Saint took a couple of gulps and stood at the kitchen counter, looking out at the place, smiling when he saw the bookshelves in the wall filled with books, mostly paperbacks. The spines on some of them were so cracked and worn that he couldn’t read the titles. Curious, he walked around the counter and took a big gulp of water as he headed into the living room…which, of course, was the exact moment when Val walked past his open bedroom door in nothing but a towel, his body glistening with water and his wet hair slicked back.

  Oh my god.

  Saint didn’t just spit out a mouthful of water. He sprayed it like a water hose. Oh shit! He gasped and started choking. Then he started coughing. No, no, no!

  “Are you okay?”

  No, he was not okay, but he couldn’t communicate that he was not okay. And on top of everything, a mouthful of his spit and water was all over the coffee table and floor.

  “Saint?”

  Saint darted back into the kitchen, put the glass down, and grabbed a handful of paper towels, all while he coughed out a lung and tried to reply. Quickly he ran back and wiped the water off the table and then the floor.

  “I’m okay,” he rasped. Jumping to his feet, he returned to the kitchen to dispose of the evidence.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Where’s the trash can?” he whispered to himself. Why did people hide their trash cans? Shit, Val was coming this way. Oh, this wasn’t good. Having no time to find the trash can and not wanting to get caught going through Val’s cabinets, he opened the nearest drawer and shoved in the wad of paper towels. Also, if there had been any doubt that Saint was physically attracted to Val, it was gone now. Eviscerated. Because he had the Biggest. Fucking. Boner. Ever.

  “Hey.” Val stood on the other side of the counter, his expression a mix of concern and confusion. Then Saint locked on to the fact that Val was almost naked. In front of him. Just there, like nothing. Like his broad, muscular chest wasn’t covered in little drops of water, or his biceps weren’t flexing. Did he know he was flexing?

  “Hello?”

  “Shit. Yeah, um, sorry. Shit.” Real smooth.

  Val chuckled and took a step forward. “You sure—”

  “Yes!” Saint threw a hand out to stop him because that wasn’t weird. “Sorry. I mean, yes, I’m sure.” He edged toward the opposite end of the counter as Val rounded it. “I should, um, go now. To bed.” He motioned to the hall behind him—in case Val wasn’t sure where his guest room was. “So tired.” He fake-yawned, pulled the front of his t-shirt down to cover the bulge in his slacks, spun around, and power-walked to the guest room like a cardio-crazed mall-walking granny. Inside, he spun around and shut the door waaay harder than he intended.

  What is wrong with you?

  “In my defense, I’ve never sprung a boner in front of a guy before,” he whisper argued with himself. “That was very unexpected.” He closed his eyes as he paced the room. “Think unsexy thoughts. Think unsexy thoughts.”

  A knock sounded at the door. “Saint?”

  “Hm?”

  “I’m going to ask you one more time. Are you okay?”

  “Of course I am. Why wouldn’t I be?” he dropped his gaze down to the bulge in his suddenly too-tight pants. He was fine. Fine. Totally fine.

  “I don’t know. Maybe because you sounded like you were dying a minute ago, your face was all red, and then you semi-ran to the bedroom?”

  What was he supposed to say? Saint cracked the door open. “You gave me a boner, okay? That’s what that was. I’m a guest in your house and I sprung wood.”

  Val’s eyebrows shot up, then a slow smile crept onto his face.

  “No. Nope. You wipe that smug smile off your face.”

  “Don’t think I can. Am I your first? I’m your first, aren’t I?”

  “I’ll have you know that I’ve gotten hard for guys before. Anyway, it doesn’t matter. You…I’ll have you know that...Put a shirt on!” Saint slammed the door in Val’s face, doing his best to ignore Val’s fading laughter as he walked away. The man was so frustrating!

  “Everything’s fine. Just breathe.” He inhaled deep through his nose and released it through his mouth. A nice shower was just what he needed. He dropped his gaze to his crotch. He needed to do something about this. No thinking about Val. None. Shower. He needed a shower. A cold shower. Wait, the guest bathroom was out in the hall. Damn it!

  Hopefully, Val had gone back to his bedroom. Saint cracked the door open and peeked out into the hall. Val’s bedroom door was closed. Oh, thank goodness. Quietly, Saint slipped out into the hall and dashed for the bathroom, where he found the change of clothes he’d left in the living room on the closed toilet lid. A little smile came onto his face, and he shut the bathroom door behind him.

  What a weird freaking night. Shaking his head, he got undressed and turned on the shower. He was not going to think about Val, and he certainly was not going to jerk himself off in the man’s shower. Not that Val would know if he did. Saint stepped into the shower and let the cool water envelop him, making him shiver. It was fine. This was fine. All he had to do was shower, get dressed, and go to bed. Easy.

  CHAPTER SIX

  This was going to be a very long night.

  As amusing as Val found Saint’s reaction to Val seeing his hard-on, he couldn’t stop worrying about the guy. Getting hard while watching porn was one thing. Getting hard for Val right in front of him was a whole other thing. Was Saint panicking? Was he angry, confused, scared? Unable to help himself, Val got up. He wouldn’t be able to get any sleep if he didn’t at least check in on Saint.

  Dressed in a T-shirt and pajama bottoms, he left his bedroom and stopped in front of Saint’s door. He stood there for several heartbeats, contemplating his life choices. The last thing he wanted was for things to be awkward between them. Maybe he should just leave Saint alone? But what if Saint could use someone to talk to? To hell with it. He knocked on the door.

  “Saint? Are you awake?”

  “Maybe.”

  Val held back a smile. “You’re not sure?”

  “I could be sleep-talking.”

  “Are you sleep-talking?”

  Long pause.

  “No.”

  The door opened a crack, and Saint appeared, eyes narrowed at Val like Val was the source of all his woes. What did he do?

  “What?” Saint grumbled.

  “I, um, was just checking in on you. In case you, I don’t know, wanted to talk?”

  Saint frowned. He seemed to think about it. “Thanks, but I’m fine.”

  “Really? Because you didn’t seem fine when it happened.”

  “I might have panicked. Took me by surprise. I wasn’t expecting you to be half-naked and wet.”

  Damn, he was cute. “So you’re okay with why you got hard?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then what made you panic?”

  “That you’d think I was some weird pervert. I mean, you invite me to stay in your house, in your guest room and then just looking at you makes me hard, and…. Why are you looking at me like that?”

  Val shrugged. “Like what?”

  “All smiley.”

  “I think you know why.”

  Saint took a step back and opened the door wider. He arched an eyebrow at Val. “Well, aren’t we cocky?” His gaze dropped to Val’s crotch, then shot back up, his eyes wide and his face crimson. Val couldn’t stop himself from laughing. He leaned against the doorframe.

  “You just thought about my cock.”

  “Fuck off.”

  “Am I wrong?”

  “Are you always so blunt?”

  “Yes. If just the thought of my cock makes you blush, how will you do anything with it?”

  Saint blinked at him, his mouth dropping open. He seemed to shake himself out of it and glared at Val. “Who said I was going to do anything with it?”

  “You said you wanted me.”

  “And you said nothing was going to happen!”

  “True, but hypothetically, if I said yes, which I’m not going to, let’s make that clear right now, how could you do anything with my dick if just the thought of it makes you blush.”

  And just like that, something changed, and Saint narrowed his eyes, determination in his gaze. Fuck, it was hot. Saint stepped up to Val, and before Val knew what he was up to, Saint cupped Val through his pants and squeezed just enough to send a jolt through Val.

  “Oh, fuuuuck!” Val gripped the doorjamb, his eyes all but rolling into the back of his head before he closed his eyes and did his best not to embarrass himself by coming in his pants. He hadn’t gotten this hard, this fast in years.

  Saint leaned in, his hot breath against Val’s skin as he tightened his hold on Val’s cock.

  “I think with the right guidance, I could do plenty, but it’s never going to happen, right? Too bad.” Saint turned his face, his lips brushing Val’s stubbled cheek. “Have fun with your hand tonight while you picture me sucking your dick.”

  Val opened his eyes, but before he could get a word out, he was pushed back into the hall, and Saint closed the door. He marched up to the door. "Or maybe you'll be the one jerking off at the thought of me sucking your dick!”

  “Maybe I will,” Saint shouted back from the other side of the door.

  What…what was happening right now?

  Val turned and walked back to his bedroom. He closed the door and climbed back into bed with a raging hard-on. This was quite the turn of events. He stared up at his ceiling.

  “You’re an asshole,” he muttered to himself.

  No, he was doing the right thing. Whatever Saint thought he was doing, he clearly hadn’t been thinking straight.

  “Definitely not thinking straight. He had your dick in his hand, so obviously, he hadn’t been thinking straight.” Val groaned. “What is wrong with you? He’s right there, and he wants you.”

  But does he?

  And now he was arguing with himself. Out loud. Again. Great.

  “I’m not doing it,” he told himself. He was not going to give Saint the satisfaction. Or himself, it seemed. For fuck’s sake, it’s not like Saint would know. All he had to do was keep quiet….

  Closing his eyes, Val slipped his hand under the waistband of his pants and sucked in a sharp breath, his body shivering with need. He rubbed his thumb over the tip, feeling the precome, and used it to ease the friction as he jerked himself off. He forced himself to go slow, his mind conjuring up a vivid image of Saint and what would happen if he walked in right now.

  Would Saint remove his shirt, tossing it to one side, revealing all that gorgeous, tanned skin and sculpted muscle? He’d pull the blankets off Val and lay between his spread legs. His pupils dilated as he moved Val’s hand away. Then he’d wrap those strong fingers around Val’s cock, and fuck…Val thrust his hips up at the thought of Saint gripping him tight. His tongue would poke out, and he’d lick a pearl of precome, teasing Val and making him squirm.

  “Oh, hell yes.” Val groaned. His hand moved quickly as he envisioned Saint bringing his lips down to suck in the tip of Val’s cock, those plump lips wet with precome and saliva. Val threw his head back, the image of Saint swallowing him whole so clear in his mind that he almost cried out.

  In his mind, Saint sucked him hard and fast. He’d wet his finger and circle Val’s hole before gently pushing in. Val used the pointer finger of his free hand to help with the visual, his orgasm building and swirling inside him, ready to be unleashed.

  “Val? I just wanted to—”

  “Please, Saint. Make me come.”

  “Are you…? Fuck.”

  It was almost as if he could hear Saint’s pleasure-fueled groans, hear his panting breath as he jerked himself off.

  Wait a minute….

  Val’s eyes popped open, and he scrambled out of bed. He rushed to the door but didn’t open it.

  This was nuts. Surely Saint wasn’t….

  “Saint?”

  “Don’t stop.” Saint sounded breathless, his voice hoarse.

  “Oh fuck.” Val let his head rest against the door. What the hell were they doing? Fuck this noise. Val palmed his erection again and jerked himself off fast and hard. “Saint.”

  “Oh, damn. Just don’t stop. Please don’t stop.”

  “Are you jerking yourself off?” Val asked.

  “What do you think?”

  “Such a smartass,” Val growled, slamming his hand against the door as his orgasm rolled through him, his muscles growing tight as he came. Hard. “Fuck. Fuck.”

  On the other side of the door, Saint cried out, a loud thump sounding against the door like he’d fallen back against it. Saint had just come to the sound of Val jerking off, to the thought of Val jerking himself off. It grew quiet, but Val knew better than to open the door.

  “Saint?”

  “Good night, Chief.”

  With a sigh, Val nodded, even though Saint couldn’t see him. “Good night.” Shaking his head, he walked into his bathroom to clean himself off. What the hell was he doing? A little smile spread onto his face. Maybe Saint did know what he wanted.

  Val shook his head again. He was not going to do this to himself. Closing his eyes, he must have been more tired than he realized because the next thing he knew, it was morning. He rolled over, hissing when he extended his arm. His side was probably bruised to all hell. Forcing himself to get up, he went to the bathroom, going through his usual morning routine.

  When he undressed, he inspected himself and all the new purplish-blue blotches. His left side had the most bruising. He looked like he’d been in a bar fight, but other than that, he was okay. As he got dressed in jeans and one of his old firehouse t-shirts, he tried to recall everything about last night and the men who’d jumped him.

  Was someone truly out to get him? Why? Sure, he’d pissed off many people during his career, but he couldn’t imagine any of them coming after him like this. He needed some painkillers and coffee before he could think about this anymore. When he reached for the doorknob, he stilled. Shit, what was he supposed to say to Saint this morning?

  Had it been anyone else, Val would have expected them to be gone, but Saint would still be here. He’d never abandon anyone he thought was in danger, no matter their encounter. And the last thing Val wanted was for things to be awkward between them.

  Screw it. Val had never been one to shy away from anything. He opened the door and headed to the kitchen. Saint’s bedroom door was closed, so he was probably still asleep. Well, the least Val could do was cook the man breakfast. He removed the bacon and eggs from the fridge and got the espresso going.

  When Saint appeared, Val had two plates piled high with scrambled eggs and bacon. He had another dish with toast and some butter. Saint was still in the pajamas Val had given him, and it took everything Val had not to laugh at how sweet he looked with his sleepy expression and hair sticking out in every direction.

  “Good morning,” Val said cheerfully as he buttered his toast.

  “Morning,” Saint muttered, avoiding Val’s gaze as he sat at the counter.

  This was what Val had been afraid of.

  Actually….

  “How’d you sleep?” Val asked, taking a bit of his toast as if he were asking about the weather. “Want milk for your espresso? I can heat some up for you.”

  Saint stared at him.

  “I don’t know about you, but I slept like a log,” Val said, taking a big bite of bacon. “So good.”

  Saint let out a snort and shook his head. And just like that, the awkwardness vanished, much to Val’s relief. Saint grabbed a piece of bacon off his plate and shoved it in his mouth.

  “I bet you did.”

  “Are you saying you didn’t?”

  Saint arched an eyebrow but didn’t respond.

  “How about we avoid all the weirdness and just be friends? Don’t look at me like that.”

  “Like what? Like you’re delusional? Because you are. After what happened last night, do you really think we can be just friends?”

  “What happened last night was….”

  Saint met his gaze. “If you say it was a mistake, you’re going to be wearing those eggs. And then I’m going to eat your bacon. No bacon for you.”

  Val held back a smile. “I don’t regret last night, but it can’t happen again. I like you, Saint. A lot. I would like it if we could be friends.”

  Saint let out a heavy sigh. “Yeah, okay.”

  “You don’t have to sound so excited about it.”

  Saint seemed to think about it and then nodded. His soft smile eased Val’s worry. “Okay. Just friends.”

  It was the best decision for both of them, and Val was glad Saint agreed. Having Saint in his life as a friend was better than not having him at all. That’s just how it had to be. Taking his plate to the other side of the counter, Val sat next to Saint, who made small talk as he ate. When he needed something, he just got up and got it. It should have been strange, having someone moving around his kitchen.

  Very rarely did Val bring someone home, and when he did, they didn’t stay to have breakfast with him, which was fine. They were hook-ups, not dates. When Val finished eating, Saint carried his plate to the sink.

  “Why are you doing the dishes?” Val asked when Saint started washing up.

  “Because you cooked. That’s how it was in my house growing up. Mom cooked, so my dad and I were in charge of cleaning up.”

  “I have a dishwasher.”

  Saint laughed. “In my house, the dishwasher is used for storage, not washing.”

  “That makes no sense.”

  “Tell that to my Cuban mother.”

  “If she’s anything like Ace’s mother or Lucky’s, I value my life too much.”

  Saint laughed. “Ah, yes. Then you’re well prepared for the day you meet my mother.”

  “Do you have siblings?” Val had never heard Saint mention any.

  “I’m an only child. I was sort of the miracle baby.” He put the dishes in the dishwasher to dry since there wasn’t anywhere else to put them. It was most likely what he did at his mother’s home.