Home and Away

by Ariel Tachna

  Linc laughed at that, exactly as Kit had intended. “I won’t complain about time alone with you.”

  “I made dinner,” Kit said. “I thought we could eat and then see where things go from there.” If he hoped the evening would end with them in Kit’s bed, that was between him and his conscience.

  “In just a minute,” Linc replied as he pulled Kit into his arms. Kit went eagerly, tipping his face up for a kiss. Linc ran one hand down Kit’s back to pull him closer. With the other, he cradled Kit’s jaw and held him still for a kiss. Kit braced himself for an onslaught to match the desire churning in his belly, but Linc took his time, brushing his lips back and forth over Kit’s until Kit pushed up on his toes to deepen the contact. He could feel Linc hardening against his belly, but Linc stayed in control, keeping the kiss featherlight.

  “Kiss me properly,” Kit demanded.

  “I am. Momma always says to savor the good things in life. I’m savoring you.” The smile he gave Kit was so tender Kit felt himself melting into it. He wanted that look, and every other Linc could give him, for as long as he could have it.

  Linc took his weight easily when Kit leaned into him, sliding his arm lower to catch the back of Kit’s thighs. When he lifted, Kit wrapped his legs around Linc’s waist. Linc took a few steps forward until he could pin Kit between his body and the wall. “Christ,” Kit gasped. “You’re so strong.”

  Linc didn’t reply. Then all thought flew out of Kit’s head as Linc nuzzled his neck. He grabbed the back of Linc’s head, the short, wiry hair tickling his palm, and held Linc’s mouth against his skin. “Bite me,” he begged.

  Linc nipped at Kit’s skin, letting him feel a hint of teeth without biting down hard enough to leave a mark. Kit pouted, though he doubted Linc could see it. After a few minutes, Linc lifted his head. “Can dinner wait?”

  “I don’t know,” Kit replied coyly. “What did you have in mind?”

  “Bending you over that couch sounds pretty good,” Linc said.

  Kit moaned. “God yes, but the supplies are all in my room. Thane insisted on keeping mine and Phillip’s rooms here in case we ever needed to move home.”

  “Point me in the right direction.”

  “Upstairs.” Kit squirmed until Linc let him down. “Come on.” He grabbed Linc’s hand and led him up the stairs to his bedroom. He’d never admit it if anyone asked, but he’d bought a new set of sheets to put on his bed, softer than anything he kept for everyday use.

  Linc crowded behind him until Kit’s thighs hit the mattress. “Gonna bend me over the end of the bed?” Kit asked, looking back over his shoulder to wink at Linc.

  “Maybe next time,” Linc replied. “First I want to do other things.”

  “What other things?” Kit purred.

  “Be patient and you’ll find out.”

  “Patience isn’t my strong suit,” Kit replied, bouncing on his heels. Linc simply gathered him up into an embrace, his strong arms like bands across Kit’s chest. He shivered in delight, not used to being the smaller man, and stroked Linc’s forearms. Anything to encourage him. He leaned back into Linc’s chest, giving up control.

  “Oh, sugar, I’m gonna make you feel so good,” Linc murmured in his ear as he slid his hands over Kit’s chest, one downward to his stomach, just above the tip of his cock, the other up to rest over his heart.

  Linc was already making him feel good, and they’d barely started. He ground back against Linc’s groin, hoping to urge him to keep things moving, but Linc stilled his hips with one big hand. “Not yet. I haven’t even got you naked yet.”

  “What are you waiting for?” Kit asked.

  Linc didn’t answer, only pulled Kit’s sweater over his head and sunk his teeth into the curve of Kit’s shoulder. A sharp hiss escaped Kit’s throat as a full-body shudder ran through him. “Again,” he begged.

  “One mark ain’t enough for you?” Linc drawled.

  “No,” Kit gasped. “Want them all over me.”

  “Anything you want, baby.” Linc nipped along Kit’s shoulder, then switched to the other side, leaving Kit’s skin tingling in delight. All the while, he kept up the teasing caresses across Kit’s abdomen and chest. Kit kept his hands on Linc’s forearms, not guiding, just enjoying the flex of muscle beneath his palms. Linc was so strong. For most of Kit’s life, Uncle Thane had been his male role model, everything a man should be. And now he had an even more perfect specimen making love to him, because Kit knew what sex felt like, and it wasn’t the whispered pet names and tender teasing he got from Linc. It was fast and hard, pleasurable in the moment but only physical.

  This went beyond the physical, reaching inside to the deepest recesses of his soul and drawing them into the light. Even when Linc started toying with Kit’s nipples, the tenderness remained, and Kit was lost.

  “Please,” he whispered.

  “What, angel? What do you need?”

  “You.”

  “You have me,” Linc murmured against Kit’s skin.

  Kit released his grip on Linc’s arms to undo the button and zipper on his pants so he could push them down and step out of them. They’d been naked together before, but it had been blow jobs on the table then. Now… now he was offering Linc everything he was.

  Linc groaned when Kit stepped out of his pants and bent forward to rest his elbows on the bed, his ass in the air in silent offering, but Linc pulled Kit back to standing. “We’ll get there, or something like it, but we don’t hafta rush.”

  “Don’t make me beg,” Kit pleaded, ignoring the fact he was already doing just that.

  “No, baby, don’t do that.” He turned Kit in his arms and lowered him to the bed, all harnessed strength and pure sex. He stripped himself quickly and lay down next to Kit before stealing Kit’s breath with another deep, lingering kiss. “Supplies?”

  “In the drawer.” Kit flung his arm in the general direction of the little chest next to his bed. Linc rummaged through the top drawer until he found lube and condoms, then dropped them on the bed next to Kit. Kit grabbed the lube and pushed it into Linc’s hand.

  “You’d tempt a saint,” Linc said before kissing Kit again.

  Good. He wanted Linc as desperate as he was. Determined to speed things along, he spread his legs and cocked one knee, offering himself as fully as he knew how.

  He heard the squelch of lube and lifted his hips in invitation. The lube was cold enough against his skin that he hissed at the contrast. “Give it to me.”

  “I will.”

  He did too, opening Kit up with a tenderness and a thoroughness that left Kit feeling broken open and put back together all with one single stroke. Kit had teased Linc about showing what kind of lover he was, but Linc must have taken the words to heart, because he was blowing Kit’s mind.

  When Linc finally moved between his legs and slid inside Kit, all the fear and emptiness he lived with was pushed aside, pushed out by Linc’s presence, completing and cradling him. He reached up to stroke Linc’s cheek, entranced by the mixture of peace and passion he saw on Linc’s face. He’d seen the passion before each time he watched Linc play basketball, but this was different. This was for him. He squeezed around Linc’s cock, hoping to make the experience as good for Linc as it was for him. Linc groaned and moved into Kit with a little more speed and force. That was all it took. Kit gasped Linc’s name as his vision whited out and his climax overtook him.

  When Kit could think again, Linc was holding him tightly against his chest and murmuring sweet nonsense. Kit tipped his chin up to kiss him into silence. Linc returned the kiss, gently now. “Did I pass?” he asked when they separated.

  It took Kit a moment to get his brain in gear and remember their conversation. Kit grinned. “With flying colors.”

  “Good. I’d hate to disappoint the love of my life.”

  Wait, did Linc just say…?

  “The love of your life?” Kit’s voice cracked as he spoke, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. If he’d heard right, Linc had
said…. No, he couldn’t wrap his brain around it.

  “Is that okay?” Linc asked. “I told myself I wasn’t gonna say it the first time when we were in bed, but well, I said it anyway.”

  “Of course it’s okay!” Kit pushed up on his elbow to look down into Linc’s eyes. “I love you too.”

  Surprise and relief passed over Linc’s face as he pulled Kit down for a tender kiss that quickly turned into more. Kit threw his leg over Linc’s hips and climbed on top of him. He wanted to climb inside him and never come out, but he’d settle for draping himself over every inch of Linc he could reach.

  Linc closed his arms around Kit, holding him gently in place. “Can we stay here forever?”

  That sounded like a perfect idea. No NBA, no separation for their jobs, no worries about the future. Just the two of them in bed together. “Absolutely.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  EARLY April in Cleveland, Kit decided, was for the birds, but it wasn’t enough to stop him from driving the five and a half hours to watch the NCAA championship finals. Not with Linc and the Cats playing. He had driven up with Logan and Ethan, and they had splurged on a room in the same hotel where the basketball players were staying. He already had plans to ditch them after the game so he could meet Linc in his room. Whether to celebrate or commiserate remained to be seen. University of Arizona was playing hard, and UK’s two-point lead at halftime was no guarantee of anything.

  “I can never decide if it’s easier or harder to watch the game in person,” Kit said to Logan. “It’s killing me.”

  “But what a way to go?” Logan replied. “Although maybe it’s different for you, with Linc and all.”

  “Not really.” Kit had asked himself the same question multiple times over the NCAA tournament, each time he’d been on the edge of his seat hoping the Cats could pull out a win. So far, they’d managed, even when they’d entered the second half behind, but past performance and all that. It didn’t matter what they’d done for the rest of the tournament if they couldn’t do it again today. He glanced back at Logan, who seemed to be scanning the crowd. “See anyone you know?”

  “Not personally,” Logan said, “but look in the VIP box. If I’m not mistaken, that’s Clay and Luke Hunter.”

  Kit looked up and found the couple Logan had pointed out. “I’m not surprised they’re here. They’re big UK supporters. Clay Hunter graduated from UK, you know.”

  “You know them?” Logan asked.

  “Not really. I mean, I met them. My uncle did some restoration work for them, and they invited us all out to the farm once he was finished.” Uncle Thane had told Kit later that hearing about them getting married had given him the courage to believe in his own happy ending, the first gay couple in line at the county clerk’s office when the Supreme Court legalized gay marriage.

  “That is so cool! What were they like?”

  “They were really nice. The house is classic 1920s architecture, but that’s for show and stuff, not for every day. They live upstairs, which we didn’t visit, but Uncle Thane said it was the only part of the house that had been modernized. And the horses were amazing. I’d never been that close to a racehorse before. They’re huge!”

  Logan snickered. “Kinda like your boyfriend.”

  Kit flushed but brazened it out with a wink. “In all the right ways.”

  Logan laughed and elbowed Kit. “That good?”

  “A gentleman doesn’t kiss and tell.”

  “And what’s your excuse?”

  “Ha-ha. I can be a gentleman when it matters.” And this mattered. He didn’t know how they’d work everything out if Linc got drafted, because Kit couldn’t stomach the idea of leaving Lexington, but they’d deal with it if it happened. And if they didn’t, he’d still have the memories. He glanced back over at Luke and Clay. They’d found a way to make things work. He just had to have the same faith in Linc and himself.

  THE final buzzer sounded less than a second after Linc’s shot hit the net, leaving Linc panting as he stared at the scoreboard. 98–97. They’d done it.

  They’d done it! That realization had only started to sink in when Pete barreled across the court to jump on him, wrapping arms and legs around Linc to hold himself up. The rest of the team followed, surrounding them. Pete dropped back to the floor, laughing as he hugged Linc again. “We did it! We won!”

  Before Linc could answer, the team had hoisted him onto their shoulders. Linc threw his head back and let out a victorious shout. They’d done it! All the hard work, all the hours and days and months of practice had led up to this one perfect moment. All it needed to be complete was Kit celebrating with him, but they would have their time later.

  Minutes, hours, days later—Linc couldn’t have said how much time passed—the crowd finally began clearing out, leaving the team to head into the locker room.

  Coach was waiting for them when they got there. “Gentlemen, it’s been an honor and a pleasure to coach you this year. Let’s hear it for the team that brought us our tenth national championship!”

  The roar seemed even louder in the confined space, but Linc relaxed into it. As much as he had savored every victory, they’d all been leading here, to this one. Always before, he’d celebrated with the knowledge they had another game in a few days, but not now. He’d reached the pinnacle of his college career. All that was left was the party.

  Eventually they separated to shower and change. Most of the team was talking about going out, but no one bothered asking Linc if he intended to join them. They all knew Kit was in town and that Linc had a private celebration planned. First, though, they had the press conference to get through.

  When the team was ready, they stepped out of the locker room to the shouts of all their names.

  “Lincoln!”

  “Mr. Joyner!”

  “Pete!”

  “Jayden!”

  “Mr. Jennings!”

  “Lincoln!”

  Even knowing he had a public image to maintain, Linc was tempted to blow past them and find Kit to celebrate, but he’d pay for it in media backlash later if he did. Seeing a reporter from ESPN he recognized as someone who’d been positive toward him in the past, he turned that way.

  “Congratulations, Mr. Joyner,” the reporter said as Linc approached.

  “Thanks. The whole team played their hardest. Arizona really made us work for it today.”

  “Exactly the kind of game basketball fans love to watch. What’s next for you?”

  “Finishing up my degree,” Linc said with a grin. “Then we’ll have to see.”

  “You’re considered the obvious choice for the NBA draft in June.”

  It wasn’t really a question, but Linc answered it anyway. “If that’s the way it goes, I won’t be complaining, but I’m prepared for all possibilities.”

  “Do you have a dream team in the NBA?” the reporter asked.

  “I’d be honored to be chosen by any team,” Linc demurred.

  “But if you got to choose?” the reporter pressed.

  “The Pacers,” Linc replied. “They’re closest to home.”

  “Last question. What does your boyfriend think about it?” the reporter asked.

  “That’s between the two of us,” Linc said firmly. “It’s all speculation at this point anyway.”

  He excused himself and left his teammates to deal with the rest of the reporters. He’d managed to keep Kit out of the spotlight since the picture of them kissing had surfaced, but he’d known the question would come up. If only he knew how to deflect it better. Not because he was ashamed of Kit. God, no. But he didn’t want their relationship invaded by the media every time he turned around. He didn’t want to expose Kit to that until he knew what was going to happen and they decided what they were going to do. Dragging Kit away from his family would be bad enough. They deserved the privacy to work that out without people shoving microphones and cameras in their faces every five minutes.

  Cross that bridge when you come to it. In the
meantime, Kit would be waiting for him in his room, he hoped. He’d slipped Kit a key when they saw each other before the game. He’d debated finding somewhere to go out to celebrate, but after the question about Kit, he decided staying in sounded better. They could order room service and get naked—not necessarily in that order—and celebrate in private.

  The room was still dark when he got there, but his phone pinged a moment later.

  Caught in traffic. Be there as soon as I can. <3

  Linc grinned and sent a heart back to Kit as well. If it weren’t for the uncertainty of the draft hanging over them, Linc would say this was the happiest he’d ever been. No, he corrected himself. This is the happiest I’ve ever been. Whatever happens with the draft, that doesn’t change what I feel now.

  He was tempted to order something from room service now—he was ravenous after the game—but he doubted it would get here before Kit, and he didn’t want the interruption because food wasn’t the only thing he was ravenous for.

  Trying to fill the time until Kit’s arrival, he stuck supplies in his pocket, then looked around to see what else he could straighten up or prepare. His mother’s lessons on tidiness were deeply ingrained, so the room was neat, only his gym bag in the corner out of place. He’d put on clean clothes after his shower. Stop obsessing. He isn’t going to care about the room.

  Except Kit had gone to such trouble to make things perfect at his uncles’ house, and Linc wanted to do the same in return.

  The sound of the electronic lock whirring broke him out of his obsessing, and he turned to greet Kit. Kit shot him a manic grin as he walked in the door and crossed the room in the blink of an eye. Before Linc could do more than smile at seeing his number painted on Kit’s cheek, Kit jumped into Linc’s arms and into a kiss. Linc grunted as he adjusted his stance to support Kit’s weight and kissed him back hungrily, claiming every inch of Kit’s mouth with his tongue. When not even that was enough, he nipped along Kit’s jaw to the sensitive patch of skin beneath his ear. Kit moaned and writhed in Linc’s arms, grinding against Linc’s belly.