A soft kiss pressed on his tip, then his balls and inner thighs. “Love you, love you, love you.”
The soft chants against his skin made him open his eyes halfway—too blown out to go full-on open. He gazed at the blond man worshiping his body with lips and words and wasn’t sure his heart would still fit inside his chest if this kept up. When Hollis kissed his knee, Ian chuckled.
“Come up here,” he whispered, his throat sore from all his yelling.
Hollis came up but rolled onto his back next to Ian, pulling him on top. The big sigh of pleasure underneath him made Ian nuzzle into Hollis’s chest. He relaxed his entire body, sinking into Hollis the way he loved best. The way they both loved best.
No words were needed and he fell asleep to the feel of Hollis stroking his back and breathing into his hair.No Boyfriends AllowedA brisk wind swept across the parking lot, rattling the limbs of nearby trees and cutting through his heavy coat. The stars were bright overhead in the black sky. It might have been late February, but the air held no reassuring promise that spring was on its way. He was so damn tired of gray skies and frigid temperatures. He was also looking forward to getting Ian in shorts and swim trunks…and just fewer damn clothes. Right now, he was dressed in so many layers that it took forever to peel him down to skin.
Hollis paused just a few steps from his car and looked up at the front of the Buffalo Wild Wings out in what felt like the middle-of-nowhere Kentucky. Well, maybe not the middle of nowhere, but definitely rural. Until staying in the little safe house in Morning View, he’d never spent so much time in the Bluegrass state. He lived in Ohio and was a Cincinnati cop. Well…he had been a Cincy cop, but those days were over. Regardless, he didn’t cross the river into Kentucky often.
Of course, he couldn’t help but wonder why Andrei had invited him here. He’d told Rowe “no” twice about possibly joining Ward Security, and he hated to think that Rowe’s COO was now going to take a shot at him. Didn’t matter. He planned to take that job with Shane.
“Ha! Good! I’m not the only one running late.”
Hollis twisted around at the laugh and was surprised to find Noah striding toward him in a dark button-down shirt and slacks as if he were coming from the office. Hollis thought he was just meeting Andrei. Was Noah trying to convince him to join Ward Security too? Fuck.…
The other man clapped him on the shoulder when he reached Hollis, his wide, infectious grin firmly in place. “Jude and Andrei always beat me. I never hear the end of it.”
He simply nodded as he followed Noah into the crowded restaurant. All four walls were covered with flat-screen TVs playing different sporting events. Most of them were showing college basketball as the nation geared up for March Madness while a few had some highlights from earlier in the week. There was a steady rumble of conversation and random shouts as people cheered for their teams. A typical sports bar—Hollis was totally at home.
Pausing near the hostess station, they scanned the busy restaurant before Noah finally spotted Jude and Andrei at a high-top table near the center of the restaurant. Both men had beers in front of them. Andrei dropped back in his chair and laughed while Jude told some animated story, waving his arms around.
Slipping out of his heavy winter coat, Hollis carefully wove his way across the dining area, squeezing between diners and nodding at servers as they gave him nods of welcome. His stomach rumbled as the smell of wings, french fries, and deep-fried cheese drifted past his nose. Ian was working late at the restaurant, and while he knew that he had some delicious and healthier leftovers in the fridge, he couldn’t pass up the chance to gorge on a little unhealthy food.
“Which TV has the ’Bama game on?” Noah asked as he dropped into the empty chair next to Jude while Hollis slipped into the remaining chair between Noah and Andrei. He still didn’t know why Andrei had invited him or why he’d failed to mention that Jude and Noah were going to be there. The lack of more chairs seemed to indicate that the main crew of Snow, Lucas, and Rowe weren’t going to suddenly appear, which was too strange. He couldn’t think of a time where he’d been out with one of these men and not had any of the original family members there.
“Over there,” Jude motioned to the TV just above his left shoulder before looking over at Hollis. He narrowed his eyes on the former cop for a moment and then laughed, nudging Andrei. “You didn’t tell him!”