Kelly took stock of his racing heart, his shallow breaths, the fluttering in his stomach. He hadn’t felt like this since he’d been a teenager, and he liked it. It wasn’t some stranger in a smoky bar giving him that adventurous feeling, either, it was one of his oldest and dearest friends. He tried to push forward to deepen the kiss, but Nick pulled away from him, running his thumb over his lips.
“Eat. I’m not fixing you more,” Nick muttered. He stepped away, but his hand landed on Kelly’s shoulder and squeezed. “We’ll talk after. I promise.”
Kelly nodded, satisfied. Because Nick O’Flaherty always kept his promises.
When Kelly woke, he realized Nick had just waited for his painkillers to kick in and then given him the slip. He had opened up the windows and the doors to the back deck to allow the breeze to sweep through the cabin, then gone outside and hadn’t come back before Kelly began to doze.
Kelly struggled with the lever on the side of the recliner and finally got the leg down so he could try to stand. He gasped at the pain and stopped moving as soon as he stood, afraid to take another step. His painkillers had worn off. How long had he been asleep?
“Irish?” he called out.
He heard a thump from outside on the deck, and Nick’s footfalls were heavy as he jogged to the door. He appeared in the doorway, the sunlight streaming in around him. He’d changed into jeans and a loose flannel shirt, and with the scruff and his curly hair getting longer, he looked pretty damn at home in Kelly’s cabin in the middle of the woods. He also had his combat knife strapped to his thigh.
A frown creased Kelly’s brow. “What are you doing?”
“What are you doing?” Nick asked as he made his way over. “Why didn’t you call for help?”
“I just did.”
Nick ducked under the arm Kelly raised, sliding his hand around Kelly’s waist to help support him. “You want to go back down?”
“No. What are you doing outside? Can I go out there?”
“Yeah, but sit first,” Nick muttered. Kelly didn’t really have much choice as Nick lowered him back to the chair. “I’ll go get your pills; let them settle before you move again.”
Kelly sighed and waited, staring at the open door as the breeze kicked up. It smelled of sunshine and pine, with a hint of crisp air left from the winter. He loved spring and fall for weather like this. He looked forward to the sunlight on his face.
Nick thumped back down the steps with his pills and water bottle.
“What were you doing outside?” Kelly asked, looking pointedly at the knife on Nick’s thigh.
Nick grinned lopsidedly and handed him his pills. “I’ll show you.”
Kelly downed the pills, then held his arm out for help. He slid it around Nick’s neck, an action they’d repeated dozens of times over the last week or so. But this time felt different. This time Kelly’s fingers dug into Nick’s triceps, appreciating the strength in Nick’s frame. This time Kelly’s nose lingered at Nick’s temple, taking in his scent and letting it stir everything from his mind to his body.
“Wow,” Kelly murmured. “So that’s still there.”
Nick’s breath gusted against his cheek. “Yeah, it is.”
Kelly looked up into his eyes, hoping to catch a glimpse of what Nick was really feeling and thinking. He still appeared scared and worried, his brow furrowed and his eyes hesitant, but there was fire there too. He wanted to explore this as badly as Kelly did, but he was holding back for obvious reasons.
Kelly grinned. “Kiss me again.”
“Kels—”
“You remember what you told me last night? The only thing I should be thinking about was . . .”
Nick inhaled sharply, his breath stuttering as he and Kelly stared at each other. “Me inside you.”
Just the words made Kelly’s breath catch. “Kiss me again, dammit.”
Nick gave a curt nod, then he reached up to caress Kelly’s cheek before he leaned closer and pressed their lips together. It was another careful kiss, a mere brush of lips with a hint of Nick’s teeth on Kelly’s lower lip before he leaned back. Kelly swayed forward, left breathless and light-headed by that simple, gentle touch.
Nick’s hand pressed to the small of Kelly’s back to pull their bodies together, holding him tight so he wouldn’t fall. Kelly grabbed the back of his neck, delving into another kiss with a bit more fervor than their first. It was so natural for it to turn into a passionate embrace, Kelly had to wonder why they’d never done it before.
Kelly would have let it go on all day, but Nick had more self-control than he did. He gently pulled away, holding Kelly’s face so Kelly couldn’t chase him.
“Come on,” he whispered finally. “I’ll show you what I was doing outside.”
Kelly grunted, but he allowed Nick to lead him out there. He was no longer interested in the outdoors or sunshine or whatever Nick had been up to, he just wanted Nick to kiss him again. He winced as the sun hit his eyes, but it felt good to be outside. He put his face up to the warmth and let out a sigh of relief.
“Feels good, right?” Nick murmured.
Kelly nodded, opening his eyes to regard Nick again.
“Can you stand? Walk?”
“Yeah, I’m good,” Kelly said. He watched as Nick moved away, seeing his dear friend in a completely new light. The way Nick’s shoulders moved, the way he walked with a slight limp he’d never be able to fully hide as he aged because of the shrapnel embedded in his femur, the way his left hand stayed near the handle of his knife. These were all things Kelly’d noticed before, but now he was equating them to the way the muscles of Nick’s back felt under his fingers, the way Nick’s hips rolled between his thighs, and the myriad of things Nick could do with his scarred hands.
Nick picked up a stick from the railing as Kelly moved gingerly toward the Adirondack chairs in the corner of the deck. Nick turned and held up the stick, grinning. He’d shaved the bark from it, smoothing the shaft, and he’d crafted the bulbous end into curved fingers, all with blunt tips. Kelly laughed as Nick handed it to him.
“A back scratcher?”
Nick shrugged, smiling. “I remember when I broke my collarbone, I was always itching and never able to get to it. You can also use it to reach things so you won’t have to strain to get them.”
Kelly ran his thumb over the tips of the fingers, nodding. “Thanks, Irish.”