“It was the rain.” Vic stretched out along the end of the bed, weariness making his bones feel heavy as he settled into place. The cool comforter felt wonderful against his bare skin, and he curled his arms beneath his head, eyes already slipping shut. He heard Matt undress, then rummage through the drawer in his bedside table. Suddenly too tired to speak, Vic reached out with his mind. :: Hope you can be quick. I’m going to fall asleep in a minute.::
Matt laughed as he shut the drawer. “Am I boring you?”
Before Vic could answer, the bed shook beneath him and then he felt Matt’s glorious weight on his buttocks as his lover straddled his legs. There was a wet raspberry sound as Matt squeezed something into his palms—lube, most likely, and Vic waited to feel the first cool drops of gel on his skin. But what happened next was a pleasant surprise. Matt’s warm, wet hands landed not on Vic’s thighs or ass but on his shoulders, fingers already kneading as the palms worked pliant flesh. Beneath the impromptu massage, Vic sighed as every muscle in his body relaxed. “Yes.”
“Like that?” Matt dug in, really grinding against Vic in an effort to work out the tension that had settled into his muscles. The bed shook slightly from the effort, but Vic melted at his lover’s touch. “Let me loosen you up and then we’ll move onto the main attraction.”
Vic couldn’t complain. He lay beneath Matt’s loving ministrations, the occasional grunt or sigh that escaped him an indication of just how wonderful a job Matt was doing. All thought disappeared—his mind opened to Matt, and he let his lover’s memories of the day roll through him like a movie reel. There was Sadie at the door, scratching to be let out once she knew Vic was on his way home. The dog again, at the park this afternoon, chasing a squirrel as Matt ran after the leash that had somehow escaped his hand. The near-miss he almost had in picking her up, and the starstruck schoolgirl who had waited with Sadie for Matt to arrive. The cool splash of water in the gym’s pool, the hot shower Matt had taken before leaving work, Roxie leafing through a magazine in his office…
Without warning, Matt clamped down on that memory, cutting it off before Vic could get a good look at it. That was strange—there were no secrets between the two men. Pushing himself up on his elbows, Vic frowned over his shoulder at his lover. “What’s that all about?”
A thin blush crept up Matt’s cheeks, giving him a flushed appearance. “Relax for me, will you?” he asked, rubbing warm oil into Vic’s thick neck. When Vic didn’t move, Matt gripped his shoulders and tried to push him back down without success. “Come on, Vic. You know there’s nothing I’m hiding from you.”
Vic peeked into Matt’s mind and imagined pounding on the brick wall he found blocking his lover’s thoughts. ::Just this. Rox?::
Matt blushed harder. “It’s not what you think.”
“What do I think?”
The question was designed to open Matt to him again, and it worked. Tentatively Matt eased into Vic’s thoughts, brushing over them at first, then delving in deeper to see what might be going on inside his mind. Vic waited until Matt was distracted, then pounced. Without difficulty he found the memory of Roxie in Matt’s office, and like a schoolyard bully he plucked it deftly from Matt’s head. ::Hey!:: Matt cried, scrambling to shut Vic out a second time.
But they’d been together for so long, Vic knew just how to circumvent his lover. Quickly he watched the memory play out—Roxie leaned against the door to Matt’s office, leafing through a magazine and making the occasional sound of annoyance when Matt didn’t hang up the phone to chat. Finally she snapped, tossed the magazine at Matt, and stormed out.
Vic watched it a second time, frowning. ::What’s so bad about that?::
::Nothing.:: Matt took the memory back and tucked it away, then stretched out above Vic to lay along his lover’s back. Their bodies seemed to meld into one. When he spoke, his words echoed through Vic. “I told you. It was nothing.”
Confused, Vic rolled onto his side. Behind him Matt shifted to the opposite side, sliding off into the space Vic had just vacated on the bed. As Vic wrapped a strong arm around Matt’s shoulders, Matt rested his head beside Vic’s on his lover’s bent elbow, a breath away from Vic’s face. “Did you see what she was reading?” he whispered.
Vic rubbed along Matt’s bare back. Hoping to elicit a smile, he teased, “Did she find your porn mags? I thought you weren’t going to take them to work.”
Startled, Matt laughed and snuggled closer to Vic. “I’m not the one with porn mags, Mr. Tattoo Twinks.”
Vic’s smile slipped. “One, it’s just called Tattoo, and two, just because they’re naked doesn’t make it porn. I haven’t even looked at a nudie rag since you moved in and you know it.”
Kissing the tip of Vic’s nose, Matt draped an arm over his lover’s hip and fisted one meaty buttock in his hand. “Three, you don’t like twinks. You like me.”
Vic didn’t argue. “Exactly. You’re a bit more built than most twinks I’ve heard tell about. Not that I would know…”
Another kiss, this one on Vic’s mouth to silence him. “Of course, not you.”
::I’m not the one who used to hang out in the weight room for cheap thrills,:: Vic thought, broadcasting into Matt’s mind.
::Cheap thrills?:: Matt countered. ::Dude, I got what I wanted, didn’t I?::
He punctuated that with another quick squeeze of Vic’s ass. Their kiss deepened, and Matt’s still-slick fingers worked their way along the crevice between Vic’s cheeks, seeking the tender center of his being. Vic raised his leg onto Matt’s thigh like an invitation, spreading himself wide for his lover. But just as the tip of Matt’s forefinger rimmed his quivering hole, Vic broke their kiss to murmur, “So what was Roxie reading?”
Matt’s eyes opened in a daze. “What?”
“In your office.” Reaching back, Vic caught Matt’s wrist and held it tight to stop its exploration. “This afternoon. What was she reading that you didn’t want me to see?”
For a moment, Matt studied him, silent. One corner of his mouth puckered in where he bit the inside of his lip. Vic waited, unsure of what might be forthcoming. He couldn’t imagine anything that might upset him enough that Matt didn’t want to share it—hell, even pornos wouldn’t be all that bad. Matt was only human, not a saint. The man could still look. The poses in the Kama Sutra book he’d given Vic for Christmas one year were about as obscene as they came. If Roxie had been flipping through porn, Vic only hoped Matt would bring it home to share instead of leaving it in her hands.
But when Matt finally spoke, the words he uttered were the last thing Vic ever expected to hear. In fact, they were so foreign to him, they almost didn’t register at first. Turning his wrist to take Vic’s hand in his own, Matt gazed up at his lover with conflicted eyes the color of wet grass after a summer storm and whispered, “Vic, will you marry me?”
Suddenly Vic became aware of a rapid pounding in his chest and dick. “Matty, I—”
“Not right this second,” Matt clarified, his words tumbling out in a rush. “And I know it’s not legal, but I don’t see myself loving anyone else for the rest of my life. When I think about getting old, you’re right there beside me. So I’m not asking if you’ll meet me at the altar or anything because God knows, neither of us are real religious, and shit, what church would have us? But maybe a private ceremony, you know? Something quiet, just us and our friends. And we can pick out a pair of rings, something gold, something real, to wear on our hands and show the world I’m yours and you’re mine. Something that will last forever. What do you think?”
At first, Vic couldn’t think. Matt’s rush of words left him breathless and shaky—they were everything Vic would have liked to say, everything he thought and felt wrapped up neat and succinct like a tiny package. Velvet-lined, perhaps, housing inside twin bands of love.
Forever.
“Vic?” Matt sounded nervous, his hand damp in Vic’s. “Say something.”
A slow grin broke over Vic’s lips. Something? He wanted to s
hout from the rooftops and howl into the night. But despite the tumultuous whirlwind of emotion inside him, his usually gruff voice trembled as he raised Matt’s hand to his lips to kiss his lover’s oiled knuckles. What else could he say? “Yes, Matty. Yes. A thousand times, yes.”
* * * *
Matt couldn’t recall a sweeter evening. With Vic’s affirmation ringing in his ears, they’d made love slowly, their previous ardor banked from a raging fire into a smoldering flame. They came together in a fusion of flesh, a press of souls, both enveloped in the desire and love each felt for the other. They fell asleep with Vic curled tight in Matt’s embrace, Matt’s wilting erection still lodged deeply inside his lover. In the morning, Matt found their positions hadn’t changed, and it took all the strength he had to finally pull back and break the bond they shared.
Now that he had talked with Vic, there was no need to hide the jewelry catalogs any more, and he dug one of the latest ones from under his side of the bed before he slipped on his shoes to take Sadie out. On the stoop in the chilly morning air, he flipped through the pages, looking at the rings within as if seeing them for the first time. The prospect of picking out a matching set made him giddy and nervous—he wanted the right one, and he’d know it when he saw it. There were catalogs to pour over, jewelry stores to visit, websites to Google…when he’d mentioned the impending search for the perfect ring to Vic the night before, his lover had groaned. “God, Matty. You know I hate to shop.”
So in the darkness of their bedroom, while their heart beats returned to normal and sweat cooled on their flesh, Matt had agreed to do the shopping. He wanted Vic’s opinion, but he didn’t want to subject his lover to the task at hand. “Tell you what,” Matt had whispered, his lips close against the nape of Vic’s neck. “I’ll pick out like four or five really awesome rings and you’ll help me narrow it down to the one we’ll get. How’s that sound?”
Vic’s rough grunt was noncommittal, but Matt took it as a yes. Snuggling closer to his lover’s broad back, Matt murmured, “Let’s set some guidelines first. I don’t want to pick something out of our price range—”
“Any price.” Vic’s voice seemed to come from the depths of his soul, and Matt realized his weary lover would soon fall fast asleep. Half-turning, Vic stretched his arm behind him—Matt ducked beneath it and leaned over Vic’s side to plant a kiss on his lover’s rough cheek. “I’m only going to do this once, Matty. You’re it for me. So we might as well do it right the first time. Pick out a few rings and we’ll settle on one together.”
Matt would do just that. He looked through another catalog while eating breakfast, and had a third in the passenger seat of his car that he glanced through at stop lights. All three glossy booklets had dog-eared pages now, turned down to mark possible contenders. He had a long search ahead of him and, to be honest, he intended to savor every minute. Vic was right—this was it, for both of them, and Matt wouldn’t settle for anything less than the best.
Because his mind lingered on the rings, he didn’t notice the knocking sound coming from under the hood of his Jaguar until he neared the gym. At the next red light, he turned down the radio and listened—thud thud chugchugthud, an ugly noise coming from his engine. “What the hell?” he muttered, clicking off the radio completely. Easing his foot off the brake, he inched forward and noticed the sound grew into a metallic rattle. Matt hit the steering wheel in frustration. “Fuck.”
He’d just had the car in the shop. After some punk kids had ripped out his stereo and messed up his hood, he’d needed to have it repaired. Of course, he took the opportunity to throw in some body work, as well, at the insurance company’s expense. The car had been running fine for weeks, and now this.
When the turning lane beside him got the arrow, he waited until the traffic cleared before turning left from the middle lane, running through the intersection just before the light turned red. The mechanic wasn’t far from the gym, and they had a shuttle he could take into work. But the insurance company had already paid for the repairs. If this noise didn’t stem from that incident, Matt knew he’d been forking over the money out of his own pocket. There went buying a ring any time soon.
* * * *
Leaving his car at the shop, Matt took the shuttle into work. Once he reached the gym, he managed to avoid running into Roxie before he reached his office—she wasn’t at the front desk, but that wasn’t unusual. The woman did everything but what she was paid to do at work. Today Matt was grateful she wasn’t standing guard, because he was in no mood to deal with her shit today. If he were lucky, maybe she’d forget that he worked there and wouldn’t bother him at all…
No such luck. A little after noon, the phone on his desk rang. When Matt answered, the first thing Roxie asked was, “What’s wrong with your car?”
“What?” Matt wondered just how she managed to find this stuff out. “I dropped it off. Why?”
Chewing gum cracked loudly in his ear. “Guy on the line says he’s calling about Mr. Dee-Lorenzo’s Jag. What’s wrong with it?”
With a sigh, Matt admitted, “Roxie, I don’t know. Put him through and let me find out.”
When he hung up the phone ten minutes later, he almost wished she hadn’t patched through the call. He still didn’t quite know what was wrong, but it would set him back seven hundred dollars. Bitterly he swept the catalog he’d been looking through onto the floor. He couldn’t stomach looking at rings any longer, at least not ones that cost as much as he’d have to pay to have his car up and running again. Wait until Vic heard…
Vic.
Matt glanced at the clock and realized his lover hadn’t stopped by on his way into work. Concern bloomed in Matt’s chest—since they’d gotten Sadie, Vic never failed to duck into the gym before his shift. He must’ve overslept, worn out from the night before. The memory of their lovemaking brought a slow grin to Matt’s face. Yeah, that had to be it. Hopefully Sadie got to daycare alright. Vic probably hadn’t had time to work out before he had to be at the bus depot. Matt would see him tonight…
Then it hit him. The mechanic had said his car would have to stay in the shop for a few days while a part was on order. Not only was Matt without wheels, he had no way of going home this evening. Or, more importantly, of picking up the dog at five. With a grimace, he swallowed his pride and picked up the telephone receiver again. He listened to the tone for a full thirty seconds before he said the hell with it—he had no other choice. Dialing 0 for the operator, he held his breath while the phone began to ring in his ear.
It cut off abruptly. “What?” Roxie snapped. “This damn phone won’t stop ringing. Who is this?”
“Roxie,” Matt purred.
Suspicion tinged her words. “Uh-oh. What do you want now?”
* * * *
Vic didn’t oversleep. He woke to the alarm, hit the snooze button, and rolled toward the warmth his sleeping mind thought was his lover. It wasn’t. A rough, wet tongue on his nose and the ripe smell of doggy breath told him Sadie had climbed into bed beside him again. “Ugh, dog!” Vic wiped the saliva off his face, grimacing as he rolled out of bed.
With a soft woof!, Sadie scampered down and raced him to the bathroom. Vic didn’t take the bait. Instead, he sat on the edge of the bed and rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands, not quite ready to start the day. The previous evening seemed like a dream—had Matty popped the question? Had Vic said yes?
“God,” Vic groaned. Am I getting married?
If there was one word Vic would never have thought he’d be able to use to describe himself, it was hitched. When he was growing up, men just didn’t marry other men. There seemed no point in it. Marriage was a way to propagate the species, in his opinion—you got married to raise kids. There was nothing loving or idyllic about it, nothing hearts and roses. His own parents had been married and they’d been miserable. Why trade in the good thing he had with Matt for something like that?
Only…it would be different between them. It had to be. No kids in the pictu
re, for one thing, and Vic wasn’t the lying, cheating son of a bitch his father had been. When Matt had asked to marry him, the look of love shining in his eyes was all Vic had seen. There was only one answer to that question as far as Vic was concerned. If Matt wanted to get married, Vic wanted it, too.
Still, it seemed unreal in the light of the day. With a loud yawn, Vic stretched until the muscles in his back popped, letting the stretch pull him to his feet. He opened his eyes, saw the bright room around him, and growled deep in his throat. “Damn it, Matt.” He knew the mornings were dark, but this was a first—his lover had left the overhead light on when he left for work. Vic slept like the dead and hadn’t noticed, but he didn’t want to run up their electric bill any more than they had to.
Squinting against the brightness, Vic trudged to the bathroom, where Sadie waited. He could hear her tail slap against the tiled floor. On his way out of the bedroom, he hit the light switch, but the room behind him didn’t dim. Vic’s mind was still half-asleep, and it wasn’t until he was leaning over the bathroom sink splashing cool water on his face that he realized the light switch in the bedroom had already been off.
He glanced at his reflection in the mirror. He could see it clearly—the light in the bathroom had also been left on. But when Vic’s gaze traveled up to the bare bulbs lining the top of the mirror like an old Hollywood artist’s vanity, he noticed they weren’t lit. Odd. To Vic, the room seemed bathed in light, yet the bulbs weren’t glowing. What the fuck?
With one hand, he reached for the light switch by the door, keeping an eye on the bulbs. As he flicked the switch, the bulbs blazed to life, burning white and blinding him.
V: The V in Vigilant Page 3
