From this angle, Jamie could see the freckles scattered over the bridge of Kyle’s nose and one cheek.Kyle wasn’t as tall or as broad as Jamie, which made it easy for him to fit against Jamie like this.He squirmed his own arm beneath Kyle, tugging the other man closer.Kyle shifted position a little, letting his head rest on Jamie’s shoulder.The scorched ends of his longer-than-regulation hair rubbed roughly against Jamie’s skin, a silent reminder of yesterday’s mission.
“Sleep okay?”Kyle asked through a yawn.
“Yeah,” Jamie admitted.
Considering how tense yesterday was, he’d expected to wake up angry, but Kyle’s efforts last night had proven effective in helping Jamie burn through his anger.The lingering issues with his father would always be there, but the fight last night no longer colored his mindset.
“Good.”Kyle levered himself up onto his elbow for a kiss marred by morning breath, but Jamie didn’t let that stop him from responding.He had Kyle with him, in his bed, and that would always be worth waking up to.“I’m hungry.Feed me.”
Jamie laughed.“There goes the romance.”
Kyle smacked Jamie on the chest, glaring half-heartedly at him.“I’ll romance you again later so long as you feed me now.”
“I thought your mission would run longer while I was away.I pushed back the food delivery for a few days, so there’s not much left.”
Kyle rolled his eyes and crawled off the bed, evading Jamie’s wandering hands with deft ease, and headed for the bathroom.“Then you’re paying for breakfast.”
“I see how it is.You only like being with me for my money.”
“And your dick,” Kyle shouted.
Jamie laughed a little at that, well aware of how much Kyle liked his cock.Last night was just further proof of that.Climbing off the bed, Jamie stretched a bit before following Kyle into the bathroom.Kyle was spitting toothpaste into the sink, having already finished brushing his teeth.Jamie brushed his own teeth before joining Kyle in the steamy shower, the glass wall and door already fogging up.
The multiple showerheads and wide space meant they had a lot of elbow room they ignored in favor of washing each other up.Not being in a rush or showering in the communal showers on base was a nice change.They took their time cleaning up before getting out and drying off.They dressed for a warm winter day, with Jamie opting for dark jeans and a button-down shirt beneath a gray blazer, while Kyle went with slim black jeans with holes in the knees and a long-sleeved shirt under an old Army hoodie that had seen better days.
“Drive or walk?”Jamie asked as they left the condo for the private elevator outside in the foyer.
“Walk.I’m too hungry to deal with traffic.”
Jamie figured he knew where Kyle wanted to go.One of their favorite breakfast spots when they had the time to spare was only a few blocks away.The walk there on a sunny Monday morning was nice.Kyle kept his hands tucked into the pocket of his hoodie, their conversation light and easy.Jamie enjoyed the sound of Kyle’s laughter when he found something funny, and Jamie couldn’t stop his own smile from forming.Being with Kyle outside of work always grounded him in a way that was becoming more and more obvious with every week that passed.At this point, he honestly couldn’t imagine his life without the other man and didn’t want to.
The French-inspired café that was their destination was located on the ground-floor level of a residential skyscraper and had an outdoor seating area stretching into a pedestrian plaza.The weather was warm enough that people were being seated outside, but Jamie and Kyle preferred a wall at their back and a clear line of sight of the exit.Since it was Monday, and most people were already at work at 0900, they didn’t have to wait long for a table.A hostess eventually led them to a table, and Jamie let Kyle take the seat facing the door without a fight.The unease Jamie usually felt with his back to a room full of people was eased by knowing Kyle had his six.
Kyle picked up the thin tablet where it sat on the table and scrolled through the menu, ordering their usual.They rarely picked something different at this place, and Kyle knew what Jamie liked.When he finished ordering, Kyle leaned back and quirked an eyebrow at Jamie.
“Feel better?”he asked.
“Yeah,” Jamie admitted.
His answer stemmed as much from being with Kyle as the fact he was no longer in his family’s presence.Jamie would feel guilty about that if he didn’t know his father was more interested in using him rather than supporting him right now.
“Good.”
Kyle smiled a little crookedly, but the warmth in his green eyes was for Jamie alone.He wasn’t drop-dead gorgeous—no one was these days except with enhancements or genetic luck—but he was definitely nice to look at, especially his full mouth.Jamie had to kill the urge to reach across the table and take Kyle’s hand in his.Some days, he hated needing to hide their relationship so nothing got back to their superior officers.
“Should probably get an order of groceries delivered if you’re staying here rather than in Manhattan for the next few days,” Kyle said.
“You can access my food account just like everyone else on the team.Feel free to pick out what you want.”
Since his condo was an unofficial hangout for the team on certain days, Jamie had long ago appointed himself the team’s food provider.The private catering service his mother had set him up with years ago was used to filling large orders for him.He didn’t care about the price of the food, so long as it was eaten.
Their breakfast eventually arrived, carried to their table by two servers.A ham-and-leek tartine was set in front of Jamie while a sizzling bowl of shakshuka was placed before Kyle.A basket of warm croissants and tiny French baguettes, along with small dishes of cloned fruit jam and butter, were set in the middle.One of the servers poured them both two cups of synthcaf before departing.While Jamie could afford the luxury of real coffee on the regular if he so chose, he’d been drinking synthcaf for his entire military career and saw no reason to stop.
They dove into their food with gusto, talking blandly about current news stories and Madison’s latest television show obsession.Her pop culture consumption was a little on the terrifying side, and she inevitably managed to drag someone on the team into her binge-watching activities.She and Kyle were currently watching some historical drama set at the turn of the last century in Canada about the melting Arctic ice and its impact on the First Nations of that country.Apparently, it had won a couple of Emmys last year, despite it being ridiculously depressing.
Kyle was trying to bribe Jamie into watching it when his gaze shifted a little to the right.Jamie tensed up a little at the subtle changes he could read in Kyle’s expression.
“Problem?”Jamie asked in a low voice, careful to keep his tone calm and easy.
