by Lane, Shawn;
“Lay on your stomach, babe,” Matt said, gently pushing him toward the bed. He went to the bedside table and took out a condom and lube. Later, he’d talk to Calvin about being tested so they could skip the condoms.
He lay next to his lover and turned his head toward him so he could cup his chin. “I love you so much. I’m going to tell you so often you’re going to get sick of it.”
Calvin smiled. “I doubt that.”
Matt covered Calvin’s mouth with his own, slipping his tongue between his lips, seeking the moist warmth inside. If he spent the rest of the day like this, kissing Calvin nonstop, he would be content.
Calvin’s hand closed over his hard cock. His cock pulsed, eagerly seeking the touch of the hand stroking along its length.
“God, you’re so damn good at that,” he mumbled against Calvin’s lips. He pulled that full bottom lip with his teeth, sucking on it. He pushed Calvin’s hand away after a moment and sat up enough to roll the condom on his erection.
Leaning over him, Matt’s lips latched onto the nape of Calvin’s neck, leaving his mark. Smiling when he did. It would probably embarrass Calvin.
“What are you chuckling about?” Calvin asked suspiciously.
“Nothing. I’m just really happy.”
Matt’s tongue trailed down Calvin’s spine, loving the taste of him. He reached his lover’s rounded cheeks and licked a line across them.
Damn, he has a fine ass.
His hand hovered over a perfect globe and he tried to remind himself he was going to wait to start smacking that ass. Matt bit his lip. He couldn’t be blamed for one little swat, could he?
Smack!
Calvin jumped and moaned.
Oh, God.
Smack, smack, smack.
The cheek turned a light shade of pink and he nearly came right then. Matt swallowed and reached for the lube. He had to be inside him.
After liberally lubing Calvin’s ass and then his own dick, Matt scooted Calvin on to his knees. “Touch yourself, babe.”
Calvin nodded and reached for his cock and pulled it hard.
Fuck.
His handprints had faded on Calvin’s pale ass, so he swatted each cheek a couple more times. The slaps and simultaneous moans broke the silence in the room.
Matt pushed the head of his cock inside Calvin. He paused only briefly at the ring of muscle and then slid home.
“God, yes,” his lover groaned.
He began to thrust in and out, settling into a rhythm as Calvin pushed back with his ass, all the while stroking his dick. His balls slapped again and again as he once more made Calvin his. Matt never wanted to stop…never wanted to let go.
Calvin’s hand sped up and little whimpers came from his lips. Matt knew he was close.
“Come for me, baby. I want to make you scream.”
His lover groaned and pumped, tensing and crying out Matt’s name.
“Yessssss.” Matt sighed, fucking Calvin’s ass as his own release tore through him.
Several minutes later, he held Calvin snug against him. He thanked God he’d be given a second chance. He wouldn’t blow this one. Not ever.
“I love you,” he whispered against Calvin’s hair.
“Love you, too,” Calvin mumbled sleepily.
Matt closed his eyes. He’d gotten what he wanted at last. Funny how he hadn’t known this was what he wanted before he met Calvin. But now he did. He wanted Calvin. And only his heart would do.
THE END
His One and Only
Chapter 1
Drew Richards stared at the handsome, well-groomed black man talking on the cell phone in the corner of the backyard. Standing next to Drew was his best friend, Steve Llewellyn. They were at Steve’s half-brother, Nathan’s, Memorial Weekend barbecue.
He took a long drag of his beer. He’d been staring at the man for pretty much the whole day. Not long ago he’d learned the man’s name, Mark Stevens. Apparently he was a lawyer with Nathan’s firm.
“Drew, are you listening?” Steve asked, waving his hand in front of Drew’s face.
“Sure, you were talking about Heather.” Steve was always talking about his fiancée, Heather, so he knew it was a safe guess. Steve and Heather, who basically looked like Barbie and Ken in Drew’s opinion, planned to marry in July.
Steve threw him a look. “Nice try. This time, though, I was asking you about how your mom was doing.”
“Oh. She’s doing pretty good, considering.” Drew’s stepfather had been diagnosed with prostate cancer recently. He was too tired from treatment these days to help with the gift shop they owned in Newport Beach, therefore, Drew was working there now. “Both of them are pretty optimistic.”
“Good, I’m glad.” Steve followed his gaze. “You still watching that guy?”
Drew shrugged. “Gotta look somewhere. Might as well be at him.”
“Why don’t you go talk to him?”
“What?” Drew looked at Steve. “Are you crazy? That guy would never talk to someone like me.”
“Someone like you? What’s wrong with you?”
“Well, I’m short and…and—”
“Cute as a button.” Steve laughed and shoved him. “Go on, Casanova, go talk to him. Distract him from that phone. I think it’s stuck to his ear.”
Drew shrugged. What did he have to lose? He handed his half-finished beer to Steve and walked across the backyard to the corner where Mark Stevens sat on a plastic patio chair.
Unlike most of the other people at the barbecue who had dressed in shorts, T-shirts, and sandals, Mark wore tan slacks, a cream-colored button-down shirt, and brown loafers. He didn’t even glance Drew’s way when he approached. It gave Drew pause. Maybe this was a mistake after all. He stopped directly in front of the man and waited for him to acknowledge him. When he didn’t, Drew cleared his throat.
* * * *
Mark Stevens watched a young white guy cross the yard and approach him out of the corner of his eye. He had no clue what the guy wanted but he seemed rather fixated on speaking with Mark. The kid was cute in a pixie sort of way with light brown wavy hair that dropped into his eyes.
He thought about pretending not to notice, but when the man cleared his throat, Mark glanced his way. He looked young, barely over twenty-one, and probably not above five foot four in his stocking feet. The eyes, what he could see of them beneath the hair, were really dark brown, even darker than his own and framed by the longest lashes he’d ever seen on a guy.
“Can I help you?” he asked politely, holding his hand over the cell for a moment.
“Mark, right?” He had a surprisingly deep voice for one so short and delicate looking.
“Yes.”
“I’m Drew Richards.”
Mark nodded. “Hello. Nice to meet you. Now, if you’ll excuse me.” He waved his cell phone.
“Go ahead and finish. I’ll wait.”
Mark blinked. “Wait for what?”
Drew smiled, barely showing tiny white teeth. “I’d like to talk to you.”
He was drawing a complete blank. “About?”
Drew indicated Mark’s cell. “You should finish your call first.”
Mark frowned and lifted his phone to his ear. “Eddie, I’ll call you back in less than five minutes.” He ended the call without waiting for a response.
Drew’s little smile widened. Curving upward in definite pixie fashion. “I wanted to ask you if you’d like to maybe have coffee with me one day.”
“Coffee?” Mark shook his head. “I don’t think so.”
Drew’s smile dropped just a bit. “You don’t like coffee?”
“Sure, I like coffee fine.”
“Well, then—”
Mark sighed. “I don’t mean any offense, Drew, but I don’t date men outside my race.”
Drew stared. “I’m sorry?”
“I only date other African Americans. Nothing personal.”
For a moment, he could tell he had definitely disconcerted Drew. He
could almost see the wheels in the man’s mind turning.
“Well, that sort of sucks, doesn’t it? Why don’t you?”
Now it was Mark’s turn to have nothing to say. The truth was he didn’t date anyone. Not in a long time. Telling Drew the lie that he only dated his own race seemed to be the easiest way of getting rid of him.
“It’s just the way it is,” he said, knowing he sounded pretty lame.
“I see. Okay. Well, see you.” Drew looked crushed, as though he’d lost his best friend. Ridiculous, of course. But he looked so sad as he turned away that Mark couldn’t stop himself.
“Coffee. Fine. Where?”
Drew turned around and his eyes flashed so mischievously Mark decided he’d been had.
“There’s a coffee place in Cannery Village in Newport Beach. It’s called Java Central.”
“Newport Beach?” Mark frowned. “All the way down there?”
Drew shrugged. “It’s near my work. How about two on Wednesday?”
“In the afternoon?”
The kid laughed. “Well, certainly not in the morning. Come on, Mark. You can bring your cell with you. Surely that will leave you connected to the business world.”
Mark’s cell chirped to life as though the mere mention of it caused it to ring. “Hold on.” He glanced at it and answered, “Yeah, Eddie. I know. Give me a minute.”
“Two on Wednesday?” Drew asked.
He sighed. “All right. What’s the name of this place again?”
“Java Central in Cannery Village,” Drew said, rather patiently.
“Okay. See you then.”
* * * *
Drew returned to Steve, who was now talking to his brother, Adrian. Steve handed him back his beer and Adrian thrust a plate of burgers at him.
He picked one up and took a bite before he responded to the brothers’ curious looks. “I have a coffee date on Wednesday.”
“Wow, really?” Adrian asked, looking Mark’s way. “I’m impressed. Nathan and Barnaby say he’s a total workaholic.”
Steve grinned. “If anyone can get him to come out of his shell it’s our Drew.”
“Hardly. I was just persistent.”
“We’ll see.” Steve put his hand on Drew’s shoulder. “Let’s go find Heather and see if we can get Nathan to make us his famous margaritas.”
Chapter 2
Drew kept an eye on the clock in his family’s gift shop in Cannery Village. It was nearly two. He wondered if Mark would even show. Part of him figured he wouldn’t. He’d been sort of surprised Mark had agreed in the first place.
The gift shop, owned by his mother and stepfather, was one of those typical shops one found in seaside harbors. It contained T-shirts, sweatshirts, California knickknacks, sea life statues, and pictures…basic souvenir type stuff. It had been in the Village for years, since Drew was just a boy. Just then, the shop only had two old ladies as customers gazing at the hats in the corner that said Newport Beach on them.
“Ma, I’m going to take my lunch break if it’s okay,” Drew called to his mother, who was in the back area.
“Okay, honey, I’ll be right out.”
Drew waited for his mother to appear behind the counter and then he hurried from the shop and down the few doors to Java Central.
A perusal of the small coffee shop indicated what he’d feared. No Mark. He sighed with disappointment. Even though he expected it, he still couldn’t help feeling cheated.
“Hey, Drew, you want your usual?” Louise asked. She was a college student and pretty with red hair and freckles.
“Yeah, thanks,” Drew said, walking up to the counter to wait for his coffee. When the little bells tingled above the door he didn’t even turn around. He just paid his money and moved over to add cream.
“May I help you, sir?” Louise asked.
“I’d like a regular coffee, please.”
Drew turned quickly. “Mark!”
Mark raised a dark eyebrow. He was dressed in a navy suit and carried a briefcase. He really was handsome in a very polished sophisticated way. His eyebrows looked like they’d been shaped even.
“You did say two on Wednesday at Java Central, didn’t you?”
“Yeah, yeah, I did.” Drew grinned. “I’ll be over at that table by the window.” He took his seat and waited for Mark to come over and join him. When he did, Drew couldn’t keep his happiness from showing.
“You look pleased with yourself,” Mark commented.
“No, I’m actually pleased with you.”
“How so?” Mark reached for a packet of real sugar, not the fake stuff, Drew noticed. He added it to his black coffee.
Drew shrugged. “Honestly, I expected you to stand me up. I’m glad I was wrong.”
“I almost did. This isn’t exactly convenient for me.” Mark glanced around the shop. “Where do you work anyway?”
“At a gift shop a few doors down.”
“You going to college?”
He laughed. “How old do you think I am?”
“I don’t know.” Mark shrugged, stretching his suit coat across his broad shoulders. “Not much over twenty-one.”
“Wrong. I’m twenty-seven and my college days are over. I have a degree from the California Institute of Art.”
Mark frowned, clearly in disapproval. “Then what are you doing working at a gift shop?”
Taking a sip of his coffee, Drew shook his head. “The shop belongs to my parents. Last year my stepdad was diagnosed with cancer. He’s having trouble running the shop so I’m helping my mother out for now. Before that I’d been teaching art at the Institute. I’ve had to take a leave of absence and move back to Newport Beach.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. Any relationship with your father?”
Drew shook his head and reached for another little cup of half-and-half to add to his coffee. “I don’t have a father. Well, I don’t mean I was hatched or anything. Mom was artificially inseminated. No clue who the donor was.”
“It’s very admirable of you to give up your life to help them.”
“I don’t consider it giving up my life. Anyway, what about you? Why don’t you tell me about yourself.”
“Me? I’m boring as hell.” Mark took a long sip of his coffee.
Drew smiled. “I know you work all the time. Why is that?”
“I have a stressful job. Law work requires a lot of hours.”
Drew tapped his foot on the table leg as the song played overhead. It was one of his favorite new songs. “Well, yeah, maybe it does, but what about Nathan and…um…the other one.”
“Travis.”
“Yes. They’re partners in the firm with you, right?” At Mark’s nod, he continued, “No one speaks of them being workaholics.”
Mark snorted. “I’m not a workaholic.”
Drew smirked. “No? Seems like everyone says you are. You don’t have a boyfriend.”
“Neither do you. Or do you?” Mark’s eyebrows shot up.
He laughed. “No, I don’t. Had one a few years ago but he dumped me.”
Mark eyed him. “He dumped you?”
“Is that so hard to believe?” he asked, amused. “You want to hear something scandalous?”
The other man raised only one of his an eyebrows this time. Sort of like Spock from Star Trek. Drew liked the way he did it. Sexy as hell. “Yes, go for it.”
“My boyfriend was one of the teachers at the school. I mean, one of my professors back when I was a student. I guess he liked the excitement of being with a student, and when I wasn’t any longer he decided to end it.” He laughed.
“You sound more amused than hurt.”
Drew nodded. “Yeah, I guess that’s true. To be honest, it’s not like I ever thought he was my happily-ever-after guy or anything. I wasn’t in love with him. What about you? A good-looking guy like you must have had a boyfriend or two in his past. What are you? In your thirties?”
Mark glanced away. “Sure, I had a boyfriend I cared a lot about once.”
He wanted to ask for details, but something in Mark’s body language told him not to press it. Drew pushed aside his natural nosiness and glanced at his watch. “I’m afraid my lunch break is just about over and I have to get back to the shop.”
“Okay. I’ve finished my coffee anyway.”
“Listen, thanks a lot for coming all the way here. I know it was a big deal for you.” Drew brushed at the lock of hair that had fallen into his eyes. “Maybe you’d like to come again next Wednesday?”
Mark stood. He looked doubtful and Drew tried to hide his disappointment. “Maybe. I’ll think about it.”
Drew smiled and stuck out his hand to shake Mark’s. “Thanks for coming. I hope to see you again.”
The man did shake his hand but made no promises.
They exited the coffee shop and Drew waved as Mark got into his navy Lexus. With a sigh, he went back to the gift shop. He seriously doubted he’d ever see Mark Stevens again.
* * * *
“Hey, Mark, can you take this call later this afternoon?” Travis Anderson asked, after knocking briefly on Mark’s closed office door the following Wednesday and just opening the door without waiting for an answer.
Mark looked up from his pleadings at the tall blond man. Along with Travis, Mark and Nathan had formed their law firm, Anderson, Llewellyn and Stevens, a few years after they had finished law school. All three men had become friends after meeting in law school and forming a bond over being gay.
There seemed to be an epidemic of romance at the firm lately as both Travis and Nathan had hooked up with guys from the office. An epidemic, frankly, Mark intended to avoid. Fortunately, as far as he could tell, his partners had already discovered the only eligible hot gay bachelors at the firm.
He shook his head. “Sorry, can’t. Ask Nathan or maybe one of the associates.”
Travis’s mouth dropped open. “What?”
He smiled patiently. “I won’t be in the office this afternoon so I can’t take your call.”
“Oh. You have a trial or a hearing?”
“No.”
“Client meeting?”
“No.” He wouldn’t have believed it, but he was actually enjoying the dumbfounded expression on Travis’s face. They all knew him too well.