Authors: Cassandra Gold
Josh stepped back, away from Billy's hand. "In case you forgot, you dumped me three weeks ago. You didn't even tell me in person, I had to hear it on my answering machine. You haven't tried to contact me once since then. And now you come down here, for what? To try to pick up where we left off?"
Quinn sucked in a sharp breath and rolled his head toward them.
Josh's ex nodded, his eyes filling with crocodile tears. "I'm sorry, lover. I'm really sorry. We were meant to be together. Can't you forgive me?" He slanted a poisonous glance toward Quinn. "You know I can fuck you better than any vacation trick ever could."
The words hit their mark. Quinn closed his eyes again, his face tight with pain.
The sight turned Josh's anger into white-hot rage. Billy could say whatever he wanted about Josh, but hurting Quinn was unacceptable. "Don't talk about him like that."
Billy laughed. "It's not like he can't see the truth."
The truth? What truth? That Billy was a deluded jerk? Through clenched teeth, Josh ground out, "Shut. Up. Billy."
Billy looked astonished. "Don't tell me you actually think you have some sort of feelings for the incredible hulk here. Are you out of your mind?"
Every word that dropped out of Billy's mouth was hateful. Quinn didn't need to listen to this. Josh growled. "You need to stop."
His ex didn't take the hint. He pointed at Quinn, sneering. "I mean, look at him. Look at me." He indicated his lithe body with a sweep of his arm. "There's no comparison."
Josh gazed at Billy. "You know what? You're right."
Quinn flinched. Billy's lips turned up into a triumphant smirk.
"You're one hundred percent correct. There's no comparison between you and Quinn." Josh stepped closer to Quinn, who refused to make eye contact. "The sad part is you don't understand why."
Billy's smirk faltered.
Josh's next words erased the expression entirely. "I admit you look good on the outside, Billy. You know how to use your body and your face to your advantage, and you're damned good at it. But there's nothing inside but selfishness." He put his hand on Quinn's tense back. "Quinn's not like you at all. He cares about other people, for one."
Billy scowled. "There's nothing wrong with caring about my appearance. You used to like all the things I did to make sure I looked good for you." As an afterthought, he added, "And I care about you."
Josh considered that. "Do you? I don't think so. You care about the idea of me, not me." He rubbed Quinn's back in a small circle, feeling the tense muscles relax, skin warming under his touch. "You don't understand the difference. Quinn does."
Quinn turned toward him and finally met his gaze, lips tilting up into a tiny smile. For a moment there was nothing, nobody else in the world but the two of them. Josh smiled back, certain his heart must be in his eyes.
Billy's angry snarl shattered the moment. "You asshole! Do you know how much I spent getting down here?" He crossed the feet separating them and shoved Josh, hard.
Unprepared, Josh stumbled back.
Billy rounded on Quinn. "This is your fault!" He drew back his fist and punched Quinn in the jaw. It was a weak, glancing blow, but Quinn's head still snapped back.
Josh saw red. He charged forward and grabbed Billy by both arms before he could do anything else. Quinn could beat Billy to a pulp with both hands tied behind his back, but Josh knew he would never do it. He would probably stand there and let Billy hit him because he'd never hurt someone smaller or weaker than him.
Quinn put his hand to his jaw. His forehead creased, and he frowned. "Why did you do that?"
"Josh was mine until you showed up."
"Everything that happened is your own fault!" Josh's yell took even him by surprise. He shook Billy a couple of times, not too hard, but enough to get his attention.
Next to him, Quinn stood stiff and watchful. How much shouting, how much anger had he endured as a child? Josh tried to lower his voice, without much success. "
You
got bored and dumped me.
You
didn't try to contact me for weeks.
You
decided to waste your money coming down here without calling first. Don't you dare try to blame Quinn, and don't even think about hitting him again, or so help me I'll knock you down!"
Billy's face paled at Josh's shouting, but he said nothing. Josh released him. The swagger and posturing returned in seconds. One hand going to his hip, Billy smirked. "You'll regret letting me go, Josh Hart. In a few weeks you're going to come crawling back to me, and I'm not going to take you back. I'll laugh in your face. Then you'll be sorry."
A strong arm wrapped around Josh's waist. Quinn smiled down at him, and then turned a forbidding frown on Billy. "The only person who's going to be sorry is you, if you don't go away. I might be tempted to get payback for that punch you just threw."
Pale turned to bone-white. Billy gave them one last sneer before he spun on his heel and hurried toward the elevators.
"Maybe I shouldn't have said that."
Josh grinned up at Quinn's guilty face. "Like hell. Did you see how he ran away?" He leaned against Quinn's side, his palm on Quinn's hard stomach. He batted his eyelashes. "My hero."
Rolling his eyes, Quinn tightened his arm around Josh. "Yeah, right. I was a real hero. I stood here and got punched in the face by a bratty little twink."
Josh laughed. "That's an apt description for him." He thought of everything that had happened and quickly sobered. "Will you come back to my room, at least to get your shirt?"
Quinn nodded, his expression growing serious as well.
The short distance to Josh's room seemed longer now that he wasn't propelled by sheer, unthinking panic. What he felt now was a great deal more thought out. He couldn't help worrying that the incident with Billy had upset Quinn enough to ruin things. They were just beginning to know each other. Quinn might decide Josh wasn't worth the trouble and hurt he'd gone through.
Josh hoped not. After a few days and one night together, he shouldn't be attached, yet he was, enough that the thought of Quinn breaking off whatever they had. A lot.
At the door, Josh realized he'd run out of the room without making sure he could get back inside. He reached into his pocket, hoping his wallet would be there. His fingers didn't close around the slim leather bifold. For a few seconds he feared they would have to go down to the desk and get someone to let them into his room. Then he felt the hard edge of the keycard at the bottom of his pocket and let out a sigh of relief.
"Looks like we don't have to hike downstairs to get someone." He pulled the card out and slid it into the lock. The light turned green, and he held the door for Quinn. "After you."
Quinn slipped past him into the room, no mean feat at his size. The man's ability to shrink or be unobtrusive was nothing short of amazing.
Josh followed. Once inside, he shut the door. He turned to say something to Quinn, but the other man was gone. He glanced around, puzzled.
"Here it is."
The muttered words drew him farther into the room until he could see around the bed. Quinn was on his hands and knees, fishing under the bed.
Stifling a laugh, Josh went closer. "What are you doing?"
Quinn grabbed a small object and held it up--his wallet. "I don't know how this got under here. I thought I was going to have a heart attack when I got to my door and no wallet."
Josh frowned at the reminder. He went to the edge of the bed and sat. "I'm sorry about this morning. None of this was what I had in mind for today."
"Not your fault." Quinn shrugged and pushed himself up from the floor. He didn't meet Josh's eyes. "You didn't invite the guy."
The last part of Quinn's statement sounded uncertain. Was he unsure if Josh had invited Billy, or something else? Josh patted the bedspread beside him, hoping Quinn would sit.
With Josh's big brown eyes peering up at him, Quinn couldn't say no. He sat on the edge of the bed, his mind still whirling from too much emotion and not enough information. "He dumped you three weeks ago, you said."
Josh nodded. "I came home from work and there was a message on my answering machine. Something along the lines of, 'I need someone who gives me more attention.' He knew I was a doctor when we got together, but he resented any time I wasn't spending with him. Of course it was okay for him to spend time away from me if he wanted to."
That was ridiculous. Quinn couldn't believe anyone would resent Josh's dedication to his patients. It was part of what made Josh who he was. "So he dumped you for that, didn't talk to you for a few weeks, and then came down here to try and get you back?"
"That's Billy. He does things without thinking about the consequences." Josh shrugged. "I guess he thought I'd be so happy to see him I'd forget about everything else."
Quinn had to smile a little at that. "He was surprised to see me."
Josh caught Quinn's hand and cradled it in both of his. "The things he said earlier--I hope you didn't listen to him."
"What, that I was ugly, not your type, and nothing but a vacation trick?" Quinn's voice came out rawer than he'd intended, to his embarrassment. He couldn't pretend the words hadn't cut, no matter how much he wanted to.
"Yeah, that." Josh kept hold of Quinn's hand with one of his. The other, he raised to smooth along Quinn's jaw. "None of it is true, you know."
Did he know? Quinn wasn't sure. He looked down, unable to meet Josh's eyes.
Josh wasn't having any of it. He raised Quinn's chin with gentle fingertips, forcing him to look up. "He was just jealous. He was always trying to bulk up and get strong. He was taking boxing classes and doing weights with a personal trainer when we were together."
The first thing that came to Quinn's mind slipped out. "With a punch like that? His trainer isn't doing much of a job."
Josh's laugh sounded surprised. Quinn was a little surprised at himself, but pleased, too. He rarely said exactly what he thought, and it was liberating in an unexpected way. He decided to try it again. "You were pretty angry earlier."
"I was furious," Josh admitted, a sheepish expression crossing his face. "I tried not to yell at him, but I couldn't help it. And I probably shouldn't have grabbed him like that at the end."
Considering the way Billy had acted, Josh had been the model of restraint. "Maybe not, but you didn't hit him. You did what you had to do to keep him from hitting me again. You stood up for me. Other than one of my foster sisters, nobody's ever done that for me before." Quinn smiled. "I think I should be the one saying, 'my hero.'"
Josh raised an eyebrow in a comical leer. "Well, if you want to make it up to me, I have a few ideas of how you could do it."
They were right back where they'd started, before Josh's ex had burst in. Quinn's smile widened. "Are you going to tell me what they are, or do I have to guess?"
Josh must have recognized the reference, because he grinned. "Why don't you guess?"
"Tell me when I'm getting warm." Quinn put a hand on Josh's thigh and leaned in to kiss him. Josh met him halfway, and their lips touched. At first it was just a soft, sweet pressure, but Quinn grew impatient. He needed to taste. Josh opened to him the moment his tongue touched the seam of Josh's lips.
Josh moaned as Quinn's tongue stroked along his own, giving Quinn a sense of heady power. Being able to affect someone so much with just a kiss was a new thing to him, and he liked it. Using his greater strength and weight, he pushed Josh down to the bed. Josh didn't seem bothered by the move at all. He allowed Quinn to move him without resistance. Then he drew away far enough to whisper, "You're getting warmer."
Quinn smiled and closed the tiny distance between them, kissing Josh again. He also reached down to cup Josh's erection through his shorts. Josh pulled his mouth away, panting. "Warmer."
"What about now?" Quinn popped the button on Josh's shorts and pushed his hand inside. Silky, naked skin greeted him. He brushed a fingertip over the long line of Josh's erection, imagining what it would feel like inside him.
"Red hot," Josh whispered, threading his arms around Quinn's neck and drawing him down for a deep, hard kiss.
Dividing his attention, Quinn kissed Josh back and grasped his erection, stroking it until Josh moaned into his mouth, writhing. This time he pulled away, his gaze questioning. "Your turn?"
"God, yes." Desire blazed bright in Josh's eyes as he stared up at Quinn. "Roll over."
Quinn obliged, rolling to his back in the center of the bed. Due to his grip on Quinn's neck, Josh rolled with him. He ended up on top, grinning. "That was fun."
Quinn laughed. He started to reply, but by that time Josh had gotten his shorts open and pushed a hand inside. Whatever Quinn had intended to say flew out of his mind, replaced by a hiss of pleasure.
Josh slid down his body, stopping to tease Quinn's belly button with his tongue. Painfully ticklish, Quinn squirmed and laughed. "Stop!"
The knowing look in Josh's eyes promised he'd be using the information later, but he kept moving. He shoved Quinn's boxers and shorts down in one push. Freed at last, Quinn's cock sprang up to meet him.
Josh grinned again. Locking eyes with Quinn, he licked a long stripe up one side of Quinn's dick. Quinn whimpered. "More. Please."
"Well, since you asked so nicely..." Josh took the head of Quinn's cock into his mouth and sucked.
Josh's mouth was hot, wet perfection. Quinn barely recognized the sounds he made. Tiny whimpers, moans, and pleas slipped out as Josh licked and sucked, working the bottom half of Quinn's erection with his hand. He thought he could come just watching Josh sucking him.
Then it got even better. A slick finger traced the path between his balls and his hole, rimming the edge several times. Finally it sank into his body, slow and steady, and he groaned at the sweet invasion. After the initial slow breach, Josh finger-fucked him with quick, deep pushes, all the while keeping his dick surrounded by the moist heat of his mouth. Quinn lost himself in the dual pleasure.