Free Sidewinder 01 Shock & Awe by Abigail Roux Page B

chaise beside Kelly. They both laughed harder. Nick pulled the blanket over them, and the warmth of his naked body against Kelly’s was so welcome that Kelly turned into it. A moment later Nick had his arm under Kelly’s neck, giving him a cushion to rest his head on, and he wrapped his arm around Kelly to pull him closer. Their temples pressed together as they both looked up at the night sky.
    “Jesus,” Nick muttered. “Even out on the water the stars aren’t like this.”
    Kelly hummed in agreement and passed Nick the blunt they’d started on earlier. Nick brought out the lighter he’d retrieved with the blanket.
    Kelly wasn’t sure he should have found it sexy to watch Nick light the thing. He’d seen him do it a hundred times before. They were the only members of Sidewinder who appreciated the intricacies of herbal refreshment, so they’d done this together a lot over the years, sneaking away and sitting under the stars to share a hit. But this was the first time Kelly had ever appreciated Nick’s form.
    He was falling hard and fast and he didn’t care why or how. Wrapped up in this blanket under the stars, he could admit that. He always fell fast, though, and he knew Nick. Nick could smell someone falling in love from a mile away. Kelly had seen him bolt like a scared whitetail deer more than once, so he’d have to be careful.
    Nick took a long drag as he stared up at the sky. His body was relaxing, settling into the lounger and into Kelly. He turned his head, placing the burning tip of the blunt into his mouth. He reached for Kelly’s chin, pulling him until their lips met. Kelly slid his fingertips against Nick’s cheek as they shotgunned the hit. Nick blew smoke into his mouth as their bodies curled together, then he took the blunt and pulled it away, stealing a languid kiss before Kelly got a chance to exhale.
    They began to laugh even as the kiss continued. Nick pulled away, and Kelly turned his head to blow smoke into the night, laughing harder.
    They lay curled together, sharing the blunt until it was gone and getting higher than the stars they watched, drawing warmth from each other when they probably should have been inside.
    “This is good, Kels,” Nick finally murmured.
    Kelly turned his head to peer at Nick in the moonlight. He was staring at the sky, the same way he always did when they’d wander off and lie down somewhere and get high.
    Kelly grinned. “I grow it myself in the woods out back.”
    Nick began to laugh, the sound kicking Kelly off into a fit of giggling too. Nick pulled Kelly closer. He turned his head, pressing his face against Kelly’s. “That’s not what I meant.”
    Their lips met, and before Kelly knew what was happening, they were curling around each other, kissing more, their legs tangling, their bodies aligning in ways Kelly had never realized they could.
    “This is good,” Kelly whispered. “What do we do about it?”
    “Wing it,” Nick growled. “It’s what we’ve always done.”
    Kelly nodded. “You promise to fuck me eventually?”
    He felt Nick smile into the kiss. “Promise.”

    When Kelly woke, the sun was streaming through the loft of the cabin and he was alone in bed. Again. He glanced around. Music was playing downstairs. On the table beside his bed was a bottle of water and his pills all lined in a row, waiting to be taken. There was also a packet of string cheese. A note was propped against the lamp, telling him to call for help before he tried to get out of bed, and to eat the cheese before taking his pills.
    Kelly laughed and disregarded the note in every way, throwing his covers off and using the edge of the mattress to pull himself out of bed. He had to sit and gather his strength before he was able to push himself to stand, and once he was up he immediately regretted his intense meeting with the wall last night. But he padded into the bathroom, proud to have done it without having to call for help.
    A quick examination in the mirror