Sutcliffe Cove

by Ariel Tachna

  “And now all of a sudden I am?” Gerald asked, confused more than anything. Then a thought occurred. “Is this because I was wearing a suit when I got here?” he asked. “You want someone like him who looks nice and put together and formal like that?”

  “What?” Brett asked. “What are you talking about? I realized how much I missed you while you were gone, how much of a fixture you’ve become in my life. You’re far more a part of it than Robbie ever was, even before this kiss. It just took me until you were gone to see that.”

  Gerald realized he was reading too much into something insignificant. He smiled lopsidedly. “Sorry. Just surprised, is all. I feel the same way, actually. It’s just that you’ve always been with him since I started coming here.”

  “Yeah, I guess I have.” Brett shrugged. “We had a good time together, but it was never all that serious. He didn’t ride and wasn’t interested in learning.” And if that hadn’t been a clue how ultimately unsuited they were for each other, he didn’t know what was. He just wished he’d recognized it sooner. “Of course, I thought you were straight until the first day you rode Misfit. You missed every hint I dropped.”

  Gerald actually flushed a little more. “I don’t catch a lot of stuff like that. Doesn’t occur to me, I guess.” He whooshed his hand over the top of his head.

  “I guess I’ll have to stop being subtle then,” Brett teased, crossing back to Gerald’s side and kissing him lightly. “Is that obvious enough for you?”

  Instead of answering verbally, Gerald tipped his head to catch Brett’s lips again, this time in a more fervent kiss. They were both breathing a little harder when he finally broke away. “I’d say so,” he drawled, his hands curled about Brett’s waist.

  “So we have two choices as far as I can tell,” Brett mused, pulling back enough to breathe again. “We can go rescue the steaks from the grill and eat,” his stomach rumbled loudly as if to illustrate the necessity of that at some point, “or we can leave them to burn and fuck each other silly.”

  Gerald laughed; it was clearly a happy sound. “Let’s eat first. Otherwise we’ll just have to stop later,” he said with a raised brow. He had no idea what “later” would entail, but he was looking forward to having Brett close.

  Brett groaned even as his stomach growled again. The thought of letting Gerald go when he finally had him in his arms was almost more than he could stand. Grinning suddenly, he kept an arm around the brunet’s waist, dragging him along as he headed for the grill outside by the porch.

  Gerald chuckled as Brett pulled him outside. “I’m not going anywhere, Brett, really,” he said. He leaned to press his lips to the other man’s ear. “I’m a little invested in sticking around,” he murmured.

  “Yeah, but you’ve been gone for two weeks, and I’ve waited almost five months to get my hands on you,” Brett explained. “I’m not letting go anytime soon!”

  Laughing again, Gerald leaned to steal another kiss. “Grill the steaks,” he said as he pried himself loose. “I’ll make it worth your while.”

  Brett pouted as he walked down the steps to the grill, ignoring the dogs who tangled around his ankles looking for a handout. His sister the vet had lectured him too many times about the dangers of table food for him to consider sneaking them anything, even when she wasn’t around. Somehow she always knew.

  Finally allowing himself the pleasure of watching Brett’s ass in the close-fitting jeans he favored, Gerald found that he was really happy with this turn of events. He had a close friend who he was attracted to who felt the same way. He had a decent job that he liked. And he had Misfit to keep him on his toes. Although he thought Brett would be doing that as well.

  Flipping the steaks on the grill, Brett turned back to look at the man sitting on his porch. Gerald had picked the same chair his mother always sat in to watch his father grill once she’d finished everything else inside, and the memory resonated within him. He knew it was way too soon to be thinking such thoughts, but the idea of having Gerald sitting there every night—or at least every time he grilled—appealed to something buried deep in his soul. He’d pushed the idea of permanence aside for the years he’d spent wandering around the country, working odd jobs here and there, because he always knew he’d return to Sutcliffe Cove.

  In the time he’d been back, Brett had been so busy with his changes at the farm that he hadn’t had time for more than the occasional one-night stand and then the casual thing he’d had with Robbie. Now, though, finding the time suddenly seemed of vital importance.

  Noticing Brett’s gaze on him, Gerald offered him a smile. “Anything I can help with?”

  “Nah,” Brett said with a shake of his head. “Just let them sit, flip them a few times, then eat.”

  “Want to eat out here? I’ll bring the stuff from the kitchen,” Gerald said as he unfolded himself from the comfortable chair.

  “That’d be great, although you’ll have to ignore the dogs,” Brett told him. “They beg. I haven’t given them anything even once since I’ve been home, but they still beg.”

  Gerald noted the two sitting at Brett’s feet, giving him their rapt attention. “Yeah, okay,” he said as he walked inside to get the casserole, beer, plates and flatware.

  Brett flipped the steaks, amazed at how comfortable it was having Gerald there. It felt right, like it was meant to be. The thought scared him. What would happen if Gerald didn’t feel the same way? Telling himself to stop jumping at shadows, he smiled when Gerald came back out. “How do you like your steak?”

  “Whatever, as long as it’s hot through,” Gerald said, setting down the dishes and walking over to the grill with two plates.

  “Then it should be just about done,” Brett replied, flipping the steaks one more time. “Another minute or two and we can eat.”

  Gerald stood next to him, just watching, enjoying how easy this was. No nerves, no apprehension of being around a new person, because Brett… wasn’t. Brett was a good friend already, and for him, that was more than enough. “If it’s done right I won’t need steak sauce,” Gerald joked.

  “Good thing,” Brett retorted, “since I don’t keep any at the house. My mom always said steak sauce was for people who didn’t know how to cook beef.”

  “Ha! You understand!” Gerald crowed, bouncing in place. “Waitresses always give me a blank look when I tell them that.”

  “One more way we’re perfect for each other,” Brett rejoiced, the words slipping out before he could censor them.

  A different, softer smile curved Gerald’s lips. He turned and leaned against the house, standing next to the grill facing Brett. “Perfect?”

  Brett shrugged diffidently. “My horses like you, my dogs like you, we share the same taste in beer and in steaks. Sounds pretty perfect to me.” He didn’t mention the incredible chemistry that exploded between them when they kissed earlier, but it was in the forefront of his mind.

  “Mmm. No comment about how well we clicked tonight, I notice,” Gerald said as he sat down at the table.

  “I figured that went without saying,” Brett said. He took the steaks up and carried the plates to the table, reveling in the freedom to lean over and kiss Gerald as he set one down in front of him.

  Gerald’s eyes were bright with pleasure when Brett parted from him. “I think I’m really going to enjoy this,” he said, not taking his eyes off the other man.

  “I’m glad to hear it.” Brett took a seat and cut into the steak, glaring at the dogs when they whined pitifully at his feet. “Off the porch,” he ordered firmly. “Your food’s in your bowls in the barn.”

  Gerald chuckled. He turned in his seat, scratched their ears, then pushed and shooed them away. “Go on now,” he said firmly, pointing toward the barn. Tails hanging, the dogs sulked off the porch.

  “Damn, they make me feel guilty every time I do that,” Brett said. “I know it’s healthier for them, but it sure isn’t easier for me.”

  “You’re a big pushover,” Gerald teased. “I’
ve seen the kids do it to you in the barn with chores too.”

  “Yeah, I know.” Brett sighed. “You’ll just have to stay around and be the bad cop since I have no willpower.”

  “If it means I get more of your time to myself, I’ll do it,” Gerald agreed as they dug in. He’d wanted it before, really, just to visit and to learn more about horses. But now he craved that time, especially because Brett was his for more than just visiting.

  “Keep looking at me like that, and I’ll give you anything you ask for,” Brett warned, his insides melting at the covetous look on Gerald’s face. The thought that the other man wanted him still boggled his mind.

  “Looking at you like what?” Gerald asked curiously, studying Brett as much as he wanted, now that he didn’t have to worry about being caught at it.

  “Like you want to eat me alive,” Brett said hoarsely, desire curling wildly in his gut.

  “Mmm. Good to know I telegraph things so much,” Gerald commented as he cut up his steak and took another bite. “Duly noted.”

  Nonplussed, Brett returned to his steak, not quite sure what to make of Gerald’s response. He’d been hoping for a little more… well, enthusiasm. Gerald only lasted several bites and a few minutes before pushing the plate away, standing, and pulling Brett up out of his chair and into his arms.

  Gerald’s action surprised Brett almost as much as the realization earlier in the evening of how badly he’d missed the man. He didn’t have time to reflect on it, though, because he was in Gerald’s arms being thoroughly kissed.

  “I was teasing,” Gerald murmured when their lips finally parted. “I do want to eat you alive.” His hands dragged down Brett’s sides familiarly.

  “Have you had enough dinner?” Brett asked roughly, his voice breaking with desire. “Because I’m not hungry for steak anymore.”

  Gerald swallowed hard as his pulse sped. “It’ll reheat,” he agreed.

  The epicure in Brett protested the abuse of good meat, but he had far more pressing needs at the moment. Like taking Gerald to bed and fucking him. Or maybe being fucked senseless himself. Or both. “The dogs can have it for all I care.”

  Gerald laughed breathlessly as he walked backward, pulling Brett along with him inside the house. “I’ll buy you another steak.” Seeing how much Brett wanted him was really turning him on, and he wanted to do something about it. “C’mere and touch me,” Gerald invited bluntly.

  “Where? How?” Brett asked. “Tell me what you like.”

  “Here? Or is there a bedroom somewhere you’d prefer?” Gerald asked, eyes sparkling with amusement. “You can touch me however you want. I’m sure I’ll enjoy it.”

  “Bedroom,” Brett declared shakily, wondering how he’d gone from being the one in control to being the one asking for advice. He hadn’t gotten here by being tentative. It was time to remember that. “No lube down here.”

  “Definitely the bedroom then,” Gerald said with a sober nod.

  Brett led him through the rambling house to the back steps that led directly up to his bedroom. He’d remodeled soon after moving in, almost doubling the size of the room and giving him direct access to the main level. It was the one room in the house that bore his stamp. “Bedroom,” he declared, turning to pull Gerald into his arms again.

  “Good,” Gerald rasped as their bodies bumped again. “Didn’t know if you wanted to be stripped down in front of those windows downstairs, much less on the back porch,” he said as his hands slid back under Brett’s shirt to grasp at the heated skin.

  “Nobody around for miles to see,” Brett said with a shrug, “but the bed’s more comfortable than the couch anyway. Neither of us are exactly small.” He worked his hand between them, loosening a couple of buttons on Gerald’s shirt before pulling it over his head. “And I won’t be the only one stripped down.”

  Gerald certainly agreed, since the next moment his lips were on Brett’s and his hands were unfastening Brett’s jeans.

  Brett unbuckled Gerald’s belt, popped the button, and pulled down the zipper. He slid his hand inside, expecting to encounter fabric, but he only found hot, hard flesh. He groaned into the kiss, his knees turning to water at the thought that Gerald had gone commando for him.

  “Aww, fuck,” Gerald groaned, the rare profanity escaping him when Brett touched him. He unzipped Brett’s jeans and started pushing at them. He needed them off. He needed his own pants off. Everything off, now!

  Brett shimmied his jeans off his hips, pushing his briefs down too. He grabbed his T-shirt, ripping it over his head, reaching for Gerald even before it hit the ground. Later, he’d take time to look, to admire, but for now, he needed skin against skin. Nothing else would do.

  Gerald wrapped himself around the other man, trying to touch as much as he could as they sealed their mouths together; the slide of their skin sending sparks along his nerve endings. He pulled away from Brett’s lips and moved his mouth to the other man’s neck, sucking and licking as he tasted it.

  Brett’s head fell back, baring his neck to more of the delicious scrape of Gerald’s stubble across his flesh. He shuddered in delight, desire swamping him with its urgency. His hands clawed at Gerald’s back, urging him on.

  Dragging his lips and teeth along Brett’s throat, Gerald bit down gently and sucked above the other man’s collarbone as his hands explored Brett’s chest, then belly, then the hard length that prodded his thigh. “Mmmm. Want this,” he said throatily. “Want you.”

  “Yes,” Brett hissed, arching into the provocative caress. “Anything you want.”

  “Good thing I’m such a good guy,” Gerald muttered as he licked along the shell of Brett’s ear. “Otherwise I’d take advantage.” His hands moved to blatantly squeeze Brett’s ass. “On the other hand….” He shifted and pushed Brett backward and down onto the bed and then climbed atop him without stopping his wet assault of Brett’s now-swollen lips.

  “Please,” Brett begged. “Take advantage!” His hips tipped up, his body adding its own plea to his words.

  Gerald smiled but tipped his head to one side as he looked down at his soon-to-be lover and forced himself to focus. “Seriously, for a minute. We have to be safe, you know. Is it okay for me to put my mouth on you? Or do we need to use something? Besides a condom.”

  “I’m clean,” Brett assured him hoarsely. “I haven’t had unprotected sex since I was too young to know better, and I’ve been tested regularly just to be safe. You can put your mouth wherever you want.”

  A soft smile spread on Gerald’s lips. “I have physicals every year for the insurance at work,” he said with a nod. “So we’re both good.” The smile pulled into a smirk as he started dragging his hands down all the flesh below him. “Scoot up,” he said as he patted Brett’s rump, wanting him all the way on the bed.

  Brett shifted at Gerald’s urging, lying back on the bed. “So,” he asked, “top or bottom?”

  Gerald gave him an evil grin. “Both,” he said before swooping down to drag his tongue from Brett’s balls to the tip of his cock.

  Brett’s hips bucked up at the unexpected contact. His eyes rolled back in his head, and it was all he could do not to come on the spot. “Warn a guy next time,” he gasped.

  “Where’s the fun in that?” Gerald asked with a satisfied hum before lowering his head to suck Brett’s cock between his lips.

  Hard hands closed around his hips, reminding Brett that while Gerald looked damn good in a suit, he wasn’t a man of leisure. The hot, wet suction left Brett groaning, wanting more, wanting to thrust long and hard into Gerald’s throat, but the hands held him down. Fingers tangling in the sheets, he fought for control, trying to draw this out a little longer. He wanted Gerald too badly for there to be much chance of success in that, though. “Close,” he moaned. And Gerald responded by humming and increasing the suction, deliberately trying to push Brett over the edge while he watched.

  It worked. The vibrations were enough to trigger Brett’s climax, his release coming out of him i
n several long spurts, filling Gerald’s mouth and dribbling down his chin. All the tension left his body as the suckling gentled, satiation filling him. Brett reminded himself firmly that his lover—they were lovers now, right?—was still unsatisfied. “So what can I do for you?” he husked.

  Gerald crawled back up Brett’s body to kiss him, the flavor of Brett’s come still coating his tongue. “I’m not averse to the same in kind,” he murmured once pulling back. “And I’d certainly enjoy nailing you into the mattress.”

  Brett sucked his flavor out of Gerald’s mouth, incredibly turned on by the fact that Gerald had let him come down his throat. ”You won’t hear me complaining either way,” he replied, “but it’s been awhile since I’ve bottomed, so nail me carefully at first, yeah?”

  “I can do careful,” Gerald said as he dipped his head to drop soft kisses along his cheekbones and jaw. “Want to please you as much as please myself.”

  “Lube’s in the drawer by the bed,” Brett offered, legs parting in silent offering as he arched into the gentle caress. He wished he’d shaved that morning so his whiskers didn’t interfere with the feeling of Gerald’s lips against his skin. A grin broke out on his face. He’d have to buy a new razor if he was going to be shaving every day.

  Gerald shifted to the side to pull open the drawer. “What’s the grin for?” he asked. “Something besides the obvious?” His eyes glinted with humor.

  “Just thinking I might have to start shaving more often now that I’ll be seeing my lover on more than just rare occasions,” Brett admitted.

  “I certainly hope it’s more than rare occasions,” Gerald said. “But I love the feel of your scruff against my skin." He dipped his head to rub their cheeks together.

  “Well then,” Brett said with a grin. “Just enough to keep from looking totally disreputable.”

  Gerald smiled and leaned to pull out a tube of lubricant and looked back at Brett. “Condom or no?” he asked. It was a big leap of faith, going without.

  “Only if you really want one,” Brett replied, knowing he was taking a chance, but he’d seen enough of Gerald, talked to him enough over the past months to know he wasn’t a huge risk taker, at least not in a way that was likely to get him sick. “I’m sure I’m clean, but I’ll understand if you’d rather wait until we can get tested again. I’m not playing around with this. I’m not going to do something that might hurt you.”