by Snead,A. M.
Rodney remained silent for a few moments before asking, “Why else would your friend warn you about me?”
“I don’t know,” Nolan replied with a hint of sarcasm. “Because you’re an asshole and he knew if you heard me getting it on with another guy, you’d flick me shit about it?”
Lane relaxed a fraction, a faint smile quirking the corner of his mouth; there was no hesitation in Nolan’s voice, no glitch to his tone that might alert Rodney he was lying.
He’s protecting you. He wouldn’t suffer if the truth came out. Everything he’s doing right now—is to keep you safe from ridicule and scrutiny.
The truth of that fact hit Lane square in the heart, startling him and taking his breath away.
♠
“Maybe, maybe not,” Rodney said skeptically. “But I know something is going on between Todd and your boy. I know what the fuck I saw last night. It isn’t the first time I saw Todd getting hot and horny with a guy. He can play the all-American straight boy all he likes, but he isn’t fooling me. I bet him and Lane having been screwing each other all this time.”
Nolan wished the guy would take his bullshit and go. “You seem kind of obsessed with the whole thing of guys fucking guys. Maybe you’re itching to dip your wick, too, and are just too chicken shit to admit it. So you use your insults as an excuse to talk about it.”
“You’re a sassy little fuck.”
“Yeah, well,” Nolan sighed. “That’s me; sassy.” He looked at Rodney with dull eyes. “Let me guess, you’d like to bend me over the table and ramrod my ass for being so sassy.”
Rodney huffed. “I’m sure you’d like that.”
“It’s okay.” Nolan smiled dryly. “You can admit it. It’s just the two of us here. You’re hot for some queer boy ass. Bet you’re getting hard right now.”
“It’ll be a cold day in hell before some fag gets my dick hard.”
His smile growing, Nolan murmured, “My version of this little confab will beg to differ. In fact…” he gripped the stick with both hands, his smile turning dark. “I believe you came in here to make your own little secret wager. One involving your cock and my ass.”
Rodney’s smugness began to waver. “What the fuck are you talking about? I didn’t come in here for that.”
“That’s my interpretation,” Nolan said. “I mean, why else would you be in here…alone with the local queer boy…if you weren’t looking for a little private action? Perception is everything.” His eyes narrowed. “Kind of like your perception of what you saw in the hallway last night…or what you overheard Drew say to me at my bedroom door.”
Staring at him coolly, Rodney murmured, “I know what you’re doing and it isn’t going to work. I’m not afraid of your little insinuations and innuendoes.”
Nolan studied his face. “Then why is there fear in your eyes?”
“There isn’t,” Rodney returned stiffly.
“I know what I see.”
Rodney stared back, then snorted, “You’re out of your league, faggot. Don’t try playing with the big dogs.”
“The big ones are my specialty.” Nolan smiled and flicked an eyebrow. “The bigger the better.”
Rodney shook his head, disgust on his face. “You’re a sick fuck,” he muttered and headed for the door.
“Don’t you mean sassy?” Nolan tossed at his back.
The guy ignored him and walked out of the room.
Nolan rolled his eyes and began lining up another shot. “What a fucktard.”
Movement across the room pulled his eyes from the table and he suddenly went still. Lane stood in the doorway, staring at him with a look in his eyes that hit Nolan in the crotch and ricocheted up to his heart, sending his pulse through the roof.
–9–
Todd was half asleep when the knocking dragged him back to full consciousness. He rolled over and stared at the door. For a split second, he had a sick feeling it was Tonya. But the door wasn’t locked and she would’ve just come in without knocking. His mind immediately jumped to Drew and his heart began to beat a little faster.
Propping up on his elbows, he spoke with a bit of hesitation. “It’s open.”
The door opened part way and Darren stepped partially into the room. “Are you all right?”
“Yeah.” Todd cleared his throat when his voice came out thick and heavy. “I’m fine.”
Darren looked at him, unconvinced. “You’re not upset about Tonya, are you?”
“Tonya?” Todd scoffed and sat forward. “No. Good riddance. Don’t know why I ever dated the bitch.”
Darren smiled anxiously and shrugged. “I don’t know, either.” He shifted his feet and asked, “You coming back downstairs? I saw Lane heading for the billiard room. Are you going to get in some practice games before the tournament?”
“Maybe. I don’t know.”
“Rodney’s saying that you and that Drew guy are part of the bet now, too. Is that true?”
“Yeah,” Todd mumbled. “I mean, I got Lane into this. It’s only fair, you know?”
Looking uncomfortable, Darren asked with a pinch to his face, “What if you guys lose? Are you really going to…?”
“That’s the deal,” Todd said quietly. “When you really think about it, it’s just sex. It’s not like it’s going to turn us queer or anything.” His words weakened and faded.
“I know, but still…” Darren squirmed. “Won’t it…hurt?”
“How the hell should I know?” Todd cringed at the defensiveness in his tone.
“I don’t know, I was just asking.”
“Sorry.” Todd sighed and sank down on the bed. “I’m just…on edge, I guess.”
“Can’t blame you. I would be, too.”
Todd frowned and sat up again. “Hey,” he murmured. “Why did Rodney say that stuff to you in the dining room? What was he talking about?”
“Hell if I know,” Darren mumbled but grew increasingly anxious. “The guy’s a dick. He doesn’t need a reason to attack someone.” He looked at Todd with uncertainty. “What did he mean about the stuff he said to you?”
It was Todd’s turn to feel uneasy. “I don’t know. Like you said, he’s a dick.”
“Yeah.” Darren continued to stare at him, neither of them buying the other’s denial. “Well, we’ll be in the lounge if you decide to come down.”
Todd nodded. “Okay.”
Darren started to leave, then paused. “Are you sure you’re all right?”
“Are you all right?” Todd countered.
His eyes shifty, Darren nodded once. “Yeah. I’m as all right as you are.”
“All right, then.”
“Good,” Darren said. “We’re both fine.”
“Yep.”
Darren nodded again and stepped out of the room, closing the door behind him.
Todd flopped down on the bed and mumbled, “As all right as me?” He ran his hands through his hair and looked at the ceiling. “Man, you’re fucked.”
♠
The air in the billiard room crackled with a sexual tension that caught Nolan off guard. It prickled his skin, sending tiny shockwaves all through his body and conjuring an instant, fierce erection that made him sweat.
Lane walked toward him, his heated eyes locked on Nolan’s face. Was this some kind of dream? Earlier, in the dining room, the man had barely made eye contact with him, and now…what? Nolan was very familiar with the smoldering look in Lane’s eyes, but it made no sense.
Silence engulfed them both as Lane approached the opposite side of the pool table. Only when he was standing right across from Nolan did Lane’s stare waver, as if he were coming out of a trance. His gaze lowered to the table and absently studied the array of colored balls scattered across the green felt surface.
“I overheard you and Rodney.” He raised his eyes slowly. “Thanks…for not telling him anything.”
Did he remember last night, after all? Nolan proceeded cautiously. “I would never expose you,” he said quietly. “Wh
at happens in my room, stays in there.”
Lane anxiously tapped the edge of the table as he averted his stare, his focus returning to the layout of the pool balls. “Are you good at this game?”
“Pretty good,” Nolan murmured. “Drew and I play all the time.”
Nodding slowly, Lane spoke low, hardly more than a whisper. “You guys could win.”
“But we won’t.”
Lane rubbed the back of his neck, his eyes resting blankly on the table. “Can you make that shot?” he mumbled.
“What shot?”
Lane blinked, clearing his vision, and indicated the solid blue ball resting against the rail on Nolan’s side. “Can you run it down the rail into the pocket?” Lane asked. “I always end up knocking them off the rail.”
“It really isn’t that hard of a shot,” Nolan told him. He chalked his stick again. The cue ball sat in the middle of the table and Nolan walked around to Lane’s side. “The trick…” he murmured and bent over the edge of the table, angling the stick. “…is to strike the rail and the ball simultaneously with the cue ball. If you just hit the ball, it will spin out onto the table. You don’t want that.” He sank down lower, his stomach grazing the table’s edge and steadied the thin tip of the stick along the side of his index finger as he slowly slid it back and forth a few times, gauging the precise angle. “You want to hit it hard enough to send it all the way to the pocket, but not so hard that the ball jolts off the rail.”
Lane stood just a few inches away and Nolan suddenly felt like he was presenting himself as he bent over the table, his ass slightly arched. Though he couldn’t see Lane’s face, he felt the man’s eyes on his body. Or was that just wishful thinking?
Nolan discreetly cleared his throat, focused, and took the shot—sending the ball straight down the rail and into the pocket. He stood up slowly, his heart flip-flopping in his chest as he looked at Lane. “See?” he said with an unsteady rasp. “Easy as pie.” He licked his lips and Lane’s eyes followed the path of his tongue. “I’ll set up the shot again and you can try.”
Lane nodded and blinked. “Yeah…okay.”
♠
He shouldn’t be in here alone with Nolan. Lane knew this with certainty yet his feet refused to turn him around and walk him out of the room. Nolan’s outright refusal to back down to Rodney or give up vital, damaging details about Lane, or Todd, flooded Lane with emotions he couldn’t get a handle on. After three years of treating Nolan like shit, the guy still protected him when he could have just as easily exposed him for all to see and ridicule.
The intense emotions ebbing his heart scared and confused him; maybe because the part of him that wanted to embrace the unknown—the part that had taken him to Nolan’s room last night—was growing stronger by the moment. Would it take him over completely and drag him out into the world away from Winterhaven? Shine a bright light on him, making it impossible to hide anymore? What would that do to his life? His career?
The barrage of questions evaporated in wisps of mental smoke as Nolan set up the shot again and handed the pool cue to Lane and motioned at the table. Lane nodded and leaned over the edge, lining up the stick and cue ball with the solid orange 5 ball.
“Get lower,” Nolan murmured and flattened his hand on Lane’s back, between his shoulder blades, gently pressing down. “As eye level with the stick as possible.”
Nolan’s palm seemed to melt through his shirt and burn his skin. The dream that wasn’t a dream started surfacing bit by bit, bringing with it the memory of Nolan’s hands on his body; caressing, rubbing, stroking, gripping…so eager to touch Lane…savoring him.
Lane blinked as his vision turned a little hazy.
“Like this.” Nolan slid his hand down Lane’s forearm and helped him grip the stick, his other arm slipping around Lane’s shoulders to aid in guiding the shot.
Oh God. Lane shuddered as the heat of Nolan’s body pressed against him.
“Wait.” Nolan withdrew and Lane was struck with a powerful and somewhat startling wave of disappointment. “My arms aren’t long enough to reach around you and show you what I mean.” He hesitated as Lane lifted up a fraction and looked at him. Something fucking hot swept through Nolan’s eyes. “I should be on the bottom.”
Before Lane could collect his fragmented thoughts, Nolan took the position beneath him and covered Lane’s hands around the pool cue, guiding him with more ease.
“This is better,” Nolan said with a prominent rasp in his voice. He drew Lane’s arms further out, causing Lane’s body to curve snug over his ass.
Fear of getting caught in this compromising position dissipated to nothing as Nolan shifted his hips, gently shoving his ass into Lane’s crotch. Fuck…Lane shivered and his cock began to stretch and harden. His face brushed Nolan’s hair, his hot breath puffing down the young man’s neck.
“You find the perfect position and angle,” Nolan whispered, moving the tip of the stick, his fingers gripping Lane’s hands. His breath came quicker as Lane’s chest touched his back, his lips grazing the curve of his shoulder. “And make your move.”
The pool cue remained stationary then dropped to the table as Lane released the stick and withdrew his hands, tentatively rubbing his palms down Nolan’s ribs. He nuzzled the soft tips of his hair at the back of his neck and shoved his hands up inside Nolan’s shirt, caressing his lean stomach, his chest.
“I thought it was a dream,” Lane whispered shakily against the nape of his neck. “When I woke up this morning…I thought I’d dreamed being with you last night.”
Nolan pushed up slowly on his arm, remaining partially bent over the table. He tilted his head to the side as Lane kissed his neck, his ear. “I know I shouldn’t have let you in,” he trembled thickly, his throat working. “I knew you were drunk. I feel like I took advantage of you.”
“It felt good.” Lane shuddered and pushed his crotch tighter to Nolan’s ass, his cock throbbing. He felt drunk now—intoxicated with a passion and hunger that crashed over him, drowning his senses. His hands drifted to Nolan’s hips and squeezed as his teeth raked Nolan’s neck. “So fucking good.”
Nolan twisted around and Lane lifted him onto the edge of the table, pressing between his legs. He cupped Nolan’s head, sinking his fingers into his hair, and kissed him hard and deep. Whimpered moans instantly rose up in Nolan’s throat as his lips parted, allowing Lane’s tongue to plunge into his sweet, hot mouth. Lane’s moans mingled with Nolan’s, growing stronger as Nolan squeezed his ass, gripping fistfuls of his pants, pulling him in closer. His legs curled Lane’s thighs and tightened, drawing their hard crotches together.
“Fuck…” Lane groaned through their kiss when Nolan gently rocked his hips, massaging their caged cocks. Then Nolan was sucking Lane’s tongue with such erotic skill that Lane nearly burst in his shorts.
Oh fuck, baby, take me back to your room-
“Bring the drinks in here!” Jude’s voice echoed into the billiard room from the short hall outside.
“Shit!” Nolan and Lane exclaimed in unison and shoved apart. Nolan hopped off the table and quickly smoothed his shirt as Lane straightened his own clothes.
Nolan grabbed the cue stick off the table and thrust it into Lane’s hands and Lane moved around to the far end of the pool table, away from Nolan, as seconds later Jude entered the room with Nolan’s friend, Lizzy. A few moments later, Darren, Nikki, and a couple more of their friends walked in. Darren carried a tray with a pitcher of beer and a stack of glasses.
Clearing his throat, Nolan moved toward the doorway.
“Nolan.” Lizzy stepped his way. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” he nodded and offered a small, shaky smile. “I have to…” He motioned to the door. “…go.”
The others glanced his way as he walked out then looked at Lane. He could still feel the heat in his face as well as his body. He moved to the other side of the table, hoping to shield his hard bulge. He waited uneasily for Jude or Darren to fuck with him about bein
g in there alone with Nolan.
What the hell were you doing? They could’ve walked right in on you! Then what? How would you explain that one?!
They let the opportunity to needle him pass—possibly because of Lizzy?—and Jude walked over to the table and grabbed the plastic triangle from the slot at the end and began arranging the pool balls within. Lane stared at him as Jude finished then raised his eyes. A sharp jolt snapped through Lane at the look on Jude’s face.
Oh fuck—did he fucking see us!
Lane stood frozen in place, clutching the pool cue in a death grip, afraid to move a muscle for fear of an outright attack.
Shifting his focus to the table, Jude cleared his throat. “I racked. You break,” he murmured then nodded at Lane. “Let’s see how rusty you are.”
Look for Winterhaven
Volume 1 – Book 5…
“Center of the Storm”
COMING SOON!
♦
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