“’Cause I’m your cousin! Go put some clothes on!”
Emma stood, freeing Kelly’s lap. She did a little turn, showing off the backless dress. It left very little to the imagination. She shimmied her hips for good measure. Nick and Kelly both tilted their heads like puppies as they watched her. Ty growled at all of them.
“I don’t know, Tyler, I think it’s a nice dress,” Nick drawled. He uncrossed his ankles, standing and shrugging out of his suit jacket.
“I don’t think it’s the dress,” Kelly said. Nick helped Emma into his coat, wrapping it around her shoulders with all the delicacy of handling a Ming vase. She thanked him and then sat on the bench Deuce and Livi had vacated.
“I hate all of you,” Ty grumbled.
They ignored him, and Emma started talking about the open spots on her team again, trying to convince Kelly to think about joining.
Zane slid his hand down Ty’s shoulder. “You’re feeling no pain,” he whispered against Ty’s ear.
Ty’s cheeks were flushed, and he couldn’t feel the tips of his fingers. It was probably from the cold, but whatever they’d been serving had been quality stuff, and he’d had too much of it. He turned his face into Zane’s and kissed him.
Zane chuckled, then pushed himself to stand. “C’mon, we’ll take a walk, then head back to our room.”
“If I fall over when I stand up, you’re going to catch me, right?”
“Of course I’ll catch you.”
Ty took Zane’s hand and hefted himself up. He wavered closer to him and gave him a gentle kiss.
“That’s cute,” Emma said fondly.
Ty blushed in the darkness, and Nick and Kelly whistled. He pointed at both of them. “Either of you touch my baby cousin, I’ll kill you.”
They both gave him obedient, if slightly sloppy, salutes.
Ty pointed again. “I’ll kill you.”
Zane slid an arm around his shoulders and turned him toward the flap in the tent that led out into the gardens. Ty slid his hand into Zane’s as they walked.
“You having fun yet?” he asked.
“Maybe not fun, but it’s been nice so far,” Zane said as he laced their fingers together. “I actually had a casual conversation with Burns earlier. It was a little bizarre, but . . . getting there.”
“Try having him over for Thanksgiving dinner,” Ty said wryly. They hit the rocky ground that indicated the cliffs were near, and walked until there was nothing but moonlight to light their way.
It was quiet, and the wind smelled of salt and snow, and Ty was happy. It was easy to forget how lucky he was to be able to hold Zane’s hand, to kiss him, talk to him whenever he wanted. He’d told himself every night of his deployment that if he made it home, he’d never take that ability for granted again.
The path angled down, taking them away from the cliffs until they were on the level with the surf. The sand beneath their feet became softer, and the crash of the waves intruded on all other sound. It was much colder down here, the wind whipping in off the waves.
Ty came to a sudden stop, pulling Zane closer to him. Zane hummed appreciatively and let his free hand fall to Ty’s hip as their chests bumped. Ty ran his nose up the side of Zane’s cold cheek, finally taking the proper kiss he’d been wanting all night.
When he heard a noise above the surf, his entire body tensed, and Zane leaned away from him.
Even here, remote and safe, he couldn’t seem to force his mind to relax. He wondered if he’d ever be able to. He cleared his throat and squeezed Zane’s hand, refusing to let his fingers slip away.
“Who the hell thinks walking on the beach in the freaking dark is romantic?” a woman asked breathlessly as the two figures came close enough to be heard over the surf.
“Maybe it’s romantic if you’re being carried,” a man suggested.
“My calves are killing me!”
Ty and Zane both chuckled, exchanging quiet greetings as they passed the two people in the dark. The couple waved as they walked by, angling away from Ty and Zane and heading toward the mansion path rather than trying to be sociable. Ty glanced down the beach at the cottages on the end of the shoreline, where the staff were housed. They were all dark and silent.
A crash of thunder sounded not far off, and the thrashing sea was lit up by a bolt of lightning. Ty and Zane both stared at the dark ocean, struck momentarily dumb by the violent storm that seemed to be closing in with so little warning. Zane tugged on Ty’s arm. “Come on. Nice, private room waiting.”
“I’m with them,” Ty told Zane as he allowed himself to be turned toward the mansion. “We used to run with all our equipment in the sand until we threw up. Never really saw a beach as romantic.”
“I was going to suggest a run in the morning, but maybe not,” Zane said as he guided Ty along with a hand on his elbow. “And I’m probably the last person to ask about what’s romantic.”
Ty pointed a finger. “I will run in the late-morning to early-afternoon time frame. Otherwise I intend to be hungover.” He waited a beat before glancing sideways at Zane. “Where were you married?”
“Church wedding in Austin.” There was a note of curiosity in Zane’s voice.
“Was it nice?” Ty asked carefully.
Zane snorted. “It was way overdone. My mom did the whole thing because we were living in Dallas at the time. But I guess it was okay. I don’t really remember much about it.” Zane made a noise in his throat.
“What, too much bachelor party?”
“No, it’s just . . .” Zane waved his hand around. “You stand there in this important ceremony, nervous as hell because everyone’s watching you and you don’t want to trip on the steps, and then it’s over and you don’t remember a single thing and it seems like such a waste of all that time.”
Ty snorted and shook his head. They walked hand in hand down the beach, the cold waves lapping at the rocky sand near their feet, the lightning highlighting whitecaps on the water.
“Care for another waltz in the rain?” Zane asked, his voice gone lower.
“Always.”
Zane stopped him as the thunder rolled, and pulled Ty to him. They began a slow box step, taking note of the rocks and their footing.
“Have you ever done the sex-on-the-beach thing?” Ty asked as his fingertips played over Zane’s palm. Zane shivered.
“Yeah. Once. I kind of enjoyed it, but she was complaining about sand in weird places for days afterward.”