“Uh-huh?”
“You’re petting me.”
Esav realized he was still stroking Court’s hair. After pausing for a second, he tilted the side of his lips up, said, “Uh-huh,” and continued.
Court’s eyes widened in surprise, and his breath came out quicker. He licked his lips and then bit the lower one, looking so nervous Esav was sure he’d pull away. But then he squared his shoulders, took a deep breath, and said, “My parents are out of town.”
Though he wasn’t the type to sleep around, at twenty-five, Esav wasn’t a stranger to hookups. So it didn’t take him long to follow Court’s meaning, even if he was surprised the shy guy had worked up the nerve to proposition him.
“Is that an offer, Court?” he rasped.
“I, uh, yeah. Yes.” Court nodded. “It’s an offer.”
After taking a moment to flick his gaze around the room, Esav cupped the side of Court’s neck and leaned close enough to whisper in his ear. “I’m the guest of honor here, so I can’t leave until everyone’s cleared out, but if you stick around, I’ll drive you home. How’s that sound?”
Court’s face paled, his cheeks reddened, and his eyes widened. He was breathing so quickly, Esav worried he’d hyperventilate.
“Hey.” He held on to both of Court’s shoulders and bent his knees until his face was low enough for them to be eye to eye. “Slow breaths. Don’t freak out, okay?”
“Okay,” Court said, not seeming to calm down in the least. “But did you agree to come home with me as in ‘come home with me,’ or did you just mean you’re going to drive me home, or—”
“How about we start with me driving you home?” Esav tried to keep his voice soothing. It was barely eight, so they had at least another couple of hours at his parents’ house, and he didn’t want Court to be wound up tight as a bowstring the entire time. “If you want to invite me in, you can. After that, well….” Esav smiled. “I think you’re really cute.” He dragged his gaze from Court’s face to his feet and back up again. “Really cute.”
Court whimpered. Honest-to-goodness whimpered.
“I need to go pretend I’m interested in talking to these people my parents invited.” Esav cupped Court’s nape and squeezed it. “So you have to stop making those noises, or they’ll think I’m a pervert.”
“Huh?” Court said as he blinked up at him. He really did have great eyes, warm and soft.
“Those soft little noises.” Esav reached for Court’s hand. “They sound like something you’d do in bed.” He brought Court’s hand between their bodies and then rested it on his pants, right on top of his hard dick.
At that point, Court seemed to stop breathing entirely. He stared at Esav, his expression filled with hope and want, and a bit of anxiety.
Lowering his gaze, Esav had no trouble seeing the evidence of Court’s arousal bulging on the left side of his jeans. “Later,” he said as he released Court’s hand and intentionally brushed his own palm against Court’s jean-covered erection.
Court gasped, moaned, and whimpered all at the same time.
With a chuckle, Esav winked. “Really, really cute.”
“I CAN’T believe you’re here,” Court mumbled as he turned on the light in his parents’ living room.
“You invited me in.” Esav placed his hand on Court’s lower back, keeping the touch gentle.
“Did I say that out loud?” Court twisted his head around and looked at Esav. “I said that out loud, didn’t I?”
“Yes, you did,” Esav answered with a chuckle, realizing he had lost track of how many times Court had made him laugh or smile that night.
The guy was adorable, sweet, and fun. Unfortunately, he was in school in New York, and Esav lived in Denver. Esav told himself it was for the best. His life would belong to the law firm for the next few years, and Court was too young to want a relationship.
“So, uh, do you want a drink or, uh—”
Not one to beat around the bush, Esav circled his arms around Court’s waist, pulled Court’s back against his chest, melding their bodies together, and whispered “I want you” into his ear before kissing his way down Court’s neck. “That’s why you invited me here, right?”
“Yeah.”
Esav moved his hand over Court’s belly, down his hip, and across to his groin.
“Oh God,” he gasped, dropping his head against Esav’s shoulder. “Oh God.”
“Want to show me your bedroom?”
“Yeah.” He gulped and bobbed his head. “This is totally crazy.”
“Why is it crazy?” Esav flicked his tongue over Court’s earlobe and squeezed his dick through his pants.
“Because you’re here, and you’re touching me, and I’ve had a crush on you since forever.” Court turned his head to look back at Esav. “Did you know that?”
“I suspected.” Esav dragged the heel of his hand over Court’s dick and balls.
“You never seemed interested.”
Esav smiled. “You were a kid, Court. A cute kid, but still a kid.”
“And now?”
“Now you’re all grown up, sexy as hell, but still too chatty.”
It was Court’s turn to laugh. “Nice.” He snorted and shook his head.
“Where’s your bedroom?”
After putting his hand on Esav’s hip, keeping them connected, Court started walking toward the hallway. “It’s a guest room now. My parents converted it before I unpacked my first suitcase in the dorm freshman year.”
“At this point, the only thing I care about is that it has a bed or a couch or a beanbag. You keep rubbing your ass against my cock, and it’s making me crazy.”
“I am?” Court looked back at him over his shoulder, his expression all wide-eyed innocence. The accompanying thrust back and grind belied his sincerity.
“Keep that up, and I’ll blow before I get inside you,” Esav warned, amusement lacing his words. He was having fun with Court.
They reached the bedroom, and Esav flicked on the lights.
Court slipped out of his arms and turned around. This time when he looked up at Esav from underneath his lashes, he seemed genuinely nervous. “You want to, uh….” He bit his bottom lip. “You want to do that with me?”
That had been Esav’s assumption when Court invited him over. He had gotten a few condoms and a bottle of lube out of his suitcase and stuffed them into his jacket pocket before leaving his parents’ house. But if Court wanted to keep it more casual, that was fine too.
“We don’t have to,” he said. “Tell me what you’re up for. I’m easy.” When Court arched his eyebrows and smirked, Esav pinched his hip and said, “Don’t be a little shit. You know what I mean.” He shrugged. “I’m flexible. I can top, bottom; we can suck each other off. What do you want?”
Court’s cheeks were bright red. “Wow. You’re really, uh, open.”
“I’m not one to play games,” Esav confirmed. “If I want something, I say it. Same if I don’t want something.” He paused. “Like right now, I want you naked in that big bed.” He darted his gaze to the ornate wood bed that took up almost the entire room. Tall, thick pillars made up each side, and crisp white bedding covered it. “That’s some bed.”
“What?” Court looked at the bed. “Oh. Yeah. My mom got it at an import store. Supposedly it was handmade in Italy.”
“Uh-huh. I don’t care,” Esav said. He nudged Court into the room. “You. Naked. Now.”
“Okay, okay.” Court kicked off his shoes, grabbed the back of his shirt, and pulled it off over his head. “But you might want to turn off the lights so you’re not disappointed.”
“Hey.” Esav grasped Court’s shoulder and looked into his eyes. “Don’t do that.”
“Don’t do what?”
“Don’t run yourself down.” He looked at Court’s bare chest appreciatively. “You’re gorgeous.”
“I’m scrawny.” Court reached out and touched Esav’s bicep. “You’re something else.”
“I’m
me and you’re you.” Esav found himself feeling oddly protective of Court, considering they were hooking up for one night, not engaging in a relationship. Then again, he’d known the guy since he was a preteen, and he liked him, genuinely liked him. “I don’t want you to devalue yourself,” he said.
“Huh?”
“Devalue.” Esav drew in a deep breath. “I took a class in college about the media’s role in women’s self-esteem, and they talked about young girls growing up to devalue themselves.”
“The media’s role in….” Court knit his eyebrows together in confusion. “Huh?”
“That was the class, but the same thing applies to guys, and it shows up in lots of ways. You’re a great-looking guy, Court. You’re also lots of other things.”
“Why do I feel like I’m in the middle of a motivational speech?” Court said.
“All right. You asked for it.” Esav narrowed his eyes and pounced, taking Court down on the bed. “I’ll show you motivational.” He tucked his thumbs into Court’s waistband and pulled his jeans and briefs down, leaving Court’s body completely exposed. He was right about the guy being gorgeous. “Mmm,” Esav moaned. “Look at you.” Before Court could respond, he wedged himself between Court’s thighs and lowered his mouth over Court’s dick.
“Oh!” Court gasped. He gripped Esav’s hair, then let go and flailed his hands around.
After another couple of bobs up and down the hot, hard shaft, Esav raised his head. “It’s okay.” He lapped at Court’s crown. “You can grab me, pull my hair, push me down.” He suckled on the tip of Court’s cock. “Let go, Court. I can take whatever you dish out.” He ghosted hot air over Court’s sensitive skin. “Just let go.”
When he went down on the normally quiet man the next time, Court took him up on his offer. Throwing all his shyness and hesitancy out the window, Court went wild. He bucked his hips, pushing his erection completely into Esav’s mouth. He tangled his fingers in Esav’s hair, tugging the thick strands while at the same time using them as a handle to hold Esav in place or shove him down. And all the while he moaned and cried out Esav’s name.
It was the single hottest reaction Esav had ever seen to anything in bed, and it ramped him up to the point where he was humping the mattress and chasing his own orgasm. When Court arched his back completely off the bed and screamed, Esav shoved his hand into his own pants, grabbed his dick, and pulled, knowing the end was near. Hot seed pulsed into his waiting mouth, coating his tongue with the evidence and taste of Court’s pleasure and causing him to shoot, filling his hand with thick ejaculate.
“Holy fuck,” he rumbled, trying to make his lungs and head work again.
“Oh my God,” Court said breathlessly. “That was…. Oh my God.”
“Uh-huh.” Esav sat up, pulled his hand out of his pants, and licked up the seed that hadn’t been absorbed by his underwear.
“Are you…?” Court asked, his gaze locked on Esav’s mouth. “Oh God, you are.” He whimpered. “That is so hot.”
“What’s hot is you going for it.” Esav pulled his polo shirt off and tossed it onto the floor. “Tell me you’re up for another round.” He kicked off his shoes and then made quick work of his pants, underwear, and socks. “Because I really want to hear you scream my name again.”
“I did that, didn’t I?” A red heat crawled up Court’s neck.
“Yes, you did, and it was seriously hot.”
“It was?” he asked shyly.
“Uh-huh.” Esav lay down on top of Court, hissing in pleasure when their bare skin touched. He spread his legs so his knees took some of his weight but made sure their groins were connected. “You’re crazy good in bed. I wish we didn’t live in different states.”
“Me too,” Court whispered.
Esav traced Court’s lips with his thumb and realized they hadn’t kissed. Well, he could fix that problem right away. He leaned forward and pressed his mouth to Court’s. Moaning at the intimacy, he tilted his head to the side and ran his tongue along the seam of Court’s lips, seeking entry. Court opened right away, feeding him more of his soft noises and sucking on his tongue.
Between the feel of Court’s body writhing beneath him, the taste of Court in his mouth, and the sounds Court made, Esav was ready to go for round two and felt confident he had at least another round in him that night.
“I know it’s crazy, but I want you again,” he said against Court’s neck as he licked and nibbled. He thrust his hips forward, pressing his renewed erection against Court’s hip.
“Ungh,” Court moaned and clutched Esav’s ass, digging his fingertips into the firm muscles. “Me too.”
Shoving his hand between their bodies, Esav gripped their dicks and stroked. “Tell me what you want.” He licked Court’s chin, his neck, his ear. “You want to top me?” He released their dicks and moved his fingers over Court’s balls and into his channel, grazing his puckered skin. “You want to bottom?” He circled the opening and applied a hint of pressure. “Tell me what you want.” He longed for more than one night with Court, but if one night was all they had, he’d make sure to make it one the sweet, passionate man would remember.
“Can I have both?” Court asked quietly. He wrapped his legs around Esav’s hips and his arms around Esav’s neck. “I want both.”
Esav’s groin tightened with need. “Anything you want,” he said, before taking another kiss.
III.
A FULL decade had passed since that night he spent tangled with Court Swanson, and Esav remembered every kiss, every touch, every moan like it was yesterday. For a few years, his brother had shared updates on Court—he’d sold a painting to a Park Avenue socialite and started getting a following; he’d considered dropping out of college and pursing his art full-time, but his mother begged him to get his degree; he’d finished school and decided to stay in New York; he had a show at a tiny gallery in New York and then a show at a bigger gallery in New York, and then shows in Europe—but eventually Dylan got married, got busy with his job and his kids, and fell out of touch with his old friend. After that, Esav stopped hearing about Court’s life. But that didn’t mean he ever forgot the sweet boy who had grown into an enticing man.
“Excuse me,” he said to a waiter who was hurrying by.
“Yes? What can I get for you, sir?”
“The paintings, they’re for sale, right?”
“Yes, sir.” The waiter nodded. “The owner wanted to create a space where young new artists can share their work. You’ll notice postcards next to each painting with the price and the artist’s name.”
At thirty years old, Court Swanson was young, but he wasn’t a new artist. Esav knew for a fact that the man’s early success had blossomed, and his paintings currently hung in prestigious museums around the globe. That probably explained why his was the largest painting there and why it held a place of honor.
He marched to the bar, his gaze fixed on the well-lit image of the younger version of himself. He looked happy in that painting; he had been happy that night. Even if his traditional life would never match up with Court’s artistic, vagabond lifestyle, he could own a piece of the night they had shared.
“Excuse me,” Esav yelled to the bartender, hoping he could be heard over the loud music. “Excuse me.”
“What can I get you?” she asked as she walked over.
“That painting.” He pointed without looking at his past memorialized in oil. “I’d like to buy it.”
Looking back over her shoulder, the bartender said, “Oh, that one isn’t for sale. It belongs to the owner. It’s from his private collection.”
After being appointed to the judicial bench a year earlier, Esav no longer made as much money as he had when he had been in private practice, but those years had been good to him, and he hoped he had enough in savings to purchase a piece of his past. “Is there a way I can reach him?” he asked. “A phone number or an e-mail address?”
The bartender shook her head. “No, I can’t give those out. But y
ou might be able to find him in his office. He works strange hours.”
“His office?”
“Yup.” She pointed to the side and behind her. “Follow that hallway past the double doors, past the bathroom, and past the private party space. You’ll see it on the left.”
“The left?”
She nodded. “It says office on the door. You won’t miss it.”
“Thanks.” Esav stepped away from the bar, wove his way through the crowd, and followed the bartender’s directions. He found the office door and knocked.
“Come in.”
Even though the office was removed from the people in the rest of the building, the hallway was loud. There was a door separating him from the voice on the other side. And the person speaking had only said two words.
None of that mattered, because as soon as he heard that voice, Esav knew who he’d find on the other side of the door. He turned the handle, stepped inside, and let the door click shut behind him.
The blond head was bent over a slew of paperwork that littered the desk, and Esav’s hand itched to brush his fingers through those strands and expose the chocolate eyes he had dreamed about more times than he could remember.
“Why’d an internationally famous artist open a bar in Denver, Colorado?” he asked.
Court jerked his head up, jumped to his feet, and stared at Esav. His jaw dropped, he blinked rapidly, and a red haze traveled up his neck and landed on his cheeks. With all the places Court had been and all the people he had met, Esav would have expected him to have lost his youthful innocence, but he hadn’t.
“Esav,” Court said.
“Courtland Swanson.” Esav slowly moved his gaze over the lanky body he remembered stripped of clothing and glistening with sweat. “You look good.”
“So do you.”
The compliment spoken in Court’s husky voice, combined with the heat in his eyes, distracted Esav from everything except the need to touch and taste and feel the person he had fantasized about for a decade. “Come home with me,” he rasped, skipping the usual introductory formalities. He never had been one for pomp and circumstance.
Grand Adventures Page 17