I wanted to get him off fast and hard to take the edge off but then spend my time driving him crazy in bed. I’d spent hours in a lonely hotel room in Arizona imagining mapping Carter’s naked body with my lips and tongue and fingertips.
His balls were heavy in my hand as I rolled them gently. I sucked and licked and slurped, ratcheting up the intensity as he began making broken noises of debauched pleasure. “Come in my mouth, on my face, wherever you want,” I urged. “Fuck me.”
As soon as I swallowed him down again, he shouted and held my head to his body as he came in warm spurts down my throat. I scrambled for the buttons to my own pants and barely got them open in time to jack myself off onto the cold marble between my knees.
“Fuck, fuck,” I panted, laying my forehead against his thigh. His grip on my hair turned to gentle caresses. I closed my eyes and focused on his touch, the smooth, soft fingers moving gently along my face.
Footsteps approached behind me, and I froze for a beat before yanking up my pants and turning around and trying to hide Carter’s own nudity. I heard the quick hiss of his zipper and let out a breath.
Kev wandered past with his attention focused on the Horn in his hands.
“Hey, Riggs. Y’all want some snacks? Hey, do we still have any of that guac left from last night?”
Without waiting for a response or looking up from his game, he continued through the foyer toward what I assumed was the kitchen.
I turned back to Carter with a raised brow. “I thought you said—”
“I should have said he only comes upstairs for food,” he said with a blush. “He’s pretty oblivious when he’s playing the game, though, and his village was just overcome with a gang of feral moon kittens. He’s going to be spraying enchanted catnip serum for hours.”
I chuckled and moved one of my hands down the side of his leg until I found something bulky underneath. I rucked up his jeans to reveal my knife strapped to his calf.
I glanced up at him. “Expecting trouble?”
He blushed and looked away. “No. But you once told me sometimes just knowing it’s there was all you needed.” He met my eye. “I like knowing it’s there. It reminds me of you.”
I pulled his pant leg back down over the knife and patted it in place before standing up and brushing off my knees. I made sure both of us were buttoned and zipped properly, and used my shirt to wipe the evidence of our activities off the floor. “Is this when I admit to carrying around the tin of antibiotic salve you gave me that night in Gelada?”
Carter blinked in surprise. “You’re kidding.”
“Heck, no. Antibiotic salve is dead useful, I’ll have you know.” I reached into my pocket and pulled out the little circular tin. It had acquired more than a few dents and scratches over the past few weeks. “Besides, you put this in my hand the first time you told me you trusted me.”
Carter swallowed. “Because I did, even then. And I do now. With everything, with all of me.” He curled my fingers around the tin. “You’re not at all the man I imagined wanting,” he said.
I glanced up at him in surprise and maybe a little concern, but Carter laughed. “That’s not what I meant. I mean you’re so different than the man I always thought I’d end up with, but that’s a very good thing.”
“Why a good thing?”
He pulled me close. “You’re unexpected in the best way. On paper, we have nothing in common, but you fill up a part of me I didn’t know was empty until we met. You challenge me. You’re adventurous and wild, but you’re also sweet and thoughtful.” His cheeks turned even pinker than they’d been before. “Thank you for the naked mole rat, by the way. Kevin was so impressed, he begged me to marry you before someone else snatched you away from me.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “Well, Hux told me it would be the quickest way to get your hill moved before the ice cow infiltration.”
“It was. And the anteater helped too.”
“I didn’t send you an anteater,” I said, distracted by the sight of his plush lips. I snuck a quick kiss and grabbed his hand to lead him toward the stairs and a bed.
“No, but Tucker did. He said once the naked mole rat starts moving dirt, it can trigger an ant colony explosion.”
We were halfway up the stairs when I stopped and looked over at him. “You’re accepting unsolicited gifts from other men?”
He opened his mouth, but nothing came out. I continued. “I gave you a fucking naked mole rat, and that wasn’t good enough for you?”