Page 23 of Striking the Match (Redwood Bay Fire #3)

He lets out a truly filthy sound, sucking air through his teeth and arching his back.

It’s not like I haven’t believed him all the times he’s told me he’s spent the last however many years firmly in the closet. I got the impression he hasn’t had sex in a long time. But for such a simple caress to have such an erotic reaction tells me I’ve greatly underestimated the situation.

I don’t know if I’m an egotistical prick for feeling extremely honored to be the man he’s trusting in this moment, but I can’t help it.

He’s rich beyond my wildest dreams. Yet I’d be a fool not to think I’m giving him something absolutely priceless right now.

The rest of my fears melt away as I slip my hand through the front opening of his briefs and wrap my fingers around his shaft, loving how the thick girth rests in my palm.

He snarls and surges forward, slamming his mouth against mine in a fierce, sloppy kiss. His hand is back on my cock again, although this time he copies me and fumbles until he can find his way through the opening.

With his rough palm on my sensitive length, I gnash my teeth and grunt as my whole world swims in front of my closed eyes. I’m gushing precum, and I’m ashamed to say that my own hand falters on his length, not able to keep up my rhythm as he pleasures me.

“It’s okay, Teddy,” he utters, nudging his nose against mine and pressing a kiss to the corner of my mouth. “Just let go, baby. It’s okay, I’ve got you. Come for me. Come.”

It only takes a few more jerks of his hand before I’m doing just that, spurting all over his hands and his clothes as I scream out, stars in my eyes.

That was embarrassingly fast.

“Shit…oh…shit…” I gasp for air as my climax slowly subsides, blinking my way back to reality. “Sorry, I…”

“Don’t you dare apologize, gorgeous,” he says cheerfully, apparently expanding his list of pet names. “That was so fucking beautiful.”

Okay. If he’s still having a good time, then I guess it doesn’t matter how quickly I blew my load. Maybe he sees it as a compliment that he affected me that intensely?

I nod and manage a shy smile, but my thoughts are already turned to what I can do to make him feel amazing.

He’s right. I probably have got a lot more experience than him, despite coming on a hair trigger just now. I want to use that to give him something else that costs nothing but I hope is worth its weight in gold.

I kiss his mouth and along his throat before moving down his body. I lift his T-shirt and hoodie enough so I can kiss his stomach and run my fingers along one of his deliciously defined cum gutters. Then I nip at the elastic of his briefs, looking up and raising my eyebrows in question at him.

He looks mesmerized, and he threads his fingers through my hair again and nods. My heart pounding in anticipation, I use my free hand to free his cock through his underwear and hold it steady as I slide my lips over the head.

“Holy fucking fuck,” he cries, bucking into my mouth. I don’t gag, though. I just suck him down, loving all the delicious sounds he’s making as I take my time swallowing his stunning cock at the back of my throat.

Giving head is one of my favorite things to do during sex, and I’m suddenly really goddamned grateful that I’ve spent so long perfecting my technique.

I’m a little restricted by his briefs and jeans, but I still use all my best tricks on him. Working my tongue, twisting my hand, fondling his balls, stroking his shaft, humming as saliva and precum drip down my chin.

He’s talking absolutely delicious nonsense as he squirms and twitches under me. I pin his hip down, partly because I’m worried about him making his sprained ankle any worse, and partly because he seems to really enjoy it when I get bossy.

“Teddy, I…oh, I’m close…I’m gonna…”

I appreciate the warning, but if he thinks I’m going to pull back just when he’s about to peak, he’s got a lot to learn about me. I suck harder, taking him farther down my throat, breathing through my nose so I don’t get dizzy and miss the best part.

“Teddy!” he shouts, bucking his hips.

And then he’s shooting his load, and I drink it down eagerly, loving the way his cock is throbbing inside me. He’s trembling as I drain every last drop from him, waiting until he starts to soften before gently sliding his length from my mouth.

“Fffuck,” he stammers, still trembling from the aftermath. I snuggle up next to him and wait until he looks at me before smiling and brushing our noses together.

“Good?” I ask. We both know it was amazing and that I’m fishing, but I do it anyway.

He grins sleepily and grabs my face with weak fingers so he can press his lips against mine in a tired, satisfied kiss. “Baby,” he sighs, hardly able to keep his eyes open. “Teddy. Baby. Mine.”

I think that means that yes, he thought it was good.

My protective instinct kicks in. As much as I don’t want to let him go, I know that a little housekeeping now will mean a much more comfortable, cozy night for us. Well, as much as we can get out in the wilderness.

“Come on, Cassius,” I say as I untangle myself from his sleepy form.

Luckily, I can reach my backpack without too much rolling and wriggling. I manage to find the packet of wet wipes that I’m sure we’ll be using to ‘shower’ with in the morning. Christ, I’ve never been happier about being obsessively prepared for every situation in my life.

I use one of the wipes to clean both our cocks and what I can of my cum on his clothes before tucking us both away. Honestly, with all the other muck and stains from the landslide, it’s not really noticeable at all, so I try not to worry about it.

My backpack might have an impressive number of resources stashed inside, but I unfortunately left my bedroll at home.

Hopefully the ground won’t be too hard and uncomfortable.

But it’s not like we were planning on camping out here, so I can’t be annoyed at myself for not anticipating a natural disaster.

I move the bag itself so we can use it as a pillow and pull out an emergency foil blanket that only takes up a sliver of space in one of the pockets.

I put it there a year ago and never gave it a second thought until now, but I’m extremely grateful for the little bit of warmth and protection it will give us.

Cassius is fast asleep, and I take a moment to appreciate what a privilege it is to get to see him in such a relaxed state.

I’m obviously concerned that he’s injured and pray it’s going to heal up quick for him.

But I hope it doesn’t make me a terrible person that I’m also kind of thankful for it.

If he’d been able to walk to the highway, we wouldn’t have had to stay the night and share this incredible experience together.

Life isn’t fiction. Things very rarely happen the way we expect they will or hope they might.

But as I add some more wood to the fire and double check we haven’t left anything out to tempt the local wildlife to come sniffing around, I know I’ll treasure today so much more because of how it went completely FUBAR.

It’s already shown me how Cassius keeps his cool in a crisis and how kind and caring his nature is.

We’ve both been thrown in at the deep end and—so far at least—it seems we’re swimming just fine.

Tomorrow will bring a different kind of reality, one that involves other people.

They aren’t something I can control, and that makes me a little nervous.

For now, I find my power bank to charge my phone by my side.

Not that we have any signal at all right now, but I want to be prepared whenever we do. That makes me feel less helpless.

Then I cuddle up to Cassius under the crinkly emergency blanket that’s doing an impressive job of keeping the heat in, and rest my head on his chest to use as my pillow.

I know we could have died. I know we’re currently stranded in the woods with Cassius’s sprained ankle and very few supplies. But in this moment, I feel like the luckiest guy alive.

I’m just not sure how long I can expect that luck to last.