“I’m just up here.” Saxon pulled to a stop in front of a row of houses. “This used to be base housing.” He still had no idea who’d planted the flowers in the window boxes, or even how long they had been there. He just knew they were there and in the six months they had been here, the damn things kept flowering. Still, he supposed it made the place look lived in. “You want a shower?”
“Hell yes, and coffee.”
“You got it.” Saxon switched off the engine. “C’mon, I’ll find you some clean clothes.”
“Thanks.” Rick moved to open the door. He paused and looked over his shoulder at Saxon. “Hey, Sax?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m… thank you for coming for me.”
Saxon’s lips curved up into a smile. What the hell was that funky assed warm feeling in his belly? He’d never felt that before. Weird. “You’re welcome.”
* * *
Saxon stood holdingthe mug under the coffee machine. There was no freaking way he was waiting for the pot to finish brewing. The mug could fill first, then he would put the pot on the warmer to do its thing. Already, the awesome scent that was caffeinated go-go juice filled the kitchen. Just a couple of more seconds and the mug would be almost full, then maybe he could fuel his brain.
“That for me?”
Fuck no, it’s my coffee.
Saxon gave what he hoped was a smile over his shoulder, but knowing how much he wanted this coffee, it was probably a grimace. “Sure.” He shoved the pot under the spigot and turned to hand the mug to Rick, his brain freezing at the sight in front of him.
Scanning him from head to toe, his gaze lingered as his eyes scanned back up to the smirk on Rick’s face. The fucker was sexy as hell, and he knew it. “I… um… here.” Saxon held out the mug.
“Thanks,” Rick accepted the mug and sniffed. “American coffee?”
“Yup.”
“Awesome,” Rick put the mug to his lips and sipped. “Everyone says Italian coffee rocks, but man, nothing beats good ‘ole American Joe.”
“Right?”
Focus on something other than the fact that he looks fucking awesome in your clothes.Saxon focused on the mug. Crap, that didn’t help him not focus on Rick either, watching Rick lift it to his mouth and the bopping of his Adam’s apple as he swallowed. Hell, porn videos should show that. A button down and jeans was hot as fuck, who knew? He shifted his hips to give his dick some room in his camo pants and moved away from the counter. “I’ll go shower.”
Rick placed the mug on the table he stood next to, and walked toward Saxon. “Wait a sec. I have something I want to say and do first.”
Oh shit, he recognized that gleam in Rick’s eyes. If they were late for the debriefing, Noble would kill him. They did not have time to fuck. Or even to take the edge off. Having Rick here in his home, in his space, made him want things he shouldn’t. He needed to put space between them, and he needed to do it fast.
Saxon took a step back, then another, and another. For each move he made, Rick matched him step for step, advancing while he retreated. “What the fuck are you doing? We don’t have time. We gotta debrief.”
“I know.”
“Huh?” Saxon’s brain refused to work. His back hit the wall behind him. “What do you know?”
“I know…” Rick’s voice was so low, Saxon strained to hear him, “… You feel it.” Rick braced his hands on the wall at either side of Saxon’s head, leaning in closer and closer. “I was going to talk to you about it before the damn cell rang.”
Was he crazy? They couldn’t do this. They had a friends with benefits thing going on. It’s what they had agreed on. This, whatever it was that was brewing between them, changing how it worked between them, could not happen. Especially not with all the shit going on that they needed to figure out.
Saxon put his hands up. It might have been to push Rick away, “I—” He inhaled sharply, the move lifting his shoulders, pressing them harder into the wall. Whatever it was, he had been about to say, all the reasons this was a stupid ass idea vanished. Poof, gone, because Rick tilted his head to the side and nuzzled along Saxon’s neck, before kissing the spot just where his pulse beat under his skin.
Instead of doing what they were supposed to be doing and warding off the other man’s advances, the fingers of one of Saxon’s hands wrapped themselves into the loops of the jeans Rick wore, the other hand snaked around his neck.
Saxon arched his neck, giving Rick room to lick and suck at his skin. He swallowed hard, past all the excuses he had been ready to spew, groaning as a hand wrapped around his back and slid down over his ass.
Kiss me.
As if Rick was reading his mind, he kissed along Saxon’s jaw. Saxon watched from under hooded eyes, his fingers stroking and tugging at the short hairs on the back of Rick’s neck. Their eyes locked for what felt like hours, but in reality, was a split second while Rick sucked in a breath.
