Page 93 of Doing Life

“Thank you, babe. I just got caught totally flat-footed.”

“Yeah.” Lance looked as if he was trying to see, maybe trying to search for Dan. “Dan’s a VA-approved therapist, you know. He feels like it’s his God-given duty to mess with veterans.” That little smile was kissable.

“I get that. But I talked to the lady who works with the county. After the shooting, I mean.”

“I know. You were very frustrated with her.” Lance chuckled.

“Oh my God. She acted like I was five and a little slow.”

“Well…you were in the Army…”

He hooted, reaching over to tickle Lance, loving that he felt confident enough to do that, to be here and draw out that laughter.

Lance scooted over to lean on him. They were alone today after all.

“I’m sorry, babe.”

Lance shook his head. “Sounds like Dan gave you something to think about.”

“He did. Completely unexpected, though.” And he had no idea what, if anything, he was going to do with that bit of introspection.

Maybe nothing.

He was not going to hire Dan as a therapist, but that was beside the point.

“Wanna go home?” Lance asked.

“Wanna go to the truck?” He wanted to touch Lance now, but this was a shared hot tub, and that was nasty.

“I want to go home. Truck is just too much wrangling.”

“Picky, picky.” But that was okay. If they lost the mood, they could find it at home.

An hour later, they proved that to be wholly true. They’d dried off and dressed, headed home, unhooked Abby, and let the dogs out, then in.

And then they locked the mutts out of bedroom and came back together like clashing knights. He kissed Lance hard, wanting to touch him, taste him, to get anything but Lance out of his mind and not have to think too much, dammit.

God, he loved this man. He’d never stopped.

“I love you too, babe,” Lance told him. “I just had to let myself remember how.”

Sloan hadn’t realized he was talking out loud. But why not? Lance made him babble with need.

They tore off clothes, and Lance traced his face, fingers trailing over his forehead, smoothing out lines, then running over the bump of his nose where it had been broken when he was a kid. Then his lips and chin got a thorough exploration before Lance kissed him again.

Hard.

“Like what you see?” Sloan asked, knowing that Lance was looking at him via his fingers.

“Hell yes. Get in the bed.”

Sloan took Lance’s hand and helped him slide into bed,and they pressed together, skin on skin. They got to touching, and Sloan reveled in it, dammit. He could do this forever, no matter what his cock told him about how fast this was gonna go.

Lance nipped at his neck, fingers tracing a shrapnel scar on his ribs.

He grabbed that hand, pushing it over his belly. No thinking about scars and the past. This was about right now. Just them.

Lance seemed to get it, easing down his body, lips hot as a damn brand, and if his chin banged Sloan’s cock on the way, well, he wasn’t gonna complain.

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