Page 21 of Rescue Them

“Like that?Geez, I hope the neighbors didn’t see you.Otherwise they’re going to be lining up at the door looking for the hunk.”He grinned, and James tugged him down into a kiss.“You had more work to do.”

“There is always a ton of it.”He closed his book.“Do you want some coffee?”

Lyle swallowed and leaned close.“Not at the moment.I think I very much want something else.”He took James’s hand, leading him out of the room.“You spend the night pressed to me and all you can think about in the morning is coffee.”

“I see,” James said as they climbed the stairs.The dogs followed, but Lyle led James into his room and closed the door, keeping the dogs out.This was the time for him and James, and the dogs were going to need sit in the hall and wait.

“Do you think they’ll leave us alone?”James asked as Lyle dropped his robe.“Never mind….”He groaned, and it wasn’t long before James had his shirt off and his boxers slipped to the floor.

James came to him, wrapping Lyle in his arms and kissing him hard, their lips exploring as their hands did the same.It was wonderful to be able to touch James without his shirt, and he ran his hands over his chest as James drew him more tightly to him.Once again, he got the feeling that there was no rush.The passion between them built, but James seemed in control of it.He gently led Lyle to the bed and then down onto the mattress.Only then did he pull away.

“You’re so serious,” Lyle said with a smile.

James seemed confused.“Isn’t this serious business?It means a lot of things, and it isn’t just sex.Unless….”

Lyle rolled his eyes.“Of course it’s serious, but it’s fun too.You look like you’re going to explode.”He ran his finger over James’s bottom lip and then down his throat to his chest to tweak a nipple.“Just relax.I’m not going to grade you on your performance.”

Finally James snickered.

“Okay, I may grade you, but I’d never tell you if you got a bad grade.”He cocked his head and smiled before tugging James down closer.“I can’t see you getting anything other than a perfect score.So relax and let yourself enjoy it.”He wondered who in the hell had gotten James so uptight.Under most circumstances he was calm and a man of action with a clear head.“Do you want to tell me about it?”Lyle asked.

James gaped at him.“Now… when we’re in bed and…?God, no.”

“Cool,” Lyle told him and then reached for his side, tickling him lightly.James squirmed and burst into laughter as Lyle pulled away, and James kissed him again, this time with just as much energy, but he seemed a little more like himself, which Lyle liked.“You can tell me about it later.”

“You really are a smartass.”

“I’ve been told many things, but I don’t think anyone has said that about my ass.I’ve had compliments like perfection, magical, and oh my God, but never that.”

“So I take it you’re a bottom,” James said.

“Yeah, but I’m a bossy one, and I like to top from the bottom, so you need to watch out.”He figured it was a good thing to give James a heads-up.

“I see.I always had a feeling you could be pushy in your own way.”James closed the distance between them and pressed him onto the bed.Lyle wrapped James in his arms as they kissed, and damned if the temperature in the room didn’t rise by the second.

Lyle seemed to surprise James when he rolled them on the mattress, straddling him as he looked down at his sexiness.“I see.This is one of those bossy times.”

“You’ll come to understand that I can be bossy a lot of the time.”He explored James’s chest and then leaned down to kiss him.

A growl reached his ear followed by a second, and Lyle groaned as the dogs began to fuss and then bark.“What the hell?”he exclaimed and climbed off the bed.He yanked on his robe and opened the door.“Why are you doing that?”he asked, and the dogs all rushed toward the stairs as an insistent knock sounded on the door.

He reached the bottom of the stairs and peered out the window before opening the door.“Mom, what are you doing here?I thought you were in Singapore.”

She came inside and looked down.“That was last week.I got home on Wednesday, and after a few days’ rest, I thought I’d see what my son was up to.”She sat down in the chair.“Are you dogsitting?”

“No.”He pulled his robe more tightly around him.“Corky passed away and she left me the dogs.”He sat carefully on the sofa, the dogs all gathering around him.“I’m going to keep them.”

“Are you sure?That’s quite an expense.”Leave it to her for practicality.

“She left some money to help support them, and I like them.”He looked toward the stairs as James came down.He was barefoot, but in his jeans and shirt.

“I see,” his mother said.“I take it you were entertaining.”

Lyle cleared his throat.“This is James Groves.He and I have been seeing each other.When I got the dogs, I took them to be checked out, and he helped me get them settled in.”James shook his mother’s hand.“He’s in his first year at Dickinson Law.”

She turned her intense gaze back to him.“Well.I see how often you call your mother.”

He rolled his eyes.“Mom, I never know where you are or what time zone you’re in.So I don’t know when to call.You, on the other hand, always know what time zone I’m in.”He stood.“I need to get dressed.”