by Shawn Lane
He reached past the curtain and turned on the shower knob and made sure the temperature was set to super-hot, then removed his boxer briefs, and got in.
* * * *
Lincoln lingered outside the bathroom door much longer than he should have.
But damn. Sam in nothing but underwear did things to him he should most definitely quash. Now.
He made himself busy brewing more coffee in the kitchen. He wasn’t sure if Sam would be up for eating or not, though he hadn’t looked too green around the gills.
He brought out the mix for the pancake batter and prepared to go over the directions, when his cell rang with Monroe’s specific ringtone.
“About time,” he muttered upon answering.
Monroe chuckled. “Yeah, sorry. Traffic’s pretty snarled. Especially out of Mammoth. Decided to give you a call instead. It’s raining. Was pouring cats and dogs, but it’s calmed down some. I’m at that bakery in Bishop. The famous one. Damn, it’s crowded even with the rain.”
“At least you made it out. We’re stuck.”
“What? You and Sam?”
“Uh-huh. Winston barely made it out before they were calling it. Ellen contacted me, told me roads were closed, and to just stay here.”
“That’s nuts. You got enough stuff?”
“Yeah, you know we went a little crazy with the food. Anyhow, Sam’s in the shower, so I’m making pancakes.”
“Trying to take care of Sam still, huh?”
“Monroe.”
His brother laughed. “I know, I know. Look, it’s almost my turn at the register and I want to get this bread and be on the road. I’ll call you when I get home. And don’t do anything I wouldn’t.”
“There’s nothing you won’t do.”
“I know.” Even though he couldn’t see his brother, Lincoln imagined Monroe wore a big old grin. “Bye, bro. Talk soon.”
Lincoln shook his head and disconnected, setting aside his phone.
By the time Sam emerged dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, rubbing a towel through his dark blond hair, Lincoln had already finished grilling about a dozen pancakes. He spotted a renewed twinkle in Sam’s blue eyes. It was probably unfair for someone to look that good after being that smashed the night before.
“Hmm. Great. I’m hungry,” Sam announced, with a grin that likely set his fans hearts aflutter. Not Lincoln’s, of course.
“Have a seat at the table and I’ll bring over your coffee and breakfast. Well, brunch, for you.”
Sam dutifully shifted to the table and Lincoln noted he wore no shoes. Or socks.
“Aren’t your feet cold?”
Sam shrugged. “Not yet. If they get that way, I’ll put something on.” His gaze strayed to the window looking out over the parking lot. “Wow, the snow is really coming down. How long has it been like that?”
“A few hours. Started with just a few flakes as my brother was leaving and has gotten worse by the hour. Ellen contacted me just after Winston left and told me to go ahead and stay. Roads are all closed anyway. No word on when they’ll reopen.”
Sam smiled a little as Lincoln brought over his coffee, filled to the brim with cream, just how Sam liked it. “Storm of the century, huh? Thanks.”
“You’re welcome. Yep, seems like quite the blizzard. For here, anyway. Can’t say how it compares to some place back east.”
“Generally I stay to the tropics. Not a fan of cold.”
“Why’d you agree to come on this weekend then?” Lincoln asked curiously.
“Basically, I could drive here, and anyway, I wanted to see everybody. It’s been a long time.” He gestured to the snow. “Admittedly, I didn’t expect this.”
“None of us did. Except maybe Winston. Guess we should’ve paid more attention to the news. Butter and syrup?”
“Please.”
Lincoln brought everything to the table, including a plate for himself, then sat on the chair across from Sam.
“Sorry about this.” Sam picked up a knife and slathered an obscene amount of butter on his pancakes. “You’re stuck here because of me, aren’t you?”
Lincoln shrugged.
“Come on. If you weren’t waiting for me to get my ass out of bed, you would’ve been on the road with everyone else, beating the storm.”
“Well, yeah, but I really don’t mind.”
“Your office doesn’t need you?”
Lincoln waved that away. “They’ll survive without me until Thursday. Probably even Monday of the following week, if it came to that.”
Sam blinked, and his mouth hung open a bit, too. “Next week? Do you really think it’s going to last that long?”
He laughed. “No, no. I didn’t mean that. I just meant I have all my cases under control and nothing urgent is coming up. We likely won’t be stranded for more than a couple of days, Sam.”
“Okay, good. I’ve got a movie shoot coming up and have to fly out of Los Angeles on Friday.”
“Yeah? Where you off to this time?”
Lincoln was torn between thinking it must be cool to live Sam’s glamorous life and being a bit of a homebody himself. He liked setting down roots, staying in the same place. Which made him wonder how a relationship with Sam would work, even if Sam had been remotely interested in him. He’d seen the pictures of Sam on the red carpet with models and actresses, so he had no real illusions there.
“Bangkok. For about three weeks. We move to Dubai from there, and then, I think there’s one other location after that. I’ll have to look it up. Altogether I’ll be gone almost four months.”
“I don’t know how you do it.”
Sam laughed. “What? Go to beautiful places, be pampered, and worshiped? Yeah, it’s a hard life.”
“I’m sure it can be. And I know it’s hard work. Don’t you work sixteen-hour days sometimes?”
“Yeah, yeah, I do. And I’m not saying it isn’t difficult. The loneliness can get to you. Homesickness. It’s hard to have relationships, pets. All that. But there’s a whole hell of a lot to like, too.”
“For you, I’m sure,” Lincoln said with a smile. He popped a bite of pancake into his mouth.
“You’d hate it, then?”
He chewed and swallowed. “Probably not at first. Too exciting. But after? Yeah. It would get old real fast for me.”
Sam nodded. “To be fair, I’d hate to be a lawyer. No offense.”
“None taken. It wasn’t my first choice.”
“No?”
“Wanted to an FBI agent when I was a kid. And then when I got into college, I first thought of being a professor.”“
“Education?” Sam eyed him. “Can’t say you look like the teacher type.”
“Yeah. Which is why I’m a lawyer.” He laughed. “One of my instructors mentioned he thought that would be my forte, so it all snowballed from there. Pun intended,” Lincoln said, looking out at the snow, now coming down harder.
“I’m glad you found something you like and are good at.” Sam smiled. “You would make a good politician, too, I think.”
Lincoln laughed. “What? How do you figure that?”
Sam shrugged. “You were always our leader back in high school. Which is why I’m not surprised you’re the one who stuck around for me while the others bailed. You always took care of us.”
“And that translates to politician?”
“Leadership qualities. No?”
“The gay thing is probably not the best for a politician. I mean, sure, there are more of us out there, but it’s still more of a hard sell than it should be.”
“I can see that.” Sam took another large swallow of coffee. “I’ve wanted to come out as bisexual, but my PR people are against it.”
“You…you’re what?” Lincoln felt a little lightheaded. Maybe it was the higher altitude. Because he must have heard wrong.
“My PR people.”
“No. Did you say you’re bisexual?”
“Um, yeah. I’ve always been.”
“What? You
weren’t in high school or…” Lincoln paused, suddenly unsure of everything. “Were you?”
Sam stared at him for so long without saying a word, Lincoln figured he had somehow offended his friend. But then Sam smiled crookedly.
“I can’t believe you didn’t know. Charlie was my first.”
“Your first what?”
Sam laughed at his stupidity, and Lincoln couldn’t blame him. “My first, brainless. He was my boyfriend.” The smile slipped from his face and he got up from the table and stood by the window.
The man drinking himself into a stupor the night before suddenly made a lot more sense to Lincoln. “Jesus. Why didn’t I know that?”
“Maybe we weren’t as open about it as I thought. We weren’t ‘in your face’ with anyone. Holding hands at school or whatever. But, yeah.” He leaned against the windowsill. “I was crazy in love with him.”
“God, Sam. I’m so sorry.”
“It was a long time ago.” Sam looked at him. “To be honest, he’s the only boyfriend I’ve ever had. I’ve stuck with girlfriends for the sake of my career. But when I haven’t been in any relationship, I’ve fucked around with guys.”
“Well, fuck. I feel like an idiot. Do the other guys know?”
“I thought they did, but hell if I know now. Linc, didn’t you wonder why I got so wasted over the mention of Charlie?”
“Yeah. But I thought—”
“I was straight.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Now you know. Anyway, the PR people are torn. Some think it would be good, given how much more acceptance there is, but others think it would definitely limit my ability to get leading man roles.” Sam sighed. “So, basically I’ve done nothing.”
“You got a girlfriend now?”
“Nope, no attachment whatsoever.” Sam tilted his head. He stared at Lincoln intently. “You have something in mind?”
Lincoln choked on a laugh. “Uh.”
“What?” Sam grinned, leaning against the wall next to the windows, arms folded across his chest. “I think you and I would be fucking hot together.”
“Well…but.” Lincoln stopped lamely. They would be. So hot.
“But what? Who the hell else is around to stop us? We have a few days to kill. We’re friends. Why not be friends with benefits?”
Lincoln didn’t say a word.
Sam arched his eyebrows. “And not to brag, but I think it would considerable benefits.”
He laughed. “Yeah.” His face felt hot, and he knew he was blushing. And feeling stupid. He was far too old to blush over sexual innuendos.
Sam moved forward with sudden predator quickness, coming right into Lincoln’s breathing space. So close Lincoln could see all the different shades of blue in Sam’s eyes.
“Kiss me.”
“What?”
Sam sighed. He grabbed Lincoln’s face and pulled him close. “Kiss me.”
Chapter 3
Sam started to think that suggesting they have sex had seriously blown Lincoln’s mind. Linc stared at him as if maybe he’d suggested they should go rob a bank.
So maybe he’d got this wrong. He thought he’d detected blatant interest in Lincoln’s gaze, but maybe—
Linc kissed him.
Finally.
When Linc’s lips tentatively touched his, Sam decided that would never do. He grabbed the collar of Linc’s Henley and pulled him tight against him, deepening the kiss. At first, his friend remained stiff as a board, but when Sam shoved his tongue between Linc’s lips, the man finally relaxed, sighed, and put his arms around Sam’s waist.
Lincoln tasted of coffee, butter, and pancakes. A good taste. And Sam couldn’t deny that, if he had to be stuck in a cabin for a few days with someone because of crappy weather, he would have chosen Lincoln.
Linc broke the kiss, his lips wet and shiny, staring into Sam’s gaze. “Fuck.”
Sam smirked. “That’s the idea, big guy.”
“Are you sure about this?”
“Do I have to spell it out for you? Geez, Linc. You want me to hire an airplane to write the letters in the sky? Yes, I’m sure. Damn, pick a room and let’s go!”
And that made Lincoln laugh, a very good look for him, and it also broke his spell of stupefaction. He pulled Sam close for another kiss, and this one wasn’t hesitant at all. It curled Sam’s toes.
“Hot damn,” Sam said, pulling back, but only to grab Linc’s hand and drag him toward the bedroom. He ended up choosing the one in which he’d been sleeping, because the bed was still unmade, and hell, he was familiar with it.
“Wait!”
Sam frowned just as he was about to drag his friend to the bed. “Wait? For what? We can do the breakfast dishes later.”
“No, Sam. Condom and lube.” He tapped his head, like “think.”
Sam frowned. “Didn’t you bring any?”
“Why? Because I’m gay I run around with a supply of condoms and lube? I didn’t think I’d need them with a bunch of old high school friends.” He looked seriously pissed.
“You were never a boy scout, were you?”
“No, I wasn’t. Your point?”
Sam grinned. “I was, counselor.”
“Wait. Are you saying—?”
Sam went to his suitcase, which he’d already packed in anticipation of leaving today, but of course that wasn’t happening. He hoisted it onto the bed and unzipped it, then pulled out a strip of condoms and a mostly full container of lube. He held them out triumphantly.
“Hopefully this is enough condoms,” Sam said with a quick grin.
Lincoln arched his brows. “How many?”
Sam rolled his eyes and counted. “Fifteen. I’m guessing in the amount of time we’ll likely be stuck here, these will last.”
Linc shook his head, but smiled. “Pretty sure we’ll manage.” He looked at the supplies Sam held. “We’re really going to do this?”
“Again with this?” Sam chuckled to cover his frustration. Just when he thought he was finally going to get somewhere with Linc, his friend held back. “You don’t want to?”
“Fuck, yeah. I do. But—”
“But what?”
“I don’t want this to wreck us. God, Sam, you’re one of my best friends. And one of my oldest friends.” Lincoln shook head, truly looking conflicted. “I mean, yeah, we don’t see each other as often as I’d like because—”
“Of my crazy-ass career.”
“Yeah. I was really happy you agreed to this trip. I mean, there have been others, but you couldn’t go.”
Sam put his hands on Lincoln’s bulging biceps. Damn. “Okay, so the timing has never been right for us, for this, before. But it is now, Lincoln. It’s cold and snowing and I just want you to devour me.”
He pressed the condoms and lube into Linc’s hands. “Now, get to fucking me. Or do you want me to fuck you? I’m open to either or both.”
Lincoln let out a long, shaky breath. “You. I want to fuck you.”
“Those are the best words.” Sam reached for the hem of his shirt. “Get naked, babe. We’re going to play.”
Sam felt glad he had forgone shoes because it made getting out of his clothes that much easier. He flung his T-shirt to the floor, then shimmied out of his jeans without bothering to undo them. He noticed that Lincoln had stopped in his own state of undress to goggle at him.
“What?”
“You went commando?”
Sam smirked. “Maybe I already had it in mind to seduce you and this makes it that much easier.”
Lincoln stared. “Did you?”
“Clothes, Linc. We can have conversations in the afterglow.”
Sam lay on the bed, trying to decide whether he wanted Linc to fuck him while on his back, or on all fours.
A hard smack to his bare ass had him turning to gape at Lincoln. “Did you totally just slap me?”
“I did. Got a problem with it?”
Sam thought about it. “No. No, I don’t.” He cleared his throat. “I
n fact, maybe I even liked it.”
Lincoln stood fully unclothed, and Sam watched his cock rise big and fat between his legs. He moistened his lips with his tongue.
“You’ve got a pretty big dick there, fella.”
“God, you make me laugh,” Lincoln said. “It’ll fit, no worries there.”
“Oh, I’m not worried. I can take anything you can dish out.” Sam spread his legs and wiggled his ass to demonstrate. “Come on. I’m waiting.”
Lincoln tore open a foil condom package. He rolled the rubber over his significant girth, then smeared a generous amount of lube over it. He lingered on the shaft, unnecessarily Sam decided, spending time stroking himself.
“Starting without me? Throw me the lube.”
Lincoln arched both eyebrows and tossed it to him. Looking at Linc over his shoulder, Sam lubed his fingers, then parted his cheeks, exposing his hole to Linc’s gaze.
“Fuck,” Lincoln breathed out, sounding winded.
Sam inserted a lubricated finger into his ass. His own breath hitched a bit at the initial intrusion, but the slight sting eased quickly as he rubbed his finger inside himself.
“God, this is an incredible sight. You should do porn.”
Sam choked out a laugh. “Talk about a good way to ruin my career.”
He pushed in a second finger, and when he felt ready, added a third, deliberately stretching and widening his hole, as well as the width of his legs, to expose more of the view to Lincoln.
His friend knelt on the bed behind him and reached for the lube bottle. He squeezed out more and then, to Sam’s surprise, added his own finger to Sam’s three. He sucked in a breath.
Lincoln’s finger stopped moving. “Too much?”
“No.” Sam exhaled. “No. Just. Adjusting. You can move it now.”
Being stuffed full of four fingers was surprisingly erotic, though he’d never quite had that experience before. Sam briefly wondered if he could take five, maybe even a fist—he’d heard of that—but that might be for another time.
Or not.
“Okay, I’m ready,” he told Lincoln. He slipped his fingers out with Lincoln’s and suddenly felt empty. “Need your cock.”
Linc placed a hand on each of his ass cheeks, spreading them wide, and pointing the head of his big dick straight for the hole.