“On it!”
* * *
When they got home,Colin kicked off his shoes and sprawled on the couch, one leg dangling over the side, the other hooked over the back. Joshua looked down at him, squinted one eye, and tilted his head to the side. “Comfy?”
Colin breathed out a soft laugh. “Get your hot-assed self the fuck over here!” he ordered.
“Oh, no,” Joshua said, backing toward the stairs, hands extended as if pushing away his husband’s command. “No couch action for this hot-assed Jewish boy.” He patted his butt. “You want some of this?” He turned and pointed to the steps. “Youclimb.”
Colin set up, laughing so hard he could scarcely breathe. He moved to his husband’s side and wrapped him in his arms. “Well,” he said, still snickering, “I definitely want some of that so…” He pointed. “Up we go!”
They stumbled into their bedroom, still laughing, peeling off their clothes as they walked and tossing them in the general direction of the clothes hamper. Joshua reached the bed first and scrambled to the center, where he fell onto his back, holding his arms out to Colin. “C’mere, you.”
Colin crawled in and stretched out beside him, snuggling against his side, his head resting on Joshua’s shoulder. He drew in and released a long breath, and Joshua felt his body slowly relax. “Youaretired, aren’t you.” He felt the broad shoulders beneath his fingers bunch as Colin shrugged.
“Everybody’s tired,” Colin muttered. “Been tired since COVID.” He nestled closer in Joshua’s arms, savoring the closeness, the growing warmth of their intimacy, the flood of sensation that never failed to overwhelm him. He could smell Joshua’s skin and feel its smoothness beneath his cheek. And if he turned his head just slightly, he could slide his tongue over Joshua’s shoulder, allowing the slightly salty, slightly tangy taste of his skin to gather on his tongue. “Mm,” he moaned, unaware of the soft sound that had escaped his throat.
“We can just go to sleep, you know,” Joshua murmured.
“Is that what you want to do?”
“Well…”
Colin’s soft laugh was a warm flow of air over Joshua’s skin. “Me neither.”
“OK then, babe,” Joshua said, squirming from under Colin’s body. “In that case, I have to leave for a minute.”
“Awww, Josh, let it go,” Colin grumbled, clutching Joshua’s arm. “You don’t need to prep. I don’t care if we have an… uh….”
“Accident?” Joshua offered, still pulling away from Colin’s grip.
“Right.”
“Well, I do!”
Colin rumbled a low, growly sound that drew a laugh from Joshua, who was climbing out of bed. “Oh, spare me the Colin Campbell growl. This’ll only take five minutes.”
“It comes off with a little soap and water, you know,” Colin called after Joshua’s retreating back. He flopped onto his back and shook his head as the shower sound reached his ears. “My husband is a clean freak,” he grumbled.
When Joshua returned and climbed into bed beside him, his skin was damp and smelled of vanilla. “You smell like sugar cookies,” Colin murmured, drawing Joshua close in his arms, stretching out on top of him.
“Luckyyou.”
“Goddamn right,” Colin whispered against Joshua’s throat, nuzzling his way from there to his chest, rubbing his cheek against the soft swirl of dark hair before covering every inch of skin with gentle, wet kisses. He felt Joshua’s fingers in his hair and heard his voice murmuring: “Love you, Colin. Love you so much.”
“Love you too, my sweet boy,” Colin whispered against Joshua’s skin. He could feel Joshua’s erection against his body, and he pressed down into its heat, seeking contact as he pulled staggered breaths into his chest in quick, uneven gulps. He slid his hand underneath Joshua’s body, cupping the round, firm expanse of his ass, and his head dropped to capture Joshua’s lips in a hard, demanding kiss.
He could feel his desire expand, becoming an aching need that swelled and flamed within him. “Jesus,” he whispered, then lifted his head and gazed down into his husband’s face. “Joshua,” Colin whispered, feeling a shiver travel up his spine as Joshua smiled and reached to caress his hair. “Joshua, my beautiful boy.”
Joshua’s hand moved to his cheek. “I’m right here, my darling.”
"I love you more than my life."
"Show me,” Joshua whispered. "Show me, my magic man." The chocolate-brown eyes that had captivated Colin’s soul from the day they met shone with tears. A deeper, wiser essence glowed within those eyes now, a surety, a confident joy that had not been there on that day, long ago, when he first met this man who had become his whole world.
They kissed for a long time—soft, wet, lingering kisses interspersed with murmured words of love and longing for each other. Tiny baby kisses sipped from each other's lips turned to deep, hot, fiery kisses that took their breath and will away, leaving them with nothing except their need for each other.
“God, I love your kisses,” Joshua whispered, his voice choked with emotion. His fingers clenched in Colin’s hair, and he crushed their mouths together in passionate surrender, feeling the shape of Colin’s mouth, the wet stroke of his tongue as it caressed his own. He reached to one side, fumbling at the items on their bedside table until his fingers found what they sought, and then he held a smooth plastic tube in front of Colin’s eyes. “Show me,” he whispered again.
