Divide & Conquer (39 page)

Ty groaned plaintively and grabbed Zane"s hair again, yanking his head back as he sat up. “Come here,” he said, his voice low and gruff. Zane let go of him and pushed himself up with a wince, unfolded from the floor, and crawled carefully up over his lover.

Ty"s hands slid up his sides, under his shirt, pushing it up as his callused hands dragged along Zane"s skin. He was watching Zane"s face unerringly, his lips still parted as if anticipating a kiss. It was more than Zane wanted to resist. He leaned down to kiss Ty slowly and thoroughly as he pressed his groin against Ty"s hard-muscled thigh.

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The pressure forced another groan out of Zane, and he gasped against Ty"s lips.

Ty pulled at his shirt, trying to get it off him but reluctant to break the kiss. He growled in frustration. “Get this off,” he ordered as he pushed at Zane"s jeans. “I told you to stop wearing so many damn clothes.”

Zane huffed and crawled backward off Ty and the bed just long enough to yank his shirt off and shove his jeans and briefs down. Then he was right back on top of Ty, hot skin snagging and tugging all over.

Ty wrapped around him, the slide of their bodies so familiar and natural. He hummed against the kiss, rewarding Zane with a grateful sigh. Zane moaned happily. It felt so good. He"d been growing more accustomed to the buoyant happiness, the sheer… contentment that spread through him whenever he was close to Ty—sex or not. And every touch made Zane that much more determined to never let go.

“Baby,” he breathed. “I need you.”

“I know,” Ty murmured. He kissed Zane messily while one hand fumbled around beside them on the bed, seeking that little tube of lubricant he"d gotten out earlier.

Zane took several slow, deep breaths, trying to calm down. He wasn"t sure if he had a lot of time or almost none before he lost control.

He groaned and dropped his forehead to Ty"s shoulder. Ty"s arms wrapped around him, and then he began pushing Zane sideways, trying to roll them over as he muttered something incoherent. Zane let the momentum move him and landed on the mattress on his side, legs tangling with Ty"s.

“Fuck,” Zane bit off as their cocks slid together, and he was ready to grab hold right then and there and jack them until he and Ty came screaming. Ty did reach between them, his fingers sliding over them before he gripped Zane"s hip as Zane sucked in a sharp breath. Ty tossed his leg over Zane"s thigh, flexing his hips.

“We"re not going to make it to the lube, are we?” Ty asked in a rough, amused voice as he pressed his nose to Zane"s and let their lips drag together.

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“Round two,” Zane promised as he dragged his fingers down Ty"s chest to palm his lover"s cock. “Please,” he begged as he hitched himself closer.

Ty groaned against his lips and kissed him again. He worked one hand under Zane"s neck, curling it around to pull Zane closer. The other hand slid between their bodies again, fingers stroking, palm sliding up and down Zane and between his legs. Zane shivered as he touched Ty the same way, and the electricity of Ty"s touch spidered through him, making him twitch and gasp as he stiffened, right on the edge.

“Come on, baby,” Ty rasped at him, kissing him hastily as he jacked him harder. A yell wrenched its way out of Zane before he could bite it back. The sudden contact of Ty"s hard body against his aching cock was too much to handle, and Zane curled his fists against Ty"s back and cried out wordlessly as he spurted into Ty"s hand. Ty continued relentlessly, stroking him as his fingers dragged against Zane"s abs. Zane barely registered it when Ty pushed him to his back, kissing him just as enthusiastically. He tried to kiss, too, but he was shaking too hard to hold his hands still.

Ty"s fingers were on his cheek again. He was holding Zane"s head as he kissed him, pushing down and against his body, his kisses more frantic and breathless than they had been. Zane was swept up in it, giving himself over to Ty, dizzy with his orgasm and overheated by the press of their bodies. It took him too long to realize that Ty was actually speaking in between the almost frenzied meetings of their lips.

What he was saying Zane couldn"t decipher, but he knew he heard the words “missed you” and “love” among them, and suddenly his eyes prickled and his chest tightened. Throat choking up, Zane reached out to wrap his arms around Ty to pull him closer.

Ty actually growled. He rutted against Zane, using the hard muscle over Zane"s hip for friction. He slid both hands under Zane"s arms, under his body, and gripped the backs of his shoulders again. It was a position they"d found themselves in plenty of times before, and their bodies melded well. Of course, usually Ty was buried to the hilt inside Zane at this point, and the feel of his cock sliding instead against the curve of his groin was both exciting and erotic, like Ty wanted him Divide & Conquer | 259

too badly to take more care in how they both came. Ty bit at Zane"s lower lip, thrusting his tongue into Zane"s mouth the same way he probably wanted to thrust something else into him.

It filtered through the passion that Zane felt wanted and needed and loved, and it pulled another groan from him. “Ty,” he moaned once their mouths broke apart.

Ty ducked his head and pressed his cheek against Zane"s, ceasing the frantic movements for a moment as the world moved a little slower around them. Then Ty gasped against Zane"s ear and moved over him, their bodies sliding together. Zane tried to focus on what Ty was doing, but he was still woozy and weak. He managed to spread his legs, giving Ty more room between them.

Ty turned his head again, laughing breathlessly. “I wouldn"t make it five seconds if I fucked you right now,” he told Zane tightly.

“I totally understand,” Zane said on a half laugh. “Let me help, baby.”

Ty pushed up, then rolled them instead, and he pulled Zane with him until they both lay on their sides again. Zane reached out to press both palms to Ty"s chest, feeling its rise and fall.

Ty threw his leg over Zane"s hip again, thrusting himself hard against Zane"s body. “Yes,” Zane hissed, gripping Ty"s thigh and adding a little push to his hips.

“Christ, Zane,” Ty gasped out desperately. His fingers dug into Zane"s back, his blunt fingernails scratching their way down one side as he sought release. Ty had never been one to cause pain intentionally in bed; he had to be so far gone into the pleasure he didn"t know he was doing it. Zane squeezed his eyes shut and shuddered. The sting easily blended with the thrill still lapping through him. He felt himself going hard again, and he groaned aloud and clutched at Ty, trying to twist to get more stimulation, even if nothing would come of it. This time, anyway.

Ty arched his back, and the movement of his hips became more erratic. His cock slid against Zane, hard and demanding. He pulled Zane closer, kissing him possessively, his fingers digging in. He broke the kiss with a sharp gasp and groaned loudly, the sound almost 260 | Madeleine Urban & Abigail Roux

desperate, as Zane felt the warm come spreading against his belly. Zane kissed along Ty"s jaw and throat, silently awed by how incredible they were together.

Zane pushed his face into the sweaty skin at the crook of Ty"s neck and held on tight.

Ty was still breathing hard, shivers running through his body as he hugged Zane to him. They stayed that way for what seemed like a long time, long enough for Ty to get his breathing under control again and for the cool air to become noticeable on their bare skin.

Finally, Ty moved, but only enough to shift his arm into a more comfortable position and pull Zane closer. “What brought that on?” he asked quietly.

Zane wasn"t sure he could vocalize the words that were whizzing through his mind like a Tilt-A-Whirl. “Missed you,” he got out. But then he tacked on, in a bare whisper, “Afraid of losing you.”

Ty sighed heavily, his shoulders slumping as his grip on Zane loosened. “We"re too naked to argue right now, but we"re definitely having a talk about the sexual-favors-to-keep-my-interest issue,” he mumbled. His words were teasing, but the tone was decidedly less cheerful.

“Wasn"t all about apologizing or keeping your interest,” Zane tried to offer in his defense. “I"d gotten so riled up just thinking about what it would be like to suck your dick that I could hardly stand it anymore.”

Ty was silent, not even breathing as he apparently mulled over what Zane had said. After a few tense moments, he let the air out in a rush and laughed. “Hell, Zane, why didn"t you say so? I could have helped you out earlier.”

Zane wrinkled his nose and shrugged slightly under Ty"s weight.

“Took me a while to work myself up to the idea. For some reason it"s more… I don"t know. Intimate, I guess. Even than fucking.”

Ty turned his head, looking at Zane thoughtfully. He just nodded minutely and reached up to run his fingers through Zane"s hair. It felt Divide & Conquer | 261

like the place for “I love you” again. Zane suspected that was what Ty wanted to say.

So now, that left the words to Zane. It was time. He"d thought it to death, tried to reason out if he was right or wrong, worked to let go of the past and live in the now, chewed over his fears about being worthy of Ty. Zane swallowed hard, taking a quick breath to quell the rush of adrenaline. Fight or flight, he thought distantly, his pulse roaring in his ears.

“You okay?” Ty asked, reading him well.

Zane squeezed his eyes shut for a second, then blinked them open and started to nod, but he stopped and gave a half-shrug. “I"m a little…

overwhelmed,” he rasped.

Ty reached up and ran his fingers lightly over Zane"s face, trailing them gently around his eyes. “Have you been sleeping?” he asked grimly, as if he already knew the answer.

Zane turned his cheek into Ty"s hand, seeking more contact. Ty knew him very well, better than Zane knew Ty by far. “Not really,”

Zane admitted. “Too anxious to relax, I guess.”

“I figured,” Ty responded with a slow nod. He pushed himself up, pulling his arm out from under Zane, and he sat up. “Stay,” he told Zane as he got up and headed out of the bedroom.

Zane lay back against the pillows and closed his eyes. He could practically hear his heart beating, it was thumping so hard. He turned his face into the pillow and breathed in Ty"s familiar scent. Nerves still sparked through him, and he knew he"d have to deal with the panic soon. The intense relief from the momentary reprieve was tinged with an odd disappointment, and he found he wanted to grasp at the moment and bring it back, do it differently.

Zane didn"t open his eyes until a towel flopped onto his belly.

“You have that look,” Ty observed as he stood at the edge of the bed and looked down at Zane in concern.

Zane fought the reflex urge to wipe his emotions off his face and offered a small smile. “Do I?”

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But Ty didn"t return the smile. He sat down instead, then stretched out beside Zane on the bed. “You look like you"re about to cut and run,” he observed in an almost offhand manner.

This time Zane did clamp down on his outward reaction. “I"m the one who came here looking for you, remember?”

It was nearly impossible to decipher what Ty was thinking as he took in Zane"s features, and Zane felt a moment"s frustration that Ty could block him out so easily. Ty sat up suddenly, bending and stretching to the end of the bed where he always kept a spare quilt folded up. He shook it out and lay back with it, pulling it up over them as he turned toward Zane and rested his head on Zane"s shoulder.

Unsure of what to do or say, Zane simply closed his arms around Ty. He turned his head and pressed a kiss to the crown of his lover"s head. Suddenly there were all sorts of words crowding on Zane"s tongue, and he couldn"t get a single one out, much less three that would prove he knew the best thing to happen to him in his entire life lay right there in his arms.

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“THIS is WBAL TV 11 News at 6, and I"m Alicia Harrison. Good evening.”

A mugshot of a rather attractive young blonde woman with a neat bob haircut appeared over the reporter"s shoulder. “Baltimore FBI Special Agent Lydia Reeves has died at age twenty-seven. Reeves was one of six law enforcement agents injured in the first shopping-complex bomb at the Inner Harbor just over a week ago. After eight days in a coma in the University of Maryland Medical Center ICU, she passed away last night as a result of her injuries. She is survived by her husband.”