Ball & Chain

“So, how embarrassed would you be if Nick and Kelly mention hearing screaming through the wall tomorrow?” Zane drawled.



“Just tell them I saw a ghost; no one will ask questions.”



Zane pulled his shirt over his head, and then he was right there again, all defined muscles and warm skin. After another long kiss, Zane asked, “What’s your pleasure, doll?”



“You know exactly what I want,” Ty answered breathlessly. He pushed Zane toward the bed. They could see it when lightning struck outside, the pale gray bedcover practically glowing blue as their eyes adjusted to the darkness. Ty pulled Zane closer to kiss him as he fell back onto the soft mattress.



It wasn’t until it was too late that he remembered the gauzy rings of decorative netting that hung from the four-poster bed. The clingy material wrapped around them as they fell into it, getting caught up between them and around their limbs and tightening as their weight pulled the netting.



“Hell.” Zane pushed off Ty and batted at the netting, trying to find his way out of it. “Shit, I can’t see. Quit moving!”



Ty shook his head and broke down all over again. He held his hands up obediently, trying not to move. But he was hopelessly encased in netting. He laughed harder, until he could barely catch his breath, and the sound went from loud and ringing off the rock walls of the suite to nearly silent as he tried and failed to pull in air. Zane’s cursing and struggling just made it funnier.



Finally Zane got loose and rolled away.



“Get some rest,” Zane said quietly as he moved around the dark room and out of Ty’s visual range. He sounded disgruntled. “You don’t want too much of a hangover tomorrow.”



“Wait, Zane, don’t go.” Ty tried to go after him but wound up tangled even more in the netting. “It’s not funny, I swear,” he tried, even as he snickered.



He heard Zane snort from the foot of the bed. “Be careful.”



“You’re seriously leaving me here?” Ty asked, his voice a higher pitch than it usually was.



Zane was quiet for a long minute. He finally sighed. “No.” He moved, and a light flipped on, blindingly bright.



Ty winced away from it and tried to cover his eyes, but that only served to tangle him further, which was for some reason wildly funny.



Zane threw up his hands. “I am not even dealing with this,” he said, his voice trembling with amusement. He turned the light back off. “You’re a mess.”



“No, Zane! Don’t leave me here!” Ty said in the most pitiful voice he could muster, which was ruined by the continuing peals of laughter he just couldn’t stop.



“Good night, Ty.” The bed dipped as Zane got in on the other side.



After long moments of trying desperately to calm down, Ty finally managed it and came to terms with the fact that Zane probably wasn’t going to fuck him tonight. He probably wasn’t even going to untangle him, and Ty was much too drunk and pleasantly sleepy to try to do it himself.



“Well,” he sighed, his movements accompanied by the creaking of the canopy above him. “This was not what I had in mind when I told you I wanted to be ashamed of myself in the morning.”



Chapter 4



Zane watched the sun rise out of the distant horizon and shimmer on the water from where he lay sprawled on the bed. He’d slept some as the storm raged through the night, although not as well as he would have while holding Ty, who was still encased in a protective roll of netting. And if he were honest, he’d been a little too edgy to sleep deeply after the discussion they’d had with the Stantons. Expecting trouble or not, Zane felt like it was around the corner.



He’d also spent much of the night thinking about Ty. He knew Ty had meant every word of it when he’d asked Zane to marry him. And Zane might be wrong, Ty may have thought about it every night while he was gone and played through every possibility in his mind before he asked the first time. But Zane knew Ty pretty damn well, and he wanted him to think about it again and again. And again. Then one last time, just to be sure.



He also knew he had made some pretty drastic changes to himself. He wanted Ty to see those, to know those changes were permanent and to make sure he was still what Ty really wanted. Ty hadn’t come back the same person. The more time they spent together, the clearer that was to Zane. He smiled less, he joked less, he was quicker to strike. Zane was almost afraid Ty’s proposal was just another quick strike. They just needed time.



The canopy above the bed creaked as Ty moved within the netting. He groaned and rolled, only to have his progress halted by the gauzy, tangled material. He stopped, one hand actually suspended above the mattress by the netting as he lay flat on his back. He mumbled something in a language that may or may not have been foreign and tried to move again.



Zane half wanted to laugh, but waking Ty up that way might kick him into a full-blown, flashback-induced panic attack.



The bed groaned, and Ty shot up with a gasp, still wrapped in netting.



Zane rolled off the bed, out of reach. “Ty,” he said carefully. Sometimes even when Ty’s eyes were open, it didn’t mean he was there with you.



Ty responded with a nearly panicked few words in Farsi, but he wasn’t flailing or fighting. Not yet. He spoke again, rapid fire as he gave his arm a good yank. “Where’s O’Flaherty?”



“Ty, you’re awake and you’re okay.” Zane moved into Ty’s line of sight. “Nick’s asleep next door. He’s okay too. Everyone’s okay, doll. Let me help you.”



Ty watched him, his breathing slowing as reality seemed to soak through to his brain. His hands still shook with adrenaline and probably an ounce or two of fear, but he was silent and still as he let Zane untangle him.



“Worst morning after ever,” Ty said, almost calm enough to fool Zane into thinking he was okay with waking up to a full-fledged flashback.



Almost. Zane continued to untangle the netting, trying to move Ty’s arms without holding or clasping them. He got one loose, but the other hand was really caught up. How had he even done this to himself? “I can cut it loose, doll.”



Ty shook his head. “It’s okay.”



He began using the hand Zane had freed to disentangle his other leg, taking long, slow breaths to try to calm himself. As soon as Zane managed to free his other hand, Ty clambered out of the bed like it was on fire. He used Zane to pull himself out, practically climbing up and over him to get away from the netting. Zane sighed and let him do it; to try to hang on to him or stop him would have been a mistake.



“Thanks, Zane,” Ty whispered, rubbing at his chest.



Zane’s heart swelled with a confusing mix of love and pity and anger for the things Ty had been put through. He knelt on the mattress and reached out, brushing Ty’s cheek with the tips of his fingers. He smiled wryly when Ty met his eyes. “At your service.”



Ty managed a weak smile. “My hero.”



Zane flattened his palm against Ty’s cheek. “Come here.”



Ty promptly stripped off the clothing Zane hadn’t gotten off him last night and crawled back into the bed beside Zane. Zane scooted and laid himself out, reaching for him. Ty pulled the covers over both their heads and Zane gathered him up to hold him.



“Sorry I ruined the night,” Ty offered. “I’m really sorry.”



“We’ll laugh about it later,” Zane said, skimming one hand through Ty’s hair.



Ty snorted. “Don’t be nice to me when I’m hungover.”



“Quit being an ass.” Zane poked him hard in the side, and Ty chuckled against his chest. Zane hugged him tighter before loosening his grip again. He’d learned that at times like these, Ty wanted to be held but sometimes couldn’t tolerate it, so Zane let him decide. Ty rested his head on Zane’s shoulder, his fingers playing with the hair on Zane’s chest.



Zane was desperate to know what Sidewinder had gone through to make Ty’s nightmares so devastating, to make Digger and Owen walk away from the Marine Corps, and to make Nick look positively haunted when he thought no one was watching. But the only thing Zane could do was offer his shoulder. Literally.



Zane tapped under Ty’s chin and got him to raise his head, then leaned in to steal a kiss. “You okay?”



Ty wrapped his arms around him and threw a leg over him to pull him closer. Zane closed his eyes, his chest aching. It was moments like this that made dealing with the shit of their pasts worthwhile, that made their future seem possible.



He pressed his lips to Ty’s temple. “Love you,” he whispered.



Ty smiled and snorted against his neck. “I know.”



They were both silent, soaking in the peace and quiet. Then Ty narrowed his eyes at Zane. “I proposed on a moonlit beach in Scotland. How do you just say ‘Nope!’ to that?”



Zane laughed. “I’m surprised you remember it.”



Ty muttered some more as he cuddled back down. Zane began to relax again, allowing Ty’s weight to push him into the bed. They were both almost asleep when something thumped from the room next door, followed by boisterous laughter.



“Assholes,” Ty said. He raised his head and banged on the wall above the short headboard. “Assholes!”



A few seconds later, someone banged back. If they said anything, the thick walls drowned it out.



“What the hell are they doing up this early?” Zane asked.



“Screw early, what the hell are they doing, period?”



“Sounded like someone fell out of the bed. I’m putting money on it being Kelly.”



“Me too. Nick shares a bed well, but Kelly spreads like a fucking puddle of Jell-O. Forces you to fight back.” More laughter came from the other side of the wall. Ty rested his elbow against Zane’s chest. “Want to make some noise on our side?”



Zane slid his fingers down Ty’s defined arm, stroking the marred face of the bulldog tattoo. A bullet had ripped through the ink and formed a jagged scar, but that just made it look tougher. Zane tore his eyes away from it to look up into Ty’s. “What’d you have in mind?”



“The kind of noise that you have to hold on to the headboard for.”



Zane’s body was instantly interested in this new proposition, and the predatory look in Ty’s eyes said he knew it.



Ty leaned down and gave him a slow, sensual kiss. Zane dragged his hands up Ty’s arms, over his shoulders, and down his back to hold on to his trim waist as they kissed. Ty smiled against his lips and climbed over him, staying on his knees and straddling Zane’s thighs, putting both hands on Zane’s shoulders. Zane tipped his head back, more than happy to give in to Ty’s attentions.



Ty’s hands plunged into his hair, and his scruff scratched at Zane’s chin and lips. It stirred the warmth inside Zane, and his skin heated with each stroke of Ty’s tongue against his. When their mouths parted, Zane whispered, “Let’s make some fucking noise.”



Ty’s breathing was harsh when he nodded. Zane dragged his hands down Ty’s body to grasp his ass. Ty responded, his muscles bunching, his cock stirring against Zane’s groin, kicking up a wicked feedback loop between the two of them as they rubbed against each other and grew more and more aroused.



Ty halted it before they could get too far ahead of themselves, throwing the covers off and rolling out of bed.



“Ty,” Zane said, deadpan. “Wasn’t finished over here.”



“Do you have any idea how many times I dreamed about you?” Ty asked, going to the massive fireplace. It was cold in the room, which while perfect for sleeping wasn’t as conducive to other activities. He turned on the gas logs, grinning mischievously at Zane. “Every night.”



Zane followed that come-hither look, giving up on the idea of grabbing the headboard in favor of being laid out on that rug in front of the fire. Ty was obviously thinking the same thing.



Zane took their bottle of lubricant from the bedside table and dropped it to the floor at Ty’s feet. He pulled his T-shirt over his head, tossed it to the side, and joined Ty on the thick rug in front of the fireplace.



Ty gripped his chin and kissed him, slowly maneuvering them both until they were stretched out on the plush rug. He immediately laid Zane out, settling between his legs, gathering up Zane’s wrists to hold him and kiss him soundly. “Every night,” he repeated in a whisper.



Zane relaxed into the rug as Ty’s weight bore down on him, and as Ty’s hands closed around his wrists, he gave a gentle moan. The thought of Ty taking control and holding him down sent a shudder through him. It was something Ty hadn’t done since getting home, something Zane had sorely missed. Zane couldn’t help but wonder how much of Ty would never be the same again after this past year. So many things were still missing. Every time Ty seemed to regain something, even something as trivial as wanting to overpower Zane and screw him into the ground, it was like a weight being lifted from Zane’s mind.



“Please,” Zane whispered.



Ty was already mostly hard, and he rubbed himself against Zane’s hip. He gathered Zane’s wrists into one hand, grip tightening, and the kiss became more demanding as Ty responded to his plea.



Ty’s free hand slid down Zane’s body, fingers digging in possessively as they dragged along his chest and then his ribs to his hip. Ty pushed up to give himself room to rut into Zane as he licked and bit and sucked at his lips.



Zane groaned and pulled at Ty’s hands, testing his grip. Ty grunted at him, using the weight of his body to hold Zane down. He pushed at Zane’s thigh with his knee, shoving his legs further apart and stealing any leverage Zane might have found. His hard cock pushed against Zane’s hip as Ty straddled one thigh. He rocked against him as he sucked on Zane’s tongue, slowly but surely draining Zane’s control.