by Mary Winter
Tomak stared at his lover, finally able to see what the years of being a TriZ star had done to Zaiden and their relationship. And now he had to fix it, when he had absolutely no idea how.
Tomak rubbed the bridge of his nose, trying to figure out how to approach this like it was the bottom of the last triad and his team was down by five points. Denying that he’d kissed Ioanne would only… well, he had no idea what it would do. He’d never seen Zaiden like this before, and that told him Ioanne was more than his childhood friend. Something a lot more.
“The groupies were just a way to keep our relationship private. Keep the media focused off us. I -- I thought you understood that.” Tomak stumbled over the words, feeling really off-balance for the first time since coming here. The Styng addiction didn’t worry him. He knew it should, knew he should be shaking in his boots, because once the detox symptoms hit he was going to be a very sick puppy. Right now, the only thing that worried him was the look of pure and abject pain in his lover’s eyes.
“You didn’t think!” Zaiden snapped back. “You never think.” He pressed the heels of his hands against his eyes and leaned back so far his head thumped against the door. He hit it again, the thump-thump grating on Tomak’s nerves.
“Stop that.”
“I can’t believe you thought fucking around on me would protect me. And who appointed you my guardian? I’m a big boy. I can take care of myself if the media and the fans get to be too much.” Zaiden shook his head and relaxed his stance, giving Tomak a bit of hope. “Then again, we haven’t talked about all of this, have we?” With a heavy sigh he crossed the room and sat on the bed next to Tomak.
“No, we haven’t.” Tomak ached with the need to reach out to his lover, to do something to comfort him. On the court he’d know exactly what moves to make, how to finesse the ball into a goal or three. Here, he was as out of his depth as he was meditating with Ioanne.
When Zaiden had told him about his childhood friend, he imagined someone different, someone less sexy. That she meditated naked appealed to him on many levels, not the least of which was his futile hope that he could cling to sex and maybe not have to deal with what was coming. He wanted her, and that, in his mind, was extremely bad timing.
“I had no idea that all those women hurt you. I’m sorry.” To him they’d all been part of the game, the persona he had to keep as a great TriZ player.
“They did.” Zaiden swallowed hard. “I love Ioanne. I always have. To see you kissing her…” He balled his hands into fists and pounded them on his thighs. With a shake of his head, he visibly calmed. “When I brought you here, I thought only of how to get you off the drugs. I hate you on them. I hate the way you act. I hate what they do to you. Now that I’ve seen her again, I don’t know. I just keep thinking about you with all those women, and I just don’t know.”
“You want her. More than friends, don’t you?”
Zaiden nodded. “Yeah.”
The first green stabs of jealousy caught Tomak unaware. The memory of Zaiden, Ioanne tucked gently onto his lap, filled his mind, and he remembered wanting to tear her away and claim Zaiden for himself. For a moment, he realized this was what Zaiden must have felt every time he took a groupie back to their room or down to the locker room. Oh, God! What had he done?
He drew a deep breath. “After everything I’ve done, you know I can’t stop you.” Pushing the words past his tight lips hurt more than any injury he’d ever received. He bet it hurt more than the upcoming detox would.
Zaiden turned to him. “I can’t do that. I won’t cheapen our relationship that way.”
Not like you. The unspoken words hung in the air between them. Drawing a shuddering breath, Tomak battled the rising tide of emotion inside him. His throat tightened, the words he wanted to say too thick to come out. Unable to speak, he reached for Zaiden. His fingers drifted across his lover’s cheek and stroked strands of his dark brown curls. One drifted enticingly across Zaiden’s forehead, and Tomak shoved it away.
He allowed his fingers to drift over Zaiden’s cheek, and lower until he tangled them in the curls at the base of his neck. Drawing Zaiden close to him, Tomak paused, their mouths a breath apart. “You know once I get clear of this everything’s going to change. It’s going to be better. I promise.” Before Zaiden could respond, Tomak kissed him.
He poured all the emotion that he couldn’t say into the kiss, gently brushing his lips across Zaiden’s. Fluttering touches deepened as he settled his mouth, drawing lightly on Zaiden’s lower lip. He suckled it, thinking of Zaiden’s lips on his cock, the way his lover sucked him to completion. He’d been a fool. With the way he acted, he didn’t deserve a lover like Zaiden, and yet, here he was, still standing by his side.
Zaiden sighed and melted into him. Tomak sensed the exact moment his anger drifted away, felt it in the touch of Zaiden’s hands on his biceps, the way his mouth went warm and pliant. He sank into the kiss, his only goal to reach the oblivion that he could find when wrapped in Zaiden’s arms and in his body. Zaiden didn’t know that was his gift, to love so completely, so truly, that the world melted away and Tomak could find some semblance of heaven. If Zaiden were to share that with anyone else, Tomak wanted to be there.
He pulled away, drawing in a breath with a gasp at the direction of his thoughts. Not giving it a second thought he kissed Tomak again, this time pressing the man down to the bed. The instant their bodies collided, heat coursed through Tomak. The hard bump of thighs against each other, the slide of erect cock against erect cock -- Tomak drank in the sensations.
He slid his thigh between Zaiden’s legs, lifting it slightly to rub against his lover’s erection. Beneath him, Zaiden opened his mouth, and Tomak slipped his tongue inside. He arched his hips, telegraphing that the time for conversation was over. He was hot and hard and only had one thing on his mind.
He reared back, not breaking the kiss, in order to slide his hands beneath Zaiden’s shirt. For an intellectual guy, Zaiden kept his body as finely tuned as an athlete, and Tomak played across the ridges of his abdomen and the flat planes of his pectorals. Zaiden’s hard nipples called to him, and Tomak tweaked them, swallowing his lover’s moan.
Beneath him, Zaiden rocked his hips. Tomak rolled, pinning Zaiden down so he couldn’t move. This was his show; he was in control. Yanking Zaiden’s shirt over his head, Tomak tossed it to the floor behind him. The door was closed, though not locked. He doubted after what had just happened Ioanne would walk in on them. Even if she did -- well, maybe she needed to. Maybe the sight of two hot, naked sweaty guys having sex would pull her out of that self-imposed shell she kept herself in. He smiled as he pressed open-mouthed kisses along Zaiden’s torso. He swirled his tongue around his lover’s nipples, listening for the low moans that heralded his loss of control.
Tomak inched lower, aching for the salty taste of his lover’s cock on his tongue. Following Zaiden’s treasure trail down to the waistband of his pants, he wasted no time in unfastening his pants and shoving them down. Zaiden’s cock rose through the opening, a drop of fluid already forming on the tip. Tomak cupped the shaft. He stroked it, feathering his fingers along the length before licking the bead away.
He nuzzled the soft flesh. He loved the way Zaiden felt on his tongue, the perfect way the thick shaft filled his mouth and slipped down his throat. Toying with the sensitive place just behind the head, he nibbled and sucked, listening to Zaiden’s moans grow louder. That’s it. Let her hear us. Finally, he wrapped his lips around Zaiden’s shaft and took it deep, sucking hard.
Tomak went right for the good spots with his tongue and fingers. Using the same single-mindedness that had earned him his last two season MVP awards, he coaxed every response he could from Zaiden. Feeling his lover’s hips rise and fall beneath him, Tomak timed his movements.
He paused, moistening his finger, drawing out the anticipation as he slid it behind Zaiden’s balls and up to his anus. Circling the puckered ring, he pressed his finger against it, imagining flipp
ing Zaiden over and taking him. They lay half on, half off the bed, and his position would be perfect for finishing things off. Tomak slipped his finger into Zaiden. Just the tip, but it was enough to feel the heat and imagine what it would be like to sink inside. He worked it back and forth, moving in tune with his lips and tongue. His cheeks hollowed as he increased the suction.
Relaxing his throat, Tomak took Zaiden deeper. He closed his eyes, savoring the slide of skin against his lips and tongue. The rise and fall of Zaiden’s hips quickened, and he fisted one hand against the back of Tomak’s head.
“Finish it,” Zaiden growled.
His words only made Tomak slow, sliding his tongue along the slit in the top of Zaiden’s cock. He coaxed and prodded until Zaiden gave a low groan. Zaiden’s balls tightened, flesh drawing taut in anticipation of his release. Around his lover’s shaft, Tomak smiled. He sucked hard and tightened his throat around Zaiden’s tip.
Zaiden’s hips bucked once more, and he came. Warm streams of come slid down Tomak’s throat, salty and sweet with the promise of what was to come. Tomak swallowed. He drew his lips along the shaft, resting the end in his mouth, not quite ready to give up the pleasure of sharing the most intimate of kisses with his lover.
He laved Zaiden’s cock, felt it ease and soften as the last strains of his orgasm faded, felt his body relax, sated bliss settling in where impatient desire had once been. At last, Zaiden released him. He realized the carpet bit into his knees, that sometime during the blowjob he’d shifted off the bed and onto the floor. His arms ached from supporting Zaiden’s weight. A tangle of limbs and happy smiles greeted him as he tried to stand.
“Turn over,” he panted, his cock straining. He somehow managed to grab the bag he’d dropped by the nightstand, unfastening it and putting his fingers around a bottle of lube. Moments later, his cock slick and hard, he poised it at Zaiden’s entrance.
“Do it,” Zaiden said. “I want you inside me.”
Tomak drew a shuddering breath, not quite able to believe he was here, ready to plunge into his lover, a man so understanding that he should have kicked Tomak out a hundred times before. Instead, he offered up his body, his soul, and as Tomak inched his way into Zaiden, he vowed that whatever it took, he’d put his life, and this relationship, back on the right track.
Zaiden closed his eyes as the broad head of Tomak’s cock entered him. Breath hissing from between clenched teeth, he relaxed at the insistent pressure of Tomak’s cock. Something had changed. He didn’t know what, or how, but sometime between that first kiss and now, Tomak’s demeanor had shifted. He’d gone from possessive and wanting, something Zaiden always associated with Tomak, to gentle and warm. He squeezed his eyes closed at the exquisite sensation of being filled, and of Tomak’s fingers sliding between his hips and the mattress to stroke his half-hard cock.
This was what he’d imagined making love to Tomak should be like. Every single time. Pressing a kiss to the back of his neck, Tomak pulled out until he rested just inside. A maddeningly long pause, so long it bordered on torment, then he thrust forward again.
Zaiden fisted his hands in the comforter. Already his body swelled, relaxing to allow the invasion and then hardening to insist on more. Making love to Tomak would never be like what he wanted to experience with Ioanne, but it came damn close. He cried out as Tomak’s crown bumped against the sensitive place inside him. His lover set up a slow and steady rhythm, one designed to torment and tease. Usually Tomak went for the big finish. Not this time, and Zaiden loved it.
He arched back, begging Tomak to go deeper. Thrusting his hips against Tomak’s fingers, he groaned at the back and forth movement. Thrust, retreat, slide, squeeze. The only thing that could make it better would be if Ioanne were beneath him, her legs wrapped around his hips, her heels digging into Tomak’s sides. Easily he imagined the tight, wet sheath of her pussy wrapping around him like Tomak’s fists, the ripples of muscles taking him to the edge. Better yet, if they were standing, she could kneel in front of him, taking his shaft into her mouth, sucking him while his lover took him from behind.
“Yes,” Zaiden groaned loudly. “Finish it.” He tightened his muscles, hoping Tomak would get the hint. The teasing pace set him on edge, making him want more. He snarled as Tomak deliberately slowed down. “Damn you.”
Tomak laughed. Leaning forward, he nipped the back of Zaiden’s neck, a possessive, carnal gesture that tightened his balls. He slammed his hips against Tomak’s hand, the slide of slick fingers against the underside of his cock nearly too much to bear. Something had happened to his lover. Something had changed him tonight, and right now, hovering on the edge of release, Zaiden wasn’t so sure he liked it.
“You’re so hot and tight. You know that?” Tomak whispered in his ear. “I could fuck you all night long.”
Zaiden answered with a ragged moan. Tomak thrust into him, finally picking up to the speed that would take him over the edge. He murmured encouragement, whispered husky words designed to make Tomak take him faster. He shouted, the men’s noises a counterpoint to the creaking of the bed. The ventilation system whirred, air cooling his heated, sweaty skin. He swore he heard a feminine moan answering, Ioanne’s words about her chastity ringing in his ears.
He couldn’t believe, couldn’t accept that she would deny herself such pleasure.
Tomak’s fingers tightened around the base of Zaiden’s cock, staving off his release. Gritting his teeth, Zaiden thrust, needing more, wanting more. He tightened his muscles in a futile attempt to get Tomak to finish it. His lover, lost in his own cadence, kept up the steady rhythm.
“Oh, God!”
There, he’d heard it again, words that were certainly too high in tone to have come from either of them. An image of Ioanne lying on her bed, legs spread, fingers working between them through her slick folds, filled his mind. He grunted, imagining himself there, his cock sliding in and out of her channel, pleasuring her, making her want more. She’d been an uninhibited lover; he guessed that from their conversation. Zaiden’s balls tightened.
“Tomak, please.” He didn’t care that he begged, only knew that the building pressure behind his balls would have to release. So hard, so tight, and yet Tomak’s fingers kept him from coming. The man didn’t answer, kept thrusting, muttering words of encouragement, filthy words about how good his cock felt buried deep inside Zaiden’s ass. His lover’s dirty talk turned him on more.
Flesh slapped against flesh. A hard thrust that buried Tomak balls-deep inside Zaiden, and then he stiffened, his cock twitching as he released his seed deep inside. Wave after wave of warmth filled Zaiden, making his balls so tight they hurt. He longed for the same rush, knew he’d receive it… if only Tomak would let go!
And at last he did, fingers making one final slide down the length of Zaiden’s cock. The slick caress sent Zaiden over the edge. A feral sound tore its way out of his throat as he hammered his hips against the bed. His body bowed, back bent to keep Tomak’s cock buried deep inside him. Thinking of Ioanne, of being balls-deep inside her, he came.
His body trembled, muscles protesting at the force of his release. With a kiss against his back, Tomak pulled away to flop on the bed beside him.
“Yes! Yes! Yes!” Ioanne’s chant penetrated the sounds of their panting breaths.
Zaiden turned to look at his lover.
“She’s…” Tomak arched an eyebrow.
Zaiden nodded, too transfixed with the sound of her masturbating, the realization of what that meant, to say any more.
Her keening wails grew, catching on a breathy sigh. A heartbeat. Two. And Zaiden’s cock stirred as he thought of that precious moment between pleasure and release.
Ioanne screamed. Her wail of pleasure echoed through the walls, probably was heard in the habitation unit next door. She sounded like she was dying, sobbing, rejoicing in something she hadn’t experienced for years.
“Ioanne,” he whispered, hearing the surprised anguish in her voice, and knowing what that moment of pl
easure had cost her. The balance of his relationship with Tomak might have shifted, but he suspected that to Ioanne, the moment had just rocked her world.
Chapter Five
Zaiden tossed a warm, wet cloth at Tomak. “Come on. Get cleaned up. I think it’s time we went to see Ioanne.”
“Now? Don’t you think she’d like some privacy?” Tomak caught the rag and started cleaning up, anyway.
Zaiden snorted. Fine time now for his lover to think about Ioanne’s sensibilities. Maybe he ought to have thought about that before he shoved his tongue down her throat. Zaiden shook his head and took his washcloth back to the bathroom. Maybe he should have done the same thing. By the time he’d pulled on a pair of pants, Tomak had done the same.
“You really want to go see her now?” He glanced at the closed door. “Do you think she’ll want to see us?”
Zaiden debated about how much to tell Tomak. “Look, before you walked in on us, we had a pretty serious talk. If my suspicions are true, that’s the first time she’s experienced any sexual pleasure in a while. If that’s the case, then we’re the cause of it. Ioanne has always been pretty serious. I don’t know if making her come is a good thing or a bad one.”
“But --” Tomak protested.
“Wait,” Zaiden interrupted. He thought for a moment. “Ioanne is more than capable of making her own decisions. If she wants us -- and let’s be honest, we both want her -- then it’s time we teach the teacher a couple of things. Like how good it really can be.”
Tomak sat on the bed. He leaned back and released his breath. “That changes things.”
“Yeah,” Zaiden agreed. His thoughts immediately jumped to the future, to a place where the three of them lived, and loved, together. Although he knew he was chasing foolish dreams, he allowed his mind to wander, to think about their staying here, with Ioanne, instead of both of them returning to their old jobs. It’d probably never happen, but it sure painted a nice mental picture. “Ready?”