When State Trooper Travis Kinslow is injured right before Thanksgiving, the only positive is that for once he won't be working during the holidays. Since he has no family, Travis was absorbed into his best friend Joe's, and he considers them as good as his own. Everyone except Joe's brother Noah. Travis has been in love with the younger man for much of his life, but he's always kept his distance.<br><br>As an ER nurse, Noah is a caretaker by nature. When his brother's best friend is hurt, he's happy to help Travis while he heals. He's only ever allowed himself to think of Travis as the next best thing to an older brother, but by the light of the Christmas tree, Noah finally sees Travis's true feelings. And in that moment, everything changes.<br><br>When faced with opposition and a Christmas nothing like they imagined, will their hopes for the future be enough to carry them through?

His Needs

Noah’s smile was sweet, and he closed the distance between us. Instead of sitting on the coffee table like he’d been doing for the last two weeks, he sat next to me. Close, so that we were touching, but angled so we could see each other without craning our necks.


“You’re the reason I knew I liked boys when I was seven,” he said simply, his voice soft and full of affection. “But you were Joe’s best friend, my older brother for all intents and purposes, and I knew I didn’t have even a glimmer of a chance.” He paused and then his smile turned rueful. “Well, I didn’t know then. But by the time I was thirteen, I figured shit out and what cocks were really for, and what I wanted to do with them. It was then that I shoved all thoughts of you firmly into the friend box, and I never looked back. I couldn’t allow myself to.”


Chapter 21