Page 4 of Play Hard

Upon returning to the bedroom, he found Robert sitting up with his laptop, once again fully dressed—minus the gloves and knit cap. “Are you rating our bonk on Sex Yelp?”

“Aye, five stars,” Robert said without looking up. “Action-packed, a howling good time, literally.”

Liam had long ago stopped protesting he didn’t howl during sex, after witnessing video evidence to the contrary. “Seriously, what are you typing this time of night?” he asked, trying to keep the bite out of his tone.

“Had a wee breakthrough just now. Want to record my thoughts before they go away.”

“Did you get inspired whilst fucking me?”

“After. But I’m sure it helped clear my head.”

“Ooh, my arse is your muse.”

“It is amusing,” Robert said.

“Nice one. I’ll allow it.” Liam opened his wardrobe and withdrew his sleepwear, which was chilly to the touch, having sat in the cold flat for hours. He shivered anew as he put on the long-sleeved T-shirt, flannel trousers, and wool socks.

The bed was warm, though. Liam snuggled close under the mass of blankets, slinging an arm over Robert’s waist—without interfering with the computer, of course, because heaven forfend.

“I could do this in the living room,” Robert offered.

Liam growled. “Gonnae no move from this bed.”

“Won’t the screen light keep you awake?”

“Nothing will keep me awake. Lie down more.”

Still typing, Robert slid down, his knees rising to support the laptop.

Liam closed his eyes. “Talking of massage, shall I put you in my diary for shoulder rehab next Wednesday?”

“Why? Are you planning to injure me at Tuesday night’s football practice?”

“Tuesday is when the new Assassin’s Creed comes out. You’ll have your usual twenty-four-hour gaming binge and need a thorough rubdown to release all the angry trigger points.”

“Mm, okay.” Robert stopped typing. “Wait—there’s a new Assassin’s Creed? How did I miss that?”

“Dunno.” Without opening his eyes, Liam reached out and closed the laptop. “Maybe you’ve had your head up your arse for weeks?”

“Aye, cos of work.” Robert tried to lift the screen. “Whatever. I’ve nae time to play games just now anyway.”

“Okay, this is serious.” Liam sat up. “It’s one thing to ignore me because of your workaholism, but to miss a new video-game release?” He snatched the laptop and tucked it under his arm. “Who are you and what have you done with Robert McKenzie?”

* * *

Robert stared at his partner,a sudden twist of horror in his gut. “I’ve been ignoring you?”

“Kinda.” Liam rubbed the back of his head, where his short red hair was still a bit sex-mussed. “As much as I’ll let you.”

“God, I’m so sorry.” What an eejit he’d been. “How can I make it up to you?”

Liam looked surprised. Perhaps he’d been expecting an argument. “For starters, right now I need cuddled.”

Robert smiled. His partner was a snuggling fanatic, a fact no one would have guessed from his six-foot-two height and three-foot-thick wall of cynicism. “I can manage that.” He reached for his laptop. “Let me just—”

“No, that’s you done work for the night.”

“I need to plug it in so the battery doesn’t go flat.”

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