Page 65 of Loving a Warrior

Cheers were raised when the bus appeared at last. Matt paced impatiently next to his truck. He’d been so shocked to see Shane waiting there after his own Hell Week. Going home with him had been a no-brainer, despite Matt’s disgust with him. Putting up with a quitter in exchange for getting to wallow in a big, cushy bed? Fuck yeah.

What he hadn’t expected, though, was to end up feeling so cared for, so…cherished. He sighed, remembering pillows under his legs, soothing touches, a dark, quiet room where he could just let go of his exhaustion and the memory of trauma, secure in the knowledge that Shane was there and he would take care of everything.

It’d be a very lucky man who’d have Shane’s love someday.

A twist of dislike stabbed him toward that unknown, faceless man, and before his thoughts could go any farther down that road, he caught a glimpse of Shane himself limping across the parking lot toward him, a smile on his wan face. Matt hurried to meet him and wrapped his arm around his waist. Shane trembled against him, obviously at the very end of his endurance.

“You did it.” Matt gave him a tight squeeze. “Let’s get you home.”

Once at the house Shane went to take a hot shower while Matt changed the sheets on the bed, closed the blinds and set out a fresh bottle of water on the nightstand. When he finally emerged, Matt helped him to lie down and tucked the comforter around him.

He kissed his forehead, murmuring, “Get some sleep,” yelping when Shane grabbed him and yanked him on top of him.

“Want a better kiss,” he rasped, holding on to Matt tightly, not letting him up. Matt gave an exasperated huff as he leaned down to peck Shane on the mouth.

“How’s that?”

“Uh-uh. More better.”

“God, you’re ridiculous.” Despite his outward annoyance, Matt’s lips were gentle as he brushed them across Shane’s again, this time letting them linger.

“Mmm.” Shane cupped the back of Matt’s neck and angled his head to deepen the kiss. “Thinking about doing this is what got me through those last few hours.”

Arousal bubbling through his veins, Matt pulled away. “Well, whatever worked,” he said briskly. He twitched the comforter back into place before striding to the door, hearing Shane’s low chuckle following him.

“Night, Soup.”

Matt flipped off the light and closed the door softly behind him. At loose ends, he stretched out in Shane’s recliner to veg in front of a mindless action movie.

“Matt!”

Shane’s hoarse cry had Matt leaping to his feet to run down the hall and fling the door open. “What’s the matter?”

Shane was still in bed, the covers tangled about his hips. He was pushed up on his elbows, his lips twisted in apparent pain. “I can’t move,” he gasped. “Need to piss and I can’t get my fuckin’ legs to work.”

Matt hurried to him and pulled the covers all the way back, taking in the situation at a glance. Shane’s quads were twitching with painful muscle spasms, the result of finally lying still after days of constant motion.

“Jesus, hold on.”

He dug through the top drawer of Shane’s nightstand, finding the small tube of lotion he remembered seeing there and quickly coating his hands with it. Starting at Shane’s knee, Matt worked his way up his thigh with a firm massage, easing the cramping, before moving to the other one.

“Dammit, that hurts,” Shane groaned, his face tight. “Am I gonna die?” He sounded so pitiful Matt couldn’t help but roll his eyes.

“Welcome to Hell Week aftermath, day one. Time to man up.”

“Aww, fuck you.”

Matt helped Shane to sit and then stand, supporting him as he hobbled with him to the bathroom. He leaned against the doorjamb, watching him closely to make sure he didn’t fall. “Doing okay?”

Shane huffed, flushing the toilet and moving to wash his hands. “If I ever need you to hold my dick for me while I take a piss, just go ahead and put me out of my misery, would ya?”

“Roger that.”

They shuffled back to bed, Matt helping him get situated again. Shane caught his hand before he could turn away. “Stay with me. I don’t think I can go back to sleep yet.”

Matt perched on the edge next to him, unable to keep from brushing his thumb across Shane’s cheekbone, a dark bruise there lurid against Shane’s pale skin. “What happened here?”

“Fuck if I know.” Shane shrugged, looking up at Matt, his eyes still shadowed with exhaustion. “The more pressing question is, how come every time we’re in bed together, one of us is circling the drain?”