Grady struggled to focus, senses muddled by the post-orgasm stupor that’d swept in after his wild spike of anger. His legs shook and he sagged into Micah, chest heaving.
Micah vibrated through the end of his release, the trembles rocking through him to yank a shudder from Grady. Warm spunk dripped down his fist and his oversensitive cock protested the hold that was now too tight. Only he couldn’t get his throat to work to complain. Hell, there was nothing to complain about.
Micah choked off a last moan, face buried in Grady’s neck, hand finally releasing their softening dicks. His hot, panting breaths mimicked Grady’s.
He felt stripped now. Completely bared despite being almost fully clothed.
Micah had ripped something from him he hadn’t even known he’d been offering. Or had Micah accepted it? Claimed the madness and tossed it back with equal strength?
Sweat rolled down his temple, and the sun heated his back. His shorts were snug on his hips though, his softening dick still plastered next to Micah’s.
With a regretful groan he shifted back only to scramble to catch Micah’s weight. With little grace, he sunk to his knees, Micah dropping down with him, clutching him tight.
Awareness snapped into place, sharp and instant.
“Hey.” He wiped the come on his shorts and used both hands to hold Micah close. “It’s Grady. You’re safe.” His heart was racing again, but that calm control fell into place, automatically dropping into emergency mode even though this wasn’t dire. His training kept him from overreacting to the situation.
Micah had said he lost knowledge of his surroundings when he came. And right now he wasn’t in his room at Dane’s, cuffed to an object to ground him. How in the hell had Grady forgotten that detail when he’d jumped him on a damn mountaintop?
“We’re on a hike. In the Columbia River Gorge. On the Washington side,” he said, voice low and reassuring, senses hunting for any reaction. “It’s morning and we just had some pretty fucking amazing outdoor sex. We’re lucky no one came up the trail, but that might’ve made it even hotter or damn embarrassing.”
He was babbling, yet it was all true. “I don’t think that was your best display of endurance though. I wasn’t timing, but I doubt that took longer than five minutes.”
Micah’s snorted grunt tickled Grady’s neck and he squeezed his eyes tight in relief. He stroked a hand over the back of Micah’s damp hair, the other still clutching him close.
Come and sweat marked the air with evidence of their crazy race to get off, and small pebbles dug into his kneecaps. With their limp dicks still hanging out, the entire situation was laughable and perfect at once.
He wasn’t letting go of Micah though, not until he was ready. “I think I owe you an apology too,” he went on. “Only I don’t know if I want to, given the outcome. I was acting like a dick though.”
“Ass,” Micah mumbled, a wave of goosebumps racing down Grady’s neck.
“A fair statement.” He could definitely own up to his faults.
Micah’s pained groan was one of humor. “A boulder is digging a crater into my knee.”
Grady chuckled. “I guess the endorphins are fading then.”
Micah eased back and he let him go, concern still lodged in his chest. They both dropped back to sit on their heels, knees laced around each other. One glance down had a smile tugging at Grady’s lips.
“We made a mess.”
“A damn good one.”
Their clothes were splattered with their releases, and come was rapidly drying on their dicks. “I have wipes,” he said, stretching for his pack.
“Boy Scout.”
“Again.” He dragged his bag over, reluctant to move away from Micah. “Part of my job.” If he still had one.
He dug the small packet out and gave a couple to Micah. “Or do I need to take care of your boo-boo?”
Micah scowled, puffing out a disgusted laugh. “Only if you’re using your tongue.”
“Damn.” The image fired off all kinds of hot thoughts and shot straight to his exhausted dick. “Are you sure you’re not a sadist?”
He flicked a brow up, that smirk another dose of sexy hotness. “Not even close.”
Grady swallowed, his retorts drying up. He didn’t actually want to be forced to endure pain, but the power radiating from Micah right then was exactly what he wanted.
And he’d had it. Battled it and gave it back just a few moments ago with no complaints or ridicule from Micah. Yet submitting to that power was what he craved—if he was being honest with himself.
Could he really let himself go there again? And what would happen if the guys at Kick found out about him?
He focused on cleaning up, unwilling to add more thoughts to his pile of unanswerable questions. He kept one eye on Micah though, judging his state without calling attention to his problem. The fact that Micah had trusted him up here, so far out of his element, wasn’t easily dismissed. It’d been a huge, if not crazy, leap and he refused to let him down.
The used wipes were shoved into a pocket on his pack, and he chugged half a bottle of water in hopes of easing the ache spreading from his chest.
“Are you ready?” he asked as they settled their packs on their backs. He’d caught Micah staring into the distance a few times, eyes unfocused, but that could be him simply lost in thought—not lost. He waffled between asking outright and letting it go, pros and cons stacking on both sides.
No. He had to believe Micah would speak up if he wasn’t okay. No coddling.
“Yup.” Micah’s grin hit a tender spot in Grady’s heart. His hair had finger-runs through it and his lips were red and slightly swollen. He looked totally fucked and incredibly good. “We need to hustle if I’m going to make it to the hospital on time.”
Shit. Right. “I thought you only volunteered.” He started down the trail, naturally taking the lead again, pace still slow in case Micah’s balance was off.
“I do.”
“Then does it really matter if you’re late or if you miss a day?”
“To me it does. And the patients, maybe.”
For the ones who were silently aware and trapped within their unmoving bodies. And there was Finn, front and center once again. Where he probably should be. But, damn, the guilt was exhausting.
He paused at a curve in a switchback, stepping to the side to let a couple pass. He caught Micah’s eye, a laugh tugging at his lips. Fifteen minutes earlier and they’d have been found mid-orgasm or close to it.
“So,” Grady started. “I acted like a douche earlier and I’m sorry.”
“You did,” Micah agreed, stepping up to cup Grady’s jaw. Intimate and not at all commanding, the touch shook Grady to his core. His kiss was just as gentle and shattered every reason he had for why they were a bad idea. This was a bad idea. “Are you okay now?”
“I should be asking you that.”
“No saving, right?”
“No saving,” Grady agreed, their smiles widening in unison. He started moving down the trail again, thoughts quieting, his heart oddly eased.