The NGPD and FBI wanted me to go out into the woods tomorrow and talk to them about the bodies they’d dug up. They apparently had old missing-persons photos and a ton of questions. They’d promised someone would help me trudge around. And Drew was going with me. But today? The only thing we had to worry about was us. Panic set in, kicking my heart along faster. What if he’d decided, last minute, he didn’t want to be with me? What if he was only here to take me back to that miserable house I’d left, full of old ghosts and horrible nightmares I’d brewed up myself?
Spiraling tendrils of fear twisted around my heart and squeezed.
Drew grinned as he got closer and opened his arms, and the muscles popped under the thin fabric of his black Henley. It wasn’t until he had his arms around me and his mouth softly settled onto mine that I unclenched and could breathe right. I slid a hand up his muscled chest, and he tugged me close. I was scared, but not enough that I wanted him to stop. I’d never kissed a man in the sunlight, in the middle of the day, with people walking around me on a sidewalk.
I’d never had the nerve.
I was a coward and huddled closer to him.
No one stopped or stared or pointed. I closed my eyes and leaned into his embrace. Drew tightened his grip around me. He flicked his tongue against my lips and lightly thrust it into my mouth. I opened for him, letting out a deep moan I hadn’t realized was hiding in me, which pulled an answering sigh from him. He slid a hand lower on my back, and I didn’t have to tell him to be careful. He was gentle as he urged me forward until our chests were flush. The firm ridge of his cock waking up had me hyperfocused on the spot where it nudged against my abdomen.He’s getting hard for me, right here on the street.My gut flashed hot, and I swirled my tongue with his. My cock tingled, and a happy throb on my tip let me know things had maybe gone a little too far for the sidewalk outside the courthouse, but I felt so wonderfully free and didn’t care.
Drew pulled back and hit me with a smile that had me clinging to him. “You know, you have the nicest lips. They need something on them, though.” The sun did amazing things to him. He had great skin and his hair was dark and shiny. It didn’t seem real that I was snug in his embrace.
“What?” I couldn’t help scowling at him.
He laughed and surprised me with another kiss. “Mine.”
My face heated until it almost burst into flames. “Did you just….”
“You don’t like to be flirted with?” His lips twitched, but he was paying attention to me for an answer. He rubbed lightly on my back and it felt good. So much of being near him was the lack of anythingbad, and the pleasure surprised me.
“Didn’t realize you were this kind of a loser while I was in jail, or I woulda picked another guard. A real man,” I grumped. My gut twisted. Why the fuck had I said that? It wasn’t what I was really feeling.
He snorted out a laugh. “What kind of loser are we talking about?”
“You don’t have to say sweet shit to me.” My body burned all the way down to my stomach and I felt weird, like I might float away. I held on to him tighter.
“But I want to say it.” His eyes warmed and sparkled in the sunlight. There was nothing on his face that said he was messing with me.
I nodded. “Okay. I guess. I won’t be doing it back.”
“That’s fair,” he said with another chuckle and kissed me again. My cock was not getting the picture that this was a public venue, with his body so perfectly fit to mine, and his tongue was doing unbelievable things.
Behind Drew, someone cleared their throat, and Drew moved back just far enough to roll his eyes, not at me, I didn’t think, but at the sound. He turned just enough that I noticed a tall blond man, and my stomach flipped in an unpleasant way. He was very familiar. The sad smile he flashed let me know he recognized me, too.
“Stirling Rowdy,” I said quietly.
Drew blinked at me. “That’shis first name?” He glanced at the big blond man and cracked up like he couldn’t quite hold it in. “No way.”
“Usually I go by my middle name of Tom, or just Rowdy,” he grumbled. “But you met me before I made that wise decision.”
“In passing,” I mumbled. “Rowdy it is, then.”
We stared at each other, and a type of understanding settled over us, maybe just in the way he tried to fight for a real smile. I worked my hand not holding the cane free from where I’d had it tangled under Drew’s collar. Drew grinned, and heat smacked my face again as it took me a second, and then I offered it to Rowdy to shake, which he did.
Drew didn’t let me go, and all over again, relief hit me. I wouldn’t have to go home and be alone. I leaned my forehead against his jaw and breathed him in. He smelled fresh, and the Henley clung to his chest muscles in a way that made them seem firm and unbreakable. He was big enough that it felt… comfortable and safe to be leaned up against him.
It was all so strange.
“Are you ready to go? See the cottage? It’s not huge, but I think it’s plenty of space for the two of us.” He smiled wide enough that the corners of his eyes crinkled.
“If you want me there.”
“I do.”
Nodding, I smiled as he squeezed me lightly around the middle. My cock hadn’t gone down, and his was still pressed into my stomach.
“Getting my truck,” Rowdy said.
