He took a big swig of the cold drink before answering. “Doc, you’re my best friend, not my subordinate. When you call me Major, I don’t hear rank. I hear respect and affection. Just like when I call you Doc, I’m not thinking of your medical abilities.”
I took a gulp of my own drink before setting it down on the bedside table. The room was lit by the two lamps on either side of the bed. The warm glow was doing pretty nice things to Major’s handsome face. “What would you prefer I call you?” I asked, sitting down next to him and fiddling with the cuff of his shirt. Apparently, I enjoyed touching him.
“Unbutton it please,” he said softly. I unbuttoned it without a second thought. He continued. “Doc, I’m fine with you calling me whatever you want. Sometimes I like it when you call me Major because it reminds me of when we first met and it makes me feel a little bit in charge of you which is a turn-on to me. But sometimes you call me by my name and it’s like a shot of adrenaline straight to my heart because I’m not used to it and it feels very intimate. So I don’t really have an answer for you.” He held out his other hand, and I immediately moved to unbutton that cuff. When I was done, I took another sip of the drink.
Major’s eyes tracked every movement. When I set the glass back down, he took my hand and moved it up to his chest. “Unbutton my shirt please.”
My fingers went to work before my brain kicked in. “Why?” I kept doing as he said, but my nerves had returned too.
“I want you to undress me while you stay fully clothed. That way you can examine me or touch me or just get used to seeing another man naked without feeling too vulnerable.”
With every open button, more of his chest hair was revealed. I couldn’t keep my eyes off it. There were one or two silver hairs mixed in with the dark ones, and I found myself reaching for them with a fingertip.
“Old man,” I teased. “Are you robbing the cradle right now?” Movement under the fly of his pants caught my attention out of the corner of my eye. I gulped and reached for another quick sip of my drink without realizing it. When I returned my hand to his chest, he hissed.
“Cold.”
“Sorry.” I chuckled. The vodka was doing its job. I moved his open shirt wider, revealing the twin bird tattoos on his chest that matched mine. Lynch, Dial, Major, and I had gotten them in Bangkok after discovering they symbolized safe homecoming.
I skimmed my hand across one. “God, I should have never gotten the same tattoos as you,” I said with a laugh. “On you they look all masculine and tough. On me they look ridiculous. Birds on a bird chest.”
Major’s eyes went dark and hot again. “I’d ask you to show me, but I’m trying not to push, remember?”
I kept my eyes on his as I moved to take off my own shirt. My hands were shaking, but it wasn’t like he’d never seen my bare chest before. He had. Plenty of times.
Major’s hand came up to rest on one of my own bird tattoos, his thumb brushing lightly along my sternum. My nipples hardened and my dick wasn’t far behind. I swallowed before getting up the nerve to straddle his thighs. “This okay?” It came out as more of a squeak, and I closed my eyes in embarrassment.
Major’s warm hands landed on my thighs and rubbed up and down them in an effort to reassure me.
“Unbuckle my belt, Liam.” His voice rumbled so deeply, I almost lost my breath. What the hell was it about him that suddenly lit all my fires and made me feel inexperienced and desperate to please?
My trembling hands moved to the buckle.
Chapter 28
Weston “Major” Marian
Of all the ribbons and medals I’d earned in the service, none were as hard to achieve as keeping myself from flipping Doc onto his back and ripping his clothes off so I could shove myself deep into his body once and for all. The number of times I’d imagined it, had gotten off to it, was staggering. But now that he was here in my bed in the flesh, I was terrified of doing something to scare him off.
His dark pink nipples pearled up, making my mouth water. The bulge in the front of his pants was promising if I could only be patient.
Doc’s hands moved to my belt, and the tip of his lip caught between his teeth in concentration. The rasp of the leather through the buckle seemed loud in the quiet bedroom. Doc’s chest heaved with a fortifying breath before he spoke.