It was still cold, but the fire had taken the bite out of it. If he ignored the smell of rubber and the silence of the outside world, Blake could pretend he was at that cabin. The one stocked with books and movies, picturesque windows opening to a bright lake, and Gabriel beside him on the couch with eyes closed and hands running through Blake’s curls. Twining one ringlet around his finger as Blake made comments about whatever movie or book he was reading.
It was a silly fantasy. One Blake never would have imagined in his past life. The one where he thought humans were the top of the food chain and aliens were fiction. Back then, he would have rolled his eyes at the notion of spending prolonged time with another person. Of sharingintimacywith someone.
Now he’d give anything to make that cabin a reality.
He flipped a page and heard boots scraping against concrete. Looking over the novel, he saw Gabriel approaching from the darkness. He pulled off his hat, tossing it to the floor to scrub his fingers through his sweaty hair. Gabriel sighed, kneeling by Blake as he began removing layers. His gun made a click on the concrete as he set it down.
“Still the Scottish Laird book?”
Blake hummed. “Kilts are hot.”
Gabriel raised an eyebrow as he pulled off his plate carrier. “Really? Thought you might be more into guys in tactical gear.”
“They’re okay. Nothing on a kilt, though.”
The book was knocked out of Blake’s hands as Gabriel crawled over him, straddling his waist so he could snatch Blake’s wrists. He fought him—more on principle than anything—and huffed when Gabriel pinned him.
“That mouth of yours is going to get you in trouble.”
“Oooh,” Blake wrinkled his nose. “Big talk from a tank nerd.”
Gabriel kissed him, hard. It wasn’t like his usual kisses. The kind that left Blake feeling floaty and warm, with butterflies in his stomach and red on his cheeks. This one was bordering on mean. It felt bruising, teeth clashing, their noses smushing against each other. Gabriel’s tongue didn’t ask or tentatively stroke into his mouth. No, it was a battering ram. Insistent and possessive.
His fingers clenched over Blake’s wrists, digging in like they were trying to leave bruises. Blake couldn’t get enough oxygen. Every time he tried, he just pulled more of Gabriel into him—leather, gunpowder, and sweat. He pressed him down; every inch of Blake’s body fitted to Gabriel’s.
His mind swam. All the blood in his body rushed south as his dick hardened, pressed against all his layers,desperatefor friction. Blake dug his boots in, trying to press his hips up into Gabriel.
Gabriel bit his lip and knocked his knees apart, pinning him with his thighs.
Blake gasped, eyes fluttering open. When had he closed them? Gabriel was indistinct above him. His lips were red, smeared. But it was his eyes that had Blake’s toes curling. He’d seen those chameleon eyes change into a thousand different colors, but rarely like this. They weren’t just black. They were lightless. Twin black holes.
And they were focused on him.
Gabriel released one of his wrists, but Blake didn’t move. He couldn’t. Gabriel had his fingerless gloves on, and Blake could feel the rasp of leather as he wrapped his hand around his jaw.
Gabriel’s hot breath ghosted across his stubble. Gabriel’s breathing wasn’t ragged. It was deep. Steady, as his eyes burned into Blake and his fingers flexed.
“I’m obsessive, Blake.” His voice was barely more than a rasp. “A sinner with an addictive soul.”
He gasped when Gabriel’s teeth sank into his jaw, hard enough for him to feel it in his bones. In his dick, too.
“And I don’t share.”
Gabriel’s hand tightened, hard enough to leave bruises, and Blake’s eyes closed as he gave himself into it. Into the peace that Gabriel’s touch brought, into his body and out of his mind.
They kissed again. And again. Gabriel’s lips and teeth traced every inch of Blake’s face until his scruff had rubbed him raw, and his dick was throbbing, his entire body pulsing. He wanted to touch Gabriel. To rip his clothes off and leave marks of his own. To share this feeling of floating while being tethered, like he could enjoy the feeling without fear of getting lost.
Because Gabriel would always be there to bring him back.
Blake whined, his voice caught in Gabriel’s mouth. He was losing reason. The heat within him was building brighter than the fire.
Gabriel grabbed a blanket and dragged it over them. It was a poor cover, but it didn’t matter. No one would look over, and even if they did, Blake didn’t care. He couldn’t care. His brain was dark, only focused on the blazing pinpricks of light where Gabriel’s body touched his.
Gabriel released Blake’s other hand and moved to his pants. He gasped when he finally got his button undone, fly down, and his hand around his erection. The contrast of smooth leather andthe calluses on Gabriel’s fingers was like lightning. He cried out against Gabriel’s neck, teeth dragging into his salty skin.
Now free, his hands wrapped themselves around Gabriel. They burrowed into his clothes, curling into his back once they found skin. As if Blake could defy physics, get them closer than the space between atoms. Gabriel’s breath hitched, and he rolled his hips, his cock rock hard where it pressed into Blake's hip.
It was rightthere.Blake could practically taste it. Feel it in his hands. But Gabriel wouldn’t let him have it. Pressed his legs down harder when he tried to wriggle free. His fist tightened, dragging slowly up and down his shaft, thumb pressing into his wet tip.
