High Heat (Hotshots 2)

“God, the last thing I want is you feeling guilty. No. You didn’t take advantage of me. I loved it.”

“Good. But I sense a but there...”

“I...ah...haven’t been with anyone in a long time. Since before the accident.” Garrick looked over Rain’s head at the patio lights, cheeks going pink even as he avoided eye contact.

“I see. And you think it matters to me? Your injuries? Because it really doesn’t. You’re sexy as hell, exactly as you are.”

“It matters to me,” Garrick ground out, and Rain couldn’t tell whether he was more frustrated with Rain for pressing or with himself. “I can’t... A lot of things I could do before... I can’t now. And most of the time I’m okay with that. But sometimes it fucking sucks, especially when I don’t even know all my limitations, can’t predict what will work and what won’t.”

“Ah.” Rain finally got enough subtext from all Garrick’s dancing around the issue to have a better idea what they were talking about. “The neurological part of your injuries...it’s affected your cock in some way? Fuck. Now I feel like we should have talked more first, if you couldn’t enjoy it.”

Garrick made a frustrated sound. “I told you. I loved it. I enjoyed every moment of watching you, I mean that. And as for the spinal injury’s effects, it’s...weird. Like I got super turned-on watching you, and my cock got hard at a couple of points, but I just know from...uh...playing on my own that it doesn’t always stay that way. Or...cross the finish line every time, if you get what I mean.”

“What does your doctor say? Like the meds they have for that, they don’t work on your sort of injuries?”

Garrick mumbled something unintelligible while studying the bubbling water. “Haven’t asked. No clue on meds.”

“Okaaaay.” Rain drew out the word, because if it were him, he’d be calling the doctor right away at the first sign of difficulty. But maybe that wasn’t fair—it was a personal issue, and he got where a big, tough guy like Garrick might be embarrassed admitting to a problem. “So, that’s where you start.”

“You make that sound so easy. ‘Hey, Doc, about my dick...’” Garrick made a dismissive hand gesture, sending droplets of water Rain’s direction.

“Actually, exactly like that. You think you’re the first guy with a misbehaving dick? I’m sure they’ve heard it before.”

“Not from me.”

“You could message your doctor if you don’t want to bring it up face-to-face? Like that’s how I handle getting tested on the regular—I just use the scheduling app and never actually talk to a person. I go in, get the blood drawn, and the results show up online.”

“That’s actually not a bad idea. My neurologist’s office does have one of those apps. I just... I fucking hate the idea of needing...help getting it up.” He made another frustrated gesture, this time sending water Cookie’s direction and making her bark before settling back down. “Sorry, Cookie. And sorry to you too. You’re sexy as hell and the last thing you need is a guy with a...how did you put it? Misbehaving cock. The old me would have had a hard time not shooting, watching your little show.”

“The you right now is pretty darn awesome,” Rain said firmly. “And you said you felt good? You enjoyed it, right? I mean, I’m sure an orgasm would be great too, but if I made you feel pleasurable things, that’s cool. And it’s a start.”

“But you see now why we can’t do that again. A repeat would be a bad idea.”

“Nope, don’t see that at all.”

“I can’t guarantee I could get off no matter what we tried. At the risk of TMI—”

“Please. Give me all your TMI.” Rain scooted close enough to bump shoulders with Garrick. “Seriously, dude, I’m not put off by this, and the more information you give us to work with the better.”

“Ah. Okay. Well, it’s...unpredictable. Sometimes it works fine. Others, not so much, and it’s not a matter of a tighter grip or sexier porn or heated lube—all things I’ve tried, mind you. Or like toys versus no toys. That sort of thing.”

“You’ve experimented. That’s good. You can report all that to the doctor.”

Garrick made a gulping sound. “I might need to get out of the tub before I drown one of us accidentally. And trust me, after you help wrestle me out of the tub, you’re not going to want any more sex talk anyway.”

“Okay. Let’s get you out. But not before...”

“Before what?” Garrick asked, turning toward Rain, giving him the perfect opportunity to ghost his lips over Garrick’s. Not a deep kiss or even a particularly sexy one, but a kiss nonetheless, one that left a lingering impression of Garrick’s soft, wide mouth, stubbly cheeks and surprised intake of air.

“That. Because I’m not done with the sex talk. Or you.”