Page 35 of Resilience on Canvas

He walked toward Henry, the floorboards whining beneath his feet, and placed his hands on Henry’s hips.

Even though he wanted to be soft and tender, he suddenly found himself seized with a feeling of want so intense that he couldn’t manage it.

Hooking his two index fingers into the opposite belt loops on Henry’s pants, Robert pulled Henry close with one violent tug .

“God, I’m so proud of you, little wolf,” he said, touching their foreheads together.

Henry exhaled a sorrowful-sounding sigh and closed his eyes. “But I lost.”

“I know,” Robert said. “Doesn’t matter, though. I’m still proud of you for tryin’.”

Henry mumbled a soft “thanks,” his tone wrought with worry and remorse and sorrow and so many horrible things. All Robert wanted was to take his pain away. After giving himself a moment to breathe in Henry’s sweet scent, Robert tugged on Henry’s belt loops once more, towing their hips together.

“We’ll make it work, Hen. Don’t worry. Between my car and my tractor, we’ll have enough for the train. And when we reach the coast, I’ll find a little home for us. For all of us.” He paused to nuzzle Henry’s nose. “I’ll take care of everything.”

Henry let out a shuddering breath. “Promise?”

“Promise.”

Henry’s hands found Robert’s waist, too, and the moment Henry’s hands settled there above Robert’s hips, Robert was hit with a mix of want and possessiveness so powerful, it took his breath away. Pulling back, Robert wet his lips. He had to kiss his little wolf. Right now.

Slowly, Robert inched his face toward Henry’s, his heart now thundering in his chest. But before he could work up the courage to touch their lips together, Henry’s mouth slammed into his.

Shocked, Robert took a step backward. He’d have unintentionally broken their kiss had Henry’s hand not already found the back of his head, preventing him from pulling away.

Immediately, Henry’s fingers became tangled in Robert’s wavy hair, the sensation making Robert’s knees wobble as he let out a moan.

Robert’s moan must have awakened something in his little wolf.

Henry fisted Robert’s hair. He coaxed Robert closer as their lips moved together rough and fast. When Henry’s tongue found Robert’s, Robert let out another moan, this one lower and huskier than the last, and in response, Henry’s left hand traveled from Robert’s waist to his backside.

Instinctively, Robert bucked his hips forward, rubbing his stiffening cock on Henry’s thigh.

And then . . . on something long and hard.

“ Jesus Christ ,” Robert moaned into Henry’s mouth.

Henry let out a filthy and needy whine of his own.

In Robert’s mind, with every meeting of their lips, he was telling Henry how much his little wolf had come to mean to him, even in such a short time.

But, Lord Almighty, as incredible enough as the kissing was, Robert wanted so much more.

His heart was still thundering, blood pounding in his ears while those two lovely words rang in his head— want and mine .

Gripped with the powerful urge to show Henry how Goddamn much he liked him, how Goddamn much he needed him, Robert placed a hand on Henry’s erection and—

Henry broke their kiss and stumbled back one step.

Robert’s mind was still swimming as he watched Henry reach out a hand to steady himself, only to find the rope from the bell.

Trying to keep himself from falling, Henry took hold of it, but, of course, the rope wasn’t something steady like a wall, and so, Henry continued to tumble backward, tugging on it as he fell.

Henry landed on his rear end. And rang the Goddamn bell.

While the bell’s loud chime echoed in the room, Robert covered his ears as though he could stop the bell from ringing if only the sound didn’t reach his brain. Henry only cringed.

Bong.

Bong.

It kept on ringing for what felt like forever while both men remained too frozen to move. After the millionth chime, Robert finally found the courage to pull Henry to his feet .

“Goddammit, Hen!” he hissed. “What the hell was that?”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I . . . I mean, I was . . .”

Henry’s eyes fell to his pants, and Robert followed his line of sight.

“Christ Almighty,” Robert spluttered, seeing the wet spot on Henry’s pants. “Did you...?”

Groaning, Henry covered his head with his hands. “I couldn’t help it!”

Laughter bubbled out of Robert’s mouth. “Well, I know that, but...” He pressed his lips together to try to keep his amusement somewhat contained. “Henry Sherwood, we’re in a church!”

“I know, I know.” He looked at his pants once more. “Goodness, the moment we’re back in that competition room, everyone will know that I had been... excited for some reason.”

Still chuckling, Robert let out a sigh. “Well, someone might come up here and catch us before we even have a chance to head back.”

Henry’s eyes flew wide. “Shouldn’t we hide or somethin’ then?”

“Where?” Robert threw his hands out. “Ain’t nowhere to hide up here. If someone comes to see who rang the bell, that’ll be it for us.”

Henry’s face flushed, and he made a sound that was like a whimper. Smiling, Robert took Henry’s hand and pulled him close. He touched Henry’s cheek with the back of his fingers.

“Ain’t you worried someone’ll see us?” Henry said.

“Well, like I said, we can’t hide, so I might as well spend my last minutes here on earth kissin’ you some more. Maybe not so violently, though. Don’t want to ruin your pants for a second time.”

Henry’s face broke into the sweetest smile as he huffed a soft laugh.

Satisfied that he had calmed some of Henry’s worries (or maybe he’d only made Henry realize that there wasn’t no harm in the two of them kissing some more while they waited to see if someone would come to the bell tower), Robert leaned forward and touched their lips together more softly this time.

His heart pitter-pattered a little from the featherlight touch.

After they parted, Henry whispered, “Do you really still think we’ll make it to California?”

Robert squeezed Henry’s hips. “I know we will.”

“I’m sorry I lost the competition.”

Robert wasn’t having that.

“Hey, you tried yer best,” he said. “I saw how tired you were. I really was impressed by the effort you put in. I couldn’t have lasted that long on my feet if it had been me.”

Henry pursed his lips, his brows knitting together as though he was thinking this over, and then, smiling wryly, he said, “Apparently, I couldn’t last too long on my feet, neither.”

Laughing, Henry wiggled his hips to make his point, and Robert snickered.

“Jesus, Hen,” Robert said, shaking his head.

Their light laughter faded. Robert closed his eyes to try to listen for footsteps, but the only thing he could hear was the occasional creak of floorboards whenever either of them shifted their weight.

“I wonder how much longer we’ll have to wait for Joe and Rose,” he said. “Could be hours.”

Henry scrunched up his nose. “What about my pants?”

“We can stay here. Wait together ’til they dry a bit. No one will be lookin’ that closely.” Robert winked. “Except for me, maybe.”

Henry’s cheeks turned pink. Robert could feel his own face burning too.

“Can I kiss you some more while we wait, then?” Robert asked.

Rather than reply, Henry captured Robert’s mouth in a kiss.