Zane sighed, leaning to place a soft kiss at Ty's temple. "I know."

Ty turned his head to instigate another kiss, delving into it with more heat. "I've been looking forward to this for days."

Zane clutched him close, heat and antic.i.p.ation building between them, and Ty heard a soft groan escape Zane as the kiss continued. The sound went straight through Ty, and his hands began tugging at Zane's dress shirt, undoing b.u.t.tons, pulling at his belt as they shuffled further into the room. Ty was forced to take a step back to keep his balance. He found himself against the side of the wet bar, and he just had to laugh and lean against the edge of the counter. Zane shoved Ty's coat off his shoulders and pulled at his T-shirt.

"Been too long," Zane said before claiming another kiss.

Ty nodded, not able to say anything in reply. He pushed onto his toes and sat on the marble counter so he could slide his knees against Zane's hips and pull him closer. Zane wedged in, obviously determined to have skin on skin contact sooner rather than later.

Ty began to laugh again, pushing off Zane's shirt and dragging his hands against his shoulders. He leaned in to get another kiss, but just as their lips touched, Ty opened his mouth to say one last thing before he forgot and let it slide too long. Zane spoke first.

"Ty," Zane said between kisses, his hands firm on Ty's body. "Be mine, just for now. There's time."

Ty reached for Zane's face, meeting his eyes. "I was always yours," he said with difficulty.

Zane pressed his fingertips to Ty's lips. "Why?"

Ty shook his head, searching for the answer. His chest tightened and breathing became difficult, but he landed on the words he needed. He met Zane's dark eyes and realized he was feeling light-headed as he answered. "Because... you make me the kind of person I've always wished I was."

Zane was silent, his gaze tracing over Ty's face. Ty held his breath until Zane spoke. "I've always wanted you just like you are. As much as you infuriate me, you're who I want."

Ty couldn't put his finger on what those words felt like. It was somewhere between relief and elation. He didn't have any more he could say, so he just leaned forward and kissed Zane again, hooking his feet behind Zane's thighs so he couldn't get away.

With a groan, Zane started pulling at Ty's T-shirt to get it over his head.

"Don't hurt it! It's new," Ty said with a grin as he lifted his arms for Zane to pull the shirt off. It hit the floor, and Zane's hands splayed over Ty's chest and ribs while he latched on to Ty's neck. Ty moaned and let his head fall back, cursing when he banged it against the mirrored cabinet above the wet bar.

Zane sank to his knees, tugging Ty off the counter, mouth still on Ty's body, his beard leaving a trail of p.r.i.c.kles. His hands slid into Ty's jeans, and he pulled them down as he moved.

"Zane," Ty said, breathless as he looked down at Zane on his knees. He put his hand on Zane's head and pulled at his overgrown curly hair.

Zane dragged his tongue down the dark trail of hair along Ty's abdomen before he tipped his head back to look up at Ty.

"Is this a bad time to tell you that I hate that beard?" Ty asked.

"You'll deal with it," Zane said, that spark returning to his almost-black eyes.

Ty laughed, his hand tightening in Zane's hair. Zane retaliated by dragging his cheek down Ty's hip. Ty tugged at his hair harder. "Come back up here."

Zane stood in one fluid motion, reaching out to cup one hand over the back of Ty's neck as he pulled him into a voracious kiss.

Something inside Ty flipped over, and he dug his fingers into Zane with a grateful moan. Something about Zane's touch felt different. There was more confidence in him, something more firm than just the muscles of his back that Ty was digging his fingers into. Something more certain.

Zane pulled him closer and squeezed him tight, then reached down to slide his hands under Ty's a.s.s and lift him with a grunt. Ty wrapped around him so he wouldn't fall, and Zane swung around and took the three steps to the bed before tossing Ty down to the mattress.

Ty was still bouncing when Zane crawled over him to kiss him again. He remembered the first time they'd ever tried this: Zane had picked him up like that, in the bathroom of that d.a.m.n Holiday Inn in New York City. If Ty told Zane that he enjoyed it, he'd be getting tossed around all the time. He'd probably end up with a broken arm or something. Or Zane would ruin his back.

He let Zane take over, letting his lover's touch brush away all the stress and worry of the last few months, letting himself forget everything he'd been holding onto, letting Zane wipe the slate clean for him. He tangled his hands in Zane's hair and kissed him like it was their first time.

When their mouths parted, both of them gasping for breath, Zane set his forehead against Ty's and slid his hand through Ty's mussed hair. His body was heavy against Ty's, his heart racing, warmth and antic.i.p.ation flowing between them.

"This feels different," Ty said, breathless.

"Yes." Zane shifted down to one elbow, laying all of his weight on Ty and pressing closer, nosing against Ty's chin and cheek.

Ty spread his legs wider, letting Zane settle between them. It had taken a few months, but he'd finally gotten comfortable with just how much he enjoyed having Zane top him. He'd taught himself quite a lot on that cruise ship job over Christmas.

He reached up to slide his fingers into Zane's hair, meeting Zane's eyes and lifting his hips, making Zane's breath catch.

"Ty," Zane drew out, a shudder coursing through him and into Ty. "You make me crazy wanting you."

"That's the way I like you," Ty said as he dragged his fingers up Zane's back. "Come on, we have time."

Zane shifted and ground down against Ty's thigh. "Good. I intend to make you as crazy as I am," he said against Ty's ear before pushing himself up and to his knees. "And I believe you invited me to work off a little aggravation."

"Less talky, Zane," Ty said with a smirk he knew would get Zane even more riled.

Zane gave him that narrow-eyed glare again and scooted back and off the bed. "Get those jeans off now if you want them to be wearable later," he said as he stripped off the rest of his clothes.

Ty did so without ever letting his gaze leave Zane, watching his lover disrobe with a shiver of antic.i.p.ation. Then he spread himself out flat and stretched his arms above his head. He met Zane's eyes, laying his body out to offer up control. If Zane deserved anything from him, it was enough trust to give him that.

Zane growled low in his throat and again crawled up Ty's body, rubbing his chest and c.o.c.k against all the skin he could as he worked his way up, leading with his tongue... and that d.a.m.n beard. Ty dismissed that obscenity to fuss about later, pushing his body up against Zane's, forcing his hands to remain above his head instead of touching Zane like he so wanted to do.

"How do you want me to touch you?" Zane asked in a voice that rasped against Ty's skin.

"I just want you."

Zane rubbed against him more insistently as they kissed, hard and long and wet. His hands squeezed and petted until one followed the lines of Ty's muscled arm to close over his crossed wrists, holding them fast. "I thought you weren't kinky."

"I'm not kinky."

Zane hummed. "Want me to hold you down while I f.u.c.k you senseless? Is that why you've got your hands up like this?"

"Yeah." Ty could barely get the word out as he stared up into Zane's eyes.

"I can certainly oblige," Zane said, voice raspy and dark. He pushed down on Ty's wrists as he ground their hips together.

Ty whimpered at the tone of Zane's voice and the promise in it. "I should do this for you more often," he said in a tortured voice.

"Do what?"

"Give you everything I have."

Their eyes met in the breathless silence. Ty could feel Zane's heart beating fast against his chest. Zane finally kissed him in a violent rush and then pushed up and away from him.

"Stay there and spread your knees. I want to see you."

As Zane left the bed and disappeared into the bathroom, Ty did as he was ordered, placing his feet flat on the mattress and letting his knees fall to the sides. Zane had certainly gotten comfortable with his inner Alpha. Before Ty could form another thought, Zane was back, on the bed, between Ty's legs and licking his way up the inside of Ty's thigh to his c.o.c.k.

Ty sighed, an almost inaudible release of air. The look in Zane's eyes was something Ty had never seen. It was intense and heated, possessive, filled with emotion that made Ty's chest hurt all over again, like the first time he'd ever looked into that fire in Zane's eyes and known that there would be no one else in the world for him.

Zane worked his way back up Ty's body before saying, "I love you, Ty."

Ty didn't have time to respond before Zane was kissing him, his lips and tongue demanding on Ty's, his body pressing down, insinuating himself between Ty's open legs.

One hand gripped both Ty's wrists as Zane rested his elbow against the bed near Ty's head. The other hand groped its way down Ty's body, a languorous, intimate exploration of the s.p.a.ce between them. Ty closed his eyes as warmth and pressure spread through him. He felt Zane's long fingers, slick with cool lubricant, slide under his b.a.l.l.s to rub.

"f.u.c.k yes." Ty's back arched and his fingers stretched for anything to grab onto as Zane held him tight. He hooked one leg over Zane's hip and moaned into the kiss. He could feel Zane's c.o.c.k, hard and demanding against him, and every inch of Zane's body was tense where he touched Ty.

"Zane," Ty whispered shakily.

"It's been too long since I got to do this," Zane said, his voice rasping and harsh. The head of his c.o.c.k pushed against Ty, and Ty pulled his leg up higher to help the entry.

"All you have to do is ask," Ty said, unable to catch his breath over the rapid b.u.t.terfly beating of his heart.

Zane nodded even as he turned his head and deepened the kiss. Ty lost himself in the sensations, submerging in the familiar scent of his lover and the absolute joy of being touched and taken like this. Then the head of Zane's c.o.c.k pushed into him with a slow rocking of Zane's hips that forced him into Ty, little by little.

"Jesus, Zane." Ty pulled at his hands as the pain seared through him, desperate to be able to drag his fingers down Zane's back, but Zane held fast. His other hand came to rest on Ty's thigh, fingers digging in, pulling at Ty's leg as he worked himself in with infinite care.

Ty pulled his knees up higher as the pain ebbed into something dull and throbbing, letting Zane spread him wider and push deeper into him. He absolutely loved the feeling of Zane's hips, warm against the inside of his thighs and pressing against him. Loved the sensation of the shaft of Zane's c.o.c.k sliding against tight muscles, of being pushed into as he was held down.

Grunting as he stretched out over Ty's body, Zane flexed his hips until he was as deep inside Ty as he could get. A soft moan escaped him, and after kissing Ty again, he began to move, a slow rocking motion that built into a real rhythm. The first true thrust wrung an involuntary gasp out of Ty, and he pushed his hips into each one that followed. It spurred Zane on, his movements sliding Ty's shoulders against the expensive sheets, the bulk of Zane's weight on that one hand forcing Ty's wrists to sink into the mattress.

Ty couldn't describe how it felt to be pinned beneath Zane and taken in such an intimate, forceful way. s.e.x with Zane in any form was always enjoyable, but this was something different, something more than he'd ever given anyone.

He wrapped his legs around Zane's hips, his back curling as he met Zane's thrusts. A desperate stutter of a moan pa.s.sed his lips, and he jerked his head to the side as Zane shoved into him. Zane's free hand came up to grip Ty's hair, pulling his face back so he had to look up. It was an odd feeling, looking into the eyes of the man who moved inside him. It wasn't uncomfortable, though. Far from it.

Zane flexed his hips as he bit at Ty's lip. "Kiss me," he said, voice hoa.r.s.e and demanding.

Ty nearly whimpered. His hands moved to reach for his lover, but Zane's restraint on his wrists stopped them. Ty gasped instead and rolled his hips again, then pushed back with his shoulders to lift himself just enough to press his lips to Zane's.

Zane crushed their mouths together, the pa.s.sion flaring out of control as he sank deep. Ty's ears were filled with the thuds of their bodies meeting, the barely there gasps that wrung out of him, Zane's grunts of effort and pleasure against his neck. He curled to combat the brutal pounding, a cry escaping as his fingers splayed. Zane leaned even more of his weight forward on Ty's hands, thrusting in and then grinding close before pulling back, only to push in again.

Ty writhed and let out a shameless whimper, then moved again to hook his ankles behind Zane's lower back for lack of any other way to hold on to him. Zane moaned as the angle of his entry changed, and the soft sound ratcheted up the heat inside Ty, pleasure curling in his groin. Zane hissed before shifting to start in on him harder, his hips ramming against Ty's a.s.s. As it went on and on, Ty cried out, and the hoa.r.s.e sounds weren't quite words.

He twisted as Zane pounded into him, unable to do anything but open himself up to the vulnerability of pleasure. Breathing hard, Zane started to slow, changing the hard thrusts to long, smooth slides. He lowered himself to lie against Ty, reaching up with his other hand to pull Ty's wrists down. Zane kissed him, slow and sure. Ty moaned and spread his captive hands, letting Zane's fingers thread into his, feeling helpless in Zane's grasp but loving that he could trust Zane with that feeling. Not once did it cross his mind to panic or try to escape the grip of Zane's fingers. At that moment, he was totally Zane's.

"I love to see you like this," Zane whispered against Ty's ear, causing a shudder to travel through Ty's body. "So f.u.c.king perfect."

Zane must have felt Ty's reaction, because he gasped and snapped his hips hard and then moved back up on his knees. He let go of one of Ty's hands, then reached down to slide his free hand against Ty's hip, holding on to him. Ty arched into his touch, reaching out to drag his fingers over Zane's shoulder and down his chest. Short, tortured breaths escaped his parted lips. He couldn't force himself to open his eyes as Zane started to move inside him again.

"Ty," Zane said as he released Ty's other wrist and moved his hand to splay his palm across Ty's chest. "Look at me. Open your eyes, baby."

Ty whimpered with the words, almost a pained gasp as he forced his eyes open.

Zane swallowed hard as he drew a shaky breath. "Are you feeling this too?" he asked, breathless as he rolled his hips against Ty.

Ty met his eyes for a brief moment before the pleasure and the proximity caused his eyes to fall shut once more and his body to jerk as he reached for Zane's neck and pulled him close. Zane's fingers tightened in his hair, holding him there.

"Yes," Ty answered, surprised at how desperate the honest answer sounded. He moaned, licking his lips as he tried to process through the haze, and then pressed his mouth to Zane's ear. The flare of heat had Ty's blood pumping so hard that at first he couldn't be sure the words were coming out. He couldn't hear a thing but his own heartbeat."I'll always be yours, baby."

Zane shuddered against him, managing a dozen more thrusts before tensing hard. He shouted as he came, and his hips stuttered with each abbreviated thrust as he moaned Ty's name. Through his climax, Zane continued rolling his hips, providing the friction Ty needed, and it was enough to push Ty over the edge. They held tight to each other as they shared their pleasure, letting the world spin out of control for a few short moments together.

Chapter 3.

Z ANE stood on the bathroom threshold, looking out into the shadowed hotel room at the man he'd left sprawled across the bed in a mess of sheets and sweat. The light shining from behind Zane lit Ty's face, highlighting long lashes that lay against flushed cheeks and lips Zane could tell were swollen.

He smirked as he turned the small box over and back in his hand. He'd discovered it in his duffel bag, tangled up in a clean undershirt from the drawer where he'd kept the box hidden.

It was like Fate had intervened and tossed it into his bag while he wasn't looking.

Zane wanted to be angry at Ty, he truly did. But dammit, he just couldn't hold onto it. He was in love with a man who was flighty and spontaneous and headstrong all wrapped into one gorgeous, fun, frustrating package. Ty was a walking emotional hazard, and Zane had known that from the start. Zane huffed and leaned against the doorframe, wanting to burn into his memory the vision of Ty lying there after being thoroughly f.u.c.ked.

Ty stretched, and the tangle of sheets m.u.f.fled his low hum. He didn't look back at Zane, but he turned his head. "You're lurking."

"Admiring," Zane said as he took his time looking Ty up and down.

"Well. Go ahead, then."

Zane allowed himself a small smile. "I expected to be angry at you for longer," he said as he moved to the bed and settled on his side next to Ty.

Ty stretched again, his muscles tensing, body flexing like a large cat sunning. He smiled at Zane, eyes sparkling. "But then?"

Despite the fact that he had just about f.u.c.ked Ty into oblivion not fifteen minutes before, a stroke of heat ripped through Zane as he watched the play of Ty's muscles, and he rolled his eyes in resignation. "Too happy to see you."

Ty reached out to slide the tips of his fingers down Zane's cheek. He scooted himself closer until he could press his nose to Zane's, and he draped his leg over Zane's hip. "I did miss you. And I am sorry."

Zane nodded as he slid his hand down Ty's hip and pulled him close. He knew he needed to let the anger go; it wouldn't change what Ty had done. "Did it hurt so much?"

Ty's expression softened into sadness, but it pa.s.sed so quickly that Zane could have imagined it. "Sometimes I... I just need a break. Up here," he said, tapping his forehead. "I have to go somewhere on my own to let life hit me. If I don't, too much piles up and... I end up not really able to deal. I just have to get away sometimes."

Zane didn't understand; he wasn't sure he could without having seen the things Ty had seen or living the things Ty had lived. He supposed that when he had to take something apart and a.n.a.lyze it from all sides, it was his way of coping with an issue that would otherwise be too big to deal with. Ty's way of coping was to walk into an open s.p.a.ce, either figuratively or physically, and let the problem hit him with its full force. It was one of the ways he and Ty were wired so differently.

Ty sighed and rolled to his back again. "Running for a few days is better than the alternative."

"Meltdown."

"Yes. It's happened before, and it's not pretty. Taking off gives me time to think, gives me clarity."

Zane totally believed that. He couldn't imagine living inside Ty's head was easy. He laid his cheek against Ty's chest, listening to the steady heartbeat as he tried to convince himself not to brood about it. His hand clenched on the small box he still held.

Ty's arm snaked around him, pulling him close and tight. Zane shifted and moved his head to Ty's shoulder.