Page 151 of Nothing Special X: The Last Stand

“Come inside.”

Furi nodded, unable to speak. Syn reached down and took his hand. He stared at their joined fingers before Syn tugged him toward the door.

The house was dark and silent when they stepped inside. Furi moved carefully behind him, backpack in his other hand, boots sounding too loud no matter how softly he tried to step.

The air smelled like oak, leather, and whatever savory meal had been cooked earlier. Syn led him through the downstairs without turning on lights, before they climbed a set of stairs together. Furi watched the flex of Syn’s back, the broad line of his shoulders, the way his bare feet landed on the steps.

He’d followed Syn into rooms a thousand times, but this felt different. More important, and a little dangerous.

Syn opened a door and waited for him to walk inside.

The bedroom was lit by the moonlight filtering through large, open bay windows. The sheer curtains swayed with the breeze, slow and romantic. The damp air carried the scent of pasture grass, warming his face.

The bed was rumpled, quilt pushed back, and the pillows tossed, proving that Syn hadn’t slept either.

He closed the door, and for a moment, they stood facing each other in silence. Syn’s gaze found his, and Furi’s entire body went still under the weight of that expression. Syn reached for the waistband of his jeans and Furi’s breath stuttered.

He didn’t smile, or make it a performance, his expression controlled as he began to undress with quiet, deliberate movements.

Furi gripped the lapels of his jacket and slid it off, letting it fall over the chair by the door. He removed his shirt, boots, belt, and jeans. Each piece landing where he stood.

Syn watched him and Furi let him. It felt like another form of apology. He’d turned himself into money and called it sacrifice without letting the man who loved him decide what sacrifice was to him.

Syn pulled back the quilt and got into bed, raising the other side of the cover in invitation.

Furi’s heart kicked once, before he climbed in beside him. For a second, he stayed on his side of the mattress, not wanting to presume the summons to come there tonight meant more than a mere invitation.

Syn reached over and pulled him against him. Furi went willingly, folding into the heat of Syn’s body, in a long, slow contact that made him release a pleased sigh.

Syn wrapped his arms around him, not as crushing as they’d been on the porch, but just as desperate. He pressed his face to Syn’s throat and tangled his legs with his beneath the soft sheet.

Syn angled his face down, and Furi turned into it. Their bodies aligned from chest to thigh, fitting together perfectly, like always. Syn spread his fingers wide against his spine, his other hand sliding up into his hair.

Furi stayed where he was, letting Syn choose the next inch, decide on the direction. The space between their mouths was so thin it felt cruel. Syn’s breath brushed his lips and Furi parted his mouth, waiting, craving.

It took too damn long, but Syn finally touched his mouth to Furi’s with a pressure that lingered until it ached.

No words were spoken between them, as if they’d both said everything they’d needed to, and it was time for their bodies to do the rest.

Furi opened, and Syn answered with a depth that made him tremble. He brushed his tongue along his bottom lip in a slow, gentle tease.

There was no rush in it.

He rested his palm over Syn’s heart, the other against his cheek.

Syn’s mouth was warm and careful. Stroking his tongue lightly over his, then easing back only to return again, softer and slower.

He moaned into Syn’s mouth as their hips shifted, grinding together in a languid rhythm. It was unhurried, skin sliding over skin, the heat between them building but neither of them rushing to quench the fire.

Furious rolled his hips and almost came undone when Syn responded the same way. Their cocks rubbed together in steady, sensual strokes, the motion more about closeness than completion.

Syn ran his hands along Furi’s arm, then back up to cup his jaw.

Their bodies rocked together in calm, continuous motions, the kisses growing lazy as unwanted exhaustion crept in.

Their movements slowed until they were barely rocking, just holding each other in the quiet dark.

Syn pulled back and gazed at him. A flicker of natural light caught the tired lines around his eyes, and Furi felt another vicious wave of regret.