Henry's End Read online

As Quinn worked his way through the stack of elaborately wrapped boxes, the laughter became more and more raucous as he opened each one.

  “Seriously people, how many pairs of handcuffs do I need?” He looked around the room, as he held up yet another pair.

  Unwrapping a tubular-shaped package, “Oh, it’s root beer flavored, huh.” He pulled a tube out of a box, “Somebody knows me well. Oh shit, this is from my mom,” a blushing Quinn kidded, “Seriously Ma, flavored lube?”

  “It was that or WD-40. What was I supposed to do?” she shot back, inciting yet another round of laughter from the room.

  Opening the card to the next box, Quinn silently read the message.

  Quinn – This present is actually for me. There’s advantages to being a pussy. —Henry

  Quinn looked at Henry, slightly tipping his head as if silently asking, what’s in there? “This is from Henry,” he announced.

  Opening the box, he pulled out a pair of white second skin cycling shorts.

  “What’s that? A giant condom? You’re not that big, Quinn,” someone yelled out, as the ribbing continued.

  As Quinn set aside the last package and thanked his guests, Willie announced, “Cake time.” Carrying out the badge cake with a 3 and a 2 candle blazing atop, Derek set the cake before Quinn.

  Again, Henry found himself across the room, way too far from Quinn’s side, as they sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to him.

  As Quinn lowered his face to blow out the candles, his eyes, sparkling in the candlelight, locked in on Henry’s, as he made his silent wish.

  Wish for me. Wish for me. Henry found himself silently chanting as Quinn extinguished the flame in one sweeping blow.

  “Nice blow job,” someone yelled, inciting more laughter.

  “He’s had good practice,” the teasing continued.

  As guests began to bid their goodnights after the cake had been served, Quinn whispered in Henry’s ear, “Hang out, OK.”

  Henry nodded and started to help with the clean-up as the partygoers said their goodbyes to the birthday boy.

  “Bring this one over for a Sunday dinner,” Jeanne told her son when Henry gave her a warm hug and a kiss on the cheek. “I like him.”

  “Don’t scare him away, Ma.” Quinn teased.

  “I’m not scaring him, you rotten thing,” she said lovingly.

  As they later bagged up the trash, “My mother loved you.”

  “She’s pretty awesome,” Henry was smiling just thinking of her, so supportive and an active part of her son’s life. He hadn’t seen his own mother or sister in over three years, since they had moved to Montana. His mother hadn’t even come down when he was in the hospital. There’s no way she’d ever attend one of my birthday parties, he thought.

  “You had quite a haul tonight,” Henry gestured to the stack of presents.

  “Yeah, but I didn’t get everything I wanted.”

  “What was it that you wanted?” Henry thought Quinn had gotten amazing gifts.

  “I want to cook you breakfast tomorrow morning.” He paused, “Spend the night with me.”

  “You know we haven’t even kissed yet.”

  Nodding his head, Quinn stepped to Henry, “We need to fix that. Right now.” Reaching out, he stroked Henry’s cheek gently with his middle and forefinger. “Thanks for the great gift.” He chuckled, “They’re white. You’re going to see everything.”

  “I told you the present was actually for me.”

  And they both laughed.

  “You have to know how I feel about you. Are you feeling that for me?” Quinn asked. Without waiting for a response, Quinn hurriedly acknowledged, “I know you’re scared. It’s understandable.”

  “You want to know what I was feeling tonight. I was feeling lost, Quinn. I was feeling lost because I wasn’t by your side. I wanted to be by your side all night.”

  A blaze crossed Quinn’s eyes as he took in Henry’s words. Slipping his fingers into Henry’s hair, he pulled him closer. “I want you there, Henry.” He brushed his lips softly against Henry’s. “You have no idea how much I want you there.”

  With his hand tightening in Henry’s hair and the other flat on his lower back, Quinn pressed himself against Henry’s long frame. A low guttural moan escaped as Henry opened his mouth to his first taste of this beautiful man. Slowly, Quinn swiped his tongue along the length of Henry’s with a sensuous languid rhythm, sucking the tip of Henry’s tongue deep into his mouth.

  Henry could feel Quinn’s hardness, and the matching response of his own to his partner’s excitement. Arching into him, that desire to be close to this man was something he needed to satisfy.

  “I think Derek and Willie want to kick us out,” Quinn laughed, pulling away to get some air. He smiled at Henry. “So now we’ve kissed.” And he planted another soft kiss on Henry’s smiling lips, “Spend the night with me.”

  Henry nodded and leaned forward to kiss Quinn back, seizing the opportunity to bite his lower lip. “I’d love to.”

  Nervously tapping his fist on the steering wheel as he followed Quinn’s Jeep back to his condo, Henry was not worried about what might happen between them, or getting naked in front of him for the first time. Henry was scared shitless of falling asleep and having one of his sweat-drenching, heart-palpitating, Psycho Marine induced nightmares in Quinn’s bed.

  I could just turn around and go home. Call him and say I was really beat. Let’s do it when we’re not so tired. But it’s his birthday and he really wants me there. And his lips were so soft. And Oh God when he got hard and pressed into me. And I just want to be close to him. I want to feel him again.

  Henry parked in the spot next to Quinn and gathered all his courage. I can do this. I can still my mind. Ivy has taught me how to do it. And asshole Cody is not going to ruin Quinn’s birthday. I can’t do that to Quinn.

  Quinn’s smile was huge, “I’m bringing a boy home,” he kidded, pulling Henry against him to steal another kiss. “I’m so happy you’re here.” He stroked the side of Henry’s face with his fore and middle finger again.

  As they entered the condo, Henry remarked, “You are really neat.”

  “Did you think I’d be an Oscar Madison?” Quinn was amused. “Can I get you something to drink?”

  Henry followed him into the kitchen. “No, not Oscar, but I didn’t expect spotless. I’ll take some water.” Henry’s mouth was getting dry as his nervous energy surfaced.

  Opening the refrigerator and tossing him a bottle, “The truth is, my cleaning lady comes twice a week or I wouldn’t have clean underwear or uniforms and you’d see a trail of dirty socks and tee-shirts.”

  Grabbing his hand, Quinn pulled Henry over to a brown leather couch, situated across from a large TV.

  “I’m so glad you came to the party and really happy you’re here tonight.” Quinn faced him on the couch.

  “I almost turned my car around and went home,” Henry admitted.

  Quinn laughed, “I kept checking my rearview mirror for your headlights because I was afraid you were going to do just that.” Quinn took a sip of his water, “But you didn’t. What made you keep following?”

  “Well, for one thing, it’s your birthday. But I also kept thinking about how all night I just wanted to be next to you.” Henry watched Quinn’s eyes crinkle at the corners at his admission.

  Putting his water bottle aside, Quinn reached out a hand to Henry. “Come here,” pulling him against him, Henry’s head nestled back on Quinn’s shoulder.

  Kicking off his shoes, Henry lifted his long legs to the couch. “This is nice. Really nice.” He looked up at Quinn who was smiling down at him.

  “Perfect end to a great night.” Quinn tenderly stroked the ginger strands back from Henry’s forehead. “There’s so much I want to know about you, Henry Clark. And I want to know it all now.” Joking he put his hand over Henry’s eyes, “Vulcan Mind Meld.”

  Both men laughed.

  “So, you know what recently happened to me,” Henry began
, “but I don’t know anything at all yet about your love life.”

  “How much do you want to know?”

  “Everything you are comfortable telling me.” Henry smiled up at him.

  Laughing, “Ok, you asked for it. My first kiss was Jennifer Costa. She had really pretty long brown hair and brown eyes. We were seven. I got sent to the Principal’s office,” he laughed.

  “School yard Lothario I see,” Henry kidded.

  “Totally, I just wanted to kiss all the girls,” he paused, “and probably some of the boys, too.”

  Quinn continued stroking Henry’s hair, his eyes shining with the smiles of ancient memories. “My first real guy kiss was senior year in high school, one of my track teammates. His family was as Catholic as mine so we were both sure we were going to burn in Hell.”

  “Did you do more than kiss?” Henry shifted on Quinn’s shoulder.

  “Yeah, but not much. We’d give each other hard-ons, kissing and rubbing each other through our clothes. We’d both go home sticky messes.”

  They both laughed.

  “My first real relationships were in college and there were a few that lasted a couple of months, but nothing earth shattering.”

  “Any big long-term relationships?” Henry wanted to get this over with, knowing he’d feel unjustifiably jealous.

  “There were two. One lasted two years, the other almost four.”

  Henry sat up to face Quinn. He wanted to see the look on his face and in his eyes when he spoke of his former lovers. Would there still be a hint of his heart with one of them? He needed to know.

  “What happened with them?”

  “Well, the first one I was in my early twenties. I’d just entered the police academy, so I was getting serious about my life and my career and he wasn’t. He was still in his stoner phase and wasn’t going to be out of it any time soon. We were just going in two very separate directions.”

  “And the other one?” Henry asked, relieved somewhat by the first answer.

  Quinn looked up at the ceiling, the corners of his mouth twitching as he was formulating what to say. “That one broke my heart.”

  “What did he do?” Henry wanted to reach out and stroke Quinn’s arm, but suddenly felt like touching him was off-limits in the presence of this other person’s ghost.

  “He cheated,” Quinn’s beautiful eyes still filled with the hurt just from the memory of his lover’s betrayal. “A lot.”

  “That’s kind of a dangerous thing to do,” Henry remarked, stating the obvious.

  “Yes,” he agreed, “it is. I guess I suspected it on some level even though I consciously didn’t want to admit it. We always used protection and I guess that was because I didn’t fully trust him.”

  “But you loved him?” Henry could hear it in his voice even before Quinn answered his question.

  “I did,” Quinn nodded, looking deep into Henry’s eyes as if asking him, And you? Will you be true?

  This time Henry reached out, letting his fingers trail lightly on Quinn’s forearm. “I hate that he hurt you. But I’m glad that he’s gone.” He smiled. “How long ago was this?”

  “It ended about a year and a half ago.”

  “Are you over him?” The fear was creeping in that this guy would come back after he’d given his heart to Quinn. Did he need to get out now?

  Threading his fingers with Henry’s, Quinn smiled. “I like what you’re thinking. You want to know why?”

  “How do you know what I’m thinking? And yeah, I want to know why.”

  Quinn laughed, his beautiful white smile beaming. “Henry, I’m a cop, I read people. And I can’t wait to play poker with you. I’m going to rob you blind.” His eyebrows went up, “Or maybe we just make it strip poker. You were thinking, if Quinn isn’t over this guy, I need to back off and protect myself, right?”

  Caught, Henry knew he was blushing.

  “And I like it because it means you want to move forward with me emotionally and I know that’s got to be tough as heck for you right now.”

  He just nodded and Quinn tightened his grasp.

  “So, I didn’t answer your question. Yes. I’m over him. There’s nothing he can offer me that I want. And right now. I only want one thing. And he’s sitting right here in front of me.”

  Pulling Henry on top of him, Quinn buried his fingers in Henry’s thick hair. “You bit my lip before.”

  “I did,” Henry laughed.

  “Do it again.”

  “You don’t have to ask twice, birthday boy.” Henry took Quinn’s full lower lip between his teeth, biting down gently at first and then sinking his teeth in a little deeper.

  Quinn’s groan was a beautiful turn-on. Feeling like a teen with uncontrollable erections, Henry heard his own sounds as he felt Quinn hardening against him.

  “Now look what you did to me.” Quinn’s eyes were smiling. “I’m going to need a cold shower.”

  Laughing, “Me too.”

  It was somehow unspoken between the two of them that they would take this really slow with the endgame being the long haul. Henry had never taken it slow before and wondered if Quinn had and his gut told him no. They were heading into uncharted territory, both knowing they’d found that someone who could change the course of their lives, forever.

  It just felt right.

  As Henry explored Quinn’s mouth, learning what he could do with his tongue to make the handsome cop moan and get harder, he kept thinking about the feeling he had all night. He had just wanted to be by Quinn’s side, be his partner.

  “Quinn, I really want you in my life.”

  Smiling, the strong cop flipped Henry onto his back, covering him with his body. As he pressed his erect cock against the bulge in Henry’s jeans, he tipped his head to the side. “I am in your life, Henry, and I’m not going anywhere.” Continuing to grind his hips into Henry’s, both men stared into one another’s eyes, grinning like teens.

  With a quick kiss on the lips, “Let me go get us some more water. I might need to pour it on myself.” Quinn laughed and got off the couch, leaving Henry breathless and gasping for air.

  Coming back from the kitchen with two water bottles in hand, Quinn stood by the couch, staring down with a smile, as he was greeted by soft snores. Looking at his watch, it was nearly 2 A.M. From a battered wooden chest, he removed an afghan his Grandmother Rose had crocheted and softly draped it over a sleeping Henry.

  Grabbing his water bottle, Quinn Callahan headed to the bathroom to end his thirty-second birthday with a very cold shower.

  Waking in the pre-dawn darkness, Henry blinked a few times fast, acclimating his dry eyes to the unfamiliar surroundings. Feeling the soft blanket, he smiled, picturing Quinn covering him. A shrouded light emerged from behind a door that was slightly cracked open, and Henry hoped that was the bathroom. Getting up, he walked down the hall and peered inside. Silently, he thanked Quinn for being so thoughtful.

  Down the hall were two more doors, one slightly ajar. Peeking into the first room, he stood still until his eyes again adjusted, picking up the white from the bed sheet. At the far end of the bed, facing the center as he slept on his left side, was Quinn, his face looking so young and beautiful in repose. Henry held his breath as he watched him sleep. This man’s beauty was not just in the way he looked. It was in everything about who he was, and in his heart and in how he treated people. That was evident watching him at his party. This was a man people loved and respected and Henry knew those were things earned through reciprocation.

  Pulling off his tee-shirt, he dropped it to the floor and did the same with his jeans, kicking them away. With a few deep, cleansing breaths he psyched himself up. Wanting so desperately to feel Quinn molded against him, the irony didn’t evade him that based on where Quinn was sleeping, he would be the front spoon, with Quinn behind him – the same position Cody always appeared in the nightmare. Wishing Quinn was on the other end of the bed or facing the other direction, Henry had hoped to spoon him – not the oth
er way around.

  He’s not Cody. Don’t put that on him.

  Sliding under the duvet into the cool sheets, Henry inched his way backward, grabbing a pillow along the way, until he could feel the heat from Quinn’s body. He stilled, so that he wouldn’t wake him and listened to his steady breathing for a few minutes. When he was certain that he had not disturbed him, he moved back the last length so that he could feel Quinn’s warm skin against him.

  “Mmmm,” Quinn wrapped an arm around his waist, pulling him tightly against his naked body as he inserted a leg between Henry’s, tangling their feet as if they’d slept that way for a thousand nights. “You found me,” Quinn’s voice was full of sleep.

  Yes I did and I don’t think I’ll ever let you go, was Henry’s last thought as he let himself relax and fall back to sleep wrapped in Quinn.

  His slumber was so deep and relaxed that he never felt Quinn slowly run his hand down his arm, softly kiss his neck or get out of bed. What finally woke him was the growl of his hungry stomach responding to the heady aroma of bacon wafting in from the kitchen. Smiling, Henry stretched underneath the blanket marveling at how something so new could feel so comfortable.

  Quinn Callahan was a sight to be seen in the morning. Dark hair askew, sexy, bad boy stubble covering the lower half of his handsome face and dark-rimmed glasses that brought out the paleness and clarity of the blue in his eyes. Bare-chested and in his ripped jeans, Henry wondered if he was hallucinating Mr. September from some hot cop calendar.

  His beautiful smile erupted the moment he laid eyes on Henry, “Was I too noisy?”

  Henry shook his head, no. “My stomach started poking me to wake up the minute it smelled bacon cooking.”

  Grabbing the Mr. Coffee carafe, Quinn filled up a police department mug and handed it to Henry.

  “I slept really well,” Henry remarked.

  “Do you usually?” Quinn started laying the bacon strips on paper towel to drain.

  “No,” Henry shook his head. “That was why I started doing Yoga. I was having really awful nightmares.”

  Quinn stopped and looked up. “After the attack?” His brows were drawn together over serious eyes.