Ty’s thoughts were running along a remarkably similar line. Beating the shit out of Zane sounded like the ticket. He could feel Zane’s physical reaction to the close proximity and he cleared his throat and straightened, pushing gently against Zane’s chest to back him away. “Uhh....”
Slowly squaring his shoulders, Zane literally had to force himself to shift back, pulling away from Ty entirely. “You okay?” he rasped. His pulse was elevated, among other things.
“Maybe,” Ty answered as he stepped back and cocked his head, looking away from Zane’s dark eyes and frowning in confusion. He found himself uncharacteristically unable to think of anything else to say as he fought down his own reaction to the incident.
Zane’s hands fell to his sides, and he shifted his stance. “Maybe?” he asked, brow furrowing. It wasn’t like Ty not to have a snappy remark. Nerves began to bubble in his gut as he waited.
Ty closed his eyes and lifted his head, turning it the other way like a dog trying to hear a distant sound. “I’ve forgotten what I was making fun of you for,” he mumbled.
Confused, Zane just watched him. He seemed almost nervous.
Embarrassed, maybe? For being caught enough unawares to fall over when he opened the door? Or had he felt Zane’s very inappropriate arousal? Jaw tightening, Zane swallowed and backed another step away. This wasn’t a good thing. He should shut the door again and take a shower. Showers were always a good idea for relaxing. Shit shit shit.
“I think you were calling me a pansy-ass again,” he murmured, turning slightly away.
“Right,” Ty huffed as he turned on his heel and headed back out into the outer room. “‘Cause you went and got yourself exploded,” he called as casually as possible as he grabbed his pack and walked slowly back toward the bathroom, trying to calm himself.
Zane leaned over, bracing himself on the sink as his fingers curled against the porcelain. There was no way he’d be sleeping well anytime soon.
Shower. That was the ticket. Cold shower, then sleep. He heard Ty coming back and cursed mentally. He couldn’t take a shower after Ty tended those cuts. He hung his head and tried to breathe evenly. Every once in a while he met someone who did this to him, who made him crazy. God, why did it have to be Ty Grady? Why now?
Ty stood in the doorway and watched Zane for a moment. He licked his lips thoughtfully and frowned. He had noticed a lot of small things adding up about Zane’s behavior, not the least of which was his being aroused by their close proximity. He didn’t think Zane was f**king with him. Ty knew his own sexual preferences weren’t so obvious that after four days a complete stranger would realize he went both ways. Maybe it was just a series of morbid coincidences that made it seem like Zane might do the same.
Yes, because coincidences were so much more likely than a trained FBI agent figuring something out….
He would simply have to tread lightly from now on, just in case Zane had sniffed him out and was planning on using it against him. Or he would have to find out for certain. He really didn’t want Zane having any ammunition on him, but his curiosity had always been stronger than his sense of self-preservation.
A shift of weight warned Zane that Ty had returned, and he straightened, looking in the mirror. Without a word, he lowered his head again and pushed the wet washcloth on the counter toward Ty to use when he cleaned his back. Zane resolved that he would work on case details until he fell over exhausted. Or until he could get another night away. He half-wished he could say something, joke about it. The heat next to him was so damn intoxicating, he wished he had the nerve to do something about it. But his nerve was all tapped out after that fight.
Ty wiped his back clean with the washcloth and then covered the wounds on Zane’s back liberally with salve, rubbing it in carefully, biting his lip the entire time and careful not to look up into the mirror to meet Zane’s eyes. He was still battling with himself, trying to decide what to say. Because an incident like that couldn’t be left with nothing said.
Maybe it was the heat and frustration riding him, but Zane thought Ty seemed almost skittish. Christ. At least he wasn’t angry. Zane already knew Ty fought dirtier than he did.
Leaning on the counter again, Zane muttered to himself. “This case is going to be the death of me.” If the work didn’t get him, the attraction to his partner curling inside him certainly would. He shivered slightly as the salve cooled.
Ty removed his fingers from Zane’s back as he saw the shiver run through him, and he pressed his lips tightly together, looking up and away in disgust as he resigned himself to what he was about to do. Broaching the subject could possibly cost him his job if Zane went tattling to the higher-ups about sexual harassment or some shit, but Ty was going to do it anyway.
“Anything you need to say to me?”
The other man being so calm when Zane was such a mental wreck went a long way toward cooling him down. Ty wasn’t interested in working out their frustrations in any other way than a fistfight. Zane kept his eyes on his hands, his fingers clenching. What he would do to Ty, given the chance.
And he wasn’t thinking about kicks to the ribs.
The visual of Ty’s nude body flashed behind Zane’s eyelids, and he spoke before he thought better of it. “Nothing you want to hear,” he murmured as he faced the mirror, hoping to diffuse the situation. “Thanks for the help,” he added, wanting desperately to get away from this tension.
“You sure about that?” Ty asked as his stomach fluttered nervously.
His voice finally betrayed the nerves. “Trying to be a real partner to you here, Zane. If you need to tell me something, then here’s your chance.”
The uncertainty in Ty’s voice surprised Zane enough that he looked up at the other man’s reflection in the mirror. Four days. It had only taken four days for Ty to get so far under his skin that Zane was losing his grip. It was time to do something about this attraction that had been building. Then, maybe he’d be able to focus again. Another punch from Ty would do the trick.
Zane slowly turned around to face the other man, eyes dark and serious. Ignoring the warning bells going off in his head, he leaned back against the counter and reached out to slide the ends of his fingers into the front of the waistband of Ty’s jeans and tug him forward.
The color drained from Ty’s face as Zane pulled him closer, and his stomach turned again in a pleasant somersault of nervous butterflies. It only took a moment for him to flush with heat, and he looked into Zane’s eyes guardedly as his entire body tensed. If this was anything but completely on the level, Ty was going to knock the bastard on his ass.