Page 62 of Surface Scratch
Marcus knelt down beside the bed, resting his head on his forearms on the edge of the mattress.
“As much as I like having you in my bed, I think it’s time to get up and stretch your legs a bit,” he said, his voice gentle and silky. He reached out and brushed one of Caleb’s curls from his forehead, his face softening as he did. “I meant what I said before.”
“What?” Caleb felt a familiar warmth pool in his belly, betraying his previous desire to wallow beneath the covers.
Marcus leaned forward, pulling Caleb closer to him so he could kiss his forehead. “I could look at this face forever,” he whispered. “Please, my dearest Caleb, let’s get out of this room. Let’s go out for some fresh air.”
Caleb shook his head as Marcus crawled up next to him. He breathed in Marcus’s scent. He couldn’t explain why, but that mixture of strange scents that shouldn’t have worked together made him feel better. If only for a moment, he could forget about everything.
Even after he’d got over his initial irritation that Marcus had used his ability on him, that only gave way to his sorrow and regret. But now, with Marcus wrapping himself around Caleb like Caleb was his personal body pillow, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of ease fall over him.
“We can’t… My brother might be out there,” he said before pressing his head to Marcus’s shoulder, reveling in the cool feeling of Marcus’s bare skin against his forehead.
“I’ll protect you,” Marcus said, planting a kiss on the top of his head.
He shivered as one of Marcus’s hands trailed down his spine, the warm feeling in his belly shooting into his crotch and rousing his cock.Now’s a terrible time to get hard, he told himself.
But getting your brains fucked out could probably make this shitty feeling go away.
Caleb kept his face buried in Marcus’s shoulder to hide the heat of his cheeks. Why would his mind go there? He wasn’t even sure he was ready for that kind of intimacy.
“I’m not worried about me,” Caleb said, his words muffled against Marcus’s bare skin.
“Don’t worry about me,” Marcus said, slipping his hand up the back of Caleb’s shirt. “You don’t get to be as old as I am by sucking at surviving.”
He tried to keep his reaction to Marcus’s chilly fingers on the small of his back quiet, but he heard just the faintest whimper squeak up his throat as his cock twitched to life.
Fuck. I guess being scared-sad-horny is a thing.
* * *
Andrew: The queen told me you got the stomach flu again. Are you going around licking toilet seats or something?
Of course Ophelia’s cover for him would be the same gross and embarrassing excuse as before. Though technically he had brought it on himself this time, having refused to leave the bed for what he now knew was three days straight.
Caleb: No. Gross lol. Just a bad immune system. I’m starting to feel better though. I’ll be back to work soon.
He looked up from his phone at the sound of the door to the coffee shop opening. Marcus had that same soft smile on his face he always did as he approached Caleb with two cups of coffee in his hands. “I hope you like crème brûlée lattes, because that’s what I got you,” he said as he handed the cup over.
Caleb sniffed the opening of the cup. It smelled like heaven. “I’ve never had crème brûlée, so I’ll just assume I do,” he said, unable to stop himself from grinning at Marcus like an idiot.
Marcus was right. He needed fresh air, and since all the snow had melted with a sudden double-digit rise in temperature, the chilly night air felt good for once. Plus, Marcus had insisted on holding his hand as they lazily walked about the downtown area, which made him giddy like a schoolgirl. It was almost enough for him to forget that there was a giant target on both of their backs.
Almost.
“I must take you for one then,” Marcus said as he took his hand again.
“I feel like the places that serve those would be too fancy for me. The nicest thing I own is the uniform you gave me for work,” Caleb said, taking a cautious sip of the coffee. It burned the tip of his tongue, but what he could taste was amazing.
“Then we’ll remedy that. Let me take you shopping one of these days.”
“That’s a terrible idea.” Caleb laughed. “I wouldn’t even know what to get.”
“That’s what I’m here for. I like to think I dress well.” Marcus grinned at him and squeezed his hand. “It will be fun.”
Caleb took another sip of the almost too sweet coffee. “As long as you don’t dress me up like a kid wearing his dad’s clothes, maybe I’ll let you take me,” he said.
“Good. You know, all the malls are pretty dead, so not many people will be around when we go,” Marcus said, an edge in his voice that was a touch more mischievous than it should have been. “So, you know, if you need assistance while trying things on, I would be able to help in the dressing room with anything you needed.”
