Sideways

Chapter 54 Disarm You

The blaring sound of the sonar alert tone from his iPhone drops into Eddie's sleep like a depth charge, trying to bring him to the surface of consciousness.

Reaching over his sleeping husband, he grabbed his phone, silencing the dreadful sound. Seriously, it has to be the worst sound in the world, and not for the first time does Eddie think of changing it. But then again, it does do its job, and it shocks him awake from the deepest slumber.

But still, he would be perfectly content with never hearing that fucking sound ever again.

There are better ways to wake up. Speaking of which, Eddie lifts his head from its resting place between Buck's neck and shoulder, leans forward, and peppers a series of kisses along his jaw until he gets to his lips, pressing his own against Buck's, coaxing him awake, morning breath be damned.

Under Eddie's advances, Buck slowly starts to stir—first a twitch at the corner of his mouth, then a flutter of eyelashes against sleep-flushed cheeks. A new sensation ripples through Eddie like electricity finding a path to ground.

It's as if an invisible thread connects them, vibrating with each incremental shift in Buck's awareness. Eddie can almost feel the exact moment Buck's dreams dissolve into reality and can sense the precise second when Buck's mind surfaces from the depths of unconsciousness like a diver breaking the surface of water and gasping for air.

Eddie knows Buck is awake now; he can feel it, but Buck, being the brat he is, doesn't respond to his husband's advances, and that just won't do for Eddie, so he slides his tongue across Buck's bottom lip, finally prompting a response.

Buck's voice, low and gravelly with sleep, rumbled from somewhere deep in his chest. "You are an evil man, Eddie Diaz," he growls, the words vibrating against Eddie's lips while Buck's stubble scratches pleasantly against his chin.

Eddie raises an eyebrow, his voice dropping to that husky tone he knows drives Buck wild. "Did you just meet me?" The corner of his mouth quirks up in a half-smile before he captures Buck's bottom lip between his teeth, applying just enough pressure to make Buck's breath catch. Eddie shifts his weight, pressing his hips down in a slow, deliberate grind that sends sparks of heat through both their bodies.

The friction of cotton against skin made Buck arch upward, a deep, throaty moan escaping from somewhere within him—exactly the response Eddie was hunting for. "What's gotten into you today?"

"You, if you want to." Eddie offers, rolling Buck and pushing him onto his back before climbing on top and straddling his groin.

Eddie can do this; he wants to do this; he can take control back.

"Is this... last... wait... Are you..." Buck stutters and stammers out.

Eddie can't help but flinch back and starts to roll off his husband, but Buck moves before Eddie has a chance to get too far, proving that he is more alert than Eddie had first thought.

Buck instinctively reaches to grab Eddie by the hips, settling him back over his groin before he rocks himself into Eddie's ass and pushes himself up on his elbows, so they are face to face, "I didn't mean anything by it, Eddie."

"It's not about last night." Eddie rushes out because it's not, and for some reason, he needs to make sure Buck knows this has nothing to do with that. That this, what is happening right now, is them, nothing else but Buck and Eddie. Sure, last night was something, and it is something they will be talking about momentarily. But this is not about that—not for Eddie, and he's fairly confident it's not for Buck either—but he needs to make that clear.

Communication.

Buck's eyes, still heavy with sleep, suddenly sharpened. His jaw tightens, and his fingers press more firmly into Eddie's hips. "I know," he says, voice dropping an octave as the last traces of drowsiness evaporate from his face. His lips curl into that knowing half-smile, the one that creates the small dimple on his right cheek. "I know what this is about."