Page 154 of Love By Design

I smiled into his skin. “You’re welcome, Sir.”

Marshall kissed my hair. “Do you need another shower? What are you and Lincoln up to tonight?”

Sitting upright in his lap, I rubbed my eyes. “It is Friday, isn’t it?”

“It is.” Marshall helped me to my feet and then he walked us both into the bedroom. I followed him into the closet and turned my back toward his full-length mirror, eyes going wide at the sight of my backside.

“I hope whatever our plans are don’t involve sitting.”

Marshall had made a galaxy out of my ass and legs, a splattering of purple and blue and pink decorating me solidly from the middle of my thighs to the top of my ass cheeks. It was only going to get darker as the days went on, and I hated to think how uncomfortable it would be to go to work on Monday and sit down for eight straight hours.

“I hope they do,” he said, unbuttoning his shirt and tossing it into the hamper. He changed into jeans and a black V-neck tee, lingering while I managed to ease my way into a pair of jeans and one of his old college t-shirts. Marshall always told me he liked the way I looked in them, and if my ass was going to be miserable, at least my top half was going to be comfortable.

I stuck my tongue out at him, and he took a quick swat against my backside. “I told you months ago I don’t abide brats, Silas.”

I yelped and jumped, landing right in his arms. He wrapped himself around me and slanted our mouths together, licking past my lips with a low, rumbling groan.

“Did you cry in my office?” he asked.

I reached up and pressed my fingertips against the tender skin just below my eyes. “Did I?”

“Tastes like it.”

He licked my cheeks, rutting against me and pressing his own ignored hard-on against my hip.

“I think you did.”

Tipping my head back, I gave him my mouth again, groaning as he returned to kiss me. He walked me backward out of the closet, stopping only inches away from the bed. He gave me a small shove to put space between us, eyes twinkling when I blinked him into focus.

“I’m going to be late if I don’t get out of here,” he said, checking his watch.

“Can’t have that,” I teased.

Marshall shot me a warning look, and I raised my hands in surrender.

“So, what’s your plan?”

“I’m heading over to Lincoln’s new apartment and nothing after that.”

“Does he want to go to Rapture?”

“He always wants to go to Rapture,” I said, rolling my eyes.

“If you head over there and want company later, text me and I’ll come by after dinner. If you don’t want company, that’s also fine.”

I smiled, heading after Marshall into the living room. I turned off the lights as we stepped into the hallway, and I stayed a few paces back to admire the broad swell of his shoulders as he walked ahead of me.

“I always enjoy your company,” I told him.

“Same, but time with your best friend is important,” he said, not for the first time.

“I promise I’ll let you know.”

We sat down together on the couch and put on shoes and socks, then gathered up our keys from the side table beside the front door. Marshall kissed me again, hard and thorough, before saying goodbye and heading to Cunningham’s to meet his brothers for their weekly dinner.

I plugged Lincoln’s new address into my GPS and drove to his side of town. He’d given me a spare key the day after we moved him in, so I buzzed in the lobby as a courtesy, then made my way up the stairs to his second-floor studio. The door was unlocked—very like him—when I arrived. He was half dressed, leather pants and unlaced leather boots, but as I opened the door, his back was to me. He had his cell phone in hand, arm limp at his side, and as I stepped into his apartment, Lincoln turned to face me with bloodshot eyes and tear-stained cheeks.

“Hey, Silas,” he greeted me like everything was normal, like his tears were a figment of my imagination.

I opened my arms, and he walked right into them, pressing his snotty face against my shoulder and sniffling loudly into Marshall’s shirt.

“Lincoln?” I asked, tentatively stroking my fingers through his freshly styled hair. “What on earth is going on?”

Silas and Marshall's story may end here, but this is far from the last you'll see of them. Lincoln's up next, ready for his HEA in an opposites attract romance called Burden of Proof. It features two versatile main characters who can't decide whether they're dominant, submissive, or a little bit of both.