“They would probably help too. But I haven’t allowed anyone other than Army docs to touch me since it happened.”
“If you allow it, I would be happy to help you with massages.
“That...” Mike had to clear his throat and start again. “That would be nice.”
“I’m glad you survived this.”
Warm breath blew over Mike’s skin then lips ghosted over one of the biggest scars on his shoulder.
“So glad,” Aiden said as he pressed a kiss to another scar.
The tension began to drain out of Mike as his lover continued to press gentle kisses to his damaged skin. The kisses couldn’t physically heal him, but it was as if each caress of breath and touch of his lips and fingers soothed something deeper than the physical manifestation of his pain.
“I think I’m going to skip work tonight,” Aiden whispered against a scar on his arm.
Surprised, Mike turned to look at him over his shoulder. “You don’t have to do that.”
“I want to be here with you.” His soft palms glided over Mike’s back as he spoke. “You shared this with me and I need to be with you right now.”
Mike’s throat grew tight at Aiden’s decision to stay with him. He was happy that he’d finally revealed this part of himself to his lover. It was freeing not to have to hide anymore, and he was relieved that Aiden hadn’t turned from him in disgust or horror. But even though that was all positive, the weight he’d just put down rocked his axis, leaving him off-balance. He could use Aiden’s steadying presence.
“Thank you for staying and for giving me your touch. You always give me touch when I need it. Even before this, without skin-to-skin contact, having your hands on me soothed me.”
Mike twisted around fully to face Aiden again. “It’s not vanity that makes me hide the scars. I don’t want to deal with the effects of leaving them exposed. I don’t want to force people to choose between staring or trying not to stare. I don’t want pity. I don’t want disgust. I don’t want to be tense, trying to guess what reaction people will have to them so I can have the right reaction prepared in response. I just want to be.”
“You can just be with me.”
A small grin touched Mike’s lips. “You’re a poet,” he teased, hoping to lighten the heavy mood his vulnerability had caused. But Aiden’s face remained serious.
Aiden pulled off Mike’s glove. He kissed each finger and rubbed his cheek over the back of his hand. “You could never disgust me. Purple foods disgust me. Slugs disgust me. But you, you could never disgust me. I don’t pity you and if you ever catch me staring, it’s because you’re so hot that I’m trying to calculate how fast I can get my pants off and climb you like a redwood.”
Mike closed his eyes and leaned into Aiden’s space, silently requesting more caresses, to which Aiden immediately obliged. “Might take you awhile,” he quietly said as Aiden rubbed his shoulders. “Those superhero pants you wear are really tight.”
Aiden laughed. “Yeah, they are. Maybe I’ll have them remade as tear-aways.”
He suddenly stopped petting Mike and drew back. Mike opened his eyes when he took his hands away. Aiden briefly leaned in to press a reassuring kiss to his mouth. Then he tugged his shirt over his head, tossing it to the floor.
“We’re halfway there.”
Mike’s brows drew together in confusion. “Halfway to what?”
“To naked kisses.”
“Ah...” His frown cleared as he remembered Aiden’s remark from the night he’d given his answer—that he wanted to share naked kisses with him. Theywerehalfway there, and he wanted to take that final step.
Mike rose from the bed. Without hesitating, he unzipped his pants and pushed them off. His briefs too. And just like that, he was naked in front of his lover for the first time. As he stood there nude, he felt as though he were baring more than his body and the scars that marred it. But what he didn’t feel was shame or embarrassment. The patience Aiden had shown him, allowing him to work up to this moment on his own time, and the attraction and desire shining in his golden eyes eliminated any chance of those negative feelings growing.
Aiden rose from the bed too. He shimmied out of his shorts and briefs, pushing the leg warmers off his long legs as well. When he was naked, he took a step forward, pressing their bodies together.
“You feel good against me,” he said. “Let me feel all of you.”
Aiden tugged at Mike’s hand, pulling him down. Together, they sank onto the bed. They lay there, skin to skin, arms wrapped around each other, pressed together from chest to thigh. Aiden gently kissed him, sipping at Mike’s lips as if he were the small and delicate one. He pulled back, a small smile on his mouth as he brushed their noses together.
“Now we’re all the way there.”
They were together. They were kissing. And they were naked. Nothing else mattered.
