A Marine and a Gentleman(9)

After settling with the valet, they had him bring up Liam’s overnight bag. The walk to the truck was a short one. Around the corner and, just like that, they were alone. They didn’t say anything, walking in a companionable enough silence, but Brenden could almost feel Liam twitching.

When they arrived at the truck, Brenden took the bag and tossed it into the bed.

Liam dragged a hand through his hair. “Would you mind if I grabbed a smoke before we headed out?”

“Actually, one thing’s been bothering me since I got here.” Brenden stared at him.

“Look, smoking’s a bad habit and all of that….”

Brenden pivoted and caught his old friend up against the door of the truck. His body stretched long and hard against him, taut with coiled energy inside. Coiled and ready to strike. Liam’s eyes widened.

“I’ve wanted to do this for years.” He exhaled the words, pressed forward, and kissed him. Liam’s lips were hot and smooth. Brenden sank into the kiss, using his teeth in gentle nips to get the man’s mouth to open and teased him with gentle thrusts of his tongue. He held him captive, but one real sense of rejection and he would let him go.

Liam’s passivity came to an abrupt end. He slid his arms around Brenden and gripped him just above his ass, and he returned the ferocious kiss, tangling their tongues together. Their closeness in height aligned their hips and Brenden’s cock swelled at the contact.

Holy hell…I’m finally kissing him…. He hadn’t been kidding when he said he wanted to do it all night long. But they were still getting reacquainted; overcoming preconceptions. Liam bit down on his lower lip and ground their pelvises together in a slow, almost languorous motion, and Brenden’s train of thought derailed right into the ocean.

With more than a little reluctance, he let go of his mouth and kissed his jaw.

Liam tipped his head back to suck in a noisy breath of air, and Brenden pressed his lips over the pulse point. He drew on the skin carefully, sucking it. Liam’s dug his fingers in and he let out a low, “Fuck….”

Laughing, Brenden leaned back. “Right here?”

“Ten years ago that answer would have been hell yeah. Right here.” His eyelids were half lowered. “But I’m an old man and I like a comfortable bed.”

“Old.” Brenden gave him another hard kiss, thrilled with the simple act of doing it. “Hardly.”

“Some of us don’t run up mountains every day for the sheer sport of it, and everyone over thirty is one foot away from the grave,” Liam deadpanned and cupped Brenden’s ass. “Not that I’m complaining about the running. This is solid steel.”

“If you like that, wait till you see what else I have for you.” The line fell off his lips easily and tempted Liam, just the way he knew it would. Liam slipped a hand between them and rubbed the bulge in Brenden’s jeans.

“Look at the time. We need to go.”

“I thought you wanted to smoke?” He teased, leaning into the touch even as it forced the tension coiling in his muscles to tighten. If his dick got much harder, the zipper would leave an imprint on it.

“I think I just quit.” Liam nodded solemnly.

Though reluctant, they let go of each other and Liam circled around to get in the passenger side. Brenden took a moment to adjust himself before climbing into the driver’s seat.

“I know why we never did this in high school,” Liam declared as Brenden backed the truck out.

“Oh?” Amusement rolled under the word as he straightened the vehicle and headed for the parking lot exit. Liam’s hot gaze on him felt like a physical caress and forced his hands to stay on the steering wheel and his attention on the road.

“Oh, yeah. We’d never have made it to a hotel.”

“Keep looking at me like that and we won’t now….”



***



Liam enjoyed the ride to the hotel, tormenting Brenden. He probably shouldn’t have taken so much glee at sliding his hand along his thigh or the fact that twice he had to swerve back into his own lane. But making the man growl?

Yeah, that got his motor running. Brenden all but dumped him at the front drive to get their room while he took care of parking the truck. When he suggested they get a valet, Brenden shook his head. “Borrowed truck. I park it. I take it back. It goes home in the same shape I took it in.”

Marines were weird. Adorable. But weird. It took all of five minutes to get the room card and by the time Brenden strode into the lobby, he waited by the elevator. It gave him the perfect view to admire the man’s stride. He moved with the grace of a large animal, but the determination of a man confident in his own skin.