Page 24 of The Paternity Puzzle
Sawyer resisted reality’s tug on the strings of his consciousness with all his might, digging in the way Dolly did when she realized they were at the vet’s office. Their bedroom was a calm oasis, a private island paradise in a sea of chaos that swirled around them.Just five more minutes.Too late. His brain was coming alive and clocking his surroundings. Beyond his closed eyelids, Sawyer could tell the sun was brighter than his typical wake time. Royce had come home from the crime scene and instigated a pool volleyball tournament that lasted until well after midnight. He’d told Sawyer that he wanted to replace the images of the Matisse swimming pool with happier ones from their house. Royce had also admitted after everyone left that he’d wanted to challenge his temporary partner’s refusal to get back in the pool. Diego’s resistance hadn’t lasted long, and he’d ended up on the winning team. Sawyer and Royce hadn’t crawled into bed until nearly two in the morning.
The sharks, their cat and dog, were circling the bed in their impatience for breakfast. Dolly’s toenails clicked against the hardwood floor, and Bones’ tail swished hard enough to stir the air. Sawyer kept his eyes closed to do a body scan instead of facing their outrage. He started with his feet, flexing hisankles to get the blood flowing. Then he straightened his legs, pulling his muscles taut and releasing them to feel the warmth flood those awakened areas. By the time he reached his ass, the only thing he could focus on was the press of an insistent erection between his cheeks. Sawyer tensed his glutes to pull a deep groan from Royce. He meant to scan higher to prove he could resist his husband, but Royce’s delicious chuckle vibrated against Sawyer’s back. A confident hand snaked around his hip, and deft fingers brushed over his hardening dick.
Royce pressed a kiss to that sensitive spot beneath his ear, and Sawyer shivered. “Want some help with your body scan?”
Sawyer pressed his ass harder against Royce’s pelvis. “Yes,” he whispered. “You’re so thoughtful.”
His husband’s wicked fingers slid through the trimmed hair at the base of Sawyer’s dick. Royce’s chuckle sounded dark and devious. “I try.” He stroked his fingers upward, circling Sawyer’s belly button and making his abs flex and quiver. “Feeling awake here?”
Every cell in Sawyer’s body hummed, but he swallowed hard to keep his voice even. “I think so.”
“Hmmmm.” Royce slowly dragged deft digits up Sawyer’s taut abdomen until he reached his sternum. Then he shifted right to glide over Sawyer’s pectoral muscle, circling the nipple until it hardened. Royce pinched and tugged until Sawyer cried out. “Definitely awake here.”
Sawyer reached behind him and fisted his hands in Royce’s hair. “Sexy fucker.”
“Present,” Royce said like he was answering a roll call. He slid his hand upward to cup Sawyer’s jaw and turned his face to brush a kiss over his lips. “And ready.”
Meow.
“Don’t make eye contact,” Royce whispered in his ear. “Keep those eyes closed and just feel.”
Sawyer did as his husband directed and smiled when Royce reached up to retrieve the lube from the headboard caddy. The thing stored remotes, tablets, and anything else someone might use in bed to watch television or entertain themselves, which was why Royce put their lube there. He’d placed a late-night order and paid extra to get the caddy there faster when he decided separating long enough to grab the lube from the nightstand allowed too much room for Bones to pounce in the gap to wreak havoc and kill the mood. The only thing Royce guarded more fiercely than sexy time with Sawyer was his bear claw addiction. The fumbling over their heads became more frantic, and Royce released a growl born of frustration.
“Don’t look it in the eye,” Royce whispered in his ear as he intensified the search.
“Are you still talking about the c-a-t? Or do you mean the eager beast pressed against my ass?”
Meow.
“Of course the furry fucker can spell now,” Royce growled. “Yes, I was talking about our f-e-l-i-n-e.”
Meow.
“Maybe I should just get up and feed them,” Sawyer said. “I can come right back to bed.”
“And then we have to take Dolly for her morning walk. Real life is waiting outside our bedroom, and it will do everything it can to fuck us over while preventing us from screwing.” More rustling, and Sawyer almost opened his eyes. “The lube must’ve slid sideways. I need a smaller pocket for it.”
“Or a bigger bottle of lube,” Sawyer suggested.
“I married a genius.” Royce fumbled around for a few more seconds, then cried out, “Aha!” right before a small package of snacks smacked Sawyer on the head. Royce flung the bag aside and said, “Oops. Forgot I’d tucked those in there.”
Sawyer wasn’t remotely surprised his husband had stashed snacks in the headboard caddy. “Sweet or salty?”
Royce nuzzled the back of Sawyer’s neck and nipped at the sensitive skin there. “You’re both.” Thesnickof the lube cap opening signaled the end of the snack conversation and the start of filthy talk and foreplay. Before Royce coated his fingers, he slid a confident hand from the top of Sawyer’s ass crack down to his lower thigh. He grabbed the back of Sawyer’s leg and lifted it. “Give me what I want.”
Sawyer bent his knee to expose himself to Royce’s eager body. “Take it.”
A cool, slick finger pressed against his puckered rim, circled a few times, and then pressed inside. Sawyer hissed in arousal as Royce teased him and hummed the tune of “Easy Like Sunday Morning.”
Meow. Yip, yip, yip.
“This is a solo performance,” Royce told Bones and Dolly. “Daddy doesn’t need your help right now.”
“Solo?” Sawyer asked. “Am I just a spectator too?”
“It’s a duet. My bad.”
Royce pushed two fingers inside him and continued humming and dragging slick fingers over sensitive nerve endings, making Sawyer arch his back and push his ass against Royce. “That’s right. Your body is going to sing for me now.”