Lindsay curled up on them and then stretched out, feeling the smooth fabric slide against his skin. Dane

shed the last of his ruined clothes and crept into bed next to Lindsay, pulling the blankets over them both.

Lindsay rolled over to face Dane, his cheek tucked against the crook of his bent arm. Dane didn’t pull

Lindsay into his arms, but lay there a moment instead, just looking. Even without being touched, Lindsay

felt warm and content. Dane had brought Lindsay to his space, to his bed, because Lindsay was his too.

Lindsay was still vibrating from the adrenaline and the drugs, and his head ached, but being in the haven of Dane’s bed was enough to soothe him.

Dane traced Lindsay’s features with a fingertip and put his finger under Lindsay’s chin, tilting his face

up for a kiss on the mouth. It was chaste and tender, like this was the first time.

Then he rolled Lindsay onto his back and kissed him down into the pillows. Dane’s body was so

warm against his own cool skin. Dane lifted his head and petted Lindsay’s hair. He kissed Lindsay on the

forehead, once, warm and gentle.

“Mine,” he said seriously.

“Yours.” Lindsay hadn’t known enough to want it, but now that he had it, he didn’t want to give it up.

The faint gray snow light from outside and the glow of the heater gave enough light that Lindsay

could see the tenderness in Dane’s expression. He reached up to cup Dane’s cheek in his hand and brushed

his thumb along Dane’s jaw.

Dane lay back, coaxing Lindsay up to straddle his hips. Lindsay was still a bit sore, but by the time he

was settled with his hands braced on Dane’s chest, he was happy with the view. How had he managed to

get so lucky? Wanting Dane, wanting sex, hit him all in a rush and Dane had to be able to smell it thick on the air.

“Tell me what you want.” Dane smiled when he said it, showing Lindsay a flash of sharp white teeth.

“Don’t you know?”

Dane laughed. “I like hearing it.”

“I want you,” Lindsay said. “I want whatever you’ll give me, whatever you’ll let me have. I want to

give you what you want. And I want to make you come.”

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“You can have all those things.” Dane’s voice was rough. “What I want is you, any way I can have

you. I want to hear you come, watch you come. I want to watch you be alive.”

“I’m alive.” Lindsay leaned in to kiss Dane on the mouth. “I’m alive. Thanks to you.”

“That’s what I want most.” Dane cupped Lindsay’s face in his hands and kissed him hard and deep.

Lindsay wanted Dane now. He had no idea how he’d ever managed to be patient before. He licked at

Dane’s mouth and his jaw, working his way under to lick the tender skin of Dane’s throat. He might have

been on top, but he knew how to be submissive nonetheless. Dane’s groan was proof enough that Lindsay

had learned well.

“I want.” He nipped to punctuate his demand and got a low rumble from Dane. “Fuck me.”

“Anything,” Dane said again. “You want that, go get the silver tin from the right-hand drawer in the

desk.”

In the drawer, on top of an old pistol and a cigarette case, Lindsay found the tin and turned to hold it

out.

Dane was leaning on one elbow watching him, smiling, and Lindsay caught a glimpse of something in

a mirror that stood in the far corner of the room. The person in the mirror wasn’t thin and bent anymore,

and not a boy, either. The person there was tall enough to be a man and lean but not thin. He seemed

healthy, and there was enough light from the window on his face that Lindsay could see that he looked

happy.

“That’s what I want. Come to bed, little bunny.”

Lindsay took one more look at himself, at the young man who seemed so surprisingly strong, and then

turned away. Dane was waiting for him. Laughing, he ran across the room and jumped into bed, making the

frame groan.

“Not so little anymore,” Lindsay said, pushing Dane over on his back and crawling on top of him.

“No.” Dane let himself be moved and fell into the pillows, still smiling. “Not so little anymore.”

Lindsay dipped his fingers into the tin, finding something inside that felt like thick cream. It smelled

of beeswax, but Lindsay didn’t investigate further, setting the tin aside instead. He found Dane’s hard cock, still ready for him, and stroked it, getting a delicious noise from Dane.

“I want you,” Dane murmured.

It wasn’t as though Lindsay couldn’t tell, but Dane was saying it because he knew how much Lindsay

loved to hear it. “Did you…before you told me?” He stroked a while longer, reveling in touching Dane so

intimately. If he hadn’t been giddy with relief and success, he wouldn’t have asked, but Dane had said such sweet things already that it made him bold. He wanted to know so much, to hear Dane say it.

“Yes.” Dane’s voice was rough with need and it made Lindsay shiver. “Even when you were angry at

me. Before I should have.”

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Before… oh. God, it seemed a century ago that Lindsay had been angry at Dane, angry at him for

something as trivial as fooling around with Kristan.

“Oh.” Lindsay blinked a sudden welling of tears away and moved to kiss Dane as he slid his slick

fingers into himself this time. “That’s a long time.”

“It’ll just get longer.” Dane’s hands were all over him, touching him like Dane was claiming him.

Lindsay’s hand was shaking as he guided Dane into him; his whole body was full of a flood of

emotion. He whimpered and Dane stroked his hair, making soothing noises. “I’m okay,” Lindsay managed

to say. “I am, I am…”

God, he was more than okay, he was perfect. Alive and wanted and real.

Dane leaned up, effortlessly pulling himself to almost sitting, and kissed Lindsay on the mouth. “I’m

proud of you.”

Lindsay sucked in a breath, surprised by the praise. “Th-thank you,” he managed, licking at Dane’s

mouth like the words might’ve left some residue he could taste there.

“You rescued me,” Dane pointed out, wrapping his arms around Lindsay and kissing him back. “You

didn’t panic. You saved us. Saved me. Your magic worked.” He brushed a kiss over Lindsay’s lips. “You

made me proud. I still am.”

Dane was proud of him.

“Thank you. I’m glad I wasn’t too late.” Lindsay let Dane’s pride and affection wash away the worry

that he could’ve gotten there too late, that Dane could’ve died for good this time. He moved again, rocking his hips to let Dane’s cock slide in and out of his body.

“Lindsay…” It was little more than a groan, and Dane shuddered under him. He was always so

composed in bed, at least until now. Whatever Lindsay was doing—maybe just being himself—he was

driving Dane crazy.

“You sound so good like that.” Lindsay could hear how much Dane wanted him, and it was

incredible.

Dane wasn’t one to be passive, but he let Lindsay have him. Like this, Lindsay could see his face; it

was overwhelming how much he could see, and how much it mattered to him.

Lindsay got lost in the way Dane responded to him, listening for every moan and growl, feeling for

each arch of Dane’s back into his touches. Making Dane feel good was its own reward, and Lindsay

worked for it. “Tell me what you need?”

“You. Just you.” Dane opened his eyes, focusing on Lindsay. “Just fuck me. I want to see you, want

to hear you. You are so beautiful.”

“You can have all of that.” Lindsay’s words trailed off into a moan as he wrapped one hand around