Page 16 of Approved (The Dapper Duck #1)

Chapter sixteen

TYLER

When West came to the shop to help with the wedding order, it was unexpected, opening my heart to him more.

His hands glided over my sore muscles when we showered, making me feel wanted and cared for.

What was he hiding?

Everything he presented to me couldn’t be real.

I knew people couldn’t be trusted; they would tell you one thing, but something else would happen behind your back.

As his hands moved over my skin, I closed my eyes and soaked in the feeling of his hands on me.

The warm water relaxed me.

He pulled my back tight against his stomach, his arms around my waist, then kissed my shoulder.

Are you ready to get out and maybe get some sleep?

He wasn’t going to push me for anything more.

Was it possible he enjoyed being with me without the sex?

If he wanted more, I would certainly be game, but the idea of snuggling until we slept after a long day sounded really good, and that was what he offered me.

“Yeah. You’re okay with that?”

“Of course. I like being with you.” He turned off the water, and we stepped out of the shower.

He narrowed his eyes, got quiet, and looked at the ground, not at me.

He dried me off efficiently, and I watched while he did the same to himself.

Unable to help myself, I stood there and watched the show, which I would happily observe repeatedly.

He caught me looking, and my response was to shrug, then smile at him.

Besides that brief moment, he continued looking annoyed, which worried me.

“West, is there something wrong?”

“Well. No.” He sat down.

“Actually. Can you sit?”

My stomach rolled.

He would tell me that this thing we barely started was done and that it was fun, but I wasn’t what he wanted after all.

He turned so he faced me on the bed, then took both my hands.

“Tyler…”

“Say it fast so I can….” He narrowed his eyes.

“Please.” He said it quietly.

I looked at him, gave him the respect he deserved, and listened.

“Tyler. I really like you a lot. It’s important that you understand that it isn’t just about sex. I like you so much as a person. I want to keep taking this further.”

I’m sure I looked shocked.

“What?”

He reached up, pushed some hair off my forehead, and gently kissed me.

“Tyler, to me, this is more than sex.”

“Oh.” I squeaked.

“I assume that is what you want, too.”

I blinked at him, unsure how to process what he said—my brain was short-circuiting.

He wanted me and accepted me as I was.

Was that even possible?

Again, I pushed the feelings of doubt aside.

Was this even real?

“Yeah. It’s good.” I didn’t know what else to say, so we got into bed together.

My brain was going a million miles an hour, and I was exhausted, plus my body was tired.

Once we were under the blankets, he held me against him, and it was one of the nicest things ever.

Over the next few weeks, West brought us dinner or had something delivered when we worked late.

Sometimes, he stayed and helped with the orders, and the amount he could do expanded each time.

While we worked together, we laughed and teased, then would fall into one of our beds at the end of the night.

Our relationship grew stronger, and my heart told me to be open to the love he showed me.

That nagging feeling that this was some sort of trick always persisted, so I expected it to blow up like when I was a teen.

I had trusted them because they were my parents and siblings, but they had lied for months.

All of them had tricked me.

West took the night off, and we spent it with East and Allison.

While he grilled steaks, Charlie screamed his fuzzy head off because he wanted his share of dinner.

He was strictly a house cat, never interested in going outside, even when doors were left open.

I suspected he had had enough of that in his life.

“Uncle Tyler, make sure you feed Charlie,” Allison said, reaching for me to pick her up.

West’s brother and niece welcomed me and embraced me as part of their little family, and knowing I was part of this unit filled my heart more.

It felt good, and the only thing that kept me from being all in was fear.

As we said good night to East, West wrapped his arms around my waist and kissed my shoulder.

“Let’s head to bed, you have a long day tomorrow,” he said against my ear.

I melted into him.

He held my hand and led me to the bedroom.

“Do you mind if I take a quick shower?”

“Do you want company?” He smiled and wiggled his eyebrows.

“Why don’t you get naked for me and wait in bed?” I didn’t want to get distracted by him.

He gave me a big smile and pulled me against him.

“I can do that.”

When I got out of the shower, the door was open slightly, and I could hear West talking.

“I know East. It’s not something you just blurt out. I have to make sure he’s ready.” I hadn’t meant to overhear his conversation, but I had, and now I knew he was about to destroy me.

I had known this was too good to be true.

All the memories from when I was fifteen flooded back to me.

When I told my parents I was gay, they were so supportive, said to me that they loved me and were proud of me for trusting them with my truth.

It amazed me that my parents, whom I thought would have a problem with my sexuality, actually embraced me, even supported me.

It was easy to recall that at 3:00 a.

m.

on a Thursday, two men entered my room and dragged me from my bed.

“You are coming with us, where the devil will be removed from you.” One of the two guys said.

Saying nothing else, they dragged me into the hall where my parents stood and watched.

“This is for the best, Tyler. You will be better when you come back. The perversion will be gone.” My mother said as these strangers pulled me down the hall while I kicked and screamed.

I begged that they not do this, that I would change.

They ignored me, and my parents closed the door as I passed the threshold.

After being in a car for hours, I was delivered to a conversion camp where they were determined to make me not gay.

They would abuse me, starve me, and force me to pray.

For the first month, I fought it, but I realized that none of this would end until I gave them what they wanted.

When I told my parents and the people at the camp that I was no longer gay because it had been the devil in me, I was finally released.

They sent me back to my parents’ house, and three days after I was back, I left forever.

I lived with friends until my aunt took me in.

She lied to my mother about where I was until I finished high school, and to this day, I don’t understand how sisters could be so different from each other.

I went to community college and planned to open my shop as soon as I could.

The ability to stand on my own was a goal I intended to fulfill, and with that came my promise to never trust anybody ever again.

Jamie was the first and only person in all those years who managed to get me to break that promise to myself.

Now I knew West had a secret that was about to break everything between us, and my heart felt crushed.

Whatever he talked about involved me, and I knew the only secrets were bad ones.

He would probably tell me how it was a good time, but I wasn’t enough or too much.

I had believed in him, but I understood why he couldn’t stay with me.

As I got into bed, the fact that this was our last time together made my heart beat harder.

Had I told him about my past, would it have made this easier?

Would it have been different?

If he didn’t want me, he didn’t want me, knowing my past would have just made him pity me, and I didn’t want that.

West walked out of the bathroom, gave me a huge smile, and stalked over to me.

As always, when I looked at him, it took my breath away.

He was so captivating, and I was so average.

No wonder he didn’t want me anymore.

I watched as he slipped under the covers.

“Hi.” He lay on his side with a smile, his hand slid up my hip and side.

“Hi.” I leaned in and kissed him.

It wasn’t long before my kisses became tongue-heavy and my hands started to roam over his body.

I loved the feeling of hard and warm muscles under his skin.

I could feel his cock thicken against my thigh.

The way our bodies responded to each other was the very definition of pure desire—obviously, it wasn’t our sexual chemistry that made him want to leave.

Tomorrow I’ll kiss him goodbye and let this be a fond memory, save myself from some of the pain he would dump on me.

Tonight, though, I would enjoy the feel of him in me, give him my body completely because I had fallen for him even if he didn’t feel the same.

“Tyler, I am crazy about you.” He murmured while he kissed up my neck.

Why would he say something like that?

I chalked it up to lust talk, and my brain pretended the words were real.

I kissed down his jaw, and sucked on the warm, tender skin behind his ear.

He made a long, low moan of approval.

His hands ran down my back to grip my ass, squeezing the globes hard, then he pulled them slightly apart.

I wiggled into his touch, moved my legs over his so he had better access to the area I wanted him to touch.

He took my obvious invitation, his fingers slid into my crack and slipped over the sensitive bundle of nerves of my hole.

“West. I want you to fuck me.” After the words left my mouth electric ran up my spine, and I could feel my cock throb.

He stopped kissing me and seemed to freeze for a moment.

Then he pulled back and looked at me, his pupils completely blown, the color of his eyes undetectable.

“I. Yes. God, Tyler, are you sure? I don’t want to push you.”

He was so sweet.

“I am the one who asked for it.” Apparently, that made sense to him, and he smiled.

“Right. Do you have supplies?”

When West and I had agreed to be exclusive, I had purchased supplies, which I had stashed.

I reached into the drawer next to the bed without breaking the kiss.

The way his hands moved up and down my body made me tingle, and the ache to have him in me grew.

“West. In me.” I could feel his lips turn up as we rearranged on the bed.

“Let me open you.” He whispered in my ear.

“I can’t wait until you are ready for me.” He pushed my thighs back so I was exposed to him.

“So perfect.” He said as he gazed at my opening.

He coated his fingers with lube, then ran them over the nerve endings, which made me shudder.

Gently, he kissed my inner thigh, then the side of my knee, and he licked my calf while his finger slipped inside of me.

The feeling was heavenly, and I wanted more immediately, my body welcomed him eagerly.

“Give me more West.” He chuckled and kissed the inside of my knee again.

“You are so greedy for me.” He made a quiet hum noise, then a second finger joined the first, slowly working deeper inside.

Everything inside of me lit up, my cock leaked for him and the ache inside of me got more voracious.

“Please, West.”

“You are so tight. I have to make sure this is good for you, Baby. You’ll get plenty of me.”

A noise that was clearly a whine came out of me that I was most definitely not proud of it, but it wasn’t something I could control.

His fingers pushed knuckle deep, and he crooked them.

“Oh. Shit. West.” Going in a second time, he gave my prostate another rub, which made me arch into him.

There was so much about how he treated me that was tender and loving, like I was precious to him, and it mattered how I felt, but when he touched me there, it shattered me.

I couldn’t wait any longer.

“Please, West. Please fill me.”

“Okay, Baby.” That was the second time he used the pet name so easily.

My heart fluttered and flipped in my chest.

There was so much I loved about him and wanted with him, but tonight I will take this for myself and hold on to it when I am alone again.

With my head back, I heard the sound of the condom wrapper opening.

We probably didn’t even need it, but we hadn’t had the conversation; it was something I had planned to do soon.

He leaned over my body his lips teased up my stomach, then gently sucked my nipple, then a nip that made me moan, the feeling was incredibly intense.

West’s fingers returned to my entrance, then slipped easily inside of me again, and I was unable to keep myself from trying to get him deeper.

“Please, Cock. Need.” He growled softly as he kissed me deeply.

“You want me in you, Tyler? You want to feel my thick cock buried in your tight hole?”

I had never been into dirty talk, but his words made everything in me shudder, and I ached for him.

“Ungh, West.”

“Are you okay like this? Do you want to change positions?”

I took the time to consider his question genuinely.

Some positions would feel more intense, but what I wanted was to see my lover, to see this incredible man whom I only had for a little more time.

I wanted to see him fall apart while he was inside of me.

“Like this. I want to stay like this.”

He moved between my thighs, and stroked his cock slowly before he slotted against me.

Rarely did I have penetrative sex, because it was too intimate to share with a hookup.

West was someone I cared about and wanted to share myself with completely.

His eyes were on mine, dark with desire as he started to breach me.

Usually, I anticipated the burn or possible pain, but with him, all my thoughts were on how much I wanted to be with him in this way.

I was so gone for him.

As he started to slip past the tight muscle, I felt my body open for him, his crown fully inside, my body wrapped around him.

He moved slowly, as I relaxed, and each inch overwhelmed me in the best way.

It felt exquisite to have his thick, cock inside me, and when he bottomed out a tear slipped down my cheek.

“Baby? Are you okay?”

“Perfect. You feel perfect.” This thing between us couldn’t end.

In that moment, I decided I had to fight for our future, no matter what, because this feeling was what I had always wanted.

He leaned in and kissed me, his tongue dove into my mouth, his erection solid inside me, and it made me feel full.

“Now, please move before I die.”

His mouth returned to mine as he rolled his hips, the movement rubbing against my prostate.

“You like that? Feel good?” This man buried inside me was going to make me crazy by going slow and he damn well knew what he was doing.

“West you need to fuck me.”

He looked down at me and had the nerve to raise an eyebrow at me, like he was questioning my logic.

My entire body was on fire, my ass ached in the best way, and my cock was steel hard.

The teasing he did while we were having sex made my heart open up.

My feelings were so complex and confusing.

“I’ll fuck you. Soon.” Then he rolled his hips again and started to move.

His cock slid out slowly then he pushed back it felt amazing as his length rubbed along the sensitive nerves.

“FUCK!! West.” He chuckled.

Then he slid back and pulled me hard against him, my knees at my chest, then he started to push into me hard.

Each time he thrust his body, it met mine hard, and sparks splintered through me.

I had never experienced anything like this before—it was life-altering.

“God, Baby, you feel incredible. So tight. Squeezing me hard. So good.”

His pace picked up, becoming something punishing, which made me needy and desperate.

The orgasm he chased made all of the nerves in my body light up.

“Yes. Please, yes. Can’t. Soon, West.”

I didn’t even need to touch my cock, my balls were tight and ached.

The feeling that built was intense, and I looked at West, his eyes on me.

There was so much emotion there, and it was everything to me.

There was a current that ran through my body as my release swept over me.

All I could do was call out West’s name as he buried himself deeply and his cock throbbed inside me as his climax overtook him.

I’d never come without being touched, and that was the most intense orgasm of my life.

West put his elbows on either side of my head, our foreheads together.

“Jesus.” He muttered against my lips.

“Yeah.”

We stayed there for a few minutes, finally we lay next to each other as we recovered from what we had just done.

I watched as he went into the bathroom, returned with a wash cloth, and wiped me off.

It was such a loving gesture, making me feel cared for.

When he got back in bed, he was smiling.

He pulled me up against his side.

“That was amazing. Thank you.” He kissed the side of my head.

“Mmmm. Amazing.” My eyelids were already heavy, and my body was completely boneless.

That was beyond what I had even fantasized about.

I didn’t even know that was possible, but here we were.