Sven hated that he felt shame over that period because it made so much sense to him. At a time when others were getting those young partying years out, he’d been home cooking stir-fry and pasta while making sure his brother finished his homework.
A splash pulled his attention back to Geoffrey, who like his brother, swam like a fish. A fucking gorgeous fish. His slim body cut through the water with grace. Sven could swim, but he didn’t move in that sinuous slide—not with his heavy body—so he settled on the step, or shelf, that bracketed the end, letting the water pool around his waist as he enjoyed the show. He’d thought of officially pulling himself from the job and letting Royce take over, so he could just stay in a boyfriend capacity, but he thought they were close to figuring out who had done these things to Geoffrey.
Boyfriend capacity.
He wanted that. Present income aside, they came from similar backgrounds and while his life was very different from Geoffrey’s, he’d put up with more nights out if it came with more of Geoffrey. Not just in bed but out of it as well. He was sweet and funny and yeah, sometimes his mouth drove Sven crazy, but if he’d learned anything the past few days, Geoffrey was worth getting to know. He looked forward to every crazy, passionate moment of it. And the desire? He’d felt nothing like this. Ever.
Geoffrey swam up to him, smoothed his hair back from his head, and winked. He knew he looked good wet—it was all over his face. That confidence mixed with his naughty nature was just so fucking hot, Sven couldn’t stop himself from grabbing him and yanking him between his legs. Geoffrey did one better, bobbing up to straddle Sven’s legs and anchor himself tightly against him with strong, lean thighs.
All that wet skin was like a magnet for Sven’s hands as he ran them over every part of Geoffrey he could reach. And Geoffrey did something curious then. He didn’t kiss Sven; he merely stared at him, water running down his cheeks and into his eyes. He blinked it away, gaze not moving—he just stayed locked into Sven’s eyes. And God, those blue eyes sparkled in the sunlight.
Affection swelled hot and fast in his chest. “You’re beautiful, Geoffrey,” Sven said quietly. “Inside and out.”
“You’re the only person who has ever taken the time to truly pay attention to me. To truly look at me and see beyond the surface of just another clichéd twink.”
Sven couldn’t stop his snort. “I’m a six-foot-seven blond Norwegian named Sven. I dare you to out-cliché that one.”
“True. You win.” White teeth flashed as he laughed.
“Brat,” he said fondly as he firmly pulled Geoffrey closer and slowly, slowly licked the water off those sexy lips.
And like that, fire streaked between them and wrapped them together until Sven’s tongue was deep in Geoffrey’s mouth and those quick hands of his were clenched in Sven’s hair. Sven clutched both sides of Geoffrey’s ass in his hands, marveling yet again at how his cheeks fit so perfectly in his palms.
Geoffrey let go of his hair, wrapped his arms tight around Sven’s neck, and thrust his rigid cock into Sven’s belly. He gasped and suddenly threw his head back to laugh into the sky. “I can’t believe how I feel! I’ve been so sad and upset and right now, right this moment, all I feel is you and this pool. And the warm sun on my face and shoulders. It’s like if I let it, all that other stuff disappears and I can become weightless enough to fly into the sky.” He brought his face back to Sven’s, all sparkle and giddiness and Sven was so happy to see him smiling again, he hugged him close.
“I’d rather you stayed right here,” he murmured against Geoffrey’s jaw before he kissed it.
“Me too, because there’s something I want to show you. Remember that limber thing?” He turned to whisper into Sven’s ear. “There’s this thing I can d—”
His entire body suddenly went rigid before he leaned back, confusion clouding his features and bringing his eyebrows together. “What the…”
The words slurred.
The alarm that slammed into Sven made him wrap his arms protectively around the suddenly heavier Geoffrey and look around the yard. The fact that he saw nothing didn’t comfort him in the least because Geoffrey started gasping and twitching.
“Sve…neck.”
He was turning Geoffrey’s head to look when something stung his own neck. Hard. With his right hand, he reached up and felt a small dart sticking out. A fucking tranq? Dread screamed through him. His heart raced, sending blood and the tranquilizer speeding through his system. He had maybe ten, fifteen minutes to get Geoffrey to safety. Call in backup.
His vision swam and the world started to blur. What the hell had he been hit with? He shouldn’t be feeling this out of it already.