Page 64 of The Runaway

Gabriel stared down into Connor’s eyes, struck dumb by the request. His eyes dipped to Connor’s mouth, and he couldn’t seem to drag them away.

“Gabriel?” Connor prompted him.

“Yeah,” he said, feeling his heart skip a beat. “Yeah, okay.”

Connor leaned forward, tilting his head slightly, and Gabriel felt warm lips press against his own. He’d closed his eyes, he realised a moment later, and he opened them as Connor pulled back. Connor was watching him with a wary curiosity, waiting to see what he would do next. But Gabriel felt frozen to the spot. Was this wrong? Was he crossing a line here? But Connor had asked for this. Did that make it okay? After all, there was nothing inherently wrong with sex. It was only the lack of consent that made Gabriel recoil.

“Shall we go inside the tent?” Connor asked, taking Gabriel’s hand.

Inside the tent? Where they would take their clothes off, and Gabriel could put his hands on Connor’s warm skin and his mouth over Connor’s cock…

“Um… we should pack up the rest of dinner,” Gabriel said, grasping at the last threads of his sanity. It took only a minute or two to brush the crumbs off the plates, wipe the knife, rinse the cups and stow the rest of the food back in his rucksack. And then he was once more facing Connor, acutely aware of the thick erection pressing against the front of his trousers. He felt weak at the knees, his mouth dry, his hands shaking.

Connor reached out and took his hand, then tugged him towards the tent. Connor sat down in the entrance, removing his boots and stowing them neatly to the side, then he wriggled back, allowing Gabriel space to do the same. It seemed to take forever, Gabriel’s fingers uncooperative as he tried to undo the laces. It took three attempts, then a prolonged moment as he tried to tug the boots off his feet. It felt like time had slowed down and now every moment was being dragged out for hours.

Finally, he set his boots aside and shimmied backwards into the tent, closing the flap carefully. Having run out of ways to stall this, he forced himself to turn around and face Connor… and felt his heart lurch, at the same time as his cock jerked in his pants.

Connor had taken his shirt off and was now sitting there with a sly smile on his face, as if he knew exactly what reaction he was going to get from Gabriel.

Drawn like a moth to a flame, Gabriel leaned forward, one hand reaching out to land on Connor’s waist. But he was still too far away, so he slid further inside the tent, his eyes roving over Connor’s chest, his lips, his face, taking note of the pleased, satisfied look that was curving his mouth upwards. Though it was dark, there was a bright moon tonight, which was filtering through the gauze panels of the tent just enough to show Gabriel what Connor looked like.

Like an angel fallen to earth to tempt me, he thought, as he tried to remember how to breathe.

“I want you to touch me,” Connor said, taking Gabriel’s hand and sliding it higher. Gabriel let it travel up the length of Connor’s chest, feeling the peak of his nipple as he brushed over it, then up and around the back of his neck.

“You’re not going to regret this tomorrow, are you?” he asked, though in all honestly, he didn’t really think Connor had had all that much to drink. Enough to make him more relaxed, but not enough to impair his judgement.

Connor laughed. “Like I said, I’ve wanted to do this for the last two nights. And for about a month before that. I just never had the courage to ask.”

Suddenly impatient, Gabriel stripped off his own shirt, then his pants and socks as well. He shoved them into the corner of the tent, to be forgotten until morning.

“Let me kiss you again,” he said, his voice husky as he lay down on his bedroll. Connor leaned down and their mouths met, and they spent long minutes tasting each other, their tongues rolling together, their hands beginning to wander. Gabriel went slowly, teasing out Connor’s reactions to each movement before continuing, but Connor was being far more daring. His hands roamed up Gabriel’s back, down his chest, over his hips, then back up to stroke his hair. Then, in a bold move that stunned Gabriel, Connor swung his leg over Gabriel’s hip so that he was straddling him. He pressed their groins together – Connor still partially clothed – making Gabriel gasp. Urgently, he gripped Connor’s hips, stilling him. Partly it was because any more friction against his cock was going to make him climax far too soon, but the other part of his concern was that they were taking things a little too fast.

“Connor? Are you sure this is okay? Are you scared, or worried, or…?” He couldn’t stand the idea of frightening Connor, even if the omega had been the one to start this.

“Not at all,” Connor said. His hand slid down Gabriel’s stomach until it reached his groin, where he wrapped his fingers around Gabriel’s erection. “I know how gentle you can be.”

Gentleness aside, Gabriel still didn’t quite understand why Connor wanted to do this. Omegas, unlike alphas, were perfectly capable of masturbating, and if this had simply been about the need for release, then Connor could have taken care of it himself. But if it was about more than simple physical desire, then… then what did that mean? And what did it mean that he’d specifically chosen Gabriel to share it with him?

“Connor, I…” Gabriel didn’t manage to finish the sentence, not even sure what he’d been about to say. Asking once again if Connor was sure he wanted to do this would only sound patronising. Saying he wanted to stop would be a brutal rejection. And hedidn’twant to stop. He wanted to be buried deep inside Connor’s willing body as they both cried out in pleasure. But he was terrified of hurting this vibrant young man who’d burst so unexpectedly into his life.

Connor leaned down over him, close enough that Gabriel could see his eyes through the darkness. He fluttered a gentle kiss along Gabriel’s lips, then pulled back a fraction. “Do you want me?” Connor asked, all traces of mischief gone. The question was dead serious, and it carried an undertone of resignation. If Gabriel said no, he knew suddenly, then Connor would stop. And likely never, ever try anything like this again.

“I want you,” Gabriel said, feeling inexplicable tears prick at his eyes. “More than you could imagine.”

Connor shifted his hips, letting his cloth-covered erection rub against Gabriel’s. “Then stop worrying and just enjoy this,” he said, a hint of humour back in his voice again.

It was intoxicating having a partner who would take what he wanted, without waiting for Gabriel to make all the moves. Gabriel moaned as Connor ground them together again, and he slid his hands down to cup Connor’s ass…

“You have too many clothes on,” he muttered, fumbling with Connor’s belt in the darkness.

“Hang on a sec…” Connor rolled off him and Gabriel heard him shuffling around. A cold foot inadvertently kicked him in the thigh as Connor attempted to remove his clothes.

“Ooh, sorry,” Connor apologised immediately. “Shit, I’m sorry. There’s not a whole lot of room in here.”

“It’s okay,” Gabriel said, feeling suddenly joyful and lightheaded. “You didn’t kick anything important.”

Connor was back a moment later, pressing a kiss to Gabriel’s lips. “Thank God for that,” he murmured. He took Gabriel’s hand and slid it downwards, and Gabriel assumed for a moment that Connor wanted him to stroke his erection. He tried to move his hand in that direction, only to find Connor resisting. Instead, Connor led his hand around the side of his hip, to the crease of his ass.