Up in Arms

“What’s your favorite color?” Trevor asked when Reed came back in the room. He came to stand by the bed, with a handful of medicine.

“My new favorite color is Cerulean Blue, which coincidentally is the color of your eyes handsome. Ah...and there’s my reward, my second favorite, the color of your very sexy blush. Now here you go, beautiful. Let’s see here, we have all the colors of the rainbow...a huge red one, a tiny purple one, and this odd shaped peach one. Which first? Or are you man enough to take them all at once?”

Trevor grinned, raising his eye brows in challenge. Reed dropped them all in Trevor’s hand. He swallowed them all in one drink.

“Now there’s a big boy. Trevor West, I do believe you’re an expert swallower. Now I’m excited to know for sure. We’ll test the theory again later.” Reed winked and kept going, not giving Trevor time to truly absorb the words. “The tiny purple one is a badass antibiotic. The red one is a pain medicine. The odd shaped one is an anti-inflammatory for your leg.” Taking the tea, Reed placed it on the nightstand before turning to his closet. “It’s been a long day and this medicine will make you tired. Do you need to use the restroom again?” he asked, making his way to his closet, pulling his shirt free of the waist band of his slacks.

“I can wait, just maybe before bed. You look tired.” Trevor’s eyes followed Reed while he opened the door to his closet. Reed stepped in, but didn’t shut the door behind him. Trevor could see him clearly, pulling his clothes off. Reed shook out a pair of pajama pants, pulling the new tags free of the fabric. Trevor could see Reed’s brow narrowing as he held the pants up, letting the legs fall down while they unfolded. Reed’s muttering made him smile. “Why would people wear such a thing to sleep in?” Laughing, Trevor forced his eyes away, and realized now why he may have been put to bed with no clothes on after the bachelor party.

“I’m tired,” Reed finally said from the closet. “I wanted everything to be ready for you so I took a couple of weeks off work. I spent last night transitioning files. It didn’t go so well. I wasn’t as thorough as I thought. I got several phone calls today. I may be pulled away now and again answering questions for my staff, but my time should easily be yours.”

“It’s fine. I hate to be a burden to you.”

“You couldn’t be a burden, handsome.” Reed came from the closet, the pajama pants hanging low on his hips, his lean, muscular chest bare. The small patch of hair leading down into the pajama pants showed just enough to make Trevor want to see more.

“Come, let’s get you to the restroom,” Reed said, helping him up and across the room. The movement became easier each time they did it. Trevor’s shoulder and arm were sore, more sore than before, but being able to use the arm was critical to his success in getting in and out of bed. After everything was done, Reed settled Trevor back in bed before grabbing a few pillows from the guest room. Turning off the lights, Reed climbed in the other side of the bed.

“This is another first for me, handsome. I’ve never slept with a man in my bed. It feels comforting to have you here with me.” Reed stayed on his side of the bed, adjusting the pillows behind his head. He pulled the duvet up around him.

“It’s new for me too,” Trevor said. He could feel his eyes were already drooping again. The medicine was making him drowsy. Reed leaned in on one elbow and kissed Trevor lightly on the lips before turning the TV off, plunging them into darkness.

“Good night, sexy. Wake me up if you need anything. Promise me.”

“I will. Good night. Thank you for everything, Reed. I don’t know how I got so lucky to have you in my life...” Trevor’s voice trailed off, becoming soft and quiet as he fell asleep.

Chapter Twenty

The blinking of the clock seared into Reed’s brain. It was now three fifty-three in the morning, and he wondered if anyone knew the clocked blinked approximately thirty three blinks every single minute. Over and over, the clock blinked thirty three times before the next minute started. Only to blink another thirty three times before the next minute started. Reed knew this because he lay in this bed at ten forty-five, ready to sleep and now, five hours and eight minutes later, he was still awake. Awake with a raging hard-on and stupid pajama pants that kept twisting around his ankles.

All Reed wanted to do was sleep. After the first hour and a half, he snuck to the bathroom, quietly relieving himself, hoping the release would make him sleepy. No such luck. Every time Trevor exhaled, his dick thought it was time to stand up and take notice. Approximately an hour and a half later, Reed repeated the bathroom run trying to find relief yet again. At one point, he drifted off to sleep, but the terrible pajama pants, which Reed decidedly determined should be outlawed by the federal government, tangled around his ankles every time he turned. Seriously, who really wore these things and why would anyone invent something as dumb as pajama pants? Well, the answer was clearly no one in their right mind! And he felt certain of that with each passing minute. His normal sleeping habits included no clothing at all, the way normal people should sleep every single night.

Lifting his hands up, Reed ran his palms over his face. What am I doing? What was I thinking bringing him to my bed? The feel of Trevor’s body next to his, so close yet so far away, had him tied up in knots. Reed didn’t know if he were coming or going. Every one of his thoughts centered on making sure Trevor West was taken care of. Hearing Trevor’s laughter or seeing his brief smile when their eyes met felt like some great reward to him. A reward he felt completely undeserving of, which made it that much more treasured.