SHAKE & BAKE

When they stepped into Chiaparelli’s, the wind followed them and
whipped into the foyer. Ryan Morelli was standing with his back to them,
and he turned when the wind tugged at his trousers. His face lit up when he
caught sight of Zane. Ty sighed hard. Ryan covered the foyer in two steps
and gave Zane an impulsive hug, patting him on the shoulder as he stepped
away.
“I was beginning to think you’d moved away!” Ryan said. He turned to Ty
and took his hand, shaking it enthusiastically before grabbing two menus
for them.
“It’s been a busy year,” Zane hedged.
“Well it’s good to see you, Zane,” Ryan said, and the warmth and sincerity
in his voice made Ty kind of want to hit him. They followed him to the
same table they’d been seated at so long ago, at the window on the edge of
the main dining room. Ty glanced around as he shrugged out of his coat.
The place wasn’t busy, with only a few late business lunches and little old
ladies scattered at other tables.
Ryan placed the menus down and backed away so they could sit. “I’ll
bring you some warm bread for starters, and then I want to hear what
you’ve been up to,” he said with a point at Zane.
Zane grinned and nodded, watching Ryan as he walked away. But Ty
watched Zane, his eyes narrowing. “Zane.”
Zane turned and met his eyes, a mischievous sparkle in them. “What? He’s
got a nice ass.”
“You’re pushing me, Zane,” Ty threatened.
“Oh, what are you going to do, pick a fight with him to assert your
dominance?”
Ty remained silent, a slow smile forming.
Zane blanched. “Ty,” he warned.
“What?” Ty asked, his voice full of innocence again.
“Whatever you’re thinking of doing, just don’t, you understand?” Zane
growled.

“What? You wanted to eat here, I told you I’d ruin it forever, you didn’t
care …” He shrugged, smiling again. “You reap what you sow, baby.”
“If you pick a fight here I’ll never forgive you.”
“I promise not to pick a fight,” Ty said, holding up his hand.
“That’s the girl scout pledge, Ty.”
“Still works.”
Ty caught Ryan returning out of the corner of his eye and he leaned back.
Zane gave him one last warning glare as he placed his napkin in his lap. Ty
flashed a winning smile as he mirrored Zane’s actions.
Ryan approached, grinning widely, and he placed a basket of bread and a
plate on the table with a flourish. He poured olive oil into the spices on the
plate. “Are we ready to order drinks or an appetizer?”
Zane asked for fried cheese, which Ty remembered being pretty damn
good. That was unfortunate, because he doubted Zane would make it to the
appetizer. They ordered tea and water, then Ryan left them again.
Zane leaned forward and uncovered the bread as he met Ty’s eyes and
smiled. “Oh my God, it’s still the same as it used to be,” he almost moaned
as he picked up a piece and tore it apart.
Ty smiled, remaining silent. He watched Zane tear at the warm bread and
kicked at Zane’s shin under the table. “Yeah, Zane. Tear it up,” he
murmured.
Zane’s eyes snapped up to him, recognizing his tone of voice. “What?”
“Eat the bread, Zane.”
“What are you doing?”
“We’re here because you love their bread, right?” Ty asked, leaning
forward. “Eat some bread for me, baby.”
Zane glanced around, checking the other tables before looking back at Ty
with wide eyes. “Stop it.”
He placed one piece of bread on a plate, then took a bite of the piece in his
other hand.
Ty had to bite his lip to keep from laughing, but then he leaned closer and
knocked his knuckles against the table. “Oh yeah, baby, bite it.”
Zane coughed, choking on the bread in his mouth. He turned his head
away as he chewed, struggling to swallow. Then he was coughing again as

he shot a hateful glance at Ty. “What the fuck is wrong with you?” he
gasped.
“Eat your bread, Zane. Come on and eat it for me.”
“I will not let you ruin this dinner for me,” Zane growled, then he bit off
another chunk. Ty moaned loudly.
Heads began to turn. Zane turned in his seat and looked around, then
kicked at Ty’s legs under the table.
“Dip it in the oil, Zane,” Ty growled, his voice so low only Zane could
hear. “Go ahead, Zane, get it wet.”
“Stop it!” Zane cried. He threw the chunk of bread and it bounced off Ty’s
chest.
Ty plucked it out of his lap and held it up. “Oh, you want it dirty?”
“Ty, I swear to God …”
“You like it dirty, don’t you?”
Zane looked around again just as Ryan turned the corner with their drinks,
heading for their table.
“Now we’ve got company, Zane,” Ty murmured. He plucked a bit of bread
from the basket and swiped it through the oil in the plate. He held it up as
the oil dripped down the sourdough and onto his fingers. “You want him to
watch?”
Zane put his face in his hand and covered his eyes.
“I don’t mind if he watches, Zane,” Ty continued, laying it on thick and
letting his accent bubble up in the gravel in his voice.
“You’re such an asshole,” Zane grunted, horrified and looking desperate to
make Ty shut up. He reached for his water glass and took a sip as he
glanced around again.
“What’s wrong?” Ty asked, barely keeping the tremor of laughter from his
words. “Come on, baby. You give good bread.”
Zane almost spit water all over the table. They were both laughing when
Ryan came up with their drinks. Zane held up his hand, still laughing.
“We’re going to need the check.”

Twist & Shout

Zane sat on the couch in the Gradys living room, the fire roaring, Amelia
on his knee babbling. He’d been trying to convince her to say his name,
but so far she wasn’t impressed.
He’d put himself in charge of her when Livi had gone off to the grocery
store for some last-minute dinner supplies, and Zane and Chester were
trying to keep her amused and out of the way as Earl, Ty, and Deuce
wrestled a huge tree through the door.
One of the three was cursing a blue streak – Zane could easily guess which
– and Amelia had absolutely no problem saying that word. Zane glanced at
Chester with wide eyes.
“You vouch for me, I’ll vouch for you,” Chester offered. “Wasn’t us.”
“Deal,” Zane said immediately, grinning as he covered Amelia’s ears with
both hands.
She reached for his mug of coffee and he shoved it further away with his
toe, leaning back in his armchair on the far side of the room. Then she
reached for Chester in his rocking chair, and the old man took her with a
beaming grin.
“Come here my little butterfly,” he cooed to her.
Zane watched them fondly for a second before returning his attention to
the tree, which was almost certainly going to end in disaster. He was
debating whether or not he should get his phone out to record it.
The tip of the evergreen hit the wall as Earl and Deuce shoved it through
the door, sliding up under a picture frame and lifting it up off the wall.
Mara shouted at them, and Ty reached out to grab the frame, earning
himself a smack in the face with the tree as one of the other two tried to
correct the guidance.
“Dammit!” Ty hollered.
“Dammit!” Amelia echoed.
“What did she say?” Deuce called from outside.
“Dammit, Daddy!”

Zane reached into his pocket, fishing his phone out to record this.
Ty hurriedly hung the picture back on the wall and struggled not to lose his
grip on the tip of the tree. He wrapped his arm around the top of the tree
and tugged at it. The lower branches were caught in the doorway, though.
All that could be seen of Earl and Deuce were the tops of the warm hats
they wore.
Ty rolled his eyes and leaned against the wall. “Why the hell didn’t you
pick a smaller one, Dad?”
“It looked smaller when I cut it,” Earl called back as the tree shivered,
resisting the shoves from behind.
“It was in the freaking woods!” Deuce shouted. “Everything looks smaller
in the woods!”
Zane winced and glanced at Chester. “Is it like this every year?”
Chester nodded as he chewed on the end of a pipe that wasn’t lit, deftly
keeping it out of Amelia’s reach. “That’s a big’n this year. Put some
shoulder into it, Beaumont!”
Ty glared at him. Zane lifted his mug to hide his smile as Mara scooted
past Ty, almost pushing him over into the tree.
“Can’t you just squeeze the bottom limbs together?” she asked as she
stood on her tiptoes to peer through the doorway.
“Oh, thank God, the wife’s here to help,” Earl muttered.
“Well, if I’d gone with you, I’d have brought a measuring stick,” she told
him. “Who’s stupid now, huh?”
“It looked smaller in the woods!”
“Anyone considered buying a fake tree next year?” Deuce asked as he
raised one gloved hand above the branches. It was all Zane could see of
him.
Ty leaned against the wall, now merely propping the top of the tree on his
shoulder instead of actively pulling. He shook his head and held one hand
up to ward off any more smacks to the face. It wasn’t budging either way
they tried to go now.
“It wouldn’t help if I made a suggestion, would it?” Zane murmured.
“Can’t hurt,” Chester answered around the pipe stem. “Well … might hurt
you.”

Zane winced. He watched them fuss another couple minutes; Earl and
Mara talking at each other over the tree about measuring twice and cutting
once, and how Mara should be an expert on cutting things by now since
she’d cut Earl’s finger off for him, Deuce asking for someone – anyone –
to figure out what to do and please stop teaching his baby to curse while
her mother was gone, and Ty just standing there using his shoulder as a
tree stand until someone did something.
“Deck the halls and … stuff,” Zane murmured
Ty looked over at him and shook his head. His gaze lingered on Zane and
he finally offered him a crooked smile and a wink. Zane found himself
growing warmer. He bit his lip.
When Ty returned his attention to the tree, he screamed – slightly higher in
pitch than Zane had ever heard – and he tossed up both arms.
Zane lunged to his feet as Ty danced away from the tree, which dropped
like a stone to the foyer floor. He flailed, shouting and screaming as a tiny,
terrified chipmunk scrambled over his shoulder.
Zane froze in place, eyes wide. Ty tried to get out of the room and out of
his coat and out of his skin, all the while swiping at the chittering rodent
with his gloves as it clawed across his shoulders and the back of his neck
and into his hair, trying to get away from him.
Mara hurried over with the velvet stocking that had been tossed over her
shoulder, and Earl seemed to be trying unsuccessfully to climb over the
tree into the house. All Zane could see of Deuce were the tips of his
fingers, clutching the doorframe, laughing until he couldn’t breathe or
stand up straight.
In just a heartbeat, Ty had dropped his coat, had his shirt off, and had
disappeared into the kitchen, where the sounds of battle being waged
between Ty, Mara, and the chipmunk could be heard. “Ma, not the frying
pan, Jesus Christ!”
Earl struggled to pull the tree back out onto the porch so they could get
inside. “Son of a …”
“Bitch!” Amelia cried.
“That’s right,” Chester said with a pat of her back. He laughed gleefully as
he rocked.
Zane stutter-stepped in place, not sure where to go or who to help.

A moment later, the chipmunk came scurrying out of the kitchen, running
in zig-zagging leaps and bounds toward the doorway, only to jump into the
safety of the tree and disappear.
Mara came running back out of the kitchen, a stocking in one hand and a
frying pan in the other, her hair in disarray and her eyes wild. Earl and
Deuce finally managed to pull the tree back out of the doorway and
clamber over it to get inside, an they stood staring at Mara, tense and
careful.
“What was it?” Earl asked her.
“A rat!” Mara cried. She held the frying pan up and waved it around.
“Where’d it go?”
Zane took a few careful steps to peer into the kitchen, barely able to
restrain his laughter. Ty was in there in his undershirt, crouched on a chair
with a spatula in his hand. Zane tried desperately to keep his laughter in,
but it bubbled up and out. He clapped a hand over his mouth, holding his
camera up to record the aftermath.
“It was a chipmunk,” Chester them as he pushed himself out of his chair
and gently bopped Amelia on the nose with a knuckle. “A baby one. You
probably got a whole nest of ’em.”
Mara shivered all over and pointed her frying pan at Earl. “You de-beast
that thing before it comes in my house!”
“But Mara–”
Mara waved the pan at him, and he winced away from her, trying not to
laugh.
“I will not have any rodents in this house, Earl!”
“I’ll get the shovel,” Chester cried with utter glee and shuffled toward the
back room.
“You, stop!” Mara ordered, and Chester’s shoulders slumped as he
obediently carried Amelia back to his chair.
“How was I supposed to know the damn thing had chipmunks in it?” Earl
asked.
“Well, Dad,” Deuce said slowly as he put his hand on his father’s shoulder.
“You got it in the woods and that’s where chipmunks like to do their
thing.”
“Is it gone?” Ty called out.

Zane grinned at him and finally stopped the video, stuffing his phone back
in his pocket. “I’ve never been more attracted to you than I am right now,”
he assured his fiancé.
“You, shut up,” Ty said, echoing his mother as he pointed his spatula at
him. “Is it gone?”
Zane looked over his shoulder to the porch, where Earl and Deuce were
yanking at the tree, apparently looking for rodents. “I wouldn’t call it over
just yet.”
Ty shook his head and threw the spatula at the sink. He gave a full-body
shiver. “I’m not coming down ’til it’s gone.”
Zane grabbed up Ty’s shirt from the hardwood floor and tossed it at him.
“Tyler!” Earl called from the porch.
“I quit!”
“You get your ass out here and help us,” Deuce shouted with a point of his
finger at Ty.
Zane looked back and forth between them, shaking his head.
“I quit,” Ty repeated with a wave of both hands.
Zane rolled his eyes, picked Ty’s gloves up off the floor, and joined Deuce
on the porch as he pulled them on. “It’s so bizarre. He’ll throw himself on
a grenade without thinking twice, but toss a chipmunk at him and he’s
done.”
“Ty doesn’t like small, fuzzy things. He says they have shifty eyes and
unpredictable maneuvering capabilities.”
“I know,” Zane said with a snicker
Ty shouted something from the kitchen, and even though Zane wasn’t able
to make out the words, he couldn’t stop the laugh that bubbled forth.
“No telling how that boy’s mind works,” Earl muttered as he picked up the
base of the tree and looked up at Zane and Deuce. “Let’s get this damn
thing fixed up before it starts snowing again.”
“Zane, why don’t you take Ty upstairs and get him calmed down, see if
you can find a shoebox for Chip and Dale while you’re up there,” Deuce
said with a nod toward the steps. “Look in the top of my closet, might be
something in there we can put them in so we can relocate them to another
tree.”

“Alrighty.” Zane headed back inside, peering in at Ty again with a teasing
smirk. “Want a piggy back ride upstairs to safety?”
“Don’t mock me, Zane,” Ty growled. He really didn’t have much room to
be pissy about it, though, considering he was crouching on a chair with his
arms around his knees.
They stared at each other for a few seconds, then Ty grudgingly got off the
chair and practically tip-toed toward Zane, eyeing the front door and the
shivering tree on the porch as he slipped around the corner of the foyer. He
gripped Zane’s arm hard, clutching at him until he darted toward the steps
and took them two at a time.
Zane followed him, chuckling the whole way.
Ty practically accosted him when he made the landing, grabbing him and
pulling him into his old bedroom.
“Check me for rabies!” he said as he slammed the door behind Zane and
started unbuttoning his jeans.
Zane practically gurgled trying not to laugh. “Ty.”
“Zane!” Ty’s eyes were wide and trending toward brown when he looked
over his shoulder at Zane.
Zane took pity on him, smiling fondly at him. He ran his finger down Ty’s
spine, starting at the base of his neck and sliding down to the small of his
back. “Okay, let me look you over.”
Ty shoved his jeans down, kicking out of them as he struggled with his
briefs. Zane was almost surprised that they were plain blue today instead
of some garish form of Christmas cheer to decorate Ty’s dangly bits.
Zane took hold of his shoulders, looking at his neck and upper back for
scratches or anything that would be legitimately worrying from a wild
animal. Ty’s skin looked unbroken, though. Zane turned him around,
examining Ty’s chest and neck and face.
He finally met Ty’s eyes, feeling the warmth spreading from his chest into
a flush of his cheeks. “You look clear, doll.”
Ty breathed out shakily. “It had crazy eyes, Zane. You didn’t see its eyes.”
“It was just a baby,” Zane assured him, cupping his face. “It was more
scared of you than you were of it.”
Ty lowered his gaze, his brow furrowing, unable to turn his head away
since Zane had hold of him. “Well, now I feel bad. I didn’t mean to scare

it, I just panicked.”
Zane stared into his eyes for a few breathless seconds, trying to grasp the
endless capacity for empathy that Ty hid behind his gruff and scruffy
exterior. “God, I love you,” he whispered.
Ty’s eyes darted up, and he was still frowning.
Zane kissed him, dragging his hands up into Ty’s hair to clutch at him and
make sure he couldn’t get away. Ty gave a muffled exclamation, hands
flailing at Zane’s chest before they finally settled on his waist. Zane kissed
him harder and messier, breathing heavily through his nose so he wouldn’t
have to break the kiss to take a breath.
He reached back blindly to find the lock on the door and turned it, then he
gathered Ty up in his arms and hefted him off the ground. Ty wrapped
around him to help, clutching at his shoulders, knees squeezing Zane’s
waist. Zane staggered the few steps across the room and they tumbled into
the double bed.
By the time Zane came up for air, he was painfully hard in his jeans. Ty
fumbled at his belt for him, nodding in answer to the question Zane knew
was shining in his own eyes.
“Quick and quiet, let’s do this,” Ty gasped.
Zane got to his knees and yanked his shirt off, tossing it away. Ty was still
struggling to get Zane’s belt and jeans unfastened, and Zane let him work
at that for possibly two seconds before he lost patience and swatted Ty’s
hands away. He got out of them with practiced speed as he dug in their
shared suitcase for the lube.
“Bed’s going to squeak,” Ty warned. He was stretched out, reaching for
the pillows at the head of the bed.
Zane’s cock jumped at the memory of the first time they’d shared this bed.
They’d wound up fucking on the floor because of the noise Ty claimed the
bedframe would make. He glanced around the room, his heart thudding
almost painfully at his chest. He strode over to the tattered old chair in the
corner, an old corduroy armchair that had once been a rocker but had at
some point in its lifetime lost its legs. It sat low, so low that when Zane
threw himself into it, his knees were at the same level as his eyes. He
slouched down so his long legs were splayed in front of him, and he
beckoned at Ty with a smirk.
“Does this squeak too?” he asked, squirting lube into his palm.

Ty’s eyes were so dilated as he looked Zane over that they seemed black in
the yellow light cast by the old bulbs in the ceiling fan. Ty stretched up and
pulled the cord to turn those lights off, and they were thrown into the
garish light of the Christmas lights that hung outside the window.
Ty crawled off the bed, his hands gripping Zane’s knees and dragging up
his thighs as he kissed from Zane’s groin up to his neck. By the time their
lips met again, Ty was straddling him.
Zane’s fingers dug into his hips. He could feel the sinuous movements as
Ty rolled his hips.
“Scoot,” Ty whispered. He was on his knees, legs pressing into Zane’s
hips. There was barely enough room in the old chair for them both. They’d
make do, though.
Zane let Ty maneuver as he slicked them both up, easily sliding two
fingers into him as Ty stroked him. Ty groaned and bit Zane’s lip.
“Get on it, Tyler, we don’t have all night,” Zane whispered.
Ty edged forward, struggling within the confines of the chair, and he had
to bend his body away from Zane in order to get his ass on Zane’s cock.
Zane bit his lip as he watched Ty’s face, watched his eyes flutter closed,
his lips part, and his tongue come to rest against his top teeth. He
shimmied his hips, working Zane’s cock inside him, and it drew a plaintive
gasp from between those sinful lips that had Zane’s body burning under
him.
Zane couldn’t fucking help it, he grabbed a handful of Ty’s hair and
yanked him close for a kiss. Then he shoved his hips up, trying to bury
himself deep. Ty gasped, his fingernails digging into Zane’s shoulder. But
the arms of the chair held Ty’s knees right where they were, and he
couldn’t spread his legs wider to allow Zane deeper. Zane could feel him
trying to, though, feel his cock trying to force its way into that tightness,
and he whispered Ty’s name hungrily.
Ty tried to find a better position, rocking his hips, grabbing at Zane’s hair
as he leaned back and rolled his ass around, working Zane into him,
growling Zane’s name angrily when Zane tried to thrust into him and
undid all the work he’d managed. In the end he finally managed to force
Zane’s cock so deep Zane’s balls were slapping Ty’s ass as he was riding
him. His back bowed as he grabbed Zane’s hair like the reins of a horse.
He was gasping Zane’s name, desperate as Zane jacked him off.

Zane watched him raptly. He whispered Ty’s name like it was sacred. He
begged him both to make the torture end and make the pleasure last
forever. He held onto Ty’s waist just so he could feel the power in him, feel
the evidence of the sullied truth that Zane sought with every thrust of his
hips.
Zane wasn’t sure which one of them started to come first, or which one of
them managed to kiss the other before they could shout their pleasure. And
he wasn’t sure how they wound up on the floor when they were done.
Ty patted him on the belly, breathing hard and laughing as they stretched
out on the rug. “Next time let’s just start on the floor, huh?”
“Sure thing, baby.”
“No rabies?”
Zane laughed. “I don’t know. I forgot to check.”

Mean & Green

Zane could hear the laughter from down the hall, a riotous, out of control
burble of guffaws and cackling. He glanced around the work group when
he looked up from his forms, realizing that he was the only one of their
team still there. Ty was nowhere to be seen, and Zane immediately knew
what the source of the laughter was.
He was already smiling when he got up to go investigate. When he arrived
at one of the interrogation suites, he found the observation suite packed
with people, all snickering and laughing and trying to be quiet as they
watched the interview on the other side.
“What’s going on?”
“Oh Jesus, Garrett. You have to see this,” Fred Perrimore said as he bulled
his way through the crowd so Zane could get a front row glance at the
interrogation.
Ty and Scott Alston sat on one side of the table in the interrogation room,
facing a man in a red and white Santa suit that was scuffed and blackened
with dirt and soot.
“Are they grilling Santa?” Zane asked incredulously
“Yes,” Perrimore wheezed, barely able to keep himself from laughing.
“But they made a bet before they went in there.”
“Oh God.”
“They can’t say anything to him that isn’t a line from the Grinch song.”
Zane pressed his lips together tight, trying not to smile.
“The first one who makes the other one laugh gets the collar,” Michelle
Clancy said, standing at Zane’s arm and watching with shining blue eyes.
“Grady has kept a straight face the entire time.”
“Alston almost lost it the first line. Ty led with ‘you’re a mean one, Mr.
Grinch.’ Classic.”
Zane wished he’d been able to see that. “And Santa hasn’t caught on yet?”
“He’s so bombed, I don’t think he’s even aware he’s under arrest. Or that

he’s dressed as Santa.”
“What’d he do?”
“Cat burglar. Slid down Dan McCoy’s chimney.”
Zane looked at Perrimore with wide eyes, thinking he was joking.
“God’s honest truth,” Perrimore said as he held up one hand. “Tumbled out
into the Christmas tree and damn near gave his wife and kids a heart
attack.”
On the other side of the glass, Santa had just concluded a long, bumbling
ramble as he tried to explain his actions. Scott Alston leaned toward him,
his blue eyes looking cold and fierce as he narrowed them. Ty sat beside
him, both of them grave and serious. The speaker near the window played
Alston’s voice loud and clear.
“You’re a nasty wasty skunk.”
The observation room burst into peals of laughter. Some of the observers
had to tumble out of the room.
Inside the room, Ty turned his head away, covering his mouth with his
hand. He closed his eyes as his shoulders began to shake, and he got out of
his chair without a word and hurried to the door.
Zane could hear his laughter ringing out before the door closed.
At the table, Scott Alston still sat with a straight face. Zane had no idea
how he managed it.
Zane threaded his way through the merry crowd to find his partner, who
was leaning against the hallway wall, trying to catch his breath as he
laughed. When he looked at Zane he was grinning from ear to ear, wiping
tears from his eyes as he tried to regain control.
“That son of a bitch got me,” he said, still snickering.
Zane chuckled and nodded. “Nasty wasty is not something you tend to
hear in an interrogation.
Ty burst into uncontrollable laughter all over again.
The crowd was dispersing now that the bet had been won, leaving Ty and
Zane alone in the hallway. Ty’s eyes were shining with leftover mischief as
he tried to calm himself.
Warmth and affection were spreading through Zane at alarming speeds.
His biggest fear for the last few months was that someone at work would

notice the way he looked at his partner, that one of them would be able to
see the love and contentment he felt whenever he concentrated on Ty.
“How is it that you are always in the middle of these things?” Zane asked
Ty, trying to feign exasperation.
"It’s a talent, I don’t know." Ty gave him that infuriating shrug he seemed
to have mastered, and Zane narrowed his eyes. Ty looked up and down the
hall, like a kid thinking about skipping class. “Our Christmas V-word starts
in less than two hours. I say we bail early and go home and find some
mistletoe.”
“The Christmas V-word starts when we finish our paperwork,” Zane
corrected as he turned back toward their desks.
Ty groaned and trailed along behind him for a few steps, but then he
grabbed Zane’s elbow and yanked him into the doorway of the empty
break room.
For a second Zane thought Ty was going to kiss him. He didn’t dare do it
at work, though. That was something they’d never risked, because it was a
slippery slope to getting caught fucking on the new copier or something
during their lunch hour.
"What are you doing?" Zane hissed as he glanced around the room and
then back to the hallway.
Ty waved at the break room, which was littered with green plastic plates
and red Solo cups. Every surface hosted trays half full of cookies,
cupcakes, delicacies brought from home, and one unfortunately lopsided
fruitcake.
Zane eyed the remains of the office party they’d had for lunch, then shook
his head in confusion when he met Ty’s eyes. The gleam he found in Ty
was close to terrifying. “What?”
"I found us a deserted place, Zane," Ty answered, his voice trembling. He
bit his lip so he wouldn’t laugh.
Zane scowled, completely befuddled. “What?” he repeated.
"There’s desserts everywhere." Ty gave the countertops and the trays a
graceful wave of his hand. "Deserted."
Zane blinked rapidly, his mouth slowly falling open. “You brought me in
here for a pun?”
Ty finally let go and began to laugh, the sound ringing off the drop ceilings

and flimsy walls.
Zane grabbed him by his lapel and kissed him. “I love what Christmas
does to you,” he snarled before he released Ty and stalked away.
Ty was still laughing as he trailed after Zane, back to their work pod.

Yours & Mine

Zane put the last dish away, dried his hands, and shut off the kitchen light.
The living room was anything but dark, though, with the ambient light
from the crackling fire and the colored lights on the tree. It made for a
pretty picture, one Zane would never have expected to have: a home for
the holidays with his lover and nothing hanging over his head. It was an
incredible feeling.
He padded over to the stairs in his socks, plucking at his loose sweatpants.
“Are you coming back down here or am I turning off the tree?”
“Don’t turn it off,” Ty called down. Zane could hear him walking around
above him, and soon Ty came thumping down the steps. He wore reindeer
socks and a pair of flannel pajama bottoms with Santa Clauses and candy
canes all over them. This was their first real Christmas together, since
they’d spent the last one on board a cruise ship in the brig. Zane had
known that Ty enjoyed the holidays, but he’d been shocked to see just how
much Ty loved Christmas.
“Since we’re leaving in the morning,” Ty said as he came downstairs, “I
thought tonight would be a good night to do our gifts to each other.”
“Okay,” Zane said as he tried not to laugh at Ty’s pajama pants like he had
the first five times he saw them. Yet again, he wasn’t really successful. “I
thought about getting you flannel pajamas,” he said, snapping the elastic of
the waistband at the small of Ty’s back as he walked by. “But then I saw
these, and I knew I would never top them.”
“Grinch,” Ty said as he went to the refrigerator and grabbed one of the
plastic water bottles he kept beside it on the counter. He moved back
toward Zane and stepped closer, kissing him before he strolled into the
living room.
Zane followed right behind him, and when Ty stopped, Zane slid his arms
around Ty’s waist and hugged him from behind.
Zane had really enjoyed the holidays this year. It had started the first day
of October when Zane had come home from the gym to find Ty hanging
off the roof of the rowhouse three stories up, putting up Halloween
decorations. Thanksgiving had been low key, a short trip to Philadelphia to
visit with Deuce, Livi, and Amelia. And Zane wasn’t sure why he’d been
surprised to come home from a long day at work to find Ty dragging

Christmas decorations down on Black Friday.
Between the heady feeling of impending Christmas, the high they still
seemed to be floating on since they’d gone months without almost dying,
Ty’s open affection when it was just them at home, and the piles of snow
outside, Zane couldn’t think of anything to improve the holidays.
Ty reached around to pat Zane’s hip, and he laughed as he turned his head
to look back at him. He pointed toward the tree. Under it was an array of
presents, mostly for Ty’s family. There was a small box wrapped in
different paper, though, and it sat atop one of the larger ones.
“I ran out of the sparkly paper,” Ty told him with a grin. “Figured you’d
appreciate one that didn’t shed on you anyway.”
“I don’t know. Getting all the glitter off ends up being pretty fun,” Zane
said. He pressed his lips to Ty’s bare shoulder. “Your present is the larger
of the two blue ones.”
“We talked about the limitations on these things, right?” Ty asked uneasily.
“Yes, baby, we did,” Zane said before kissing behind his ear. Ty wasn’t
uncomfortable with the fact that Zane was very well off financially, but he
was uncomfortable when Zane spent money on him. Zane really didn’t
care about how much money he had, and he cared even less about how
much of it he spent if he thought it was something Ty would like. But he’d
kept that firmly in mind when he came up with Ty’s gift.
Ty petted his cheek before moving toward the tree. He bent and pulled the
two presents out, setting them in the middle of the floor before sitting
cross-legged near the fire. “Come sit.”
Zane laughed but joined him on the floor, sitting on the other side of the
presents. “All right, Blitzen. Open your present.”
Ty narrowed his eyes, but he reached for the present and turned it over
carefully to slide his finger under the tape. For someone who seemed to
have a lot of little kid in him at Christmas-time, he was excruciatingly
careful with opening the present. The box was light, only about as big as a
standard shirt-size box, and the paper was a plain blue with white
snowflakes and a cheap stick-on ribbon. Zane felt a moment of nerves,
more than he’d felt when he’d given Ty the compass pendant that hung at
his neck.
Ty set the paper aside and gave Zane one last look before pulling the top
off the box. When he pushed aside the white tissue paper, the firelight

reflected off the shiny purple fabric of a shirt that was trimmed in black at
the collar. Numbers were on each shoulder, and when Ty held up the
Baltimore Ravens jersey, there was a 12 on the front too.
Ty held it up and grinned widely. “Hey!” He turned it over to look at the
back and laughed when he saw the name stitched into it. “Bulldog.” A
nickname most everyone at the Bureau had used for him, and one Zane
loved dearly.
Ty’s eyes shone almost green in the firelight. “Thank you, darlin’,” he said
as he crawled closer to kiss Zane.
Zane ran his hand through Ty’s hair while he was close. “I’m glad you like
it.”
“My other one is more gray than purple now, so it’s perfect,” Ty told him
as he held the jersey up again. He folded it neatly and placed it on his
knee; then he looked up at Zane with a nervous smile.
Zane reached out to touch his cheek, smiling at him, before he picked up
the smaller package, maybe the size of a coffee mug in a box, and poked at
the shiny ribbon Ty had wrapped around it before he found a seam and tore
the tape to remove it.
But Ty wrapped a present like he made a bed, with the precision and care
of a Marine. It wasn’t possible to open it without tearing it. With a wry
glance up at Ty, Zane started pulling at the paper and tore it along the side,
trying to find the end that was folded inside somewhere so he could get to
the box. After a few more rips the paper finally pulled loose, and Zane held
a hinged box in hand. It was sturdy, solid wood and stained deep ebony.
There were no markings on it. Zane ran his fingers across the top of the
smooth wood and then opened it, tilting the box toward the fireplace so he
could see what was inside.
Resting in a cradle within the box was a high-end Tag Hauer wristwatch. It
was simple, with a black face and black leather band set off by a chrome
casing.
Zane stared down at it for a couple moments. “Wow,” he said faintly
before he looked up at Ty.
Ty gave him a jaunty grin. “Try it on.”
Zane lifted the box again and slid it off the fitted cradle. He set the box in
his lap and turned the watch over in his hand to unfasten it. The firelight
glinted off the stainless steel underside of the watch. Zane frowned when

he thought he saw a scratch on it, so he unfastened the small buckle and
folded open the band to look.
It wasn’t a scratch. The back of the watch was engraved.
Yours.
Zane’s breath caught along with the stutter-step of his heart. “I love it,” he
managed to say.
“Good. Engraving makes it non-returnable.”
Zane shook his head and snorted as he set the watch and box aside. He
leaned forward, clasped the back of Ty’s neck with one hand, and pulled
him close for a long, slow kiss. Ty smiled against his lips, obviously
relieved that Zane was pleased.
Wanting Ty closer, Zane pulled back just enough to snake his arms around
Ty’s torso, and he dragged Ty through the torn up paper and into his lap.
Ty didn’t even put up a token struggle like he might usually. He climbed
over him, staying on his knees and straddling Zane’s thighs, putting both
hands on Zane’s shoulders as he kissed him. Zane pulled him close, fingers
gripping warm skin as their mouths slid and caught and Zane tipped his
head back, more than happy to give in to Ty’s attentions.
Ty’s hands slid into his hair and the goatee scratched at his chin and lips as
they kissed. Ty pulled back long enough to look down at Zane and give
him a self-conscious smile. “I mean what it says. With everything I am.”
Zane stared up at him, entranced. “That means more to me than any gift,”
he whispered.
Ty’s smile widened into one of his signature grins, and he bent his head to
kiss Zane again, taking his time with it. It stirred the warmth inside Zane
and he felt his skin heating with each stroke of Ty’s tongue against his.
When their mouths parted, Zane whispered, “I want you.”
Ty breathing was harsh as he nodded. “We have got to start stashing lube
down here,” he said with feeling before kissing Zane hungrily.
Lips giving under his lover’s, Zane moaned and dragged his hands down
Ty’s back to grasp his waist. “Kitchen drawer with the paper and pens,” he
panted when Ty finally let him breathe. “I brought it down here after the
last time we got caught on the stairs.”
Ty pulled back and looked down at him. “Really? Well hell, go get it,” he
said as he climbed off Zane and began yanking off his reindeer socks.

Glitter & Shine

Ty sat in the middle of his normally tidy living room, surrounded by scraps
of wrapping paper and ribbon, boxes waiting to be wrapped, rolls of paper,
several different types of cutting devices, and a pile of neatly wrapped
presents behind him on the couch. He had pieces of tape on his nose, and
he was covered nearly head to toe with little sparkling pieces of gold
glitter.
Zane didn’t even try not to laugh as he shut the door behind him, closing
out the cold. “What happened to you? You look like a demented elf.”
“The paper had glitters on it, Zane,” Ty said, as if that was somehow
Zane’s fault. He even had them on his face; his trimmed goatee was full of
shiny golden bits.
“I see that,” Zane said as he shrugged out of his coat and hung it up. He
brought a bag with him and set it in one of the armchairs, and after another
moment of looking at Ty, he pulled out his cell phone and crouched down
in front of him. He had to have a picture of this. “Hey, doll.”
“Do it and you’ll be making calls out of your ass,” Ty muttered without
looking up. He tied a ribbon into an ornate bow and then tossed the present
over his shoulder to land on the couch.
Zane narrowed his eyes and decided to chance it, snapping the photo
without waiting to use the flash.
Ty looked up when he heard the phone make the shutter sound, and he
grumbled as he wiped at his cheek with his wrist. “I can see it on my nose,
it’s making me cross-eyed,” he muttered. “Do you buy presents for your
family?”
Zane raised an eyebrow and eased himself to sit on the floor and lean back
against the couch. “I send a bunch of things to Sadie, let Annie pick and
choose what to give her.”
“You don’t get your mom and dad anything?”
Zane shook his head.
Ty frowned, but the effect was comical as the furrows and creases in his

face were magnified by the glitter. “Well … at least you have me,” he
offered cheekily as he pulled the last unwrapped present toward him.
Zane grinned, happy to push aside the topic of his family. “Merry
Christmas to me.” He reached out and brushed his thumb through Ty’s
goatee. Ty had grown fond of not shaving since he’d retired, and Zane
wasn’t complaining. Zane loved the damn thing, the rakish look it gave Ty,
the rasp of it on his skin. And now it … glittered. He chuckled and plucked
the pieces of tape off Ty’s nose. “You’re a mess.”
“Awash with holiday cheer,” Ty grumbled. He glanced up at Zane and
smirked as he plucked the piece of tape off Zane’s finger and used it to
tape down one side of the wrapping. They both knew that Ty loved
Christmas more than almost anything else.
“You could sing for me,” Zane said. “That’s cheerful.” He grabbed a roll of
transparent tape and pulled off a couple more pieces, sticking the ends on
his fingers so Ty could use them one by one.
Ty glanced up at him, still smirking. “It’s weird singing in my living
room,” he told Zane. “Couple years ago they recorded me singing
Christmas songs at the church. I’ll hunt up a copy for you.”
Zane smiled, somewhat appeased. He had heard Ty’s version of the Star-
Spangled Banner, and Zane was absolutely dying to hear his lover hit all
the notes of O Holy Night. He added another piece of tape to his finger.
“So when are you going up?”
“What do you mean, when am I going up? You’re coming with me.”
“Ty,” Zane said gently. “You know I have to work.”
“Then I’m staying with you, Zane,” Ty said without looking up from the
wrapping.
Zane smiled, looking over the face he’d come to love so much it hurt
sometimes.
“I’m not letting you sit in the house by yourself on Christmas.” Ty taped
up the present and turned it over to wrap a ribbon around it. He glanced up
at Zane carefully. “We’ll go up the first off day you have and see Ma and
Dad, take Chester his shiny thing, and we’ll spend Christmas here.”
“You’d be okay with that?” Zane asked as he held out another small piece
of tape to anchor the ribbon. “I’d rather not give Mara a reason to hate me
for Christmas. But that’s your decision to make, not mine.”

“It’s our decision, baby.”
Zane reached out and ghosted his fingers over the compass rose pendant at
Ty’s throat. “Okay then.”
Ty swatted at Zane’s hand. He was still smiling as he tied the bow on the
final present and held it up triumphantly. Then he tossed it over his
shoulder to join the rest, and he wiped his glittery hands on his equally
glittery jeans. “Maybe we can head up there this weekend. Dad always
goes out to cut down a tree by himself, and I’m afraid he’ll need help this
year. Maybe we can use your having to work as an excuse to go help him.”
“Yeah, well, stubborn runs in the family,” Zane teased as he leaned
backward and twisted to pull the bag out of the chair behind him.
“Tytanium.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of,” Ty muttered as he began picking up pieces of
scrap paper and ribbon. He looked up at the bag and scowled. “That’s not
another present, is it? I just used up all the paper.”
“Presents,” Zane corrected. “But they’re already wrapped. I just need to
put names on them.”
“What are they?”
Zane cleared his throat and felt his cheeks color a little. “Presents,” he
repeated. “For you and a the Sidewinder guys.”
Ty laid his head back on the couch cushion and grinned widely as he
looked up at Zane. “What’d you get?” he asked again, a hint of a tease in
his voice.
“You’ll find out Christmas,” Zane huffed.
Ty reached out and gave Zane’s knee a pat, leaving his hand there as he
turned his head and yawned. “If I don’t go shower soon, the house will be
covered in this stuff,” he said through another yawn as he looked at the
glitter on his hands.
“What about dinner? Want me to order something in?” Zane asked as he
pushed at some scrap paper with his boot.
Ty turned to look up at him, an evil grin suddenly on his lips. He rolled to
his knees and put himself between Zane’s legs, one hand on each knee.
Where his fingers touched, they left trails of sparkling gold specks behind.
Zane smirked when he saw the light in Ty’s eyes. “We’ll both need a
shower if you do what I think you’re about to do.” He spread his knees to

draw Ty closer as he gave him a challenging wink.
Ty moved in like he was going to kiss him. Instead, he pressed his cheek
against Zane’s and proceeded to pin him to the back of the couch as he
rubbed his face all over Zane’s and then rolled him to the ground to stretch
out over him, wiping the glitter off on him in every possible way he could.
Zane tried to grapple with him, but he was laughing so much he couldn’t
get hold of him. He gave in and grabbed Ty’s ass to pull him close. Ty
rubbed his face against Zane’s affectionately and then kissed him through a
grin.
Zane opened his eyes to look up and see Ty hovering above him, probably
prepping another glitter bomb. He was grinning uncontrollably as he lay
under Ty.
“Next year, I’m using the funny pages,” Ty said in a somber tone.
Zane snickered and reached up to try to brush glitter off Ty’s cheeks. “Or
pay the nice lady at the mall to wrap them for you.”
Ty shook his head. “The fun’s in the wrapping.” He kissed Zane again and
pushed off him, ineffectually brushing the glitter off his shirt front.
“It was for a good cause,” Zane said as he propped himself up on his
elbows. “Christmas Angels. If you buy a toy and donate it, the people at
the table wrap your gift for you.”
“That’s nice, Zane,” Ty said, a verbal pat on the head as he took a long step
over the wrapping debris on the floor and headed for the kitchen. “So we’ll
leave in the morning?” he asked as he went to the sink.
“Works for me.”
Ty washed his hands, took a paper towel to dry them, and used the damp
towel to wipe at his face as he walked back into the living room. “Did I get
it?” he asked in amusement as he lifted his chin to show his face to Zane.
He still had glitter around his eyes and in his goatee and eyebrows. His
forearms were still sparkling.
“Yeah, baby. You got it.”
“Shut up.”
“I think the shower is your only hope,” Zane answered as he sat up. He
gave Ty a leer. “Unless you’re thinking of taking up pole dancing.”
Ty responded with his customary cocky grin. “I’d be a kickass pole
dancer.” He waved at the living room floor. “If you clean this up for me,

I’ll be willing to deal.”
Zane was on his knees in an instant starting to pick up scissors and tape
and bits and pieces of ribbon as Ty headed upstairs to shower. It was sad
what a pushover he was when Ty waved the right enticement in front of
him.

Cut scene

Zane dragged Ty into the bedroom and kicked the door shut behind them
before pulling him over to the chair in the corner. Good God, was his
partner taxing his patience.
“Sit your cranky ass down,” Zane said. “You need entertainment? You’re
too goddamned twitchy to sit still? Fine. You can watch me.”
“Watch you what?” Ty asked petulantly. He smacked at Zane’s hand and
Zane smacked him right back, then pushed him into the armchair next to
the bed.
He put both hands on the arms of the chair, trapping Ty there, knocking his
knee against Ty’s leg. Then he caught Ty’s chin in one hand to kiss him,
hard and fast and messy, before standing back up.
“Hands on the chair,” he ordered.
Ty narrowed his eyes as he looked up at Zane. “Why?”
Zane took two slow steps toward the bed, pulling his T-shirt over his head.
He dropped it at Ty’s feet before straightening to his full height and folding
his arms. “Hands on the chair,” he repeated slowly.
Ty looked him up and down, a hint of suspicion and apprehension still in
his eyes. But he placed his hands on the arms of the chair and leaned back
carefully, meeting Zane’s eyes.
Smiling slowly, Zane nodded and worked at his belt, pulling at the tongue
and buckle. “One simple rule, doll. You move; I stop.” He popped the
button on his jeans.
Ty’s eyes darted down to watch his hands, then back up to meet his eyes.
“Zane,” he said slowly, obviously still not quite with the program.
Zane raised one eyebrow as he toed out of his running shoes, kicking them
aside. “I seem to remember, vaguely perhaps, you expressing a wish to sit
in a corner and watch me … what was it?” he drew out as he reached for
his zipper.
Ty’s eyes widened and he swallowed hard, leaning forward slightly. “Wait,
what? And you want me to just sit here?”
“That’s right,” Zane said, trying not to smile just yet. “Just sit there and

don’t move your hands. Or any of the rest of you.” Instead of drawing
down the zipper, Zane pushed the heel of his hand against himself in his
jeans. He was about half-hard already, definitely interested in the effect he
was having on his lover.
“Darlin’, come on,” Ty murmured. His eyes raked over Zane’s body. “I
can’t sit still watching dust fly through the air, you really expect me to sit
here and watch you do that without moving?”
“Yes,” Zane snapped, loosening the waistband enough to slide one hand
down into his jeans to fondle himself, just so he could watch Ty’s reaction.
Ty was shaking his head, his eyes darting from Zane’s face to his hand and
back in patent disbelief. He wasn’t moving, though.
“I’m not misremembering, am I?” Zane drew out as he slid his hand
further into his jeans and curled it around his cock.
“What I say after fucking you should never be used for evil,” Ty
protested. “This is evil, Zane. This is evil!”
Zane reached with his left hand to start lowering his zipper, agonizingly
slow. “Evil. No, evil would be me on my knees between yours and telling
you that you can only watch.”
Ty’s breath hitched; then he snorted loudly and raised his chin. “Payback’s
a bitch, Zane. You just remember that.”
The zipper hit bottom, and Zane slid his left hand in over his briefs, his
right still buried under the fabric. “I’m counting on it, baby. I know what
you can do with your mouth.” He pulled both hands loose so he could push
his briefs down a little, exposing the dark curls at the juncture of his legs,
just low enough to give Ty a hint of his hardening erection. “But just how
sure are you about what I could do with mine?”
“I know you can talk with it,” Ty answered drily.
Zane smiled and pushed his jeans down the rest of the way, stepping out of
them as he strutted around the end of the bed. He glanced over his
shoulder to find Ty’s head cocked, watching him and breathing hard. Zane
smirked at him and palmed his cock, stroking himself a few times as he
leaned his back against the wall. He spread his legs for balance.
Ty rested his head back against the chair and shifted in his seat. He closed
his eyes and licked his lips, then shifted again, obviously agitated.
“Open you eyes, Ty,” Zane ordered. His voice had gone harsh as his

fingers stroked over the head of his cock.
Ty obeyed, and his eyes were full of fire when he met Zane’s. Zane lifted
his hand to his lips and sucked sloppily on his thumb before lowering it to
trail across the head of his cock. He sighed shakily.
Ty muttered a curse and shook his head, eyes still riveted to Zane. His
body still appeared relatively relaxed, but his knuckles were turning white
as he gripped the arms of the chair and one knee was bouncing rapidly.
Zane shifted to arch his back against the wall as he dragged his thumb
down to the base of his cock. He cupped himself and squeezed gently, then
more firmly, catching his breath. He was fully erect now with Ty’s eyes
one him.
Ty slumped in his chair, shifting his hips as he tried to alleviate what were
probably some pretty tight jeans. Zane smiled as he dragged his hand up to
wrap around his cock and give it several long, slow pulls, letting a soft
moan out before circling the head with his thumb. Then he sucked on it
again and repeated the action. “You never used to believe me,” he said, and
his voice came out husky. “That sometimes all it took to get me hard was
looking at you.”
Ty closed his eyes and shook his head. “I believe you, Zane,” he said
desperately. He slid one foot across the carpet and raised his chin,
practically writhing in the chair. “I’d like to protest the rules.”
This time Zane licked his entire palm and fingers before starting to jack
himself outright. “You can protest all you want,” he said throatily. “Just
don’t move your hands.”
Ty groaned plaintively, but he didn’t look away as he squirmed in his chair.
It was obvious even from where Zane stood that he was now fully aroused
and fighting the instinct to deal with it.
Zane started pushing his hips up, thrusting into his fist instead of pumping
himself, and the fingers of his other hand went between his lips, and then
his wet fingers trailed down his chest and circled a taut nipple. “Was this
what you wanted to watch, baby? When you thought about it?”
Ty’s breaths were heavy, and he glared at Zane balefully. “Yeah,” he
answered in a low voice. “Only with less clothing on and a whole lot more
for my hands to do.”
Zane answered with a soft chuckle and gasp as he squeezed himself.
“Which would you rather have? Use of your hands or me on my knees in

front of you?”
“I’d rather have you all to myself,” Ty answered breathlessly.
“To do what?” Zane asked as he palmed himself again.
“Whatever you wanted,” Ty told him fervently. He still hadn’t moved his
hands or even tried to sneak and touch himself. “Whatever you wanted,
baby.”
“I want to bend you over that chair and fuck you so hard you’ll scream my
name in your sleep,” Zane said immediately.
Ty groaned softly, lowering his head and shifting in his chair again. “I
want that,” he pleaded when he looked back up at Zane.
Zane let out a long, shaky breath. “Come here, doll.”
Ty practically shot out of the chair, yanking his shirt over his head and
unbuttoning his jeans as he moved toward Zane. He merely pushed them
down his hips, enough to remove the restraining material, and then he
pressed himself against Zane and kissed him hungrily. He pushed his hard
cock against Zane’s hip, moaning almost pitifully as he was finally able to
make contact.