Page 16 of Vanquished by a Viscount (Tales from the Brotherhood #3)

“Believe me,” Charlie said in reply, crossing his arms as well, “I have no intention to.”

He proceeded to stare straight at Grayson.

That was it. The two of them sat where they were, rattling along in the ill-sprung carriage, each staring at the other at first, then turning away with sniffs and grunts to stare out the opposite windows, saying nothing.

Their coats were already damp with rain, making the air inside the carriage overly warm and humid.

It might have been dramatic, but Charlie did not think he had ever endured such an unpleasant drive in his life.

As fate would have it, no sooner had he thought those words than the carriage tipped worryingly to the side, coming to a complete stop.

Charlie uncrossed his arms and leaned toward the door, peering out to see if he could ascertain the problem.

Gray did the same, but neither of them seemed to note the similarity of their movements, nor the fact that they brought the two of them physically closer together.

The driver shouted something that Charlie could not make out above the pounding of the rain, then the carriage shook slightly as the man jumped down from his perch.

A minute or so later, there was a knock at the carriage door. When Gray opened it, the driver said, “I’m terribly sorry, Mr. Hawthorne, but the roads are all mud, and the carriage has slipped into a ditch. The horses are in a spot of bother.”

“Can anything be done?” Gray asked with genuine concern.

The driver looked reluctant to speak but marshalled his courage enough to say, “We might be able to dislodge the carriage and ease the beasts if all three of us pushed together.”

Gray glanced warily at Charlie.

“I have no qualms about assisting a driver in dislodging a carriage from a ditch for the sake of the horses,” he said.

“Neither do I,” Gray said quickly, as if he did not want to be outdone.

Gray hurried to jump down from the carriage. Charlie was right behind him.

As soon as Charlie’s boots squished into the thick mud under them, he regretted his offer of help.

The carriage was badly stuck in mud that had been created by days of rain and the horses were restless with fear.

That rain continued to pour down as the three of them assessed the situation, then as Charlie and Gray made their way to the back of the carriage while the driver saw to the horses.

It was an utter mess. They never should have taken the best of the carriages out, let alone one as antique and in ill-repair as the one Charlie and Gray rode in.

Several minutes of effort on the part of all three men managed to budge the carriage from the muck, but in the process, one of the back wheels snapped, rendering the carriage useless.

“I suppose we’ll have to walk back to Hawthorne House,” Gray sighed, wiping rain and splattered mud from his face.

“It’s more than a mile, sir,” the driver said, shaking his head. “I would not recommend it.”

“What are we supposed to do, then?” Gray asked.

“If you please, sir,” the driver said. “If you and Lord Broxbourne would but wait inside the carriage, I will take the horses and go for help.”

The last thing Charlie wanted was to be trapped in a dilapidated carriage with Gray while a servant went for help, but there was little else he could do.

The rain seemed to pick up with mocking severity, and since his greatcoat was already nearly soaked through, there seemed to be nothing to be done to stave off a certain cold, or at least hours of misery, but to pile back into the carriage.

“I shall return as swiftly as possible, sir, my lord,” the driver told them before heading off.

Charlie sighed as he sat back against his seat. With his coat in its current condition, doing so was supremely uncomfortable, so he moved forward again to unbutton and peel out of the sodden garment.

“This is intolerable,” Gray said, doing the same.

“Afraid of spending a few hours in close proximity with me?” Charlie teased him, even though he knew he shouldn’t.

“I was speaking about the rain and the mud,” Gray snapped, raising his voice. “Whether you are here or not is inconsequential.”

Charlie laughed as if that was a ridiculous thing to say. He finished peeling out of his coat and tucked the heavy, wet, woolen thing aside. He wasn’t any more comfortable for doing so, though, and he ended up a great deal colder.

Gray also removed his coat. In doing so, he smudged mud across his face.

“You have a bit just there,” Charlie said, gesturing to the smudge.

“What do you mean?” Gray asked, glaring at him.

“Mud,” Charlie said impatiently. “You have mud on your face.”

“I do not,” Gray huffed.

“Yes, you do,” Charlie said, pointing at Grayson’s cheek.

Gray wiped the wrong cheek with the back of his sleeve, coming away with nothing. “Are you having a laugh at my expense?” he demanded.

“No, you twit,” Charlie huffed impatiently. “You really do have something?—”

He sighed, and instead of using words, he leaned forward and cupped the side of Gray’s face, wiping away the offending splotch with his thumb.

It was the wrong gesture to make in so many ways.

Gray’s face was warm and familiar under Charlie’s hand.

Leaning forward had necessitated the two of them sliding much closer together.

And Gray had to make the moment entirely too heated by raising his eyes and meeting Charlie’s just as Charlie’s thumb was near his lips.

It was as if someone had ignited a firework in the carriage.

Without warning, Gray lunged forward, grasping Charlie’s face in both hands and slanting his mouth over Charlie’s.

Charlie’s brow shot up at the sudden power of the kiss, but after his initial surprise, not only did he not attempt to push Gray away, he actively grabbed at the man and kissed him back.

Within moments, Charlie was pushed back into his seat with Gray straddling him.

Gray moaned wickedly as he deepened their kiss.

Charlie echoed his sounds of pleasure shamelessly, parting his lips so that he could brush his tongue along the seam of Gray’s mouth.

Gray accepted the invitation with a sound of relief and let Charlie plunge his tongue into his mouth.

Things only escalated from there. Their kisses were manic and hungry. Gray lowered his hands to undo the buttons at the front of Charlie’s jacket. He grew impatient with that almost immediately and lowered his hands to tear at the fastenings of Charlie’s trousers.

“Yes,” Charlie gasped before reason and sense could make an appearance. He pushed his hips up to help Gray get to what he wanted. More than that, he scrambled for the front of Gray’s trousers as well, mirroring his gestures in an effort to free his old lover’s cock.

He had no idea how they managed to accomplish their mission in the tight, wet confines of the carriage, but within a minute, their groans and sighs took on an entirely different character as each of them managed to loosen the other’s trousers enough to draw their straining erections into the open.

Everything within Charlie sang with excitement at the feel of Gray’s thick member against his palm.

He remembered Gray’s cock as if he’d had it in his mouth just yesterday.

Gray muttered something unintelligible against Charlie’s mouth as he wrapped his fist around Charlie’s cock and stroked it.

The pleasure was enough to make Charlie lose his mind entirely.

He grasped the side of Gray’s face again and kissed him as if punishing Gray for staying away from him for too long.

Gray responded by pushing his hand farther into Charlie’s trousers so he could hold and squeeze his balls.

The pleasure was so good that it took every ounce of control Charlie had not to unman himself right away.

He had no intention of losing his load before Gray.

To do so would have represented a defeat of a personal nature that ran deep.

He shifted his hand so that he could grasp his and Gray’s hard erections together.

Gray caught his breath then moaned into Charlie’s mouth as their tongues warred as intensively as their hands.

Everything was hot and humid and wonderful as Charlie stroked them.

Gray rocked against him, shifting his hand to wrap around their cocks as well.

It was mad and wild. The two of them stroked and bucked while kissing and making sounds that would have embarrassed the gods. Pleasure built up inside of Charlie with such force that when he could no longer hold on to his control, his seed shot from him, wetting the bottom of Gray’s shirt.

Gray was only moments behind him. With a gasp and groan, he erupted, spilling what felt like a fountain of cum across Charlie’s hand and the front of his trousers.

Charlie had forgotten how prolific his old lover was.

He felt a second burst of pleasure as his body fought to release again, it was so good.

As the initial rush of the moment began to subside, Charlie groaned and sagged.

Gray slumped against him, their softening members still pressed together and held by their exhausted hands.

It was blissful and draining. Charlie shifted his free arm to circle around Gray, holding him close as he’d once done.

He closed his eyes, wondering if he should be happy for the moment they’d just shared or if he should dread what would happen as soon as he opened his eyes.