Private Dicks (5 page)

The thought brought him up short. Just because Wash was
throwing himself into his role as a gay guy didn’t mean anything would actually
happen. Mentally shrugging as he pulled his partner onto the packed dance
floor, Rhodes figured he’d better make the most of this fake date. It was
probably the only one he’d get.

Turning toward Wash, Rhodes caught him by the hips, pulling
his partner hard against him. Even with the layers of clothes blocking the skin
contact, Rhodes sucked in a breath as their groins connected.

Wash’s eyes widened—then his lids lowered to half-mast.

A techno mix was playing. Normally Rhodes hated techno but
he had to admit that it was good music to grind to—and he did love to dance. As
his hips rocked to the beat and his hands slid around to cup Wash’s tight ass,
Rhodes decided he especially loved dancing with Wash.

Leaning in, Wash yelled over the music, “Little grabby,
aren’t you?” Despite his words, Wash didn’t pull away. Instead, he matched the
movement of Rhodes’ hips.

That, and the start of a smile on Wash’s face, gave Rhodes
the courage to growl, “Thought we agreed you’re my bitch tonight.” He squeezed
Wash’s cheeks and laughed when his partner jumped.

“Your
bitch
?” Wash yelped.

Rhodes just grinned at him. To his surprise, Wash shrugged
with a long-suffering expression.

“Fine,” he gave in, catching Rhodes around the nape and
tugging so their sweaty foreheads rested against each other. “The things I do
to make you happy.”

Their mouths were so close. Rhodes stared at the upward
curve of Wash’s full lips and shifted, desperate to feel his partner’s mouth
against his…

Before their lips could meet, Wash’s eyes caught on
something over Rhodes’ shoulder.

“Check it out,” Wash told him, giving the barest nod in the
direction of his gaze. “There’s our guy.”

Shit. Work.
With a resigned sigh, Rhodes turned them
both in a half-circle so he could see who Wash had been looking at. It was Ness
standing at the edge of the dance floor, although he looked completely
different from the photo on the wall at the youth center. Tonight, Ness was all
clubbed out, hair slicked back with enough product to supply a sorority house
for a year, white shirt unbuttoned to his navel and tight leather pants. Rhodes
winced.

“That,” he told Wash, “should
not
be in leather. That
is an affront to leather.”

Wash grinned. “Ness isn’t someone you’d pick up then?”

“Fuck no!” Staring at Wash with an utterly offended
expression, Rhodes almost stopped dancing at the horror of the idea. “How could
you even think that?”

Laughing now, Wash nudged him back into motion. “Just
shitting you, I promise. Although it’d be handy. You wouldn’t even need lube.
Just run a hand through his hair and you’re good to go.”

“Jesus, Wash!” The image was positively nauseating. “That’s
so fucking wrong.”

Wash was almost crying, he was laughing so hard. “C’mon,” he
choked out. “Let’s ease our way over.”

Still moving to the music, they worked their way across the
dance floor to the side edged with ropes cordoning off the entrance to the
V.I.P. section. Ness was standing just behind the velvet barrier, eyeing the
crowd.

“Okay, Rhodie, now get his attention,” Wash ordered, just
loud enough for Rhodes to hear.

“Me?” Rhodes yelped. “
You
get him to look.”

“You’re the one who goes to gay clubs—just do whatever you
do to pick someone up when you need to get laid.” Wash flipped his hand in a
“go on” gesture.

Scowling, Rhodes argued, “What—sit at the bar drinking beer
’til someone approaches me?”

“Really?” Wash raised an eyebrow. “Anyone? Thought you were
more discriminating than that.”

“Depends.”

“On what?”

“How horny I am,” Rhodes admitted, smiling grudgingly at
Wash’s bark of laughter.

“Fine,” Wash capitulated. “Let’s both just put on a show.”
With that, he started to dance—
really
dance. Rhodes blinked and then
joined in, trying to top each of his partner’s moves with a down-and-dirty
gyration of his own. There was one twisting thrust that Wash did with his hips,
though, that Rhodes didn’t even try to imitate. He just stared and drooled.

When Rhodes snapped out of his lust-ridden daze, Wash had
turned away from him. Yanking his partner’s hips against his without thought,
Rhodes ground his hardening cock against the tight ass in front of him, sucking
in a breath at the impact.

Wash tipped his head down and Rhodes took advantage of his
exposed neck, licking the sweat streaking his partner’s skin.

“Fuck!” Wash hissed at the contact.

Rhodes knew he should pull his mouth away but he
couldn’t—Wash tasted too good. His groan vibrated against his own lips when
Wash tilted his head slightly, offering access to the sensitive skin behind his
ear.

His heart beating out of his chest, Rhodes sucked at Wash’s
earlobe then tugged on it with his teeth. Gritting out another curse, Wash
reached behind to grab his hip, pulling Rhodes’ erection more tightly against
his ass.

Panting now, Rhodes nibbled his way down the neck in front
of him until he was blocked by Wash’s collar. Growling in frustration, Rhodes
closed his teeth around the vibrating tendon at the side of Wash’s neck in
retaliation for the other man not being naked.

“Excuse me.”

The voice was loud enough to bring Rhodes’ head up. He
blinked, slowly returning to reality, and saw the bouncer who had been guarding
the V.I.P. area now standing in front of them. The man pointed toward Ness, who
was beckoning them over.

“Score,” Wash muttered, following the bouncer toward the
velvet ropes. “Nice work.”

Rhodes just grunted. He didn’t care about Ness or their case
or anything right now—anything except for dragging Wash off to some
semi-private corner and fucking his brains out.

The bouncer unhooked the rope to allow Wash through. As
Rhodes followed close behind, the burly man stopped him with a hand on the
chest.

“Just him,” the bouncer said, nodding toward Wash.

Rhodes glared at the man holding him back, pressing against
the restraining hand. They were eye-to-eye, almost equally broad across the
shoulders, and the bouncer began to look a little nervous.

“It’s okay,” Wash spoke up, nodding when Rhodes looked over.
Reluctantly, Rhodes stepped back as Ness ushered Wash into the V.I.P. area,
barely managing to hold back when Ness’ hand brushed down his partner’s back
and landed on his ass.

Forcing his fists to unclench, Rhodes moved back another
step as the bouncer watched him warily. When his partner disappeared behind the
closing door, every instinct told him to rush in after him, drag him out of
Ness’ greasy grip and get the hell out of that club. Instead, he skirted the
dance floor and found an empty stool at the bar. Staring at the V.I.P. entrance
that had just swallowed Wash, Rhodes ordered a shot.

“Where’s your sweet baby boy?” a growly voice asked.

Rhodes turned his head to see the blond bouncer from the
front who had let them bypass the line. In answer, he jerked his head toward
the roped-off door.

The bouncer laughed. “Mr. Ness got his claws into him? Good
luck getting him back.” He leaned against the bar, his hip pressed against
Rhodes’ knee.

Twisting his shoulders in an irritated shrug, Rhodes
grumbled, “Who’s watching the door?”

“I’m on break—I don’t give a fuck.” The bouncer smirked at
him. “But thanks for your concern.”

With another shrug, Rhodes focused on the V.I.P. entrance
again.

“Hey, it’s his loss,” the other man said, nudging between
Rhodes’ knees. “If he wants to give up a big, strong, macho guy like you for
Ness…”

Rhodes forced his attention back to the bouncer. Wash was a
big boy and could take care of himself. This was Rhodes’ opportunity to get
some information. “What’s your name?” he barked. Even in the poor light, Rhodes
could see how the bouncer’s eyes dilated at the commanding tone. This was going
to be almost too easy.

“Trevor.”

“You’re right, Trevor,” Rhodes growled. “Fuck him. How long
d’you still have on your break?” He stood up, crowding Trevor back against the
bar.

Ducking his head, Trevor’s voice shook a little as he
answered. “N-not long. To do much, I mean. If that’s what you meant…?”

The bouncer peeked up, all his earlier bravado gone, his
blue eyes bright with excitement and nerves. Rhodes felt an immediate pang of
guilt but he smothered it quickly. He wasn’t going to do anything
bad
to
Trevor. He’d just see what the bouncer knew. If Rhodes needed to make out with
him a little to get that information…well, that was a sacrifice he was willing
to make for his job.

Besides, Ness was probably halfway down Wash’s throat by
now.

The thought made him growl and press his hips against the
bulge of Trevor’s erection. Leaning in close, Rhodes could feel the bouncer’s
quick puffs of breath against his throat.

“‘Not long’ is better than nothing, right?” Rhodes murmured
in the other man’s ear. Trevor nodded jerkily. Backing up a few steps, Rhodes
gestured for Trevor to lead the way but the bouncer just followed, stopping
when Rhodes stopped.

“Let’s go,” Rhodes ordered, giving the other man a sharp
smack on one ass cheek. Trevor jumped, his startled expression so hungry that
Rhodes’ stomach clenched in an unexpected surge of lust. Catching Rhodes’ hand,
Trevor pulled him around the end of the bar and through a door. Once the door
swung shut behind them, they were alone in a dimly lit hallway. With the music
muffled, their breathing sounded loud.

Catching Trevor by both arms, Rhodes shoved him up against
the wall and kicked his feet wide.

“Spread ’em,” he growled.

Trevor gasped. “You a cop?” he asked, sounding more eager
than worried.

“Used to be,” Rhodes told him, using only one hand to pin
both of Trevor’s wrists against the wall above his head. “Why? That turn you
on?”

“Yeah,” Trevor admitted, dropping his gaze shyly. “Kinda
does.”

“Yeah?” Rhodes found the bulge of Trevor’s cock with his
free hand and squeezed. “How ’bout when a cop does this?”

“Holy fuck!” Trevor choked out, twisting his hips into
Rhodes’ grip.

Dropping his head toward the other man’s mouth, Rhodes
hesitated. “I shouldn’t be worried about my…friend, should I?”

“What?” Trevor sounded confused, his eyes fixed on Rhodes’
lips.

“Your boss—is he some sick fuck who’ll hurt my friend?”

Trevor’s eyes shot to the side and he bit his bottom lip.
“If I say maybe, are you going to stop?”

Jerking back a few inches, Rhodes stared at the bouncer. “Do
I need to pull him out now?”

Trevor shook his head vehemently. “Ness won’t do anything in
there with people around. Just don’t let your friend go home with him.”

Rhodes released the hard cock pressing against his palm so
that he could run a gentle thumb down Trevor’s cheek. “Have some personal
experience with that?” he asked quietly.

Although he shook his head again, Trevor wouldn’t meet his
eyes. “Naw. I’m not his type. I’ve just heard things.”

Touching his lips to the corner of Trevor’s mouth, Rhodes
felt more than heard the other man’s sigh.

“Good,” Rhodes murmured between light kisses along Trevor’s
jaw. “I wouldn’t want you to be hurt.” With that, he found Trevor’s mouth.

Taking his time, Rhodes explored the contours of the other
man’s lips, the smooth, hard surface of his teeth, the slick, strong tongue,
enjoying the kiss despite the fact that Trevor didn’t taste quite as good as
Wash. The thought brought a flash of irritation and Rhodes kissed the bouncer
harder, trying to banish the memory of how Wash’s skin had felt beneath his
mouth.

Trevor was trembling under the kiss, adding to Rhodes’
guilt. Here was a gorgeous, sweet,
gay
man, shaking from his touch, and
Rhodes had to pine for his all-too-straight partner.

With a frustrated groan, Rhodes pulled back, releasing the
other man’s wrists. Obviously confused by the withdrawal, Trevor stared at him
with lust-dazed eyes as his arms fell back to his sides.

“When’s your break over?” Rhodes asked, trying to cover the
real reason he’d stopped. The all-too-stupid reason named Wash. When the words
penetrated, the bouncer glanced at his watch.

“Shit!” Trevor yelped. “Gotta go!”

Rhodes stepped back to let him by but the bouncer hesitated
and turned.

“Can I…maybe call you or something?” he mumbled, his eyes
dropping to the floor between them.

Cupping the other man’s jaw, Rhodes leaned in for a quick,
hard kiss. As his lips left Trevor’s, he slipped a business card into the
bouncer’s pants pocket, using the opportunity for a final brush of his finger
against Trevor’s fabric-guarded cock.

“I’d like that,” Rhodes told him, pulling away reluctantly.
Trevor was no Wash but he was definitely cute, especially those eyes, so blue
and so shy after the veneer of cockiness was stripped away.

Trevor grinned. “Good. Okay then. I’ll call you.” He
continued to stand unmoving.

“Go on—back to work,” Rhodes barked in his best drill
sergeant imitation.

“Yes sir!” Trevor cast a final hungry look over his shoulder
as he slipped back into the club.

After a minute, Rhodes followed him. Planting himself on the
same stool he had vacated, he settled in to watch the V.I.P. door.

Chapter Four

It was a good hour later before Wash emerged. Ness was
draped possessively over him, obviously trying to tug Wash back into the V.I.P.
area. Smiling, Wash slipped out of his grip, calling something back over his shoulder
to Ness before moving toward the exit.

Rhodes stayed on his bar stool, his gaze on Ness,
half-expecting the man to chase after Wash. Instead, face hardening, Ness
watched him disappear into the crowd. When Wash was lost in the mass of people,
Ness turned to the bouncer and said a few words close to his ear. The bouncer
nodded and opened the door for Ness to reenter the V.I.P. section.

Slipping off his seat, Rhodes dug out a few bills for the
bartender and made his way to the main door. As he let himself out, the
relative quiet of the street was a relief. Turning from his post, Trevor saw
him and grinned before quickly erasing his smile, replacing it with the aloof
cool that was probably more bouncer-appropriate. Walking past Trevor on his way
to the street, Rhodes allowed his hand to brush across the other man’s ass.
When he glanced back, Trevor was watching him, his eyes narrow and hot.

“You want to wait around ’til your new friend gets off, go
ahead.”

Rhodes jumped at the sound of Wash’s voice. His partner was
leaning against a newspaper dispenser, scowling.

“You okay?” Rhodes asked, moving closer, his gaze on the
other man’s disgruntled face.

“Fine,” Wash bit off. “Let’s go.” He walked a few steps
ahead of Rhodes toward where the car was parked, a block from the club.

“We can grab a cab if you’ve been drinking,” Rhodes told the
stiff back in front of him. “I’ve had a few shots, so I’m not good to drive.”

Wash gave a short shake of his head. “I
wish
I’d been
drinking,” he muttered. At the car, he held his hand out for the keys. Instead
of tossing them to him, Rhodes walked up and handed the car keys to Wash while
catching his partner by the shoulder.

“What’s wrong?” Rhodes asked, giving Wash a little shake.

“Nothing. Let’s go.” Jerking out of the other man’s grip,
Wash turned to yank open the driver’s door. “And just because we put on that
little skit in there doesn’t mean you can feel me up whenever you’d like.”

Rhodes took an unsteady step backward, feeling like he’d
just been punched in the throat. “Fuck you,” he finally managed to choke out.
Blindly turning away from the car, he started walking. He wasn’t sure where he
was going—just
away
.

“Shit,” Wash muttered. Rhodes heard footsteps hurrying
behind him and then Wash grabbed his arm. Rhodes stopped but didn’t look at his
partner.

“Hey, I’m sorry,” Wash told him, giving his arm a squeeze
before releasing him. Rhodes still didn’t move, couldn’t look. “C’mon, Rhodie,
it’s been a really fucked-up night. Can’t we just go home?”

Blowing out a hard breath, Rhodes braced himself before
turning to face Wash. “Fucked up how? Did that asshole do something to you?”

Wash shook his head. “No. Let’s go—we can’t talk here.”

Rhodes relented and they both walked stiffly back to the
car. Silence hung heavily around them for the first few minutes of their drive.

“I’m really sorry, Rhodie,” Wash said again. “I didn’t mean
it. I was just venting.”

“Whatever.” Rhodes stared through the windshield at the
artificially lit night. “Doesn’t matter. What’d you find out?”

“That Ness is a sick fuck.”

Something in Wash’s voice made Rhodes look over. His
partner’s fingers had tightened around the steering wheel until they glowed
white.

“What’d he do?” Rhodes growled. He
knew
he shouldn’t
have let Wash go into that V.I.P. section alone. Fuck.

“To me—nothing. Well,” Wash corrected himself, “grabbed my
ass a lot and kept feeding me drinks that I poured into the mini-fountain when
his back was turned. Major waste of good vodka, but this is
not
a guy I
trust to bring me drinks.” He shuddered. “Ness is a slimy one—and I’m not just
talking about his hair.”

“Tell me,” Rhodes ordered.

“I…um,” Wash glanced over, his face uncertain, “sort of
implied you liked little boys.”

Rhodes choked. “You said
what
?”

“Just to see what his reaction would be,” Wash explained
quickly, making patting motions in the air as if trying to soothe Rhodes. “He
was asking about you.”

“If he’s so fascinated, he should’ve invited me into
V.I.P.,” Rhodes grumbled. “He looked a hell of a lot more interested in you.”

“Well yeah.” A hint of Wash’s usual grin was returning. “Who
wouldn’t be?”

Rhodes lifted a fist to pop his partner on the shoulder but
reconsidered and lowered his hand.

Wash sighed. “Seriously, Rhodie, I didn’t mean what I said
before. When we were dancing and…messing around, it was fun, you know? And,
well…pretty hot too. But after hanging out with Ness for a couple hours, I just
feel so dirty. All I wanted to do was get out of there and take a shower, see
if I could get my skin to stop crawling, and I see
you
flirting with the
cute bouncer…”

After regarding Wash’s profile for a few seconds, Rhodes
commented, “Yeah, he
is
cute, isn’t he?”

“Fucker.” Wash reached over to punch Rhodes’ shoulder and
laughed. “I’m cuter.”

“Eh.” Holding a hand up and twisting it from side to side in
a “so-so” gesture, Rhodes bit back a smile as Wash punched his arm again.
“Okay, fine, you’re cuter. Now what’d Ness say?”

“He noticed you were pretty protective,” Wash explained, “so
he assumed you were my boyfriend. I told him that we hooked up once in a while
but that you were really into younger guys, as in
much
younger guys.”

Rhodes winced. “Nice.”

With a shrug, Wash apologized. “Sorry. It was all I could
think of on short notice. He got all interested at that—his eyes lit up and he
started asking questions. When he asked what you did, I said ‘business’ and
then started wiggling around like I was nervous, so of course he asked what
kind, and I was babbly enough and vague enough that he’s pretty sure you’re a
drug kingpin or a smuggler or some kind of badass.”

“That’ll work,” Rhodes told him, nodding thoughtfully.

“That’s what I thought. Ness wants to talk to you.” Wash
pulled into a parking space on the street across from Rhodes’ building. “I’m so
fucking tired—can I just crash here?”

“Of course,” Rhodes said easily as he slid out of his seat,
although his heart beat faster. They crossed the street to the main entrance in
silence. Rhodes let them both in and they climbed the stairs to his apartment.

“I know we have nothing on him,” Wash said as he flopped
onto the couch, “but I just
know
Ness did something to those kids. He’s
mixed up in this somehow.”

“Okay. So this is good. We have a suspect—or at least a
person of interest. Tomorrow we’ll dig up everything we can on Ness, see if
Gomez has anything else she can contribute and then I’ll set up the meet.”
Rhodes moved into the open kitchen. “You want a drink?”

“Christ, yeah,” Wash breathed, leaning his head against the
sofa back. “I’ve been dying for something all night. I just knew if it came from
that slimy fuckhead, it’d be roofied.”

“One non-roofied whiskey, coming right up.” As he poured the
drinks, Rhodes tossed over his shoulder, “So why do you think Ness wants to
meet with me? Is he going to sell me a kid or buy
you
from me?”

Snorting a laugh, Wash retorted, “I’m thinking he wants me
for free. Cheap bastard. My money’s on him selling you a kid. Probably a
fourteen-year-old Latino boy named Miguel.”

“Jesus,” Rhodes muttered, walking over to the couch. He
nudged Wash, who opened one eye and accepted the drink. “How does that work?
These are teenagers, not babies. How’s he keeping these kids quiet and
obedient?”

Wash shrugged. “Drugs? Threats? Shame? Soundproofed rooms
and locked doors? The banker found with Mia was from Ohio—he was probably going
to bring her back there before he decided to shoot her instead.”

“Yeah, what was that all about?” wondered Rhodes, taking a
drink, enjoying the burn as the alcohol tracked down his throat.

Wash shrugged, closing his eyes. “Who knows what went on in
that sick fuck’s mind? There’s got to be a lot of guilt involved in messing up
a kid that badly.”

Glancing at the man next to him, Rhodes finished off his
drink and pushed to his feet. “C’mon, you’re almost asleep. You can crash here
but I have to warn you, this is the most uncomfortable couch I’ve ever tried to
sleep on.”

Opening one eye, Wash asked, “So what’s choice number two?”

Although he tried to keep his face expressionless, Rhodes
felt heat creep up his neck and into his cheeks. “My bed’s a king, if you don’t
mind sharing.”

Wash’s other eye opened. “Does ‘sharing’ a bed mean we’re
having sex?”

“You can, if you want,” Rhodes tossed over his shoulder as
he headed to the bathroom. “Just don’t wake me up.”

Wash’s startled bark of laughter followed him down the hall.

This had been a bad idea. Despite his exhaustion and the
drinks at the bar and the final whiskey of the night, Rhodes lay wide awake,
his cock as hard as a rock. He didn’t have any pajamas—normally he slept
naked—so he had left his boxer briefs on before crawling into bed.

He lay on his side, hugging the edge, not wanting to
accidentally touch Wash but, at the same time, wanting to touch him so badly he
ached with it. Wash was sprawled on his back wearing only his underwear, taking
up his entire half of the bed as well as part of Rhodes’.

Rhodes snorted quietly. He was beginning to feel like a
Victorian virgin, clutching the edge of the mattress as if it were his virtue.
Rolling carefully onto his back and then to his right side, facing Wash, Rhodes
stretched out his legs and tried to ignore his throbbing erection.

“Can I tell you something?” Wash asked.

Rhodes jumped. He’d thought the other man was asleep.
“Sure,” he croaked, flushing in the darkness at the rough sound of his own
voice.

“I’m…um, I’m not exactly…” Wash trailed off.

After a long silence, Rhodes prodded, “What?”

“I’m not exactly straight,” he said, the words leaving his
mouth in a rush.

“
What
?!” Rhodes’ body contracted as Wash’s words sank
in and he sat up, staring down at the dim outline of Wash’s body. Twisting
around, he jerked the chain on the bedside lamp, flooding the room with light.

“Ow!” Wash covered his eyes. “Fuck, man!”

“Quit whining and talk,” Rhodes snarled, not in the mood for
offering any sympathy. “Tell me why the
fuck
you put me through all that
the other night, making me think you were disgusted, that you hated me, when
you’re fucking gay too!”

Sitting up, Wash stared at him in horror. “I was never
disgusted. I
told
you that it bothered me that you kept it secret, that’s
all. Thought you didn’t trust me. I got it when you said you’d never come out
before.”

“So why didn’t you say anything then? Maybe something like,
‘Hey Rhodie, so you’re gay. What a coincidence—I am too!’ Do you know how many
fucking nights I’ve lain in bed, wide awake, thinking about—” Rhodes clamped
his lips shut before he spilled too much.

“I don’t think I’m totally gay,” Wash hurried to explain,
shifting on the mattress as he stared down at the comforter. “More bi, I guess.
I mean, I’ve had girlfriends. I’m attracted to women but sometimes…men turn me
on too.” He shot Rhodes a quick glance. “Maybe it’s just that I’m really
slutty.”

Rhodes sighed, a little calmer, although anger and hurt
still rolled beneath his skin. “You didn’t answer. Why didn’t you say
anything?”

With a shrug, Wash said, “At the high school I went to,
hitting on some guy in the locker room was a good way to get your balls sliced
off. I kept my eyes off the other guys’ asses, dated girls and hooked up a few
times with random guys who were just as eager to keep it secret as I was. Never
had a boyfriend or anything. I mean, I’ve never even fucked the same guy twice.
Guess keeping it a secret got to be a habit. When you came out to me, I was
just so shocked. I kept expecting you to laugh and admit it was a joke.”

“Yeah,” Rhodes snorted. “Real funny joke.”

“I just couldn’t believe it was real,” Wash admitted. “After
all the times I’d thought about you…”

Rhodes studied Wash’s averted profile for a few moments.
“You thought about me?”

Color darkening his cheeks, Wash flicked a quick glance at
Rhodes, his mouth quirking. “Maybe. You ever think about me?”

Cupping Wash’s jaw in his palm, Rhodes tilted his partner’s
face until he could meet his eyes. “Just all the fucking time,” Rhodes growled,
leaning in as his hand slid behind Wash’s neck. “At the office, in the car on a
stakeout, shopping for groceries…” He bore Wash back until they were both lying
on the bed, his body stretched over Wash’s, their faces just inches apart. “But
mostly in bed, jerking off.”

The small sound from Wash was muffled as Rhodes’ lips met
his. The kiss was hesitant, unsure for only a second before Rhodes crushed
their mouths together. His tongue delved into Wash’s mouth, frantically
claiming him as his own. Rhodes closed his eyes, stunned and aroused and
terrified that this moment wasn’t real, that this was one of a thousand dreams
about his partner, destined to dissolve as soon as he opened his eyes.

Despite Rhodes’ fears, Wash felt real beneath him. Real and
hard, his hands clutching him back tightly, his fingers digging into the
muscles of Rhodes’ back. Ending the kiss, Rhodes pulled back and forced himself
to open his eyes. To his relief, Wash was really there, staring at him from
just a few inches away, his eyes hungry and hot. A rush of pure happiness
flooded Rhodes as he lowered his mouth once more.