“Yes,” Ty muttered grumpily. “Jackass,” he added to let Zane know he really did remember him.
Zane grinned and leaned over. “Hmmm. I’d kiss you to welcome you back from la-la land, but it’s against the rules.”
Ty blinked at him, eyes widening slowly at the highly unusual pronouncement. “Rules?” he asked in a suddenly hoarse voice.
Biting his lip, Zane shook his head. “Well,” he muttered, “despite what you think, I never was one for rules.” He reached forward to hold Ty’s chin and kissed him firmly, a little bit of relief easing the tension in Zane’s body.
Ty tensed and returned the kiss as if he was merely too surprised not to do so, but then he relaxed slowly and leaned forward into it. “I hope to hell I can remember where that came from,” he murmured with a small smile.
Zane hummed against Ty’s lips lowly. “Good,” he said, voice a little rough. Just one kiss and he was aroused. Zane closed his eyes for a moment, taking a steadying breath and pushing himself away from the bed.
“That … that’s pretty damn nice,” Ty said softly as Zane moved away from him. Zane paused, looking back at Ty with darkened eyes before he sank to sit facing him on the bed, waiting to see what he would do. Was this the real Ty? The one who stayed hidden under layers of Marine training and forced sarcasm? Or was it just the conk on the head?
Ty watched him quietly, eyes unusually calm and thankfully clear once more. “I remember wanting you pretty bad,” he finally admitted.
Zane stayed quiet for several heartbeats. “Wanting … then?” he asked quietly.
Ty just shook his head and gave a small, embarrassed half-smile.
“Just … in general.”
A smile slowly pulled at Zane’s mouth. “The feeling’s mutual.”
Ty licked his lips and grinned slowly. “I’m going to deny saying that when my head stops hurting,” he told Zane gruffly.
“I wouldn’t expect any less. Can’t have you threatening my pansy-ass status in this relationship,” Zane quipped.
Ty raised an eyebrow and jerked his chin to the side at the word.
“Relationship?” he asked with a small laugh. He remembered screwing around with the man. He didn’t remember any “relationship,” so to speak.
Zane rolled his eyes despite the jump in his pulse at Ty’s reaction.
“Don’t read into it. We are partners, after all.” He shifted his weight to stand back up. Ty’s hand shot out with surprising speed and grabbed him. Zane stopped in place, turning dark, questioning eyes on Ty. Ty inclined his head in a beckoning gesture and gave Zane’s hand a slight tug.
Sliding over onto his thigh, Zane shifted closer, interested, but also somewhat suspicious. Ty was a devious little f**ker. Zane could hope for a kiss … but he figured it was about sixty-forty Ty would shove him to the floor. All in jest, of course.
“Are we doing the right thing?” Ty asked breathlessly as he looked up at Zane.
Zane looked down at the hand that still grasped his wrist, then up at Ty, the desire written all over him. “I don’t know,” he admitted in a rasp, facing the quandary of the two of them together head-on. “But it sure as hell feels right.”
Ty just shook his head and licked his lips, attention rapt on Zane’s eyes. “I don’t mean us. I mean the case. Should we even still be here?” he asked in a rough voice.
Cheeks reddening, Zane blinked rapidly at him. “The case. I don’t know anymore,” he said quietly.
A moment passed in silence, not even the sound of their breathing breaking the moment. Finally, Ty tugged Zane closer and kissed him passionately.
“Goddamn, Ty,” Zane rasped once they separated to breathe.
“I think maybe a shower is in order,” Ty muttered with one final kiss.
He felt himself searching for any reason not to go through with what he had started. It felt too much like spinning out of control for him to be comfortable.
He kissed Zane again impulsively and then pushed him away to crawl off the bed and start for the bathroom carefully. He felt like he might fall over if he moved too quickly.
Rolling to his side, Zane watched Ty walk away. “Yeah,” he whispered. Christ, what a view. He squeezed his eyes shut for a few seconds.
What would he do when Ty went back to being … Ty? As much as he found this Ty endearing and sexy as hell, it was disconcerting to have him be so totally different from the man Zane had come to know, sex and all. It was like meeting a new partner all over again, one that was easy to work with and actually friendly and affectionate, and Zane just didn’t know what to think of it. Even worse, he could feel the dangerous allure of it, threatening to drag him under with wanting it.
Ty clanked around in the bathroom for a few moments before the shower started, and soon he was out again, a towel around his shoulders and running it through his short hair carefully as he watched Zane and moved closer. His entire right side was covered with nasty purpling bruises, and he walked with a slight hitch to his step. “What day is it?” he finally asked with a wince.
“Friday,” Zane murmured. He was on his back again, arm thrown over his eyes.
Ty frowned but said nothing in response, instead walking closer to the bed and flopping the towel down on Zane’s thighs. “You okay?” he asked.
Zane lifted his arm. His brow was furrowed as he looked at Ty.
“Yeah?” What was Ty asking about? His state of mind? Zane moved his hand to grasp the towel as he looked up at Ty, who was towering over him. God, he was incredible-looking like this—even all beaten up—flushed and soft after a hot shower.
“You sure?” Ty asked. “I feel like I’m becoming more a hindrance than a help,” he admitted.
“Not to me,” Zane answered evenly.
Ty nodded and lowered his head, retrieving his towel from Zane’s grasp without another word.
Zane sat up and peered up at his partner. “How fuzzy are you, still?
Do we need to lay low until your brain pulls itself out of the frying pan?” he asked worriedly.
Ty lowered his head and looked at Zane from under lowered brows.
“Things are fuzzy,” he admitted after a moment of honest self-examination. “I remember most of the important things. Mentally I’m okay. Physically, not so much. I think if we were in a fight tonight I’d be a liability,” he added with a wince as he bowed his head again.
“Then we’ll stay in and take it easy. I do want to make a few phone calls and go pick up our stuff, get those personnel files to Henninger. Right now, that’s our only lead. Other than that, we’re sadly lacking in choices to pursue on the case. I hate to say it … it’s going to take another killing—and some lucky evidence—to give us a break.”