Page 25 of His Secret Betrayal (Cedarwood Valley Duology #2)

He lets out a small groan, his grip tightening as he speeds up. Unable to help myself, my hips jerk forward. The dual sensation of our cocks rubbing together as his hands stroke has me hissing in pleasure.

“Luke, shit. I’m not going to last long.”

“Good. Me either.”

I cup his chin, my thumb running along his bottom lip. “Open.”

His mouth falls open on a whine as our cockheads rub together, our precum mixing with one another as the tip of my thumb slips into his warm mouth.

Without any further prompting, he begins to suck.

I groan, the sound loud and drawn out. The heat gathering at the base of my spine tells me how close I am, and my balls begin to tighten.

“You’re so goddamned sexy like that,” I praise him.

His eyelids flutter at the praise, his eyes going glassy as he moans around my thumb.

In the end, it’s his look of pure bliss that sets me off.

My mouth falls open on a ragged exhale as the pleasure coils tightly, setting off my orgasm.

It takes my breath away as it crashes over me, my cum spilling out onto Luke’s fist .

“Alek.” His eyes nearly roll back in his head as his own orgasm hits him, my name nothing more than a garbled mess with my thumb still in his mouth.

His movements falter, his mouth popping open in an O.

Removing my thumb, I reach down to wrap my hand around his fist and continue jerking him through the last of his orgasm, not pulling away until his whimpers tell me he’s becoming sensitive.

“You are something else, you know that?” I say, palming the back of his neck so I can kiss him one last time before we have to start getting ready for work.

It’s a brief kiss, our breaths mingling as we pant into each other’s mouths, and I flick my tongue along the seam of his lips before pulling away.

We’re both silent as we clean up, Luke grabbing his discarded sweatpants off the floor and pulling them back on while I disappear into the bedroom for a fresh pair of trousers. Then I amble back into the kitchen, my muscles feeling languid and loose as I put on a pot of coffee.

“Shit. I forgot I don’t have any clean clothes,” Luke murmurs behind me.

Ohhhh, right. We were supposed to be talking.

With my back still turned to him, I focus more intently on preparing my coffee than is strictly necessary. “Actually, I uh…got you some clothes. That’s what I was doing this morning.”

“What?”

Turning around, I lean against the counter and take the first, drugging sip of caffeine that always makes me sigh in contentment.

It does nothing for me this morning, only allows me to mask my sudden nerves.

“I went to your apartment and got you a few things,” I say quickly, jerking my chin toward the duffle bags still laying near the entryway .

His face scrunches up, his perplexed expression more adorable than it has the right to be. “Um, you did? Why?”

I take in a deep breath and motion toward the kitchen table between us. “Sit down. Let’s talk.”

Probably should have done this to start with instead of pouncing on him again but oh well. I guess we’re doing things backward this morning.

As Luke gets settled, I pour him a glass of orange juice and slide it across the table to him. His eyes light up, and he shoots me a grateful smile before taking a big gulp. As I sit across from him, dread for the upcoming conversation and all his possible reactions swirl in my gut.

“I hope I didn’t overstep,” I begin. I definitely overstepped. “It’s your life and you can do whatever you want, of course, but I think you should stay here for a few days. You and Evelyn could use some space, and Stoney.”

I tack on Stoney’s name at the last second because the mere idea of Luke being around that hateful asshole makes my shoulders knot up with tension. I’ve been around people like that before, and my gut is telling me he’s bad news.

Luke blinks. “Oh….”

“Unless you don’t want to stay here. I’ll take you anywhere you want to go,” I rush to add on.

“But I think your current living arrangement is toxic, and it’s not doing any favors for your mental health.

A few days in a quieter environment would do you some good.

Give you some time to think, and some perspective…

” I trail off when I run out of things to say.

Luke stares at me.

“You’ll be safer here,” I add lamely. I can keep him safe—physically, mentally, emotionally. And that’s the crux of the matter, isn’t it? Maybe I should have just led with that, but revealing the depth of my burgeoning feelings for him leaves me feeling vulnerable .

And should I tell him Evelyn didn’t seem interested in rehab? What if he’s not ready to hear that?

“Please say something,” I finally urge him, the continued silence spiking my heart rate in a rather unpleasant way.

“You went and got my stuff because you want me to stay here.”

“Yes.”

“You want me to be… safe .” He whispers the last word like it’s a reverent prayer, his eyes going wide and suspiciously glossy.

Oh my God, have I really fucked up so spectacularly? “It’s not that I don’t think you can take care of yourself. That was the furthest thing from my mind,” I quickly add.

Fuck, fuck, fuck. How do I fix this? What should I—

“Nobody’s ever really seemed to care about that except Jax. And my dad, before he passed away,” Luke says quietly, swallowing as he continues to stare at me. “And since I haven’t been able to tell Jax about any of this…it feels like this is the first time someone has actually cared.”

Oh, fuck. Did someone just kick me in the chest?

“Regardless of what’s going on between us, I care. And I’ll always care about your safety, and your mental health, even if we never touch each other again. I’m in your corner, Luke.”

Luke coughs into his fist, but it doesn’t cover up the choked breath that escapes or the slight tremble of his bottom lip.

“Will you please stay with me? Maybe at least a week to start, and then we can reevaluate how you’re feeling. But you’re welcome here as long as you want,” I say.

He clears his throat. “I’ll stay.”

A whoosh of air escapes me, a small grin splitting my face. “Great! Might as well get some use out of my guest bedroom, huh? ”

Luke smiles a bit sheepishly, his fingers drumming on the wooden surface of the table. “Um, about that. What if I stay in your bedroom?”

My groin tightens, instant arousal surging through my veins at the mental image of a naked, horny Luke writhing in my bedsheets.

Then it transitions to an image of a sleepy, sated Luke curled up on his side and snoring softly while I spoon him from behind.

The amount of longing that hits me is surprising, making my breath stutter.

But then the reality of our situation occurs to me, and I hesitate.

“This isn’t transactional. I’m not expecting something from you just because I’m letting you stay here,” I slowly say.

He scoffs, as if finding that idea preposterous. Then his eyes are heating, roving over my torso and down my forearms. “In case you haven’t noticed, I like what we’ve been doing. I would like to keep doing it.”

I barely stop myself from immediately screaming out an enthusiastic yes.

Instead, I use all my forty-three years of life experience to remain calm and rational.

“I’m too old to be somebody’s experiment,” I warn him.

“Not that experimentation is wrong. If that’s what you need then you should absolutely do that, but… well, I need something more.”

I’m not so selfish and impatient that I would demand commitment right now when his life is in so much turmoil, when he’s barely scratched the surface of this newfound sexual curiosity. But I can’t be a warm body he uses to get off, someone he uses to experiment with and promptly forgets about.

I need to…mean something to him.

He gives me a contemplative look, and oddly enough, I appreciate the time he takes to mull my statement over. His usual impulsivity isn’t here right now, and it puts me at ease .

“I don’t see you as an experiment. I like you…” He makes a sort of laugh-cough sound, pink tinging his cheeks. “I’m not sure I want to declare myself gay, or bisexual, or…whatever I am to the world yet. And I’m not saying I want to get married or anything, but I really like you.”

And there goes my heart.

Thump, thump, thump .

“I’m your boss,” I remind him. “We’ll have to act professional at work.”

“Fine by me.”

“And I’m Caleb’s dad. We’ll have to keep this between us until we figure out what it is,” I point out, grimacing as the words fall out of my mouth. It’s not lying exactly, but I also don’t like withholding information from my son. I’ve always made a point of being open and transparent with him.

“Fair enough.”

“I’m nineteen years older than you.”

He nods, a cheeky grin breaking out across his face. “You’re really selling yourself here, old man.”

I roll my eyes, but I can’t keep the grin from tugging on my lips. That is, until my intrusive thoughts return.

You should tell him about your scars.

I push that anxiety-inducing thought away for now, but there is one thing he deserves to know before we take this any further. It’s a compromise, of sorts.

“I don’t know exactly what your expectations are, but I’m not always an easy man to get along with. In case you haven’t noticed, I need to feel some level of control when I’m with somebody.”

He smirks. “In case you haven’t noticed, I didn’t exactly protest. ”

Brat. I huff a laugh before sobering up. “I need you to tell me if you ever need me to back off…in bed or out of it.”

He bites his bottom lip, his eyelashes fluttering with a faraway look that makes me squirm with need. “Okay, I can deal with that. Honestly, I liked…what we did.”

I finally relax a fraction, allowing myself to believe we can do this.

We can be together, and it won’t turn into a disaster.

Maybe he won’t end up hating me. I swallow, taking a moment to appreciate his fresh, just-got-fucked hair and the rosy hue still lingering on his cheeks.

Giving him a heated look, I scoot my chair back a few inches.

Spreading my legs, I jerk my chin toward my lap.

“Come here, Luke.”

He sucks in a harsh breath, eyes darkening before standing up.

His chair screeches as he pushes it back, slowly making his way over to me with an obvious bulge in his sweatpants.

When he’s standing within arm’s reach, I grasp both hips and pull him down to straddle me.

Then I thread my hand through his tousled hair and kiss him.

It's not the messy, heated kisses of before, where we couldn’t keep our hands off each other. It’s a deep, slow kiss. Tightening my hold on his hair, my tongue slips along the seams of his soft lips as I claim him with my mouth.

“That’s it then. You’re mine,” I rumble.

He shivers. “Yours.”

His hands glide up my neck, running through my hair. For a moment, I let him take over the kiss. The little happy noises he makes into my mouth as his tongue flicks against mine have my heart swelling with warmth and affection.

“So, you’re, like, officially my orgasm dealer now,” he murmurs cheekily.

I splutter and cough, a quiet laugh breaking free before I pinch his ass. “You’re a horny little nuisance.”

He shrugs, looking completely unrepentant. “You like it.”

No lies detected.

When I glance toward the clock on the far wall, I curse under my breath. Luke turns his head, following my gaze with a surprised gasp. He doesn’t protest when I gently guide him off my lap, adjust myself, and stand.

I shoot him an admonishing look. “That little stunt you pulled with the phone is going to make you late for work. Your boss isn’t going to be happy with you.”

His eyes sparkle with amusement as he chuckles.

“He’s not going to take it easy on you just because you’re sleeping with him.”

Luke’s smile slips a little, his gaze roaming over my face. “Wait, are you serious?”

I turn away, grabbing my car keys so he can’t see the way I purse my lips to keep from laughing. “He’s probably going to make you work late today.”

As I stand in the doorway and peer at him over my shoulder, some of my amusement finally bleeds into my voice. “You should probably learn to keep it in your pants.”

The last thing I see before shutting the door behind me is his incredulous look, making me laugh all the way to my car. A few minutes later, my phone dings with a text message. I wait until I pull into the parking lot at work before grabbing it.

Luke: But had I been on time, my boss would have missed out on all this

Luke:* video attachment*

“You brat,” I whisper at my phone. As the video I took earlier begins to play, our quiet groans echoing within the small space of the car, along with the sound of Luke’s hand sliding through the lube, I’m not sure whether I want to laugh or be turned on.

Definitely both. Shaking my head, I peer down at the bulge in my trousers.

And, of course, there’s nothing I can do about it right now.

“Revenge jerk off video. I’ll be damned. It worked.”