Pros & Cons of Vengeance

by Wasp, A. E.

It was hotter than the sun.

  Breck had one hand between his legs as he jacked his cock to the rhythm of my thrusts. “God, look at me, Breck. Look at me.” I tugged on his curls, and Breck looked up, blue eyes blazing, mouth red and stretched wide over my cock. His throat worked as he tried to swallow the mix of spit and precum flooding his mouth, but it poured down his chin. His chest heaved as he tried to breathe and suck me off at same time.

  With a yell I’m sure they heard in the main house, I pounded my fist against the mirror. I dragged my cock out of the heaven of his mouth, and with a pained moan I dropped to my knees. I cradled Breck’s head in my hands and pulled him up for a kiss.

  I love you, I love you, I thought as I kissed him hard, licking my own taste out of his mouth. But I didn’t say it. With the memory of Asadi so close to the surface of my mind, I didn’t feel worthy of saying it.

  Breck pulled away but kept his hand on my face. I rubbed my cheek against his palm, needing the connection and the reassurance. The black of Breck’s pupils almost obliterated the sky blue of his eyes. “Steele,” he whispered. “Baby. I—”

  “Stand up,” I said, before he could finish. I wanted to be able to say it first, but I couldn’t. Not yet.

  When he stood up, I pulled him in for a long, deep kiss, hoping my body would convey what I couldn’t say. “Turn around. Look at yourself.”

  He did, and I took his hands, drawing them up over his head and wrapping them around my neck. “Keep them there.”

  He shuddered, eyes locked on mine in the mirror.

  We looked fucking amazing together. Breck’s body was so much smaller and paler than mine, despite his time in the sun. His hard cock bounced, rocking with every panting breath. I wanted to do so many things to him. Unspeakable, depraved, delicious things that would please both of us. But mostly I wanted desperately to watch his beautiful face as he came apart because of me, because of how good I could make him feel.

  I ran my hands up and down his body, cupping his balls, stroking his cock and pinching his nipples until he writhed against me. My cock pressed hard into the small of his back, and I couldn’t stop thrusting against him.

  “Fuck me, Steele,” he begged. He pulled out of my arms and leaned forward, hands flat against the wall and glaring at me over his shoulder. “Come on, baby, please, just fucking fuck me already.”

  I swear on my mother’s grave, the only reason I didn’t plunge into him without condom, lube, or prep was because the angle was all wrong.

  With a pained groan, I went to my knees again. Spreading Breck’s ass with a hand on each cheek, I pushed my tongue hard against his opening, licking as broad a stroke as I could.

  He yelled, his knees giving out, but I held him up by his hips. He tasted of rain and the sea. I kept up my assault, opening him up with my tongue and my fingers until he was begging and I couldn’t hold him up anymore. “Please,” he gasped as he collapsed to his hands and knees. “Jesus, fuck, please.” His skin flushed deep pink from the tops of his ears to his nipples, and when his eyes met mine in the mirror, they were wild, wrecked, bottomless pits of desire I couldn’t look away from.

  “Condom,” I gasped out.

  “We don’t have any!”

  “We do. Hold on. One second.” I kissed him on his tailbone and ran into the bathroom, my cock slapping against my stomach with every step. I pulled open every drawer until I found the stash of condoms and lube I’d spotted the other day after a workout.

  “Ride me,” I said, ripping open the condom and throwing myself on the floor, my head to the wall. “I want you to watch yourself in the mirror while you fuck me.”

  “Yeah. Yes. Fuck, yes.” Breck grabbed the condom and had me covered and lubed before I could blink. Then he straddled me, lined my cock up, and his eyes locked on our reflection. We both groaned as he took me in with one long, smooth glide.

  “You feel so fucking good.” I lifted my head and shoulders off the ground so I could see my cock sliding in and out of him.

  “So fucking deep,” he said with a moan. “You’re so big, so perfect. You fit me so good. We look so fucking amazing together.”

  We did. His fair, rosy skin contrasted with my dark olive-tinged tan, and his slender but strong body complemented my much larger, bulkier frame. Light and dark, thick and slim, we were a study in contrasts.

  Every time I tried to change the pace, Breck ignored me. Shaking his head and slapping at my flanks, he fucked me exactly as fast or slow, as hard or as soft as he wanted to. There was no mistaking who was in charge here. He alternated between stroking his cock and caressing my torso and shoulders. Every so often, he would lean down to kiss me, letting me wrap my arms around him while his legs clamped to my sides. Trapped between our bodies, his cock rubbed against my abs with every thrust.

  I cried a wordless complaint as he ripped his mouth away from mine. “God damn, you feel amazing.” He leaned back, resting his hands against my thighs and ground his ass down against me. He moaned with the change in angle as my cock rubbed across his prostate over and over.

  His legs trembled against mine, and a clear drop of nectar dripped from the tip of his cock. “Breck,” I whispered, pleading for something I couldn’t name. “Breck, please.”

  “I’m here, baby. I’m right here.” He leaned forward again, bracing himself over me and looking me right in the eye. “I’m alive, and you’re alive,” he said without stopping the rolling of his hips. “We’re going to take down a very bad man together, you and I, and you’re going to protect me and keep me safe because that’s what you do.”

  In that moment, he owned me totally. My debauched angel, riding my cock and holding my heart and soul in his hand. “I would die for you,” I vowed, the words slipping past my lips without my permission.

  Breck slammed down on my cock, his eyes blazing with heat. “Don’t do that. I don’t want that.”

  “What do you want?” I trembled beneath him, every cell of my body waiting for his answer even as I hovered on the edge of an orgasm I thought might kill me. Anything. I would do anything for him.

  “I want you to live,” he whispered, pushing himself to his knees as he slid up my cock with an agonizing slowness. “I want you to be happy.” He stopped at the apex of his trajectory, barely holding me in. All I could do was wait. His back curved in a beautiful arc, his cock hard and shiny as he stroked it a few times, moaning softly at how good it felt. Suddenly, he dropped forward, hands landing flat on my chest. “And I want you to fuck me like you want that, too,” he demanded.

  So I did.

  I grabbed his hips as he held himself above me, forcing me to come to him. I thrust my hips up off the ground, shoving my cock balls-deep. The sound of our bodies slapping together was almost loud enough to cover my wordless grunts and Breck’s shouts of fuck, baby, and harder.

  There was no stopping my orgasm now. My balls were pulled up so tightly into my body, they hurt. I knew I’d find my fingerprints bruised into Breck’s skin in the morning. My heart pounded as pleasure bordering on pain ratcheted higher and higher in my body. “I can’t…fuck…babe,” was all I could get out before I slammed into him one last time. I shouted loud enough to chase the birds from the trees, and every muscle in my body locked up as I came longer and harder than I could ever remember. Light shimmered at the edges of my vision as my diaphragm refused to work and my lungs burned.

  I vaguely registered Breck’s yell and the feel of his hot release landing on my body, marking me as his from chin to chest.

  Legs trembling, I lowered my ass slowly and carefully to the ground. Breck collapsed on top of me, his head resting on my chest. I clasped him to me, staying inside him and thrusting slowly, drawing shudders and soft moans of pleasure from both of us as long as I could.

  We stayed that way, not speaking, just kissing softly, stroking as much of each other’s skin as we could reach until our breathing slowed and the awareness of how sweaty, sticky, and chilled we both were registered on our sex-stupid br
ains.

  Breck winced as he sat up, his skin peeling away from mine with a rude sound. “We’re gross, baby.”

  I traced my thumbs over the cut of his hipbones. “Y’know, I don’t think anyone but my mama’s ever called me baby.”

  “Do you want me to stop?”

  I thought about it for half a second. “Nah. I like it. Sounds real good coming from you.”

  “Good.” He leaned down, carefully keeping our bodies apart, and kissed me. “Baby?”

  “Yeah?”

  “We’re disgusting, and we need to shower.”

  “Yeah. But not right this second. One more kiss?”

  He smiled. “One more kiss.”

  14 Breck

  It was still the middle of the night when I crept out of my room and down the hall, wearing a T-shirt and a pair of elephant-print pajama pants I’d stolen from Ridge’s room a couple of days before. I tried to be as silent as possible, but I was pretty sure my growling stomach was going to wake the whole damn house.

  By the time Steele and I had finally come back from the gym, freshly showered and naked under our towels, dinner had already been in full swing. We’d heard the clink of glasses and silverware from down the hall as the guys, along with Josie and maybe Miranda, communed in the kitchen. Tiptoeing through the patio door into the living room like the thieves we occasionally were, with bare feet and still-damp hair, we’d exchanged a look. Do we really wanna go in there? How hungry are you? Then each of us had grinned because we’d both decided we were starving. But not for food.

  It was amazing to remember that I’d considered my sex drive DOA a week ago. Steele was like an electric shock from those paddles they use to restart your heart in the hospital. Suddenly, I was back, ladies and gentlemen. And apparently insatiable.

  I vaguely remembered Steele trying to wake me some time after round three to see if I wanted a snack, but I’d been supremely, sublimely fucked out. I was pretty sure I didn’t even fully open my eyes, let alone say anything intelligible. Now it was three o’clock in the morning, though, and my stomach was trying to digest itself, so I had no choice but to leave my comfortable bed – and the even more comfortable man who seemed to love acting as my personal mattress – to forage for food. At least I had high hopes that Josie’s kitchen would be stocked with food, unlike the last few places I’d lived.

  As I crossed the darkened living room, I glanced out the giant windows and sliding doors. The moon gilded the waves and turned the white sand silver as far as the eye could see. It was a gorgeous view, day or night. You’ve come a long way from Alamosa, Colorado, Breck Pfeiffer, I thought. I was a pretty lucky bastard, all things considered.

  Tiny lights inside the glass-fronted cabinets gave the whole kitchen a golden glow. Josie had a bunch of crank-handled cereal dispensers set up along one wall, like the kind they had in the cafeteria back at school. My stomach growled encouragingly, so I grabbed a bowl and set it under the Special K when a voice called out behind me.

  “There’s carne asada left,” Ridge offered. “I know it’s your favorite… and nice pajamas, by the way.”

  I spun around to see my brother sitting in the breakfast nook, with a variety of tinfoil-covered plates and plastic containers spread out on the table in front of him. He sported the same bed-head I probably was, a bright-pink Siesta Key tank top, and pair of pajama pants with monkeys on them.

  Ridge nudged one of the plates in front of him with his fork. “Rice and beans here, too,” he said. “Grab a plate, and I’ll heat some for you.”

  “I can do it.” I swapped my bowl for a plate and approached the table cautiously. Things between Ridge and me had been so strained and shitty, I wasn’t sure if he was going to yell at me more or not.

  I decided I didn’t care if he did. Being cut off from him was driving me crazy, especially since I’d realized how much my own pride was to blame for the distance. I wanted to fix this somehow. “What’s got you up at this hour?” I asked, trying to be nonchalant. I loaded up a plate with steak, rice, and vegetables. “Didn’t get enough at dinner?”

  Ridge shrugged and contemplated the tortilla he’d been piling with meat, salsa, and refried beans. “I have a lot on my mind,” he said. “And you know I think better when I have a full stomach.”

  I nodded. Of course, most of the time when we were growing up, our biggest worry was that we didn’t have full stomachs. “You worried about the plan to take down Harlan?”

  He put down the tortilla and licked salsa off his thumb thoughtfully. “Eh, not really. We’ve got a good team here, and I feel like we’ll figure it out.”

  I frowned. “What, then?”

  “Well.” Ridge glanced away from me, his eyes fixing on the glass doors that led outside. He drummed his fingers lightly on the table. “It really bugged me,” he said, turning his gaze back to me abruptly, “watching Danny and Wes outside earlier. Some of the things Wes said were total bullshit. He made it sound like he was judging Danny for being a prostitute.”

  I lifted one eyebrow. “Uh, yeah. That’s because I’m pretty sure he was.” I shrugged. “Or he was just being an asshole. That’s possible, too. But most people think it’s totally acceptable to have sex because you’re bored, drunk, curious, guilty, lusty, greedy, or sold into a dynastic marriage so your father can rule Europe.” I tapped my fork against my outspread fingers, ticking each one off. “But agree to a sexual transaction that actually could pay you money and suddenly you’re a pariah.”

  I was getting wound up, which was the last thing I wanted, so I forced myself to take a deep breath and shrug. “I get that society still feels like sex should always be some kind of deep, absolute, committed thing, and I’ll even agree that it’s pretty fucking awesome when it is.” I smiled, thinking of the man upstairs in my bed. For me, sex was infinitely better that way. “But it’s not like that all the time, or for everyone, and that should be okay, too.”

  To my shock, Ridge nodded. “It is okay. Any kind of consensual sex is okay.”

  I’m pretty sure my jaw dropped. If he’d declared himself a flat-earther in that minute, I would have been less surprised. “But you…back in D.C… you said… you made it sound like…”

  Ridge’s mouth scrunched up. “Yeah, I know. I figured that out after the conversation today. At first, I didn’t get why you were pissed at me. But then the comments that came out of Wes’s mouth were pretty close to some of the things I said. But I swear, Brekkie, I wasn’t passing judgment. It’s none of my business how much sex you have or with who.” He paused. “Okay, that’s a lie. I do care that it’s someone who’s decent to you and doesn’t, you know, beat the shit out of you or blackmail you into doing things.”

  I tilted my head from side to side like I was considering. “Yeah, okay. Granted.”

  “But other than concern for your basic safety, I’m in no position to judge. I literally steal other people’s shit to make a living.”

  I pulled one of the chairs out from the table, scraping it against the tile floor, and plunked myself in it. “But then why did you say those things?”

  “Because I’m pissed at myself.” He bit his lip and shook his head, staring over my shoulder again. “The whole reason I left you in D.C. was because I wanted you to have a chance at something new, something better. Something where our past didn’t touch you, and you could reinvent yourself into… I dunno, whatever you wanted. I didn’t want you to be associated with a thief.”

  My stomach flipped unpleasantly, and I realized I’d never fully understood his reasons for leaving before.

  “I kind of assumed you left me there because I was holding you back,” I whispered.

  “What?”

  “I mean, I know you wanted me safe and happy, obviously.” I waved a hand in the air dismissively. I’d never doubted that for a second. “But I figured you also wanted me out of sight and out of mind, so you could have something bigger and better. Those last few months, you never talked about your jobs with me. You never sha
red, when you always used to before. It felt like maybe you’d outgrown me or something. Decided to leave the naïve little dumbass to play around in college while you went on to steal the Declaration of Independence and find a treasure.”

  He squinted at me in disbelief. “First of all, I would never steal the Declaration. That’s for Nicholas Cage movies. Remember the first rule of thieves?”

  I laughed. “Never take anything you can’t fence?” I ran a hand over my eyes. “Right. Duh. Silly me.”

  “Uh huh. And second, how could you think that I’d outgrow you? You’re the best part of me, Brekkie. You and me, we’re a team.” He pointed his finger back and forth between the two of us, and my chest squeezed. “You’re the brains of the operation. I just do the grunt work.”

  “Oh, fuck off!” I protested. “That’s the opposite of true.”

  He shrugged. “Pretty true from where I’m sitting. It was my job to protect you, and instead I left you completely unprotected.”

  I exhaled a cross between a groan and a sigh. “What is it with me and overprotective men?” I asked the ceiling. “Is this my lot in life?”

  There were worse fates, though, and that was the truth. After spending months feeling like I was completely alone, I could verify that.

  “Clearly, I didn’t do such a great job of taking care of myself at the end there,” I allowed. “But I’m still here. I’m still alive. And I don’t want to be anyone’s responsibility.” I slid the food around my plate, then looked at him and spewed out everything I’d been thinking in a jumbled rush. “I’m sorry I was an ass to you before. I know you were worried about me, but I didn’t want you to be. I wanted to protect you for once.”

  “Protect me?” Ridge pushed his plate forward, all his attention focused on me. “What’s that mean?”

  I sighed. Ridge was gonna lose his mind with this part. Was it too late to remove the sharp cutlery from the vicinity?

  “It means that I didn’t give money to Mom because she came to me with some sob story. Honestly, I’m a little insulted you even thought that. I mean, come on.” I leaned back in the chair and tried to lighten the situation with humor. “I’ve literally seen the woman force herself to vomit on a cop to convince him not to arrest her for shoplifting. I’m not exactly gonna fall for her whining about how she’s a changed woman or whatever.” I snorted. “That woman is incapable of change. Once a malicious cow, always a malicious cow.”