Catlin's Appaloosa(3)
He paused in the doorway, taking a moment to watch Gallo pace back and forth. After a few seconds, the man glanced toward the doorway. He spotted Catlin instantly, freezing for a second before rushing back to him.“You’re back.”
Catlin smiled down at the other man.“I said I would be.”
“Yes, but…” A frown creased Gallo’s face as he obviously tried to remember something.
“Relax, Gallo,” Catlin said.“Don’t force it. Your memory will come back in time.”
Gallo nodded, and Catlin couldn’t help reaching out and burying his hand in the smaller man’s scraggly black hair. He wondered if there was a style Gallo was going for under four days of disarray, or if the man really didn’t care what he looked like. Even as he thought a trim to make the thick locks frame his face would make Gallo’s stunning blue eyes pop, he couldn’t miss Gallo’s head turning to nuzzle the hand Catlin had in his hair. Nor did Catlin miss the fact that he liked the show of affection.
A throat clearing had Gallo jerking away from him, much to Catlin’s displeasure. He’d like to see if Gallo would be more openly affectionate once he gained his memory back. On the other hand, Gallo might remember he had a boyfriend waiting at home for him. That thought caused a frown to crease his features, and that’s what Catlin focused on the doctor.“Is everything ready?”
The doctor blanched, then hurried to produce the necessary paperwork for signatures. Gallo drew back when the man tried to hand it to him, so Catlin took the clipboard and verified instructions for headaches, muscle aches, or other possible side effects. He turned to Gallo, who stood behind him and to the right, his head down but cocked as if listening intently. The move once again reinforced Gallo’s submissiveness. It was as if he were looking for direction from Catlin. It occurred to him from the incident on the bed, it wasn’t just direction, either. Gallo seemed to need comforting, and there was definitely mutual attraction, too.
Refocusing his thoughts, he got the necessary signatures from Gallo. The handsome black man balked at sitting in the wheelchair a nurse brought.“Sit in the chair, Gallo,” he finally ordered. For a second, Gallo’s gaze met his. Seeing the wide-eyed panic in the muscular man’s eyes, he softened his gaze and smiled. “I need to wheel you out of the hospital to my car, Gallo. It’s hospital policy.”
That seemed to be all the encouragement Gallo needed, for he let out a breath and settled into the chair. As Catlin wheeled the chair down the hall, he leaned over, letting his breath brush Gallo’s ear as he whispered,“Besides, you don’t have any shoes on, baby. Those concrete parking lots are not comfortable on bare feet.”
Gallo’s gaze glanced at him over his shoulder before returning his gaze forward and giving a quick nod. Even after his words of reassurance, Catlin saw the white-knuckled death-grip Gallo had on the chair’s armrests.
Chapter Two
Gallo stared through the window of the detective ’s car. Confusion, fear, and agitation warred through his body, making his skin crawl. He wanted to run and keep running, but Catlin smelled so good. For some reason, he felt safe around him, and although he couldn’t remember why that was significant, Gallo knew it was.
He let his eyelids slide shut and concentrated on breathing slowly and deeply. It helped. His skin seemed to lose some of its tightness, and he no longer felt like ants were crawling underneath it. He wondered, briefly, who had taught him this. The image of a huge brunet entered his mind, but he couldn’t see the guy’s face clearly, or think of a name. He sighed. It was something.
“Are you okay?” The detective ’s question had Gallo turning to focus on him.“I feel… confused,” he whispered honestly.
Catlin reached over and lightly squeezed his thigh just above his knee before returning his hand to the wheel.“I’ll help you through this. We’ll figure out what happened.”
Gallo didn’t know how Catlin could be so confident, and frankly, he didn’t care. All he wanted was that hand on his leg again. The detective’s touch had sent the most wonderful sensations along his nerves. Just that brief touch had his prick thickening in his borrowed sweats and his heart rate increasing. He liked it, almost as much as he liked the taste of the guy’s skin.
That memory had his dick hardening further. He inhaled deeply, taking in Catlin’s musky aroma. The wonderful scent permeated the car. His shaft jerked, pre-cum oozing from the slit and soaking into the fabric. He couldn’t suppress his whimper of shock and need, and Gallo dropped a hand to his cock, rubbing it through the damp fabric.