Guns Leather and Tinsel

by Sean Michael

  They couldn’t do this. They couldn’t. It was stupid, dangerous. Ridiculous.

  “You shut down for Christmas?” Boom asked when he finally let Raptor’s lips go.

  “Yeah. I’m tired. I deserve a break.” He was going to go home and drink himself into a fucking stupor.

  “Then let’s go back to yours and make it a very merry one.”

  Oh, he didn’t know if he could manage that. A nice long fuck and then what? Nothing? A one night stand was one thing, but if he made it a two night stand and the second time was as good as the first, it would be that much harder to put it behind him.

  “You know I’m going to rock your world.” Boom grabbed his hand and pulled him to the door.

  “I...You’re a cop. I own a biker bar that is full of people who are anti-police.” And while they’d all swarmed out when the cops had pulled in, Raptor knew they had to have seen Boom out there with that fucking badge around his neck.

  “I know it’s a clusterfuck. It was a clusterfuck last weekend. I’m still here anyway.” Boom started at him, not backing down. “There’s something between us.”

  “Don’t say that. That will just complicate shit.”

  “You own a biker bar and I’m a cop, you don’t think shit’s already complicated?”

  “Like whoa.” Viciously. And that didn’t address the whole ‘toybox under the bed’ complications.

  “Then let’s go do the stuff that’s not complicated. Everything else will seem easier to deal with once we’ve had an orgasm or three between us.”

  Oh, this was a stupid idea. Stupid, stupid. For his heart, for his bar. Mega-stupid.

  That didn’t stop him from saying, “Meet me at the house. I’ll follow you in ten.”

  Boom gave him a wide grin. “It’s a date, baby. Don’t let me down.”

  He didn’t smile back. What was he supposed to think? This was crazy. He was crazy for making the offer. “I won’t.”

  “Good boy.” Boom swept him up into another hard kiss, then left him standing there, staring at the door, listening to Boom’s bike starting up.

  He was losing his mind. Just losing it. This was a death wish. One fucking hell of a way to go, but still a death wish. There had been something in Boom’s eyes, though. Something that...

  Raptor tilted his head, frowned. What was that smell? A waft of something hit him and then he blinked. Gasoline.

  Oh, fuck. No. No way.

  He ran to the office, dialed 911, and opened his safe. Come on. Come on. Come on.

  He hoped someone who cared heard him holler, “Someone’s setting the place on fire!” before the sudden whoosh of flames became a roar.

  * * * *

  Boom went up the road, looking back at the bar when he hit the turn. There was something bright there, making him frown, stop. He took another look and fuck! That was fire.

  Turning his bike, he floored it all the way back down the road. No. No fucking way. If the fire got to the storerooms or behind the bar where the bottles were kept...

  Raptor was likely still in there, too.

  Boom jumped off his ride and ran for the door. “Raptor! Raptor!”

  The sound of motorcycles revving up sounded, loud like a swarm of bees, but he knew that there wasn’t a choice. He had to save his boy. He should have insisted Raptor leave with him.

  He ran for the door, putting his shoulder in it. The wood split beneath his frantic weight and he shouted again. “Raptor!”

  “BOOM! Boom, help me!”

  Alive. Alive, fucking A.

  He followed the sound of Raptor’s voice, stumbling and coughing his way over to left side of the bar. The office was there, right?

  “Boom!” Raptor’s face appeared in the tiny window, the smoke billowing out. “Take the stuff from the safe.”

  He shook his head. “Just you,” he shouted, going for the man. God damn, fire was loud.

  “I can’t make it through. Take the money!” The papers and deposit were thrown toward him.

  He pushed the stuff into his jacket and zipped it back up. “Open the fucking door.”

  “I can’t. I tried. It’s stuck.”

  “Move away.”

  He backed up and ran for the door, putting his whole body into it. The wood cracked, so he did it again and the door gave way, sending him stumbling into the room. The heat was immense, the flames everywhere.

  He couldn’t even see Raptor through the smoke. “Raptor! Baby!” There was a hint of desperation in his shouts.

  “Boom! Boom, be careful!”

  Oh, thank God.” He moved toward the voice and got a hold of Raptor, tugging him close. “We have to get out of here!” He couldn’t fucking see two feet in front of his face.

  “Yeah. Yeah, the place is going to explode. Come on.” Raptor was coughing steadily, stumbling forward with him.

  They moved together, heading for what he hoped was the fucking door. They’d go through a window if they had to.

  Raptor pushed a cloth into his hands, something to cover his mouth with, but they were close enough, he didn’t need it. There was darkness and fresh air. Right there.

  Holding tight to Raptor, he pushed through into the outdoors.

  Raptor collapsed into a heap. “Called...called 911.”

  He nodded, hand going to the gun in his holster, in case whoever had started the damn fire was still around. He’d heard the motorcycles revving, after all, knew they’d been here just minutes before.

  Raptor was hacking, coughing violently. “My bar.”

  “Come farther back.” He dragged Raptor farther away out of the smoke. “Are you okay?” That’s what mattered.

  “Somebody set my bar on fire.”

  “I know. I heard hogs when I came back for you. A bunch of them.” He grabbed Raptor up, holding him tight, even though both of them were coughing.

  He heard the sirens in the distance. From what he could see the trucks weren’t going to be here in time to save the bar at all.

  “I want to go home.” Raptor’s voice was stark, raw.

  Boom opened his mouth to say they ought to stay at the scene of the crime, but instead he gave Raptor a hard kiss and hauled the man over to his hog. He’d call it in. He would. Fill out a report and everything. But first he’d get Raptor to safety.

  Raptor climbed on behind him and it said something that he didn’t even try to take his own bike, and Brian took off down the road, passing the fire trucks at the crossroads at the top of the hill.

  Harsh coughs pushed against his back, racking Raptor’s body.

  He paused at the turn off into the woods. “You need the hospital?”

  “No. No, take me home.”

  “Okay.” He could do that. If it turned out that Raptor needed to be seen, he could make sure it happened.

  He got moving again, making short work of the trip into the woods.

  They were both alive. They were both safe. In the end, that was what mattered.

  Chapter Eight

  His bar was gone.

  His bar was gone.

  His bar.

  His poor bar.

  Raptor shook his head, staring at the bathroom floor. It was tiles. Little black and white tiles laid in a repeating pattern.

  Boom was turning on the shower, playing with the taps. Then he started stripping Raptor. “Come on. You need to wash the smoke out.”

  “My bar.”

  “I know. Come on.” Boom grabbed his hands and drew him into the shower.

  “I...” Raptor shook his head, fighting the urge to scream.

  Boom got them into the shower, pushed him up against the wall and slammed their mouths together.

  His eyes went wide, the world just stopping short. Boom gave him no quarter, kissing him hard and long. He couldn’t look away from those big blue eyes, the way they stared at him.

  Boom had come back for him. Had saved his fucking life. Of course, that was Boom’s job, right?

  Kissing him like there was no tomorr
ow wasn’t the man’s job, though, and Boom sure was doing that.

  “Scared me, boy. Thought I’d lost you.” Boom’s hands were hard on his arms, fingers digging into his flesh.

  He had too. He’d thought he’d lost everything. The jury was still out as to just how much he had in fact lost.

  Boom ground against him, their pricks bumping, rubbing, grinding.

  “I don’t think I can.”

  “Hush.” Boom just dove back into the kisses.

  How could he hush? Seriously. Of course it was kind of hard to talk with Boom’s tongue in his mouth.

  Shifting gears, Boom pulled him into the spray, letting it wash over him as the breath stealing kisses continued. He sighed, eyes closing. He smelled bad. The water flowed over him, as did Boom’s kisses.

  When Boom grabbed the soap, lathered him up, it made things better. Those big hands slid along his skin, leaving slick trails in their wake. He took a deep breath, and this time he didn’t smell smoke.

  Hands moving on him, Boom soaped him up absolutely everywhere.

  “My bar. They burned my bar, man.” And he’d been in it. The door to his office had been barred from the inside, after he’d gone in there.

  “I know. You were insured, though, right?”

  “Yeah. Yeah, I am.” He didn’t know if he could open up again. Would anyone come or would they just burn him to the ground again.

  “And you’ve still got your home.”

  Oh fuck. “God. God, tell me that it’s still safe up here.”

  “I won’t let anything happen to you, Raptor. I fucking swear.”

  Raptor didn’t know if he believed it, but he knew he wanted to. Needed to.

  Boom tilted his head. “You’re mine, and I don’t let anyone take what’s mine.”

  “Since when?” Just because he wanted it so fucking badly didn’t make it true.

  “Since this job finished and I knew I was free to have you. I fucking wanted you from the start.”

  “I... You’re a cop.” Explained the familiarity and ease with the handcuffs.

  “I am. I work for the ATF. Undercover mostly.”

  “You had me fooled.” Had Boom made a fool of him?

  “That’s kind of the point. I couldn’t tell you, baby.”

  “Where...” He had so many questions, so much to ask.

  “Come on. Let’s dry off and have a drink. You can ask me anything you like.”

  “Yeah?” He’d like that. He needed that.

  Boom turned the shower off and grabbed one of his towels, tossing it over his shoulders. He wrapped it around himself, then grabbed a robe, the terry cloth soft and warm on his skin. He headed to the window, staring down the mountain at the flames.

  A few minutes later, a drink appeared in front of him, Boom solid and warm against his back.

  “Th...Thanks.”

  One long arm slid around him and held on. “You’re welcome.”

  He leaned back, soaking in the strength. Fuck, he needed this, Boom’s strength.

  “It’s going to be okay, baby.”

  While Boom’s words were exactly what he wanted to hear, he didn’t know if they were true. “It doesn’t feel okay.”

  “I know. It’ll take time.” Boom turned him and took a quick kiss before guiding him to his own fucking couch and sitting him down. “Drink your whiskey.”

  “Thanks.” How had everything changed so quickly?

  Boom downed his own whiskey, then sat back. “So. You’ve got questions.”

  “Where are you from?” That one was important.

  “I grew up in Oregon.”

  “Do you have a home now?” Why did you pick me? Why did you fuck me?

  “Not really. I spend a lot of time undercover.”

  He just didn’t know what to say to that.

  “You have to have more questions than that,” Boom prompted.

  “I do. I... Why did you pick me up?”

  “Because you were the hottest man I’ve seen in...hell, ever, and I wanted you more than was good for me.”

  “Yeah. Try again.” He wasn’t butt ugly or anything, but he wasn’t a model.

  Boom growled, closing the space between them and pouncing him. The kiss was hard. Hot. One hand was in his hair, holding him still, keeping him there. The other wrapped around his arm, Boom’s fingers digging in hard enough to bruise.

  Yes. Yes, he needed.

  Boom’s big, naked body pressed down on his, grinding him into the couch. He cried out, bucked up into Boom, pushed into those heavy muscles. Boom didn’t give and they found a rhythm, pushing into each other and making everything rub.

  Fuck, yeah. Yes. Please.

  Fucking his mouth, Boom kept rolling, rocking against him. It stopped the confusion, the hurt, letting him focus on the joy. They kissed and humped, making on each other.

  “Please. Please, man. Help me,” he begged. He needed this more than he was pissed.

  Boom’s hand wrapped around his cock, tugging on him, pulling at him. He hadn’t even thought he was hard. But now that Boom was jacking him, he was leaking, desperate, his balls aching. It didn’t make sense. None of this did.

  But he was fucking alive and Boom was making him feel good. That was going to have to be enough for right now.

  * * * *

  Brian lay with Raptor on his couch. He’d found a blanket and pulled it over them so they could just lie there and chill out. He’d known he was getting in far deeper than he should when he’d first gone home with Raptor, but after seeing the man nearly killed in that fire...Well, something like that condensed things. Made them clear.

  “They burned my bar up.” Raptor kept repeating it, again and again.

  Brian knew it was shock. He also knew there wasn’t a damn thing either of them could do about it - the fucking bar was gone. Brian could be terribly practical when it came to things like that. He and Raptor had survived. In fact, no one was dead and that was always a win in his book.

  “You were insured,” he reminded Raptor.

  Raptor nodded, eyes bloodshot, the guy three-quarters drunk. It was a fucking shitty way to start the holidays.

  “You need anything?” Brian asked. “Food? Water? More orgasms?”

  The place still wasn’t decorated and he wondered if Raptor just didn’t celebrate or if he had somewhere to go.

  “I...” Raptor stared at him, then pushed into his arms.

  He held on tight, lending Raptor his strength. God, he’d never felt this...this tenderness toward another man. He brought their mouths together, this kiss more gentle than any he could remember sharing.

  Mine, he thought. My boy.

  His hold tightened as he pulled Raptor as close as he could, his legs twisting up with Raptor’s. A low growl pushed out of his chest. No one was hurting his boy. No one.

  “Glad you’re here. Is that weird?” Raptor asked.

  “No. It isn’t weird at all.” He took another soft kiss. “It’s better not to be alone when something shitty happens.” Fuck, it was better not to be alone, period. And he wanted to believe that it was even better that it was him.

  “I feel like I’ve been beaten.”

  “It’s the shock and the smoke inhalation. Things’ll look better in the morning.”

  Raptor chuckled. “I don’t know about that, man. I’m sort of doubting that.”

  “Okay, how about things will look manageable in the morning.” He stroked Raptor’s cheek, placing another kiss. “You got plans for the holidays, baby?” He wanted Raptor to spend it with him. He didn’t figure the details mattered all that much.

  “No. No, I usually just have a dinner at the bar, but... I knew it was over, somehow. Even before…they burned my fucking bar to the ground.”

  “Then we get to spend our first Christmas together however we want.”

  Raptor gave him a confused look. “Our first?”

  Brian actually found himself beginning to blush at the slip, but he blustered through it. “You d
on’t think we should start some fine holiday traditions?”

  “I...I like Christmas. I like the lights. I always decorate the bar.”

  “We should go buy you some tomorrow. Brighten this place up.”

  “You’re the only one that knows I live up here.”

  “I’m not telling anyone, baby. And I don’t mean lights for the outside. I mean stuff to make it like stepping into Christmas when you come in the door.” Fuck knew, Raptor needed something cheery here to counteract his fucking bar burning down.

  “Can we go to bed, Boom? Together.”

  “You know it. Come on.” Brian got up and grabbed Raptor’s hand, tugging him upright. Pulling the long, lean body against him. He walked Raptor over to the bed, one hand sliding over his back, trying for comfort. “You just tell me what you need, baby.”

  “Rest. Heat. Just come to bed and hold me - and I know it’s a pussy thing to ask, but I need it.”

  “I don’t think you’re in any way a pussy.”

  Brian got them in bed, settled with him spooning around Raptor, the covers making it warm and cozy. He stroked the flat belly, letting Raptor feel him and know that he was right there. “I’ve got you, baby. And I’m not letting go.”

  Tomorrow he’d growl and flex and push Raptor to scream. Right now, the man needed his strength, his comfort. His care.

  God, he really cared about this man.

  He pressed soft kisses on Raptor’s neck, fingers continuing to strum over Raptor’s abs. Raptor melted into him, trusting him enough to sleep.

  He closed his eyes and let himself sleep, too. Tomorrow would be easier if they were both well-rested.

  Chapter Nine

  Raptor had a raging headache when he opened his eyes, the world ugly and rough and raw. He pulled the covers over his head, snuggling into the heat behind him. Heat. Wait. He frowned, trying to think about what the hell he’d forgotten.

  Groaning, the heat shifted, pressing against him as the hand on his belly stroked.

  Boom. Police. Fire. The bar. Oh, God. The bar.

  He sat up, his head screaming.