Then he realized Francis was referring to the previous night, and Mark stretched on the bed, smiling as he felt a twinge that hadn’t been there the previous morning.
“Good, I feel good.” He looked at Francis who smiled back at him.
“I had this idea,” Francis said, seeming a bit hesitant. “I know I can’t be there for you when the call comes, but I’d like you to have something to hang on to.”
“Okay…. What did you have in mind?” Mark frowned, feeling confused. He thought it was a good idea, but he didn’t know what it could be.
“Well, I know touch is the easiest thing to keep you grounded, right?” Francis placed a hand on Mark’s thigh, squeezing firmly. Mark nodded. “So how about I give you the mother of all hickeys right here, and if you need help, you push on it.” He demonstrated by pressing his fingers into the spot he’d squeezed.
It was so simple, but Mark saw how it could help.
“Yeah, I like it. Please?” he asked, surprised about the waver in his own voice.
He felt more like his regular self in the early morning light. The softness and utter relaxation from the night before was gone, and the usual walls he kept around himself for different situations were starting to fall in place.
Francis moved down the bed, pushing the covers away. He was thoughtful for a moment, and then lifted Mark’s leg before sliding between his thighs. He looked up at Mark and grinned.
“Don’t get any ideas or we’ll be late,” Mark grunted at him, knowing where Francis’s mind had gone. Especially because that was where his own had wandered as soon as Francis moved toward his dick.
“All right, all right,” Francis grumbled, then pointed at a spot on Mark’s left thigh. “You hold your phone with your right hand, so I think this will be good.”
Mark nodded. “Yeah, go for it.”
Francis opened his mouth and latched on to his thigh. It wasn’t quite inside of the thigh, but close enough for it to feel like a jolt straight to Mark’s groin.
And then Francis sucked up a bruise. He kept moving his mouth, and suddenly there were teeth, and Mark groaned and fisted the sheets so he wouldn’t grab his rapidly filling cock.
Francis gnawed on the spot he’d chosen, and the pain of it made Mark close his eyes for a moment. Then it all stopped, Francis’s panting loud in the otherwise quiet room, as he surveyed the results.
“That ought to do it,” he said with some amusement.
The bruise really was the mother of all hickeys. It throbbed and looked like an actual injury, not just a love bite. It would stay for days and days, and with the way it was feeling now, Mark knew it would be just what he needed to be able to get through the screaming match in just a handful of hours.
Again, for what seemed like the thousandth time, Mark said, “Thank you.”
Francis kissed his thigh next to the bruise before maneuvering himself off the bed.
“Anytime, darling. I need to get going. I wish I could be there, but if you need me and can drive safely, come to the house?” Francis spoke as he walked to the bathroom.
Mark wondered if he’d be in a headspace to be able to drive or hell, even work.
“I’ll ask the sheriff if I can take a couple of hours off if I need to. Jason and Lotte are going to Mercer for something baby-related so I can’t take much more than that.” Mark sighed.
“You think everything is fine?” Francis asked leaning in the bathroom doorway with a toothbrush in his hand.
“With the baby? Yeah, I think it’s just a scan and shopping or something. But he missed the last scan because of work when Erin was sick so….” Mark shrugged as he started to get dressed.
Sometimes he forgot that Francis knew many people in town already. Some of them even further back than Mark.
They managed to get going around the same time, and the last thing Francis did before leaving the house was to kiss Mark deeply and possessively, and reach his hand down to dig his thumb into the bruise. Even through Mark’s uniform pants, he felt the touch to his core.
Grinning, Francis opened the door. “Let me know how it goes or just show up at the Grahamses’, okay?”
“I will. Have a nice day.”
* * * *
At ten, there was a lull in morning action, so Mark headed to talk to the sheriff.
