Nick really wasn’t much of a napper, so he was surprised that he drifted off after sex with Teddy. He woke to the soft glow of the bedside light—apparently they’d both slept with the light on for about an hour or so. And somehow he’d missed Teddy getting out of bed entirely, as he was now standing next to it, wrapped in a robe and toweling off his hair.
“Hey, sleepyhead.” He grinned down at Nick. “Thirty minutes of napping and I’m wide-awake. Late napping always throws me off. Now we’re going to have to wear me out all over again.”
“I’ll see what can be arranged,” Nick said dryly. Fucking again would hardly be a hardship, even though his body was still pleasantly worn out from earlier. His muscles had an awareness to them that usually only came after a good workout, but it was his psyche that felt the most stretched out—he’d expected to like fucking Teddy but hadn’t expected the weird, warm feeling in his chest afterward or the way every breath had seemed to hinge on Teddy’s happiness. He tried to push those feelings aside. “And I hear you on your body being all mixed up. Mine seems to think I’m on some weird duty schedule. I feel like I should be having breakfast and heading to work.”
“Pie,” Teddy said decisively before tossing Nick the robe he’d worn on the weekend. He seemed entirely unaffected by the earlier sex, and if he was as rattled as Nick, he sure wasn’t showing it. “We need pie. And then maybe a round of the game to wear our brains out.”
“You do have good ideas,” Nick admitted as he followed Teddy back downstairs. After a fast stop to do his own cleanup, he joined Teddy in the kitchen, where they raided the leftovers before going to sit by the fire in the living room. It was awfully cozy, Teddy using him for a back rest, Nick looping an arm around him without really thinking about it.
“So in the morning, do you want to help me decorate?” Teddy asked with the sort of enthusiasm Nick reserved for paintball or playoff football. “I thought it might be a fun thing to do before the tree lighting in the evening.”
“Sure.” He wasn’t sure when was the last time he’d decorated anything, but he was happy enough to follow Teddy’s whims, and it wasn’t like he had a better use for the day. “You’ll have to tell me what to do. Lights and stuff?”
“Oh, I didn’t mean here. I’m too far out of town to really bother with many outside lights. If I lived in town, I’d go all out. Ditto the tree—it feels silly doing it for just myself, but I do like a little one to come home to and maybe a wreath. But tomorrow is all about getting up the giving tree and all the center’s lights and decorations.”
“Yeah, I can help with that.” Assisting the center would ground him, remind him why he was in Mineral Spirits in the first place.
“Here. You didn’t get to try the Hawaiian Pie earlier.” Teddy fed him a bite, and Nick obediently opened up. Heavy on the whipped cream, the bite was full of pineapple and coconut.
“It’s good. A bit too sweet, but good.”
“Do you miss it a lot?” Teddy’s head tilted thoughtfully.
“Hawaii?” Nick shrugged. He had a feeling Teddy might be fishing for more Micah details, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to go there. “It was warm, and I liked the ocean and the fishing, and there was a great power-lifting community there. But mainly it was just another duty station.”
Teddy snorted like he didn’t quite believe him. Nick kind of liked how Teddy wasn’t intimidated by him—it was refreshing. Even Micah had always seemed a bit…well, scared was the wrong word, but nervous around him, the way his subordinates were on duty.
“You want to play a round of that game?” he asked before Teddy could go digging more at Nick’s past. “Maybe that will get you sleepy.”
“Maybe.” Teddy rose to get the game. “I think you liked it more than you let on though.”
I like you more than I’m letting on. Nick smiled tightly. “Maybe.”
He helped Teddy set up the board, and then proceeded to get waxed by Teddy again, but at least he made a slightly more respectable showing, collecting more goblin gold.
“I win.” Teddy pushed him back on the couch. “That means I get a prize, right?”
“You do.” Nick pulled him in for a kiss, not surprised in the least at how it went from a fast, affectionate peck to a deep, soul-tangling affair where Teddy clung to him and made little whimpers. Nick made an executive decision that they needed to be on a bed for round two and gathered Teddy in his arms before standing.
“Oh hey, wow.” Teddy blinked up at him. “That’s…wow. Muscle man. But I gotta make sure the stove is set for the night, so put me down.”
“Fine.” Nick reluctantly set him down and waited for Teddy to do the responsible adult thing and check the stove before heading upstairs together.
“Okay, feel free to toss me around again now.” Teddy pushed his robe off before doing the same to Nick, making a good effort at climbing Nick like a tree.
Nick took a hint and hefted Teddy up for a long kiss before tumbling them both onto the bed, Teddy still in his arms, a bundle of laughter and warm skin.
“I know it’s hella superficial, but I’m not going to get tired of your muscles.” Teddy grinned. “That’s a fun trick, how you can lift me.”
“You’re hardly that taxing.” Nick laughed, something he seemed to do around Teddy with alarming regularity. Sex wasn’t supposed to be this funny. Or fun, as Teddy slithered down the mattress, intent clear in his eyes.
“I still wanna blow you. I’ve been thinking about it all week.”
“Not going to stop you. If it helps you sleep and all…”
“Ha.” Teddy chuckled. “I’ll let you know if cock works as a sleeping pill. And damn, you’re big. If nothing else, my jaw should get a workout.”
“If you’re going to complain…” Nick started to roll away, but Teddy pinned his hips flat with surprisingly strong hands. And apparently Teddy liked to tease, because he started with barely-there flutters and flicks, making Nick twitch, both wanting Teddy to get on with it and never wanting the electric little touches of his tongue to end.
“Come on. No more teasing,” Nick urged. “Suck it.”
“Not going to be able to go all the way down,” Teddy warned. “So don’t thrust yet. Gotta figure out how to attack this monster.”
“I’m not that big.” Nick wasn’t really sure what to do with all this flattery.
“Hush.” Teddy licked up and down the shaft, more blissful torture. “Let me have my fun.”
Finally, he settled on wrapping a fist around the base of Nick’s cock before swallowing the head, gradually finding a rhythm of jacking the shaft while he took as much as he could in his mouth. He went deep enough to gag before backing off.
“Careful now.” Nick petted his soft curls. He knew guys who would get off on the other person choking on his dick, but that wasn’t his kink. “Only take what you can. Feels amazing.”
He wasn’t kidding—Teddy’s enthusiasm made up for any deep-throating tricks, and it had been long enough that just the warm, slick heat of a mouth was enough of a novelty. And Teddy’s happy noises when he kept Nick at a manageable depth, little moans and humming, were unbelievably sexy. As with everything else, Teddy threw himself into the sex, giving Nick his full attention for long, blissful minutes until Nick felt all floaty, the way he imagined a decent buzz must feel.
“Can you come this way? I really want to get you off.” Teddy looked up at him with big eyes.
“Maybe. Not always.” Because of his size, Nick was always reluctant to thrust at a pace that would bring him off fast. “But your mouth is amazing.”
“Mmm.” Teddy made a thoughtful noise around Nick’s dick before pulling back to settle himself more fully between Nick’s legs, licking at his balls. Nick couldn’t hold back the groan at how good that felt.
“More.”
“Like that? Jack yourself closer, then tell me when you’re there. I’ll keep myself busy.” Teddy winked at him before resuming his attention to Nick’s balls, licking and sucking and tugging and generally driving Nick out of his head.
Nick followed the instructions to stroke off, but he did it slowly, savoring how nice it felt to have this sort of focus paid to him. A luxury, really. He stopped trying to hold back his moans as Teddy made more of those happy noises whenever Nick let sound escape his lungs.
“So good. Fuck. Teddy.”
“Mmm. Wanna taste you. Get there.”
“Pushy, pushy,” Nick complained with no real ire as he sped up his strokes. Teddy redoubled his efforts on Nick’s balls, and it wasn’t long before he panted, “Now, now.”
In a single graceful movement, Teddy swallowed the head of Nick’s cock while continuing to rub his balls with his fingers, the dual attack more than Nick’s control could withstand. He came with a growl, muscles burning like he’d just performed a personal best lift. Teddy milked him through the aftershocks before releasing him with a lewd plop sound, grinning up at Nick, who hauled him up next to him.
“I think we made the wrong one of us sleepy,” he groaned, pressing a kiss to Teddy’s head.
“I’m good. That was fucking hot.” Teddy leaned into him as he started stroking himself off. But Nick was having none of that and batted his hand away to replace it with his own. Knowing how he liked it himself, he grabbed the lube, got his palm slick.
Watching Teddy’s face go slack and listening to the almost primal noises he made was nearly better than his own climax—he could watch Teddy endlessly.
“Faster,” Teddy urged, back arching. “I got so close just tasting you. Fuck. I’m close.”
“That’s it, baby, come for me.” He tightened his grip, speeding up, reading Teddy’s rhythm.
“Nick.” Teddy came all over Nick’s fist in thick spurts that left him boneless and snuggling into Nick’s side.
Something tender settled over Nick as he found a cloth to clean them both off with, made him want to give Teddy absolutely everything he might need. It felt like road rash for the soul—like the top layer of the protective coating he usually kept his feelings under was gone. And he did not like it, not one bit. He might want to give Teddy all he needed, but Nick was also a realist. Teddy was too young, too North Country, too sweet for him. He gathered Teddy up, almost as if he could keep them both safe from whatever lay ahead by hunkering down in this warm nest of a bed until spring.