“If you thought what I did was a favor”—Brantley’s smile turned mischievous—“you’ve got a lot to learn about me, Reese. For one, I do what I do because I want to. Not because I expect anything in return. And when it comes to you … there’s a whole hell of a lot I want to do to you.”
“I’m gonna fuck this up,” he said, accepting it as truth.
“You won’t. You can’t,” he declared, clearly sensing Reese’s need to argue. “But I will tell you what I want right now.”
Reese cocked an eyebrow, waited.
“I’d like you to come home with me. Sleep in my bed tonight.” He briefly glanced at the couch. “As much as I’d say we can stay here, there’s no way both of us’ll fit on that couch.”
No, they wouldn’t.
“That seems the opposite of slow,” Reese retorted.
Brantley grinned. “I’ll put a pillow between us if it makes you feel better.”
Reese laughed, all the tension that had wound him tight a minute ago gone.
Twenty minutes later, they’d arrived at Brantley’s. Reese had followed in his truck, parked behind Brantley, and headed inside like it was his normal routine.
“You really should consider gettin’ a couch,” he told him when Brantley had gone to the kitchen for drinks.
“Why?”
“That’s where normal people hang out, watch TV. Talk.”
“What if I don’t want normal? Ever think of that?”
He smiled.
“Plus, if I had a couch, what would be my excuse to get you in my bed?”
“Doubt you’d need excuses.”
“Indulge me, Reese.”
Brantley motioned for him to come along, so he followed the man down the hall to the master bedroom. It didn’t take long before Brantley was buck naked and in the bed, the sheet pulled up over his hips, the pillows propping him up. He grabbed the remote, turned on the TV, then tossed it to Reese’s side of the bed.
With Brantley’s eyes on him, Reese managed to strip down to his boxer briefs. He considered sleeping in them but then felt like that was a chickenshit move, so he shoved them down his legs and joined Brantley in the bed.
And while he appreciated the gesture, was grateful that Brantley understood how hard this was for him, he had no intentions of watching television. Just because he was anxious about doing certain things, that didn’t mean he hadn’t come to enjoy what they’d done up to this point.
“What’re you doin’?” Brantley rasped, his eyes following Reese as Reese crawled over him, straddling his thighs.
“Exploring,” he said, shifting until Brantley was laid out flat beneath him. “You don’t mind, do you?”
Brantley’s hand curved over his cheek. “I’m at your mercy, Reese. For as long as you want me.”
There was a warmth that filled his chest. It was another foreign feeling stirred by this man. Brantley had awakened something inside him, made him want, ache, need. But most importantly, he’d made Reese feel in a way he hadn’t before.
“Just touchin’,” Reese said softly, smiling as he laid himself out over Brantley. “That’s all I’m gonna do.”
“Touch away,” Brantley said with a chuckle.
That chuckle died quickly, replaced by a sexy moan.
There were quite a few more that followed.
***
“A task force?” Gage asked when he stepped into the office.
Travis looked up from his computer screen, then reached for the glass of scotch he’d set on his desk. “You knew I would, given the first opportunity.”
Gage smiled, one of many Travis had seen in the past twenty-four hours, ever since Kate had been safely returned to them. “Of course I did. It’s what you do. I knew all that research you were doin’ wasn’t for naught.”
“You know me better than most,” he admitted to his husband.
“No,” Gage said firmly, “I know you better than anyone.”
True. He did. Because they both worked and lived together, Gage knew every detail of his life and Travis wanted it that way. In return, he knew all of Gage’s secrets, too. And they shared as much as they could with Kylie, never wanting her to feel as though she wasn’t the center of their world. Truth was, that was exactly how it worked in their world. Kylie was the very heartbeat of their existence. Travis’s, Gage’s, the kids’. Keeping her happy was all that mattered.
“The question is,” Gage said, “can you be a silent member of the team?”
Travis considered this as he leaned back in his chair, stared up at his husband. “Yes. And you know me, I wouldn’t say that if it wasn’t true.”
“No, you wouldn’t.” Gage took a long pull on his beer. “You trust Brantley.”
“And Reese,” Travis added. “The two of them together…”
“Are they?” Gage asked, smiling. “Together?”
“From what I’ve ascertained, yes. It’s a tentative relationship at the moment.”
“The way ours was in the beginning?”
“If you mean by you pretendin’ you didn’t want me and me pursuin’ you ruthlessly, then yes. That’s very much the way theirs appears to be. From the outside lookin’ in, anyway.”
