Page 19

18

Paul

S omething is moving against me, my dick achingly hard, and someone is groaning quietly. I’m pressed against a warm body that smells like Tide laundry soap, team shower body wash, and warm skin. Familiar and warm. I don’t know what time it is, but I also don’t give a shit.

I take his mouth in an aggressive kiss, making him take me, and pushing my body weight against him. I push him onto his back and straddle his hips. Reaching for his hands, I pin them next to his head, and he arches into me. His cock throbs, and he pushes his hips against me.

“Someone likes being restrained.” I nip at his ear, and he groans. It’s so much hotter than I expected it to be. There’s something enticing about having this strong, athletic man whimpering under me that is going to quickly become addictive.

“Only by you.” Brendon’s breathy, sleep-rough words are a shot of adrenaline to my system.

I push my ass against the hard ridge of his dick with more pressure, and he groans a throaty sound for me.

“Hmm, do you like being teased?” I drag my lips along his scruffy jaw. I want to devour his mouth while we take pleasure from each other’s bodies until we’re weak and sated.

“You’re a real ass, you know that?” Brendon whines when I slide my ass against him again.

I chuckle and bite at the skin of his neck. “I do have a pretty nice ass.”

A shudder runs through him, and I bite him again, loving his reaction.

“You’re so responsive.” I drag one hand down his chest and pinch his nipple when I find it. He arches off the bed with a strangled moan and grabs the back of my neck with his now free hand, yanking my lips to his in an aggressive kiss.

I nip at his lip, and he opens for me, my tongue sliding into his mouth to explore him. His approval vibrates through his chest, and I let myself sink onto him.

He threads his fingers through the hand I have on the bed. It makes my heart lurch. I can’t keep my emotions out of this. If he pulls away and puts me back in the friend zone, it’ll break my heart.

“Pull my cock out,” I growl against his lips. His free hand struggles to do what I’ve demanded, but he manages to reach inside my boxer briefs. The heat of his palm and the grip of his fingers around me make me moan. “I’m going to fuck your fist, mark you with my cum.”

“Yes, please,” he whimpers.

Reaching for the lube I have stashed under the bed, I dribble some in his palm until we’re both so fucking slick.

I take his mouth again, thrusting into his hand and grinding my ass against his dick at the same time. It feels so fucking good to have him desperate beneath me and his air filling my lungs.

“I’m so close,” Brendon moans, his grip on my dick tightening.

“Don’t fucking come yet.” I squeeze his throat, choking off a whimper and riding him harder, chasing my own release.

I shudder as my orgasm crashes over me, sending electric pulses of pleasure through my body and curving my shoulders forward. I’m breathing so hard it takes me a minute to realize Brendon is almost sobbing with his need to come.

“Good boy,” I breathe out and push his hand away to wrap my own around him. His hips jerk, thrusting into my hand as I sit up and use my free hand to paint my cum on his skin and top lip.

“Taste me while you come.”

He licks me from his skin, and I lean forward to press on his chest, but he grabs my hand and sucks on two of my fingers as he explodes beneath me. His cum mixes with mine, and it’s the hottest thing I’ve ever seen. I can’t tell whose is whose, and I love it.

Brendon sags on the mattress, panting and sweaty.

“Not a bad way to start the day.” I chuckle, and he flips me off.

“You’re an asshole.”

I lean down to kiss him, getting a hint of myself on his tongue, then bite his lower lip.

“Come on, I didn’t make you wait that long.”

I kiss him again and climb off him, needing to piss. Putting my dick away, I head to the bathroom. Brendon grabs a shirt off the floor and starts cleaning himself up.

I do my business and wash my hands as someone knocks on the door. I freeze for a second, hoping Brendon is decent.

The door opens, and I hear Brendon say, “Are we having a no pants day? ’Cause I’m down for it.”

“No, I need you to trace this bite mark.” That’s Jeremy’s voice. What the hell did he just say? Since I’m in here, I brush my teeth quickly to make sure I don’t have cum breath.

“Like, the individual teeth or, like, the circle it makes?” Brendon asks, and I am thoroughly confused.

“Each tooth,” Jeremy instructs as I open the door.

“Now I feel weird being the only one with pants on,” Brendon complains around a pen cap he has in his mouth.

“Why don’t you have pants on?” I ask Jeremy.

“I needed someone to trace this and didn’t want to wait too long.” Jeremy shrugs like that sentence makes sense.

“And why is Brendon drawing on your neck?” I cross my arms and cock my head at the two of them.

“I’m going to get it tattooed.” I must have a strange look on my face because Jeremy looks at me and starts laughing.

“Fuck yes!” Brendon shouts. “That sounds like a terrible idea, and I’m one hundred percent on board for this.” He caps the pen and slaps Jeremy’s shoulder. “You should put pants on, though.”

“Hang on.” I hold up my hands and step closer to the disaster duo. “Why are you going to tattoo whatever that is on your neck?”

“It’s Preston’s teeth.” Jeremy shrugs. “To show him I’m in this relationship all the way.”

“Are the two of you sharing a brain now?” I ask, looking between the two of them. “You could just, I don’t know, tell him that?”

Brendon and Jeremy look at each other and shake their heads. “Nah, this is better,” Jeremy says.

“You guys are idiots.” I huff. “Do you have an appointment already or what?”

“No, I figured we could find a place and get it done.” Jeremy shrugs again. “It shouldn’t take that long.” He moves to the door. “I’m going to get dressed.”

Since I can’t leave these two unsupervised, I head to my dresser.

“I’m obviously driving.” I pull open my dresser and start digging for clothes. “I want it on record that this is a stupid idea, and I will not be taking any responsibility.”

“Duly noted and ignored.” Brendon claps me on the shoulder, and Jeremy leaves.

In just a few minutes, we’re climbing into my car while Jeremy googles tattoo shops.

“There’s one over on Ashland Drive; it’s like four miles from us,” he says and turns on the directions so we can find it.

“I want a neck tattoo,” Brendon says, and I am not surprised. “Will you bite me so I can match Jeremy?” He looks at me, and I can feel my face heat with a blush. I do a lot of shit for Brendon. No one is surprised if he sits on my lap or steals my drink from my hand anymore, but bite him? In public?

“What? You want me to bite you?” I sputter as we pull into the parking lot of the shop.

“Well, I mean, if Jeremy did it and Preston found out, he would murder both of us. So, if you do it, you’ll be saving our lives,” Brendon explains, and damn it, he’s got a good point, but still.

“Okay, I’m going in,” Jeremy announces and gets out of the car.

We follow while Brendon begs me to do it. It’s not that I’m against biting him. Seeing my cum on him was hot as fuck. I’m sure seeing my teeth on him will be too, but that’s not something we can explain away when people ask about it. I know he won’t make up some story about it; he’ll flat out tell people it was me. But when he looks at me with those big puppy dog eyes and a pouty lip, I know I’m fucked.

The place has black-and-white checkered tile floor, light gray walls with artwork all over the place, and very bright lighting. There's a table and chairs set up around the room and what looks like a red room divider in the back in case someone needs privacy.

A beautiful woman with green hair and loads of tattoos talks to Jeremy while I try to hold strong against Brendon.

“Come on, I’ll make it worth your while.” Brendon wags his eyebrows at me, and I glare at him.

“It’s a horrible idea. Why do you want this?”

The smile drops from his face, and it turns serious. “Because you’re my person.”

I huff but nod. “Fine, if you really want to do this, I’ll do it.”

A huge smile brightens his face, and it’s everything I’ve wanted to see for days. He jumps up and down, then walks to the counter to talk to the same woman Jeremy talked to.

Brendon attempts to flirt with her, but she is completely not interested, and I drop down into a seat, hating that he’s flirting with her. He can’t openly flirt with me, and it’s my fault. I don’t think he would care all that much if everyone knew, but I’m just not ready yet. So, this is my punishment, I guess.

A short, thin man with long brown hair pulled back in a ponytail and full sleeve tattoos calls Jeremy back, and Brendon comes to sit with a clipboard and paperwork.

It doesn’t take long for him to fill it out, and he’s so excited he can’t sit still, so he’s looking at all the art on the walls, flipping through the artists’ books, checking his phone, then comes back to me.

He stands between my knees and puts his hand on my shoulder. “Bite me.”

There’s a ridge in his jeans that tells me he’s turned on by the idea, and I’m not sure which part does it for him. My teeth on his skin? Being in public?

“Kneel.” The word is deep and commanding. Brendon drops to his knees and sits back with a pink blush on his cheeks that I love. Not taking my eyes off his or thinking too hard about it, I slide my hand into the back of his hair and hold it tight to pull his head to the side, then lean forward and drag my nose along his bared neck. His breathing shudders and goose bumps break out on his skin before I sink my teeth into the exposed flesh. I don’t bite him hard, just enough to leave an impression, and he whimpers.

Brendon shifts, running his hand over his dick as I release him, and sits back. I’m achingly hard and want to shove my cock down his fucking throat, right here in the waiting room.

Brendon stands, adjusting himself, and I do the same, then we head back to where Jeremy is getting tattooed.

The tattoo artist finishes up and wipes his skin off with some kind of cleaner. It’s a simple mark on Jeremy’s skin that Preston is going to shit a brick over.

Brendon lopes across the space like a puppy and drops down into the seat Jeremy just got out of.

“Me next!”

The tattoo artist raises an eyebrow but shrugs.

“Okay then.” He sanitizes everything and gets set up again. “I don’t know who bit you, but they need to do it again. This has faded too fast. Unless you want me to just wing it.”

“No!” I snap, but when everyone turns to look at me, my face heats. Fuck. That was possessive as fuck. Take a chill pill, caveman.

Jeremy heads to the mirror they have on the wall to look at his ink, and I head to Brendon. Leaning over him, I bite him a lot harder this time. Brendon lets out a pitiful, aroused sound, and shifts in his seat. When I stand, his face is bright red and he’s pulling on his jeans, probably to give his dick more room. The tattoo artist sighs, and I move back to lean against the wall with my arms crossed.

The entire thing takes only a few minutes, and when he gets up out of the chair to look in the mirror, he gives me a look that can only mean one thing. Sex.

With a smug look on his face, we head to the counter for him to pay and get care instructions. I listen to her and take the paper she hands him since I know he’s going to lose it and forget what she said.

“I’m hungry. Let’s get some lunch.” Brendon smacks my stomach with the back of his hand, and we climb back into the car while Jeremy buries his face in his phone.

The three of us fuck around for a while, getting lunch and finding an arcade to waste time at before heading back to the dorms. There are some dumbasses with cameras standing around, but they don’t bother us as we enter the building. Thankfully, the reporters are dying down and not following Preston around everywhere anymore.

“Man, I’m ready for a nap.” Brendon yawns and stretches.

“You’re ready to get fucked,” I mutter, and Jeremy laughs. The elevator opens on our floor, and we head down the hallway toward Jeremy and Preston’s room. I, for one, am not going to miss Preston seeing that fucking tattoo for the first time.

“Uh, whatcha doing?” Jeremy stops at his door and turns to stare at us.

“Movies and naps,” Brendon says like the answer should be obvious. I don’t know if he’s serious or not, but I am definitely not cuddling with Jeremy.

“I’m not going to die today.” I back away with my hands raised.

Jeremy opens the door and stops as all hell breaks loose. Inside is his mom and grandma. Mrs. Albrooke appears to be recording, and I hear Jeremy’s sister say, “Nice hickies,” as Brendon yells and pushes Jeremy out of the way to get to the woman. Mrs. Albrooke gives him a one-armed hug as Grandma Brown hugs Jeremy.

“How did you get in here?” he asks his grandma.

“Oh my God, what is on your neck?” Stacy’s squeal through the phone has both the older women turning to look at Jeremy’s neck while he mumbles “Fuck,” then laughter erupts from the phone.

“What the hell is that, Jeremy?!” Mrs. Albrooke demands, and I snort. I’m betting he didn’t think about his parents finding it.

“It’s Preston’s teeth,” Brendon tells her helpfully. “Look, I’ve got one too!” He turns his head to show her, and she glances at him.

“Why did Preston bite you? Oh no, you guys aren’t doing orgies or something, are you?” Jeremy’s mom’s face falls like she’s in physical pain.

I burst out laughing, doubled over, and Brendon starts smiling like this is the best day of his life while Jeremy pales.

“Orgies? What the fuck, Mom?”

“Don’t cuss at your mother,” Mr. Albrooke says through the phone.

“Why would you get that tattooed on your skin?” His mom is horrified, but Stacy, Jordan, and Keith are all yelling to get a better look at it when the door opens. Preston and Lily walk in, and Jeremy turns on his boyfriend.

“Did you know they were coming?” he demands, staring wide-eyed at the big man.

“Of course. I made plans for them to be here to meet Lily.” He’s confused, and Jeremy looks like he’s ready to have a mental breakdown.

Grandma walks over and gives Preston a hug, his smile softening when he looks at her, and carefully wraps his arms around her. That’s weird as fuck and makes me uncomfortable. Since when does Preston look like that at anyone? Has he been possessed?

“Mrs. Albrooke, can you make taco salad?” Brendon pleads, sticking his bottom lip out.

“Are you having sex with Preston too?” she asks Brendon, who pales when he looks at Preston.

“Absolutely not!” Brendon all but yells, and I snort, trying to hide my laugh. The idea is hilarious.

“What the hell kind of a question is that?” Preston asks, clearly confused.

“They both have your teeth marks tattooed on their necks! What are we supposed to think?” Mrs. Albrooke all but yells, frazzled.

“Excuse me?” Preston grabs Jeremy’s face and jerks it to one side, then the other. “What the hell is that?” he demands.

“I got a tattoo of your teeth marks.” Jeremy’s face is so bright red it looks like he has a sunburn. “Look, it seemed a lot more romantic in my head and didn’t involve my mother being here when you found out!”

Preston blinks, then starts laughing. “You’re insane.”

He’s definitely possessed. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him smile, much less laugh.

“I think you meant an idiot,” I pipe up, shaking my head at the lot of them.

“What the hell is on Brendon’s neck then?” Preston points at a very nervous Brendon. “That had better not be mine or Jeremy’s teeth.”

I step in front of Brendon. “They’re mine.”

“Yeah, nobody touched your fuck boy,” Brendon says.

“What did you call him?” Grandma asks.

Preston’s sister Lily gets introduced, and Preston mumbles, “Fuck it,” before taking Jeremy’s hand.

“Jeremy, I love you more than I ever thought possible. My life is not complete without you. I am not complete without you.” He drops to one knee, and everyone falls into stunned silence. “Will you marry me?”

“Dude!” Brendon yells, grabbing onto me and shaking me in his excitement for our friend.

“These bands aren’t perfect. Like us, they’ve been struck and dented, but the flaws in the metal make them unique and strong.”

My throat catches with emotion. These two have been through the wringer the last few months, and I’m so glad they have each other, but I’m also jealous as fuck.

Jeremy drops to his knees and kisses Preston with tears in his eyes.

“Is that a yes?” he asks with his lips against Jeremy’s.

“Yes,” Jeremy croaks. “I love you so fucking much.”

They wrap their arms around each other in a tight hug, and it’s so fucking sweet. Preston isn’t one to show emotion, ever, so seeing this is heavy. I feel honored to be a witness to it. It gives us a peek into what Jeremy gets with him.

They talk for a few minutes, and Jeremy’s mom and grandma are sniffing back tears.

“Of course I will marry you and fight with you and love you and build a life with you. You’re never getting rid of me,” Jeremy says.

We all cheer and crowd them, wrapping them in a hug. This is the coolest thing I’ve been a part of.

“You’re a part of the Albrooke family now, and we won’t ever let you go,” Mrs. Albrooke says, kissing Preston’s cheek, and a pang of sadness hits me square in the chest. My dad doesn’t care about what’s happening in my life. My grandparents do, but I doubt my dad would even answer the phone if I called him to tell him I got engaged. I always wanted parents like the Albrookes, ones that cared too much.

“I’m taking your name when we get married,” Preston says with the utmost seriousness, sliding the ring onto Jeremy’s finger. “I don’t want to be a Carmichael anymore. Make me an Albrooke.”

Brendon looks at me with an expression I can’t read. It’s soft but sad somehow? He reaches for my hand and squeezes it. A knot forms in my throat, and I wish I was able to kiss him right now, right here, but I’m not ready. And I don’t know what this is between us.

Preston starts getting antsy and shrugs everyone off, so we step back and give him room. We all know he’s not a hugger, except for Jeremy and Grandma apparently, so I’m surprised he let us do a group hug in the first place.

I push Brendon toward the door and tell them we’ll see them later.

“But . . . but . . . taco salad,” Brendon whines.

“Mrs. Albrooke isn’t making you taco salad in the dorms.” I give him a stern look and push him down the hallway, then into our room. Once the door is closed, I shove him toward the bathroom. “Besides, I’m tired. It’s nap time and you need a shower.”