by Tinnean
“We’re okay.” He stepped back and cleared his throat. “We’d…uh…we’d better get all this stuff into the shelter before we start growing another head.”
Adam laughed and threw the contents of his cart—armfuls of clothes—down into the shelter. They were careful about the gear in Lync’s cart, but it didn’t take them long, and finally Adam waited at the bottom of the ladder while Lync pulled the hatch closed and secured it.
“Lyncoln? What would we have done if there had been people trying to get into the mall?”
“I don’t know.” That was one of the things he had worried about. “I suppose it would depend on their attitude. If they were polite about it, I suppose I’d have let them in. On the other hand, if they were trying to tear down the security gates and break down the doors, then I think I’d be less inclined.”
“I’m glad. I have to admit I…I like it being just the two of us here.”
“Me, too.”
“I got that impression.”
Shit. It looked like the elephant in the room—or rather the shelter—wasn’t going to sit there unnoticed. “Yeah, about that. I’m sorry.”
“I’m not.”
“You’re not?”
Adam shook his head. “In fact, I was hoping you might be as interested in me as I’ve been in you.”
“You’ve been interested in me? Since when?”
“I’d say since the day you mentioned how high the glass portion of the ceiling was.”
“Yeah?” That hadn’t been very long after Adam had taken over renovating the mall.
“Yeah.” He went to one of the upper bunks, and took down his overcoat, which he’d folded neatly and placed there. He reached into a pocket and withdrew a strip of condoms.
“Where did you get that?”
“When we were raiding Uncle Frankie’s. I thought…that is to say, I’d hoped…Have I overstepped?”
“That’s very resourceful of you. But…”
“But?”
Lync smiled. He’d never seen Adam look so flustered. “We’d need lube.”
Adam grinned broadly. “You think?” He reached into another pocket and withdrew a small tube of lubricant.
“What did I say?” Lync could hardly catch his breath. “Very resourceful.”
“Uh…”
“What is it, Adam?” Was he changing his mind?”
“There’s something you should know. I…uh…I prefer to bottom.”
“Do you? Do you really, Adam? Then I’d say this will work out perfectly, since I prefer bottoms.” He raised a hand and ran the backs of his fingertips over the stubble on Adam’s cheek, then began to chuckle. “It looks like there’s one thing we forgot—again.”
“And what might that be?”
“Razors.”
Adam’s brown eyes twinkled, and he pulled one last thing out of his seemingly bottomless overcoat pocket—a razor.
Lync stared at him. “Have you had that since we raided Uncle Frankie’s?” Adam didn’t seem the sort to carry a razor around in his overcoat on a normal, everyday sort of day.
“Um…yes?” He rested his head on Lync’s shoulder and gazed up at him through his eyelashes.
“Why didn’t you tell me before? We could have shaved.”
“I wasn’t sure if we should waste water on something so trivial. And besides…I like the way you look with a bit of scruff. So sexy.”
“Let’s see if you say the same thing when you wake up with stubble burn all over your body.”
“All over my body?”
“Yeah.”
“Oh, I am looking forward to it.”
“All righty, then.” Lync tipped up Adam’s chin and for the first time kissed him.
And oh God, he was willing to swear it was the best kiss he’d ever had.
Chapter 6
If ever there was a perfect man with whom to spend the end of the world, Lyncoln Ryland was that man.
Adam had always wanted a lover like him—sweet and kind and guaranteed to keep them both alive. Well, except for forgetting to get coffee, but then Adam had also forgotten.
And now they were actually going to become lovers.
Lyncoln carefully removed each article of Adam’s clothing, smoothing his palms over the flesh revealed, causing Adam to shiver.
“You’re so beautiful,” Lyncoln murmured as he ran his gaze over Adam’s nude body. He lowered his head and dragged his tongue over Adam’s left nipple, then closed his teeth gently around it, and Adam’s dick twitched and oozed a drop of precome. Lyncoln dropped to his knees and licked the tip of Adam’s hard dick. “Oh, yes, beautiful and delicious.”
Adam’s legs trembled. “May I return the favor?”
“Sure.” A broad smile curled Lyncoln’s lips, and he rose gracefully to his feet, took a step back, and held out his arms. “I’m all yours.”
“Are you truly?” Adam hadn’t planned to ask, hadn’t wanted to appear needy, but he realized he had to know. He’d waited so long for someone like Lyncoln to come into his life. He didn’t have to work the buttons, since Lyncoln had simply been wearing his undershirt in order to stay comfortable. Adam slid his hands under the hem and raised the undershirt, running the flat of his palms over the smooth skin of his lover’s sides.
Lyncoln jerked back a step, and Adam whipped his hands away, uncertain as to what he had done. “I’m sorry—”
Lyncoln smiled at him through his lashes. “Nothing to be sorry for. You couldn’t know I’m ticklish.” Abruptly, Lyncoln lost his beautiful smile and backed away another step. “You’re not going to tickle me now, are you?”
“Not if that isn’t what you want.”
“Thank you.”
“Did you have a boyfriend who tormented you by doing that?” Adam scowled. “That used to be a form of torture, you know.”
“I didn’t know. You might as well know right now, I’m not very smart.”
“Are you kidding me?”
“I never went to college.”
“I didn’t mean that. You’ve got street smarts, you run your department like a champ, and you knew all about getting supplies for us to survive. Just remember that. You—you know what? That isn’t important.” Adam yanked Lyncoln’s undershirt off over his head and flung it aside, then went to work on the fly of his jeans. He swallowed at the large dick that was revealed as he pushed jeans and shorts down his lover’s legs. Unfortunately, they caught on his work boots. “Shit,” he muttered.
“Mr. James! Your language,” Lyncoln teased, and Adam loved the happy expression on his face.
“Never mind my language. Sit down on the bunk so I can get rid of your boots.”
Lyncoln obligingly lowered himself onto the bunk, but they leaned forward at the same time and bumped their heads.
“Ow.” Adam sat back on his heels and rubbed his forehead.
“Ow.” Lyncoln leaned back and did the same. “Sorry.”
“Sorry,” Adam said at the same time, but he was distracted by the dick in front of him. He licked his lips, then dived in for a taste and hummed with pleasure.
“Wait, wait, wait!” Lyncoln ordered. He unlaced his boots and struggled to yank them off, and once that was done, Adam took the opportunity to strip the rest of his lover’s clothes off his long legs. “Now let’s get the bed ready. I can’t wait to slide into you and feel you all hot and tight around me.”
Adam couldn’t prevent a low moan from escaping his lips, and another drop of precome beaded at the tip of his dick. He stared at Lyncoln, unable to do or say anything more.
Lyncoln stroked a hand over his hair. “It’s okay, Adam. I’ll take care of it.”
“No, I can do it. I’m not useless, you know.” Adam turned away, and shoved aside the booty from their latest supply run, then pulled the mattresses into the center of the room and arranged the sleeping bags on them.
“No, you’re definitely not useless. Who remembered the condoms and lube?”
Relieved, he winked
at Lyncoln over his shoulder, snapped open the tube, and began working the slick stuff into his ass. This was something that always drove his previous lovers wild, and that was what he wanted for Lyncoln, to drive him so insane with passion that he would pounce on him. Lyncoln’s own low moan and the sound of the condom wrapper being torn open made him smile.
“Pass me the lube, Adam.”
Adam liked that Lyncoln didn’t call him any pet names—even though he and Morrison hadn’t been dating that long, Morrison tended to call him “hot stuff” or “sugar lips,” as if he couldn’t be bothered with remembering Adam’s name. Knowing Lyncoln knew he was taking Adam and not some anonymous body to bed had Adam breathless and aching with desire. He handed the tube to his lover, then smeared the last of the lube on his fingers onto his dick. “How do you want me?”
“Will you be comfortable on your back? I want to look into your eyes when we make love.”
When they make love. Adam had had some nice men in his bed, and they’d enjoyed the time they’d spent together, but he’d never thought he’d find a lover like Lyncoln, who wanted more from him than a quick fuck with the rich boy.
He rolled onto his back and pulled his legs toward his chest, leaving himself exposed to his lover.
“You’re beautiful,” Lyncoln breathed. He positioned his cock at Adam’s hole and began a slow, careful push.
It had been a while since Adam had been…made love to, and it burned, but Lyncoln took care not to rush him, treating him as if he were something special.
And if Adam hadn’t been in love with Lyncoln before this point, now he certainly was.
Chapter 7
Lync woke from an amazing dream when warm breath tickled his nipple and curious fingers explored the hair that covered his groin. He didn’t usually go out drinking after work, and on those occasions when he did on the weekend, he didn’t bring anyone home to his bed. If he had this time, had there been something really special about his partner, or had he just been too drunk? But that couldn’t be right. He never drank to excess. Uncle Connor had taught him that. He sighed. Damn, he wished he could remember what they’d done.
Well, this was going to be awkward. He started to ease out from under the weight of his companion’s arm. He’d put on a pot of coffee and then get this guy out of his apartment.
“Don’t go yet, Lyncoln,” a sleepy voice murmured, and Lync froze. No one called him Lyncoln. No one except…Adam James.
Lync smiled as his foggy brain cleared and he remembered. The power outage, the sirens, the missiles. It was the end of the world, and they were stuck in a bomb shelter about thirty feet underground.
Lync realized none of that mattered. They had each other.
And they had coffee.
Chapter 8
Lync and Adam had been underground for more than three weeks. Not that the radiation count had been off the scale, but more that the weather had been too miserable for them to leave the mall, so they’d made the decision to remain there until it stopped raining. Lync had used the cherry picker to get a look at the outside world, but there didn’t seem to be anyone braving the elements, if there was anyone left to brave them.
So while they couldn’t leave the refuge the mall provided, he and Adam were able to leave the fallout shelter, and they’d made a cozy home for themselves in the courtyard.
“And I was working on a contract to rent space to a home furnishing company. If this had held off just a year…” Adam sighed.
Lync had heard rumors about the expansion. It would have been nice if they’d had a store like that they could rely on, with areas that were staged to show the various rooms in a house in such a way that potential buyers would fall all over themselves in their desire to have their bedroom, bathroom, living or dining room or kitchen look like that.
“Solar panels, Adam. Next time, make sure the mall has solar power for backup.”
“Right.” Adam pretended to take something from his pocket. Lync realized what it was supposed to be when Adam mimed flipping open a page, touching the tip of an imaginary pencil to his tongue, and jotting a note down on the page. “Duly noted.”
Lync couldn’t help chuckling, and he bumped his shoulder against Adam’s.
“So what plans for tomorrow?”
“I’ll start draining the fountain. It’s a good thing the hardware store has all those garbage cans to put the water into.”
“And while you’re doing that, I’ll bring out the bags of soil, and we’ll see about making a garden.” Adam slid an arm around Lync’s waist, went up on his toes, and leaned close enough to kiss Lync’s cheek. “I’m so lucky to be here with you.”
“I’m just as lucky to have you. Management won’t fire me for helping myself to inventory.”
“No, we won’t.” Adam worried his lower lip. “I just…I wish I knew if Mom and Dad were safe.” He sighed again. Lync knew he’d tried again earlier to call them, with no response at all.
Lync had no family to worry about, but he did have friends. He tried not to think about what might have happened to them.
“Want to watch a movie?” he asked his lover.
“I’d love it. But do we have enough power?”
“Sure.” He’d rigged the generator to send power to the main breaker, and that included the movie house. The projector should have enough juice for the time it took to run the movie.
They strolled into the lobby of the Hamilton. All the chocolate-covered candies had melted—even the M&Ms—so Lync took a box of Chuckles while Adam helped himself to Twizzlers, and they settled in to watch the same movie Lync had been enjoying before the world went to hell with itself.
And unlike the last time, Lync had a boyfriend to watch the movie with him. He smiled at Adam and slid an arm around his shoulders. Adam returned his smile and rested his head against Lync’s shoulder. Together they watched as the title cards appeared on the screen: The World, the Flesh, and the Devil.
“I think you’ll like this one,” Lync said.
“I know I will,” Adam murmured, rubbing his cheek against Lync’s shoulder. “I’m watching it with you.”
Epilogue
Shake, rattle, and roll. That was what it felt like, topped off by a boom that almost shattered Lync’s eardrums. The contents of his box of candy flew through the air while Lync went skidding off the seat to land hard on his tailbone and then bounce the back of his head off the concrete floor.
“Ow.” Which did he rub the ache from first, his head or his butt? The screen had gone dark, and only the battery-powered emergency lights continue to cast a red glow. “Shit. We must have lost power. Again,” he groused. He lurched to his feet. “I didn’t get the candy all over you, did I, Adam?” He reached out for his lover, but Adam wasn’t there. He must have gone to take a leak.
Lync limped out of the room and across the darkened lobby to the restrooms. It was a good thing he always carried his flashlight. He flipped it on and pushed open the men’s room door. “Adam, did you hear—” Adam wasn’t at the urinals, and the two stalls were empty. “Adam!” He forgot about the ache in his butt and head and ran out into the mall, to come skidding to a stop when he realized Adam’s BMW wasn’t parked beside the fountain—which hadn’t been drained—and the space where they’d laid out their sleeping bags was bare.
The security gates were up, but the doors were all closed. Through them, he could see the traffic light leading into the mall blink from yellow to red. The lights in the parking lot lit up the empty spots, and while some of the houses across the boulevard were in darkness, others weren’t.
“What the actual fuck? Okay, Ryland. Get a grip.” He ran to the electrical closet, threw the switch that reset the fuses, and blew out a relieved breath when the muted lights of the mall at night came back on.
He walked out into the center of the mall just as the security gates gently touched the ground. He made sure they were locked up tight and the doors secured as well.
With that done, he made hi
s way back into the movie house and took the stairs down to the basement. Before he could lift the hatch, something caught his attention from the corner of his eye. He turned his head and stared at the corner where all the shopping carts had been lying on their sides. He and Adam had planned to bring them back to Uncle Frankie’s but they hadn’t gotten around to it.
Only…Nothing was there.
Lync sank down onto the stairs. What was happening? His earbuds dangled around his neck, and he slipped them into his ears. His fingers were trembling as he turned on his MP3 player and found a local radio station.
“That’s it for tonight’s program, folks. I’ll be back tomorrow night, playing the music we grew up with. Now, stay tuned for—”
Lync switched to another station and got more of the same. “This is Althea McAvoy of WLUV signing off for the night. Pour the wine, sugar, I’m on my way home.”
And another station. “…And we’ll be back tomorrow. Until then, take care and stay safe.”
“Lyncoln? Lyncoln?”
“Adam?” Lync yanked the earbuds from his ears, jerked to his feet, and ran up the stairs. “Adam!”
Before Lync could reach the lobby, Adam appeared at the top of the stairs. “There you are. I had a feeling I’d find you here.”
“Adam.” Lync threw himself into his lover’s arms and burrowed his head against Adam’s neck. “Oh, Adam.” He held on tight.
“Lyncoln, what’s the matter? Is everything all right?”
“I…I don’t know. Where have you been?”
“Tonight was the gala event for the children’s hospital. You know that.”
“I do?” He gave a weak laugh and rubbed at his temples. “Yeah, I guess I do.”
“Are you ready?”
“For what?”
“To have a late dinner with Mom and Dad. They’re waiting for us at Aterpe.”
“They are?” Aterpe was one of the most exclusive restaurants in Laurel Hill, serving Basque cuisine. Lync had often passed it, but he’d never been able to afford a meal there. “They’re not on a cruise to Hawaii?”
