Chapter Twenty-Three
Throwing Drew’s clothes in the machine, he quickly stripped his own and shoved them in after. Of the two of them, he had fared better. He hadn’t stopped moving while he waited for Drew to reappear, plus his bigger muscle mass and overall strength meant he had more stamina. Drew, on the other hand, had been pale, cold, and shaking when he came out of the other room. The beginnings of hypothermia. Despite what Sam may have preferred, their safest option was to stay there for the night, dry off and warm up.
Returning to the bathroom, he found Drew in the shower, keeping to the edge out of the full force of the spray. Given how cold he was, the temperature of the water, which felt fine to Sam’s own hand, was probably hot enough to hurt. Hot water wasn’t the only way to combat hypothermia.
Stepping in next to Drew, he pulled the younger man to him, feeling the shivers wracking him. He shut the shower door behind him, trapping them in the steam, the heat building around them.
“Just give it a few minutes,” he said. “You’ll start to warm up.”
“I know the water’s not that hot,” Drew replied, his teeth chattering. “But it feels like it’s scalding.”
“That’s because your skin temperature has lowered. We need to warm you up slowly, so we’ll leave the shower temperature like this.”
“You feel just the right kind of warm. Not too hot, not too cold.”
“What are you, Goldilocks?” Sam joked. Drew’s hand came up, his fingers tugging at Sam’s hair. “Look who’s talking, blondie.”
“I think one of us is colorblind,” Sam retorted.
Drew latched on to him, his arms snaking around Sam’s back, his head resting against Sam’s shoulder, their chests pressed together.
“Body heat will work too,” Sam mumbled, returning Drew’s embrace, knowing the more physical contact the better.
“This is a pity,” Drew said with a sigh, his cheek rubbing back and forth across Sam’s skin. “I thought our first shower together would be something sexy and not something out of survival training.”
Sam snorted, letting the fingers of one hand trail along Drew’s spine, earning him a shiver that had nothing to do with the cold. When he reached Drew’s lower back, he kept going, sliding one finger between his cheeks and pressing firmly. He was rewarded by a gasp and a jerk of Drew’s hips.
“What kind of survival manual have you been reading?” Drew joked, his hands tightening around Sam as Sam’s finger stroked back and forth.
“You’re teasing me,” Drew grumbled.
“Of course.” Sam pressed a kiss to Drew’s neck. “Can’t give me all this skin to play with and expect me not to have some fun.”
His finger slid lower, finding that sensitive spot behind Drew’s balls. His hips jerked again as he sought friction against Sam’s body.
“Too much?” Sam whispered in his ear.
“No… just… like... that.” Drew let out a sigh and melted against him as Sam stroked his finger back and forth in longer teasing lines. “I wonder if Diego has condoms and lube.”
Sam raised eyebrows at that. There was no way he was searching through that man’s secret hideout so they could have sex.
“We don’t need them,” he said gently.
Drew lifted his head at that, the disappointment clear on his face. “Oh. Okay.”
“We don’t need them,” Sam said again, reaching a hand down to cup Drew’s groin, “because I have something a little lower key in mind. What with the hypothermia and all.”
Drew let his head fall again, groaning at the touch of Sam’s callused hand on him, bucking against it. One of Sam’s hands found the back of his neck, pressing his head to Sam’s chest. His other hand stroked slowly along him, ignoring how Drew squirmed and panted. Sam’s hand let go but only to turn his attention to himself. Drew looked down between their bodies, watching as he brought himself to full mast in a few quick strokes.
“Do you like a little something to help ease things along?” Sam asked.
“I don’t need it,” he replied hoarsely. “The water’s enough.”
Both their skins were damp, Sam’s hand too, as his hips pushed forward, grinding against Drew. His fingers wrapped around both their tips as they bumped and grinded, spurred on by the friction of Sam’s callused palm, holding them close.
Each breath was an effortful exhalation, the friction just the right side of pain. Drew turned his eyes away, burying his face in Sam’s skin as his warm palm worked their tips again. He knew just the right way to touch, to move, pulling a cry from Drew as his hands clung tighter to Sam, his nails digging into skin.
Sam pressed his mouth to Drew’s ear, his breath searing hot.
“Can you come from this? My hand on both of us, not letting go, keeping us together, my skin on yours, working you just the way you…”
A final firm stroke and Drew came with a groan, Sam a second behind him. His arm wrapped around Drew’s waist, holding him upright and drawing him back to rest against the shower wall. For a few minutes they held still, just feeling and breathing.
“When we get home, I’m borrowing that survival manual.”
“Sure,” he said smoothly into Drew’s ear. “It’ll show you all kind of tricks just like that. Or I can teach you firsthand, if you’re more of a tactile learner.”
Drew moaned again at the words. “You’re going to be the death of me.”
“But not from hypothermia,” Sam said, walking them both back towards the shower spray to wash off.
This time, Drew turned toward the water, letting it run across his skin. He hissed a little, the sound telling Sam that he was still chilled enough for it to be uncomfortably hot.
“We might have to stick to more traditional methods from here on out,” he said with regret.
Drew turned to face him, letting his hands roam down Sam’s arms. “Like skin to skin contact?”
With a laugh, Sam yanked him forward, so they were chest to chest again. “You’re insatiable.”
“Starved is more like it,” Drew mumbled.
Sam laid the back of his hand against Drew’s forehead then his palm again the nape of his neck. “You’re a little warmer. Let’s get out and dry off. The living room must be warm enough by now.”
They dried off briskly with towels. What Sam had found by way of clothes suggested Diego was closer to his height than Drew’s. Still, clothes were clothes, and they tugged on sweatpants and T-shirts.
Sam led Drew by the hand to the living room, pushing him to sit on the couch. He retrieved a pile of blankets from the bedroom, carrying them back to Drew. The heat from the fire was slowly filling the room but Drew’s skin was still cold to the touch and he had started to shiver again.
“How come you’re not so bothered by the cold?” Drew seemed put out at his imperviousness.
“I haven’t stopped moving since we left the car. And I’ve trained in all sorts of environments.”
“You must know the manual inside out,” Drew teased.
“Lie down.” Sam waited for Drew to settle before layering blankets on top of him.
“I thought body heat was best?” Drew complained.
“Shove over then.”
Drew pushed toward the back of the couch and Sam slipped under the covers to lie with him. The couch wasn’t big, so they were pushed close together, giving Drew the body heat he both needed and craved.
That was what Drew had meant when he’d said starved. Sam was probably equally so, given how long it had been since he’d had a relationship. He always had an excuse. Deployed, working too many hours, too tired to socialize. The truth was probably simpler. Every relationship he’d been in had started off just like this. Him, running to the rescue, being the hero they needed. Once they were safe, once he’d solved their problems, he never felt had anything left to give them. And when the tables turned, and he needed them, they were quick to disappear. For now, he could just enjoy this, even if it wouldn’t last.