by Aiden Bates
The scent of him was almost as overwhelming as his beauty. Anthony could smell the smoke that had been in the games room, sure, but he could smell Ryan’s sweat just underneath that. He had a certain spiciness to his aroma, too, something Anthony couldn’t quite identify, that made him so hungry …
Something in Ryan’s dark eyes almost seemed to glow with fire. It could only be dimly-reflected light, but it still sent chills of anticipation down Anthony’s spine. So much power and strength coiled into these muscles, just waiting to come out.
He still reached out gently to guide Anthony over to the bed, however. “I don’t want to hurt you.” He stroked Anthony’s shoulders gently.
Anthony couldn’t bring himself to believe Ryan wouldn’t do exactly what he meant to do. Ryan moved like he had plenty of experience. He knew what he was doing.
A man like Ryan could get whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted. He had a ‘dyed in the wool’
romantic like Anthony here begging for just one chance, didn’t he?
“I can take it,” Anthony promised. He was already breathless with need. Christ, he was going to explode if he didn’t get Ryan’s hands back on him soon. “I want it, Ryan. I need it.”
Ryan let out a dark little laugh. “Let’s see if they still do things the way they used to around here.” He fumbled around in the nightstand and came out with condoms and lube. “Well, what do you know? I guess some things never do change.”
Anthony got onto his knees. It wasn’t his favorite position, but if they were going to do a quick and dirty fuck, it would definitely get the job done. “Come on, Ryan. I need you.”
Ryan smacked him lightly on the ass. It didn’t hurt, and wasn’t intended to. The little sting just made Anthony’s breath catch in his throat. “You need me, huh? Good to know.”
Anthony heard the squelch of lube, and then he gasped as a cool, slick finger slid into him. “Feels good.”
“Yes, it does.” Ryan’s breath was deep, shuddering. Maybe it had been a long time for him, after all.
Anthony could feel the other man’s cock rubbing against the back of his thigh as Ryan slowly got him ready to take him. “You’re so tight, Anthony. You’re so fucking tight.”
He added another finger, and Anthony rocked back onto him. Ryan’s hands felt incredible. His fingers were rough and calloused, and scarred from something — not like anyone Anthony had been with before. He wanted these hands all over him, but they felt especially good inside.
“Give me more. Please, Ryan.”
Ryan chuckled. “You sure you need that already? I don’t want to —”
“Please, Ryan.” Anthony didn’t care that he was begging at this point. He just wanted Ryan. “Come on. I can take it, please.”
Ryan’s other hand, which had been resting on Anthony’s hip, gripped him hard. “You don’t know what you’re asking.”
“So show me.” Anthony turned his head, stretching his neck muscles to look into Ryan’s dark eyes.
Something gleamed there, saturnine and wicked. Anthony barely had time to turn his head back around before Ryan slid into him with one mighty, inexorable thrust.
Anthony panted through it. Ryan was big, huge even, and maybe Anthony should have listened to him when he suggested more prep. But no — Anthony had never been so well filled in his life. Ryan might be an eye opening experience, but he was everything Anthony needed and more.
Ryan didn’t give him much time to adjust. He gave him some — he wasn’t trying to hurt him. But he snapped his hips back and slammed right back in.
Anthony moaned, but there was no time to savor it. Ryan slammed into him again, and again, and again. There was nothing in the room but the stretch, and the feel of Ryan’s sweat as it dripped onto Anthony’s skin.
Oh, God. Anthony was going for the ride of his life, and all he could do was grab at the sheets for purchase. He wasn’t going to last. No one could last. This was an onslaught, a sensory assault that already had him flying like a kite.
Ryan wasn’t talking. The only sounds he made were little grunts and the occasional moan as he thrust, but keeping the rhythm and the pace seemed to take up every bit of his concentration. Anthony’s own cries of pleasure threatened to drown them all out as he rocked back, trying to take Ryan as deep as he could.
When Ryan reached under Anthony’s arms and hauled him up, pulling him flush against his chest, Anthony pulled the bed sheet with him. It was that unexpected. Now the angle was different, and the cool air blowing across Anthony’s overheated, desperate cock was just one more stimulation instead of relief.
“I’m going to come,” he grunted. “I’m gonna —” He reached to touch himself and grant himself the release he needed.
Ryan batted his hand away with a growl. Still pumping into Anthony, he wrapped his hand around his cock and pulled. It didn’t take long before the heat in Anthony’s belly exploded.
He had nowhere to go, no pillow to scream into. He could only cry out into the shadows as his release hit his belly, hot and sticky. Later, he’d feel a little embarrassed by that, and maybe worry about the neighbors. Right now, he only knew Ryan’s name.
Little by little, the rest of the world came back to him. He could feel Ryan’s rhythm falter, and then the powerful feeling of his release deep inside of him, even through the condom. God, that felt incredible. Anthony could only cry out softly while he drank in the pulses, and the way Ryan rested his forehead against Anthony’s neck as he finished.
Finally, Ryan was spent. He pulled out gently and went to get rid of the condom. Anthony collapsed onto the bed and lay there until Ryan came back with a washcloth to clean him up.
Anthony was so sensitive at this point that even the baby soft cotton made him gasp. Was it possible for someone to kick all of a man’s nerve endings into overdrive? Was that a thing?
“Thank you for that,” Ryan said, and climbed into the bed beside him. His voice was oddly soft, and he took Anthony into his arms with a gentleness that shocked Anthony almost as much Ryan’s existence had at the beginning of the night.
“Thank you.” Anthony hadn’t expected any kind of affection or cuddling. It hadn’t been part of the agreement, but he wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth. “That was kind of mindblowing.”
Ryan chuckled and rested his head against his arm. “I didn’t mean to be so rough.” He frowned and raised his other hand to Anthony’s hip.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to leave bruises.” He looked down and away. “I shouldn’t have come up here.”
“Hey.” Anthony took his hand and kissed it. He didn’t know Ryan at all, but he could recognize the beginnings of a spiral of self loathing when he saw one.
“I obviously enjoyed it, okay? I’m not made of porcelain. And it’s not like you hurt me. You got into it, because we were having a good time. I’m going to smile every time my hand brushes against it, okay?”
Ryan relaxed a little. “Oh, yeah?”
“Hell yeah. Are you kidding me?” He traced the lines of another one of Ryan’s tattoos, this one a dragon coiled around Ryan’s right bicep. “That was fantastic. I am so glad you turned up tonight.”
“Hm. As it turns out, so am I.” Ryan smirked. “And to think all I planned for was to stop in and wish Jamie a happy birthday. Hilarious, right?”
“I’m the one who got the present.” Anthony laughed. He paused for a moment. “Can I ask you something?”
Ryan tensed immediately. “I guess. I probably won’t answer, though.”
Anthony snorted and flicked Ryan’s pierced nipple, which elicited a shocked laugh out of the older man. “Oh my God, are you kidding me? All I was going to ask was if the tattoos have special meaning, or if they’re just something you happen to like.”
Ryan grinned. “I just happen to like them. Plus, getting them can be kind of addictive, after the first.”
Anthony cringed. “Seriously? It looks painful.”
“Maybe a little. Then you ge
t that endorphin high. Most of us do. Some people don’t.”
Ryan looked Anthony over. “I think you’d look good with a tattoo right about … here.” He kissed Anthony’s chest, right on the pectoral muscle, just above his nipple.
Then he kissed him again, but deeper, sucking a mark deep into the skin. Anthony gasped as pleasure flowed through him once again.
His cock perked up. He’d already come once, and here he was getting hard again. This wasn’t usual for him, and he didn’t want to get his expectations up, but he couldn’t exactly stop himself.
Ryan grinned down at him. “Like that, do you?” He stroked Anthony’s face.
Anthony turned his head and sucked Ryan’s fingers into his mouth. He hadn’t had a chance to do this before. He hadn’t had a chance to taste him, to draw things out, to explore Ryan.
That wasn’t to say he hadn’t enjoyed what they’d done, but he hadn’t had the chance to fully explore Ryan’s body. He swirled his tongue around the tips of the other man’s fingers, savoring the smoky flavor that was purely Ryan.
Ryan closed his eyes and sighed. His face relaxed into contentment as Anthony sucked, and Anthony’s heart warmed. It was a beautiful sight. He looked even younger than he was like this.
Whatever evils had pulled him away from Culvertown, and away from the Roscoe family bosom, didn’t matter here. Anthony could give him comfort and peace, if only for a few hours.
He trailed his lips down Ryan’s arm. Ryan opened his eyes slowly, but he didn’t stop him. He watched, eyes shining, as Anthony dragged his mouth up his arm and down his chest.
Anthony didn’t leave any marks. He didn’t want to mar any of the beautiful ink on his partner’s skin, and he got the impression that it had been a very long time since any part of Ryan had been cherished or treated with affection.
He worked his way down Ryan’s ridged abs, making sure each well defined section got the attention it deserved. He navigated by feel. He didn’t want to take his eyes away from Ryan’s. He couldn’t.
Those dark eyes of his had gone soft, but they mesmerized Anthony now. He was connected to Ryan. A current passed through both of them, a circuit that completed itself as Anthony settled himself between Ryan’s legs and lowered his mouth down onto his hard, heavy cock.
Anthony liked giving head, as a general rule. He was good at it, or at least he felt like he was. He liked the feeling of power it gave him, and he liked to feel like he was taking care of his partner.
And he knew, without having to be told, that this was the only affectionate touch Ryan had experienced in a very long time. Anthony could guess Ryan might have experienced a few one night stands here and there, but if he was any judge, there hadn’t been any connection between the participants.
None of those partners had cared about Ryan. None of those men had wanted Ryan to feel safe and adored, not the way Anthony did.
He knew it wasn’t reciprocated. He didn’t care. All that mattered in this moment, and in this place, was that Ryan understood that someone wanted him to feel good and be happy.
He used his tongue to tease. Ryan’s Prince Albert made a great target, and Anthony attacked it mercilessly. He took Ryan deep into his throat and sucked like his life depended on it, holding Ryan’s eyes with his own the whole time. When Ryan’s hips bucked, he didn’t try to stop him but proved his trust, and Ryan calmed down before he let go and shot his release straight down Anthony’s throat.
He could please Ryan in this way, make him feel special and wanted. This was something he could offer, something he could give.
Anthony worked him until Ryan was completely spent. He expected that Ryan would be too dazed and hazy with pleasure to do anything but lie there, but Ryan surprised him again. He guided Anthony back up to the head of the bed and kissed him breathless.
Anthony’s cock was so hard it hurt, just from Ryan’s choked off little moans. “I can taste myself on you,” Ryan told him, in a voice filled with wonder. “Do you have any idea what that does to me?”
Ryan didn’t kiss his way down. He got down to the foot of the bed to nibble and suck his way up, starting with Anthony’s ankle. “I want to know every inch of this body,” he said, as he crawled his way up Anthony’s spread legs.
“I want you to feel everything.” He sucked a mark into the tender skin of Anthony’s inner thigh. “Everything.”
Anthony couldn’t speak. Every nerve cell on his body was aflame, and it was simply too much stimulation. His brain couldn’t process it all.
When Ryan’s tongue swirled around his balls, he couldn’t find the words to cry out with. He just shouted. Ryan was a god, sent down from Olympus just to torture mere mortals like Anthony.
Ryan licked from root to tip before enveloping his cock with his hot mouth. Anthony moaned. He needed something to grab onto, anything. Lacing his fingers through Ryan’s wild black hair, he held on for dear life.
He wasn’t trying to guide, or force. He only needed to keep himself grounded. Otherwise, Ryan was going to suck his soul out, right through his cock, and where would he be then?
Anthony’s orgasm exploded from him, painting his whole world white for a good minute. When he floated back down to himself, Ryan was holding him. Moonlight streamed through the window and splashed over the bed, washing both of them clean. Ryan’s beautiful eyes were closed. Everything was perfect.
Anthony let himself snooze, and wallowed in the fantasy for a little while.
When he woke, about an hour later according to the clock on the bedside table, the moon had passed them by. So had the moment. Ryan was still asleep, but the postcoital bliss had followed the moon and left him frowning, even in slumber. He’d rolled away from Anthony and now lay curled on his side, protective and guarded.
Anthony could stay. He’d already gotten more out of tonight than he thought he would. That second round had been more loving, and more perfect, than he’d gotten from his last few boyfriends.
Maybe he should stick it out and see if he could press his luck. There was a real and honest connection between him and Ryan. He hadn’t imagined it. He hadn’t hallucinated it.
If he tried, if he believed, he could make it work. He could be what Ryan needed.
“Hey,” Ryan had said, coming up for air. It was a soft, intimate murmur, but the hard set to his jaw belied his tone. “Don’t expect anything from me in the morning.”
What was Anthony thinking? Ryan wasn’t even staying in Culvertown. He wasn’t looking for someone to help him, or save him, or whatever. They’d agreed to a one night stand.
Ryan wouldn’t welcome Anthony’s face if it was still here in the morning, no matter what they’d shared the night before.
Anthony dressed slowly and silently in the dim light. Then he slipped out the door. It was better to leave on his own terms than for Ryan to throw him out.
4
Ryan put his hands on his hips and surveyed the apartment. It wasn’t much. It didn’t need to be much. It was perfectly adequate for a single working guy, and it was upstairs from the shop. It was all he needed.
Once upon a time, Ryan would have thought that anything less than four bedrooms with a view of the mountains was a slum. Now, a one bedroom felt spacious, and he kept hesitating at every threshold, lest a guard catch him stepping out without permission.
Jamie put a box down on the counter and looked around. “This place is kind of a dump, man. Are you sure you don’t want to sublet it and move on?”
“I’m sure.” Ryan gave him a little smile. “I’ve been in much worse places than this." Solitary, for example.
He gestured to the couch. “I’ll call for pizza. You want a beer?”
“Sure, man.” Jamie winced a bit as his back hit the rock solid cushions of the secondhand couch he’d picked up. Ryan still had some of his money left to live on, but why spend it on fancy furniture and crap like that? He didn’t need it, and he didn’t even want that stuff anymore.
He just wanted a place to park
his butt and watch the game. Better to save what he had and plow it into the business if necessary.
It looked like Jamie found the couch uncomfortable, though. If Ryan was going to start entertaining or anything, he’d think about trading it in for a newer model. Then again, maybe Jamie was just turning his nose up at secondhand. Jamie hadn’t been like that when they were younger, but a lot could change in ten years.
Ryan went into the little kitchenette and grabbed a beer for his brother. Jamie took it with a grateful smile. “So,” he said, using the fixer on his own keychain to open it, “how come you decided to stick around? I thought that wasn’t something you were interested in.
“Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad you did. It’s fantastic to have you back. I’m just curious, since it’s such a departure for you.”
“It is kind of out of left field, isn’t it?” Ryan used his phone to find a pizza place that would let him order online. Not only would this tactic let him get the food he’d promised his brother, but it allowed him to avoid Jamie’s eyes.
“I guess it was as good a place as any. Spur of the moment decision, you know. I wanted to open a garage, and I saw this place was vacant. The rest is history.”
“Hm.” Jamie took a swig from his beer. “Well, like I said, I’m glad you did. You didn’t have to get an apartment like this, though. You could have moved back in with Mom and Dad. I’m sure they’d have been thrilled as hell to have you home.”
Ryan couldn’t hold back a snort of contempt. His parents no more wanted him in their home than he wanted to be there.
They hadn’t wanted him living there before Ryan went to prison. He sure as hell wouldn’t be welcome there now. “That’s an interesting pronunciation of ‘horrified.’ Thanks, but I’m good.”
Jamie didn’t insult him by pretending their parents had much love for Ryan. Instead, he looked down and grinned. “Okay, so maybe not Mom and Dad. Liam or I could have put you up, though. Both of us have plenty of room. You don’t have to spend your money on rent, you know?”