Page 141 of Sapphire Spring

Jonas smiled and left. Naser stared at the door for a while,wondering if this new Bible-quoting side of Jonas was a sign of more intimatedisclosures to come.

Orange County was baking in an early summer heat wave, andMason had turned off the AC in Naser’s townhouse before he’d left for thedoctor’s office. Even though this made for a warmer than comfortable condo whenNaser returned home, it was another delightful sign of Mason’s residency thatput a skip in Naser’s step.

In the three months since Mason had moved in, the potpourrion the console table had been changed from cinnamon to a new scent thatcombined Naser’s love of rich spices with Mason’s affection for green things.

In the living room, a stack of glossy real estate magazinessat piled next to Naser’s old copies ofScientific American.

In the closet in his bedroom where he’d once cried himselfto sleep over the man, Mason’s lightweight, cream-colored work attire now hungnext to Naser’s more conservative slacks and dark dress shirts. There, Naserstripped off his work clothes and headed for the shower, heart racing withexcitement.

After twelve weeks of being virtually housebound, cared forby a home nurse during the hours Naser was at work, Mason’s arms would beliberated from the plaster prisons in which they’d resided since he’d savedNaser’s life. The man was so excited by his imminent freedom he’d refused towait until Naser got off work to go with him to the doctor’s office.

The truth was everyone was excited.

Until Mason’s path through recovery was clear, Connor andLogan had been waiting to set the date of their wedding. They were determinedto have him there and wanted to be sure they picked a venue where accessibilitywouldn’t be an issue for him if his injuries proved slow to heal.

After working out a deal where Mason would get a significantchunk of proceeds from the transaction, PeteWortherwas planning to put the beach house up for sale. Before he listed the place, hewanted to be sure Mason could participate in the move-out process so none ofhis valuables were lost. During Mason’s lengthy hospitalization, Pete andShirley had done their best to clean up after Mason and Chadwick’s brawl. Butthere was no sweeping up the echoes of that terrible night, and no keepingthose echoes from stirring up memories of the afternoon Naser had almost losthis life.

And so, as soon as the hospital released him, Naser haddecided to move Mason into his place.

For the time being, they’d said.

So far, thetime beingdidn’t have an end date, andneither man seemed interested in giving it one.

And while there had been plenty of physical intimacy in thepast three months, all spiced with a fair share of naughty sponge baths andnurse-on-patient roleplay, it had been limited by Mason’s dual casts. But thedeed, once delayed by Naser’s hesitancy, had been further delayed by medicalrealities.

Was it too optimistic to assume today would finally be theday?

Naser prepared himself anyway, which also involved strippingdown to a pair of skimpy white briefs that drove Mason wild and lying face downon the bed in a pose that had made the man growl more than once.

When he heard a car engine outside, followed by the lowvoices of Mason and his dad telling each other goodbye, he felt a hungrygnawing in his stomach. Then he was listening to Mason’s footsteps on the stairs.Confident footsteps, the footsteps of a man newly freed from several pounds ofplaster. The bedroom door creaked on its hinges easily, a sign Mason had openedit with his hand and not by pressing one cast against it as he’d had to do formonths.

“Oh.” Mason’s voice had a soft note of delight in it.

Naser didn’t roll over, but he smiled into the pillow.

And then came the blissful feeling of Mason’s fingers movingup his lower back with grips that were strong andpowerful—healed.His other hand joined, kneading and massaging Naser’s back before moving to hisneck with such gentle but determined force, gooseflesh swept him from head totoe, and he felt himself start to thicken in his briefs.

“I was going to ask how your mobility is, but it looks likeit’s pretty good,” Naser said.

“Feelslike it’s pretty good, you mean.”

Naser rolled over. Mason was chewing his bottom lip as hesmiled, eyes twinkling with a mixture of hunger and relief.

“Everythingwentokay?” Naserasked.

Mason nodded, and then swiftly and without breaking eye contact,tugged the front of Naser’s briefs down so his hard cock popped free. Then hegripped its base and began to stroke. “Grip strength seems to have returnedquite nicely. Do you agree?”

Naser nodded and gasped as Mason stroked. Mason’s other handroamed across Naser’s chest, kneading, pinching. Naser brought it to his mouthand nibbled, then sucked.

“Is someone getting a hand fetish as well as a foot fetish?”Mason asked.

“Can you blame me? I’ve been denied their full power for threemonths. Four, if we count your stay at Pine Rise.”

“True.” Mason stood, pulled his shirt off over his head, andkicked himself out of his jeans, all without breaking eye contact. There werescars from the accident, but mostly he was sheepish about what three months ofno gym time had done to his body. Naser couldn’t have cared less. Some of thehard angles were gone, but the thickness that had replaced them ignited Naser’sdesire. There was more weight to his chest, more manly bulk to hold on to, getlost in, bear down on him with delicious force. That’s what Mason was doingnow, kisses joined by caresses and grips they’d both gone without for too long.

Mason paused. “I wasn’t sure…after what happened that you’dstill want it the way you used to want it. Know what I mean?”

“The only good thing about that day is that Chadwick didn’tmanage to lay a hand on me.” Naser kissed him gently. “Well, that and the factthat you saved my life.”

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