TA Chase Why I Love Waiters

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OVE

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…Heath put in John’s order and slipped down the hall to the

bathroom. After shutting the door, he leaned against it and took a deep
breath. Holy cow! It should be illegal for that man to get any better
looking. Heath checked his face in the mirror to make sure he wasn’t
drooling.

“Ohmigod, he touched me,” he practically squealed, but softly, not

wanting to alert anyone. He wiggled and danced in a circle for a
minute before gathering himself.

Straightening his shirt, he took a deep breath and left the bathroom

to see if John’s dinner was ready. As he strolled into the kitchen, Mel,
his grandmother and the cook eyed him.

“I see that young soldier you’ve been drooling over has returned.”
“Grandma,” he protested, glancing over his shoulder toward the

dining area, “don’t talk too loud. I don’t want anyone to hear you.”

“Hush, child. No one’s going to pay any attention to me.” She

waved a hand at him. “Where’s your guy been?”

“He’s not my guy, and he was up north visiting family.” He

gathered the silverware and reached for the plate of food. “I have to
take him his meal before it gets cold.”

Mel huffed. “A Yankee, huh? I should’ve known. You can’t ever

do anything the easy way, can you, child?”

Heath paused and met her gaze. “I don’t know what you’re talking

about.”

“Right.” She snorted. “I’ve known you all your life, Heath Kane,

and I’ve seen how you look at that boy like he’s an ice cream cone you
just want to lick.”

Heath’s mouth dropped open and his mind went blank. There

wasn’t a comeback for that statement…

LSO

T. A. C

HASE

Air And Dreams

Allergies

Bastet

Be The Air For You

Bitter Creek’s Redemption

Duncan’s World

Embrace My Reflection

Freaks In Love

Kissed By God

Lift Your Voice

Nick Of Time

Nowhere Diner: Finding Love

Revealing The Past

Seduced

Seduced And Revealed

Shades Of Dreams

Soothe The Burn

Under My Bed

Voice For The Silent

Why I Love Geeks

Wolf’s Survival

WHY I LOVE WAITERS

T. A. CHASE

MBER

UILL

RESS

, LLC

http://www.AmberQuill.com

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OVE

AITERS

MBER

UILL

RESS

OOK

This book is a work of fiction.

All names, characters, locations, and incidents are products of the

author’s imagination, or have been used fictitiously.

Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, locales,

or events is entirely coincidental.

Amber Quill Press, LLC

http://www.AmberQuill.com

No portion of this book may be transmitted or

reproduced in any form, or by any means, without permission in

writing from the publisher, with the exception of brief

excerpts used for the purposes of review.

ISBN 978-1-61124-153-2

PUBLISHED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Thank you to everyone who enjoyed Herb and Chuck’s

story in Why I Love Geeks. Here’s a peek at what’s going on

with them and to watch Heath and John fall in love.

WHY I LOVE WAITERS

CHAPTER 1

Smiling, John hugged his parents and siblings, leaving Chuck

for last. When his oldest brother wrapped his arms tight around
him and hugged him, John grunted, but didn’t argue. As much as
John loved his parents, Chuck was the one he turned to when he
had problems.

“Remember, figure out if he’s interested before you do

anything. No point in ruining everything you worked for by
rushing things.” Chuck stepped back and slapped his shoulder. “If
you’re going to stay in country for a while, I might bring Herb
down to visit you. I don’t think he’s traveled much.”

“What? I’ve gone all over the world.” Herb, Chuck’s

boyfriend, huffed and crossed his arms, glaring at Chuck. “I’m
probably more well-traveled than you or your brother.”

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“Yeah, but have you seen anything other than the inside of labs

or research facilities?” Chuck cupped Herb’s cheek. “Honey, you
need to get outside more often.”

John laughed and snagged Herb into a quick hug. “Don’t

worry, Herb. I’m sure you’ve seen more of the world than I have.
I’ve seen a whole lot of sand lately.”

Herb stood on the tips of his toes and brushed a kiss over

John’s cheek. “Any man who doesn’t want you would have to be
blind and crazy. If we come down and that man hasn’t snatched
you up, I’ll talk to him and see why he hasn’t.”

“Thank you, Herb. I might take you up on your offer.”
He shot his brother a wink, and Chuck rolled his eyes. His

flight number was announced over the airport’s loudspeaker.

“I have to go.” He shook Chuck’s hand again. “Keep your eye

on Herb, bro. He’s going to keep you on your toes.”

“Each time he tells me he’s going to do an experiment, I break

out in hives. I’m never going to get over the last experiment he
tried on himself.” Chuck shuddered.

“Hey, I learned my lesson. No more invisible serums or crap

like that. I’ll save those for the top secret hush-hush agencies.”
Herb snuggled close to Chuck. “Besides, I don’t want to upset you
anymore, though when I do, the sex is awesome.”

“La-la-la,” John sang, acting like he plugged his ears. “Just like

I don’t want to know that my parents still have sex, I really don’t
want to hear about my older brother’s sex life.”

“But—”
Chuck covered Herb’s mouth with his hand. “Call us when you

get back to base.”

“I will.”
Chuckling, John went through security and waved to his family

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before heading toward his gate. Still smiling, he handed his ticket
to the lady at the counter and walked onboard. He stowed his bag
overhead and took his seat. While the other passengers took their
places, John stared out the window and thought about Chuck’s
advice.

Should he take the risk of finding out if Heath might be

interested? Or should he just continue on with his career choice
and retire from the army twenty years from now? Of course, it
would a lonely twenty years, not being able to openly date anyone,
but he could do it. It wasn’t like he’d dated anyone since joining
the army when he was eighteen.

Sure, he’d gone on leave to some big cities on his own where

he found guys willing to have one-night stands. He’d never looked
for anything more than that, but since coming to the army base and
seeing Heath at the Corner Café for the first time, John couldn’t
stop thinking about what his life could be like with someone to
care about him.

Then coming home and getting to watch Chuck and Herb as

they slowly settled into their relationship really hit home how
empty his life was. He’d already been doing some thinking about it
during his last tour. He envied seeing how happy Chuck was, even
when Herb frustrated him. Chuck was truly enjoying life for the
first time, and John thought Herb was the best thing to ever happen
to Chuck.

John leaned his head back after buckling his seat belt, closing

his eyes. He ignored the people around him, while remaining alert
to any sort of problem. Being a Ranger gave him heightened
senses, but he managed to tone them down when he wasn’t on
duty. It wouldn’t pay to freak out over something innocent.

When the plane was in the air, he let the image of Heath Kane

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pop into his mind. Slender and pretty, Heath was the definition of
twink, or at least what John always thought of as twink. Blond
curls, dark blue eyes, and an ass John wanted to pinch. Of course,
he’d managed to control that urge. First of all, no matter cute
Heath was, he might not be gay. Sure, John had caught the man
staring, but that didn’t necessarily mean Heath was gay. Maybe the
guy just had something against John personally, or maybe he
worried John would snap from PTSD.

Heath always greeted John with a smile and a cup of coffee as

soon as John sat down. Yeah, John had become a regular at the
Corner Café, not just because Heath worked there. John didn’t like
cooking for himself and living in on-base enlisted quarters meant
he could go to the mess hall, but it got boring, going there every
day. He could have a house on-base or an apartment off-base, but
he didn’t want to take space away from families who might need it.
Also, living on base made it easy when he got recalled in case of
an emergency or an incident his unit had to deal with somewhere
in the world.

It was easier to go out and have someone else cook his meal.

The food tasted wonderful at the café, and the scenery didn’t hurt
the eyes. He’d figured out Heath’s usual work schedule and tried to
go to the café when the blond worked. After making sure Heath
was working, he’d take a seat in Heath’s section.

Okay, so that made it sound like he stalked the man. John

hadn’t gone out of his way to ensure he ate at the café when Heath
was there, but he did try to get there at least once a week, so he
could get his Heath fix.

There were subtle signs of Heath’s interest. The coffee being at

John’s table as soon as he sat down. The extra-large slice of pie if
John ordered dessert. The hint of flirting when they chatted about

WHY I LOVE WAITERS

their weeks.

“Would you like something to drink, sir?”
John looked at the flight attendant and smiled. “Sure. Just a diet

soda please.”

“Certainly.” She handed him the can and glass. “Would you

like some peanuts?”

“Thanks.”
He took his refreshments without hitting the guy sleeping next

to him. All of his stuff on his tray, he tugged out his iPod and stuck
his ear buds in before turning it on. He let the music take him away
from the flight. John hated flying because he disliked being
crammed together with hundreds of strangers. He wasn’t the most
outgoing member of his family, so dealing with people tended to
be difficult for him. Serving in the army and being an officer
helped him overcome most of his shyness, yet he still didn’t like
putting himself out.

He must have fallen asleep because the deceleration of the

plane jerked him awake. John put his iPod away and returned his
tray to its upright position. He watched the ground approach and
felt the slight bump as the wheels touched down. After waiting
until everyone else got off, he strolled down the ramp and headed
toward the baggage claim area. There wasn’t any hurry. He still
had a two-hour drive to get back to the base and he didn’t have to
report for work until tomorrow afternoon.

At his truck, he tossed his luggage in the back of the cab and

slid behind the wheel. John pulled out his phone and dialed his
mother’s number.

“Hello.”
“Hi, Mom. I just wanted to let you know I landed and I’m

heading home now.”

WHY I LOVE WAITERS

“You’re not driving and talking on the phone, are you? You

know that’s really dangerous,” his mother warned.

John chuckled. “Don’t worry, Mom. I’m still in the parking

garage and I’ll make sure to put my Bluetooth in before I leave.”

“Good. I’ll let everyone know you made it all right. You’ll call

me when you get back to your place, right?”

“I will, Mom. I love you and I’ll talk to you later.”
He hung up and got out the earpiece for his phone. After

getting it set up, he started the truck and left the airport, headed
toward the base.

When he hit town, it was dinnertime and he decided to stop at

the café. He didn’t know if Heath was working or not, but he was
hungry and didn’t feel like hitting the cafeteria on base. He parked
and headed inside.

“Hey, John, been a while since we’ve seen you. You haven’t

been on temporary duty somewhere, have you?”

Grinning, he greeted the older man sitting at the counter. “Hey,

Cooter, how’s it going? I took some leave and headed up to see the
family.”

They shook hands, and John continued on to what he

considered his booth. By the time he got there, Heath had a coffee
ready for him. He breathed in deeply as he eased past Heath to sit.
Clean sweat and a fresh, musky scent filled his nose. Thank God,
the table concealed his erection from Heath.

“It’s good to see you again. I have to admit I was worried when

you hadn’t come in for a few days. I’m glad to hear you weren’t
overseas.” Heath dipped his head, peering at him through his blond
bangs and gave John a shy smile.

“Thanks, Heath. Next time I leave, I’ll stop by and let you

know where I’m going. I don’t want you to worry.” He reached out

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and touched the top of Heath’s hand with the tips of his fingers.

Heath’s gaze dropped to where their skin joined, and John

started to pull back, but Heath quickly covered his hand. They
froze, staring at each other for a second before the banging of
glasses together broke them apart.

“Thanks. I’d appreciate it. Can I get you the usual?”
“It’s meatloaf night, isn’t it?” John didn’t need to look at a

menu. He’d memorized the thing within the first couple of days
he’d come to the café.

“It is Sunday.” Heath winked. “Are you going to want a piece

of pecan pie? I’ll save you some.”

“Pecan pie? Did you make it?” He took a sip of his coffee to

keep from reaching out and grabbing Heath’s hand again.

Heath nodded. “Yeah.”
“Then I’ll have a piece.” John leaned back and sighed. “I’m

glad to be back. That drive from the airport is tiring, considering I
had a three-hour flight on top of that.”

“I’ve done that trip, and you’re right. It’s tiring. I’ll bring out

your dinner when it’s ready.”

“Thanks.”
Heath turned and walked away. John tried not to ogle the man’s

ass, but hell, Heath had the prettiest butt John had ever seen. He
hoped he had a chance to get up close and personal with that ass
soon.

* * *

Heath put in John’s order and slipped down the hall to the

bathroom. After shutting the door, he leaned against it and took a
deep breath. Holy cow! It should be illegal for that man to get any

WHY I LOVE WAITERS

better looking. Heath checked his face in the mirror to make sure
he wasn’t drooling.

“Ohmigod, he touched me,” he practically squealed, but softly,

not wanting to alert anyone. He wiggled and danced in a circle for
a minute before gathering himself.

Straightening his shirt, he took a deep breath and left the

bathroom to see if John’s dinner was ready. As he strolled into the
kitchen, Mel, his grandmother and the cook eyed him.

“I see that young soldier you’ve been drooling over has

returned.”

“Grandma,” he protested, glancing over his shoulder toward the

dining area, “don’t talk too loud. I don’t want anyone to hear you.”

“Hush, child. No one’s going to pay any attention to me.” She

waved a hand at him. “Where’s your guy been?”

“He’s not my guy, and he was up north visiting family.” He

gathered the silverware and reached for the plate of food. “I have
to take him his meal before it gets cold.”

Mel huffed. “A Yankee, huh? I should’ve known. You can’t

ever do anything the easy way, can you, child?”

Heath paused and met her gaze. “I don’t know what you’re

talking about.”

“Right.” She snorted. “I’ve known you all your life, Heath

Kane, and I’ve seen how you look at that boy like he’s an ice
cream cone you just want to lick.”

Heath’s mouth dropped open and his mind went blank. There

wasn’t a comeback for that statement. With his cheeks burning, he
left the kitchen to deliver John’s dinner. He managed to compose
himself enough to smile at the drop-dead gorgeous man when he
set the plate in front of him.

“Here you go. One plate of Grandma’s meatloaf with mashed

WHY I LOVE WAITERS

potatoes and gravy.” He refilled John’s coffee. “Are you all set or
do you need anything else?”

John took the rolled silverware and started to unwrap it,

keeping his gaze on the food. “I wondered if you could take a
break and maybe sit with me for a few minutes?”

“Why?” Surprise made him blurt that out. He dipped his head

and tried to recover. “I do have a break coming. Let me check my
other tables and make sure they don’t need anything.”

“Okay.”
He refilled his customers’ drinks while making sure they were

doing all right. He went back and grabbed a glass of soda for
himself.

“Grandma, I’m taking a short break.”
“Hmm….I know where to find you if I need you.” She waved a

spatula at him. “Don’t get too caught up in the beefcake you forget
you’re working.”

“I won’t.” He rolled his eyes as he turned back to the dining

room. Why did he ever think she needed his help?

When Heath was eighteen, he ran from this town like his pants

were on fire. He wanted to see the big city and live an interesting
life. He wanted to be openly gay and not worry about getting his
ass kicked by a bunch of bigoted rednecks. Not everyone in his
hometown was that bad, but enough of them were that he never
said a word to anyone about being gay.

Then his father and grandfather were killed in a car accident,

and Heath’s mother remarried within months. She moved to
Florida with her new husband, leaving Heath’s grandmother alone
to run the family restaurant. Grandma never really complained
about being left to fend for herself, but Heath couldn’t let the one
person who always had time for him flounder. So he dropped out

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of college and moved back home.

And here he was, living with his grandma and finishing his

college degree online. While it’d been a little lonely, and his
grandma could be a little frustrating at times, he’d learned to
accept it. Heath wouldn’t complain either. He had friends and
family around, plus one weekend a month he got to head into the
city and sow some wild oats, if he wanted.

He slid into the booth across from John and met the other

man’s gaze. He smiled and tried to think of something to say.
Heath wasn’t really good at small talk. He always worried he
sounded stupid when he chatted with people. Odd affliction
considering he worked as a waiter, but when the small-talk
counted, he either babbled like an idiot or clammed up like a mute.

John grinned at him. “Thanks for sitting with me.”
“Oh, no big deal. I just hope you don’t get in trouble for it.” He

fidgeted with his glass.

“Get in trouble? Why would I?” John set down his fork.
Heath shrugged, but dropped his gaze to the table. “I didn’t

want anyone to hassle you for hanging out with the gay guy.
Ummm…I guess I should’ve asked first if you knew I was gay,
instead of just blurting it out like that. I have a tendency to say
whatever I’m thinking. Sometimes I can stop in time, but other
times, it just falls out of my mouth like a ripe apple from a tree.”

Peering up through his bangs, Heath noticed John’s expression

was one of bemused affection. Not an emotion Heath usually
engendered in anyone, even those people who knew him.

“You sound like my brother’s boyfriend.” John’s voice

dropped and the man leaned forward a little. “Even if I wasn’t gay
myself, I wouldn’t care if you were. Who I spend time with while
I’m off-duty is my own business. Unless you’re a spy or something

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like that.”

“Of course I’m not a spy,” Heath sputtered indignantly.
John chuckled. “Any really good spy would say that to throw

me off track.”

Heath started to say something, but John reached out and

tapped the back of his hand.

“I’m teasing you. I don’t think you’re a spy. What I really

wanted to know was if you’d like to go the city with me one day.
We could get dinner and a movie. Maybe spend the night and go to
the zoo the next day.”

“Oh, wow,” Heath whispered, shocked at the idea of this man

asking him out on a date. How many nights had he fantasized
about such a thing? Probably million times since John started
coming to the café.

John took his breathless words as hesitation. “I’ll make sure we

have separate rooms. There’s no pressure for anything more than
good company.”

Well hell, Heath thought. He couldn’t very tell John he wanted

to share a room with the man now. He’d sound like the world’s
biggest slut. Yet he didn’t want John to think he didn’t find him
attractive.

“I think one room with two beds would be fine. We’re adults

and can keep our hands to ourselves. Though I hope that doesn’t
happen.” He muttered the last, half under his breath, but the
muffled laugh coming from John’s side of the booth told him it
wasn’t as soft as he thought.

“That can be arranged. I just didn’t want you to think that was

the only reason I wanted to get a hotel room.” John finished his
dinner and pushed the plate away from him. “I guess I better get
back to base. I still have to unpack and do some laundry before I

WHY I LOVE WAITERS

report for duty tomorrow.”

“Right, and I need to get back to work.” Heath scooted out of

the booth and stood, picking up John’s plate as he did so. “I’ll take
this away and box up your pecan pie.”

“Thanks.” John stood as well. “I’ll meet you at the register.”
“Okay.” He glanced up to meet John’s admiring gaze. “I’m

glad you asked me to dinner, John.”

“So am I. Chuck told me I should make sure you were

interested before I did anything that could get me in trouble. I think
I might have rushed it a little, but hell, no guts, no glory, right?”

“Ah, sure.” He had no real idea what that meant. “Who’s

Chuck?”

“He’s my oldest brother. I have six siblings.”
Heath blinked. “Six?”
“Yeah, six, and three of them are in committed relationships or

married. Then there’re three of us who are still single. At times, I
thank God I’m not living close to home or I’d get to hear the whole
‘why haven’t you found a good man and settled down yet’ speech
from my mom.” John shook his head.

“There’s only me. I can’t imagine having another sibling to

share or fight with.” Heath turned to head toward the counter.

As he walked, he swore John stared at his ass. Shooting a quick

glance over his shoulder, he caught John ogling him. He put a little
extra swing in his hips, and John grabbed his arm before he slipped
through the swinging doors.

John presented his back to the outer room. Heath looked up and

John winked.

“I know what you’re doing, and you better be careful.”
“Why?”
“We won’t be having dinner or a movie when we get to the

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city. We’ll be having sex in the hotel room all night long instead.”

“Is that supposed to be a threat? Because if it was, you really

need to work on something that would deter me from flirting with
you. Just sayin’.”

“No, it wasn’t a threat. Just a simple observation.” John

stepped back. “I’ll let you get my pie. I’m going to chat with
Cooter for a minute.”

“Gotcha.” Heath pushed through the doors and set the plate in

the sink.

“What’s got you so bouncy?” Grandma Mel looked him over.

“Like I don’t know.”

Heath danced over to her and wrapped his arms around her

ample body. He swung her around in a few steps before letting her
go to boogie his way to the dessert shelves.

“I’ve got a date.”
“Really? With beefcake soldier boy out there?” She pointed her

bread knife in John’s direction.

“Yes. He wants to take me up to the city for dinner and a

movie. We’ll spend the night and go to the zoo before coming back
home.” He hummed as he cut a generous portion of pecan pie.

“Why don’t you just give him the whole damn pie, child?”

Grandma shook her head. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

He heard the concern in her voice and went back to her. He

embraced her and kissed the top of her head. “I learned my lesson,
Grandma. As odd as it sounds, I trust him. I’ll have my phone and
my own money. If things don’t go like I thought they would, I’ll
get a room and call you the next morning. I promise.”

“I want to meet him before you go anywhere.” She patted

Heath’s cheek. “You’re my little honey child. I don’t want
anything to happen to you.”

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“I know and I love you, too. Tell you what, I’ll have him over

for dinner one night this week when neither of us is working here,
and you can grill him about his intentions toward your only
grandson.” He kissed her again and snatched up the take-out box
with the pie.

She chuckled. “I might be old, child, but I still remember what

a good-looking man like that soldier boy of yours usually wants.”

Their laughter mingled as he entered the eating area. John

glanced up from where he stood talking to Cooter, and Heath
caught his breath at the heat of desire burning for a quick second in
John’s dark eyes before he looked back down at the elderly man
sitting next to where he stood.

Wow! If John looked at Heath like that very often, Heath would

have to go home and take a cold shower. Glad the apron covering
the front of his pants hid his erection from everyone in the room,
Heath sauntered over to the register.

“Here’s one piece of pecan pie to go.” He set it on the counter

and pushed it toward John.

“Can’t go home without a piece of Heath’s pie, huh?” Cooter

elbowed John. “Can’t blame you, boy. It’s almost as good as his
grandma’s.”

“It should be. It’s her recipe,” Heath informed his oldest

customer. He took John’s money and gave his change. “You’ll be
back on Tuesday, right? It’s taco night.”

“I wouldn’t miss it. Here’s your tip. You two have a good

night.”

Heath waved good-bye and started to stick the dollar bills in his

apron pocket. The crinkle of paper caught his attention. He pulled
the money out and unfolded it to see a piece of paper tucked in the
middle. He opened it and saw a number written in a strong, upright

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penmanship. Call me later, John was written under the number.

With a slight fist pump, Heath stuffed the paper in his jean’s

pocket instead of his apron and practically waltzed off to take care
of his other customers. The rest of the night had better fly by
because he had a phone date with a gorgeous man. He paused as a
thought hit him. Maybe they could have phone sex later.

WHY I LOVE WAITERS

CHAPTER 2

Heath nibbled on his thumb, staring at his phone. When should

he call? Was it too soon? It’d only been four hours since John left
the restaurant. Was it too late? He shot a glance at the clock. It was
eleven and maybe John had gone to bed early because of all his
traveling that day.

He unfolded the paper with John’s number on it and studied it.

It wasn’t the first time he’d gotten a number from a guy while
working at the café. A lot of men thought he’d be interested in a
hook-up, even married guys in town for vacation or work.
Snorting, Heath shook his head. Maybe…if he hadn’t been raised
to believe sex should be with someone he cared about, not some
stranger whose name he’d probably never even know.

Oh, he’d slept with a few guys when he got to college, but he

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knew all of them and it wasn’t just a one-time thing. He tried to
have some kind of relationship with them. Could that be why none
of them stuck around? Could he have been too clingy and pushed
too fast for a serious relationship?

Heath tossed the paper on the counter and stalked away,

tugging his hair in frustration. God, he wished he had more
experience with guys; then he’d be able to figure out exactly what
John wanted. Stopping in front of the hallway mirror, he touched
the faint scar on his jaw.

He understood why Grandma Mel worried about what John

wanted, yet every instinct in Heath’s body told him John wouldn’t
treat him like Seth did. Of course, Seth wasn’t looking for anything
except a gay boy to beat up, and Heath had blindly walked into the
beating. Thank God, he got away with nothing more than a few
broken bones, bruises, and some scars. It could have been a whole
lot worse.

No living in fear was a motto he believed in. He wasn’t going

to hide just because someone might take exception to who he
loved. Straightening his shoulders, he took a deep breath. He’d
called John. The worse that could happen would be John didn’t
answer the phone. Didn’t mean the man didn’t want to talk to him
or anything. He could be asleep or busy.

He stalked to his phone and picked it up, dialing John’s number

from memory. Was it sad that he’d already memorized it?

“Hello?”
“Hi, John. It’s Heath.”
“Hey there. Just a sec.”
The sound of a door opening came over the phone line and he

wondered where John had been. Voices echoed in the background
and he heard John say something, even though he couldn’t

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understand what it was.

“You still there?”
“Yeah. I’m sorry. I probably called at a bad time, but I couldn’t

decide whether I should call you now or wait. I didn’t want to
wake you up because I know you were tired from traveling.” Heath
snapped his mouth shut.

Oh God, he sounded like a babbling idiot. He wouldn’t be

surprised if John hung up on him right then and there.

“I was just catching up with some of the guys in my unit. We

pretty much scattered as soon as we landed in country and got the
okay for leave.” John chuckled. “Don’t worry about waking me,
Heath. I’m used to working on very little sleep.”

His nerves got the best of him and he paced from one end of his

couch to the other, which was how far the cord of his phone let
him go. “Umm…okay. How were their vacations? Did they have
fun?”

“Yeah, but is that really why you called me?”
John’s question was low, and heat settled low in Heath’s

stomach.

“Well, I called you because you told me to. I’ll admit I’m a

little freaked out about this because I really don’t know you. Just
been seeing you the last couple of months at the café, but we never
really talked about things. I didn’t know if you were gay or not and
I didn’t want to piss you off if you weren’t. ’Cause you could beat
the living daylights out of me if you got mad.”

“Honey, breathe. Don’t worry. I was looking at you as hard as

you were looking at me, and I’d never have come after you.” John
paused for a moment before continuing, “As I said before, even if I
wasn’t gay, I wouldn’t have gotten mad at you. My parents raised
me to treat people with respect until they show me they don’t

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deserve the respect. I don’t care who you sleep with, though I’m
hoping it’ll be me eventually. What I’m saying is I like you, Heath,
and don’t ever be afraid of me.”

“See, I got beat up two years ago by a guy I thought was

interested in me, so I tend to be a little cautious now,” Heath
admitted as he twisted the cord in his fingers.

“I’d never do anything like that to you or anyone. I fight to

protect myself or the people I love. I don’t use my strength to hurt
people who’ve done nothing to me.” John sounded sad.

Heath heaved a sigh and sat down on the couch. “I know that,

or at least I felt you wouldn’t be the kind of guy who’d do that to
me. I just wanted to let you know if it seems like I’m moving slow.
Though I guess it probably doesn’t seem like I’m moving slow,
does it? I called you and agreed to go to dinner with you.

“Oh, by the way, my grandmother would like you to come

from dinner. She wants to check you out for herself. She tends to
be a little protective of me ever since the episode where I got beat
up.”

“I need to introduce you to my brother’s partner. I really think

you two would get along really well. Of course, Chuck and I
probably won’t be able to get a word in edgewise,” John teased.

“Wow…you’d introduce me to your family?” Heath couldn’t

believe that. No one had ever said he wanted Heath to meet anyone
important to him.

“Yes, I would. You might get a chance soon, too. Chuck said

he and Herb would come down to visit me. Hopefully, I stay in
country long enough for them to come.” John sounded weary.

“Are you getting tired of leaving so often? I know your unit’s

done at least three tours in the Middle East. That has to be hard on
families.” Heath curled up in the corner of his couch, tucking his

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feet under him.

“I don’t tell my family where I’m going. I usually just let them

know I’m not going to be able to call them as often. The only one I
tell the truth to is Chuck. He’s a New York police detective, so he
doesn’t tend to panic as quickly as my mother would.” John
grunted.

“Seriously? A detective? And you’re a soldier? Your family

believes in protecting people, don’t you?” Heath blinked as he
thought about his family. “We just believe in feeding people.”

“I think your grandmother and my mom would get along really

well, too. Mom likes to feed everyone. All my brothers and sisters
get together every Sunday for dinner at my parents.”

He couldn’t imagine what that would be like. John had

mentioned he had six siblings. What were their dinner
conversations like? Did they all enjoy spending time together or
did they get tired of each other after a while? Heath only had his
grandma now. He didn’t have much contact with his own mother.

“Mom gets very insistent about family dinner. Chuck used to

get four or five calls a week to make sure he’d even show up.
Yeah, my oldest brother tends to be a hermit and avoids as many
gathering as he can. At least, he used to. Now that he and Herb are
together, Herb makes him go to dinner every week. Drives Chuck
crazy, but I’m sure Herb makes it up to him.”

The suggestive tone of John’s voice brought heat to Heath’s

cheeks. Why was he blushing when John wasn’t even in the same
room with him? He bit his lip. Did he have enough nerve to start
something?

A voice spoke in the background and John said, “Hold on a

moment, Heath.”

Shoot. John wasn’t alone or in a spot where he could engage in

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some phone sex. Heath pouted slightly before he gave himself a
mental slap. He shouldn’t be thinking about phone sex when it was
the first time they even really talked. From not wanting to rush
anything, he’d jumped right into plotting how to get John in bed as
quickly as possible? His inner slut wanted free to play with John,
but Heath didn’t want to come across as easy, so he’d have to play
it cool.

“I wish you were here with me. I want to taste your lips.” He

hit his forehead with the phone. “Way to play it cool, Heath.”

“Wait. Are you hitting something with the phone?”
“Ow! Yes, that was my head.” Heath rolled his eyes. “Sorry

about that.”

“Why be sorry? Just don’t do it again. Never apologize for

telling me how you feel.” John’s voice dropped, and Heath
trembled. “I want you to be honest with me and tell me what you
want or feel. I can’t read your mind, though if I could, I bet it’d be
a wild trip.”

“Are you saying I’m crazy?” he joked.
John laughed. “No, sweetheart. Just know that I feel the same.

Hey, I have to go. Gotta get up early tomorrow to report for duty.
Tell your grandmother I’d be happy to come for dinner. I’ll call
you tomorrow and we’ll figure out what day and time. I know
you’re both usually busy at the café.”

“True, but we can take a night off when we need to. Grandma

Mel has a friend who comes in and covers for her.” Heath plucked
at the leg of his sweat pants. “Thanks for humoring her. She
worries about me. I’m her only grandchild.”

“Don’t worry about it. I totally understand. My mom’s the

same way. If we lived up in New York, you can bet I’d be getting a
phone call informing me I had to bring you to dinner some Sunday.

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Then you’d get the whole Davidson family interrogation. Well, all
except my dad and Chuck. They stay quiet on things like this.”

Heath nodded before remembering John couldn’t see him. “I’ll

tell her first thing tomorrow. Good night, John. Have sweet
dreams.”

“My dreams have been sweet since the first day I met you,”

John whispered. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

They hung up, and Heath jumped to his feet, doing his own

version of the Twist and Mashed Potato all around the room. Woo-
hoo! He’d actually called John and for the most part had managed
not to sound like a complete idiot. In fact, John seemed to enjoy
the fact Heath had no real censor between his tongue and brain.

Heath had gotten into trouble throughout his life because of his

low tolerance for bullshit and his inability to curb his mouth. Yet
something told him, John would watch his back for him if he got in
trouble again. Or would if their relationship got further along than
a phone call.

He rushed over to his laptop and brought up his email. He

typed up a note and sent it off to Becky, his best friend. He would
call her, but then he’d be up until early the next morning because
Becky could talk. She lived in Los Angeles and worked in the
movie business. She always had the good gossip about stars, yet
this time he had news and he wanted to tell her all about the
progress he’d made with John.

She knew about John since one day at work, Heath took a

picture of the man and sent it to her. That probably could be
considered stalking, but he wanted her to tell him what she thought
of John. Sometimes he got too caught up in a pretty face, but
Becky had an unnerving knack of seeing people and knowing
exactly what they were like just by looking at their faces. He

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thought it had to do with the fact her grandfather was the seventh
son of a seventh son, and passed on his talents to her. Becky
simply said she was good at reading expressions.

Becky was still at work, so he wouldn’t hear back from her

until later, meaning he needed to go to bed. He didn’t know how
he was going to sleep from all the excitement of the day, but he
needed to get up early in the morning to head over to the café and
start the biscuits baking.

Life in the old town was starting to look up for the first time in

years.

“Hey, Davidson, you want to grab a bite?”
John grinned at Larry, one of the men in his unit, and shook his

head. “Sorry. Can’t tonight.”

“Got a date?” Larry leered at him.
“No. Just meeting a friend for dinner.”
He hated lying, but he couldn’t risk Larry finding out about his

interest in Heath. John didn’t worry about himself; he could deal
with anything the others threw at him. He didn’t want Heath to
suffer any backlash from the others in his unit.

After hearing about the asshole who had beat up Heath, John

didn’t want Heath to encounter anything like that again. He’d been
so angry after he hung up, he’d gone out for a long run, exercising
off the urge to find the man who’d hurt Heath and kick the shit out
of him.

“Cool. I’ll catch up with you later.” Larry waved as he walked

off.

“Not if I can help it,” John muttered as he jogged toward the

enlisted quarters and his room. He wanted to clean up before
heading over to Heath’s grandmother’s house.

After he got in his room, he pulled out his phone and dialed

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Heath’s number.

“Hello?”
“Hey, Heath, it’s John.” He pinned the phone between his

shoulder and his ear while he started to unbutton his shirt.

“Oh, hi. How are you?”
Sighing, he stripped his sweat-stained shirt off and tossed it

toward the laundry basket in the corner of the room. “Tired, but
good. Did some training exercises and I think I might have twisted
my ankle.”

“Are you okay?” Heath sounded worried. “If you don’t feel

like coming, I’ll understand. I don’t want you to be uncomfortable
or anything.”

“Oh, I’m fine. I was calling to let you know I’m taking a

shower and changing before I head out. Should I bring anything
with me?” He grunted as he sat on his bed and reached for his
boot.

“No. Grandma wanted to make sure there wasn’t anything you

were allergic to or hated eating?”

John chuckled. “Have you seen me, honey? I don’t hate eating

anything. I’m pretty easy when it comes to food.”

“Just food?” Heath’s flirty comment held a little hesitation.
Flopping back on the bed, John stared up at the ceiling. He

managed to get his pants undone and unzipped, giving his cock
some more room. He’d never gotten hard from just talking to a guy
on the phone.

“Umm…well, I could probably be easy for the right guy.”

Heath choked, and John laughed. “Weren’t you expecting me to
say that?”

“Not really,” Heath admitted with soft laughter. A voice

sounded in the background. “I have to go and help Grandma with

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dinner. I’ll see you in a little while.”

“All right, Heath. I’ll be there soon.”
He hung up and let the phone fall to the sheets beside him. He

lay on his back and slid his hand down his stomach to wrap around
his cock. Shit. Maybe it was the low, sweet drawl coloring Heath’s
words as he spoke, or was it the thought of plunging his dick into
Heath’s tight ass while the man wiggled beneath him making him
hard.

John tightened his grip around his cock and caressed as he

imagined Heath’s slender body writhing under him. He grunted as
he thrust through his fingers, while sliding his other hand down to
palm his balls.

Closing his eyes, he sped up his stroking and he tugged on his

balls, chasing the pleasure until the base of his spine tingled with
the need to come. He gave one more hard shove and wet heat
coated his hand as he came. John waited until his pulse slowed
before he sat up. Leaning over, he grabbed a towel he’d left on the
floor that morning and wiped off his hand.

After standing, he threw the towel in the laundry basket, along

with his pants and underwear. He went into his bathroom and
turned on the shower, then washed his hands and brushed his teeth
before climbing under the hot water. He cleaned off quickly.

Within ten minutes, he strolled out of his room and headed to

his car. Heath had said he didn’t need to bring anything, but John
had been taught not to arrive at someone’s house empty-handed.
Since he didn’t know if Heath or his grandmother drank, wine or
beer was out.

He stopped at the flower shop and picked up two bouquets of

flowers: one of daisies, and one of purple and yellow pansies.

“Well, aren’t you a nice young man? Some young woman’s

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lucky to have you.” The florist grinned at him as she arranged the
flowers.

“I hope so.” John paid for his purchase.
He climbed in his truck and double-checked the directions to

Heath’s grandmother’s house before taking off. God, he hoped
Heath and his grandmother liked flowers because he couldn’t think
of anything else to get them.

Heath walked out on the porch as soon as John turned into the

driveway. John grabbed the flowers while he climbed out and met
Heath’s dark blue eyes. Did his smile look as goofy as Heath’s?

The blond raced down the steps and flung himself into John’s

arms. After making sure the bouquets weren’t squished, John
embraced Heath. Heath encircled John’s waist with his legs and
brought their lips together.

He swept his tongue along the seam of Heath’s mouth,

encouraging the other man to open for him. Yielding, Heath
whimpered as John invaded his mouth, stroking their tongues
together. He spread his legs to brace for support as Heath rubbed
his body against his stomach.

“Heath child, you bring that boy in here. If dinner has to wait

any longer, it’s gonna burn.”

“Oh shoot,” Heath muttered and dropped to the ground. “I

totally forgot about Grandma. I hope you don’t mind me grabbing
you like that. I don’t usually greet guys I haven’t even gone out on
a date with like that, but I really wanted to taste your smile.”

“I’m not going to complain about being greeted like that,

Heath.” John held out the bouquet of pansies. “And these are for
you.”

Heath’s eyes widened in shock as he took the flowers. “You

brought me flowers?”

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John ducked his head with a bashful smile. “Yeah. I hope

you’re not allergic or anything. I wanted to get you something
nice.”

“I’m not allergic. I love flowers, and no one’s ever bought me

any before. Not that I had many boyfriends before or invited any of
them over to have dinner with Grandma Mel and me. She’s never
met any guy I liked, not even Seth, though that was probably a
good thing because she’d have gone after him with a cleaver or
something after he beat me up.”

John took Heath’s hand and entwined their fingers. “You

know, I think all the guys you used to date were idiots. Why not
bring you flowers?”

“Maybe they thought flowers were too girly, whether giving

them to someone or getting them.” Heath shrugged, burying his
face in the bouquet. “How did you know I liked pansies?”

“I didn’t know. I liked them, plus the purple and yellow mixed

together means forget me not.”

Heath looked at him and grinned. “I don’t think I’ll ever forget

you.”

“That’s wonderful, child, but get him inside or I’ll be eating by

myself.”

They turned to face the older woman standing on the porch.

John couldn’t begin to guess her age because her unlined face and
still-blonde hair belied how old Heath’s grandmother might have
been. Heath resembled her, though, with the same slender build
and dark blue eyes.

John approached Heath’s grandmother and held out the parti-

colored daisies. “These are for you, ma’am.”

Her eyes lit up as bright as her grandson’s did when she took

the flowers from John. “Daisies. These are beautiful, but what do

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they mean?”

“These mean beauty.”
She raised her eyebrows at him, and he winked. “Flirting with

an old lady? Shame on you, child.”

“Grandma, this is John Davidson. John, this is my grandma,

Melinda Kane,” Heath introduced them.

John took her hand and bowed over it. “It’s nice to meet the

woman who had a hand in raising Heath. I can see where he gets
his good looks from.”

“Hush, child. Stop flattering me and come inside. We have

dinner on the table.”

She smiled at him, and John relaxed slightly. The initial

meeting had gone well. He hoped the rest of the evening went as
well. He followed Melinda through the door into the house. Heath
waved him toward the back of the house.

“Let’s go in the kitchen. I want to put these in water.”
“Good idea, honey.” Melinda went ahead of them.
“Thank you for asking me to dinner, Mrs. Kane. I appreciate it

since you have to cook all day at the café.” John didn’t let go of
Heath’s hand.

Maybe he shouldn’t show his attraction to Heath like that, but

he figured if Melinda didn’t care Heath invited a guy to dinner,
then she wouldn’t care if he held hands with him. When they got in
the kitchen, Heath peeled away to grab two Mason jars from a
cupboard.

“While Heath puts the flowers in water, why don’t you set the

table and I’ll serve up the food.” Melinda handed her bouquet to
her grandson. “And call me Melinda, John. If you’re going to be
sniffing around my grandson, we should call each other by our first
names. We might even grow to be friends.”

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His cheeks heated, but he met her steady gaze with his own.

“All right, Melinda.”

He shot a look at Heath, whose cheeks were red as John bet his

were. John gave Heath a quick smile before he tugged the plates
and silverware out of the cupboards Melinda pointed at.

“What would you like to drink?” Heath stood next to the

refrigerator. “We have beer, tea, or soda.”

“I’ll have a beer.” John finished setting the table, and the others

joined him. He waited until Melinda and Heath were seated before
he took his chair.

“I see someone taught you manners.” Melinda served up three

plates full of pan-fired steak with mashed potatoes and corn bread.

“My mother was adamant her children learned how to behave

and not embarrass her in front of people.” John took a bite of the
steak and moaned. “Melinda, I wish my mother could cook this as
well as you do.”

Melinda looked pleased, and John bumped his knee against

Heath, who had managed to stay quiet for a while now, though
John could tell it was difficult for him.

“Is your mother a good cook?” Melinda asked.
“Yes, she is. Really good at Italian food and she makes a mean

dessert, though I have to admit, Heath’s pies are far better than
hers.” He laughed. “Don’t ever tell my mother I said that.”

“What are your intentions toward Heath, John? I know you

haven’t slept together yet, though from the kiss Heath gave you,
my grandson would like to take you to his bed ASAP.”

John coughed, and Heath slapped him on his back while

glaring at his grandma.

“Grandma, you promised you wouldn’t embarrass him.”
Heath pounded until John gestured for him to stop. Taking

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Heath’s hand in his, he squeezed it gently.

“Don’t get too mad at your grandmother. She loves you and

wants to make sure you don’t get hurt. She doesn’t know anything
about me, except I’m stationed at the army base.” John met
Melinda’s serious gaze. “I promise I won’t ever hurt your grandson
on purpose. I will do everything in my power to make him happy
and if our attraction become serious, I’ll put his heart first in my
priorities.”

“Nice speech, young man, but you’re in the military. Will you

still serve if you and Heath become close?” Melinda raised her
hand to stop Heath from talking. “I know about them repealing that
idiotic law about gays in the military, but you and I both know it
doesn’t mean anything to certain people.”

John eased back in his chair and frowned. “You’re right, and if

you’re asking me to chose between Heath and my career, I can’t
give you the answer you’re looking for. Not at the moment.”

Turning to look at Heath, he continued, “I’m not saying I

wouldn’t do it, but we’re just getting to know each other, Heath.”

Heath rolled his eyes. “I believe you, John, and don’t worry

about Grandma. She hasn’t figured out my personal life isn’t any
of her business.”

“Child, the way you devour this man with your eyes and

bounce around the house after talking to him, I’ve already gone out
and bought earplugs.” Melinda’s grin was wicked. “I bet it’s going
to get loud when you two hit the sheets.”

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CHAPTER 3

John nearly spit out his beer, while Heath looked like he

wanted to slide under the table and hide.

“Grandma!” Heath’s voice cracked in embarrassment.
“What, honey? I’m just telling the truth. Hopefully, you’ll work

out some of your lust when you go into the city.”

Grandma Melinda stood up and reached for the plates. John

jumped to his feet and started to help.

“You’re a guest, John. You don’t have to help me.” She eyed

Heath, who still sat with his hands covering his face. “My
grandson should be helping out his old grandmother.”

Heath muttered under his breath, but joined them in cleaning

off the table. Melinda continued to ask John questions about his
family and job. He answered what he could, though a lot of his

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missions were classified. She nodded and encouraged him to talk
about his brothers and sisters.

After they finished the dishes, Melinda shooed them out of the

kitchen.

“Go sit outside. Why don’t you show him your old tree house,

Heath? It’s time for my TV show.”

Heath grabbed John’s hand and dragged him out of the house

so fast, John swore there were flames shooting from their feet. He
chuckled as Heath led the way to where a large oak tree stood. Its
thick branches extended over the ground under it and supported a
rather elaborate tree house. He watched Heath climb the wooden
ladder attached to the trunk of the tree. His gaze fastened on
Heath’s ass and the muscles flexing as Heath climbed.

“Are you coming up?”
John blinked and met Heath’s knowing grin. Shrugging, he

winked up at Heath. “I won’t apologize for ogling you. Put your
ass in front of me and I’m likely to forget we’re in the open with
your grandmother watching us from the kitchen.”

“Nosy old woman.” Heath shot an affectionate glance back at

the house.

“I think she’s great. She reminds me of my mother. It’s obvious

she loves and cares about you. I can deal with her meddling as long
as she doesn’t interrupt us while I’m fucking you.”

A sharply inhaled breath made him laugh. He eased through the

opening and onto the floor of the tree house. Glancing around, he
noticed several blankets and pillows, along with a small cooler.

“Wow. This is pretty nice. Do you come up here a lot?”
Heath wrinkled his nose and settled down on the blankets. He

patted the spot next to him, and John joined him. John leaned back
against the wall and, instead of sitting with Heath, he encircled the

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man’s waist to pull Heath onto his lap. His heart jumped when
Heath snuggled close into his embrace.

“Yeah. My dad and granddad built this for me when I was

little, and I’ve just kept it up. I like it up here. It’s quiet and, at
night, it can be cool when the weather gets too muggy.”

Heath’s moist breath bathed John’s neck and he shivered.

Sliding his fingers through Heath’s blond curls, he cradled the
back of his head and brought their lips together.

“Oh.”
John invaded Heath’s mouth, stroking his tongue over Heath’s

teeth and teasing Heath’s tongue into his mouth. He sucked on it,
and Heath whimpered. As Heath wiggled around, John’s cock
stiffened from the rubbing. He gripped Heath’s hips and rocked
their groins together.

“God, you’re big.” Heath bit his lip when John snorted. “Okay,

so you’re big everywhere. Thank God. I’d be very disappointed if
you weren’t big in certain areas. Not that I wouldn’t want you
anyway. Hell, you could be really small and I wouldn’t care. I’d
still want to climb you like my own personal oak tree.”

Mentally biting his tongue, John managed not to laugh in

Heath’s face. “I’m more than thrilled to be used as your own oak
tree. I’m hard enough to hammer nails.”

He rolled his eyes. Did he just say that?
Heath giggled before scrambling off John’s lap to kneel

between his legs. Sucking in his stomach, John let Heath fumble
with his belt and zipper on his pants. It was a first for him, fooling
around in a tree house, though John wasn’t going to stop Heath
from doing whatever he wanted.

“Oh yeah,” Heath whispered as he revealed John’s cock to the

cool night air.

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John swore Heath almost clapped when he saw John’s erection.

His head hit the wall of the tree house when Heath leaned down
and swallowed his shaft down to the base. He stroked his hand
over Heath’s head, not holding him or anything, just staying
connected while Heath licked his cock like a Popsicle on a hot
summer night.

“Honey, you’re really good at this,” he murmured, trailing his

fingers over Heath’s hollowed cheeks.

Heath hummed, but didn’t stop bobbing up and down while

fondling John’s balls. Tingling slipped down John’s spine to pool
at the small of his back. He tried to keep still, but his hips kept
arching off the floor. Heath didn’t protest and actually encouraged
him to move.

Holding on to the sides of Heath’s head, he surged into his

mouth and with each thrust, John’s climax built until he tapped
Heath’s face in warning.

“I’m gonna come, honey.”
Heath didn’t back off, and John flooded his mouth. As he

jerked and his dick twitched, Heath drank John’s cum down. Every
last drop was licked up and John’s softening prick cleaned until
Heath let it slip out of his mouth. Heath dropped his head to rest it
on John’s hipbone.

When he could think again, John put his finger under Heath’s

chin and lifted the man’s head until their eyes met.

“How do you want me? Hand, mouth, or what?”
Heath blinked those amazing dark blue eyes and blushed. “No,

I’m good.”

“Are you sure? I certainly don’t mind getting a chance to see

you naked or have your hot little body under my hands.”

“That’s okay. I…umm…came when you did.”

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“Really?”
Heath nodded, and John moaned softly. “God, that’s hot.”
He tucked his cock back inside his pants and fastened them

before gathering Heath into his arms. They snuggled together
while John studied Heath’s face up close. He touched a scar on
Heath’s chin.

“What happened here?’
The happiness in Heath’s eyes faded slightly. John remembered

something Heath had said to him earlier.

“Did you get this from that Seth guy who beat you up?”
Heath nodded, but didn’t say anything else, which John thought

strange. He eased Heath back so he could look into Heath’s eyes.

“You’re not embarrassed or worried that I’ll think badly of

you, are you?”

Shrugging, Heath looked away.
“Oh, honey, I’m not going to judge you.” He cupped Heath’s

face in his hands and brushed a kiss over his swollen lips.

“You don’t think I’m a wimp or pathetic?” Heath laid his hands

on John’s shoulders before nuzzling into John’s hand.

John shook his head. “No. I don’t. You obviously trusted

someone you shouldn’t have, but it’s not your fault. I’m sure the
bastard never gave you a moment to doubt him before this
incident.”

“No, he didn’t. I might be a little flighty at times, but I’m not

stupid with a death wish. I wouldn’t have put myself in the
situation where he’d have a chance to hurt me if I didn’t trust him.”
Heath pursed his lips and wrinkled his nose. “Seth was cute and
seemed so nice. After chatting me up for a couple days at the café,
he finally asked me out, and I said yes. It was our first date. I
probably was a little ripe for the picking in a way. I hadn’t really

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dated anyone or spent any real time with another guy. I was a loner
in high school, though I did have Becky. She’s my best friend, and
thank God, she doesn’t live anywhere near us, or she’d have been
here for dinner as well. She can’t wait to meet you.”

Opening his mouth to say something, John shut it as Heath

continued on.

“Not that I’ve been talking to her about you. Well, not a lot, but

she does know I’ve been checking you out since you first started
coming to the café. She kept asking me to send her a picture of
you.

“I don’t want you to think this is stalkerish or anything like

that, but I took a picture of you at the café one day and sent it to
her. She thinks you’re a hottie. Okay, so I talk about you all the
time and she thinks it’s adorable I have a crush on you, but really?
What guy wants to be adorable? I want to be sexy and hot.”

John pressed his finger to Heath’s lips, stopping the outpouring

of words. Heath wrapped his mouth around the tip of John’s finger
and flicked it with his tongue. John growled low in his throat as
Heath flashed him an innocent look.

“You’re going to get yourself into trouble, honey,” John

warned.

Heath let go of John’s finger and moved his hands to the

buttons of John’s shirt. “If it’s trouble from you, I think I can
handle it and I might just enjoy whatever kind of trouble you give
me.”

“Do you really think this is the best place for us to do this for

the first time?”

Pausing, Heath glanced around and pouted. “Shoot. I wasn’t

thinking. I don’t have any lube and condoms since I don’t bring
anyone else up here besides Becky, and I don’t ever plan on

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sleeping with her. Not that she’s not beautiful, but she’s a girl.
Eww!”

John agreed with Heath’s reaction to sleeping with girls. “Why

don’t we just kiss and neck a little? Sleeping together will give you
something to look forward to when we go into the city for the
weekend.”

“Okay. I like that idea. You know, Seth took me to the bar

here, and I should’ve known he wasn’t interested in dating me. The
bars here aren’t gay-friendly and I wouldn’t have been able to
touch him or anything like that. When we got there, he had a
couple friends waiting for us and instead of going inside, they
dragged me into the alley and started beating me up.” Heath’s
voice quivered as he stared at John’s chest while he slowly played
with the buttons of John’s shirt.

“How did you get away? Didn’t anyone come to help you?”
Heath sighed and dropped down against John, entwining their

fingers. “They beat me up pretty good, but I managed to get to the
alley opening where some guys leaving the bar saw me and they
helped me. They scared Seth and his bullies away. The guys from
the bar didn’t seem to care I was gay. They stayed with me until
the police got there. I know not every straight guy is bigoted. I
mean some of the guys I met in college weren’t narrow-minded or
out to fuck me up because I was gay.”

“I wished I’d been there. I’d have kicked Seth’s ass and

thanked the men who helped you.” John clenched his free hand,
trying not to show how angry he was at how Heath was treated.

“I wish you were there as well. It would’ve kept me from going

out with Seth in the first place.” Heath grinned. “Don’t be too
upset. I’ve gotten over it for the most part. Now I tend to be a little
cautious when I meet guys for the first time.”

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John raised an eyebrow, and Heath snorted.
“Yeah, considering what we just did, I’m sure it doesn’t really

seem like I take my time to trust a guy before I do shit like this.
God, you must think I’m a complete slut. I’m not, you know. I
can’t seem to help myself where you’re concerned. Every time I
see you, my entire body goes on high alert and all I can think of is
getting you in me somehow. Whether it’s sucking you or you
fucking me, I just want to get to that point as quickly as possible.”

John burst out laughing, and Heath stiffened, pulling back even

farther. John shook his head.

“Oh no, honey. You aren’t getting a chance to get away from

me.” He gripped Heath’s arms, keeping him on his lap. “I wasn’t
really laughing at you. You remind me of my brother’s partner so
much when you ramble on like that. Makes me realize how Chuck
feels when Herb gets going.”

* * *

“Do you think your brother will like me?” Heath ducked his

head and winced. God, he sounded like a girl. Why didn’t he just
hand John a note saying, Will you be my boyfriend? Check yes or
no.

“Oh, I think he’ll like you and I’m pretty sure Herb will adore

you.” John chuckled again. “In fact, Chuck and I are going to have
to keep an eye on you two when you get together.”

“What’s he like? Your brother’s boyfriend?” He settled back

on John’s thighs, trying to ignore the solid muscles under his ass.
Shit, he wanted John to pin him to the blanket and take him ’til he
screamed. He gave himself a mental shake. He could control his
inner slut for a while, at least until he could drag John back to his

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apartment over Grandma’s garage.

He froze in shock. Why hadn’t he thought of that sooner? Of

course, his mind had been scrambled by sucking John off and he
couldn’t really think straight after doing that. Heath leaped up and
tugged John to his feet.

“Come on. Let’s go to my place. I have lube and condoms.” He

practically wiggled out of his skin at the thought of having John
inside him.

“Where’s your place? I’m not sure I want to drive all over town

tonight.”

Heath skidded to a stop right before he started climbing down

the ladder. He shot John a worried glance. “You’re kidding, right?
I thought you wanted to fuck me.”

His bottom lip started to stick out as tears built in his eyes. John

yanked on his hand and he fell into the man’s arms. He reared
back, ready to bitch John out when John kissed him.

All thoughts of crying, pouting, or bitching shot out of Heath’s

head as John took his mouth like an invading army. He wrapped
his arms around John’s shoulders, stroking his fingers over the
nape of the bigger man’s neck as they swapped spit and nibbled on
lips.

He jumped up and encircled John’s waist with his legs,

hooking his ankles together. John staggered a little, but caught his
balance before they fell over. He placed gentle bites along John’s
jaw, down his throat, and sucked softly. He knew better than
actually to leave a mark, even in places where John could cover
them with clothes. There were times when John had to take his
shirt off in front of his fellow soldiers. As much as Heath wanted
to mark John as his, he wouldn’t do it if it got John in trouble.

“Easy, honey.” John squeezed Heath’s ass, massaging each

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cheek as they made out. “We don’t need to fall out of the tree
house. Your grandmother would never let us live it down.”

“Oh, right,” Heath muttered, not really paying attention to him

while he ground his groin against John’s flat, hard stomach.

“You know I was joking about not wanting to drive around

town, right? I think I’d trek all over the country to be able to bury
myself inside your gorgeous ass.” John’s words had a slight hitch
in them because Heath kept licking and nipping John’s neck.

“Oh, okay. That works for me.” He pressed his mouth to John’s

chin. “I live over Grandma Mel’s garage. So we don’t have far to
go and once we get down from here, you can throw me over your
shoulder and carry me to my bed. I always wanted to be carried off
in the arms of a handsome knight. Thank God, you’re big enough
to do it without cringing or stumbling the last few feet and
dropping my ass on the floor right next to the bed.”

John laughed and shook him slightly. “If we’re going to climb

in bed together, then we need to get down out of this tree and start
the fun.”

“But aren’t we having fun right now? I certainly am.”
“Yes, I am, too, but I think we can have lots more fun lying

down.”

Heath shuddered as John ran his finger down the seam of

Heath’s jeans and rubbed it over his hole. John winked at him, and
Heath dropped his legs.

“Okay. Let’s go.”
Once he got his feet on the floor, he whirled around and started

descending the ladder. When he got to the ground, he shifted and
wiggled like an eager puppy while John made his way down to
him. He giggled as John swept him up over his shoulder and
headed toward the garage.

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“This isn’t quite what I meant by being swept up in your arms.”

He reached down and patted John’s ass. “Though I have to admit,
the view is really nice from here.”

John pinched his butt. “Be careful or I just might drop you.”
“You wouldn’t do that.” Heath laughed.
“What are you two playing at?” Grandma Mel stepped out onto

the back porch and eyed them with amusement.

“Uh…nothing, Grandma. Just going to my place.”
“Right, child. You hurt your ankle or something?” She folded

her arms over her chest and raised an eyebrow.

John sounded like he was choking so Heath knew he wouldn’t

be any help. Unfortunately, he couldn’t lie to his grandma either.

“No, ma’am.” He tried to figure out what to tell her.
“We’re going to Heath’s apartment to have sex, Melinda. You

were obviously joking about getting ear plugs because no matter
how loud Heath gets, you won’t be able to hear him from over the
garage.” John grinned at Melinda. “Of course, you could just turn
up the radio in your bedroom if you hear something.”

Heath dropped his head, face burning. “I can’t believe you said

that to my grandma,” he muttered.

“Go on, children. Have fun.” Grandma waved as John headed

up the stairs leading to Heath’s apartment.

“’Night. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Make sure you two come in for breakfast.”
He waved in acknowledgement before gasping as John swung

him off his shoulder and set him down. He glared at his soon-to-be
lover.

“Why’d you put me down now?”
“Because the door appears to be locked and I can’t open it

without a key, which I don’t have,” John pointed out.

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“Oh.” He dug through his pockets and yanked out his keys.

“Usually, I leave it open when I’m over at Grandma’s.”

“No problem, honey.”
Heath unlocked the door and pushed it open. Before he could

step in, John swept him up in his arms again and carried him into
the front room. He winced as John kicked the door shut behind
them.

“Where’s your bedroom?”
Pointing down the hallway, he said, “Last door on the right.”
John strolled toward Heath’s bedroom and somehow managed

to pat Heath on the ass. “You need to stop moving around or I will
drop you…and it won’t be because I couldn’t carry you anymore. I
swear my packs are heavier than you are.”

“Thanks, I think.” Heath froze. “Sorry about squirming. I’m

just so excited about getting to sleep with you I can barely sit still.
But I will because I don’t want you dropping me. That wouldn’t be
very romantic and I want my ass to hurt because you fucked me,
not because it’s bruised from hitting the floor.”

“Get ready, honey. Your wish is my command.”
Heath found himself flying through the air and hitting his

mattress with a bounce. He gasped and his eyes widened at the
sight of John stripping.

“Oh my.”
“You should start taking your clothes off. It’ll make everything

go faster.”

“Right.”
He couldn’t get his hands to move. All he could do was watch

all that tanned skin appearing from under John’s button-down shirt.
Licking his lips, Heath couldn’t wait to run his hands all over those
muscles and warm body.

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It was like the best Christmas Day ever and John was his

present. Heath forced his body to move and he stripped quickly,
tossing his clothes across the room and not caring where they
landed. Once naked, he crawled across his bed to his nightstand
and pulled out a strip of condoms and a tube of slick. He threw
them on the blanket and settled back on the pillows with his legs
spread. John moaned and joined him on the bed.

Heath pouted. “I wanted to touch you.”
“Next time. I don’t think I’d last long if you got your hands on

me,” John admitted.

As much as Heath really wanted to touch John, he wanted John

to fuck him more. “Okay. I guess I can wait to learn every inch of
you.”

John swooped in and crashed their teeth together while they

kissed. Heath winced as John bit his lower lip, then sucked it in to
lick it with his tongue. His hips arched off the mattress and ground
their erections into each other.

They broke apart, and Heath gasped in air to fill his lungs. John

trailed kisses down Heath’s chest and wrapped his lips around the
flared head of Heath’s cock. A gentle tug on it made Heath
whimper. God, he wanted John in him right then. He tweaked one
of John’s ears and his man looked up at him.

“What was that for?”
“Don’t waste time on foreplay. I’m ready for you to stretch me

and get to the really good stuff.” He leered.

“But foreplay is part of the good stuff,” John protested, even as

he reached for the lube.

“And next time you can play with me all you want, but I can’t

wait anymore tonight.”

John flipped the cap open and squirted some slick on his

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fingers. Heath bit his lip and closed his eyes with a sigh as John
slid his fingers between Heath’s cheeks. He rubbed over Heath’s
hole before pressing one tip into him. Arching up, Heath pushed
back, trying to relax enough for John to sink deeper.

“Oh fuck, honey, you’re so tight,” John commented. He eased

back and placed two fingers at Heath’s entrance.

“Please,” Heath begged. “I need more.”
Two fingers became three along with John’s other hand

wrapped around Heath’s cock. Soon Heath rocked between the
sensations. Each push in nailed his gland and he panted as pressure
built under his skin. Right before his climax exploded around him,
he laid his hand on John’s shoulder and squeezed.

“Wait. I’m going to come and I don’t want to do that until

you’re inside me.”

John reared back and snatched one of the condoms Heath had

thrown on the bed. Heath braced his hands on the wall behind his
head and spread his thighs as far as possible. John lifted him, his
hands gripping Heath’s butt while he filled his inner passage.

Heath tried to relax and push down, helping John take him.

They froze when John buried himself as deep as he could get.
Heath met John’s dark eyes and electricity shot through him.
Ropes of white cum shot from his cock and he gasped, trembling
with each spurt. John held him through it all, though he did wrap
his hand around Heath’s prick and pump, encouraging him to spill
even more.

“Holy hell, that’s never happened to me before,” Heath

confessed as he dropped his head back and tried to catch his
breath. “I mean, maybe when I was a teenager and a stiff wind
would make me hard, but never since I managed to control my
body.”

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John’s rather smug grin tickled Heath for some reason and he

giggled. “Proud of yourself, huh?”

“Oh yeah. Every guy likes to hear he turns his lover on so

much, the man comes without needing any help.” John flexed his
muscles and the two joined in laughter.

Heath patted John’s broad chest. “I think you need to move, big

man.”

John leaned forward, bracing his hands on either side of

Heath’s head and started stroking in and out. Heath’s eyes rolled
back as John’s thick cock slid inside him. With each shove in, it
was like John claimed him all over again, yet Heath couldn’t get
enough of the man. Sweat dripped on his face as John reamed his
ass hard and fast.

The scent of sex filled the air and Heath breathed deeply,

relishing not only that smell, but also the salty tang of sweat mixed
with John’s underlying musky aftershave. He would have to go
and buy himself a bottle of it, so he could smell it when John
wasn’t around to sniff.

“I’m coming,” John warned.
Heath tightened his inner muscles, and John shouted, freezing

as he filled the condom. Heath smoothed his hands down John’s
sweat-drenched back when his strength gave out and his lover
collapsed on him.

They lay together, waiting for their pulses to stop racing and

their breathing to ease. Heath drifted along, savoring John’s heat
and weight on him. He nuzzled John’s temple.

John rolled to the side, and they both moaned as John slid out

of him. Heath watched John climb out of bed, heading toward the
bathroom. Staring up at the ceiling, Heath contemplated following
him, but couldn’t muster up the energy to care about how sticky he

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felt.

“Hey, could you bring me a washcloth?” he called out when the

water turned off.

“Yes, your highness.”
He gasped and shot straight up as a cold wet cloth landed on

his stomach. He glared at John, who stood there laughing.

“Jackass,” he muttered, cleaning up before pitching the cloth

back at John.

His lover caught it and tossed it in the sink. Heath settled under

the blankets and met John’s gaze.

“You’ll spend the night, right?”
John pursed his lips and thought for a moment. Heath’s heart

skipped a beat as he worried John’d say no.

“Yeah, I can, but I have to be up early. I have to back on base

in enough time to change for PT. Then I have to work until five or
so. When do you think you’ll get your dinner break?” John crawled
onto the bed and snuggled up next to Heath.

“Why don’t you call me when you’re done with work? I can

make sure I have a break coming when you get to the café.” He
heaved a silent sigh as John draped his arm over his waist, pulling
him back against his chest.

“Deal. Sweet dreams, honey.” John brushed a kiss over Heath’s

shoulder.

“You too, big man.” Heath patted John’s hand and closed his

eyes, enjoying the sensation of being surrounded by his lover’s
presence.

WHY I LOVE WAITERS

CHAPTER 4

John grimaced and rubbed the back of his neck. Paperwork

covered his desk and he realized how much he hated all the forms
he had to fill out, and the unit wasn’t even getting ready for a
deployment or anything. Maybe being promoted to Sergeant First
Class wasn’t as big an honor as he thought.

“You didn’t come back last night.”
He looked up and saw Larry standing in the doorway of the

office John had borrowed. Hiding his annoyance, he leaned back in
his chair and folded his hands over his stomach.

“Are you keeping tabs on me, Larry?”
“No. Just stopped by your room last night to see if you wanted

to go get a drink with me and some of the guys. Your date must
have been pretty hot. She one of the local girls?”

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“I don’t kiss and tell. You know that.”
It was true, but not just because John didn’t believe in bragging

about his sexual conquests like most of his unit. Being gay, he kept
his mouth shut about whom he dated or slept with.

Larry sat in the chair before the desk, and John gritted his teeth.

Of all the men in his unit, Larry was the one he liked least. Loud
and obnoxious, Larry didn’t seem to have any tolerance for anyone
different from him. He was a good soldier, but not necessarily a
good person, and John had tried to avoid spending any leisure time
with the man.

“Oh come on, man. Where’d you meet her? If she’s hot

enough—or easy enough—to get you to stay out all night, I want
to meet her friends.” Larry leered at him.

John rolled his eyes. “You’re a pig.”
“Dude, I’m a guy. Why wouldn’t I want to meet a babe who

wouldn’t be too picky? Hell, she slept with you, so maybe her
friends are just as desperate.”

“Any woman needs to be desperate to fuck you.” John picked

up his pen and nodded toward the door. “I need to finish these
forms before I quit for the day. You need to check over the rest of
the equipment. The lieutenant wants a detailed report for
resupplying by the end of the week if we need anything.”

Larry gave him a narrowed stare, but John didn’t look away.

He wasn’t afraid of Larry since he was taller and stronger than the
other man. Larry huffed and stood.

“How about drinks tonight?”
“No. I’ve already got plans.”
“Why don’t you hang out with the rest of the unit? Do you

think you’re better than us because you come from the big city?”

“Christ, Larry, we go through this every few months. Do I

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intimidate you or something? Why do you hassle me all the time?”
John paused while he thought before continuing, “We don’t like
each other as people. You’re a helluva solider, but I don’t want to
hang out with you after work.”

“Sergeant, have you finished that paperwork yet?” Lieutenant

Pavelek entered the room.

John shot to his feet and saluted at the same time Larry did.

The lieutenant glanced between them and nodded.

“At ease, Sergeant Davidson. You’re dismissed, Sergeant

Tyson.”

Larry saluted and left, but not before shooting an angry glare at

John from behind the lieutenant’s back. John ignored Larry,
keeping his eyes on Lieutenant Pavelek.

“What’s going on here, Sergeant?”
“Nothing, Lieutenant. Just a discussion.”
As much as Larry might annoy John, he wasn’t interested in

getting the man in trouble.

“Looked more like an argument.” The lieutenant gestured for

John to sit, and he took the seat Larry had deserted.

“Just different personalities, sir. Nothing that’ll get in the way

of doing our job.” John sat behind the desk, slowly gathering his
papers into a pile.

“Of course not. You’re a better man and soldier than that, but

I’m not sure about Sergeant Tyson. You should keep an eye on
your back. Tyson has a low tolerance for anyone different than
him.”

“Different in what way, sir?”
Nerves on edge, John finished filling out the last form and

signed it before stuffing it in the folder with the other papers. He
pushed it across the desk toward his lieutenant. Should he be

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worried? Yes, just because DADT had been repealed didn’t mean
it had been put into effect yet. John had to keep vigilant.

He snorted silently. It might have been ruled unconstitutional

or whatever, but it was going to take more than a vote in Congress
to change the thoughts of the soldiers in the field. John had been in
his unit since graduating from boot camp. They’d gone to war
together and fought terrorists, among other enemies. He’d learned
things about the men serving with him that their own families
didn’t know, but he wasn’t going to risk his life or Heath’s on the
off-chance the men in his unit wouldn’t be okay with his sexuality.

“You’re smarter, stronger, and far more invested in your career

than Tyson is. He feels threatened by you.” Lieutenant Pavelek met
his gaze and said, “He also suspects you might not be as interested
in women as he is.”

John almost froze in surprise, but he didn’t want to give

anything away. “I’m not sure what you’re talking about, sir.”

“Oh, you know exactly what I’m talking about, Sergeant

Davidson.” Lieutenant Pavelek’s direct gaze cut into John. “I saw
your truck parked outside a certain house last night. I’m from
around here and know pretty much everyone. I know who you
stayed with, and I don’t think it was Melinda.”

Panic rushed through John, but again he didn’t show any of it.

“Are you going to do anything about it?”

The lieutenant shook his head. “No. Personally, I don’t care

who you fuck, Sergeant. I don’t want people staring into my
bedroom, so why would I do that to someone else? Unfortunately,
DADT still exists since nothing’s been made official. Remember,
you need to be careful.”

Well, if he couldn’t talk to his lieutenant, to whom could he

talk? He took a deep breath.

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“I don’t plan on coming out any time soon, sir. Not while I’m

still in the unit. I know most of the guys won’t care, but I won’t
take a chance that those who do will find out and go after the
person I’m seeing.” John might be spilling his guts, but he
wouldn’t tell anyone Heath’s name, even though the lieutenant
knew it.

Lieutenant Pavelek nodded. “Makes sense. Don’t worry,

Sergeant. If something comes up, I’ll stand behind you, not just
because it’s the law, but because it’s the right thing to do.”

“Thank you, sir.”
“Your enlistment’s up soon, isn’t it? Are you thinking about re-

upping or have you had enough?”

John rubbed his chin and shrugged. “I’m still thinking about it,

sir.”

“Good enough.” Lieutenant Pavelek stood, and John shot to his

feet again. “I’ll take the folders, and you have the rest of the night
off.”

John saluted and watched his commanding officer walk from

the room. After Pavelek left, John gathered his stuff and shut the
lights off before heading to his room. Checking his watch, he saw
it was six o’clock. Perfect time for dinner.

He showered and shaved before dressing in jeans and a dark

blue button-down shirt. The shirt reminded him of Heath’s eyes,
which suddenly explained why he’d bought it when he was in New
York.

Grabbing his wallet, keys, and phone, he considered taking a

bag, but he didn’t want to alert anyone, especially Larry if the man
was watching him. If he ended up staying at Heath’s, he would just
have to get up early again. Heath was worth losing sleep over.

He jogged down the stairs and out to his truck. Before he

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turned the vehicle on, he dialed Heath’s number.

“Are you on your way?”
“No hello? No how are you?” He chuckled.
“Hello, big man. How’s your day going?” Heath joked.
John heard the clink of silverware and plates in the

background.

“It’s going a lot better now I’m talking to you, honey. Been

busy today?”

“No more than usual, I guess, though I’ll be ready for a break

when you get here. I don’t think we’ll have enough time to go over
to my apartment for a quickie. You know, if you park behind the
café, we could sneak out back to your truck and make out for a
little while.”

Heath paused for a few seconds before continuing, “Although,

that might not be a good idea now I think about it. People park
back there to go to the hair salon. I don’t think those little blue-
haired ladies would survive seeing us kissing. Of course, the
windows would be fogged up, I guess, and they probably wouldn’t
be able to make out who we are or what we’re doing. Unless your
truck started bouncing. That might be a give-away.”

“Honey, hush. Don’t worry about it. I can wait until we get

back to your place before we start in on the fun.” He laughed at the
eagerness in Heath’s voice.

“I’m not sure I want to wait that long.” The pout in Heath’s

tone made John smile.

As John started the truck, he said, “I’ll be there in twenty

minutes.”

“Great. I’m going to say bye now, so you can get here sooner.”
“’Bye, honey.”
“’Bye, big man.”

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After hanging up, John put on his Bluetooth headset and

dropped his phone in the center console before heading off base.
He thought about stopping by the flower shop and getting another
bouquet for Melinda, but he didn’t want anyone asking her why he
was giving her flowers. Of course, she could always tell whoever
asked he was courting her. Heck, if he were older and straight,
he’d totally try to hook up with Heath’s grandma. She was an
awesome lady, not just because she supported and loved her
grandson, but because her independent nature showed how tough
she was and how determined to take care of herself as much as she
could.

His phone rang and he hit his hands-free speaker. “Davidson.”
“Hey, bro, how are things going down there?”
John smiled as Chuck’s voice burst into his ear. “Pretty good

actually.”

“Well, I’ll admit you sound happier than the last time we

talked.”

Chuck grunted, then John heard his brother say, “Herb, quit it.

I’m on the phone with John.”

“Oh hey, I want to talk to him.” Herb spoke from next to the

phone. “Hello, John. Have you talked that guy yet? If you did, how
did it go? Is he really cute? Can I talk to him? Have you slept with
him yet? What was that like?”

“Whoa, Herb. You need to take a breath, slow down, and I’ll

try to answer some of your questions. Yes, I’ve talked to Heath and
asked him out. Heath is totally adorable and I can barely keep my
hands off him. I met his grandma and we all had dinner together
last night. Yes, I did sleep with him, but I’m not telling you
anything about how it went.”

“But I’m like your brother now and don’t you tell your brother

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things like that? I wouldn’t know because I don’t have any
siblings. Do you realize how strange your family seems to me?
You all talk to each other, and I thought you told each other
everything. At least Jessie seems to tell me everything, and trust
me, I don’t want to know all about how good Petrovic is in bed.”

“What? Jessie’s sleeping with Petrovic?” Chuck yelled in the

background.

“Oops. I didn’t know she hadn’t told you. Why hasn’t Petrovic

told you? You’d think he wouldn’t have hidden something like this
from you?”

“Of course, he would. Petrovic doesn’t want Chuck threatening

to cut off his balls if he hurts Jessie,” John broke in. “Hey, I have
to go. I’m pulling up to the café where Heath works.”

“Great. Tell him I said hi and I look forward to meeting him

soon.”

A loud thud filled his ears and John shook his head.
“Sorry about that. Herb dropped the phone before I had a hold

of it. I’ll call you tomorrow and we’ll talk more. I’ll try to make
sure Herb isn’t around.”

John laughed. “That’s fine, Chuck. Have fun keeping him in

line.”

“I will and enjoy your own guy, John. It’s about time you’re

happy.”

After they hung up, John climbed out to walk to the restaurant

door. As he pushed it open and stepped inside, his gaze locked into
Heath’s and the joy he saw in those dark blue eyes shot into his
heart, making it skip a beat.

* * *

WHY I LOVE WAITERS

Pushing through the swinging doors from the kitchen, Heath

glanced up and met John’s stare. His pulse sped up and his palms
sweated. He juggled the plates he held before nodding at his lover.
John took his usual booth, and Heath set the plates down in front of
his customers. He grabbed a cup and the coffee pot, heading
toward John.

He knew his smile was goofy, but he couldn’t help how happy

he felt seeing John again. Also, knowing that if things worked out,
he’d be sharing his bed with the big man again that night.

“Hey there,” he greeted John and poured his coffee.
“Hey, honey, can you take a break now?”
Heath shot a look over his shoulder, and Grandma Mel waved.

“Yes, I can. Let me make sure my tables have what they need and
I’ll grab our dinners.”

“Cool.”
John sipped his coffee while Heath double-checked everyone’s

drinks and saw if they wanted anything before he went on break.
He snatched up their plates and rejoined John at the booth.
Slipping across John, he set the food down.

“Here you go. Grandma made lasagna, and I know you love it.”

Heath leaned forward and whispered, “I baked a chocolate cake as
well and saved a piece for you, plus there’s more at home if you’re
interested.”

John’s eyes lit up. “I’m always interested in chocolate…among

other things.”

“I know, and trust me, the cake will be well worth the wait.”

Heath winked. “Among other things.”

They laughed before digging into the food. Heath watched John

enjoy his dinner. God, he loved a man who liked to eat. While John
wolfed down whatever Heath set in front of him, his lover

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obviously worked out a lot to keep from gaining weight. He
mentally rolled his eyes. That was stupid. Of course, John worked
out. The man had to carry heavy packs and other equipment while
out on patrol. In addition to walking and running long distances.
There wasn’t any way John would be getting fat any time soon, no
matter how much Heath fed him.

John ate the last bite and sighed as he sat back, rubbing his

stomach. “Christ, your grandmother is an amazing cook. I’ll have
to do extra PT tomorrow to make up for all this good food.”

“I’ll tell her.” Heath stood up and grabbed the empty plates.

“I’ll bring you the bill and a refill.”

“Okay.”
After dropping the plates in the sink, he wrote a note and

folded it around his key. He took it out to John, set it on the table,
and winked as he walked off. He’d told John to take the key and go
over to his apartment. John could wait there for Heath to get off
work.

He made his rounds while John finished his coffee. By the time

Heath got to the register, John stood there, chatting with Cooter.
Even though Heath hadn’t actually billed John for the dinner, John
held out a twenty.

“Keep the change, Heath. I’ll see you later. Have a good night,

Cooter.”

“You, too, young man.” Cooter slapped John on the shoulder.
Heath couldn’t help but watch John stroll out of the café, even

as he clenched his hand around the money and the piece of paper
folded inside the bill John had handed him. The man’s ass was a
work of art; tight enough Heath could bounce a quarter off it.
Everything about John called to Heath in ways no other guy had,
and Heath wasn’t sure he liked it. Oh, he liked having John in his

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arms and his bed, but could he deal with the deployments and
missions? He’d always gotten the feeling John’s unit wasn’t an
ordinary group of soldiers, more specialized than even the Rangers
who called the base home. John wouldn’t be able to talk about his
missions, and Heath was sure they were dangerous.

Could he stand not knowing where John was? Not being able to

talk to him until the man got back in country? He’d have to decide
quickly if he wanted to continue the relationship with John because
it was fast becoming more serious than any other Heath’d had
before.

“He’s a good man.”
Heath looked at Cooter and nodded, trying not to blush at the

knowing expression on the older man’s face. “Yes, he is.”

Cooter studied his coffee cup as he spoke. “Just be careful,

Heath. Most of the people here don’t give a rat’s ass what you do
on your own time, but some will give you problems just to be
ornery. That young man can take care of himself for the most part,
but he’s going to be looking out for you as well, so there won’t be
anyone to watch his back.”

“I know, and it scares me,” Heath admitted.
The old man pursed his lips, and Heath thought about all the

times he’d seen Cooter do that. Cooter was a permanent fixture at
the café, having been a customer since Grandma Mel and Grandpa
Lee opened the place back in the sixties. Of course, Cooter was far
younger then, but Heath had come to think of Cooter as an
honorary uncle.

“Well, don’t let what might happen stop you from accepting

what’s being offered, Heath. There’s a lot of regret in what might
have been.” Cooter lifted his cup and drained his coffee before
standing. He pulled out his wallet and tossed some money on the

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counter. “I’ll see you tomorrow, son.”

“Have a good evening, Cooter.”
Heath took care of Cooter’s bill, tucking his tip in his apron. He

hurried back to the kitchen and unfolded the note John had given
him. He smiled and twirled around in excitement at the words.

“What’s got you so worked up?” Grandma Mel shot him a look

from where she stood in front of the grill.

“Nothing.” Heath bounced over to her and dropped a kiss on

her cheek.

“I saw John was in. Are you two going to do something tonight

after your shift is over?”

He nodded. “Yes. I gave him the key to my apartment, so he

can go wait for me there. He told me he’d be counting the minutes
until he saw me again.”

Mel rolled her eyes, but her soft smile let Heath know she was

teasing him. “Well, your man seems to have a romantic streak in
him. It’s nice to see after all the macho men wandering through
here.”

“True. His mother must’ve raised him right, huh?” Heath

wiggled over to where he grabbed the plates for his newest
customer. “God, I can’t wait until I’m done for the day. I only have
three more hours, then I’m heading home.”

He froze and turned to look at his grandma. “I’ve never had

anyone waiting for me at home when I was done for the day. It’s
strange to think he’s willing to stick around until I’m free.”

“It’s not just a booty call, child. Something tells me John likes

you for more than how you are in bed.”

Heath blushed and ducked his head. His grandma was always

direct about everything, yet sometimes it was embarrassing to hear
her talk about sex. She pointed her spatula at him.

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“While I don’t think he will, you don’t let John use you for just

sex, Heath. You’re worth more than that, and I think your man
knows it. He’s not going to take you for granted either. Soldiers
learn how to enjoy every minute because they never know when it
might be their last.”

“Grandma, I don’t want to think about how much danger he

could be in every time he leaves me,” he confessed.

Mel shook her head. “Child, your man is a soldier. He’s putting

his life on the line every day for you and me, and every other
person out there. You have to respect him enough to acknowledge
the danger he’s in. Just don’t cling to him too much. Let him know
how proud you are of him and how much you love him.”

Heath froze and blinked at Mel’s proclamation. He started to

protest that he didn’t love John. It was too early and their
relationship too new for love to be a viable emotion in it. Right?

“But I’m not in love with him,” he protested.
Mel gave him a stern look. “Don’t lie to your grandmother,

Heath. I’ve known you since you were a day old. I know what’s in
your heart and I guarantee you’ve never felt like this about any
guy. Not even the ones you met while you were in college.”

“Shit.” Heath slumped against the counter. “I can’t be in love

with him, Grandma. What if he’s just interested in sex and nothing
else? I don’t think I could take that. I’m not really built for one-
night stands. I learned that in college, even while sowing my wild
oats.”

A wadded napkin hit him in the face and he stared at his

grandma. “What was that for?”

“Stop panicking. That man is a soldier. He works in an

environment where he can’t be open about who he loves or even
might be interested in. He risks a dishonorable discharge if people

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find out about you, and that’s the good thing. He also risks getting
his ass beaten for being gay. There are some people in the
military—and out of it—who hate gays.” Grandma Mel’s
expression held understanding. “You ran into a couple of those
assholes already. I guarantee you, this thing going on between you
and John is more than just fuck buddies. More than likely, John
thought about every possibility before he even walked into the café
when he got back from visiting his family.”

“Do you think so?”
He winced. God, he hated sounding so needy, but he really did

want a serious relationship with John, not just sex. Yet how could
they continue? He couldn’t leave his grandma taking care of the
restaurant on her own if John moved. John could be transferred to
another base tomorrow and they could lose touch with each other.
Would John care enough to keep in touch and try to keep their
relationship growing while they were on opposite sides of the
country?

A stinging sensation snapped him out of his thoughts and he

blinked to see his grandma standing in front of him.

“Did you just pinch me?”
“Yes. You’re worrying over things that aren’t even important

yet. Go home, Heath. Wilma can handle things until we close. I
won’t expect to see you until morning. Quit freaking out and go
talk to John. See what he has to say before you decide it can’t work
out.” Grandma Mel gestured toward the back door.

Heath didn’t argue. He tore his apron off and grabbed his

backpack from the office. Racing out of the café, he wondered if
he should give John a heads-up, but decided he didn’t want to take
the time to call him. He simply wanted to throw himself into
John’s arms and climb the man like a jungle gym.

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He managed not to speed as he headed to his place. He parked

and jumped out to run upstairs. John had the door open before
Heath reached the top step. Heath launched himself at the big man,
somehow trusting John would catch him.

John’s strong arms wrapped around his waist, while Heath

encircled John with his legs. Heath stole a kiss as John stepped
back and somehow got the door shut. John hitched him up higher
with his hands on his ass. When the kiss broke, John leaned his
head back a little to smile at Heath.

“Well, I have to say if you greet me like that every time you

come home, I’ll definitely be waiting for you more often.”

Heath ducked his head, a little embarrassed by his jumping on

John. “Sorry. I wanted to kiss you when you showed up at the café,
but I couldn’t. It built the entire time I was with you. Grandma Mel
let me come home early, so I got here as quick as I could and it
seemed natural to jump on you like that.”

“I’m not complaining, honey.” John kissed him again before

letting his feet drop to the floor. “Why don’t you go change and
we’ll have some cake before we move into the bedroom?”

“Okay.”
Heath tripped over the shoes he’d left out the night before as he

flew down the hallway to his bedroom. He squirmed and twisted,
tossing his clothes all over the room, the need to get back to John
and snuggle as close as possible while sharing a piece of cake
motivating his speed. Maybe he could even get John to let him lick
some of the frosting off his chest. Heath moaned softly at the
thought of having all that expanse of muscle and skin at his
disposal.

After tugging on sweats and a T-shirt, he dashed back to the

kitchen where John sat, the piece of cake on a plate and a glass of

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milk on the table next to his elbow. John snagged his arm and
pulled him down his lap. Heath straddled John’s thick legs and
wiggled slightly, enjoying the feel of John’s erection against his
ass.

John took a fork and scooped up a bite of cake, holding it to

Heath’s lips. He opened up and wrapped his mouth around the
cake and silverware. He hummed as he savored the flavor of the
cake, wishing it was John he tasted instead of the dessert. John’s
dark eyes burned with lust, and Heath took a chance.

He shoved John’s shirt up and off before dipping his finger in

the frosting. He painted a line from nipple to nipple. John
chuckled, but didn’t stop him. Leaning forward, Heath licked
John’s olive skin clean, sweet and salty bursting on his tongue as
he followed the line he’d drawn. He sucked on the hard nubs of
flesh, and John cradled the back of his head, not allowing him to
move.

“Please tell me you have more frosting somewhere. I think I

like where your mind is going with this.”

John’s murmured plea brought a giggle from Heath and he

broke away to jump to his feet.

“Yes, I didn’t have time to make the frosting so I bought a can

of pre-made. It’s still in the refrigerator. We could grab it and head
to bed.” Heath blinked innocently as he made the suggestion.

“Sounds like a plan.”
Just as John stood, a phone rang. John frowned as he removed a

phone from his pocket.

“Davidson.”
Heath saw the look on John’s face change from playful lust to

intense focus. Shit, Heath would faint if John ever looked at him
like that.

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“Yes, sir. I’ll be right there.”
He hung up and his disappointed expression matched the

emotion welling in Heath’s heart. John scooped Heath up and
buried his face in the crook of Heath’s neck.

“I’m sorry, honey. I’ve been recalled to the base.”
“I understand. I’ll just make sure to have some frosting for the

next time you can come over.”

“I might not be back for a while. If you don’t hear from me,

don’t panic or think I’m being an ass or anything like that. I can’t
tell anyone what I do or where I go.” John let Heath down and
shook his head as he stepped back. “I really shouldn’t have even
said that to you.”

Heath patted John’s chest. “Don’t worry. I’ve figured out you

could leave at a moment’s notice. I don’t know what you do, and I
don’t want you to say anything about it either. I’m a civilian and
it’s best if I don’t know. I’ll keep the home fires burning for you.”

John kissed him hard before heading to the door. John paused

in front of the door and turned to look at him.

“Do you have a pen and paper?”
“Sure.” Heath dug out both and handed them to John.
“I need you to call my brother, Chuck, and let him know

something’s come up. He’ll know what you’re talking about. I
won’t have time to call him or the rest of the family.”

Shock racing through him, Heath took the paper John handed

him. “I guess I can. Won’t he be surprised I’m calling him?”

“No.” John shook his head. “He knows all about you.”
With that announcement, John left, and Heath stood with his

mouth hanging open. Holy cow! John’s oldest brother knew about
him.

WHY I LOVE WAITERS

CHAPTER 5

Heath stared at his grandmother’s phone, biting his bottom lip

while he debated the wisdom in calling Chuck. He’d do it because
John asked him, but he just wasn’t sure what to say. How did one
introduce oneself to the older brother of the man he was sleeping
with? How would Chuck react, knowing John let Heath know
about leaving, but didn’t take the time to tell his own family?

He figured Chuck and the rest of John’s family would be upset

to hear from Heath instead of John. Yet he couldn’t very well not
call the man. John trusted him with the duty and Heath would
fulfill it. He pressed his hand to his stomach and took a deep
breath. He’d come over to Grandma Mel’s house to use her phone
since he didn’t have a landline in his apartment.

Jesus, it wasn’t like he was going to face a lion in its den or

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anything like that. Did lions even have dens? None of the animal
shows he watched had lions living in dens. He shook his head. He
had to focus and not go off on tangents like that.

“Why are you staring at the phone like it’s going to morph into

a snake any minute now?”

He jumped a foot in the air at Grandma Mel’s question. “When

did you come in?”

“I’ve been here for five minutes, watching you stare at the

phone and mutilate your lip. Just do it. Call whoever you’re
supposed to be calling. Worrying and waiting is only going to
make everything worse for you.”

She strolled past him into the kitchen. He tilted his head as he

thought about what she’d said. Darn it, she was right. Worrying
about it only made it worse. He took a deep breath and dialed the
number.

“Davidson.”
He almost dropped the phone as the harsh, deep voice broke his

concentration. “Oh. Ummm…hello. Is this Chuck?”

“Yes. Who is this?” Chuck’s question was slow and suspicious.
“Ah…well, my name’s Heath Kane. Your brother told me to

call you.”

A sharp indrawn breath. “John’s Heath?”
“Yes.”
“John’s Heath? Is that John’s boyfriend on the phone?”
Another voice broke in, and Heath frowned as the sound of a

struggle come over the line.

“Give me the phone. I want to talk to him. I don’t know

anything about him. Neither you nor John have told me anything,
and I want to talk to him. I should talk to him, you know. I need to
vet him and make sure he’s right for your brother. Because if he

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isn’t, then we have to figure out a way to let him down easy and
find a different guy for John.”

“Hey, I resent that. You can’t just decide you don’t like me

after talking to me once. What if I decided you weren’t right for
Chuck or whomever you’re with and suggested he get someone
else? You wouldn’t like that, would you?” he shouted into the
receiver.

He heard a hard grunt before a soft panting filled his ear.
“Well, of course, I wouldn’t like that, but you don’t know

Chuck, so how could you come up with any correct decision about
whether I’m the right guy for him or not?”

“How well do you know John?” Heath challenged.
“I talked to him while he was visiting family. Plus I’m a genius

and very good at making the best decision on very little
information.”

The arrogant statement set Heath’s teeth on edge. “Who are

you?”

“I’m Herb, Chuck’s partner. I mean life partner, not work

partner. His work partner is Alexei and he’s getting up close and
personal with Chuck’s sister, Jessie. God Almighty, if I have to
listen to her go on about their dates, I think I’ll poke my eye out
with a fork, which is actually very hard to do.”

“Herb, give me back the phone. I think you might end up doing

more harm than good, since John probably hasn’t been able to
warn Heath about you.” Chuck spoke in the background.

“More harm than good? I’m not trying to break them up. I just

want to know what Heath’s like since John’s risking his career and
everything he’s worked for to have a relationship with him. I want
to make sure he’s worth it.”

“Worth it? Listen, Herb, John’s an adult and makes his own

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decisions about who he dates and what kind of career he has. I
don’t think he needs you, no matter how smart you are, to give him
suggestions or anything like that. You don’t see me calling Chuck
up to tell him that he shouldn’t be dating such an arrogant prick, do
you?” Heath fought the urge to slam the phone down.

“Heath Kane, where are your manners? You don’t talk to

people like that,” Grandma Mel admonished him from the kitchen.

“Sorry, Grandma, but you should hear how he’s talking to me.”
“Doesn’t make it right. You apologize and get on with telling

them why you called.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He scuffed his foot in the carpet and grimaced

before saying, “I’m sorry for being bitchy to you, Herb.”

“Why would it be bitchy? I understand why you said what you

said. Chuck tells me I come across rather arrogant, but I tell him
it’s not arrogance when it’s true. People just have to learn to deal
with the truth. I do realize, though, that John probably wouldn’t be
happy with me vetting you since he doesn’t know me very well.
So, Heath, you work at a café near the base where John’s
stationed?”

Heath took a deep breath. He could do this, making small talk

with a member of John’s family. He’d have to do it sooner or later,
right? Especially if they continued to date.

“Yes, I do. My grandmother owns the café, and I work there to

help her out.”

“Wow…you have a grandmother. I don’t have any

grandparents I know of. My parents might have neglected to tell
me about them, though, because I don’t talk to them very often.”

“Why don’t you talk to your parents? I really shouldn’t say

anything. I rarely talk to my mother, but I spend as much time as I
can with my grandma. She’s a great lady and I don’t know what

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I’d do without her. I live in the apartment over her garage. She
doesn’t want to cramp my style or anything like that, which is why
she got the place above the garage fixed up for me.” He sat on the
couch and fidgeted with the cord.

Herb giggled. “I can’t say I blame her. No young guy wants to

bring a guy home and have his grandma down the hallway
listening to him have sex with the guy. Or at least, I imagine most
guys wouldn’t. I wouldn’t know because Chuck was my first, you
know. I’m a bit of a nerd, if you haven’t guessed. So I never went
out on dates or anything like that.”

“I didn’t have any dates until I went away to college. My

problem wasn’t being a nerd, though I can’t say whether you are or
not. My issue was I live in a rather redneck part of the country and
being gay isn’t healthy for me, if you get my drift.”

“Do you mean someone might beat you up because you’re

gay?” Herb sounded shocked.

Heath nodded, though Herb couldn’t see him. “Yeah. Someone

did beat me up for being gay. He convinced me he was gay as well,
lured me to a deserted spot and beat the crap out of me. I’m lucky
some people came along and scared him away or he probably
would’ve killed me.”

“Oh my God. Tell me his name. I’ll tell Chuck, and he’ll get

the police down there to arrest the guy. Chuck’s good at taking
care of people who need help. He’s a police detective. I think the
whole protecting people thing runs in the family because John’s in
the military. Must be a gene or something like that.” Herb sounded
distracted.

“No. That’s okay. I don’t need Chuck or John to find the guy

and beat him up for me. I’m fine now, and anyway, I don’t want
John to risk his career to defend my honor or anything like that. I

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know he’s already risking everything because if it gets out we’re
dating, he could be in trouble.”

Heath didn’t know why he spilled everything to Herb. It wasn’t

like they’d been friends forever or anything, but in some way, it
felt like he’d known the man on the other end of the line for most
of his life.

“Don’t worry about that. John thought long and hard, plus he

talked to Chuck about whether having a relationship with you was
the best thing to do. Chuck’s a great guy to talk with when you
have some things to think about. He asks all the right
questions…probably comes from interrogating all those
criminals.”

“You’re right. I bet he’s learned how to ask all the right

questions. I’m glad John talked to him about me, even though it
kind of freaked me out when he told me Chuck knew all about me.
I mean we haven’t really talked much about his family and here I
find out he’s told his oldest brother about me. I can’t imagine what
he might have said. I hope it was good stuff.”

“I wanted to know if you were a good kisser or how you were

in bed, but Chuck said that wasn’t appropriate for me to ask.”

Heath squeaked, and Herb giggled again.
“Don’t worry. John didn’t tell me anything about that. He

knows how to be quiet when he wants to be. So, do you like
John?”

Did he like John? Might as well ask him if he liked breathing.

Heath snorted softly.

“Yeah, I like him a lot. He’s the first guy who makes me feel

special and safe. I trust him not to hurt me, though I know he can’t
promise he won’t ever hurt me, but just not on purpose or anything
like that. He’s huge, too, which is always fun. It’s like my own

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personal jungle gym.”

“Oh, I know. I think the same thing about Chuck. I can’t wait

to get home and climb him. All those muscles and broad shoulders.
I love just licking every inch of—”

“Okay, that’s enough, Herb. Heath doesn’t want to hear about

what you’re licking.” Chuck must have grabbed the phone away
from his boyfriend.

“Heath, I’ll call you later and we’ll continue our private

conversation,” Herb yelled before Chuck must have moved out of
reach.

“Hello.”
“Uh, hi.”
For some reason, his voice trembled as he realized he’d be

talking to John’s older brother. Talking to Herb didn’t really matter
because, even if John liked the man, Heath was pretty sure John
wouldn’t bother worrying about his opinion. But Chuck was a
different matter. He was John’s oldest brother, the one person John
looked up to. If Chuck didn’t like him or didn’t think he was good
enough for John, John would take his suggestion to heart. Not that
John would break up with him or anything, but it would cloud
John’s feelings for him.

“Heath? Are you still there?”
He started and coughed. “Yes, sorry. I got thinking about

something else.”

“That’s all right. I’m used to people going off on tangents

while I’m trying to talk to them. You called me for a reason,
right?”

“Oh, yes. Umm…John wanted you to know he’s been recalled

to base and probably will be out of touch for a while. He couldn’t
tell me what or why he had to go, but he did want me to make sure

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you knew why he wasn’t calling and stuff like that.”

“Thanks for letting me know. I’ll make sure to tell my mom.

She’ll be the one who worries the most about him. Were you with
John when he got the call?” Chuck’s question sounded innocent.

His cheeks warmed and he ducked his head. “Yeah. We were

having dessert. Homemade chocolate cake with chocolate frosting.
I was getting the extra frosting out of the refrigerator since he
wanted to taste it off—”

“No. Don’t go any further. Just like you probably didn’t want

to hear what Herb liked licking, I don’t want to hear what my
brother wanted to taste it off.”

“Holy shit! I’m sorry. Sometimes my tongue runs off with my

brain and I don’t pay attention to what I say.” He slapped his hand
over his mouth.

Chuck laughed. “Heath, I’m so used to it, nothing you say

could surprise me any more. I’ll make sure you don’t embarrass
yourself.”

“Thank you.” Heath twisted the cord around his fingers. “I

guess I’ll call you if I hear anything from John.”

“And we’ll do the same. Can I get a number to call you at?”
“Sure. I’ll give you my cell phone. That way you can get a hold

of me whenever you need.”

He gave Chuck his number and they said good-bye. After

hanging up, he flopped back on the couch and stared up at the
ceiling. That had been the strangest phone call he’d ever been a
part of.

Boy, Herb could really talk.

* * *

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John stepped off the plane and scrubbed his hand over his head

before grabbing his pack one of his team members held out to him.
Exhaustion pounded at him in waves, but he had to be debriefed,
make sure the other men filled out their reports, and talk to the
lieutenant. Yet for the first time in his entire career, John had
someone waiting for him. At least he hoped Heath still waited. It’d
been three weeks since the last time they’d seen each other or even
had talked. John’s family was used to his disappearing acts, but his
relationship with Heath was new, and who knew if Heath could
deal with John being gone for so long.

All of them trudged toward the building where they’d drop

their equipment. Their support staff would be going through it all
to figure out what they needed to replace or re-stock. Most of the
men had made it home without anything except minor scrapes.
One private had more serious injuries that had sent him to the
hospital for a stay. He’d join back up with the rest of them when he
healed.

Lieutenant Pavelek gestured at John. “Drop your pack off

before heading back to your room. Clean up, change your uniform,
and call whomever you need to call. I want you back at
headquarters in an hour.”

“Yes, sir.” John saluted before he caught a ride back to the

barracks.

He jogged up the stairs to his room and took a quick shower.

After he changed, he picked up his cell phone and dialed Heath’s
number. While he waited for Heath to answer, he stared in the
mirror. What did it say that he called Heath first instead of his
mother or any other member of his family?

“Oh my God, John, are you home?”
John held his phone away from his ear as Heath answered. The

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excitement in Heath’s voice drew a chuckle from him.

“Yeah. I’m home, honey. I don’t have to ask if you missed

me.”

“Missed you? You have no idea. I couldn’t sleep, though I’m

not sure why I’d have a problem with that. You only spent the
night once, yet my bed seemed so empty without you there.” Heath
coughed. “I probably shouldn’t have said that.”

After sitting on his bed, he pinned the phone between his ear

and shoulder while he tugged on his boots. “Why shouldn’t you
say that? I like knowing you couldn’t sleep without me being there
with you. When I had a chance to grab a nap, I did miss holding
you in my arms.”

“Really? Are you going to be able to come over tonight or do

you have to stay on base?”

He pushed to his feet with a sigh. “Probably not. I have reports

to fill out and other paperwork to take care of. I’ll call you if I get a
chance later on. If not, I should be able to come and see you
tomorrow evening.”

Another shout hit his ears, and he laughed. For some reason,

the image of Heath wiggling in his excited dance shot through
John’s head and his heart swelled with joy. Knowing Heath liked
him so much made John happy in a way he’d never been with any
other guy he’d dated.

“I hope you’re not at the café right now.”
“No. I’m at home. Wilma wanted the early shift today, so I’m

getting ready to go to work in a few minutes. I can’t believe you’re
home. I know you couldn’t call or anything, and I totally
understand that, but I’ll admit I worried about you. Don’t get me
wrong. I know you can take care of yourself. You’ve been trained
to deal with anything you come across. It’s just I’ve never had

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anyone as important as you are to me, so I can’t help but worry.”

John checked his watch and frowned. If he didn’t hurry, he’d

be late and he didn’t want his lieutenant any more pissed off than
he already was. It hadn’t been a good mission.

“I have to go. Paperwork is calling my name. I’ll try to call you

tonight if I get done earlier enough.” He bit back the I love you
fighting to escape his throat. It wasn’t the right time to say that,
plus how could he be in love with Heath when they’d only slept
together once and hadn’t even been on a real date.

“Oh, okay. Please don’t worry about how late it is when you

get done. I wouldn’t mind if you woke me up. I can tell you about
the interesting talk I had with your brother’s boyfriend.”

Rolling his eyes, John snorted softly. “Yeah, Herb’s a trip. I

can just imagine what he asked you.”

“Don’t worry. Chuck saved me, but I get the feeling Herb will

be calling me sometime soon. Do you want me to call them and let
them know you’re home okay? I don’t mind doing that.”

“I’d appreciate it.” He opened his door and stepped out into the

hallway. “I’ll talk to you tonight then.”

“I’m glad you’re home, John. ’Bye.” Heath hung up before

John could reply.

He shut his phone and stuffed it in his pocket while making his

way to the unit’s headquarters. After knocking on his lieutenant’s
door, he waited for the command to enter.

“Come in.”
John stood at attention in front of Pavelek’s desk. “Sergeant

Davidson reporting, sir.”

The lieutenant finished writing something while John waited.

He’d learned not to fidget, no matter how long it took his
commanding officer to acknowledge him. Finally, Pavelek signed

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his name and set the pen down.

“At ease, Sergeant.”
“Yes, sir.” John relaxed slightly, his hands clasped behind his

back, his eyes staring at the wall behind Pavelek.

“What the fuck happened, Davidson?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know, Lieutenant. This mission seemed

FUBARed from the start.”

Pavelek gestured to a chair. “Sit down. We need to discuss this.

I already have the other men writing up their reports, plus they’ll
need to be debriefed as well.”

John heaved an irritated mental sigh. It was going to be a long

day.

* * *

“John’s home.” Chuck erased Heath’s voicemail on his phone

and set it on the counter as he looked at Herb.

“Who left the message? Heath?” Herb’s green eyes lit up.
“Yes.” Chuck smiled.
“Darn. I wish you’d answered that. I’d like to have talked to

him again.” Herb pouted.

Chuck slid his arm around Herb’s waist and pulled his lover

close to nuzzle his jaw. “Did you really want me to stop what I was
doing to answer the phone?”

Herb’s cheeks flushed and shook his head. “No, I guess not.”
“Next time the phone rings and we’re making love, I can

answer it. Don’t want to be rude or anything.”

He winced as Herb grabbed his ears and shook his head

slightly. “No way are you stopping for any reason.”

“I won’t, honey. I’d rather be fucking you than talking to

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anyone.” Chuck sat on the couch and tugged Herb onto his lap.
“Speaking of talking, what were you and Jessie whispering about
when I came to pick you up this afternoon?”

Herb stiffened and his gaze skirted away from Chuck. “Nothing

important.”

“Come on, Herb. You know I can tell when you’re lying. Tell

me what my sister and you were plotting. I’m good at getting
people to tell me all their secrets, and I have ways of making you
spill your guts.”

“She was talking about getting married.” Herb still didn’t look

at Chuck. He seemed more interested in plucking at the sweat
pants Chuck wore.

Chuck frowned. “Married? I knew she and Petrovic were

getting serious, but I didn’t think they were talking about
marriage.”

“Not them. Us.”
Shock rippled through Chuck. He’d never really thought about

marriage. He’d always assumed he never would be able to because
he was gay. Not many states allowed same-sex marriage, so Chuck
never chose to think about marrying.

“How do you feel about it? I have to admit I’ve never really

thought about it. Just figured it wasn’t going to happen since I
wasn’t about to marry a woman.”

Herb shrugged. “I don’t know. Like you, I’ve never really

thought about it. It never occurred to me I’d find someone to fall in
love with and want to spend the rest of my life with. Now that
Jessie’s said something, I can’t stop thinking about it.”

Chuck tucked Herb against his chest, resting his chin on top of

Herb’s dark curls. “I’m not saying no, honey, but like you, I’m
going to have to think about all of this.”

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“Don’t you want to spend the rest of your life with me?”
“That’s not it, Herb. I love you and always will. It’s simply I

have to readjust my thinking on it. You do realize if we decide to
do that, my mother, sisters, and aunts will drive us crazy about it.
They love weddings.”

He wanted to warn Herb about how annoying his female

relatives would end up being if they chose to get married. Donald
was the only one of the siblings who was married, and his wife
almost strangled Chuck’s mother and aunties before the wedding
day arrived.

Herb nodded. “I know. Your sister warned me, but I think it

would be fun. I don’t know if my parents would even show up. I
envy you your family.”

Chuck knew he was lucky to have the family he did. While his

father hadn’t been thrilled his oldest son was gay, he didn’t turn his
back on Chuck. None of the rest of his relatives did either. At
times, it was almost smothering how accepting everyone was. All
the blind dates they’d set him up could have given him a complex,
like he couldn’t find his own boyfriend.

“Have you told your parents you’re living with me?”
Herb’s chin rubbed over Chuck’s chest. “I left them a message,

but they never called back. They might be out of the country, doing
research or something. They don’t take many vacations.”

Chuck shifted his grip as Herb pushed away from him a little.
“Can we go and visit John? I’d like to meet Heath, not because

I don’t think he’s good enough for John or anything like that.
Admittedly, I don’t know your brother as well as you do, but I’d
like to meet the guy who is making John reconsider his future.”

“You can borrow my family any time you want, sweetheart.

Hell, sometimes I think they love you way more than they do me.”

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He winked at his lover to let Herb know he was joking.

Herb giggled. “Your family is just an extra incentive, but even

if you didn’t have them, I’d still love you more than anything
else.”

“Yeah. I think we could take some vacation time and head

down to Georgia for a couple weeks. I’d like to spend a little more
time with John if we can, and my mom keeps bothering me to find
out if John’s found someone special.”

“Has John told your parents yet about being gay?” Herb settled

back into Chuck’s embrace.

“Yeah. The last night he was here, he sat down and told them. I

think it was because of Heath. He’d made the decision to try and
see if something would work between them, and he didn’t want to
surprise them with it.” Chuck slid his hand down Herb’s back,
under the shorts Herb wore and cupped his butt. He squeezed, and
Herb squeaked.

“Oh, I’m glad. I don’t know why he chose to keep it a secret

when you were already out.” After rearranging his body to straddle
Chuck’s thighs, Herb pushed back into Chuck’s hands. “Why
didn’t he mention it when he was younger?”

Chuck nipped the point of Herb’s chin. “It might have

something to do with John going into the military. He knew he
wouldn’t be able to be public about his preferences, so he chose
not to say anything to keep my parents from worrying about him.”

Herb hummed and let his head drop back, and Chuck realized

the slender man wasn’t interested in Chuck’s family anymore. The
way Herb rocked into Chuck’s groin and hands informed him Herb
wanted something else. Definitely something Chuck was willing to
give him.

He pushed to his feet, carrying Herb into the bedroom. He’d

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call John later and see when they could head down to visit his
brother. At the moment, he wanted to make love to Herb, who
meant everything to him.

WHY I LOVE WAITERS

CHAPTER 6

John pulled into Heath’s driveway, and sat in his truck, staring

up at the windows above the garage. He saw Heath peek around
the curtains before giving him a little wave. As he waited for his
lover to come outside, he rested his head on the headrest and
sighed.

It was going to be a great time away. John had four days off,

and even though he had to keep his phone on him at all times, just
in case he got recalled, he planned on doing nothing except making
Heath happy. He sat up when the door opened and Heath tossed his
bag in the back seat.

He smiled as Heath plopped down in the passenger seat and

reached for him. Their mouths met, relearning how each other
tasted. They broke apart, chests heaving, and Heath grinned at him.

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“God, I missed you. Talking on the phone doesn’t cut it, though

maybe we should try having phone sex. It might help.” Heath tilted
his head as he thought. “Then again, maybe not because someone
might hear you and that wouldn’t be good. I don’t want you to get
in trouble with anyone.”

“Don’t worry, honey. Things should be calming down. We still

have some issues to deal with, but I shouldn’t be working late
anymore.” He trailed his fingers over Heath’s cheek. “Let’s not
talk about that right now. We’re going to the city for the weekend,
and I don’t want to think about work or anything else.”

“Okay. Oh hey, did you call Chuck and Herb?” Heath settled

back in his seat.

John backed out of the driveway and headed out of town.

“Yeah. Called them the next day. I have to admit Herb seems quite
taken with you. He couldn’t stop talking about you when he
wrestled the phone away from Chuck.” John shot Heath a wink. “It
was like he got to talk to his favorite scientist or something like
that. I was told in no uncertain terms, I couldn’t break up with you
before Herb and Chuck got down here to visit.”

“Really? Awesome. When are they coming? I can’t wait to

meet them, though I’m not sure if they’ll like me. Chuck seems
like a serious guy, but he does really care about Herb. I can tell by
the way he talks to Herb. There’s always a smile in his voice, like
he thinks Herb’s crazy, but doesn’t care because he loves him.”

John nodded. “I think Herb’s crazy, but I think it’s more

because he was an only kid and a genius, so it makes it hard for a
kid to learn how to filter what he says. Herb never got that lesson.
Kind of like you.”

Heath huffed. “I know what I should and shouldn’t say.”
John quirked his eyebrow at Heath and the slender man rolled

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his eyes.

“Okay, fine. You’re right. At times, I get a little excited and my

tongue doesn’t stop to think about what my brain wants me to say.
It can be a little embarrassing, but only when I say things I don’t
want anyone else to know I’m thinking.”

Heath blushed, and John nudged the man’s knee with his hand.

“What are you thinking right now?”

“Nothing.” Heath ducked his head.
John chuckled. “I really want to know what’s going on in your

head.”

“Fine. I was just wondering if we had dinner reservations when

we got to the city or if we could just get room service. I want you
to fuck me as soon as we get to the hotel.”

A surprised grunt exploded from John and he shifted in his seat

as his cock swelled, pressing against his zipper. “Shit, Heath. I
shouldn’t have asked since we still have an hour of driving and
now I’m going to be hard the entire time.”

Heath leaned over and rubbed his palm over John’s erection.

“If you want to pull over to the side of the road, I could take care
of that for you.”

Closing his eyes for a second, John inhaled sharply and shook

his head. “Thanks for the offer, honey, but I want to fuck you in a
more comfortable place than the back seat of my truck.”

“All right.” Heath squeezed once before moving away. “What

are we going to do in Atlanta?”

“Dinner, dancing, and hitting museums. How does that sound?”
Heath hummed for a moment. “Not bad. You do realize I’m not

truly interested in all of those things? I’d prefer spending as much
time as possible in the room, exploring every inch of your body. I
didn’t get a chance to learn what makes you moan or shiver. I’m

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easy. All you have to do is say my name and I’m ready to spread
my legs like butter on bread for you to debauch all you want. I
don’t think I’d ever want to leave your bed, except maybe to eat
and take a shower. But you could bring me food and give me a
sponge bath.”

John’s eyes practically crossed at the thought of having Heath

tied to his bed. “Christ, Heath. The things you say. We just might
not be making any of our dinner reservations, though I do want to
take you dancing. Having you pressed up against me in the middle
of a crowd will drive me crazy. Having all those guys looking at
me in jealousy because I have such a hot boyfriend hanging with
me is something I look forward to.”

“Jealous of you? I’ll be beating them off with a stick once all

those twinks get a look at you.” Heath giggled. “You’ll be in the
middle of a catfight because I’m not going to let any man take you
away from me. Not now that I’ve finally gotten a chance to get my
hands on you with all the time in the world to play.”

John started to say something, but his phone rang. He gestured

for Heath to grab it from the console between them. Heath checked
the caller ID.

“It’s Chuck.”
“Answer it for me.”
Heath’s eyes widened. “What will he think if I’m answering

your phone?”

“That I’m driving and I like you enough to trust you talking to

my family.” John met Heath’s eyes with a quick glance. “I do trust
you, Heath, with everything I’m allowed to share with you.”

“Oh, okay.” Heath flipped open the phone and answered.

“Hello, Chuck.”

John kept an ear on the conversation while he drove.

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“He’s driving right now. Was there something you needed to

talk to him about right away? I could put you on speaker, if you
want.”

Chuck must have said no because Heath kept the phone.
“Hmmm…we’re actually on our way to Atlanta for the

weekend. Hey, maybe you’d like to meet up with us there.”

“Were they coming down to visit?” he asked Heath while

signaling his turn onto the exit ramp.

“Yes. Chuck has something important to ask you and they

thought they’d fly down to see you. Also, it appears Herb wants to
vet me some more. Make sure I’m good enough for you and to add
to the family.”

Heath rolled his eyes, tipping the phone slightly away from his

mouth. “I mean, really, who does he think he is? Coming off all
arrogant and everything, like a waiter isn’t good enough for you.
I’ll have you know, I’m finishing up my degree and I’m going to
be an accountant. I’m sure it isn’t the same thing as rocket science
or whatever kind of degree Herb has, but still it’s pretty damn
good.”

John could hear Chuck protesting over the phone and he

reached out to pat Heath’s knee. “Don’t take Herb too personally,
Heath. He hasn’t had a lot of time out in public, so he’s not sure
how to act sometimes and he hasn’t really learned how to filter
what he’s thinking. Chuck’s working on that aspect. Herb doesn’t
mean anything by it.”

Heath heaved a sigh. “I know. It just gets annoying at times,

but I’ll deal with it because I know he cares about you and this is
way of showing it.”

Chuck spoke, and this time Heath listened for a moment.
“All right. I’ll have John send you the hotel information when

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we get there. You could fly down and meet up with us tomorrow.”
Heath grinned. “Okay. I’ll tell him to call you and I look forward
to meeting you face-to-face. ’Bye.”

John pulled up to a stoplight and turned to look at Heath. “Did I

hear correctly? My brother and his boyfriend are coming down to
Atlanta because he has something important to talk to us about?”

“That’s the gist of it. Well, you know the news isn’t one of

them is pregnant. That’s always a good thing, right?” Heath
laughed.

“For most things, but I have to say, if one of them did come up

pregnant, my mother would be over the moon about it. She wants
grandchildren and she doesn’t have any problem pushing for them.
I’m sure she’s already explained to Herb and Chuck that they
could adopt or hire a surrogate to carry their children.” John eased
forward in traffic. “Maybe that’s what they want to talk about.
Maybe they’ve decided to adopt.”

Heath burst out laughing. “I haven’t really met Herb, but the

thought of him raising a child scares me a little.”

“Me, too,” he confessed with a chuckle.
They fell silent as John navigated downtown Atlanta traffic.

While he drove, he thought about what his older brother wanted to
talk about. It probably wasn’t anything serious because his mother
would have called him by now if it were. He pushed it out of his
mind for the moment, not willing to worry about it until Chuck
was there.

He pulled up to the curb in front of the hotel and parked. After

climbing out, he tossed the valet his keys while Heath collected
their bags. They checked in and headed up to their room. After
getting settled in, John looked at his watch.

“We have an hour before our reservations. Why don’t you go

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take a shower and I’ll call Chuck? Need to set up tomorrow.” He
patted Heath’s ass as the blond walked past him.

“I’d rather you took a shower with me.” Heath pouted before

going into the bathroom.

“I wish I was in there as well, but if I do, we’ll never get to

dinner. I really want to take you out on a date, honey.”

Heath peered around the doorframe and winked. “I think a

shower would be way more fun than dinner, but I’ll humor you.”

“Thanks.” He grabbed his phone and sat on the bed. He

punched in Chuck’s number and waited for him to answer.

“Hey, John.”
“Chuck, my man, how’s life treating you?”
“As good as could be expected, I guess. Hey, we’re heading

down your way tomorrow. Herb’s never been to Atlanta, and I
thought he might enjoy hanging out with Heath.”

“What do you think about dancing?” He fell back on the bed,

staring up at the ceiling. “I want to take Heath to a club, but I can
wait until tomorrow night and you guys can come with us.”

Chuck snorted. “I can’t dance worth shit, but Herb’s pretty

good at it. We’ll be fighting guys off our men all night long. I think
I can talk Herb into going out. He’s really excited about meeting
Heath.”

John grinned. “Yeah, I think it’s going to be fun. Here’s the

website link to info on the hotel.” He rattled off the hotel’s URL.
“Text me your flight information, and we’ll come out to the airport
and pick you up. How’re Jessie and Petrovic doing?”

“You won’t believe it. They’re already talking about moving in

together. Mom’s not overly thrilled about that, but she’s dealing,
and Alexei’s family fits right in with ours. I’m sure Jessie will be
calling you soon to talk about it. Hopefully, you’ll be able to get

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time off to come up and bring Heath. The rest of the family really
wants to meet him.” Chuck paused. “Trust me. I’ve been getting
the third degree from everyone, trying to figure out what he’s like
and all that good stuff.”

“Yeah. I haven’t had a chance to talk to Mom for long. I’ll call

her when we get back home after this weekend. Spending time
with Heath is the most important thing. It’s more than sex for me,
Chuck. I want him to know how special he is to me.”

“He knows, John, but it doesn’t hurt to show him once in a

while. Have fun tonight and I’ll send you the flight numbers and
time. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“’Bye.”
He ended the call and let the phone drop to the mattress beside

him. The sound of running water caught his attention and he
smiled. Who cared if they were a little late to the restaurant?
Seeing Heath wet and naked was way better than eating at the
moment. They could always order room service.

* * *

Heath ducked his head under the hot water and sighed as his

back muscles eased. He braced his hands on the tile and closed his
eyes. It was nice to know he wouldn’t have to watch himself as
closely in Atlanta as he did at home. Oh, he wouldn’t grab John
and make out in the middle of the sidewalk, but they could touch
discreetly without worrying about getting their asses kicked. He
snorted softly. There would still be people who hated them for the
fact they were together, but Heath wasn’t going to worry about it
this weekend.

A burst of cold air brought a squeak from him. Turning, he

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smiled as John stepped into the shower behind him.

“Thank God, this is a big shower,” he teased as he slid his arms

around John’s shoulders, pressing tight to his lover’s big body.

“Why do you think I picked this hotel and this room?” John

winked, his hands gripping Heath’s ass and squeezing.

Heath went up on the tips of his toes and brushed a kiss over

John’s lips. “What about our dinner reservations?”

“Screw the reservations. We’ll order something from room

service afterward.”

“After what?” He rubbed his stomach over John’s erection.
John lifted him, and he wrapped his legs around John’s waist,

trusting John’s strength to keep him from falling. Heath rocked his
groin into John and moaned.

“I think we’re done with the shower.” John turned and leaned

slightly. “Shut it off.”

Heath did as John said, and he giggled as John stepped out of

the shower carefully. “Should we dry off?”

“No. I don’t want to let you go. We’ll deal with a wet bed.”
John strolled out of the bathroom and headed to their king-size

bed. Heath hung on as John bent and swiped the blankets from the
mattress. He laughed when John tossed him down and he bounced.
John followed him down, covering his body with his larger and
stronger form.

Their lips met in a hard kiss, teeth nipping and tongues

stroking. Heath couldn’t stay still. He undulated, trying to rub
every inch of his body against John, wanting and needing his lover.

“Do you want to come now or wait until I’m inside you?”

John’s question caused Heath’s cock to stiffen even more.

“I want you inside me. I love the way it feels when you fill me.

You’re so thick and I want to be able to feel you tomorrow during

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the day while we walk around Atlanta. I really love riding you.
Please, will you fuck me? I really want to come, but I want you to
fuck me.”

“Honey, don’t worry about that. I’ll fuck you until you scream

my name and the neighbors complain about the noise.”

“Holy shit!” he shouted as John wedged his body between

Heath’s legs and sucked him down.

Heath arched up, trying not to gag John, but wanting more of

that moist heat around as much of his shaft as possible. John didn’t
stop him from moving. Actually, John encouraged him to thrust as
much as he wanted. Heath moaned as John rubbed his fingers over
his opening while he sucked him.

“God! Yes. More. Harder. Do something. I don’t know.

Please.”

He flung his head from side to side as John bobbed up and

down over his groin, taking him deep. When John pressed two
fingers into Heath’s ass, Heath cried out and shoved his cock into
John’s mouth. John swallowed around Heath, making Heath’s eyes
roll back in his head.

Soon Heath rocked between John’s mouth and fingers, fucking

himself enthusiastically enough to lift John off the bed at times.
Heath started babbling.

“Yes. God, more. Your fingers. John! Your mouth. I can’t take

much more. I need to come, but I don’t want to come until you’re
inside me. Please, I’m ready. John, I want you to fuck me.”

John grabbed Heath’s hand and wrapped it around the base of

Heath’s cock. After pulling off Heath’s prick, John grinned. “Hold
on for a moment. I need a rubber and some lube. Don’t play with
yourself. You can’t come until I’m inside you.”

“Oh, Christ! Hurry up. You have to move faster,” he demanded

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as John climbed off the bed and went to dig through his bag. “You
should’ve been prepared. Maybe you weren’t a Boy Scout, but I’d
think, as a soldier, you’re prepared for all events.”

“Heath, I have the stuff. I was just more in a hurry to see you

wet and naked than worried about whether the stuff was readily at
hand.” John chuckled and shook his head, but held up a foil packet
and a bottle. “Here we go.”

John returned to the bed and popped open the lube. “Give me

your hand. You can get play a little while I suit up.”

Heath grunted as he did as John told him. He rubbed his fingers

together, spreading the slick before he reached around and pushed
them into his hole. He sprawled, legs as far apart as possible for
best access. John froze with the condom half on, watching Heath
as he fucked himself.

“Sweet Jesus,” John whispered. “That is one of the sexiest

things I’ve ever seen.”

Heath’s blush covered his entire body, but he didn’t stop. He

nudged John with his foot. “Could you finish up there and fuck me
already? I’m on the edge right now and if you don’t hurry up, I’ll
come whether you’re with me or not.”

His words caused John to jump and race to roll the rubber the

rest of the way on. Heath’s hand was shoved out of the way and his
legs lifted to rest on John’s shoulders. Heath braced his hands
against the headboard, yelling as John slammed home.

They both froze as their gazes met, and John looked a little

ashamed of the force by which he’d taken Heath.

“I’m sorry, honey. Are you okay?”
Taking a deep breath, Heath nodded. The burn had faded and

the pleasure of being stuffed with John’s thick cock took over. He
angled his hips slightly, letting John know it was okay to move.

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And, boy, did the man move. Each thrust in was hard and fast.

Each slide out, slow and teasing. Heath’s erection rubbed against
John’s hard stomach with each stroke, driving Heath closer and
closer to his climax. When it crashed down around him, it was like
an explosion going off in his body.

“John!”
His cum spilled out over his stomach and chest as well as

John’s stomach. His inner muscles clamped down tight around
John’s cock, milking his lover’s own pleasure from him. John
rocked home two more times before shoving in as deep as possible
and coming.

“Heath!” John shouted.
A pound sounded on the wall, and they burst out laughing as

soon as they caught their breath.

“See, I told you I’d fuck you so hard, the neighbors would

complain,” John joked.

Heath winced as John slid out. He thought about heading to the

bathroom to clean up, but John climbed out of bed and went to the
bathroom first, washing up before bringing a cloth to take care of
Heath.

After he finished, he returned the cloth to the bathroom and

rejoined Heath in bed. John tugged the covers up over them, while
Heath snuggled close.

“Why don’t we take a nap before we order food? That way,

we’ll be recharged for another round later on tonight.”

“That’s a wonderful idea,” Heath muttered, already half asleep.
The lights clicked off and Heath burrowed into John’s warmth

as he let sleep collect him for a while.

* * *

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Herb pushed open the door of their house and walked in,

dropping his messenger bag by the couch before strolling toward
the kitchen. “Chuck, you here?”

“Yep.”
Chuck stepped from the dining room, and Herb’s mouth

dropped open. His lover stood tall and gorgeous in a black tux.
Chuck held out a bouquet of red roses to Herb.

“What’s all this?” He took the flowers and buried his nose in

the blooms, breathing in the fresh scent. He never thought he
would be the kind of guy who liked getting flowers, but over the
months he and Chuck had been together, he learned he liked the
romantic gesture of Chuck bringing gifts to him, whether they
were flowers or other things. It was nice to know Chuck thought
about him during the day.

He gasped as Chuck dropped to one knee and revealed a box in

the palm of his hand. “We talked about getting married. I wanted
to do this right and make it official. Herbert Pommerset, I love you
more than my family and my life. Will you do me the honor of
marrying me?”

Tears welled in Herb’s eyes. For the first time in his life, he

was totally speechless. No matter how much he’d told himself he
didn’t care if he never found anyone to love him exclusively, it did
matter. And here was Chuck, a beautiful man inside and out,
asking him to say yes to tying their lives together forever.

He didn’t have any doubts their marriage would bumpy and

completely crazy, but it would also be the most wonderful thing
ever to happen to him.

“Yes, Charles Davidson. I’ll marry you and love you forever.”
Herb threw himself into Chuck’s arms, ignoring the flowers

and the ring box. Their lips came together, and Herb put all his

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love into the kiss.

WHY I LOVE WAITERS

CHAPTER 7

Heath twisted his fingers together as they stood by the baggage

claim area. Chuck and Herb had landed twenty minutes ago and
were working their way to the claim area. Heath didn’t know what
to do with all the nervous energy he had.

“What’s wrong, honey?” John leaned close to whisper in his

ear.

He jumped, not realizing John had returned from the restroom.

Heath turned and stared up into concerned brown eyes. All his
worries came tumbling out.

“What if they don’t like me? What if they don’t like the way I

look or how I talk? What if they hate the way I dress or think I’m
dumb or not good enough for you? I’m not a big city guy, John.
I’m just me, and what if that’s not enough for them?”

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John grabbed his hand and dragged him to an isolated corner

where he wrapped his arms around Heath and hugged him close.
Heath laid his head on John’s shoulder and sighed. Just the
solidness of John’s arms around him eased his worries somewhat.
He felt John nuzzle his hair and he smiled.

“Try not to worry about Chuck and Herb. I’m sure they’ll adore

you as much as I do.” John eased him back a few inches so he
could look into Heath’s eyes. “Please, I hope you know that, while
I value Chuck’s opinion—and Herb’s to a certain extent—my
being with you isn’t contingent on how they feel about you.”

Heath started to open his mouth, and John pressed a finger

against his lips.

“Now, I’m not saying it wouldn’t suck if they didn’t like you,

but I wouldn’t let you go just because of that. They don’t have to
live with you. I do and I happen to think you’re the greatest thing
since Twinkies were invented.”

Not understanding the comment, Heath frowned. He didn’t get

a chance to ask about it, though.

“What is it with the Davidson kids and Twinkies? You’d think

they were eighteen-karat carat gold or something, the way you all
go on about them. Of course, you’re right. They are pretty
awesome. All that gooey cream filling and squishy sponge cake
goodness. Oh, my God, we have to stop by a store and get some. I
think I’m addicted to them now. Good thing Chuck and I have sex
all the time. It’s good exercise. If not, I’d be four hundred pounds
and on me, that wouldn’t be sexy.”

Heath blinked up at John whose expression held exasperated

liking for whoever stood behind Heath. Heath turned to see two
men standing there. One he recognized immediately as being
related to John. Chuck was tall, dark-haired, and dark-eyed. They

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looked so much alike that, at first glance, the only things
distinguishing them were the few silver strands in Chuck’s hair.

The man clawing at the hand covering his mouth had to be

Herb. Slender and gorgeous, Herb had black curls and bright green
eyes shining behind black-framed glasses. He must have been the
one doing the talking, given Chuck’s dramatic eye roll.

“He’s been talking non-stop almost since we got on the plane.

You’d think he’d never taken a trip before. I had a detailed
description of how an airplane engine works and what could go
wrong. I seriously considered renting a car and driving down
instead, but it wouldn’t have gotten us here as fast.”

Chuck dropped his hand and stepped forward. Heath moved out

of the way while the brothers hugged. Unexpectedly, he found
himself being strangled by an enthusiastic hug.

“Oh, my God, I’m so excited to meet you. Gosh, you’re hot just

like John said you were. I should’ve known he wouldn’t have
picked a dog to date. You know, we could almost be brothers.
Only I have dark hair and green eyes and you have blond hair and
blue eyes. I’m probably smarter than you, but I’m smarter than just
about anyone, so don’t take that the wrong way.”

Heath gave in and returned the hug. “I might not be as smart as

you are, but I bet I could balance my checkbook faster than you.”

“You’re right about that. I just don’t understand the whole

accounting thing. It’s not the same as formulae and chemistry at
all. Chuck always has to straighten out my money.”

Herb squeaked as he was dragged away from Heath and pulled

into a hug by John. Heath took a deep breath and met Chuck’s
searching gaze. He didn’t know what Chuck was looking for, but
he hoped the man found it. After a few minutes and Chuck still
hadn’t said anything, Heath swallowed and shot a worried glance

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at John and Herb.

“That’s enough, Chuck. Stop giving poor Heath your cop stare.

The man isn’t a serial killer or pickpocket or anything like that.”
Herb tilted his head and gave Heath a mischievous smile. “Though
I’m betting he could embezzle a bunch of money from a
corporation in a heartbeat.”

“I wouldn’t do that. Oh, I could do it, but I wouldn’t because

that’s against the law and I don’t break the law. Well, I do speed,
but it’s not nearly as bad as stealing money or murdering someone.
Not that I’d do those things either. I’m a pretty straight and narrow
type of guy.”

“Not too straight, I hope.” Chuck’s voice was deeper and

rougher than John’s. His smile eased the tension in Heath.

“No. Not straight in that way. I’m very gay, considering what I

let John do to me this morning in the shower. It was amazing and
perfect. Your brother is an awesome lover.” Heath closed his eyes
and hummed, remembering the blowjob John gave him in the
shower.

“Okay. Now we’ve established the fact Chuck and I’m are horn

dogs, can we go get your luggage?”

Heath’s cheeks burned and he opened his eyes to see three

amused gazes pinned on him. “Good idea.”

Herb stepped forward and slid his arm through Heath’s. “I

think you and I are going to be good friends. I can’t wait to see
more of Atlanta, and Chuck said we were all going dancing later
on. I’m not a very good dancer, but I love the music.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll show you some simple steps and you’ll be

amazed at how well you can do once you learn them.” Heath
glanced ahead at the Davidson men walking in front of them.
“How did we get lucky enough to find two such hot studs?”

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Herb giggled. “God must really love geeks and waiters is all I

have to say.”

Heath couldn’t agree more.

* * *

After spending all day visiting the aquarium and museums,

they headed back to the hotel. Heath and Herb talked the entire
time, while John and Chuck caught up on what had been going on
with the family and everything. They made plans to meet in an
hour for dinner, then to go on to a club John had visited the last
time he’d been to Atlanta.

As the door shut behind them, Heath whirled around and threw

himself into John’s arms. John caught him, falling back against the
wall with a grunt.

“I love your brother and Herb. They really seem to like me as

well. That’s a great thing, isn’t it? Now I don’t have to worry about
them trying to talk you out of dating me. That would be crappy,
but I’d fight for you. I wouldn’t let them convince you to stop
seeing me.” Heath punctuated his words with little kisses around
John’s face, wrapping his legs around John’s waist.

John cupped his ass with his big strong hands and chuckled. “I

know Chuck likes you and my brother said Herb must love you, or
he wouldn’t have grabbed onto you like he did.”

“Herb isn’t the asshole I thought he’d be from talking to him on

the phone. He just doesn’t realize what he says could be seen as
offensive by people. No one taught him to watch what he says.”
Heath let his head drop to the side as John nibbled along his chin
down to his neck. “Do we have time for sex? I want you.”

A brilliant thought popped into his head and he wiggled so

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hard, John almost dropped him.

“Hey, honey, you need to stop moving so much, or at least wait

until I get you to the bed.”

“Is there an adult store here? Do you know where one would

be? I want a butt plug.”

John did drop him, but he bounced on the mattress while John

stared down at him in shock.

“Why do you want a butt plug? And what brought this up?”
“Herb was telling me Chuck got him one and it’s amazing. He

wears it at work and he’s so horny by the time he gets home, he
practically jumps Chuck the minute he walks in the door. It keeps
him stretched as well, so they don’t have to spend so much time on
foreplay. They can get right to the fucking.” Heath struggled to get
his pants undone and stripped off. “I’d love to wear one when we
go out dancing. I bet I’d probably come in my pants or we’d have
to find a bathroom at the club for you to fuck me in.”

John didn’t say anything, though he looked slightly green. Was

that because he’d told John about Chuck and Herb’s sex life?
Maybe he didn’t want to know the details of what they did in the
bedroom. Of course, Heath couldn’t see ever saying anything to
Chuck about what he and John got up to in bed.

“Don’t worry. I only told Herb what we’ve done. I don’t think

your brother really wants to know how hot you are or anything like
that. Or how big your cock is.”

He ripped his shirt over his head and sprawled back, spreading

his legs and stroking his cock. John paused in the middle of taking
off his pants. Heath’s gaze focused on the bulge in John’s
underwear.

“You told Herb?”
Heath nodded, his hair flopping over his eyes. He shoved it out

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100

of the way. “Yeah, I did.”

“You do realize anything you tell Herb will find its way to

Chuck within an hour or so of you telling him? Herb doesn’t keep
anything from my brother. I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to face
him again.” John shook his head, but finished taking his clothes
off.

“Whatever.” Heath dismissed Herb and Chuck from his mind.

He shivered as John grabbed a condom and lube from the
nightstand before crawling on the bed. “Give me the lube. I’ll get
myself ready while you put the rubber on. I don’t want to wait.”

He caught the bottle and popped the top. After squeezing some

out on his fingers, he tossed it back at John. Heath rubbed it on and
pulled his legs up so he could reach his ass. Sighing, he sank two
fingers into his ass without hesitating.

“Take it easy, baby. We can be a little late meeting the others.”

John settled between Heath’s thighs and rested one hand on
Heath’s stomach. He slipped a finger into Heath to help stretch
him.

“No. I want you right now. All the talk with Herb made me

hard. I almost grabbed you at the last museum and dragged you
into the bathroom, but Herb pointed out there might be cameras in
there. I don’t want other people watching us have sex. That’s just
weird.”

After a few minutes of playing with his ass, he removed his

fingers and grabbed John’s cock. “Fuck me, John. Please, I really
want you right now.”

John kissed him as he pressed inside, taking his time no matter

how much Heath tried to hurry him. Inch by fucking inch, he slid
in, and Heath arched up, begging with every move of his body for
John to bury himself in his butt.

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101

A low moan eased from his throat when John bottomed out, his

balls hitting Heath’s cheeks. Heath didn’t wait for the burn to fade.
He placed his legs on John’s shoulders and met his lover’s desire-
filled eyes.

“Fuck me now. Hard and fast. Don’t worry about hurting me. I

want to feel you the entire time we’re dancing. I want to know I
belong to you and no one else has a chance to have me.”

He didn’t know which word did it, but something broke John’s

control and the man went wild. Heath had to brace his hands
against the headboard to keep from banging his head into it as John
thrust in and out. His lover claimed him with deep strokes, nailing
his gland each time.

Heath’s climax built fast, not giving him time to adjust or

breathe for that matter. Within minutes, his balls drew tight to his
body and he bit his bottom lip to keep from crying out.

John let go of his hips long enough to pinch his nipple, making

him gasp. “No biting that pretty lip of yours, honey. You scream if
you want. It doesn’t bother me.”

“Oh, God,” Heath cried as his climax tore through him and

pearly strings of cum shot from his cock to paint his stomach and
chest.

His inner muscles clamped down on John’s prick, milking the

man’s own pleasure from him. John slammed deep once more and
froze, his head thrown back as he grunted and filled the condom.

John had enough brain function to roll to the side before

collapsing, but Heath wasn’t sure if he was happy about not being
crushed by his big lover, or disappointed John’s cock slid from him
already. He snuggled close to John, not caring about the sticky
spunk drying on his body.

“We should go take a shower and get dressed. I’m not sure I

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102

want either Chuck or Herb pounding on the door. I’m sure they’ll
figure out why we’re late,” John murmured a minute later.

“True.”
Heath almost fell out of bed when his feet tangled in the sheets.

John caught him with a laugh and carried him into the bathroom.
They cleaned up and while John shaved again, Heath leaned in the
doorway to watch the flex of John’s muscles. He wiggled his
aching butt slightly, excited to be going out and showing off his
gorgeous boyfriend. How had he gotten so lucky to have this hot
man escorting him wherever he wanted? He was going to be the
envy of every gay man and woman in Atlanta that night.

* * *

John grinned at Chuck and nodded in the direction of Herb and

Heath. Their boyfriends were huddled together on the other side of
the table, heads close and chattering like two little magpies. Chuck
laughed, but didn’t try to interrupt them.

“What did you want to talk to me about?” John leaned back in

his chair and took a swig of his beer.

They’d gotten to the restaurant a little late, since both couples

had gotten to the lobby behind schedule. Herb and Heath started
talking the moment they saw each other and stopped only long
enough to order when the waiter came to their table.

Chuck fidgeted with his beer for a moment, and John couldn’t

remember a time when Chuck had ever looked as nervous as he
looked at that minute.

“What’s wrong, Chuck?”
Herb and Heath glanced up from where they plotted. Herb

reached over and patted Chuck’s hand.

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103

“It’s nothing bad. He’s just a little freaked out about it. I don’t

think he ever thought about getting married and now, suddenly, he
realizes if we do go through with it, your mother is going to go
crazy planning everything.”

“Married?” John coughed, his gaze pinned on his big brother.

“Have you talked to the parents about this?”

Chuck glared at Herb for a second before shaking his head. “Of

course not. I only just asked Herb to marry me. We’d have to
figure out where we were going to do it at and when. There’s so
much crap to think about. I don’t know how women do it.”

“They’ve been trained since birth to understand all the

intricacies involved in a wedding. As men, we’re taught just to
show up at the appointed time and say our vows.” Heath shrugged
as the others looked at him. “At least that’s what Grandma Mel
always says.”

“True.” John set his beer on the table and folded his hands.

“Are you seriously considering this?”

Herb rolled his eyes and started to say something, but Heath

distracted him with a science question. John wasn’t sure Heath
understood anything Herb said, however he appreciated Heath’s
interfering.

“Chuck, tell me what you’re thinking.”
Before his brother could say anything, their food arrived. John

waited until the waiter was gone and they’d eaten a little. He
nudged Chuck with his foot.

“Listen, I never really thought about getting married. Hell,

there are only a few states where I can do it—or even have a civil
union—but when Herb brought it up, it got me thinking. Why not?
Why should I be denied something other people take for granted?
I’m not doing it for political reasons or to further the gay cause.

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104

I’m not that kind of guy, but I’ve never been able to figure out
what makes me such a monster, I can’t get married to another
guy.”

John took another bite of steak and chewed slowly while he

thought. “You know I’ve often wondered that myself while I
watched TV and saw people fighting over it. Where would you go
to do it?”

“Canada,” Herb piped up.
“Canada?” Chuck looked surprised.
“Yeah. I have dual citizenship. Canadian and American. We

can go to my parents’ house outside of Calgary and get married
there.” Herb went back to talking to Heath.

“Seems like your boyfriend there has everything figured out.”

John laughed.

Chuck grunted. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he does. Anyway,

forgetting cold feet and still not being sure if it’s the right thing to
do, I was wondering if you’d be my best man.”

John blinked away the tears welling in his eyes. “Me? Why

don’t you ask Petrovic? You’ve been best friends for years now.”

“Yeah, we have been, but he hasn’t been with me for twenty-

five years like you have. Let’s face it, John, aside from Herb,
you’re my closest friend. Your job and mine have kept us from
being as close as we used to be, but that doesn’t mean I can’t call
you up in the middle of the night if I need help.” Chuck put his
silverware down and looked at John. “If I go through with this, I’m
going to need you beside me, telling me this is a good idea.”

“And why wouldn’t it be a good idea? Don’t you want to marry

me?” Herb frowned.

Chuck grabbed Herb’s hand and squeezed. “Of course, I want

to marry you, honey. I’m just not the type of guy who enjoys all

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105

the hoopla. You know that.”

“It’s true. He somehow managed to have to catch a murderer

the day of Donald’s wedding. I think he set it up so they were on
rotation, simply so he wouldn’t have to stand up in front of
everyone at the church. I thought Mom was going to kill him when
he had to leave right before the ceremony started.” John couldn’t
stop laughing at the memory of his mother chewing out Chuck
when he showed up the next day.

“You won’t be doing that at our wedding,” Herb warned

Chuck.

“Certainly not, especially if you get married in Canada. He

can’t very well fly home for a murder case.” Heath shook his head.
“Anyway, I’m sure John knows ways to restrain him, so Chuck
can’t run.”

Herb’s eyes lit up. “Does he ever tie you up or restrain you?

I’ve been trying to talk Chuck into using his handcuffs on me, but
he just gets this odd look on his face when I ask. I’m not sure if he
doesn’t want to use his police cuffs. I told him we could buy some
fur-lined ones or something like that. I looked up some adult stores
and there are a few close to the hotel. Wouldn’t that be fun?”

“I told John I wanted a plug. I thought it would be fun to go

dancing with it in. I’d probably drag him off to the alley or the
bathroom to have him fuck me if I did that.” Heath wiggled in his
seat. “We should go shopping tomorrow. I’m sure the guys would
like to do something together, like go golfing or something.”

“Oh no, I don’t think we’ll be unleashing the two of you on an

unprepared Atlanta.” John shook his head.

“The thought of you two shopping for sex toys makes me

cringe,” Chuck admitted. He tapped Herb’s hand. “Finish your
dinner and we’ll head to the club. Maybe dancing will take your

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106

mind off toys.”

From the gleam in Herb and Heath’s eyes, John had the feeling

they were going to be plotting how to get their toys and John
couldn’t wait to see the plan they came up with.

After eating and paying, they grabbed a taxi to the club John

had visited the last time he was in Atlanta. They paid the cover
charge and walked in. Immediately, John knew it probably wasn’t
the best idea he’d ever had. Every eye studied them as they made
their way through the crowd to a table.

John wasn’t sure who was getting the most attention. It seemed

like all the big guys were eyeing Heath and Herb like they were
Oreos being served on an all-you-can-eat buffet. All the twinks in
the club practically started drooling when their gazes landed on
Chuck. John shook his head.

“I should’ve brought a club with me,” he muttered.
“Oh, I think you have one already.” A cute brunet slid up to

him and cupped his crotch, squeezing slightly.

“Oh hell, no. I don’t think so.”
John bit his lip to keep from laughing as Heath grabbed the

guy’s shoulder and pulled him away from John’s side. Heath
plastered himself to John’s body, arms wrapped around him. He
glared at the other man.

“That’s my boyfriend, and I’m not sharing him with a slut like

you.”

The brunet’s mouth dropped open and his face turned an

unattractive shade of red.

“That’s enough. Heath, he got the point. No need to insult

him.”

John smiled an apology to the young man before dragging

Heath off to the table. Heath clung to him, pressing kisses to

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107

John’s neck and chest, like he was branding John’s as his for
everyone to see.

“Well, this was an auspicious start to the night,” Chuck joked

when they got there.

“Did you order me a beer?” John sat and tugged Heath onto his

lap.

“Yeah, though I don’t think Heath should be drinking. He

might start a fight, and I don’t want to have to explain to Mom
why she needs to bail me out of jail in Atlanta.” Chuck grabbed
Herb’s hand to keep him from wandering off. “And where do you
think you’re going?”

“I want to dance, Chuck. Please. Look at all those people.”

Herb gestured toward the dance floor, where men of all shapes and
sizes gyrated to the pounding music.

“Why don’t you take Herb out and teach him how to dance,

honey?” John pinched Heath’s ass. “I promise I won’t let anyone
fondle me while you’re gone.”

Heath huffed in annoyance, but he took Herb’s hand and

dragged him off to the floor. John smiled his thanks to the kid who
dropped off his beer. As awkward as the confrontation between
Heath and the brunet was, John couldn’t help but feel happy at
Heath’s jealousy.

“Who knew your boy was so possessive?” Chuck took a drink

and winked.

“I didn’t know he had it in him.” John grinned proudly.
“Oh, my God.”
Chuck’s wide-eyed gaze stared at something over John’s

shoulder. John turned and couldn’t believe what he saw. While
Heath moved gracefully and fluidly to the music, obviously having
inherited some sense of rhythm, Herb had missed the dance gene.

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Herb’s elbows flopped all around, while his body jerked and
twisted like Herb was in the midst of a seizure. Heath would stop
every once in a while to show Herb a dance step, but Herb couldn’t
seem to grasp how to do it.

No big deal, though, because Herb looked like he was enjoying

himself. Heath and Herb danced together, twirling and whirling
through the crowd. Their bright smiles and beautiful bodies
glistened under the lights. At some point in their circuit around the
dance floor, they’d lost their shirts.

“Ummm…where did their shirts go?” Chuck sat up, his eyes

narrowing.

John shrugged. He didn’t mind Heath going without a shirt,

though he didn’t want anyone else touching him. He almost
swallowed his tongue when Heath raised his arms over his head
and twitched his hips to the music, imitating sex.

His cock swelled to press against his zipper and he resisted the

urge to rub his palm over the bulge. Heath was oblivious to
everyone around him, but he opened his eyes to meet John’s heated
gaze. His lover licked his lips, and John moaned under his breath.

“Why don’t you go dance with your man before someone else

decides to sample what he’s offering?” Chuck jerked his chin in
Heath’s direction. “I’m going in search of my guy.”

Nodding, John stood and stalked through the crowd. Heath’s

eyes widened, but even from the distance he was at, John could see
the heat flaring in the man’s blue eyes. John walked right into
Heath’s personal space and wrapped his arms around Heath’s
waist, cupping his butt and lifting him slightly.

“Who’s jealous now?” Heath whispered against John’s lips.
“I’m making sure no one touches you, because I might have to

break some hands if they do. I don’t mind them looking, but

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touching is a whole other story.” John nuzzled Heath’s neck,
breathing in the sweat and salty scent of his lover’s skin.

“Don’t worry, John. I’d never let anyone else lay his hands on

you either.” Heath looked fierce for a moment.

“I was more worried about someone touching you. I can take

care of myself.”

A sudden shout made them turn and they saw Chuck standing

next to Herb in a cleared spot on the dance floor. A big man stood
in front of them, his hands on his hips and his beady eyes
narrowed. Chuck didn’t seem intimidated by him, but he had his
hands full with Herb.

“Let’s see if they need any help.”
Heath and John moved closer, and they heard what Herb was

saying to the stranger.

“Just because I’m cute doesn’t give you the right to grab and

dance with me. I told you no, but maybe you don’t understand
English or maybe you just don’t care. Maybe because you’re big
and muscle-bound, you think it’s okay to do whatever you want to
people who are smaller than you.

“Well, listen here, buddy. I might be smaller than you, but I bet

I’m ten times smarter than you and you probably couldn’t fight
your way out of a paper bag. My boyfriend could likely take you
down faster than you could spell your name.” Herb waved a hand
at Chuck.

“Fuck!” John swept in between Chuck and the man. “Chuck,

grab your man and get the hell out of here.”

“Wait. I wasn’t finished dancing. Why are we leaving when

he’s the one who started the trouble? It’s not very fair. I was telling
the truth. He can’t even spell his name right, and I doubt he knows
anything about chemistry.”

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“Not all of us can be rocket scientists, Herb. Now shut the hell

up before we get our asses kicked.” Chuck sounded frustrated.

Herb snorted. “He wouldn’t kick our asses. You and John could

take him easily.”

John rolled his eyes and pulled out a couple twenties. “Here,

buy yourself and your friends some drinks on me. Sorry about him.
He doesn’t get out much.”

Making sure Heath was with him, John strolled as quickly as he

could out of the club. They stood outside the club and breathed a
relieved sigh. Chuck and Herb stood a few feet away, arguing
quietly. John flagged down a cab for them.

As they climbed in, both Heath and Herb looked at them.
“Can we go dancing again tomorrow night?”

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CHAPTER 8

The ringing of a phone woke Heath the next morning. He

peeled open his eyes and looked around him, trying to figure out if
it was his phone, John’s, or the room phone. The ringing stopped
before he decided which one it was.

“Don’t worry. They’ll call back if it was important,” John

mumbled from where he lay, face buried in his pillow.

“What time is it? We aren’t late for breakfast with Chuck and

Herb, are we?”

John grunted as he rolled off the bed and strolled toward the

bathroom. Heath ogled the man’s firm ass when John bent over to
snatch their phones off the dresser. They landed in his lap before
he realized John had thrown them.

“Check to see who it was while I take a piss.”

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Heath waited until the door blocked his view before checking

both phones. It had been his. He punched the redial button and sat
up.

“Hello?”
“Mom, it’s Heath. Why did you just call me?”
His mother sighed. “You’re my son, Heath. Why do you sound

so surprised I called you?”

“Considering the fact neither Grandma Mel nor I have heard

from you in over a year, I think I have the right to be shocked to
get a call from you.” He shoved his hand through his bed-head hair
and leaned back against the headboard. “The minute Dad died, you
left town and had no interest in coming back.”

His mom’s laugh sounded a bit rusty. “I’m still not interested,

but I thought I should call and see how things are going. Has your
grandmother decided to sell the café yet? I’m sure she could get a
good price for it.”

He stiffened when his mother revealed the real reason she

called. “You just want to make sure you get your fair share of the
money. It’s still going to be a long time before she sells, Mom, so
don’t be holding your breath.”

“Part of that café is mine and she has no right denying me my

money.”

Heath heard the pout in his mother’s voice and he found

himself remembering why he never called his mother on his own.

“It’s only yours because of Dad and, really, you aren’t entitled

to anything because it’s in Grandma Mel’s name. You’ve never
done anything to make her feel like you loved her. You hated
living in town. I swear Dad wasn’t even in the ground a month
before you got married and left. Did you have Charlie on the side
before Dad died?”

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“You don’t get to talk to me like that, Heath. I’m your mother

and I deserve your respect.” Her shrill voice pierced his ear. He
held the phone away from his head. “You don’t understand
everything I gave up when I got pregnant with you. I was going to
New York to become a dancer. Then you and your father had to
ruin everything.”

The bathroom door opened and John stepped out, a frown on

his face when he saw Heath on the phone. Heath waved him over
and took a hold of John’s hand, tugging him down onto the bed
with him.

“Yeah, Mom. Dad plotted with me when I was a baby to ruin

your life. Seems to me you were in charge of your own actions.
Maybe you shouldn’t have slept with Dad when you were
seventeen without using protection. You should’ve known he’d do
the right thing and marry you, plus Dad loved you. He’d have done
everything for you.”

“Everything but leave that shitty town and move to New York

so I could pursue a career. He cared about his parents and that
stupid café more than he did about me being a star.”

“Mom, was finding out if Grandma was going to sell the café

the only reason why you called me?”

The loud silence over the phone warned Heath he wasn’t going

to like what was coming.

“Can you send me some money? Charlie and me are going to

be a little short on the bills this month.”

Heath stared at John, unable to believe his mother’s nerve.

“Are you seriously asking me for money? What happened? Did
Charlie gamble away your social security checks this month? You
need to stay away from the casino.”

“He’s just going through a bad streak. We’ll be fine next

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month. We only need six hundred dollars.”

“Six hundred dollars? Fuck, Mom, Charlie needs to stop

gambling or you’re going to lose your house and everything else.”

“Don’t lecture me, Heath. Are you going to send me the money

or not?”

Heath sighed, twisting his fingers threaded through John’s.

How much money had he sent her over the years since she left? It
wasn’t ever going to end, if he didn’t put a stop to it at some time.

“No, Mom. I’m not going to send you any more money. You’re

going to have to get a job or force Charlie to stop gambling.
You’re both old enough to take responsibility for yourselves. I
don’t have any extra money.”

His mother screamed at him. “After all that money I spent

sending you to college, this is how you repay me? I can’t believe
you’d treat your mother like this.”

Heath absorbed the yelling, but apparently John wasn’t going

to allow her to shriek at him like that. John plucked the phone from
his limp hand.

“Mrs. Kane—or whatever your last name is now—you aren’t a

mother or you would never yell at your son like that. I’m hanging
up now, and don’t ever call him again unless you can apologize for
your words.”

John punched the end button and tossed the phone onto the

nightstand before encircling Heath with his arms. Heath let the
bigger man pull him tight against him and he rested his head on
John’s shoulder.

“Does she do that very often?”
He shook his head. “No. I haven’t heard from her in over a

year, though the last time she wanted money as well.”

“Have you been sending her any?” John rubbed his hands over

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Heath’s back.

“Yes. Just a little bit every once in a while. What I can afford

after paying my own bills and helping out Grandma Mel. I guess it
wasn’t enough.” Heath sighed. “Why does she have to be that
way?”

“I don’t know, honey. Some people are just born bitter and

selfish.” John eased back slightly to place a kiss on the end of
Heath’s nose. “I’m glad you aren’t one of those.”

“I think Grandma Mel kept me from being too angry over Mom

leaving after Dad died. She needed me and that gave me something
else to think about. That’s why I didn’t really think twice about
leaving college and coming back home to help her out. It’s not the
way I thought my life would go, but she’s my grandma and she
gave up a lot for me as well.” Heath snuggled closer to John,
breathing in his freshly showered scent.

“I happen to think your grandma’s pretty awesome. She

reminds me a lot of my mom and my grandmothers. All are strong
women.” John kissed his cheek. “Now why don’t you go take a
shower while I call Chuck and see if they’re ready for breakfast.”

“Okay. What’s on the schedule for today?” He preferred

staying in John’s arms, but his lover had other ideas.

“After breakfast, we’re going shopping. Then lunch at the

Vortex and an afternoon baseball game. Beyond that, we’ll see
what you and Herb feel like.”

“Baseball? I didn’t know the Braves were in town.” Heath

jumped to his feet. He adored Braves baseball. He hurried toward
the bathroom. “What are we shopping for?”

“You’ll find out when we get there. Now hurry up.”
Heath showered quickly and dressed in shorts, a T-shirt and

sandals. They took the elevator down to the lobby where Chuck

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and Herb were waiting. Herb rushed over and gave him a big hug.
Heath hugged him back.

There was something about Herb that made Heath happy in a

different way than John did. Herb seemed innocent and truly
excited about everything in the world. It was an emotion Heath lost
at some point and he wanted it back today, especially after talking
to his mother.

“We’re going to get pancakes and waffles, then Chuck said

we’re going shopping. They’re being rather mysterious about what
we’re shopping for. Do you think it might be rings? I’d like Chuck
to wear a ring to keep all the men and women away from him. I
know he wouldn’t cheat on me, but heck, he’s such a stud, he can’t
help them following him around like bears after honey.”

Heath chuckled. “Something makes me think it’s probably not

rings, but don’t worry. We’ll like wherever they take us because
we love them and they wouldn’t do anything we didn’t like.”

“Yes, they would, especially if it’s for our own good.” Herb

shot Chuck a knowing look.

“Look what happened when you did something I told you not

to do. You turned yourself invisible and got kidnapped by Russian
agents. You need to realize I do know what I’m talking about when
it comes to your safety.”

“You turned yourself invisible? Sweet. How did that happen

and what was it like?” Heath urged Herb down the sidewalk, their
arms hooked together. “I never thought being invisible would be
all that cool. I always wanted to fly. Now that would be a totally
awesome super power, don’t you think? Imagine all the money you
could save on airline tickets.”

John and Chuck caught up to them and they went to a little

diner down from the hotel. The food reminded Heath of his

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grandma’s cooking. He stood up after ordering.

“I’m going to call Grandma Mel. I’ll be right back.”
“Tell her I said hi,” John said, understanding shining in his

eyes.

“I will.”
He went outside and leaned against the building after dialing

his Grandma’s number.

“Child, why are you calling me? You should be enjoying

yourself with that young man of yours.” Grandma Mel’s voice
came over the phone, strong and loving.

“We are, Grandma. John’s brother and his brother’s partner

came down to meet us. We’re having breakfast right now. I just
wanted to call and see how you were doing.”

“Your miserable excuse for a mother called you, didn’t she?”

Her tone hardened when she spoke of his mother.

“Yeah. Earlier this morning. She wanted me to send her some

money.”

“I hope you told her no. Heath, you can’t go on supporting her.

She made her choices when your father died. You aren’t
responsible for her. Also, you’re not responsible for me either,
child. I appreciate you coming back home to help me out, but you
didn’t have to, and I’d still love you even if you hadn’t.”

He closed his eyes and leaned his head back on the wall behind

him. “I know, but after all the support you’ve given me, there
wasn’t any way I was going to abandon you to do all the work
yourself. I actually don’t mind being there and working at the café
now.”

“Of course you don’t. Working at the café got you a gorgeous

soldier all for yourself.” She chuckled. “Don’t call your mother,
and if she gets a hold of you again, tell her to call me. It’s time she

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and I had a talk.”

“Yes, Grandma. I love you and I’ll see you in a day or two.”

He hung up and stuck his phone in his pocket before turning to
head back inside.

“Well, look what sashayed up from the country.”
Fear raced over his spine and he froze. This was quickly

turning into the worst day of his entire life.

“Hey, I’m talking to you, fag.”
A large hand landed on his shoulder and he was whipped

around to see Seth standing behind him. Heath stuck his trembling
hands in his shorts pockets and took a deep breath. He didn’t want
the man to see his fear.

“Seth, I can’t say it’s a pleasure to see you. I was really hoping

you’d spend the rest of your life in jail.”

Seth’s thin lips curled up and his blaring laugh turned Heath’s

stomach. “Nah. They weren’t going to throw the book at me too
hard for roughing up a queer. They probably would’ve given me a
medal if it weren’t for that fucking district attorney.”

Heath fought the need to back up when Seth leaned closer. The

stench of body odor, alcohol, and cigarettes invaded Heath’s nose.

“What did I tell you would happen if I saw you again?”
“You said you’d finish what you started and kill me.” Heath

had gone to several hours of therapy to get over the warning.

“Right. And here we are.”
“But this time, Heath has someone to back him up.”

* * *

John clenched his hands to keep from ripping the man away

from Heath and slugging him as hard as possible right in his

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piggish face. What he did do was reach out and take Heath’s hand,
bringing his lover closer to him and farther away from the bastard
touching him.

“Are you a queer as well?” The bravado in the man’s voice

sounded false and he took a step back as John moved forward.

“Yes, I am, and when you lay a hand on my boyfriend and

threaten him, you threaten me. Trust me. I’m not the person you
want to mess with.”

Every instinct in John’s body told him the man was dangerous.

When he’d seen Heath being confronted by the dirty redneck, he’d
rushed out of the diner with Chuck at his heels.

“Whatever. I got you once, Heath, and I’ll find you again.

Without your big bodyguards.”

“Oh, was that another threat?” Chuck stepped up to stand

beside John. He flashed his badge. “Seems to me Heath has
enough evidence to go file a restraining order on you, and if you
break said order, you’ll go to jail for a rather long time.”

“Shit, Kane, you must be quite the cocksucker if you’ve got

two guys protecting your faggot ass.” Seth sneered.

Rage broke through John’s restraint and he lunged for Seth,

grabbing a hold of the man’s nasty shirt and jerking him forward.
Their faces were inches away from each other.

“If I see you anywhere near Heath again, I will kill you slowly

and painfully. Trust me. I’ve been trained to torture my enemies
and that’s what you just made yourself.”

The look in John’s eyes must have warned Seth he told the

truth.

“Let him go, John.”
Heath’s soft command was enough to break through John’s

anger. He shoved Seth away from him and turned to look at Heath.

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He cupped his lover’s face and studied him.

“Are you okay?”
Heath nodded. “Yeah, just a little shaky.”
“Let’s go back and eat. The waitress had just dropped off the

food when Chuck and John ran from the building like it was on fire
or something.” Herb tugged on Chuck’s arm. “I’m hungry. You
wore me out last night and this morning. Not that I’m complaining.
God knows, I’d never say no to you fucking me.”

Chuck blushed, and John found himself laughing. It wasn’t

often his older brother was embarrassed, yet Herb’s constant
babbling seemed to reveal all of their secrets.

“We’ll be right in.” He shooed the other couple back into the

diner before meeting Heath’s gaze. “Are you really all right?”

“I was worried for a few seconds, but then I realized we were

in the middle of the city and it’s daylight. I doubt very much he’d
have done anything to me right now.” Heath pushed up on his
tiptoes and brushed a kiss over John’s mouth. “Thank you for
coming to my rescue. I probably wouldn’t have gotten him to leave
as fast without you.”

“I’m always here to protect you, Heath. You’re my heart and

without you, I can’t live.”

Heath’s mouth dropped open, and John thought about what

he’d said. Well, shit, he’d basically told the man he loved him in
the middle of a city sidewalk. How fucking romantic. John shook
his head and grinned.

“Sorry. I didn’t know I was going to say that. If I had, I’d have

planned a romantic evening with flowers and everything. Not here
in the city among a crowd of people.”

“It’s not important where you say it, though if it had been

someplace private, I could show you just how much it means to

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me.” Heath’s face glowed with happiness.

John didn’t care about the people walking around them as they

stood in the middle of the sidewalk. He leaned down and kissed
Heath quickly. Pulling back before he was too tempted to take it
deeper, he gestured to the diner.

“We should go and eat before we head out shopping.”
“You never did say where we were going.”
John grinned and winked at Chuck, who’d heard Heath’s

comment and blushed again.

“We’re going shopping for some toys. I think you two will

enjoy them a lot.”

The shocked joy lighting up both Heath’s and Herb’s faces

made his older brother’s discomfort over the excursion to the adult
toy store worth it.

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CHAPTER 9

Heath could barely contain his excitement. He’d never gone to

an adult store before and he really wanted to see what they were
like. Herb wiggled next to him in the backseat of John’s truck.

“I can’t wait. I’ve never been to a store like this before. What

do you think they’ll have? Will they have handcuffs? I want a pair
of cuffs. Chuck won’t use his on me, no matter how much I’ve
begged.”

“Herb.” Chuck’s voice held a warning.
Heath shot John’s older brother a quick glance and ducked his

head to hide his smile. Chuck’s cheeks were bright red and he
looked uncomfortable, yet there was love shining in the man’s dark
eyes.

“What? Oh, I know you said you wouldn’t use your work cuffs

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on me because they’re for work, not play. Also you don’t like the
fact they’re metal and not lined, but I don’t mind it. You won’t let
me hurt myself.” Herb turned to look at Heath. “Do you know
what you might want to pick up? The people who work there will
probably be able to help us if we have any questions.”

“I’m not sure I’d be able to ask anyone for suggestions.” His

cheeks heated.

“Don’t worry, honey. I know what we’ll be picking up while

we’re there.” John met his gaze in the rearview mirror.

“Oh,” he murmured.
Herb nudged him and when he looked at Herb, the guy winked

and grinned. Heath wasn’t sure if Chuck was excited as Herb was,
but the older Davidson didn’t protest at the trip. Heath chuckled
and shook his head.

“I’ve been looking online,” Herb whispered, bumping Heath’s

side with his elbow. “I know what I want besides the cuffs.”

“What else?” Heath leaned closer. “Have you talked to Chuck

about it? He doesn’t seem overly comfortable about this trip. Does
he like his sex more vanilla or does he like to spice it up some?”

The sparkle in Herb’s eyes told Heath that, even if Chuck liked

vanilla, he definitely made Herb happy.

“Oh, he likes to spice it up, but I don’t think he really likes it

when I talk about our sex life with others. I don’t think it counts
with you, though, since you’re practically family. I think we’ve
made love in every room of our house twice at least. He loves
when I rim him.”

“Okay.” Heath held up his hand. He should have known better

than to ask Herb about their sex life. Chuck was sexy and Herb
was adorable, but he didn’t want to imagine them having sex. It
wasn’t right to picture his lover’s brother having sex with

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someone.

He met John’s gaze in the mirror and realized John had heard

Herb’s comments. They shared a smile before John turned his
attention back to the street.

“Herb, are you telling Heath things he probably doesn’t want to

know?” Chuck studied them from the front seat.

“Ummm…no.” Herb blinked innocently, but the raised

eyebrows told Heath Chuck didn’t believe him. “Why does
everyone think I talk too much? I just don’t understand that. Mr.
Burke, my boss, is always telling me to shut up.”

“That’s because you’re always calling him stupid or bugging

him about the relationship between him and McKinley. Not
everyone wants to talk about their private lives, honey.”

“I don’t call him stupid,” Herb protested.
“Telling the man he wouldn’t understand what you do, even in

the simplest terms, isn’t the best way to keep your job.” Chuck
shook his head.

“Do you really tell your boss he’s stupid?” Heath looked at

Herb in awe. It would take a lot of guts to tell people what you
think of them. Heath didn’t think he’d ever be able to do that. Of
course, he’d never say anything like that to his grandma, though
she wasn’t stupid.

“He doesn’t have the degrees and doctorates I do. He isn’t as

smart as me. Why should I apologize for it?” Herb folded his arms
over his chest and pouted.

“Don’t apologize. Just think before you say things. That might

help, though I think Burke enjoys listening to you. At least, he
humors you about it.”

“It’s because I’m so cute.” Herb fluttered his eyelashes.
They burst out laughing at Herb’s ridiculousness. John pulled

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into a parking space and turned the truck off. They piled out of the
vehicle and stood, staring at the non-descript building.

“Are you sure this is the right place?” Herb sounded slightly

disappointed.

“What did you expect? A huge dildo in neon lights?” Chuck

slipped his arm around Herb’s waist and tugged him forward.

“I don’t know. Maybe.” Heath hesitated, and John took his

hand.

“Are you ready?”
Heath shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“What’s wrong, Heath? I thought you wanted to come to the

store.”

“Is it weird to say I’m a little nervous?” He glanced up at his

lover.

John shook his head. “No. It can be a little intimidating if you

haven’t been to one before, but I promise we won’t be trying
anything out in the store.”

His eyes widened as shock raced through him. “You mean you

can do that?”

“No.” John snorted. “Even if you could, I wouldn’t do that with

you. When we play, it’s just the two of us. I don’t share…ever.”

A shiver raced down Heath’s spine at the possessiveness in

John’s voice. His cock hardened and he reached to adjust himself
in his jeans. God, he wanted to throw his arms around John and
have the man cart him off to the nearest bed, or wall for that
matter. He licked his lips as John looked down at him.

John moaned. “Don’t do that, sweetheart. More than anything,

I want to kiss those lips and feel those legs wrapped around my
waist while I pound your ass. I can’t do that here.”

“I know, but I think we should shop fast and go back to the

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hotel before we do anything else today.” Heath glanced around and
didn’t see anyone watching. He moved to stand closer to John,
using his own body to block anyone’s point of view. He trailed his
finger over the bulge in John’s jean. “I’m drooling to get this
inside me again.”

John moaned and pressed against Heath’s hand for a second.
“Hey, are you guys coming or not?” Herb shouted from the

doorway.

“Not yet, but I’m hoping to be later,” Heath muttered as they

turned and headed to join the other couple at the door. “Okay,
Herb. Keep your pants on. We’re coming.”

Herb frowned and opened his mouth, but Chuck pinched his

ass. “Don’t reply to that. Not one word, love.”

Shrugging, Herb shoved the door open, and they entered. Heath

took a step in and his mouth dropped. Holy hell, it was like a store
on Rodeo Drive, or at least the ones he’d seen on TV. It wasn’t the
seedy, derelict atmosphere he’d thought it would be. It smelled
fine, not like stale sweat and old sex. It was well lit and all the toys
hung up on the walls or sat on shelves.

“Oh wow, look at all the toys.”
He turned to see Herb clap his hands together like a kid in a

candy store. Next thing he knew, he was being dragged down the
aisle as Herb grabbed his arm and headed toward something that
had caught his eye. Heath looked back at John, and his lover
motioned to him to go, while Chuck just shook his head and rolled
his eyes.

“Look at the cuffs.”
Herb stopped in front of an entire wall of cuffs. Leather, fur-

lined, metal, and various others spread before his eyes.
Wow…who knew there was such a variety of restraints?

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“See any you like?” He wasn’t sure how he felt about being

cuffed to the bed or anything else, though the thought of John tying
him up made his balls ache.

“Oh my, yes.” Herb grabbed two different kinds off their hooks

and shot a look behind him.

“I’ll take those. Don’t worry. Just look.” Chuck took the cuffs

from Herb and shooed them on.

“John?”
“If you see something you might like to try, Heath, pick it up,

but don’t worry. I’ll be getting some things for us.”

Heath nodded, still not sure what he might find interesting in

the store. He didn’t have time to say anything before Herb dragged
him off to another display. They plunged to another quick stop in
front of butt plugs.

“Holy smokes! Do people really use a plug that big?” Herb

pointed to an enormous plug. “How could that fit into anyone’s
ass?”

“I’m not sure. Maybe they use it to prepare someone for

fisting,” Heath said under his breath to Herb, not really wanting
anyone to overhear him. There weren’t many people in the store so
Heath relaxed slightly.

“Fisting? What is that?” Herb’s bright green eyes met Heath’s,

curiosity burning in them.

“You don’t know about fisting? I’d have thought you’d see

something about it when you were surfing the sex sites.”

“I was just looking at toys. Tell me about fisting.” Herb nudged

him as they wandered away from the plugs.

“Ummm…it’s where you or Chuck stick your entire hand

inside the other’s ass.”

“No kidding?” Herb frowned, obviously trying to work it out in

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his head. “How does it fit?”

Herb’s face burned and he knew he was bright red. “I’m not

sure. I’ve never done it, though I’ve seen it on pornos. Just use a
lot of lube and take your time, and I guess it works.”

“Why haven’t you tried it before?” Herb pursed his lips. “Are

you afraid it’ll hurt?”

Shaking his head, Heath searched the store and found John

standing in one of the other aisles, talking to Chuck. John looked
up and their gazes met. Warmth poured into Heath’s soul as John
smiled and the man’s love for him glistened in his eyes.

“I’m not afraid of it hurting. If it’s done right, I assume it’ll be

a little painful, but not enough to stop it from feeling amazing. I
just never trusted any of my lovers enough to be willing to put
myself in his hands like that. It takes a great amount of trust and
love, I think, to do something like that.”

He grinned at John and blushed again as John held up a large

tube of slick with a wicked grin.

“I think John’s got something planned for you.” Herb bumped

their hips together and winked as Heath glanced at him.

“You might not want to tease me too much. I think he’s been

talking to Chuck and your partner’s got his own ideas of how to
make you scream.”

Herb shrugged. “I’m always screaming Chuck’s name when we

make love. Nothing’s going to change that.”

“Good.” Heath slipped his arm through Herb’s. “Now, let’s

pick up some stuff to make your man scream your name.”

Herb looked intrigued by that, and Heath laughed silently. He

hadn’t played very often with toys, but he’d watched some movies,
so he knew some things that could blow Chuck’s mind if Herb
used them. Of course, they would drive Herb nuts as well, and that

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was Heath’s goal.

They wandered up and down the aisles. Heath pointed things

out to Herb and the scientist grabbed a bunch of stuff, making
plans to experiment with them on Chuck. The cop was going to be
exhausted by the time Herb finished with him.

The two of them spent a lot of time in front of the cock rings,

leather strips, and ropes. Heath’s hands trembled slightly as he
reached out to trail a finger over a length of rope. What would it be
like to be tied to the bed at John’s mercy? How long would John
make him beg before freeing him and letting him come?

He could feel the slickness of pre-cum on his underwear at the

thought of being spread eagle on his bed, restrained, while wearing
a cock ring. John would tease and pleasure him. Heath knew he
could trust John never to hurt him or push him beyond what he was
willing to give.

“Are you two ready to go?”
John and Chuck approached them. Heath nodded, while Herb

whirled around to face Chuck.

“Can we try fisting?”
Chuck choked, and John doubled over, laughing so hard at the

stunned expression on his brother’s face he needed to lean on
Heath to stay upright.

“Oh, come on. Heath says it’s not that bad.” Herb held up his

armful of other toys. “He made some other suggestions as well.”

“He did, did he?” Chuck’s glare at Heath promised retribution.
John wrapped his arm around Heath’s waist and pulled his

lover close. “You have a lot of experience with fisting, honey?”

Heath ducked his head and blushed while stammering. John

rattled the bag he held, catching Heath’s attention.

“Don’t worry. I picked up a few things for us to try, and you

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can tell me all about your play.”

“I haven’t even tried fisting. I just mentioned it to Herb

because he asked and I didn’t think he’d say something to you
about it.” Heath sent a beseeching look at John. “Really, I didn’t
do anything except point things out to him.”

“Heath, one thing you should know about Herb is that he has

no internal filter. Whatever you say to him will be spilled out, no
matter where he is.” John shook his head while smiling and he
leaned over to whisper in Heath’s ear, “Chuck might be
embarrassed, but trust me, he’ll try anything to keep Herb happy
and he’ll be thanking you for all those toys later on.”

“I’m not sure I want that to happen.” Heath turned and buried

his face in John’s chest.

* * *

John embraced Heath, lifting his head to check around them.

Herb and Chuck were at the register, buying all the toys Herb
carried. He could see through the embarrassed flush of his
brother’s face to the interested looks Chuck gave to the stuff Herb
had.

“You don’t want Herb or Chuck discussing their wild and crazy

sex life with you?”

Heath shook his head fiercely. John chuckled.
“I’m pretty sure Chuck won’t say anything, except maybe

thank you. It’s Herb you have to worry about. He really doesn’t
understand why he needs to watch what he says. Just wait until he
talks to Jessie about all this. Petrovic and Chuck won’t be able to
look at each other for weeks after that conversation.”

“Who’s Petrovic?” Heath eased back enough to look up at

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John.

“He’s Chuck’s partner on the force and he’s dating my sister.

Jessie and Herb are best friends, work together at the same facility
and tell each other everything. And I do mean everything. Also,
like Herb, Jessie really doesn’t think about filtering what she says.
So I guarantee, she’ll mention something about toys and Chuck in
the same sentence.” John shook his head. “I would love to be in the
car when that conversation happens.”

“It won’t if Petrovic knows what’s good for him.” Chuck and

Herb joined them by the door. “Are we ready?”

Herb bounced on his toes. “I want to go back to the hotel and

try some of these out.”

Chuck put his hand over Herb’s mouth and looked at John.

“Let’s just get back to our rooms before he starts asking someone
to demonstrate this stuff for him.”

They hustled out of the store and into the truck before Chuck

removed his hand from Herb’s mouth. Considering some of the
people hanging around outside the store, John thought Chuck’s
suggestion was a good one. He didn’t want to have to pay anyone
for a demonstration. He handed his bag to Heath.

“Don’t peek. I want them to be a surprise.”
Heath squirmed, but nodded. John trailed his gaze over Heath

and smirked at the bulge in Heath’s jeans. Yep, his sweetheart was
very turned on by the idea of John using toys on him. John knew
what he was going to do tonight.

“We’ll head back to the hotel and hang out there until seven or

so. Then we’ll meet up for dinner and some more dancing.” He
glanced at Chuck. “Does that sound good?”

Chuck nodded, and Herb almost clapped his hands together in

excitement.

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“That’ll give us plenty of time to try some of these out.”
Chuck rolled his eyes, but John grinned at Herb.
“That was my plan, Herb. You’ll just have to convince Chuck

to play with you.”

John had a feeling it wouldn’t be hard for Herb to convince his

brother since the young scientist had his older brother wrapped
around his little finger. Of course, John had no room to tease
Chuck about that since he’d do anything to make Heath smile.

He drove them safely to the hotel and the couples split up. John

winked at Herb as they walked away from each other. Herb smiled
back at him and wiggled happily. Heck, if he had a tail, Herb
would be wagging it.

“So you talked to Herb about fisting, huh?” he asked as he and

Heath rode the elevator up to their floor.

“I guess. We talked about it and some other things. It’s not like

I have any experience with it. I’ve just seen it in movies.” Heath
ducked his head again, turning red.

“You’re going to have to share which movies you saw that in.

I’d like to watch them.” He crowded closer to Heath, breathing in
the male scent of his lover. He loved how Heath smelled,
especially when it mixed with the scent of sex and sweat.

“Maybe we’ll have a movie-a-thon next time you have a night

off.” Heath peered up at him through his thick lashes with a
wicked light in his blue eyes.

“Are you thinking we might get some ideas?” He held up the

bag. “I don’t need any ideas on how to make you scream, darling.”

“All you have to do is sink your dick in my ass and I scream

your name,” Heath admitted.

John fought the urge to kiss him. He couldn’t do it in the

elevator because, once he started, he wouldn’t finish until he had

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his cock buried in Heath. “Christ, I wish this thing would hurry
up.”

“In a hurry for something?” Heath inquired.
“Yes, you in bed with me fucking you until you forget

everything else except me.”

Heath laughed, and a warm sensation trailed down John’s body

to pool in his groin. His cock stiffened to press against his zipper.
He’d been semi-hard the entire time at the toy store because of
everything he thought of doing to Heath when he got him alone.
Heath seemed willing to try anything John wanted, and it wasn’t
like John planned on tying him up and beating him. Neither one of
them were into that side of sex.

When the elevator doors slid open, he grabbed Heath’s hand

and dragged the man down the hall toward their room. He shoved
the bag into Heath’s arms as he struggled to get the key card out of
his pocket.

“Need a little help there?” Heath smirked at him.
“Only if you want to stick your hand in my pocket and play

with something other than the key?” He leered at Heath.

“Wait until we get inside and I’ll play with anything you want.”

Heath licked his lips, and John groaned.

“You’re not helping,” he groused as he slid the plastic card into

the key reader and waited impatiently for the light to flash green.

It didn’t help that Heath groped John’s ass and slipped his hand

under John’s shirt to stroke his fingers along John’s spine. Heat
blossomed from everywhere Heath pressed his body against John.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, the door unlocked and

John twisted the doorknob, while yanking Heath into the room
behind him. He slammed the door shut, using Heath as he pushed
the younger man up against the door.

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The bag dropped to the floor as Heath wrapped his arms around

John’s shoulders and cupped the back of John’s head. John nuzzled
Heath’s jaw, nipping a line along it to the sensitive spot right
behind Heath’s ear. He scraped his teeth over it, and Heath arched
into him.

“Oh my,” Heath barely whispered.
“I’m not sure I’ll be able to use any of the toys on you this

time, but we have all afternoon to play. I want you too much right
now.”

He dragged his lips over Heath’s skin, taking little bites along

the way to Heath’s mouth. John kissed Heath with every hope,
dream, and promise he had inside. The way Heath moaned and
opened to his demand told John his lover felt the same. He invaded
Heath like a conquering army, bent on pillaging him.

Heath jumped, and John caught him tight, grunting as Heath’s

legs went around his hips. He stumbled back, but kept his balance
enough to make his way to the bed, where he promptly dumped
Heath.

“Hey,” Heath gasped as he bounced.
“Get undressed, honey. I’m not going to last long. Do you want

my ass or do you want me to fuck you?”

Buttons flew as John ripped his shirt off. No point in subtlety

or dragging things out. He wanted nakedness and preferably one of
their cocks in the other one’s ass before he came all over the bed.
Heath didn’t answer, but started stripping and flinging his clothes
around the room.

“I want your ass, please.” Heath held out his hand.
John dug out a condom and lube before joining Heath. He

dropped the supplies by Heath’s head and smiled.

“Why don’t you get me ready while I suck this for a little bit?”

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He stroked Heath’s erection and whirled around, presenting his

butt for Heath and bringing his mouth closer to Heath’s cock.

“That’s a marvelous idea.”
After hearing the pop of the lube bottle, he focused on licking

his way up Heath’s shaft to the flared head leaking pre-cum. He
took just the tip in his mouth and pressed his tongue to the slit.

Heath jumped slightly and pushed more of his cock into John’s

mouth. John moaned as Heath ran his fingers down John’s crease,
rubbing against his hole with each pass by. John spread his legs a
little more, encouraging Heath to do more. When the first of
Heath’s fingers breached his ass, John sighed around the flesh in
his mouth.

As Heath continued to stretch and relax him, John let his

attention narrow to the thick rod fucking his mouth. He suppressed
his gag reflex each time Heath went a little farther down until his
cock head hit the back of John’s throat. He swallowed around it,
playing and teasing it with his tongue and teeth.

Heath thrust his fingers in and twisted, nailing John’s gland

each time, causing electricity to spark along his spine. Pressure
gathered at the small of his back and his balls drew up tight. His
climax built, threatening to explode through him. He eased off
Heath and scrambled around for the condom package.

With a grunt, he snatched it off the blanket and tore it open. He

quickly rolled it down over Heath’s cock and swooped down to get
Heath good and wet. Before Heath could say anything, John swung
around and gripped his lover, aligning the head with his hole.

“Be careful,” Heath warned, gripping John’s hips tightly

enough John knew he’d be bruised tomorrow.

“I will be, but I can’t wait any longer for you to be in me.”
Pushing down, he bit his lip as Heath popped in through the

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ring of muscle to settle balls-deep inside him. John closed his eyes
and relished the fullness of his ass. Heath’s eyes rolled back in his
head.

“I’ll never get enough of being inside you,” Heath admitted.
John savored the confession. “Good, because I’m quickly

becoming addicted to getting fucked by you. Doesn’t mean I won’t
fuck you from time to time, but this is definitely going to be an
equal opportunity relationship.”

“I knew there was a reason I liked you.” Heath winked before

he started moving.

The bed squeaked as they rocked together. The air filled with

the sounds of skin slapping on skin and the scent of sex and sweat.
John stared down into Heath’s blue eyes and saw his entire future
opening up in them.

He braced his hands on the sheets beside Heath’s head, leaned

down, and kissed him. He poured all of his love into the kiss,
hoping Heath understood everything John didn’t have the breath to
say.

Heath broke off the kiss and shouted, “Fuck!”
Heat flooded the condom as Heath came, then John’s climax

shot from him, coating Heath’s stomach with ropy strands of cum.
He stiffened his arms to ensure he didn’t crush Heath as his
strength left him.

Panting, he hung over Heath for a minute until he could get his

muscles to work and then he rolled off to climb out of bed. A quick
clean-up for both of them and he snuggled up to Heath under the
covers.

As he drifted off, he heard Heath say, “I wonder if Herb got

Chuck to play with their toys.”

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CHAPTER 10

John sighed as he dropped their bags just inside Heath’s door.

His lover was at the house, letting Grandma Mel know they were
back. After making sure the luggage was out of the way, John
flopped onto the couch and closed his eyes. The late night at the
club, followed by some hot sex made for a very tired man. They’d
gotten up early, then had breakfast with Herb and Chuck before
dropping them off at the airport.

He turned his head as Heath entered the apartment. The blond

laughed as he spotted John sprawled on the couch.

“Maybe we should go take a nap. Neither of us needs to be

anywhere the rest of the day. Let’s just be lazy.”

Heath held out his hand, and John took it, letting Heath pull

him off the furniture. He wrapped his arms around Heath’s waist

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and brought the slender man closer to him for a kiss. Their breath
mingled as their lips brushed and rubbed together. John considered
taking it to the bedroom until Heath broke away and yawned.

“Okay. So nap first, then we’ll see about taking care of this.”
He reached down and palmed Heath’s erection. Heath’s blue

eyes widened and he nodded. “Grandma said she’d like us to come
over for dinner around six.”

John led Heath to the bedroom, where they stripped and slipped

under the covers. They wound their arms and legs around each
other, and John rested his chin on the top of Heath’s head.

“Sounds good to me.”
He drifted to sleep, savoring Heath’s warmth and the sound of

his breathing.

* * *

A buzzing sound woke John. He was instantly alert,

recognizing the sound as his phone vibrating. He reached over to
snatch it off the nightstand. He flipped it open and saw it was his
commanding officer’s number. He slid from the bed and walked
out to the living room.

“Davidson.”
“Davidson, I need you to be in my office at oh-eight-hundred

tomorrow morning.”

“Yes, sir.” He frowned. “I’m scheduled to work in the morning

anyway.”

Pavelek grunted, and John heard annoyance in that sound.
“I know that, Sergeant. Some things have been brought to my

attention and I wish to discuss them with you.”

Unease trickled over John’s brain, an instinct honed by years in

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the military telling him something wasn’t right. What had gone
wrong? What could have happened over the weekend to make his
superior officer call him to task?

“I’ll be there, sir. May I know what this is about?”
“I wish I could tell you, but at the moment, it’s best you don’t

know. Just be at my office at oh-eight-hundred and we’ll discuss it
then.” Pavelek hung up.

John punched the end button and dropped into the chair. After

leaning forward, he braced his elbows on his knees and stared
down at the floor. Shit! Everything in John screamed being called
in front of Pavelek had to do with Heath and their relationship.
John couldn’t think of anything he did wrong having to do with his
job. He was very anal when it came to training and paperwork
since it was his life on the line, along with his fellow teammates, if
something got fucked up.

“Who was that?”
Heath wandered from the bedroom, scratching his stomach and

yawning.

“Lieutenant Pavelek. He wants me in his office at oh-eight-

hundred tomorrow morning. Said some things have come to his
attention we need to discuss.”

“Sounds ominous. What do you think he wants to talk about?”

Heath sat on the coffee table in front of John, resting his hands on
John’s thighs.

John shrugged. “I have no idea, but every nerve in my body is

screaming it isn’t good. I can’t begin to think what I could have
done wrong.”

“Could someone have seen us in Atlanta? Do you think this has

to do with us and not with your work on base or in the unit?”
Heath’s worried gaze met his.

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“I don’t know, and I probably shouldn’t be borrowing trouble.

It might not be anything bad. Maybe we have another mission
coming up and I’ll need to start gathering supplies for it.” He
scrubbed his hand over his head before leaning forward and
pressing a kiss to Heath’s lips. “Let’s go get dressed and head over
to your grandma’s. We’ve got about fifteen minutes before she
comes looking for us.”

“Good idea,” Heath mumbled as he stood.
They dressed quickly and headed over to Grandma Mel’s

house. She smiled at them as they walked in.

“Nice to see you again, John. I hope you boys caught up on

your sleep.”

John gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before going to help

Heath set the table.

“Yeah, we’re almost recovered from our weekend.” He

chuckled. “It probably wouldn’t have been nearly as exhausting if
my brother and his partner didn’t join us.”

“Oh, Heath didn’t mention your brother came down.” She

glared at Heath.

His lover laughed. “Grandma, I was beat and didn’t want to

spend all day telling you what we did when I knew we’d be having
dinner with you later on.”

“Good point.” She placed the fried chicken on a large platter,

and Heath took it from her to carry to the table. “I bet you enjoyed
seeing them, John.”

“I did, and Chuck asked me to be his best man at his wedding.

He and Herb are talking about getting married, or at least having a
commitment ceremony, later in the year.”

“Oh, a wedding. How marvelous. I bet your mother is so

excited.” Mel sounded thrilled for Herb and Chuck.

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“I’m sure she is. It’ll be the second wedding in the family,

though from what Chuck said about my sister, Jessie, there’ll
probably be another one soon after that.”

“She and Alexei are that serious, huh?” Heath looked up from

where he sat, dishing up the mashed potatoes.

“Seems like it.” John waited until everyone’s plate was full

before he started eating. He hummed at the flavor bursting in his
mouth from the chicken. He swallowed and grinned at Mel.
“Thank God, I don’t eat your cooking every day or I’d be as big as
a house before too long.”

Mel patted his hand, but he could see the happiness in her

expression at his words. They settled into eating and chatting,
catching up on what had happened while they were gone. The love
and joy flowing in the room reminded him of all those family
dinners he’d grown up with, and while he missed his family, he
wouldn’t replace what he had developing with Heath for all the
family dinners in the world.

* * *

John stood at attention, waiting for Lieutenant Pavelek to

acknowledge him. The lieutenant scribbled his signature on some
papers and set them aside before looking up at John.

“At ease, Sergeant.”
“Yes, sir.”
John moved to parade rest, hands clasped behind his back.

He’d been nervous since Pavelek called him yesterday, but he’d
tried not to think about what might have caused his being brought
in front of his commanding officer. Heath did his best to take
John’s mind off the whole meeting, but in the dark of the night,

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John considered the fact someone might have seen Heath and him
together in Atlanta.

While he didn’t think Pavelek cared one way or another who he

slept with, he did know the man couldn’t ignore it. Also, whoever
brought it to his attention might cause problems as well.

“I’m going to state right now that I’m furious about being put

on the spot like this. None of this shit should matter if you’re a
good solider, which you are.” Pavelek shoved a hand through his
hair. “Aw, hell, take a seat, Davidson. This is going to piss you off
just as much as me, I’m sure.”

“Yes, sir.” He sat quickly, wishing Pavelek would just come

out and say what the problem was.

The lieutenant leaned forward, resting his elbows on the desk.

His serious gaze met John’s. “Like I said, none of this effects how
I look at you as a soldier. You’re one of the best under my
command, and I’m proud to serve with you and fight beside you.”

John swallowed and nodded. “Thank you, sir. You’ve been the

best commanding officer I’ve had since I joined up. I’ll take how
you feel into consideration.”

“Right.” The officer paused like he was gathering his thoughts

about how to proceed. “Apparently someone saw you and your
boyfriend in Atlanta over the weekend.”

“Shit!” He started to shoot to his feet, but stopped at the last

moment. He clenched his hands and propped them on his thighs. “I
was afraid it was something like that.”

“I even have pictures, though, thank God, they’re only of you

two kissing. I’m not a prude, Davidson, but I don’t want to see
pictures of you fucking your boyfriend. Hell, I wouldn’t want to
see photos of you having sex, even if you were straight.” Pavelek
rubbed his eyes and sighed.

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“What happens now, sir?” Was he looking at a dishonorable

discharge, which would tick him off since he wasn’t doing
anything any straight soldier wouldn’t be doing on his weekend.

“Even with Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell still in place, Davidson, I’m

overlooking it. Who you sleep with doesn’t affect your ability to
do your job, and I refuse to have anyone make me kick you out of
my unit because of it. It’s discrimination and I don’t care if it’s in
the rules.” Pavelek met John’s gaze. “My wife is white, and it
wasn’t all that long ago when I’d have been thrown in jail or worse
for daring to even think about dating her, much less marrying her.
There will be no discrimination against anyone in my unit.”

“Thank you, Lieutenant. I’m not sure it’s worth risking your

career to save mine.”

Pavelek waved a hand. “Luckily, I have some leeway in how I

run this team and I’m not going to do anything about it, but you do
need to know you have a very dangerous enemy.”

John nodded. He understood the risks he faced now, and he had

an idea of who’d brought his relationship to the lieutenant’s
attention. But how had Larry gotten pictures of him and Heath
kissing? Was the other soldier following him, trying to get
evidence against him to get him kicked out? Maybe the man
wanted to embarrass him. John never knew what had turned Larry
against him.

“Some men are just born jealous of everyone else, never

realizing the problems in their lives are brought about by their own
actions.” Pavelek confirmed John’s suspicions without uttering
Larry’s name.

Pavelek pushed several photos toward John. “You can take

those and destroy them, though I wouldn’t doubt your accuser has
copies of them. Davidson, you need to watch your back. While I

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won’t let any discrimination go on in the unit, I can only do so
much for you. You know what the men on this team are like.
You’ve been in charge of them almost as long as I have.”

Nodding his head, John kept quiet. Yes, he did know what the

men were like, and while he’d like to believe they would have his
back no matter what, there were some who would let him be killed
because he was a fag.

“You can only do so much, sir. This is something I have to deal

with on my own. I knew it would come out eventually, but when I
wasn’t in a relationship, I figured it wasn’t anyone else’s business.
Now I’m not willing to hide Heath or what he means to me. Not
even to make someone else feel comfortable. It’s not fair to him.”

Pavelek stood, holding his hand out to John, who took it. Their

handshake was firm and respectful.

“You shouldn’t have to hide anything about yourself,

Davidson. Unless your accuser chooses to go up the chain of
command, this ends with me, but don’t let your guard down with
him. I don’t trust him, and never have, but until he does something
I can pin on him, I can’t get rid of him.”

“I know, sir, and thank you for everything you’ve done so far.

I’ll take it a day at time and maybe start thinking about my future.”

“Dismissed, Sergeant. Get back to work. We have some

training exercises coming up with the Rangers, and I want
everyone ready to hand those bastards their asses in slings.”

He saluted and left. Relief welled in him when he returned to

the office he shared with another non-com officer and found it
empty. He shut the door and sank into his chair, resting his
forehead on his desk. True, if anyone saw him, they’d assumed
he’d been defeated or chewed out by his commanding officer. Yet
he didn’t want to risk Larry seeing him and thinking he’d defeated

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him in some way.

John probably should be angry Larry snuck around behind his

back and violated his privacy to get him in trouble, but actually all
John felt was relief. No more subconscious paranoia that someone
would find out about his sexual preferences. No more watching his
words as he spoke about what he did the night before. While he
wasn’t the type of guy who kissed and told, he didn’t like having to
be ambiguous about who he spent time with.

He would never have lied about what Heath meant to him, but

he wouldn’t have willingly spoken to anyone he worked with about
his lover. This way he didn’t have to worry about who would find
out first because, even if he or Pavelek didn’t say anything, Larry
would be telling all the others in the unit about it.

Straightening up, John inhaled deeply and calmed his nerves.

There were decisions to be made about his career, but for now, he
had a job to do and he’d continue to do it to the best of his abilities.
The reactions of his fellow soldiers would prove to be the
guideline by which he chose his future path.

The one thing he was certain about was the fact Heath wouldn’t

desert him, whether he was a soldier or homeless in the street.
Heath was the foundation on which he would build a new
beginning and a new life, in the military or out.

* * *

A car door slamming shut jolted Heath upright in bed. John had

been on a training mission for the past two weeks, and Heath found
he didn’t sleep well when he didn’t know where John was. Since
John discovered his commanding officer knew about them and that
someone was following them, John had spent more nights at his

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own apartment alone than he did with Heath.

It hurt, but Heath understood why he did it. He tried not to

whine or complain when John left each night.

Footsteps came up the stairs, and he climbed out of bed to go

out into the living room. The door swung open as he arrived in the
other room and he gasped when he got a good look at John’s face.

“What the hell happened?”
Bruises covered John’s face, along with a split lip and a black

eye. Heath eased closer, wanting to touch John, but not sure where
he could. The slump of John’s shoulders told Heath his lover was
exhausted and unhappy.

“Never mind. You can tell me later. Let’s go get you cleaned

up and tucked into bed. Are you hungry?”

He took the duffle bag dangling from John’s hand and gestured

toward the bathroom. John stayed silent, allowing Heath to take
control. He shook his head to the food question, and Heath bit back
every other question and demand.

After turning the water on, he slowly stripped John, biting back

his exclamations and gasps as even more bruises were revealed.
Anger began to simmer inside him when he determined fists had
caused most of the bruises. Someone had beaten John terribly.
These weren’t bruises received during training missions or even
during workout sessions. These were vicious marks, intending to
hurt and harm.

“There. Why don’t you soak in the tub for a while?” Heath

helped John climb in the water and folded a towel to stick behind
his head, letting him rest. “Does that feel good?”

John nodded and reached out to squeeze Heath’s hand. “Thank

you, honey. I love you.”

“I love you, too, John. Just soak. I’ll be back in a little bit to

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check on you.” He brushed a kiss over John’s forehead, one of the
few places unmarred by bruises.

John leaned back and closed his eyes. Heath pulled the door

shut until there was only a crack. He wandered out into the living
room, trying to decide what he should do. It was too late for him to
wake up his grandma and ask her advice. He glanced at the phone
and a thought hit him. Chuck would want to know what had
happened and, even though Heath couldn’t give him all the details,
he could update him on what was going on. Not caring how late it
was, he snatched up the phone and dialed.

“Hello.” Chuck sounded like he was wide-awake.
“Hey, Chuck, it’s Heath.”
“Heath, is John all right?” John’s brother zeroed in on the

whole reason Heath had called him.

“I’m not sure if he told you what happened when we got back

from Atlanta a couple of weeks ago.” Heath hesitated.

Chuck grunted. “Yeah, he did. Larry is an asshole and, just like

a bunch of others, can’t seem to keep his nose out of other people’s
bedrooms. Does this have anything to do with him?”

“I’m not sure, but John just got back from a training mission

and he’s covered in bruises. The way he’s moving, I wouldn’t be
surprised if he had broken ribs as well. I think he got in a fight with
someone…or a group of someones.”

“Fuck. I told him to keep his eyes open. Larry wasn’t going to

be happy the captain didn’t do anything about the pictures. The
man doesn’t strike me as a guy who’d go up the chain of
command. He’d take care of things now with violence.” Chuck
exhaled loudly. “Not sure what to do about it, though. If John
wants to stay in the military, he can’t report it because he can still
be discharged under that stupid law.”

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Heath nodded before remembering Chuck couldn’t see him. “I

know, and that makes me so angry. The people who attacked him
had to know there wouldn’t be any repercussions for what they did.
I wish John would get out. He could find a job somewhere to use
his skills in the civilian world.”

“Did you tell him that?”
“Of course I did, but I didn’t push it. Leaving the military has

to be his decision alone. I won’t pressure him, no matter how much
I wish he wouldn’t risk his life.” He sighed. “I know he risks his
life every time he goes out on a mission, and I can accept it more
than I can accept the risk to his life coming from the men who are
supposed to have his back.”

A voice whispered, and Chuck muttered something Heath

couldn’t make out.

“Herb says hi,” Chuck mentioned. “Is John in any condition to

talk?”

“I put him in the tub to soak, then I’m giving him some aspirin

before tucking him into bed. I’m not going to make him talk to me
until tomorrow. I do think I’m going to do my best to talk him into
considering a different career. I don’t want your parents to get a
phone call about John being dead.”

Heath scrubbed a hand over his face, fighting back tears at the

thought of John dying.

“Tell you what, Heath. I’m going to do some checking

tomorrow when I get to work. Have John call me later on if he
feels up to it. Together, we might be able to convince John he has
options outside the military. I’ll admit, even if there wasn’t the
danger of being beaten by his own men, he risks his life all the
time, and I’d love to have him somewhere he’s safer.” Chuck
hesitated before continuing. “I do know you’re who he wants to

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stay with and I’m fine with that.”

“Thanks, Chuck. I’ll be telling John this, but I want you to

know as well. As much as it would hurt to leave Grandma Mel
behind, if it came down to it, I’d do it. My life belongs to John now
and he’s my home.”

“Good to know, Heath. Now finish taking care of John for the

night, and I’ll talk you both tomorrow.”

“’Night, Chuck. Thanks for listening.”
Heath hung up and went back into the bathroom. He stood in

the doorway, staring at the man who had, in such a short time,
come to mean more to him than anyone else, except his
grandmother. And Heath knew, if it came down to staying with
Grandma Mel or leaving with John, Heath would go with his lover.

Lying in the steamy water, bruised and exhausted, John looked

like a wounded warrior. One who fought against impossible odds
to survive and protect those he loved. Maybe John had. Heath
knew John would do whatever he had to do to keep Heath safe
from people intent on harming him.

He must have made some noise because John pried his good

eye open to look at him.

“Hey, honey, what’s the sad face for?”
Heath hurried forward as John tried to sit up and winced at the

pull on injured ribs and his beaten body. “Let me help you.”

Together, they got John out of the bath and dried off. John

didn’t look in the mirror, and Heath tried to keep his expression
neutral, but John placed a knuckle under Heath’s chin and lifted it
until their gazes met.

“I know it looks bad, Heath, but it’s nothing that won’t heal.

I’ve had worse.”

“But this wasn’t done during a mission, John,” Heath protested.

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“This was done by men who should have your back in battle.”

“How do you know that?” John grimaced at Heath’s steady

gaze. “Okay, you’re right. It was Larry and some of the others.
They jumped me as I got to my apartment. Seems Larry met up
with Seth, who let him know about us. That explains how he got
the pictures of us.”

“Damn. I’m sorry. I should have…”
“Should have done what? There’s nothing you can do against

such bigoted hatred, Heath, except live your life without being
ashamed of who you are or who you love. I’m not going to let
them tell me who I can sleep with.” John pressed his finger to
Heath’s lips. “I’m not re-upping in a month when my enlistment’s
up. I’ve already informed Pavelek.”

Heath inhaled deeply, keeping the celebratory fist pumping and

wiggling on the inside. “Don’t do it because of me. I can deal with
all of it as long as you’re happy.”

“Let’s get into bed. I’m stiffening up as we stand here.”
Getting John under the blankets without hurting him proved

impossible, but John gritted his teeth, and they ended snuggling
together, John’s head on Heath’s shoulder.

“I haven’t been happy for a while, love. I’ve just been too lazy

to make a decision, but finally getting to talk to you and take you
out has made it easy for me. Pavelek wasn’t happy, but he
understood and didn’t try to talk me into staying.”

Heath closed his eyes, pressed his cheek to the top of John’s

head and sighed. “I won’t lie. I’m glad you’re getting out because
this is getting worse. I had a hard enough time dealing with you
risking your life when you went out on missions. Now it’s even
more difficult to deal with, knowing you don’t have back up to
help you out if you get in trouble.”

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John grunted. “I’m sure there are a few of my team members

who don’t care who I sleep with, but they’ll stay out of the
discussion for the most part. They have to protect their own, and
I’m the one closest to getting out. I won’t force them to take a
stand, no matter how much I’d like to do that. No, I’ll find
something to do in the civilian world and let Larry think he’s won
for now. Some day, guys like him will learn their lessons. I’m not
wasting any more of my energy on worrying about them.”

“Have you thought about what you’re going to do once you’re

discharged?” He ran his hand up and down John’s back, soothing
his lover the best way he could think of aside from sex. John
wasn’t up to that yet.

Silence reigned long enough Heath thought John had fallen

asleep. Finally, John sighed.

“Yes. I think I’ll see if I can get a job in law enforcement. If

not that, then maybe private security. I have the training for it.”

“Chuck said to give him a call tomorrow and he might have

some leads on jobs for you,” Heath relayed the message.

“I’ll do that, but only after you and I do some talking. I’m not

leaving the state without you, Heath, and I know you don’t want to
leave your grandma.”

Heath started to say something, but John shook his head.

“She’s family, honey. We don’t abandon family.”

He pushed at John’s shoulder until his lover rolled so they

looked at each other. Heath saw all of John’s love shining in his
dark brown eyes and hoped John could see the love Heath felt in
his gaze as well.

“I love you with every atom of my being, John Davidson.

Wherever you go, I’ll be going with you. We’ll do our best to
make sure Grandma Mel is taken care of, but I’m not letting you

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go without moving mountains to work this all out.” Heath cupped
John’s black-and-blue face with gentle hands. “It’s us against the
world, John, and together, we’re unbeatable.”

“I love you, Heath Kane, and you’re right. We can do anything

we want. Between the two of us and my family, I’m sure we can
find a way to make sure your grandma’s okay. As long as we keep
loving each other, the world will work out for us in the end.”

Their mouths touched in a soft kiss, Heath very aware of John’s

spilt bottom lip. The embrace spoke of promises and commitments.
Future dreams and past broken hearts healed by the all-
encompassing power of love.

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CHAPTER 11

The next day, they got up and headed over to Grandma Mel’s

for breakfast. She shook her head when she saw John’s bruises, but
she didn’t say anything until after the food was on the table. They
sat, and she folded her hands in front of her. Mel met both Heath
and John’s gazes.

“All right, boys. What are we going to do about this situation?”
“I’m not sure what you’re talking about, Mel.” John frowned.
“Don’t bullshit me, John.” She nodded toward his face. “I’ve

got eyes and things have been getting worse since you got back
from Atlanta. What are you going to do about it?”

John sighed and reached out to take Heath’s hand. “I’m not re-

enlisting. If it was just me, I might work it out somehow, but I’m
not going to deny Heath or risk something happening to him.”

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“What are you going to do when you get out? There aren’t a lot

of options here in town, and people will know why you left the
military. Most won’t bother you about it, but there are a few who’ll
give you a hard time,” Mel pointed out.

“I know that, but I also know Heath doesn’t want to leave you.

You’re the only family he has. I’m not counting the woman who
gave birth to him. I’ll find something. I might have to go into
Atlanta to do so, but there are jobs out there for guys like me.”
John squeezed Heath’s hand. He didn’t want Heath to feel like he
was giving up on chances just to stay with him.

“Yes, there are jobs in Atlanta, so that’s an option, I guess.”

Mel covered their hands with hers. “I simply want you to know I’ll
support both of you in whatever you decide to do, even if it’s
moving out of state.”

“I can’t leave you, Grandma. There’s no one else to help with

the café,” Heath protested.

Mel shook her head. “You let me worry about the café, honey.

Now eat up. I don’t want you passing out at work because you
didn’t have a good breakfast. What are you going to be doing
today, John?”

He shrugged. “Probably start looking for a job as a civilian. I’m

sure there are plenty of things I’m qualified to do.”

Silence fell over them as they finished the food before it got

cold, then John cleaned up while Heath and Mel headed out to
open the restaurant for the day. After putting the dishes away, he
wandered back over to Heath’s apartment and snatched up his
phone. He punched in Chuck’s number while sitting on the stairs.

“Hey, John, how you feeling?”
“Do you have time to talk?” He leaned back against the railing,

staring out over the backyard.

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“Yep. I have today off, so I’m just hanging around the house,

trying to ignore all the wedding shit.” Chuck laughed. “I never
thought Herb would get so caught up in all of this.”

“Well, your man is pretty focused when he wants to be, and I

bet he wants your wedding to go off without a hitch.”

“That’s true.” Silence filled the air between them for a moment.

“Heath called me when you got home last night. It doesn’t sound
good, John.”

“It’s not and hasn’t been for a couple weeks now. I’m just

getting through the last bit of my enlistment. I’m not walking away
from it this close to the end.” John scrubbed a hand over the back
of his neck. “I’m not sure what I can do once I get out.”

“Well, I did some checking this morning and there’s a position

open in my precinct if you were interested in being a cop. You’d
have to start as a beat cop, but with your military experience, you’d
get promoted fast.” Chuck grunted. “You’ll never get rich from
being a policeman, but it’s an honest job and no one will hassle
you up here.”

“Really?” John didn’t believe that.
Chuck sighed. “Yeah, that’s not entirely true. I’m sure there

will be some guys who give you a hard time, but there are assholes
like that everywhere. Most of them don’t give two shits who you
sleep with, John. Just like you couldn’t care less who they’re
fucking.”

“Thanks for the offer, big brother, but I’m not sure Heath

would be willing to leave his grandma. She’s really the only family
he has anything to do with at the moment.” He closed his eyes and
thought about Heath. “I don’t want him resenting me in the future
because I made him chose me over her.”

Rustling sounded over the phone, then John heard a high-

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pitched yelp.

“What was that?”
“That would be the new puppy Herb convinced me we needed.

I can’t believe I allowed him to talk me into getting a dog.”

John chuckled. “Dude, he could probably talk you into running

naked through Central Park.”

“That’s so true. Well, I need to take the beast out for a walk.

I’ll send you the information on the job. Just look it over. You
don’t have to make a decision anytime soon.”

“Thanks, Chuck. It’s nice to know I have you looking out for

me.”

“What are families for? I’ll talk to you later on this week.

Maybe you should give Mom a call as well. I think she’s getting
worried about you.”

“You did tell her Heath and I would be up for the wedding

right?”

“Of course, I did, but it’s not the same as talking to her

youngest son. Just do it. ’Bye.”

Chuck hung up, and John disconnected the call. He braced his

elbows on his knees and got lost in his thoughts.

When Heath returned from the café two hours later, John was

in the same position and he jerked as Heath sat next to him.

“Solve any of the world’s problems today?” Heath bumped

their shoulders together.

“No, and I didn’t get any closer to solving our own.” John

turned and brushed a kiss over Heath’s lips. “How was work?”

“Breakfast rush is over. Grandma Mel forgot something, so she

sent me back to grab it. Then I have to get back for lunch.” Heath
frowned at him. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

John slipped his arm around Heath’s waist, pulling the man

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closer. “I was just thinking. Chuck said he could get me a job in his
precinct.”

“In New York?”
“Yeah.”
Heath took a breath, but John pressed his finger to his lover’s

lips.

“I didn’t make a decision yet. It’s a possibility—that’s all—for

now. I’m still going to see what I can find around here before I
consider going out of state.”

“Thanks, John. I know having to think about Grandma Mel

limits your choices, but I can’t just abandon her. She’s never done
that to me.” Heath rested his forehead against John’s. “I love you.”

“I love you, too, baby. Now get whatever you need for your

grandma, and I’ll get back to looking for jobs.”

They kissed again, then Heath left. John pushed to his feet and

headed inside to grab his laptop. Checking job sites would be his
first step. From there, he’d have to see where he could go.

* * *

Two weeks later, as John’s discharge was growing closer and

the jobs in the immediate area weren’t appearing, John began to
worry about his options. He was finishing up dinner when Heath
and Grandma Mel arrived home. His lover had run the café that
day, while Mel ran some errands.

“I want you boys to sit down with me for a second.”
“I think John has dinner ready, Grandma.” Heath nodded

toward the kitchen.

“Don’t worry. It can keep.” John turned the heat down under

the noodles and joined them in the living room.

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Mel sat in the chair, waving them to the couch. Once they were

seated, she cleared her throat.

“Heath told me about the job you could get up in New York

working with the police and your brother.”

“It’s not a hundred percent sure thing, but there is an opening

and I’m qualified for it.” John wasn’t going to lie.

“Right, and I know the options around here are slim, but you’re

still looking because neither of you want to leave me here on my
own.” Mel smiled at Heath. “You were always good at taking care
of me. Now it’s my turn to help you out.”

Heath frowned. “What are you talking about, Grandma?”
“I’m selling the café. I already have a buyer and we’ll be

signing the paperwork next week.”

“What?” Heath shot to his feet. “You can’t do that. The café’s

been your dream for years.”

“Actually, the café was your grandfather’s dream, and I’ve kept

it alive for more years than I probably should have, especially after
your father died. There’s just never been a compelling reason why
I should let it go, but I have one now.” Mel took Heath’s hand and
tugged him over to sit on the arm of the chair. They looked at each
other.

“But, Grandma, what are you going to do? I don’t think you

really want to move to New York with us.”

John could tell Heath still wasn’t happy about the sale, but

something in the way Mel spoke told him she wasn’t going to
change her mind.

“Oh no, honey. I’m a small town girl at heart. Visiting you will

be good enough for me. Do you remember my friend, Mrs.
White?”

“Sure. She was a teacher and retired last year.” Heath gripped

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his grandma’s hand tightly.

“She went to live with her sister in Arizona. They have a

wonderful condo in a retirement village-type place. I’ve been
doing some research and I think I’m going to move there. I’ll have
friends around and I can try some things I haven’t gotten a chance
to do because of the café.”

“You’ve given this a lot of thought, haven’t you?” John

commented.

Mel nodded. “Yes, I have. Even if you hadn’t left the service,

I’d be doing this. I figure this is the best time for all of us. You two
can move to New York and start your lives over up there.”

Heath took a deep breath. “What about Mom? You know she’s

going to harass you for her half of the money.”

“She can’t. Your father’s will states you get all the money from

the proceeds of the sale. She has no leg to stand on. Anyway, you
let me take care of her.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Heath leaned down and kissed his grandma.

“Come on. Let’s eat and we can discuss all this more after dinner.”

They agreed and went to eat. John knew there would tears and

arguments in the coming weeks, but maybe it was time for
everyone to move on and start a new life while letting go of some
memories of the old.

* * *

Heath swiped a hand over his forehead and groaned. In three

weeks, they’d packed up Grandma Mel’s house and his apartment.
They’d had a garage sale and gotten rid of a ton of stuff, plus taken
a lot to local churches and charities for the less fortunate. They
each had a few boxes of personal items they were taking with

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them.

John was driving up to New York with their stuff in a couple

days, leaving after Heath and Grandma Mel headed out to Arizona.
The plan was for Heath to take a week or two to settle Grandma in
and then he’d fly to New York to join John.

Excited barely described how John’s family reacted to the news

of them relocating. John’s mom helped them find a place to rent
for now, plus Herb had talked to the financial department of the
company he worked for, and Heath had an interview with them
shortly after he got to the city.

“How are you holding up, honey?”
John encircled his beloved’s waist with his arms, and Heath

leaned back against him.

“I’m doing all right. It’s hard to get rid of stuff I’ve had for

years, you know.”

“But you still have the memories. Those are things you can’t

ever get rid of,” John pointed out.

“I know. It’s just hard, but as long as Grandma Mel’s happy,

I’ll deal with it.” He turned to look up at John. “In the end, it
doesn’t matter as long as you’re where I am. You’re my home
now.”

John crushed him to his chest and kissed him hard, passion

flaring between them like usual. He cupped the back of John’s
head, angling his chin to deepen the kiss.

“All right, boys. Enough of that until we’re done for the day.”

Grandma Mel swatted Heath’s ass as she walked by.

They pulled apart, and Heath ducked his head.
“Sorry, Grandma. Got carried away.”
“I know what it’s like to be so in love with someone you can’t

think when they’re around you.” She patted his cheek. “But we

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still have a few things to finish boxing up. Also, we have an early
morning tomorrow.”

“That’s true.” He followed her out to the shed and they started

going through the last few boxes in there.

* * *

Heath stood beside his grandma’s car, hating the fact he had to

part from John for two weeks. God, he was being a wimp. They’d
been apart longer than that when John went on missions. The only
thing easing the pain of separation was the knowledge that the next
time they saw each other, they would be together for the rest of
their lives.

“Call me every night when you get settled in the hotel. Hell,

you can call whenever you like as long as you’re not driving.”
John embraced him, almost crushing his spine with the strength of
his arms. “I’m going to fucking miss you, honey, and I know it’s
silly because it’s not like we can’t talk or anything like that. I guess
I’ve just gotten used to having you around me all the time.”

“I know,” he whispered into John’s ear. “I’m going to miss

having your cock down my throat or my dick in your ass.”

John shuddered at the words. “I’m going to miss how you talk

dirty to me. It’s going to be hard to have phone sex while you’re
rooming with your grandma.”

“I’ll just have to hide in the bathroom.”
Laughing, Heath gave John a deep, hard kiss before breaking

away from him and getting in the car. He waved as they pulled
away, fighting tears, even though he knew he’d talk to John later
on.

Grandma Mel patted his knee. “Don’t worry, honey. In a week

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or two, you’ll be living together and starting a new life.”

He turned around and saw John standing there, waving, and he

waved back, knowing that as long as he had John, everything was
right in his world.

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EPILOGUE

“Why did I think this was a good idea?”
Heath glanced over to see Herb pacing the room. “Because you

love Chuck and you want to be able to tell the entire world how
you feel about him. What better way to do that than to marry him
in a big wedding?”

Herb snorted. “It doesn’t matter to me if everyone knows how

much I love Chuck as long as he knows. I think I just got carried
away with Jessie talking about what she wanted. I think I got
jealous because I wasn’t going to be able to have the same thing.
Now look at me.”

Standing in Herb’s way, Heath grabbed the man’s arms and

shook him slightly. “You’re just nervous, Herb. Don’t think about
all the rest of the stuff. Just think of walking down that aisle and

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vowing to spend the rest of your life with the man you love. It’s as
easy as that.”

Herb breathed deep and closed his eyes. “You’re right. None of

it matters except for Chuck.”

“Yes.”
“He’s going through all of this for me. If he didn’t know how

much I wanted this, he wouldn’t have ever asked me.” He frowned.

Shaking his head, Heath let Herb go. “Did he tell you why he

never considered getting married?”

“Sure. He said he never thought he could or even that he’d find

someone he loved enough to commit himself to for the rest of his
life by marrying him.” Herb blushed. “He got down on one knee
and asked me if I’d marry him. He made dinner and dressed in a
tux. I got a bouquet of roses from him as well.”

“Those Davidson men can be romantic when they want to be,”

Heath commented.

“Yeah.”
A knock on the door interrupted their conversation. Jessie

peeked around the door and her eyes widened when she saw them
standing in the middle of the room.

“Oh, my God,” she squealed as she rushed in to throw her arms

around them both. “You’re both gorgeous.”

Heath’s eyes crossed at the shrillness of her voice. He stepped

back with a pained smile.

“You look beautiful yourself, Jessie. How’s Chuck doing?”
She looked over at Herb. “He’s probably more nervous than

you are, Herb. He’s convinced you’re going to come to your senses
and take off.”

“What?” Herb looked shocked. “I’d never do that. I know how

good I’ve got it.”

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“Well, he’s pacing just like I’m sure you were before I came

in.” She kissed Herb’s cheek. “Are you two ready to go? It’s
almost time.”

“Yep. Let’s go, man. Your future husband is waiting for you to

pledge his love to you in front of all your friends and family.”
Heath gave Herb a hug and a kiss before opening the door and
gesturing for him and Jessie to walk out ahead of him. “It’s time
for you to get married.”

Herb took another deep breath and straightened his shoulders

as he walked through the door. Heath offered his arm to Jessie,
getting a kiss and a smile as payment when she slid her hand into
the crook of his arm.

The bridesmaids and Heath lined up with the groomsmen.

Petrovic, Jessie’s fiancé, grinned at Heath before they escorted
their bridesmaids down the aisle. Jessie was Herb’s maid-of-honor,
so she walked with John. Heath met John’s gaze as John escorted
Jessie to the altar. John winked at him and mouthed, I love you.

The ceremony went off almost without a hitch. Herb dropped

Chuck’s ring and completely broke down during the vows, but
Chuck smiled and wrapped his arm around Herb’s waist, offering
him a tissue.

There wasn’t a dry eye in the room when Chuck drew Herb

close and they shared their first kiss as husband and husband.

John swept Heath into his arms right before the photographer

got them situated for the photos. “Will you marry me, Heath?
Please, make me the happiest man in the world and say yes.”

Heath burst out laughing, holding tight to John as his lover

whirled him around.

“Of course I’ll marry you since it would make me the happiest

man in the world to be your husband.”

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“Let’s do it right now. We have the priest. My family and your

grandma’s here. I happen to have your best friend right here as
well.”

His mouth dropped open as Becky rushed in, dressed in the

perfect dress. Heath stared at everyone before looking at John.

“Is that how my grandma got an invite to this wedding? Are

you serious?”

“As a heart attack, honey. I don’t want to wait any longer to

have you officially as my husband.”

John sat him down, then knelt at his feet and pulled a box out

of his pocket. Heath swallowed as John opened it and two bright
gold bands gleamed against the white satin. Tears welled in his
eyes, forcing him to blink, but he nodded since he couldn’t get
anything past the lump in his throat.

“He said yes. Positions everyone,” John shouted before

dragging Heath up to the altar.

Their ceremony was quick, and Heath didn’t remember much

of it. He stared into John’s dark brown eyes, seeing his future in
the love shining out at him.

T. A. C

HASE

T. A. Chase lives a life without boundaries. Being fascinated by
life and how different we all are, she writes about the things that
make us unique. She finds beauty in all kinds of love and enjoys
sharing those insights. She lives in the Midwest with his partner of
fourteen years. When she isn’t writing, she’s watching movies,
reading and living life to the fullest.

* * *

Don’t miss Why I Love Geeks

by T. A. Chase,

available at AmberAllure.com!

Chuck Davidson’s a homicide detective in Boston, and it’s put a
damper on his relationships. It’s hard to find a guy who will put up
with his crazy hours. Plus, Chuck has an aversion to modern
technology. He likes sports, beer, and classic cars instead. How is
he to know that planning the impending death of his newest phone
will bring him in contact with a cute geek who just might have a
thing for rugged, "slightly out of touch with the newest gadgets"
older men?

Herbert Pommerest has never been on a date or even kissed a man
before. Oh, he knows he’s gay. He did all the experiments to
ensure it was true, didn’t just go through a rebellious phase or a

knee-jerk reaction because women scared him to death. For Herb,
it’s easy to hide himself behind his research and daydream about
what having a boyfriend would be like. But saving an expensive
phone from an early demise brings him in contact with a street-
wise mature detective. Suddenly Herb wishes he knew how to flirt
because he’d love to take some lessons of the sensual kind from the
sexy Chuck Davidson.

Can a geek and a detective find common ground between their
vastly different worlds before one of Chuck’s cases threatens to put
Herb in danger from a ruthless killer?

MBER

UILL

RESS

, LLC

OLD

TANDARD IN

UBLISHING

UALITY

OOKS

OTH

RINT AND

LECTRONIC

ORMATS

CTION

DVENTURE

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ICTION

ARK

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AVE

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