Chapter 10

WILLIAM WAS glad to be back in the cabin, and the first thing he did after stripping off his cold-weather gear was wash up and change his clothes. Then he settled on the sofa under a blanket. Sasha pressed next to him, glad they were home again. Garvin built up the fire in the stove, and then he too sat on the sofa.

"I don't get it. Who the heck did we rescue?" Garvin asked.

"Don will figure it out. They were all airlifted back, which means there will be records and things like that. He was as perplexed as we were. We did all we could, and now we have to let him look into things and unravel this puzzle. If nothing else, Don told me the mining company will be fined for improper storage of explosives and environmental damage. He said he agrees that there's something going on, but it's likely buried under tons of snow and won't come to light until spring."

"Which will probably only end with a slap on the wrist," Garvin said and then narrowed his gaze. " Don ?"

William smiled. "Trooper Nelson. I talked to him while he was eating before hitting the road. He asked me where I was staying and seemed really friendly." He knew when a guy was interested, and Don had definitely had that look in his eyes. The guy was handsome and really built, that was for sure.

"How friendly?" Garvin asked, leaning closer, his voice rough.

William snickered. "Are you jealous?" he teased, which was the exact reaction he had been hoping for, and it was gratifying. Garvin stared daggers at him, and William smiled as he pulled the blanket up higher.

"That's why you said something," Garvin said with a huff. "Was this some sort of test?"

William drew closer. "No, but what if I said you passed anyway?" He closed the gap between them. William was all churned up inside. It had been frightening getting caught in the snow, but he had also spent a long time on the snowmobile pressed against Garvin, with that engine vibrating under him.

He wound his arms around Garvin's neck, pulling them together.

"And is this my reward?" Garvin slipped his hand under William's shirt, warmth spreading from the skin-to-skin contact.

"If you want it to be." He pulled Garvin back until they were both lying on the sofa, with William pressed between the cushions and Garvin. It was like being surrounded by heat. William kissed Garvin hard, releasing all the pent-up energy and anxiety from the morning.

"Jesus," Garvin growled as he tugged at William's shirt, soon getting it off. His sweatpants followed, and William was naked. It didn't take long for Garvin to shed his clothes, and then he practically dove back onto the sofa. William could barely stand it. He tried to take in all of Garvin at once, his hands, his lips, everything. William shook with excitement, and Garvin seemed almost as out of control. This was no slow lovemaking, but a frenzied joining that threatened to send William over the edge. "Roll over."

William complied, lying facedown on the sofa. Garvin's weight settled on his legs. "What…?" William whimpered before Garvin spread his cheeks. "Oh my God…." William clutched the edge of the nearest cushion as Garvin thrust his tongue inside him, driving William to distraction.

"Hasn't anyone ever done this?" Garvin asked.

William shook his head, gasping as Garvin blew his warm breath over his wet skin. "No," he whimpered and thrust back.

Garvin took him deeper, adding more heat. A slick finger slid into him, followed by another, which retracted and then slipped inside once more, driving William crazy. His mind kept trying to parse the sensations, but they melded together, one on top of the other.

"Then I'm glad I get to be the first." Garvin pressed his fingers into him, holding him before leaning over him. William turned to the side, and Garvin kissed him hard and deep, touching William's soul. Damn, all those years of longing burst upward and out as he felt the warm feelings being returned, really returned, for the first time. William hummed his pleasure and gave himself over to Garvin .

William shivered as the cool room air reached his skin, but Garvin seemed to fill him with warmth, and he didn't care. All he wanted was for Garvin to continue, and he did.

"This isn't going to be slow," Garvin warned, his voice cracking, eyes dark as the arctic night sky. Damn, that was sexy, and William braced himself while Garvin hurried away and then returned and pressed him into the cushions. William gasped and pushed back against Garvin's heat as Garvin slid through his opening and then inside him. William's head spun as Garvin sank deeper, filling him fast. Without hesitation, Garvin sank to the hilt and then pulled back, rocking his hips.

William held on to the cushions, moving in time with Garvin, their bodies instantly at the same rhythm. "Don't stop."

Garvin sucked on his ear. "I have no intention. Hang on, because I need you bad." He was like a man possessed. He wrapped his arms around William's chest, holding him as he drove into William, sending them both down a speedway of passion without limits.

"Damn," William groaned as Garvin pulled him back, holding him tightly, his hands caressing his chest as Garvin took complete possession of him. William loved every second of it. Passion overwhelmed him, and there was nothing he could do but go with it. He knew that Garvin would never hurt him. Hell, he trusted him, and that only added to the intensity.

"Need you so bad," Garvin groaned, sucking on his ear as he rocked his hips, sending William into near oblivion with each thrust. He needed, he wanted, and Garvin delivered everything and more without William saying a word.

"Then take me." He pushed back as Garvin's motions became more frantic, his hands sliding downward, stroking William's cock. In seconds, he was on the edge, and Garvin gripped him harder. It took mere moments for him to reach the peak, and without stopping, Garvin took them both over the edge, making William fly in a way he had never done before.

William couldn't move, and Garvin slowly lowered him to the cushions. He groaned as their bodies separated. Garvin slipped away and returned with a warm cloth that they used to clean up. Then Garvin joined William on the sofa and pulled a blanket up around both of them. "Where did that come from?" William whispered. "I always thought you'd be a quiet… I don't know, gentler lover."

Garvin chuckled. "I guess I did too. I mean, things have just gotten a little twisted these past few days, and then you were… and I was… and…." He gathered William in his arms. "I didn't hurt you, did I?"

William scoffed. "Goodness no. I'm tougher than I look, and besides… that was hot." He snuggled closer as a wet nose poked at his. "Sorry, Sasha, there isn't room for you up here."

"He doesn't want to be left out."

"That may be, but I'm not having him getting in on the action. I'm open for a lot of things, but I draw the line at that." He smiled as Garvin chuckled. Then he told Sasha to lie down, and William closed his eyes, fatigue and warm happiness washing over him.

"I have to ask, but were things like that with…?"

Garvin shrugged. "Do you really want to talk about things between John and me?"

William bit his lower lip. "I guess I keep wondering."

"John and I were happy, and we had a good relationship. But it wasn't one that was filled with fire and athletic passion. John was much more… quiet and gentle in bed. He was intense, caring, and passionate, but also rather quiet." He leaned forward so William could see his eyes. "I'm not comparing the two of you."

William didn't think Garvin was lying, but he couldn't help wondering. After all, Garvin had grieved for him for a very long time. "I guess I'm worried that I can't give you the things you need."

Garvin sighed. "That isn't something you need to worry about." William rolled over so he could look Garvin in the eyes. He needed to see him. "I don't know what's going to happen. But there is something I learned with John. He and I talked about things—everything. The two of us didn't have secrets."

"That's really cool of you." William closed his eyes once more and rested his head against Garvin's shoulder.

Garvin tensed. "What does that mean? "

William lifted his head. "I just suppose that when you love someone, you accept them for who they are, and it's good that you're able to do that. I suppose that we all have things we like and things that drive us crazy." He shrugged. "What did John do that you didn't like?"

Garvin thought for a few seconds. "I guess it was that he traveled for work. Not that he went to interesting places that often. If I had gone along, I might have been bored because he would be busy."

"Huh. I always thought you didn't go because you liked to be at home." He bit his lower lip.

"What made you think that?" Garvin's eyes drifted closed. "I like to travel and see things. But he was always busy."

William tensed and bit his lower lip once more. He wasn't privy to the ins and outs of Garvin's relationship with John, and that was their past. It certainly wasn't something he should get involved with. Garvin's memories of John were happy, and he didn't want to upset that. The last thing he wanted to do was to tarnish those memories. But William knew that many of the places that John went weren't exactly boring. Like he'd told Garvin, he always thought he just wanted to stay home, because William knew that John had traveled to Las Vegas, New Orleans, New York, and San Antonio a number of times and always went alone. If there was a reason for it, that was fine. But William had seen John in Las Vegas once, and John sure as hell hadn't been working. He had been having one hell of a good time. William hadn't seen him do anything that would categorize as cheating, but….

He closed his eyes and tried to put all that out of his head. There was no need to bring any of this up. After all, regardless of what John might have done, it was Garvin's memories he was worried about competing with, not the reality. Still, he was lying in Garvin's arms at the moment, and there was something to be said for that. Maybe William needed to worry less and be happy with what he had.

"Just rest awhile," Garvin whispered. "We've had a very busy day already, and the cold will take a lot out of you."

"I'd say you were the one who did that." William kissed him. The room was warming, and he was in Garvin's arms under a nice thick blanket, his skin pressed to Garvin's, which radiated more heat. He sighed softly, letting contentment wash over him, and let himself doze.

A BANG ON the door made him jump. William peered over the back of the sofa to see movement outside the door's small frosted windows. "This is supposed to be the frozen north, and everyone should be hibernating for the damned winter." He searched on the floor for the clothes Garvin had so neatly stripped off him. He slipped them on and stood, waking Garvin, who seemed to be able to sleep through the zombie apocalypse. He handed him his clothes, went with Sasha to the door, and cracked it open to see who was there.

"Can I help you?" With all the bulky clothes, he wasn't sure who it was.

"It's Devon."

"Oh." He let him inside and closed the door quickly so he didn't let all the warm air out.

Garvin sat up. "What's going on? Is there trouble?" He still seemed groggy, and his hair was going in every direction. It was cute, and William wanted to smooth it down. Hell, he wanted to run his fingers through it while Garvin sucked…. William needed to get that image out of his head because he didn't need to display the excitement that image brought to mind, at least not at the moment.

"Everything is fine. Except you signed up for my art class tomorrow, and I was wondering if you could help me get things set up beforehand. I forgot to ask you when we were at the trading post, but things were a little distracting. I was going to call, but the cell service is out."

"Sure. I can meet you at the library a little after noon." Garvin turned to William. "Do you want to come? Devon gives classes for kids and adults at the library every few weeks."

William grinned. "Sounds like fun. Though I swear my artistic development stopped at finger painting." He was good at expressing himself in other ways.

"Great. I'll see you then." Devon turned back toward the door. "I'm heading on up the road to check on Jackson and Grace. We haven't seen them for a while, and Enrique asked me to stop in to make sure they don't need anything." He waved and left, letting Sasha outside with him.

"It sounds like Willow, Alaska, is turning into a real center of culture," William teased.

Garvin wandered to the window that looked out on the frozen lake. The first stars were already making their appearance. "We need things to break up the long nights. Usually I spend a lot of time alone in the winter." He spoke quietly, maybe pensively. It was hard for William to figure out what he was feeling at that moment, and it set William on edge because he wasn't sure what surprise Garvin had in store for him.

"I suppose. I'm sorry if I crashed your solitude party."

Garvin didn't turn around. "You didn't. Well, actually you did, but I'm glad. It's been nice having you here for a visit." William got it now. Garvin thought of this as a visit, something that would start and end while William was here.

"I'm glad." What the hell else was he supposed to say? "I have to go back, but not for a few weeks. At least that's what I told my agent."

Garvin nodded, continuing to look outside. "That's great." At least Garvin didn't sound sarcastic, but trying to figure out what he was thinking could be a challenge. Garvin always seemed to keep himself locked away, especially after John's death. William had thought after the past few days, when things had progressed between them, maybe something in Garvin had changed. He had hoped that he had decided to move on, and that maybe he would want to move on with him. But maybe all that was wishful thinking on William's part and this was only an interlude until William went back to LA.

He sat on the sofa and turned on the television. There was very little on this far from the beaten path, so he found a DVD and put it in the player just for something to watch. He chose Knockout because it had action and Logan Steele was hot, but he kept the volume low. He heard scratching at the door and hurried over. He opened the door as Sasha shook the snow out of his fur and then trotted inside.

"Did you have a good time?" Garvin had explained that Sasha wouldn't go far. He went to his water dish and lapped it dry before checking his empty food bowl. William gave him a handful of food and more water before settling in front of the television once again. Sasha joined him, while Garvin continued staring out the window.

William left Garvin alone with his thoughts. He knew Garvin well enough to understand that there were times when he needed to think. Still, he got glasses of water and silently offered one to Garvin.

"I'm sorry," Garvin said softly, his voice sounding like he was a million miles away.

"What for?" William asked, pausing the movie.

Garvin shrugged, and William sat still, petting Sasha gently. Now that he knew the dog wasn't going to eat him, the two of them had become friends. He was still leery of dogs in general, but Sasha was a good dog, and it helped him get over his skittishness.

Eventually Garvin turned away from the window, and William went back to watching the movie. He hoped Garvin would join him, but he went into the kitchen and silently began making dinner. William wondered if he could help, but Garvin had this big "I need to be alone" vibe, so William stayed where he was, watching Garvin between movie scenes, wondering what was going on.