Pas de Deux

by Jamie Craig

  When he brought back the drinks, he perched on the edge of the coffee table to face Scott, rather than be blocked from view behind him. “Are your shoulders better? Do you need me to continue the massage?”

  “Absolutely.” Scott sipped from his glass and his eyes closed with contentment. Duke could almost see the remaining tension draining from Scott’s muscles—or maybe it was drowning under the excellent whiskey. When he opened his eyes again, they were focused without being overly bright. The earlier angry light had dulled. “But not until after we eat and I can coax you back into the bedroom.”

  “You don’t have to coax. A simple invitation is all I need.”

  “Then let the record show that you have a standing invitation.”

  A sharp knock on the door blocked Duke’s response.

  Scott jumped to his feet, whiskey still in hand. Duke couldn’t quite believe that thirty minutes had already passed, but then, he lost track of time when he had his hands on Scott. Duke followed him to the door, reaching for his wallet, prepared to insist that he would pay for his own, but Scott didn’t give him the chance. He pushed two bills in the delivery boy’s hand and accepted two large white bags in return.

  “Does this count as our first date?” Scott asked, as he shut the door.

  Duke blocked him in, succumbing to the urge to close the distance again. Scott didn’t fight it, simply looking up at him and waiting.

  “Since you paid, and we’re at your place, I think that counts.” He bent closer, breathing in the scent of Scott’s aftershave, the food, and the heady alcohol until his mouth watered. “But I reserve the right to arrange my own first date when we have the time and opportunity.”

  “You can arrange any date that you like, but I don’t think it would count as a first one, technically. Or is that just me being a nitpicky lawyer?”

  “That’s you being nitpicky.”

  His last word was almost lost with the seal of his mouth over Scott’s, the kiss he knew they both wanted—needed—far more important than bantering about details. He kept it slow and careful, tickling along the seam of Scott’s lips for the moment before he opened up to Duke and invited him in. His grip on the door tightened, the simple caress dizzying. When he broke away to gulp for breath, his head still spun.

  “I’ve wanted to do that all day, too.”

  Scott dropped the bags of food like they were nothing and cupped the back of Duke’s neck, turning him to face the room. “Funny. I’ve wanted to do this since last night.”

  This was a kiss with enough force to drive Duke back against the door. His shoulder blades hit the wood with a hollow thump, and the doorknob pressed into his hip. He didn’t care about the dull pain, though. Not while Scott’s mouth demanded his attention. His tongue swooped into Duke’s mouth, like he was chasing the faint hint of whiskey on his breath. Scott’s hand closed around Duke’s shirt, his fingers pulling the material tight across Duke’s chest.

  The notion to slow Scott down came and went, as fleetingly as it deserved. Duke had extended the first move, and made his interest all too apparent not to accept Scott’s initiative, especially when they both clearly wanted this, needed it like they needed to breathe. Stopping the night before had been judicious. Now, they had all the time in the world, the luxury of hours ahead of them to take pleasure in the other without losing sleep.

  He gripped Scott’s hip, molding their bodies together. Scott could control the kiss as much as he liked; Duke wanted control of the rest of his flesh. With his free hand, he tugged at Scott’s shirt, loosening it from the waistband, and slipped his fingers beneath the material as soon as there was room. Muscles twitched at the first touch, but he didn’t let that stop him. He wanted them quivering and molten, just like Scott’s shoulders had been after the massage. He would do whatever it took to make that happen.

  Duke’s chest began to burn, and though they broke away at the same time to gasp for breath, they didn’t move away from each other. Scott kept him pinned in place, his mouth working over Duke’s jaw. Like he wanted to eat Duke whole. Duke pushed more of Scott’s shirt out of the way and slid his palms around the man’s ribs, up his sides, and down his back. He couldn’t get enough of the smooth texture, or the sensitive, trembling muscles.

  “I want to take you to the bedroom now,” Scott said against his throat.

  Duke nodded. He probably couldn’t have spoken if he tried. Voices required breath. Words, coherent thought. His only need rested in this man’s skin and the desire to consume as much as be consumed.

  Scott linked his fingers with Duke’s and took a step back. It became obvious to Duke that Scott had no intention of breaking the contact in any way, even if that meant stumbling over and around the furniture blocking their path to the bedroom. Scott didn’t seem the least perturbed by the obstacles. His attention was completely locked on Duke, and he didn’t miss a beat as he sought out Duke’s mouth again.

  They stopped more than once along the way, but once they passed into the more dimly lit bedroom, Duke abandoned any pretense at niceties and grabbed Scott’s tie. Coiling it around his fingers, he shoved Scott into the wall and pinned him there, extricating his other hand to fumble with Scott’s belt.

  “If you don’t have condoms and lube, now is the time to tell me,” he warned. “Because I don’t want to have to stop once we start.”

  “Didn’t you know I was a Boy Scout?” Scott slid his gaze downward to where Duke held his tie, a smile curving his already swollen mouth. “You like to play a bit rough?”

  Duke followed his gaze and chuckled. “Just excited. And used to being on top.” He relaxed his hand, though didn’t let go of the tie. “I have no idea what you’re used to, or what you’re expecting will happen. I probably shouldn’t have done that.”

  “No, no, don’t apologize.” Scott palmed Duke’s ass, pulling him closer to grind his erection against Duke’s thigh. “I quite like that side of you. And as for who tops, I’m easy either way. Whatever you want.”

  Right then, he just wanted James.

  His fingers finally managed to open the belt, followed swiftly by the pants. The first touch of the wet tip made his breath hitch, and he crushed their mouths together again, ravenous for more kisses. He refused himself the freedom to explore, choosing instead to swirl the pre-come around and around the velvety head, but the strictness paid off in other ways, as Scott whimpered and groaned at the incessant caresses.

  Scott’s hands were just as busy, but instead of driving Duke crazy with light touches, he was driving Duke crazy by avoiding any contact with skin at all. He pulled Duke’s belt free first, the leather slithering against the material of his pants as it inched through the loops. After he tossed it away, Duke expected to feel searching fingers at his fly, then dipping into his pants to seek out his flushed skin. Except Scott moved his hands up Duke’s body, seeking the tie that still dangled from his neck. He gave the knot a hard tug just as Duke wrapped his fingers around the head of Scott’s cock. It was difficult to tell who moaned first before their mouths crashed together again.

  The back of his knees trembled like a teenager’s on his first real date. All the pent-up adrenaline of the past few days demanded some sort of instant release, taking over his limbs when his hands and mouth weren’t moving fast enough. This is James, his thoughts kept whispering. James of the laughing eyes. James of the quick tongue. James of whiskey-tinged nights and warm hands and deep-seated honor that made Duke want to shout with joy at finding.

  Most importantly, this was James of the driving hunger for Owen, the man who saw past the suit and the rules and the control and liked what he saw beneath. Duke burned as much from that knowledge as he did those wild, wicked kisses.

  The room moved around them, though Duke wasn’t aware of taking any steps. His feet seemed detached from the rest of his body—the only part of him that wasn’t entirely focused on the pressure of Scott’s mouth and fingers. Scott pushed Duke’s shirt down his arms, struggling with the materi
al until it was completely free. Seconds later, Duke felt the bed against the side of his leg. Proof that they had, in fact, been walking.

  “So you’re gonna fuck me?” Scott gasped.

  “Eventually.”

  He uncurled the tie he still held to yank it over Scott’s head, slipping deeper into his pants to cup his tight balls. The fleeting touch distracted both of them while Duke worked to rid them of more clothes—his shoes, Scott’s shirt, both sets of pants. When they stood there in only underwear, he finally retracted his hand. He needed both to push James back onto the bed and cover that long muscled body with his own.

  His hips jerked when Scott grabbed his ass and ground their hips together again. “I didn’t massage you long enough. You have too much muscle control left.”

  “There are other ways to take care of that.” The motion of their bodies pulled the material away from his cock. The tip dragged across Duke’s stomach, wetting his skin with fresh pre-come.

  Though he tingled at the delectable proof of Scott’s arousal, Duke held still, caught in his pleasure of the moment. “Is there anything you don’t jump into with both guns blazing?”

  “I guess if it’s something worth doing…” Scott’s tongue darted out, sampling the skin at the base of Duke’s throat. “Then it’s worth jumping in with both guns blazing.”

  His eyes fluttered shut. Blindly, he reached between their bodies and caught Scott’s cock, ignoring any attempt at subtlety or finesse as he fisted the shaft. He had every intention of burying himself inside Scott’s body, but the possibility of getting to feel the same, of the long, throbbing length in his hand easing its way into his ass, had his nerves jumping. He rarely felt the desire to bottom for any man. James was proving the exception to every rule he’d ever made for himself.

  “What about you?” Scott managed to speak without actually breaking contact. Each word was punctuated with a small lick and the scrape of Scott’s teeth. “Do you always jump in with both guns blazing?”

  He shuddered at a small bite at the curve of his shoulder. The only way to mask it was to pull firmly at Scott’s cock. “I didn’t realize I had.”

  “You’ve got me pinned to the bed and we haven’t even had our first date. Not that I’m complaining.”

  “You’re the one who dropped the food. I thought I was just following your lead.”

  “Really? I never thought of you as a follower. More as somebody who likes to take charge of a situation.”

  With a chuckle, Duke propped himself on his knuckles, taking away the direct contact of Scott’s mouth in favor of meeting his gaze. He didn’t take his hand from the man’s cock, though. That was his for the duration of the night, whether Scott liked it or not. “That was before I met you. Sometimes, you make me feel like I’m running to catch up.”

  “I’m glad you caught up with me here.” Scott pushed his hand down the back of Duke’s underwear, his fingertips tracing the crease of his ass. Despite his earlier desire to feel Scott’s cock inside of him, he was shocked by the way his groin tightened at the barest hint of contact.

  The words, So am I, stalled on his tongue, incapable of forming without the breath to support them. He met Scott’s eyes, wondering for a fleeting moment what he might see in Duke’s, before the need to taste him again overwhelmed everything else, driving his head down to lick along the long column of Scott’s neck. Salt and sweat combined to detonate his taste buds. The few remaining barriers between them were too many now, and he descended inch by inch, relinquishing his hold on Scott’s shaft to finally push the underwear out of his way.

  Scott arched beneath him, gasping as Duke pushed the material off his legs. Naked, Scott looked even better than Duke had imagined. Everything about Scott made Duke want to lick him. He wanted to taste every inch of Scott’s skin. He wanted the smell the musk of his sweat and arousal, and let the short curls at the base of his cock brush against his mouth. He wanted to trace around Scott’s belly button. After a moment of consideration, he dragged his tongue along the seam of Scott’s thigh. He immediately spread his legs wider, offering more of his sensitive skin to Duke’s touch.

  Duke smoothed his palms over the inside of Scott’s thighs, bracing against the tight sinew as he bent farther and sampled the softer skin behind the drawn-up sac. The hairs tickled against his tongue, but better was the way Scott pushed back, a hint of how eagerly he’d respond when it was Duke’s cock so near his opening instead of his mouth. Duke licked again, this time skating over his balls. He ended at the root of the shaft and turned his head to catch it lightly between his teeth.

  Scott moaned, threading his fingers through Duke’s hair. His hand flexed, lightly pulling on Duke’s scalp. Duke increased the pressure on Scott’s shaft until he cried out, then relaxed his jaw and instantly soothed the indentations with his tongue.

  “Owen…I think…you’re going to…make me crazy.”

  He’d hoped only to show Scott what he did to him, but if such a little gesture drove him that much closer to the edge, Duke had little problem with that. He mouthed a path up the length of his cock, alternating between lips and tongue along the way. Muscles tensed beneath his hands as Scott writhed against the contact, but that simply forced Duke to tighten his hold, slowing down even farther to prolong the sensations.

  “Fuck…fuck…” Scott gripped Duke’s shoulder and tried to pull him up, but he refused to budge. He wouldn’t even move an inch. Which only made Scott writhe more. Duke sensed his rising frustration, but he didn’t care. Not while his shaft throbbed against Duke’s mouth, and pre-come dripped down the length, painting his thin, pale skin. “At least let me feel your entire mouth.”

  Duke pulled back, hovering over the tip so the breath from his words hit the glistening skin directly. “Everything in its time.”

  “In its time? What sort of scale are you working on here?”

  “Mine.” He traced around the ridge with the tip of his tongue. “I could always stop.”

  “No. No, don’t stop.” Scott slid his hand down the side of Duke’s head and caressed the side of his face. “Please don’t do that.”

  A line of clear fluid connected the head to Scott’s stomach. Duke shifted forward to catch it, following it to its completion to suck hard at the slick skin of the abdominal muscle. Scott’s hips snapped, temporarily unseating Duke’s grip. He pushed Scott back down, but their slightly shifted position gave him the perfect angle to nibble downward between Scott’s cock and belly, the shaft gliding across Duke’s roughened cheek all the way.

  Scott tolerated the repetition of that simple act for several moments, his hips shifting each time Duke caressed his shaft with his cheek, his jaw, even the corner of his mouth. He loved the sight of Scott’s body, but he closed his eyes in bliss, enjoying the heat and texture against his skin. Not just enjoying it. Savoring it. Locking it away in his memory to be recalled on a night when he didn’t have Scott in touching distance.

  That was why he didn’t see Scott move, and didn’t realize what was happening until it was too late, and he was flipped over on his back. His eyes flew open as Scott’s weight settled on his body.

  His first instinct was to buck Scott off. The heat around his hips and the gleam in Scott’s eyes had him reining it in. “What happened to me not stopping?”

  “Don’t think of it as stopping.” Scott pulled Duke’s length free from his briefs, stroking him once with a tight fist. “Think of it as taking a small break.”

  He didn’t think for a second Scott had changed his mind about who was fucking who, but the strength in his hand calmed Duke’s desire to get back on top right away. The last thing he wanted was for James to be left out, though. Reaching for Scott’s cock, he angled it downward and molded their lengths together, fitting his fingers over Scott’s so they could stroke together.

  Scott shuddered, his muscles trembling as their palms traveled from the tip to the base and back again. Scott dragged his free hand down Duke’s chest, his fingers seeking out one
nipple. It was already hard. Everything about Duke felt hard. His heart even beat a hard rhythm in his ears. Duke sucked his breath between his teeth when Scott pinched one nipple, increasing the pressure until pleasure flared through his entire body.

  “How do you want it?” Scott asked thickly. “Do you want me to ride you?”

  He hadn’t considered it, but now, the image of Scott’s golden body rising above him seared Duke’s thoughts. “Yes,” he said without pause. “I want to watch you.”

  The corner of Scott’s mouth lifted. “I was hoping you would say that. Let me get you ready for that.”

  He let go of their cocks to lean for the nightstand, yanking open the top drawer and pulling out the lube and an open box of condoms. Duke was transfixed as Scott scooted back, climbing off his legs to strip his underwear off the rest of the way. He missed the heat, and the weight, and almost grabbed to yank him back, but the promise of what was to come kept him motionless, even refraining from touching himself.

  Scott tore the condom open and rolled it swiftly down Duke’s shaft. When he reached for the lube, though, Duke caught his wrist.

  “Let me slick you.”

  Scott smiled and silently held the bottle out. Duke took it and sat up, pressing his chest to Scott’s. After pouring the lube onto two fingers, he tossed the bottle aside and slipped his hand between Scott’s ass, seeking out his entrance. He spread the lube across the tight ring, teasing Scott with the promise of his fingers. He expected Scott to push backward and impale himself, but he remained motionless. Waiting. Even after Duke slipped the tip of his index finger into Scott’s tight channel, he held himself with a patience that Duke hadn’t expected.

  He could barely breathe as he pushed his finger inside, the muscles clenching around the intrusion before he pulled out again. It felt like he should say something, do something, break the spell that seemed to have settled over both of them, but whatever it was escaped him. Scott had changed all his old rules. Hell, he’d thrown them away without a modicum of respect or care. What should have pissed Duke off now intrigued him, keeping him mesmerized with the man straddling his legs as he carefully added a second finger.