Page 15 of Shock & Awe

Nick picked up a stick from the railing as Kelly moved gingerly toward the Adirondack chairs in the corner of the deck. Nick turned and held up the stick, grinning. He’d shaved the bark from it, smoothing the shaft, and he’d crafted the bulbous end into curved fingers, all with blunt tips. Kelly laughed as Nick handed it to him.

“A back scratcher?”

Nick shrugged, smiling. “I remember when I broke my collarbone, I was always itching and never able to get to it. You can also use it to reach things so you won’t have to strain to get them.”

Kelly ran his thumb over the tips of the fingers, nodding. “Thanks, Irish.”

“You’re welcome.” Nick leaned against the railing, crossing his arms. “You want to try a walk?”

Kelly groaned, but he nodded. He was supposed to walk every day. “Might as well get it over with.”

“I’ll grab you some shoes.”

He jogged back inside, leaving Kelly to ponder the homemade back scratcher. Nick wasn’t the type of guy who needed to be moving or doing something. He didn’t need to have something to do with his hands all the time. He could easily relax in a deck chair and lose himself in his thoughts for hours, or sit and read a book, or just chill under the stars. He hadn’t been out here making this to keep himself busy while Kelly napped.

When Kelly looked up again, Nick was standing in the doorway watching him. “I can try again if it won’t work.”

“No, it’s good.”

“We’ll find you a cane too,” Nick added, smirking.

“Unless it has a sword in it, I don’t want a cane.”

Nick snickered, coming closer with Kelly’s boots. He patted the top of his head as he knelt at Kelly’s feet. “Hold on.”

Kelly’s breath caught. He rested his hand on Nick’s head to keep his balance and peered down at Nick as he slid one foot into the boot Nick was holding for him. They got both boots on, and Nick was tying them up for him before Kelly realized he still had his hand in Nick’s hair. He drew his fingers through the growing curls.

Nick glanced up at him as he pulled the first bow tight. He smiled knowingly when Kelly didn’t loosen his hold on his hair, then ducked his head and tied the second boot. Kelly had always thought Nick a handsome man, in the same way he appreciated the beauty of a spring day or the sunrise on a misty morning. He’d never equated that appreciation with sex or desire, though, so the stirring in his groin when he remembered Nick’s body against his, or when Nick knelt in front of him, was completely new.

He narrowed his eyes. When Nick stood, he mirrored Kelly’s expression and leaned against the railing. They stared at one another as birds chirped and the wind rustled the leaves above them.

“I’m so confused right now,” Kelly admitted.

“I know,” Nick said, his voice soft and somehow comforting. “Me too.”

“What do we do? Go for it? Pretend it didn’t happen? Talk it out?”

“I remember my first time,” Nick said, shaking his head. “You’ll have to talk about it. You will. And I’m the only one here.”

“So we talk it out.”

Nick nodded.

“Have you ever wanted to fuck me before?” Kelly demanded.

Nick took a deep breath and let it out slowly, gazing up at the sky. He shook his head. “No.”

“Do you want to now?”

Nick cocked his head and scrutinized Kelly. Kelly grew considerably warmer as he watched Nick’s eyes. Nick began to smile. His voice was lower and full of gravel when he answered. “Definitely.”

Kelly swallowed hard and flushed. “Likewise.”

The mischievous smile Nick responded with only made Kelly want to squirm. Goddamn, why had he never noticed how sexy Nick was when he grinned like that?

Nick licked his lips to wipe the smirk away and looked down at his hands. “So, you’re wondering why.”

“Yes.”