“Baby! There you are!” Jay pulled his arm out of the guy’s grasp, ran to Ryden, and jumped up, relieved when Ryden caught him. He looked confused, so Jay made sure Ryden couldn’t put his foot in it. Jay threw his arms around Ryden’s neck and kissed him like he’d been waiting his whole life for this.
Ryden caught on quickly, and after a heartbeat of hesitation, he shoved Jay up against the wall and kissed the ever-loving fuck out of him.
Holy shit.
The heat that exploded through Jay had him instantly hard. It was somehow hotter than the first time, and although itterrifiedhim, Jay pushed his fears aside and returned Ryden’s scorching kisses. He moaned against Ryden’s mouth as they mauled each other.
Forced to come up for breath, Jay threw his head back, and Ryden moved his lips to Jay’s neck, licking, sucking, kissing. By this point, Jay was panting, and he could do nothing about it. Did hewantto do anything about it? It didn’t help that he was having a really difficult time doing anything other than trying not to come in his pants.
“You should be reported for this,” the Marine growled.
Ryden pulled back. “And who’s gonna do it? You?”
The Marine glared at him.
“Unless ya wanna get an eyeful,” Ryden said. “I suggest you get movin’.” His voice was low and breathy, that drawl dripping with sex.
This wasn’t happening. How was this happening? What the hell had he been thinking? He’d gone from refusing to think about their innocent kiss to desperately wanting to do very naughty things to Ryden.
The Marine shook his head. “Get a fucking room or take off the uniform.” Upstairs, a door closed, and the Marine took off. Other than the sound of their panting breaths, the stairwell was silent.
“That was close,” Jay murmured, dropping his head onto Ryden’s shoulder until he realized he was wrapped around Ryden like the floor was made of lava. He slowly pulled back,and Ryden met his gaze. His lips were red and kiss swollen, and his eyes… He really did have stunning eyes.
“Does it freak you out?”
Jay frowned. “What?”
“My eye.”
Jay didn’t hesitate. “No, of course not. Have I ever given you the idea it did?”
Ryden shook his head.
“Good.” Jay reached up and ran his thumb under Ryden’s right eye without considering what he was doing. It was a foggy gray with a very faint, barely visible ring. Realizing what he’d done, he quickly moved his hand away. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have done that.”
Ryden barked out a laugh. “Really? After what we just did?”
Heat filled Jay’s cheeks. “You, um…you should probably put me down,” he replied, breathless.
“Oh, right.” Ryden put him on his feet and cleared his throat. He smoothed out his uniform while Jay did the same with his clothes. “So, uh, we gonna talk about it now?”
“I overheard Martin talking to someone upstairs.” Jay relayed the conversation he’d heard between Martin and the other Marine.
“Not what I meant, but okay. Damn. They’re clearly up to something.”
“What do we do?”
“Wedo nothing. I’m gonna talk to the Kings. I don’t want you anywhere near this.”
Jay folded his arms over his chest. “Why? Because I’m not a big tough Marine?”
“That’s right, you’re not. I don’t want you gettin’ yourself into trouble and gettin’ hurt,” Ryden growled.
The words stung, but Jay wasn’t about to show it. He threw his hands up. “There I go again,asking for it.”
Ryden flinched, the wind seeming to have gone from his sails. “That ain’t what I said.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. That’s right. You said, ‘You keep teasing men the way you do, and you’re going to get yourself into more trouble than you can handle.’ Those were your exact words.” Jay shook his head. “Don’t worry. I’ll be sure to stay out of it.” He stepped up to Ryden and poked him in the chest. “But make no mistake. The only one hurting me around here isyou.” Jay spun and headed for the door, only to have Ryden grab his arm.
