“How much I need you.” Ethan pulled Calvin with him as he lay down. He snuggled up close and pressed his lips to Calvin’s.
Calvin closed his eyes and parted his lips, allowing Ethan to slip his tongue in and deepen the kiss. He didn’t question it or overthink it, just went with it. Whatever Ethan needed, Calvin would give.
Ethan’s lips were soft, his mouth warm and tasting faintly of mint. Calvin loved how Ethan tasted, how he smelled, how he felt underneath his touch. He loved the way Ethan’s strong hands caressed his skin.
This was uncharted territory for both of them, and despite knowing everything about each other, Calvin was eager to explore more of this side of Ethan. They’d seen each other naked more times than he could count. They argued and fought but always worked things out. When Ethan pulled back, Calvin missed his breath on him, the feel of his lips, but he smiled at his best friend and cuddled up to him. As long as they were together, they’d make it through anything. Them against the world.
Chapter Two
CALVIN TOOK a sip of his beer before letting out a happy sigh. After the last few months dealing with all the crazy of the Order, Coalition, Hogan, and Shultzon, he was relieved they’d gotten back to doing regular callouts. It was no less emotionally and physically exhausting, but it was a far cry from what they’d been up against recently. Though their first week back on callouts seemed determined to make up for lost time, he was glad things were back to normal. Well, as normal as was possible for their team.
Following another long rotation, Destructive Delta did what it had been doing since Dex joined the team, taking over Dekatria, their second base of operation. By now all the regulars knew who they were, welcoming them with open arms. There was no hostility toward them, and no one cared if they were Therian or Human. Whatever anti-Therian regulars had frequented the bar had jumped ship the moment Bradley bought the place. He made it known real quick he wouldn’t tolerate any of that crap. There were plenty of other bars in New York City for them to spread their stupid, but his place wouldn’t be one of them.
The jaguar Therian himself dropped by the table, a big grin on his handsome face. He gave Dex a playful sho
ve. “So what do you think of the new menu?”
Dex’s eyes lit up as he scanned the trendy, newly designed menu. “I think I’ve died and gone to heaven. Except I know I haven’t because Ash is here.”
Ash gracefully flipped Dex off before resuming his conversation with Cael about sharing some loaded cheese fries.
They all laughed as Dex put in his ginormous order. Calvin had no idea how the guy put all that food away and managed to stay in shape. It was like he had cheetah Therian metabolism or something. Calvin noticed the black line art on the right side of Bradley’s neck peeking out from under his T-shirt.
“Hey, is that new?” Calvin asked, pointing to the intricate swirls. It looked Japanese in style, possibly a koi fish.
Bradley touched his fingers to it. “Yeah. It’s been a while since I had a new one. Started getting that itch.” He laughed softly.
“Who designs your tattoos?” Dex asked curiously.
“Friend of mine. I love ink, but sadly I’m not much of an artist. Otherwise I’d probably have been doing that instead. Gonna have to find myself a new artist, though. My friend’s getting himself hitched and moving to California.”
Ethan pointed to Calvin, catching him off guard.
“You design?” Bradley looked as surprised as some of their teammates. It wasn’t really something Calvin talked about. His face grew warm as all eyes landed on him.
“Yeah. I’ve been drawing since I was a kid. In college I did a couple of designs for people. Word spread, and pretty soon I had enough commissions to pay for my books and supplies.”
“Shit, that’s right,” Dex said, his grin widening. “Apparently he’s awesome. Hobbs said he draws some kickass designs.”
Calvin glanced over at Ethan, who had guilty written all over his silly smiling face. Ethan nodded and held his thumbs up.
“You still design?” Bradley asked.
Calvin shrugged. “I never really stopped. I didn’t need to take any more commissions once I joined the THIRDS, and my schedule didn’t leave a lot of time for it, but yeah, for fun.”
“Maybe I can give you a call sometime. See your stuff.”
“Sure.” Calvin returned Bradley’s smile. It had been a long time since he’d drawn anything for anyone. Bradley went off with their orders, and Dex was about to say something when Calvin felt someone step up behind him.
“Agent Summers?”
Calvin turned in his chair, surprised to see Felipe Bautista standing there, a shy smile on his face. “Hey.” Calvin stood, smiling warmly. “I’m surprised to see you here.”
“Agent Summers—”
“Calvin. Please,” Calvin insisted. He held his hand out, and Felipe took it with a smile.
“Calvin. I’m sorry if I’m interrupting.” Felipe shyly greeted the rest of the table, some more warily than others.