by Haley Walsh
He wandered into the bathroom. “There’s this little thing called ‘consent’,” he said through the doorway.
Skyler waved his hand sloppily, dismissively. “Oh that! You know I’d consent.”
Around his toothbrush he called from the other room, “Well I don’t really know that, do I…because you are too drunk to consent.”
“But Keith, Keith…” Keith finished up in the bathroom and switched off the light, came around to his side of the bed, and lifted the duvet. Skyler gave him what he hoped was a seductive smile. He might have fallen short since Keith lowered his brows. “Keith, stop being such a civil servant. You know I’d always say yes to you. Come on!” He ran his hands up the man’s furry chest and hummed. Mmmm. God he liked Keith’s hairiness. He wondered if he had ever mentioned it before.
“A fair few times,” answered Keith.
Oops. Skyler guessed he’d said that aloud.
“Come on, Keith.” He positioned himself back against the pillows and opened his thighs. “You wanna hit this, I know you do.”
“I do want to hit that…but not when you’re drunk, sweetheart. Raincheck in the morning. If you don’t have a hangover, that is.”
“I’m not that drunk,” he slurred. Okay, so he heard it that time. “Well…maybe a little.” He frowned. No sex? Why did Keith have to be so…so…Keith all the time? He whined, frustrated. He was hard dammit! “Well…can I at least have a really good good-night kiss?”
Keith smiled tenderly at him. “Of course you can.” He reached out and slid his arms around Skyler, pulling him in. With one hand Keith tilted up his chin.
Skyler closed his eyes and waited for the moment Keith’s lips touched his. It was a sweet kiss at first and Skyler, feeling suddenly sentimental, let him continue. Soft pecks, a nibble or two, and one deeper but with his mouth chastely closed.
With eyes still shut, Skyler reached up and wrapped his arms around Keith’s neck. He opened his mouth to Keith’s soft lips and tongue and sucked it in. He moaned and the vibrations seemed to make Keith sigh. He ground his lips on Keith’s mouth and Keith couldn’t seem to help but give back was he was getting. His mouth gnawed and his tongue was busy sliding against Skyler’s.
It seemed Keith couldn’t help but glide his hand around Skyler’s waist, dropping it ever so slowly to his butt. That warm hand simply rested there cupping his ass cheek, neither squeezing nor venturing further. It was frustrating as hell!
But then Keith’s mouth pulled on his, tongue still exploring, still sliding sensuously. Keith angled his head to get more of Skyler and Skyler suddenly fell limp against him, letting Keith control the kiss, the position of their faces, the depth and heat of it. Skyler’s heart hammered in his chest not just from the hotness of it, but from the coiled strength and tenderness Keith exhibited. He almost wanted to cry without quite understanding why it was overwhelming his emotions.
But God, that kiss! The man did things with his mouth that left Skyler panting and hard.
Skyler finished the kiss and drew back only enough to whisper against Keith’s lips, “You want me.”
“I always want you,” he said in a shaky voice. “But I can wait.”
Skyler sighed in resignation. “Okaay. But if you want to jerk off I’ll just watch. I promise not to touch.”
Keith laughed and shook his head. “You are incorrigible.” He pulled Skyler down beside him and wrapped him in his arms. “Skyler Foxe, you’re the best present I’ve ever had, do you know that?”
Keith’s warmth enveloped him and the scent of man and cologne filled his senses. He looked up at those shining eyes looking down at him. “I am?”
“You are. I love you.”
Skyler pawed at Keith’s scratchy beard. “I love you, too.” He smiled sloppily and settled against Keith’s chest. It was the coziest place he could think of to be anywhere in the world.
“Even though I’m not really a lumberjack?”
Maybe he shouldn’t have told Keith about that dream. He’d been ribbing Skyler all evening about it, even in front of the SFC. Then everyone else suddenly opened up about their own weird holiday dreams. It was a strange conversation.
“Never mind all that. We’ll discuss that at another time,” said Skyler primly. “What I want to know now is…just when was it that you fell in love with me?”
Keith’s brows rose. “Really? It’s late. Don’t you want to go to sleep?”
“In a bit. I want to know when I cast my special spell over you.”
Keith chuckled, a gentle sound deep in his chest that Skyler felt against his cheek now that he was snuggling against Keith’s pecs. The only light left in the room was the small twinkly lights of their second little bedroom tree in the corner by the window. Its colorful light cast Keith’s face with golden tones and touched his lashes with alternating green then red light.
“Well let’s see,” he said, a smile in his voice. “It wasn’t right away…”
“Cause I was busy insulting you.”
“Yeah, that was special. You were so completely clueless. But it wasn’t long after that. You were so apologetic. So trying to curry favor with me.”
“I was not! Currying favor. What for? I didn’t even know you.”
“Because you said I was a ‘Walking Wet Dream.’”
“Oh yeah,” said Skyler vaguely. “But you were being a real asshole to me, as I recall. Running hot and cold, hot and cold.”
Fingers stroked against Skyler’s face. He closed his eyes, letting himself simply feel the gentle sensations.
“Yes, I know,” said Keith. “I didn’t want to start falling for you. I thought my bad attitude might put some distance between us, but you wouldn’t leave it alone. It really wasn’t long at all till I was falling for you.”
“That soon?”
“Yeah. I mean, look how gorgeous you are. I couldn’t resist that pert little nose…” He touched the end of Skyler’s sharp nose with the tip of his finger. “This gorgeous blond hair…” He ruffled Skyler’s hair.
“Hey!” Skyler squirmed away and lifted his chin to glare at Keith.
“Those gray, sultry eyes…”
“I have sultry eyes?” He tried to bat his lashes but only succeeded in blinking unevenly, squinching his nose.
“Yeah, you do. The whole package.” Keith’s smile faded to something tender. “I’ve loved you from the first.”
“Awwww,” said Skyler. His eyes grew hot and prickly. “And I broke up with you and stuff.” He sniffed. Felt like crying.
“That made me pretty sad.”
“But then you broke up with me.”
“That made me sad, too.”
“But Keith, I never kissed that guy—” Tears formed in Skyler’s eyes and Keith squeezed him tighter.
“Hush, Skyler. I know that. That was a long time ago. We’re together now. And we’re staying that way.”
Skyler found Keith’s thick bicep and wrapped his arm around it before he bent his head down to kiss it. “Yeah!”
Keith rested his head on top of Skyler’s and blew out a sighing breath. “So Skyler, I know it took you a bit longer, but when did you, um…when did you fall in love with me?”
“Wow, this is a pretty girly conversation.”
“I believe you started it.”
“Oh.” Digging his face into the flesh of Keith’s bicep and rubbing his nose back and forth so he could get a good whiff, he breathed a sigh. “Okay. So I was kinda scared of falling in love. My dad…”
“I know, sweetheart.”
“But…then you kept calling me ‘babe’ and ‘sweetheart’ and looking handsome and sexy. And you were all ‘FBI!’ and I was all ‘I’m not really investigating, Keith!’ and then there were some murders and that guy doing that thing and some stuff…”
Keith chuckled again and lifted his chin from Skyler’s head to peer down at him. “What in the world are you talking about?”
“Huh? I don’t know. What were we talking about?”
Keith rested his chin again on Skyler’s hair and began slowly stroking his arm. Skyler liked the feel of it. He tried to squirm his way under the covers until Keith told him he would help. First he took off Skyler’s socks and then slid him under the duvet. Skyler entwined his legs with Keith’s and laid his head back on his chest. Once they were settled Skyler remembered.
“Oh yes! When did I fall in love with you?” Lazily, his fingers ran through Keith’s chest hair, combing over and over. “I think it really hit me when you left.” This was important. He wanted Keith to know. He did his damnedest not to slur. “I was…feeling it before that but I just didn’t want to face it.” Lowering his eyes, he watched his fingers tangle in that pelt rather than looking at the man’s expression. He shrugged. “I was just dragging my feet. But when you left, when you were gone…the house was so empty. I would have done anything to get you back…except I didn’t. I mean I didn’t go after you. I was angry with you, too. But I did sort of beg on your voicemail.” He licked his lips and inhaled a shaky breath, remembering how raw he had felt, how alone.
“But…you want to know what really cinched it?” Raising his head he did look Keith in the eye this time and noticed that the man’s blue eyes were shiny. He knew Keith remembered, too. “What cinched it was Thanksgiving.”
Keith sniffed, trying to hide it by clearing his throat. “What about Thanksgiving?”
“When we were cooking together for that first time, welcoming our guests… I knew. We belonged together.”
Keith smiled down on him for only a moment before he bent and captured Skyler’s lips with his own. “Love you, Skyler,” he whispered. It was like that very first time, Skyler noted, when Keith sleepily confessed his love and then never mentioned it again. Not till much later.
“Are you sure you don’t want to…make love?” Skyler whispered back.
“When you’re sober. For now, just sleep in my arms. That’s all I want.”
“I can do that, too. Merry Christmas, Keith.”
Lips pressed softly to Skyler’s forehead. “Merry Christmas, love. And many, many more.”
The End