Page 68 of Hush

After, they collapsed, pitching sideways onto the bed, still pressed together. Tom tried to catch his breath, tried to reason with gravity and the laws of nature again.

Until Etta Mae jumped up on the side of the bed, closer to them both after they pitched over. She stuck her nose out as far as she could, just pressing against Mike’s ass cheek.

“Cold!” Mike jerked away, slipping from Tom. Both hissed, and Tom rolled toward Etta Mae.

“Etta Mae…” Tom shook his head, chuckling. “I’m fine.”

She seemed uncertain, and struggled to get closer. Her tail thumped against the nightstand.

“Mike is going to be sticking around for a long time. You’ll have to get used to this.”

Mike beamed at him and ruffled Etta Mae’s ears.

They took her outside, slipping into their underwear and padding downstairs behind Etta Mae. Mike asked him four different times if he was okay and watched him almost obsessively. “I’m great. You didn’t hurt me.” He might not have been one of those power bottoms he sometimes saw online, but Mike had done a thorough job relaxing him. And, he’d wanted this, badly.

On the deck, Mike held him from behind, wrapping his arms around Tom’s waist and kissing his neck. They stood together and watched the last of DC’s twilight fade away. The sun had set while they’d been busy.

Tom ordered a pizza and then pulled Mike down on the couch. They kissed, trading stories and laughs until the doorbell rang and Etta Mae barked. Tom dashed upstairs for shorts and a t-shirt before he opened the door, and then took them right off and ate in his underwear with Mike in the kitchen.

Later, they both put on clothes and took Etta Mae on her evening walk. Mike walked side by side with Tom, chuckling at Etta Mae’s antics. He kept his hands to himself until Tom snaked his pinkie around Mike’s pinkie, a tiny hook of their bodies, but the first time they’d held hands on a DC street. Mike’s smile broke Tom’s heart, and he squeezed Mike’s pinkie tightly.

Etta Mae was bored with the novelty of Mike being in the house by the time they got back. She took herself to bed, flopping into her chair in the bedroom, and started to snore.

“The baby is asleep.” Mike smirked at Tom, stripping out of the clothes he’d borrowed. The shorts and shirt were a little tight, but Tom hadn’t complained.

“She is like a baby. A perpetual toddler.”

“She’s wonderful, and so is her daddy.”

Tom smiled.

“Come here.” Mike held out his hand, and then pulled Tom in for a slow, deep kiss.

“You want to try and get through that whole string of condoms tonight, don’t you?”

“With you, I totally could.” Mike winked. “What do you say? Give it a try?”

“Like I said, I’m forty-six, not sixteen. Or thirty-six.” Tom leaned into Mike, into his touch. “You think you can get me going again? You might regret this.” He sighed. Closed his eyes. “God, you can. Yes…”

This time, Tom sank down on Mike, riding him slowly as Mike leaned against the headboard and caressed Tom’s flushed skin. They kissed and never stopped, and when Mike came, he gasped against Tom’s lips, whispering his name as he tried to climb into Tom’s body. Tom, languid, rode Mike until he tumbled over the edge.

They scooted down and cuddled close, Mike wrapping Tom up in his arms. Tom draped himself over Mike’s chest, pillowing his head on Mike’s shoulder. Exhaustion pulled Mike under quickly, but Tom stayed awake, watching Mike sleep until he drifted off, still lying on him.

Sometime in the early morning, Mike woke him, the best possible way.

“Good morning,” Tom murmured, kissing Mike’s cheek breathlessly, after. “What time is it?”

“Four thirty. I need to go back to my place to grab clothes.”

Tom’s eyes snapped open. “I’ll make you coffee.”

Mike kissed his nose. “You don’t have to get up.”

“I won’t sleep without you anyway.”

Mike dressed in his wrinkled suit. They’d left it on the ground in a heap last night. Mike shrugged, grinning, and Tom laughed as he slid a pair of old boxers and a t-shirt on. Etta Mae ignored them both, still snoring.

Tom made coffee and toast, and they drank a cup together, sharing kisses and bites.