“You suck, too,” she told him without heat and went back to her chili.“So?”
Knox realized she was talking to him when she stared at him pointedly.“So, what?”
“You gonna find your balls, or what?”
He honestly didn’t know how to answer that.He felt like he’d been through the emotional wringer, from fury to anguish to this confused…he didn’t know what to call this feeling.He looked into Jesse’s dark eyes, saw his own conflict reflected there.“We have stuff to talk about, I guess.”
To his surprise, Lou nodded.“Talking is good, as long as it’s followed by doing.You don’t do, you’re just a talking, ball-less fool.”
“I think what my beautiful wife is trying to say,” Sawyer said with a laugh in his voice, “is good luck.”
“That covers it,” Lou decided.“You got anything to add?”
“‘You miss one hundred percent of the shots you don’t take’,” Sawyer said.
Lou rolled her eyes.“Fucking Michael Jordan again.”
“Actually, that’s Wayne Gretzky,” Knox said absently.
Sawyer laughed.
They left after that, declining an offer of chili and beer, and drove home in silence.Knox parked the truck in the detached garage and switched off the engine, then grabbed the now-cold food from the diner off the seat between them.“I’ll heat this stuff up.”
“You mind waiting half an hour?”Jesse asked, his usually vibrant voice quiet under the rumble of the garage door closing.“I’d really like to grab a shower first.”
“Sure.”Knox hesitated.“I was going to clean up, too, actually.Want some company?”
Jesse’s eyes met Knox’s, and the need in their velvety brown depths was like a fist to the gut.“Yeah.Yeah, I do.”
“Me too,” Knox murmured.
They got out of the truck and trudged up the short path to the brick church they’d renovated and made their home.It normally gave Knox a deep sense of pride and contentment to walk through those doors, to see all the love and sweat and skill they’d poured into it, but there was no room for it now.Habit had them stopping to peel off coats and boots, and Knox stopped in the kitchen at one end of the open living space to drop off the food.Then he was following Jesse up the stairs that led to the second floor.
Originally used for storage, they’d added insulation and reinforced the floor to make the attic their bedroom.The ceilings were low and the only windows were at either end of the long space, but they’d added skylights and recessed lighting, and the result was a cozy, welcoming space that was both restful and inviting.
Coming up the stairs, they passed through a cozy reading nook with a small electrical fireplace that was more for mood than for heat, then their king-sized bed in the middle of the room.They’d built the bathroom at the far end, including the giant shower Jesse had insisted on.
Knox had fought him on it, arguing that a six foot by eight foot shower with multiple jets and steam function was ridiculously indulgent and entirely unnecessary.But Jesse had put his foot down, as he so rarely did, and Knox had caved.And he had to admit that on hard, sweaty days when his body felt every one of its forty-six years, that shower was worth every penny they’d spent on it.
Jesse didn’t pause, just continued straight on to the bath.By the time Knox caught up to him he was already down to his socks and boxer briefs, his work clothes in a pile on the floor.Knox reached into the glassed-in shower to turn on the water, then bent to pick up Jesse’s clothes.He tossed them in the hamper, scooped up underwear and socks when they hit the floor, then paused to take in the view as Jesse stepped into the shower.
Firm, taut muscles, smooth, silky skin.Jesse tipped his face to the water, eyes closed, and Knox watched with increasing arousal as the water rippled down his body.Love, always present, tangled with lust and need to grab him by the throat, by the balls.
“Are you just going to stand there staring,” Jesse asked, his eyes still closed, “or are you going to come in here and fuck me?”
Lips pursed, Knox tried to gauge his husband’s mood.Less playful than usual, more urgent.A little rough.He could handle that, he decided, and tossed the clothes he held at the hamper before stripping off his own.
He stepped into the shower behind Jesse, eyes darting to the high shelf worked into the tile.Since shower time often turned to sexy time, they kept a bottle of lube there, and a couple of condoms should they decide to use them.Satisfied that the supplies were in place, he turned his attention to the man in front of him.
Smooth and wet, warm and willing, Jesse sighed with pleasure when Knox pressed against him, front to back, and wrapped both arms around him.“That’s nice.”
“Yeah?”Face buried in Jesse’s neck, Knox breathed him in.The lotion Jesse favored, some goat’s milk stuff he bought at the farmer’s market every year in bulk, carried a hint of basil.It made Knox’s mouth water.
“Yeah.”Jesse leaned back into Knox’s embrace.“More.”
“More like this?”Knox asked, using his teeth to scrape at the muscled column of his lover’s neck.A shiver ran through Jesse, thrilling Knox, and he stroked down the smooth, taut belly under his hands to the erection rising below.“Or more like this?”
“More like that,” Jesse grunted, hips surging, thrusting his dick into Knox’s grip.“Tighter.”
