A Walk Through Fire (7 page)

By the end of the evening, there were only a few people left. Rachel had taken her grandmother home. That lady was truly a sweetheart, and when she’d kissed him good-bye, she’d surprised him.
“Don’t be a stranger, young man. My grandchildren and their friends stop by every Sunday to see me. I expect to see you one day.”
She’d pierced him with a pointed look, and he’d nodded before he knew what he was doing.

Peter and Lisa had left an hour before, as they needed to relieve their sitter, and Mike had a date. Right now it was Drew, who was drunk, Jordan, and Keith. Ash knew Jordan still didn’t trust him fully, and if the good doctor knew what Ash planned for his friend, he’d be right. For a moment a shot of guilt speared through him, but he ignored it. All he wanted was one taste of Drew Klein, and then he’d be satisfied.

“Well, Drew, looks like you need to sleep it off, so we’re gonna go, right, Davis?” Peterson jerked his head toward he door. “Drew needs to take some aspirin and go to bed.”

He’d make sure Drew would go to bed, but if Ash had anything to say about it, the man wouldn’t be alone. “Sure. Drink lots of water, Drew, and we’ll see you Monday for the grand opening.”

Drew threw his arm around Ash’s shoulder. “Yeah. Thanks for all your help. And boy does my grandmother love you, Ash. Couldn’t stop talking about you.” He pushed back the dark curls that fell over his forehead, a crooked smile transforming his face into someone young and vulnerable. Sweet. Ash swallowed hard. An unaccustomed wave of both protectiveness and lust coursed through him. He clapped Drew on the back.

“She’s very cute. Well, everyone, I’ll see you at the center. Have a great night.” He left and, after exiting the building, hung around the little grocery store buying gum and a few granola bars, until he saw Jordan and Keith leave the building, get into their car, and drive away.

He paid for his items, slipped them in his pocket, then left the store and hurried back across the street. He buzzed Drew’s apartment.

“Yeah?”

“Hey, it’s Ash. I think I left my sunglasses there. Can I come up and look for them?”

“Sure.” A second later the buzzer rang, and he opened the security door and took to the stairs, two at a time. Within a minute he was at Drew’s door. It was partially open and Ash pushed it wider, catching sight of Drew standing in the hallway.

“Come on in.” Drew extended his hand. “Look around, wherever. I’m a little wasted, so I wouldn’t be that much help in looking.”

That sweet crooked smile sent the blood racing straight to Ash’s cock. He needed to touch this man. Soon. Ash entered the apartment and closed the door behind them both. “Why don’t I get you some cold water; then I’ll look for my glasses?”

“Sure.” Drew wandered off into the apartment, yawning and scratching his head. After getting some ice from the freezer, Ash poured Drew a glass of water. His pulse raced in anticipation.

When he returned to the living room, he found the man lying on the couch, eyes closed.

“Hey, Drew? I have your water.”

“Mmm, thanks.” He kept his eyes closed but smiled.

“Do you need some help sitting up?” Oh, he was bad, but he wasn’t about to stop, not when his cock was hard and the man lay all spread out before him like a delicious buffet, waiting to be sampled.

“Sure, yeah.”

A few birds chirped from the branches of the old oak tree outside the window. Drew’s cat, who’d done little more than glare at him, was nowhere to be found. The air stilled as if in anticipation. Ash lowered himself to the couch and slipped his arm around Drew’s shoulders. His weight was negligible as Ash lifted Drew into his lap.

And froze in shock, as Drew opened his eyes and slung his arm around Ash’s shoulder. “Wanna know something weird?” Drew’s lips were close enough that if Ash turned his face, they would touch his.

He swallowed, fighting the unaccustomed urge to press his mouth on Drew’s. “Sure, tell me.”

Drew’s slightly unfocused eyes met his. That sweet, irresistible smile remained on his lips. “When I saw you that night with the waiter, it was the hottest thing I’d ever seen.”

Oh shit.

It took all his strength of will to keep his voice calm and steady. “Really? I’d have thought you’d be shocked.”

Drew chuckled and rubbed his face against Ash’s shoulder. “Nah. Jordan was right. It was hot. You were hot. I came home and jerked off, so I guess I liked it, huh?” The rubbing turned into nuzzling, and Ash’s body couldn’t help but harden under the constant touching. Drew continued to laugh. “A little too much information, huh?” He hiccuped, closed his eyes, and settled back against Ash’s chest with a sigh.

Ash gazed down at the man cuddled in his arms. What the hell was he doing? With shaking fingers, he brushed back those damp, curling dark waves off Drew’s face. Drew’s eyes opened, and though reddened and heavy-lidded, their focus remained steady on his face.

“I’m so lonely.” The green eyes closed, and Drew’s head fell back to rest upon Ash’s shoulder once again. His murmur was almost lost against the blood roaring in Ash’s head. “I don’ think you’re as bad as Jordy says you are. Jus’ lonely too, like me.”

Hell, he couldn’t do this, couldn’t take advantage of a man when he was so drunk. When it came to having sex with men, he’d made mistakes too numerous to keep track of. More likely than not, he could fuck Drew, and they’d both enjoy it. For the first time in Ash’s life, he couldn’t take advantage of the situation. It wasn’t enough. He wanted more.

What the hell was he thinking?

“Why can’t I get you out of my head, Dr. Klein?”

A soft snore rent the air. With regret he looked down at the sleeping man, wishing he could stretch out and join him. For the second time that day he shocked himself. He’d never spent the night with anyone. He’d never spent more than the time it took afterward to zip up his pants and button his shirt with anyone he fucked. A yowl came from the doorway as Drew’s big black-and-white cat stalked into the room. After some growling and warning sounds, the cat jumped on the couch, stretching out at its head, his baleful yellow eyes glaring at Ash as if he knew Ash had taken advantage of the situation.

Watchcat on duty.

All at once, shame flooded though him as Drew turned and settled in his arms. How could he have thought to take advantage of the man? Besides, this cuddling with Drew was kind of nice, now that he thought about it. Another first. He didn’t do cuddling. By this time he would normally be dressed and out the door, the man’s face forgotten.

Now he didn’t want to leave. And that emotion, the flare of protectiveness fucking scared him. Before he knew what he was doing, he touched his lips to his fingers, then pressed them to Drew’s lips.

“Good night, Dr. Klein.”

There was no throw on the couch, and Drew looked so sweet and vulnerable lying there, so Ash took the one from the bedroom and covered the sleeping man. He rubbed his hands over his face and on silent feet left the apartment, the weight of the cat’s evil, accusing stare boring into his back.

Chapter Six

The end of the world had arrived, heralded by a head about to explode like a melon blasted by a bazooka and a churning stomach that would likely never be normal again. Even the gleeful chirping of the birds outside his window grated. Why wasn’t Domino out there making Happy Meals out of them? Drew tried to think of who would be willing to shoot him and put him out of his misery.

What on earth possessed him to drink so much yesterday? He usually never drank more than two beers. Something had goaded him from within, to let loose after all the years of holding himself back. To feel something new and different.

Maybe to feel anything at all.

A nudge to his chin accompanied by a deep, rumbling purr brought him back to the painful reality that it wasn’t only him anymore. Domino relied on him for survival now, and as corny as that might sound, it felt good to be needed by someone, even if that someone had four legs and fur.

“Okay, buddy.” The effort to open his eyes was monumental, involving several aborted attempts and failures. Finally his vision focused, his gaze landing on the large yellow eyes of his cat.

“Meow.” Domino swished his tail and licked his hand with a small raspy tongue.

“I know. I’m getting up now.” Shit. He hadn’t even realized until now that he’d fallen asleep on his couch, let alone covered himself with a blanket. That seemed bizarre to him, but yesterday was a bizarre day—full of emotion, sentiment, and the inevitable guilt at seeing his parents’ names up on the wall. Normally, he tried not to think about them too often, for the pain over their loss, even after all these years, still tore at him.

Scrubbing his face with his hands, he then took a deep breath and pushed himself to an upright position. He didn’t feel like throwing up, which he considered a good thing. When he glanced at his watch, he saw it was only ten in the morning. At least he hadn’t slept away the entire day, especially since he had so much to do to get ready for the grand opening of the clinic tomorrow.

It looked like it would be warm today, as the sun was already bright overhead, and the blue of the sky seemed endless when he stuck his head out of the window to get some fresh air into his lungs. That and several cups of coffee would kick-start his day. After feeding Domino, he made himself a cup, then stood in the kitchen, gulping down the hot elixir of life. The rest of the carafe he put in the refrigerator to cool down for iced coffee later on.

He popped two aspirin in his mouth and swallowed them down with the coffee. Not exactly the right way to take medicine, but desperate times and all that. Still working through the fog in his mind, he padded his way through the living room, straight into the bathroom. He turned on the taps to the shower and, after shucking off his clothes, stood with his eyes closed under the stream of heated water. For some reason, as it had been for weeks now, his mind fixated on Asher Davis with a stubbornness he couldn’t push away.

Ever since they’d met, that man had gotten under his skin, first in a negative way, when Drew watched Ash have sex in the restaurant, then slowly morphing into a person he might like, revealing he had substance under his fine suits and handsome face. There was more to him than Jordan had initially said. It wasn’t only sex and fucking. Call it what you will, but he’d formed a kind of camaraderie with the man. Drew sensed his loneliness and could relate. There could’ve been a hundred people in his apartment yesterday, yet Drew still would have felt alone. Nothing broke the emptiness inside of him, no matter how he filled his life with friends and family.

Yesterday, though… His mind strained to hold on to a memory that teased at the corner of recollection. With his eyes still shut, Drew fumbled for the soap. He lathered and stroked himself, wondering if he should start dating casually. Maybe Peter’s wife could set him up with a friend. But instead of a beautiful blonde or brunette woman, the memory of Ash Davis in the hallway with that man flooded his mind. His cock hardened, and the sound of his rough breathing echoed in the small tiled shower. With one hand braced on the wall, he slid the other, slick with suds, up and down his erection. Why did that scene, and nothing else, cause him to swell even thicker, until all he could visualize was Ash’s open mouth and his thick, gleaming cock sliding in and out of the waiter’s mouth.

What the hell! Damn Ash Davis. The man was a notorious tomcat, a living, breathing erection on demand who probably fucked any man who gave him the side eye of interest. Cursing him was of no use, however, as Drew’s cock had a mind of its own and his orgasm hurtled upon him. Spots danced before his eyes as he came, spurting against the tiles of the shower wall, his essence swirling its way down the drain. He turned off the shower and wrapped himself in a towel, all the while his mind racing, splintering off in a thousand possible directions.

Holy hell. What was going on in his fucked-up psyche that all of a sudden he lusted after a man. He wasn’t gay. Was he? Could someone become gay in one day? Did he want to be with a man? Before now, he would’ve laughed at the thought, but standing in his bathroom, contemplating these questions freaked him out. Yeah, the fact that he fucking jerked himself off thinking about Ash Davis totally freaked him out. Shit, his head hurt.

He pulled on jeans and a faded Stones’ T-shirt. Maybe he’d bake his grandmother some cookies, visit her later in the afternoon, and everything would be fine. One thing he’d learned since his parents’ deaths was to compartmentalize things. If he didn’t want to think about it, he sealed it off in his brain, with the other things he didn’t ever want to discuss. Like jerking off to images of another man.

Feeling better now that he’d pushed his emotions under the proverbial rug, he puttered around his apartment a bit, trying to straighten up after the party last night. While watering his plants, he stopped by the arrangement of cacti he had grouped on the table and tested the dirt. Dry as a bone, so he gave each pot a small dollop of water. Something caught his eye in the grouping of the pots. He reached in and pulled out a pair of expensive sunglasses. It took him a second to recognize them as belonging to Ash.

Slipping them in his back pocket, he then returned to the kitchen and pulled out his baking pans, along with everything else he needed to bake his grandmother’s favorite cookies. He mixed the batter and added in extra-large chocolate chips, and put some butterscotch chips in as well. He washed his hands as he waited for the oven to preheat. When the oven beeped, he slid the pans inside and set the time for fifteen minutes.

He drank another cup of coffee, this time ice-cold and refreshing, and wandered back into his living room. With nothing to do except wait for his cookies to bake, then cool, he stretched out on the couch and flipped on the TV. For an early Sunday afternoon, it was quiet on his block. There were no screams from playful toddlers running down the block or cars revving in the street. The silence unnerved him. He shook his head at the strange thoughts in his mind. Maybe he was still a little drunk.

He roamed the channels and found a repeat of last night’s Yankees game. As he settled back to watch, once again he had the strangest feeling someone else had been there with him yesterday after the party. The sunglasses in his back pocket dug into his ass, and not wanting to break them, he took them out and left them on the table. A thought popped into his head, and he opened his laptop, then logged on to that dating site he’d seen on TV—Big Apple Meet Ups. There was a free seven-day trial, so he created an account and the faces of hundreds of women, all dying to meet him, filled his screen.