Page 1 of Zero Divergence
“On the tenth day of torture, my true love gave to me…”
Sawyer debated how to end the borrowed and altered line from the classic Christmas song. He had intended to keep it tame and thank Royce for the ride home from the hospital, but meek didn’t fit their dynamic. A welcome-home blow job sounded delicious and matched their personalities better. Glancing over at Royce, Sawyer expected to see a playful smile tugging at the corner of his boyfriend’s mouth as he prepared to fill in the blanks, but Royce’s gorgeous lips were pressed into a flat line, and his eyes remained fixed on the traffic in front of them. Sawyer had been too excited about leaving the hospital to fully absorb Royce’s demeanor when he entered his hospital room that morning. Sawyer raked his eyes over the man who had snatched his heart from the very beginning. Royce’s tense posture and white-knuckle grip on the steering wheel clued Sawyer in that Royce was worried about something, but what?
Deciding to test if Royce was paying attention to him, Sawyer said, “Double penetration.”
Royce stopped at the red light and turned those stormy gray eyes on him. “One dick suddenly isn’t enough for you?”
“It was a test,” Sawyer said with a casual shrug, which sent pain shooting down his arm. He bit the inside of his cheeks to keep from crying out, something he’d been doing a lot of since waking up at the hospital after his rescue. Nothing in Sawyer’s life had prepared him for the kind of pain that came with having his dead skin removed daily from his third-degree burns and deep-tissue wounds. “To see if you’re paying attention,” he added.
“Did you mean noticing how your stubborn refusal to ride in a wheelchair caused exhaustion your healing body doesn’t need?” Sawyer started to speak, but Royce shook his head. “Or did you mean the pain in your voice just now?” Royce inhaled deeply, a move Sawyer taught him, and released a shaky breath. He shifted his foot from the brake to the gas pedal and accelerated when the light changed. “I notice everything about you, GB. Stop trying to hide your pain from me. Stop trying to put on a brave face. You’re in pain, you’re worried about your pretty face under those bandages, and maybe you’re also a little worried about your dick too.” He threw the last bit out to lighten the mood.
Sawyer snorted. “I’m not at all worried about my dick.” He’d achieved maximum wood plenty of times during his stay, all thanks to his sadistic boyfriend who liked to play audiobooks to rev him up only to leave him hard and aching because Sawyer’s bandaged hands didn’t allow him to take his own dick in hand…until now. He glanced down and admired the rebandaged appendages and digits, which allowed for a lot more freedom. “It’s my balls I’m worried about, dickhead. You couldn’t have jerked me off even once?”
“Couldn’t risk your spunk seeping through the bandages on your chest and causing your wounds to get infected.”
“You could’ve swallowed it.” Sawyer would’ve cringed at his whiny voice if not for the smile on Royce’s face. “You can make it up to me when we get home.” Sawyer’s dick started lengthening as he imagined Royce dropping to his knees right there in the garage. His boyfriend made a strangled sound, snapping Sawyer out of his fantasy. “What did you do?” Sawyer asked when he saw Royce’s grimace.
“Ididn’t do anything,” Royce replied hesitantly. “For the record, I said it probably wasn’t a good idea.”
“You said this to whom and about what?” Sawyer didn’t need to wait for an answer. There was only one person who was notorious for planning parties for all occasions at the spur of the moment. She also happened to have Royce wrapped around her perfectly manicured pinky finger too.Fuck.“My mother planned a welcome-home party, didn’t she?” Royce’s wince was answer enough. “At our house?”Our house.It had slipped out easily and automatically like it was a foregone conclusion, even though they hadn’t talked about the next step in their relationship. It sounded right and felt amazing, so Sawyer refused to walk it back.
“Yes, but she promised they wouldn’t stay long.”
Sawyer groaned. “They? Who all is coming?”
“Your family and a few of our closest friends who’ve been worried about you.” Royce reached over to hold his hand, then suddenly stopped when he recalled Sawyer’s injuries. Sawyer hated Royce’s hesitation to touch him more than he hated how vain he’d become, worrying about scarring when he should just be grateful he was still alive to feel Royce’s touch on his bare skin—scarred or not—someday.
Sawyer held up his hand, wiggling his newly bandaged digits with the added protection of fingerless gloves. “I have more freedom now. I can do a hell of a lot with these fingertips.”
Sawyer thought it was a miracle the burns on his hands weren’t more severe, because he’d raised his arms to protect his head when the church altar burst into a wall of flames. His worst injuries were caused by synthetic materials in his clothes melting against his skin and continuing to burn even after the flames were extinguished when he dropped and rolled on the ground. Luckily, his worst wounds didn’t require skin grafting, and clothes would hide his scars. He was the only one who’d have to see the marred flesh.And Royce.Sawyer was more nervous about that than he cared to admit.
“There’s a hell of a lot I want you to do with your fingertips too,” Royce said. “It’ll just have to wait until everyone clears out. I can’t be selfish.”
“Yes, you can,” Sawyer countered eagerly.
Royce laughed for the first time since walking into Sawyer’s hospital room that morning. “About that double penetration stuff…”
“I was seriously just testing to see if you were paying attention. Your dick is more than enough for me.”
“Good thing.” Royce’s matter-of-fact voice made Sawyer grin. “The sky is blue. The grass is green. My dick is enough for you. It’s just the way things are.” In case Sawyer needed a clearer picture, Royce expanded by laying down some rules. A finger went up. “No other dude’s dick will ever be invited to our party.” Two fingers. “You need a new dildosaurus.”
“Why? Did you break mine while I was laid up?”
“Um, no,” Royce replied dryly. “I can’t allow you to use the same dildo as our former mayor, or I’ll never stop seeing the montage of videos and pics she sent to her boy toy.”
“Ugh,” Sawyer said. “We’ll throw it out as soon as we get home.” He knew it would take a long time before Lynette Goodwin’s scandalous affair with Ryan Tedrick died down. Not only was the young man someone she had known since he was five years old, Ryan also happened to be her sister-in-law’s stepson. It would take even longer for him and Royce to move forward after solving the case of the crazed priest who’d plotted and carried out his plans to expose the sinful people in power and purify the city by fire. The flames had nearly cost Sawyer and Royce their lives.
“Maybe we should wait until everyone leaves before disposing of the retired sex toys,” Royce said, gently linking their fingers together.
“Yeah, you’re right.”
Royce nodded. “I usually am.”
Sawyer snorted but didn’t argue. He was just content to feel Royce’s fingers between his, even if he wished the bandages and gloves didn’t prevent him from feeling the heat from Royce’s flesh. His happiness dissipated when he saw the volume of familiar cars in his driveway and parked along the street. “A few of our closest friends, huh?”
Royce smiled wryly. “You’re loved by all.”
Sawyer touched the bandages on his head with his free hand, a habit he’d formed since finding out about the burns. Insecurity was a familiar foe, and he wasn’t happy with its reappearance in his life.