Brian woke in Dom’s arms and
smiled, even as his abs hurt and his ribs ached and his head throbbed, just a
little, in that dehydrated ‘I need some coke’ way. Because he suddenly realized
that his usual intake of the soda was down by at least four cans a day. He
huffed in amusement, wondering if the bottling plants in
“What’s that about?” Dom rumbled, hand rubbing lightly over his back.
“Just thinking.”
“That’s dangerous.”
Grinning now, Brian put his hand on Dom’s, which rested on his thigh, and said, “Always has been.”
There was a pause before Dom asked, “You okay?”
Brian sighed. “I will be. I think I’m mostly over the shock. What about you?”
Dom’s hand gently rubbed Brian’s leg as he said, “I was never the big believer in my fellow man that you were, Bri, I’m fine. S’long as I’ve got you and my team, I’m good.”
Which was really all it came down to, especially in times like these. Family. It was such a small word for something so big; for feelings that encompassed him so completely. “I’m, I’m not real used to this, Dom.”
“What, us?”
“Yeah, but...this,” Brian finished inadequately, gesturing around the room.
“Ah.”
A simple, knowing syllable that caused Brian to flush in embarrassment as Dom shifted out from beneath him. Dark eyes looked at him, almost invisible in the darkness, but Brian could feel the gaze like a weight upon him.
“You ain’t never had a family.”
Statement, not question. Brian shook his head in confirmation.
“Tell me.” Brian shrugged, looking away, but Dom’s fingers tilted his head back and he repeated, “Tell me.”
Helpless under that hypnotic stare, Brian said, “Not much to tell. Dad took off when I was a kid and Mom worked two jobs to support us. Then she got killed when I was twelve and I got sent into foster care. If Tanner hadn’t taken an interest in me, I’d probably have been in jail, instead of a cop.”
Dom sighed faintly before leaning down to take his mouth in a slow kiss. It was so careful, so...gentle...that Brian was overwhelmed by it. Just as he was about to break it off, Dom increased the pressure, his tongue demanding entrance. On more familiar ground now, even if he hadn’t been with a guy before, Brian’s mouth opened and he groaned with a need that he’d never before felt as Dom took control of him. He wanted so much more than just kissing, but his body protested the move he made to pull Dom on top of him and he gasped in pain.
“That’s what you get. Greedy,” Dom teased, nuzzling just under his ear, then licking for good measure. “Just stay still for two minutes, okay?”
Brian sighed, aggravated, but nodded. Then he was glad that he did, because Dom proceeded to lick his way down Brian’s chest, lingering over his nipples until they were hard points. Brian rubbed his hand over Dom’s head, feeling the bristles of hair that were starting to grow back already, but then his hand was taken and put to the side.
“Not even two minutes.”
Snorting, Brian asked, “You want me to be completely still for two minutes?”
“Only if you want to get your dick sucked.”
Brian groaned as he shuddered and complained, “That’s totally not fair, Dom.”
Dom grinned in the darkness. “Who said life was fair? You gonna stay still, or not?”
“Well duh.”
Chuckling, Dom went back to his wet caresses, careful to avoid the bandage that protected the surgical wound. He pulled Brian’s sweats and boxers down, then breathed deep at Brian’s crotch. Brian shuddered at the sight, though he could only really see the outline of Dom hovering over him. He felt the hot breath over his aching cock and vaguely wondered when he’d gotten hard.
“Nice,” Dom commented before licking up the straining flesh.
Brian’s eyes rolled back as Dom took his cock deep in his mouth, sucking hard. A heavy arm over his hips ensured that his wiggling was kept to a minimum, denying him the need to thrust. It wasn’t like any other blowjob he’d gotten, the strength alone sending his body in a million directions at once. He was used to softness and a strength that he could overcome if he wanted to, not this complete dominance. For some reason, he’d had this thought in his head, when he’d allowed himself to even think about it, that Dom wouldn’t do something like this for him, or anyone, really. That Dom topped and that was it.
Reality was way better than imagination, especially since in his imagination, Dom had never once given him a blowjob.
“Oh, Christ, Dom…shit…I’m gonna come!” Brian groaned, feeling his balls draw up and his body strain towards release.
All Dom did was suck harder, then he added a couple of fingers to play with Brian’s balls. That sent him over the edge, crying out loudly as he spilled into Dom’s mouth where it was swallowed down. Panting, a rush of satiation enveloping his body, Brian couldn’t have moved if another bomb had gone off.
Then the noise of Dom jerking off caught his attention and he roused himself enough to reach over and tug his lover up, saying, “Use me Dom, fuck my legs.”
Dom groaned and for a moment, Brian thought he’d come. But Dom moved to cover him, sliding his cock between Brian’s thighs, which clamped tight around him.
“Fuck, Brian, that’s good,” Dom gasped, thrusting in and out of the makeshift hole as he took Brian’s mouth in a savage kiss.
Brian wrapped his arms around Dom’s back, scratching him up and down to add to the sensations as they kissed and Dom got off on his body. It wasn’t long before Dom thrust in hard enough to rock the bed and he bit Brian’s lip as wet heat coated Brian’s balls and a little of his ass. He collapsed to the side, panting and limp, and Brian grinned stupidly at the thought that he’d wrecked Dom that bad.
Then the wet heat cooled and he grimaced, shifting to find a dry spot on the bed.
“No, wait, I got it,” Dom promised, almost breathing normal as he rolled off the bed. He came back with a couple of towels, gently cleaned Brian’s genitals and lifted Brian’s hips to lay down the towel.
Sighing in deep contentment as Dom got back into bed with him and pulled the blankets over them, Brian whispered, “Thanks.”
“I always clean up my messes,” Dom teased, kissing the side of his throat.
Brian hadn’t meant that, but didn’t know how to say what he did mean and so let it go, instead scooting back into Dom’s arms and resting on his lover.
* * * *
Brian was what magazines called ‘a sensitive guy,’ which Mia had known from the first moment she’d laid eyes on him. He always said please and thank you, held the door open for women, even the ones who could probably beat him up, like Letty, was just as happy letting you talk as not, and always thought about what everyone around him wanted or needed first.
That, she thought, is part of
the problem.
Watching as her brother ordered everyone around, Brian especially, Mia wondered how long it would take before the blond lost his temper. Because sensitive man or not, Brian was also used to being in charge. He wouldn’t have been a good cop if that wasn’t the case, and Mia got the sense that Brian had been an excellent cop.
All of this seemed too new to Brian for Mia not to realize he’d had an unhappy childhood. Now that he didn’t have to pretend to anything, he could just watch the others bicker back and forth like it was nothing, in amazement. She saw the hungry looks he sent Dom’s way when he was affectionate with Vince or Leon, or anyone, really. And it wasn’t about jealousy, Brian just seemed to need to be with Dom, as if Dom might not have enough love left over for him if he showered it on others or was out of range for too long.
Just as well, since Dom isn’t letting him out of his sight any time soon, she thought in amusement.
It had only been two days since they’d gotten back from the hospital and Brian was already moving around much better and easier than he had been. Things had settled into a kind of routine, which was good, in her opinion. The neighborhood had drawn together in the wake of Brian’s beating and the three men who’d given it, had been ousted from their homes. Everyone there, wanted to be there, and understood that Dom was in charge.
Which led her back to her original thought. Mia saw the times that Brian opened his mouth to offer suggestions over the last couple of days and then close it again as Dom ran roughshod over anyone who did so. At first, she thought that he was biding his time and giving Dom an earful when they were in bed, but she didn’t think that now. Brian was growing frustrated with Dom’s implacable nature and they were heading for a fight, no doubt about it.
A small part of her couldn’t help but look forward to it, petty as that was.
Shaking that off, she sat beside Brian on the sofa after most of the others had left for the morning and commiserated, “He’s pretty hardheaded sometimes.”
“Like a bull,” Brian agreed sourly. “Does he ever listen?”
“Not usually, no,” Mia answered, smiling.
Brian snorted and said, “Well he’s going to this time.”
“What’s the problem?”
“He thinks that I’m not going with them to get supplies for the hospital.”
Ouch. This could be bad, she thought. Dom. Don’t be an idiot.
“He’s just worried about you,” Mia offered.
“I know, but I’m not going to break, damn it!”
Patting his leg, she soothed, “He had a scare with you, he’ll relax eventually.”
“Yeah, well, eventually isn’t going to cut it,” Brian muttered.
“Brian, let me give you a little piece of advice where my brother is concerned.”
“What?”
With a wry grin, she informed him, “Subtle doesn’t work. You have to bash his head in with a tire iron a few times before he even notices that you’re trying to get his attention. Stop being so…hesitant…around him. Just be the way you were, the way you are naturally. That’s what got his interest in the first place.”
Thoughtful now, Brian nodded slowly. “Thanks, Mia.”
Hoping that she’d averted at least some of the disaster, Mia smiled and gave him a sideways hug. “No problem, hermano mio.”
He looked startled, then unaccountably pleased, by the endearment and Mia was glad that she’d used it.
* * * *
“You and me, gotta talk.”
Never a good thing to hear from your lover, especially not in that tone of voice, Dom thought with a sigh. “About what?”
“You can’t treat me like I don’t know what I’m doing. I was a cop for years before meeting you and faced plenty of bad situations without you backing me up!” Brian exclaimed, arms crossing over his chest. “You’re going to need all the help you can get when you leave this neighborhood and if you think anything of me at all, you won’t try and stop me from coming with you.”
Dom looked at Brian’s determined expression and couldn’t help his lips twitching in an effort to smile.
“What?” Brian demanded, suspicious.
Shrugging, Dom answered, “Just thinking about how hot you look like that, all aggravated and shit.”
“Dom! Come on, man, I’m being serious here!” Brian snapped.
Holding up his hands in an ‘I surrender’ gesture, Dom closed the distance between them and rested his hands on Brian’s shoulders. “I know, I’m sorry. Look, I can’t help it, Bri. I know you’re good to have in a fight, I know you can hold your own, but…”
“But what?”
“This ain’t the world from before,” Dom said softly, shifting his hand to grip Brian’s neck. “This ain’t the world where law’s gonna prevail. People out there ain’t doin’ nearly as good as us. They’re fighting for their lives and they’re gonna shoot first and not even ask questions later. You can’t hesitate to kill out there now, or one of us is gonna wind up dead. I just…I don’t want you facin’ that kind of decision. I don’t want to lose you to that kind of hate. The kind that makes you not able to look in the mirror, or at me.”
Brian frowned at him, clearly taking his words seriously and thinking them over. “But if I let you go out there without me, how can you really think that you can trust me? How can I look at myself in the mirror if I don’t do everything I can to watch your back?”
Which was the flip side of the coin, no doubt. Dom squeezed Brian’s neck again and said, “It’s up to you, Bri. I want you safe, here and here, as well as healthy, but it’s your decision. It don’t matter to me if you never pick up another gun in your life, as long as you’re good with it. I swear that to God. You ain’t gonna be…diminished…in my eyes. And I could give a flying fuck what anyone else thinks. It’s what you think about you that’s important.”
That blue gaze grew more troubled when Dom touched Brian’s chest and head during his statement.
“Anyhow. We’re leaving in an hour to check out the clinic and see what they have. If you want to come, come. If you don’t, come out to say goodbye,” Dom finished, smiling.
He kissed Brian’s cheek and ruffled Brian’s hair as he liked to do, before ducking out of the bedroom to leave the other man with his thoughts. This wasn’t a decision he could help Brian make.
* * * *
Brian had thought that Dom was trying to cut him out of the hospital run to keep him out of danger. It hadn’t even occurred to him that Dom was trying to save him emotional pain. He’d killed before on the job in self-defense, twice, and both those faces still haunted his dreams. He’d killed once for revenge, Tran for Jesse, and the Asian man showed up a lot more often than the other two.
How would he feel if he had to
kill someone, a woman maybe, or a teenager, who thought that he was trying to
take something from them, or maybe felt threatened by him and the others? Could
he live with that guilt? Could he look at himself in the mirror? Was that
potential risk enough to keep him from going with Dom? It wasn’t that Dom would
have no backup if he didn’t go, because
Dom was giving him an out, too, with the other guys. He was making it about Brian’s recovery from surgery. And he was sure that, in the future, Dom would contrive to make it so that Brian had a reason for staying home when a foray into the outside world was needed. So did he go, or did he stay?
It was a bitch of a question, and he wasn’t sure that he had the answer.
* * * *
Getting to the clinic proved to be pretty easy, if long, despite the poor condition of some of the roads they had to use. Dom and Brian rode in Brian’s Mazda while Leon, Vince and Esteban followed in a battered station wagon, much to their dismay. A truck followed the two cars with Billy, who was blond and surfer-like as Brian, and Hector driving it. Dom had been more than relieved when Hector had pulled in the day before. They’d hugged tight for a few minutes, then pulled back and not talked about the current state of world affairs.
Dom had the list given to him by Doc Correlli tucked into his jacket pocket and drove with both hands to navigate the road. Brian’s hand remained on his thigh throughout and Dom was glad and not that he’d come. He’d meant it when he’d said that Brian shouldn’t be faced with the choices that could come, but Brian had said simply, “It could’ve happened on the Job too, Dom. I could’ve shot a woman by mistake, a kid going for his cell phone. It’s a risk, but one I’ll take to watch your back.”
And though the words warmed something deep inside him, Dom prayed that it never came to that. Parking at the curb, he climbed out of the car and ordered Vince and Hector, “Stay put. We’ll see what’s what and get what we can.”
The two men nodded grimly, looking as itchy as Dom felt. Like there was a bull’s-eye on all of them. They’d bypassed the closer clinics, since most were either trashed or destroyed, winding up on the insanely long Victory Blvd where defunct neon signs proclaimed, ‘Clinica Abierto 24 Horas.’ They were way the hell outside their own turf and it was anyone’s guess as to what might happen here.
Brian was right at his side and
It took four trips to clean the place out, which Dom figured was the best thing to do. No sense in making more trips later, if they could bring everything at once. The next time they came back, everything could be gone. They took bandages as well medicine, splints, a couple of buckets of plaster for casts, and all the medical books, which was Brian’s idea.
Brian had shrugged at his curious look on suggesting the books and explained, “Who knows how long this thing’s going to go on. Gotta think of the next generation, man.”
Which had sent a sliver of ice through his heart, but Dom couldn’t argue, so they’d loaded them all up. Thinking about the next generation growing up in shit like this made him want to run screaming for the hills, so Dom firmly shoved the bleak thoughts away.
They were done and stepping back into the car when a woman’s scream for help echoed down the empty street. Dom cursed under his breath when Brian hauled ass towards the source, moving without regard for his own injuries. Running after his lover, wondering vaguely how the other man could run so well, so soon after surgery, Dom managed to overtake him pretty quickly, thankfully. He hauled Brian to a halt and pinned him to the building before the blond man could go careening down into the alley.
“Think!” Dom hissed in his ear. “Think about it, cop!”
That sent a flash of shock over Brian’s face, but a second later, he nodded tightly and snapped, “I’m good.”
“Okay. Let’s go.”
Brian pulled his gun, flipping off the safety, and preceded Dom into the alley. Dom’s gut was screaming at him to take the lead, but this was Brian’s area of expertise, not his and he took a back seat. As they moved cautiously down the pavement, he heard the ugly insults from young male voices and a woman crying as she begged for them to leave her alone. His own fury was in full force when they finally turned the corner into a parking lot and found the woman cornered by five youths.
Dom saw in an instant that they were all armed and snarled in a barely audible voice, “Nothing we can do.”
“Bullshit,” Brian snapped back, eyes flickering around the lot. “We’re not leaving her, Dom. They haven’t raped her yet, but they will.”
And Dom had seen enough of men at their worst to know he was right, but... “Five of them, two of us and they’ve got two semi-autos. We can’t win.”
The hard glint in those blue eyes sent a chill of a different kind down Dom’s spine. It was the first time he’d seen that ‘cop-disgust’ looking back at him in his lover’s gaze. That look that said he was criminal scum and would never rise above his own filth.
Bristling, Dom demanded, “What, then? What do we do?”
“Follow my lead.”
Or don’t, was the silent finish as Brian shoved his gun in the back of his pants and boldly walked forward.
“Fuck!” Dom muttered, doing the same.
“Yo, guys! What’s goin’ on?” Brian called out, like it was a normal day.
Jesus Christ, he’s fuckin’ nuts! Dom thought, keeping his face impassive as he trailed Brian closer.
The kids, and none of the five was over eighteen, if that, all faced them, guns coming up. Brian held his arms out to show they were empty and looked over at the woman. She was probably in her thirties, dirty with a bloody face and clutching her side in a way that spoke of broken ribs.
“Nice,” Brian congratulated. He picked out the blond kid and asked, “You pick her out? ‘Cause she’s choice, man.”
The kid hesitated, then nodded, picking up his confidence again when he thought they were harmless. “Yeah.”
“Doesn’t look like you’ve done much with her yet,” Brian observed.
The woman whimpered in fear and Dom’s heart went out to her, even as his fury rose another notch. He was reminded, forcibly, of how Brian had been able to become one of them in such a short time; he was mother-fucking brilliant as an actor. If he didn’t know better, he’d have thought Brian was checking her out as a piece of ass, not to see if she’d be any help in her own rescue.
Brian kept his front to the kids as he moved, careful to keep his gun concealed, and asked the leader casually, “You seen any cops around?”
“Nah,” the kid replied. “No one’s around at all that we can tell.”
Which was
weird in itself, since the whole state hadn’t been wiped out. But then,
people had probably left as soon as the bombs had stopped, aiming for cities
that were still intact. Gone to
He suddenly wondered how
“Well guess what?” Brian asked, still in that amiable, casual fashion he had.
The kid gave him a blank, mildly curious look and then his eyes widened in shocked fear when Brian’s gun was shoved against his temple.
Brian leaned in and hissed, “You have now, mother-fucker.”
“On the ground now!” Dom bellowed, his own gun aimed at the second nearest kid while the one right beside him was yanked into a headlock.
The other two kids turned tail
and ran only until
“Now what?” Esteban asked, shoving the kid he had to join his friends.
Brian looked nonplused and Dom grinned almost maliciously as the cop realized that it was not only his collar, but he had to be judge and jury, too. Then he looked thoughtful and handed his gun to Dom, asking, “You got that knife in the truck?”
Blue eyes met his with a challenge that clearly asked, ‘You going to pick this up, or not?’
Smirking a little, Dom nodded and grunted, “Yeah. Why? You gonna cut these guys up, too?”
“I was thinking the punishment should fit the crime,” Brian agreed. “They won’t be able to rape anyone if we cut their balls off.”
Dom heaved an aggravated sigh. “You know, just because you’re probably the only cop around, doesn’t mean you have to go the whole ‘eye for an eye’ route. Besides, that’s really fuckin’ messy.”
Brian shrugged and countered, “We wouldn’t have to worry about them doing it again, though.”
“Yeah, that’s true enough.”
“You can’t! Jesus, mister, you can’t do, do that!” the lead kid howled in fear.
Shoving him up against the stone building, Brian snarled, “It’s what you deserve, you punk! You think you can hurt someone, rape someone’s sister, or someone’s mother, just because you can? You sick fuck! Cutting off your balls is the least I can do.”
Dom loomed up behind Brian and rumbled, “You know, we could let them go.”
“Are you crazy? So they can do this again?” Brian exclaimed furiously.
“No! We wouldn’t, oh I swear to God, mister, we wouldn’t!”
“Shut the fuck up, punk.”
“Bri, come on. They’re kids. They got caught up in the heat of the moment.”
“Dom, just stay out of this. It’s my decision.”
“All right. But don’t forget that when the Captain gets those troops in place, it’s your career on the line. Even if these fucks are pathetic wastes of skin.”
Brian gave him a considering look, then scowled and turned to the kid who was paler than the beige stucco he was shoved against. “You would think that there wouldn’t be paperwork or fuckin’ politics when the world’s just about ended, but there’s more. Assholes. All right look. I’m going to let you go, but keep in mind that the 82nd Airborne is bringing in the army as we speak and I’m damn sure going to make sure they have your descriptions and names. If you so much as even trip someone up, you’ll get the firing squad. Martial Law’s going to be in effect, so don’t think you’ll get a trial or something. That day is gone. Got it?”
All of the kids nodded when he glared at each one in turn. Dom maintained his best, menacing expression as Brian took their names. It wasn’t until the kids ran flat out down the street that Brian sagged, almost collapsing from the strain of what he’d just done. He probably would have fallen if Dom hadn’t caught him.
Brian wrapped his arms around Dom’s waist and whispered, “I’m sorry.”
And Dom didn’t have to be a genius to figure out what Brian was apologizing for, either. Sighing for real this time, he replied, “It’s okay. Old habits.”
Nodding, Brian held on a few more seconds before forcing himself to pull away and walk over to where Billy, the least threatening of them all, was sitting with the woman. “Hey. You okay, ma’am?”
She nodded, even though she was clearly in shock, and managed, “Th-thank you.”
They helped her back to the cars and Dom spared a brief prayer of thanks that they were all still there with the supplies intact when they got back. There was some reshuffling, with Billy sitting in the back seat of the station wagon with the woman, and then they were on the way to the hospital.
* * * *
All Brian wanted to do was sink into a tub of hot water and close his eyes, but that was impossible. The drive to the hospital was completely silent and even though Dom had apparently forgiven him, the quiet had an accusing edge to it that soured Brian’s admittedly still upset stomach.
Once there, it didn’t take long for Dr. Correlli to marshal a crew to unload the supplies and they were back on the road just as it got dark. Most of the streetlights that were still working came on, thanks to their automated schedules, well, in the places that still had power, which weren’t too many. Dom drove again, which Brian seriously didn’t mind since it allowed him to just close his eyes and think about what had happened.
He could still see the hurt look on Dom’s face during those few moments when he’d legitimately argued against saving the woman. Brian hadn’t been able to help himself. He’d slipped back into thinking that he was a cop and Dom a criminal, even though he knew better. His gut tightened in self-disgust as he replayed that look over and over in his head.
When the car stopped, Brian looked out to find them not back at the house, but at the beach. Surprised, he looked over at Dom, but the big man was already getting out of the car without a word. Brian followed more slowly, not sure what was going on. If Dom wanted to yell at him, he had absolutely no problem with doing it in front of everyone else, so that wasn’t it.
Or, not just it, Brian amended as he watched Dom walk to the edge of the water.
It was weird to realize that the ocean absolutely hadn’t changed. Neither had the beach. Well, not this stretch of it anyhow. It was completely barren of structures, but had been that way before the insanity of civil war. Walking up behind Dom, he asked, “You okay?”
Dom nodded, his gaze far away on the breakers that were barely visible in the dark.
Not sure how to bridge the gap that loomed between them, Brian tried, “The others aren’t going to freak when we don’t come back right away?”
“I told Vince.”
Which meant Mia would be worried, but no one else would.
Sighing, Brian said, “I don’t know what else to say except I’m sorry, Dom.”
Dom turned a startled face to him and regarded Brian silently a long moment before saying, “This ain’t about that. It’s done.”
“Just like that,” Brian countered, a little suspiciously.
With a snort, Dom replied, “Yeah. Bri, we all got long-time, bad-assed habits that aren’t going away over night. How long were you a cop?”
“Six years.”
“There you go. And probably it’s the only thing you ever did, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Yeah. So I’ll expect you to be an asshole sometimes. Comes with the territory.”
A short laugh of honest amusement escaped Brian at the teasing and he grinned. “Thanks, Dom.”
“Any time,” Dom replied, smirking.
It was enough allowance for Brian to close the distance and wrap his arms around Dom from behind and rest his chin on his lover’s shoulder. “So if you didn’t come here to bawl me out, why are we here?”
“Thought we could use a change of pace. Come on. Follow me.”
Brian twined his fingers with Dom’s when the other man held out his hand, and they walked slowly along the shore. The waves were loud and steady, a soothing rhythm that Brian hadn’t even realized that he’d missed. It had been months since he’d been surfing, long before the undercover assignment to snare Dom, and he suddenly ached to do it again, then and there. “You ever been surfing?”
“Me? No chance.”
Grinning a little, Brian leaned on him and offered, “I could teach you.”
“What part of ‘no chance,’ don’t you get, O’Connor?” Dom retorted. “I don’t swim, I sink.”
Dom stopped at the line of rocks that went out into the ocean, too evenly placed to be a natural happenstance. Sitting, he tugged Brian onto his lap and wrapped his arms around his waist, resting his cheek against Brian’s chest. They sat silently like that for a long time, until Brian repeated, “You okay?”
“I think it’s my turn to freak a little,” Dom admitted.
Shifting a bit, Brian held him tight, pressing his lips to the top of Dom’s head where there was still bare skin. The rest had grown into a crew-cut and he wondered idly when it would get shaved again. Running a hand up and down Dom’s back, he said, “Thanks, by the way.”
“For what?” Dom asked, pulling back to look up at him.
Cupping his chin, Brian answered, “For backing me up,” and bent to kiss him.
It was a long, leisurely kiss that broke up into smaller kisses before one or the other of them dove back into a longer version. Before he knew it, Brian’s back was to the uneven stone surface and Dom’s hand rubbed over his chest. It wasn’t the most comfortable surface, but the tender expression on Dom’s face more than made up for it. Sometimes, okay most times, it was good to be with someone who showed what they felt. Still took Brian by surprise, but he was grateful for it, more often than not.
Brian sighed and closed his eyes as he rested on his lover and the cold rocks warmed by their body heat, enjoying the sounds of the water slapping onto the shore. It was far from a perfect world, but at least he still had Dom, which was more than he could have expected in a ‘normal’ life.