A Beautiful Disaster

by Marguerite Labbe

  When Dakota shifted and let go of his hands to reach for the night table, Brenden flipped him over onto his back. Dakota didn’t fight him as he pinned him down this time, and Brenden struggled to collect his thoughts as his body urged him to keep going. “I want a repeat of you letting me take control,” Brenden rasped, rubbing his cheek against Dakota’s jaw. “Tonight you’re all mine. My way, Dakota. You think you can handle that?”

  Dakota moaned, his cock jumping against Brenden’s thigh. “I don’t know. You’ve permanently marked me already. I haven’t been able to think of your mouth without going weak-kneed since then.” He cocked his head, searching Brenden’s face. “How far do you plan on taking it?”

  Brenden sat up, letting go of his hands. “As far as you can handle.” He smiled slowly as Dakota stared back at him in challenge before his eyes lit up with curiosity.

  “I can handle whatever you want to give me.” Dakota grasped Brenden’s hips and then slid his hands over his chest. “Just leave my hands free so I can touch you.”

  “I will.” Brenden caught one of his hands, kissed the inside of his wrist, and licked his pulse. “This time. Later on tonight, I can’t make the same promise. I did find your toy stash.”

  “Deviant trespasser.” Dakota shook his head and tugged Brenden down to him. A sense of anticipatory satisfaction filled Brenden as he stretched out over Dakota. “What am I going to do with you?”

  “Deviant hedonist. I know exactly what I’m going to do with you.” Brenden was going to worship Dakota from head to toe. He kissed his forehead, eyes, and the tip of his nose before capturing his mouth. Dakota slid his arms around him, holding him tight as Brenden’s mouth moved in patient exploration.

  Brenden’s heart thundered with every brush of Dakota’s fingertips, every time he kissed Brenden in return. Brenden nuzzled his throat, breathing Dakota into him, making his blood heat more as Dakota explored the breadth of Brenden’s shoulders.

  He pulled back, keeping his gaze on Dakota. He didn’t want to miss one moment. He felt like he could spend hours running his hands over Dakota’s body, kissing every inch of him. It had been hard enough holding back during all those years he’d thought of doing this. After Kent Island, it became even more difficult. Then when Dakota had announced he wanted them to try being a couple, but no sex, it had been torture. No more waiting ever again. They’d both waited long enough.

  Dakota feathered his hands over Brenden’s body as they kissed, his worshipping touch mirroring what Brenden wanted to do. For as long as Dakota would let him before he felt the need to take control again. He trailed his mouth down Dakota’s throat, kissing the hollow where his pulse fluttered before moving lower. He traced a snaking path over Dakota’s chest, lingering over spots he’d discovered last time that made Dakota’s breathing ragged as Brenden teased.

  “My turn, dammit, don’t be greedy.” Dakota started to push Brenden back, and Brenden shook his head at the needy expression in Dakota’s eyes. He’d bet all the money he’d sunk into the con that Dakota never let anyone see him looking so vulnerable. It made him crazy that Dakota let him.

  “I called dibs first.” Brenden chuckled, and Dakota’s cock pushed insistently against him. “You can have your way with me after.”

  Dakota groaned as Brenden slid down his body in slow inches. Brenden rubbed his beard against him, knowing how Dakota reacted to the sensation. “Trust me, I will.”

  Brenden shivered at the promise in his voice and vowed to turn Dakota as inside out, as crazy as Dakota made him with his surrender. All the waiting had made Dakota get under his skin and take up permanent residence.

  Brenden left a trail of kisses down his body, staring up at Dakota during the slow trek. Dakota looked back at him, his gaze hot and hooded. “Who would’ve thought prissy Brenden Wade would’ve had the mouth of the devil?” Dakota said with a breathless laugh.

  “There is a time for prissy and prudish. Behind our bedroom door is not it.” Brenden’s lips brushed with teasing intent against Dakota’s shaft. His skin was hot and silky. “And I haven’t even gotten started yet.” Impatient for more, Brenden sank his mouth over Dakota’s cock.

  Dakota groped for his hand as he groaned, lifting his hips, thrusting into Brenden’s mouth. Brenden laced his fingers with Dakota’s, letting him set the pace as Dakota arched again. His cock filled Brenden’s mouth with the taste and scent of him, both familiar and strange. He teased his tongue along Dakota’s shaft, groaning as the rocking of Dakota’s hips increased in pace and his grip tightened.

  Then he sagged back with a whispered curse. “Dammit, Bren. If I get any more excited, I’m gonna bust a nut.”

  Brenden chuckled and kissed the inside of his trembling thigh. “Good thing you have two.” As Dakota snickered in return, Brenden teased his fingers along Dakota’s cleft. He tensed, then relaxed.

  “Sorry.” Dakota met his gaze as Brenden stroked his thumb over his perineum. He trembled again, his gaze both needy and uncertain. “It’s been a long time. I don’t normally….”

  “Leave yourself open and exposed?” Brenden finished for him, and a rueful grimace crossed Dakota’s face.

  “You nailed it. You understand me better than anyone else does.” Dakota traced his fingertip along Brenden’s cheek. “I have to trust who I’m sleeping with.”

  Brenden heard the underlying message. He doubted there was anyone else who Dakota would admit his vulnerability to. They were both such complete morons for not realizing the depth of their bond sooner, for letting everything else get in their way. “You have nothing to prove to me.”

  “I know.” Dakota grinned then, an expression filled with his usual mischievousness that reassured Brenden more than his words. “I want to, with you. Just be patient with me.”

  Brenden’s throat worked with an onrush of emotion. “I love you.”

  Dakota brushed his fingers over Brenden’s cheek, his eyes darkening. “I love you too.” He reached over, grabbed the lube off the nightstand without looking, and handed it to Brenden. “No more foreplay. I just want you, Bren.”

  Brenden kissed his straining cock and eased his fingers into Dakota, pushing past his resistance with gentle insistence. He watched Dakota’s expression, searching for any withdrawal or denial, but as Dakota caught his lip between his teeth, there was only anticipation and need. Brenden pushed deeper, searching for that spot, and Dakota gasped, his hips jerking. “Oh fuck, do that again.”

  He couldn’t take his eyes off Dakota, the way his eyes were hot and hazy and how he kept touching Brenden restlessly as he continued to tease and relax him until Dakota clenched around his fingers and moved with him. He reached down and caught Brenden’s wrist. “Dammit, I feel like a fucking teenager who’s too impatient.”

  Brenden knew what he meant, that mix of accelerated excitement and trembling awe. He eased back, focused on Dakota and the need to be with him again. Any damn way he could. “Yeah, me too.”

  “Enough waiting,” Dakota rasped and let go of Brenden’s wrist.

  “What position would be most comfortable for you?” Brenden asked, his gaze tracing over Dakota’s hard, compact body. He had to remind himself that this wouldn’t be the only time. They had forever to explore each other.

  “I want to see you,” Dakota said, reaching for him. “Eye to eye. I want to be able to kiss you and touch you.”

  That sounded perfect.

  Brenden slithered back up Dakota’s body and braced himself on his elbows. Their gazes locked and Brenden held his breath, waiting to see if Dakota wanted to back out. Dakota smiled and slid his legs up, framing Brenden’s hips, his gaze intent in a way that made Brenden breathless. He reached between their bodies to grasp Brenden’s cock and gave it a teasing squeeze before guiding him.

  Brenden half closed his eyes with a soft moan as he eased inside the tight heat of him. The way Dakota gripped him and his arms held him close made his heart pound. Then Dakota kissed him, hot and claiming, urging Brenden on as
he moved, a slow grind as he savored the sensation of Dakota under him.

  He slid his arms under Dakota’s shoulders, holding him closer. It was like he couldn’t get close enough. Dakota broke his mouth free and kissed Brenden’s neck, then teased his earlobe with sharp teeth, making Brenden shudder. “If you’re going to fuck me, do it like you mean it.” There was wicked laughter in his voice. “I’m not going to break, Bren.”

  Brenden groaned, spurred on by Dakota’s words, and thrust into him harder. Dakota gasped and arched, demanding more between breathless pauses. He rocked up to meet Brenden, caging him with his legs. Brenden might be fucking him, but Dakota held the damn reins as he skated his hands over Brenden’s body, every kiss, every touch pushing him farther.

  Brenden slid his hand down, gripping Dakota’s ass as if he couldn’t get close enough. All his senses were permeated with Dakota, and still, he wanted more. Faster and harder they moved, the pleasure almost painful as they rushed toward the breaking point and came together in a thundering crescendo.

  Brenden groaned and laid his forehead against Dakota’s shoulder, trying to catch his breath, his heart beating wildly. Dakota went limp under him with a soft moan, replete with satisfaction, and it filled Brenden with warmth. He’d like to make Dakota give him that sound again if he could move.

  “I think you killed me,” Brenden murmured, turning his face against Dakota’s neck.

  Dakota snickered and wrapped his arms around him for a hard hug. “If that’s your reaction, I’d be open to letting you fuck me again sometime.”

  Brenden closed his eyes. Again, yes. That had been over far too soon. The months of unrelieved sexual tension had caught up with him.

  Dakota kissed Brenden’s temple and wiggled out from underneath him. “Though next time, my turn.”

  “You’ve got it.” Brenden flopped onto his back, his thoughts reeling from the realization of half a dozen fantasies come true, and they were only scratching the surface. And he still had those handcuffs waiting.

  Dakota curled up beside him and laid his head on Brenden’s shoulder. “Well, that’s one hell of a way to break a dry spell.”

  Brenden slipped his arms around him, tingling in the aftermath. There were a thousand things he had to do—dinner was still in the oven—but he couldn’t move right now for anything. “Promise me we’re not going to stop doing this for a long time.”

  Dakota turned his head to kiss his shoulder. “Not for the rest of our lives.”

  The rest of their lives. Yeah, that was Brenden’s deepest desire. To be with Dakota till the end, through all the ups and downs. He met Dakota’s gaze, his throat thickening at the love he saw there, the same love Dakota saw in him. And no words needed to be said as they kissed again.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  DAKOTA STIRRED and rolled over to wrap his arm around Brenden. His searching hand found a pile of fur as one of the kittens let out a mewl of annoyance. Dakota opened his eyes with a groan. Brenden was gone again. One of these days he would wake up after an awesome night of sex with the man to find him still in bed. Even if he had to resort to the handcuffs.

  He lifted his wrist, glanced at the time on his watch, and let his hand fall. After 10:00 a.m. Which meant he needed to be up too, but he didn’t want to move. No, actually he did. He wanted to find Brenden, drag him back here, and get him naked again. If he had his way, Brenden would be in this bed for at least the same amount of time Dakota had been forced to endure his period of celibacy.

  Dakota draped his arm over his eyes. He could still smell Brenden on his sheets, and that was a mistake. He’d never be able to concentrate on what he had to do today if he was plotting ways to get Brenden naked again. Despite his silent vow, he continued to lie there thinking of the night before in a sleepy haze of remembered pleasure.

  He’d let Brenden take total control in a way he hadn’t let anyone else in a very long time. It was different with Brenden. Scarier in a different way. Before it had been scary because it left him feeling vulnerable, and he hated that. With Brenden, he didn’t mind it because the trust was total. But it was also intense. That intensity had been a little overwhelming, which was why he’d backed off before. But now he had a name for why he could handle it.

  He loved Brenden, and that made everything okay.

  If he hadn’t already realized he was in love with Brenden before, letting Brenden make love to him would’ve clinched it. He’d always kept that wall up between himself and any others, but with Brenden, that wall had been a curtain as fine as spider silk and it had parted with one touch, one damn kiss.

  Dakota sat up and ran his hands through his hair to get it in some semblance of order as he glanced around the bedroom. The plates they’d eaten their dinner on were gone, though that was no surprise. Brenden was incapable of letting a mess stand. At some point during the night, they’d brought dinner in to refuel. They’d dined in bed on slightly charred bread, lukewarm lasagna, and limp salad, laughing and stealing bites from each other’s plates. It had been a sweet and sexy night. One of many to come.

  Dakota dragged on some clothes as he mentally went over his schedule. He needed to check the presales and send an update to Brenden. Then he needed to announce the signing of Mark Sheppard. Then he had to race to DC because he had a couple of gigs lined up. Despite how busy they were with the con, Dakota still had bills to pay, and that meant keeping up his temp jobs.

  Brenden planned ahead and had it all in a calendar on his phone. No surprise there. Dakota’s schedule was all in his head. Then again their natures were very different, even if the jobs were similar.

  Dakota turned back before leaving and made the bed. It might not have been perfect, but it was better than his usual rumpled mess. Brenden was a bad influence, and if he wasn’t so relaxed after last night, he might be grumpy about it. Making the bed was stupid. They’d just mess it up again the first chance Dakota got to drag him back here and have his turn using the handcuffs. But knowing it would make Brenden smile even as he redid it according to his internal guidebook made the small effort worth it.

  Dakota snagged a cup of coffee and a couple of hard-boiled eggs and went in search of his diligent other half. Brenden was intent on his computer screen and didn’t even notice when Dakota opened the door to his office. Dakota leaned against the frame, sipping his coffee as he watched him work. Brenden was an all-or-nothing kind of guy. He didn’t half-ass anything. Dakota could be that way when something was important to him. Based on that observation, they ought to last forever.

  Brenden looked over his shoulder, blinked, and then focused. A distinctly smug and cheerful smile crossed his lips. “Good morning.”

  Dakota shook his head in amusement. Brenden hadn’t even bristled at the interruption. “Aren’t you full of yourself this morning.”

  For a moment the smug glint in Brenden’s eyes brightened as he smirked. “Considering the state I left you in last night, can you blame me?”

  “This is the second time you’ve raided a secret stash of mine.” There ought to be consequences of that action. Dakota would have to give it some thought.

  “With much better results.” Oh yeah, Brenden was pleased with himself. He should be. He’d had Dakota begging at one point. He needed to register that mouth of his as a weapon in more ways than one.

  Brenden was going to pay dearly for that smug smile on general principle. Dakota was going to strip him naked in the kitchen and make Brenden squeal on every clean surface he could, including the damn floor. After the con, though. They had too much to do now. While Dakota thought that taking time out from their schedule for sex could only help them, he knew Brenden wouldn’t be able to stop himself from scrubbing afterward, and they definitely didn’t have time for sex and that level of clean. So he’d bide his time. That would be even better because by then, Brenden wouldn’t see it coming.

  “Just remember what you said.” Dakota took another sip of his coffee as Brenden’s eyes narrowed. He was probably trying
to figure out if he’d dug himself into a hole. “You warned me that if I used bondage on you, you would reciprocate.” Dakota grinned as he set his coffee down so he could concentrate on his eggs. “Which means my turn is coming.”

  There, let Brenden stew on that for a while.

  “I did, didn’t I?” Brenden raised his brows. “Oh well, that ought to be interesting. What’s on your agenda for today?”

  Dakota gave him the rundown and watched in amusement as Brenden made notes on his phone. One day he really was going to hide that thing from him. He’d end up paying for it, but damn, it would be amusing. “I probably won’t be back before you go to bed. I expect the second gig will run late, but there’s a bonus in it for me if it does.”

  Disappointment flashed across Brenden’s face. “Good luck with them. I’ll leave some dinner in the fridge.”

  Dakota would rather have dinner with Brenden and make sure he took a break away from his computer and never-ending lineup of calls, but his dream of being able to make a living completely off his podcast and cons was still far away. “I’d better get on it if I want to get a run in before I head to DC.”

  He turned Brenden’s chair around and dropped a kiss on his upturned mouth. That would have to hold him for now. Brenden caught his hand as he turned to go. “A reminder, in case you neglected this in your upcoming schedule. Are you going to be my date for Trask and Felipe’s wedding? It’s coming up fast.”

  Weddings. Dakota rolled his eyes. “Do we have to go? We’ve already been to one wedding this summer. I try to limit it to no more than that in a year, and this will be twice in a season.”

  Brenden’s mouth set in irritation. “As I said with the last one, we already RSVP’d. They are our friends. Well, more your friends, but Felipe was kind enough to include me on the invite.”