Dylan had to grin. “You know you missed me.”

“Missed the smartass remarks and not-so-veiled barbs about my character? Sorry, can’t say that I have.” She headed for the doorway. “Good night, Dylan.”

“’Night, honey.”

He thoroughly enjoyed the way her back stiffened. And he couldn’t help but check out her ass as she stalked off. She hadn’t worn her snooty little suit to the carnival—rather, she’d put on a pair of black capris, a gray v-neck tee, and those cute sneakers. He had to admit, she’d impressed him earlier. They may have sniped at each other the entire time, but when that little girl had gone missing, Claire had snapped to action, calming Seth down and going to look for Sophie without hesitation.

He shut off the hall light and headed for the living room, wondering when Chris would be back. He’d literally spent a total of ten minutes with his older brother—dude had gotten off the plane, deposited Claire at the house, and raced off to a country club for golf and cigars. Dylan couldn’t remember his brother ever being so…pretentious? He wasn’t sure if that was the right word, but he had noticed that his normally down-to-earth albeit conservative older brother seemed a bit more…uppity these days.

A knock on the door stopped him before he could enter the living room. Ah, his brother was back. He wondered why Chris hadn’t used the key he’d given him, or rung the bell rather than knock, but the answer to that became clear when Dylan opened the door and found someone else on the other side of it.

Aidan’s dimpled grin hit him like a shot of whiskey. Heat traveled through him, settling in his groin and hardening his cock.

“What are you doing here?” he asked in surprise. “Your email said you wouldn’t be back for two more days.”

“They didn’t need me anymore so they sent me home. I came straight here from the airport. I texted,” Aidan added, “but you didn’t respond.”

“My phone died.” He studied the other man’s chiseled face. “You came here instead of going home first? Now why would you do that?”

“Why the hell do you think?”

A current of electricity moved between them. Aidan ran a hand through his dark hair and leaned a broad shoulder on the doorframe. “You gonna let me in or what?”

“No.”

Surprise registered on Aidan’s face. “You serious?”

He let out a rueful sigh. “My brother and his fiancée are here for the night. Sure, I can invite you in and we can watch TV for a while and have a beer, but we haven’t seen each other in two months, and frankly, if I’m in the same room as you right now, I don’t know if I’ll be able to control myself, so…”

Aidan chuckled. “So I should go home and we’ll see each other tomorrow.”

“Glad you understand.”

“Oh, I understand. I definitely understand.”

Lust tightened Dylan’s muscles as he stood there in the face of Aidan’s hungry appraisal. The man was looking at him like he wanted to eat him up. Bastard even licked his lips.

Dylan was pretty hungry himself. Despite having just gotten off a plane, Aidan looked better than ever. The top two buttons of his white long-sleeve were unbuttoned, revealing his corded neck and a teasing glimpse of the dark hair on his chest. And his snug gray trousers did nothing to hide the unmistakable bulge at his crotch.

“Where’re your brother and his fiancée now?” Aidan’s voice was low, raspy.

“Chris is out. Claire went to bed.”

He was about to ask why, but he got his answer a second later when Aidan pushed his way into the front hall, got him against the wall, and kissed the crap out of him.

It was another one of those greedy, unforgiving kisses. Aidan’s tongue filled his mouth, exploring in seductive thrusts that left him breathless.

“You sleep with anyone else this summer?” The question came out of left field, but Dylan didn’t see any anger in the man’s eyes, only interest.

“Yes.”

“Who?”

“This chick I hook up with every now and then.” He stared at Aidan’s bottomless brown eyes. “You?”

“Yes. A woman I know in D.C.”

He found it interesting that they’d both slept with women, yet here they were, pressed up against the wall, lower bodies rubbing up against each other like contented cats.

Aidan’s tone held a note of contemplation. “I can’t decide if I’m jealous.” Those warm male lips found Dylan’s again in a soft, fleeting kiss that was sexier and more potent than any tongue-tangling make-out.

“Neither of us promised to live like monks,” he murmured.

Aidan nodded his agreement. “No, we didn’t.”

They kissed again, tongues dancing. Aidan’s hands stayed above the waist, one flat on Dylan’s chest, the other at the nape of his neck.

“So this regular hook-up,” Aidan mused. “Was she good?”

“Mmm-hmmm.” He nipped at Aidan’s bottom lip, his c**k aching so bad he was surprised he could be this playful. Truth was, he wanted to rip this man’s clothes off, rip his own clothes off, and stay in bed for three days straight.

Clearly Aidan wanted the same damn thing, because Dylan suddenly found himself being spun around. He braced his palms on the wall, swallowing a moan when he felt the hard length of Aidan’s erection pressing against his ass.