, you say my name when I suck you off, bitch,” Kelly drawled as he pulled himself closer and rested his elbow on Nick’s chest. He kissed Nick and grinned. “You know what?”
Nick rested his hands under his head, letting Kelly cuddle closer to him. “What?”
“You came inside me.” He smiled and bit his lip.
Nick’s body flushed even though he’d just exhausted himself. It was the first time he’d ever come inside someone, if he didn’t count blowjobs. The thought was hotter than he’d expected. His words were choked. “Yes, I did.”
“That makes me so fucking hot just thinking about it,” Kelly admitted.
Nick kissed him again, gripping his hair to keep him from moving away. He reached down with the other hand to grab Kelly’s ass, his fingers trailing through slick cum.
“Babe,” Nick growled.
“I feel it. You filled me up. I knew you had a load for me.”
“You’re so fucking dirty, I love it.”
“You won’t even need lube next time.”
Nick closed his eyes. “Next time will be pretty damn soon if you keep this up.”
Kelly kissed him again, dragging his teeth against Nick’s lip. “Next time I’m going to ride you. God, your dick is fun, you know that? And I get to hold the camera too.”
Nick slid his sticky hands into Kelly’s hair, narrowing his eyes. Kelly’s expression turned guarded, like he thought Nick might be irritated by the presence of the recording device now that he wasn’t lost in the haze of lust.
Nick grinned. “Good call on the waterproof camera.”
Kelly laughed. He bent to kiss Nick, molding to his body as they both lay sideways on the bed. Nick held him close and Kelly settled into the crook of his arm, resting his head on Nick’s shoulder.
“I’m glad you’re back, even if it is just forty-eight hours.”
Nick buried his face in Kelly’s hair. “Me too.”
“Are you okay, Irish?”
Nick nodded.
“It’s me you’re talking to,” Kelly murmured.
Nick was silent. He finally nodded again. “Yeah, I’m okay.”
Kelly held him tighter and turned into him, closing his eyes. “All these years, and you’re still a shitty liar.”
Nick woke to the disturbing sound of utter silence. The room was still, the expensive hotel’s infrastructure buffering the sounds from other rooms. The A/C had shut off. It took several moments for Nick to shake the confusion of finding himself in a soft, cool bed. It took him a few more to realize he was alone.
He stretched his hand out, running his fingers across the indentation in the pillow next to him.
“Kels?” he called out. He held his breath, nerves beginning to build when there was no answer.
He sat up and pushed the sheets away, looking around the hotel room. Pillows and clothing littered the floor. The comforter was gone. One of the bedside lamps had been knocked over. Nick could feel a split in his lip where Kelly had bit him. The chaise in the corner had been used for horrible things. The only thing missing was Kelly.
Nick slid out of bed and dug through his seabag for a clean pair of jeans. He was still zipping them up when he stepped out onto the balcony to find Kelly sitting with his feet propped on the railing, wrapped in the comforter from the bed.
“Hey,” Kelly said without looking over at him.
“Thought you’d bailed on me for a minute,” Nick told him, smiling. “What are you doing out here?”
Kelly shrugged, too busy chewing on his lip to answer.
Nick squinted out at the harbor, frowning. He couldn’t see anything that might be keeping Kelly’s attention. He took a step toward him, but something stopped him from moving closer. “You okay?”
“I was wrong,” Kelly said almost immediately, like he’d been waiting for a pin to pop a balloon. He gazed up at Nick, his eyes blue and full of sorrow in the morning light. “I can’t do this.”
The words hit Nick square in the chest, stealing his breath. He realized he was staring, meeting Kelly’s eyes as he tried to reconcile such a swift ending to something he’d thought would be . . . permanent. He took a careful step and sat in the nearest chair, nodding and clearing his throat to try to play off his natural reaction. “Okay,” he managed.
“I’m sorry,” Kelly whispered. He was watching Nick, turned toward him with that stupid blanket around his shoulders.
Nick couldn’t look at him, though, not until he was sure the devastation was off his face. He nodded again. “It’s okay, Kels. Nothing to apologize for. We knew it might not work, right?”
“I thought I could do it, I really did. But you said it was nothing more than sex.” Kelly paused, giving Nick a chance to speak or react. Nick couldn’t find his voice. Jesus, why did this hurt so fucking much? Kelly cleared his throat. “It’s already more than that, though.”
Nick glanced at him sharply, his heart skipping.
Kelly shrugged, giving him a weak smile. “We both know how fast I fall.”
“Kelly—”
“I think we’re better off if we just stop now,” Kelly said quickly. “The thought of this being something . . . frivolous? The thought of you going home and being with someone else? It kind of breaks my heart, bud.”
“Someone else,” Nick repeated, his voice hoarse.
“We both know how friends with benefits work, Irish, come on.”
Nick leaned forward and grabbed Kelly’s hand. He swallowed past the nerves and the fear and met Kelly’s changeable eyes with a deep breath. “Kels, I can’t think of a thing under the sun that makes me happier than you.”
Kelly blinked rapidly, his mouth parting in shock.
Nick held his hand tighter. “If it doesn’t feel right to you, you say the word and this’ll be it. But if you’ll give me a chance, just one chance, I swear to you I’ll make it worth it.”
“A chance at what?”
“To be yours.”
Kelly tried several times to speak. He licked dry lips and said, “Nick.”
“Do you trust me, Kels?”
“You know I do.”
Nick held his breath, waiting for the verdict. Kelly’s lips twitched, then he began to grin. He reached out and caught Nick by the back of his neck, pulling him into an urgent kiss. Nick grabbed him by the edges of his blanket, wrapping it around them both as Kelly crawled onto the chaise lounge with him and straddled him.
“Is that a yes?” Nick managed to ask between kisses.
Kelly bit his lip, dragging his teeth across it before nodding. “Don’t ask stupid questions.”
Nick laughed, holding him closer. “We’re really going to try this, aren’t we?”
Kelly was grinning against his lips as he nodded. “Does this mean I get to say I love you and you have to say it back?”
Nick chuckled. “Yeah. That’s what it means.”
Kelly pressed his forehead to Nick’s. “I love you, Nick O’Flaherty.”
Nick’s heart jumped into his throat. He was grinning so widely it hurt his split lip. “I love you. You crazy bastard.”