his eyes. “Thanks for your support.” He looked around the kitchen at the bowls of chips and containers of dips, then inhaled the smell of pizza baking. “And thanks for getting things set up for tonight.”
“No problem. I even got the table ready. The guys should be here soon. Go take a shower. You stink.”
Russ headed for the bathroom, stripped off his shirt, then tossed it and his coveralls into the laundry basket. Upgrading the cabin’s appliances and bathroom had been the priorities when he and Drew had first moved in, projects they had taken on just as soon as they could afford them. Russ fully believed that a hot shower with good water pressure could make up for a lot of shitty things that happened during an average day.
He stood under the water, letting it sluice away grease, sweat, and tears, then lathered up. The eucalyptus-mint soap was an indulgence, purchased from a local maker, but it was a luxury worth the splurge. He scrubbed his hands, knowing that traces of grease always lingered around his nails and in the creases of his knuckles.
Maybe I’m too blue-collar for a guy like Liam. Anthony was a fishing guide. We were on equal footing. I have a degree, not that anyone would guess. And I like to read a lot. Will that count?
His hand fell to his cock, thinking about how good Liam looked when he had dropped by the shop. Red hair, short on the sides, longer on top. Those slightly tilted amber eyes, imagined with a bit of kohl to set them off. Liam’s slender build would feel perfect in his arms, lean and strong, graceful like a dancer. He was a nice height to tuck under Russ’s chin. Just the right size to lift into his arms and fuck against the wall, with his ankles locked behind Russ’s back.
His hand moved quickly, stroking his hard cock. He imagined having Liam in the shower with him, pictured dropping to his knees and nuzzling the ginger thatch around Liam’s prick. He imagined it being slender and uncut, just perfect to deep throat. Being enveloped by Liam’s scent and the warmth of his groin, tasting his pre-come—just thinking about it had Russ gasping as he spurted over his fist, coming harder than he had in a long time.
He watched his jizz go down the drain as his heart pounded, and he panted for air. Holy fuck, that was intense—and Liam wasn’t even here.
Russ waited to feel guilty. After Anthony died, it had taken months before Russ even felt the urge to jack off. Thinking about Anthony hurt too much and picturing any handsome stranger from real life felt like cheating, so he’d fantasized about the actors from their favorite porn, something they’d enjoyed watching together. He’d kept to that even after his body woke up again, having zero interest in looking for a hook-up or a date. Once in a great while, Anthony would show up in a sex dream. Russ would wake with sticky boxer-briefs and tears still wet on his face. That hadn’t happened in months.
But for once, he didn’t feel guilty. Instead, Russ felt relaxed, sated—the way sex was supposed to feel. Not even embarrassed about rubbing one out as he thought about a man he’d just met. Being intimate with Liam felt right, inevitable.
I am so fucked—and not in a good way. What if he’s not interested?
Russ turned off the water and toweled down, resolving to take his as yet non-existent relationship with Liam one step at a time. He grabbed his lucky poker shirt—one of his favorite band tees—and headed back to the kitchen.
“Enjoy yourself?” Drew asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Shut up.” Maybe Russ hadn’t been as quiet as he meant to be.
“You’ve got it bad.”
Russ opened his mouth to retort when a knock at the door saved him. Three men crowded onto the porch, each carrying a contribution of either food or alcohol for the night’s entertainment.
“Is the pizza ready? I’m starving.” Justin Miller shouldered his way in and dropped a box of cookies from Bear Necessities on the table. “Especially since I just flew up to Saranac and back this afternoon.” The blond seaplane pilot had retrieved the missing parts for Liam’s car, in between hiring out for tours and short-haul water taxi.
“I brought some Coke and the bottle of Jack I owe you from last time.” Brandon Davis’s tall, broad-shouldered body seemed to take up the entire kitchen. Then again, a moose shifter