Colin walked Esther to the door, then returned to the couch and sank onto it with a sigh.
David laid a hand on his shoulder. “We’re going to head home. We wanted to stop in and check on you. I’ll call you tomorrow. Maybe this weekend we can come by and have dinner, play some cards, insert a little normalcy into this situation.”
“We’ll be here,” Colin replied, then laid his hand on top of David’s and smirked. “We don’t appear to have much choice.”
“It’s to keep you safe,” Nate interjected. “Do what Esther says so you’llstaysafe!” He hugged Joshua and Colin, and then they followed Esther out the door.
Joshua closed the door behind them and then turned. Colin was still seated on the couch, staring down at the police reports that Esther had provided. His elbows rested on his knees as he bent over the papers, his expression a mixture of curiosity and grim determination. His muscular shoulders bunched beneath his white T-shirt as he tensed, flipping back and forth between the pages. He growled out a frustrated breath, and his head snapped, flipping his thick, sandy waves lower on his forehead.
Joshua drew in a quick breath and crumbled to the floor at his feet. “Do youhaveto look so goddamn hot and sexy?”
Colin peered down at him, flashed his dimples in a quick grin, and tossed the papers to one side. “Yeah. Actually, I do. Sorry about that.”
Joshua’s arms crept around him, and Colin drew him close as Joshua knelt between his legs. He pressed his face against Colin’s shoulder and turned his head to kiss Colin’s neck and throat. He felt Colin’s arms clench around him, crushing him against his chest until Joshua could scarcely breathe. Colin’sfingers dug into his shoulders, and he gave a low guttural moan, a sound filled as much with frustration as with the heat of desire.
He slid his fingers into Joshua’s hair and tilted his head back. For a moment, he stared into Joshua’s eyes, honeyed-green meeting chocolate-brown in a blaze of fiery intensity that revealed his feelings with more raw honesty than words. The air between them crackled with electric tension, and Joshua’s breath caught as Colin’s lips and tongue brushed against his, a wet and tantalizing promise of what was to come.
Their breaths mingled, and any reality outside the raw, palpable passion that blazed between them melted away. Colin’s arms locked tighter without thought, hauling Joshua in until nothing—no space, no doubt—stood between them, their bodies fused in urgent, undeniable need.
“I think,” Colin gasped out, his voice a low rasp in Joshua’s ear, “we should check out the bed in this dump. Challenge it to live up to its reputation.”
“While Ichallenge you to live up toyours?” Joshua asked with a breathy laugh.
Still holding his husband tight in his arms, Colin got to his feet. His mouth crushed down on Joshua’s in a hard, fierce kiss, savage in its passion, a kiss that left them both gasping for air. Without breaking the heated embrace, he moved Joshua towards the bed, their longing for each other escalating with each step. As they stumbled into the bedroom and toppled onto the mattress, their hands roamed eagerly over each other's bodies, tearing at clothing, desperate to find the naked skin they craved.
Colin's fingers traced the lines of Joshua's jaw, a silent question passing between them before their lips met once more, crushing together in wild, hot need. In that moment, as their hearts beat as one and their bodies pressed close, Colin and Joshua renewed a merging that transcended physical desire. Itwas a meeting of souls, a union of two beings drawn together by the invisible power of the love they shared—a power that neither could or would resist.
Colin hurled the last articles of their clothing onto the floor and reached for the tube of lubricant. As he coated both their bodies with the slippery substance, Joshua gave a soft laugh. “When did you put that next to the bed?”
“When we unpacked,” Colin said, his voice a low rumble as he bent to kiss Joshua again. “I knew we’d need it.”
Joshua drew in a long, deep breath as Colin entered his body. As always, his husband’s movements were blood-slow and careful. Always aware of Joshua’s responses, hypervigilant to any suggestion that he was causing Joshua pain. But for Joshua, this was the moment he treasured most. The moment of mind-searing pleasure when Colin’s engorged manhood filled him.
The air around them seemed to crackle with electricity as if the very fabric of their union was being charged by the intense bond that held them close, silent and unshakable. Joshua's heart pounded as his body trembled with a need so profound that it transcended the physical. He was being consumed by an inferno of pure desire fueled by his ever-present awareness of the love he felt for the beautiful man who held him so close; the love he knew was returned in full measure.
His eyes lifted to meet Colin's, and in that instant, he could see the reflection of his own passion mirrored in his husband's gaze. They were no longer two separate beings but one entity, bound together by an ageless, unfathomable bond. Colin's voice, a soft murmur against Joshua's neck, whispered words of endearment that sent shivers down Joshua's spine. He clung to Colin, wishing he could solidify this moment of unity. Capture it. Hold it close and never let it end.
But their need for each other was too great, and Joshua moaned as his body seemed to shatter into pulsating waves ofpleasure. He heard Colin whimper and felt him spasm as his fingers clenched in Joshua’s curls.
“Oh my god, Colin,” Joshua whispered, shuddering again and again with explosions of pure bliss.
Colin held Joshua close as the aftershocks of their passion rippled through them, their breaths slowing in the quiet of the darkened room. With every beat of their hearts, the bond between them felt even more potent, an unbreakable thread woven from years of love, trust, and shared battles.
As Joshua’s breathing steadied, Colin pressed a tender kiss to his temple, his arms wrapping around him with a protective warmth. “I’ve got you, baby,” Colin whispered, his voice a gentle promise. “I’ll always be here, Joshua. No matter what. I can’t say I won’t ever let anything hurt you because… well…,” He sighed and bent to kiss Joshua’s hair. “I’ve learned over the years that I’m not as invincible as I once thought. But I do promise you this: I am your shield and your armor. And I’ll always do everything in my power to keep you safe.”
Joshua pressed his face to Colin’s chest, overwhelmed by the profound love in his husband’s voice. He knew Colin’s words weren’t merely a promise: they were a vow forged in the quiet strength that was the core of Colin’s being. His eyes welled with tears, not from sadness but from the love he felt for this man who was his whole world. “I love you too, Colin,” he whispered, his voice thick with emotion. “But right now, it’s not me who needs protection. It’syou.”
“Well, at the moment, there are several armed guards right outside our door,” Colin said. “They’reourshield and armor, and believe me, they’re pretty damned good at their jobs.”
Joshua leaned back and cradled his husband’s face between his palms. “All I know for sure is this: if they come for you, they’re going to have to kill both of us. Because there’s no way in hell I’m going to cower behind a security detail while someMoreno asshole tries to kill the man I love. If they come for us, I’m going to fuckingfight!”
“I almost feel sorry for them,” Colin teased, carding his fingers through Joshua’s hair.
“Declaring war on a Jew is almost always a bad idea,” Joshua muttered, settling himself against Colin’s body.
“A lesson I’ve learned with bitter tears,” Colin remarked with a grin, then snuggled Joshua closer. “But right now…”
“Sleep,” Joshua murmured. “Just sleep.”
