“Shoulda chased her out.”
The Irish was high in Quinn’s sleep-velvety voice, and Rafe’s cock thickened when Quinn shimmied up against him, closing the space between their bodies.
“You’ll get cat hair… up there.”
“Dude, she might as well have some fun. I don’t use it. I’m not sticking my ass over a water fountain. Paper’s good enough for me.” He nuzzled again, getting a low purr out of Quinn. His briefs were getting too tight, pulled up by his dick, and Rafe tugged at the elastic, hoping to give himself some room. “How are you doing? Okay?”
“I’m good. Tight. Skin’s tight, but that’s… worry. Still. Why?”
Quinn ground into him again, and Rafe hissed, this time certain Q knew what he was doing to him.
“What time is it? I should call—”
“It’s four in the morning, Q.” It was hard hearing the break in Quinn’s voice. Rafe feathered his fingers over Quinn’s stomach, stroking softly. “Your mom’s probably asleep, and Donal’s snoring in a chair next to her bed.”
“Mum’s the one that snores. Little poodle whimpers. Da makes fun of her for it.” The tenseness along Quinn’s spine receded, and he sighed, uncoiling slowly under Rafe’s touch. “You keep doing that, I won’t be able to go back to sleep.”
“Sleep isn’t really what I had in mind for you. Well, not for an hour or two.” Rafe bit Quinn’s earlobe, teasing it slowly between his teeth. “It’s early, still dark outside, and your cat’s busy playing in her own bubbling fountain. I say we take advantage of—”
“Do you know I almost called her Mangalica? It’s a type of furry pig.”
Quinn’s breath hitched again, but Rafe knew the slight gasp was less about anxiety and more about Rafe’s fingers sliding into Quinn’s boxers and finding his balls.
“God… shite and hell.”
“I love hearing filth come out of that pretty mouth of yours, magpie,” Rafe growled, gently squeezing Quinn’s sac. He got a response he liked. Quinn’s ass clenched along the length of Rafe’s crotch, snagging Rafe’s cock in its cleft. Pulling Quinn onto his back, Rafe bit at the soft spot under Quinn’s jaw. Hunger coursed through him, making it nearly impossible for his hips to stay still. Muttering, he trailed kisses up to Quinn’s ear, licking the ridge he found there. “God, I want to fuck you so bad.”
“Should we be doing this? Mum’s in the hospital—” Quinn began to object, but Rafe’s mouth shut him down.
Their tongues clashed and teased, long enough to be called a skirmish but not wet enough for a battle. After sucking out all of Quinn’s breath, Rafe pulled back, leaving him gasping. Rafe slid his finger between Quinn’s parted lips, then used the damp tip to trace around Quinn’s mouth.
“That’s exactly why we should be doing this. Celebration of life, Q. It’s what we do as a species. We laugh….” Rafe punctuated his words with nibbling kisses, working his way down to Quinn’s nipples. “Cry. Fear. And best of all, fuck. Because as much as I love your mother, and you know I love Brigid, I am so damned glad you were okay today. If anything’d happened to you….”
Rafe swore his heart stopped. Literally stopped. The darkness being held at bay by the bathroom light descended upon him, drowning his senses and choking his lungs. Sliding over onto Quinn’s body, Rafe lay down on his lover, draping his thighs on either side of Quinn’s hips, then capturing Quinn’s face in his hands. He needed to breathe. Wanted to, even, but the simple act of getting his muscles to respond seemed beyond him.
“I know it’s not been long… the two of us, I mean—” Rafe started.
“It’s been forever. You used to take the puddings from my lunches.” Quinn covered Rafe’s hands with his. “You’ve known me since forever. It just took you a bit to… look.”
“Oh, I looked. I just made sure no one noticed. I wanted to keep my nose where I had it.” He sobered, seeing his affection reflected back at him in Quinn’s face. “Love you, Quinn. Today… I was so fucking scared. In the car. At the hospital. You scare me more than anyone else in my entire life, Q. And I can’t imagine it being any other way.”
“Not exactly the most romantic thing there.” He squished his cheeks together with his own hands, making fishy kisses at Rafe. Letting go when Rafe laughed, Quinn said quietly. “I love you too.”