Chapter Five

~ Zaq ~

We'd been on the road for two days. We weren't in any big hurry once we left California, but there was still a bit of anxiety. Patrick swore that Peter had no idea where he lived now, but his parents did. The quicker we got him packed up and we left Texas, the better. We were currently somewhere outside Albuquerque, New Mexico.

We had a ways to go yet.

"You want to stop for the night?" Patrick asked. "I hear the music scene in Albuquerque is pretty good. We could get a room for the night and get something to eat, listen to some good music."

"That's sounds fun." I glanced at Patrick's profile. "Do you dance?"

"I'm a doctor. I checked and I got two left feet."

I chuckled at his joke. "Guess we'll need to find a gay bar then. We can slow dance. Doesn't matter if you have two left feet if you slow dance."

Patrick raised an eyebrow. "Slow dance?"

I just shrugged.

"If you promise not to punch me if I step on your feet, I'm in."

"No, I wouldn't punch you because then I'd have to patch you up and my license is valid in New Mexico."

I was dreading the paperwork I'd need to do to get licenses as a nurse in New York City. If I wanted to work in a good hospital—and I did—I'd probably have to take a few courses at a medical school to get caught up with their regulations.

"Do you know which hospital you want to work at?" I asked.

"Not really. I haven't gotten that far yet. I thought about taking some time off to just enjoy life for a little while before I jump back into practicing medicine." Patrick glanced at me briefly. "What about you?"

"I've put a few feelers out just to see what's available. Hospitals are always hiring nurses so I don't think I'll have much problem after I get a state license."

"One of my friends told me about an opportunity that I wanted to discuss with you."

I gave Patrick my full attention. "I'm listening."

"Nothing has been finalized yet, you understand. This is all just talk at this moment."

"So, hypothetical then?"

"Maybe a little more than hypothetical, but yeah."

"So, what's this opportunity?" I asked.

"Several of my friends in New York are rather well off. Joe mentioned that they might be interested in an on-call doctor. All of the particulars on how this would work haven't been ironed out yet, but we'd basically be giving medical care to them whenever they called."

"An on-call doctor?"

"Well, an on-call doctor and nurse. I'd have to hire someone to work with me, so why not you?"

It was an interesting proposition.

"Would there be enough work for us?"

Patrick squinted for a moment. "That I am not sure of yet. Joe said we'd get together with the others once we got settled and they would explain things in greater detail, but he seemed to think they needed a full time doctor. I guess right now they are using a doctor that leaves a little to be desired."

"What?" I nearly shouted. "Is he not licensed or something?"

"He's the husband of a mob boss."

My jaw dropped. "They are using a mob doctor?"

Was that even legal?

"Apparently, he's a friend."

If my jaw wasn't already on my chest, it would have hit there at that statement. "A friend? These people hang out with the mob?"

Just who were Patrick's friends?

"Again, Joe said they would explain it in greater detail once we got to New York, but he did say they were on friendly terms with four of the five families in the city. He also said these particular mob bosses have actually cleaned up a lot of the crime in the city."

I'd believe that when I saw it.

"I guess they want to move to a doctor that doesn't have mob connections," Patrick stated. "It probably doesn't look good to associate with them very often."

Yeah, I'd bet.

"So, would this be something you'd be interested in doing with me?"

I seriously had to think about that. Yeah, working with Patrick would be great, but I worried that there just wouldn't be enough work for us to be able to live.

"If they are serious about this, and I mean really serious, they'd have to put us on salary, especially if we were on-call twenty-four-seven. There would also have to be rules. I won't do anything illegal."

Hanging out with mobsters seemed to be really close to the edge of legal and illegal. It's not where I wanted to be standing.

"I agree with all of that," Patrick replied. "I just wanted to know if you had any interest in doing something like this with me if the offer came up."

"Well, yeah, I think it would be cool to work with my husband, and you would need a nurse to assist you, so I'm right for the position. I'm just a little worried about what kind of medicine we'd be practicing. I mean, are we talking colds and earaches here or taking bullets out of mobsters?"

"I don't think we'll know until we talk to the others."

"I won't do anything illegal." I wanted to be real clear on that. I wouldn't do anything that might jeopardize my nursing license. "If they want an on-call doctor just to get prescriptions or something, I'm out."

Patrick quickly shook his head. "No, none of my friends do drugs. We saw too many people destroy their lives doing drugs when we were attending the university. None of us are real fans of drugs, even the prescription kind."

That was a relief.

"Why don't you search for a gay bar in Albuquerque?" Patrick asked. "Maybe one close to a good hotel. I'm getting kind of hungry and I know we could both do with a shower and a good night's sleep."

Right.

I pulled my cell phone out and started a search on gay bars and hotels in Albuquerque. I found more than one, which was good. I hated going places where I had to hide who I was.

I told Patrick what exit we needed when we reached the city and then gave him directions to the hotel. Luckily, it was just a block away from the bar so we could leave the moving truck in the hotel parking lot.

It would be weird to drive one to a bar.

An hour later I was walking into a hotel room with Patrick, overnight bag in hand. I was actually kind of impressed that we had found such a nice room for the price we paid for it. It was clean, aesthetically pleasing, and looked very comfortable.

Considering how many miles we had covered today, a chicken shed would be comfortable.

"I'm going to jump in the shower real quick and wash off some of this road grime."

I nodded absently to Patrick, not really paying attention to what he said until I heard the shower come on.

I swallowed tightly as I glanced toward the shower door, watching as steam billowed out of the opening. My mind went into overdrive as I envisioned what was just beyond that doorway.

Somehow, in all this time since Patrick came back into my life, I'd missed out on the sexual component to being married to someone, and now it was all I could think about.

We'd agreed to take things slow and get to know each other before jumping into the deep end of marriage. I couldn't help but wonder what exactly "slow" meant. Measured in time, just how long was that? A week? A month? A year?

Now sounded good.

I started to get up to go look, but then quickly sat back down. Looking would be bad. Well, it would be great, but bad.

I was so conflicted, and confused. Very confused. Except for that very chaste kiss Patrick had given me when we said our vows, he hadn't made a single overture toward me.

He did say he hoped that we could have a real marriage at some point, but when was that point?

I was right back to that damn slow thing.

I was sitting in the same exact spot when Patrick walked out of the bathroom a few minutes later. The only thing Patrick had one was a white towel wrapped around his waist. He was using another towel to dry his hair.

Drool began to pool in my mouth as I looked him up and down.

This was where the slow part came in.

I took a long measured look from the top of his wet hair, down his beautiful face and square cut jaw, his long neck, the sexy six pack abs I had ever seen, to his narrow waist and hips and then past the white towel to the bottoms of his long slender feet.

Could a guy have sexy feet?

I needed a cold shower and quick.

I jumped up to race to the bathroom, but my feet got tangled and I tripped, falling to my knees. I reached out for any leverage I could grab to keep me from falling to my feet.

When I looked up, I inhaled a sharp breath. I had grabbed Patrick's towel and it now lay in a heap at his feet. The man was standing there in all of his naked glory.

My eyes widened as I watched his cock harden and rise right in front of my face. I raised an eyebrow as glanced up to his face.

"Seriously?" Patrick asked. "I'd have to be dead six months not to get aroused by the sight of you kneeling at my feet."

Oh, good answer.

I tentatively reached out a hand and stroked Patrick's thigh with my hand, starting at his knees and slowly moving up his damp skin. I swallowed tightly when Patrick arched into my touch.

"Both hands, Zaq, please," Patrick pleaded.

I laid both of my hands on Patrick's thighs, my fingers clenching against his slick skin. A delightful shiver of wanting shook my body at the simple touch.

"Your hands feel so good, Zaq," Patrick whispered, his voice breathless and needy.

"Yeah?" I whispered back. .

I moved my hands so I could gently caress Patrick's abdomen. His reaction to my simple touch was shocking. The man moaned, his entire body trembling.

My senses reeled as I watched him, almost as if my brain had short-circuited. Patrick's skin was flushed with desire. His eyes half hooded as he stared down at me. His mouth was partially open, small pants falling from his lips.

He was breathtaking.

My heart pounded rapidly in my chest, I leaned forward and licked a line on his thigh to the crease where his thigh met his groin. I smiled against his skin when Patrick's groans of pleasure reached my ears.

Apparently, I'd found a hot spot for Patrick. I couldn't have been more thrilled. I intended to exploit that hot spot for all it was worth, or at least until I found another one.

When Patrick's hands clenched in my hair, the air in my lungs hissed out in a deep rush. I felt almost light-headed for a moment.

"Patrick." I closed my eyes and rested my head against Patrick's thigh. The man's touch was just too much to take in. It felt too good and not good enough all at the same time.

"What do you need, Zaq?"

I didn't have a clue what I needed, but I knew I needed something. I ached in a way I never had before. My cock felt so hard I could have cut marble, and it leaked as if preparing for something big.

Patrick grabbed me by the arms and pulled me up. His touch was light and painfully teasing as his fingers moved over my face, tilting my head up until our eyes met. There was earnestness in his eyes as he looked down at me that I hadn't expected.

"Whatever you want, Zaq."

"I need you."

I moved closer to Patrick to give him better access and then pushed back against the fingers that slid under the waistline of my pants and grazed my aching hole.

Waves of ecstasy throbbed through my body.

My mind swirled, jumping from one thought to another faster than I could keep track of them. I was supposed to be driving Patrick insane with lust, but one touch of the man's hands and I came unglued. I wanted to pleasure Patrick, but I didn't want to stop the man from what he was doing, either.

"Patrick," I groaned again as I looked at him. The sensual light burning in Patrick's dark brown eyes took what remaining breath I had right out of my lungs.

Patrick's mouth covered mine, the hunger in his kiss rocking me down to my toes. It was hard and searching, and I loved every last second of it. I groaned in protest when Patrick pulled away until he reached for the buttons of my jeans.

I was actually kind of impressed with how quickly he got them off.

"Get on the bed and pull your shirt up," Patrick ordered.

I was confused for a moment, but did as Patrick asked. I got the idea quickly when Patrick climbed onto the bed between my legs and his lips wrapped around the head of my cock.

I dug my fingers into the headboard and I hung on for all I was worth as ecstasy shot through my body.

I was so intent on the feeling of Patrick's mouth moving over me that I didn't even realize Patrick's finger had invaded my ass until he began to move it. My grip on the headboard tightened as all the blood in my body pooled in my groin.

I didn't know whether to thrust forward or backward. Both movements felt great. Both movements made me tremble uncontrollably. Too many sensations filled my body to settle on one. I just soared higher until the peak of delight was reached and I shattered, shooting into Patrick's mouth.

As soon as my body came down and I was able to form a single thought, I beckoned with my hand. Patrick moved up, his hands landing on either side of my head as he hovered over the top of me.

There was a tingling in the pit of my stomach. I curled my arms around Patrick’s waist, pulling him closer. His hard erection pressed against my own. The friction was maddening. I would never get enough of feeling Patrick’s hard cock against my body.

"Want you," I whispered against delicious kiss-swollen lips.

"How much?" Patrick's tone was so damn deep and seductive that I groaned with hot, aching need.

"You have no idea." My skin was pulsing with desire, my body writhing against the larger man. I pulled back to see Patrick’s flushed cheeks, lust eating up his irises. Patrick’s aroused passion was making mine grow stronger.

Patrick made a throaty sound as his lips left a searing trail of kisses and licks along my skin. My legs began to shake as Patrick moved lower and lower.

I jerked, my breath coming out in shallow gasps, my cock hard and erect. Patrick licked around my navel, his tongue sensually dancing along the fine hairs that ran from my abdomen to my groin. I was going out of my mind and Patrick was teasing me.

A cry left my lips when Patrick placed his hands on the back of my thighs and raised my bottom, licking along the underside of my sac. I fisted my hands, my head lolling to the side. I could feel myself trembling and it was only the start of things.

I let Patrick maneuver me, taking full advantage of my body. I quickly learned just how sensual a lover Patrick could be. Arousal ran over me in hot currents, heating me up to the point I thought I was going to melt.

Patrick took my half hard erection into his mouth again, savored it, tasted it, and brought me to the edge. I inhaled deeply, my fingers digging into Patrick's shoulders as the need to come clawed at me.

I closed my eyes, pressing my cheek to the mattress as Patrick's fingers slid down the crease in my ass, slid over my aching hole. Firm fingers slid down my inner thigh as the other hand moved to spread my cheeks once more.

This time Patrick's fingers were wet when they circled my quivering opening. One lone finger slipped inside my body and I thought I was going to lose my mind.

Patrick rose up, climbing back over me, his cock pressing between my ass cheeks. My head fell back when Patrick's lubed fingers breached me. I bent my legs, spreading them wider as Patrick stretched his body over mine.

When Patrick’s fingers slipped from my body, I almost whimpered in protest until I felt the blunt head of Patrick’s cock pressing into my ass. I expected Patrick to ease in slowly as he always had in the past. Instead, Patrick surged all the way in with one single thrust.

"Patrick!" I cried out as I wrapped my legs around Patrick’s waist. I absently noted that he was wearing a condom and was thankful for his forethought. I'd certainly had not been thinking about it.

Having Patrick inside of me was like a carnal kiss. We were joined at the most intimate level. The bliss was so great, I never dreamed of asking Patrick to slow down. If anything, I urged him on by letting out a groan of pleasure as Patrick’s cock brushed against my sweet spot.

"I love hearing my name on your lips." Patrick nipped my shoulder, his tongue playing havoc with my nerve endings. His large hand was pressing into my back, the other curved around my hip.

Patrick rotated his hips, pushing and pulling, shooting me closer to the edge, and then bringing me back. He almost had me pinned to the desk, enclosing me in pure muscle as he made slow, sweet love to me.

I surged forward, meeting Patrick's thrusts, my fingers grabbing the man's shoulders and holding on. Patrick pulled out almost all the way and then thrust deep. My legs inched higher and higher up Patrick’s back. I whimpered when Patrick grabbed my ankles, pushing my legs past my head.

My head fell back against the mattress, my eyes rolling in my head. The sensations were clawing their way throughout my entire body and ensnaring me in a sensual hold as my body splintered into a thousand pieces of pleasure.

Patrick growled, thrusting so hard that I could no longer keep up. I was lost in my climax, clinging to Patrick with the last vestige of consciousness. Patrick’s moves were deep, fast, and had me arching my back as Patrick came. His muscles shuddered under my hands before the man let out a rough shout as he filled the condom.

Patrick rested his body on top of mine as he cupped my face between his hands and searched my face with his eyes. "Was that okay?" he asked. "I know we said we were going to take it slow and—"

I pressed a finger to Patrick's lips. "I am capable of saying no, Patrick, even when I'm horny."

With Patrick as a husband, I was pretty sure I would be horny all the damn time, especially now that I knew what he was like in bed.

"I do have one question."

"Go ahead," Patrick encouraged.

"Where did you find the condom and the lube?"

Patrick smirked. "I'm gay, Zaq. I always carry them in my wallet."

Yeah, I didn't remember him getting his wallet.

A soft flush filled Patrick's cheeks. "I might have had extra in my overnight bag."

I chuckled and pressed a quick kiss to his lips. "Let me know when we run out so we can restock up."

We'd definitely be doing this again.