Seth gave a breathless chuckle. “Glad to be of service. Damn, that was good.”
Liam lay there, panting as he stared at Seth, watching as a rivulet of sweat dripped down his forehead. He reached out and gently wiped it away with his thumb. Seth kept staring at him, and something passed between them that raised the hair on Liam’s arms. He forced himself to look away from those sharp blue eyes, gazing at the ceiling instead.
Seth reached out and stroked a hand through the hair on his chest. “I knew you’d look like this under your clothes. Give me a few minutes, and I can go again.”
“Well, this forty-eight-year-old may need more than a few minutes.” He gave Seth a wry grin. “But as hot as you are, I’m sure I’ll get it up again soon enough. Maybe you can return the favor this time?”
“Definitely.”
Turned out Liam was up for two more times before Seth finally stumbled out in the early morning hours. Exhaustion and sore muscles rode him as he walked the man to the door and clasped his face between two hands. “I had a great time.”
Seth stood on his toes and kissed him. “I did, too. You take care, Liam.”
He watched him walk down the hall, ignoring the small voice in his head telling him he should have at least gotten a last name.Chapter TwoSeth sipped some champagne as his eyes skimmed over the gathering of happy, well-dressed people. The classy rooftop terrace offered an amazing view of downtown Cincinnati as the sun sank into green Kentucky hills. Geoffrey and Sven’s May wedding had been blessed with warm temperatures, blue skies, and a breeze. In short, a perfect evening.
He was still a little sluggish after a late but very enjoyable night out. He’d managed to catch a few hours of sleep before heading to the gym and then to Ward Security for some light paperwork. He still couldn’t believe he’d lucked into a free night to attend Sven’s wedding.
Getting the night off for the event had been done lottery style, which explained why billionaire Marc Foster was there without his Ward Security bodyguard boyfriend, Royce Karras. Even Rowe Ward was flying solo. His boyfriend, Noah Keegan, was filling in for another bodyguard who was there.
But even if all of Ward Security couldn’t attend to support Sven as he made this big step in his life, the party was filled with the who’s who of Cincinnati. Billionaire Lucas Vallois was there with his husband, Andrei Vallois, the COO of Ward Security. They were talking in one corner with Rowe, and Ian Banner, the chef and owner of Rialto, the hottest restaurant in the city.
Seth had met them all in the past. They liked to pop into Ward Security and visit with Rowe. Seth had even flown out to Oklahoma to help Lucas and Andrei on a personal matter. But these people weren’t his crowd. They were all nice and funny, but Rowe, Lucas, Ian, and their other friend Snow had run together for years. There was an old history that took up space in the room with them. A closeness Seth only found with his fellow bodyguards.
Which explained why the goofy grin directed at him from across the terrace had Seth chuckling to himself. Lifting his champagne flute to the smiling redhead making his way across the room, Seth shook his head. Dominic Walsh was a great bodyguard and a good friend, but he was also a lunatic with a wicked sense of humor.
“Dude!” Dominic cried when he was standing just a few feet away from Seth. “I thought you were going to meet us last night.”
“I said I might,” Seth hedged. He looked around Dominic and smiled at the older gentleman with salt-and-pepper hair beside Dom. Abe Stephens and Dom had been dating for a few years now. “Hey, Abe. How’s it going?”
Abe smiled. “Good to see you again, Seth. I’m good.”
“Abe is finally expanding his woodworking business. He’s going to be supplying a local furniture shop with some exclusive pieces. Demand has been through the freaking roof.” Dom shone with pride for his boyfriend, while Abe blushed lightly but still looked up at Dom like he’d hung the moon.
Yeah, they weren’t the only ones around Ward Security like that either. But they were one of the few that didn’t meet on the job. Well, Dom had met Abe while doing a favor for a coworker, by protecting Abe, but it wasn’t technically a job.
Unlike Royce and Marc.
Or Ward Security IT Specialist Quinn Lake and his private investigator boyfriend, Shane Stephens, aka Abe’s son. Oh yeah, that was a source of endless teasing for both Quinn and Dom, but neither minded. Both men were hopelessly in love.
But the ultimate and probably first example was the couple getting married that night—Sven and Geoffrey.