by JC Holly
She took up a seat opposite Grant, near the back of the cafe, and waved at the barista to get his attention.
“Two coffees, honey,” she called to the man. “Hot, black, no sugar.” Her order placed, she turned back to Grant and smiled. “Well somebody got laid last night.”
Grant didn’t try and deny it. Even after a shower and a walk in the snow, any shifter worth their salt could have detected the same.
“That’s what I want to talk about,” he said.
She raised her eyebrows. “Wonderful! How tight was his a—”
“About the relationship,” he quickly added. “Pervert.”
“You’re no fun.” She pouted and folded her arms over her chest. “You’d tell Snow, and he isn’t the one who had to drive all this way. I deserve details.”
Grant smirked and shook his head. “Fine. He was great, we both had fun, and he’s really coming out of his shell. That’s all you’re getting.”
“Fine. But only on the understanding that when I meet him I get to flirt with him.”
He rolled his eyes. “You’d do that anyway. You always do that.”
“What can I say? I’m a slut.”
That was the moment the barista decided to bring over their coffees, and they both turned to smile at the blushing man who quickly hurried back to his counter.
“Anyway,” Grant said, lowering his voice until it was almost inaudible. “It’s about me telling him.”
June knew what he meant. It was a discussion they’d both had before with previous relationships. “Already?” she replied, equally quietly.
Grant nodded. “He’s already noticed a few things, and I don’t want him to work it out before I get to it.”
“You think that’s possible?”
“It’s never happened to me in the past,” he admitted. “Still, Tom’s smart. I wouldn’t put it past him.”
June nodded and tapped a fingernail on the rim of her cup. “It’s only been, what, one date?”
“Plus the time in the cabin.”
“Which, for most of it, you just talked.”
Saying it like that, it sounded incredibly premature. Grant still knew little about Tom, and vice versa. Even so, there was something about the man that told Grant it was worth the risk.
June smiled and pointed at his face with a perfectly manicured nail. “I know that expression.”
Grant nodded and smiled sheepishly. “It’s dumb, I know. Like you said, I barely know him.”
“But you already feel it,” she said, then shrugged. “Some say shifters are more attuned to their feelings. I know I can spot a dud from a mile away.”
“True. Still, it’s pretty early.”
“Then start slow,” June said. “Introduce the idea of shifters sometime, then build up over time. You said he’s a nervous guy, so blurting it out while you’ve got your cock in his mouth probably isn’t the way to go.”
“Demure as always.”
The flame-haired woman grinned. “Still, you know I’m talking sense. It’s what you were thinking before I even came through the door.”
Grant had to nod in agreement. His chats with June always went that way. Each of them only ever wanted a confirmation that they were doing the right thing.
“So, what do you think?” he asked, as he downed the last of his coffee. “Bring home a paranormal magazine, maybe? Or just bring it up in conversation?”
“Conversation,” June said, nodding. “Those magazines have all sorts of bullshit in them. If he read it you’d only have to spend an hour correcting all their ‘facts’.”
“True enough.”
“Well, now that that’s sorted.” June leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table. “Tell me all about this man.”
* * * *
Tom dumped a bowl of popcorn onto the coffee table and pressed play on the remote control to his DVD player, starting one of his favorite movies. There was something about a classic comedy that you didn’t find in modern stuff.
He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been in the mood for a good laugh. His relationship with Sarah had slowly stolen the happiness from him. Maybe he’d known somewhere in the back of his mind that she had been sleeping around. Whatever the reason, it had left him with no interest in happy movies.
Grant had changed that, and in the space of only one real date, if Tom was technical about things. The other way to look at it—the one he preferred—was that they had met nine days ago and had been on each other’s minds ever since.
Either way, though, just thinking about Grant made him smile, and left a warm feeling in his chest that had nothing to do with the cranked central heating. And what did time have to do with feelings, anyway? All that mattered was that Grant seemed to feel the same way.
Just as he reached down for a handful of popcorn, there was a knock at the door. He jumped to his feet and crossed the room, throwing the door wide.
“There you are,” he said. “I was ju—”
He shut his mouth as he realized that it wasn’t Grant standing outside. It was Sarah.
“Not expecting me?” she said, her tone clipped, her brow low in anger.
All of Tom’s happiness drained from him in an instant, to be replaced with the nerves that had been missing since the morning.
“W–what are you doing here?” he asked, fighting the urge to look down and avoid her stare.
“What do you think I’m doing here?” she snapped. “Where the hell does your friend get off beating up Chris!”
Tom’s first urge was to usher her inside, rather than have a shouting match on the doorstep. That was what the woman wanted, though. If she was inside she’d be a lot harder to get rid of. Instead, Tom held his ground.
“Well?” she said, her arms crossed against the cold.
The look she gave was one Tom knew well, and it took all his strength not to crumble under it. Instead he gritted his jaw and swallowed his nervousness.
“Chris?” he replied, his voice calm. “You mean the man you were fucking in our bed?”
Sarah rocked back on her heels, her mouth open. Even when he’d discovered them, Tom had barely said a word. Hearing him say it was a surprise to Tom, too, but the words were out there now, and he sure as hell couldn’t take them back. Instead he clenched his fist on the door handle and followed the words with some more.
“Your sleazebag of a boyfriend was about to punch me,” he said, fighting to push out each word. “Grant stepped in to stop that.”
Sarah regained her equilibrium. “Grant, is it? How come I’ve never heard of him before?” She snorted. “He your boyfriend?”
When he didn’t immediately respond, her eyes widened and a smile crept across her face.
“That’s it, isn’t it?” she said, laughing. “All this time, you were fucking around with guys?”
“No,” he said, louder than he’d intended. “I met him afterward. I never cheated on our relationship, Sarah. That was all you.”
That shut her mouth once more, and Tom leapt upon the opportunity to continue saying the things he wish he’d said when he’d first discovered her infidelity.
“You cheated,” he snarled, no longer caring about who heard. “While I was out working, you were fucking that prick in our house, in our bed. Did you even change the sheets afterward? Maybe that was part of the fun, knowing I’d come home and sleep in yours and Chris’s sweat.”
“So you admit it’s our house,” she snapped back.
Tom could only stare in response. She’d barely even blinked when he’d mentioned her fucking around, but as soon as the idea of her owning part of the house came up, she jumped on it with both feet. He shook his head and began to close the door.
“Good-bye, Sarah,” he said. “The next time you come here, I’m calling the cops.”
As he closed the door, she pushed her body against it. Not expecting it, Tom let go and the door swung open once more, slamming against the wall.
“I’m not done,” she shou
ted.
“Yes, you are.”
The new voice came from a few feet behind her, where Grant was standing, his arms folded.
“Are you Grant?” she asked. “Are you my replacement?”
“Replacement?” Grant walked past her until he stood beside Tom. “I’m the fucking upgrade.”
With a quick motion, he slammed the door shut in her face.
Chapter Eleven
It took Tom a while to calm down, and that wasn’t helped by Sarah lingering outside to hurl abuse for a while, but after he’d sat down and taken a few deep breaths, his smile returned.
“Talk about a retort,” he said with a chuckle. “I’m the fucking upgrade,” he said, in an approximation of Grant’s accent.
Grant grinned. “If only I could come up with those zingers more often. I’d be a regular action hero.” He pulled Tom closer. “I heard what you said to her. I’m proud of you.”
Tom started to color. “I–I had to get it off my chest. It had been eating at me.”
Grant nodded. He knew the feeling. “Feel better?”
“Definitely. How much did you hear?”
“Just the end,” he said with a smile. “I had to park one street over, thanks to the snow. By the time I got near you were almost done.”
In actual fact he’d heard every word, but Tom was beginning to wonder about his hearing as it was. By way of distraction, he leaned in and kissed him.
“That’s for being the big man,” Grant said.
Tom returned the kiss. “I should be the big man more often, then.”
“It definitely has its perks.”
“Oh?”
Grant nodded. “You get to order people around. That’s always fun.”
“Order, eh?” Tom licked his lips. “Maybe I should try that.”
“Go ahead.”
The color returned to Tom’s cheeks, but when he spoke, his voice was calm and clear. “Suck my cock.”
Grant smiled. “I think I can do that.”
While Grant was very much a top, he certainly wasn’t averse to giving a little head from time to time. Especially when the guy deserved it, and Tom certainly did.
Grant stood and gestured for Tom to do the same, then dropped to his knees and unfastened the man’s pants, yanking them down along with his boxers. Already hardening, his cock sprung up and smacked Grant in the chin. With a chuckle he took it in his hand and squeezed and pulled at the shaft until Tom was completely hard.
With a slow motion, Grant pulled the foreskin back, revealing the cockhead. A small amount of pre-cum beaded on the tip, and Grant rubbed his thumb in it, spreading it over the hot and sensitive flesh.
Tom took in a shuddering breath in response. “That feels good.”
Grant kissed the tip. “I haven’t even started yet.”
Catching Tom off guard, Grant flicked his tongue over the sensitive spot where the foreskin met the head, then sank it into his mouth a couple of inches, before pulling off again. With one hand he began to slowly stroke the shaft, and with the other he caressed the soft skin of Tom’s balls.
“Holy…wow.” Tom laughed softly. “You’re certainly attentive.”
Grant smiled to himself, but didn’t reply, instead pushing his tongue against the slit in the top of Tom’s cockhead, before taking a healthy mouthful of his length. He began to work out a rhythm, and matched it with the hand on the shaft. He varied the speed, though, to keep Tom on his toes. Whenever the man seemed to adjust, Grant would switch gears, often making Tom breath in sharply in surprise.
While he was busy, Grant still noticed that Tom seemed a little uncertain about what to do with his hands. Every now and then one hand would move toward Grant’s hair, but then Tom would apparently have second thoughts. Grant made the choice for him by taking his hand and placing it on his head.
“You’re in control, remember,” he said, before continuing his work.
Tom seemed to relax then, and while his hand was tensed at first, it soon softened and began to follow Grant’s movements while also playing with his hair. There was no pressure there, not that Grant would have minded, but Tom certainly seemed to be happy with the way things were going.
As time rolled on, Grant began to pick up the pace, as well as squeeze the shaft a little harder. Tom’s breathing quickened, and his fingers clenched in Grant’s hair as he likely fought to keep control. Grant kept on, though, and built further speed, and it wasn’t long before Tom was panting, his eyes screwed shut.
“I’m gonna…” Tom’s words were replaced by a groan as Grant moved faster still.
The moment clearly only seconds away, he pulled back completely from Tom’s cock and began to jerk it, aiming directly at his open mouth.
“Come for me, Tom,” he said, as he worked his lover’s shaft. “Let me taste you.”
With a gasp, Tom let go, and let fly. His cum shot from his cock in three great gouts, and Grant caught most in his mouth, the rest hitting his cheek and running down to his chin. He leaned forward and took Tom whole once more as he worked out the last drops, massaging him feverishly until the man could take no more, then backing off again.
Spent, Tom dropped to his knees beside Grant and Grant took the opportunity to kiss him hard on the mouth. Tom almost resisted for a moment, but must have found his own taste enjoyable as within seconds his tongue was hard at work against Grant’s.
When they broke the kiss, Tom smiled wide, still breathing hard, and laughed.
“That was incredible,” he said. “I mean, I never even expected you to do it in the first place.”
“No?” Grant idly ran a hand over Tom’s softening cock, rubbing his thumb in what left of the cum. “Why?”
Tom colored a little, something that was becoming a lot less common. “Well, you’re the, uh, top. Do tops normally do that?”
Grant shrugged. “Some do, some don’t. I like seeing my man’s eyes roll back when I go down on him, so I do.”
“Did I do that?”
“They were shut for half of it, so I don’t know.” He winked. “Guess I’ll have to try harder next time.”
Tom smirked and shook his head. “I don’t think it’s possible to improve upon what just happened, but I’m willing to find out.”
“That’s what I like to hear.” Grant stretched and stood. “Now, I don’t know about you, but I’m hungry.”
“Then you’re in luck.” Tom stood beside him and smiled. “I happen to be quite the expert chef.”
“Perfect. We’ll clean up, you’ll cook, and then I’ll thank you by sliding my cock so far inside you that you’ll feel it for a week.”
Tom’s blush returned in full force.
* * * *
Tom tried to focus less on what Grant had promised later that evening, and more on the knife in his hand. The last thing his Bolognese needed was a sprinkling of fingertips.
It was damn hard work, though. Unlike what usually happened after sex, Grant’s blowjob had left Tom horny as hell. Even while he worked, not twenty minutes after coming, he was once more straining against the fly of his pants.
Thankfully Grant was upstairs, showering, so there was no visual reminder of what was to come. He’d be down soon enough, though, and Tom would be in even greater danger of shortened fingers.
Come on, concentrate. He closed his eyes and let out a long breath, then continued preparing the vegetables.
He hoped Grant liked pasta. He hadn’t actually asked, instead telling the man—his man—that it was a surprise. If he didn’t they could always order out, Tom decided.
He needn’t have worried, it turned out, as the first thing Grant said when he came down the stairs was, “Great, I love pasta.”
Tom smiled and gestured to the table that sat at the side of the room. “We’ll eat in the lounge and put on a movie if you like.”
“Sounds good,” Grant replied with a nod. “That wine should go well with it.”
“You must be psychic,” Tom said with a chuckle.
“Hmm?”
“I haven’t even got the wine out yet. It’s still in the rack.”
“Oh, I spotted it this morning when I was looking for cups.”
The conversation soon switched to the season, and the upcoming holidays. Tom skirted around the question of Christmas, since he didn’t know whether Grant would have plans. Hell, he didn’t even know if they’d still be together by then. It was a few weeks away still, and while the relationship was moving quickly that was no guarantee, as much as Tom wished it was.
The meal was ready in no time, and soon after the pair settled onto the couch, the table pulled closer so they could put their plates on it. The choice of movies was limited, but eventually they settled on an old low-budget sci-fi, and spent the time laughing at the terrible acting and spaceships hanging on visible strings.
Once the food disappeared and the light outside began to fade, they moved closer together on the couch, and it wasn’t long before Grant’s arm was wrapped around Tom, holding him tight. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt so secure and comfortable.
“I love this.”
He bit down on his tongue as he realized he’d spoken aloud, but he needn’t have worried, as Grant’s response was to squeeze him tighter still and kiss him on the cheek.
“Me too,” Grant said. “I know we’ve only know each other a short time, but I’ve loved every moment.” He was silent for a moment, then added, “I hope there are many more moments to come.”
Tom squeezed the man back. “There will be.”
And that was that. Without saying it in so many words, they’d both admitted that they wanted to see more of each other. It wasn’t exactly a proposal, but after so short a time together, it was exactly what Tom wanted to hear.
As the movie came to a close a few minutes later, Tom stood and held out a hand. Grant took it, a questioning look on his face. Tom raised an eyebrow.
“I believe you mentioned something about fucking my brains out?”