“I could feel you against me. In me. Slow at first, then faster…harder.”
Zane found himself pressing Connor back against the car as he began grinding his hips against Connor’s hand.
“You weren’t making love to me or whispering soft words in my ear. There were no gentle touches or soft kisses. You didn’t even speak. You took what you wanted and I loved every fucking second of it. You want to know why?” Connor asked.
“Why?” Zane managed.
“Because it was exactly what I needed…what my body needed and you knew it. I shot so hard and so long I wouldn’t be surprised if some of my come permanently stained the cabinet.”
Connor’s hand suddenly stopped moving but when he made a move to remove it from Zane’s now pulsing cock, Zane covered Connor’s hand with his and held him there. He grabbed Connor by the throat with his free hand.
“Rules,” Zane snarled. “I never bottom and the only thing my mouth will be touching is your cock and even that’s not a guarantee. We don’t speak beyond you telling me what you do and don’t want and when I’m done, I’m gone.”
Connor’s hand flexed over his dick briefly as he nodded. “I have one condition.”
Zane gentled his grip on Connor’s throat and absentmindedly began rubbing his thumb over the pulse that was pounding against it. He gave Connor an almost imperceptible nod to continue.
“That day in the storeroom you saw that I was…” Connor seemed to be at a loss for words and even in the poorly lit garage, Zane could see a flush of color rising in his cheeks.
“Confused,” Zane supplied. He knew whatever had been happening to Connor during Jason’s attack was much more than that but he wasn’t going to try to put a label on it.
“If it happens while we’re together, I need to know you won’t…”
Connor fell quiet and the contrast between the brash, confident man he’d been just moments ago and the vulnerable man who stood before him now was unnerving. Especially considering Connor was still rubbing his dick, though his touch was now gentle, almost reverent. Zane was guessing he wasn’t even aware of what he was doing. And the contact still had him painfully hard.
“Won’t what?” Zane asked.
“Won’t take advantage of the situation.”
Like Jason had in the storeroom. It was the only explanation for why Connor hadn’t fought back that day since his training as a solider would have given him all the skills he needed to defend himself. Which made him wonder what else that piece of shit had done to Connor during other episodes he might have had.
“They don’t last long and you can just leave if it happens.”
Zane realized he’d been quiet for a while when he heard the desperation in Connor’s voice. None of this made any sense to him. The guy was gorgeous and could have his pick of men who’d shower him with the attention he deserved yet all he apparently wanted was a quick, no strings fuck with a guy he barely knew?
“Why me?” Zane heard himself asking though that hadn’t been what he intended to say.
“Does it matter?”
Zane studied him for a moment and then finally said, “No.” He released Connor’s throat and instantly missed the contact. “I won’t take advantage.” He slipped his phone from his pocket and handed it to Connor. “Your number. I’ll text you the time and place.”
A flash of disappointment went through Connor and Zane wondered if the other man had been hoping they’d have their first encounter today. He took the phone back from him but when Connor started to walk away, Zane snagged his wrist and dragged him back. He opened his car door and pushed Connor down to sit in the driver’s seat but made sure they were still facing.
“What-” Connor began to say but fell silent when he saw Zane working the button on his slacks free. Connor’s eyes shot up to look around them and even though the Audi’s door hid them from prying eyes, it wouldn’t take a genius to figure out what was going on. Zane unzipped his pants and worked his stiff cock free and then looked at Connor, making sure the unspoken challenge was clear in his eyes.
***
Connor licked his lips at the sight of the turgid cock as it pulsed in Zane’s grip. One look at Zane’s icy green eyes told him this was his first test and he had no intention of failing. But as he reached for Zane’s dick, Zane’s free hand curled in his hair and forced his head back.
“Take yourself out,” Zane ordered.
A thrill went through Connor at the gravelly tone in Zane’s voice and any worries he had about being discovered in the public parking lot disappeared as he quickly worked his nearly painful cock free. He hadn’t thought it possible to be any harder than he’d been in the car ride home last night but as usual, everything he’d thought about himself was turned inside out around this man. And if last night’s orgasm was anything to go by, he was in for another monumental climax if he could just manage to hold out long enough to get his lips wrapped around Zane’s beautiful shaft. Jesus, what would happen if and when the man finally got inside him? He’d probably embarrass himself by coming long before Zane even took his first complete stroke.
As he leaned forward to take his first taste, he felt Zane’s fingers tighten in his hair and he made himself look up.
“Hands only,” Zane muttered. “Till we both get tested.”
Disappointment went through Connor but he nodded. His eyes dropped back down to the glistening flesh and he ran his tongue along his lips. A groan from above told him he wasn’t the only one regretting the limitations Zane had insisted upon. Connor traced his thumb gently around Zane’s crown before letting it nudge over the slit on the top. He closed his hand around just the head and squeezed hard enough that a drop of moisture welled up from the tip and he used his thumb to drag the slick fluid around. He repeated the move several times until he had enough natural lubrication to work with and began working Zane’s flushed shaft with long, slow pulls. The flesh beneath his palm pulsed and rippled and Zane’s grunts had Connor reaching for his own dick. He was forced to use his left hand on himself but the awkward hold actually helped him keep it together. No way was he going to embarrass himself by coming before Zane. On the off chance this whole thing was some kind of audition, he was sure as hell going to pass with flying colors.
Connor froze when he heard the elevator ding and he quickly looked up at Zane with worried eyes. But Zane’s expression was hooded and he didn’t pull back. Another challenge. Connor held Zane’s gaze as footsteps receded somewhere on the other side of the garage and then a door slammed shut. Connor ignored any other sounds and focused fully on Zane as he began stroking him relentlessly. He kept his eyes on Zane’s and allowed his lips to part as his breath began to increase with his arousal. A flash of something went through Zane’s expression and Connor wondered if he was thinking about Connor’s mouth. A quick stroke of his tongue over his lower lip gave him his answer. And when Zane’s hand suddenly closed over the top of the open car door, Connor felt a surge of power go through him that made him almost giddy.
Connor released his own dick long enough to brace himself against the car so he could stand. Zane looked like he was about to say something but Connor quickly mashed their dicks together and then closed his hand around both of them and began tugging earnestly. A harsh curse escaped Zane’s mouth just before he slammed his hips forward and jammed his other hand along the top of the car to brace himself. His eyes stayed with Connor as Connor brought them closer and closer to the edge and then Zane let out a ragged moan. His broken groans matched each thrust of his hips and the feel of his hot come sliding down Connor’s hand had Connor following him over. Connor couldn’t stop himself from leaning forward and burying his face against Zane’s chest so that his shout of pleasure was muffled against the fine fabric of Zane’s suit jacket. His body convulsed as his release flooded his nerve endings and he had no idea how long they both stood there as aftershocks continued to assault them. When Zane’s wet cock slipped free of his hand, Connor forced himself to put space be
tween their bodies. The sound of a zipper being drawn up was followed by a hand closing over his upper arm and pulling him to the side.
“Don’t forget your test results,” came a cold voice and then the car door was slamming shut and Zane’s sleek car was pulling away. It wasn’t until Connor went to tuck himself back in his pants that he realized that at some point, Zane had pushed a silk handkerchief in his hand and Connor bit back the ridiculous smile that threatened to take over his face.
***
“Fuck,” Zane muttered as his finger hovered over the send button. A simple tap was all it would take to do the right thing in his life for once but he couldn’t make his finger move.
Deal’s off.
He’d typed the simple message twenty minutes ago but every time he picked up his phone to send it, his eyes caught on Connor’s name and an image of warm brown eyes glazing over with pleasure had him hesitating. And then he’d remember the feel of Connor’s mouth pressed against his chest as he tried to stifle his cry of satisfaction and Zane would end up tossing the phone aside. One fucking hand job and he’d become completely obsessed. Although if he was going to be completely honest, he’d become obsessed from the moment the man had walked through his office door. And the story about Connor jacking off in his own kitchen just minutes after getting out of Zane’s car…
“Shit,” Zane snapped as he stood and went to the bathroom attached to his office.
“Mr. Devereaux?”
Zane stopped in his tracks at the sound of his assistant’s voice coming across the intercom on his office phone. He took a few steps back to his desk and clicked a button.
“Yes.”
“Mr. Morrison would like to see you.”
Zane bit back a colorful curse. “Tell him I’m on my way.”
“Yes sir.”
Zane drummed his fingers on his desk as he willed his erection back under control. The fact that he knew what Ned Morrison, one of his firm’s managing partners, wanted to talk to him about had his body cooling considerably. Zane glanced at his cell phone for a moment before snatching it up and unlocking it. So much for being a better man.
***
Connor bit back a groan when he saw the sleek black Audi sitting in front of the motel. He’d hoped to beat Zane so he’d have more time to mentally and physically prepare himself for what was to come but he’d ended up missing the bus after he’d stopped to help his elderly neighbor with her groceries. It wasn’t that Mrs. Finney had had a lot of bags, but she’d insisted on wrapping up some of her homemade fudge for him while she told him all about her latest run-in with the produce manager at the corner store who had been after her to limit her taste testing of the grapes to just one instead of the dozen she usually managed to snare before anyone noticed. He’d managed to make it to the bus stop just in time to watch his bus round the block and he’d spent the next fifteen minutes hoping that Zane wasn’t the type to be on time. At least Connor wasn’t technically late.
Connor made a quick stop at the front desk to get the key, as Zane’s text had instructed him to do and then he made his way towards the room. His whole body was tingling with anticipation but he was also battling an extreme case of nerves too. It had been almost a week since his encounter with Zane in the garage and as each day had passed with no word from the other man, Connor had begun to doubt that his bold move had paid off. He’d never in his life been the aggressor when it came to sexual encounters – not that there’d been a lot of them in which to be aggressive – but then again, he’d never been as physically drawn to someone as he had to Zane.
Sex had always been a side note for him and he’d truly started to think there was something wrong with him after a brief fling with one of the guys in his unit during his last deployment. It wasn’t that he’d hated the sex – the end result just hadn’t seemed any different than what he could do with his own hand. Granted, he’d only had a couple partners since losing his virginity to a guy he’d been tutoring during his senior year in high school. He’d been foolish enough to believe the deeply-closeted star pitcher of his school’s baseball team’s words of love and promises that they had a future together just as soon as his college scholarship was locked up. It had been a painful, humiliating experience that had ended within two minutes of the guy slamming into him without any preparation at all and crude words instead of sweet whispers of love. He’d gotten the brush off two days later.
There’d been two more men during his enlisted years but things always started and ended the same. Seemingly nice guys, a bunch of hollow promises and sex that always left him wanting even on the few occasions he managed to bring about his own release before his partner was done. After the bombing that had taken his leg and so much more, he’d given up any hope of a relationship until Jason Sutter had entered his life and turned it completely inside out.
Connor forced back the unwelcome shudder that overcame him. Jason was the past. Zane was his future. Not his long term future, of course – he had no illusions about what any of this was really about. And it was exactly what he wanted. No lies, no pain, no wishing for something that wasn’t meant to be. Sex without strings. His body being pleasured. His choice.
It took Connor three tries to finally get the key into the lock. He hadn’t bothered to knock, though as he threw the door open, he realized maybe he should have. It was a keen reminder that he had no clue how the game was played and a surge of doubt went through him. Fuck, what if he couldn’t be this guy? What if his best had been what he’d done to Zane in that garage? What if the fantasy didn’t live up to the hype?
Connor was still standing in the doorway when his eyes finally found Zane sitting at what he assumed was a small table in the far corner of the room. The curtains were drawn but the light from the sun beating down on his back showed him the place didn’t look any better on the inside than it did on the outside and he wondered if Zane had paid by the hour or for the whole night. He couldn’t actually see Zane’s face, just his outline, but the other man didn’t speak or acknowledge him in any way. For all Connor knew, he could have been asleep.
Connor had no idea how long he stood on the threshold for before he finally stepped into the room and quietly closed the door behind him. He leaned back against it and just studied the figure sitting quietly in the shadows. When it was apparent that Zane wouldn’t be coming to him, Connor took a deep breath and searched his back pocket for the paper he’d carefully folded up and tucked there just before he’d left his apartment and run into Mrs. Finney. He ignored the slight tremor in his fingers as he worked his way across the room and came to a stop by the table. Part of him wanted to step past Zane and seek out the light on the nightstand so he could try to read what the other man was thinking but he remained where he was and waited for Zane to make the next move. The next move turned out to be Zane granting Connor’s wish because a light switched on and Connor sucked in his breath at the sight of Zane’s cool eyes locked with his. Fuck, what the hell had he been thinking?
Chapter 3
Zane saw the flicker of indecision pass across Connor’s features but the other man didn’t move or say anything. He would have given anything in that moment to know what Connor was thinking but that wasn’t part of the game. And that was all this was. He’d been caught off guard by Connor’s boldness in that garage but here…here he was in his element. He was in control and he would decide how this proceeded and ended. Of course, he already knew how it would end. With his dick buried deep inside of Connor’s lithe body.
Zane took his time studying Connor as he shifted nervously back and forth on his feet. His jeans were faded and worn but clean. They were a bit on the baggy side and Zane couldn’t help but wonder if that was just his style or because he’d lost weight. He supposed it could be the leg too since he could only guess that getting jeans over a prosthetic limb might not be the easiest thing to do. Which meant getting them off would be time consuming too. Not that that bothered him since he’d get to enjoy the show as Connor reveal
ed his body piece by agonizingly slow piece. He couldn’t tell what kind of shirt Connor had on since he was wearing a thin gray hoodie and his hair looked messy and all over the place leaving Zane to wonder if he’d been running his hands through it
A trickle of hesitation went through Zane as it occurred to him how truly young Connor looked. Instead of asking Connor his age, Zane held out his hand for the paper that the other man had crumpled between his fingers. It took Connor a moment to catch up and then he was handing it over. Zane’s relief was palpable as he scanned the page and found Connor’s age – 29. Old enough. He wasn’t surprised to see that Connor was clean and he quickly placed the document on the table and pulled out his own test results and passed them to Connor. He didn’t miss the slight tremor of Connor’s fingers as they gripped each side of the paper and he watched Connor’s eyes shift up as he nodded his head before handing the paper back.
“I brought condoms,” Connor suddenly blurted out as his hands began rifling through the front pocket of his hoodie. “I didn’t know if you were going to or if I was supposed to,” Connor mumbled as he continued searching. “I got different sizes since I wasn’t sure how big you were…I mean, I kind of have an idea because of the other night. You seemed pretty big so I got large and extra-large. I don’t know if they make a jumbo size but I’m really hoping you aren’t that big because I’m not sure I could handle that.”
Zane was caught off guard by the smile that threatened to overtake him as he watched Connor pull out a pack of tissues, what looked to be some type of wet wipe, the motel room key, another set of keys, his cell phone and then finally a plastic baggie. But Connor’s eyes went wide as he glanced at the bag in his hand.
“Shit, sorry,” he said in a horrified tone. “Mrs. Finney’s fudge…she usually gives it to me in a plastic container but she didn’t have any clean ones and I was in a hurry to catch the bus so I told her a plastic bag would be fine but she didn’t have any left so I gave her the one I had the condoms in-”
Freeing Zane (Barretti Security Series, Book 4) Page 3