Page 34 of Hard as Steel

A slow song began. People cheered as they danced alone before more couples made their way to the floor.

The moment they were no longer being watched, Krystof went back to doing what he did best: worrying about Steel. “Seriously, baby. We can take a break. It won’t hurt my feelings. This is your wedding too.”

Steel pulled Krystof even closer. “You’re right, and I’m holding the world. Why would I want to leave?”

Krystof bit his bottom lip and chewed.

Steel couldn’t look away from his sexy mouth. “I mean, we’re actually kind of done for the night. From this point on, everyone will get drunk, find a partner for the night, and disappear. I don’t see why we can’t slip away.” The heat in Krystof’s eyes couldn’t be missed.

Steel nodded. “You’re right. It would be irresponsible of us not to take breaks. I mean, we really haven’t been out of the hospital all that long. Seems like it would be a little foolhardy to stay.”

Krystof's smile and eyes screamed happiness. “Yeah. We’d be right knackered if we keep going. That’s not good for our health.”

They held each other’s stare for a second before they burst out laughing. Yeah, they were getting out of there. They hadn’t been intimate since they had been hospitalized. They had waited long enough. It was time to take his sexy husband to bed. God knew he had waited long enough to say that.

The night breeze felt good on Timber’s overheated skin. He had lost his jacket earlier in the night. Timber rolled his sleeves up to his elbows, trying harder to cool down. He stared at the night sky. There were actually stars in the middle of nowhere where wine grapes were grown and the light pollution didn’t exist. He couldn’t help but wonder why life just kept bringing him back to California. Timber believed in signs and a set future. He just couldn’t see one for himself. Truth be told, he hadn’t expected to live this long. He had lived his life on the run from himself. Timber didn’t know if he could stay in one spot if he tried. His mood was likely just wedding-related. He had gone to quite a few recently. All the guys were getting married and disappearing. New guys flowed in. Maybe he just didn’t bother getting close to anyone anymore. Yeah, it was the wedding thing.

“He’s going down. I’m yelling ‘Timber.’ He likes to move. He likes to dance,” Sandy sang at the top of his lungs.

Timber spun just in time to see Sandy moving his hands to the beat in his head, switching both hands from side to side as he made something similar to high fives along with the song. Timber shook his head. The guy was an idiot.

“Are you ever serious?”

Sandy’s bright smile never dimmed. “Apparently, I am when I arrest people.”

Timber rolled his eyes. Sandy was a cop in Seattle. He had arrested Timber once while Timber tried protecting a client. Timber may or may not have forgiven him. “By the way, it’s it’s going down. Not he’s going down.”

Sandy shrugged. “I like my version better.” He stood next to Timber and looked up at the sky. “Dude, I am always the bridesmaid and never the bride at these things. I must be at that age because I swear I’ve been to twenty weddings lately. This shit is starting to get expensive.”

Despite himself, Timber laughed. “You could’ve just said cop pay fucking sucks.”

“Ah, Timber,” Sandy said with a loud sigh. “If you only knew.”

Timber eyed his profile while Sandy kept his gaze on the sky. He was a solid guy. Sandy kept in shape and Timber would know. He had seen the guy naked. “You know, I bet Steel would hire you in a heartbeat. He seems to really like you.”

Sandy’s gaze slid his way. “That’s gonna be a hard no from me, Dawg. I can hear my father’s coronary already. Not my kid. We serve on the force until we climb into a casket. Anything less is failure.”

Like everything he said, Sandy sounded flippant. “Is that what you want?”

Sandy gave a half-shrug. “What I want doesn’t matter. It’s not like I had any big plans for my future or anything. Maybe it’s just easier going with the flow, and I’m an easy guy,” Sandy added with a wink.

Timber didn’t laugh as Sandy had likely hoped. The more time he spent in Sandy’s company, the more he realized being funny was his mask. Timber was a nosy fuck. He wanted to see what Sandy hid. Then again, maybe he was wrong. Maybe Sandy really was just this annoying.

Sandy raised an eyebrow. “Hey, you want to fuck?”

Timber didn’t need to think about it. He had been on that ride, and it was worth the hatred that tainted the way he touched Sandy. Timber shrugged. “Sure. I’ve got nothing else going on.”

Sandy slapped his shoulder and steered him toward the parking lot. “Well, you’re in luck. I like my men just bored enough with everyone else to spend time with me.” The laughter in Sandy’s voice didn’t sound feigned, but the words got under his skin. As irritating as he found the guy, Timber never thought of Sandy as a last resort. He’d be damned if he ever admitted that, though. Sandy might walk away. The guy had handcuffs and knew how to use them. Timber wasn’t about to fuck up that chance.

“Are you insane? Put me down before you have another heart attack.”

The look Steel shot him as he carried him over the threshold of the home they shared made Krystof press his lips together to stay quiet. “You know damn well I’m built like a bull and you’re light as a feather. When did I get relegated to the feeble category?”

“Never.” He toyed with the collar of Steel’s shirt. “We’ve had a long day and I want you to be rested enough for me to wear you out.”

Steel scoffed. “There will never come a day when I don’t have enough energy for you.” Steel headed down the hall, still refusing to set Krystof on his feet. He didn’t stop until he gently set Krystof on the bed.

When he moved to straighten, Krystof snagged his collar and refused to let him get away. “Not without a kiss.”