Sipping the drink, Matt murmured, “I was justthinking—”
“Well don’t,” Vic cautioned. “Not about that.”
Vic sank to the cushion beside Matt, set his cup onthe coffee table, took Matt’s mug and placed it behind him on theend table. Then he leaned Matt back against the arm of the couch,his eyes smoldering with a desire that made Matt’s stomach flutter.Staring into him, those eyes held him captive and blurred histhoughts, obscured his mind, until all he could think or see wasVic. Gentle hands eased him back; Matt turned toward Vic andscooted down, his legs stretching out over his lover’s lap as Vicleaned towards him. He expected a rough kiss, more words of love,something to negate the emotions warring inside him.
But Vic stared as if trying to memorize his features.His gaze roved over Matt’s face, content just to study him,counting every hair in his eyebrows, every eyelash, every freckle.Beneath that look, Matt laughed, once; Vic’s mouth toyed with asmile but his concentration never wavered. By the time one curvedfinger brushed along Matt’s cheek, he was dying for the touch,aching, and he leaned into it, his eyes slipping shut, withsomething like relief.
Then warm lips closed over his in a sweet, innocentkiss. Matt’s mouth parted, wanting more, but no tongue filled himyet—nothing but soft lips like the petals of roses brushing overhis lips, first the top one, then each corner of his mouth,catching his bottom lip between Vic’s. With the slightest tug, hispouting lip was caught in Vic’s mouth and suckled. He sighed,melting beneath Vic’s kisses, his hand straying to his lover’swaist, seeking more…
A firm hand stopped his, pulled it between them, heldit to Vic’s chest. Matt’s fingers tried to move toward the nipplesthat stood beneath Vic’s shirt but his lover held his hand,wouldn’t let it go, wouldn’t move away for this moment, this kiss.Matt let out a little frustrated moan, and thought he felt hislover smile against his lips. Without words, Vic murmured betweenthem, ::Just this.::
Beneath Vic’s kisses, Matt felt like a teenager on afirst date. Finally those tender lips parted, finally anardent tongue licked into him. Vic tasted Matt the way aconnoisseur sips aged, fragrant wine, or a candy lover savors thefirst, succulent bite of rich, dark chocolate. As if relearning theman beneath him, the fleshy curve of the inside of his cheek, thesmooth feel of a tongue along the backside of his teeth, the ridgesin the roof of his mouth and the way Matt’s tongue felt pressedalongside Vic’s own, Vic kissed Matt in a way he hadn’t been kissedin a long time—slowly, oh, God so slowly, as if nothing elsemattered in the world, nothing else demanded their attention,nothing else compared to this moment, this man, this kiss. Worldsrose and tumbled in that kiss. Stars were born and fell, dying, tothe earth, wishes made as they shot into the night sky. Even thesun seemed to stop in its tracks, breathless, waiting for thestrength to move again.
There was nothing heated in the kiss, nothingimmediate—through his lips and tongue alone, their tender massagingmotion, their amorous study of Matt’s own mouth, Vic managed topour into his lover everything mere words could not express. Thesensation went deeper than thought, deeper than love, to somethingmore primal, more lasting, than anything Matt had ever hoped couldexist. The promise in Vic’s lips was that every inch of Matt’s bodywould be tended to in time with equal reverence, nothing omitted,nothing unloved. That passionate kiss, lingering, lasting, began tofill in the spaces where his soul had been.
Hours later, it seemed, Vic’s hand released Matt’sand drifted over a trembling stomach to Matt’s waist. With slow,measured movements, Vic undid the last few buttons on the largeshirt Matt wore—when the first pale sliver of skin was exposed,Vic’s fingers curved around the waistband of Matt’s jeans, hislarge fingers causing the skin to flutter beneath his touch.
“Please,” Matt sighed as Vic thumbed open the buttonon his fly. He fisted his hands in Vic’s shirt, hungry for more ofhis lover, and more, and more. Vic moved like a man in adream, one from which Matt never hoped to wake.
A knock on the front door interrupted them.
“Fuck,” Matt muttered.
Vic kissed the word from his lips, then kissed himagain, and again, a flurry of little pecks that promised thiswasn’t over. “Hold my place,” he murmured as he stood.
Matt clung to him for a moment, then let him go. Hewas surprised to find himself aroused, despite his earlier fears,and whoever it was disturbing them better have a damn goodexcuse or he’d…
Disbelief and anger filled his mind when Vic openedthe door and saw who stood in their hallway. ::It’sKyle.::
Sitting up, Matt called out, “What? Kyle?”
His ex-boyfriend peeked around the open door and gaveVic a quick grin before turning Matt’s way. “Hey there, kid. Howyou doing?”
As he eased into the room, Vic growled, “I ain’t letyou in yet.”
Kyle blanched—he looked older than Matt remembered,haggard, weary. Pity filled Matt’s heart; his wasn’t the only lifedisrupted by Jordan’s machinations. “It’s okay,” he told Vic. Athis lover’s fierce look, Matt added silently, ::Don’t worry, I’mstill holding your place.::
Vic brushed past Kyle into the living room andplopped down in his recliner. “So what are you doing here?”
Encouraged by the fact that Vic didn’t throw him out,Kyle ventured into the living room and took a seat at the far endof the couch, opposite Matt. “Jesus,” he sighed, then he laughed, afractured sound that might’ve gotten away from him if he hadn’twiped at it with the back of his hand. “I’m so sorry, you guys. Ireally, truly am. I had no freaking clue.”
Matt pressed his lips together, not in a grin butsympathetic anyway. “I guess you want to talk about it.”
“Man,” Kyle said with a shake of his head. “I comehome from work and my place is crawling with cops. Before I evencrossed the yard, two officers drew their guns and another tackledme, reading me my rights and I’m yelling the whole time, you know?Then I’m locked into handcuffs and dragged into the house like it’snot even mine. My
