Page 115 of Cross & Crown

of the couch, pinning him against the cushions. Kelly didn’t

try to fight it, and soon enough Nick had him under him.

Nick’s face was shadowed, but Kelly could still see his almost

desperate frown. “I’m not here with you because I don’t have

other options. You understand? This is not something I’m

taking lightly, it’s not a jaunt through the park for me.”

Kelly licked his lips, trying to swallow. His mouth was

too dry.

“Doc. There is no ‘something else’ for me. There’s no

second option. It’s you. It’s just you.”

115

Nick rested on his elbow so he could glide a finger across

Kelly’s cheek. It brought their faces closer together. Kelly

lifted his head and kissed him, almost exploratory, tentative

and gentle. Nick returned it with the same tender attention,

holding Kelly’s chin between his thumb and forefinger.

“Okay,” Kelly whispered after several long moments of the

lingering kiss. “Okay. So let’s go downstairs and you can prove it to me.”

Nick hummed contentedly. “As you wish.”

They had the presence of mind to finish battening down

the hatches and for Nick to wake Hagan for the last shift

before they headed down to their cabin, and they also had

the presence of mind to be quiet when they reached the

cabin. Barely. Nick pressed Kelly against the wal , holding

him tightly with one arm, meeting his lips over and over as he

closed the door with a quiet snick.

Kelly wrapped both arms around his neck and lifted one

leg to hitch it over Nick’s hip. He was still exploring all the ways that sex with a guy was new. Some things he loved, other

things he missed. But one thing he would never get enough of

was the size difference between him and Nick. He loved the

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