“You won’t,” Zielinski said from between clenched teeth.
“Let’s try it and find out.”
They stalked toward each other with furious intent. When they met, they both swung at the same time. Neither of them landed their punch, their reflexes fast enough to block the coming blow. Stardust recovered first. He took advantage of that tiny opening to go after Zielinski with a flurry of strikes. Each one was aimed at a different target on his body, forcing Zielinski to react quickly to block them. But he wasn’t fast enough to block them all.
Stardust landed a jab to the side of his torso where it was unprotected by his flak vest. Zielinski hunched over slightly and dropped his elbow to protect the area from a second hit. But Stardust had already moved on to another target. He spun around, the chains on his boot jingling as he raised his foot high to kick Zielinski on the arm. Stardust had made first contact but Zielinski wasn’t defeated. He shook off Stardust’s attack and pressed forward.
Ready to take him on, Stardust swung but Zielinski caught his wrist. Zielinski swung with his other hand but Stardust caught his fist. Locked in an impasse, their grips unyielding, they pushed and pulled, both trying to gain the upper hand. Stardust’s heart pounded, an odd sense of elation humming in his blood as they strained, muscles flexed, neither of them gaining ground, both of them refusing to give in. He knew he wouldn’t be able to hold up for much longer against Zielinski’s greater strength. Lucky for him, strength wasn’t the only thing that won fights.
With a wicked grin, Stardust threw his head forward, aiming for a headbutt. Zielinski jerked to the side, avoiding the blow in the nick of time. But the evasion knocked the big man off balance and his grip on Stardust’s wrist eased up slightly. Stardust stomped hard on Zielinski’s foot, the vicious move finally obtaining him his freedom. But the fight wasn’t over. Zielinski came back at him and Stardust drew in a deep breath, skin tingling with anticipation. He raised his fists, ready for the attack.
∞ ∞ ∞
Mike wasn’t surprised that he and Stardust had come to blows. The friction between them could only go on for so long before it sparked into an inferno. He couldn’t speak for Stardust, but he needed this outlet. He released some of the frustration that had been building within him with each strike, uncaring if it landed or if Stardust managed to block it.
Neither of them managed to land any decisive blows on the other. It was more like hyper-aggressive sparring than an actual fight where they were determined to cause harm. That wasn’t what mattered. Mike needed to dosomethingto relieve the heated tension under his skin and if this was what it took, he’d gladly spar with Stardust all night. Either by unspoken agreement or the natural path of their brawl, they ended up in a narrow, dimly lit alley, taking their fight out of sight of the public eye.
As they fought, Mike’s attention drifted, caught by the sparkle of the gold earrings swinging at Stardust’s ears. Then his eyes naturally moved to the fierce look of concentration on the hero’s face, his parted lips, the rosy flush of exertion on his cheeks. Even fighting, Stardust was gorgeous. When Mike realized he was giving in to his attraction to his partner in the middle of a brawl, he snapped back to attention, getting his focus back on their fight. Unfortunately, his moment of distraction cost him. Stardust came at him with a flying knee aimed at his chest and Mike stumbled backward to avoid it, boots slipping in a slick puddle on the uneven pavement. He lost his footing and went down, landing on his backhard.
His fall had an unexpected consequence. In that moment, the two of them were so close to each other that his feet tangled with Stardust’s, tripping him up as well. The hero cursed as he followed Mike down, slamming on top of him, Mike grunting from the sudden impact of Stardust’s weight across his torso. Stardust immediately moved to get up, but his knees slipped to either side of Mike’s hips. Mike choked on a breath, arousal flaring to life and sizzling through his veins as the ass he’d spent so much time tryingnotto look at settled on top of his dick as if it had found its home.
Damn near panicked with the urgent need to get Stardust off him before his body betrayed him and revealed exactly how much he liked where the man was perched, Mike reached up and grabbed Stardust to push him off his lap. That was his intention, until his hands landed on the bare skin of Stardust’s waist. Instead of pushing, his fingers tightened, sending the message to his brain that the skin under his hand was soft and velvety smooth. Stardust’s full, dusky-pink lips parted, and the dark wings of his eyebrows drew together in a frown.
“You...”
Mike braced himself for another of the man’s sarcastic verbal attacks. But to his shock, Stardust leaned down, his gold earrings swinging as he slid in to Mike’s personal space...and kissed him.
Time seemed to stop as Mike froze for a breathless second. Then, as quickly as it stopped, everything started moving again at a frantic, rapid speed. Mike reared up on his elbows to return the kiss. Their lips crashed together again and again, in kisses that were fast and rough and hard. Each one felt almost like a punishment. Stardust nipped at Mike’s bottom lip in a sharp love bite, then sucked it into his mouth. His lips stung, still, he continued to seek out the plush ones furiously kissing him. Uncaring that he was on the filthy ground in an alley, with the sound of traffic and muted club music in the background, he smoothed his hand up Stardust’s back under his jacket, savoring more of that velvet soft skin beneath his palm. Thisthiswas the real release of tension he needed.
The kiss gradually changed, becoming gentle enough for Mike to breathe and savor it. Stardust licked into his mouth once with a slow curl of his tongue that intensified the heat building low in his belly. His partner tasted of vanilla lip gloss, his breath cool and peppermint sweet. Mike chased after that tongue with his own, desperate for another taste, but the other man had already withdrawn.
Stardust abruptly rolled off him and jumped to his feet. He stood there, towering over Mike for the length of a single pounding heartbeat before he spun around, the long tail of his braid whipping behind him.
“Patrol is over,” he tossed over his shoulder before he stormed from the alley without looking back.
Left alone, his breath still racing and lips tingling, Mike pushed himself to his feet. He shook off the filthy alley water clinging to his clothes. But he didn’t think he’d be able to shake off those kisses quite as easily.
