Andrei slipped into the free spot across from Snow and gave them the same shake of the head. He hadn’t tied back his hair and it fell in a spill of black curls down to his shoulders. “I learned too much about you two this past weekend. More than I ever wanted to know.”
“Too noisy for you?” Snow taunted.
“You guys have no shame.”
Jude merely shrugged. Snow lifted their linked hands, kissed Jude’s knuckles before letting him go and grabbing a slice of toast and a knife. “I heard a few noises from your room, so you two have no business complaining. Plus, the laundry room at the weekend place? Think we didn’t hear that? And I remember last Thanksgiving, too. What is up with you two and laundry rooms?”
Lucas chuckled as he stole a slice of bacon from Andrei’s plate. “At least we narrowed it down to a room. With you two, no walls are sacred.”The Home We MakeDr. Ashton Frost strode down the sidewalk toward the café where he was supposed to meet Jude, anticipation quickening his steps. The river valley had decided to absorb the sun on this August day, so he should have slowed, but he knew he could coax Jude home and into the shower without much effort at all if he arrived a sweaty mess.
Snow’s heart skipped a beat when his man came into view. His man. Just those two words were enough to bring a smile to his lips. Jude leaned back in the metal café chair like it was a recliner. Sunglasses covered his dark eyes and a close, black beard shadowed his chin. Shorts. He was wearing cargo shorts. Snow’s gaze locked on his hairy shins and he wondered how the café patrons would react if he dropped to his knees in front of all that beauty and ran his hands up the insides of those loose shorts. He glanced around to find several women and men watching Jude. Not that he could really blame them—he could hardly ever take his eyes off the man. But the need to stake a claim came strong at times.
He walked right up to him, leaned down and grasped his chin in his hand. He pushed the sunglasses up and as always, those eyes locked onto him like nothing existed around them. It made everything in him tighten with the knowledge that this man belonged only to him.
He could never have imagined what this would feel like. He loved his friends, had loved Lucas most of his life in a way nobody had ever understood, but what he felt for Jude eclipsed everything. It surged through him with a power that felt like it could light up an entire city.
Leaning closer, he smiled as their lips brushed. “You are so fucking gorgeous,” he breathed over Jude’s mouth.
“General, there is gorgeous and then there is breathtaking.” Jude’s hand came up and cupped the back of his neck. He pressed their mouths together.
Snow forgot anyone else was there. He savored the softness of Jude’s lips, the scratch of his beard. When he pulled back, it took a moment to bring his thoughts into focus.
Jude chuckled, completely aware that he’d scrambled Snow’s brain.
Snow could give him that. That smug look. He’d earned it because nobody had ever scrambled his brain like this Spanish and Greek paramedic who’d given him a home in his heart.
“Do we still have to go look at the house?” he asked before kissing him again. “I’m sick of looking at houses. I’d rather take you somewhere and explore what’s under these shorts.”
“It’s the one.”
Snow pulled back, taking in the shine of anticipation in Jude’s brown eyes. “How do you know? You haven’t even been inside.”
“Trust me.”
“I do.”###
An hour later, Snow stood inside the perfect house. After months of weekends house hunting with Anna Torres, after more months annoying their realtor, Judith Sparks, Jude had stumbled onto this place by accident while on the job near the Eden Park overlook. And he’d only seen the outside and the view from the back. Brand new, it didn’t even have the flooring in or the paint on the walls, but Snow knew without a shadow of a doubt that this place belonged to them. His heels thudded on the base wood flooring as he walked through the rectangular living room, the kitchen with beautiful, dark-stained cabinets currently being installed. The carpenters paid them little attention, merely stepping aside as they moved through the room. Every window downstairs was open to take advantage of the slight breeze coming off the river. Snow climbed the stairs and saw the three bedrooms, the master bedroom nice and roomy, and best yet, having an attached bathroom that held a massive whirlpool tub and shower built big enough for more than two. Or two who liked plenty of room to get busy.