Chapter 19

Shutting his eyes, Forrest leaned into the kiss and wrapped his arms around Nero's strong body to keep himself from falling to the floor. Or maybe it was to keep himself from dragging Nero to his bedroom. He needed to demonstrate some self-control.

Didn't he?

Nero was strong, he'd hold them both up. Or in place.

Nero felt incredible against him. Under his fingertips. Against his skin.

Dropping one hand but keeping his mouth fused to Nero's, Forrest skimmed underneath the cotton t-shirt he'd loaned him, reveling in the feel of his bare skin, of the tangible muscle he carried and the curve of his back. Nero groaned and copied Forrest's action. Luckily for them, Nero was already leaning against the counter. Then he wrapped a leg around Forrest's calf, bringing them even closer.

"Damn, Nero," Forrest muttered.

They were both erect. Their cocks brushed against each other, sending a hot wave of need up Forrest's spine. Time fell away as they licked into each other's mouths, their tongues lunging, parrying, and thrusting as they tasted each other's desire.

Forrest hadn't experienced this level of deep attraction in years, maybe ever. He knew they should slow down, maybe even have a conversation, but he didn't want to stop. He couldn't bring himself to even pause. Then one of Nero's hands slipped between their bodies and began to caress Forrest's cock, and they thrust against each other.

"Bedroom?" he asked between desperate kisses.

"God, yes," Nero rasped before nipping Forrest's lip. "We're going to end up on the floor at this rate."

"As exciting as that sounds, I'm too old. My back will make me regret it." Forrest's back twinged in agreement, but he ignored it.

Grabbing Nero's hand, Forrest practically dragged him to his bedroom. He didn't even take time to worry about how long it'd been since he'd changed the sheets.

Once in the room, they got tangled up trying to undress each other.

"Fucking clothes." Forrest gave up and ripped off his own damn shirt and jeans.

Nero laughed as he also divested himself of unnecessary attire.

Finally, they were both naked. Forrest dived on to his bed like a kid. Nero followed suit but a bit more slowly, laying down next to Forrest.

"I knew you were trouble," Forrest grumbled, "the minute I laid eyes on you."

"I knew you were trouble before I ever saw you," Nero said.

They both laughed, making Forrest realize how glad he was that they hadn't died earlier. Rolling onto his side, he drank in the sexy body that Nero usually kept hidden underneath baggy shirts. As he looked, Nero's cock twitched.

Forrest smiled.

"That smile is dangerous," Nero observed languidly.

"Mm, probably."

Forrest lay one hand on Nero's furry chest, enjoying the crinkle of the dark hair underneath his palm before tracing a path downward across his stomach to his fully erect penis. As he watched, a bead of precome pulsed from Nero's cock, causing a similar reaction from Forrest's.

Reaching his destination, Forrest forced himself to move slowly. Using his index finger, he traced a circle around Nero's tip before moving to outline his shaft. Nero groaned again, spreading his legs and thrusting his hips upward.

"Forrest… I need more." Nero's voice was faint but raspy, as if he was barely managing to control himself.

"No condoms," Forrest said. "I need to get into Aberdeen for supplies."

Nero blinked at him, a cute frown creasing his brow.

"Just… fuck." Rolling onto his side so they faced each other again, Nero wrapped his leg over Forrest's so they were eye to eye and cock to cock. "This way."

Nero wrapped his fingers around as much of both cocks as he could while Forrest snaked his hand around the back of Nero's neck so he could plunder his lips. Nero gasped and Forrest took advantage, diving his tongue into his mouth and sucking on his tongue. Nero's body writhed against him, his hand moving wildly as he pumped them together.

Forrest tried to focus on Nero, but his balls were tight and sending warning shots up his spine. They were both leaking enough precome that Nero's hand was slippery. Fuck, it felt good.

"Fuck, Nero," Forrest gasped.

"Next time—" Nero's sentence was cut off as his back arched and come spilled out over his hand and Forrest's cock.

His own reaction was immediate. The warning shots sparked into fireworks, Forrest's balls began to empty, and it felt as if most of the oxygen in his body evaporated. Or something.

Falling back to himself, Forrest rolled onto his back to stare up at the ceiling. There was a stain in one corner where the roof had leaked years ago. He should probably fix that.

"Jesus, Nero," Forrest muttered over the pounding of his heart. "That was incredible."

When Nero didn't respond, Forrest turned to look at him. His eyes were half-open, his cheeks red from Forrest's beard. He looked properly ravaged.

"I think you broke me," he finally whispered. "I don't think I can move my legs."

"Ha, ha."

Leaning in, Forrest claimed his lips again. It was a good thing Nero Vik was only in town temporarily. Forrest could see himself getting attached.

* * *

After they'd showered—separately,and Nero for the second time—Forrest headed back to the kitchen to prepare the steaks he'd gotten out of the freezer. Nero offered to help but Forrest was happy having him sit at the tiny kitchen table and keep him entertained.

"Good, because I was just kidding. I don't cook."

Forrest prided himself on being a decent enough cook. Lani even liked what he put on the table. While Nero had been cleaning up the first time, Forrest had tossed the steaks in a dish with soy sauce, minced garlic, ginger, and rice vinegar. He opened the refrigerator to see what his side dish options were.

"Do you like Brussels sprouts?"

He'd gotten some freshly harvested ones from a farm up the road earlier in the week. It would be a shame not to share them.

"I don't think I've had them in years."

"Is that a no or a yes?"

"It's an ‘I'll try them.'"

Nero had his phone in his hand and was scowling at the screen. Forrest wanted to ask if everything was okay but also didn't want to pry. They didn't owe each other anything.

Grabbing the bag of Brussels sprouts and a bunch of scallions, Forrest poured the sprouts out onto the cutting board, then selected a knife and began cutting off the dry ends before slicing the vegetables in half and dropping them into a large bowl. He'd slather them with olive oil and sea salt before roasting them.

He'd expected things to be slightly awkward—they had just had sex again. Maybe Nero would want to go back to his place later? There wasn't any tension that Forrest could sense, but, as Lani often pointed out, he could be an idiot.

Fine. Maybe he should ask. Maybe that was what the scowl was about.

Forrest waved the knife he was using to chop the green onions back and forth between them. "You okay with this?"

Nero looked up, a sly smile teasing his lips, making parts of Forrest twitch. "This? You mean you feeding me? Or you making me come so hard I saw stars and a comet? I'm fine with both, thanks."

An added eyebrow waggle had Forrest chuckling.

"Alright. Guess I won't worry that I was off my game."

"Nope."

Forrest still wanted to know what Nero had been frowning about but asking seemed like crossing a line. What line, he wasn't quite sure, but he wasn't going to cross it.

Then there was the very real fact that his truck was likely totaled. And Rufus Ferguson was possibly missing.

The oven beeped, so he slid the pan of spouts inside and set the timer.

"Do you think the accident, the fire, and Ned's death are related?" Nero asked abruptly.

Forrest straightened up so quickly he made himself dizzy.

"What?"

Nero spoke slowly and carefully, as if he was concerned Forrest was a bit slow on the uptake or that maybe his head injury was more serious than they thought. But really, Forrest knew he was giving him crap. "Do you think the accident just now, the fire at the mansion, and Ned's death could be related?"

"Why would they be related?"

"Well, we're snooping into what happened. Maybe we—okay, totally me—asked the wrong questions? Or maybe just me being in town telling everyone I was going to be asking questions made someone nervous?"

Huh, impressive. Nero was almost as suspicious and conspiracy theory oriented as Forrest was.

"The fire happened before Ned was killed," Forrest pointed out. "You think the librarian messed with my brakes?"

"Maybe not Fernsby, per se. But you have to admit that an awful lot has happened just in the past few days. Literally almost the second I really started to look into the cases."

Forrest had never met this Fernsby person. While he managed to piss a lot of people off, he usually knew who they were.

"I guess?" Forrest questioned.

"I don't like my thoughts any more than you do but hear me out. If we had been killed, don't you think that most people in town would've laid the blame at your feet? You've said yourself that you have a reputation. Even if it's been years since you and Xavier terrorized the town, people don't forget."

"We never lit anything or anyone on fire," he protested weakly. The lightheadedness returned and suddenly his legs felt shaky again. Forrest moved to the table and sat heavily in the chair across from Nero. "Shit. Mostly, I just keep encouraging people to think I'm kind of bonkers. It keeps them out of my hair."

"Have you talked to your sister more? Does she know about Rufus missing? I'd be surprised if she hasn't called you after her threat earlier."

Forrest groaned, wanting to pound his head against the wall. Instead, he heaved himself upright again and went in search of his phone. It lay where he'd left it on the coffee table in front of the couch after getting home.

Four missed calls. She hadn't bothered to leave a message.

"Fuck."

The last one had been while he'd been in the shower, which meant that Lani would be knocking on his door any minute.

"What?" Nero said from the doorway.

"Lani will be here any second."

The sound of gravel crunching under tires was followed by the sweep of headlights across the front of the house.

"I'm doomed. You'll protect me, right?"

Nero smiled, even though he looked as tired as Forrest felt.

"I'll do my best."