Page 43 of Tooth and Nail

“He fain—” Ari began but Eoghan interrupted him a split second later.

“I think he was overcome by the smell in there. The albat guano is bad inside. You’ll have to figure out a way to erect a fence so the public can’t enter. We just barely got out of there before succumbing ourselves.” He shot Ari a frown before glancing back at her. “As you clean up out here, you should use nose plugs. The ammonia stench is detectable even twenty feet from the cave entrance. You know, safety first.”

A quiet snort sounded from beside him and he glanced over to find a smirk on Ari’s lips seconds before the man turned away but not before a wide grin split his face.

“Is that what I smelled? It’s coming off your clothes in waves.” She wrinkled her nose and looked him up and down, stopping on his boots. “Oh, hell, it’s all over your shoes.” She looked up again. “I sure hope you’re not attached to what you’re wearing because it’s headed for the trash heap after this.” She held one hand over her nose and gestured with the other. “Go over to the van and shower.”

Eoghan glanced over. Her techs were already setting up a nearby tent where they’d have a washing station for cleanup outside. He looked back at her and nodded before looking down at Wick and wondering what they should do with him.

“We should get him cleaned up too…before the ambulance takes him,” Ari said.

Eoghan met his gaze. “Yeah, let’s do that.” He squatted and patted Wick on the cheek. “Wick. Chadwick. Chadwick St. Clair. St. Clair!”

“What?” His eyes fluttered open. “Sapphire?” He tried to lift his head but dropped it back on the ground, looking up at the sky. “What happened?”

“You fain—” Eoghan stopped himself as he looked up at Wendy before glancing back down at the other marshal. “Theammonia inside the cave got to you. You were overcome. Now, sit up. Ari and I are going to get you washed up before the ambulance gets here.” He held out his hand and Wick put out a shaky one, curling his fingers around Eoghan’s and getting help to sit up. In moments, he and Ari had him up and walking toward the cleaning station. They sat him down in a folding chair and Eoghan turned to Ari, moving him away from Wick and talking low. “I interrupted you back there because I didn’t want to let it slip to Wendy that he fainted. They used to date and he’d hate it if he thought his masculinity had been sabotaged.”

Ari frowned a little. “That’s really nice of you but I think the fact that he freaked out and ran at the first sign of albats swarming is the more egregious sin.”

“Which she will never know about either,” Eoghan said, giving him a stern look. He watched Ari nod before he reached out and squeezed his shoulder.

“You’re a big softy, aren’t you, Eoghan?”

He felt himself blush and decided it was time to change the subject. “You shouldah…strip down. They’re going to take your clothes and boots. You won’t be getting them back.”

“No problem, although it’s going to make for an interesting drive back to the office.” Ari grinned.

Eoghan laughed. “They’ll give you scrubs and booties, smart guy.”

“I figured,” Ari said with a chuckle and then stopped, looking past him. “Oh, my.”

When Eoghan spun around, he wasn’t the least bit surprised to catch a glimpse of what was under Wick’s clothes. It hadn’t been the first time they’d had to visit a sanitizing tent together. A tech was helping him out of his clothes. The man was wearing a skintight, Lycra short-sleeved shirt with a Superman logo on it. That wouldn’t have been interesting byitself but when it was combined with the tiny, bright red bikini briefs that left absolutely nothing to the imagination, along with white tube socks with thick red and gold stripes, they made for some memorable undergarments.

“What’s the deal with that?” Ari asked under his breath.

“A superhero fetish.”

“Fetish?”

Eoghan looked at him, noting the amused glint in his eye and the raised eyebrow. He shrugged. “To each his own, man.” He began undressing, sitting on a folding chair and starting with the laces on his disgusting boots.

“Yeah, of course,” Ari said.

Eoghan got his boots and socks off but when he heard a zipper, he automatically looked up. What he saw made his mouth go dry. Ari had already pulled off the T-shirt he’d been wearing when he’d come in that morning. The wide chest, cut pecs, and rippling muscles of his lightly furred abs were on full display along with the tattoo he’d spotted earlier. It was a curved black Ranger banner with gold lettering overlaying a silver star, then covering two crossed automatic rifles. It’d been inked on his left bicep.

When his gaze slid lower, the sight made his breath catch. Ari had unbuttoned his cargos and unzipped them, revealing black boxer briefs beneath. The prominent bulge which curved underneath the soft fabric made Eoghan’s mouth water. He was a gorgeous man. Deliberately dragging his gaze away, not wanting to invade his privacy any longer than he had, he turned around, showing his partner his back. But Ari shattered the silence.

“It’s too late.”

“What?” he asked, not bothering to turn around.

“I saw you looking.”

A shiver went down Eoghan’s spine. Under any other circumstances, that may have been the hottest thing he’d ever heard. “What?”

“I saw you looking at my body, Eoghan.”

Eoghan’s eyes slid shut as he set his hands on his hips and concentrated on his breathing. He couldn’t help that his cock was hardening inside his pants.

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