by Pandora Pine
“Well, hello to you too, Icy Hot!” Ronan set down the computer to ogle his husband. Ten was shirtless and wearing tight yoga pants.
Ten crawled up on the bed next to Ronan. Dixie scampered over to see him. “Hello, precious.” He buried his face in her black and white fur. “What are you doing?”
“I was looking up cruises for our winter trip. What were you doing in the office?” Ronan reached over to the nightstand to grab his phone to snap some pictures of Tennyson and Dixie.
“I was meditating. I really like how we turned half of that room into a meditation space for me. My Buddha statue is right at home near that sunny window and my yoga rug fits perfectly beneath the sill. Did I ever tell you you’re the best husband ever?” Ten kissed the dip in his collarbone.
Ronan laughed. “As a matter of fact, you haven’t.” When they’d first moved into the house, Ronan had moved his old desk and futon into that room. While Greeley and Fitzgibbon had been staying with them, the teenager had slept on the lumpy futon. After they’d moved out, Ronan decided to ditch the crappy thing. That was when Ten mentioned what a great meditation space it would be for him.
Ronan was more than happy to turn half of the room over to Ten. He couldn’t help noticing how calm and completely relaxed his husband was when he finished meditating. He’d tried a bit of meditation when they’d gone on their little vacation to the Cape back in July, but he had been distracted by the sound of the ocean waves and the smell of the culinary creations the hotel’s chef, Gregor Allen, was whipping up in the kitchen. Mostly though, he was distracted by Tennyson sitting right next to him in the same black yoga pants he was wearing now, looking good enough to eat.
“You know you’re welcome to join me in there anytime. My mat is big enough for two.” Ten said, seeming to read his mind. “Learning how to meditate now and work on your chakras will be very beneficial when we start going through the process of trying to get pregnant. Not to mention in dealing with our day-to-day stressful lives.”
“You’re right, Ten. You look so loose and relaxed when you come out of that room.”
“It’s time that I take for myself. I know you’re getting back to running and working your body again and that’s how you take care of yourself, but it’s just as important to take care of the spiritual side of yourself too.”
“And my ass will look banging in a pair of those pants, just like yours does.” Ronan brushed a kiss against the hot skin of Tennyson’s neck.
“My ass looks banging?” Ten looked back over his shoulder. “Ronan O’Mara, are you trying to seduce me?”
“Is it working?”
“Almost.” Ten laughed. “Tell me about the cruises before I give in to your male charms and the bulge in your pants.”
“There are a couple of choices that I really like. There’s this trip to the Panama Canal. You go to a couple of islands on the way there like Aruba and then you go through half of the canal and spend the rest of the day in Panama. The last day is in Costa Rica. Can you imagine getting to see the rainforest?”
“That sounds like an amazing trip, but maybe not with four kids under the age of two.”
Ronan frowned. “Good point. Howler monkeys and babies don’t exactly mix.”
“Those babies are howler monkeys sometimes. What else do you have?”
“Just regular Caribbean itineraries where you go to places like Martinique, St. Lucia, and Barbados, but that’s a lot of island hopping for the babies. What would you think of Bermuda?”
“There’s a cruise that just sails around that one island?” Ten didn’t look convinced that was a good plan either.
Ronan shook his head no. “All of the Caribbean cruises sail out of Fort Lauderdale, but this one sails right out of Boston, so we wouldn’t need to fly. Then the ship sails to Bermuda, which takes a day and a half. It docks at Hamilton and stays there for the whole trip, so it’s like a floating hotel. All of our meals are paid for and we never have to worry about catching the boat, except on the day we sail back to Boston.” He turned the computer toward Ten to show him the pictures of the crystal-clear azure water and the pink sand beaches.
“Wow, that looks amazing. And we wouldn’t be at sea as much in case anyone gets seasick.”
“Yeah, and if we like the cruise, you and I could go other ones in the future. I really like the idea of you and me in the Caribbean, babe. Sugar sand beaches and balmy breezes blowing through the palm trees.”
“We’ve been so busy with this Hutchins thing that I didn’t get a chance to tell about Carson and Cole wanting to expand the business. If we got this off the ground it would free me up for a bit more time off.”
“Expand how? By making the space bigger or by adding more talent?”
“Yes.” Tennyson laughed. “The biggest thing is that they want to buy the shop next door from the vacuum repairman. Carson thinks that the business is on it’s last legs anyway and he might be looking for a way out.”
Ronan nodded. It was rare he saw customers coming or going from that store. “I would agree with Carson there. If he agrees to sell that would involve a loan, I’m guessing?”
“It would, but with Carson wanting to bring in more talent, that would also mean more money. Plus, the loan would be taken out between the three of us.”
“You know I’m behind you one hundred percent in whatever you do. Cole and Carson are smart businessmen. If they think this is the right move for the business, then I’m sure it is.”
“But?” Ten asked nervously. “You’ve said all these really great supportive things, Ronan. I’m just waiting for the but.”
Nibbling on his upper lip, Ronan thought hard about all of the things Tennyson had just told him and what the possible risks were to their family and personal finances. “But, my balls are so blue right now they ache, so do you think you could possibly do something about that?” Ronan flashed him a brilliant smile.
“That’s it? I can go all in on this loan if I suck your dick?” Tennyson look skeptical and scandalized, but mostly skeptical.
“No! You can go in on this loan. Period. Please suck my dick. I’m sorry if you thought the one thing was contingent on the other.” Ronan winked at his husband and shut the lid of his laptop. “Be naked when I get back!”
Tennyson laid back on the bed and went for the waistband of his yoga pants.
“Dixie, come!” The puppy hopped off the bed and followed him out of the room. He led her into the spare bedroom where they kept her doggie bed for times like this. “Time for you to meditate, little girl. I’ll see you later. Time for Daddy Ronan to get him some.” He shut the door behind him on Dixie’s cries.
He made a mental note to tell Ten later how much he believed in him and the business he was building with Carson and Cole, but right now, he was going to focus on getting down with his new husband.
18
Tennyson
Ten was naked as the day he was born before Ronan had left the room with Dixie. He felt bad that the puppy needed to be shut up in the spare bedroom, but on the other hand, he didn’t need an audience or a wet nose where a wet nose didn’t belong either.
“Are you nekkid, boy?” Ronan called.
What was this, Deliverance? “Come find out for yourself!” Ten shouted back. “I thought you were going to fuck me sideways! Remember?”
Ronan’s laughter bubbled up from the hall. “Oh, yeah. I did, didn’t I?”
“You have no idea how to do it. Do you?” Ten sure as hell had no idea what the phrase, ‘cheated on me left, right, sideways,’ meant in the literal sense.
Ronan’s head popped around the corner into the bedroom. “Do too. I’ll prove it to you.” He strutted into the room with his fat cock bobbing against his abdomen. “Lay on your side.”
“Oh, so that’s the sideways?” Ten giggled but obeyed. Before he rolled over, he’d seen the devious look in Ronan’s darkening eyes. From behind him, he could hear his husband digging through his nightstand drawer for the lube and then the cap popping open
.
Ronan knelt behind Tennyson on the bed. “Bend your leg and put your right foot flat on the mattress.” He bent to press a kiss against Ten’s right shoulder.
Slick fingers probed at Ten’s entrance. He relaxed and let Ronan’s magical fingers do their work. It wasn’t long before he felt the heat of Ronan’s chest against his back and the blunt head of his cock pressing against his eager hole.
“Let me in, babe.” Ronan eased his hips forward until he was pushing past the ring of muscle. “That’s it, just like that.” When he bottomed out, Ronan wrapped his right arm around Ten’s chest. “What do you think?”
“I like sideways. Maybe we’ll have to try right and left sometime.”
Ronan hummed his approval against the hot skin of Tennyson’s back. He took his time with the movement of his hips. “Ten…”
Tennyson rolled back, his eyes meeting Ronan’s over his shoulder. “Just like that. Slow.” He pressed back further to kiss his impossible husband. The man he loved with his entire heart and who gave him everything his heart desired in return.
Ronan obeyed his command to go slow. So much of the time they’d spent in this room lately had been hurried. Fucking hard and fast to get to the happy ending, forgetting that the journey was the most important part. Even at this pace though, Ten knew he wasn’t going to last long. This position had Ronan’s cock nudging his sweet spot constantly.
“Should have done this sooner, but my husband doesn’t let me watch porn for new ideas. All of my moves are old.” Ronan kissed Ten again, tugging on his bottom lip with his teeth.
“Oh, so that’s the reason you watched porn, to increase your repertoire. I never would have guessed.”
Instead of responding to Tennyson’s snarky tone, Ronan reached for Ten’s leaking cock.
“Oh God, Ronan,” Ten moaned, resting his head back on his husband’s chest. “More, please.”
“Oh, no, babe. You were the one who said to go slow. Your wish is my command.” Ronan slowed the pace of his hand and hips down even further.
“Sadist,” Ten muttered, knowing full well Ronan was the furthest thing from that.
“That’s only going to make me go slower to prove your point.” Ronan bit Ten’s shoulder, not hard enough to break the skin, but hard enough to let Ten know he was there.
Ronan was true to his word. Ten could feel the slow drag of Ronan’s cock as he bottomed out all the way back until he nearly pulled out. It was maddening. It was also the best fucking thing he’d ever felt in his entire life.
“Love you,” Ten whispered. He knew he was getting close and might not remember to say those words at the critical moment. He shut his eyes and concentrated on Ronan. It felt like his husband was everywhere at once. Ten’s back was pressed entirely against Ronan’s front. His hand was still slowly stroking Ten’s erection.
“Love you too.” Ronan pressed a kiss to the hollow of Ten’s shoulder. “Need you to come for me. Can’t last much longer.”
“So then make me come. Isn’t that your job, husband?”
Biting his husband again, Ronan responded by hitching his hips harder, but not faster.
Ten moaned in response. Ronan was fucking him hard, but slow. How was that even possible? At this moment in time, Ten didn’t care. He was so close, he could practically taste it.
“Hurry up. Not waiting,” Ronan muttered.
Knowing damn well his husband wasn’t going to come without him, Ten clamped down his muscles, tightening his passage and making Ronan have to work harder to move. It also felt fucking amazing.
“Jesus, Ten, gonna come,” Ronan cried out.
Ten felt Ronan’s cock jerk deep within him. Felt his husband’s teeth dig into his shoulder. That was when his own release hit him. Ropes of sticky come splattered against his chest and stomach while Ronan kept moving his hips and muttering Tennyson’s name. He wrung every last drop from Ten before his hand dropped away. “Christ, Ronan, are you still alive?”
Ronan groaned, but didn’t move.
That was good enough for Tennyson. He’d have to remember this move for the cruise ship. He bet it would be dynamite on the water.
19
Ronan
Ronan was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed when he walked into the office on Monday morning. This was the start of the two weeks when Ten would be back at work with him and he was walking on sunshine.
The first thing on his agenda was to sit down at his desk and pretend to read the paper while all of his colleagues congratulated Tennyson on their wedding. It never bothered Ronan that the detectives in the squad room like Ten better than him. Ten was more of a people person, after all.
There were shouts of congratulations and lots of hugs. A lot of the guys showed Ten pictures they had taken on their phones during the wedding and the reception. That was quickly followed by Ten giving the cop his information so they could send the pictures along. It was more fun for Ronan watching Ten work the crowd then it would have been being in the middle of it.
“Jeez, I sure the hell hope he doesn’t run for governor. He could give Charlie Baker a run for his money.” Fitzgibbon sat down in the chair Tennyson always sat in. “I kind of dig him when we have blizzards and he wears a sweater in the emergency bunker. He’s so strict when he tells people not to crowd the plow. Makes me want to do it just so he’ll have to punish me. Oh, Daddy!” Kevin growled.
“Ah, Cap? We’re sitting in the middle of the squad room, you might want to tamp that down.” Ronan pointed in the general direction of Fitzgibbon’s zipper.
“What?” Fitzgibbon turned to Ronan with a bit of a lost look on his face.
“We were talking about Charlie Baker.” Christ, had Fitzgibbon been daydreaming out loud the whole time?
“We were? I like it when he wears those sweaters during blizzard press conferences.” Kevin smiled at Ronan.
“You don’t say.” Ronan rolled his eyes and reached for his copy of The Boston Globe.
“You’re going to talk to Ten about the dead files the others left for you?” Kevin pointed to the stack of files on Ronan’s desk.
Ronan nodded. “That’s the first thing I’m going to do when Evita Grimm gets his happy ass back over here.”
“Loved by all of his people, that’s for sure. I’d watch out if I were you. I don’t think people would cry for you, Ronan. Him, yes. You, not so much.” Kevin stood up from Tennyson’s usual seat.
“Thanks for the vote of confidence.”
Fitzgibbon slapped Ronan’s shoulder. “Anytime. You hear anything back from that private dick yet?”
“Can you be a bit more specific? I know a lot of dicks, Cap.”
Fitzgibbon barked out a surprised laugh. Ronan saw every cop in the room turn and look at him. It wasn’t often the big man laughed like that.
“What’s so funny?” Ten asked. Fitzgibbon shook his head and laughed harder.
“I’m not quite sure. Do you think I broke him?” Ronan shot a guilty look at his husband.
“I don’t know, but we need proof of this moment, otherwise, it never happened.” Ten held up his phone to their still laughing boss.
“Ah, Jesus Christ, that was funny,” Fitzgibbon shook his head. “Byrne, Ronan. Have you heard anything from Jude Byrne?”
“No. Not yet. I’ll let you know when we do. Ten and I would like to get out and walk the crime scene during our lunch hour today. I’m interested to see if he’ll pick anything up.”
Fitzgibbon nodded and headed back to his office.
Ronan turned back to Ten. “You’re the hit of the ball, huh?”
“They were all so excited to show me pictures they’d taken at our wedding and to say what a great time they’d had. They’re gonna send over their favorite pictures so we’ll have them too.”
All of the fellow officers that had come up and spoken to Tennyson has been in the office last week when he’d come back to work. Not one of them had shown him any pics or told him what a great time they’d had at the weddin
g. Ronan had no doubt everyone in this room would have his back or take a bullet for him, but maybe he should work on his “indoor” attitude.
“So, what are these dead files you keep mentioning but never actually give me any details about?” Ten sat in his usual seat and focused all of his attention on Ronan.
Ronan pointed to the double stack of files in front of him. There were ten files in all. “These are the coldest of the cold cases.”
“Frigid cases,” Ten muttered.
“Yeah, that’s what the other detectives in the unit have implied. They worked these cases the same way I do and were never able to develop new leads or find new DNA or fiber evidence thanks to advances in testing technology. That’s where you come in.”
Ten nodded. “It’s pretty amazing how far they’ve all come when you think about how hostile everyone was to me in the beginning.”
Ten was dead on. Eleven months was a long period of time to change minds and perceptions and Tennyson had certainly done that. “Fitzgibbon is hoping that your sixth sense can give us new leads that will make it possible to close some, if not all of these cases. In addition to our regular caseload.”
“No pressure then.” Ten gave his head a little shake. “How about if I read through them and see if anything pops out at me and you can do the same with the regular cases. We’ll compare notes later.”
“Sounds good, Nostradamus.” Ronan wanted to lean forward and kiss his husband, but they were in the middle of the office. He powered up his computer instead.
As the morning progressed, Ronan kept an eye on Tennyson. He was taking notes on each case file which he would tuck into the folder when he was finished working on it. He’d stack it on the floor next to his feet when he was finished with it and grab for the next file.
Ronan, for his part, had settled on what he thought would be the next case they would tackle together. It was the case of Morse Hines, a twenty-nine-year-old newlywed father of one who’d died under suspicious circumstances six years ago. The young man had been working on his car in his garage when the vehicle slipped off the jack and crushed him. There hadn’t been enough evidence to prove if the “slip” had been accidental or if it had been helped along by someone else.
