Groaning, Ty practically thrust his dick into Vance’s waiting hand, shame forgotten. “I’m going to shoot,” Ty said.
“Go ahead. I want to see you come undone, baby.”
Baby.
He liked the term of endearment, even though it might have just been a slip of the tongue.
Vance gave the tip of his leaking dick a squeeze, and that did the trick. He cried out, vision going hazy as he emptied his balls, jizz covering Vance’s fingers. Ty came long and hard, and Vance haven’t even gotten to fucking him. Vance took his lips, sucking on the bottom lip before lifting himself up.
“Fucking perfect,” Vance murmured, eyes full of lust and want. “Next time, it’ll be my turn to blow you.”
The erotic image of Vance’s lips around his dick made him squirm. Next time. Yes, Ty wanted plenty of those. It wasn’t just more sex he craved, though, but more conversations, more dates. Ty wanted to know every single detail about Vance, explore every inch of that glorious body, to help Vance heal and forget. A hard task, but he was up for the challenge.
His gaze slid to the thick, engorged cock between Vance’s legs. Vance grinned. “You want my cock inside you?”
“Please.” The moment that word slipped his lips, Ty blushed, but he didn’t mind saying it with Vance.
“Wait here.” Vance got off him, exited the room and returned with the condoms and lube he bought earlier. Vance read the label off the box. “Extra durable, hmm?”
Ty blushed even hotter.
“Good choice,” Vance said. He patted the edge of the bed and Ty slid his body lower until his legs dangled off the edge.
“I haven’t,” he began, then swallowed before continuing. “Been fucked in this position.”
“Oh? How many men have you been with?”
Vance’s question caught him off guard, but he saw that for some reason, the answer mattered to Vance. Vance broke the condom foil and slipped the condom over his shaft.
“Well, I haven’t exactly time to date.” Ty blew out a breath. “One guy. Gary. That was before I left my hometown, but even then, we had to keep our relationship a secret. My town wasn’t exactly open-minded.”
“One man?”
Ty gasped when Vance positioned himself between his legs and hefted them over those broad shoulders. Ty stared at his exposed dick and balls. This position, he realized, provided no place to hide. Vance could see all of him, his balls, cock coming back to life, and every expression that crossed his face.
Ty trembled, feeling exposed and vulnerable, and he sort of liked it. “Why do you sound pleased by that?” he demanded.
“Why wouldn’t I be? After tonight, you’ll forget about him and when you think of sex, you’ll only think of tonight.”
Smug bastard.
“I’ve never had any good intimate experience,” he admitted. Sex with Gary had been awkward. They’d been two teenagers, fumbling their way in the dark. “Until tonight, I didn’t know a simple kiss had been enough to undo me.”
There was it again, that smirk.
“Can you be less, I don’t know, arrogant about this?”
“Can’t help it.” Vance palmed his belly, dragging those fingers farther down to give his cock a squeeze. Ty groaned. “You’re mine to claim. After tonight, the only man who’ll be inside you again is me.”
“Possessive bastard.”
“You like it.”
What could Ty say to a man who seemed capable of reading his desires? When it came to the bedroom, Ty had always wanted—no needed—someone to take control.
Vance uncapped the lube and applied a generous amount on his fingers, before working more inside his ass. He squirmed and bucked, but Vance held him firmly in place. Vance pushed a slick finger inside him, added a second, and began making twisting motions. Ty moaned, already imagining Vance’s dick instead of his digits inside him.
“Hurry,” he murmured.
“What’s the rush?”
“Need you in me.”
A rumble tore out of Vance’s chest. “I don’t want to hurt you, and I’m not exactly small.”
“You boasting?”
Vance brushed up against the secret spot inside him, making him mewl. The bastard did it again, disabling his ability to think. The next thing he knew, Vance’s cock head brushed against his puckered entrance.
“Finally,” he declared, grasped when Vance pushed in the first few inches. “So big.”
“Breathe in and out, that’s good.”
Once Vance pushed past the thick ring of muscles, it became easier. Ty gripped Vance’s biceps and met his gaze as Vance buried himself deep, until his balls brushed against Ty’s ass.
“Good job, baby. Now I’ll make you fly.” Vance pistoned in and out of him, strokes slow and steady at first, before picking up speed. Ty groaned, heat emanating from his insides and spreading to the rest of him. He found himself meeting Vance for every thrust, eager to help Vance take them both over the edge.
“Faster, please.”
Vance picked up the speed, went deeper with each entry, breaching his most intimate places. Before Vance, Ty hadn’t known sex could be this amazing. Vance must have shifted angles because the next time he buried himself inside Ty, Ty gasped. He dug his nails into Vance’s powerful back, but Vance didn’t seem to mind the slight pain.
Unable to speak, Ty could only moan as Vance kept aiming for the spot repeatedly. “Touch yourself,” he ordered.
Ty managed to curl his fingers over his shaft and began working himself. The dual sensation of Vance hammering him and his own hand stroking his cock proved too much. He arched his back, still speechless but Vance sealed his mouth over his, muffling his cries.
“Vance, I—” Ty began when Vance pulled his mouth away.
“Hush. Come for me.”
At those words, Vance sheathed himself inside him once more. Every tense muscle in his body relaxed. His mind reeled and the room fell away from his line of sight. Ty erupted, spilling strings of his cum all over Vance’s waiting fingers. Vance pumped in and out of him several more times, before reaching climax. With a growl, Vance pulled out of him and lay against him for a few moments. Once they both recovered their breathing, Vance rose and disposed of the condom.
Ty curled to his side, content and lazy. He could lie here all night, except he suddenly wondered what the protocol was. He bit his lower lip. Did Vance want him to leave? He couldn’t possibly go home now, because his thoughts would be consumed about what had just happened. He’d second-guess everything and blame himself for being so foolish as to think he could help heal the internal scars Vance carried.
He felt a wash cloth between his legs a moment later. Ty blinked, and rolled to his back to see Vance holding a towel. Ty said nothing, not trusting himself to speak as Vance cleaned them both up.
“Should I go?” he finally asked, breaking the silence.
“Would you stay the night?”
Relief washed over him at those words. “Really?” He couldn’t keep the eagerness and hope out of his voice.
“I’d like that,” Vance said, sliding into bed with him.
Vance tugged him close so Ty lay tucked against his big body, his back pressed up against the solid wall of Vance’s chest. He relaxed, not minding Vance pulling those corded arms of steel around him, wrapping him in a warm embrace.
“Sleep,” Vance murmured against his ear.
“Don’t want to, in case this turns out to be a dream.” Vance chuckled behind him and Ty turned, scowling. “You making fun of me?”
“Not at all.” Vance hugged him tighter and his next words made Ty’s heart gallop. “Because I don’t want this to be a dream either.”
Chapter Seven
Vance woke up the next morning, sensing something was different. A body shifted in his arms, snored even. He stilled, refusing to believe he wasn’t alone in bed. No wonder he’d had a peaceful night, one devoid of the same nightmare that plagued him for the past few months.
Still keeping his eyes shut, he felt soft hair tickling his face. He ran his hand down the length of his lover’s body. Vance was only happy to feel skin-on-skin. His nights had been incredibly lonely and for some time, he’d been burdened with insomnia, too.
“Hey,” a man’s voice said. “You awake?”
“Morning, baby.” He nuzzled his lover’s neck, heard the other man laugh. “Malik, I’m glad you forgave me for being an ass the night before.”
He must have said the wrong thing, because the mattress dipped. Vance opened his eyes. Shock reverberated through him and last night’s events came back to him. He stared at Ty’s wide brown eyes. Ty had every right to be pissed off, to go storming out of his apartment, cursing his name.
It was worse. Ty held a mixture of hurt, pity, and sadness in those eyes. Vance clutched at the comforter, feeling like the world’s biggest asshole. How could he explain to Ty that he woke confused, that it had all been a mix-up? Last night changed the game, woke him up from the limbo he’d been in this entire night.
“Ty, look. I’m so sorry. That didn’t—I mean, I was half-awake—” Vance stopped when Ty remained quiet, his silence damning. It was clear Vance had used up all his luck.
Ty got off the bed, moving slow, then began fishing for his clothes.
Vance didn’t speak, he couldn’t, until he followed Ty out the bedroom. Ty headed for the front door.
“This is it then? We’re done?” He couldn’t keep the resentment and anger in his voice. Ty knew what he was getting into. Shit. That thought made him sound like a sulky teenager, not a grown man unable to let go of his ghosts.
Ty turned, expression difficult to read. “This is too hard, Vance. I thought I could do it, take one step at a time. I even thought that I could help.”
“You giving up on me?” So soon? Ty had every right to be disappointed in him. He was too, but seeing Ty lingering by the door and knowing he’d never see Ty again was pain he didn’t think he’d experience again.
“No, but I can’t always be the second choice.” Ty took a breath, met his gaze. “Vance, there was something between us last night. You felt it too, but if you want this—whatever this is between us—to work, you need to take that first step forward.”
“The past keeps dragging me down.”
“Let go. Maybe we’ll have a chance by then.”
“Are you telling me to forget about Malik?” Vance couldn’t help the anger surging through his words although a voice in his head warned him that going down this path would only drive a bigger wedge between them.
Ty shook his head, looking wounded. “Never that. I’m not that cruel, but ask yourself this. Would Malik have wanted you to live out the rest of your life like this? If you want to talk, to try again, you have my number and you know where to find me.”
The door slammed shut, and he stared at it for a couple of minutes. The silence in the apartment reminded him of how isolated he’d let himself become, especially after the accident. Ty had every right to leave to get out before things turned heavy between them, but why did Vance feel so pissed off?
He walked to the kitchen, breathing hard. His cell phone rang from his bedroom, probably a call from his secretary or one of his business partners. Routine was good, it would help stabilize his world after last night’s unexpected whirlwind of events. Ty was like a storm capable of wrecking him, stripping him inside out, but for the first time in months, Ty reminded him how to feel when all he’d been doing was shutting down his emotions.
Make coffee. Answer emails and return that call. Shower. Dress for work and head to the office.
Even though it was a Saturday, there were would be people at their desks. Vance sat on the couch instead, slumped against it, and realized he didn’t want to do anything but sit there in misery. Fate offered him a way out of the limbo he’d put himself in, and what did he do? What he was good at—fucking things up.
****
“I deserve better,” Ty whispered to himself.
A jogger passed him and gave him a strange look. No small wonder, because he looked like a madman, talking to himself. Ty combed a frustrated hand through his hair, then turned. He’d only walked one block. It wasn’t too late to turn back and knock on Vance’s door and … what? Apologize for being so harsh?
That defeated the purpose of his walking out. His heart ached, thinking of Vance that morning, face unguarded, stubble covering his jaw and cheeks as he mistook Ty for his dead husband. The man had issues, Ty knew that, but fuck, who knew mistaken identity could hurt so much? Now, he wondered about last night. Did Vance imagine it was Malik he’d had sex with, and not Ty?
His head spun. He shouldn’t be glossing over every little detail. Dammit. He had to believe Vance wasn’t that kind of bastard. Last night had seemed real enough, except he wasn’t too sure. They should have stopped at the first few beers.
Clarity had filled him when he’d made his move, and both of them were two consenting adults who wanted the same thing—to lose themselves in each other. Ty wanted to see if he could help Vance forget about his attachment to the past, to see if the sparks between them could be more than simple attraction.
It would have hurt so much less if they’d used each other for sex. Ty remembered how careful Vance had been, how unexpectedly tender after they fucked. Before heading to sleep, he even started to imagine how his life would be with Vance in it.
Ty scoffed and hailed a taxi. The car stopped and he got in, telling the driver the directions to his place. He avoided taxis, especially given he was on a budget, but he gave himself a break today. His phone rang in his pocket. Hoping it was Vance calling, he picked up instantly. He was disappointed when he heard a woman’s voice.
“Hey, Ty. Sorry to disturb you on a Saturday, but Lenny called in sick. Can you cover for him and get Monday off instead?” It was Janine, his manager at the Little Paws Animal Shelter.
Spending time with animals that he’d come to see as his own seemed a lot better than moping at home with Cereal and Milk on his lap while they binge-watched some show on TV.
“Sure. I’ll be there in half an hour.”
“Thanks, Ty. You’re a saint.”
Ending the call, he looked out the windows. Some time must have passed, because the cab driver stopped in front of his place. He pulled out cash from his wallet and exited the cab. A cold shower would wake him up. Ty headed inside his building, rode the elevator, and finally opened the door to his own place.
Last night, he’d even thought about bringing Vance here and introducing him to Cereal and Milk. Meows greeted him as he shut the door behind him. Cereal jumped from a nearby bookshelf and gave him an unfriendly stare.
“Sorry, I’ll feed you both right now.” Ty fixed them both cat food and water, before heading to his bathroom.
He peeled off his clothes, then stared at the bite marks left behind by Vance from the night before. Ty ran his fingers over the perfect imprint of Vance’s teeth on his left nipple. He shuddered at the memory of the way Vance balanced both pain and pleasure, by curling his big fingers over Ty’s dick as he bit him.
Ty entered the shower and turned the water on, but the cold didn’t do much for his raging erection. Not a good sign. He should be purging Vance from his mind and his system. But then what?
Vance’s voice echoed in his head. You giving up on me?
He’d looked so confused and lost that Ty wanted to take all his words back and pull the other man into a hug. No. Ty had to believe he’d done the right thing, because if he remained, Vance might never have the strength to take that critical step forward, especially if Ty hovered nearby all the time.
Ty stroked his dick a few times, but it softened. Better this way. He finished showering, dressed in jeans, and put on the green shirt with the shelter’s name on the back and front. Ty checked his phone again. No messages from Vance. What was he hoping for?
What if in the end, Vance only saw him as a stranger, a brief respite before going back to old habits?
Ty exited the apartment and walked to the shelter. He could take the bus, but he had plenty of time. He arrived five minutes early.
“Morning, Janine,” he told the perky blonde behind the desk. She looked up from her stack of paperwork. “I’ll go ahead and give them their daily feeding.”
“Thanks, Ty.”
Ty headed to the back, where all the animals were. Work kept his mind off Vance.
“Hey guys, how are we doing today?” he asked, answered by a few yups and meows.
Ty felt better being around them already. He hadn’t lied to Vance. If given a choice, he would have preferred to work alongside animals instead of waiting tables. Ty paused at the last cage at the end, which had been empty two days ago, which meant they were at full capacity. A brown puppy with floppy ears lolled its tongue as it caught sight of him, wagging its tail with enthusiasm. I’s front left paw ended in a stump.
Ty bent down, his heart breaking. Reaching between the bars, he gave the pup’s ears a scratch. It excitedly barked at him. Visitors seldom picked pups like these, pets they considered flawed.
“Poor guy was picked up yesterday in a garbage container,” Janine said behind him.
He stood up. Ty had worked there long enough to know that most likely, no one would welcome the happy-looking, three-legged pup home.
“Anyway, Ty. I was hoping you’d come in. I’d like to discuss something with you,” she said as he finished giving the pup its food and water.
“Oh no. Sounds scary,” he joked to cover his nervousness.
His heart raced. Ty didn’t think he could handle losing this particular job now, because he loved it too much. True, there were aspects of it he hated, but that was why he worked hard to clear the shelter and give all their new buddies homes.
Janine laughed. “Not at all, I wanted to ask if you want to be assistant manager. You certainly qualify, you’re passionate, and it pays more. I know you have two jobs, but being promoted might take off the weight. There’ll be more responsibilities, of course.”
Crazy Bastard Page 4