In their bedroom, they stripped off their clothes and fell onto the bed, barely able to speak coherently. Colin drew Joshua into his arms and snuggled him close, and within seconds, they were both asleep.
* * *
Colin stirred the following morning,and for a moment, he lay without moving, struggling to remember where he was. His eyes were still closed, but his hands moved over the bed, searching for his husband’s warm body. The sheets under his hands were cool, and the space beside him was empty. Suddenly remembering where he was, his eyes flew open, taking in the familiar sight of their bedroom. “Damn! I’m home!” He leaped out of bed and dashed into the bathroom.
He found Joshua sitting at the dining room table, gazing out the window with a mug of coffee in front of him. “See anything new out there, bud?” Colin asked as he slumped into the chair next to him.
“Nothing new at all,” Joshua told him. “Same view as when we left. But it sure looks good to these tired eyes.” He stood and pressed a kiss to the top of Colin’s head. “Let me get you some coffee.” When he returned with Colin’s filled mug, he laid a hand on his shoulder. “This feelssurreal,” Joshua told him. “I keep looking around for Danny and Shayleen. I keep listening for Devon’s music coming from his bedroom, and I amdefinitelymissing the sound of Nate’s voice.” He fell into the chair next to his husband. “Mentally, emotionally, I’m still in Ireland.”
For a moment, Colin was silent, then he nodded and reached for Joshua’s hand. “Isomiss Ireland,” he said, his voice hushed as he gazed out the window to the Rivanna River. “I miss the beauty, the serenity. But more than anything else, I miss myfamily.” He sighed and turned to Joshua, his eyes bright with tears. “It was agreattrip,” he whispered.
“Better than our honeymoon?” Joshua teased.
“Nothing could be better thanthat. But it was pretty damned close.”
Joshua watched him. Colin’s eyes were fixed on the flowing waters of the Rivanna River, but Joshua knew his mind and heart were three thousand miles away amidst the lush green meadows, rugged mountains, and spectacular cliffs of Ireland. And more than that, his heart was in the warm and sheltering homes of his Aunt Aileen and his cousin Danny—the homes where he found love and healing after his fourteen-year-old heart was shattered by an indescribable tragedy.
Joshua rose, moved to Colin’s side, and lowered himself onto his husband’s lap. “Hey,” he said, his voice soft. He touched his husband’s face. “Look at me, my darling.”
Colin pressed his lips together and turned toward Joshua, who cradled his cheek and lifted his head until their eyes met.
“We can go back,” Joshua soothed, carding his fingers through Colin’s hair. “It’s July. We can go back in the fall. October, maybe. Or maybe go for Christmas. Take your mom with us.” Colin gave no response but wrapped his arms around Joshua’s waist and held him close.
“My beautiful boy,” he murmured, nuzzling against Joshua’s cheek. “My sweet, beautiful boy.”
“I mean it.”
“I know.” He kissed Joshua’s cheek. “We’ll see, my love. We’ll look at our schedules and then decide. Believe me, I want to. But we both have responsibilities we can’t ignore.” He shifted in the chair and frowned. “If we do, people suffer. Good people. People we swore to help.”
Joshua nodded and caressed his cheek. “You’re right. But, they can spare us for aweek, Colin. We’ll do a better job helping them if our own hearts are healed.”
Colin smiled and shook his head. “Theymay be able to spare us. Esther and Norm might have other ideas. I’ve taken a lot of time off this year. But for now, I won’t argue with my live-in psychologist.”
“Damned right. And, hey. I didn’t start breakfast yet. Are you hungry, myYedid?”
Colin nodded and tightened his arms around Joshua’s body. “I am. But right now, it’s not food that I’m craving.” His lips and tongue traced a wet trail down the length of Joshua’s throat. “Right now, I’m cravingyou, my beautiful love.” He moaned as his lips moved against Joshua’s skin, leaving his throat damp, sliding his tongue over the curve of Joshua’s ear, teasing it with hot breath.
Joshua sucked in a quick breath, then leaned back and tugged on Colin’s T-shirt. “Take thisoff!” he whispered. “I want to touch you.”
“God, I love the way you think,” Colin told him, then lifted his arms so that Joshua could pull the undergarment over his head.
Joshua tossed the T-shirt to one side, then slid both hands down the strong, muscular planes of Colin’s chest. “My god, so fucking hot!” he moaned. “You are just so fuckinghot.”
“Glad you think so,” Colin murmured against Joshua’s mouth. He kissed him again and again, nibbling his lower lip, caressing it with his tongue, while at the same time, his hand dropped, fingers pressing against the hard pulse of Joshua’s arousal. "We have too damn many clothes on," he growled against Joshua's mouth.
“And we’ve taken this lap thing as far as it’ll go,” Joshua replied. He pulled away from Colin’s embrace and struggled to his feet. “C’mon, Irish. Let's take this upstairs. I want to be in bed with you.” He grabbed Colin’s arm and dragged him forward but was stopped halfway up the stairs when Colin yanked him into his arms for a long, wet, lingering kiss.
Colin leaned him back against the railing, his hands on either side of Joshua’s body, moaning as his lips captured Joshua’s, kissing him with hungry passion.
“We're going to go over the side,” Joshua warned.
"No way," Colin promised, drawing him forward again. “If I can keep you from falling over the Cliffs of Moher, I can keep you from tumbling over this puny railing.”
Joshua laughed, clutching Colin’s arm as they stumbled into the bedroom. Then, while Colin paused to strip off his briefs, Joshua tore off his underwear and hurled the briefs and T-shirt to one side. He fell to the bed on his back and held out his arms to Colin. “Get over here,” he demanded. “Andhurry up! I want you now!”
Colin fell onto the bed, covering Joshua's lean, muscular body with his own. "Jesus, you feel so fuckinggood!”
Joshua’s hands moved over Colin’s body in quick, frantic caresses, feeling as though he could never get enough of the touch of Colin’s skin. “Goddammit, Colin! Hurry!”
