Burn - 1

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and
incidents either are the product of the author's
imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to
actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living
or dead, is entirely coincidental and beyond the intent of
either the author or the publisher.

Burn
TOP SHELF
An imprint of Torquere Press Publishers
PO Box 2545
Round Rock, TX 78680
Copyright 2010 by Sean Michael
Cover illustration by Alessia Brio
Published with permission
ISBN: 978-1-61040-113-5
www.torquerepress.com
All rights reserved, which includes the right to
reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form
whatsoever except as provided by the U.S. Copyright
Law. For information address Torquere Press. Inc., PO
Box 2545, Round Rock, TX 78680.
First Torquere Press Printing: December 2010
Printed in the USA

Burn - 2

Burn, a Hammer Novel

By Sean Michael

Chapter One

He wasn't in the fucking mood for this.
Marshall headed up the stairs of Murphy's, still

smelling of smoke and cinders. He had reports to file,
training. Not to mention he needed a fucking nap. The
guys only got together once a year, though, and Kerry
never fucking failed to call and invite him. "Come on
down," he said. "Even if you can't make the game. See
the guys from the team. Have a beer."

Yeah. Yeah.
Why it had to come on the day after the worst nights

of fires he'd had in his career, he didn't know.

A cheer went up as he came in, the guys all lifting

their beers in a toast to him.

He nodded, rubbing one hand over the back of his

neck. "Boys."

One beer.
One beer and he'd go home.
Someone nudged him from behind and a beer

appeared in front of him.

"Hey, Marshall. We didn't think you were going to

make it this year."

"I didn't, either." He grinned, tried not to sigh. "I just

need one, and I'm off."

David Banders smiled at him, the expression just the

same as it had been back in college, and patted his back.
"You look like you could use about ten and then maybe
another ten."

"No shit on that, man. No shit on that."
"Come on, let's go sit by the bar, it's quieter."

Burn - 3

He nodded, clapped Dave on the shoulder. "Sounds

like a plan." Dave was a good guy, always had been,
from what he could remember.

They headed for the bar, sitting on the corner stools.

"Potato skins and wings?"

He nodded. He wasn't hungry yet, but he could sit

and nod. Shit, Dave would eat it all by himself. Dave
placed the order and pulled back half a beer before
turning back to him. "So. Bad night, huh?"

"Yeah." He rubbed his neck again. "Fatalities. It was

harsh."

Four kids. Four fucking kids. He... Yeah.
Harsh.
"Oh, man. I'm sorry."
"Yeah." He sucked down half his brew, letting it hit

him, right in the gut.

"You definitely need another beer." Dave got the

bartender's attention and ordered them more beer.

"I don't know, man..." Still, it felt good going down.
Dave put a hand on his shoulder, rubbed. "Tell you

what, this is my first -- it'll be my last, and I'll be your
designated driver."

"Yeah? You sure?" He wrapped his hands around the

mug.

"Positive. Unless you want another way to release the

tension." One of Dave's eyebrows went up and back
down. The fucker was an incorrigible flirt; it could be
charming or irritating as fuck, depending on the mood.

"You want me to beat you up in the back room?" He

winked, playing back. It wasn't Dave's fault he was
bitchy.

Dave grinned. "Or you could let me beat you up.

That's more my style, anyway."

"Yeah, right." He shook his head, flexed. Like he was

the kind to be beat.

Burn - 4

Dave's hand slid across his bicep. "Very nice." There

was clear admiration in Dave's voice, in his eyes.

He'd seen it before, over the years, but neither of

them had ever taken it anywhere. "Careful, man, huh?"
He wasn't in the best place for shit. Not really.

Dave backed off, hands wrapping around his beer

bottle. "We could go somewhere else."

He shook his head, focusing on his beer. "You got

food coming."

"Oh, I imagine the guys would be happy to make sure

it doesn't go to waste. Seriously, man, you wanna split,
I'm easy."

He sighed, rubbed his forehead. "I don't know.

Maybe I'll just go take a shower, work out for a while."

"Is that usually all it takes?" Dave was looking at him

like the man knew something he didn't.

"All it takes for what?" He wasn't quite with it.
"To wind down, to let go of the bad shit that

happens."

"It'll take a couple more beers for that." He stood,

mood suddenly heading directly south as the images of
those four babies, burned and lost, hit him. He should
have saved them. "I have to get home. Have a good
one."

Dave stood with him. "Let me drive you, man."
"I'm cool." Still. He was fucking exhausted. "You got

people here to visit with."

Dave was taller than Marshall remembered. Way

taller.

"I spent a couple hours running around a field after

the pigskin with them, and then almost another hour
here before you showed up. They won't miss me." Dave
put a hand on his shoulder and turned him, aiming him
toward the stairs.

Burn - 5

"Hey, guys," Dave called out. "Marshall came

straight from a call. I'm going to give him a lift home."

There were a couple of disappointed 'aww' sounds,

but most of the guys just raised their hands or their beers
and called out, "Goodbye."

David's hand was on his elbow, guiding him, helping

him out the door.

Wait.
They went down the stairs, and David led him right

over to a black Honda Civic, opening the passenger door
for him.

"I have my truck here, buddy." His head was

pounding.

"I'll pick you up and drive you back in the morning."

Dave encouraged him into the passenger seat and closed
his door. Within moments, the engine had started and
Dave was pulling into traffic. "Where am I taking you?"

"I live off Davis." He had a sweet little place -- big

enough for him, his dog, his stair climber.

"Cool. You have any roommates or anything?" Dave

turned at the light, heading for the highway.

"What? No. No. I don't need the hassle." He didn't

need the shit with his schedule. "What is it you're doing
these days?"

"I've got a store down by the Cedric's gym. The

Athletic Supporter."

He looked at David. God, he was out of the loop. "No

shit? I been in there."

"Yeah?" Dave grinned at him for a moment before

looking back at the road. "Thank you for supporting the
Supporter."

Marshall chuckled, nodded. "That's cool, man." A

sporting goods store. That was pretty damn cool.

"It is. Especially now that I don't need to be there

twenty-four seven. It was pretty intense the first few

Burn - 6

years when I couldn't afford to have both staff and
merchandise in the place at the same time.” Warm
brown eyes smiled at him. “Now I do the books, show
up to manage when I have to. It's a good life."

They turned off the highway and into a residential

neighborhood, the street lights going by in a hypnotic
rhythm. He nodded, murmured at the appropriate times.
The tension was starting to get to him, the migraine
bubbling right at the base of his spine.

Dave's hand on his arm got his attention. "Okay,

we're on Davis. Where do I go from here?"

"All the way down the street. Last house on the

right."

"Cool." It was quiet for the few moments it took for

Dave to turn into the drive and turn off the engine.
"Home sweet home -- it's a nice-looking house." Dave
turned his attention back to Marshall. "You want me to
come in? I'm not trying to be an asshole or pushy idiot
here, you just look... well, haunted."

"Four dead kids will do that. I smell bad." Still, Dave

had been decent. "You want a cup of coffee or
something?"

"Oh, Jesus, Marshall. You'd said it'd been rough, but

that. Wow. Yeah, I would." Dave's hand was back,
squeezing his arm gently.

"Come on in." Don't be decent, or he'd get stupid. He

didn't get stupid. Dave came around, followed him up
the stairs, and waited for him to open the door. His
hands were shaking a little bit, but Doby started barking
and howling, the big shepherd going nuts. "Hey. Hey,
Dob. Did Karen and Bill bring you home for me?"

He'd rescued Doby from a fire five years ago. Stupid,

Karen keeping Dob the lion's share of the time.

"Oh, you have a dog. Cool." Dave put a hand over his

and gently guided the key to the lock.

Burn - 7

"I. Yes. Sorry. Doby." He got the door open, Doby

wagging hard. Dave followed him in, offering Doby his
hand to sniff.

“Doby? Where did you get him? A breeder?”
“No. No, I rescued him at a fire. It's stupid to have a

pup as little as I'm home, but I have some friends next
door that I pay to keep him when I'm not home.”

Doby drooled all over Dave's hand, and Marshall

headed for the kitchen, intending to make coffee. The
place was clean enough for company. Mostly. He heard
Dave's soft laughter slowly getting closer, and then his
dog and his friend joined him in the kitchen. "You've got
a nice place here, Marshall."

"Thank you." He got the coffee out, got the carafe,

filled it with water.

"You need me to do anything?"
"No." His hands were shaking, the carafe tapping

against the side of the sink.

Dave got up and stood behind him, hands sliding on

his arms and down to his hands, curling around them.
"You don't need to make me coffee, Marshall."

"Sorry, man." This was a bad fucking idea.
"Don't apologize. You've had a traumatic night. Let

me help you." Help him? How? He handed Dave the
coffee pot. Dave shook his head and put the coffee pot
down, turned him around. "Shut up, Marshall."

He couldn't have said anything even if he'd wanted

to; Dave's mouth covered his. Marshall's eyes went
wide, pulling at the edges, and he gaped. Just gaped.

Dave took advantage of his open mouth, tongue

pushing in, exploring.

What the fuck?
He stepped back, chest heaving. He wasn't in the

closet, but he never flaunted. Never. "Dave?"

Burn - 8

"You need something to take you out of yourself,

Marshall. I can see that. I want to help." Dave moved
forward, body pressing up against his.

"But we. I. This." Wait. He couldn't. What the fuck?
"Just shut up and stop thinking so hard." Dave's

hands cupped his face, and then Dave kissed him again.

His eyes rolled and he grunted, pushing into the kiss.

Never let it be fucking said he walked away from a free
offer of nookie. Dave deepened the kiss, whole body
leaning against him, pushing him back against the
counter. He wrapped his hands around Dave's shoulders,
squeezing tight.

Dave nodded into their kiss and grabbed his collar,

moving them. "You got a bed?"

"I do. You sure you want to do this, man?" He didn't

usually indulge in pity fucks.

"I'm not in the habit of kissing guys I'm not interested

in, Marshall. Take me to the bedroom and I'll show you
just how much I want to do this."

"It's down the hall to the left." He didn't know when

Dave had become... hot, but he wasn't going to look a
gift horse in the mouth.

Dave grabbed his hand and led the way to his own

bedroom, all confidence and sure strides, and he found
himself following along, his cock almost pushing in
front of him. Once in the bedroom, Dave turned to him
and started tugging his T-shirt out of the waistband of
his jeans, even as Dave leaned in, taking small, sucking
kisses. He wrapped his hands around Dave's waist,
holding on. Not to keep his hands steady, just holding
on.

"Arms up," Dave whispered against his lips as the T-

shirt got stuck three quarters of the way up his chest.

He nodded, but he couldn't move his hand for a

second, couldn't quite make it.

Burn - 9

"You okay?" Dave asked, hands rubbing along his

sides.

"Yeah." He shook his head.
Dave wrestled the T-shirt off him and then undid his

jeans, pulling them and his underwear down to his
knees. "Sit." The word was an order.

He blinked, sat. God, he was tired.
Dave pulled off his Kodiaks and his socks, and then

tugged his pants and shorts right off. He was pushed
back onto the bed, Dave climbing up and encouraging
him to move to lie in the middle of the bed. "I'll take
care of you, Marshall."

"I'm okay, man. Really." Just a little stressed out.
"Oh, you're more than okay. You're a big, beautiful

stud who runs into burning buildings to rescue people.
You don't have to be strong tonight. Just lie back and let
me make you fly." Dave's mouth covered his again, this
kiss starting out soft and growing harder the longer it
lasted.

He groaned, cradled Dave in his arms and legs,

framing the man, holding on. The kisses continued,
Dave in full control. Every time he tried to take the kiss
back, Dave kept them where they were, lips locked,
moans passing between them. Dave's hands found his,
the man threading their fingers together.

Crazy. This was crazy.
He pressed closer, moaning low and deep.
Dave slowly pulled his hands up over his head,

stretching him out. All the while, the kisses kept him
unfocused, kept stealing his breath.

He found himself rocking up toward Dave, his entire

body awake, alive, on fire.

"Taste good," muttered Dave, lips wrapping around

his lower one, tugging on it.

"Like smoke, prob'ly."

Burn - 10

"Maybe a little. Underneath the you." Dave nuzzled

their noses together. "Leave your hands up there."

"Hmm?"
"Don't move your hands." Dave started kissing his

way down Marshall's body.

He chuckled, but was willing to play along. The

sucking kisses moved down his chest, with detours at his
nipples. He grunted, reached down, and shook his head.
"I'm not into that, man."

That... ached.
Dave looked up at him. "You're not into getting

kissed?"

"No. I don't... C'mere." He dragged Dave back up,

kissed the man hard, fingers cradling the man's head,
thick hair slick on his palm. Dave took control of the
kiss, deepened it further.

There. Better. Let's just get off.
Moving against him, Dave rubbed their cocks

together, and Marshall nodded, hips rolling, driving
them.

Dave broke the kiss long enough to ask him, "Got

lube? Condoms?"

"You want me to fuck you, Dave?" He was really

close, really tired, but he was never too tired for that.

"No, Marshall. I'll take care of you." Then Dave was

kissing him again.

He felt like he was missing something, not quite

following the conversation, but the kisses...

They went on and on and left him floating, flying,

breathless. He didn't have a handle on anything, and it
felt good, so just relax, feel. Be touched. Dave's hand
slid over his body, fingers twisting his nipples lightly
before moving down to stroke across his abs. The touch
felt fucking amazing, and he moved into it.

Burn - 11

"That's it, Marshall. You need it -- take it, enjoy it.

Lose yourself in it."

Shh. No talking. Talking meant thinking.
Then Dave was kissing him again and the threat of

thinking disappeared under the onslaught of the man's
mouth on his, the warm, knowing fingers on his abs, his
hips. His cock throbbed, aching, needing a touch. Dave's
palm brushed by it, and his hips jerked, trying to get
closer, more.

"So needy. Good." The words were murmured into

his mouth and then Dave's fingers slid around his cock,
snuggled it right up against the hot palm.

He licked his lips, hips moving in short, needy bursts.

"Gonna. Soon."

"Yeah, nice and quick this time. Then we can take it

slow." Dave's thumb rubbed across the tip of his cock on
the downstrokes.

Nice. Quick.
Quick.
Fuck.
Yes.
"Come on. Give it up for me, Marshall. Let me see

what you've got."

His balls ached, throbbed, and spunk sprayed out of

him, landing on his stomach.

Fuck.
Dave groaned into his mouth, hand rubbing his spunk

into his belly, and Marshall panted, eyes rolling. Fuck
him. Good. Dave leaned up over him, fumbling through
his bedside table.

He tried to focus, blinking hard. "Dave?"
He tried to make his hands work, get one around

Dave's cock, to help the man out.

"Shh. Don't worry about anything, Marshall. I've got

you."

Burn - 12

"Don't want to leave you hanging."
"You don't have to worry about me, Marshall. You

don't have to worry about anything." Dave seemed to
have found the lube and a condom, coming back to lie
next to him. He blinked, nodded, just not able to really
focus.

"Spread your legs," Dave ordered, the man shifting,

moving down his body, tongue hot on his skin. He
stretched and spread, his hips rolling lazily.

"Mmm. Nice." Dave licked the tip of his cock and

then one of his balls. Then the man's hot tongue slid
across his hole.

"Oh. I. Dave..." He'd never. Whoa.
Back and forth, up and down, that tongue flicked at

his skin, the sensations nearly overwhelming.

His breath came in shorter and shorter pants, his

hands opening and closing; then Dave's tongue pushed
into him, breaching his body.

"Fuck..." His shoulders left the mattress, and he cried

out.

Dave hummed, and he'd be fucking damned if that

didn't send vibrations all fucking through him.

"I... Oh, Jesus. I can't. Fuck..." He twisted, damn near

sobbing.

That tongue didn't stop, it just fucked in and out of

his hole, so hot and wet. His cock was hard as glass, his
body on fire, then something else pushed inside him,
slick and easy going with that tongue working him.

Marshall was out of his fucking mind, and his hands

grabbed hold of the headboard so he had something to
brace himself on. The wet, silky stretch continued,
Dave's tongue-fucking building the sensation ever
higher.

Wrapped in sensation, Marshall just grunted,

moaned, and rode, hips driving himself down. He had no

Burn - 13

clue how long it went on -- he pretty much lost track of
time, of his brain, of every fucking thing but the way his
body felt.

Slick warmth continued to fuck him, to spread him,

even as Dave's tongue disappeared. "God, you're hot,
Marshall. So fucking hot."

"Please. I need."
"I know, I know." A moment later the slick warmth

disappeared as well, but before he could even cry out,
something hot and hard pressed against him, pushed. His
breath caught in his throat, and when Dave's fingers
pinched one of his nipples, he bore down, hard.

"Oh, fuck, you're tight, Marshall." Dave's mouth

covered his with another one of those kisses that
absolutely took his breath away.

Caught in the whole thing, Marshall grunted, their

bodies slick as they slid together. Dave began moving,
cock pushing into him, sliding back out, then in again.
He wasn't into getting fucked. He wasn't, but... feeling
good was feeling good and he was already there.

Dave's hand wrapped around his cock again, the

strokes around his prick matching the ones pushing into
him. Heat flooded him, and he cried out, body gripping
Dave tight.

"Yes! Fuck!" Dave froze and then collapsed down

onto him, hand still holding his spent prick.

His eyelids were so heavy, his body limp and lax.
Dave slipped out of him, and a moment later a soft

tissue moved over his skin, cleaning him up.

He murmured. He should see Dave out. Something.

He should.

"Shh. Shh. It's all right. I've got you. Go to sleep."
"Sorry. Tired. Long day."
"I know. You're safe here, though. Sleep."
Dave's hands slid on him, petting him, soothing.

Burn - 14

Marshall moaned, sinking down into dreams of men

and sex and heat.

Not fire.

***

Dave woke up with a start, half sitting in a strange

bed, a warm body next to his.

It took him a moment to remember where he was --

he'd gone home with Marshall Ray, made love to the
man. Right. Lying back down, he leaned into the big
body next to his, wondering what had woken him up.
Marshall's chest was heaving, one tear escaping the
corner of one eye.

Oh, damn. Nightmares.
He rubbed his hand along Marshall's breastbone.

"Shh. Shh. It's okay. You're safe."

Marshall's forehead crinkled. "I'll get you out."
Oh, that wasn't good. "Come on and wake up now."
Marshall took a deep breath. "Cap! Cap! The wall's

coming down, man! There's kids in there!"

He grabbed Marshall's shoulders and shook them.

"Wake up!"

Those eyes popped open and Marshall sat up, bright

blue eyes rolling, the blond buzz cut making them all the
more blue. "Fuck. Fuck, sorry. Right."

The man rolled up off the bed, lurching around for a

few steps. Dave followed him, wrapped his arms around
Marshall's waist, and pulled the big body against his.
"It's okay. It's over."

"Sorry. Sorry. I. Shit. Sorry."
"Shh. It's fine. You're fine. You want to come back to

bed or go see if your fridge has any beer?" What the
man really needed was a good beating, something to
make Marshall let go.

Burn - 15

"I... Bed. Yeah."
"Okay, come on." He got Marshall turned back

around and into bed. Climbing in, he settled close, the
covers pulled up.

"Sorry. What time is it?"
"I don't know. Late. Dark." He looked to the bedside

table and sure enough, there was a digital clock there.
"It's almost three a.m."

"Jesus. I'm sorry for waking you." Marshall looked

over at him, blinked slowly.

"It's okay. Sounded pretty bad. You need to find a

way to put it behind you, man." He rubbed Marshall's
back, hand moving in slow circles.

"Just a dream. Happens."
Dave snorted softly. Right.
"I could help you with that." He knew exactly how to

get Marshall to let go, to release all that pain.

"Only time helps that stuff."
"Time just helps you bury it. I'm talking about

expunging." Letting go.

"Huh? I don't go in for that psyche bullshit."
"When was the last time you just let go?" He decided

to try a different tactic.

"Huh? Come on, buddy. Sleep, it's late. You need a

hand job to get you there?"

"I'm fine, Marshall." He shook his head. He needed

to get Marshall to his place. There he could tie the man
to his bed and beat his back and ass until Marshall cried
for mercy. Until Marshall cried, let it all go. Stopped
trying to be the hero all the damn time.

"Cool." Marshall hummed, eyes dropping closed.
"Come to my place for breakfast tomorrow." A little

coffee, a little pancakes and syrup, a little bondage and
beating...

"I'm on my seventy-two off. I don't have plans."

Burn - 16

"Then you'll come home with me." He didn't give

Marshall time to argue, just settled in nice and close,
head on the big chest. Marshall hummed, then the sound
turned into low, soft snores.

Dave shook his head and thought about the best way

to give Marshall what he needed. The funny thing was,
he'd had images of having Marshall tied up in his bed
for a long time, each year they got together with the
guys for their annual game giving him more ammunition
for his fantasies.

Now it was more than just a fantasy; now it was

something that Marshall needed.

He just had to convince Marshall of that.

Burn - 17

Chapter Two

He woke up at six and stumbled into the bathroom

without turning on the lights, then turned on the hot
water. Steam billowed up all around him and Marshall
leaned into it, dozing again.

He woke with a start at the sound of a voice. "Mind if

I join you?"

"Nah. Come on. Just waking up."
Dave slipped in behind him, pressing up against his

back. "Mmm. You're nice and warm."

"Good hot water heater."
"I like the man heater better." He could hear the

fucking grin in Dave's voice.

Marshall chuckled, leaned deeper into the spray.

"Flirt."

"Can you blame me? I'm in the shower with a hot

stud."

"Man, how many of the team have you picked up

over the years?"

Dave slapped his ass. Hard. "Fuck you, Marshall. I'm

here because you needed me and because I'm interested,
not because you're next on the fucking list."

"Hey!" He stumbled forward, purely shocked, then

spun around as surprise turned to anger. "Jesus fucking
Christ! I was teasing you, man! What the fuck is wrong
with you?"

Brown eyes went wide. "Sorry, man. I thought you

were making a fucking dig. Just because I'm kinky
doesn't mean I sleep around."

"What?" Kinky? Where the hell had that come from?
"I guess you hit a nerve, man." Dave's hands looped

around his waist.

Burn - 18

He stared for a second, then rinsed off, feeling a little

like there'd been a conversation he'd missed. "You want
a cup of coffee?"

"How about I take you home and make you that

breakfast I promised you?"

He shrugged. "You don't have to put yourself out,

man."

"It's not putting me out." Dave rubbed a hand across

his shoulders. "I'm sorry I ruined the mood. You need to
give me a chance to recapture it."

"No big, man. I just... I'm thinking I'm in a bad

space."

Tired.
Bitchy.
Stressed out.
Not particularly interested in drama.
"I know you are. That was the point of you coming

over and me making you pancakes, huh?" Dave slid
their lips together, the kiss light, gentle, soothing.

Pancakes.
Right.
He let himself relax a little bit, breathe.
Dave's fingers were gentle on his skin, tracing his

muscles as his hands came to rest on Dave's waist again.

Okay.
Okay, better.
Dave's tongue teased the roof of his mouth. Damn,

he'd never met someone as into kissing as Dave was.

"You taste great," Dave murmured.
"Thanks. You're one hell of a kisser."
"You're not so bad yourself."
He snorted. What the hell did a guy say to something

like that? Dave seemed to think it warranted more
kisses. Then the man slipped down to his knees right
there in the shower, mouth level with his prick.

Burn - 19

He blinked down, his cock saying hello and howdy,

just like that. Dave gave him a grin and licked the head,
tongue getting good coverage.

"Oh, fuck yeah." He groaned, hips beginning to roll

in a slow and steady fashion, pushing his cock over
Dave's tongue.

Dave grabbed onto his hips, fingers digging in so he

could feel them, but not stopping him from slowly
fucking the hot mouth. Man, how had he not known that
Dave could do this? The man's tongue wasn't just lying
there, either, Dave was rubbing and slapping at his cock,
adding little zings of sensation.

His body jerked, driving into that hot mouth, pushing

harder. "Shit. Yeah. So good."

A low hum vibrated around his cock, like Dave was

agreeing with him.

He was surprisingly close, and his thighs went tight.

"Close."

Dave pulled off long enough to mutter, "Let me

taste," then the man went back down on him, sucking
hard.

Fuck, he was gonna blow so hard the top of his head

was going to pop off.

Dave's fingers crept up between his legs, rolling his

balls, sliding behind them. The little touch to his
perineum had him grunting, shooting hard. Dave didn't
seem to miss a beat, swallowing him down. The touch
between his legs lingered, soft and gentle strokes that
encouraged his orgasm to stretch out.

"Damn." That was hot.
Dave pulled up and rested against his hip, head tilted,

lips curved up in a smile. "That's how you start a proper
morning."

"Yeah." He nodded, swayed a little. "Damn."

Burn - 20

Leaning over, Dave turned the water off and then got

up and grabbed a couple towels, handing one over.

"Thanks. You... you need something?" He wasn't a

selfish man. He wasn't.

"I can wait 'til we're back at my place."
"You sure? I won't leave you hanging, I'm not that

type of guy."

"I'm good, man. It'll be all the much sweeter for

having waited."

He nodded, dried himself off. "Good deal. Let me get

some pants on."

Dave's chuckle was soft, sweet. "Yeah, we'd cause a

bit of a stir if we went out as we are."

"Probably, yeah. Although I jog in shorts."
"Mmm, I bet that causes enough of a stir." Dave

winked and patted his ass as they made their way back
to his bedroom.

He grabbed a pair of sweats, briefs, a T-shirt,

dressing quickly while Dave put on the clothes he'd been
wearing, looking easy in his skin.

"You sure you don't want me to buy you breakfast,

man?" It would save the guy groceries.

"You can buy me breakfast tomorrow." Dave headed

toward the front door.

He grinned. Tomorrow. The man was confident. It

was hot.

Dave's car was in his drive, and the man held the

door open for him. "I'll drive you to your truck, and you
can follow me home."

"Sure. Thanks." He slid in, smiled. This was the

weirdest damn week... His cell phone rang and he
answered it. "Yeah?"

"Marsh. Man. We need you. Now. We're calling

everyone in."

Burn - 21

"Shit. I'll be there in... six." He hung up. "Sorry, man.

Drop me off at the station. They're calling everyone in."

Dave's eyes went wide, but the man nodded and

started it up. "Rain check?"

"Absolutely. Sorry, man. Work first." Always.

Forever.

Dave nodded. "I get it. Come to my place when

you're done, okay? I've got a shower, good food. I'll take
care of you."

"I'll call first." He was a big boy. He didn't need to be

taken care of.

"Okay. You owe me an orgasm, though." Dave gave

him a wink.

"I absolutely do. I'll call." They pulled up to the

station and he held out his hand. "You have my word."

"Excellent." Dave took his hand, squeezed it, then

slipped a business card in. "My number. Be safe."

"You got it. See ya."
He hopped out of Dave's car and waved.
Time to go to work.

***

He'd seen the fire on the news.
It had been bad. Really bad. Lots of property damage.

Every station in the city called in. Firefighter injuries.
Civilian fatalities.

Dave hoped to God Marshall called when he was

finished fighting it, because the last thing Marshall
needed was to go home alone after a fire like that one.
Especially coming so close after the other one. He kept
the radio tuned to the local news station and an ear out
for the phone.

It was late in the evening when he got the text. Sry

bout 2day. M.

Burn - 22

He didn't bother texting back -- it would be too easy

for Marshall to just blow him off. Instead, he called
Marshall's cell.

"'Lo?" Marshall sounded shattered.
"Where are you?" He grabbed his car keys and

headed out the door.

"Heading for my truck, man. Sorry about our day. I

got the next few off, maybe we can hook up?"

"Let me come pick you up, drive you here. You

sound absolutely beat." No way was he letting Marshall
drive himself home and then spend God knew how long
alone, beating himself up for any of the fatalities over
the last few days.

"I'm at my truck already. I jogged down from the

station."

"I'm turning on the highway now." Okay, so he was

just pulling out of the driveway, but he'd be there soon.
"You want to just stay there and wait 'til I get there --
you can follow me home."

Let Marshall think he was a pushy asshole; he was,

but it was for the man's own good.

"I'm really not in the mood for company. It's been a

hard fucking day."

"That's exactly why you need me. A good hard fuck,

a good solid sleep. A shot, a shower. And not
necessarily in that order."

"I don't know about all that, but maybe we can find

an all-night diner. Get those pancakes."

Dave would take it. He could work on Marshall once

he had the man in front of him. "Benny's is on Fourth
and Hemmingway. Best pancakes in town." And right
around the corner from his place. "You want me to come
get you, man?"

"Nope. I'll meet you. Give me ten." The line went

dead.

Burn - 23

Dave headed the car for Benny's; he'd just have to

trust that Marshall was okay to drive. It didn't take him
long to get to the diner and he went in, nodding at Lucy,
who was making a new pot of coffee in the big pot
behind the counter. The place wasn't too busy right now,
and he picked a booth with a view of the parking lot,
figuring the wide bench seats would be more
comfortable for Marshall.

Marshall's big red truck pulled in and the man

parked, head leaning back on the seat for a long minute
or two, then the truck door opened.

Jesus, the man needed a break. Needed to get out of

himself.

Marshall nodded to the waitress, smiled and nodded

again about the coffee, then headed toward him.

David had a smile for the man and squeezed

Marshall's knee under the table when he sat. "Hey,
babe."

"Hey, man. How's your day been?" Marshall looked

haunted, and there was a burn creeping up from under
the collar of the man's shirt.

"Been worried about you. Looks like with good

reason, too."

"No reason to worry. Just doing my job."
"What happened to your neck?" he asked, pointing.
Marshall reached up, winced as his fingers trailed

over the angry burn. "Work."

"Did you get it checked out before you left the

station?" He was betting no.

"It's not bad. Nothing big." Marshall smiled at the

waitress. "I want pancakes, bacon, and three scrambled
eggs, please."

"I just want the pancakes and bacon, Lucy. Oh, and a

milkshake, please."

Burn - 24

Marshall got the once over from Lucy, a lazy smile.

"You want a milkshake, too?"

Marshall shook his head. "A large OJ and keep the

coffee coming."

"That not going to keep you awake?"
"Nope. Caffeine doesn't affect me at all."
Dave chuckled, shook his head. "I can't drink it after

eight or I don't sleep."

"No? That's too bad. I cat nap. A lot." Wasn't that a

pretty fucking image? Marshall napping bonelessly.

"Occupational hazard, huh?"
Marshall nodded, poured a metric fuck ton of sugar

in his coffee, and drank deep. "What did you do today?"

"I checked in on the store at one point, but mostly I

had a lazy day." Watched TV and was horrified by the
out of control fire...

"Cool." Marshall sighed softly.
He met Marshall's gaze. "Did you want to talk about

it?"

"Work? It was hard. People died. That never gets

easier. Never."

"No, I bet it doesn't. Do you ever let go of it, though?

Of not being able to save them?" Marshall was big and
strong and he ran into burning buildings to save people.
It had to rankle, had to hurt, when he failed.

"Of course not. I have a job to do."
"You just bury it, huh?"
"I just use it, I guess. I save the next ones."
Except today Dave knew Marshall hadn't, and he was

willing to bet Marshall never cried about it, because that
would be weak. How long could stuff like that fester
before it was finally too much? He didn't want Marshall
to have to find out.

Marshall leaned back when the food came, digging in

eagerly. He was hungry himself; he hadn't had much to

Burn - 25

eat during the day and the pancakes here rocked. He
gave them a liberal dose of syrup and cut through all the
cakes on the stack, just barely managing to get all the
little triangles on his fork and then into his mouth.
Marshall slowed down about three quarters of the way
through, started working on another cup of coffee. Dave
sucked on his milkshake, watching Marshall from
beneath his lids.

He knew what Marshall needed. He could give it to

the man, too. Tied down, beaten, he could push Marshall
all the way to the edge, break him until Marshall let it all
go, cried and screamed. The man needed a few hours
where he didn't have to be strong. Something told him
Marshall was going to fight him, every step of the way.

It was a good thing he was stubborn and could be

ornery, too.

"You ready to come back to my place?" he asked

when they'd both cleared their plates.

"I don't know if it's a good idea, man. I'm tired."
"And you've got seventy-two hours to sleep, to eat, to

deal, to fuck. You owe me one, Marshall."

"Yeah. Yeah, okay. I don't welsh." Marshall finished

his coffee, found him a rather shaky smile.

He reached out and squeezed Marshall's hand. "It'll

be okay, Marshall. You'll be okay."

"Of course I will."
He stood and dropped some money onto the table.

"Come on, time to go."

Marshall pushed the money back toward him. "This

one's on me."

"Okay." He knew how to pick his battles.
Marshall paid the bill and headed for his truck.
"You can follow me." He'd have offered to drive the

man, but he had a feeling that would be another battle he
didn't want to fight.

Burn - 26

"No problem." Marshall swung up into the truck, the

engine roaring to life. Dave hustled to his car and pulled
out, making sure Marshall was tailing him before
heading home. Jesus, he'd never met someone so tense,
so in need of release.

He pulled up in front of his house, offering Marshall

a smile as the man pulled up behind him, truck just
clearing the end of the drive. "Welcome to my home."

"Thanks for the invite."
"No problem. You want a shower, couch and a

movie, or bed?"

"How about the couch?"
"You sure? I thought you'd want to crash." Those

pretty eyes looked so fucking tired. "Come on. My bed
is more than big enough." He grabbed hold of Marshall's
hand and led the man down the hall and into his
bedroom.

"Wait. Weren't we going to the sofa?"
"You need bed, man. It's written all over you." He

started stripping Marshall down.

"No. I just. I was going to..." The burn slashed across

Marshall's chest.

He winced. "Shit. Marshall, this has be hurting. I've

got some of that burn spray. You finish getting
undressed and I'll get it."

"It's not bad. Just red."
"Still. I'll feel better if I spray it."
He went into the en suite and checked the medicine

cabinet. There. He'd been right, he had some. He
grabbed the bottle and headed back to Marshall, who
was sitting on the edge of the bed, still in his briefs.

"Hey, man. Chin up and let me spray your burn."

Marshall's chin lifted, the strong throat working, and
Dave sprayed the long burn, wincing as he did. Damn,
that was nasty.

Burn - 27

"It's not bad. First degree."
"What happened?" he asked quietly.
"A beam fell." Just so nonchalant. A beam fell.
"So it's bruised as well as burned." He brushed his

hand over the air above the burn. The skin was hot, but
not unbearably so, and there weren't blisters.

"We have protective gear."
"And you still got burned. Come on, lie down." He

pushed gently on the uninjured side.

"Really, it's not a big deal." Marshall leaned back,

though, followed his touch.

"You need to take care of yourself, Marshall." He

pressed kisses on Marshall's face, just soft and gentle.

Marshall turned toward the kisses. "I'm okay."
"I'm going to make you even more okay." It was a

promise.

"I was going to give you an orgasm."
"Uh-huh." He grabbed Marshall's hands and brought

them up over his head. "Grab hold of the headboard."
He got one of those looks again -- confused, hot, sweet.
"Just do it, beautiful man."

"Okay." Marshall stretched up, letting him see all that

body – muscled and taut, broad-shouldered and stacked.
God, he wanted to see Marshall in leather.

"That's perfect." He wanted to tie Marshall to the

headboard, the man's ankles spread and tied to the
footboard. But right now the man needed to be fucked
and to sleep. They had three days; he'd have his chance.
He started by kissing Marshall's knuckles where they
were wrapped around the wood.

Marshall's eyes were on his mouth, staring at him.

"Jesus, that's hot, Dave, but I'm supposed to be here
helping you out."

"Hey, I spent the day lazing around and yeah, I

jacked off when I got home this morning, so don't worry

Burn - 28

about me getting blue balls or anything." He smiled,
stroked his hand along Marshall's cheek. "I want to do
this."

Marshall's eyes closed, the pretty lips parting. So

fucking hot.

He licked along Marshall's lips and then went back to

where he'd been, tongue sliding along the veins in
Marshall's wrists. Marshall's hands tightened, the
tendons standing out for him. He traced those with his
tongue as well, nibbled them with his lips.

"Fuck. Your mouth is so fucking warm."
"Gonna eat you all up," Dave promised, moving

slowly along Marshall's inner arm.

"Gonna make me crazy." Marshall's legs were

moving, sliding on the sheets.

"That's kind of the idea, you know?" Take Marshall

out of his head, help him forget everything, even if just
for a short while.

"Oh. Good to know I'm getting it right."
He chuckled and rubbed his nose along the inside of

Marshall's elbow. Then he nipped at the sensitive skin
and Marshall's arm jerked, hand slipping off the
headboard. He kissed the spot he'd nipped and then
wrapped Marshall's hand back around the headboard.
"Don't let go, babe."

"Sorry, man. I just...Watch the biting."
"You liked it. It just surprised you."
Marshall looked at him, eyebrows arching. "I don't

know."

"It doesn't matter. All you need to do is feel."
"Feel." Marshall took a deep breath. "Right."
"Yep." He grinned and rubbed their noses together.

He liked the soft chuckle he got, liked how Marshall
relaxed for him, so he pressed kisses across Marshall's

Burn - 29

face, his fingers taking over sliding along Marshall's
arms.

Marshall tried to capture his lips, but Dave kept out

of reach. He stayed away from the burned area, fingers
and mouth sliding over the rest of Marshall's skin. Those
off-limits nipples were dark, peaked, begging for
attention, abuse. He blew on them, and Marshall arched,
abs rolling.

Look at that.
Leaning in, he licked the tip of his tongue across one

hard little nipple.

"Don't." Marshall's chest pressed toward his lips.
Dave managed to swallow his snort, his tongue

flicking back and forth across Marshall's flesh.
Marshall's breath came faster, and Dave could almost
smell the man's need. He moved to the other nipple,
tonguing it, letting his teeth threaten. Fuck, he could all
but see the clamps on the little bits of flesh, biting in.
The games Marshall was going to let him play...

Groaning, he dropped his mouth over Marshall's

nipple and sucked it in.

"Dave!" The headboard creaked.
"Yeah. I've got you, babe. Just feel. Go with it." He

went back to sucking.

"Feel... Fuck."
Oh, yeah. Someone hated nipple play. He flicked his

tongue back and forth across it as he sucked.

"I... Oh, fuck."
Yeah, that was in the plan. That and more. His

fingers traced Marshall's abs. God, they were fucking
sweet. He felt Marshall's fingers touching his hair. He
pulled off the sweet nipple. "Hands. Headboard."

"What?" Marshall tried to pull him up for a kiss.
He grabbed hold of Marshall's hands and put them

back up to the headboard. "I said hold on."

Burn - 30

"Jesus. Okay. Okay, man." Marshall was panting for

him, wanting. It was an exceptional look, and he'd bet
the last thing on the man's mind was that fire.

He traced those abs again, fingers sliding, stroking,

touching. Marshall twisted, but those hands stayed put.
He kissed Marshall's navel and then the point of one hip
while thick, wet drops leaked from that heavy prick,
staining Marshall's belly. He licked his lips, but made
himself slide his nose along the dip between cock and
hip, and Marshall's legs parted, hips arching up toward
him.

Beautiful, needy stud.
He nuzzled Marshall's balls with his nose, letting two

fingers slide down to tease Marshall's hole. Marshall
tensed, that tiny ring of muscles shifting against his
fingertips. He sucked in the head of Marshall's cock, lips
wrapped tight around it.

"Oh, fuck. Your mouth." Marshall arched and

moaned, pushed deep.

He let Marshall in, his fingers stroking the little hole

as he sucked on the thick cock.

Marshall moved like a dream, rocking and bucking

under him, begging him for more.

He might have to fight Marshall every step of the

way, but the man was built for pleasure, built to be a
sub, to let go and just fly.

He lubed up his fingers and pushed two in as he took

Marshall's prick deep.

"Fuck!" The hearty cry filled his bedroom up.
He swallowed around the tip of Marshall's cock and

nudged his fingers against the man's gland at the same
time.

"Can't hold it. Fuck, Dave!" Marshall's heels

thrummed on the bed.

Burn - 31

His answer was to suck harder and to hit Marshall's

gland again. Marshall didn't need to hold it; the man
needed to come, to feel good, good enough to fall
asleep.

Spunk sprayed over his tongue, thick and salty and

wet. He took it in, pulling the flavor across his tongue
and down his throat as he eased his fingers out of
Marshall's ass.

He wanted to bury himself deep inside the man again,

but he had a hunch Marshall needed some shut eye.
Besides, the man being two up on him in the orgasm
department would work in his favor.

He pulled off Marshall's cock and gently kissed his

way back up.

"I..." Marshall blinked at him, head lolling. "C'mere

and I'll help you out."

He cuddled in close, resting his head on Marshall's

uninjured shoulder. "Shh. Sleep, babe. You'll get me in
the morning."

"Not... not fair." The man's eyes were closed, breath

evening out.

"Only not fair if it bothers me. It doesn't." He kissed

Marshall's cheek gently and settled more firmly
alongside the muscled body.

He could get used to sleeping like this.

Burn - 32

Chapter Three

The dreams were distant, easy, the horrors like he

viewed them from a TV.

Marshall slept hard.
When he woke, he smelled coffee and bacon. He

could hear someone singing off key, dishes rattling.

He chuckled and rolled up out of the bed. God, he

needed to get home. He'd eat, thank Dave for last night,
fuck the man into goo, then head out.

Dave was coming down the hall with a tray full of

mugs and plates with food. "Hey, you're awake. Cool."

"Hey. Good morning." Marshall grinned at Dave.

"You've been busy."

"Well, I promised you breakfast yesterday morning.

It's a day late, but hopefully you'll enjoy it." Dave
nodded back toward the bedroom. "I had intended to
serve it in bed..."

"That sounds fun. Let me help." He took the tray

from Dave.

"Yeah. Bacon, biscuits, coffee. I'd have done eggs,

but they're kind of messy for eating in bed."

Dave stripped once they were in the bedroom, sitting

cross-legged on the bed.

"It smells great." He handed Dave the tray back, then

slid in under the covers.

"Uh-huh. Bacon is the way to a man's heart. My

grandmother taught me that."

"Did she now? I remember her, vaguely." She'd been

one of those old ladies who smelled like oatmeal
cookies.

"Yeah?" Dave got a faraway look in his eyes for a

minute. "She was the best."

Burn - 33

"She was. Did she pass away?" His family was still,

mostly, intact. They'd lost his grandfather when
Marshall was in college.

"Yeah, about four years ago." Dave had been brought

up by his grandmother.

"I'm sorry to hear that, Dave. She was a neat lady."
"She was." Dave smiled. "She had the softest skin on

the back of her hands. She made me promise, before she
died, that whenever I thought of her, I'd make sure to
think of something happy."

"That's sweet, Dave." And he didn't mean that in an

ugly way.

Dave seemed to get it, because he nodded and then

handed over a piece of bacon, sort of shaking himself
off. "Eat up, man."

"Thanks." The bacon was perfect -- salty and crispy

and hot.

Dave grabbed himself a sausage and the way he ate it

was... suggestive and rude, really.

He found himself staring. Not just looking, but

staring in that wide-eyed shock sort of way. When Dave
was done, his right eyelid dropped in a slow wink.

"You. That's bad." Hot, but bad. Fun, but bad.
Dave grinned, looking entirely unrepentant. "I'm a

bad kind of boy."

Marshall laughed, tickled. "You going to have to get

a spanking?"

He grabbed another piece of bacon.
For some reason that tickled Dave hard, and he

laughed and laughed. "Or give one," he finally managed.

Marshall snorted, and then his own laughter started,

deep and happy. Dave shifted, handing him his coffee
before coming under the covers with him, sitting close.
He draped one arm around Dave, casually. "Thanks for
breakfast."

Burn - 34

"You're welcome, man. I hope it's going to be the

first of many."

He smiled. He wasn't sure about that -- he wasn't sure

that it was a good idea to have a relationship right now.
He had the station, the work. It was enough.

Dave let him finish his coffee, and then his mug was

taken from his hand, a warm smile playing around the
man's lips.

"You look happy."
Dave looked right at him when he answered. "I am."
"Good." God, Dave had beautiful dark eyes.
"Yeah, yeah, it is."
Dave leaned in and almost, but didn't quite bring their

lips together. He could feel the warmth from Dave's lips,
the soft rush of his breath.

"I think I owe you an orgasm or two."
"Mmm, if we're keeping score, maybe you do."

Dave's tongue slid across his lower lip. "Of course, I'd
rather tie you up and have my wicked way with you."

"Right." Tie him up. Sure.
"Yeah." Dave's lips pushed against his, the kiss soft,

gentle, warm.

He turned and let his hand slide down Dave's side.

Dave's answering groan was sweet, and the man
straddled him, knees on either side of his hips. Marshall
wrapped his hands around Dave's hips, drew him closer.

"Love all these muscles." Dave's hands slid over his

chest, skirting the burn.

He flexed playfully, showing off.
Groaning for him, Dave licked his lips and then

flicked two fingers across each of his nipples, making
them stand up and take notice.

He jerked, grabbed Dave's wrists gently, and kissed

each palm. "I'm not into nipple stuff, man."

Burn - 35

"Bullshit." Dave's hands cupped his cheeks. "They're

hard as hell just from that little touch. I think there's a lot
of stuff you've decided you're not into that you just
haven't given a chance."

He chuckled. They were so sensitive that he had been

able to come from touching them when he was a
teenager. They weren't for playing with now.

Dave grinned and leaned slowly down until his

mouth wrapped around one, the suction gentle.

"Dave. Dave, I don't..." The man wasn't good at

listening.

His nipple was flicked, Dave's tongue going back and

forth across it. Then Dave let his nipple go. "Why not?
Why don't you let your lovers make you feel good like
this?"

"You make me feel plenty good." Hell, he was up

two on orgasms.

"That's not an answer to my question." Dave looked

amused, his palm sliding back and forth across
Marshall's right nipple, hips rolling, sliding their pricks
together.

He grabbed Dave's hand again. "Honey, they ache

when you do that."

"That's the point, Marshall." Dave blew across the

nipple.

That made his toes curl, made him shift.
"God, you're such a sexy beast, Marshall." Dave

rubbed a cheek against his nipple this time, whiskers
scratching at his skin. He moaned, pressed closer before
leaning back. Dave chuckled softly. "You shouldn't deny
yourself so. Your body knows what it wants."

"It's your turn to get off."
"I think we should both get off." Dave grabbed his

hands and put them up over his head, the strong body
moving against him, rubbing abs and balls and cock.

Burn - 36

"Dave!" Pushy, hot, strong bastard.
"Fuck, I love the way you say my name." Still

holding his hands above his head, Dave leaned in and
nipped at his earlobe.

This was a little too wild, a little too hot, but his cock

was aching, needing... something, and when Dave rolled
his hips, their cocks sliding, bumping, he tugged a little
bit, leaned in for a hard, sharp kiss. Dave groaned into
his mouth when their lips met, the kiss a little crazy as
their hips pushed and rocked.

Fuck. Fuck, yes. His cock was aching, balls full.
More.
The hands on his wrists tightened as the kiss went

even deeper, harder. Oh, fuck. He tugged on the grip,
hips rolling, punching up now. Dave's hands didn't
release him, though. If anything, the grip tightened
further. Each of his thrusts was met, Dave pushing down
against him, their bodies noisy as they slapped together.

Fuck. Fuck. He was gonna come.
Dave kept moving, sliding and shifting and making

him just crazy.

Shit, he didn't know what to do, where to look.
"Gonna come for me, Marshall? Come on."
"W...what about you? Oh, fuck. Fuck."
"You first, man. Just let go and fucking come."
"Fuck!" He jerked , those fingers around his wrist

almost bruising. That little ache was all he needed and
he shot, hard.

"Love that smell." Dave took his mouth again, tongue

sliding between his lips as heat splashed up over his
belly.

He was still riding the aftershocks when the kiss

ended, both of them staring at each other, blinking.

"You're something special, Marshall."
"Shit. You've known me for years. Just a guy."

Burn - 37

"You have to know I had a crush on you back when. I

don't think you were ever 'just' anything."

"On me?" That was a weird fucking thought. "You

never said anything."

"You were a stud. You could have anyone you

wanted." Dave nipped at his bottom lip again. "Hell, you
still can. But the difference is that now I know I can give
you what you need."

"Confidence is hot."
Dave grinned. "Glad you think so."
He grinned back, took a quick kiss. "You got plans

today?" He had some time off.

"Well, you did say you had some time off, so I was

sort of hoping..."

"Three days."
"We could do a lot in three days." Dave's smile was

just this side of wicked. "I could blow your mind in
three days."

"Hopefully my mind is made of slightly sturdier

stuff, Dave."

Dave just laughed, thumbs and forefingers making a

lightning-quick attack on his nipples.

"Hey!" He jerked up, grabbed Dave's wrists. "No

touching!"

"God, I'd love to see them pierced, Marshall."
"No way." He'd be out of his fucking mind.
"Oh, yeah." Dave tugged his hands out of Marshall's

hold and started playing with his nipples again.
"Swollen from my touches, pierced, and then clamped.
Fuck..."

"Don't." He was going to go out of his mind.
"God, it's hot, the way you protest when you so

obviously love it." Dave pinched one nipple, then the
other, then the first one again.

"Do not. Stop it." His belly ached.

Burn - 38

Dave met his eyes. "No."
He blinked. "What?"
"I said no." Dave's fingers twisted his right nipple.
"Shit! Stop." He wasn't playing, damn it.
Bending, Dave took the right nipple into his mouth,

sucking on it. One hand slid below, working his prick.

"You're not hearing me." Marshall couldn't catch his

fucking breath.

"I heard what you said with your mouth, Marshall."

Dave looked up at him, eyes glittering. "I'm listening to
your body."

"That doesn't make sense."
Dave stroked his prick, tugging him back from the

edge of flagging, thumb sliding across the tip. "Neither
does you trying to pretend you don't want to have your
nipples played with."

"I don't like it, honey. It makes them ache."
"You telling me it's not a good ache?"
"I'm telling you I don't want to deal with them

aching." He was getting growly.

"Too bad." Dave had a hold of his hands again, both

wrists held together over his head, while that wicked
mouth worked his nipples, Dave's other hand stroking
his prick.

"Dave!" He was going to kick this son of a bitch's

ass.

As soon as he came.

***

Dave moaned as Marshall came, spunk spraying

between them. He slowly pulled off the man's nipple,
feeling ten fucking feet tall.

Burn - 39

Look at him getting Marshall off with a little nipple

play. Marshall was panting hard, lips parted, open.
Fucking sexy stud.

Dave shifted up, licked at Marshall's lower lip.
Marshall groaned, obviously trying to get himself

together.

He rubbed against the big body, enjoying all those

muscles.

Warm. Shit, Marshall's skin was warm.
He rubbed Marshall's come into the defined abs,

fingers playing there as he pressed lazy kisses on the
man's skin.

"Hard to holler at you when you're doing that."

Marshall's arms wrapped around him.

That made him chuckle; why did Marshall think he

was doing it?

He still thought the man needed nothing so much as a

good, hard beating, a way to totally let go and get out of
his mind and his body for awhile, but Dave was
prepared to be patient, to do it right and to set Marshall
up for doing it more than once. Sure, he'd had a crush
and been in lust with the man forever, but the more time
Dave spent with Marshall, the more he realized there
was more there between them. There were seeds there
between them that he'd never seen, never looked for,
really.

Marshall kissed the top of his head, his temple, and

the gentle care was almost unbearably dear. He smiled
and rubbed his cheek against Marshall's shoulder. He
wanted to just wallow in the man.

"You got anything you want to do today besides eat,

sleep, and have amazing sex?" If nothing else, there was
sure to be a game on somewhere -- ESPN was good for
that.

"Not really. I could use a lazy day."

Burn - 40

"I can do lazy. I've got some steaks. We could grill

out on the deck. Got beer, too." Nothing went with a
lazy-day barbeque like beer.

"Sounds perfect." Marshall sighed once, blinked.

"Hopefully I have some sweats in the truck."

"Yeah, or you'll have to wander around with a sheet

wrapped around you like a toga, and I have a hunch that
look wouldn't be your best."

"No. No, I'm not particularly toga-y."
"Nice and easy access, though." He slipped his hand

along Marshall's body, finding the man's balls and
playing gently with them.

Marshall chuckled. "If they'll ever work again."
That had him laughing, his hand sweeping up over

Marshall's cock, making it jerk slightly in response
before settling on the man's amazing belly. "My guess is
they'll manage."

"You think?" God, Marshall was hot.
"I do. I'm not done with them yet." He gave Marshall

a wink, fingers stroking the hard body. He wasn't sure
there was an end to the things he wanted to do to the
man.

"You still hungry? I could make eggs."
"I could eat eggs. And make more coffee."
"Coffee is good." Marshall grinned at him. "Almost

as good as the bacon."

"Not much beats bacon." He smiled back at the man.

There was already a little more ease in those blue eyes.

"You got that right."
"I could doctor that burn, too. I've got that burn

spray." He supposed it was an occupational hazard, but
damn, it looked awful.

"That'd be good. It's aching."

Burn - 41

He popped up right away. "Let me just get the stuff."

He went to get the spray, and Marshall was cleaning up
the tray of food when he got back.

"You don't have to do that, man."
"It's okay. You cooked."
"Well, put it down for now and let me spray your

burn." He shooed Marshall back to the bed.

Marshall lifted his chin, giving up that chest. Dave

took a good, close look before he started spraying,
making sure it really was just a first-degree burn. Then
he hit it with the spray, and Marshall grunted, skin
goosepimpling up.

"Have you had worse?" Dave asked softly as he gave

the burn another pass.

"Sure." So casual, so easy.
"Tell me?" He wasn't sure why he needed to know,

but he did.

"The worst is on my thigh. I had a skin graft. Fell

through a floor, landed on a pool table, and broke both
legs. Had to wait for my guys to get me."

"Shit, both legs? You'd never know it to watch you

walk."

And Marshall still went back, still went into burning

buildings to save people.

"It's healed." Marshall brought his hand to one thigh,

the skin just a bit... off.

Dave ran his hands over the spot, feeling just a slight

difference. "Good," he said softly.

"Yeah. No big deal."
Dave kept his thoughts on that to himself -- just

something else that Marshall shrugged off instead of
dealing with. "Well, when the burn starts hurting again,
let me know and we'll reapply the spray."

"Sure thing." Marshall winked at him, smiled. "No

worries, I'm a tough old man."

Burn - 42

"Not so old, huh?" He slipped on a pair of sweats.

"Give me your keys and I'll run out and see if you've got
an extra set of clothes in your truck."

Marshall tossed the keys over without argument. He

made a show of blowing Marshall a kiss and headed out.
Finding Marshall's gym bag in the back seat of the truck,
he grabbed it instead of going through it. Worse came to
worst and the clothes in it were used gym clothes, they
could toss them into the washer. He wasn't going to
complain if Marshall had to go naked a while longer.

When he got in, Marshall had a towel around his

waist, eggs sliding into a skillet. He couldn't help but
tease. "You never mentioned you'd look great in nothing
more than towel."

"It's never come up before."
"Never?" He put the gym bag down by the door and

walked up to stand behind Marshall. Letting his hand
drift to the fold in the towel, he teased Marshall's prick
with his fingertips. "I could have sworn it was up just
this morning."

"I was talking about wearing a towel." The eggs got a

stir.

He kissed Marshall's spine, his hand wrapping around

Marshall's prick in earnest. Even flaccid, it was big, and
so soft. He did love that feeling of living silk. "Were
you?"

"Hmm?" Marshall shivered a little bit. "You are a

horndog, aren't you?"

"I have mentioned you're a big stud a few times,

haven't I?" Who wouldn't be a horndog around
Marshall? Besides, the man needed as much release as
he'd let Dave give him.

"Once or twice. You're not tiny twink yourself."
"God, no." He laughed. "Makes me appreciate

someone bigger than me all the more." He kept stroking

Burn - 43

Marshall's cock with the one hand, the other wandering
over Marshall's abs and pecs.

"Honey, I'm cooking and I can't go again..."
Uh-huh.
"Because you're not hard at all." He squeezed the

filling prick in his hand, and Marshall snorted. He let
Marshall go and patted the man's ass. "You can feed me
first, though."

"I can do that." A huge plate of scrambled eggs was

dished up in short order, then Marshall grabbed his bag.
"Let me see if I have anything clean in here."

"There's a washer just off the kitchen there if you

don't." He poured them out some more coffee and
grabbed a couple knives and forks before settling at the
little kitchen table.

"Thanks. I think there's at least a pair of shorts."
"Damn." He winked at Marshall.
Marshall chuckled for him, grinned. "I will need to

borrow your shower, honey, and find somewhere to plug
in my phone."

He nodded toward the outlet by the toaster. "Should

be fine there, just make sure you pull it out if you put
bread in to toast. It's a greedy machine."

"Have you had an electrician in to look at it?"

Marshall frowned, headed over. "Does it need a GFI
plug?"

He almost chuckled. Marshall the hero. "I don't

know, babe. I don't even know what a GFI plug is.
Come sit and eat. You can check out my sockets later."

"You need one in the kitchen. I might have one in my

truck. Have you checked your alarms lately?"

"Marshall. Put away the firefighter for ten minutes

and eat, okay?"

"I... That's like asking a tiger to be spotted instead of

striped."

Burn - 44

He chuckled. "Okay, babe. But come and sit and eat,

hmm? I promise to let you examine all my sockets
closely when we're done."

"Okay." Marshall's shoulders rolled and the man sat,

then sighed. "I forgot to make toast."

"I can eat eggs without toast." He reached over and

rubbed Marshall's arm.

"Yeah. Sorry. I got distracted."
"I wouldn't know anything about that." He gave

Marshall a wink.

Marshall chuckled. "No?" Damn. Marshall winked at

him, obviously trying to play along.

He reached out with his foot, sliding it along

Marshall's leg. "Nope. Nothing."

"Dork." Marshall peppered his eggs liberally, dug in.
"Nah, I'm a stud like you." He grinned and added a

bit of salt to his own eggs before eating.

Marshall snorted, head down as he focused on his

food.

"Slow down, enjoy them." He'd bet Marshall always

ate like this to avoid not getting his meal in if the alarms
went off.

"They're eggs."
"Well, sure. But that doesn't mean they aren't good.

You've got to enjoy every moment, Marshall."

The plate was cleaned up. "I do."
"At double speed?" He slowly worked on his own

plate of food.

"Sure." Marshall got up, washed his plate, and

headed to the plug near the toaster.

Next time, he'd have to let Marshall do his firefighter

thing before eating. Or maybe he'd tie the man up and
feed him, one slow bite at a time.

The sky was the limit.

Burn - 45

All he needed to do was convince Marshall. Or

maybe it was more a matter of proving it to him.

It was a good thing he was a patient man.

Burn - 46

Chapter Four

He had a decent day -- he worked on Dave's outlets,

checked fire alarms, ordered a pizza, called and checked
on his dog, and did a load of laundry. Then he sat and
watched ESPN for a while with Dave while they waited
for the pizza to arrive.

"You want a beer, man?" Dave was lounging next to

him, their bodies touching from shoulders to knees.

"Maybe when the pizza comes, yeah."
"Yeah? Okay, I'll wait, too." Dave shifted, pushing a

little closer. "Dude, that guy just groped the forward."

"Lucky bastard."
Dave laughed. "You've got someone to grope, man."
He snorted, laughed, and pinched Dave's inner thigh.

"Like this?"

Dave jerked and punched his arm. "That was a pinch,

man. Do I need to demonstrate the difference?"

"Nah. I'll just try again." He took another pinch.
"That's still not it," growled Dave.
"No?" There was a sudden electricity in the air,

something that made him just a little unnerved, just a
little excited.

"No. You've got one more shot at it." Dave met his

eyes. "You'd better get it right."

"Or what?"
"Or I'll give you a very thorough demonstration of

what the difference is."

"Is that a threat?" He let his hand slide up Dave's

thigh.

Dave stared into his eyes, the atmosphere intense.

"No, babe, it's a promise."

He found himself breathing hard, his abs tight as

rocks. He almost reached out, not sure if he was going to
pinch or not when the doorbell rang, saving him.

Burn - 47

"Pizza." He hopped up to pay.
"Oh ho! Saved by the bell!" Dave got up and headed

for the kitchen; looked like the man wasn't going to fight
him for the pizza bill.

He paid the bill, got the pizza, and settled back to

watch the game and quit being a dork.

Dave came out of the kitchen with four beers. He

shrugged, then grinned as he sat. "Saves me having to
make another trip." He chuckled and handed Dave a
piece, popped the top on one of the beers. They ate their
pizza, but Dave was watching him.

He met Dave's eyes once, then got back to eating. He

thought he saw Dave smirking at him. He arched an
eyebrow, but didn't take the bait, and all Dave did was
laugh and grab another piece of pizza.

The game got good, and they started hollering,

tossing things at the TV.

Dave laughed and went to get them a third beer each,

sitting even closer when he came back, one hand on
Marshall's thigh.

They relaxed back, feet propped up on the end table.
"It was a good game, right up until the end there."
"It was." He leaned his head back, finally relaxed.
"A good evening." Dave was looking at him again.
"Mmmhmm. You ready for me to hit the road, give

you your privacy?"

"Is that your way of saying you're tired of me?

Because I've barely even started with you."

"No. No, I was just..." He shrugged, blushed. "Trying

to be nice."

That set Dave chuckling, and the man slid a hand

along his cheek, thumb rubbing his lower lip. "I want
you to stay, Marshall."

"Okay." He hummed, nipped Dave's thumb.
"Good." It was more a groan than an actual word.

Burn - 48

He nodded, tongue soothing the fingertip. Another

groan came from Dave, and then the man straddled his
lap and took a kiss. Dave was solid, heavy, warm
against his thighs, and he pulled them tighter together.

"You're fucking sexy, Marshall. Make me feel like a

teenager again -- always wanting."

"It's been a few years since we were teenagers

playing ball."

"Yeah, a few. You were hot then, but now... God."

Dave dove back in, taking more kisses from him -- a full
assault. He moved Dave against him, rubbing them
together lazily, and Dave moaned and groaned for him,
feeding the sounds into his mouth.

Marshall's hands started moving, exploring the man

lazily. So many years of casual friendship and then
bang. Dave was right there.

"Hard for you, babe." Dave's prick rubbed against

him through their sweats.

"Good." He was on his way to hard enough to ache.
Dave laughed, the sound husky as hell, full of want

and need.

"Never wanted so much."
The words worked to spur Dave on, the man kissing

deeper, moving harder against him.

He slipped Dave's sweats down, hand on one hard ass

cheek.

"You've got amazing hands." Dave's hands slid up

under his T-shirt, heading straight for his nipples.

He stretched away. "Dave."
"Yeah, babe?" Dave's fingers slid across his right

nipple.

"Don't. I won't be able to wear a shirt tomorrow."

He'd be out of his damned mind regardless. Good thing
he had two more days off.

Burn - 49

"Is that supposed to be a deterrent? Besides, you have

tomorrow off." Dave's fingers pinched lightly.

"Fuck..." He felt that deep in his balls.
"Yeah, I could go there. Love fucking you."
He groaned, tugged Dave closer, that wet-tipped cock

rubbing his belly.

"Such a fucking stud." Dave's fingers found his other

nipple.

"Fuck, that aches." Felt so good, so fucking hot.
"Yeah?" Dave pinched hard, and he jumped, almost

pushing Dave off. Dave's knees clamped down hard
around his thighs, though, holding him in place.

"Let me up." Oh, fuck, he was hard.
"You're good where you are." Dave's hands slid down

and pushed his sweats down, slipping them under his
balls. That looked obscene, his balls and cock pushed up
in a perverse package. One of Dave's hands slid over it,
down to cup his balls, then back up along the shaft.
"Imagine that bare."

"What?" He was swollen, aching.
Dave's fingers carded through the curls around his

cock. "You. This. Shaved." Then Dave made this
obscene, sexual noise.

"No way." He whimpered, hips jerking.
"Your mouth is saying no, but your body..." Dave

grinned, rubbed the tip of his cock with one hand and his
left nipple with the other.

"Stop it." Oh, fuck. Oh, fuck.
The rubbing on his cockhead continued, the touches

to his nipples continued. Dave leaned in, mouth resting
against his, breath hot as it was shared with him. His
eyes fastened onto Dave's, his heart slamming in his
chest. Dave was right there with him, gaze holding him,
looking into him as the touches continued, intensified.

Burn - 50

"This isn't..." He grabbed Dave, tried to move the

man.

"It's fucking good." Rub. Pinch. Stroke. Press. Pinch.

Rub.

"Fuck." His cock ached, his whole body on fucking

fire.

"Soon. I swear. You just come for me, and I'll take

care of it."

Marshall keened, ass sliding on the sofa cushions.
"That's it, babe. Give it up to me, let me push you

over the edge."

So hot. So fucking hot. "Dave." He whispered the

man's name, so close he couldn't bear it.

"Do it, Marshall. Fucking come for me." Dave

twisted his right titty and pushed the ball of one thumb
into his slit. His head slammed back, spunk pouring
from him, spraying between them.

Dave moaned when he came, hand wrapping around

his cock and milking out small aftershocks of pleasure.
His abs jerked with each and every little tug.

"Fuck." Dave's mouth covered his again, the kiss

hard and needy, and he tried to kiss Dave back, but his
head was spinning. "Flying, babe?"

Dave's hands pushed his T-shirt up and over his head.
"Uh-huh..." He let Dave have his way.
T-shirt off, Dave worked on getting Marshall's sweats

completely off. He lifted his hips to help, body arching.
Dave's lips kissed the tip of his cock, licking away his
come, and damn, he was so sensitive that the tiny
touches made his prick jerk, try to recover.

"Sweet." Dave grinned and then nudged him over so

he was sprawled on the big couch. One foot landed on
the floor, his legs spread wide. "Fucking sexy," muttered
Dave, eyes eating him up.

"Melted." Most of him, anyway.

Burn - 51

Dave laughed, fingers sliding behind his balls.

"Good."

"Mmm." All he could do was moan.
Those fingers skirted his hole, and then came back,

rubbing against him, and Marshall shifted, rocked a
little.

Dave put his fingers in his mouth, sucking noisily

and then letting them pop out just as noisily.

Marshall'd let this man do more to him/with him/for

him in three days than he had anyone in his life. Those
wet fingers slid along his crack and then pushed against
his hole. His body let them in, almost without his
permission, stretching just enough for two of them to
slip right into him.

"Dave." His eyes closed, and he just melted.
"Yeah, just relax, babe. I've got you -- gonna make

you feel so good." Dave's fingers slid and rubbed,
stimulating him from the inside out, and Marshall
rocked into the touch, groaned, riding the sensations.

Dave's mouth started working him -- the tip of his

cock, his nipples, the spot right next to his belly button.
All he could do was make one needy sound after
another, groaning and moaning as he shifted. Then
another finger pushed into him, Dave stretching his ass
and hitting that spot inside him. His lips popped open
and he pushed down, wanting it again.

"Fucking sweet." Dave worked him, fingers

stretching and twisting and moving in and out.

"Feels good."
"Good. It's supposed to." Dave's fingers crooked,

hitting his gland again. Electricity shot up his spine and
he bucked, cried out. "Right there, babe. I got it." Dave
did, too, nailing that spot again and again.

"Oh, fuck. Oh, fuck." He was going to fucking

scream.

Burn - 52

"Fuck. Need a rubber." Dave reached for his pants.
"Hurry." He needed more. Now.
"Hungry man." Dave finally found the condom in his

pants pocket, tearing the packet open, slipping it on, and
slicking himself up. Then that blunt heat was right
where Marshall wanted it, needed it.

"Uh-huh. Please." He grabbed Dave's shoulders and

pulled, begging for more.

"I won't leave you wanting." Dave pushed in, the

round head sliding right into him.

He arched and bore down, his hips rolling restlessly.
"I've got you," Dave told him, sinking all the way

into him.

"Good." It was so fucking good.
Dave made a noise that sounded like agreement, eyes

watching him as Dave's hips began moving. He met
each thrust, lost in the sensation, the heat, the drive.

"So fucking good, Marshall. So fucking good."
"More. More, I need." He was going to lose his

fucking mind.

Dave's fingers wrapped around his prick, holding

tight, squeezing him as that cock fucked him. Marshall
was ready to lose his shit, and he grabbed Dave's
shoulders while Dave's mouth closed over his, the kiss
full of heat.

He squeezed Dave tight, his balls letting go as he did.
"Oh, fuck! Marshall." Dave groaned, pushing even

deeper and freezing.

He kept moving, tiny motions to keep Dave's

pleasure going. Crying out, Dave shuddered several
times before collapsing down onto him, and Marshall
wrapped his arms around Dave, held on.

Dave's breath was hot against his neck as the man

panted and gasped for breath.

"Got you."

Burn - 53

"Mmmhmm. You do." Dave kissed his shoulder.

"And I've got you."

"Good." Marshall hummed. "Very good."
Dave laughed softly. "Yeah, man, it is. It really is."

Burn - 54

Chapter Five

It had been over two weeks since he and Marshall

had been together last, and Dave was feeling antsy. He
wasn't interested in being fuck-buddies; he wanted to see
more of Marshall than he was. They'd had a handful of
dates over the last couple of months -- a Chargers game,
couple of hockey games, even a Christmas party down
at his store that happened to coincide with Marshall's
time off. Add that to a handful of wham-bam hookups,
and things were moving painfully slow. Luckily, today
was their day to actually spend time together, damn it.
They were meeting at the best burger joint in town at
six.

Well, that had been the plan, anyway.
Dave glanced at his watch. It was closer to seven than

six at this point. He was here. Marshall, however, was
not.

His phone rang, Marshall's name popping up.
He opened it up, heart sinking. That was not a good

sign. "Yo. Marshall. What's up?" Where the hell are
you?

"Look, Dave. I'm sorry, but I'm in a shitty fucking

mood and I'm going home, getting my dog, and... well, I
don't know what I'm going to do, but I'm not going to
subject anyone I care about to me."

Oh, no, He didn't think so. "Thanks for the warning.

I'll take my chances."

"Look, I'm sorry, but I'm just... I have to get out of

my head for a couple days, okay? It's for the best."

Dave snorted. Getting Marshall out of his head was

exactly what Dave had in mind. "Marshall. Man. I can
get you out of your head better than anyone or anything
else. Trust me. We don't have to do dinner. You can
come to my place, and I can blow your mind for you."

Burn - 55

"I can't. I'm so fucking pissed, man. I've already been

in a fight today. You don't deserve that."

"Tell you what, you come over, I'll tie you up to my

headboard, and you can scream and yell and shout as
much as you like." He wasn't joking, either.

"Ha ha."
"Hey, if it works..." He paid for the drink he'd had

and headed out of the restaurant. "You want me to come
to yours instead?"

"No. I'm not there. I'm at the grocery store on Eighth,

buying beer." So, right by his house.

When there were tons of grocery stores closer.
Huh.
Interesting.
"You need a pick up from there? Or do you want to

meet me at my place?"

"I... Didn't you hear me?"
"I heard you -- you're at the grocery store on Eighth.

Right around the corner from my place. Did you get
dropped off there or do you have your truck?"

"I have my truck."
"Okay, see you at my place." He hung up, not giving

Marshall time to protest again, and headed for home.

The phone started ringing again, but he didn't answer.

Marshall would be there. Marshall wanted to be there.
Of that he was sure. Even more than that, Marshall
needed to be there. Besides, Marshall cared for him; the
man said so.

He turned the corner onto his street, heading for his

house.

Marshall's truck was there in front of his place, the

man himself leaning on the driver's side door, face like a
thundercloud.

He tried to hide his grin as he pulled into the drive

and got out. "You beat me here."

Burn - 56

"I just came to tell you I'm not staying."
"You're here now. It'd be crazy to go." He sauntered

up to the front door, trusting Marshall would follow.
Grudgingly, but surely.

"I'm not in a good fucking mood, man."
"I know that. I don't care." He unlocked the door and

held it open for Marshall.

Marshall stared at him. "Look, I'm sorry about

supper. I'm just not fit company."

"We can go eat there some other time." He jerked his

head toward the door. "In."

"What?"
"Come on in. I know you don't want to hang out on

my lawn all night."

"No. I just..." Marshall came in, glowering at him.
All that anger, all that emotion. It made Dave hard.

The things he wanted to do to help Marshall through it
made him even harder. He wanted to show Marshall
things that the man hadn't even imagined.

He closed the door, letting it shut hard, and then

hauled Marshall up against the wall and slammed their
mouths together. Marshall's pretty blue eyes went wide,
shocked, and he pressed his advantage while the man
was off-balance.

He worked his leg between Marshall's, giving his

lover something to hump up against as he devoured
Marshall's mouth. He felt it -- the war inside Marshall.
The need to push away fighting with the need to submit.

Using his body to keep Marshall in place, he worked

his belt open, off. Then he grabbed Marshall's hands and
pushed them up over their heads. He had to be quick, but
he got both of Marshall's wrists in one hand, got the belt
around them and tightened it as far as he could.

"Dave?" Marshall stared at him, eyes huge. "What

the fuck?"

Burn - 57

"Trust me." He took Marshall's mouth again, one

hand sliding down to cup Marshall through his jeans, the
other tugging Marshall's shirt up out of his waistband.

"I don't want to fuck. I'm pissed off."
Uh-huh. Look at that fine, hard cock.
"This isn't fucking." He started squeezing Marshall's

prick with his hand, thumb working the tip through the
denim. He was going to go for Marshall's sensitive little
nipples in a second.

"What the fuck is it, then?"
"Relieving a little tension." He kissed Marshall again,

shutting the man up. Then he squeezed Marshall's cock
hard to make the man pay attention to his body. The
strong hands tugged at the belt, but Dave held fast. He
needed a hook to attach those hands to. He let Marshall's
cock go, pressing his thigh against it again as his fingers
slid beneath the shirt and found one of those sweet,
sensitive nipples. He didn't tease, just pinched it.

He felt that cry all through him.
Shuddering from the pleasure along his spine, he

pinched Marshall's nipple again.

"Stop it..."
"No." He bit at Marshall's lower lip, hips rolling to

rub his thigh along Marshall's cock.

"Fuck you." Oh. Growly. Hot.
Groaning, he pinched Marshall's other nipple and

debated throwing the man on the floor and nailing him
right there in the hallway. He was going to turn Marshall
inside out, let him rail and fight.

"Come on." He growled as well as Marshall did, and

brought the man's hands down in front of him, using the
belt to lead Marshall to the bedroom.

"What the fuck are you doing?"
"Helping you."

Burn - 58

And Marshall was going to fight him the entire way.

It would be glorious.

"Let me go. I just came by to..."
"To let me fuck you into tomorrow." He kept

moving, getting Marshall into the bedroom and pushing
him into the bed. He could tie the belt to the headboard.

"No. That wasn't it." Marshall's ass bounced, T-shirt

straining at the wide shoulders.

"No?" Dave grinned, pulled Marshall's hands up over

his head and got the belt tied around the headboard. He
was going to have to cut the T-shirt off.

"No. Fuck off, man. Let me go."
"Nope. This is what you want. But even more, this is

what you need." He dragged Marshall's jeans off.

"Let me go!" Marshall's cock was hard as nails. He

ignored Marshall and grabbed hold of the man's T-shirt,
checking to see if he could tear it apart. “Don't you
fucking do it, man. I'll beat your ass."

Fuck, that fury was hot.
"That's my job." He tugged hard, the T-shirt giving

way with a satisfying ripping sound.

"Motherfucker!" Marshall yanked at the belt, eyes

flashing.

So fucking strong. Dave loved that.
He bent and bit at one of Marshall's nipples.
"NO!"
He bit again, harder this time, and Marshall's body

jerked, hips fucking the air. He reached down, grabbed
Marshall's balls. He didn't squeeze hard enough to hurt,
but Marshall had to be feeling it.

"Asshole. Bastard. Let me go."
That's right, stud, you keep fighting me. He bit at

Marshall's other nipple, his fingers moving, sliding up to
wrap around the thick prick.

"What the fuck are you playing at?"

Burn - 59

He kept biting, sharp little nips that were driving

Marshall crazy. He added a slap to Marshall's hip.

"Let me GO!" Marshall snarled at him, pulled away.
Dave hauled him close, kissed him hard.
The kiss quieted Marshall some, those eyes looking

right into him. "What's going on?"

"I'm giving you an outlet for your bad mood. A way

to let go of all the things making you crazy." He pinched
Marshall's left tit and then the right, sharp and quick.

"I'm not in the mood to fucking fight with you."
"You're not fighting with me, babe." Poor man was

fighting himself and just didn't know it.

He treated Marshall to more pinches to his nipples,

then slid his fingers down, digging hard into Marshall's
hips.

"Let me go." There was real emotion behind the

words.

"I can't do that, Marshall. You need this. You really

do."

"I'm going to kick your ass."
"After. If you don't feel better. You can try." He

tugged on Marshall's balls and then slid his hand up to
wrap around the hard prick.

"I thought we were doing good..."
"We're doing great, babe." He leaned up and kissed

Marshall. "Just go with it. Trust me, huh?"

"I'm trying to, Dave."
"Go ahead and scream and yell and bitch -- let it all

go, Marshall. The bad mood, the hard fires, let them all
go." He dove down, took Marshall's cock into his
mouth, his fingers sliding up to pinch the pretty nipples.

"This is fucking insane!" Marshall arched, heels

driving against the mattress. "Dave!"

Dave couldn't help but notice that Marshall had yet to

tell him to stop, and his body was responding so

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beautifully. Marshall growled, hands tugging at the
headboard, hips snapping. He let Marshall's movements
push the thick cock into his mouth over and over, his
hands pinching Marshall's nipples and slapping the
man's thigh. Marshall spread for him, cock leaking.

That was it. So fucking needy.
Dave settled between Marshall's legs, one finger

pushing at the hot little hole, and Marshall bore down on
him, hips moving restlessly.

He let his finger slip in. Marshall was so tight and hot

inside, felt amazing.

"Quit teasing. I need more, you ass."
He nearly snorted up his mouthful of cock, but he

managed not to, shoving another finger into Marshall.

"Yes." Marshall growled, driving hard. "Fuck. Fuck,

I need."

He pushed in a third finger, the way tight and rough

without lube.

"Dave!" Oh, shit, when his Marshall let go...
He stretched and twisted his fingers, fucking

Marshall with them as he pulled off the thick prick. He
grinned down at Marshall, spanking the man's thigh
again. All he needed now was a condom.

There was a red handprint on Marshall's thigh, and

the fat, needy cock dripped for him.

Leaning over Marshall, he licked the man's lips as he

reached for the drawer in the nightstand, blindly
searching for a condom packet.

"Let my hands go. Want to touch you."
"Not how it works." He finally got the condom and

ripped the package open, covering up and then slicking
up.

"Bastard." This time the word was less heated.
"That's me." He slapped Marshall's thigh again, then

pushed the strong legs back up against Marshall's chest.

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"Don't fucking slap me." Marshall was panting now,

breathing hard.

"It's called spank, Marshall." He reached down and

did it again, this time on the bit of buttocks exposed by
Marshall's position. Then he pushed the head of his cock
into Marshall's body.

"Fuck you."
He slapped again, and again, each time Marshall's ass

clenched. He started alternating thrusts with slaps, in,
slap, out, slap, in slap, out, slap.

"Motherfucker!" Marshall's ass was slamming against

his thighs.

"That's right. Shout for me, Marshall. Scream and

yell and get it out."

Marshall's body moved with him, rocking hard and

feeling so fucking good. He wrapped his free hand
around Marshall's prick, jacking as he fucked, as he
slapped, as Marshall met each and every one of his
movements. Marshall groaned, muscles tense, straining,
and he pressed a hard kiss on Marshall's lips, then
shifted, biting the right nipple as hard as he could.

Marshall cried out, arched, spunk spraying over the

man's chest.

"That's it, babe. Lose yourself in your body." Dave's

thrusts became harder, wilder.

Marshall's cheeks were flushed, and Dave thought he

saw tears.

Good. Good. The man needed to cry, to break down,

to let the macho, stud hero go, if only for a night at a
time. Dave was just the man to do that. Tonight was just
one step.

He kissed Marshall hard, his hips thrusting one more

time before he came. He stayed still for a long moment,
very careful about what he did next. This was the
dangerous part.

Burn - 62

Then he kissed Marshall again, softly, breathing into

Marshall.

He could feel Marshall tensing, but then the big body

relaxed under him and the man sighed.

Good man. He hummed, tongue slipping between

Marshall's lips. This could be healing for him, helpful. It
was what he wanted for Marshall.

Oh, he wasn't entirely selfless, but Marshall needed

this from him.

His prick slid away and he got rid of the condom.
Marshall hid his face in one arm, breath coming

quick and light. Dave silently undid the belt from the
headboard and then from around Marshall's wrists. He
carefully rubbed at the skin where the belt had been.

Marshall slowly pulled away.
"Stay," he murmured quietly, lying down and holding

his arms open for Marshall.

Marshall looked at him, shivering, shuddering, and

the man's mouth opened. Then his lover pushed into his
arms.

Yes.
Dave wrapped his arms around Marshall, kissed the

man with all he had. One hand slid around his waist,
Marshall holding on.

"It's okay. I've got you."
He got an answer in a single short nod.
It was enough.

***

He napped for a little bit, but Marshall woke up

before he wanted to, blinking slowly.

He'd lost his mind.
This whole thing between him and Dave was just out

of control. He slipped out of the bed, grabbed his jeans.

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"Hey, man. Where are you going in such a hurry?"
"I..." He couldn't handle this. "I'm going to head

home, I think. I have some shit to think about."

"You still need to eat. We could grill. I've got

hamburgers." Dave stood, scratched his belly, and went
over to grab a pair of sweatpants. "I can help you work
things out."

"I don't know. This... this isn't what. Things are. I

just." He stopped, took a deep breath. "I care about you,
man, but I don't know about this thing we've got going
on."

"Are you feeling better than you were when you got

here?"

"I don't know." That was as honest as he could be.
"Okay." Dave grabbed his hand and led him down the

hall, back to the kitchen. "Sit. I'll make you some coffee,
or there's cold Cokes in the fridge."

"A Coke's fine." He sat, rested his head down.
Dave's hand slid over his shoulders, rubbed a little.

Then the man got him his Coke and started pulling
things out of the fridge to make hamburgers. "I take it
that it's been a bad couple weeks."

"Yeah." A real bad couple of weeks. There was a

serial arsonist. It was a big deal, and three of the guys
had been pulled in for questioning.

"I'm sorry." Dave kept working, started forming

patties. "Did you want to talk about it?"

"Nothing to talk about."
"Okay." Dave gathered up his plate of burger patties

and headed for the door to the back yard. "It's a nice
night, come keep me company while I grill these."

"Okay..." He was trying to break up with the man,

wasn't he?

The patties went onto the grill and Dave came over to

sit next to him. "I know you're a little weirded out, man,

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but if you put that aside and look beyond it -- I made
you feel good, didn't I?"

"You mean if I look beyond the tying up and the

swatting me part?" He wouldn't call it spanking.

"Uh-huh. Seems to me we both got off. Shit, seems to

me we both had mind-blowing orgasms."

"Yes, but... Dave, we can't keep doing the other."
Dave looked him right in the eye. "Why not?"
"Because I'm not comfortable with it."
"You need it."
That pissed him off. "How do you know?"
"Because you never let go. You push everything deep

inside. I can give you a way to let it go. I can make you
let it go."

"I... Man, I don't want to. I'm not into that stuff."
Dave's hand slid along his thigh. "You were pretty

into it earlier."

"I said no." God, he was ashamed of himself.
"Come on, Marshall. You got off on it. You'd get off

on even more. I could make you feel so fucking good."

He stood, tense, angry. "I'm not some fucking pussy

that gets off on getting hit!"

Dave stood, too, looking calm. "Nobody said you

were. You are the strongest man I know."

"Then..." Wait. He was confused.
Dave leaned in and kissed him. Then the man went to

flip the burgers. Marshall was beginning to believe that
they were living in two different universes.

"You want your buns toasted, man?"
"What?" Oh, God. Oh, fuck.
"Hmm? Your hamburger bun? You like it over the

heat for a few minutes?"

"Sure. Sure." When had he lost control of this?
"Cool. Me, too." Dave went back inside and came out

with a bag of buns, ketchup, mustard, and relish.

Burn - 65

Somehow he was just standing there and staring like an
idiot. Dave put the condiments on the picnic table and
the buns on the grill. "Be ready in two shakes. There's
paper plates on top of the microwave if you wanna grab
us a couple."

"Sure." He was losing his mind.
When he brought the paper plates out, Dave was

putting the hamburgers together with the buns.

The man grabbed the plates from him and put two

burgers on each. "Cool. Let's eat."

"Thanks." Okay. Eat, then break up. He could do this.
The burgers were good, and they each wolfed down

three, along with their Cokes.

When they were done, Dave relaxed back.
"They were good, man. I appreciate it."
"You needed food. Food, fucking, and a nap. I bet

you feel a lot better now."

He nodded. "I'm just... Yeah. I'm not as bitchy."
"See? I'm good for you." Dave's eyes twinkled.
"You know this thing we're doing is fucked up,

right?"

Dave frowned and leaned forward. "It's not, Marshall.

Really. I belong to this club full of people who live a
BDSM lifestyle. It isn't fucked up at all, and people get
what they need from their partners."

"A club?" Shit, he was out of here. No way was he

doing a... a... a club thing. Like a cult.

"Like a men's club. A place where like-minded men

can gather, eat amazing food, get together with friends.
You don't need to come, babe. I just wanted you to
know this isn't fucked up."

"When did you get into this shit? I mean, wow."
"I discovered The Hammer in college, checked it out.

It resonated with me."

Burn - 66

"Cool." Except he was freaked out and stressed out

and he didn't want this hot guy that was his friend and
fuckbuddy to be into weird shit he didn't understand.

"Hey, relax, Marshall. I'm not asking you to call me

'sir' or lick my boots or anything, okay?"

That actually made him chuckle. "Look, man. I got a

thing for you, I do, but this shit... I'm not into it."

"You liked what we did, Marshall. It made you hard,

made you come better than you ever have."

He didn't even want to think about what that meant.
"Look, we don't have to make any rules or say we're

doing this or that. What we've got is good, isn't it? I like
you a lot, I think you're a hot stud, and I want to keep
getting together with you."

"I. Yeah. It is. Good. Just... no more of the weird

stuff, man, 'kay? This is good between us."

"Don't make me promise not to play with your

nipples, man. They are sexual gold."

He looked over at Dave, mouth open, then he cracked

up. "Texas tea!" At Dave's look, he stuck his tongue out.
"You know? Beverly Hillbillies?"

"The who? Ah, TV show, right? My grandmother

never let me watch except for when football or the Billy
Graham Crusade was on, remember?"

"Dude, you're a freak."
"Fuck off."
"A freak and probably a turd. Tell me you at least

watch Ninja Warrior now."

Dave gave him a blank look.
"Oh, Jesus Christ. Dude, I cannot be dating a dude

that doesn't watch Ninja Warrior."

"Hey, I'm open to broadening my TV watching

horizons."

He caught them standing, grinning at each other like

idiots.

Burn - 67

"Come on, stud. I think I've got something in the

fridge we can call dessert."

"Yeah? I'm all about the sweet shit." He wrapped one

arm around Dave's waist, more than willing to just let it
go.

Dave's arm slid around his waist in return and they

went in together. "Sweet shit for two, coming up."

He nodded, pleased.
He'd just ignore the ache in his nipples.
It turned out that Dave had a box of chocolate éclairs

in the fridge. A half dozen of them, in fact. "Got 'em at
the bakery this morning."

"Oh, you are a good man, somewhere in there."
"I just need to watch more Ninja on TV, huh?"
"Yeah." He let himself steal a kiss. "It's good to see

you."

"Yeah, you, too, babe." Dave bumped their hips

together and they headed into the living room for dessert
and something sporty on the tube.

For the first time in days, he could just lean back and

relax.

Burn - 68

Chapter Six

Dave and Marshall headed for the park near his

place, wandering along the path toward the water
fountain at the center. There was a field to the right and
a playground to the left, trees and a couple of paths
surrounding the whole area. It was a great day, too,
warm and sunny without being too hot. Marshall had a
bag with a couple of gloves, a baseball, and he had a
cooler with beer and water.

Marshall had called him up, out of the blue, and

asked if he wanted to play catch.

It had been charming as fuck.
They planted their stuff down by the trees at one end

of the field. It was empty, which was cool -- they could
goof around and throw the ball back and forth without
messing up anyone's game.

Marshall tossed him a glove. "Glad you could take

the day off."

"Yeah, me, too. It's one of the perks, you know." He'd

worked hard to get to the point where the store could run
without him, and where he could afford to take some
time off. He was tickled that Marshall had called him,
too, he had to admit. He'd worried that Marshall
wouldn't contact him after their wild night.

Still, here they were.
This should prove to Marshall, too, that they could

still be friends, do the usual guy things that had nothing
to do with sex and spanking and nipple play.

He grabbed a ball and headed out across the field.
It took him a couple of rounds to get used to the feel

of Marshall's ball slapping into his hand. The man had
an amazing arm. They threw back and forth, moving a
little around the field as they ran for mis-throws,

Burn - 69

deliberate and otherwise, and he was soon warm and
laughing, feeling good.

Marshall made it all look effortless, the chuckling

deep and easy as they played. God, he really was a stud.
Dave wanted more of the man. More and more.

He threw the ball hard, wanting Marshall to be

impressed, too.

Marshall leaped, caught it. "Good one!"
The ball was shot back. He chuckled at the way the

words made him puff up a little. God, he had it bad. Of
course, he'd had it bad for quite awhile; it was a real
treat to let Marshall know how he felt.

He wasn't alone, either. "Someone I care about,"

Marshall had said.

They tossed the ball back and forth for another half

hour or so and then Dave jogged back to Marshall.
"Hey, you want a drink?"

"Sounds good, man." Marshall grinned at him,

nodded.

He grabbed a couple of waters out of the cooler and

handed one over. Marshall stripped off his shirt, wiped
off his face, then sucked down the water.

Dave spent a few minutes watching the man.

Admiring. The little nipples were tight, that belly was
flat as a board, and the little trail to glory was enough to
make his mouth dry. He wanted to drop to his knees and
follow that path right down to Marshall's cock right
there and then.

He licked his lips.
"Your water okay?"
"Yeah, man. It's great. The day's great."
"It is." Marshall finished his water, grabbed an apple,

and chowed down.

Dave wanted to touch.

Burn - 70

Before he could give in to temptation, though, a

couple guys came by. "You guys want to play a pick-up
game?"

Marshall looked at him. "Wanna?"
"Yeah, sure." He grinned. They were gonna cream

these guys.

"Excellent." Marshall nodded once, then they were

off, playing.

***

If they didn't catch that fucking arsonist soon, it was

going to kill them.

Hell, the bastard had killed eight civilians already,

and one of their own.

Goddamn it.
Marshall sat, looked at Jack and Will. "Anything

new?"

Will shook his head. "Shit, we're all still suspects.

First responders."

He sighed, shook his head. "I hate this shit."
Jack nodded. "Fuck, yeah. They need to catch this

asshole before anyone else dies."

He grabbed his fork, started eating. He got about

three bites in before the alarm sounded again. "Jesus
Christ."

"Fuck." Will stood up and threw his bowl at the sink,

the thing landing with a hard, shattering noise.

"I can't fucking take it any more."
"Like we have a choice." He headed for the

equipment bay.

His cell went off as he got there, Dave's number.

"What?"

"Bad time?" Dave asked.
"Yeah. Important?"

Burn - 71

"No, man. I just wanted to get together. Call me when

you're off, huh? Or better yet, come on over."

"'Kay. Gotta go, man. I'll call." He hung the phone up

and got to work.

Everything else had to wait.

***

Dave hated watching the news these days.
It looked like there was a new fire almost every day.

Out of control, huge, human-assisted fires. People were
dying, including firefighters. Marshall was getting more
and more stressed, more tight and tense, often blowing
him off, even on those days where Marshall wasn't on
call. Someone needed to catch the asshole setting these
fires before anyone else died, before anyone else's life
was put at risk.

He was expecting Marshall to come over today. He'd

wheedled and cajoled and managed to get Marshall to
promise to drop by after his shift.

Dave checked his watch. The man should have been

here by now, he was sure.

His phone beeped and he tensed. Goddamn it.

Marshall was canceling again.

He checked the text.
Just off. Want me 2 bring burgers?
He relaxed again and texted back. Have burgers. Just

missing u.

b there in 10
c u
He pocketed his phone and double-checked the

fridge. The burgers were made, the beer chilling. He
even had dip so they could sit and munch, see what they
could find on ESPN. Hell, he'd even watch the karate or
ninja or whatever it was thing that Marshall liked.

Burn - 72

He just needed his Marshall fix. He had a hunch

Marshall needed a Dave fix even more.

Nine minutes later, there was a knock on the door.
Grinning, he went to let his lover in. "Marshall."
Marshall looked like hammered shit, but there was a

smile for him. "Hey."

"Hey. You're a sight for sore eyes." He dragged the

man in and planted a kiss on those sexy lips.

Marshall kissed him back, then leaned away. "You

said there was food? I skipped supper."

"Yeah, yeah. Come on. You can have chips and dip

and a beer until the burgers are ready." He led Marshall
to the kitchen and plonked the beer and food in front of
him on the little kitchen table.

"Thanks." Marshall dug in, sucked the beer down,

shoulders slowly coming down from around the man's
ears. "How're you doing?"

"Not bad. Missing you, huh?" He got the burgers on

the grill pan over the stove.

"Been busy. I gave Doby to Karen for the long term. I

wasn't ever home. It wasn't fair to him."

"Oh, man. Marshall." He went over and gave

Marshall a hug. "You could have asked me to look after
him while you're busy."

"She loves him, and I paid her well. Told her I'd get

him back when I could. I just... I'm not a good caretaker.
I'm married to the job."

"No, I'd say more you need someone to care for you,

huh?" Dave began to work Marshall's shoulders.

Marshall shook his head, the muscles under Dave's

hands like rocks. He kept working them as the burgers
cooked, not bothering Marshall with lots of chatter.

Marshall's phone rang and the man jerked, tensed.

"Fuck."

Burn - 73

"Are you on call?" He knew it didn't matter if

Marshall was or not; if there was another fire, all hands
would have to be on deck.

Marshall shook his head. "No." His lover's hands

were shaking when he reached for his phone, answered
it. "Cap. 'Sup?"

Dave sent a little prayer up that this wasn't a call for

Marshall to come in. The man needed a break. A day or
two, and he needed Dave to make him fly.

"Yeah. Yeah, okay. Sure. Okay, Cap, I get it."

Marshall stood, kissed his forehead. "We got a copycat.
Three fires going at once. I have to go. I'll call. Love
you."

It wasn't until Marshall was gone -- not even waiting

to hear his answer or his goodbye -- that Dave really
heard what the man said.

Love you.
He sat down hard and glared at nobody in particular.

God damn it, but his man had better make it through
this.

He wanted to hear that again.

Burn - 74

Chapter Seven

He parked in front of Dave's house, too tired to go

home.

They'd done it. Found both fucking arsonists. Thank

God.

He crawled up to the porch and crawled onto the big

swing, curled up, and went to sleep.

"Marshall?" Something -- someone -- was pushing at

him. "Wake up, babe. Come on."

"Hmm?" He blinked awake, face pressed on the

swing slat.

"God, how long have you been out here asleep?"

Dave helped him up, moved him toward the front door.

"Dunno." He wasn't really awake right now.
"Come to bed, babe." Dave kept moving him.
"Mmmhmm." He was easy. Tired.
"I'm glad you came here; I just wish you'd rung the

bell or something. I'd have let you in, and my bed is way
more comfortable than the swing."

"Didn'wanna wake you."
"I'll have to get you a key so next time you can let

yourself in."

"Just didn't wan' go home."
"Of course not. You're tired, come to bed."
He nodded, stumbling forward, letting Dave ease him

down onto that bed. He murmured his thanks, asleep
before he could kick his boots off.

***

It was all over the news, how both arsonists had been

caught.

Dave was relieved. Even more so when Marshall

slept for twelve hours straight. When he finally woke

Burn - 75

up, Dave was going to feed him and then fuck him
through the mattress. He heard the toilet, then the
shower, the water running hard. That was his cue to start
the bacon, so he did.

Soon Marshall's broad shoulders appeared in the

doorway, his lover there, awake. "Hey."

"Hey, stud. You feeling any better?"
"Yeah. Yeah. Sorry I crashed on your porch."
"Anytime, man." He flipped the bacon out of the pan

and cracked in a bunch of eggs.

"Need help?"
"You could set the table."
"Sure." Marshall walked close, pressed against him

for a moment.

"Oh. Hey." He pushed back against Marshall and

turned his head, bringing their mouths together.
Marshall tasted minty fresh, tongue sliding against his.
Groaning, he opened wider, reaching up to cup
Marshall's skull. Marshall's hand brought him closer, the
deep moan vibrating his lips.

Oh, fuck, he'd missed this in the last weeks.
He reached out blindly, turning the stove off, and

then he turned and pressed fully against Marshall.

Marshall fed him another low, deep moan, muscles

shuddering against him. He reached around and grabbed
Marshall's ass, squeezed it. Fuck, the man felt good
against him.

"Dave." Marshall's cock was full, hard, pressed

against his hip.

"I've got you." He slid his free hand between them,

wrapping it around Marshall's heat.

"Fuck. Fuck, Dave. Yes." Marshall groaned, hips

bucking for him.

"Fucking need you, man." He squeezed hard, let his

hand fly up and down Marshall's fat prick.

Burn - 76

"Yes." Marshall nodded, hand cupping his head.

"Please."

"Come on, you big, beautiful stud. Give it up for me."

He scraped his thumb across the tip of Marshall's cock.

"Fuck." Heat sprayed over his hand, Marshall's throat

working, eyes rolling back.

"Yeah, that's it, babe." Get Marshall off, feed the

man, and then jump his bones. Dave licked Marshall's
lips, then his own.

"Mmm. Good. Let's do it again." Even as Marshall

spoke, the man's belly rumbled.

"Yeah. As soon as you've been fed, I'm dragging you

right back to bed." He patted Marshall's ass and ignored
his own hard on as he turned back to the stove to see
how big of a mess he'd made of their breakfast.

"It'll be fine to eat." Marshall grabbed a couple of

plates.

"Yeah, it'll do." He dished the food onto the plates

and grabbed the toast, now cold, out of the toaster.

Marshall poured two glasses of milk, eating quickly,

doggedly, and for once, Dave didn't care. They just
needed to eat so they could touch. He scarfed his own
food down, the silence between them full of promise.

Marshall grabbed the plates as soon as they were

done, plopped them in the sink, then held out one hand.
"Bed."

"You sure?" he teased, even as he grabbed Marshall's

hand and headed toward the bedroom. He didn't run. Not
quite.

"Sure. Absolutely sure. I got two days left."
Dave groaned happily. Two whole days. They could

get their rocks off good and hard and simple, and then
he could help Marshall really relax, let go.

He didn't touch Marshall, aside from holding the

man's hand, until they were on the bed, and then all bets

Burn - 77

were off. Their mouths met, teeth clicking audibly. Fuck
yes. Marshall dragged him closer, hands spread across
his back, his ass.

"Need to be inside you." He couldn't wait to be

buried deep in Marshall's ass.

"Yeah. Want you. Now." They were humping

together, Marshall's eyes rolling back in his head.

"Hands and knees." He growled out the words as he

went for the lube and condoms on his nightstand.

"So fucking hot for you." Marshall spread for him,

hips moving, cock bobbing beneath that flat belly.

"Ditto." He slapped Marshall's ass as he settled

behind his lover.

"Hey." Marshall grunted, pressed back against him.
"Right here, babe." He got his fingers slicked up and

pushed two into Marshall with little finesse. They both
needed too badly for him to pussyfoot around.

Marshall slammed back against him. "Harder."
"Pushy." He added another finger, stretching quickly.

Marshall's hole was tight, burning hot, and took his
fingers eagerly.

"Fucking want you." So damn badly, his cock and

balls ached for Marshall.

"Yeah. Yeah, Dave. Now. Please." Jesus, the sound

of Marshall begging made him want to scream. He
tugged his fingers away and gloved up. He didn't tease,
simply pushed in, cock sliding into Marshall's ass in one
hard movement.

"Yes!" Marshall climbed up the headboard, driving

back on his prick like a wild man.

"Fuck. Love you like this." It spurred him on and he

set up a fast, hard rhythm.

"More. Fuck. More. Good."
He watched Marshall's muscles jerk and roll.

Burn - 78

"I've got more for you here." He thrust in hard. And

then harder. He could feel Marshall rippling and jerking
around him, interior muscles working his cock.

It was so fucking good. He grabbed onto Marshall's

hips, fingers digging in as he pounded harder. The
bedsprings were screaming, the headboard banging
against the wall. He managed to work a hand around
Marshall's prick, pulling on it as he fucked Marshall's
ass.

"Dave!" Oh, fuck, yes.
"Right fucking here." He moved harder, faster, riding

his fucking stud as hard as he could.

Marshall's ass clenched around him, rippled around

him, demanding his pleasure.

"Fuck. Fuck!" He grabbed Marshall's cock tighter.

"Come on, babe. Give it up."

Heat sprayed over his fingers, a sharp cry filling the

air. Marshall's body squeezed him tight and Dave
couldn't have held back his orgasm if he'd wanted to. He
didn't. He came hard, filling the condom.

They slumped down onto the bed, panting. He rested

his cheek against Marshall's back, breathing in the musk
and sweat.

"Good." Marshall hummed, almost laughed.
"Shit. Marshall, that's the understatement of the

year."

There was a real laugh, deep and husky and happy.
He patted the man's ass and pulled out, getting rid of

the condom before throwing himself down beside
Marshall.

Those pretty eyes met his, crinkled at the corners, and

twinkled. "Hey."

"Hey, babe." He wrapped an arm around Marshall's

neck and tugged him close, took a kiss. "Missed you,
man."

Burn - 79

"Yeah. Yeah, we found them. The cops did, I mean,

but it's over."

"Thank God for that." He took another kiss, this one

lasting a little longer, his lips lingering on Marshall's.

Marshall tugged him close. "Tell me we can spend a

couple days together."

"Just try to escape."
"Maybe later. This is good now."
He laughed and pushed closer. "It is."
Marshall held him for a while. Not talking, not

sleeping -- the man held him and breathed.

It was a good place to be, and he went with it, just

lying there, close, together. Like they just needed to be
for awhile.

***

They rested for a while, but the peace could only last

so long and Marshall knew it.

He needed to get up, get something done.
He patted Dave's butt. "I'm going to replace those

outlets for you today, install a couple new alarms,
maybe shore up the step on the back porch."

"I thought you already fixed the outlets, and I know

you added an alarm -- how many do I need?"

"Oh, did I? Good for me." He was jittery, though.
Dave gave him a wicked grin, eyes glinting. "I have

plans for your ass anyway, Marshall."

He chuckled. "Uh-huh."
"I do. I want to fuck you into goo, babe. A great big

pile of melted, satisfied goo."

He nodded, grinned. "We'll probably need a little

recovery, huh?"

"You want recovery? Damn, I was planning to keep

you up and spouting gibberish when you weren't asleep

Burn - 80

or eating..." Dave gave him a wink and rolled up.
"Shower?"

"I don't speak gibberish." Marshall chuckled, rolled

up out of bed, too.

"I could make you." Dave led the way to the shower,

naked ass right there in front of him.

"Not a chance." He grabbed Dave's butt, squeezed it.
"You don't think I'm just that good?" Dave pushed

back into his hands, head resting on his shoulder. It was
a little awkward, walking like that, but it felt nice, too --
Dave was warm.

"That's a trick question. I think I'm just that macho."
Laughing, Dave nodded. "Yeah, okay. I'll buy that."
"There you go." He let go so he could brush his teeth,

let Dave start the water.

Of course that gave him a great view of the man's ass

again as Dave leaned over and fiddled with the taps. He
reached over, stroked Dave's ball sac with one finger.
Dave jerked and then looked over a shoulder at him,
smiled. He grinned back, nodded once.

"Come on. There's more of that here under the

spray." Dave went into the shower, finger crooking to
him.

Marshall chuckled, followed. The hot water poured

over him, felt so good. Dave's hands followed the same
trails, warmer than the water, making him feel better
than good. He caught himself swaying, moaning at the
touches.

Dave brought their mouths together, capturing the

sounds he was making.

He wasn't sure how he could still be horny, but he

was.

"Fucking want you."
"'M right here."
Dave grinned and slapped his ass. "You so are."

Burn - 81

"Hey. We talked about that." He pinched Dave.
Dave slapped him again. "No pinching!"
"No slapping!" He turned the water spray into Dave's

face.

Dave sputtered, laughing and fighting him for the

shower head. He snorted, keeping his butt out of Dave's
reach. Dave got hold of the shower head, though, and
got him in the face, laughing all the while.

"Turd!" He flicked Dave's hip with his fingers.
"Hey, you started it!"
Another swat landed on his ass and the burn made his

toes curl. "I said stop it."

"No, you didn't."
"What? Here, I'll say it again. No swacking!"
"You're no fun, Marshall. You know you want it."
"Stop it, now." He wasn't no fun.
"Make me."
He looked at Dave. "I don't want to hurt you, man."
"You don't want me to stop, babe. Not really."
He shook his head. "We're taking a shower."
"We're showering, we're playing, we're making each

other feel good." He couldn't argue with that, not really.
"Ease up, Marshall." Dave pointed to his cock, which
was hard again. Or maybe still. "We're both feeling
good."

Yeah. Yeah, he was. He grabbed Dave and pulled

him close. "You are a complicated son of a bitch."

Good thing Marshall loved him.
He pushed their lips together, tongue-fucked Dave's

mouth for all he was worth. Dave's tongue slid along his,
the man's hands running along his back as the water
pounded down around them. He groaned, rubbing on
Dave's slick skin. It all felt so good.

Dave slid a hand between them, fingers finding his

right nipple and flicking back and forth across it. His

Burn - 82

fingers tightened. Oh, fuck. Fuck. He knew Dave was
going to pinch it, just knew it was coming. Dave made
him wait, though, kept up the gentle flicking, and his
hips bucked, rolling in time with the touch.

When the pinch finally came, the sensation exploded

through his entire body.

He stumbled back, heart slamming through his chest.

"Oh, fuck."

Dave followed him, eyes holding his as Dave's

fingers slid around his nipple and twisted it.

"Don't." Oh, Jesus. Please.
"I know what you really mean, Marshall." Dave

leaned in and bit the nipple that had been ignored so far.

He was going to slip, fall. Bash something. With

another two steps, though, Dave had him pressed up
against the tile at the back of the shower, lips covering
his, the kiss wild, almost as hot as the random pinches
and twists that worked his nipples. His hands were still
around Dave's hips, and Marshall couldn't quite move
them. All he could do was hold on and feel.

Dave gnawed on his tongue, on his lips, making them

ache, small echoes of the larger ache on his nipples.
Deep sounds clawed their way out of him, harsh and
raw. He couldn't think.

He couldn't breathe.
The hand that wrapped around his prick was rough,

Dave's fingers pinching the head, and exactly what he
needed. Marshall shot hard, knees buckling as the world
went gray.

Fuck.
He didn't fall, though. Strong arms caught him, held

him, kept him from passing out totally.

He gasped, held on.
"I've got you, Marshall. Okay? I'm not letting go."
"Fuck." He gulped in breath.

Burn - 83

"Yeah, that's coming, babe. I swear."
He couldn't even laugh. His fucking skin was

tingling, on fire.

"Come on, turn around for me. I want you." Dave

turned him, guided his hands to the tile. It was easy to
spread, body begging for more. "That's it, babe." Dave's
hand landed on his ass, hard, solid, and two fingers
pushed into his ass.

"Yes..." Fuck, that burn was so good.
Another finger slid into his ass, Dave spreading him

quickly. One smack after another hit his ass, each one
coming as Dave's fingers nudged his gland.

His body rolled, ass screaming with sensation.

"Dave."

"I've got you." Two more smacks hit him and then

Dave's fingers disappeared.

"Oh, fuck. Don't go. I need you."
Another smack hit his ass. "Right here, babe. Right

fucking here." Then he felt it, the blunt heat, the
pressure as Dave's cock pushed against his hole. He
grunted, the burn so fucking right. Dave kept pushing
and that thick cock stretched him until Dave's cock was
deep inside. He could feel the man's hips pressed up
hard against his ass.

Dave groaned.
He nodded, hips working as he took Dave in. Fuck, it

ached. So good.

Dave smacked his ass and then pulled out, pushed

back in.

"Love your cock. Harder."
"Love your ass." Dave plowed into him, their skin

slapping together hard, the motion making his ass
cheeks ache in the best fucking way.

"Yes. Yes. Yes." He bit out the word, over and over,

snarling his pleasure out.

Burn - 84

The speed got faster, Dave smacking, pulling out,

pushing back in again and again.

He needed to touch his cock, but he couldn't. He'd

fall.

Dave was focused, the smacks and thrusts growing

more powerful, making him absolutely crazy.

"Gotta. Oh, fuck. Oh, fuck..." He threw back his

head, growled.

"Yes. Yes, come on, babe. Fucking come for me."
His ass clenched down, gripping Dave hard. Dave

smacked him, hard, cock pushing in and pegging his
gland. He screamed and shot hard, his entire body
convulsing.

"Fuck! Yes!" Dave jerked and thrust in one last time,

collapsing against his back.

Those arms held him, kept them up, and Marshall

was fucking grateful for them.

He could feel Dave's breath gasping against his skin,

the only sound he could actually hear the sound of water
hitting the tub.

He held on, clinging to the wall like a big lizard,

trying not to shake apart.

Soft kisses moved along his spine. "It's okay, babe.

I've got you. I've so got you."

"Sorry. Just. That was. Big."
"It was. It was big and good and ours."
He nodded, fighting the urge to break down with

everything he was. Dave pulled out, hand coming down
on his ass again.

"Dave?" He jerked away, stumbling a little.
Dave kissed his back, hand stroking his ass this time.

"Come on, babe. Out of the shower."

He nodded. "I might need to go for a run in a little

while."

Burn - 85

"I could handle a run. Then we could do a few

things."

He nodded, trying to get his shit back together. Dave

turned him and didn't say a word, just kissed him. Hard.

He gasped, then pulled away. "I need a minute."
Dave regarded him for a moment, and then pulled

him in, kissing him again. He groaned, tried to pull
away. Dave didn't let him, tugging him down the hall
and keeping his mouth occupied. He needed this to stop.
He needed a little bit of space, damn it. "Stop thinking
so hard, Marshall. I'll make you fly."

"I need a break."
"No, that's not what you need." Dave pulled him into

the bedroom,

"Listen to me!" Goddamn it, he was trying to get

some fucking afterglow!

"No, you listen to me. I know what you need. So just

hush."

"Stop this." He was going to have a fucking

meltdown.

"No. You need it." Dave pushed him down onto the

bed.

"What the fuck is wrong with you!" He came back up

about halfway, their chests slapping together.

"You need an outlet, Marshall." Dave pushed him

back down, hands grabbing his wrists and holding them
down.

"Let me go, you fuck!" He'd been flying, damn it.
"You want this, Dave. Look inside. You do."
He was horrified to feel his breath hitch. "Leave me

alone."

"No." Dave manhandled him onto his stomach,

drawing his hands up above him. Marshall started
fighting hard, feeling betrayed. This man was supposed
to... they were supposed to be friends, damn it.

Burn - 86

"That's it, babe. Fight. Work it out." His ass was

smacked again, then again.

"You asshole! I trusted you!"
"You still do." The blows moved to his back, to his

shoulders.

He jerked away, his lower body sliding almost off the

bed.

"That's it. Knees on the floor, babe." Dave pushed

him off the rest of the way, the blows continuing,
warming his back.

"Leave me alone. Don't talk to me like you give a

shit."

"I do." Dave pushed his hands against the bed over

his head and then the heat of the man disappeared,
coming back a moment later. The next hit wasn't from
Dave's hand and it snapped across his back.

Marshall went totally still, completely shocked.
The blow came again. Then again. The long line of

pain moving across his shoulders. He couldn't breathe,
couldn't focus. What the fuck?

"Let it go, Marshall. Focus on the pain." Each new hit

slid a little farther down his back.

"What's wrong with you?" What was wrong with

him?

"You're hurting. I want to help." Dave just kept

hitting his back with the end of a belt, over and over and
over. He sobbed softly, his heart cracking in his chest.
"Let it go. Let it all go, Marshall."

Hiding his face in his hands, he cried, feeling

completely lost.

The blows eventually stopped, Dave's body curling

around his. "That's right, babe. You have to let it go."

Marshall wanted to pull away, but Dave wouldn't let

him.

Burn - 87

"I've got you, babe. I've got you." The soft murmurs

continued, interspersed with one gentle kiss after
another.

He didn't understand this. Not at all. He just...
He closed his eyes and let the tears fall.
Through it all, Dave held on, rocking him.
Dave climbed back onto the bed and pulled him up,

too, something cool and soothing spreading over his
back.

Marshall stayed there, quiet and still, breathing

slowly. As soon as Dave started snoring, he slipped
from the bed and gathered his things.

He'd made a terrible mistake, somehow.
Broken himself.
And he needed to get back to finding himself at work.

Burn - 88

Chapter Eight

Dave had known that the chances were pretty good

that Marshall would leave the second Dave fell asleep.

He'd been hoping that wouldn't happen, of course, but

he wasn't surprised when it did.

He wasn't surprised when he woke up alone. Only

disappointed. He was surprised when Marshall didn't
answer his calls, didn't go home, didn't go to the bar.

He kept trying, though. He and Marshall needed to

talk about what had happened. And Marshall needed to
let go like that again.

Two days passed, then three. Then a week. Another

week. And Marshall didn't say anything.

Dave texted the man.
He phoned.
Emailed.
He left a message at work.
He gave Marshall time. He told himself to take it

easy, back off. He worked a lot.

Finally, nearly six weeks after he'd belted Marshall,

he took the bull by the horns and showed up at the man's
house.

The place was overgrown, dark, but Marshall's truck

was in the drive and he knew the man was at the start of
seventy-two hours off.

He'd checked.
Knocking on the door and ringing the bell yielded

him nothing but silence. "Come on, babe. Don't make
me break down this door."

Dave knew Marshall was there; he could feel it,

could almost hear Marshall breathing.

He leaned against the door, fingers rubbing the wood.

"We need to talk, babe. Hell, we need to make love, to
reconnect and make it right."

Burn - 89

He needed to make Marshall see.
The door opened, just a crack. Marshall peered out,

the man sallow, unhappy. "I don't think it's a good idea."

"Oh, Marshall. Please. Let me in, babe." He hated the

way Marshall looked. The man needed to talk to him.

Marshall shook his head, but stepped back, let him in.

The house was dark, dank, a total mess.

Shit. He'd been sitting there thinking Marshall was

pissed off at him, not in a total funk.

"Jesus, babe. What're you doing?"
"Working. Say what you want to say."
"You're not taking care of yourself, Marshall. If you

won't let me do it -- you need to."

"I've been busy. What do you want?"
"I want back in your life. I want you to come over for

wild monkey sex whenever you're off work. I want you
to feel better -- in your heart and in your soul."

"Dave. I can't. There's something fucked up about

this. About me when I'm with you. I'm sorry."

"It's not fucked up, Marshall! I give you what you

need. With me you can be yourself. I can help you let go
of all the emotional stuff you carry with you."

Marshall looked at him, haunted. "I let you hit me.

That's unhealthy."

"No. No, babe. It's not. You need some way to

release everything you go through, all the shit you see.
This lets you be out of control. Look. We'll set it up
properly, with a safeword and everything, with me tying
you up. And then you can fight and yell stop all you
want and it won't be down to you. It'll be good."

"I had marks on me! I let you hit me, and I came!"

Marshall was roaring at him. "I'm sick!"

"No, you are not." He didn't yell back, but he got

right up into Marshall's face. "It's not sick. You're still a
stud. You're a hero. A strong man."

Burn - 90

"Go away. I can't fucking do this right now. I'm

fucking tired."

"Then let's go to bed. Not do anything, just sleep

together." It broke his heart to see Marshall hurting so
badly, to know that it was his fault.

"What are you doing here?" Marshall stared at him.

"I can't do this with you standing here. I fucking love
you, man. I can't break up with you face to face."

It hit him right in the chest, hearing those words from

Marshall with the man looking right at him. "I love you,
too, Marshall. And I don't want you to break up with me.
We don't have to break up. We fit, babe."

"I don't know how to fucking handle this shit."

Marshall looked exhausted.

"So don't. Let me take you to bed. Let's sleep on it.

We can worry about it tomorrow." He put his hand on
Marshall's chest. "Let's just hold each other, babe."

The quiet went on so long that he thought Marshall

would say no, but then he got a nod, the door locking
behind him. "Bed."

He grabbed Marshall's hand and headed down the

hallway to the man's bedroom. He didn't say anything.
He wasn't going to do a single fucking thing to screw
this tenuous peace up. He stripped off quickly, folding
his clothes and leaving them next to the bed.

Marshall didn't turn the lights on, just slid between

the sheets, head on one pillow, leaving him the other
one.

Dave slipped into bed and curled up against his lover,

his hand sliding around the man's waist. He felt the
muscles jerk and tremble, shake under his touch. He
pressed closer, fingers stroking Marshall's chest and
belly.

Marshall took one deep breath, then another and

another.

Burn - 91

Dave didn't say anything; he just kept holding the

man, touching gently.

Slowly, Marshall relaxed, then melted against him.
Dave took a deep breath and relaxed as well, let

himself go.

He was going to do this, damn it. He was going to

make this work.

He and Marshall were perfect for each other, and he

wasn't letting anything get in the way of that.

Not even Marshall.

***

Marshall dreamed for hours -- work, Dave, running,

swimming. One dream bled into another and another,
and through them all, he didn't wake up. He was warm,
safe, held close.

"Gotta get up." He murmured the words, but he didn't

want to. He was so tired.

"Shh. I've got you, babe."
He frowned. "Dave?"
He missed Dave.
"Right here, babe." Dave's hand patted his belly.
"I'm not ready to get up."
"No, me, too. Let's stay right here."
He nodded, let his eyes close again. Tired. He was

tired.

A soft kiss slid across the back of his neck, warm and

good.

God, he missed that.
He bit his bottom lip, fighting to keep the real world

out.

The fingers on his belly moved slowly downward as

the warm kisses continued.

"I shouldn't..." His body wanted to.

Burn - 92

"You should. I want you."
He nodded. He wanted Dave. He just didn't want to

think.

Those kisses on his neck got hotter, became sucking

kisses just as Dave's hand wrapped around his cock. He
groaned, bit his bottom lip. Fuck, he wanted. He could
feel Dave's cock, hard, hot against his ass.

It was so fucking easy not to think.
Dave began rocking, cock sliding along his ass, hand

stroking his prick.

"Fuck..." He moaned, long and low, rocking harder.
"Yes. Fuck. Wanna." Dave's finger slid along his

crack.

He shouldn't. He shouldn't, but he wanted to. So

badly.

"I have you. I have you, babe."
He took a shuddering breath, then nodded. Okay.

Okay, he needed.

That finger pushed against him, and then

disappeared, coming back a moment later, slick and
cool, sliding right into him. Everything was easier in the
half-light, in the quiet. Like this.

One finger became two, stretching him as Dave's

mouth slid and sucked the skin of his neck. Marshall
didn't spend any time thinking; he needed to feel. Dave
didn't spend a lot of time on prep either, and soon those
invading fingers were gone, Dave's cock pushing at him
instead.

He leaned back into the touch, eyes closed, fingers

holding on. He could feel Dave's breath, hot and moist
across the skin of his neck as the thick cock filled him
steadily, and Marshall groaned, the sound refusing to
stay caught inside him.

Burn - 93

"Mmm. Feels so good, Marshall. Missed this. Missed

you." Dave started moving, rocking that fine prick in
and out of him.

He didn't answer, fearing he would say something

embarrassing and wrong. Dave's hand circled his prick,
sliding along his skin as Dave fucked him.

They found an easy rhythm, in and out, over and

over, rocking on the sheets. Dave's mouth worked his
skin, leaving sucking kisses across his neck and
shoulders.

Marshall just wanted to come, to shoot, empty his

balls and breathe.

"Come for me, babe. Come on." It was like Dave

could read his thoughts.

"Fuck..." He jerked, clenched around his cock, balls

drawing tight.

"Yeah. Fuck. Come on. Come." Dave's hand jacked

him hard and fast.

He shot so hard his bones rattled, his hands opening

and closing, over and over.

"Yes! Yes!" Dave jerked into him a few more times,

then slammed in hard and froze.

He didn't say anything. He stayed there, still, quiet.

Hiding.

Dave slipped out of him, did something with the

condom, and then wiped his ass with a tissue before
curling up around his back again. "Love you, babe."

"I miss you." That was the best he could do.
Dave's arms tightened around him. "Me, too."

Another of those soft kisses landed on his neck.

He sighed, kissed Dave's fingers. This wasn't going to

work, but he didn't know what to do.

"Mmm. We're good together, babe."
"I don't know what to do about you."
"You need to trust me."

Burn - 94

"How? You hit me. I let you."
"Because you trusted me to do it, to bring the pain

and hurt and tears out of you. Marshall... it's... you're so
strong, so damn strong. A hero. Every now and then you
need to let go. That's where I come in."

"You aren't making any sense. I love you, damn it.

This is unhealthy!"

"I love you, too, Marshall and I'm telling you that it's

not." Dave hugged him tight. "I can back off for a bit,
though. For now."

"I just want to be with you."
"Works for me, babe."
"Okay."
Okay.
For now.

***

Dave felt a weight come off his shoulders.
It wasn't perfect, but Marshall was going to keep

seeing him, at least for now.

He just needed to be patient, push a little, but not a

lot. For now, he was just going to enjoy Marshall's
company.

"Can I take you out for pancakes?"
"That sounds good." Marshall actually smiled at him.
"Cool." He leaned in to gently touch his lips to

Marshall's.

Marshall took a deep breath, then those strong hands

wrapped around his hips, rested on his skin, and his
lover kissed him back, slowly, softly.

He moaned, let Marshall lead this sweet, gentle kiss.
Marshall's forehead rested against his as the kiss

ended, those pretty eyes staring into him. "Pancakes and

Burn - 95

coffee. Then maybe we'll get some food at the grocery
store?"

"Yeah. You wanna come stay at my place for your

time off, or should we come back here and tackle this
place?"

"You don't have to deal with this shit. I'll get it when

I get home."

"I don't mind. Your shit is my shit, huh?"
Marshall met his eyes, took a deep breath. "Yeah. I

guess so."

"Hey. I want what's best for you. I do."
Marshall took his hand. "Shower."
"Yeah, that sounds good. And then pancakes, because

I don't know about you, but my stomach is thinking
about staging a revolt."

Oh, that got him a grin. A real one.
Thank God.
Marshall's shower was a little small, but they

squeezed into it, laughing when they bumped bellies and
elbows and knees.

It was starting to feel more like normal, more like it

had been between them.

This was important to him, more important than

anything else, really, to have Marshall with him, trusting
him, loving him. He knew he could help Marshall with
his demons; he knew what he'd done was the right thing.
But maybe too soon. Marshall would be ready for it at
some point, he was sure of it. Now that the man knew it
was there, maybe...

Dave let it go for now.
They could focus on each other, on this.
He brought his mouth to Marshall's, sharing a happy

kiss.

"Mmm. You taste good." Marshall turned the water

off. "Food. It's too nice a day to be cooped up."

Burn - 96

"You said it." He went to smack Marshall's ass and

turned it into a grab instead, getting himself a good
handful.

Marshall chuckled, stole one more kiss.
"You feel like the diner near my place or the IHOP?"

He tugged on his jeans, leaving his underwear on the
floor.

"I'm easy. The local place is good."
"It is. And it shouldn't be too busy this time of day."

He threw on his T-shirt and slipped his feet into his
sneakers. "You gonna join me in my car?"

"Sure." Marshall grabbed a sweatshirt, an undershirt,

his wallet.

"Cool." His lover looked a little less tired today, a

little less exhausted.

They headed out, the air cool, refreshing, and Dave

found himself breathing deep, enjoying the release of
tension.

"We should go out and play at the park again while

you're off."

"That'd be cool. I like to get outside."
"You look like you could use some sun."
"Been working a lot."
"Even Superman needs to take a break now and then,

babe." They got to the car and climbed in.

"Good thing I'm not him, then."
He looked at Marshall -- was the man trying to tell

him that Marshall didn't need a break? Because that was
bullshit.

"What? I told you from the beginning, I'm married to

the work. It's who I am."

"I just worry about you, babe. You're looking worn

around the edges."

"I've had a lot of stress the last few weeks. I've had a

lot to think about."

Burn - 97

"I'm sorry I've been one of the stressors, Marshall."

He looked the man in the eye. "I want to make you
happy."

"I just... I had a lot to think about."
He started the car. "How about we see if we can

make this a think-free zone for a couple days, then?"

"I can live with that, man." Marshall nodded. "For

real."

"Cool." He turned the radio on and headed toward the

diner near his place.

The place was mostly empty, the coffee hot, and the

bacon crispy. All in all, it worked.

They talked about random, inconsequential things,

just shooting the breeze. Marshall told him stories,
laughed for him, made him smile. By the time they were
finished, drinking the last of their coffee, he was leaning
back, foot sliding along Marshall's shin. Marshall was
relaxed, easy, smiling. Smiling at him. The man needed
more of this, more of relaxing, smiling.

"There's a pool hall down the road. Wanna?"
"Shit, yeah. I haven't played pool since... the last time

we played." He grinned at Marshall.

"Well, then. That ended well." It had ended with

them in bed.

"It did. Let's see how playing it again ends."
"Sounds perfect to me, man."
He dropped some money on the table for their

breakfast and they headed back out. It was getting better.
Getting better all the time. The pool hall was pretty
empty -- likely too early for most -- and they were able
to grab a table right away. Soon the balls were racked
and Marshall was breaking. It was all okay.

He admired Marshall's ass every time the man leaned

over the pool table. Once, he even wolf-whistled, and
Marshall shook for him, side to side, teasing.

Burn - 98

His cock got a little firm in his jeans and he grinned,

shifting to get more comfortable.

"Your shot." Marshall headed over to the table.
He watched Marshall for a moment and then turned

back to the pool table. If he didn't start paying attention,
he was going to lose. Again. He tried to remember if he
was solids or stripes. There were way more stripes left,
so he figured that was him.

Marshall leaned against his side, a bit, whispering.

"Bet I win."

He stopped and looked at Marshall. "What're we

betting?"

"What do you want?"
"No, no -- you're the one who brought it up. What do

you want?"

"Breakfast in bed."
"Oh, you're on." Now, he just needed to focus on the

balls on the table instead of the balls in Marshall's pants.

"What do you want? Not that it matters..."
"No, I liked your idea of breakfast in bed. And-- Hey!

There's no guarantee you're gonna win! Maybe I've been
playing you."

"Bullshit. I want waffles. Sausage."
He snorted. "You gotta win first. And that's not

gonna happen."

"Is, too." Marshall chuckled.
"Back off, man. Give me some room to work here."

His ass was goosed, hard. "Cheat!" He jumped and
shifted down the table, mock-glaring at the man.

Marshall's chuckle made his cock jerk. That sound

was pure, happy sex.

He shook his head and tried to focus on his next shot.

Shit, he didn't even care if he won or lost, but he wanted
to give it his best shot. He sank two in a row, and was

Burn - 99

feeling pretty good about himself, when he missed the
third shot.

"Damn it." He'd just given Marshall his opening, not

that making and serving Marshall breakfast in bed
would be that big a hardship.

Marshall chuckled. "My turn!"
"You know I'm going to be checking out your ass

while you take your shot, right?" Never let it be said he
couldn't try to get a little distraction going.

"Uh-huh. Sure. Damn."
He leaned against the table where Marshall was sure

to see him, and cocked his hip out. "Careful now, you
don't want to sink one of mine by accident."

"I won't. I spend a lot of time doing this at the

station." Boom. One ball went in.

"You mean you played me!"
"Not so! I'm not a pro."
"Just an amateur who gets a whole lot of practice,

huh?"

"Exactly." Two more balls went in.
He shook his head, not upset -- he could probably

have given Marshall a real run for his money if he hadn't
let the man distract the hell out of him. Marshall
relaxing was the whole point of the exercise, though --
relaxing and the two of them enjoying each other -- and
on that point, they were rocking. Marshall laughed, hand
touching his waist as they passed one another.

"I've pretty much lost, huh?"
"Pretty much." Marshall grinned at him. "At least I

didn't ask for anything awful."

"I can't think of anything you asking for being

awful."

Marshall nodded. "I wouldn't do that to you."
"No, babe. I know you never would, but what I meant

was there isn't anything you can ask for that I wouldn't

Burn - 100

give." Anything, up to and including whippings and
beatings and all the good things Marshall thought were
wrong.

Marshall patted him. "I'll grab us another round."
"I'd better not -- one of us has to be able to drive

home."

"You want a Coke?"
"Yeah, that'd be great. They serving munchies yet?"

He wasn't sure what the time was, but he was feeling
hungry.

"I'll see." Marshall nodded, headed to the bar. The

man had a great butt.

Dave racked up the balls, setting them up for another

game. One more -- it wasn't like they had anywhere to
be, and this was nice and relaxing. It took a few, but
Marshall came back with two Cokes, a basket of tortilla
chips, and the promise of hot wings.

"Dude. You rock." Laughing, Dave grabbed a

handful of chips and started munching.

"Yep." Marshall broke again, the tension between

them nonexistent. Better. So much better.

They drank their Cokes and munched and played

more rounds of pool, Marshall pretty much trouncing
him game after game and he didn't give a shit. It didn't
matter, because Marshall was going home with him.

The place started to get busy around six, and Dave

nodded toward the door as they finished up another
game. "You wanna head out, babe?"

"Sounds like a plan."
He put his pool cue back on the rack, and they

headed toward the door and his car.

Burn - 101

Chapter Nine

Each day with Dave got easier. They went out, they

goofed off, they had sex.

Lots of really good, really vanilla sex.
Marshall started to relax, settle into the world, which

stopped being off-center.

Dave bumped his paper. "You not done with the

sports section yet? It's taking for damn ever." The front
page appeared in front of the article he was reading.
"Trade you."

"Read the TV guide part. You're still woefully

lacking in your television knowledge."

"The TV guide part..." Dave's front page bumped into

his section again and then it was plucked right out of his
fingers. "Ha!"

"Bitch!" He pushed up out of the chair, stalking his

sports page.

Dave laughed, feet surprisingly agile for a big guy.
"Gonna beat your butt, man." That was his sports

section.

"Gotta catch me first!"
"Grr." He chased Dave down the hall, chuckling

under his breath, following close.

Dave slipped down the hall, heading for the bedroom.
"Bring me my stats!" He put on a burst of speed,

reaching for Dave.

The paper went flying, even as Dave turned,

wrapping around him. He caught Dave, both of them
going down, they were laughing so hard.

"You dumped me on the ground!" Dave thumped his

shoulder.

"You stole my paper." He pinched that tight little ass.
"You pinched me!" Dave swatted his ass.
"Watch it." He pinched again, a little harder this time.

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"You watch it!" Dave's hand landed again, harder,

too, just like his pinch had been.

His ass felt that, and he grabbed for Dave's hand.
"That's better, no pinch."
"No swatting." Fuck, his heart was pounding.
"You started it."
"I did not."
"Did too, you pinched me."
"You stole my paper first."
"Well, yeah." Dave gave him a shit-eating grin.
"Dork." He chuckled, took a quick kiss.
Laughing, and God, Dave had a great laugh -- it lit up

his whole face -- Dave made the kiss longer. Wet and
awkward from the laughing, but good, hot.

"Love you." The words weren't what he'd meant to

say, but he meant them.

Dave's laughter faded, but his eyes stayed bright and

his smile was wide. "Good. Me, too, you know."

"Cool." They stayed that way for a bit, then he

winked. "Give me back my paper."

***

Dave invited Marshall around at the start of

Marshall's next seventy-two hours off. He had plans for
his stud. Plans that included pushing a few boundaries.
Maybe not as far as he'd pushed the time he'd really
scared Marshall off, but enough to open the door again.

He had a plug he wanted Marshall to wear for him,

and a cock ring. Kinky, without crossing too many of
the lines Marshall had drawn in his head.

Everything, including an easy-to-warm-up dinner,

was ready. All he needed now was his man.

He'd gotten the usual text letting him know Marshall

was off, that the man was heading to the corner store for

Burn - 103

beer. He grinned. There might or might not be a chance
to drink it. Dave was pretty much planning on keeping
Marshall occupied twenty-four seven.

He heard familiar footsteps on the porch, heard

Marshall's whistling.

His smile widened. God, he was almost giddy.
"Hey. I brought beer and cupcakes."
Dave snerked. "Cupcakes and beer, huh? The

essentials?"

"Absolutely. Don't mock. They have sprinkles."
He couldn't help but tease. "Are they pink, too?"
"Nope. Easter leftovers." Marshall looked incredibly

pleased with himself.

"Oh, that's cool." Even if he didn't want to admit it.

He tugged Marshall into the house. "Come on in, babe."

"How's business?" Marshall handed him the bags,

took off his sneakers.

"Good. Everyone takes up running again in the

spring."

"Yeah. Flowers are growing and shit." Marshall

grinned at him.

He tugged Marshall in, kissing the man hard.

Marshall hummed, opened up for him, tongue slipping
alongside his own.

"God, I want you." His need for Marshall was like a

fire inside him.

"Right here."
He knew. He could feel. He wanted to feel more. He

tried to climb Marshall's body, humping against the
man.

"Someone's wanting." Marshall murmured the words

against his lips before pushing back into the kiss.

Like Marshall wasn't, with every fiber of his being.
They fit together perfectly, cocks rubbing and riding

through two sets of jeans.

Burn - 104

"Less clothes," he demanded, tugging Marshall's shirt

out of his jeans.

"Uh-huh." Marshall jerked his shirt off, baring those

sensitive nipples, then reached for Dave's shirt and
tugged.

Dave didn't even wait for Marshall to get his shirt off;

he just went for those sweet little nipples, eager to pinch
and play.

"Fuck..." Marshall shook his head, but arched into the

touch, body begging for more.

"I've got what you need, babe." He so did.
"They ache when you do that."
He knew. He so fucking knew.
"That's the point." He loved driving Marshall wild.
"Crazy man." Marshall got his shirt off, pulled them

close together, obviously trying to protect those poor
tits.

"No crazier than you." He shimmied down Marshall's

body so he could nibble at Marshall's sensitive bits.

"Hey. Hey, don... Oh, fuck." Marshall leaned, hands

on Dave's shoulders.

Like he was going to stop. Like Marshall wanted him

to. Marshall started moving, groaning softly when he bit
down. Dave worked off the man's jeans as he kept
torturing the sensitive little bits of flesh.

"Stop, man. Love. Damn." Marshall's prick was

dripping, leaking for him, and he nipped harder,
Marshall bucking for him.

He moved to the other one, letting his hands grab

hold of Marshall's arms and hold them down.

"Dave..." Marshall tested his hold, pushed a little, but

didn't fight.

"Just making love to you, babe." He was. He was

pushing boundaries a little at the same time, but it was
going to be awesome for Marshall. Awesome.

Burn - 105

"Your mouth." Marshall moved against him, rocking

against him.

"Made for kissing you. Sucking you. Licking you.

Biting you."

"Dave!" Fuck, that was a beautiful, shocked sound.

Dave loved that even his words turned Marshall on.
"Come to bed."

"You're just trying to get me to stop biting your nips."
"Uh-huh." Marshall tried to move away.
He held tight to Marshall's arms, and leaned in to bite

the little nub of flesh.

"Hey. Hey, fuck. Fuck. Dave." Marshall was

shuddering for him.

"Fucking soon. Promise." He moved to the other

nipple.

"Don't. Please. It's so fucking bad." That little moan

was so fucking hot.

"So bad, it's good." He bit at Marshall's breastbone on

the way from one nipple to the other.

"No more. Bed." That waiting nipple was dark red

and swollen already.

"That's not what your body says." He went for it,

mouth closing over flesh.

Marshall's hands wrapped around his head, held him

close. Yes. Fuck, yes. He gnawed and licked and bit at
that sweet flesh. "F...fuck. Fuck. Please."

He pushed his hand into Marshall's pants and

wrapped his fingers around the thick, hot cock. Marshall
nodded. "Yes. Yes."

Yeah, he knew what Marshall wanted, what he

needed.

He bit hard, then backed off, sucking lightly, teasing

the fat prick. Marshall was burning against him, breath
coming fast and light, quickly.

He barely heard the whisper. "Harder."

Burn - 106

Dave gave it to Marshall, though, biting hard,

squeezing the hot prick, and heat sprayed over his
fingers, wet and thick, the scent strong and male.

Groaning, he eased up on Marshall's nipple, licking

and sucking gently now.

Marshall moaned, starting to shiver, hips still

moving.

The still-hard cock slid smoothly along his slick

palm, each push sending a waft of scent up to his nose.
He took one last lick of Marshall's nipples and then took
a kiss.

"Come to bed, babe."
Marshall nodded, moaning into his lips. "Yeah."
He pulled the man along and got him into bed before

stripping off his jeans and sliding in, his hands moving
over Marshall's body. Marshall turned toward him,
hands dragging him closer. Such a needy stud. Dave
loved it. Loved Marshall. He attacked Marshall's mouth,
telling the man without words.

Marshall's fingers were around his hips, rubbing him

along the muscled thighs, the smooth skin.

"You want me, babe?" He could feel the heat from

Marshall's cock, knew his lover was still hard, needy. It
was the perfect time for the cock ring.

"Always." Marshall smiled for him, lips on his now,

tongue slipping in to taste him.

"I know a way to make it last longer, to be better

when you finally get to come." He reached up for the
simple leather cock ring he'd laid out. It wasn't fancy, it
didn't truss up Marshall's balls at all. It was barely
kinky.

Marshall looked at it, finger sliding on the leather.

"Oh, that's nice. The leather."

He nodded. "It'll feel good around your cock and it'll

keep you from coming. We'll be able to do it for hours."

Burn - 107

Marshall chuckled. "We'll see about that." The man

leaned back, though, gave him access.

Score.
He took the head of Marshall's prick between his lips,

his tongue cleaning the tip off as he wrapped the black
leather around the base of Marshall's cock. He carefully
snapped the cock ring closed, fingers stroking over it.

"Oh..." Marshall leaned back against the pillows,

broad chest working.

"Feels nice, doesn't it?" He stroked Marshall's cock a

few times.

"Yeah." Marshall pushed into his touch easily.
"Got some other stuff that feels nice." He grabbed the

lube and got his fingers slick, planning to open
Marshall, get him wanting to be filled. Marshall watched
him, one leg cocked, thighs slightly spread. He moved
forward, stroking Marshall's balls, getting them slick
before he pressed his fingers farther back, finding
Marshall's hole. He took it as a positive sign that
Marshall didn't tense, just spread farther for him, so he
pushed two finger in, humming happily at the tightness,
the soft, smooth walls. When Marshall went up on his
elbows, rocking down toward him, he almost lost it.

Such a slut. Such a stud. Fuck, he was a lucky man.
"Look happy."
"I am. You're a fucking stud, Marshall. And all

mine."

"Am I, now?"
Oh, hell yes. "Yep." He slid his free hand down,

wrapped it around Marshall's cock.

"Mmm. Good." He loved how Marshall's hips shifted

up, pushed into his touch.

"I know." He pressed another finger into Marshall,

spreading all three, then pushing deep.

Burn - 108

"Oh." Marshall groaned softly, eased back onto the

bed.

"You want more, babe?" He nudged Marshall's

prostate, watching his lover's reaction. Marshall cried
out, nodded, moaned. "More lube, then."

He grabbed the tube and let his fingers slide away so

he could slick them up. Marshall's eyes followed every
motion of his hands.

"Gonna make you feel great, babe. Gonna blow your

mind." He made sure his whole hand was liberally lubed
and then slid three fingers back in, just to make sure
Marshall was stretched enough for more.

"Mmm..." Marshall was open and relaxed, at least for

now, trusting him.

He started pushing against that little gland again,

stretching and nudging and twisting.

"Dave. Fuck. Full, huh? So good."
"Yeah, babe." He bent to suck on the tip of Marshall's

cock for a moment, letting his tongue collect the
amazing flavor there. Marshall cried out, ass muscles
gripping his fingers. He sucked a little harder, pushed in
a little harder.

"I. I can't breathe."
He popped off Marshall's cock to look up into his

lover's eyes. "Why not?"

"It's too big. You. In me."
"This?" He wriggled his fingers. "This isn't anything

you haven't already taken."

Marshall gasped, shuddered. "No? Feels huge. Good.

Real good."

"Want more, babe? I can show you more."
"More."
"That's my Marshall." He curled his fingers and

tucked his pinky on in, pushing all four in.

Burn - 109

He loved the husky cry, the way Marshall's hands

wrapped around his shoulders. He leaned forward
enough to tease Marshall's right tit with the very tip of
his tongue.

"Dave!"
Oh, shit, that was hot.
He kept pushing, stretching Marshall wider than he'd

ever stretched him.

"Dave. Dave. Oh, sweet fuck. Lover, please!"
He twisted his fingers, he pushed the tips over that

little gland.

"I... I need. Oh, fuck. I need."
"I've got more for you, I swear." He put more lube

around where his hand disappeared into Marshall's body,
pulled his fingers halfway out and then pushed back in
again. This time with his whole hand.

"Dave. Dave..." Marshall's hands grabbed the

headboard.

"That's it, babe. I've got you. I do." He slowly worked

his hand in deeper, groaning at the tightness of
Marshall's body. The widest part of his hand was caught,
right at Marshall's entrance.

Marshall whined for him, arched. "Full..."
"I know, babe. I just need you to breathe, huh?" He

smiled up at Marshall, feeling unbelievable. "Just look at
me and let everything go and let me in."

Marshall looked at him, eyes intense, beautiful, so

fucking blue, and Dave was so fucking in love he
couldn't bear it.

He smiled, letting how he felt show in his eyes, and

then took a deep breath and pushed forward with his
hand. Oh, Jesus.

Marshall grunted and that tight body opened, let him

in.

Burn - 110

"Fuck. Fuck. So fucking good." His fucking hand

was inside Marshall's body. Fuck.

Marshall keened softly, muscles rippling furiously

around him.

"I've got you, babe. I've so got you." He was holding

his fucking lover in his fucking hand. It was... there
were no words.

"Got... Please."
He moved his hand a little, more a wriggling of his

fingers, watching Marshall's face closely as he did.

Marshall groaned, hands gripping the headboard.

Those dark red nipples were hard on the heaving chest,
cock swollen and bobbing. Dave moved carefully,
pinching one of those sweet nipples with his free hand,
even as he bent over Marshall's cock to taste what his
hand inside his lover tasted like.

"Oh, fuck. Oh, fuck. Again? Please."
He hummed a yes around Marshall's cock and

wriggled the fingers inside Marshall, pinched the man's
nipple again. He was going to blow Marshall's mind
right into outer space.

"Fuck. Fuck..." He felt that pinch around his hand,

and he started bobbing his head, giving Marshall
something else to focus on as his hand kept moving.

The hungry words became nonsense, his lover

babbling, shaking under him. His fingers curled slowly
into a fist and he moved his hand, turned it, pushed and
pulled it, all the while sucking on Marshall's amazing
prick.

Seed splashed on his tongue, and that sweet prick

stayed hard.

He hummed some more, licking Marshall's cock

clean, rubbing his nose along the leather binding at at
the base.

He flicked a fingertip against Marshall's left nipple.

Burn - 111

"Oh, God..." Marshall cried out, the bed shaking.

"Please. Please, Dave. Don't stop."

No, he wasn't going to stop, not until Marshall was so

melted, so blown away he couldn't even speak. He
continued to flick and pinch and twist Marshall's
nipples, his hand inside the man moving in tiny
increments so there was sensation without pain.
Marshall sobbed softly, twisted for him, called to him.

"Right here, love. I have you." He murmured the

words against Marshall's prick, his balls, his belly. They
didn't need to make sense; Marshall just needed to hear
his voice.

"Love you." The words didn't have any voice left to

them, any breath.

"Me, too." He kissed the tip of Marshall's cock and

pushed his hand forward a little, hopefully nudging
Marshall's gland with his knuckles.

His lover screamed, spunk spraying against his face.
Moaning, he licked it from his lips, then rubbed his

cheek against Marshall's belly, spreading the come along
the amazing muscles.

Marshall was still, relaxed and panting underneath

him.

"God, you're such a stud, Marshall."
Marshall muttered something unintelligible.
He slid his hand out a tiny bit.
Marshall's answer was a soft moan.
Dave put more lube around his wrist, pushed his hand

back in a bit, and then worked it out a tiny bit more.
Each pull out would leave Marshall moaning, that spent
cock jerking like it was trying to revive. It took him
ages, but he took the time, made sure to touch and
soothe Marshall with his free hand as he worked. The
man was fucking sexy, all sated and needy at the same
time.

Burn - 112

He cleaned them off, Marshall pushing lazily at his

touches.

Then he undid the cock ring and settled next to his

lover, aware of his cock, of his need, but not really
focused on it -- Marshall was what was important at the
moment.

Marshall murmured to him, softly, almost distantly.
He kissed Marshall softly and whispered, "I have

you."

"Stay."
He wasn't sure if Marshall was asking him to stay or

asking if Marshall could stay.

"Of course." He pressed another kiss on Marshall,

this one against the man's temple, and then pulled the
covers over them and held on.

Marshall hummed softly, melted against him.
It was a good start, and he'd take it.

***

He slept hard, deep, dreamless rest that left him

waking slowly, the aches in his body unfamiliar but
good. Dave was hot, wrapped around him almost like a
blanket.

Marshall nuzzled in, stretched, then let himself doze

more.

Home.
Something warm slid across his nipple, then air blew

over it, making him shiver at the sudden coolness. He
gasped, the ache delicious, making his toes curl.

"These are mine," murmured Dave, repeating the

lick, the blow.

His breath caught in his throat, his cock trying to fill.
"Mmm... I see that. I see you."
It was like being caught in a web of pleasure.

Burn - 113

Marshall couldn't quite manage to wake up enough to

argue, couldn't quite stop the sensations, the words. He
wasn't one hundred percent sure he wanted to.

His other nipple was suddenly twisted, pinched.
His lips opened, the pain intense, but so, so good.

"Fuck... I..."

He shook his head, refusing to beg for more.
"Shh. Just enjoy it, babe." The shushing blew more

air over his skin.

All he could do was moan, go with it. Enjoy. Yeah.

Yeah, okay.

Lick, pinch, blow, twist, circle, tease. God, over and

over, Dave kept it up, seeming endlessly fascinated.
These sounds were pouring out of him, and he couldn't
help twisting, shifting, begging. All of a sudden,
something sharper than Dave's teeth bit at his right
nipple.

His eyes flew open, hands jerking toward his chest.
There was something there, something biting his

nipple.

Dave grabbed his hand, fingers wrapping around his.

"It's just a little clamp, babe. Gonna make you feel
good."

"I..." His fingers twined with Dave's.
"No thinking, just feeling, remember?"
"Okay." Only this. He could do this.
"Good man." Dave's fingers squeezed his, and then

brought them down, wrapped them around Dave's
erection.

"Hard..." He started rubbing, stroking from base to

tip.

"You make me hard, Marshall. You make me want to

do things to you." Dave reached out and grabbed his
cock, too, stroking.

Burn - 114

His eyes closed of their own accord again, his heart

pounding. Dave licked his free nipple, then bit it.

"Don't. Please. Fuck. Fuck, aches." His fingers

tightened on Dave, moved faster. Blowing against his
wet skin, Dave also flicked the clamp around his other
nipple. His jaw clenched and he bucked, thumb on the
wet tip of Dave's fine prick.

"Oh, fuck. I love what that does to you." Dave's hips

moved, pushing the hard cock through his hand.

"Aches. Burns." So fucking good.
"Uh-huh." Dave flicked the clamp again, the teeth

biting and harsh on his nipple. God fucking damn. He
twisted, jerked away, then pushed back.

"Yeah, that's it, lover." Dave's fingers slid across the

top of his cock, rubbing it.

"Love you. Fuck. Fuck." They rolled together,

humping, wild.

His nipples were on fucking fire, his cock hard in

Dave's hand, and that mouth was setting his skin on fire.

"Gonna. Fuck, gonna."
"Come on, then, babe. Show me."
"Uh-huh." He couldn't, though, he was all caught up.
Dave's mouth suddenly covered his, tongue pushing

in between his lips. His eyes popped open, meeting
Dave's. Fuck. Fuck, his lover.

Dave stared into his eyes, kissing him like it was their

last moment on earth, and he came hard, their lower
bodies jerking together.

"Oh, babe." Dave groaned, cock sliding along his

cock and abs, hips pushing hard.

"Uh-huh. You... you too."
"Yeah. Lemme just..." Dave groaned and then heat

shot up over his belly.

"Dave." He blinked, staring at his lover, head rolling.

Burn - 115

Dave beamed down at him. "We're pretty good

together, aren't we?"

"Uh-huh." Words were not his friends.
Dave's hand covered his nipple, the one with the

clamp on it. "You ready for me to take this off? Or leave
it on?"

"I..." He didn't know.
"It's gonna make you hard when I take it off."
"Nothing's gonna get me up again."
"Oh, now I'm taking it off for sure."
"Shh." No talking.
Laughing softly, Dave danced his fingers along

Marshall's chest. "This is going to be a bit of a shock."

It was impossible to not tense, anticipation driving

him crazy.

"Mmm... ready?" Dave glanced up at him, eyes

dancing, wicked.

He shook his head, but said, "Yes."
"Okay, then." Dave opened the clamp, took it off.
Pain spiked in his nipple, and he jerked away, body

aching.

"I know;" Dave's fingers chased him, landing on his

nipple and rubbing. "It's the blood coming back."

"Fuck. Fuck, that stings."
"Look at that sweet little nip." Leaning in, Dave

licked at his nipple, then sucked it in.

"Please. No more." His hands wrapped around Dave's

head, holding him right there.

Dave kept sucking, tongue flicking back and forth

across the tip. The pain was so good or the pleasure hurt
so bad or something. Distracted by the sucking, he
barely noticed as Dave's fingers slid to his other nipple.
He sure as hell noticed when the clamp closed on it.

"Dave!" He did jerk away this time, gasping. "What

are you doing?"

Burn - 116

"This one was feeling left out."
"I. It. I." He was losing his mind.
Dave licked at his now free nipple and then blew.
"Stop, now. I can't breathe."
"Breathing is overrated, babe."
The clamp on his nipple gripped his flesh hard, the

ache more intense now that he knew what was coming.

"I just... I... It's early in the morning." He thought.

Although it could be noon.

"We have all day, babe. And we have tomorrow,

too."

"Uh-huh." Wasn't that his point?
"So we can do what we want. And I want to do this."

Dave flicked the nipple clamp. That jolt of need hit him
again and he bucked, their bodies slapping together.
"Mmm. Looks like you do, too."

Dave's tongue teased over the freed nipple, the touch

light, warm, such a contrast to the way the clamp bit his
other nipple as yet another finger-flick made his nerves
scream again.

"No. No, I..." He moaned, rolling, intending to put

Dave under him.

Dave's hands landed on his shoulders and pushed him

back down, mouth covering his in hard, sure kiss.
Marshall cried out, hands around his lover's waist.
"Gonna take you this time."

"Lots of lube." Last night had been intense.
Amazing.
Unreal.
"I should be able to slip right inside." Dave winked,

fingers sliding toward his nipples.

He shifted away, but he couldn't get far. Dave bit at

his lower lip, and then at his chin, then those fingers
found their targets. Two teased his free nipple, one
tortured the clamped one.

Burn - 117

He growled, bit Dave's bottom lip a little.
Dave licked his own lips and then his before biting

his chin.

"Fuck. Stings." He rolled his hips up.
"It's all going to sting, babe. Gonna make you feel so

good." Dave twisted his free nipple again, then backed
off a bit, slicking up his fingers.

"Fuck. Fuck, Dave. You make me crazy."
"Yeah, that's kind of the point." Dave winked and

pushed fingers into him.

"Butthead." He could laugh, too, now, relax into the

touch. He was tender, sensitive, stretched.

"Your butthead." Dave gave him a wink, fingers

stroking slowly inside, sending warmth and tingles from
there all through his body. That touch was gentle. Easy.
And he moved with the touch. "Can't wait to be inside
you, Marshall. You're so fucking hot."

"Want you. You." Marshall had thought about it, long

and hard. "You and me, skin on skin."

Dave froze, not even breathing as the man met his

eyes. "Yeah? I've never done that before. Ever."

"You don't have to. I just... I wanted."
"No, I want to. With you, I want to. I just never

have." Dave grinned. "At least you know I'm clean,
huh?"

"I am. I would tell you."
"Oh, man, now I want inside you more than ever."

Dave's fingers pushed deep, hitting his gland.

His abs went tight, one knee lifting. Damn.
"Have you ever?" Dave asked. "Not because I don't

think you're clean, just because, well, I kind of hope I'm
the first."

"No. No one. I just... It's something important."
"It is." Dave slid his fingers away, and then put some

lube onto his cock before settling between Marshall's

Burn - 118

legs. The man's eyes never left his. His stomach went
tight, hard, and he nodded.

Dave's lips pressed against his; this kiss felt more

intimate somehow, and the heat of Dave's cock nudged
his hole, pushed inside.

Still staring at him, Dave slowly moved deeper.
He squeezed, clenched around that fine cock.
"Oh, fuck. Oh, fuck, Marshall." Dave grinned at him.

"Feel that."

He did. He did. "Yeah."
"God, you're so hot like this. So fucking hot." He

took more in, bearing down, feeling his skin slide
against Dave's. "That's it. God, you just feel so good."

"Better than with the rubber?"
"Yeah. Yeah, more than I thought it would."
Dave met his gaze. "You?"
He nodded. He could feel Dave.
"Good." Dave thrust, almost all the way out, then all

the way back in again.

"Yes. Again."
That was perfect.
"God, yes. I'm not stopping anytime soon, babe."

Dave gave another long, slow thrust, the two of them
groaning through it.

His eyelids got heavy, his body shaking. Hell, yes.

Dave kept moving, kept dragging that hot, hot prick out
of him, pushing it back in. They found a sweet, slow
rhythm, something perfect and sustainable.

Every now and then, Dave groaned or murmured his

name. He reached up, touched Dave's lips, and Dave's
mouth opened, tongue-tip touching his fingers.

"Love." Shit, he loved this man.
Dave hummed around his fingertips, eyelids heavy.
"Need the clamp to come off, man. It hurts." Not a

sting, but something worse.

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"It should have faded off by now." Dave pushed

inside him and stilled, fingers coming up to his nipple.
The little thing had twisted, his nipple angry and red,
and when Dave straightened it, Marshall gasped,
bucking hard on Dave's cock. "Shh. It's okay, babe. It'll
just burn a little as the blood comes back in. I'm gonna
take it off. You ready for that?"

He nodded. "Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Fuck!"
The thing came off, and the pain hit him. He started

riding Dave's prick like a wild man, his body
demanding. Dave moved with him, slamming into him
like the man felt it, too.

"More!" Fuck. Fuck, he needed.
Bending, Dave took his abused nipple into that hot

mouth, sucking hard as they moved together.

His hands grabbed Dave's head, hips slamming as he

growled. "Yes. Yes. Oh, motherfuck! Yes!"

Their bodies kept coming together with pounding

force, Dave hitting his gland hard every time his cock
pushed in.

"Your teeth. Please, man. I need..." He was so

fucking close.

He felt Dave's smile, and then felt the man's teeth,

sharp and hard and fucking perfect.

Marshall shot so hard his bones rattled, eyes rolling

back in his head as his balls emptied.

"Oh, fuck, babe. Feel you. Just feel you."
He couldn't even answer. He just moaned.
Dave kept thrusting into him, moving hard and fast.

"Close. Love. Close."

He nodded, trying to squeeze, trying to give Dave

what he needed.

"Marshall!" Dave cried out and shoved in hard,

coming, and he swore he could feel the spunk pushing
inside him.

Burn - 120

It was easy to catch Dave as he fell, holding them

both together.

"God, babe." Dave kissed him slowly and then lay on

him.

"Uh-huh."
Dave nodded, body heavy, lax, so good against him.
Rest.
They needed to rest.
And then eat.
A lot.
Together.

Burn - 121

Chapter Ten

Dave grinned across the table at Marshall.
He'd been grinning all day.
Smiling hard enough that his cheeks were starting to

hurt.

He'd fucking fisted Marshall and then they'd gone

bareback and to top it all off, the man had asked for the
pain, for his bite. Shit, it made him hard just thinking
about it.

He met Marshall's eyes again, grinned even harder,

and drank a mouthful of beer.

"This Chinese place is pretty good, huh?" Marshall

was going shirtless, and Dave had been careful not to
comment on it.

"Yeah. Of course, the real test will be the fortune

cookies and what kind of fortunes they have."

"Bah. The real test was the hot and sour soup."
"No way, man. Fortunes and maybe the egg rolls."
"I love egg rolls." Marshall grinned, broke the last

one of those in half, and shared with him.

"It must be love!"
"Must be."
The simple words made him smile. Again.
He leaned back and let his feet touch Marshall's,

rubbed them along Marshall's calves. Marshall winked
at him, nodded once, went back to eating. The man sure
could eat. Of course, getting fisted was hungry work.

He beamed around his mouthful of egg noodles.
Getting fisted.
Taking his cock.
Pushing those tender little nipples into his mouth.
Begging for his bite.
Dave licked his lips, his cock firming up in his

sweats. Jesus, he had it bad.

Burn - 122

"What are you thinking about?"
"What do you think?"
"Soy sauce?"
"Yeah, that's it exactly. Soy sauce makes me horny."
"You can't possibly be horny again, man. This

morning was a month's worth of orgasms."

"You turn me on, Marshall. Everything about you."
"Well, that can't be bad." Marshall grinned at him,

winked.

He laughed. "No, no, it's not bad at all. You're a very

good thing."

"Dork." He did love the blush that his words caused,

though.

"There's a game on the tube, isn't there? We could sit.

Watch. Fool around."

"Sounds like a plan." Marshall stood, gathered up the

trash.

He went to the fridge and found them another couple

more beers, then headed into the living room to turn on
the TV. Soon his lover was at his side and they were
resting together, Marshall a little furnace next to him. He
let his hand slide along Marshall's thigh.

"Hockey or..." Marshall flipped channels. "Boxing?"
"Hockey. Boxing is too homoerotic -- you might get

ideas." He managed the words with a straight face
somehow.

"Homo..." Marshall looked at him, lips twisting.

"Don't make me beat you."

"Nah, that's my job." He gave Marshall a wink and

grabbed the chip bag from the coffee table.

"Dork." Marshall leaned back.
"Nah, my boyfriend's a firefighter, I think that

automatically disqualifies me as a dork."

"Is he?" Marshall grinned over. "Is he a stud?"

Burn - 123

He couldn't help but grin back. "Oh, yeah. He's a

major stud."

"Yeah? Cool. He's a lucky bastard."
"Yeah, he is."
Marshall nodded, stretched. "Good deal."
"It is. For both of us." He slid his hand along

Marshall's thigh, rubbed it across Marshall's crotch.

"Easy, now." Marshall shifted away a little. One of

Dave's eyebrows went up. Marshall pinked. "I just..."

"What?" He kept his voice soft, gentle.
"I'm just... my balls ache a little, my nipples, too."
"I can see the nips. All swollen and red." Smiling, he

moved close and blew across one.

"Don't." Look at that tiny bit of flesh draw up tight.
"Don't? Are you sure that's what you meant?" He

blew across the other one.

"Uh... Uh-huh."
Dave laughed softly. Marshall was such a liar when it

came to admitting his sexual needs. He kissed the skin
next to Marshall's left nipple. Marshall hummed,
relaxed, that tempting, tender bit of skin so close.
Groaning, Dave gave in, wrapping his lips around
Marshall's tit and sucking. He was good -- he sucked
gently and didn't bite.

"Oh. Oh, God. Love. Dave."
He flicked his tongue back and forth across the sweet

nipple a few times, and then moved to the other one.

"Aches."
Sweet pain slut.
"So good," he whispered against Marshall's skin.
"I..."
He pushed his fingers Marshall's lips, gave that

mouth something to do. The immediate suction made
him groan. Marshall's mouth was hot, the man's tongue

Burn - 124

sliding over his fingertips. He hummed, pleased. They
were discovering something together.

He rubbed idly against Marshall's thigh, his cock

pressing against his zipper, and Marshall moaned around
his fingers, one hand reaching for him. He grabbed
Marshall's hand and pushed it into his waistband. God,
he wanted. He didn't care if they'd had the most amazing
sex already last night and this morning, he still wanted
Marshall.

Badly.
Marshall started jacking him off with hard, quick

strokes.

That had him sucking harder on Marshall's nipple, his

fingers pushing in and out, fucking Marshall's lips.
Marshall's fingers squeezed him, thumb working the tip.

He jerked, biting down on Marshall's nipple, and

Marshall's hips slammed up, jostling him hard.

"Oh, fuck." He moved to the other nipple, sucked and

bit it as well, his own hips sawing now, moving and
pushing.

Marshall's head fell back, throat working, his fingers

sliding free. "Oh, God."

He shifted, putting his thigh against Marshall's cock

so his lover had something to rub against, too. Then he
dropped his hand, plucking at Marshall's other nipple
with his wet fingers.

"No more. So hot. Oh, Jesus..." Marshall's hand

moved faster. He would have laughed at Marshall's
mixed signals if he hadn't been so turned on, so hot. One
day he'd have these pierced, have tiny little rings in
these amazing nipples.

Just the thought made him groan and bite harder,

hump his hips harder.

"No more. Fuck." Marshall bucked up against him,

tried to push him over. He rode the motions and kept

Burn - 125

sucking, biting and pinching. Fuck, Marshall was
magnificent like this. "Fuck... Help me."

Marshall's muscles rippled and he was pulled up,

their lips crashing together. He fucked Marshall's mouth
with his tongue, both his hands working the little nubs
of flesh. Marshall's hand never stopped, never slowed,
just kept moving furiously.

They were going to explode in a frenzy any second

now. So fucking good.

His balls drew up, his orgasm screaming down on

him. Images flashed through his mind -- whipping
Marshall's nipples, binding the heavy cock, sliding a
plug deep inside...

He shouted out Marshall's name, come shooting from

him.

"Oh. So pretty. So hot."
"You are." He slid one hand down, rubbing it against

Marshall's cock.

"I..." Marshall was leaking, so hard.
"You are." He kept rubbing, his other hand playing

with one nipple and then the other, then the first again.

"Oh, God." Marshall moaned for him. "They're gonna

fall off."

"No, I'm pretty sure they're not going anywhere and

I'll get to play with them forever."

"They ache."
"I know." He kissed Marshall, his thumb playing with

the man's slit. God, Marshall was so hot.

Marshall rolled into his touch. "So does that."
"And you like this as much as you like the fact that

they ache." He repeated the touch, that sweet little slit
leaking for him.

"Shh. Don't say that."
"Just do it, huh?" He twisted one of Marshall's

nipples again.

Burn - 126

"Fuck!" That heavy cock pulsed.
"Yeah, there you go, babe. I know how to press your

buttons."

"You do. Fuck. You so do."
He beamed and pushed up into another kiss, taking

Marshall's mouth, making it his own.

His lover. His hero. His Marshall.
His.

Burn - 127

Chapter Eleven

Marshall sat at the station, texting away.
U busy?
nope u?
He leaned back, sipped on a Coke.
Nah. yay. Not busy meant a happy night for the

station.

good
Yeah, Dave knew that, too.
how's the store?
quiet sale starts tmrow. busy then
guys are coming 4 shoes. be warned.
what guys?
all of us
He grinned. The guys were going to hit the Athletic

Supporter like a plague of locusts.

u r going to clean me out of big sizes
$$$$
lol
Marshall chuckled, stretched out. This was more fun

than playing pool with Marty and Lew.

what r u doing now?
sitting. u?
same. bo-ring.
LOL. poor baby
wouldn't b boring if u were here
no. prolly not.
He chuckled. They hadn't had a chance to hook up for

more than a quick kiss and a hand job in almost two
weeks.

i have ideas
u always do
Scary ideas.
Kinky ideas.

Burn - 128

Crazy ideas.
i do
i do. wanna hear some?
not now later yeah
God, not here. He couldn't spring wood here.
One of the guys walked through, waved at him, and

he waved back.

im pouting now
:P
Marshall chuckled. Right. Pouting.
Dave didn't pout well.
when can i c u?
tomorrow?
sigh
not off til 8a
want ur ass in my bed @ 8:05
810 maybe. 845 if i stop 4 breakfast
no bfast. have that here.
Marshall chuckled and teased.
maybe ;-)
more pouting man
uhhuh.
The alarm went off and he jumped up.
gottagoluvubye
Time to work.

***

Dave set his alarm for eight a.m. He checked his text

messages to make sure Marshall hadn't had to cancel,
then stumbled out of bed, showered, and brushed his
teeth. He headed for the kitchen next, making eggs and
bacon, avocado and toast, still half asleep as he worked
on the breakfast.

Burn - 129

He heard Marshall's boots on the front porch, heard

the tuneless whistle.

He'd opened the door on the way to the kitchen

earlier, but really, he needed to get Marshall a key. God
knew, he was here as much as he was at home. Maybe
more at this point.

"I smell bacon." Marshall sounded like he was in a

good mood.

"Nothing wrong with your nose." He turned from the

stove, smiling as Marshall came in. Marshall grinned at
him, but Dave could see a hint of exhaustion in his
lover's eyes. "I knew you'd be hungry. How about
breakfast in bed?"

"We could eat out here, honey." At his look, Marshall

shrugged. "Four calls last night. Once I lie down, I'm
going to crash."

"Okay, babe. I'll feed you in bed tomorrow morning."

He dished up the food onto a couple of plates, giving the
lion's share to Marshall.

"Thanks. Looks good, hmm?" Marshall salted and

peppered, then dug in.

"Something at the table does." He waggled his

eyebrows when Marshall looked up at him, and then
started eating his breakfast.

Marshall ate, sucked down coffee.
"You going to be able to sleep with all that coffee in

your system?" Really, he wanted to jump Marshall's
bones in the worst way, but he was planning on letting
the man sleep first.

"Caffeine doesn't get to me too bad; besides, I want

to spend a little while with you if I can."

That made him smile. "How much time have you got

off?"

"Two days."

Burn - 130

"Then we can go goof off in bed and if you fall

asleep, hey, we have two days, it'll be fine."

"Still. I don't want to waste it."
"You want me to blow you out here?" He waggled

his eyebrows.

Marshall looked at him, obviously confused. "What?"
"You don't want to go to bed and fall asleep, so I was

suggesting blowing you out here." He chuckled and
stood, stretched. "Come on, man. You're wiped. Let me
take you to bed."

"Uh-huh." Marshall took his hand, let him drag the

man up.

He wrapped his arm around Marshall's waist,

enjoying the solid weight pressing against him.

"Seems like it's been too long."
"It's been forfuckingever. At least a week and a half,

man."

"I know." Marshall leaned harder. "Last night

sucked."

"Yeah? You wanna talk about it, babe?" Marshall

never talked about work; Dave kept trying, though.

"No. It was just hard. I was ready to come ho... here."
Dave smiled. "Home. I'd like you to think of this

place as home."

"I do." Marshall blushed dark, but he got a nod.
"Good. You need a key, then."
Marshall nodded again. "I'd like that."
Well, damn.
"Okay." He nodded, grinned. That had been so much

easier than he'd expected.

He dragged Marshall into the bedroom.
"You need one to my place, too."
He wrapped his arms around Marshall's waist,

pressing their fronts together. "We can go to the
hardware store tomorrow, get them made."

Burn - 131

"Tomorrow." Marshall rested their foreheads

together. "Not today."

"No, I told you -- I've got plans for today." He smiled

into Marshall's eyes, his hands sliding on the broad
shoulders.

Marshall's eyes closed. Jesus, the man was tense. He

started rubbing Marshall's shoulders, digging his fingers
in even as he brought their mouths together. He heard
Marshall's little whimper, the sound half pain, half
pleasure. He deepened the kiss, moving Marshall to the
bed. They'd get naked first and then he'd love the man
into a pile of goo. Marshall went, moaning into his lips,
tongue lightly touching his. He started working on
clothes, pushing Marshall's sweatshirt up and taking the
T-shirt beneath it along.

The ripped belly rippled for him, the pretty nipples

not loved on or abused at all. It was just wrong to see
them so... normal.

They at least needed rings in them.
Breaking the kiss long enough to get Marshall's shirts

off, he dove back into the kiss, his fingers making a
beeline for the little bits of flesh. Marshall arched away
a little, but didn't complain, didn't balk. No, they both
knew how those little nipples responded, how sensitive
they were, and how much Marshall got off on them
aching, burning, swollen.

Stinging. Bitten. Tugged.
He groaned into the kiss. He twisted the right nipple

and teased the left, keeping the touch there featherlight.
Marshall grunted, moved away, then pushed back.

Dave loved it, that internal fight and ultimate

surrender. He pinched the nipple he'd been teasing,
moving the lighter touches to the other nipple. Marshall
murmured a complaint into his lips, groaning as he
pinched harder.

Burn - 132

"Wanna pierce these." He threw it out there. Let

Marshall hear it.

"Fuck." Marshall growled at him, bit his lips. That

wasn't a no.

Dave nearly crowed in triumph.
Instead, he pinched both nipples, good and hard.
Marshall jerked, hands wrapped around his wrists.
Growling a little, he grabbed Marshall's hands and

pulled them around behind his back. He put both of
Marshall's wrists in one hand. There was no way he
could hold Marshall like this, but he was banking on
Marshall letting his hand be a binding.

"Dave..."
"Hush, Marshall. Let me make you feel good." He

leaned in, using his mouth on one nipple, his free hand
on the other, giving the sweet bits of flesh the attention
they so desperately needed. Like he thought, Marshall
pulled a little, but let him have his way.

Yeah, he knew what Marshall needed.
He let his hand slip down to tug open Marshall's

pants, pull down the zipper. His mouth stayed busy
biting and sucking, though.

"Fuck. Fuck, Dave. Stings. God. Fuck."
"Uh-huh." He knew that. He knew that was the point.

He moved over to chew on the other one, and got
Marshall's jeans undone one-handed. Each bite had
Marshall groaning, hips bucking.

He grabbed hold of Marshall's cock and moved back

to the other nipple. Biting the very tip of Marshall's
nipple, he pressed his thumb into the slit at the top of
Marshall's cock.

"Dave!" Heat sprayed over his fingers, his lover's

scream perfect.

"God, that's sexy. You're sexy."

Burn - 133

Marshall slumped against the wall, staring at him,

eyes rolling a little. Smiling, feeling just a little smug, he
got Marshall to step out of his pants, and then moved the
man onto the bed. Marshall followed, still in the midst
of waves of pleasure.

It was easy to push him down, to put him on his back,

legs spread.

Look at that stud.
Dave licked his lips. His.
He reached for the lube.
"Can't wait to be inside you without the latex again."
Marshall hummed, spread for him. "I'm right here."
"You sure are. My very own stud." He slicked up two

fingers and slid them into Marshall's hot body.

"I'll never forget before. Ever."
"Me, either. It won't be the last time we do it, either."

He would hold Marshall in his hand whenever the man
needed it.

"Oh, God. Dave. Need you."
"I'm right here, babe." He pushed a third finger in,

working that little hole open.

"Yes. Yes, your cock now."
"Fucking hungry today." He worked his fingers in

there a little longer.

"Been days. Want you." Growly man.
"It's been more than days. Nearly two weeks." Too

damn long.

He tugged his fingers out and lined up his cock with

Marshall's hole. He wanted Marshall hard and he wasn't
going to be able to hold back.

"Want you. Fuck. Need you." Marshall reached for

him, dragged him in.

He sank in deep, groaning. Then he started moving,

hard and fast, letting Marshall feel his pent-up need.

Burn - 134

"Yes. Yes, love. In me." He loved that wildness, that

hunger.

"In. Yes." He nodded. It was all he had to spare;

everything else was going into fucking Marshall as hard
as he could. Marshall's body was a furnace, a tight, silk
furnace.

"Babe. fuck." He'd never felt anything so good.
"Uh-huh. Come on. In me."
"Together." He grabbed hold of Marshall's cock,

started jacking twice for every thrust.

"Uh-huh." Marshall was groaning, nodding.
He moved faster and deeper, knowing that Marshall

liked it good and hard, wanted to feel him still there
when they were done. All the while, he kept looking at
Marshall's face, keeping eye contact, keeping his lover
right there with him.

Those pretty eyes went wide and he could see it, see

Marshall's orgasm coming.

"Yes. Yes, Marshall." He pounded in harder, his

fingers squeezing the head of Marshall's cock tight.

"Yes!" As soon as his thumbnail nudged Marshall's

slit, his lover came.

With Marshall's ass so tight around him, milking his

cock, he couldn't hold his own orgasm off and he
shouted, came deep inside Marshall's body. Fuck, that
was amazing.

"In me. I can feel you. Hot and wet." Marshall was

muttering to him.

"Fuck, yeah." That was something else, the feeling

and the fact it was hitting Marshall, too.

Dave reached for a plug, the lube, getting it ready. He

didn't think Marshall even noticed, and he knew they
hadn't done this before, but he wanted to know Marshall
was keeping him in, held inside. "I want to be inside you
all day, babe."

Burn - 135

"Mmm." Marshall's eyes were closed, the nod lazy.
"Gonna help you with that." He kissed Marshall

softly and started to pull out, ready to slip in the plug.

Marshall's eyebrows lowered a bit, but the man didn't

tense.

"It's just a small one. You'll feel it, but it won't stretch

at all, babe." He slid out, pushed the tip of the plug into
Marshall's body.

"Small one?" Marshall's body pressed back, sweet as

pie.

"Plug," he murmured as he pushed it in, seated it.
"Oh. Oh, fuck."
Look at that. He stroked Marshall's ass. "You look

amazing, babe. A-fucking-mazing."

Marshall moaned, the words nonsensical.
He brought their lips together, took the sounds into

himself as he kissed his lover.

Marshall was almost asleep, head lolling, hands

touching him randomly.

He pressed a kiss to one slightly swollen nipple and

settled against his lover. "Sleep," he murmured.

"Mmmhmm. Love."
"Yeah, and I'll be here when you wake up again."
He tugged the covers up over them. He could manage

another couple hours of sleeping if it meant he could
stay wrapped up around Marshall.

***

The first thing he noticed when he woke up was the

plug.

Then his nipples.
It was insane. Delicious.
The next thing he noticed was that there wasn't a

warm body next to him.

Burn - 136

He frowned, sat up. Damn, how long had he slept?
"Hey, you're awake." Dave smiled at him from the

chair by the window, laptop on his thighs. It was set
aside and Dave stood, headed toward him.

"Uh-huh." He hated not knowing what time it was.
Dave crawled back into bed and eased him down,

taking a kiss while he was at it. He shifted, body
clenching around the thing inside him.

"Mmm. The plug." Dave smiled, fingers sliding over

his body.

"I should take it out."
"No, you shouldn't. I put it in, it's up to me when it

comes out."

The words made him uncomfortable, made him grunt

a little. He didn't know about that.

"I like that I'm still inside you. It makes me hot."
"Oh." His cock jerked and he nodded. That was...

yeah.

Okay.
Dave grinned, kissed him. "You hungry, babe? For

food, or uh... " Dave's eyebrows waggled. "You know."

"Horndog." He could... you know.
"Totally your fault."
"You were a horndog before we hooked up. I

remember."

Vaguely.
"Oh, I don't think so. You bring it out in me, big time.

Stud." As Dave said the word, his fingers slipped behind
Marshall's balls and nudged the base of the plug.

"I. Don't." That made his toes curl.
"Mmm. You're delicious like this. Fanfuckingtastic."
Dave nudged the plug again. Harder this time.
"Fuck. Dave. Shit. I..." That sent electricity through

his spine.

Burn - 137

"You worry too much about what you're supposed to

feel, babe. Do me a favor -- just feel."

He moaned and grabbed Dave, brought their lips

together. Dave's kiss was like they always were -- all
consuming. So fucking hot. Marshall dove into it,
grunting into Dave's lips.

Dave kept tapping the base of the plug, making it

shift inside him. Making it hit his prostate. Shit. Shit, the
man was making him crazy. Then Dave's other hand slid
across his belly before creeping up toward his left
nipple. He grabbed Dave's hand, twined their fingers
together.

Dave laughed, squeezed his hand, and moved down

to bite at his nipple instead of pinch it.

"Fuck..." He twisted, but those teeth held him fast.
Between that mouth and the fingers playing with the

plug in his ass, he thought he was going to go out of his
mind.

"Fucking making me crazy." He squeezed Dave's

fingers.

"That's not a bad thing."
"Could be..."
"No, it's a very good thing. Very good." Dave nudged

the plug really hard this time. Marshall cried out,
scooting up the bed. "Where do you think you're going?"

He chuckled, a little breathless. "I don't know."
"Then stay and let me blow your mind." Dave bit

down on his nipple.

"Oh, fuck. Fuck. Stop."
"Forgot a word there." Dave moved to his other

nipple.

"What?" His body arched in anticipation.
"Don't. As in don't stop." Dave groaned and then bit,

Marshall's nipple going hard.

"Oh, you ass." He was fucking soaring.

Burn - 138

Dave hummed and shook his head, which had the

side-effect of shaking his nipple in Dave's teeth.

"Hey!" He grabbed Dave, hands not sure what to do.
Dave smiled up at him. "Wanna try something?"
"I. Okay." That smile didn't look dangerous.
"Cool." Dave popped up and rummaged through his

bedside table. "Grab the headboard."

"Grab the..." He reached up, wrapped his hands

around the slats.

"Good man." Dave found what he was looking for

and showed him. Handcuffs. They were lined with
leather, but they were still very definitely handcuffs.

"Dave?" He wasn't sure about this.
"It'll be great, babe." Dave met his eyes. "Trust me."
"I-- You won't leave me with them, huh?"
"No, babe. I'm not going to leave you. Not for a

second. Not while you're all sexy for me."

"Okay. I'm going to trust you."
Warmth and pleasure flooded Dave's face. "Thank

you, babe."

"You stay in this room with me, the whole time, no

matter what." A man could burn to death tied to a bed.

Dave cupped his cheeks, kept his gaze right there. "I

swear to you, Marshall. I will not leave this room until
you leave it with me."

He nodded, and offered Dave his hands.

***

Dave had to take one deep breath and then another. If

he didn't, his hands would be shaking and he didn't think
that would make Marshall feel very confident. He could
hardly believe that Marshall was letting him do this. He
was thrilled, though. Very. He put the cuff around one
wrist.

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Marshall groaned, fingers curling.
"I'm gonna take good care of you, I swear. You won't

have to worry about anything, just feel." He wrapped the
chain between the cuffs around the headboard, and then
attached the other cuff to Marshall's other wrist.

"This is a little wiggy." The words were soft,

nervous.

"I tell you what, Marshall. You give me a word, any

word, that when you say it, I'll stop whatever I'm doing,
no matter what it is, and I'll undo you. How does that
sound?"

Marshall didn't need to know that was a safeword,

not yet.

"Okay. Like red? We use that at work."
"That's perfect." Marshall didn't know just how

perfect.

"So you just say that if you need to." He stroked

Marshall's wrists, feeling the man's heartbeat speeding
through the veins there. "I'm going to love you so good,
so hard. Just feel it, feel how it makes you fly."

"Okay." Marshall smiled at him, winked. "Kiss me?"
"Oh, yeah." He bent and took Marshall's mouth,

letting himself get lost in the flavor. Marshall relaxed,
opened, their tongues tangling together. Dave was about
as high as a man could be, soaring with pure pleasure.
He was going to make Marshall soar, and he was going
to soar right along with his lover.

His fingers danced their way slowly toward

Marshall's nipples. He could feel Marshall's breath
shorten, speed up, so he let the anticipation build,
knowing Marshall wanted his touches so badly. A little
barbell in each one. Something he could twist, tug, chain
together, hang weights from...

Groaning into Marshall's mouth, he grabbed hold of

the man's left tit and twisted. Hard.

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Marshall jerked, hands tugging at the cuffs. Dave

hummed, loving that, knowing Marshall would, too. He
rubbed the abused bit of flesh, his tongue sliding along
his lover's. "Aches when you do that."

"I know." He flicked it with his finger and then

moved to mouth the other one. He licked it first, got it
nice and wet.

"Why do you do it?"
"Because it makes you fly, makes you need and want

and feel so good it hurts."

"Does it make you want?"
"Fuck, yes." He rubbed his prick against Marshall's

thigh. "See?"

"Feel." Marshall reached for him, chains jerking.
"That's right. Feel." He reached up and nipped at

Marshall's inner arm before dragging his hands down
along Marshall's ribs. That touch made Marshall moan,
shiver a little.

Oh, the things he wanted to do to this man.
He pressed his thumbs alongside Marshall's thighs

and Marshall spread, so easily, so perfectly.

"So sexy." He nipped at one of Marshall's nipples. He

needed the clamps. Marshall murmured, tried to pull
away from his lips. He bit a little harder and then
soothed with his tongue, eager to push Marshall, to send
him to the sky.

"Mmm. Dave." The little nub of skin got harder and

harder, pushing between his lips.

He started sucking and rolling Marshall's nipple

between his teeth, switching from one sensation to the
other and back again.

"Jesus... Hurts. Fucking aches so bad."
Yeah. Yeah, he knew. He let it go, his hand sliding

down to wrap around Marshall's cock as he moved to the
other nipple.

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"No more." Marshall arched, though, pushed against

his lips.

He hummed around Marshall's nipple, groaned so

that it vibrated. His tongue slipped over the tip, again
and again, flicking it. He jacked Marshall's cock: flick
the nipple, jack the prick, over and over.

Marshall began to relax into it, moaning steadily,

groaning for him. That was it; he'd known Marshall
would get into this, would love it if he just gave it a
chance.

He kept it up, moving from nipple to nipple.
"Fuck, Dave. Need you so much." Marshall was

rocking, riding the plug.

"I know. Luckily I need you, too." He let go of

Marshall's cock, moving his hand down to twist the plug
inside his lover's body.

"Fuck!" Marshall tugged at the cuffs again, heels

digging into the mattress.

Shifting, he licked at the tip of Marshall's cock,

letting his hand take over the nipple torture. With his
other hand, he kept tapping the plug, moving it.

"Don't. No more. Oh, fuck, yes..."
"Try not to come, Marshall. Hold it off as long as you

can."

He wrapped his lips tightly around the head of

Marshall's cock, and then he slowly went down on it.

Marshall's cry sounded almost pained.
He pulled just as slowly off, then went back down

again, fingers nudging and pinching.

"Love." That single word had the whole world in it.

He hummed, the head of Marshall's cock deep in his
throat. "Gonna. Gonna. If you don't want me to, you
gotta stop."

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He popped off, knowing it would slow Marshall

down a little. "I just said hold off as long as you could,
not that you weren't allowed to."

"I know. I just... I wasn't asking, I mean..."
He swallowed Marshall's cock again, and Marshall

cried out, hips pumping furiously, slamming into his
mouth. He sucked as hard as he could. He also pinched
and twisted those sensitive titties as hard as he could.
Come splashed between his lips, Marshall's scream
echoing in his bedroom.

He swallowed the bitter spunk down, massaging

Marshall's prick as he did.

"Fuck. Fuck. Fuck me."
"Like this?" Dave grabbed the base of the plug and

pulled it almost all the way out before slamming it back
into Marshall's body again.

"Fuck!" Marshall grunted, body bowing up in an arc.
"Fucking stud." He did it again, twisting the plug as it

went in this time for maximum sensation.

"Again!" Marshall was still riding his other orgasm.
Dave was more than happy to oblige, fucking

Marshall's ass with the plug as hard as he could. He'd
put in another one after, a bigger one that Marshall could
wear for part of the day. It was going to be so hot
knowing Marshall was wearing it. For him.

Fuck.
Dave kept fucking Marshall with the plug until his

lover was shuddering, whimpering. Then he slowed his
pace, and finally let it slide away. He wasn't going to
fuck Marshall until the man asked for it again.

He was pretty damn sure it wouldn't take long.
Marshall panted, sheened with sweat, chest heaving.
"So sexy. Feeling good?" He ran his hands over

Marshall's body, fingers flicking across the two little,

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swollen nibs. Marshall shivered, murmured something
unintelligible. "What, babe?"

He cupped Marshall's balls, his cock so hard it hurt.
"Love." Those thighs spread farther, offering him

everything.

"Mmm. I know what you want." He slid his hand

down, touched the hot, swollen little hole.

Marshall whimpered softly, one knee bending, and

Dave knew that, right then, Marshall would give him
anything.

"Gonna love you so good."
That leg moved out wider, the pretty little hole well-

worked, hard-fucked.

"You want it, Marshall? You want me to fuck you?"

He pushed his thumb against Marshall's opening, and
Marshall pressed down toward him. "Is that a yes,
babe?"

"Hmm?" Marshall moaned, shifted again.
"Tell me what you want. Tell me what you need."
"Want you. 'M empty."
"You got me." He shifted and pushed into Marshall's

body. Tight and hot. It was perfect. He could feel
Marshall's body rippling and squeezing around him,
tugging him in deeper.

"God. Love." It was still amazing to be inside

Marshall without a glove.

"Uh-huh." Marshall's eyes were wide, but so focused,

laser-sure on him.

He started moving, thrusting slowly, filling Marshall

over and over as Marshall moaned for him, body barely
moving, letting him lead. He'd bet Marshall was really
sensitive, that each slow push and pull of his cock was
blowing his lover's mind. He sped up, just a little bit.

"Love you." Marshall shuddered, hips rolling for him.

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"Yeah, babe. I know." He managed to get their lips

together, kissing Marshall hard enough that Marshall's
lip split, the coppery tang of blood tingeing the kiss.
Groaning, he thrust harder, giving Marshall everything
he had.

Marshall was still hard, still leaking. Still all his. He

worked a hand between them, fingers wrapping around
Marshall's heat.

"Can't. Can't again."
"You can. You will." He met Marshall's eyes. "For

me."

"Oh, fuck. I can't..." But his words made Marshall

harder.

"You can and you will because I said so."
Marshall looked at him, eyes rolling. "Oh, God."
"Yeah. I know." He pressed his thumb into Marshall's

slit.

"Stings..." Wait until he introduced his lover to a

sound.

"Uh-huh." He thrust in hard, getting the angle just

right for Marshall's gland. Marshall twisted, chains
rattling at those cuffed wrists.

"Oh, fuck. So sexy. Marshall." Groaning, he worked

Marshall's prick, worked that little bit of flesh inside.
Made Marshall fly.

"I can't. I need a break." A dull flush covered

Marshall's body and the huge muscles tensed, Marshall
fighting now.

"After you come, babe." He thrust harder, faster,

hand working his lover's prick big time.

"I can't. Oh, fuck. I..." Marshall growled, ass

clamping down on him like a fist.

"You will." He pushed his thumb against Marshall's

slit again, urging him to relax, to focus elsewhere.

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Marshall twisted, the sharp cry echoing all through

the room. "Dave. Please. Fuck, please."

Bending, he took one of Marshall's nipples in his

mouth, biting hard, as hard as he could. He felt
Marshall's orgasm -- ass convulsing around his cock,
heat spraying between them as Marshall screamed.

"Fuck! Oh, fuck." He started moving, just a little --

that's all he needed -- and then he was coming, too,
filling Marshall up deep.

Marshall took a deep, shuddering breath, then went

boneless.

He let himself go limp, too, resting on Marshall's big

body, panting.

He could hear Marshall's heart pounding, hear the

blood whooshing through his lover.

He was going to hear grumbling about this, he was

sure, but Marshall had dug it, had so gotten off on it.
And, maybe, had let a little bit of the emotions he kept
buried loose.

"Don't leave me, huh? Stay?"
"I'm not going anywhere, babe. I promise."
Even after the cuffs were off. Even if Marshall

pitched a fit for him doing it in the first place, he wasn't
going anywhere.

And Marshall would find him very hard to shake.
He placed a kiss on one of Marshall's abused nipples.
The man was stuck with him.

Burn - 146

Chapter Twelve

Marshall rolled his shoulders and packed a suitcase.

Two weeks' vacation. Damn. They were heading for the
beach for a week of it, but the other week he was just...
off.

It was a little weird, knowing he was just going to

hang at Dave's.

A honk came from the front of the house -- looked

like Dave was there to pick him up.

He grabbed his suitcase, locked up, and headed out.

He made it to the car, nodded to his lover. "You sure
you want a hanger-on for two weeks, man?"

"Hanger-on." Dave shook his head. "Get in the car

already."

He stowed his suitcase in the back seat, slid into the

passenger's seat. "How's it going?"

"Good. Great, in fact." Dave leaned over and kissed

him hard. "It's gonna be a great couple weeks."

"You get some time off at the store?"
"Yep. It's good to be king."
"Still, it's got to be a little weird, taking so long." He

always felt unnerved being away from the station two
weeks.

Dave pursed his lips. "Hmmm. Nope."
"No?" He shrugged, grinned. "You know me, I'm into

my work. Where are we going?"

"It's a surprise."
"A surprise?"
"Yep." Dave waggled his brows, eyes shining

wickedly.

"Be good." He laughed, though, stretching out. Two

weeks off.

"Oh, that would be no fun at all. None." Dave took

the highway, going north.

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"So, tell me. Where to?" He hated being curious.
"You could try guessing."
"Guessing? We're going out to lunch?"
"We're going away for a week, right? It's a bit more

than lunch."

"Well, yes, but last time we talked you hadn't even

decided which week we were going."

Dave took this surprise thing seriously.
"The first one. Surprise!" Dave winked at him.
Marshall cracked up, tickled. "Good thing I brought

vacation clothes."

"You aren't going to need too many -- clothes, that is

-- so you would have been okay anyway."

"Ah, the beach, then."
"You need clothes for the beach, man. No sand in

tender places."

"You don't need many, though."
"Very true. Of course, you need even fewer at a

private beach house."

He blinked over. "No shit? Dave?"
"No shit." Dave's grin looked like it was going to

swallow his whole face.

"Oh, man. Oh, man, that rocks. I'll do the food

buying and all, or I could write you a check."

"We'll work it out." Dave turned to smile at him. "No

stress, huh?"

"No. No stress." He reached over, touched Dave's

thigh.

"Mmm. Yeah, plenty of that."
"Horndog." Dave smelled good.
"Who, me?" Dave laughed, the sound full-bodied and

nothing but happy. "Yeah, I am."

"Yeah." God, he loved the pretty son of a bitch.
"Good thing you are, too." Dave patted his hand

where it sat on the man's thigh. "Stud."

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"Yeah, yeah, yeah." He flexed a little, though, didn't

he?

Dave turned off the highway not too far out of the

city. The summer sun felt good on his skin and the
ocean was right there, shining and blue. "Won't be too
much longer."

"We're staying close to home, hmm?" He didn't mind

at all.

"I don't think we could find a nicer place even if we

went further afield. This place rocks -- I promise."

"I trust you." Those words meant a lot these days.
"Good. I won't steer you wrong." Dave turned off

onto a smaller road. "I have a friend who is very rich
who offered me the use of his 'beach house.' I've never
been, but I have heard stories -- this place is a palace,
babe."

"Yeah? For a whole week?" Some friend.
"Yep. Just you and me for a whole week. It's going to

be awesome."

"Sounds like a blast." A private beach house. Damn.

Marshall's cheeks were going to start hurting from
smiling.

"I hope so. Jack said there was even food in the

freezer and we should help ourselves. And there's a pool
on the deck, a staircase down to the beach. If we want,
we don't have to see another soul the whole week."

"Where did you meet Jack?" Not that he was jealous.
"I know Jack and his lover Oliver from the club I was

telling you about. Jack's a photographer -- he's done
some amazing work."

"Neat." He tried to remember which club Dave was

talking about.

"Yeah. We should have supper with them one

evening when we're back. This week is just ours."

"Just ours. I like the sound of that."

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"Yeah, me, too." Dave gave him a quick grin and

then concentrated as he took another turn, car moving
slowly along a well-kept but tiny road. The road ended
in a gated entrance, Dave punching in a code.

"Damn, man. This is something."
"Ready for our vacation, babe?"
"I am. This is a great surprise."
Dave beamed at him and drove them through the

gates. The drive was long and slow and then suddenly
they were there, the 'beach house' enormous, gorgeous.

"Jesus, Dave. That's huge." He hooted, clapped,

grinned.

Dave was waggling a brow at him and making a rude

hip motion. "Why, thank you."

He swatted Dave playfully. "Butthead."
Dave just laughed and pulled the car up in front of

the place. "Here we are. Home sweet home for a whole
week."

"Wow. This is fucking amazing."
"Come on. Let's go explore." Dave got out and

hauled both suitcases out of the back.

"I'll get those." He grabbed them from Dave.
"Sure thing. Stud." Dave gave him a kiss and dug

some keys out of his pocket, leading the way to the big
front door.

The place was amazing -- the size of Dave's house

plus some, fully furnished, with photographs gracing the
walls.

"Those'll all be Jack's." Dave nodded his head toward

them.

"They're neat. He's talented." Like he'd know good

pictures from bad. He knew they had to be good because
they were big.

Burn - 150

"He is. Goes to all these war-torn places and shit."

Dave started down a hall, opening doors. "There's
supposed to be, like, five bedrooms or something."

"What are we going to do with five bedrooms?"
"Well, we are here for seven nights..."
"Uh-huh." Look at the back deck. That was stunning.
"This one looks nice, and it's got its own entrance to

the deck. Whoa, look at the pool."

It was one of those pools where the water went over

the back edge, and you could see the ocean from it. It
was like a resort, for fuck's sake.

"Fucking amazing." He dropped his bag, turned Dave

to face him. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, babe." Dave leaned in, bringing

their mouths together, and he dove into the kiss, happy
bone deep. Dave's arms slid on him, along his back,
down to his ass. The man had a serious thing for his ass.

He pushed back into the touch, making his offer. It'd

been a week, after all.

Groaning, Dave dragged him back toward the

bedroom. He nodded and followed. Yeah. Yeah. Now.
"Get naked, babe. Get on the bed."

"You too." He tugged his T-shirt off, toed off his

shoes.

"Yep, no point in not being naked." Dave was

making short work of his own clothes.

"Good. Like your skin."
"Yeah? I'm pretty fond of yours, too."
He chuckled and worked his pants off, his briefs. His

cock was making itself known.

"Jesus fuck, I could just look at you all damn day

long."

"That's a bad idea. We'd get blue balls."
Dave blinked at him for a second and then started to

laugh.

Burn - 151

Marshall chuckled, tossed his briefs at Dave.
"Eww." Dave caught them and tossed them back.
"Scary underpants!" He grabbed them, waved them in

the air like a very floppy shield, and advanced. Dave
was laughing, backing away. "Gonna get you!"

"Not if I get you first, man." Dave suddenly turned

and tossed his own tighty whities at him.

"I am not frightened of mere Fruit of the Looms!" He

struck a superhero pose, swatted the briefs out of the air.

Dave sniggered. "My hero!"
"That's me! Super Marshall!"
They both burst into hysterical laughter. Dave

manhandled him back toward the bed, fingers digging
into his sides, encouraging his laughter.

"Love playing with you." He fucking loved Dave.
"I know. Me, too." Dave nipped at his lower lip,

rubbing up against him.

They moved to the bed, the mattress soft beneath

them. Dave rolled him so he was underneath his lover.
That strength was a turn on. He tried to push Dave off,
but his lover kept him there.

"You're stuck, Super Marshall. I'm your kryptonite."

Dave wriggled, rubbing all up on him.

"Daveonite. Oh, right there." He grabbed Dave's ass.
Dave laughed, the sound turning into a groan as their

cocks slid against each other. He took another kiss, their
teeth clicking together. Dave kept moving, driving their
bodies together as hard as their mouths. He knew how to
do this now, how to get them both off. It felt good.

"Not gonna take long," Dave warned, eyes already

getting that "I'm coming" glaze.

"Got you."
"Uh-huh. You do." Dave moved faster, pressed

harder against him, and came.

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"Mmm." He let one hand slide down Dave's side,

keeping them close together.

Dave kissed him, tongue lazily working his mouth.

He kept one hand on the small of Dave's back, hips
rolling up. "Come on, babe. Show me you want it."

"Hmm?" Of course he wanted it.
"Come for me. Do it. Now."
"Dave!" The harsh words surprised him almost as

much as the spunk spraying from him.

Dave looked smug, body still rubbing slowly against

his. He sighed, settled, beginning to relax.

"Mmm... happy start of our vacation, babe."
"Yeah. Happy vacation."
"We should go test out the pool or something." Dave

wasn't making any moves to get up, though.

"Uh-huh." Him, either.
"Later?" Dave snuggled in closer, arm and leg lying

over him.

"Mm." He kissed Dave's nose.
That made Dave chuckle, snuggle closer.
They were going to have a fabulous vacation.

***

Dave took a sip of his margarita and sighed happily.
This was the life. Sunny day, beachside pool,

margaritas, and the sexiest firefighter this side of the
moon. He looked next to him, smiled at his firefighter.
Marshall was spread out in the sunshine, basking,
working on the tan.

"You know, if you take the trunks off, you'll have no

tan line."

"You're sure no one's got access?"
"The house sits on, like, acres of land, babe. No one's

around for miles." He might have been exaggerating a

Burn - 153

little, but Jack and Oliver had assured him that the beach
house was entirely private.

"You'll tell me if my butt starts to burn, right?"
Oh, now, that was a tempting thought -- bright red

Marshall butt. "I'll do you one better, babe. I'll slather
sun block all over it."

Any red butt was going to be thanks to him.
"How could I turn that offer down?" Marshall

wiggled out of his shorts, turned over, and offered that
bubble butt to the sun. Dave tried not to drool. He got up
and found the sunscreen, moving slowly back to his
lover and that fine ass. Marshall's thighs parted for him,
just the littlest bit.

"Mmm. Look at you. My very own stud, all spread

out for me."

"Dave!" Marshall's chuckle was the barest bit

embarrassed.

"What? You're fucking gorgeous, Marshall. I'd be

dead if I didn't notice that."

"Glad you think so, honey." The words were soft,

pleased.

"I do." He straddled Marshall's legs, right beneath his

ass, hands reaching for those sweet cheeks. God, he
could just wallow in those muscles.

He kneaded them for awhile and then splurted on a

bunch of sunscreen. Marshall groaned, stretching for
him.

"So fucking sexy, Marshall. You say I'm a horndog,

but it's all your fault. All this right here... God." He
squeezed Marshall's ass cheeks, his thumbs rubbing
along the crack.

"Listen to you." Marshall's back turned pink.
He chuckled, leaning down to rub his cheek against

one of Marshall's shoulders.

Marshall chuckled. "You're warm."

Burn - 154

"I'm a horndog." Grinning, he bit at Marshall's

shoulder blade, his fingers still digging into Marshall's
ass.

"Are you getting all my skin?"
"Does it feel like I am?" He gave one ass cheek a

slap, watching Marshall's reaction.

Marshall stilled, then relaxed. "Ass."
"Oh, very good. Let's see if you can get this one." He

slapped Marshall's right shoulder.

"Hey!" Marshall wiggled, tried to turn over.
"No, not hey, that's your shoulder." He waited, seeing

if Marshall would get the joke.

"Dork." Marshall's laughter shook him, bounced him

on Marshall's butt.

"Your dork." He went back to rubbing the sunscreen

into Marshall's ass, though really, he was feeling it up
more than lotion-ing it. Marshall relaxed, spread out for
him. "I want to bury myself in you and never come up
for air."

He did love Marshall's deep, low moan.
He got more lotion on his hand, sliding two fingers

along Marshall's crack now, teasing the little hole every
time he went by it.

"Can't get sun with you on my back." Marshall

spread wider.

He leaned over and bit at Marshall's earlobe. "You

want sun, or you want me?"

"You."
"Good answer." He pressed his sunscreen-slick

fingers into Marshall's hole.

"Uh... uh-huh..."
"Mmm, like that, huh?" He pushed them deep,

twisted them.

"Fuck. Fuck, Dave..." Marshall's hips rose up,

meeting his hand.

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"Yeah, that's the idea." He pushed another finger in

with the first two. Marshall's response was a deep moan.

"Love that sound, babe."
"Love your touch."
"Good." He kissed the base of Marshall's spine and

spread his fingers wide, opening and closing them.

"Oh, fuck. Yeah."
He pushed his fingers in a few more times and then

slid them out, used the sunscreen to slick up his cock.
That tiny hole was waiting for him, ready, and Dave
wanted it, needed to fill it.

"Me now." He pushed the head of his cock against

Marshall's hole, then pushed it in.

"Mmm..." That was a totally satisfied sound -- deep

and raw and happy.

"Mine," he murmured as he kept pushing in, sinking

deep into Marshall's tight heat.

"Good." He grabbed Marshall's shoulders and rocked

carefully, keeping himself fully buried in his lover.
Murmuring softly, he kept rocking, hips circling, cock
rubbing Marshall's insides.

"Fuck. Fuck, that's... Damn, Dave."
"It's fucking good." He thrust in hard, hoping to get

Marshall's gland.

"Yeah." Marshall shifted, trying to help. He shifted

again, and then Marshall cried out and he crowed in
triumph, thrusting in place again. "Oh. Oh, fuck. There."

"Uh-huh." He kept nailing that spot, loving the

sounds, the way each thrust made Marshall squeeze his
cock.

"Harder. Jesus, need to touch my cock."
"No. Don't touch it. That's mine." He growled the

words and pounded into Marshall.

"I. I...?" Marshall's ass rippled around him.

Burn - 156

"I say when you get touch on your cock; I say when

you get to come."

"Dave!" Fuck, Marshall was so tight.
"Tight, babe Fucking perfect."
Marshall went up on hands and knees, slamming

back against him.

"Yes, fuck." His fingers dug into Marshall's hips as

he added the strength of his arms and legs to their
fucking.

"Jesus... So good."
"Yeah. Good." He was down to single syllable words,

most of them the same one.

"More. Please."
He could do that. He could so do that. And he did. He

fucked Marshall hard and fast, their bodies slapping
together noisily. Sweat poured down his chest, dripped
onto Marshall's back.

"So hot, babe." He slid one hand around, wrapped it

around Marshall's prick.

"Yes..." The word was almost inaudible. He pushed

his thumb into Marshall's slit.

"Oh, Jesus." Heat spread over his fingers.
"That's it, babe. Show me how much you like it."
Marshall's answer was incoherent babble. He humped

harder and harder, so close.

He slammed in deep, hips slapping against Marshall's

ass.

It felt amazing -- the sun beating down on them, the

breeze from the ocean, and the heat of Marshall's ass
around his prick

He shot, filling his lover deep. God, yes. Fuck. Yes.
"God. Marshall." It was like it got better every time.
"Uh-huh." He should have brought a plug out. He

could have watched it filling Marshall's ass. "Gonna
keep you, babe."

Burn - 157

"Mmm. Are you?"
"I so am." He let Marshall's strength hold him up for

a bit.

"That works." Marshall slowly sank down, holding

him all the way.

"Mmm, God, I love how strong you are."
"Have to be for work."
"I know." Marshall needed to figure out how to let go

of that strength in the privacy of them.

Marshall sighed softly, asshole massaging his cock.
"You know what we should do this evening?"
"Hmm?"
"We should go down to the tattoo shop. They do

piercings, too." He pushed a hand beneath Marshall's
chest and tweaked one of Marshall's nipples.

"What? You're not serious." The sweet hole clenched

around him.

"Yeah. Just think about it, babe." He licked at a spot

just behind Marshall's earlobe and circled his hips,
moving his cock inside Marshall. "You'd look amazing
and I could play with them -- drive you wild."

Marshall shook his head. "I. They. We."
Incoherence. Fabulous.
"Yeah. Let me take you out to dinner -- wine and

dine you -- and then get you a lovely present for both of
us." He kept murmuring into Marshall's ear, making his
words intimate. "It'll be so good, babe." That fine ass
was working him hard, making his body respond, again.
"I know it's not an easy thing to do, but you are so
strong and such a stud -- I know you can do this." His
voice was growing more and more husky.

"I don't know." Oh, fuck yes. That wasn't a no.
"We'll have dinner. We'll go see. After we finish

here." He started moving again with intent, searching for

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that little bump of flesh that would make Marshall need
when he hit it.

"F...finish?"
"You've got me all revved up again, babe."
"I. Oh..."
Dave pushed in again, listened to Marshall's gaspy

cry. He could listen to that all day. He started a nice,
slow rhythm.

"Love you." Marshall's voice sounded destroyed.
"Oh, babe. I love you, too." He pushed in hard.
"Oh, fuck. There." Marshall pushed back against him.
"Yeah? Here?" He shoved in again.
"There. Again." Demanding man. He loved it. And he

gave in to Marshall's demands, humping hard. "Yes.
Yes. Yes!"

God, he was a lucky son of a bitch.

His hand wrapped around Marshall's prick again,

each thrust driving it through his hand.

Marshall was whimpering, gasping.
"So sexy, babe. So good." Dave bit the nape of

Marshall's neck. "Come for me, babe."

"Uh-huh..."
He felt Marshall's orgasm all around his cock.
"Yes. Oh, babe." Groaning, he pushed into Marshall a

few more times and came.

God, this was the best fucking day. Ever.
He collapsed completely onto Marshall, whispered, "I

love you," and let himself drift off on a feeling of utter
satisfaction.

"Yeah." Marshall hummed, nodded. "Yeah."
"It's just going to get better, babe. I promise."
Both the vacation, and everything beyond.

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Chapter Thirteen

He took a gulp of his beer, tried to focus on eating his

steak.

There was no way Dave was serious. No way at all.

Dave, who was sitting across from him, looking about as
sexy as you please as he ate. Marshall cut another bite of
steak.

He'd just say no.
That was it.
Easy as that.
Dave slid a foot up along his calf. "Enjoying your

steak?"

"Uh-huh. It's good."
"I'm enjoying the view." Dave licked his lips, eyes

hot.

"Stop it. I'm not going to do it." His cock jerked.
One of Dave's eyebrows went up. "You're not going

to do it with me anymore? That sucks."

That made him chuckle, grin. "Well, I'll definitely do

you..."

"Well, there you go."
The next bite of steak went down easier. Dave's foot

stayed where it was, sliding on his leg. The baked potato
was fluffy, the broccoli... green. And Dave was, well,
looking at him like he was dessert.

Marshall ignored that, focusing on his food, only

looking up when someone who knew them said hi. Dave
grinned, nodded, and didn't say anything, but kind of
made it clear that they didn't want to be bothered. It
worked like a charm.

Marshall finished his steak, his beer, and leaned back.

"Yum."

"You know it. We should save dessert 'til later,

though. I am stuffed."

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"Yeah, me, too. You want to hit a movie?"
"Maybe tomorrow. You know where we're going

now." Dave motioned to the waiter for their bill.

He shook his head. "I don't think so."
Their bill was handed over and Dave stood, leaving

the money on the table. "Come on. You said you'd come
to the shop with me."

"I'm not going through with it, though."
"Keep an open mind, babe." Dave took his hand once

they were out of the restaurant, walking easily.

"Uh-huh..." He didn't think so.
"I know that 'uh-huh.' It means you're humoring me."

Dave kept walking, seemed to know where he was
going.

"Uh-huh." He wasn't doing it.
"Here we are." The store Dave took him into was

bright and surprisingly busy. There was artwork
covering the walls and bunch of stations, like at a barber
shop, several of which were in use -- guys getting
tattoos on various parts of their bodies.

There was a lovely woman sitting at the counter, who

waved. "Good evening, gentlemen."

Dave smiled, hand moving to the small of Marshall's

back, urging him to the counter. "Good evening. We
were interested in a nipple piercing."

"Dave..."
"Ah. Treat is our piercer. Let me get him."
"Come look at the jewelry." Dave pointed to a section

in the counter full of rings and little barbells, as well as
some more complicated designs.

"I'm not going to..." Look at all that.
"I think you should. It'll be fantastic. You know how

much you like it when I play with them." Dave was
speaking quietly, body pressing against his side.

"But... rings? I can't." He couldn't.

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"You can. It'll be amazing. Seriously. At least try --

it's my treat."

"Try? No."
Someone chuckled softly. "First piercings, hmm?"
Dave grinned and nodded. "Yeah. If he'd just give it a

chance, he'd love it."

"I'm sorry. I..." He shrugged, met the man's eyes, a

little panicked.

"Is he yours, Dave?"
"He is, Treat."
Marshall looked at Dave, not sure what the fuck was

going on.

"He's lovely. Rings or barbells?"
"Well, I was thinking rings, but I'm open to barbells.

What do you think, Marshall?"

"I'm. I don't. This isn't." Okay. Stop. Breathe. Focus.
Dave's hand was on the small of his back again,

rubbing, warm.

"I haven't considered it." There. Coherence.
"Cool. We'll stick with rings, then. We can always

change our minds later, right?"

"Absolutely. Gold or silver?"
No. No way.
"Babe?" Dave smiled at him. "You want me to

choose?"

"We need to take a walk."
"Sure. Or we can talk in the back. I'm sure Treat has a

room we can talk in."

"I. Okay. Sure." Anything to get away from the

sounds, the light. The metal.

Treat chuckled. "Come on back to the piercing room.

That way, you're ready to proceed when you want to."

Treat pointed the way and he let Dave lead him. The

door closed behind them, Dave sitting him down in the...
piercing chair. "What's up, babe?"

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"I can't do this. You get that, right?" He stared at

Dave. "I'll go crazy."

Crazy.
"It's a good crazy, though." Dave grinned and then sat

on a stool next to him and looked into his eyes. "Babe.
You have two weeks off. If you really can't take it,
there's plenty of time to find that out, get rid of them if it
comes to that."

"I..." Well, shit.
Dave leaned in and kissed him, hand resting over his

heart. "It's going to be amazing, Marshall. I swear."
Dave moaned, then that hand moved, sliding over first
one nipple, then the other, making them ache. "Come
on, babe. Do this for me. For you. For us."

Marshall groaned, rested his forehead against Dave's.

"I. Okay. I guess. It's only a couple days."

It's not like Dave could touch them.
"Fucking A! You want to choose the jewelry, or just

get it done?"

Dave's eyes shone, his thumb and forefinger

tweaking Marshall's right nipple.

"I'm just gonna sit here."
It was the best he could do.

***

Dave pulled up in front of Oliver's beach house and

turned off the engine, turning to grin at Marshall. He had
to admit, he was a little high -- almost bouncing with it.
Marshall's nipples were pierced. Both of them, with little
silver rings complete with ruby red gems. It was sexy as
hell, and he knew -- he just knew -- that Marshall's cock
had to be aching badly within the confines of his jeans.

"Come on, let's get you and your pierced nipples

inside." Before one of them hurt themselves.

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"Hush." The word was groaned.
Dave chuckled, and when he got around to the other

side of the car, he grabbed Marshall's hand, tugging him
up the walk to the front door. He couldn't wait to get the
man naked. Marshall had been stoic, the piercing going
quickly, without a hitch. He was hard now, though, the
ache in his nipples no doubt echoed by one in his balls.
Dave would bet his store on it.

He slid his hand over Marshall's ass as they went in,

and Marshall jerked, shivered for him.

"Love this ass." It wasn't just about Marshall's

nipples, though he'd also bet that at the moment, that's
where Marshall's focus was.

"It's just an ass."
"Babe. There's nothing 'just' about any of you."
Marshall let him open the door to Oliver's beach

house. He pushed the door open and turned, crooking
his finger at Marshall. "Come into my parlor."

"This place probably has a fancy parlor, man."
"Uh-huh. As long as it has a flat surface."
Marshall closed and locked the door behind them.

"You tired?"

Dave laughed. "Shit, no. I just need you in the worst

way."

He loved Marshall's husky groan, the way those eyes

looked at him. He grabbed Marshall's hands and pulled
the man into the room with the big couches.

"I can't believe I actually did it."
"I can." He started working off Marshall's shirt. "It's

sexy as hell."

"No touching." Those muscles flexed.
"Maybe just a little touching." Grinning, he laid his

hands against Marshall's amazing abs and started
inching them upward.

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"No. No touching." God, look at those angry, needy

nips. Leaning close, he blew on the right one. "Dave!
Don't!"

Laughing, he blew against the other one.
They needed ice.
"No touching." He could smell Marshall's need.
"I'm not touching." Not yet.
"Your breath is touching!" Marshall was almost

laughing. Almost.

"Breath can't touch, man." He grabbed Marshall's

hand and led him toward the kitchen.

"Where are we going now?"
"Kitchen." He was going to ease the burn in

Marshall's nipple a little. He had a few other ideas for it
as well.

"Kitchen... weirdo."
He laughed, gave one nipple a quick pinch.
"No TOUCHING!" Marshall swatted at him.
Not at all put out, he dragged Marshall over to the

fridge and opened the freezer, pulling out a couple of ice
cubes. "You're going to change your tune in a minute."

"Uh-huh." Marshall backed up. Marshall was about

to hit the center island -- he wasn't going to be able to
back up much farther. Dave kept advancing, ice at the
ready. "Don't you do it..."

Dave could see that hard, needy cock. There was

stain on the front of Marshall's jeans. It was getting
bigger.

He faked going for the right nipple, and pushed the

ice against the left one instead.

"Fuck!" Marshall slammed against him, the scream

rang out.

He slid his free hand between them, opening

Marshall's jeans -- he didn't figure it was going to take

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much. Then slid the ice over to Marshall's other nipple.
Heat sprayed over his hand, Marshall bucking wildly.

"Oh, fuck, babe." God, there was nothing like

Marshall when he just let go and let the sensations take
him over. Dave worked each nipple in turn with the ice
until the cube was gone, melted away by the heat of his
lover's body.

"Fuck. Fuck. Need. Dave. Now. Now, lover. I

fucking need." His lover was wild.

"Come on." He grabbed a bowl, filled it with ice, and

then dragged Marshall back to the front room with the
big fucking couch.

Marshall's hands were all over him, tearing at his

clothes. They were both naked in seconds, Marshall still
as hard as if he hadn't come. "Please. Come here."

"Need something, babe?" He grabbed two of the ice

cubes from the bowl.

"Come here. Want you."
"Turn over and spread, babe." He was going to feed

an ice cube into that hot little hole.

It was gratifying as fuck to see Marshall turn without

argument, offer him that sweet, tight ass.

"I've got a new sensation for you, babe. It's gonna be

great." He slid the ice cube along Marshall's crack.

"Fuck. Fuck, Dave. Dave, I. Shit. Fuck."
Uh-huh.
"I know. And here's the best part." He pushed the ice

into Marshall's hole. Marshall scrambled forward,
gasping. "Let it happen, baby. It's going to be so good."

"Oh, fuck."
Look at his man. He swatted Marshall's ass, the man

only moaning in response. He took the other ice cube
he'd grabbed and pushed it into Marshall's ass as well.

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"Please!" Marshall lurched away from him, hips

rolling, and he slapped Marshall's ass. Marshall's
response was a deep moan.

"Yeah, that's my stud." He swatted Marshall's ass

again before pushing another piece of ice into that fine
ass.

"No..." He fucked Marshall's ass with two fingers,

working hard, listening to the deep, raw moans.

"Yes. Yes." He pushed in another piece of ice and

then continued finger-fucking.

"No more. Oh, God. Dave. Need you."
"You'll have me." Just not right this second. He gave

Marshall another swat.

"I. Fuck you." Marshall pushed back into the blow.
"That's right." He swatted again, and again, watching

Marshall move with him, so turned on his cock and balls
ached.

"Dave..." Marshall's thighs parted, hips moving like

his lover was dancing.

"Right here, babe. Right here with you."
"Need you." Another blow had Marshall groaning,

back arching.

"I know." God, Marshall was amazing. The fine ass

was tight, turning red. "Want in you." He wanted to fuck
Marshall so badly.

"Now. God, love. Now. Please."
"Yeah. Yeah, babe." He slipped two fingers into

Marshall, making sure his lover was stretched. That
hungry hole swallowed his fingers up, pulling at him.
"Oh, fuck, babe." Marshall was so ready for him.

Groaning, he let his fingers slide away.
"Don't you leave me like this!"
"I need to slick up my cock, babe." He slapped

Marshall's ass. Hard. "You know I wouldn't."

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"Oh... Fuck..." Marshall was dancing, hips rolling

restlessly. He slicked up his prick with one hand; the
other he let fly again, smacking Marshall's ass. Marshall
groaned, and that sound was so hot, so needy that Dave
almost lost it.

"So fucking hot. Need you." He muttered the words,

moving into position behind Marshall. He was so
fucking close, but he bit his lower lip and pushed slowly
into Marshall's heat. Marshall wasn't cooperating,
though, body shoving back, demanding.

"Fuck!" He buried himself deep and then grabbed

hold of Marshall's hips. "Just a second, babe." He could
feel Marshall's muscles rippling around him, working
his cock as Marshall panted for him. He looked out the
window, at the beach, the waves, and took a few breaths.
Then he nodded. "Okay. Okay."

Moaning, he pulled partway out and then slammed

back in again. Oh, fuck yes. Marshall cried out, body
taking his cock in deep. One hand moving to wrap
around Marshall's shoulder, he slid partway out again,
pushed back in. God. It was... fucking sublime.

Marshall drove back against him, over and over,

calling out his name, moaning for him. He got hold of
Marshall's cock, fingers wrapping tight around it -- he
wasn't going over by himself. Fat, wet, and swollen --
the pretty prick felt so good.

"Together, babe. Come on." He kept pounding in,

holding onto his own orgasm by the skin of his teeth.

"Uh-huh." Marshall's ass squeezed tighter, harder,

working him.

He slapped Marshall's ass with his free hand. "Come

on, babe. Give it to me."

Heat sprayed over his fingers, Marshall's ass milking

him.

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"Yes! Fuck, yes!" he shouted, hips going wild as he

chased his own orgasm down. It didn't take but a few
seconds before he was pouring himself into Marshall.

He slumped down, holding onto Marshall as they

panted, moaned.

"Fuck. Babe. So good." His voice was husky, rough.

They needed to get on the couch instead of leaning over
it.

"Uh-huh." Marshall nodded, moaning low.
He pulled out as gently as he could and rolled off

Marshall's back, flopping down onto the couch. Holding
out his arm, he motioned for Marshall to join him.
Marshall settled beside him on one side, sighing softly.
He reached over and patted Marshall's belly. "Well, I'd
have to say the nipples piercings are a resounding
success."

Marshall grunted.
It made him chuckle. Marshall wasn't going to admit

it, at least not yet, but Dave would bet that the piercings
were going to stay.

"Happy vacation, babe."
"Happy vacation." Marshall kissed his knuckles.
"You get to choose what we do tomorrow."

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Chapter Fourteen

His nipples ached when he woke up. Ached.
He moaned, sat up and looked at them.
The silver rings picked up the sunlight coming in

through the window, and the little rubies on them
seemed to glow from it. His nipples were dark, hard.
Swollen.

Dave murmured and shifted closer, hand closing

around his hip.

He should take them out.
Dave's hand patted his hip, then grabbed on again.

"Shh."

Marshall hummed, focused on the touch, eyelids

getting heavy again. He was pretty sure Dave was still
mostly asleep, but that didn't stop the soft rock of Dave's
hips, sending the hard cock sliding along his thigh. His
legs parted, one sliding in front of the other. Dave's
upper leg settled over his, and those brown eyes blinked
open. "Mmm. Marshall."

"Hey." He leaned in, took a kiss. "Morning."
"Morning, babe." Dave yawned and then cuddled

back in.

"You look happy." It was a good look on the man.
"I am. Aren't you?"
"Mmmhmm. The rings ache a little."
"Yeah? They're damn sexy, babe. I can't wait to play

with them."

"You think I should take them out?" He wasn't sure

he'd ever touch them. Ever. Maybe they'd just have to
stay in, untouched.

"Shit, no." Dave was suddenly wide awake. "Babe. I

love them. Besides, you promised me you'd try them 'til
your vacation was over."

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"They ache." And they needed that cream worked

through.

"We got some stuff for that, babe." Dave slid out of

bed. "Be right back."

Stuff.
He wasn't sure about that.
Dave came back a moment later, naked and glorious

in the morning sun. He let himself enjoy the view, lick
his lips. Dave caught him looking and posed for him,
flexing a little. "Stud."

"Takes one to know one."
He chuckled, sat up. "Let's get this over with."
"You say that like it's going to be a bad thing." Dave

climbed up onto the bed and crawled toward him.

"I don't... Maybe we shouldn't touch them."
"They need the lotion, babe. Besides, touching them

is the point."

He swallowed, his prick trying to fill a little. Damn it.

Dave bent over him and splurted lotion onto each of his
nipples. It was cold.

"Sh...shit." He sat up tall, scooted away. Dave

followed him, fingers moving to rub the lotion in.
"Don't." Fuck. Fuck, that felt weird.

Then Dave moved the rings through his nipples and

he felt like screaming. Coming. Running. Something.

"How's it feel, babe?" Dave grabbed at his prick.
"I don't know." That was the most honest fucking

answer he had. Dave kept stroking him with one hand,
running the rings through his tits with the other.

"You. I. We have to stop."
Dave frowned; "Why?"
"Because... oh, shit. I don't know." He chuckled.

"Driving me crazy."

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Grinning now, Dave gave him a wicked look. "I

know how to help with that.” Then Dave leaned down
and swallowed him deep.

Oh, fuck. Yes. Yes. His hands landed on Dave's

shoulder as his hips rolled up.

Dave swallowed around the head of his cock, tongue

working him.

"Dave... Oh, fuck. Love." Oh, fucking shit.
One of Dave's hands slid down to roll his balls.
"Gonna." Shit, he was so fucking close. So fucking

close.

Dave sort of half nodded and hummed around his

cock. It wasn't that hum that sent him over the edge,
though. It was the tiny, brief touch to the tip of his
nipple.

Dave swallowed hard around his prick as he bucked

and shouted, shooting down his lover's throat, and
Marshall slumped back, panting hard, heart slamming in
his chest.

Fuck.
Dave licked him carefully, cleaning his cock, his

balls. He stared down, lips parted, watching his man
love on him.

Hot.
So fucking hot.
Dave licked the tip of his cock one last time and then

turned his face up, looking at Marshall, smiling.

"Hey."
Maybe the rings could stay.
"Hey, sexy man." Dave kissed his belly and waggled

his eyebrows, rubbed against him.

"Uh-huh..." He brought one knee up, nudged Dave's

crotch.

Dave moaned, rubbed against his leg, so he pushed a

little harder, hands on Dave's hips.

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"Babe. Yes." Dave searched out his mouth. He gave

it up easily, his own spunk flavoring Dave's lips. Dave
moaned, hips moving faster. "God, babe. So good."

"Love you." He wrapped his legs around Dave's hips,

rubbing them together.

"You, too, babe." A groan sounded and Dave moved

harder, faster.

"I know. Come on me. Want you to." God, did he just

say that?

"Oh, fuck." Dave jerked and heat splashed up against

his thigh, hip, and belly. Marshall moaned, licked Dave's
lips, his poor cock jerking weakly. It jerked even harder
when Dave reached between them and rubbed his come
into Marshall's skin.

He moaned into Dave's lips. "So hot, huh?"
"On fucking fire, babe."
"Yeah." God, he was having a good fucking vacation.
Dave settled back next to him and touched the tip of

one finger to his right nipple. "These look amazing.
You're such a fucking stud."

"Don't touch, honey."
"They're made for touching."
Dave reached for the other one, touching just the tip

again. Electricity slid up his spine, and his toes curled.

Dave's tongue slid over his lips, tracing them.
"We should make breakfast."
"We should. Or I could take you out, feed you

waffles and coffee."

"Oh, that sounds good. I like waffles."
"I know." Dave looked smug, but happily so.
"I'll go get cleaned up." He kissed Dave's nose.
"No." Dave's hand dropped back to where he'd

rubbed the come in. "I want you to smell like me all
day."

"Dave..." Jesus, that was hot.

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"That's right. Me Dave, you Marshall." Dave leaned

up and bit his lower lip.

"Butthead."
"No, not butthead. Dave." His lover winked and high-

tailed it out of bed.

He managed a swat to that tight ass on the way.
Dave laughed, headed for his suitcase. "So what do

you want to do today, babe?"

"I'm easy." He just didn't want to get anything else

pierced.

"I know you're easy, babe -- I count on it daily." It

was a shame that fine ass was all the way across the
room; he had a mind to swat it again.

He settled on throwing a pillow.
Hard.
Dave danced out of the way, laughing, smiling at

him. Fuck, the man looked as happy as he felt.

Waffles were only going to make it better.

***

Dave floated in the pool, watching the stars up in the

sky. He was lazy and sated and just fucking happy all
through. He floated by Marshall and ran his hand along
his lover's skin.

"Mmm. Hey." Marshall looked younger, happier.

Tanned. And then there were the nipples rings, which
made his cock sit up and take notice every single time.

"Hey, babe." His lover did that for him.
"We should go for a walk on the beach or

something."

"Mmmhmm." Marshall didn't sound like he was

going to move.

Dave laughed and moved one hand in the water,

aiming himself at Marshall again. "Did I tire the studly

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fireman out?" He had been keeping Marshall's ass pretty
busy.

"Nope. I am simply relaxing."
"I didn't think you even knew the meaning of that

particular word."

Marshall'd done good this week, though. They'd had

lots of relaxing time. Marshall's hand came up, flipping
him off, and Dave laughed.

God, he loved this man.
He splashed some water at Marshall, making sure to

hit those pretty little nipples. Marshall chuckled, body
sliding deeper in the water, a wave of water coming after
him. Shit. It caught him, sending the float he was lying
on rolling and him into the water.

He sputtered as he came up, looking for where

Marshall was. Of course, Marshall was nowhere to be
found. Sneaky bastard.

He grabbed hold of his floatie and stopped moving,

searching the water carefully for signs of movement.

He didn't see anything, and he'd just started to feel a

twinge of worry when hands wrapped around his ankles
and tugged.

Oh, fuck.
Dave managed to get a breath before he was pulled

under, his feet kicking. Marshall wrapped around him,
rubbed against his ass, so he twisted in Marshall's arms,
searching for his lover's mouth.

Their heads popped out of the water as the kiss

started, tongues tangling, playing together. Their feet
moved lazily, keeping them above the water.

"Mmm. Gonna be hard to go back to real life."
"It is. We've got a week, though, to just hang out and

be."

"I know. It's going to be great. Besides, there's work I

need to do on your house."

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"I could always chain you to my bed and make love

to you all week."

"No chains." Marshall pinched him playfully.
He yelped and flicked one of Marshall's nipple rings

in retaliation. They were healing nicely. "No? Silk ropes
it is."

"Fuck." Marshall grabbed his hand, held it.
He grinned and pushed closer so their chests rubbed

together. Marshall having those rings was going to be so
much fun, and an instant turn on for a long time to
come.

"Stop it." The words didn't match the actions,

Marshall's hands grabbing his hips.

"You love it." He rubbed harder, their cocks bumping

back and forth, his chest moving those pretty little rings.

"Dave..." Marshall tugged him closer.
"I won't leave you hanging, babe." He slid his free

hand into position, fingers tugging at the right nipple
ring.

"Jesus. Jesus, Dave." Marshall stumbled a little, the

water splashing.

He slid his hand over, gave the other one a little twist.
"No touching." Marshall took his lips in a kiss.
Such a liar; Marshall would miss it so much if he

stopped touching the sweet little nibs. There was so
much they were doing that Marshall enjoyed, got off on.

And one day, soon he hoped, the man would ask for

it, would beg for it.

He grabbed hold of Marshall's tongue with his lips,

sucked on it until they slipped under the water,
sputtering a little bit, both laughing.

They made their way to the stairs at the corner of the

pool and he grabbed Marshall's hand, leading his lover
out of the water. "Deck chair or bed?" He could see the

Burn - 176

advantages to both; either way, they were both getting
laid again.

"Horndog."
"Yep. As usual, that's all your fault, though."
Marshall led him into the house, back to the huge

shower, the big bed. "You know, your dick might fall
off..."

He snorted. "Then we'd better stock up on dildos for

your ass."

Marshall gave him one of those looks.
"What?" He had to bite his cheek to keep from

chuckling.

"No sticking random things in my butt."
"No one said anything about random things. I have

very specific things in mind."

Marshall's laugh this time was less sure.
"Come on, babe. My dick's not in any danger tonight.

It's only my balls that are going to go blue if we don't
get back with the program."

"Uh-huh. You could not come for a month after this

last week and you'd still be safe."

He gave Marshall a horrified look that was only

partially put on. "Don't even joke, babe."

"Maybe two months."
He pounced on Marshall, using surprise and

momentum to push Marshall back onto the bed. "Hush,
you."

Marshall's laugh shook them both. He took that

laughing mouth, tongue sliding in to taste Marshall's
happiness. The strong arms wrapped around him, held
him tight.

This right here was real and good and so fucking hot.

He rubbed their bodies together again, like they'd done
in the water.

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Marshall laughed into their kiss, the sound husky,

happy as their cocks rubbed together, the friction soon
heating him back up. It was maddening, wonderful,
amazing, and Dave was stunned it was his. Stunned or
not, he knew well enough to hold on with both hands as
tightly as he could.

He broke their kiss off by tugging on Marshall's

lower lip before slowly kissing his way down to those
sensitive little nipples while Marshall's hands tightened
on his arms.

Dave noticed that Marshall didn't try to pull him

away from those sensitive little nipples, though.

"It's so fucking hot, man. Makes me ache."
It made Dave moan loudly to hear Marshall admit

that. He breathed over Marshall's right nipple. The little
ring jerked, bumped his bottom lip. He wasn't one to say
no to a request like that. He put his tongue through the
metal and tugged.

The reaction was fucking hot -- hands squeezing, hips

jerking, his name ringing through the air, so he did it
again, his hand snaking up along Marshall's side toward
the other nipple.

"Shit. Shit, that's so hot."
Dave nodded in agreement. It was. Marshall was. He

grabbed hold of the other nipple ring and twisted it.

"Fuck!" Marshall grabbed the back of his head, his

hand.

"More?" Like he was going to stop even if Marshall

said no.

"I. Dave. Just give me a sec."
Oh, no, Marshall didn't need a second. He flicked the

ring in his tongue up, and then back down.

"G...gonna take 'em out."
No. No, Marshall wouldn't. Dave was sure of it.

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"Would be a huge shame." He twisted the other one

again.

"Fuck... You make me crazy."
"'S my job." He kissed his way down to Marshall's

belly, licking around the dimpled navel. Reaching up, he
flicked at each of the nipple rings.

Marshall rolled him over, catching him off guard.

"Ha! Got you!"

He blinked up at his lover and chuckled. "It looks like

you do."

Marshall grabbed his hands, held them over his head,

those pretty ringed nipples out of his reach. He yanked
on his hands, trying to get them loose. Marshall held
tight, and he waited. Patience. Or, hell, he could get
Marshall so riled up the man would put his hands back
on those pretty nipples where they belonged. He blew
hard, right across the right ring, and then the left.

"Uh-uh..." Marshall arched away. "No nipples for

you."

"You want me to play with them."
Marshall shook his head, staring at him.
"Are you sure? You can so feel them. They're aching.

Begging for my touch." Those fingers squeezed around
his wrists, Marshall's hips beginning to rock. "Oh, yeah,
you want it. You want me. You want my fingers and my
mouth. My teeth." He snapped his teeth together.

"No." Marshall jerked, his cock sliding back,

snuggling into the crease of that taut ass.

"Yes. Oh, yes. You can rub them against my lips if

you want."

"Dave..." Marshall moved on his prick, sweet and

easy. He groaned, wrapping one leg around Marshall's
upper thighs, heel digging into that pretty ass. That
earned him a moan, an open-mouthed stare.

Burn - 179

"Think how much better it would be with a tweak or

two to those pretty little nipples."

"Shh." Marshall was moving faster, rocking harder.
"If I had one of your little nips in my mouth, I

couldn't talk."

"Dave, man. Please." The grip on his wrists was

faltering.

"You know what you want, babe -- let me give it to

you."

"Oh, Jesus." Marshall panted, eyes like a touch on

him.

He licked his lips, nice and slowly, making sure

Marshall was watching every second. Marshall's fingers
let him go, the muscled chest leaning toward him.

Yes! He knew what Marshall needed so badly. He

latched onto one nipple with his lips, and grabbed hold
of the ring in the other.

Dave felt Marshall's ass cheeks clench around his

prick, squeezing him tight. He bit down on the nipple in
his mouth, his teeth clacking against the metal.

"Fuck! Fuck, Dave!" Marshall jerked away, fingers

on his nipples.

He grabbed hold of Marshall's cock, pressed his

fingers into Marshall's slit.

"Jesus, you make me crazy." Yeah, that was the idea.
He just bit and sucked harder, working the ring with

his tongue.

"Oh, fuck. Fuck. Please. Please, man. In me. Need

you."

He rolled them, putting Marshall beneath him again.
"I thought you'd never ask."
"Want you so fucking bad. It's insane. Fucking crazy,

but I need it."

"I know, babe. I've got what you need right here." He

spread Marshall's legs with his knees, letting his cock

Burn - 180

nudge right up against the hot, swollen little hole.
They'd made love enough over the last week; he was
sure Marshall was stretched enough.

The hungry body took him like a dream, giving him a

perfect place to push into. So fucking good. Marshall
wasn't the only one who needed it.

He wrapped one hand around Marshall's prick,

working the slit, then he started fucking Marshall hard,
thumb pressing every time he hit all the way in.

"Shit." Marshall's shoulders rolled up off the bed.
"And I haven't even touched your nipples yet."
"Yet..."
"That's what I said." He chuckled, let go of Marshall's

cock, eyes on those sweet little nips.

"No." Those tiny nipples were dark, hard, tight.
"Yes." He flicked one ring, sending it up over

Marshall's nipple. On the other side, he flicked the
nipple itself.

"No." Marshall's ass convulsed around his prick.
"Oh, fuck." He couldn't even be bothered to argue

this time around, he just repeated the touches.

Touch. Squeeze. Touch. Squeeze. Over and over they

repeated the cycle.

He'd love to do it all night, but there was no way he

was going to be able to keep it up. Marshall's body was
demanding his orgasm. And damn it, he wanted
Marshall's. Now.

He leaned in and whispered into Marshall's ear.

"Come for me, babe."

His lover whimpered softly, body jerking, heat

spreading between them.

"Yes." He bit at Marshall's lower lip and thrust into

the wonderful, tight heat, working hard toward his own
orgasm.

"You. You, next."

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"Uh-huh." Yeah, he just needed another thrust or two.

Marshall's hand squeezed his ass, dragged him in
deeper.

"Yes!" He cried out, butt cheeks clenching as he

came.

"W...we're gonna have callused pricks."
He collapsed onto Marshall, out of breath and

laughing anyway. Marshall grinned for him, gasping
underneath his weight. "Rough-pricked boys."

"Stop. Can't breathe."
"Cocks like sandpaper."
He snorted hard and smacked Marshall's hip.

Marshall wheezed with laughter.

His cock came out of Marshall's ass as they laughed,

and he shifted, sliding over to the side. Marshall grabbed
a towel from the laundry basket beside the bed and
tossed it at him.

"Stinky laundry is playing dirty!"
Marshall hooted, grabbed the basket, and dumped it

on him.

He froze for a moment, shocked, mouth open and

gasping. Then he launched himself at Marshall, and
Marshall took off down the hall, feet slipping and
sliding.

"You can run but you can't hide -- I'm going to get

you!"

"You'll have to catch me!"
"I will!" He headed down the hall, trying to figure out

how the heck he wound up running after a bone-melting
orgasm.

He caught up with his fireman on the landing, both of

them clinging to each other.

"Shit, we're gonna go down!" He tried to balance

them back the other way.

Burn - 182

"Are not." Marshall braced, that amazing, sudden

strength holding them.

He ran a hand up along Marshall's arm. "Damn, but

that's sexy."

"What's that, man?"
"You. All these muscles."
"They're for work."
"They sure work for me."
"Come on. We'll shower and then make huge, gooey

sundaes."

"Mmm. I like the way you think, babe."
Marshall grinned at him, winked. "I'm a brilliant son

of a bitch."

He laughed, pressed his lips to Marshall's.
Heaven.
He was in heaven.
"Love you," he whispered.
"Good. Guess you'll have to keep me."
Marshall didn't look like he was joking.
At all.
"I guess I will." He let Marshall drag him down to the

bathroom with the huge shower stall.

He figured he'd let Marshall drag him pretty much

everywhere.

Burn - 183

Chapter Fifteen

Marshall figured the last nine days had been some of

the best of his life.

Honestly.
They'd swum and gone to movies, laughed and

goofed off. Done some home improvements, painted a
bathroom, and had a fucking ball talking about the
future.

And they had five days left.
"Hey, babe. I want to take you out to dinner."
"Yeah? Okay. What are you hungry for?" He put the

toolbox down on the counter, headed over for a kiss.

"Yummy and luxurious and quiet and where we don't

have to worry about how affectionate we are."

"Did you want to drive to LA? I'm sure there are safe

places there."

"No, babe. I want to take you to the Hammer. It's

quiet, the food is awesome, and it's very, very gay
friendly."

"The Hammer? Where's that?" He went to the fridge

for a drink. "You want some juice? And is it dressy?"

"Casual dressy, though I'm a member, so they won't

kick us out if we show up in shorts." Dave nodded.
"Apple, please."

"Sure." He poured two glasses, grabbed a bunch of

grapes. "I have a pressed shirt that's soft."

His poor nipples were so sensitive.
"I like soft." Dave gave him a knowing smile, hand

on his belly.

He popped a grape into Dave's lips, took one for

himself. "Sounds good to me."

Hell, right now, almost anything sounded good.
"Let's go get ready and do it, then, before I decide I'd

rather ravish you. Again. And then again."

Burn - 184

He chuckled, nodded. "I'll put the tools away and get

cleaned up."

"Mmm... I'm just imagining you wearing nothing but

a tool belt."

"Dork." He headed for the utility room, grabbing his

juice on the way back to the bathroom. The house was
looking good and he loved it here.

"You look at home, babe."
"I've been staying here for a while." That was cool,

right?

"Yeah, you have, and it suits you. Suits me, too. You

should move more of your stuff in. I mean, you're either
here or at the firehouse, right? Seems crazy to pay for a
place you aren't staying at."

"You think? I wouldn't want to cramp you, but I'm

here all the time I'm not at work."

"Exactly and there's plenty of room here -- it's not

like we use more than one bedroom. Look at your
schedule, figure out what's the best weekend to move
you in here, and I'll help you with the packing and shit."

He nodded, chewed his bottom lip. "I don't suppose

you'd be interested in bringing Doby over, too? I miss
him."

He knew Doby was okay where he was, but damn. A

dog needed his man.

Dave beamed at him like it was the best idea he'd

ever heard. "Yeah, that'd be great. I'm home enough that
he shouldn't get lonely."

"No shit?" He grabbed Dave, kissed the man hard.

"Oh, man. I'll call and see if they'll let me come get him
this week." Hell, he knew that it would be okay. These
were friends doing him a favor, and Karen called every
other day with 'Doby misses you' updates.

Dave kissed him back, mouth opening for him,

sharing his happiness.

Burn - 185

"Come on, man. Let's go celebrate." He winked over.

"I guess this makes us an official thing now, right?"

"I guess it does." Dave grinned, grabbed his hand and

squeezed. "They've got champagne at the Hammer."

"Cool." He'd have to look into partner benefits at the

station, too.

They got ready to go, both of them wandering around

each other, stealing lazy touches, happy kisses. Once he
was buttoned up and combed, Dave led him out to the
car, pointedly letting him be the one to lock the door
behind them.

Dave drove; the man's car was infinitely more

parkable than his truck.

There was a little line-up and a doorman at this place,

but Dave went right up to the front door and showed the
man a card from his wallet.

He looked, tilted his head. "You a VIP?"
"No, I told you -- I'm a member."
The man at the door smiled and opened the door for

them. "Have a good evening Mr. Banders."

"Thank you. We will."
The place was dark, masculine, the music loud

enough to dance to but not loud enough to cover
conversation. It was a little over half full, all the patrons
men -- couples.

"Dave! We haven't seen you in ages." A large, dark-

skinned man smiled at them, greeting them.

Dave's hand was solid, warm on his back.
"Hi, Xavier. I've been a little... uh, preoccupied."

Dave smiled at him, drew him close. "This is my
partner, Marshall. Marshall, this is Xavier; he's the club
manager."

"Pleased to meet you."
They shook hands, different people coming up,

saying hello. Some of the men were very into their body

Burn - 186

mods. Xavier eventually led them over to a table for
two, and Dave shook Xavier's hand before pulling a
chair out for Marshall.

"Thanks." That was a little weird.
Dave sat, grinned at him. "They usually have

something awesome featured on the menu."

"Yeah?" He could see some guys with plates, talking

and eating and... "Dude, Dave, there's a guy on his knees
over there."

Dave looked over. "Yeah. He's serving his master. If

you look closely, I'd bet you can catch some guys
getting blown, others wearing leashes and stuff."

His eyes went wide. "Dave?"
What the fuck?
"You remember me telling you about the club? About

how it's a BDSM club? A while ago. These guys are all
in loving relationships, they care for each other more
than anyone else I know."

"I can't. Shit. You should have warned me, man." He

kept his eyes on the table.

Dave reached out and touched his hand, squeezed it.

"I'm sorry. Do you have a problem with the way these
guys express their love?"

"I. I. This is. I just. Dave!"
This was. And people were. And he.
"Marshall? Marshall Rye? Is that you?"
He looked up into Ilan Franks' face, the lean, bright-

eyed computer tech wearing a thin red ribbon around his
neck, tight jeans, and little else.

Oh, God.
"Hey."
"Ilan, right?" Dave nodded to the man. "You know

Marshall?"

"I do, Sir. I do tech support for the city -- I've had the

pleasure a number of times."

Burn - 187

"Cool. Your master is JW, right?"
"No, Sir. No. He, uh. I'm unattached at the moment,

but the membership here was mine." Ilan grinned as
everyone looked uncomfortable for a moment. "We're
still very good friends, but his son came to live with him
and, well, he decided that having a full-time sub wasn't
going to work for his new lifestyle."

Master? Lifestyle? Marshall sat there, staring, tongue

heavy in his mouth.

"Well, you're in the right place to find someone new."
"I am. And if I don't, then I'm going to have a ball."

Ilan leaned down, hugged him. "I'm so glad to see you.
It's good to have a friend in the lifestyle. Dave's
amazing. Lucky man."

Marshall thought he'd pass out.
Dave beamed at the compliment, though, and gave

Ilan a wave. "Good luck, man."

When Ilan had gone, ass swaying from side to side as

he walked away, Dave turned to him. "See? Normal,
regular people."

"Normal. I. Master, huh? That's intense."
"It is. There's all different levels. Some people are

deep into it, others dabble."

"What about you?" It was like Dave had this whole

life he didn't know.

"Me? I'm with you, babe."
"Yeah, but these people know you."
"They do. I'm a member here. You remember when

you told me the spanking thing was unnatural and I told
you it wasn't?" Dave nodded out to the rest of the club.
"See? It's not unnatural. These guys are normal,
everyday folks. Just like you and me."

"Have you... with people here?" He needed to know.

Burn - 188

"I haven't. I don't believe it's something you do

casually, and I've never found that special someone.
Until now."

"So... so you came here and didn't... you didn't. I

mean, I'm not a fucking virgin." But the things they did?
He wanted that to be his.

"I'm not a virgin either, babe. I've hooked up with

folks, but not from here. I've watched, I've learned. I've
hoped."

Somehow that made him feel better, more relaxed.

"Do we have to go up to the bar for service?"

"No, there should be a waiter along soon. Ah, see?"

Dave nodded at the twink coming toward them.

"They pay attention."
Dave nodded, smiled at him, and he relaxed a little

bit more. It was a little weird, a little wiggy, but this was
Dave and the man seemed easy.

"Good evening, Sir. Would you like to hear the

specials?"

"We would." Dave nodded, hand landing on his knee

under the table.

"Tonight we have lamb chops, a seafood risotto, and

a chicken breast stuffed with feta and olives."

Dave wrinkled his nose. "We'll have the filet mignon

-- it's still on the menu, isn't it?"

At the waiter's nod, Dave grinned. "Cool. Two of

those and a bottle of champagne, please."

"How would you like those cooked, Sir?"
He opened his mouth, but Dave said, "Medium on

both, thank you."

"Very good, Sir." Their waiter smiled at Dave and

then looked at him, giving him a shy smile as well
before going.

"This is a little weird, huh? That this is a real place."

And not gross.

Burn - 189

"I was pretty stunned the first time I stepped foot in

the place." Dave's hand was on his knee again, warm
and good. "But we're just people, you know?"

"I guess. People with a big hobby."
"People who know what they want for their life."
"It makes me a little uncomfortable, man. I mean, not

us, but... the whole master thing."

He reached down, took Dave's hand, squeezed.
Dave squeezed back. "I don't want you to call me

master, babe."

"Good. I won't." He couldn't. That just wasn't cool.
"That's one of the neat things about the lifestyle,

babe. You take what works for you, what you need. You
leave the rest."

"I want you." That was good for him.
Dave's hand squeezed harder for a moment. "And I

want you."

"Okay." Marshall nodded. "It was fucked up, meeting

Ilan here. Do you know his ex?"

"Yeah, I've shared a beer or two with him."
"And when Ilan said 'full-time sub'?"
"He and JW were pretty deep in the lifestyle. He'd

have been kneeling if they were still together."

Marshall sat there, tried to make sense of that.
"He gets what he needs out of it, babe. If he didn't

want it, he wouldn't be here."

"But he seems like just a dude at work."
Dave nodded. "That's my point. We're guys just like

everyone else."

"And he just gets off on being told what to do?" He

dropped his voice, leaned closer. "Wouldn't someone
like that... I don't know, join the army or something?"
Maybe it was a stupid question, but he figured Dave'd
forgive him.

Burn - 190

"It's more complicated than that. Ilan wants to belong

to someone, to know that person sees him no matter
what."

"We belong with each other, though." People were

weird.

"Yeah, we do. We all have our things, though, right?"

Dave's gaze dropped briefly to his nipples, licked his
lips.

"Yeah." He kicked Dave under the table. "Stop it."
Dave gave him a patently false innocent look.

"What?"

"You know what. Butthead."
Chuckling, Dave took another look at his chest and

then met his eyes again. "I like your things, babe."

"Yeah. Yours aren't half bad."
The champagne came, the owner himself bringing it

over.

"You didn't say you were celebrating," Xavier

murmured, as he handed the glasses over with a flourish.

Dave looked at him and smiled, the look on his face

happy and proud. "Marshall's moving in with me. We're
a couple."

Xavier beamed. "No shit? Guys! Guys, tell Dave

congratulations!"

Everyone within earshot turned and checked them

out, raising glasses and calling out "Congratulations."
Dave was blushing to beat the band. Marshall chuckled,
ducking as the cork went flying. He and Dave held up
their glasses, the owner pouring for them. "First one's on
the house."

"Thank you." How cool was that? He held out his

glass, clinked it against Dave's.

Dave shifted closer, smiling at him and sipping his

champagne. "Thanks, Xavier, this rocks."

Burn - 191

"We're very pleased for you, Dave. Enjoy your

dinner." Xavier put the bottle of champagne in a bucket
of ice a little waiter brought over.

"Wow. That was cool." He felt like everyone was

looking at them.

"It's a very supportive community." Dave lifted his

glass to several people before settling back next to him.

"You seem happy here. I'm surprised you came onto

me." Came back for him.

"Sure, I'm happy here, but you make my life... oh,

shit, Marshall, it sounds like a fucking sappy Hallmark
card, but you complete me."

He grinned, pleased down to his balls. "Dork."
Dave stuck out his tongue.
"It's good, man. This. Us."
Even the parts he didn't understand.
"It is. It's very good. Even when you're stressed out

the wazoo from work and I'm making you crazy."

"Yeah." Their fingers twined, right there on the table

top.

They stayed like that, too, until their little waiter

brought their steaks, serving Dave first and giving him
another one of those shy smiles. "Congratulations,"
whispered the waiter.

"Thank you. I'm Marshall, by the way." He held one

hand out to guy.

"Oh." The kid took his hand and shook it. "I'm

Barton. Nice to meet you."

"Hey. This is my lover, Dave."
"Hey, Barton." Dave shook the kid's hand, too.
Barton started to flutter a little. "Enjoy your meal. I

have to..." He pointed somewhere behind him and
scurried off.

"Did I do something wrong?"

Burn - 192

"He probably thinks you're hot and it made him all

fluttery."

"Huh. Should I not be nice to him?" He didn't want to

scare the guy.

"Just be yourself, babe. Come on, let's eat -- this

steak is too good to let go cold."

"Right." It looked like heaven and, when he dug in, it

tasted even better.

They finished off the champagne bottle before they

were done, and Barton was back as soon as they'd
poured out the last. "Would you like another bottle?"

"Sure." Dave gave him a grin. "We can always take a

taxi home."

He chuckled. "I'm going to get giddy, man. It won't

be pretty."

"No? You telling me you're a nasty drunk, babe?"
"Nope. A goofy one." A horny one.
"Oh, we definitely want more champagne, then. Keep

his glass full, Barton."

"Yes, Sir." Barton chuckled and Marshall shook his

head.

"You enjoying yourself?" Dave asked.
"I am. I was a little wigged, but..." He shrugged.

Honestly, he was focused on his lover. No one else
really mattered.

"But you're not anymore?" Dave's hand moved to his

thigh, squeezed.

"I'm here. You're here. I'm a little buzzed." What was

there to be wigged about?

"In other words, it's all good." Dave beamed and

squeezed his thigh again, hand moving a little closer to
his package.

"Easy." He covered Dave's hand with his own.
"Just keeping you on your toes."
"I'm on my butt, Dave."

Burn - 193

Dave blinked and then laughed.
"God, you're beautiful."
"What?"
Strong, tanned, with an easy smile and a warm eyes -

- the man did it for him. "You're beautiful."

"I'm going to take that as high praise, man, given you

are a grade-A stud." Dave seemed almost shy about
accepting the compliment.

He took Dave's hand, squeezed it, so in love he was

stupid with it.

Dave met his gaze and they sat, just like that, until

Barton came back with their second bottle of
champagne.

Somehow, he didn't think they'd need it.

Burn - 194

Chapter Sixteen

Dave came in from work and grabbed the mail. He

glanced through it, determining there wasn't anything
too important, before opening the door, Doby jumping at
him. "Hey, boy."

He gave the shepherd some loving and made his way

to the kitchen. "You want a bowl of kibbles, boy?"

Doby didn't answer, but Dave knew the answer was

yes. He fed the dog and then started on supper for him
and Marshall. He double-checked the schedule on the
fridge Yeah, Marshall was supposed to be home this
evening. Got off at six.

Hopefully this shift had been better than the last

couple. Marshall had come home snarling and tired,
bitching about the weather, politics. Everything.

The place was soon smelling good. He even popped a

can of apple turnovers and put them in the oven.

All he needed now was Marshall.
His cell phone beeped and he knew it was Marshall.
Hey. Bad day. Just got out of gym. Need anything?
He texted back. Just you.
k. c u soon.
Doby barked, tail wagging like the pup knew who it

had been.

Dave laughed. "Yeah, boy, he'll be here soon, and

we'll love him up."

It took Marshall half an hour, but he heard the truck

door slam, heard the heavy footsteps on the porch.

Man, Marshall needed a break. Or to give himself

one.

Dave headed for the door, following Doby.
Marshall came in sporting a black eye, a slash of red

burn on his cheek.

Burn - 195

"Aw, fuck, babe." He put his hand on Marshall's

shoulder, taking a closer look. "You let the EMTs doctor
you?"

"Yeah. Yeah. Was a bad fucking night." The man's

eye looked okay, and the burn wasn't vicious, but the
muscles under his hand were tense as hell.

He leaned in and gave Marshall a kiss, slowly licking

his tongue into his lover's mouth.

Marshall sighed into the kiss, leaned a second before

pulling back. "Food smells good."

"It's just spaghetti." Good, simple, solid food.
"It works. Do I have time for a shower?"
"Yeah. We do."
"I'll be back in a minute, huh? Your timer's going

off." Marshall patted him, turned away.

"Where are you going?"
"To shower. To decompress a second."
"You need to decompress a lot. And I'll join you in

the shower in a second." He put another kiss on
Marshall's lips and headed to the kitchen. He rescued his
pastries, grabbed a bottle of water, put Doby in the mud
room with his bed and toy, then headed to the bathroom.

With its closed door.
Shaking his head, he knocked once, just to let

Marshall know he was coming in. Marshall was already
in the water, head down, letting the spray beat down on
him. Dave stripped quickly and climbed in behind his
lover, hand moving immediately to the tight, tense
shoulders.

"We lost a man last yesterday. Buddy Flagg. He was

six feet in front of me."

"Oh, babe." He leaned his forehead against one of

Marshall's shoulders. "I'm so sorry."

"The floor gave way. There wasn't anything we could

do."

Burn - 196

"Thank God you're okay."
"I don't want to talk about it anymore. I have to go to

the funeral in a few days. Look at his wife."

"Okay." He grabbed the soap and got it lathered up,

sliding his hands along Marshall's skin. Marshall was
like rock under his hands, like a statue. "Shit, babe.
You're tight." He started massaging Marshall's shoulders
and back, working the muscles that were holding all of
Marshall's stress.

Marshall nodded. "Yeah. I tried to work it out on the

free weights. Didn't work."

"Doesn't feel like that made any difference, babe." He

kept rubbing. He knew what Marshall needed. He was
pretty sure Marshall knew, too.

"Nothing makes any difference right now." Marshall

leaned against the tile. He turned his fingers to claws,
scraping the nails down Marshall's spine. Marshall
hissed but didn't step away, so he scraped all the way
down to Marshall's ass. Then he grabbed one cheek and
pinched it. Hard.

"Leave me the fuck alone." Wow, that was a straight-

up growl.

"No." He smacked his hand against Marshall's ass,

the sound loud, reverberating in the enclosed space of
the shower.

Marshall spun around, eyes wild. "Fuck you. You

leave me alone."

One hand reached out for him, though, took his

fingers, squeezed them gently.

His poor, amazing stud needed this so badly and

didn't know how to ask for it, how to take it. "Let's go to
bed, Marshall. I can give you what you need."

"You promise?"
"I can, babe. You know I can help you let it go."

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"If it doesn't work, we don't have to do it again,

right?"

"It's going to work, babe. I swear." He leaned up,

kissed Marshall hard before turning off the water and
dragging his man out of the shower stall. Marshall didn't
say a word to him, didn't talk to him, didn't look at him.
He made quick work of drying them both off, and then
led Marshall to the bedroom. "Lie down," he said softly,
going to his closet and finding a couple of silk ties. "On
your stomach." Once Marshall had accepted this, they'd
use cuffs and paddles and whips and floggers. Once it
wasn't something scary, just necessary, they could find
all manner of implements to help Marshall break
through and let go of all the bad stuff that happened.

For today, silk ties and his hands would do the job,

maybe the non-buckle end of his belt -- he brought it
along.

Marshall settled, his entire body tense, stiff, ready to

bolt.

He went over to the bed and took Marshall's hands.

Pressed kisses against his lover's knuckles before
pressing one on Marshall's neck. "I love you," he
whispered, slowly moving Marshall's hands up over his
body to the headboard.

Marshall grunted for him, moving slow.
He encouraged the strong hands to wrap around the

wood, and then he slid the ties around each wrist. He
began to murmur, giving Marshall something to focus
on besides the fact that he was being tied to the bed, that
Dave was going to beat the hurt and pain and anger and
tension right out of him. "God, you're so strong, babe. I
don't know anyone as strong as you. Such a stud."

"I don't want to do this. I'm tired. I didn't sleep last

night."

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"You'll sleep tonight." He started rubbing Marshall's

arms, shoulders, and back, fingers digging in as he left
kisses on the skin. "Remember the red light, babe."

Marshall's safeword. For when it truly became too

much.

Marshall nodded, then shook his head, then nodded

again.

"Love you," he murmured, sliding down and taking

aim.

His hand connected with a bang, and Marshall

grunted, but didn't move, didn't cry out. He hit the other
ass cheek with his second blow. Then the first again,
then the second, moving back and forth between them.
The skin began to redden, darken, and Marshall began to
tug at the ropes.

"That's it, babe. You're allowed to fight the ropes. Let

it out on the ropes." He grabbed his belt and tested it on
the tops of Marshall's thighs.

"Don't! You motherfucker!" Marshall dragged his

knees under him.

He nodded. That's what Marshall needed to do, to

scream and shout. To rail against everything and
anything. He slapped the belt across Marshall's
shoulders this time.

"No! Bastard! Prick! Don't you hit me!" Marshall's

shoulders were hitching.

Dave knew Marshall needed this, he knew the man

needed to break down and cry. That didn't make it easy
to keep slapping his belt across his lover's shoulders, his
ass. Dave did it, though; he would do it as long as
Marshall needed it.

"Let me go! Stop it. Talk to me, damn it!"
That he could do. He laid down another strike.

"Buddy's death wasn't your fault."

"You don't know that."

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"The floor collapsed because of the fire. You didn't

set it the fire. Not. Your. Fault." He landed the belt with
each of his last words.

"Fuck you. It could have been me."
"I know." His next hit was particularly hard.
Welts were beginning to rise up on Marshall's back

and ass, red and angry.

"I was glad it wasn't."
"Me, too." Shit, he was glad every day that Marshall

came home safe.

He laid down two more stripes with the belt.
"It's wrong. He was a good man."
"He was."
"He screamed. He fucking screamed, and we couldn't

get to him."

Dave felt tears start to prickle at his eyes -- he

couldn't imagine how horrible it had been -- and he kept
hitting, blindly laying down strikes.

"Red light. Red light. Stop. Dave. Please." Marshall

was sobbing, tugging at the ties. "Help me!"

"I've got you, Marshall. I've got you." He threw away

the belt and tore the silk ties from Marshall's wrists.
Then he took Marshall into his arms, rocking his lover,
pressing kisses over his face. "I've got you."

"I'm sorry." Marshall held on, shaking for him.
"Shh. Shh. Don't apologize. You don't need to

apologize. Not for anything." Marshall's skin tasted like
salt from his tears.

"I hurt."
"I know. I know." He kept rocking Marshall, kept

holding the man. "It'll pass. I swear."

"He was a good man, Dave. He had babies."
"I'm sorry, babe. So sorry."

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"I am, too." Marshall's head landed on his shoulder,

tears wetting his skin. He held onto Marshall as his lover
let it out, let go and cried.

Soon, Marshall was sleeping, loose and relaxed in his

arms, clinging to him.

Dave sighed and relaxed against the pillows. He

would hold Marshall forever if that's what his lover
needed. One hand rested against Marshall's back, the
skin raised and heated beneath his palm.

They rested together for about an hour, then Marshall

started to get restless, murmuring under his breath. He
planted his lips on Marshall's kissing him softly. He
needed to put some salve on Marshall's back.

Marshall groaned, eyes cracking open. "Dave."
"Right here, babe."
"I'm sorry."
"For what?" From where he was sitting, Marshall

didn't have a damn thing to be sorry about.

"Melting down."
Dave chuckled softly. "Babe. That was the point,

huh?"

"Still. I feel a little stupid." Marshall pinked for him,

and Dave fell in love a little more.

"Don't. I still think you're an amazing, strong,

beautiful stud."

"I'm so fucking tired, man."
"You need some sleep. You've got seventy-two

hours, right?"

"Yeah. Yeah. I do. I have the funeral." Marshall

sighed, looked at him. "I want you to come with me."

He nodded. "I will, babe. When is it?"
"Couple days." Marshall sighed. "Could just stay here

for days."

"Yeah. It's a good place right here. You need to sleep.

It'll be okay, I'll watch over you."

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"No. I don't want to sleep yet." Those eyes were red,

bloodshot, a little crazy.

"No?" He knew how to make Marshall sleep. He

pressed their lips together, tongue pushing into
Marshall's mouth. Marshall groaned, shook his head, but
those lips opened up. He took the kiss deep right away,
hand sliding on Marshall's arm before moving it in
toward one of the pretty little nipple rings.

Marshall's hand grabbed at his wrist, keeping him

away, so he rubbed his chest against Marshall's instead.

That had those fingers opening, letting him go, and

he slid his hand over, flicked the ring up and down
again.

"Harder." The word was whispered into his lips.
He grabbed hold of the ring and tugged it, then

twisted it, giving Marshall what he wanted -- what he
needed.

Marshall cried out for him, bucked against him.

"Yes."

"Yeah." He found the other ring, twisted it even

harder.

Marshall's fingers dug into his hips, hard enough to

bruise.

"I've got you, babe." He wrapped his leg around

Marshall's, tugging his lover in close, rubbing against
him.

"I need something, Dave. I need you to fucking help

me."

He rolled Marshall over onto his back, knowing it

would ache and sting. The rough little grunt was just
about right, the way Marshall arched off the sheets
better. "That's it, babe."

He leaned over Marshall to grab the lube off the night

table, and quickly slicked up his fingers.

"More. More, Dave. Make me."

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The shudder that hit him at those words was

completely unavoidable. He pushed his fingers into
Marshall's ass, spending a scant moment stretching the
hot little hole. Then he was pushing his way between
Marshall's legs and slamming home. Marshall's ass was
red, burning against his thighs.

"Fuck! Marshall." He pulled almost all the way out

and then pumped back in again, his thighs slapping
Marshall's hot skin.

Marshall grabbed his knees, pulling back and out,

spreading wide.

"That's it. Yeah. Stud." He reached out and grabbed a

nipple ring, twisting it harshly.

"Dave!" That scream was echoed in the grip of the

muscles around his prick.

"Yeah. Love you." He started pounding into

Marshall, letting his lover have everything in him.

Marshall's head slammed back, the strong-featured

face lost in sensation. His lover wasn't thinking about
work, about death. Dave would bet his world on that. He
worked one nipple and then the other, making those
rings earn their keep as he fucked Marshall's ass.

Every touch had Marshall jerking, tightening,

working his cock. Dave groaned and moaned with each
ripple of Marshall's ass, the sensations rocketing up his
spine. Marshall's body rippled around him, milked his
cock as the man reached for that heavy, dripping prick.

He slapped Marshall's hand away, growling out

"Mine" as he grabbed Marshall's cock.

"Fuck." Marshall stared at him, nodded.
"That's right." He jacked Marshall in time with his

thrusts.

"Yours. Don't stop."
"Not gonna. Not ever."

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Marshall's face went red, eyes squeezing shut,

whispering, "Not ever."

"That's right, babe. Marshall, you are mine. Forever. I

swear it." He pressed his thumbnail into the slit of
Marshall's cock. His poor, worn-out lover shot,
shoulders leaving the mattress as he did.

Moaning, Dave came, too, Marshall's ass pulling it

right out of him.

He collapsed onto Marshall, gasping for breath. "I've

got you. I've got you."

Marshall moaned, blinking slow. "Uh-huh."
"Yeah." He kissed Marshall softly and then slid out,

settling next to his lover.

He needed to clean them up and get ointment on

Marshall's back, but first Marshall needed to sleep.

Before he could pull the blankets over them, Marshall

was sound asleep.

***

He was sore when he woke up, but Marshall felt like

he could breathe for the first time in what seemed like
days.

Of course, part of that could be the bacon.
He slid out of bed, Doby barreling toward him from

the big bed on the floor. "Hey, boy. Good morning." He
glanced at the clock. "Afternoon."

He heard footsteps and then there was Dave,

complete with a tray of food and a couple of coffee
mugs.

"Hey, I thought you might be awake about now."
"Hey." He found a smile for Dave, and he tried not to

be too shy. He'd let the man beat him. He'd cried.

"I've got coffee, toast, and bacon. I'd have made eggs,

but we're out." Dave put the tray down on the nightstand

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and leaned in, taking his mouth like it was any other
morning -- afternoon, whatever.

The kiss was warm, comfortable. Easy.
"We'll have to run out today anyway. I need razors

and a new pair of dress shoes." Not to mention he
needed to get his dress uniform into the cleaners for a
spruce up.

"Cool. We could drive down to the outlet mall if you

want. We could do supper -- one of my customers
recommended a restaurant out there." Dave stripped and
joined him in bed, sitting close, still looking at him
like... like he was a stud, like he was everything Dave
needed.

"Yeah?" He searched Dave's eyes. "I'm sorry about

shorting out on you. It'd been a rough one."

"Babe, you needed to short out. It's what I'm here for,

yeah? The good and the bad, I want it all." There was
only honesty and love in Dave's eyes, no judgment, no
censure.

"Still." He took another kiss. "Bacon?"
"Oh, yeah, I've got bacon. And toast and stuff. I do

know the bacon is the big draw, though." Dave grinned
and pushed a plate full of bacon toward him.

"Thanks." They started eating, with him slipping

Doby bites on the side. It was easy, quiet, and what he
needed. Dave was warm and solid next to him,
munching away. Every now and then, Dave would slip a
hand along his thigh, a little hello.

"I want you to come to HR with me." He blinked at

himself, his words. That wasn't exactly what he'd
intended to say.

"Your work's HR? Sure -- what for? Everything

okay?"

Marshall nodded. "I want you on my paperwork --

insurance, benefits, all of it. You're my partner."

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He wanted Dave to be taken care of, in case it was

him next time.

Dave looked at him for a long moment, a smile

slowly spreading across his face. Dave reached for his
hand, squeezed it. "And you're mine. Thank you."

Marshall looked at their joined hands. "I want

everything legal for us. I want it right, just in case."

Dave squeezed his hand. "We'll need papers for

medical power of attorney and stuff as well, then, babe.
For both of us. Because this cuts both ways."

He nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, we do. Hopefully, we won't

have to use any of it for a hundred years."

"Why think so small? Let's hope for two hundred."
That cracked him up, and they both continued eating,

planning their day, their weekend. Normal things --
stopping to check that the inventory had arrived at the
store, dry cleaners, groceries, early supper. Possibly
getting their costumes together for the Hammer party.
Good things.

When they were done, Dave slipped the plate that

had held the food onto the floor for Doby. "He needs a
good run. We should take him to the park and toss the
ball at him before we abandon him for the rest of the
day."

"Works for me." He leaned over, took another kiss,

this one bacon-flavored. "Let me get dressed and I'm
yours."

"Oh, no, babe. You can be mine and then get

dressed."

Dave's arms slid around his neck.
"Promise?" He couldn't stop his smile, the peace

inside him.

"From the bottom of my heart."
Dave's lips covered his, the kiss awkward, and yet

somehow so right, as they smiled through it.

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It was good to be home.

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Epilogue

The Athletic Supporter was always busy on a

Saturday afternoon, though Dave only worked it if
Marshall was busy at the station these days. One of the
perks of being boss was being able to set your own
hours.

It was busier than usual, though, as the guys began to

wander in from their once-yearly football game.

The store was equally close to the big green park they

played at and the pub they used to booze up post-game.
Plus a lot of the guys liked to come in and get their
'friend of the owner' discount on the latest trendy
running shoes. This year's model was particularly
expensive, and Dave was more than happy to sell a
boatload of them, even at ten percent off.

There were a couple of new guys working, too, and a

day like today was always a good test for the new guys.

His employees were running around trying to fit

everyone, while Dave leaned against the counter and
watched. What he was really doing was waiting for
Marshall.

His lover had gone to the station to drop off some

paperwork, and Dave could only hope that he hadn't
been roped into a half shift or something.

His phone vibrated in his pocket and he grinned,

shook his head.

Hey. On my way. All done. U need anything?
He texted back. Just U.
"You texting Marshall, man?" Chris Wilson grinned

at him, winked. "You tell that bastard to quit getting out
of the game and resign himself to an ass-kicking."

"I know he's missed a couple of years, but you do

remember Marshall, right?" He held his hands up over

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his head and then out wide to indicate tall and broad.
"The only ass getting kicked is going to be yours."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Chris chuckled. "I don't know.

He was actually smiling the other day when I ran into
him at the grocery store. Buying steaks and whistling to
himself. It was a little creepy."

Dave just grinned. Those steaks had been awesome,

even a little overdone, probably because the sex leading
up to them had been mind-blowing.

That had been the night he'd introduced Marshall to

penis wands, the man screaming out his name while he
slipped the metal into that leaking slit. Maybe he ought
to make that Marshall's reward tonight for winning the
game.

His grin got just a little wider at the thought. His

prick started hardening up, too, and he tugged his
sweatshirt down, glad he'd decided to go with jeans
instead of sweatpants.

"Marshall! Dude! You made it! Did you bring the

beer?"

"Water. We can drink at the tavern after." Marshall

waved to him, nodded to their buds. "You dorks buy up!
Dave has a store to run!"

Dave laughed and aimed a happy smile at Marshall.

He wanted a hello kiss from his very own stud. Marshall
came to him, arms settling around his shoulders. "Got all
our papers dealt with, finally. Having a good day?"

Man, paperwork took forfuckingever. They were

done now, though, both of them all signed, sealed, and
delivered, taken care of if anything happened to the
other. "I'm having a great day, actually, and it's just
getting better."

He went ahead and took himself a kiss, not the deep,

face-sucking kiss he really wanted, but they were in
public, after all.

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The hooting and hollering made it sound like he'd

taken Marshall right there. His lover rolled his eyes,
grinned. "Okay, you jerks. Time to play ball."

"I've got my cell, Jimmy. Call if there's an

emergency." His assistant manager nodded and waved
him off, and Dave fell into step with Marshall.

Hanging back a little from the throng headed for the

park, he handed Marshall a little jewelry box. "Happy
anniversary, babe."

Marshall grinned at him, popped the box open. "A

ring?"

He nodded, knowing there was no way the smile on

his face came anywhere near to matching the happy he
felt inside. "Yep. But it doesn't go on your finger..."

end

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