Page 21

THIRTEEN

PATRICK

It wasn’t a sinking feeling that woke me up.

It wasn’t a bolt of fear, either. I might have expected something along those lines.

Hell, a week ago, I had very much imagined it playing out that way, blinking myself awake to see the size of my horny mistake.

It wouldn’t have been the first time. I’d woken up with after-sex guilt more than a few times in my Casanova phase, and I had no reason to think the phase was behind me.

Except, as the silk curtain of sleep pulled away, and my conscious mind seeped in, my heart didn’t clench with regrets.

I opened my eyes to a crisp, sunny morning in a house in Detroit, in a bed so warm that it begged me to stay longer, with my arm draping Shane’s naked body.

Yesterday, waking up in a fairly similar spot, I had been flooded with embarrassment, thinking if I’d made him uncomfortable, if I’d had a few accidental—though perfectly natural! —hard-ons through the night.

No embarrassment now. We both lay naked, and the memory of last night was imprinted deeply into my mind. It was so fresh and colorful that it was still before my eyes.

The comforter was low on our bodies, draping us up to our waists, and I focused my gaze on the back of Shane’s head.

Dark hair covered the top of his head messily, and the fade on the sides was disappearing slowly as new hair grew.

Below, his neck was smooth and creamy, extending to his shoulders and his pronounced shoulder blades.

I moved my left arm back, though it still rested over his body, and ran the back of my index finger over Shane’s sharp cheekbone, his smooth cheek, and his long neck. I turned my hand over and let my fingertips travel over his chest.

When I shut my eyes, all I saw was that pained, blissful expression on Shane’s face. In the moment of ecstasy, like Saint Sebastian pierced by the arrows, he had looked deep into my eyes, lips parting to let out a small, choked sound, muscles tensing in the instant before he came.

I never wanted to forget it. The mere thought of it made me heat up a little. Something fuzzy grew in my chest, and tingling shot down into my stomach. My dick woke up, too, and grew harder until it pressed right between Shane’s cheeks.

My hand moved over his abs just as his breathing changed. He didn’t turn around. He didn’t say anything, but I knew he was awake. And as my hand traveled up and down his flat stomach, Shane’s hand covered mine.

He didn’t direct it, merely followed where it went, and offered no objections when it went lower.

Partly, it was curiosity. Last night, I’d had a beer or two to celebrate the game, and I had been driven wild by the weeks of unintended teasing. This morning, he was here, ready for me and willing, and I needed to know what that did to my heart.

It turns out it did wonders. My pulse quickened as my fingers passed over his abdomen and found that he was just as hard. Breath hitched in his throat and he thrust his ass a few inches back at me.

The footsteps, the clamoring, the clinking of cutlery were enough of an indicator that the house was well awake and gearing up to be vacated, but I didn’t fuss.

I took my time, feeling Shane’s thighs, cupping his balls, touching his hardened taint before finally lifting my hand and closing it around his cock.

It struck me as strange again to hold it so. The only dick I’d touched before had always been mine. It was much more appealing than I would have imagined. It fit in so perfectly that my body melted with heated desire.

I pressed myself harder against him. Our bodies squished together, my dick between his cheeks, my fist moving up and down his cock. I wanted to be even closer, wanted to crawl under his skin, wanted us to merge both spiritually and literally, but there was no time.

Shane shifted a little and pressed his ass harder against me, giving me an eye-popping sensation to hold on to.

He moaned once or twice as my fist sped up, working his cock the only way I knew how—the way I would have done to myself.

Easy, slowly, then a little faster. My grip tightened on him, feeling that irresistible pulse of excitement in him, and I relaxed it again.

It was a little like playing music. You couldn’t go all in with one gigantic crescendo.

You couldn’t step on a stage before an orchestra and just play that final, satisfying chord.

It wasn’t satisfying without the buildup.

The longer the journey, the more winding the road, the sweeter the destination.

I swayed my hips back and forth incrementally. Each thrust made me harder, each taking my breath away a little more.

As each second ticked away, I possessed less and less control over myself.

It was like a flaying of resistance and composure.

They flaked away, then scattered altogether.

As if something snapped inside us both, the tormenting, teasing moves were no longer even possible.

It had to be rougher. We had to be closer.

I needed to get us over that hill, over the edge of that canyon, and into the free fall.

My body worked harder. My arm burned, first hurting, but I jerked him off just the same, bringing the tension to an impossible level all the while my dick slid under an excruciating angle, thrusting down between his cheeks.

It wasn’t the fact that I was touching him so liberally or that his ass was just that good, but a shuddering whimper that left his lips that tipped me over. My dick stiffened and throbbed, spilling cum over his ass in an endless trickle.

The pulse of climax in my left hand brought me exactly as much pleasure as my own orgasm had.

While I shuddered and rode the wave of joy, Shane came onto the bedsheet, his stomach, and my hand.

His heated cum trickled down the back of my fingers, and I, still dazed by lust, squeezed him a little harder, drawing the last drops of him he had to offer before lifting my hand to my lips and licking his cum off my fingers.

And fuck, it tasted like a fruity dessert.

A delicious, sweet, and salty mix of sin and pleasure.

After sucking in a surprised breath of air, Shane closed his hand around my wrist and pulled my fingers closer to his lips.

He kissed the stains off the back of my hand as I leaned in, licking off what was left, then kissing him just for the kick of it.

After I pulled back my head, Shane folded his lips and fought against a rising smile. “That’s…kinda dirty.”

“It’s kinda hot, is what it is,” I said.

Hesitating just a heartbeat, he nodded.

I got out of bed like a firing squad was waiting for me.

The bed was safe and warm and had Shane in it, but the time was running out.

Chicago was calling, real life waiting to resume.

Part of me wanted to stay in this room forever.

This was the room of endless possibilities, impossible outcomes, unimaginable victories, but it was just a room, I suppose.

I could take this feeling with me. I could take it and sweep Shane off his feet every day, over and over again.

I splashed my face, brushed my teeth, and stepped out of the bathroom to give Shane a chance. He came out a minute later, still as naked and beautiful as an angel in a particularly salacious heaven, and searched for a clean pair of underwear in his backpack.

My gaze dragged over his sexy ass. God, how I wanted him again.

The smooth skin taut over the firm butt, designed for my lips and their searing effect, the small of his back curving inward, legs spread just a little to offer a glimpse of his balls from behind.

I wanted to step closer and slide my hand between his legs, cup his balls, and tell him to beg me to let him go.

Shane glanced over his shoulder as he produced a pair of briefs from the backpack. “Seriously?” he asked, a smirk touching his lips.

I glanced down, and sure enough, my dick was making its greedy way to full mast. “What can I say? You’re just a hottie.”

Shane snorted as if I were teasing, but the words got to him anyway. He pulled his underwear on. “You’ll have to save it for later.”

I took two steps toward him, closed the distance, and put my hands on his ass, bringing our torsos together. My hard dick pressed against his bulge and leg. “Sure I can’t talk you into just staying here forever?”

Shane looked at me like I was crazy. “You wouldn’t have to try hard,” he said, lifting his hands to my chest. “That’s why I have to stop you.”

I pulled him closer, wrapping my arms around his lower back. “Nope. Not letting you leave.”

Shane laughed. “They’ll come looking.”

“It’s their funeral.”

“Come on. Everyone’s packed already,” Shane said, but there was no conviction in his tone.

“Stay, stay, stay,” I said, my voice dripping with amusement. The battle on his face was so fierce that I could watch it forever.

“Tonight,” Shane said. “Come over tonight.”

“Ah, that’s eons away,” I said. “And in another state!”

“I know,” Shane said, leaning in a little. “But you can have me all night if you wait.”

The boiling heat in my chest was hard to contain, but I managed somehow. “You’ve no idea how much I want you,” I told him.

“I think I have a pretty good idea,” Shane said, shifting his leg to rub against my hard cock just enough to make my brain spin. “And I want you, too.”

One side of my lips quirked into a smile.

“You know, you’re pretty gay for a straight guy,” Shane said.

I threw my head back and laughed in surprise.

When I looked at him again, he was smiling.

“You know how sometimes you just don’t want to try eating something because you’re so sure you don’t like it?” I asked. “Then someone serves it for you, and you freaking lick the plate clean.”

A ripple of a frown creased Shane’s eyebrows. “Are you talking about my ass?”

“I’m talking about your ass,” I said, almost in unison. We laughed and let the silence fill the very narrow space between us. “I like it a lot,” I said. “You, your body, your…way of doing it.” My voice dropped lower with each word I said. I couldn’t control it.

Shane’s eyes lit up with curiosity. “I didn’t think I had a way of doing it. First time, remember?”

I shrugged. “Maybe it’s a gay thing. I never…” I searched for the right words, unconvinced I would ever find them. “I never felt like someone enjoyed my body that way.”

“What do you mean?” Shane asked, his hands moving over my chest as if to feel more of me.

Case in point , I thought. “Before, it felt somehow selfish. Like I’d have sex with someone, and we did it in a way to make ourselves feel good. You…you’re different. It was like touching me turned you on.”

“It did,” Shane said, bewildered. It had never crossed his mind that it could be anything else.

“Maybe I was doing it wrong all this time,” I said with a forced laugh. “If I took a girl home, it was mostly to do whatever felt good to me. And I think they were the same. Never had any complaints.”

Shane shot me a look that bordered on jealousy.

“I don’t think anyone I slept with before was that into me,” I said. “To want to touch me so much, or kiss so much of me, or hold me so close. It’s different with you. It’s like you…”

“Worshiped you.” His words were exactly what I had been thinking of.

“Worshiped me,” I repeated in a softer voice. “Yes.”

Shane watched me for a few moments longer. “I felt the same.”

“Kiss me,” I said.

Shane didn’t hesitate. He leaned in and pressed his lips hard against mine. He kissed me like we’d never have another chance. It was a bright, brilliant kiss that left me gasping and throbbing, shivering all over, and wanting him more than ever.

When he pulled his head back, I nodded. That was convincing enough. It was time to go.

As I scouted the room for my scattered clothes, Shane sat on the chair by the small table. “We should probably keep this…discreet.”

I let the waistband of my boxer briefs go, and it slapped my waist. “Um, sure?”

“It’s just…I’m supposed to study you,” Shane said. “That’s all.”

“For a moment there, I thought you were ashamed of me,” I said. The horrified look on his face was delightful. “I’m fucking with you. I get it.”

Shane nodded. “It’s only another four weeks before I have to write the thesis.”

I perked up. “We’re dating.”

Shane stammered and folded his lips. A blush rose to his cheeks.

My face split into a broad grin. “Yeah, we are,” I said. “We’re so dating.”

Shane swallowed and tilted his head a little, still keeping his gaze on my face. “Do you want to?”

“Hmm, what do you think?” I asked, stepping toward him so that his head was level with my abdomen.

Shane’s gaze traveled down my torso. He leaned in and pressed his heated lips against my abs, hands resting on my hips.

“I didn’t think this could be real.” He looked up, his chin resting just under my belly button.

“Even when I fantasized we might, you know, have sex,” he said, the heat in his face almost palpable. “I didn’t think you’d want to date me.”

My heart sank at those words. Had I made myself look so proud and full of myself that I came across as untouchable? Unreachable? To hell with me. “Shane, we’ve been dating for weeks. At least all the Saints say so.”

Shane’s eyes widened for a second. “They do?”

“I don’t think we need to overthink this,” I said. “You make me feel good. I make you feel good. How about we just keep doing that?”

Shane’s smile was shy at first, but it beamed brighter the longer he failed to contain it. He was beautiful. And when he nodded against my stomach, I leaned down and kissed him the best I knew how.