“Yeah,” Joshua croaked, his fingers tangling in Colin’s hair. “That was a pretty damned good try there, husband.”
A soft sound, half-moan, half-laugh escaped Colin’s throat, and he nestled closer, adrift in the hypnotic sensation of Joshua’s fingers moving through his hair. “I don’t ever want to move,” he whispered.
“Then don’t,” Joshua murmured.
Colin ground out a frustrated breath. “Have to. Gotta pee.” He turned his head and kissed Joshua’s cheek before rolling to one side and climbing out of bed. “Damn!” he muttered, searching the floor for his underwear.
Joshua laughed softly. “I just hope you don’t run into Ahn-tee while you’re out there.”
“Better her thanNate,” Colin mumbled, pulling on his shorts. He opened the bedroom door a crack and peered out. Seeing no one, he tiptoed into the hallway and darted into the bathroom while Joshua giggled in bed.
When he returned, Joshua clambered out of bed and followed in his footsteps, happy that he saw no one on his way to or from the bathroom. When he collapsed in bed beside Colin, they clutched each other close, hands over their mouths to muffle their laughter.
“Guess no one heard us,” Colin mumbled against Joshua’s throat.
“Oh hell, Colin, are youkiddingme?Everyoneheard us! We’re terrible at this!”
“We?” Colin asked, then wrinkled his nose and grinned. “I’mnot the one who can’t keep quiet. And anyway, who cares? I’m sick of feeling frustrated.”
“You might care if Nate spends all day tomorrow teasing you.” He nestled close to Colin, his head on Colin’s shoulder. “Hey,” he murmured finally. “What did Danny say to you today?”
Colin breathed out a soft laugh. “He said to me, ‘Boy, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but you’renottwenty anymore!’”
Joshua laughed out loud, drawing a fake glare from his husband. “Did you tell him that we’veallnoticed?”
“I did NOT!” Colin scowled, then adjusted Joshua’s head on his shoulder and grimaced. “He reminded me I have a wonderful, loving husband and a very happy life.”
“You do indeed. At least, Ihopeit’s happy.”
“Of course, it’s happy. Then he said: ‘Given all that, you might want to take your foot off the gas a wee bit.’”
Joshua drew in a deep breath. “Damn,” he whispered, then turned and pressed his face against Colin’s chest.
“He thinks I should put my ‘big damn hero’ costume into storage and take up a safer hobby. Like knitting.”
“Oh, that isnotwhat he thinks!” Joshua countered, laughing. “He’s being a big brother to me.” He shot Colin a glance. “And being protective ofyou,whether you realize it or not. He was upset when he heard about you disarming that guy.”
“Dannywas?”
“Veryupset,” Joshua replied. “He and I both live in fear that you’re going to end up dead someday while you’re off tilting at windmills.”
“I don’t tilt atthatmany windmills, Joshua.”
“And that is what I told him,” Joshua muttered, his chest tightening.
“Look, let’s not start this up again,” Colin said, tilting Joshua’s face until their eyes met. “It’s like… it’s like arguing over which killer clown is going to sneak in and murder us in our sleep.” He poked Joshua’s ribs and grinned.
Joshua lowered his head and sighed. “Yes, I know. My fears are all paranoid fantasies.”
“Now, I didnotsay that!”
“But itiswhat you meant.”
“It isnotwhat I meant!” He peered at Joshua. “Are we going to fight again?”
“About the killer clown coming to murder us in our sleep?”
Colin snickered and rolled onto his back. “You catch my drift.”
