Desires' Guardian (14 page)

Instead of answering, Rhys bent to brush his lips across Chase’s. When Chase didn’t pull back or complain, he decided to do it again, letting their lips press together. He increased the pressure, enjoying the slow movement as they danced together. Flicking his tongue out, he teased the seam of Chase’s lips and the sexy little silver hoop there.

Chase parted his lips, but Rhys didn’t deepen the kiss, happy to keep it light and building. Neither man noticed when the music started again, too focused on the simple pleasure of being together in that moment. When he finally pulled away, he looked down into the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen, pupils blown wide with desire. The soft sigh he heard brought him in for one last touch before he stood back and lifted Chase’s right hand to his lips, kissing the underside of his wrist.

He ran the fingers of his other hand up Chase’s throat, loving the shivers and soft sigh. “For giving me a chance. For the dance. For being you,” he finally answered. “Please be safe tonight, okay?”

Chase nodded. “So, I’ll see you at work Monday?”

Rhys closed his eyes, reminding himself he needed to spend more time with Chase, building trust between them, before inviting him back to his home. “Breakfast tomorrow?” he countered.

Chase looked at his watch and frowned. “Okay, but I’m so not cooking after everything today. Um,” he continued, flicking the lip ring as he thought. “The coffee shop by your place at nine?”

“Sounds good, sweetheart. I really am sorry to go, but I have to. See you in the a.m.” Rhys didn’t wait for Chase to walk him out like he’d originally suggested, certain he wasn’t strong enough to spend any more time with Chase without dragging him up to his room and begging to have his way with him again.

C
HASE
STOOD
out front of the shop he’d told Rhys to meet him at the night before, more nervous than he could remember being since his first date when he was a teen. “It’s not even a date, dammit,” he mumbled to himself, annoyed when the butterflies ignored him and continued their acrobatic assault of his stomach. He slung his backpack over one shoulder before looking down the street to where he knew Rhys’s home and office were. Finally, when he couldn’t think of anything else to do, he pocketed his keys and tugged the cuff on his left wrist, wishing he could think up a decent excuse to back out—not that his heart would let him if he tried.

Giving the door a frown, he stepped inside. He paused in the doorway to let his eyes adjust to the dimmer lighting. Once he was certain he wouldn’t trip on anything, he headed to the counter to get his coffee. He waited in line for his turn and debated between the chocolate cheesecake brownie and an apple-strudel muffin bigger than his fist. Both were calling his name, he was sure of it.

“Chase?”

He turned at the sound of his name and smiled before he thought about it. Rhys sat at one of the small tables, two drinks, a muffin, and a brownie in front of him. “Some of that for me?” he teased.

“Yep, so get over here before your drink gets cold.” The wide grin on Rhys’s face calmed him even as the heated look in his eyes stirred his body.

As he walked over to the table, he made sure to put a little extra sway to his hips and gave Rhys his best smile. “Mmm, which one’s for me, hun,” he purred. “Or do you plan to torment me by eating both, Sayer?”

Rhys chuckled. “That one’s for you,” he said, motioning to the cup farthest from him. “The Goth-looking barista up there said it was what you usually get.”

He sat across from Rhys, inordinately pleased over having coffee and treats waiting for him. “Gabe?”

Rhys grumbled, the scowl accompanying the sound making Chase inexplicably happy. Was the man really jealous of the very straight, very taken coffee boy?
Sweet!
Deciding to not poke the Rhys bear for once, he raised his brow and asked, “And the nummies?”

“I wasn’t sure which you would like better, so I got one of each. Your choice.”

Chase pondered the man as he thought about which bakery item he wanted. They both looked so good. Instead of picking one, he reached out and carefully broke each in half, placing a piece of each on a napkin. “There. That looks better.”

“Creative solution.” The chuckle from the other side of the table pleased him more than he thought it should.

He raised his fingers and carefully licked the tips clean with slow, teasing motions. The heat in Rhys’s eyes flared white hot, making him wonder how fast they could get back to Rhys’s place.

“God, sweetheart.” Rhys groaned and stared down at the table intently. “There are laws against things like that in public, or there ought to be.”

He laughed, pleased with how thoroughly he affected Rhys. “I’ll be good. I promise.”

“Yes, you are, sweetheart. Now, eat up and behave.”

Chase fake pouted at him, but nibbled at his food, taking sips of his cappuccino every so often.

After a few minutes of quiet eating, he spoke again. “So, you asked me to breakfast so we could talk, but you don’t seem to be saying anything, hun. What gives?”

Rhys sat back in his chair, clutching his coffee as if maybe hoping it would protect him somehow. After another moment or two, he looked up, and their eyes met and locked. “I know I have a bad track record with you, but I meant what I said yesterday.”

Chase took a moment to sip his peppermint mocha cappuccino and consider what Rhys might be referring to. They had said a great many things to each other over the course of the day, starting from when they awoke in each other’s arms to when Rhys walked away after their last dance. “Meaning what?”

“Not about to make any of this easier on me, are you?”

With a smirk, he shook his head. He laughed when Rhys’s frown turned into a full-out glower. “Uh-uh. And nope, the man grunt won’t work either.”

“Ass.”

“Yep, and it’s a sexy one too. Don’t you think?”

“You’re gonna make me say it, aren’t you?” Rhys asked, not taking the bait. “Fine. I want to properly date you. Take you out. Do things together…. Date.” The last sounded more like a question than a statement.

Chase considered all the possible answers he could give, still not completely sold on them being together. “I don’t usually give second chances, and we work together, so I’m a little concerned about when this goes wrong.”

“When?”

“So far you’ve insulted me, degraded me, shunned me, and ignored me. Oh, and let’s not forget lied to and about me.”

“I said I was sorry about that. I won’t keep saying it. You have to either forgive me or not, but there were a few things going on at the time that caused my part of the problem.”

“You never told me why you acted like such a creep that night, but unless it’s germane to the future, I won’t ask.” He paused to see if Rhys would say anything. Honestly, it bugged the hell out of him, but he wouldn’t push.

“I had just thrown Garrett out. Cheating and I don’t mix.”

“And he looked just enough like me to have you acting like a total ass?” Cheating? Why the hell would someone cheat on a guy like Rhys? Not that he had any patience with cheaters in the first place… but on Rhys? “Yeah, I can see it,” he added, not liking the implications or Rhys’s ex. “After meeting him, I’d hate me too.”

The grunt his comment received made him laugh. “Fair enough. I’m not going to deal with your ex, though. He comes sniffing around again, and he’ll find out exactly how little I tolerate little boys like him.”

“Somehow, I have a feeling you don’t lose.” Rhys smirked and shook his head. “I don’t think he’ll try that again. Not after last time. But I have no interest in ever seeing him again.”

“You sure?” He had to ask, though it made him a little sick to do so. However, after Rhys screaming that slut’s name instead of his, yeah, he had to ask.

Rhys’s brows pulled together as he stared intently at Chase. “Uh, yeah. Real sure. That day he showed up was the first time I’d seen him since the night I caught him with some trick and threw him out.”

“Caught?” That was even worse than being cheated on.

He nodded, a pinched look on his face. “In my bed,” Rhys mumbled.

“Wait, he brought home some guy to
your
place? That’s… I don’t know, what’s beyond sick?”

“Mm… agreed. Made Mark happy, though.”

Happy? What the hell!
“That makes no sense, but a lot of other things suddenly do.”

“No getting pissed at Mark. He wanted me to dump Garrett months before that happened. Mark hated him.”

“Me too, hun. Me too.”

He laid a hand over Rhys’s, pleased when, instead of pulling away, Rhys turned his over, curling his fingers loosely around Chase’s. “Thank you for telling me. I know this was hard for you.” The shrug Rhys gave amused him. Never could just man up and out with the feelings. “Now, I have a few rules for you if we’re really going to do this thing.”

“Rules?” Rhys asked, and then laughed. When Chase merely nodded, he sobered and leaned forward. “You’re serious?”

With another nod, he began his short list. “My name or a pet name if you prefer, but no previous lover’s name. Ever. Punctuality is a must. If you can’t make it, let me know. Oh, and I don’t share.”

“Anything else?” Rhys asked, the look on his face a cross between amusement and confusion.

Chase thought about it for a moment. Was there? “Nope,” he said and smiled. “You?”

Rhys shook his head. “I’ve never had anyone give me rules before.”

Chase’s cell rang, drawing his attention. He held up one finger, pulled it out, and checked the screen.
James?
Clicking the accept button, he answered, “Hey, hun? Aren’t you and stud-boy supposed to be in bed, not coming up for air for the next week or something? What’s up?”

“I’ve got a five-minute reprieve,” James quipped, his voice bubbly and happy as Chase hadn’t heard it before. “But I had to call you to let you know our news!”

“It’s Sunday. What possible news could you have?”
Did neither man know what a honeymoon was for?

“Yeah, well, we only just got the news that Danni’s grandparents dropped the custody suit. Finally. Seth is over the moon happy, as am I.”

The rustling of cloth and murmuring in the background distracted Chase for a moment, but then what Jamie said sank in. “Wait, dropped as in no more courts, social services, et cetera?”

“Yep! Can’t believe it. It’s been so long we’ve been fighting to keep our little girl, and now they decided to drop the suit.” James’s voice dropped to a whisper as he continued. “Wish I could adopt her, but Wisconsin won’t allow gay second-parent adoptions.”

“I know, but this is great news. When you get back, we’ll all have to go out to celebrate!”

Someone tapped Chase on the shoulder, startling him out of the conversation. He blinked and looked up to see Rhys leaning over the table. “What’s going on? What was dropped?”

“Hold on, Jamie,” he said. “The custody battle for Danni, that’s what. Isn’t that great?”

Rhys jumped out of his seat so fast, Chase lost track for a moment. He scooped Chase up in his arms and swung him around. “Yes! That’s wonderful.”

“You wanna put me down now?” he asked, thrilled for James, Seth, and Danni. He was secretly pleased at how easily Rhys could pick him up, even if the coffee shop wasn’t the best place for such actions.

“Oh, sorry.” Rhys set him on his feet before returning to his seat, grinning the whole way. His cell was out before he managed to get butt to chair.

“Is that Rhys?” James asked.

“Yeah,” he sighed. “We grabbed coffee and a snack and were talking when you called. He’s telling Dal and who knows who else.”

“Great! We’ll call a few more people, but I really want to focus on my husband.” James laughed, then sighed. “Still can’t believe he’s really my husband.”

“I know, but he is, and I’m so freaking happy for you. Now, go sex your man, or let him sex you. However that works for you two, and enjoy your time away. You deserve to be happy.”

“So do you, Chase,” James countered.

“I am,” he snapped. He took a breath, annoyed with his outburst.

“Chase? What’s wrong? I thought things were good with you and Rhys.”

“They are. Forget I said that?”

James laughed loudly. “Just promise to be careful and talk to him. I still don’t know what set you off last time, but I really do think he’d be good for you. And you for him.”

“I know, and I’ll try. Now, shoo. Go do sexy things while we finish our rules listings and I get more caffeine.”

“Yes, dear, go give your obligatory prayers to the Goddess Caffeina. Love you.”

“Love you too,” he replied, then clicked “end.” Chase waited while Rhys finished his call, then grinned.

“Looks like today is a good day for the future, huh?” Rhys gave him a meaningful look, which Chase failed to ignore, making him squirm in his seat.

“Seems so. Now, did you have any rules to add?”

“Don’t think so.” He looked down at Chase’s empty cup and bare napkin. “You ’bout done?”

“Yeah. Scared you off already?”
My rules shouldn’t bother him.

The deep, rumbling laugh soothed his suddenly tight nerves. “No, sweetheart. I thought we could go for a ride together. I know you rode your bike,” he continued, gesturing to the helmet on the seat beside him.