Smiling against his lips, Zane hummed quietly and slid his arms around Ty, settling his hands at the small of his back. Ty continued the kiss for one more breath before pulling away. He turned and went to sit down on the end of the bed again to pull off his socks and continue getting ready for bed.

Sighing, Zane got out of his jeans and moved to sit near him on the side of the bed with the lamp. He pulled his feet up and leaned back against the headboard, propping his elbows on his knees and lacing his fingers together, his dark eyes riveted on Ty. He watched the muscles of his back move beneath the thin white shirt he wore, and he mentally cursed. They’d never been in a situation where they wanted to f**k and couldn’t. The only restrictions they’d ever encountered had been each other. This was a new and disconcerting feeling. Zane didn’t like having obstacles between himself and what he wanted.

“Stop it,” Ty warned without looking back at him, obviously knowing what he was pondering.

Zane smiled slightly. That just meant Ty was thinking the same thing. He could still hear the other members of the household moving about, preparing for bed. Until the house settled, they would need to at least pretend they wouldn’t jump each other at the first chance.

The lights on the landing were still on, and Ty stood to go turn them off and shut the bedroom door. He flicked off the light beside the door, throwing the room into temporary inky darkness. When Zane’s eyes began to adjust, he could see Ty still standing by the closed door. Zane smiled again. He hoped Ty remembered to wake up to do whatever he had planned, because Ty definitely had something in mind. Sex would be great, of course—it always was—but Zane would be happy to settle for simply holding him. Something about hearing Ty breathe, so calm and close, was reassuring in ways Zane didn’t examine too closely.

“Good night, Ty,” Zane murmured as he scooted under the sheet.

“Shut up,” Ty grumbled as he moved through the darkness toward the blankets on the floor.

IT WAS nearly pitch black outside when Ty finally got restless enough to sit up. He sat cross-legged on the cold floor, staring out the bedroom window for a long, dull moment before he pushed the blanket aside and stood. The cool air hit him and made him shiver all over as he looked down at Zane, asleep in the bed.

Ty stood looking over him in the faint light from the moon through the window. He looked older, worn thin and worried even in sleep. Tense. It was something Ty had tried for weeks to fix, trying to get Zane to just let go of the past and enjoy the present. But the more Zane had resisted, the less Ty had cared about trying to help him. He didn’t like where that left them, but he didn’t know how to change it. The only things they really seemed to be good at were getting into trouble or getting into each other.

Ty reached over and brushed his fingers against Zane’s cheek. His fingers had barely grazed skin when Zane reacted. He shot up and shoved hard with both hands, sending Ty back to the floor. Just as quickly, his hand was digging under the pillow, scrabbling for his gun. Ty hit the floor with a thump and immediately rolled to his side, covering his head and hoping Zane’s gun either wasn’t loaded or wasn’t there.

“Goddamnit,” Zane hissed when he didn’t find it, and he swiped at the bedside lamp, almost knocking it over and having to grab for it before fumbling to switch it on.

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Ty was already shaking with silent laughter as he rolled onto his back. He looked up at the side of the bed in a mixture of relief and amusement.

Zane groaned and flopped back onto the bed, throwing his arm over his eyes. “I knew it was a good idea to leave my gun in my bag,” he muttered half into the pillow.

“I appreciate that,” Ty assured him in a whisper as he got to his knees and rested his elbows on the side of the bed. Rolling to his side, Zane squinted at him obstinately. “You didn’t want me to wake you?” Ty asked him with a knowing smile.

Zane relaxed onto his back, his eyes focusing as he looked at Ty. Ty smiled up at him, silent as he listened to make sure no one was coming to check on the noise. When he was convinced that everyone was still asleep, he climbed up onto the bed and lowered himself carefully to rest on his belly beside Zane. Zane threw the covers over him.

“Thanks,” Ty whispered as he settled into the warmth. “I used to wake up swinging when I came home on leave,” he told Zane quietly after a moment. “Almost decked my mama once. Dad made me sleep in the garage the next night.”

“No wonder you don’t visit your family a lot.”

“Oh, a summer spent without being relegated to the garage was a summer wasted,” Ty told him fondly. “I don’t visit as much as I should,” he answered guiltily. “Since the Tri-State case I haven’t at all.”

“Is it weird for you? Me being here with you?” Zane asked softly.

“Yeah,” Ty answered with a small laugh. “I rarely bring anyone home with me,” he admitted. “If we had an extended leave and one of the boys couldn’t go home, I’d bring him with me. Maggie was the last one I brought home, though, and that’s been about five years,” he told Zane with a shake of his head.

“Maggie?” Zane’s voice was careful.

“Stray dog,” Ty answered with a look at Zane and a small smile. He knew he probably shouldn’t, but he still enjoyed those little hints that Zane might want him enough to be jealous. Zane merely nodded and smiled. “Try going downstairs to Grandpa’s bedroom, you’ll trip over her. Right before you meet the shovel,” Ty advised as he tried not to laugh at the thought of that damn shovel. Chester Grady woke at the drop of a feather and would whack you in the face with that thing first and then wait until morning when it was light to see who you were and if you needed an ambulance. They did not want to meet that shovel tonight.

Ty licked his lips and looked at Zane seriously again. “But as far as anyone… someone who wasn’t a stray, you’re about it.”

“I’m honored, then. I like your family. They’re absolutely nuts, but I like them,” Zane added.

“Well,” Ty said with a shrug of one shoulder, “with them, pretty much anything goes. If you stay away from religion, politics, and the designated hitter, you’re gonna get along fine.”

Zane chuckled and shifted uncomfortably, pulling the pillow slightly under his chest and tucking his hands under it. “How’s the floor treating you?” he asked.

Ty grinned and stretched toward the lamp to turn off the light. He waited a couple minutes in silence until he could see again in the darkness that followed and scooted closer to Zane. “I like it much better here,” he whispered.




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