STORY EXCERPT

“You wouldn’t stop texting me last night.”

“I… What?”

Andrew turned his head, those pretty blue’s glaring at him. He looked like he had less sleep than Nate did. In fact, Nate couldn’t remember getting into bed at all. Or getting undressed, or putting himself into the joggers he didn’t jog in but slept in.

“When did you get here?”

“About three in the morning. Your ass was passed out in your kitchen by the fridge with several empty beer bottles and a vodka bottle in your hand.”

“Oh.”

“You’re lucky you’re all right. I was considering calling a hospital for you.”

“Thank you for not.” The tabloids might have been all over that, questioning whether or not he was fit to fight.

Not to mention the questions that would have risen by having Andrew be the one to call for him.

Andrew took the basket out of his room without a second word.

Nate opened his mouth to call after the man, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. Nothing came out.

Andrew was gone. Just like the last time he’d walked out and Nate couldn’t bring himself to say a thing to bring him back.

But then, after a few minutes, Andrew did come back. He came back and he had a glass of water in his hand.

“I’m not giving you any pills because I don’t know what they’ll do to you when you’re like this.”

Nate cleared his throat, accepting the water and drinking slowly. He looked down and did see a clean pot there waiting for him. He shuddered to think of how many times he’d thrown up while Andrew was here, taking care of him.

He wasn’t going to ask.

“Thanks,” he said after downing the water, desperation making him mute again as he tried to figure out how to keep Andrew here.

Years of being ghosted, and it turned out harassing the guy with drunken texts was enough to bring him back.

Andrew took the glass. He avoided looking Nate in the eyes. “How’ve you been?”

“Good,” Nate lied. “You?”

Andrew nodded. “Good.”

He got the feeling that was a lie, too.

“I’m sorry, by the way, for texting you so much. I don’t even remember doing it.”

“It’s fine. Got me a day off work, so I guess I can’t complain.”

An awkward silence pushed between them again. Always something getting between them. But what was he supposed to say?

I still love you. I swear I never cheated on you. Please stay?

“It looks different here,” Andrew said.

“All your stuff is gone.” And some of his own.

Andrew froze, and Nate cursed himself for saying such a thing.

“I hear you’ve got another big fight coming up.”

Nate nodded, feeling the surge of energy he’d felt in Jerry’s office come over him. “Yeah. Against Draggis. I’m going to win, too.”

Andrew smiled weakly at him. “I’m glad, Nate. I’m really happy for you.”

But Nate wasn’t happy for himself.

“I’ve got no one in my corner yet.”

“You haven’t chosen who to bring?”

“Not so much haven’t chosen as put off deciding who to ask, and then getting turned down by the first person to show an interest.”

Andrew nodded. “Oh, well, don’t worry. Someone will want to.”

“I would want it to be you.”

Andrew pressed his lips together. He looked away, but the rush of color to his cheeks was clear. “Nate—”

“There was never anyone else. Never.”

“Can we not do this now? I’m tired.”

He sounded it, but Nate couldn’t give in. This was the first time he had Andrew in front of him in person, and he couldn’t let him get away.

He stood up, wobbling a little on his feet—fuck, he was still drunk—but he was determined to stand. As if that would prove anything.

“Look, I just came over here to check up on you. I couldn’t even believe my key worked. You really need to change your locks and password to everything. How have you not been hacked or broken into by now?”

Nate barely heard the second half of that sentence. He couldn’t stop staring at the man he loved. “You kept the key?”

Andrew could have told Nate he was the love of his life and he wanted to come back to him and Nate was pretty sure he would have felt this exact same warmth deep inside himself.

Andrew’s eyes flew wide. The guy blushed hard.

Nate almost forgot what that looked like, and now that he was seeing it again, he couldn’t believe there had ever been a time in his life when he hadn’t been seeing that blush.

“I… I need to get out of here.”

He was always so bashful. It was cute.

But now that he was here, Nate couldn’t let him go.

He chased the other man out of his bedroom and caught his elbow.

“Don’t leave.” He was desperate and pathetic, but he couldn’t just let Andrew walk out of here. “What do I need to do to make you stay?”

Andrew sighed, looking up at him. “I’m not going. I was going to go into your kitchen and make you something to eat if you wanted to have a shower.”

“You… really?” It was too good to be true so he almost didn’t believe it. “Really?”

“Yes.”

“This isn’t a trick and you’re going to be gone when I’m done?” A shower sounded amazing and he couldn’t properly try to seduce the man if his mouth tasted like puke.

“No, I’m not going to go. Honestly, I think that would be too mean to lie to you like that, and your kitchen is disgusting and it’s honestly bugging me.”

Nate laughed. Andrew actually smiled and blushed a little more at that.

“Right, I guess I have to believe you then.”

He realized he was still holding onto Andrew’s elbow so he let him go. He didn’t turn and walk away, though. His feet were locked in place.

Nate could face down other dragons who were taller and broader than he was, but when it came to keeping the man he loved from walking out again, he was frozen in terror.

ADULT EXCERPT

He went two years without having this? How was something like that even possible? Tasting Andrew again, the heady scent of him, the warm slide of their tongues, it felt as though Nate was finally getting the chance to breathe after being underwater for so long.

Andrew moaned against his mouth, and Nate swore his wings popped out and the dragon inside his head roared. He’d felt this animal side to himself before. Usually when he was in the middle of a fight with another dragon, letting himself go into berserker mode helped him to not feel the pain of the punches or the slashing of claws. He’d always took it to be a state of mind he fell into when he was determined to win, when he wanted blood.

Not so in this case. It was like that side of himself had been just as starved for affection and attention as the more civilized side of his brain.

Andrew wasn’t just going along for the ride, either. His hands moved and scrambled with Nate’s belt. He curled his leg around Nate’s thigh, tried pulling him out of his clothes.

He was trying to take the driver’s seat.

It was amazing. It was high inducing. It was everything Nate wished for ever since Andrew walked out on him.

Not this time. He was going to make things right this time, and he wasn’t going to fuck up this chance.

Lifting the other man into his arms, separating their mouths and hoisting Andrew over his shoulder, he rushed to the nearest soft surface, which turned out to be the sofa. A bed would do them better, and it wasn’t as though it was all that far away, but even that seemed like it was across a desert, and Nate was about to implode.

“I need you,” he growled, getting the other man out of his pants, their mouths so close, noses touching, warm breath mingling.

Andrew had that cute blush on his face. Nate would never understand why the other man hated it so much. He looked so handsome like that.

“I need you, too,” Andrew moaned.

It wasn’t a declaration of love by any stretch of the imagination, but Nate was going to take it and he was going to be grateful for it.

Shoving the man’s jeans down, Nate got to his knees and prepared to worship.

“Oh God,” Andrew moaned, fingers pushing through Nate’s hair, fingers scratching at his scalp. As though Nate’s mouth was already on his dick.

Nate needed to worship this, too. Just getting his mouth on him wasn’t enough, tasting wasn’t enough.

This was like a fine wine. A man worth his salt couldn’t just chug it back.

He had to enjoy it.

Which meant he might have gone a little overboard, but he couldn’t help himself, so he hoped Andrew would have some patience with him while Nate let his lips trail over the shaft of his dick.

He breathed the other man in, taking in his musk, enjoying every shiver and sigh.

“Nate,” Andrew gasped.

Nate took his cock into hand, noting the pulsing, the shiver, and when he let his tongue slide over the head, right where the drop of pre-cum was forming, that seemed to be all it took for the other man to lose it.

Andrew groaned, and Nate blinked back into awareness when he found himself with a face full of Andrew’s seed.

He looked up at the guy. Andrew stared back down at him, eyes wide, as though he’d just witnessed a murder.

Then his lips trembled, and he threw his head back, busting out laughing.

Nate couldn’t believe it, and he looked up at the guy like he’d lost his mind.

“Really? You’re going to laugh at me now?” He wiped away what he could. It was thick. Andrew must have been celibate for a while.

Meanwhile, Andrew looked like he was dying of laughter. “I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!”

He didn’t look sorry, but Nate couldn’t be mad at him. He didn’t think there was anything Andrew could do that would make him angry.

He looked as though he was having the time of his life, and Nate did bring him to orgasm, so that was always a good thing.

He couldn’t help but smile, too, bringing a finger to his lips, tasting some of Andrew’s seed while the other man pulled himself together.

While he did that, it wasn’t lost on Nate that he was still hard.

Which meant there was still somewhere they could go with this.

All right, now that he’d come, that meant there was likely going to be time for them to enjoy themselves before he came to his pleasure again. Nate had wanted to take his time, to really enjoy himself, but it seemed a little hurrying wasn’t going to hurt anything.

He took Andrew all the way into his mouth, deep throating the other man and cutting off the rest of his laughter as he clearly caught the poor guy off guard.

Nate often liked catching Andrew off his guard. It was the most fun thing about the sex they had, surprising each other.

Nate wanted to bring himself back to that. He wanted it to be just like old times, and that was exactly what he planned.

Andrew’s hands were suddenly on Nate’s shoulders, as though he needed something to hold onto for balance. As if the couch behind him wasn’t enough.

Fine by Nate. He hallowed his cheeks, pulling back before pushing forward again and again. He swirled his tongue around, tasting more pre-cum as Andrew was clearly getting closer to the edge again. Then there was everything Nate was licking up that he’d already released.

The scent of his musk was one thing. This was the most delightful thing Nate had experienced in two years.

“Oh fuck… I… I forgot,” Andrew said, gasping for breath, groaning as anything else he was about to say was cut off.

Fine by him. Nate pulled his lips back, leaving only Andrew’s cockhead between his lips, letting his tongue flick against the head for just a second, enjoying the guttural sound of Andrew’s moaning before he pushed back down on the shaft again.