“There you are, sexy,” Pyro said, dragging him up to the platform.
The last thing Clover needed was to be in the spotlight. “Hey, Pyro. You did great. Now let’s go home, okay?” He clenched Pyro’s wrist, desperate for the man not to slip out of his grasp, because his pupils were so wide they covered all the green in his irises. Mixing liquor and cocaine again. He was in no state to drive himself home.
Clover scrambled over the railing and put his arm around Pyro’s waist. He was wary of touching the loser’s blood, but Pyro pulled him closer so fast there was no escaping it. Clover would wash his hoodie the moment they got back home.
“But the night’s still so young,” Pyro patted Clover’s ass.
“It is, and we can go and celebrate together, but let’s get you out of here first.” He gave Pyro a quick kiss, desperate to leave this dangerous place swarming with people he didn’t trust.
Someone captured Pyro’s attention for the briefest moment, but Clover was relieved when Pyro ignored everyone else and led the way along the raised platform the contestants used to enter the cage.
“How are you? All your teeth okay?” Clover asked, relieved to be at least somewhat away from the eyes of strangers.
Backstage was no less dirty, but couldn’t be accessed by just anyone. Clover would never give up on him. No matter what Pyro threw himself into, he still wanted Boar back as much as all of them, and once that happened, once they found Boar, everything would fall back into place.
The air smelled of piss, and Clover didn’t want to know why, considering they were in a building that had working toilets. Still, none of that mattered when Pyro had come back to him victorious. Pyro’s behavior had become increasingly erratic in the four months since they’d lost Boar, and each time he left, Clover couldn’t help but fear for him. Tonight, at least, he could ensure Pyro found his way into bed.
Pyro opened his mouth and showed his teeth to prove that he was fine, but then his gaze locked on Clover in a way that bordered on uncomfortable.
“Do I have something on my face?” Clover asked, but Pyro was already pulling him down an empty corridor.
“What is it? Did you collect the money?” In his state, Pyro was capable of forgetting that too, and after the disaster of Tank’s house burning down, their finances were in dire need of repair.
“Money?” Pyro asked, spinning Clover around and pushing him into an open room used to store crates of beer.
Clover’s back hit the wall too hard, but he had no space left for thinking when Pyro pushed his head back and covered Clover’s Adam’s apple with his hot mouth.
Oh.
He swallowed, stiffening in surprise. Not because he didn’t want Pyro to touch him, but because sex had been the last thing on his mind when he’d feared for Pyro’s safety in the ring.
“The money you won?” Clover closed his eyes and trailed his fingers up the strong forearms. Even when Pyro snubbed him, snapped at him, or avoided him, sex was always where they reconnected. Sex was where Pyro calmed down and where he focused on something other than his pain.
Sex was where Pyro forgot that Clover was guilty of Boar’s disappearance.
“Later,” Pyro whispered, trailing fast, wet kisses all over Clover’s neck. He was shaking already, drunk not only on the drugs and liquor but also the adrenaline of skirting the line between life and death. Semi-public sex would surely add to that explosive concoction.
No matter how guilty it made him feel sometimes, Clover also craved to forget about the world he’d need to come back to. The one in which Drake disappeared for weeks, where they lived in trailers, and where Boar was nowhere to be found. He was only human, and when Pyro came at him with all the sex appeal of a wild beast, smelling of masculinity, and even of blood, Clover gave in without a doubt.
He ran his hands up Pyro’s tattooed arms, all the way to his shoulders, not bothered by sweat, and focused solely on their mutual desire.
Damp, stubbly skin moved against his, sending shivers of excitement and relief all the way to his toes. He knew he shouldn’t be doing this here, but Pyro needed him, and he needed Pyro just as much.
He gave a broken yelp when Pyro spun him around and rocked his hips against Clover’s backside, palms on either side of Clover’s head, breath tickling Clover’s nape. “You’re so sexy,” Pyro whispered.
Clover’s breath became shallow, and he didn’t wait any longer, his fingers shaky when he unzipped his jeans. “And all yours. Always. You know that, right?”
Pyro hummed in response, his hands gravitating to the front of Clover’s chest. “I won today. Of course you’re mine,” Pyro said with a slight slur before claiming Clover’s mouth again. This time, he was more aggressive, and stroked his tongue along Clover’s palate, as if he wanted to claim him.