Ball & Chain

Nick threw back the rest of his champagne. “Close to fifty thousand dollars.”



The rest of them howled with laughter, but Deuce was shaking his head. “Wow,” he finally said. “Those are some impressive commitment issues you have going.”



“Please.”



“We’ll talk,” Deuce promised.



The blunt was gone and the night was growing colder. Deuce wrapped his coat around Livi’s shoulders, and they both stood. Livi slid her arm around Deuce’s waist as they said their good-nights and headed inside. He leaned on her, his arm around her. Ty smiled at them. They made a good pair, and his brother was happy. That was all that mattered to him.



“What a gentleman,” Emma cooed. “Okay, whose coat do I get? ’Cause I’m freezing.”



“Maybe you should go find the rest of your dress,” Ty said.



“You’re the only one complaining!”



“’Cause I’m your cousin! Go put some clothes on!”



Emma stood, freeing Kelly’s lap. She did a little turn, showing off the backless dress. It left very little to the imagination. She shimmied her hips for good measure. Nick and Kelly both tilted their heads like puppies as they watched her. Ty growled at all of them.



“I don’t know, Tyler, I think it’s a nice dress,” Nick drawled. He uncrossed his ankles, standing and shrugging out of his suit jacket.



“I don’t think it’s the dress,” Kelly said. Nick helped Emma into his coat, wrapping it around her shoulders with all the delicacy of handling a Ming vase. She thanked him and then sat on the bench Deuce and Livi had vacated.



“I hate all of you,” Ty grumbled.



They ignored him, and Emma started talking about the open spots on her team again, trying to convince Kelly to think about joining.



Zane slid his hand down Ty’s shoulder. “You’re feeling no pain,” he whispered against Ty’s ear.



Ty’s cheeks were flushed, and he couldn’t feel the tips of his fingers. It was probably from the cold, but whatever they’d been serving had been quality stuff, and he’d had too much of it. He turned his face into Zane’s and kissed him.



Zane chuckled, then pushed himself to stand. “C’mon, we’ll take a walk, then head back to our room.”



“If I fall over when I stand up, you’re going to catch me, right?”



“Of course I’ll catch you.”



Ty took Zane’s hand and hefted himself up. He wavered closer to him and gave him a gentle kiss.



“That’s cute,” Emma said fondly.



Ty blushed in the darkness, and Nick and Kelly whistled. He pointed at both of them. “Either of you touch my baby cousin, I’ll kill you.”



They both gave him obedient, if slightly sloppy, salutes.



Ty pointed again. “I’ll kill you.”



Zane slid an arm around his shoulders and turned him toward the flap in the tent that led out into the gardens. Ty slid his hand into Zane’s as they walked.



“You having fun yet?” he asked.



“Maybe not fun, but it’s been nice so far,” Zane said as he laced their fingers together. “I actually had a casual conversation with Burns earlier. It was a little bizarre, but . . . getting there.”



“Try having him over for Thanksgiving dinner,” Ty said wryly. They hit the rocky ground that indicated the cliffs were near, and walked until there was nothing but moonlight to light their way.



It was quiet, and the wind smelled of salt and snow, and Ty was happy. It was easy to forget how lucky he was to be able to hold Zane’s hand, to kiss him, talk to him whenever he wanted. He’d told himself every night of his deployment that if he made it home, he’d never take that ability for granted again.



The path angled down, taking them away from the cliffs until they were on the level with the surf. The sand beneath their feet became softer, and the crash of the waves intruded on all other sound. It was much colder down here, the wind whipping in off the waves.



Ty came to a sudden stop, pulling Zane closer to him. Zane hummed appreciatively and let his free hand fall to Ty’s hip as their chests bumped. Ty ran his nose up the side of Zane’s cold cheek, finally taking the proper kiss he’d been wanting all night.



When he heard a noise above the surf, his entire body tensed, and Zane leaned away from him.



Even here, remote and safe, he couldn’t seem to force his mind to relax. He wondered if he’d ever be able to. He cleared his throat and squeezed Zane’s hand, refusing to let his fingers slip away.



“Who the hell thinks walking on the beach in the freaking dark is romantic?” a woman asked breathlessly as the two figures came close enough to be heard over the surf.



“Maybe it’s romantic if you’re being carried,” a man suggested.



“My calves are killing me!”



Ty and Zane both chuckled, exchanging quiet greetings as they passed the two people in the dark. The couple waved as they walked by, angling away from Ty and Zane and heading toward the mansion path rather than trying to be sociable. Ty glanced down the beach at the cottages on the end of the shoreline, where the staff were housed. They were all dark and silent.



A crash of thunder sounded not far off, and the thrashing sea was lit up by a bolt of lightning. Ty and Zane both stared at the dark ocean, struck momentarily dumb by the violent storm that seemed to be closing in with so little warning. Zane tugged on Ty’s arm. “Come on. Nice, private room waiting.”



“I’m with them,” Ty told Zane as he allowed himself to be turned toward the mansion. “We used to run with all our equipment in the sand until we threw up. Never really saw a beach as romantic.”



“I was going to suggest a run in the morning, but maybe not,” Zane said as he guided Ty along with a hand on his elbow. “And I’m probably the last person to ask about what’s romantic.”



Ty pointed a finger. “I will run in the late-morning to early-afternoon time frame. Otherwise I intend to be hungover.” He waited a beat before glancing sideways at Zane. “Where were you married?”



“Church wedding in Austin.” There was a note of curiosity in Zane’s voice.



“Was it nice?” Ty asked carefully.



Zane snorted. “It was way overdone. My mom did the whole thing because we were living in Dallas at the time. But I guess it was okay. I don’t really remember much about it.” Zane made a noise in his throat.



“What, too much bachelor party?”



“No, it’s just . . .” Zane waved his hand around. “You stand there in this important ceremony, nervous as hell because everyone’s watching you and you don’t want to trip on the steps, and then it’s over and you don’t remember a single thing and it seems like such a waste of all that time.”



Ty snorted and shook his head. They walked hand in hand down the beach, the cold waves lapping at the rocky sand near their feet, the lightning highlighting whitecaps on the water.



“Care for another waltz in the rain?” Zane asked, his voice gone lower.



“Always.”



Zane stopped him as the thunder rolled, and pulled Ty to him. They began a slow box step, taking note of the rocks and their footing.



“Have you ever done the sex-on-the-beach thing?” Ty asked as his fingertips played over Zane’s palm. Zane shivered.



“Yeah. Once. I kind of enjoyed it, but she was complaining about sand in weird places for days afterward.”



Ty gave a surprised laugh.



“I always thought it sounded sort of uncomfortable, when you got down to the logistics of it,” Ty mused. He began to hum as they danced. The skies rumbled and lightning flashed almost on top of the sound, meaning the storm was almost upon them.



Ty gazed up at Zane, his stomach fluttering. Rather than illuminating the warm brown of Zane’s eyes, the night seemed to sap all the color from him, leaving them a luminescent gray. He couldn’t help but stare at his lover, wondering how Zane just got more and more attractive to him as the days went by.



“You’re the only person I’ve ever been with who made me want to try things like that.”



Zane grinned, and their dance slowed to a stop. “I make you want to roll around in the sand?”



Ty shook his head. “That came out wrong.”



“No, it didn’t,” Zane murmured, still grinning as he ran his hand up Ty’s arm.



“I just mean . . .” Ty held a pent-up breath as he met Zane’s eyes again. Zane’s face was so sincere, looking at Ty in that way that always made Ty feel warm and loved. “I mean that all the experiences I’ve ever heard of in life . . . I want to have them with you.”



Zane’s smile grew more tender. He ran his knuckles down Ty’s cheek. “Ty—”



“Marry me, Zane.”



He could feel Zane’s heartbeat quicken. Every part of him tingled where Zane touched him. He held his breath.



“Nope,” Zane whispered.



Ty grinned, laughing silently. Leave it to Zane to reject him and make him laugh at the same time. “You don’t want to at least consider for a minute this time? Run the numbers a little?”



“Ty, shut up,” Zane murmured, and pressed his lips to Ty’s, wrapping around him in a passionate embrace and kissing him for all he was worth.



Ty’s arms tightened on him, fingers gripping. The sound of the tide and the approaching rain became a backdrop to the sound of Ty’s heart pounding in his chest. He wanted Zane to know he’d thought this through, that he wanted them to spend the rest of their lives together. But he also kind of liked the idea of Zane making him ask until he got it right, making him work for it. Ty needed to work for it. They could play this game because in the end, Ty knew Zane would say yes. He just had to find the perfect time, the perfect place, the perfect way.



“I love you,” Ty whispered against Zane’s lips.



Zane smiled and pressed his nose against Ty’s cheek. “I love you, too.”



“I’m going to keep asking until you say yes.”



Zane smiled against his cheek. “I know.”



Zane took his hand and began to lead him toward the path again. Ty glanced up at the lights ahead of them and squinted. “Please tell me you know which freaking haunted room in the freaking haunted mansion is ours.”



“Yes, I know which one is ours,” Zane assured him. The thunder crashed behind them and they quickened their pace. “This is nice, that Deuce and Livi get to do something like this. Wedding and honeymoon all in one, stretch it out and take their time. I would have gone tropical maybe, but still.”



“Yeah, well, Deuce is terrified of airplanes, so I’m guessing he only had enough tranquilizers for one trip,” Ty said. “You didn’t get to do the honeymoon thing?”



“We were both working, and neither of us wanted to take time off right then.” He didn’t sound put out about it. “That stuff wasn’t really our kind of thing.”



Ty just nodded. They walked in silence for a while. When they came closer to the house, they hit a stone walkway and Ty stumbled on the unexpectedly hard ground.



True to his word, Zane caught him around the middle and steadied him. Ty snorted as he wrapped an arm around Zane’s neck. Zane squeezed Ty close as they started up the stairs. Flickering hurricane lamps lit the hallway, though Ty suspected they were electric. But it was dark inside their room, with just the moonlight filtering in the ancient windowpanes. Muffled sounds of laughter came from Nick and Kelly’s room. It kind of sounded like someone was getting laid in there, and Ty idly wondered which one had gotten lucky with which bridesmaid and which one was sleeping on some sofa downstairs.



He stood motionless near the doorway to his and Zane’s room, letting his eyes adjust and knowing he would wind up face-planting onto the floor if he tried to walk. The thought made him snicker quietly, and he clapped a hand over his mouth. Then Zane’s arms slid around his waist from behind, followed by his warm, hard body.



Ty tilted his head to the side, biting his lip in an attempt to stop the laughter. He calmed briefly, but then another fit overtook him as Zane’s stubble tickled at his neck. He closed his eyes and shook silently at the absurdity of the romantic location. He and Zane were definitely more of a backseat-of-the-Mustang kind of couple. The thunder rumbled outside.



“All right, funny guy,” Zane said. He smacked Ty on the hip. “You’re clearly entertained without my help.”



Ty reached out for his wrist. He pulled Zane toward him in the dark. “No, don’t. I’ll be good.”



“You being good isn’t a problem,” Zane growled. “Focused, yes. Good, no.”



Ty nodded determinedly and cleared his throat. “I’ll be focused.”



Zane leaned forward, his lips skimming from the corner of Ty’s mouth, along his cheekbone, and to his ear. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”



Ty tried to meet Zane’s lips with his own, but Zane moved away too quickly for a kiss. Ty wrapped his arms around Zane’s shoulders. “I think you should do something I’ll be ashamed of in the morning.”



Zane gripped his hips and pushed their groins together. He hummed thoughtfully. “What could I do that would make you blush if you thought about it tomorrow?”



“If I don’t get a kiss soon, I’m going to hit critical mass, understand?”



Ty barely got the last word out before Zane’s mouth was on his, hot and hungry. He groaned and let Zane take control of it, hoping his lover knew which way the bed was. Zane ran one hand up his back to cup his head as he deepened the kiss, his other hand moving between them to pull at Ty’s shirt, drawing him into the darkness.