Break-Away Strength

by Charlie Richards

  Offering a wry smile, Carl pointed out, “This probably isn’t what they had in mind, though. You know that.” He chuckled softly before adding, “You know I’m not one to judge. Miguel needs you right now, that much is plain.” He patted Reggie on the shoulder. “Just be careful.”

  “Careful?” Reggie pressed, scowling. “Of what?”

  Carl glanced toward the house and Reggie followed his gaze. They both watched as a figure moved inside the screened-in porch. It seemed Jake was ready to join Miguel fishing.

  “I’ve been watching Jake fall in and out of adolescent love for the past three years,” Carl murmured. “I know the signs, the look.” He returned his focus to Reggie and smiled. “You’re falling in love with the young man. All I’m saying is make sure he feels the same before you... well, do anything rash.”

  Reggie barked a laugh. “Rash? You mean before I take him home, move him in with me, then invite my son, daughters, and their families over for Sunday supper, introducing Miguel as my significant other?”

  While the words he meant in jest tumbled easily over his tongue, Reggie couldn’t help but admit, even just to himself, that he loved the idea so damn much. He wanted to take Miguel home. He had been alone a long time, and Miguel filled that hole so very well.

  Carl scoffed. “Oh, forget I said anything.” He winked and teased, “You’re already so far gone. At least Miguel wouldn’t be your dirty little secret if you pulled that stunt.”

  “No one deserves to be a dirty little secret,” Reggie confirmed. “I’d never do that to him.”

  “I believe you,” Carl responded. “You should have seen the shocked look on Miguel’s face when you ever-so-casually kissed him in front of me before going to help Jake with your fishing poles yesterday.” He chuckled. “I was sure he was going to pass out.”

  Snorting, Reggie muttered, “I’m going to have fun spoiling him.”

  Patting his shoulder again, Carl nodded. “Good. It sounds like he could use a little spoiling.”

  When Carl turned and headed back toward the cabin, Reggie called, “You sticking around for a while?”

  “A few hours,” Carl confirmed. “I talked to Ryan last night. Let him know what was going on. He’s looking into Monty’s whereabouts and double checking his alibi.” He paused and added, “He’s also verifying where Miguel said he was the night of the murder. I’d like to hear back from him before I leave.”

  Carl nodded at Jake as the young man passed, a grin on his face as he headed toward the river bank. “Morning, Dad,” Jake called. “Morning, Mister Herrera.”

  “Call me Reggie,” he immediately corrected.

  Jake grinned widely. “Yes, Sir.”

  Smirking, Reggie watched for a few seconds before returning his attention to Carl. Seeing the detective’s lifted brow, he stated, “He calls Miguel by his name. Doing that while calling me mister would just be... weird.”

  “I suppose that would be true,” Carl conceded.

  After taking the last swig of his coffee, Reggie turned and followed Carl back to the cabin. He was ready for another cup of the bitter brew as well as some food. “You ready for breakfast, Carl?” he asked, leading the way inside.

  “I am,” Carl confirmed. “What have you got?”

  “Well, we didn’t get much fishing done yesterday. Someone interrupted us,” Reggie teased. “But I did pick up eggs, sausage, and English muffins a couple of days ago. I also have a small block of cheddar I slice for sandwiches. How about sausage, egg, and cheese sandwiches?”

  Carl scoffed. “You eat like that all the time?”

  “Only when I’m up here,” Reggie admitted.

  Hours later, Reggie was back on the river fly-fishing. This time, Miguel lounged on the bank in only his swimming trunks, sunbathing. Unable to help himself, Reggie glanced repeatedly at his sexy lover’s lean form.

  “I can feel you staring at me, handsome,” Miguel purred. Stretching his arms over his head and pointing his toes, he accentuated his lean lines. “Maybe I should take these shorts off. I hate tan lines, ya know.”

  Reggie just about swallowed his tongue at the idea of Miguel lying naked on the grass. Carl and Jake had left just an hour before, leaving them alone at the cabin. He could keep a watch for the possible stray tuber. Having to remain vigilant would be well worth the view.

  “Absolutely,” Reggie rumbled gruffly. “If you think you won’t be too cold.”

  Sliding his hand down his chest, Miguel hummed. “Oh, if I get cold, I’m sure we can come up with some way to warm me up.”

  Growling low in his throat, Reggie stated, “You are incorrigible, my young lover. Are you going to walk around our house nude, too?”

  Miguel’s hand, which had been toying with the waistband of his shorts, froze. Lifting up on his other arm, he half sat up. He gaped up at him.

  “Our house?”

  Reggie suddenly realized what he’d just said and grimaced. While he hadn’t intended to say anything about moving in together right away, it seemed his lust-addled brain hadn’t gotten the memo. Now he knew he had some explaining to do.

  Striding slowly toward the shore, Reggie reeled in his line. “Guess I shouldn’t have blurted that out like that,” he stated, offering Miguel a rueful smile.

  Just as he reached shore, Reggie felt a tug on his line. He paused and focused on the half-reeled line, thinking he’d caught a snag. After a moment, he realized he had a fish on.

  “Hold that thought,” Reggie told him, his tone apologetic.

  Miguel actually chuckled and lay back down. “Take your time,” he offered. “This is what you came out here to do, after all. Besides, after a comment like that, I’m not going anywhere... and I deserve an explanation.”

  “You do indeed,” Reggie confirmed, nodding. “Yesterday, after learning about the death of your friend, you said you’d never be able to return to live in the apartment you shared.” He glanced over his shoulder before once again focusing on reeling in his fish. “While I know we’ve only known each other a short time, I love sharing things with you. I guess... when you know something is right, you want to grab on with both hands.”

  Reggie used the net attached to his belt and scooped up the rainbow trout. He crossed to his stringer, which already had one trout on it, and clipped the new fish onto it. After releasing the fish back into the stream, held captive for later, he climbed out of the river.

  Setting down his pole and net, Reggie crossed to where Miguel patiently waited. He knelt beside him and picked up one hand in both of his own. Peering deep into Miguel’s brown eyes, he tried to read his expression.

  Wary, confused, maybe even hopeful.

  Reggie prayed he saw hopeful and wasn’t misreading it due to wishful thinking.

  “I’m almost fifty-five, Miguel,” Reggie stated. “I’ve been alone a long time. You are the first person to tempt me since my wife’s death over nine years ago.” He sucked in a fortifying breath, then admitted, “I want to know if you’re willing to build a life with me. Sure, we could do things the traditional way, date and shit. But I’m not getting any younger. If I make you happy, then I want to continue making you happy for however long you’ll let me.”

  “Y-You want to keep me?” Miguel murmured. A second later, his lips curved into a beautiful smile. “You know I’m not a lost puppy, right?”

  Reggie snorted before snickering. He rested his palm on Miguel’s warm stomach. Rubbing up and down his abdominals, then growing bold, he moved his hand lower. He gripped Miguel’s half-hard prick through his shorts, enjoying his lover’s hiss and hip-thrust.

  “Oh, my sweet, sexy man,” Reggie growled. “I know you are not a puppy. I sure as hell would not want to do to a puppy what I enjoy doing to you.” He gently jacked Miguel’s prick, feeling it thicken and lengthen within the confines of his shorts. “Not to mention all the things I still want you to do to me.”

  “S-So,” Miguel managed to whisper through panting breaths. “You want to jump into thi
s thing with me with both feet?”

  “It’s called a relationship,” Reggie corrected. “I want a relationship with you, Miguel. A monogamous sharing of our bodies and our lives.”

  Miguel sucked in a harsh breath. His body shuddered and his hips bucked. “God, Reg,” he whined. “You’re so fucking persuasive.”

  Reggie swept his gaze down Miguel’s body, chuckling softly. He relished the flushed hue of his lover’s chest and the way his nipples beaded. Leaning down, he lapped at one of the tight buds. Pride filled him upon hearing the younger man’s wanton moan.

  “I could always stop what I’m doing so you can think more clearly.”

  Once Reggie uttered the empty threat—he loved seeing Miguel enjoy his touch and had every intention of making him fall to pieces—he blew a warm breath of air over Miguel’s wet, beaded nipple.

  Hissing through clenched teeth, Miguel snarled, “Don’t you fucking dare.” He grunted as he bucked his hips, then demanded, “Stroke me harder or suck my dick.”

  Reggie froze for just a minute. He’d never done that before. While he’d felt Miguel’s mouth on his own cock a number of times already, Reggie had never returned the favor.

  “S-Sorry,” Miguel mumbled. “I don’t mean to push. You don’t have to,” he reassured. “It just slipped out.”

  Lifting his gaze to Miguel’s eyes, Reggie smirked. “Oh, my young lover, I might be an old dog,” he rumbled with a wink. “But I can still learn new tricks.”

  Miguel barked a laugh, which was exactly what Reggie had been going for. Grinning, Reggie focused on his man’s groin. He gripped the waistband with both hands and eased it forward and down, freeing Miguel’s erection. When Miguel hissed, then lifted his hips, Reggie tugged the shorts halfway down his thighs.

  After pressing a kiss just below his belly button, Reggie used his lips to lightly pull on the hairs of his treasure trail. He grinned upon hearing Miguel whimper his name. Finally, he stared down at his lover’s long, slender erection.

  Reggie watched a bead of pre-cum well up from the tiny slit in the head. Licking his lips, he inhaled deeply, relishing the musky smell of man. After an instant or two of hesitation, he opened his mouth, stuck out his tongue, and swirled it around the cap.

  Bathing the head with saliva, Reggie found he enjoyed the slightly salty tang of pre-cum mixed with Miguel’s flesh. He reveled in the new experience as he opened his mouth wider and wrapped his lips around Miguel’s crown. Sucking lightly, he relished the mewl and shudder that traveled through the body under his hands.

  Slowly, Reggie began to bob his head. He swallowed a little of the stalk, lapping at the vein running along the underside of Miguel’s erection. With each move, he took a little more until the flared cap hit the back of his tongue, triggering his gag reflex.

  Moving his right hand from Miguel’s thigh, Reggie gripped the base of his prick. He began working his lover’s erection in earnest. Sucking hard with each lift of his head, he massaged the wrinkled skin beneath his crown. He lapped at the pulsing vein under his tongue each time he swallowed back down.

  Reggie kept his left hand on Miguel’s abdominal muscles, holding him in place. He felt his lover’s body tense beneath him. His muscles trembled.

  “Reg!” Miguel cried. “Close. Y-You gotta pull off!”

  Humming because he knew he liked it when a lover vibrated his own dick, Reggie ignored the warning. He sank down again and sucked hard. Miguel’s body strained beneath his palm for an instant before he shuddered, hard.

  In the next instant, Reggie got a mouthful of cum. He swallowed instinctively, only to have his mouth filled again. Popping off Miguel’s dick, he slowly jacked his lover’s shaft as he again swallowed his mouthful of seed. He watched as his lover’s dick pulsed, spraying his stomach, chest, and groin with several streams of fluid.

  When Miguel’s cock stopped spurting and began to soften, Reggie eased his hold. He moved his hands to the grass on either side of his lover’s head and leaned down. Pushing his tongue into Miguel’s mouth, he captured his mouth in a slow, thorough kiss, sharing his lover’s salty taste with him.

  Reggie broke the kiss a moment later, panting softly. Grinning, he licked his lips as he winked. “You taste fantastic, lover.” Seeing Miguel smile almost loopily up at him, he felt a growing sense of smug satisfaction. “So, now that I’ve given my first blowjob, maybe you want to stick around and allow me to get plenty of extra practice.”

  Miguel crunched up, wrapped his arms around Reggie’s shoulders, and yanked him down, capturing his mouth. Reggie just caught his weight on his left arm to avoid squashing his lover. He threaded his right hand through Miguel’s thick, blond hair as they shared a slow, tongue-tangling kiss.

  Chapter Twelve

  Panting harshly, Miguel tried to catch his breath. While he’d had more expertly given blowjobs, he couldn’t ever remember having come so hard from one. He felt as if his brains had been sucked out of his dick, and he was struggling to catch up with the conversation.

  Right. A new home. A relationship. With this sexy, handsome, older man that flipped all his switches and pushed every one of his secret buttons.

  Still, Miguel had to wonder about something. “S-So what about your kids?” he asked. “Are they, uh, going to be okay with this?” He waved his hand between their chests, silently referring to a relationship between them. Something else occurred to Miguel and he frowned. “Unless, well, did you plan to introduce us as... friends?”

  Reggie gave him an understanding smile as he rubbed his thumb along Miguel’s brow. “While I would like to consider us friends as well as lovers, I would never deny you.” His expression turned serious as he told him, “I will introduce you to my family as my lover, my partner, my significant other... whichever label you like. All of them are fine with me. I will not hide our relationship.” A corner of his mouth turned up as he added, “That is, if you decide to move in with me.”

  “Are you sure this isn’t just...” Miguel paused, trying to find the right words to voice his fear. Reggie waited patiently, holding his gaze, and Miguel admitted, “What if this is just convenient? I was in the right place at the right time when you came out of your self-imposed celibacy?”

  Reggie actually chuckled as he grinned widely down at him. “You are anything but convenient, Miguel,” Reggie stated. “Surely you realize that.”

  Miguel gaped. “What do you mean?”

  Still grinning, Reggie leaned down and pecked his lips. “You are a man, Miguel,” he pointed out. “When I have never admitted to liking men before.” Smirking, he added, “You are also less than half my age. Do you think this is a midlife crisis for me? Do you think it won’t be suggested more than once that I’m using you just as much as you are using me?”

  Taken aback, Miguel hissed, “What? I’m not using you. And I know you’re not using me. Hell, you’ve already done so much for me. You’ve saved my life. You’ve opened your home, your heart, your body... you’ve—”

  “See,” Reggie cut in, pressing a fingertip to his lips to stop his denials. “That’s what I’m talking about. There will be those who will point all those things out to me and say that you’re using me.” He shrugged. “I know that’s not true, though.” After another kiss, he continued, “Then there will be those people who say those other things about me using you... maybe to make myself feel young, to recapture my youth, and it’s just a phase that will pass once I get my head on straight again... literally.”

  Miguel grimaced. Those were all things he worried about, too. “And you’re sure none of those things are true?” He blurted the question out before he could hold his tongue.

  Reggie pressed his body against him. The cold of his waders caused a chill to seep into Miguel’s skin. He also felt the thick ridge of his lover’s trapped erection.

  “Maybe this is a midlife crisis,” Reggie rumbled, shrugging. “It doesn’t change the fact that I want you, Miguel. In my bed, in my life, and beside me until one of us sees o
ur maker.” He cocked his head. “Did I ever tell you about when I met Catherine, my late wife?”

  “Uh, no,” Miguel murmured, not entirely sure he wanted to know, either. “Why?”

  Reggie threaded his fingers through Miguel’s hair repeatedly. “We met when I was in my second year as a journeyman. I used to be an electrician, you see,” he reminded. “Sometimes, you just click with people, Miguel. I knew right away with her, too, but I managed to wait three months before proposing.” He scoffed before adding, “My buddies took bets on how long the marriage would last.”

  “’Til death do you part,” Miguel whispered, realizing why Reggie had shared the story. Somehow, the man just knew. “How do you know that fast?”

  “I don’t know,” Reggie admitted. “It’s a feeling. A gut instinct. I had it with her, and I have it with you.” His expression turned earnest. “I’m hoping you feel it, too.”

  “I do,” Miguel admitted. “I definitely do.”

  “Good.” Reggie grinned. “Then you’ll move in with me.”

  “Yeah. Absolutely.”

  Reggie grinned widely, clearly pleased. He opened his mouth, but the crunch of tires over gravel caught his attention. He looked up, his brows furrowing.

  “Good grief,” Reggie grumbled. “I’ve never had so many uninvited guests when up here.”

  Following Reggie’s line of sight even as he reached down and pulled up his swim trunks, Miguel felt his heartbeat spike. “Oh, shit,” he whispered. “Call your detective back. Tell him to get his ass back here.”

  While Reggie’s lips curved down in a frown, his confusion obvious, he still did as he was told. He pulled his phone from his plaid shirt’s top pocket and tapped out a text message. “What’s wrong?” he asked absently. “Do you recognize that car?”

  Miguel stared at the dark green sedan and watched as the driver’s side door opened. The hairs on his arms and at the back of his neck stood on end. “Yeah,” he whispered. “That’s Monty’s car. If Otto is with him, we dive into the river and start swimming.”