Zane found his throat tightening at the sentiment. He didn’t fool himself into thinking Nick was offering any kind of loyalty that wasn’t attached to Ty, but it was more than he could remember having in years. “Thank you.”
Nick began to smile, and his words took on a sly hint. “So, dinner. You like Italian?”
Zane burst out laughing. “I know a place nearby.”
They were both still snickering when they heard a car door shut on the street below. “I see your smoke rings!” Kelly called from below. “I hear your evil cackling.”
Nick sat up and peered over the railing, then pushed out of his seat and left Zane sitting there without another word. He didn’t make a sound going down the stairs. Zane waved to Kelly, who had a bag slung over his shoulder and was craning his neck to peer up at him.
“Where’d Irish go?”
Before Zane could answer, Nick burst out the front door and hopped the three steps to the sidewalk. He body-slammed Kelly hard and picked him up. Kelly made a sound like a bird being hit by a car, but then he wrapped his arms and legs around Nick and held on as he was hugged.
Zane laughed even as a melancholy ache settled in his chest. He was glad to see the two friends reunited, but he couldn’t help but wish that was him and Ty down there.
“Not too long now,” he whispered to himself. “Keep it together, Garrett.”
Nick had been sent halfway across the world under the guise of a forty-eight-hour mental health break, but his true purpose had been to deliver a single, five-word message to the Office of Naval Intelligence in Suitland, Maryland. He’d flown twelve hours in a jump seat, delivered his message, then diverted to Baltimore to drop in on Zane. Ty hadn’t sent him there as Zane had suspected, but Nick hadn’t let Zane know that.
He’d been able to get word to Kelly, who’d flown in to meet up with him. Nick had been nearly sick with nerves as he waited for Kelly to arrive, but the moment he’d seen him standing on the sidewalk in front of Ty’s row house, the moment he’d heard his lighthearted voice, any trace of apprehension abandoned him and all he wanted was to hug Kelly until his head popped off.
They took Zane to dinner, keeping conversation light, trying not to let anything slip. Kelly knew not to ask questions, and Zane seemed to catch on quickly that even asking how the weather had been was too far.
Dinner was good. Zane’s waiter friend, Ryan, was just as hot as Ty complained about. Nick and Kelly were able to keep their hands and eyes off each other for hours as they sat and talked with Zane. In the end, Kelly and Zane arranged to keep in contact better, offering each other some support while Sidewinder was gone.
Zane was clearly heartsick, but he didn’t seem lonely. When they parted at the end of the night, he didn’t linger or ask them to stick around, though he did offer to let them stay with him. They declined for . . . obvious reasons. But Nick was relieved to see that Zane seemed to be doing okay on his own.
Nick couldn’t tell Zane and Kelly that they weren’t the only ones who were alone a lot of the time. He couldn’t tell them that the team had been split up, promoted and seeded into smaller groups. Given the real reason they’d been recalled—black ops missions on which MARSOC couldn’t afford to use known operators—Nick and Digger were now master sergeants, each leading a recon squadron of twelve men. Ty was a captain who commanded four separate squadrons, Nick’s and Digger’s included. Owen had been filtered into Naval Intelligence, and they only heard from him when they gathered in the dark to do their real jobs.
None of that mattered tonight, though. None of that mattered for the next two days. Nick wrapped his arm around Kelly’s waist and pulled him closer as they walked down the hallway to their hotel room. They glanced at each other, both grinning. Neither of them said a word.
Nick slid the room key home and shoved the door open, then reached out to take Kelly’s hand and tug him inside. They barely got their bags into the room. They were kissing even before the door latched.
Kelly grasped at Nick’s shirt, sliding his hands around to dig into Nick’s shoulders. Nick moved in on him, his hands on Kelly’s cheeks, shoving him against the wall with little regard for how rough he was being. They both grunted when Kelly hit, but it didn’t slow them down. Nick kissed him hungrily, gripping Kelly’s hair. Kelly moaned when Nick’s fingers tightened and tugged, and the sound was like a dinner bell ringing.
Nick bit Kelly’s lip, gasping as their bodies pressed together. “I thought about this so goddamn many times.”
Kelly nodded. “Every night. Every f**king night I thought about you.”
Nick closed his eyes, running the tip of his nose from Kelly’s chin to his cheek, breathing him in. Kelly jutted his chin out and brushed his lips against Nick’s. Nick could feel him grinning, could feel the eagerness in his labored breaths. They both knew what was coming. There was no holding it off this time, and there was no point in wasting what precious little time they had in trying to deny what they both wanted.
Nick kissed him, rocking into him. Then he trailed kisses down his chin to his neck and nipped at him, seeking the sounds he remembered Kelly making. He wasn’t disappointed. Kelly moaned, vibrating Nick’s lips as he sucked on Kelly’s neck. Nick grabbed his thighs and picked him up, sliding him up the wall and using his body to keep him there.
Kelly wrapped his legs around Nick’s waist to help him. “Fuck me, Nick.”
Nick’s fingers tightened in his hair and he bit down harder on his neck, dragging his teeth over the skin. He wanted nothing more than to do just that, and now that Kelly wasn’t injured, Nick didn’t have to worry about hurting him. Much.
“Next time,” Nick promised, despite his desire to say “Aye aye” and toss Kelly to the floor.
Kelly grunted. “Now.”
Nick laughed and pushed his face against Kelly’s neck. “We both need to get off at least once before I get at you, or I’ll tear you apart.”
“No, you won’t! I’ve been practicing!” Kelly began popping the buttons on Nick’s shirt, fingers fluttering against Nick’s skin as they moved.
Nick’s breath caught. His knees went weak, and he let Kelly slide back down the wall to his feet. He placed both hands on either side of Kelly’s head and pushed away so he could meet Kelly’s eyes. “Practicing?”
Kelly hummed, biting his lip against a grin.
“How’ve you been doing that, exactly?” The hoarse rumble in his voice could have been misconstrued as threatening, but Kelly just grinned wider. He knew Nick too well to misconstrue anything he did.