Love is Always Write Anthology Volume 8

together. He thrust one last time, crying out as his release slammed into him. He pushed deeper into Nathan, expelling the last of himself inside Nathan before collapsing onto him. Unable to hold Harlan's weight, Nathan slowly lowered himself onto his belly and just lay there while they attempted to catch their breaths. He winced as Harlan carefully pulled out of him with a low hiss. He flopped over onto his back and Nathan watched him as he stared up at the ceiling, his heavy panting steadily decreasing. His brows drew together and he rolled toward Nathan, fear and worry in his hazel eyes.
    "Did I hurt you too badly?" he asked Nathan, looking truly concerned about what the response may be.
    "Not as much as I hurt you," Nathan replied, smiling at the pout that appeared on Harlan's face. He reached out and ran his thumb over Harlan's bottom lip and smiled. "Nothing I couldn't handle. I like it when you get all caveman on me. Let's just not make a habit of it, okay?"
    Harlan nodded and ran his fingers through Nathan's damp hair.
    "There's something else that belongs to you that you forgot to mention," Nathan said, forcing himself to roll into his side. Every muscle in his body shouted in protest and he could only image how sore he was going to feel in the morning. Taking Harlan's hand, he placed it over his heart. "This belongs to you, too, Harley. I love you."
    Harlan's expression softened, and then he cringed. "I ran into Julius tonight."
    "Not the response I was hoping for," Nathan muttered. He narrowed his eyes and read between the lines. "You went to find him?"
    "I'm sorry. I didn't know what to do with myself. I couldn't stay here or I'd have gone off my nut. So I went for a drive, and ended up at the Parisian. We went back to his apartment."
    "And then what?" Nathan asked. He'd bet his bottom dollar that Harlan hadn't had sex with Julius, and seeing as how Nathan had been the one to do him wrong in the first place, he decided he would only make Harlan sweat just a little.
    "We did some petting, nothing more," Harlan replied quickly, his hand going up in promise.
    "That's all?"
    Harlan gave him a quick nod. "I swear, Nate. I couldn't go through with it, no matter how mad I was at you. So, we just ended up talking."
    "What about?" Now Nathan was curious. He was fully aware the kid had a crush on Harlan, but he didn't mind. A lot of folks had a crush on Harlan. For all his intimidating ways, he could be a sweet lug when he wanted to be. He also had a way of making people feel safe, and who didn't want that nowadays? Then of course there were the folks that took one look at the cut of his suit and saw the all mighty dollar sign. Those were the ones Nathan watched out for. Harlan had a good heart, and sadly, some folks tried to take advantage of that. He hoped Harlan didn't think him to be one of them.
    "We talked about you, about what happened. Everything he said made sense. Said if I could come to my senses, then it was possible you would have, too," Harlan murmured, his face growing somewhat flushed.
    "He seems like a right guy," Nathan said nonchalantly. "Kinda sweet on you. Pretty fella, too."
    "Nate," Harlan warned. "Are you telling me you weren't attracted to him?"
    Nathan opened his mouth then blew Harlan a raspberry. "All right, fine. Wrong place, wrong time, I get it." He smiled wickedly as he cupped Harlan, bringing the most charming, startled expression from him. "These are mine. You don't fuck anyone but me. Got it?"
    Harlan peered at him warily then burst into laughter. He grabbed Nathan and crushed him against his chest, kissing him tenderly. "I love you, Nate."
    "I love you, too, you big dope." He snuggled up to Harlan, his heart doing little flips and jumps for joy. "Oh, and you're taking me out on the town tomorrow night."
    "I am?" Harlan asked, sounding amused.
    "You bet. I want a steak the size of your car, with the works. And then you're taking me to see that new Buster Keaton picture."
    "But I wanted to see Don Q. Son of Zorro," Harlan whined.
    "No deal, Mackay. You just want to see a whip-yielding Fairbanks in tight leather, and that'll just give you all kinds of screwy ideas. I ain't wearing no leather pants, not even for you."
    Harlan let out a deep chuckle, and Nathan closed his eyes, happy to just lay there listening to Harlan's heartbeat. He couldn't guarantee that he wouldn't do something equally stupid in the future, but if he did, it wouldn't be because he was unfaithful to Harlan. He