...Two hours later, Sully followed Grady back out to the truck. Cradled in his dad’s arms, the boy seemed on the verge of sleep, his blond head bright against the black shoulder of Grady’s shirt. The child’s right leg was encased in a denim blue cast from foot to the knee, but no other signs of his adventure were visible.

The mild sedative Arch had given young Jim was already working. The boy made a soft, sleepy sound as Grady shifted him to get back in the truck. Again, Sully drove. He circled the fire station and stopped with the passenger door adjacent to the yard gate.

“Here you go,” he said. “I can leave the truck here or put it over by the side of the station where you usually park.”

“This is fine,” Grady replied. “But where do you think you’re going? I owe you some chow at least. There’s a big batch of chili in the fridge. We can nuke a bowl of it as soon as I get Jamie into bed.”

Sully hesitated with his answer as the morning’s interrupted scene surfaced with a jolt. If he came in, what was going to happen? He exhaled a slow breath. If anything happened, maybe it was meant to—maybe it would be best to let nature take its course and the new tension between them come undone, one way or another. Looking back, he acknowledged part of his animosity stemmed from the surge of attraction he’d felt from the very first. Coupled with his resentment, it had kept him in a knot for weeks now. The night might end in a fight, a fuck, or who knew where, but some closure seemed to be needed.

Following across the yard, he tried to will his sudden hard-on into submission, but the sight of Grady, muscles taut as he carried the sleeping kid only fueled that fire. Sully reached around them to open the door and then stopped just inside while Grady took Jim down to the boy’s room at the opposite end.

Too soon he was back, pausing a step into the main room. For long seconds, they locked eyes, a sizzling arc of awareness dancing between them. Finally, Grady tore his gaze away.

“You gotta be hungry,” he said, his voice hoarse.

“Yeah, I’m starved.”

They both knew the conversation moved on two levels. Grady took the plastic tub of chili out of the refrigerator. He almost dropped it as Sully came up behind him and wrapped his arms around Grady, pressing close against him so there would be no mistaking the bulge in Sully’s abruptly too-tight jeans.

Grady gave a ragged sigh. “Nooo. No, but yeah. I’m not sure we oughta do this, bud, but I don’t think I can help it any more than you can. It’s been coming at us like a runaway train from the first day, hasn’t it?”

Sully nuzzled against the back of Grady’s neck. The curling strands of dark hair tickled his face. Grady smelled of sweat and smoke, but a hint of his piney aftershave still clung to his skin. All man, all delicious. Grady strained away from Sully’s embrace just long enough to slide the bowl onto the counter before he turned back, this time bringing them face to face.