“Give me a second,” Trevor said when they parted.
“Sure.”
Brendan half-listened to the quiet conversation between Trevor and the MDF agents, once again drawn in by the afternoon news. A few minutes later the agents left, and Trevor came to sit beside him on the couch.
“Was that you?” Brendan asked, staring at the video clip shot by a news drone of the smoking ruins of an illegally built compound in the Appalachian Mountains.
“Not just me,” Trevor said after a moment, but didn’t elaborate.
Not that he needed to. Brendan knew who Trevor had left the apartment with the other day. It didn’t take a genius to put two and two together.
Brendan shifted on the couch so he could better look at Trevor and not be distracted by the television and the top news story of the day. “Is it over?”
He wasn’t sure if he was asking about whatever spark was building between them or the whole damn mess that had thrown them together in the first place. Brendan wasn’t brave enough to make a distinction.
Trevor nodded slowly. “This particular Sons of Adam cell has been broken up. They’re in MDF custody and will no longer be a danger to you.”
“So, I can go home?”
“Yes.”
Home to an apartment that would forever hold bad memories now. His lease was up in a couple of months and Brendan knew for certain he was going to have to move. He couldn’t live in a place where he no longer felt safe.
“Or you can stay here, at least for tonight,” Trevor offered, as if his power was telepathy instead of telekinesis and he was reading Brendan’s mind. “I can cook you those fajitas I never got to make you.”
Brendan’s fingers twitched with the need to touch, but he held back. “You still want to?”
“What makes you think I wouldn’t?”
Brendan opened his mouth—then closed it. All the nervousness and doubt that had crept up over the last day or so disappeared in the face of Trevor’s patient, open gaze that left nothing hidden. The difference in their life experience was vast, despite the three years separating them, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t be together.
“My brain has stupid thoughts sometimes,” Brendan admitted.
“So does mine.”
“Can we start over?”
“Sorry, time travel isn’t a power I have.”
Brendan laughed and shook his head before crawling into Trevor’s lap. He ran one hand over the scruff on Trevor’s face, his skin tickling at the touch. “I kind of like how we met. Could’ve done without my life being in danger, but I liked you keeping me safe.”
Warm hands rucked up the newer USMC T-shirt Brendan had found in Trevor’s dresser drawer that morning. Brendan shivered at the warm touch as Trevor’s fingers grazed his skin. “I like keeping you safe, too.”
“Just keep me, and I’ll be happy.”
Trevor kissed him, slow and deep, leaving Brendan breathless at the end and wanting more than he could give voice to.
“I want that,” Trevor murmured, kissing his neck. “I want you.”
Brendan closed his eyes and moved his head to give Trevor better access. “In bed?”
“Right here is fine.” Trevor plucked at the T-shirt. “Besides, you stole my shirt. It’s kind of difficult to concentrate when you’re wearing my clothes.”
Brendan’s breath hitched in his throat as teeth scraped over his throat. “I got the other one dirty.”
Trevor bit down gently before taking his mouth away, and Brendan whined in protest.
“How dirty?” Trevor asked, eyes gone dark with lust.
