Fish & Chips (33 page)

“No,” Ty agreed. His eyes brightened suddenly, and he looked at Zane. “Unless they intend to take you by force. Armen knows Del is a hired thug but suspects his motives now. He thinks Del would protect 210 | Madeleine Urban & Abigail Roux

Corbin because he loves him. But with Del out of the way, they"re free to take Corbin. That must mean they need him for something, something physical.”

“Something that Del couldn"t steal,” Zane said as he nodded.

“With dirty businessmen, who knows? It could be names, account numbers, passwords. Hell, it could be a voice print or retinal scan, for all we know. So Armen would have to have Corbin in person, under his thumb.” He leaned his head back against the wall. “If he thinks they"re in love,” he mused, “why not just take Del hostage?”

Ty"s intent eyes focused on Zane for a long moment, his face unreadable. “Maybe he knows you"re not in love,” he posed evenly.

Zane tried to hold Ty"s eyes, but he was quickly forced to look away. The intensity of the gaze made him more uncomfortable than he would have expected, because he felt something behind it. Something to do with Ty not being Del and Zane not being Corbin. Something about what would happen to either of them if the other were gone and how that made Zane"s chest hurt even without throwing the word

“love” around, which truly scared the shit out of him.

That was what bugged Zane about Ty"s claim that Armen had come to a conclusion while looking at the Porters. He hadn"t been looking at Del and Corbin. He"d been looking at Ty and Zane. And Ty had looked like he was in love….

Zane shook his head and drew a settling breath, because he was on edge now, and he wasn"t quite sure how to fix it. “So Del has outlived his usefulness.”

Ty thumped down heavily beside him with his shoulders slumped and a dejected feel about him. “I"m not worried about Del. He"s safely in jail,” he murmured. He glanced at Zane, one eyebrow raised. “But the Bianchis?”

Zane lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “He doesn"t seem too hardcore. More like a European high roller who dabbles in crime on the side.”

Ty sat forward and turned so he could look at Zane more closely.

“Zane,” he said impatiently. “I meant what if they"ve outlived their Fish & Chips | 211

usefulness too? They"re mixed up with bad people, but they don"t deserve to die for it.”

“No, they don"t.” It was obvious, seeing Lorenzo and Norina together, how very much in love they were. Either that or they both deserved Oscars—or whatever the Italian equivalent was. “So you think Armen wants the entire ring,” Zane posed. “And he"s orchestrated this trip tomorrow to clean out his partners and meet the buyers at the same time.”

“I do.” Ty was silent, continuing to peer at Zane with a thoughtful frown. “Where"s your head right now?” he finally asked. It wasn"t the caustic tone he would usually have used when he suspected Zane"s mind wasn"t where he wanted it to be. It was a gentle inquiry, which in itself was odd enough to make Zane answer honestly.

“I was… thinking about what Armen must have seen,” Zane said somewhat reluctantly, plucking at the belt of his robe.

“Seen where?” Ty asked in earnest confusion.

“Watching us.”

Ty snorted. Neither his face nor his normally expressive eyes betrayed a thing before he looked away and stood up. “Well, clearly, he saw that I"m a better actor than you are,” he said haughtily as he stepped away.

Zane didn"t know how to interpret that response. It wasn"t often that Ty stonewalled him anymore, which meant his partner was hiding something. “I thought you said you didn"t think you were acting anymore.”

“That was in reference to being flamingly gay,” Ty answered wryly. His back was still turned to Zane. His hands were on his hips, and his head was cocked just a bit as he looked out the balcony doors.

Zane pushed himself off the couch to his feet and walked up behind Ty. He knew Ty could hear him moving, so he didn"t worry about getting smacked. He also knew that Ty was deflecting like crazy.

And Zane thought he might know why. He slid his arms around Ty"s waist and loosely clasped his hands. “No, it wasn"t.”

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Ty tensed ever so slightly, and he turned his head toward Zane.

He seemed surprised that, for once, Zane had called him on his smoke and mirrors act. “What was it, then?” he asked evenly.

“You want me,” Zane murmured, feeling remarkably secure about it. That was the reason Ty had looked so convincing to Armen. This wasn"t “want” as in wanting to fuck explosively every half hour, although that was certainly part of it. And it wasn"t quite “want” as in being lonely in the evenings. It was
more
. Zane smiled slightly as he pressed a tiny kiss to Ty"s ear.

Ty snorted loudly and turned his head away, and Zane knew instinctively that Ty was rolling his eyes and probably trying not to smile. “And what is that, a crime now?” Ty asked in a low voice.

Zane chuckled. “I couldn"t care less if it is.” He tightened his arms, not wanting Ty to move away. “It"s more than just fucking around now,” he said. “Isn"t it?” He made sure the tone of his voice emphasized that it wasn"t really a question.

Ty was motionless in response. He didn"t even seem to be breathing. The silence stretched on, edging toward tension. Finally, he let out his breath quietly and lowered his head. “No,” he lied blithely, just as he"d done in a hotel in New York City over a year ago.

Zane chuckled. A classic Grady response, and definitely the one he preferred to hear. A “yes” just might have given him a heart attack.

He held Ty close. “You owe me.”

“Owe you?” Ty repeated in a rough, questioning voice as Zane felt his heartbeat begin to speed up.

“Mm hmm. How I"ve wanted you,” Zane breathed. “It scares the hell out of me.”

“I know,” Ty murmured as he turned in place and nuzzled against Zane"s neck.

Zane"s hands trembled as he cupped Ty"s face and kissed him softly, over and over. He didn"t know where he"d found the guts to say what he just did. But it had been worth it. Ty wrapped his arms around Zane and pulled him closer. Zane could feel the desire starting to build, quivering like a live wire between them, and he moaned hungrily, Fish & Chips | 213

fingers clenching at the waistband of the worn jeans hanging on Ty"s hips. He was torn between this scary tender side to their relationship that he was seeing more and more and the long-standing desire to tackle Ty to the carpet and fuck him senseless. “Ty,” he breathed.

“Come on,” Ty urged softly. He tugged at him and started pulling him toward the bed.

Zane"s gaze focused on Ty"s, which made his heart pound even harder. It was almost too much, letting himself think about what more this could mean: he wanted Ty, Ty wanted him, and… and to avoid thinking about it anymore, Zane took two long strides to catch Ty around the waist and claim another kiss.

Ty pushed at the robe on Zane"s shoulders. The heavy material slid and caught on Zane"s elbows until he straightened his arms to let it fall to the floor, leaving him nude and aroused. Ty unfastened his jeans and pushed them down. As soon as they were undressed, Ty dug his fingers into Zane"s hips and shoved him toward the bed.

Zane stumbled the two steps, and his knees hit the side of the round mattress, throwing him off balance enough that he had to catch himself with both hands to avoid a face-plant in the duvet. Ty took advantage of the precarious position by placing a hand in the center of Zane"s back and pushing slightly as he stepped up behind him. His other hand glided over Zane"s skin, up the side of his ribs and back down hard muscles.

Zane could feel the head of Ty"s bare cock rubbing against him.

He pushed back against Ty"s thighs, moving his ass to rub close as he arched and practically purred under Ty"s hands. Goddamn, it had been too long since he"d been fucked, and now he
needed
it.

Ty gasped, following the sound with a low groan and a slow thrust of his hips against Zane. “You want it like this?” he asked roughly.

“Yes!” Zane bit out.

Ty ran his hands across the skin of Zane"s back again, his fingers tracing the line of the tattoo. “Stay,” he ordered in a low voice before moving away to the bedside table.

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Zane obeyed, mostly. He reached out and caught Ty"s arm. “Just the lube,” he said hoarsely. They"d already sort of talked about it. They were both tested with such regularity there was no question as to safety.

And he wanted to have Ty inside him with nothing between them.

Ty looked back at him. “You sure?” he asked seriously.

Zane met his eyes and nodded. “Just you.”

The sound Ty made in response was more of a growl than anything else. He whirled and began rummaging through the drawer where they had stowed their supplies. While listening to the bottle snap open, Zane pawed at the duvet and pulled it down until it crumpled in a pile against his chest. “Ty,” he said urgently, leaning his weight on one hand so he could stroke himself.

“God!” Ty huffed incredulously. He moved back over in one long stride. “Be patient!” he ordered in exasperation as he reached around Zane and stilled his hand, kissing his back as he bent over him. His cock nudged at Zane as he moved.

Zane growled low in his throat but let go of himself as he shuddered under Ty"s lips.

“Patience,” Ty reminded as he shoved the duvet away and pressed Zane fully onto the mattress and down into the sheets.

Zane let Ty move him around, wanting nothing more right now than to be under him. To have Ty want him. To have Ty
show
him how much he wanted him. Zane"s breaths broke as his knees spread, his cock brushing the sheets. Ty pushed him to his chest as he bit at Zane"s shoulder and slid one finger into him. Breath catching, Zane stilled as his chest rubbed the soft sheets and Ty seemed to attack him from two sides at once. He gasped at the tiny bite and shifted back against Ty"s finger, making a deeply needy noise. Ty murmured nonsense into his ear and then scraped his teeth over the skin of his shoulder again as he twisted the finger inside him. He pushed at him from behind, using his whole body, and forced Zane"s hips to thrust down against the mattress.

Crying out sharply, Zane dug in, rutting his hips against the sheets to stimulate his hardened cock. If he had to hump the mattress in order to get Ty to fuck him, he"d gladly do it.

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Ty added another slick finger impatiently and twisted them wickedly.

“Jesus! Ty!” Zane hissed as his ass clenched around Ty"s long digits. Ty hummed in response and dug the fingers of his free hand into Zane"s hip. He pushed against him demandingly and bent over him to bite into the tender skin under Zane"s shoulder blade. Ty knew what kind of response he"d get. Zane yelled again and drove his hips back and then down against the bed. Ty pressed against him and murmured to him again, asking him if he was ready.

“Fuck, yes! Please!” Zane answered mournfully, trying to get more friction against his cock, but the angle was wrong. “Please, baby,”

he begged hoarsely.

Ty hastily removed his fingers, fumbled with the small bottle next to Zane"s knee, and then liberally applied the lubricant to himself. His hand slid over Zane"s lower back appreciatively, and the slow slide just made Zane quiver as he felt fingers stroking over the skin. He breathed Ty"s name again, trying to hold as still as possible as he gripped the sheets. Ty seemed to be holding his breath as he pressed against Zane.

As he felt Ty brush against him, Zane wondered if Ty had ever done this without a condom—he hadn"t himself—but Ty"s cock pushed into him before he could think about it more.

Ty gave a wanton groan as he rocked slowly in. Zane tried to relax as Ty pushed, but the desire gripping him made him tense up all over. He bit his lip against a gasp and tried to wiggle a little to get Ty to move.

“Stop moving or I"m just gonna come all over your ass right here,” Ty growled to him as he dragged his fingers down Zane"s back.

Zane hung his head and tried to take in even breaths as his body adjusted to let Ty slide in. Then he moaned aloud and pushed back his hips in encouragement.

“That"s it,” Ty groaned with difficulty. He reached around Zane and stroked him slowly, his hand practically trapped between Zane"s body and the bed. He pushed in further, moaning again as he did so, and he laid himself out on top of Zane and flexed his hips.

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Zane cried out wordlessly before burying his face against the sheets. Ty"s weight on him changed the whole experience, and he couldn"t think at all now. He could only react. “Please,” he whispered over and over as Ty moved slowly inside him. He could feel the rock of Ty"s hips against his ass, feel the push of his bare cock deeper and deeper, feel his breaths on the back of his neck. Just knowing that Ty would be literally emptying himself inside him made Zane"s body tingle—he was so very aware of it.

Ty groaned, a plaintive moan as he began to rock his hips rhythmically, pulling almost all the way out and then sliding back in slowly. He gripped Zane"s hip beneath him and trapped Zane under him, and he pressed his open mouth against the back of Zane"s shoulder and whispered his name. Moaning constantly, Zane tensed again as the climax started to threaten, and his muscles clamped around Ty as he began to twitch, trying to shift and get just a little more stimulation on his cock.