Page 101 of Loving a Warrior

Lacing their fingers together, Matt gave him a squeeze, and Shane stroked his wrist with his thumb. “When do you leave?”

“Day after tomorrow. How about you?”

“Sometime next week.” Shane cleared his throat. “I’ll, uh, try to get that carpet ripped out of the spare bedroom before I go and—”

Matt squeezed his hand again, this time in admonishment. “No, don’t tell me. I want it to be a surprise.”

They’d officially moved in together a few months ago. Shane had come home from a training trip only a day after Matt had left for one, but when he walked into the house, he’d let out a gasp. While Shane had been gone, Matt had managed to knock down that useless wall separating the kitchen from the living room, opening the space up beautifully.

“So we can throw a big housewarming party someday, invite all the guys,” Matt had said when Shane called him. “Or a coming-out party, whatever.”

He’d also had the debris hauled away, so everything was immaculate, except for one two-by-four somehow randomly left on the floor. When Shane had bent to pick it up, he saw that Matt had scratched M+S into it, the letters surrounded by a crude heart, just like on a tree.

Smiling, Shane had run his fingers over the carving. “I think someone was feeling a little mushy while I was gone,” he said aloud to the empty room. “Love you, too, babe.”

After that, there’d been no more carvings, but Shane would frequently come home to evidence that Matt had been there—some wallpaper stripped here, a new outlet wired there. The work became their version of leaving a love note, and slowly Shane’s house was becoming their home.

In front of the restaurant, Matt whipped into a parking space just as his cellphone went off. He checked the screen, then turned to Shane, his voice rueful. “Departure’s just been moved up to 0500 tomorrow. I’m sorry.”

Shane dropped his head to the back of the seat and blew out a breath. There went his plan to see how long he could keep Matt naked before he’d insist on getting up to go work out…

Aww, suck it up, buttercup. This is what it’s like loving a warrior.

Hooking Matt around the back of the neck, Shane yanked him into a scorching kiss, which left them both panting for breath. “Well, let’s go spend time with our family,” he murmured against his lips. “But just so you know, you’ll be getting on that plane tomorrow with zero sleep and some hickeys in some very awkward places.”

Matt brushed his thumb over Shane’s cheek, letting it linger for a moment on the corner of his mouth. “Wouldn’t have it any other way.” Then he gave Shane a push. “Ugh, you still smell like a wet dog.”

Rolling his eyes, Shane got out of the truck. “And there’s the Soup I know and love.”

Matt’s door slammed, too, but not before Shane heard the two words that would always make him smile.

“Fuckin’ clown.”

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