Closer: Bay City Paranormal Investigation, Book 4

black braid from his back, lacing his fingers together on top of his head to hold it up. “Ready to head back?”
Sam grimaced, but nodded. “The sooner we get back to the house, the sooner we can get a shower and a cold drink.”
“Those aren’t the only things I want.” Letting his braid drop, Bo reached over and smacked Sam’s ass. “Come on.”
One look at the hungry gleam in Bo’s dark eyes told Sam exactly what he wanted. Anticipation gave Sam the energy to face the long run back. Following Bo, he turned and forced his feet to move faster.
    By the time they reached the house where they were staying, Sam’s feet ached and a painful stitch was running up his side. He dragged himself up the steps to the covered porch and fell into the nearest chair.
    “Damn, Bo. You about killed me.” Sam snatched a damp beach towel from the porch railing and mopped the sweat from his face. “How’s your leg? Okay?”
    “It’s fine, just like it’s been ever since we left Sunset Lodge.” Bo shook his head. “You worry too much.”
It was true, Sam knew. The near-fatal bite Bo had sustained from the otherworldly creature at South Bay High over six months ago had been healed for ages, and had only bothered him when they’d been near the closed portal at Sunset Lodge. He hadn’t experienced so much as a twinge since they’d left the Lodge. But then again, they hadn’t run across any more portals since then. The fear of what might happen to Bo next time they did was a constant, nagging presence in Sam’s mind.
“I know.” Sam took Bo’s hand, pulling him closer. “I try not to worry about you, but it isn’t easy.”
Bo didn’t say anything, but the look in his eyes spoke volumes. He’d been quite vocal about his own concerns for Sam’s well-being. Since Sunset Lodge they’d had more than their share of fights where Bo had wheedled, begged and finally ordered Sam to seek out the treatment that just might break his psychic connection to the interdimensional portals. Sam had consistently refused, on the grounds that destroying his ability to open and close the portals would leave them all vulnerable to the nightmare things living on the other side.
Sam had come to regret sharing his theory about his psychic abilities with Bo—that they might, just possibly, be a rare form of epilepsy, and thus treatable with anticonvulsant drugs. It was only a theory, and a farfetched one at that, but Bo had clung to it with dogged determination. Though he no longer brought up the subject, it hung dark and heavy between them, and Sam wished it wouldn’t.
“Next time we go for a run here, let’s go out on the road, where it’s halfway shady,” Sam suggested in an attempt to dispel the cloud of tension. “The beach is too damn hot.”
Laughing, Bo plopped onto Sam’s lap, making him feel a thousand times better. “Agreed. I haven’t run on the beach in years. It’s harder than I remembered it being.” He tucked a finger under Sam’s chin, lifted his face and pressed a swift, salty kiss to his lips. “We’ll take tomorrow off, then do a road run the next day.”
That suited Sam just fine. They still had ten days of a two-week vacation left. Both of them had agreed not to slack off on their running just because they were on vacation, but Sam figured he’d rather get fat than put himself through another hellish hour like the one he’d just endured. Jogging along in the shade on a surface that didn’t shift with each step sounded like pure luxury in comparison.
“You’re on.” Smiling, Sam licked a drop of sweat from Bo’s throat. “It was really nice of Andre’s sister to let us use her house for free.”
“It certainly was.” Bo wound an arm around Sam’s shoulders and rested his cheek against Sam’s head. “Especially since between everyone at BCPI, we’re taking up a whole month when they could’ve potentially rented it out.”
“I just hope we don’t go back to work as sunburned as David and Cecile did. And they were only here for a week.” Sam nuzzled under Bo’s arm, breathing in the luscious scent of healthy, sweaty man. Bo let out a yip. Chuckling, Sam wrapped both arms around Bo and snuggled him close. “God, it’s beautiful here. Perfect for getting away from everything.”
Bo nodded his silent agreement against Sam’s hair. The house was situated on a long stretch of beach between the town of Gulf Shores and the end of the narrow peninsula jutting into the mouth of Mobile Bay.