“Sure,” Dade answered, and they began walking farther, approaching the quarry a few minutes later. Trucks pulled in and out of the drive. “I think that’s far enough.” They turned back, returning to the quiet of the wooded trail. “I have to ask: do I taste like onions?”
“No. You taste like sweetness and warmth mixed with a touch of spice, probably from lunch. But I really can’t be sure, so….” He drew Dade to him and kissed him again. “Yeah, definitely something special.”
“You too.” Dade pressed Cliff against a tree and kissed him hard, the cool breeze trying to infiltrate their bubble of heat and failing completely. The energy between them was too intense, something Cliff was incredibly thankful for.
“You don’t hold anything back, do you?” Cliff asked when Dade pulled away.
“Why do that? If you want something, you have to go for it. That’s something I learned from the general, and it comes in handy. I’m not a shrinking violet, never have been.”
“That’s something I never doubted.” Cliff took his hand. “And don’t get me wrong for a second. I love that you know what you want and go for it. I’m the same way.” He closed the distance between them, lowering his voice. “And I want you.”
“I see…,” Dade said, swallowing. Cliff watched his throat work and loved the reaction. “Well, it’s a good thing the feeling is mutual then. Isn’t it?” He took a step back to steady himself and then led the way back down the path toward town. The afternoon sun reached the ground in some spots, the leaves having fallen in places, letting in the light. It was a wonderful afternoon, but as they reached town, the light began to fade as clouds settled in from the west.
“Is it supposed to rain?” Dade asked. “I never checked the weather.”
“I didn’t either.” They picked up speed and got to the car. The first drops of rain hit the windshield as they pulled into the parking spot in front of Dade’s building. Cliff helped him get everything inside, and they closed the door as the fall winds picked up, chilling everything just as the rain began in earnest.
“That rolled in fast,” Dade said as he peered out the window and then let the curtains fall back into place.
“Yeah, it did. But this time of year, you never know.” He stood behind Dade, pressing into his back, inhaling the clean scent from his hair. Slowly, tentatively, he slipped his arms around his waist and held him tightly. Dade leaned back, and Cliff sighed softly. Neither of them moved, just enjoying the quiet time until Dade slowly turned in the embrace and closed the distance between their lips.
ChapterFive
Cliff tastedlike heaven, and Dade couldn’t get enough. “Should we take this…?” Cliff began, but Dade shook his head. “What?”
“It’s too soon,” Dade whispered. “I know what you want, and I understand… believe me. But things need to be slow.” Part of him wanted to take Cliff by the hand and lead him to the bedroom, but the other part urged caution. He had to be sure. “I’m not in the habit of jumping into bed. You know where we started, and it wasn’t that long ago.”
“So, we slow things down?” Cliff asked.
“Yeah, we take it slow. There isn’t a need to rush into anything, and….” His experiences in the past hadn’t been exactly fulfilling, and he wanted things with Cliff to be different.
“Okay. I understand that.” Cliff didn’t move away and held him, only now some of the tension between them seemed to have changed. It was hard for Dade to read if it was good or not, but he told himself that if Cliff didn’t want to see him anymore because he wasn’t ready for sex yet, then maybe it was for the best. “We don’t need to rush into anything.”
“Good.” Dade rested his head on Cliff’s shoulder, and he just held him. It felt good to be cared for without the need for sex. Dade loved sex—he hoped Cliff didn’t think otherwise. But he had made the mistake of rushing into it in other relationships. “I don’t want things to go the way things have in the past.”
“I know. And I can certainly wait. Patience is one of my strong suits. At least within certain areas.”
Dade tilted his face upward. “How so?”
“I’m the XO, the executive officer, so sometimes impatience is part of the job, and I’m very good at it. Some things can bedone over time, but others need to be finished now. That’s how I live my life. So patient impatience is a part of my everyday life.”
“Do you get along with your colonel?” Dade asked.
“Yeah. I told him we were dating, and he said that he wanted to have both of us over for dinner. Colonel Donaldson is one of those people I trust. He looks out for me, and it’s my job to make him look good. The two of us are a team, and I can pretty much tell what he wants a lot of the time. I handle a lot of issues before they even reach his desk, and he relies on me for that.”
“I know how things work most of the time. I was raised in that environment. And I’m glad you get along with him. That makes things much easier for both of you. Though you’re the one with the really hard job, because everything rests on your shoulders.”
“It does. But I’m okay with that. You understand leadership. You use it every day in your classroom, and the buck stops with you too. I doubt people look at it that way, but it’s true. If something happens in your classroom, you’re the one in the hotseat, and you have to explain it and deal with parents and the administration. I have to do the same thing, to a degree. My job is to make sure that my colonel doesn’t have to do the explaining.”
They stood quietly as the rain fell outside, the wind pelting the rain against the windows. “I love days like these. You can stay inside with pillows and blankets, watch movies, and not feel guilty about it,” Dade said softly. “As a kid, though, I had to do it when my father wasn’t around. If he thought we were wasting time or a day, he’d find something for us to do.”
“Does the man not have fun?” Cliff asked.
“Yeah, of his kind. See, my father’s idea of fun was combat in the desert. Nothing gave him more pleasure than the years he spent commanding platoons and battalions. It made him feel alive, and he couldn’t figure out why we weren’t all itching tofollow him. Thankfully, Mom stayed with us in Europe while he soldiered all over the world.” Dammit, he hadn’t wanted to keep talking about his father. “Anyway, he’s not here, and we are. So why don’t you find something for us to watch, and we can spend a quiet afternoon on the sofa.” He slipped away and went to the linen closet. He got a couple light blankets and a few pillows, then returned to the living room.
They made themselves comfortable on the sofa, and Cliff put on a Netflix movie about a guy drafted into a secret society in order to keep international secrets out of the wrong hands.
About halfway through, Dade paused the movie and got drinks, as well as a bag of chips, because what’s a movie without snacks?
