Beginning to Believe (7 page)

“I think it is -- of course I don’t think we’re looking at the same sign.” Ty winked and moved over to him, standing between his stumps and sliding warm arms around his waist. “Hold onto me, cowboy, and we’ll get you in the water without a hitch.”

“Oh!” He blinked up and then nodded, wrapping his arms around Ty’s shoulders. “Don’t hurt yourself.”

Oh, wow. Just... God, it was hard to be down with this beautiful man making shit happen.

“The water’s going to do all the work, Kit.”

Ty stole a kiss, then stepped back from the pier and just like that there they were in the water, bobbing together. Ty’s skin was warm where it touched him, so different from the cold water that moved around them.

“Oh...” Kit laughed, head thrown back as the dogs barked and whined on the pier. It felt so good!

Ty chuckled along with him. “This is my lady, Kit. The one who’s always here for me. She’s a real lover, isn’t she?”

“Yeah. It’s why I came here, to the ocean, after. I always wanted to live near the ocean.” It only just occurred to him how weird living near the ocean and never getting in really was.

“But this is your first time in the water?” Ty shook his head. “I’m going to be here every morning and bring you out into the water, so you make sure you stock up on towels.”

“I...” Kit blushed dark, leaned back to look into Tyler’s eyes. “I can manage towels.”

Oh, God. Oh, he was so very fucked in that long-term, heartbreak way.

Tyler smiled, warm and slow and sweet. “Cool. It’s a standing date. Of course if I’m lucky, it’ll be a lying down date, if you get my drift.” Ty gave him another wink and worked them a little deeper. “You ready to give this a go without the Tyler life preserver?”

“Yeah. Sorry, I could get used to that. Holding you, that is.” Kit blushed and let go, arms moving slow as he kept himself mostly afloat.

Ty gave him a pleased smile. “Well, I think I’d like you to get used to that, too.”

It was harder work than he remembered from swimming in the Gulf as a kid. Not having his legs meant he had to use his arms constantly, fight the waves. Damned good exercise, actually.

Ty kept close, but not so close that Kit felt like he was cramping the man’s style and just as he was thinking he was going to have to ask for help getting back to the pier, Ty swam up to him. “I’m about done -- you ready to go in?”

He nodded, catching his breath, arms a little shaky. “Yeah. ‘s good exercise.”

Ty nodded and scooped him up around the waist again as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Ty stopped to kiss him, lips salty and warm.

Kit moaned into the kiss, opening easily, inviting Ty in to taste.

One kiss melted into another, the waves buffeting against them. Finally Ty pulled back. “Let’s go in. Fun as it might be -- it’s dangerous making love in the ocean.”

“Yeah.” He let Ty get him back to his chair, laughing as Lester jumped up into his lap, barking and unhappy. “Shh! Hush, you big mutt! I’m fine!”

Ty laughed and pet the dog before bending to give him another soft kiss. “I’m starving -- you think we can find some breakfast?”

“I imagine there’s something in the kitchen, yeah.” They made it back to the house and into the kitchen, moving easily and confidently. The cabinets were all low, barring storage, and the stovetop was built into an island that he could easily reach. “Eggs and sausage and biscuits work okay?”

“Homemade biscuits?” Ty asked hopefully.

He laughed and nodded. “You make the orange juice and you got a deal.”

“You’re on. You got a squeezer?” Ty moved around Kit’s kitchen like he was comfortable in it, finding the oranges in the big basket, pulling down a couple of tall glasses.

The man looked sexy as hell in nothing but his swim shorts, that tattoo rippling as Ty’s muscles moved.

“Yep. There’s a walk-in pantry on the other side of the fridge. The little appliances are in there.” Kit pulled out canisters and started measuring and mixing, stopping halfway to turn on the stereo system and let it fill the house. They worked together companionably, Ty humming along to the music, and it wasn’t long before they had a five-star restaurant breakfast set out on the deck.

Kit pulled up to the table, nodding. “Not bad. Not bad at all.” He poured a cup of coffee and grinned over at Ty. “Dig in.”

They didn’t say much while they ate -- both of them hungry from their swim.

Ty sat back once his plate was empty, sighing and rubbing his belly. “Those had to be the best biscuits I have had ever. Bar none.”

“Thanks. I worked for a little bakery one summer when I was in high school. Learned there.” He laughed, remembering the funny little old lady who ran the store, insisting she was going to bring taste into the town. “I can make a decent pie crust too.”

“Oh, all my weaknesses. I can see it’s going to be awfully hard to ever leave your home, Kit.”

He blushed, trying not to be too pleased. “You say that, but you haven’t seen the all-night jam sessions, yet. You might run screaming.”

“Given that they’re country music jam sessions, you just might be right. Or maybe I’ll just join the dogs and howl at the moon. I’d love to watch you play, actually. I get a kick out of seeing people in their element.”

“Would you like to see the studios? That’s what’s in the other half of the house. That and the swimming pool and Jacuzzi.” He blushed. “God, that sounds so uppity -- come see the pool. I’m sorry.”

Ty laughed. “Oh, Kit, I have never met anyone as down to earth as you -- I don’t think you’d know uppity if it bit you in the ass.”

“Well, then, come and see? I’ll introduce you to Miss Betty.” He pushed back from the table, gathering up dishes to take in. He was falling hard -- in like, in lust, in love. The whole kit and caboodle.

“Miss Betty? If you have a live-in maid I just might decide you’re uppity after all,” Ty teased, getting the rest of the dishes and following him in.

“A what? Hell, no. Miss Betty’s my guitar. She even made it through the wreck, with a little mending. She and I go way back.” He let Ty get the door and loaded the dishwasher quick while they were standing there.

“Cool. I’ve got a board like that.”

“Yeah? Cool. That’s on my list. I’ll have to get you to come shopping with me one day.” He led Ty through the house, into the studio.

“Have you ever surfed? Man, I’d love to take you out on a day when the swells aren’t too bad, teach you to feel the board, ride a few waves together.”

“I haven’t, but I want to and I hear they can make boards I can use.”

“Yeah. I can take you shopping for one if you like. I know more about boards than I do about bikes.”

“No shit? Cool!” Kit grinned up at Ty, impressed. “You’re a talented man, Mr. Tyler.”

Ty shook his head. “Nah, I just know boards and bikes. Now are you going to introduce me to this lady of yours?”

“Yep. She’s right here.” He led Ty into his office, pulling Betty out of the case. He ran his fingers over the body and then picked some, listening to the warm tone filling the air.

“So what’s the etiquette here, do I say hi to her? Feel her up? Or just stand back and watch the magic happen?”

“No feeling her up.” Kit grinned and winked, fingers continuing to play. “I got her from my Aunt Julie when I graduated from high school. Thought I was the luckiest son of a bitch on Earth. Johnny Cash played her once. James Taylor did too.”

“Really? Cool.” Ty flopped down on his couch, eyes watching his fingers.

“Yep.” He started playing one old song after another, the melodies burned into his soul, into his heart. Then, when those were finished, he played Ty his songs -- the ones that were hits, the ones that weren’t, the ones that might have been.

Ty watched him for a while and then lay back on the couch, humming along. Sometimes Ty’s feet counted the beat, sometimes his fingers tapped along.

Kit played until he could feel the need to hum along, feel the old pain encroaching, and he let the last song fade, slow and easy. “Th...this is what I do.”

“Wow, Kit. That’s a gift you have. A real talent. I think you’re safe on those all night jam sessions because I could honestly listen to you play all night long.”

Blushing dark, Kit dipped his head. “You’re going to have to stop being so good to me, Ty. I’m going to end up falling in love and looking like a moron.” He said it, half-joking, half-dead-on honest.

“Now why would love make you look like a moron?” Ty shook his head and came over, kneeling in front of Kit’s chair, hands on his thighs. “Love’s a beautiful thing, Kit.”

“It is, but there’s a big chance of loss, for a few minutes of happy.”

Ty nodded. “Or a lot more than a few minutes. How long were you and Tim, wasn’t it, together?”

“Yeah, Tim.” He pointed to a picture on the wall of him and the band, back when he was young and skinny and just a puppy. “Ten years. Tim’s the one in the black hat.”

“That’s more than a few years, Kit. How much loss before it wasn’t worth it anymore?” Ty’s hands were sliding on his legs, touching him there.

“I could fall in love with you so easy. You make me want things I thought were gone forever.” His voice was harsh, sand-papered with truth.

“Tell me what they are and I’ll see if I can give them to you.” Ty smiled, hands squeezing on his legs. “Kit, you’re a good man and a good-looking man. I love your smile and the way you play guitar and you turn me on. Would loving me be such a bad thing?”

“I hope not, Ty.” Kit reached out and stroked the long hair, giving his lover a smile. “You want a shower, wash the seawater off? Mine’s big enough for two.”

He was just going to have to take it as it went. One hour at a time.

Chapter Seven

Tyler stretched out on the bed, watching Kit get dressed for the jam session he’d set up.

They’d spent the last couple days making love and swimming and eating and showering and making love some more. His skin felt good, kissed by salt and sand and wind and sun and bearded man. His own clothes were currently doing a turn in the dryer, having been washed after he admitted he’d rather stay here and explore all those beautiful muscles some more rather than go home for a change of clothes.

He’d had his share of lovers, mostly casual, but not all. Still it had been a very long time since he’d shared the bed of someone he cared about as much as he was coming to care about Kit. The man got under his skin, made him want to make promises he wasn’t in the habit of making.

Kit rolled on some white pressure socks, then stuck the metal legs into a pair of blue jeans before attaching his legs and standing to fasten his jeans. The man was moving loose and easy, almost glowing after their day.

Ty liked that, liked that he had a part of putting that half smile on Kit’s face. Keeping it there was promising to be a bit of an addiction. Maybe a whole lot of an addiction.

A royal blue shirt was shrugged on, Kit leaving it unbuttoned as that sweet little beard was trimmed, hair brushed. Then Kit walked over, turning his face back and forth. “Am I even?”

“I think I need to examine you more closely to tell.” Ty held out his arms, encouraging Kit to come down for a kiss.

Kit sat on the bed, then moved into his arms, eyes shining, lips kiss-swollen and warm.

Ty licked first, laughing at the way the beard and mustache hairs tickled. Then they were kissing, the flavor of it becoming more and more familiar.

“Oh...” Kit’s hand slid around his neck, fingers stroking slow. “Taste so good.”

“So do you, cowboy.” He was practically purring under Kit’s touch, skin just one big erogenous zone after a day of lovemaking. “How much time before your bands arrive?”

“Hour, hour and a half.” Kit nibbled at his neck, his jaw. “You think we could possibly go again?”

Ty grinned, letting his head drop back to give Kit more skin. “I think we should try, just to see if we can or not.”

“Mmm... I can handle that.” Kit shrugged off his shirt, nuzzling. “So it won’t wrinkle.”

Ty smiled, hands smoothing over Kit’s chest, fingertips following the muscles. “The fact that this chest turns me on like crazy’s got nothing to do with it.”

“Not a thing.” Those little nipples tightened up, six-pack rippling under his fingers.

He murmured happily, leaning up to take one of Kit’s nipples in his mouth, tongue flicking back and forth across it.

“Oh... Oh, damn. Ty... Oh...” Kit arched, almost humming, sounding so good to him.

He slid his hands down along Kit’s sides, fingertips stroking, teasing at the top of Kit’s blue jeans. He couldn’t remember the last lover he’d had who’d been this responsive. Kit’s hands slid over his shoulders, rubbing, touching, encouraging.

Kit had such fine hands. The man made him want in a serious way. The calluses were rough against his skin, fingertips finding hidden bundles of nerves that made his skin sing. He started working on Kit’s jeans, bucking and arching beneath each touch, each glide of skin along his own.

“Make me want you so.” The whisper was sweet, moaned as Kit drew one of his fingers into those hot lips, sucking gently.