“Shit, Shane,” Quinn whispered, his tone faintly urgent as he came in for another deep kiss, his hand coming up to rest on Shane’s cheek before he wrapped that arm around Shane’s neck and pressed their bodies together. Shane’s wet hand went around Quinn’s back as he clutched him just as close.
They held each other as they calmed and this time when Shane felt all those new, possessive feelings, they didn’t scare him. The only thing scaring him now was whether or not Quinn was feeling them, too.
God, he hoped so.Chapter EighteenQuinn woke to the smell of frying bacon. He carefully stretched, reveling in the feel of the large, warm body next to him. The feel of Shane’s hairy legs rubbing against the soles of his feet. This was something that he could get used to, but a nagging voice in the back of his head bitterly reminded him not to.
As if to further torment him, Shane chose that moment to roll over and wrap his arm around his waist, pulling him into a wonderful cocoon of soft flesh and strong muscle. But…bacon…
The smell was getting stronger and his stomach was growling angrily, demanding to be fed. The day before, he’d managed to shove half a sandwich in his face. Worry over Shane had effectively killed his appetite, but now his stomach was more than happy to make up for lost time.
Biting his lower lip, he carefully lifted Shane’s arm and slid out of the bed, trying not to shift the mattress too much. As his feet hit the floor, Quinn turned and watched as Shane grunted and rolled the other way, pulling the covers up over his bare shoulder. His breathing evened out a couple of seconds later, indicating that he’d easily slipped back into a deep sleep.
Quinn quickly grabbed up a pair of pants from the floor and the T-shirt he’d worn the previous day. The bedroom door rumbled softly on its track, but Shane didn’t stir as he left the room and padded quietly into the kitchen where Shane’s dad was wearing a black apron as he stood in front of the stove.
Abe Stephens was not at all what Quinn had been expecting when he thought of Shane’s dad. Where Shane was tall with lots of lean muscle, Abe had a wide barrel chest and strong arms, but then Shane had mentioned that his father worked a lot in his garage on woodworking projects. That had to build lots of muscles. His light brown hair was thick and curly like Shane’s with only a few small streaks of gray. For the most part, Shane didn’t look like his father except for his eyes and their shared easy grin. And to be honest, Quinn was looking forward to teasing Shane about the fact that his dad was going to be a total silver fox in a few years.
Norma Jean immediately hopped down from where she’d been curled up on the bench tucked under the table. She meowed pitifully, rubbing up against his leg.
“Good morning,” Abe called with a grin. “Did my son let you sleep?”
Blushing, Quinn quickly bent to pick up Norma Jean, using her to block his face for a moment as he tried to regain his composure. Abe couldn’t have meant that the way it sounded. He cleared his throat and lowered the cat, cuddling her against his chest as he scratched behind her ear. “Yeah, he was out most of the night thanks to the painkiller. No problems.”
Abe turned enough to look over his shoulder at Quinn, tossing him a knowing grin. Had they been loud last night? Of course, it wasn’t like Quinn could pretend that they were just coworkers on a case. Not after spending the night in Shane’s bed or the way he’d hovered over the man after they’d left the hospital.
Shane’s father had met them at the condo after Shane had been released from the hospital. Once he’d seen that his son’s injury was little more than a handful of stitches in the back of his thigh, he’d stepped back and allowed Quinn to see to Shane’s needs. They’d talked some in the late afternoon about his work at Ward Security while he chatted easily about his woodworking projects. Quinn liked Abe. He had the same laid-back personality as Shane and sharp eyes that didn’t miss a damn thing.
“Have a seat. The bacon and sausage are nearly done. I’ve got the pancakes started. How do you like your eggs?”
Quinn’s mouth fell open and bobbed for a second as he struggled to find his voice. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“Not a problem. I know you didn’t eat yesterday, and Shane’s never been big on cooking. Thought I could at least give you both a good start to your day after you took care of him.”