Brantley didn’t speak, but his breathing was still labored, his bare chest rising and falling as Reese observed. Yeah, so his gaze lingered on all that smooth, sun-bronzed skin, along the contours of his pectorals, past the small, dark nipples, lower … down to the thin trail of hair that disappeared beneath the sheet.
There was a niggling in the back of his mind that told him it wasn’t normal for him to be ogling this man, but the rational side of his brain said he wasn’t hurting anyone.
It wasn’t like he hadn’t seen a man before. Hell, he’d been in athletics in school and then in the Air Force for eight years. He’d been around plenty of half-dressed men. Funny how, before now, he’d never had any sort of reaction to one. Not so much as a stirring in his blood.
That wasn’t the case with Brantley, and he had no fucking clue what it all meant. Worse, what he should do about it. If anything.
If he was smart, he’d walk away.
Too bad smart seemed to have left the building.
Chapter Ten
Brantley woke in a quiet room, his brain foggy but his headache blessedly gone.
As was the case anytime he recovered from the sort of pain that assaulted him without warning, he took his time opening his eyes, not wanting to do anything that might bring the fucking agony blazing through his head again.
He heard someone breathing deeply nearby and he tried to think back to the events of last night. He remembered having pizza with his friends. A hint of animosity flickering between Reese and Cyrus. Reese had left shortly after the meal, JJ next. Then Cyrus had made his usual attempt to seduce him, but by that point, Brantley’d been in too much pain.
The headache had been his excuse for not taking Cyrus up on the offer, but Brantley knew it had been more than that. Reese’s admission that he didn’t know if he was jealous or not… Yeah, no matter how hard he tried, Brantley couldn’t stop thinking about that.
By the time Cyrus had taken his leave, the headache that had come on strong had blazed through his head, making lights and sounds unbearable. His bed had been his only destination but that was about where it all got fuzzy.
Had Cyrus come back to check on him sometime during the night? Given him the medication that would put him under, the same meds he refused to take because they weren’t his thing and he damn sure had no intention of making them his thing?
Brantley shifted, turning his head toward the heavy breathing. It was then he realized there was a washcloth covering his eyes. He dragged it off his face but kept his eyes closed. The room brightened significantly behind his closed lids, which he took to mean it was morning.
He reached over, letting his hand move along the arm he located first. His hand brushed fingers, slowly sliding upward over a wrist, higher. He felt the forearm and realized there was no way that was Cyrus. Too much muscle.
“Please tell me you’re not gonna feel me up in my sleep.”
Brantley smiled at the familiar rasp of Reese’s voice. A frisson of warmth curled within him at the thought of Reese in his bed.
“Not unless you want me to,” he said, his voice gravelly from sleep.
“Mmm.”
His brain registered that as a noncommittal mumble. His body … not so much. Without moving his hand from Reese’s arm, Brantley turned toward him, eyes slowly coming open to peek at the man.
Reese was in his bed, propped up on a pillow as though he’d been reclining against the headboard initially but had slowly slid down until he was on his back.
“Did you take advantage of me?” Brantley teased. “Because I feel as though you might have.”
“Keep dreamin’, Navy boy,” Reese said, his eyes still closed, face relaxed.
That frisson of heat from a few moments ago turned into an inferno. Brantley’s body blazed to life, his blood churning faster in his veins at the sight of the sexy man in his bed. Sure, it was innocent, to a degree. While Brantley was naked beneath the sheet, Reese was wearing a pair of shorts and a T-shirt, his body laid out over the sheet, ensuring they weren’t touching.
But there was a fucking sexy man in his bed. The very man who should’ve been running scared after their heated conversation yesterday. Brantley wasn’t sure if he should be glad or worried that Reese was there now.
“You took care of me,” he said softly.
“I did.”
“Why?”
“Why not?”
“How’d you know?”
“You called me.”
Brantley grinned. “Did I?”
“Yep.” Eyes still closed, Reese stretched. “Went on about how you were sorry for bein’ a total dick.”
He chuckled, relieved when the move didn’t make his head throb again. He figured it was safe to say the headache was gone. For now, anyway.
