“And she’ll sleep through the night?” Shepard whispered as Nick shut the door to Emma’s room.

“She’s been close to sleeping the entire night, but not just yet.” He checked the baby monitor in his hand, making sure the volume was set on the highest level. “Although after the day we had today, I have a feeling tonight might be the first night she sleeps through.” He walked with Shepard down his hallway, back into the living room. The sun had disappeared behind the hills, leaving the recessed lighting above them. Nick had just bought a roll of cinnamon sticks and had placed them in a tall glass vase in the corner of the room, which was enough to fill the room with a pleasant, sweet scent that didn’t overwhelm anyone. Especially since it was beginning to transition from summer to fall and Nick really enjoyed celebrating those different changes. He liked buying different flowers for his house whenever the seasons changed, along with different decorations that switched up the color palettes in his home.

“Thanks for this incredible day,” Shepard said as he sat down on the couch. Nick walked over to his wet bar. He opened up the wine fridge and grabbed a bottle of pinot noir he had been saving for a special occasion. The label was all black with one single silver leaf emblazoned into the center with a rose gold outline. ‘He grabbed the bottle opener and uncorked the wine with a loud pop.

“Are you kidding me? Thank you,” Nick said. He grabbed two thin-stemmed wine glasses and started to pour. “I was able to take a thirty-minute nap because of you. That’s huge. That never happens when Emma’s around.”

Shepard was grinning. “I’d babysit her all day if you ever needed me to. She’s a joy.”

Nick walked over with the glasses, both holding generous pours of the red wine inside. He handed one to Shepard and sat down right next to him. He lifted his glass up and locked eyes with Shepard. “To new beginnings.”

“To new beginnings.”

Their wine glasses clinked. Nick drank, not taking his eyes off Shepard. He looked so damn sexy in the dim light. Nick had turned on a couple of candles, which had orange light dancing off of Shepard’s defined cheek bones.

They sat for a while, enjoying the silence between them, enjoying the fruity bitterness of the wine, enjoying each other. Nick couldn’t remember a time he ever felt so comfortable sitting in silence next to someone else. Even with Anna, he felt like there always had to be something going on unless they were sleeping. It never felt right to just sit there and relax with her. Shepard was different, though, in every sense of the word.

They drank for a little while longer. At one point, they talked about wanting to go camping sometime in the future. Then their conversation took a random turn into what kind of cartoons they watched as kids. From there, they started talking about what kind of superpowers they would have, and as a twist, they had to choose superpowers that were rejected by everyone else.

“So like…” Nick said, thinking of shitty powers as an example, “I dunno, say you have to choose between growing your body hair super fast or you could turn your feet into Jell-O molds.”

Shepard snorted at that. “Well, I guess the body hair. I’d never get cold… wait can I degrow it too? Or do I have to shave it all off?”

“Shave.”

“Fine, I’ll go with the Jell-O.”

“Thought so,” Nick said, laughing. “At least you’ll be great at parties.”

“Perfect,” Shepard said. At some point during the night, Nick’s arm landed across Shepard’s shoulder. He played gently with the side of Shepard’s head; rubbing the ridge of his ear, massaging his temple. Shepard leaned into the touch, clearly enjoying it.

When they had finished up their glasses of wine, Nick offered to get up and get some more. He went to his kitchen, the ivory white cabinets had shadows dancing on them from the candle light. He hadn’t had a chance to turn the light on. He moved to the switch when he stopped, seeing Shepard walking into the kitchen with a smile on his face. The candle was one of those wick candles, so the sound of crackling wood filled the room, along with the scent of an evergreen forest. Crisp. Warm. In that moment, Nick felt all his walls come tumbling down. All he had to do was look into Shepard’s eyes to know that he wanted to be nowhere else, looking at no one else, moving toward no one else. He reached out before he even realized what he was doing, his hands closing around Shepard’s hips, drawing him in. Breathing him in. His hands gripped a little tighter as their faces hovered inches apart.

“Shep,” he said, looking deeply into those calming hazel pools, “I want this. I want you.”

Shepard smiled. It was a grin too good to pass up. Nick pushed in for a kiss that turned a hundred degrees hotter in seconds. Their tongues started slow and steady, running over the other, slowly probing deeper, more aggressive, soon their tongues were more desperate, their faces moving, their hips grinding together.

When Shepard broke for breath, his lips wet and plump, he was still smiling. “I want this, too. I want to be here with you. And with Emma. I’d never hurt either of you.”

Nick believed it. He felt it, deep down.

He also felt something else deep down. And it was getting harder.

Nick thought this was the perfect time to move things to the bedroom. He grabbed Shepard’s hand and walked with him to his room. He shut the door, glancing at the baby monitor before turning his complete attention toward the hunk of a man who was currently running his hands all over Nick’s body. His back was getting rubbed while his front was getting squeezed and his tongue was getting tied by a kiss. Nick could barely even realize what was going on before he was standing there completely naked, hard dick jutting out into the air.

“How are you so hot?” Shepard said, smiling as he pushed Nick back onto the bed. He was still completely dressed when he moved to suck on Nick’s hard cock.

Nick stopped him. “No, sir.” His eyes were lit with a fire that started in his groin. “Strip for me first.”

Shepard looked like he was up for the challenge. He stepped back and smiled as he started to slowly gyrate his hips. They didn’t even need music. Shepard could move to the beat of their passion, it was practically thrumming audibly in the air around them.

Nick sat there on the edge of his king-sized bed, his legs wide open, his thick cock hanging between his thighs like a third fucking leg. Shepard eyed him with lust in his gaze, his lips slightly parted. Nick trailed a hand down his own body, slowly, feeling himself as he grabbed his dick, the meaty size barely able to fit in his grasp. He squeezed and tugged and watched as Shepard undressed slowly in front of him. It was tantalizing. A silent picture that had Nick glued to the screen. His cock swelled in his grip, pushing against his hand. He squeezed harder. Shepard was moving his hips now, slowly, working his jeans off, throwing his shirt in the corner. Shepard was already hard, his briefs doing nothing in terms of hiding his impressive bulge. That only made Nick even more turned on. He felt it in his gut. A feeling that spread through him, warming his every muscle. He was entranced by the man in front of him. Completely and totally enraptured. He started stroking himself as Shepard tossed his jeans aside and began palming his own erection over his briefs. Shepard’s head dipped back and he let out a groan. Another wave of heat shot through Nick. His cock pulsed in his grip, leaking precome at the tip. He thumbed it, spreading it on himself, his gaze still fixated on Shepard. Like a hungry lion staring down its prey. This wasn’t the first time he had seen Shepard naked, but this was the first time he could openly appreciate him, devour him, totally and completely consume him. He wanted all of Shepard.

“You’re so sexy,” Nick growled, as Shepard tugged his briefs down over his hard cock. A tuft of soft brown hair revealed itself, marking the exact spot Nick wanted to kiss. He could barely contain himself. He wanted to launch off the bed and throw Shepard to the floor, where he could make him his with his mouth alone.

“Yeah?” Shepard asked, knowing damn well what the answer was. His six-pack rippled when he moved, his cock bouncing in the air as he stepped toward Nick. Shepard grabbed himself by the base of his dick, aiming it forward, the tip glistening, and stepped closer. Nick reached out and grabbed Shepard’s thighs, unable to wait any longer. He pulled the man toward his mouth, his lips parting for Shepard once again. Nick took him in between his warm, wet lips, immediately drawing a delicious moan from Shepard. He felt Shepard’s hands lose themselves in his hair, the spot Nick fucking loved to be grabbed. He felt his own body relax another degree as Shepard steered his head, moving Nick’s mouth further down his cock. At one point, Nick had to pull back for a breath, but wasn’t tapped out of the ring for long. Nick didn’t want to spend another second without tasting Shepard. Without serving him. Giving him a pleasure so intense, his balls were already drawing up and his grip was getting tighter in Nick’s hair. Nick still had a hold of Shepard’s muscular thighs, squeezing them and pulling them forward as Shepard pulled back. Nick looked up and squeezed his thighs tighter. Shepard picked up the pace, thrusting his hips now, burying his cock deeper and deeper down Nick’s willing throat. He wanted to go all the fucking way. He wanted Shepard to disappear down his mouth. It was definitely a lofty goal, considering how big Shepard was, but Nick was never one to turn down a challenge. Especially not when it tasted this good.

“Oh fuck,” Shepard hissed, his hips moving faster, pushing his hard cock even further. Nick closed his eyes, relishing in the feeling. He let every muscle in his body relax as Shepard took over. He could feel his own hard dick aching for attention, but all Nick wanted to do was focus on Shepard. He wanted to give that man all of himself, beginning with his face.

“So,” Shepard grunted, “Fucking,” Shepard moaned, “Good,” Shepard twitched above Nick. He was getting close.