wildest imaginings could Will have anticipated Martin bringing him a posy, but he supposed that if he had, he definitely would have expected it to be accompanied by the look of baffled mortification on his friend’s face. Martin had never known what to do with an emotion other than be embarrassed it.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” Martin asked after depositing the bread and ale onto the table.
Will suspected that the look Martin referred to was best described as hopelessly fond. He dumped the contents of a teacup into the hearth, filled it with water from the ewer, then gently placed the posy inside. “Thank you,” he said, hooking two fingers into the waistband of Martin’s trousers and pulling him near.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Will grinned and settled both his hands on Martin’s hips, one chastely atop his hip bone, the other creeping lower. He kissed Martin’s collarbone through the linen of his shirt. “You know what?” he asked, steering Martin backward through the room.
“I daresay you aren’t going to keep it to yourself,” Martin sniped, because he was still prickly from having experienced a stray feeling. Will grinned into the skin of his neck, felt Martin’s pulse pounding away under his lips. He guided Martin a few steps further until his back hit the door.
“I almost brought in a few stalks of larkspur.” He kissed the underside of Martin’s jaw. “I was going to act very casual about it, as if I had just thought they might brighten the cottage up a bit, but thought you still might actually throw up.”
“Haven’t ruled it out,” Martin said, still peevish, but his hands were on Will’s back, holding him close.
Will reached behind Martin and slid the bolt into place. “There,” he said, satisfied that they’d be safe and undisturbed, and returned to kissing Martin’s jaw. One of Martin’s hands slid up to his hair, holding his head in place, and Will didn’t quite know what was going on until he realized Martin was angling his lips over Will’s. They kissed like that for a while, Will’s body keeping Martin flush against the door, until Will was fully hard and could feel that Martin was much the same. Then he started sliding Martin’s coat off, first one sleeve and then the next, never breaking the kiss. The waistcoat went next, and by the time he started untucking Martin’s shirt, Martin was already tugging it over his head.
Will placed his palms on the other man’s torso, spreading his fingers over his ribs, and kissed him some more. He had the notion that it would be worth anything, anything in the world, to regularly watch Martin melt from prickly irritation to soft capitulation like this. He could imagine weeks and months and years of easing Martin’s irritability away with kisses and nonsense words and gentle pets.
“What would happen,” Will said, barely lifting his mouth from Martin’s, “if I got to my knees?”
“I’m not certain.” Something in the tone of his voice suggested barely checked desperation.
Will kissed him again. “May I try? I like having my mouth on you.” For emphasis, he pressed a wet kiss behind Martin’s jaw. “And I’d like to do that, if you think you might like it too.”
Martin swallowed. “All right.”
Will cupped Martin’s cheek with his palm. “If you change your mind, will you tell me to stop?” When Martin was silent, Will kissed him. “If you’re not sure you can tell me to stop, then let’s do something else. I need to know that you can tell me to stop. For me to enjoy this—to enjoy any of it—I need to be certain that you’re comfortable. Otherwise it’s—bad memories, all right?”
Martin looked at him sharply, but nodded his head. He didn’t ask any questions, because he never did, thank God; he just treated Will like all the traps and snares in Will’s mind were a normal part of the terrain. Will shucked his coat and threw it on the floor where Martin’s clothes had landed, then began kissing down Martin’s chest. He ran a thumb over one pink nipple, and when that earned him a curse and a shudder, he followed it up with his tongue. He took his time, because time was the one thing they had in any quantity. When he got to his knees, he didn’t right away undo the falls of Martin’s trousers, instead contenting himself with kissing and nuzzling the fabric on either side of a very obvious erection. All