Page 33 of Loving a Warrior

Was that gunfire? Was he late for watch?

A split second later, awareness returned as the loud knocking at the door came again.

“Fuck me,” Shane said aloud to the empty room. For a moment he was tempted to pull the covers back over his head and ignore everything, but instead, he grabbed some nearby sweatpants and yanked them on sans underwear before stumbling to the door.

“What?” he snarled, flinging it open, in the next instant catching his breath at the sight of Matt standing on the porch, hands stuffed in the pockets of his cargo shorts.

“What’re you doing here?” he croaked, his cock springing to life.

Matt shuffled his feet, the circles under his eyes suggesting he hadn’t gotten any more sleep than Shane had. “Wanted to talk to you, duh. I don’t have your number.”

“Wow. Okay.” Shane squinted into the sun as he ran his hand over his stubbly chin, feeling unwashed and greasy. In contrast, Matt looked freshly showered, the scent of his light, citrusy aftershave drifting to Shane’s nose. He stood back and opened the door wider. “Come in, then. I’ll make some coffee—”

“No, out here.”

Oh-kay.

Shane followed him outside to lean against the railing, aware that his clinging sweatpants were doing nothing to conceal his erection. He didn’t even bother trying to hide it. What was the point?

Matt was staring, a flush high on his cheekbones. “Shane—”

“What? You’re looking at me like you want to eat me for breakfast. It’s making me hard.” He slid one hand down to give himself a lewd squeeze. “C’mon, let’s go inside.”

With a muffled groan, Matt pinched the bridge of his nose. “Stop it. We can’t.” Despite his words, he stole another peek at Shane’s crotch. “Don’t you know how stupid that would be?”

“Why stupid? I’m gay, you’re gay. Well, I assume, anyway. Bi?”

“No, not bi.”

“Okay, then.” Shane nudged Matt’s foot with his. “It seems we both like dick. What’s wrong with hooking up?”

Matt shot him a glare. “Whaddya mean, what’s wrong with it? We’re in the same class, for one.”

“And? I’m not gonna grab your ass on the O-course, for fuck’s sake. Gimme a little credit here.”

“I might grab yours.”

The disgruntled answer was so unexpected that Shane barked out a startled laugh. “Really?”

“Listen.” Matt sighed. “The problem is you’re a distraction, Shane. And the last thing I need—we need—is a distraction. Not at this stage of the game.”

“Oh, I disagree. Weekdays are for business, but weekends? All about the stress relief.” Shane pushed off the railing and sauntered toward him, stopping when he was close enough to touch.

“But—” Matt clenched his fists as if he was fighting not to reach for him. His eyes dropped to Shane’s dick again.

“We’re grown men, aren’t we?” Shane took another step closer. “And I think we both understand what’s at stake here.”

When Matt didn’t answer, Shane slid his hands tentatively onto his hips, slipping his thumbs under the hem of Matt’s T-shirt to stroke the soft skin. “C’mon, sexy,” he said coaxingly. “Let’s go inside so I can make the, er, acquaintance of every inch of this incredible body.” He tugged him closer.

Matt tipped his head back against the side of the house with a groan. Leaning in, Shane pressed his parted lips to the hollow of his throat. “It’ll be so good.” He nuzzled the underside of his jaw, the scent of aftershave and soap tickling his senses.

For one brief instant, he felt Matt’s hand on the back of his neck, encouraging him, and Shane’s heart started to race. Oh, fuck yes. Almost dizzy with anticipation, Shane sought his mouth, struggling to focus when Matt pushed him gently away.

“What?” he croaked, letting go. “Why—”

Matt edged past Shane before turning to face him. “I know it’ll be good. In fact, I have no doubt it’ll be mind-blowing. The thing is, I don’t want my mind blown. Not now.” He started down the porch stairs. “I just came over to apologize for running away last night. It was shitty and immature, and you didn’t deserve that.” With a self-deprecating quirk of his lips, he said, “See? I’m learning.”

Slumping against the railing again in resignation, Shane watched him scuff toward where his truck was parked at the curb. “After we both make it through BUD/S, then?” he called after him. “You gotta let me have one night with you, Matt. Just one. We’ll get whatever this is out of our system and then we’ll go back to being friends, no harm done. Whaddya say?”