Shawn hesitated. “I have two little sisters. They’re just four. I can’t leave them for the weekend. They have no one else.”
Rutledge had an expression on his face Shawn couldn’t quite read. “Get them a babysitter. I’ll pay.”
Rolling his eyes, Shawn jumped off his lap. “Is that your answer to everything? You can’t buy everything, you know. I’m not going to leave the kids with someone they don’t know. Their usual babysitter has a weekend off.”
Rutledge heaved a sigh, his brows knitting slightly as a frown crossed his lips. “Fine. Bring the brats with us.”
Shawn paused before turning back to him. “I don’t think it’s a good idea. They get anxious around strangers, and you…well, you’re you.”
A wry smile appeared on Rutledge’s face. “Contrary to popular opinion, I don’t eat babies for breakfast.” He stood up and walked toward Shawn. “You’re coming with me,” he said, stopping in front of him. “I don’t care what you do about the children, but you will come with me.”
Before Shawn could say anything, Rutledge grabbed his collar and pulled him into a kiss.
A few minutes later Rutledge finally let him breathe again, and Shawn was disturbed to find his fingers clenched in Rutledge’s shirt.
“Right,” he said, somewhat dazedly, blinking.
Rutledge gave him a push towards the door. “I’ll pick you up in two hours. I know your address.”
“Right,” Shawn said again and left, feeling more than a little confused and freaked out.
Chapter 7
“But where are we going?” Emily asked, pulling at Shawn’s hand.
“Who’s gonna come and pick us up?” Bee asked, bouncing excitedly and pulling at his other hand.
Shawn looked between their excited little faces and grimaced inwardly. This was a terrible idea.
“A friend,” he said, choosing to answer Bee, since he had no idea where they were going. Presumably to visit Rutledge’s father. It seemed Rutledge and his father were at odds—to put it lightly—so Shawn doubted it was going to be a warm family reunion, even without taking into account the fact that Rutledge was clearly bringing him along just to annoy his father.
Dragging Emily and Bee into this wasn’t a good idea, but on the other hand…three thousand dollars. He wouldn’t have to worry about Mrs. Hawkins’s wages for a few months.
“Is that him? Is that him?” Bee’s bouncing became even more excited as she pointed at the black Mercedes that had stopped in front of the building.
“Probably,” Shawn said. “Let’s go.” He took their suitcase and grabbed Bee’s hand with his other hand. Emily could be trusted to stay close and not to run off somewhere; Bee could not.
The Mercedes’s doors opened when they reached it.
Shawn was surprised to find that Rutledge already had child safety seats installed.
“Hey,” he said to Rutledge, feeling awkward and thrown off-balance. Rutledge was never supposed to meet his sisters. “Emily, Melissa, say hello to Mr. Rutledge.”
“I’m not Melissa!” Bee said with a pout.
Shawn hid a smile. “Emily, Bee, say hello to Mr. Rutledge.”
“Hello, Mr. Rutledge!” they said together and Shawn felt a surge of pride. They were just four, but they were very smart and articulate. They looked like little golden-haired angels, smiling shyly at the man. Anyone with a heart would have smiled back.
Apparently, not Derek Rutledge. Rutledge studied the girls as if they were some specimens from another planet before nodding faintly and turning back to Shawn. “Get them into their seats. I’ll put your suitcase into the trunk.”
Shawn just rolled his eyes, wondering what had turned Rutledge into such a control freak. It was a completely unnecessary order.
By the time the girls were secured in the back, Rutledge had returned to the driver’s seat. Shawn glanced at the girls for the last time before closing the door carefully and taking his seat.
“Before we leave, I want to make something clear,” Shawn said, lowering his voice so that the girls couldn’t hear. “I know very little about your family, but you won’t drag the girls into your problems with your father. If anyone treats them badly, we’ll leave. Screw the money. Got it?”
Rutledge stared at him for a moment.
“No one will treat them badly,” he said before leaning over, grabbing Shawn’s chin and covering Shawn’s lips with his.
Shawn frowned—it was neither the time nor the place—but Rutledge held his face firmly, his lips hard and hungry, his tongue delving deep into Shawn’s mouth, confident and proprietary, and soon enough, Shawn found himself completely overwhelmed by the intensity of the kiss. It went on, and on, and on—
“Shawn, are you hurt?”
With a gasp, he shoved Rutledge away and focused his gaze on Emily. “What? No!”
A furrow appeared between her small brows. “I thought you were hurt. You were making noises.”
His face warm, Shawn determinedly avoiding looking at Rutledge. “I wasn’t making noises.”
“You were!” Bee said, looking puzzled. “Lying is bad! You said so!”
Emily nodded. “And why did Mr. Rutledge put his tongue in your mouth?”
“Because your brother wanted something to suck on,” Rutledge commented, starting the engine.
Flushing, Shawn kicked him on the shin, but to his surprise, the twins seemed satisfied with the explanation and started talking about something else.
He settled back into his seat.
Shawn didn’t look at Rutledge. He couldn’t.
He was still warm all over, his skin tight and his breathing uneven.
Fuck. What was happening to him?
* * *
“So, what’s the deal with your dad?”
They had been driving for over an hour and the girls were asleep.
Rutledge’s eyes were fixed on the road ahead. “Since when is it your business?”
“I don’t know,” Shawn said, not without sarcasm. “You’re dragging me—and my family—to your father’s house, uninvited. Something tells me he won’t be happy to see us.”
“He won’t. But if it makes you feel better, he won’t be happy to see me, either.”
Shawn leaned back in his seat and studied his profile. “I thought he invited you.”
Rutledge chuckled. It was a chilling sound. “My father would never swallow his pride and invite me. Fifteen years ago, he said I would come crawling back when I ran out of money. He hates when he’s proven wrong.”
Shawn’s eyes widened. “You mean you haven’t been home in fifteen years?”
“And I’d gladly stay away for fifteen more years. I’m still not convinced my sister isn’t lying about his health. That old bastard will outlive us all.”
Shawn was a little disturbed. What did Rutledge’s father do to deserve such hatred from his own son?
“Um, did he beat you when you were a kid?”
The corner of Rutledge’s mouth twitched. “Joseph Rutledge would never do something so plebeian.”
“Ah.” Shawn hesitated. “Did he kick you out because of your sexuality?”
Rutledge’s fingers gripped the steering wheel tighter. “He never kicked me out. I left myself.”
Shawn could sense it was more complicated than that. If Rutledge’s father wanted his son to marry some woman, it meant he still hadn’t accepted his son’s sexuality; he probably thought it was something “curable.” However, since Shawn didn’t know Rutledge’s father, he could only speculate.
“What’s he like?”
Rutledge shrugged slightly. “Typical old money. Proud, high-handed and inflexible.”
“Hmm, he reminds me of someone, then.”
Rutledge visibly stiffened.
Shawn took in the tense set of his wide shoulders, the aggressive jut of his profile. The five o’clock shadow gave him a rugged, rougher look. Shawn’s eyes trailed down Rutledge’s arms, from his biceps straining beneath the sle
eves of his shirt to the fingers gripping the steering wheel a little tighter than necessary. Shawn licked his dry lips, staring at Rutledge’s hands. He remembered them gripping his chin, his neck—
“You keep looking at me that way and you’ll end up with my dick in you before the trip is over.”
Shawn snapped his gaze to Rutledge’s face. Rutledge was looking at the road ahead.
His face hot, Shawn said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Rutledge just snorted.
Silence fell between them, thick, charged, tingling with awareness.
Finally, Shawn couldn’t stand it anymore. “What did you mean?”
“You know what I mean. Despite your poor grades, you are not completely stupid.”
“Wow, thanks. I’m going to mark this day in the calendar. ‘Professor Rutledge said I’m not completely stupid.’ I feel so special, you know.”
“Wyatt.” Rutledge still wouldn’t look at Shawn. “You are not as straight as you believe. To put it bluntly: you look at me like you want to suck my dick.”
Shawn opened his mouth but closed it without saying anything. Then he laughed. “You have a really high opinion of yourself.”
Rutledge sighed, pulled the car off the road and killed the engine. Without a word, he got out of the car, walked to the passenger seat, opened the door and dragged Shawn out.
“Hey!” Shawn said, glancing back at the twins, but they were still sound asleep.
Rutledge shut the door and dragged Shawn away from the car, towards the woods.
“Look—” Shawn started, but he was cut off when Rutledge pushed him against the wide trunk of a tree and put his hands by either side of Shawn’s face.
The dark eyes bored into him. “I have no patience for gay freak outs. I couldn’t care less if you delude yourself into thinking that you’re totally straight. But when you’re with me, I don’t want to hear this nonsense.”
Shawn laughed uncertainly. “Don’t you think it’s a bit presumptuous of you to say you know better than me whether I’m straight or gay?”
“Actually, I think you’re bisexual, but it’s neither here nor there. I’m not saying I know better than you what turns you on. But I have eyes. I can easily tell when a guy wants to suck my dick.”
“I don’t want to suck your dick. I suck your dick only because you pay me to do it.”
“Yes, I pay you,” Rutledge said in a low voice. “But it doesn’t mean you don’t like it. You have a bit of an oral fixation, Wyatt. Your mouth is very sensitive. You like having your mouth full. You like being kissed. You like being fucked in the mouth.”
Shawn shivered. “I don’t.”
Rutledge raised his eyebrows. “You continue sucking my dick even after I come.”
His skin growing warm, Shawn averted his gaze. Yeah, he had caught himself doing that a few times, but… “Even if what you say is true, it doesn’t prove anything.” Oral fixation was actually a good explanation why he enjoyed Rutledge’s kisses and why having Rutledge’s dick in his mouth felt kind of…all right.
“You’re right,” Rutledge said. “Liking to suck another man’s dick doesn’t make you gay.”
“Stop mocking me.”
“I’m not mocking you.”
They looked at each other in silence.
Shawn moistened his lips with a swipe of his tongue.
Rutledge lifted his hand and stroked Shawn’s bottom lip with his thumb.
Shawn stayed very still, barely breathing.
Rutledge slowly pushed the thumb into his mouth, gently parting Shawn’s lips, as they continued to stare at each other. Shawn tentatively brushed the tip of his tongue over the thumb and then...
He sucked.
Rutledge inhaled sharply. He began to push and pull his thumb in and out of Shawn’s mouth, all the while looking him in the eye. It made Shawn blush—he was sucking on his professor’s thumb, for fuck’s sake—but god help him, he was loving it, the inside of his mouth tingling. He couldn’t stop sucking. He wanted to keep sucking on it.
He made a small noise when Rutledge removed his thumb.
“Definitely oral fixation,” Rutledge murmured before leaning in and replacing his thumb with his tongue.
Several minutes later, Shawn found himself on the grass, with Rutledge’s heavy body on top of him. He was moaning as he sucked greedily on Rutledge’s tongue, his hands buried in the man’s hair. He couldn’t pretend anymore that he didn’t enjoy this, so he didn’t try to suppress his sighs and moans of pleasure as Rutledge thoroughly fucked his mouth with his tongue.
“You’re noisy,” Rutledge grunted, nipping along Shawn’s jawline and down his neck.
Shawn felt too disoriented to answer and only pulled him back to his lips. He wanted more kisses. He needed more kisses.
Rutledge obliged, kissing him deeply, his hand fumbling between them, doing…something.
Shawn’s eyes widened when he felt Rutledge wrap his hand around both of their cocks. He tensed. He was hard. He was hard.
“Forget about labels, goddammit,” Rutledge said and started stroking them fast, kissing Shawn deeper and dirtier.
Shawn could do nothing but moan. He was too far gone to protest. He wanted to come. Before he could stop himself, he started moving his hips, meeting Rutledge’s strokes, feeling Rutledge’s cock rub against his, and fuck, the mere thought—it was wrong and arousing all at once.
It didn’t take long. They weren’t even kissing now—more like trying to swallow each other, lips and teeth biting and sucking. Shawn rolled a little and hooked one leg up over Rutledge’s, bracing them together. Fire burned through him in a white-hot glow, and he could feel it gathering in his belly, spreading outward in streaks. He felt Rutledge growl, low and rough, shuddering as he came, sticky wet heat pooling between them. A few more strokes and Shawn was coming too, moaning and clawing at Rutledge’s back.
He opened his eyes slowly and found Rutledge already on his feet, zipping his pants up.
Realizing his cock was still out in the open, Shawn quickly tucked himself in and zipped up, his fingers shaking.
He could hear Rutledge walk back to the car. “One of them is awake.”
Shawn got to his feet. “Them?” he said, still unable to think about anything besides the fact that he’d just had sex with a man.
“One of the children,” Rutledge said, getting into the driver’s seat. The way Rutledge said the word “children,” he could as well be talking about aliens. It almost made Shawn smile. Almost.
Shawn walked to the car and took his seat.
Bee was still asleep, but Emily wasn’t. She was sucking on her thumb sleepily, looking between Shawn and Rutledge. “You weren’t here when I woke up.”
Shawn leaned over and kissed her on the forehead. “I’m sorry, baby. Were you scared?”
“I’m not a baby,” Emily said. “I’m big. We’re there already?”
“No,” Shawn said.
“Then why did the car stop?”
Shawn cleared his throat. How was he supposed to answer that? “Because Mr. Rutledge and I needed to talk.”
Rutledge started the engine.
Emily yawned. “Why couldn’t you talk in the car?”
“Because—because we didn’t want to wake you up.”
Emily frowned but seemed to accept the explanation. Her eyes started closing again.
Breathing out, Shawn turned away from her and looked at the passing scenery.
“Put on the seatbelt,” Rutledge ordered after a while.
Shawn put on the seatbelt and muttered, “Control freak.”
“So are you done freaking out?” Rutledge’s tone was sardonic.
“I wasn’t freaking out.” Realizing he said it a bit too loud, Shawn lowered his voice. “Why would I? So you gave me a hand-job. Big deal. I haven’t had sex in ages, and you know kissing turns me on.”
Rutledge said nothing and returned his gaze to the road, his face completely unreadab
le.
Shawn studied him. “You know, I’m curious about something,” he murmured. “Why me? Why do you pay me an obscene amount of money for a few blowjobs? You don’t even need to pay for sex. I’m sure lots of gay men would gladly have sex with you. I mean, it’s not like you’re ugly or something. So why me?”
“Are you fishing for compliments?”
“Nope. I’m genuinely curious.”
“I wanted to fuck you since the moment you entered my classroom a few months ago. It’s as simple as that.”
Shawn moistened his lips, his stomach doing a little flip-flop. “You wanted me for that long?”
Rutledge snorted, without looking at him. “I wasn’t pining or anything, Wyatt. I wanted to get my dick in you. You’re just my type.”
“Blond?”
“No. I don’t mean your looks. If we go by looks alone, your friend, Ashford, is more my type than you.”
Shawn’s gut clenched. He wasn’t sure why he was surprised. Christian was extremely attractive. Hell, everyone was attracted to him. And with his dark brown hair, expressive brown eyes and sensual red lips, he was Shawn’s complete opposite. Shawn always felt pale and washed out next to his friend.
“So if it was Christian who offered sex for a grade, you’d do it?”
Rutledge shot him a strange look. “No.”
The muscles in Shawn’s gut unclenched. “Why not?”
“Because I don’t want to fuck him,” Rutledge said crudely. He was starting to look irritated, for some reason. “Finding someone physically attractive is not the same thing as wanting them.”
“So what did you mean when you said I’m your type?”
Rutledge was quiet for so long Shawn started to think he wasn’t going to reply at all.
There was a touch of self-deprecation in his voice when he spoke, “It’s all very cliché. When I was in school, I was a stereotypical unpopular nerd.”
“Really?” Looking at this self-assured, arrogant man, Shawn had trouble believing that.
“Of course I was. I got my PhD at twenty-three, Wyatt. I didn’t exactly have the time to socialize with people.”
“That explains a lot,” Shawn muttered. “Let me guess: there was a popular jock you had a crush on and I look like him?”
Just a Bit Twisted Page 4