20. Chapter Twenty #2
Tony allowed Bronx to stand up from the bed on his own and then together they walked into the bathroom. “Go slow and use the bars on both sides of the tub to climb in,” Tony directed.
“I can feel the burn of your gaze on my ass, Cavalari,” Bronx teased.
“What do you expect? It’s literally in my face,” Tony pointed out. “Besides, it’s difficult not to look at something so fucking . . . perfect and plush, like a Georgia peach. Makes me want to bite the hell out of both cheeks.”
Bronx chuckled but when he struggled a bit with his balance, Tony stepped in to help. “Wait. Sit on the edge and I’ll get in first.”
Bingo! Bronx smiled to himself in a silent triumph.
It looked like his wish of having Tony join him in the tub was going to come true after all.
There was plenty of room in his enormous soaking tub, big enough to fit three grown men, but Bronx had no intention of inviting anyone else to this party.
Instead he breathlessly watched Tony strip naked, swing his legs over the edge and slip into the water.
Once he was situated, he reached for Bronx and eased him in, putting Bronx’s back to his chest.
“Hmmm, this was worth all that time stuck in the hospital,” Bronx said with a groan.
Tony wrapped his arms around Bronx from behind and pressed a kiss to the bend of his neck.
“I’m elated you’re able to be here and that you’re going to be okay,” he said beside Bronx’s ear.
“I was so worried when LifeFlight brought you into the ER that day. I wasn’t even sure if you were going to survive.
There was so much blood coming from your ear but I couldn’t allow myself to think the worst, even after I saw that abscess let go.
I saw the outcome firsthand and it wasn’t pretty.
But I held on to hope we’d acted quick enough because I couldn’t imagine my life without you in it. ”
Hearing Tony’s words meant so much to Bronx.
He sat still in the water to let everything sink in because it was all so surreal.
The growing feelings he had for Tony were teetering on the edge of unfamiliar ground because he’d never had this with anyone before Tony.
The aching need he had made his chest hurt right in the center and he tried to rub the knot out with his fingers.
“Are you okay?” Tony asked. “Did I freak you out with what I said?”
“No one has ever said those things to me before, and as much as it scares me, I’m more fearful of losing you. I want this, Tony. I want to be with you.”
“Why would you think you’d lose me?” he asked. “I have no interest in going anywhere else because I want to be with you, too.”
Bronx released a sigh of relief. “I’ve never felt this way about anyone or experienced this kind of connection,” Bronx confessed. “It’s addictive and I want to see where it goes.”
“Good, that makes two of us,” Tony said.
He grabbed a folded wash cloth on the ledge around the tub and squirted bodywash into the fabric before he began to methodically clean every inch of Bronx’s smooth skin.
It was beyond intimate and the emotions it was stirring was reflected in both of them.
Bronx leaned a little heavier into Tony while Tony held on to Bronx even tighter.
Protective and at peace. Both simply happy to be where they were and with each other.
Silence wrapped around them. The only sounds were that of their heavy breathing.
“I’m probably going to end up falling for you,” Bronx warned without any bite to his words.
“You mean you haven’t already fallen?” Tony teased with mock sarcasm. “Seriously, you haven’t? You know how special I am.”
“Don’t be a dick, but yes, I’m in danger of falling off the cliff with you,” Bronx said wistfully. “Are you prepared for that inevitability?”
“I’m so close to being there now myself, it’s crazy,” Tony admitted. “I guess we’ll be able to navigate these new feelings together.”
Bronx spun around slightly in Tony’s embrace to partially face him. “Have you ever caught feelings for someone before?” he asked.
“No, I’ve never even come close—until you.”
“That makes me happy,” Bronx said and grinned broadly.
“Me, too, especially now that I know you’re there with me,” Tony said and continued to use the cloth to carefully clean Bronx’s face. “It would suck if I were the only one feeling things.”
“This is so fucking unexpected,” Bronx added. “I mean, one minute we hate each other and we’re tossing insults at each other and the next we’re sharing orgasms.”
“For the record, I never hated you,” Tony said with one brow lifted. “Are you saying you hated me?”
“I was a drunk and an addict when we met,” Bronx said. “I wasn’t a very likable person back then. But buried under all the garbage that stained my outer layer, I knew I wanted to be with you. I just never felt worthy of someone like you wanting me.”
“Even at your worst I knew you were worth saving. Although I can’t lay claim to getting you the help you needed.
All I did was explain the importance of being sober and point you in the direction of sobriety.
The rest of it, the real work involved, was all you.
Have I ever said how proud I am of you for getting clean and staying clean? ”
Bronx smiled brightly. “You may have said it before but it sure is nice hearing you say you’re proud. And you may not have been the one who dropped me off at the addiction facility, but it was you nudging me to do so that made me want to get sober.”
“Have you relapsed in all these years?” Tony asked.
“I stumbled a few times in the beginning and I’d be lying if I said I’m not tempted every day to self-medicate but my priorities are different these days,” Bronx explained.
“I actually enjoy being sober. I like the way I feel when I’m not hungover and I love having a clear mind.
The booze and drugs clouded everything but back then that’s exactly what I needed. ”
“You’ve come a long damn way, Rory, and I like the man you are today,” Tony said. “You faced your demons head-on and you did the work to take back your life and I’m so very grateful you did.”
Bronx turned around and then straddled Tony’s lap. “Thank you,” he preened and wrapped his arms around Tony’s neck. “Do you mind if I kiss you senseless now?”
“Please do,” Tony said as his hands cupped each of Bronx’s ass cheeks in his big palms. When their lips met and they began to devour the other, Tony’s fingers danced down the length of Bronx’s crack. He kept inching lower until the pad of his middle finger was circling the rim of Bronx’s hole.
“Jezzz-sus,” Bronx elongated and his breath hitched. “I want you to fuck me so bad. It doesn’t have to be tonight, tomorrow, or even next week. I just want to feel you inside me.”
“When you say things like that it makes me want to go all caveman on you,” Tony admitted.
“I love the sound of that and I won’t say no,” Bronx said. “Anytime you’re ready. I’m yours.”
Tony planted another heated kiss on Bronx’s already swollen lips. Their tongues danced and plunged inside the wet heat of their mouths, lips were nipped and every emotion they had was poured into this kiss. They sat like that for what felt like hours until the water began to turn cold.
“Baby, take me to bed,” Bronx suggested.
“I thought you’d never ask.”