Touch & Geaux (Cut & Run 7)

They were close enough that Ty couldn’t even turn to face Zane. He tried to, brushing his cheek against Zane’s nose. Zane whispered in his ear. “I’m not going anywhere. Not without you.”

Ty smiled, crow’s feet appearing briefly. He was staring at Zane’s hand on his arm. “Okay.”

“Okay,” Zane said, even though it didn’t feel like the subject was resolved at all. He watched Ty for a moment, wondering if it was something they’d need to bring up later or if the melancholy Ty had admitted to would pass naturally. That’s how Ty usually handled these things.

“C’mon. I’ve got a hotel room all lined up for something dirty. I also have cake,” Zane growled as he stepped back to pick up the napkin-covered plate Alston had given him when he’d cleaned up. He dropped his voice to a near-whisper and grinned. “I’ll feed it to you.”

Ty laughed breathily and turned toward the elevators, shaking his head.

Zane glanced at the framed certificate and decided to leave it on his desk. It wasn’t something he wanted to think about at home. In the reflection, he caught sight of a figure moving down the hallway. They weren’t alone, after all. He turned to look over his shoulder and saw Richard Burns stepping into the stairwell. The door shut behind him, not making a sound. Zane stared for a moment, then hurried to catch up with Ty.

“I didn’t see Director Burns here during the party, did you?”

Ty shook his head and pushed the button on the elevator. “No, why?”

“He was here.”

Ty turned and glanced past Zane at the empty floor. “Pretty sure he wasn’t.”

“I’m pretty sure he was. I just saw him,” Zane said with another look at the stairwell. “We can probably catch him if the elevator hurries.”

But Ty shook his head. “Why would Dick be here?”

“You’re the one who said he called you.”

“I just used his name ’cause I knew you wouldn’t argue when I said we had to come here.”

Zane searched Ty’s eyes for any hint of a lie, but saw nothing to indicate one. He gave the stairwell door another hard glare. He knew what he’d seen. Why the hell was Richard Burns in Baltimore on a Friday night? And why wouldn’t he come say hello? What was brewing? The elevator dinged and Ty stepped in, holding the door.

“Zane?”

Zane nodded, eyes still on the stairwell as an uneasiness began to settle in his chest.

Chapter 2

Ty began to laugh when the Valkyrie turned toward the waterfront instead of the row house.

“He’s actually going back to the hotel,” Ty muttered, following in his old Mustang.

By the time Ty found a spot for the car, Zane had already disappeared inside. Ty gave the front of the car a pat as he walked by. He’d intended to spend the Easter weekend working on her, since he’d only managed to restore the mechanical and interior parts so far, but he had a feeling Zane had other plans. Ty strolled into the lobby, expecting Zane to be waiting for him, but he didn’t catch sight of his partner anywhere.

“Special Agent Grady?” a woman asked from the front desk.

Ty walked over, still grinning.

“Your partner said to give this to you,” the young woman said with a polite smile. She handed him a room key.

“Thank you.” Ty turned toward the elevators as he searched for the room number on the envelope. He’d gotten a suite. “Jesus, Zane. You go all out, don’t you?”

He hadn’t even gotten through the door of the suite when he was grabbed and shoved against the wall. Hands found their way under his tailored suit and lips pressed against his.

“Zane,” Ty gasped.

“You better hope it is,” Zane growled. “You ready to be fed cake?”

Ty grinned, looking into Zane’s nearly black eyes. He dragged his fingers over Zane’s shoulder, tugging at his dress shirt, enjoying the way Zane’s eyes were drawn to his lips when he licked them.

Zane’s voice dropped. “And some cream too?”

“Bad pun penalty,” Ty announced in the deep tones of a sportscaster as he held up an imaginary red card.

Zane grabbed his wrist and pressed it against the wall. “Oh, punish me,” he said as he started unbuttoning his shirt with his other hand.

“I think I’m the one being punished.” They both laughed.

Ty tugged Zane’s shirt out of his pants and ran his hand up Zane’s belly. Zane pressed against him and dragged his lips over Ty’s. His grip tightened on Ty’s wrist and Ty’s heart sped up. This first round was going to be hard and messy, he could tell that much.

“Let’s get to the bed,” he managed to grumble. “Last time we did this against a wall, my calves cramped for a week. And my back has been killing me the last couple days.”

Zane chuckled and nodded. He put his lips against Ty’s ear, then cupped Ty through his trousers. “Tell me where you disappeared to tonight.”

Ty huffed against Zane’s cheek. “You think you can torture me for information?”

“Yeah I do.” He nipped at Ty’s ear, and a shiver ran all the way to Ty’s toes.

Ty tried to laugh, but it came out as a gasp as Zane squeezed him again. “I had to get your orchid from the car.”

Zane turned his head to brush his nose against Ty’s cheek. He was humming, as if trying to decide whether to accept Ty’s explanation. He finally chuckled, then ran his hand up and down Ty’s torso and kissed him.

“You’re lying.” Zane’s harsh whisper broke the kiss. Ty groaned. “What were you up to?”

Ty slung his free arm over Zane’s shoulder, holding on tight. “You always know.”

“You have a tell.”

Ty laughed, then sighed. “If I tell you now, you promise to still f**k me?”

“Depends,” Zane growled.

“Mac pulled me aside. He said we’re going to have to start looking at options that don’t involve undercover work soon.”

Zane took a small step back, his grip on Ty’s wrist loosening. “Well, we knew that’d be coming soon. We’ve had too much exposure.”

Ty nodded. “He said we have until November when those calendars hit the shelves. Then we’re off UC work and into strictly investigative stuff.”

Zane chewed on his lower lip, a frown creasing his brow briefly before it passed and his fingers tightened against Ty’s wrist again. “Maybe we can start talking about the afterlife then.”