“Just wondered how you got so good with that?”
“The whip? Training. Several hours a week. If I couldn’t do all those circus tricks, I wouldn’t go anywhere near another human being with a whip. People lose eyes like that, or cut their own faces. Scars can be nice, but not by accident.”
Spencer shuddered. “Scars from that?”
“Oh yeah. If you time the crack when the whip hits the skin, you can end up with cuts. Can be very intense, but it’s more than you want at the moment. I’m guessing.”
Spencer inhaled deeply, but he was just too relaxed to freak out over the real danger of the whip, let alone question whether he could bear the pain.
Nick shifted beside him, and there was just a little bit of tension in his body now. He looked in Spencer’s eyes. “Speaking of what you want at the moment ...”
Spencer propped himself up on his elbow. “Yes?”
“When we’re here, like this, it’s easy to say we can make something work.” He slowly drew the tip of his tongue across his lower lip. “But when the sun comes up is when the rubber meets the road.”
“I know what I’m getting into.”
Nick’s slim eyebrow arched. “Do you?” He reached for Spencer’s face, and his touch was gentle and comforting. Comfortable. Something Spencer could get used to in very short order. Nick swallowed. “It’s one thing to say now that you’re okay with dating someone like me. It’s another thing entirely when we’re in the middle of dinner and my second phone rings.”
Spencer chewed the inside of his cheek. Dinner? With Nick? Like a real dinner instead of pre-sex takeaway? It was surreal to even think of them actually going through with this. He wanted it. God, he wanted it. But was Nick actually considering it?
“Spencer?”
He looked at Nick again. “Look, it’s not like we’re talking about moving in together. And I’ll admit, I wasn’t too sure about the idea of dating someone in your line of work, but the last two weeks have given me a lot of time to think.”
Nick inclined his head. “And ...?”
“And I think I’d rather give it a try and see what happens than walk away.” He paused, struggling to keep looking into Nick’s beautiful, inquisitive eyes. “Maybe I don’t know what the hell we’ll be getting into, or if it’ll work in the long run, or anything. What I do know is that right now, tonight, being with you feels right. Being away from you ... doesn’t.”
Nick lowered his gaze for a second. Meeting Spencer’s eyes again, he said, “So we’ll take it one day at a time.”
Days. Not just nights – Friday nights – anymore. Days.
“Yeah.” Spencer put his hand over Nick’s. “A day at a time. We’ll see what happens.”
Nick was quiet for a moment, eyes unfocused and brow furrowed. Spencer’s heart beat as hard as it could in this lethargic, post-coital state, and he had to remind himself not to hold his breath while Nick sorted his thoughts.
Nick smiled.
He didn’t say a word. Neither did Spencer. Just a smile, and then he reached for Spencer.
And Nick’s long, tender kiss told Spencer everything he needed to know.
The End
Also by Aleksandr Voinov
Market Garden series
Dark Soul, Volumes I-III
Witches of London – Lars
Witches of London – Shadows Watching, with Jordan Taylor
Burn
Skybound
Gold Digger
Return on Investment (Return on Investment #1), also available in audio
Risk Return (Return on Investment #2)
Nightingale, also available in audio
Deliverance, also available in audio
Incursion (Incursion #1), also available in audio
Exile (Incursion #2)
Dark Edge of Honor, with Rhi Etzweiler
The Lion of Kent, with Kate Cotoner
For a list, go to www.aleksandrvoinov.com/bookshelf.html.
About the Authors
EPIC Award winner and Lambda Award finalist Aleksandr Voinov is an emigrant German author living near London, where he works as an editor in financial services. His genres range from science fiction and fantasy to thriller, historical, contemporary, and erotica. His books were/are published by Random House Germany, Samhain Publishing, and others.
If he isn’t writing, he studies alternative therapies, explores historical sites, and meets other writers. He single-handedly sustains three London bookstores with his ever-changing research projects. His current interests include European magical traditions, the history of chess, military strategies of the crusaders, and the Golden Age of Piracy.
Visit Aleksandr’s website at http://www.aleksandrvoinov.com, his blog at http://www.aleksandrvoinov.blogspot.com, follow him on Twitter, where he tweets as @aleksandrvoinov, and/or subscribe to his newsletter at: http://eepurl.com/71jNz.
L.A. Witt is an abnormal M/M romance writer who has finally been released from the purgatorial corn maze of Omaha, Nebraska, and now spends her time on the southwestern coast of Spain. In between wondering how she didn't lose her mind in Omaha, she explores the country with her husband, several clairvoyant hamsters, and an ever-growing herd of rabid plot bunnies. She also has substantially more time on her hands these days, as she has recruited a small army of mercenaries to search South America for her nemesis, romance author Lauren Gallagher, but don't tell Lauren. And definitely don't tell Lori A. Witt or Ann Gallagher. Neither of those twits can keep their mouths shut...
Website: http://www.gallagherwitt.com
Twitter: @GallagherWitt
Email: gallagherwitt@gmail.com