“You sure about that?” Ty asked as his stomach fluttered nervously.

His voice finally betrayed the nerves. “Trying to be a real partner to you here, Zane. If you need to tell me something, then here’s your chance.”

The uncertainty in Ty’s voice surprised Zane enough that he looked up at the other man’s reflection in the mirror. Four days. It had only taken four days for Ty to get so far under his skin that Zane was losing his grip. It was time to do something about this attraction that had been building. Then, maybe he’d be able to focus again. Another punch from Ty would do the trick.

Zane slowly turned around to face the other man, eyes dark and serious. Ignoring the warning bells going off in his head, he leaned back against the counter and reached out to slide the ends of his fingers into the front of the waistband of Ty’s jeans and tug him forward.

The color drained from Ty’s face as Zane pulled him closer, and his stomach turned again in a pleasant somersault of nervous butterflies. It only took a moment for him to flush with heat, and he looked into Zane’s eyes guardedly as his entire body tensed. If this was anything but completely on the level, Ty was going to knock the bastard on his ass.

The caution that crept back into Ty’s gaze was a pretty clear warning.

Zane loosened his fingers and almost let go, but Ty didn’t pull away. It was 142

now or never. Zane took a slow, deep breath and ducked his chin, tilted his head sideways, and slid his lips firmly against Ty’s.

Ty caught his breath, nearly gasping when Zane finally touched their lips together. He shivered and his lips parted tentatively, but his wary eyes never closed. Giving in, Zane pulled him closer and lifted one hand to cup Ty’s cheek as he increased the pressure of his lips against Ty’s.

Ty groaned softly and finally relaxed against the kiss, returning it tentatively. He knew he’d regret this just as soon as they parted, but he couldn’t bring himself to stop it.

Tension cramped Zane’s gut as Ty’s lips moved, and he deepened the kiss, all the itch and urge heating inside him as his traced Ty’s lips with his tongue. Oh, this was going to be an absolute fucking mess, he just knew it. He pulled his fingers out of the waistband and curled that arm around Ty’s waist as he leaned into the dangerous kiss. His hand on Ty’s cheek trembled.

Ty indulged himself in the deeper kiss for a long, horribly tantalizing moment before he pulled his head back just enough to break the contact and pushed gently at Zane’s chest. “That’s what I thought,” he rasped as his breath gusted against Zane’s lips.

Zane slowly opened his eyes as their lips hovered a mere breath apart, and he dropped his hand so both settled on Ty’s hips. “Thought?” he asked.

“This ... but I thought you were fucking with me,” Ty gritted out almost angrily as he forced himself not to press their lips together once more.

Zane just barely shook his head, pulling back from Ty’s growing ire.

“Not about this,” he said seriously, already starting to tense and brace himself for a swing.

Ty did kiss him then, breathing in heavily through his nose as if he were about to dive under water as he pulled himself closer to Zane and growled a little. He figured if Zane was fucking with him now, then he seemed to be enjoying it quite a bit.

Tightening his arms, Zane closed them further around Ty as he met the kiss with more strength, dizzy with the surprise and desire blasting through him. This was beyond crazy. Beyond negligent. Just … beyond. All the hate and anger was morphing into heat and passion and he had no idea what to think about it.

Suddenly, Ty yanked away from the increasingly heated kiss again, stepping back and giving Zane’s chest a good hard smack with the back of his hand. “Asshole,” he gasped as he tried to get himself under control.

“Ow!” Zane yelped as Ty’s hand stung against his bare skin. He gasped out a laugh as he leaned back. “Me?” he asked in disbelief, squirming in place where he practically sat against the counter.

Ty grabbed him and pulled him off the counter to kiss him again, forcing himself not to think about the consequences. If he thought about it, he’d cut and run—as far and as fast as he possibly could. Zane grunted as he landed against Ty’s chest, his stance spread enough to lower him the couple of inches needed to be at the same height as Ty. Clutching at Ty’s shoulders, Zane shifted his weight to push the other man back toward the door.

Ty hit the door with a rush of air from his lungs, his hip barely missing the doorknob as the impact slammed the door closed, but neither man noticed. They were far too distracted by the sudden turn of events. “I had you pegged as trouble from minute one,” Ty gasped accusingly between the hurried meetings of their lips.

Zane bit Ty’s bottom lip slightly and sucked it between his lips before letting it loose. “Your middle name is trouble,” he said as he ran a hand down Ty’s side, feeling the hard muscles appreciatively.

Ty hissed with the bite and growled dangerously. He couldn’t decide if he was angry or just really fucking turned on. Either way, it was all Zane fucking Garrett’s fault….

Pulling in a deep breath when his body reacted to the harsh sound, Zane set his forearm against the door over Ty’s shoulder, making their chests, hips, and groins rock together. “Now what?” he breathed. “You wanted to know. Now you know.”

Ty banged his head back on the door and closed his eyes, huffing through his nose as he tried to regain some control. “I lied,” he groaned plaintively. “I didn’t wanna know.”

Zane couldn’t help but smile and snicker. “Too late, hotshot,” he said.

“Bastard.”

“Coming from you, that’s pretty much an endearment.” Still grinning, amazed at Ty’s pliancy, Zane leaned forward to steal a firm kiss. Ty’s lips parted almost against his will, and he groaned slightly. Zane couldn’t resist that little sound, and he moved to capture it, sliding his mouth more slowly over Ty’s, rubbing, tongue sliding between swollen lips. Ty seemed to melt against him, losing the tension that was always in him, losing the caustic shield he seemed to rarely drop. He merely managed a few incoherent murmurs as he slid a hand into Zane’s hair.

Zane wrapped his arms around him when the other man relaxed, not tight, just enough to hold their bodies in constant contact. The tiny sounds and first real touch from the other man rocked Zane’s world badly.

“We gotta stop,” Ty groaned finally, pulling back as much as he dared. Their lips still touched when he spoke. “Neither of us is up to this,” he rasped, breathing still difficult as his body screamed for more contact.

It wasn’t the right excuse, Zane knew, but it would have to serve.

This could only lead to disaster. He slowly straightened, seeing the desire in Ty’s hooded eyes. Somehow he made himself step back, hands sliding on each side of Ty’s rib cage until they fell away.

Ty lowered his head, still looking at Zane from under lowered brows, and pressed his lips tightly together. “Fuck,” he finally observed flatly.

Zane took another step back, slid one hand into his back pocket to keep it off Ty, and leaned against the counter again. Raising his other hand, he lightly ran a finger over his split lip, feeling the pain return as the tingle and thrill dissipated. He could echo Ty’s sentiment, but the urge to touch and taste was still ravaging him, and it was taking all he had not to grab the other man and grind against him. He closed his eyes in a bid to regain some measure of control.

“What the fuck do we do now?” Ty asked in frustration.

After squeezing his eyes shut for a long moment, Zane took another step back. “You’re going back to your room, and I’m taking a cold shower.”

He turned to yank a towel off the rack.

“Huh uh,” Ty protested stubbornly. “I’d rather completely fuck us both over than separate,” he added with a flush that was part embarrassment, part desire to do just what he’d said.

Zane turned back to him, his lack of patience very clear. “Get out of the bathroom or fucked over is what you’re going to get,” he growled.

Another thrill ran through Ty’s body and he inclined his head slightly; part challenge, part invitation. Fuck it. He had never followed the rules anyway.

Eyes turning sparkling black, Zane reached out, grabbed Ty’s arm and yanked him to the side, just enough to get his weight behind him to shove him against the sink, belly first. He was immediately on him, grinding against his ass, and he leaned over to bite the back of Ty’s shoulder, hard, before he looked up to meet Ty’s eyes in the mirror.

“Is this what you want?” Zane ground out. “Hard and messy in a goddamn hotel bathroom?” He pressed him harder into the sink counter.

Ty looked up to meet Zane’s eyes in the reflection of the mirror, and he grinned slowly.

Zane’s temper flared, and his stomach plummeted painfully as he realized that Ty was just messing with him. “Son of a bitch,” he hissed. He pulled back, yanked open the bathroom door, and then shoved Ty straight out of the room with enough force that the man hit the mirrored closet door on the opposite wall with a rattle. Then he slammed the bathroom door shut between them.

Ty stayed where he’d practically splatted for a long moment, breathing heavily and resting his forehead against the cool surface of the mirror to calm himself. Hard and messy in a hotel bathroom had sounded pretty damn fun, actually. Christ, Zane was a fucking Jekyll and Hyde case.

Reaching in the shower to turn the cold water on full blast, Zane kicked out of his jeans and briefs with a growl, the heat of his anger matching the roiling desire for the man he’d just thrown out. “Fucking asshole,” he hissed as he climbed full into the shower spray and yanked the curtain shut.

How could he have misjudged Ty’s reactions? The bastard must have been putting on from the first moment their lips touched.

“Goddammit all to hell,” he growled. The cold water was barely having any effect. He slammed the side of his fist against the tile, only to cuss again colorfully and shake his hand as the pain reverberated through his fingers and up his arm again.

Ty heard the thud from within the bathroom and finally raised his head. He turned to look at the door and narrowed his eyes. So, Rule Number One, apparently, was that he wasn’t allowed to crack a smile during foreplay.

“Got it,” he muttered to himself as he pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it to the side before stepping up to the door and throwing it open.

Zane’s head shot up as the door hit the wall. What the hell? Then, and only then, it occurred to him that Ty just might have been serious with that smile. Fuck.

Ty was already half-undressed, so it wouldn’t have taken him all that long to finish the job. But instead, he yanked the shower curtain back and stepped into the shower without removing his jeans, and he grabbed Zane and slammed him against the tile along the back side of the shower.

He’d half-expected it, but Zane was still surprised by the other man’s vehemence and he gasped and growled as his back hit the cool wall opposite the curtain painfully.

Ty reached over to the shower knobs and turned the temperature of the water up to something more tolerable, holding his forearm across Zane’s chest. “We’ve really got to work on that temper of yours,” he drawled as he pressed himself against Zane’s body.

A breath shuddered out of Zane as he spread both hands, palms flat against the tile. The warm water and the press of the other man’s body were doing the trick to bring him fully hard again. “Ty,” he said harshly.

“Shut up,” Ty hissed in response as his entire body turned over into tackle mode and drove all other thoughts from his mind. He ducked his head to lick a trail of water running down Zane’s collarbone and then bit him lightly.

Zane groaned and his eyes rolled back as his hands moved without thought to clutch at Ty’s hips. “You make me absolutely fucking crazy,” he said thickly.

“Hate to break it to you, but I think you were there long before I came along,” Ty murmured before he raised his head and kissed Zane slowly.

One hand shifted up to curl around the back of Ty’s neck as they kissed, and Zane shifted his feet apart so Ty was right up against his body. His patience and good sense were blown. He didn’t want to say no to this. It was so much better than any booze or drugs. His blood thrummed with it; his chest and belly were taut with it.

“You might find it a bit more difficult to toss me out next time,” Ty hissed as one hand snaked down Zane’s body and between them.

Zane’s next breath nearly choked him as Ty’s hand slid between their bodies, soft compared to the wet denim that scraped against his bare midsection. No, he didn’t imagine he’d be tossing Ty anywhere. His eyes opened. “Next time?” he asked hoarsely.

Ty’s hand closed around him, and he nipped at his chin in answer.

The back of Zane’s head hit the tile, and he held Ty’s shoulders tight as he reacted, swelling as a strangled gasp escaped him.

“That’s what I thought,” Ty cooed to him with a smirk as he stroked him slowly. “When was the last time you fucked someone you didn’t pay, Zane?” he asked in an almost conversational tone as the water pounded down on them both.

Dragging his eyes open, Zane met Ty’s changeable eyes. His lashes were dotted with water drops. “Too damn long,” he said lowly. Ty kissed him again almost before he got the words out, and his hand sped up slightly as he pressed his body into Zane’s.

Feeling like he was about to burn to a crisp, Zane shook all over as his hips shifted to move against Ty’s hand. Oh, God. He groaned and laid his head back, eyes shut against the water splashing off his shoulder. It didn’t matter that he’d gotten off about six hours ago. He was hard and straining.