Aidan opened the door looking as appealing as always. Dark hair messy, tall frame clad in basketball shorts and a black sleeveless tee. “Hey. Come in. Keep your boots on, though. I was sitting outside.”

Dylan entered the apartment and followed Aidan out to the stone terrace. Aidan reached into the cooler on the ground and fished out two Bud Lights.

“Thanks,” Dylan said, sitting down. He took a quick sip of beer before shooting the other man a sheepish grin. “I’m sorry I’ve been such a dick.”

Aidan shrugged. “Sorry if I freaked you out at Carson’s last week.”

“I wasn’t freaked out. I was…surprised.” He slugged back some beer for liquid courage, then said, “I didn’t expect it. What you said. You know, about wanting…”

“You?” Aidan supplied. Those dimples appeared. “I don’t normally advertise it, but yeah, I swing both ways.”

“Me too.”

“I figured, what with the way you were undressing me with your eyes the night of the club fight.”

“Hey, you were undressing me right back.”

“Damn right.”

“So what do we do now?”

Aidan tipped his bottle and took a long swig. When he finished drinking, his dark eyes twinkled with humor. “What do you think we do?” Then he paused. “Wait, don’t tell me you’re a virgin.”

Dylan rolled his eyes. “I’m not a virgin.”

“You been with another man before?”

“Yes. But…but I’ve never been with just a man. Always had a woman there.” He studied Aidan’s face. “What about you?”

“I’ve been with just girls. I’ve been with just guys. I’ve been with both.”

“I see.”

There was a beat of silence, and then Aidan chuckled. “Is that why you’ve been acting all skittish around me? It freaks you out because there’s no chick around to serve as a buffer?”

“Kind of,” he admitted. He promptly chugged more beer.

“Let me ask you something.” Aidan put down his bottle and casually rested his hands on his knees. “You ever sucked a man’s dick and gotten sucked off?”

The dirty images triggered by that question sent a bolt of lust to his groin.

He managed a quick nod.

Aidan looked intrigued by that. “Okay. You ever f**ked a guy’s ass and gotten f**ked?”

Another nod.

Now Aidan laughed, a deep rumble of a sound that came from deep in his chest.

Dylan’s skin prickled with offense. “Something funny?”

“Yeah, a little. I mean, you’ve had a c**k in your ass, but hey, it’s fine because there was a woman around. You’ve had your dick in another man’s mouth, but gee, no biggie, there was a chick there to keep it all aboveboard and hetero.”

It did sound pretty absurd when you put it like that.

Aidan chuckled again. “If you and I do this—”

“If?” Dylan couldn’t curb the note of challenge that entered into his voice.

Those dark eyes flashed with sinful promise. “I guess there’s no if about it, huh?” Aidan’s tone went from dry to regretful. “But it won’t be happening tonight.”

Damned if that didn’t elicit a rush of disappointment.

“I’m catching a flight to Washington in a couple of hours.”

He furrowed his brows. “Why didn’t you tell me that when I called? Shouldn’t you be packing or something?”

“I’m all packed.” Aidan checked the watch on his left wrist. “And I don’t have to leave for the airport for another hour, so I had time to meet up.”

“Why are you going to Washington?”

“I’m being sent as a liaison for my CO and the ONI. We’ve got this new joint task force we’re setting up to discuss some potential new approaches to maritime intelligence.”

“Sounds pretty cool. How long will you be gone?”

“A month.” Dylan saw his own frustration reflected back at him in Aidan’s eyes. “That’s why I don’t want to start anything I can’t finish right now.”

“Makes sense.” Too bad his c**k didn’t operate on logic and schedules—the little soldier was a hedonistic motherfucker, and at the moment, it was demanding gratification.

Ignoring the relentless throbbing in his body’s southern hemisphere, Dylan finished his beer and stood up. “I think I’ll bounce then. You need to leave for the airport soon, and I—”

“Will be too tempted to do me if you stick around,” Aidan finished.

“Something like that.”

“Fair enough. I’ll walk you out.”

They fell into step with each other. Neither said a word, at least not until they reached the front hall.

“Fuck it,” Aidan burst out, at the same time Dylan mumbled, “Fuck.”

And then he found himself being slammed into the wall and a hot, male mouth was capturing his in a harsh kiss.

It was the kind of kiss that set your entire body on fire, and nothing short of dying could have compelled Dylan to break free. They both groaned when their tongues met, then again when Aidan ground his pelvis into Dylan’s, leaving no question as to whether or not he was aroused.

Feeling the hard ridge of Aidan’s erection rubbing against his thigh was the hottest f**king thing on the planet.