Higher Ground by Becky Black (notion reading list txt) 📗

closer, and it did. He leaned in, filling Adam’s arms, kissing him. He had coffee breath, but Adam supposed he did too. They exchanged coffee kisses, mouths open, tongues touching quite gently, both too tired for a wrestling match. Zach pulled back after a second but only far enough to speak, his lips centimeters away, breath warm, mingling with Adam’s. He was so close that when he tried to look at Adam, his eyes almost crossed.

“I want to invite you up, but—”

“But you’re already almost asleep. I know. Me too.”

“I have to work in the morning.”

“Me too.”

“I wish—”

“Me too.” Adam said it for the third time and smiled at himself. “Let’s just say we’re on the same page. Tomorrow. Well, tonight now. Don’t work late. Come over to my place. I’ll make dinner.”

“Can you cook?”

“We’ll find out. Get there for about twenty hundred, and I’ll show you a much more enjoyable way to spend an evening. Though I admit I enjoyed tonight.”

“You slept through most of it.”

“I enjoy sleeping. It’s my second favorite thing to do in bed.” He kissed Zach again as Zach laughed, and it was as though he could taste the laugh, taste Zach’s amusement and pleasure. He slid his hands around Zach’s waist, under his jacket, feeling the warmth of his skin through his shirt. Tomorrow it would be skin he caressed. Zach had a slender waist and hips, and Adam longed to caress them, kiss them, wrap his legs around them as Zach took him. Despite his tiredness, his cock gave a little stir of interest, and he wondered just how many hours of sleep he really needed.

Too late. Zach broke the kiss. “I should go. It’s so late. Thank you for the ride.”

“Anytime.” Oh yeah. Anytime.

He helped Zach lift the bike out and wheel it over to the shelter by the door.

“This time, remember to charge it,” Adam said.

“I will. Good night, Adam.”

A last kiss, long, lingering, ending only when a sheriff’s department car cruised by, its lights touching them and startling them into moving apart. It slowed for a moment, perhaps to make a note of who was lurking about beside the bike shed, then moved on slowly. Adam looked at the truck standing conspicuously beside them. He grimaced. That was sure to get back to Professor Wilson.

“See you tomorrow,” Zach said. “Can we have lunch together? I should get out of the lab, I know. Meet you in the cafeteria.”

“That would be nice. See you then.” He left without claiming another kiss, because one more, just one more, and he’d decide he didn’t need to sleep at all.

Chapter Four

“Gray!”

Adam flinched as Professor Wilson’s voice exploded behind him. Jan, seated beside him at the bench, gave him a wide-eyed look that said you’re in trouble, boy.

“Professor?” Adam said, turning around and putting on his most wide-eyed, innocent expression. It never failed to work on his mother.

“Tell me, Gray,” Wilson said, “have you started to run a taxi service with the department truck? It’s not enough that you use it to go shopping and run personal errands, now you’re giving other people rides home?”

“Sir, Dr. Benesh had been working late on his quarterly reports. His bike was low on charge, and—”

“What were you still doing here at that time of night? I didn’t authorize any overtime.”

“I was just helping Dr. Benesh out.”

Wilson’s eyebrows shot up. “And what do you know about geology?”

“He’s a geophysicist, in fact, but, ah… I was just making sure he had something to eat. We’re friends, sir.”

“So I’ve heard.”

Of course. You could no more keep a secret around this place than you could grow oranges in the arctic. Adam tried a charming, even sexy smile. He suspected he’d seen Wilson snatch a look at his ass a couple of times—though, to his credit, the professor had never made a move on him.

“I apologize, Professor. I did have the truck back here by seven thirty this morning. Just with the quarterly reports due in the next few days, I thought I could help another department out.”

“Yes, well…” Wilson shook his head. “Don’t make a habit of it. The truck is for department business, first and foremost. You’re taking it out this afternoon, I believe.”

“I have a couple more test farms to complete the reports on.”

“I want it back here by seventeen hundred. One minute later and I’m going to start charging you vehicle-hire rates.”

“I’ll have it back by then without fail.”

“See that you do.” Wilson strode out of the lab.

Adam turned back to the bench and grinned at Jan. “Putty in my hands.”

“He won’t be if you don’t get that truck back here on time. And it won’t matter how charmingly you smile at him.”

“You’re not suggesting I was using my sexual wiles on Dr. Wilson, are you?”

“You’d use your wiles on anybody if it got you what you want.”

She had a point. Maybe he could consider it warming up his engines. He intended to work some sexual wiles on Zach tonight.

* * * *

“You’re going to miss the deadline,” Phillips said, scowling at Zach.

“No, sir, I’m sure I can get the rest of my reports done in time. I’ll work late.” Damn, but he was supposed to spend this evening with Adam. Could he maybe come back here afterward? If he could stay awake. He hadn’t gone to bed right after Adam dropped him off the night before but had spent a few hours designing more tests and computer models. He needed sleep.

“You were here until midnight last night. Were you working on these?”

“Yes, of course.”

“And anything else? Only I hear you had a guest in the lab most of the evening.”

Oh hell, did he think Adam and Zach had been up to…shenanigans? Chance would be a fine thing.

“Mr. Gray brought me some dinner and stayed to do some work of his own. I hope that’s not a problem.”

Phillips looked at him narrowly. Zach hoped his expression conveyed the idea he couldn’t imagine what else