Page 1 of The Paternity Puzzle

Sawyer Key pushed through the precinct doors with the intensity of a Karen who needed to speak to a fast-food restaurant manager. He was hot, hungry, and horny with no immediate relief in sight. His plane should’ve landed hours ago, giving him plenty of time to shower and visit with Bones and Dolly before presenting himself at the precinct to support the first graduating class of Explorer cadets. Mechanical problems delayed his connecting flight in Chicago, and he’d arrived in Savannah with no time to spare.

He could feel Royce’s agitation pulsating in the air like a throbbing heartbeat. His husband classified public speaking as the tenth circle of hell, though he was exceptionally good at it once he got started. It was the anticipation that tipped Royce’s natural edginess into irritability. And that’s when Sawyer would typically find creative ways to take Royce’s mind off the speaking engagement. But they were on the sixth day of a weeklong abstention from sex. They’d shared a very active love life, and to suddenly go without the physical and emotional release had seemed like a huge shock to his system. There wasn’t a part of Sawyer’s body that didn’t ache for Royce’s touch, but at least they didn’t have to wait much longer.

And the sacrifice would be worth it.

Seeking Royce out before the graduation ceremony under these circumstances was probably a bad idea, but he strode through the corridors with purpose. Something about Sawyer’s countenance must’ve betrayed the surging storm inside him because his colleagues greeted him with a wary nod instead of their usual cheerfulness. He didn’t need to follow the drumbeat of Royce’s heart to know where to find him; his husband was as predictable as he was sexy. Moments later, Sawyer pushed through the locker room door and took his first easy breath since leaving for the crime convention on Sunday afternoon. Royce stood in front of a sink with his hands braced on the porcelain and his head hanging down. The tense lines of his body matched the tight knot in Sawyer’s stomach. Four days had passed without kissing the man who owned his soul.

Royce slowly raised his head and met Sawyer’s gaze in the mirror. Mercurial gray eyes lit with joy and relief, and wicked lips curved into a smile. But it wasn’t long ago that Royce had resented his very existence, viewing Sawyer as an interloper who’d forced himself into a space he wasn’t wanted. But that was then, and now, Sawyer’s husband wanted him very much.

Royce’s body visibly relaxed, and the knot in Sawyer’s stomach eased. Straightening to his full height, Royce heaved a dramatic sigh of relief. He pushed off the sink and strode to Sawyer, wrapping him up in a tight embrace. “It’s about fucking time.” It was one of Royce’s endearing phrases that never failed to make Sawyer smile.

The press of Royce’s body against his nearly fried Sawyer’s synapses, but he managed a hoarse “Mine.” Day six. One more day until their dream of fatherhood would become one step closer to reality. Sawyer turned his head and pressed his lips to the sensitive spot just beneath Royce’s ear. A shiver of awareness rippled through his husband, triggering a twinreaction in him. Though it killed him, Sawyer put space between them and cupped Royce’s face, stroking his thumb over chiseled cheekbone. “Damn, I’ve missed you.” He raked a hungry gaze over Royce, noting the way his dress uniform showed off the sexy, fit body he knew better than his own. One more day until he could reclaim that perfection for himself. “Allof you.”

Royce moaned and stepped free of Sawyer’s touch. “Stop looking at me like that. I’m so horny for you I might go off like a rocket.” He cocked his head. “Then you’d be the only one providing a sperm sample tomorrow.” Royce reached for his belt like he actually meant to follow through with his threat.

“We both agreed to give a sample so the doctor could pick the specimen that looked best for the procedure,” Sawyer reminded him.

“And I expressed my concerns about the kind of legacy that comes with the Locke bloodline,” Royce countered. “Remember the time my younger brother tried to kill you?”

“It’s hard to forget.” Sawyer reached for Royce’s hand and tugged him closer. “Holly didn’t have reservations about continuing the Locke line with your brother.” Harper, their six-month-old baby, was the happiest little guy Sawyer had ever seen, and Jace had taken to fatherhood like a duck to water. “And Dru’s boys might be moody teenagers now, but your sister has done an amazing job raising them. Your Uncle Jerry is a wonderful man, and he produced amazing kids.” Sawyer puffed out his cheeks and slowly exhaled to buy time because his husband wouldn’t like what he had to say next.

Royce cocked his head to the side and narrowed his eyes. “Just don’t, okay.”

“What?” Sawyer had aimed for an innocent tone and expression, but there was a valid reason the community theater hadn’t recruited him to star in one of their productions. He’dbarely been able to pull off his roles as inanimate objects in grade school plays, and they didn’t have any lines.

“You’re about to say something nice about Eddie. Please don’t.”

Royce’s relationship with his dad was tumultuous at best, and for valid reasons. Sometimes things were almost good between them, but then conflict would arise and cause a backslide. Sawyer didn’t know the source of their current friction, but Royce deserved to hold grudges if that’s what he wanted. His husband was also happiest when things were going well with Eddie, so Sawyer couldn’t give up on a full reconciliation between them. This wasn’t the moment to advocate for Eddie though. It was Royce’s big night, so Sawyer held up his hands. “Okay, I won’t.”

His easy acquiescence did nothing to appease Royce, who sighed and shook his head. “Just say it.”

“You just told me not to.”

Royce’s eyes became the color of thunderclouds to match his rising frustration. “And now I’m telling you to.”

“He’s trying.”

Royce snorted and stepped back. “Yeah, I’ve believed that in the past, and it’s always come back to bite me in the ass.” He took a deep breath and exhaled his frustration before glancing down at his watch. “My cadets have worked hard, and they deserve the best from me tonight. And now that my man is back home where he belongs, I can stop moping and give them my full attention.” Royce grabbed Sawyer’s ass and yanked him into an embrace. “And I have one more night of blue balls before I can give you the best I have.”

Sawyer bit back a grin and quirked a brow. “The sterile cup at the fertility clinic is going to be on the receiving end of all that glory tomorrow.”

Royce cringed and released his ass. “Just had to ruin it, didn’t you?” His voice was all gravel and no glass as desire turned his irises to a molten gunmetal gray.

Sawyer stuck the tip of his tongue out and swiped it over his bottom lip, suddenly feeling like a dance with the devil was in order. “I’ll be thinking of you the whole time I’m in the little room tomorrow, working my fist up and down—”

Royce cut him off with a savage kiss. They were all tongues and teeth, their bodies responding to their chemistry like a match to dry paper. Royce pulled free and stalked a few steps away, keeping his back to Sawyer as he readjusted himself.

Sawyer closed his eyes and cycled through meditative breaths to get his body under control. He heard Royce’s approach and felt his body heat, but he kept his eyelids shut. He was halfway into another deep inhale when Royce spoke up.

“Trying to meditate?”

Sawyer cocked one eye open. “Uh-huh.”

“You think you can just huff and puff away your desire for me?”

Sawyer shrugged. “Never tried it before.”

“Well, you can’t,” Royce said emphatically.