~~~~~~~
“Yeah. I heard him,” Quick confirmed, his tone steely. His mouth was a firm line, his grunts commanding as he nudged and chased Cayson out of his hiding spot with his chin. His eyes had taken on a darker, more alluring hunter green while he stared at Cayson and tried to get a handle on his control. He only had a second to make his decision, and he did. He bent and licked gently at Cayson’s bottom lip – asking permission – before he sealed their closed mouths together. Cayson moaned prettily, but Quick didn’t take the bait. He could easily lose his control around the guarded man. If he wasn’t careful, he could scare him away again… possibly for good. The bitch-assed doctor Cayson had been sneaking around with had done enough damage. More than was probably on the surface. Quick briefly wondered if he had what it took to make Cayson forget past exes and focus on him. More importantly, not make him pay for their shortcomings. When Cayson melted into Quick’s chest, sighing his reprieve… he had his answer.
Quick pulled back and tilted his head, directing Cayson in the other direction with his palm while he deepened the kiss. Cayson gripped the material of Quick’s t-shirt, pulling him closer like a drowning man would a life raft. Quick was already making him forget. He’d do it until he was all Cayson could think about. He may be new to the team but he wasn’t new to the game. He was going to heal Cayson from the inside out.
But first things first. “Why wouldn’t he have sex with you?”
Cayson
“Quick.” Cayson grimaced.
Quick had asked the million-dollar question now that Dr. Joe had let the ugly cat out of the bag earlier than he would’ve liked. Cayson had fully intended to tell Quick about all this, but in his own time.
“In a nutshell,” Cayson drawled and tried to put some distance between them, but Quick wasn’t having it. He kept him wrapped tight in his strong arms. “Um. Long story short. For the past few years, I’ve had a friends with benefits arrangement with Dr. Joe, but he was extremely stingy with the benefits. Hell, who am I kidding? Okay, very few of my love interests wanted to be with me, even fewer wanted to fuck me, or date long enough to even get to that point with me.” Cayson took another deep breath, because he was aggressively fighting the moisture building up in his eyes. His state of loneliness was bordering on too much. If he let those useless tears fall right now, he thought Quick would probably turn on his heels and make his way to the door, too. The big bounty hunter wouldn’t be interested in dating a whiny, sex-desperate pansy. It’d take a confident, sure man to hold on to someone as handsome and strong as Roman Webb. But when he thought of Dr. Joe’s proposed arrangement, his stomach knotted hard enough to make him double over.
“Listen to me.” Quick held Cayson’s face with both large hands. His wide fingers covering practically his entire face. “I want you to go and wash off all the poison your haters have sprayed on you today, and I’ll be right here when you come down.”
“Sure,” Cayson whispered, turning to leave, fighting to keep his head from hanging low. Before he was out of range, Quick’s hand shot out and gripped him by the back of his neck to yank him back against his hard chest. Cayson hit with a hard thump and he hadn’t had a chance to collect himself when a thick, possessive tongue was down his throat. Cayson whined softly and opened wide enough to take it all.
Quick released his mouth when he was damn good and ready. He leaned in low and nipped Cayson’s neck, scrubbing his coarse goatee along Cayson’s smooth skin. “You won’t have to worry about being made love to anymore, Cays. Now, go.”
Cayson wasn’t sure if he was supposed to be able to walk upright after that statement or not. Right now he was frozen. The thought of Quick wanting to fuck him was beyond what Cayson could believe at the moment. Pity and regret were still words bouncing around in his soul. He wouldn’t take Quick’s pity. Even though his aching hole begged for attention, he wasn’t jumping onto the first flat surface with Quick. If Quick wanted him, he’d better damn well prove it. No, he was going to earn it.
~~~~~~~~~~
As soon as Quick heard water running, he looked up for the first time, noticing that the entire upstairs was open. He could see a sliver of light across the ceiling. Was it all Cayson’s bedroom? He wanted to go up and explore, but he’d have time for that later. That’s how he’d win the war to gain Cayson’s trust. Time. Patience. He wouldn’t rush him.