A Bid For Love

as they strolled the sun-washed streets. The light didn't gleam any brighter than the twinkle in Scott's smile or the warmth in his eyes when he looked at Asher. That sent shafts of a new sort of brightness through Asher. Just as he'd daydreamed, an adoring gaze rested on him as he pointed out some favored place. Only these eyes didn't look up through shy lashes, but sparkled down at him from Scott's slightly superior height.
    Scott. That still set whirlwinds dancing through Asher's mind. Scott Jamison loved him. Deeply. Intensely. Maybe permanently. Asher's heart began to pound and he tried to focus on the bit of tourist interest he wanted to bring to Scott's attention.
    "I can picture it sometimes. Standing here, watching an enemy armada approaching, knowing..." A bit of heat rose in his cheeks. "Knowing I'm the only thing standing between safety and annihilation for the town. I know, it sounds hopelessly egotistical." The walls of the old castle stronghold felt close, but not suffocating. And Scott at his side only brought the historical daydream more vivid.
    "I don't know. I can see you in armor and chain mail with a sword in your hand. You'd make a great knight." Scott leaned a bit closer. "It's why you joined the Bureau, isn't it, babe? Modern day knights in shining armor. That's us."
    "Partly." Interesting. He'd thought of it that way, of course, but never considered it part of his own choices. "I guess the romance element had something to do with it. I always figured it was because stock-brokering ended up boring me to tears, and I felt at least this way I could protect the family coffers from outside invasion." And he'd never dream of having this conversation with a female, friend or otherwise. He just didn't open up to them, for whatever reason. But he could share it with Scott. His heart kicked up a notch in tempo. "Come on. Enough history. Let's go rent one of those sailboats and see the coastline from out there."
    Scott's arm slipped around his waist. "Sounds great. I like boats. I know enough I can help you." That smile could compete with the sun. "Got a bit of the sea captain in you, too, darlin'? Or do you want to play pirates?"
    The thought of what that might involve left Asher breathless...and grinning. Play. Actual, non-serious, what-the-hell play time. Whether it ended up in bed or not. At heart, Scott was still a kid in many ways, including that glorious, maddening freedom to be childlike. A thing Asher could barely remember and had strenuously envied about his teammate all these years. Oh, he could sink into a cover. Could allow himself a little glee now and again at a case closed with pure satisfaction. But to just let go for a while and not be so damn grown-up... God, he needed that in his life!
    "I don't know." More honesty. It felt...liberating. "I'm sure we'll figure it out." We. Us. The grin expanded. Not alone. Lord, it felt good. Asher wasn't sure he could remember what not alone felt like. Or if he'd ever even experienced it. Even in the arms of numerous women, even Poppy, he'd felt...separate. Not really part of them, or they of him. He led Scott down the steep hillside path.
    It took only twenty minutes to rent a boat, then send Scott back to the hotel for jackets and swim trunks while he ordered a very nice picnic lunch from one of the cafés in the piazzetta. Thankfully Scott's sprint times kept the new feeling of emptiness at his side to a minimum. Pressing a brief kiss to his lover's mouth right there in the town square just felt right.
    And the bliss on Scott's face felt even better. A new daydream rose up. Retirement, some place like this, with Scott at his side. A bit more than a decade and it could be so. His breathing backed up again and he had to have another fleeting kiss, just because he could. Perfection. Or as close as he'd come yet.
    They climbed into the rented boat and watched as the piazzetta receded, painting the bright warm stucco into watercolor blurs softened further by verdant foliage. The great castle they'd stood in earlier seemed to float, ever watchful. Asher guided the thirty-two-foot craft out into the bay, watching Scott's arm muscles ripple as the tall Texan prepared the sail for furling when they left the no-wake lane.
    So different from Asher, but so much they could share. So much to offer. The daydream grew stronger. Indeed, the current reality felt dreamlike. Blue water reflected in Scott's eyes; a promise there of so much, if Asher could only accept