...During a commercial, Matt prodded Vic’s crotch with his foot. When his lover looked over at him with hooded eyes, Matt said, “Roxie invited me to this party she’s having. Don’t say ‘no.’”

Confusion flickered across Vic’s face. “I’m not saying ‘no.’ When is it?”

“Halloween.” Matt waited a beat, then took the plunge. “It’s a costume party. You have to dress up.”

For a moment, Vic was silent. Matt caught his lower lip between his teeth as he waited for his lover’s response. He could feel Vic’s mind within his, poking around for more information, but Matt had nothing further to give. When Vic saw Matt’s memory of the cheesy vampire on the card, he grunted. Matt couldn’t tell if that meant he was in or not.

Giving Matt’s foot a gentle squeeze in his lap, Vic said carefully, “Sounds like you want to go.”

“I want us to go,” Matt clarified. “It’d be no fun by myself. Who would I kiss at midnight?”

Vic gave him a sardonic smirk. “That’s New Year’s, Matty.”

By shifting his legs just an inch, Matt rubbed his foot across the slight bulge at Vic’s crotch. His lover’s eyes slipped closed as pleasure spiraled through him, and the hands on Matt’s foot clamped down to hold it in place. For all her teasing, Matt thought, Roxie was right. Vic might look like a fierce grizzly to the rest of the world, but at Matt’s touch, the man turned into a teddy bear.

“Are you saying I won’t get a kiss at midnight then?” Matt joked. He pulled back his leg slightly, until his toes could dig into the front of Vic’s boxers. They rubbed along a hard length still hidden in the folds of fabric. “So we’re going?”

“Matt,” Vic sighed. Then he realized they were still in the middle of a conversation, and he forced his attention off his rising libido to frown at Matt. The wrench was almost palpable—in his own mind, Matt felt Vic’s thoughts click back into place. “Wait. What? Going where?”

Matt twisted his toes into Vic, doing delicious things to his lover’s still-sheathed cock. “To Roxie’s party. You’re not listening to me.”

“You’re distracting me.”

When Matt’s foot began to grind against his crotch, Vic caught both feet and raised them an inch or two in the air, off his body. Matt twisted, but his lover had a tight grip on his ankles and he couldn’t break loose. A slow smile spread across his face. “No fair.”

“So tell me,” Vic said, all playfulness gone. “Roxie’s party, Halloween. We have to dress up. Why do I want to go to this?”

Matt tried to tug his legs free of Vic’s hands and couldn’t. “Free booze,” he offered. At the impassive look on Vic’s face, he added, “Come on, Vic. One beer and I’m ready to fuck. Give me an open bar, and I guarantee you’ll get more than just a quick kiss at midnight from me.”