Theywere safe enough now.Maybe Sasha’s habit of restraint was onlythat—a habit, acquired during dangerous years, surplus torequirements now.Laurie’s tongue nudged his, and all at once thedriver and the people blurring past them on the streets were nolonger wolves but witnesses.Why shouldn’t the whole world know howmuch he loved this man?
Sasha’sdelicate barriers crashed down.From their ruins rose a wildexcitement.When Laurie slid a warm hand up his thigh he writhed tomeet the caress.The lights and faces merged into shimmeringrainbow streaks.The taxi picked up speed and bore themaway.
***
“Ves’tacha, the curry will get cold.”
“I like it cold.I like you hot.”
Sashagroaned.“God help me, I am.What have you done to me?”
“Backseat foreplay.Never fails.”
“Never...?”
“Well, I’ve only tried it the once.”Laurie chuckled.“Didn’tfail, though, did it?”
Sashacouldn’t speak.His mouth was buried against Laurie’s neck.Lauriewas pressing him tight and hard against their own front door—theinside of it, mercifully, though there had been a moment on thesteps outside when Sasha wouldn’t have cared.Would have done thisby the amber glow of the fanlight, in between the little potted boxtrees, shadowed by wrought-iron railings and the elegant terraceopposite.The fantasy fed into his reality.He stiffened all theway beneath Laurie’s caressing hand, got his head up for a lungfulof air.“Please...”
“Please what?”Laurie undid the nice belt, the smartly cutbusiness trousers.Releasing Sasha’s cock from all that formalitywas delicious, a primal delight.“Oh, you’re all ready.Come for mehere if you want, lovely lad.It’s okay.”
Laurieknew every inch of him.Knew how he liked a tender roughness on thebrink—a hand shoved hard into his briefs, deep enough to squeezethe joyous hell out of his balls, strong enough to lift him alittle so he was riding the pressure.“God!Please,not...”
“Not here?”Laurie froze, making sure Sash was safely pinned tothe near edge of climax, unable to go further or retreat.He made ashow of thoughtfulness, glancing around him.“No, you’re right.Anybody would think we didn’t have a hallway big enough to falldown in these days.”
Sasha’s plea would have beennotnow.He’d long since given up caring aboutlocale.Just didn’t want to go over on his own, not tonight.Laughing, too far gone to explain, he dropped to his knees on themosaic tiles.Yes, they had space to fall down in here.Sasha’sroom in his Birchwood caravan had been smaller.Now the floor wasscattered with takeaway boxes and mail, though, and Sasha made roomas best he could with so much eager strength bearing him down.“Laurie.Hang on.”
“Long as you like.”Laurie hoped that wasn’t an ambitiouspromise.He’d learned all his lessons of control, but with Sashrunning at this kind of heat...“Well,” he amended more honestly.“I’m good for another thirty seconds, anyway.”
ButSasha didn’t mean that.He’d picked out an envelope from the heapon the floor.“Don’t I recognise this crest?”
“No idea.Can’t believe you want to find out now.”Lauriepopped a button off Sasha’s best white shirt.“Oops.I’ll sew itback myself, with my own hands.In golden thread, or a hair from aunicorn’s tail, or...Oh, hell’s teeth, that’s Sir RalfEvans.”
“Yeah, I know.”Handing the envelope over, Sasha subsided ontohis backside.He could wait.Even with a skinful of hormones and ahard-on so hungry it was making him feel sick, he was willing towait—or cancel entirely, go lock himself into the shower—for thesake of his lover’s career.Laurie had auditioned for Sir Ralf’snew Barbican production ofRomeo andJuliet, a blindingly prestigious concern.“Open it, love.”
Lauriegrinned.He turned the envelope over—gave it one more glance, andtossed it over his shoulder so that it landed neatly in their bagof Thai Me Down noodles.“Bugger Sir Ralf.”
“What?You told me you wanted that role more thanlife.”
“I was being Mercutio when I said that, just for practice incase I got lucky.”Laurie pressed his mouth to Sasha’s flushedcheekbones, one and then the other, one then the other and back,the gesture as sacred as a witch’s fivefold kiss.He was serious bythe end of the process, so utterly focussed that Sasha wanted todissolve with pleasure.“Sash, sweetheart.Being different peoplehurts.That bastard Bertram really fucked with my headtonight.”
“I know.”
“I need you to love him out of me.”
Comprehension flashed over Sasha.Laurie always tried to takethe lead when they danced, but that was where his supremacystopped.In bed they were equals.Still it put a thrill intoSasha’s very bones when Laurie went under for him.“I will,” Sashatold him fervently.“Come here.Kneel on the stairs.”
“Shall I run up and get the lube?”
“No.You ambush me here often enough that I left a tube in thedrawer.”
Laurie snorted.He opened the drawer of their little halltable and fished out the tube from among the paperclips and postagestamps.“I can’t help it.L’espritd’escalier, n’est-ce pas?”
“Oh, isthatwhat that means?”
“Absolutely.”
“Let’s just blame your French ancestry, then.”
