Page 24 of Survival Game

“I like the no-pants look.” He got up and gestured to the left side of the bed. “Mine’s the right side. Get comfortable. I’ll be back in a moment.” He gestured to the dresser in the corner. “If you fancy sleeping in anything, there’s stuff in the top drawer.”

Eric took off his shirt and slid naked into the bed. He’d never been able to sleep with clothes on; he hoped Kyle wouldn’t mind.

He caught his breath when Kyle walked back into the room. Lithe, with muscles in all the right places and long legs with a smattering of fine hair, he reminded Eric of a thoroughbred colt.

Kyle slipped in beside him. “Mmm, nice,” he purred. “I like a man with nothing on lying next to me.” He leaned back against the pillows and regarded Eric with a smouldering stare.

“Oh no, mate, no more tonight.” Eric got comfortable and snuggled down into the duvet. “As tempting as you are, I need some sleep. If we start again now, it’ll be hours before I finish with you and you’ll be screaming for more.”

“Ooh,” Kyle muttered. “You’re a confident one. What makes you think I won’t be the one making you scream?” He smirked. “Next time, we fuck. Properly.”

Eric’s cock stirred and he ignored it and closed his eyes. “Uh-huh,” he managed sleepily. “Maybe next time we can have an all-night fuck fest but tonight, I need some zzzzs. Work tomorrow. Remember? Not like some of us who have Monday off.”

He sensed Kyle’s face near and his warm breath on Eric’s cheeks. He opened his eyes and noticed for the first time Kyle’s real eyes were a deep, dark brown. As much as Eric loved the violet contacts, the hue of that brown made him think of warm chestnuts and cold winter days.

“I like the sound of next time,” Kyle murmured as his lips found Eric’s in a lingering kiss. “I’ll hold you to it. ’Night.”

Kyle pressed his front against Eric’s back. “You don’t mind me being the big spoon, do you?” he whispered drowsily. “I promise to keep my bits in control.”

“’S fine,” Eric mumbled. “Go to sleep, Kyle.”

There was another soft drift of lips against the back of Eric’s neck and then he remembered no more.

Chapter Eight

“Hey, big guy. What are you smiling about? Looks like you got some last night.”

Eric turned to see Aaron watching him. He finished packing in some of the stock he needed for their shift and grinned back.

“Maybe I did, maybe I didn’t.” He closed the back of the truck and went over to give his partner a shoulder slap. “How are you doing on that front? Did you go on that date your bubbie set up for you?”

Aaron’s face brightened. “Actually, I did. It went pretty well. She’s a nice girl.”

Eric raised an eyebrow. “Go on then, tell me about her. Is she the next Mrs Greenberg?”

Aaron had been married once before, a short-lived, tempestuous relationship which had ended when his bride of six months decided she wanted to volunteer abroad helping wildlife for the rest of her life. He didn’t speak about it much. Eric hadn’t known Aaron then, but from what he gathered, Aaron had been deeply hurt at the time.

Aaron looked scandalised. “Oi, give me a chance. We’ve only had the one date. It was nice.”

He got a dreamy look on his face and Eric bit back a chuckle. He’d had his reservations about Aaron’s crazy, well-meaning grandma arranging a date but it seemed to have worked out.

Eric patted Aaron on the back, putting a sad look on his face. “Mate, if your bubbie has anything to say about it, she’s already got the wedding china picked out.”

He laughed at the alarmed expression crossing Aaron’s face and motioned toward the truck. “Come on. We’re ready to rock and roll. Let’s go see what lies in store for us today.”

“My mam’s just got a tummy ache. Can’t you just give her some painkillers and be done with it? What the fuck are you waiting around for?”

The baleful glare of the twenty-something-year-old hovering over Eric as he tended to his patient was beginning to rattle him. The young girl had been blabbering on for over five minutes while he was trying to listen to the older woman’s heartbeat and pulse.

They’d answered a 999 call for someone who’d collapsed, which had led them to the house in the middle of Tower Hamlets. Entering the grimy premises of the concrete, mass produced apartment on the tenth floor, an older woman had been supine on the floor as a younger one paced around the room, muttering to herself.

He’d known right away the young woman was tripping on something.

Eric took a deep breath. “Your mam hasn’t got a stomach ache. She’s got a burst appendix and we need to get her to the hospital as soon as possible. Could you please stand back and give me room?”

He waved the unkempt and unwashed girl back. What he didn’t expect was the mouthful of spit he got in return. The glob landed on his cheek and he looked up, trying to control his temper, which burned quicker these days.

“Lady, that really wasn’t necessary.” What he wanted to say was, Get the fuck out of my face before I give you a syringe of something you won’t want, you little bitch. “I’m only trying to help your mother.” He glanced around for Aaron, who’d gone to fetch the board from the truck. “We’re taking her to the hospital. She’s in a bad way.”