Falling Bundle

by Jace, Alex

  Afterward they lay together on top of the table, gasping for breath. Max turned his face into Arjen’s shoulder, and for a pitiful moment he could have wept. He had thought that fucking Arjen again might get it out of his system, but it hadn’t. If anything, his longing was worse. He wanted Arjen in his life so badly he could hardly stand it.

  Just let him stay here a while longer. He was exhausted, filled with that glow of satisfaction, Arjen warm in his arms. He could feel Arjen’s heartbeat against his own. He craved this closeness with every fibre of his being.

  Arjen ran his fingers through his hair. Max held his breath, caught by surprise by the unexpected tenderness of that gesture. For a moment the entire world trembled on the edge.

  “Get out,” Arjen whispered in his ear.

  Max flinched. It was such a kick in the teeth. He had everything he wanted right here in his arms and it was being taken away. “Arjen—”

  “We’ve fucked,” said Arjen, deliberately mimicking every cruel word Max had said to him. “We’re done. Out.”

  The crack in Max’s heart told him exactly how much he must have hurt Arjen that morning. Because if Arjen had felt even a tenth of this, it must have been devastating.

  Please, he wanted to say. Let me stay. But he unwrapped himself painfully from around Arjen, seeing the bruises he had left on him, and stood up.

  Arjen got to his feet and began dressing without a second glance. “You can let yourself out.”

  Max had never felt so low. And the worst part was that he deserved it.

  “Fine,” Max muttered. “I don’t care.”

  MOMENT OF TRUTH

  Arjen stopped when he was still a dozen feet away. “No,” he said. “Absolutely not.”

  Max stretched out on the park bench, his fingers laced behind his head, and ran his eyes lazily up and down Arjen’s lean frame. “You look good.” Good enough to eat. Arjen glowed in the sunshine, with his sharply chiselled features, his dark hair ruffled by the breeze, a leaf or two catching in the collar of his coat. The chill had brought out the colour in his face.

  “Why the hell did you want me to meet you in a park?”

  “It’s sunny.” Max pointed out the obvious. Autumn was truly setting in now, a crisp bite in the air, the leaves starting to turn colours. Families strolled through the huge sweep of the park with their puppies and children scampering around them. Away down the tumbling slope, woodland gathered in a hollow, filling it with shadow.

  Max crooked a finger. “Come here.”

  Arjen folded his arms, staying right where he was. He was particularly handsome when he was smouldering like this, his dark eyes narrow. “I don’t think so, Max. This is just sex, nothing more. So I don’t see the need to hold hands in a park like we’re teenage sweethearts.”

  Max’s jaw set. One day he was going to get through a conversation without Arjen coldly reminding him that Arjen had no interest in him whatsoever outside of bed. “You’re trying my patience, Arjen.”

  “Your patience?” Arjen was getting steadily louder. Heads turned. “You wanted it like this. You kicked me out of bed the first time we slept together. You told me that this was nothing, it was meaningless to you. So we’re meeting to fuck. That’s all.”

  That was it. Max jumped to his feet and stalked toward him.

  Arjen held his ground, his chin coming up; he was four inches shorter than Max but rarely shrank like most people did when Max was looming over them. “You’re not going to—”

  Max caught his face in both hands and kissed him. Hard. The fire of that first touch ignited in him, filling him with heat; he kissed him like there was no oxygen and only Arjen could save him from suffocating. Arjen melted into him like he always did, hands coming up to grip Max’s lapels, and Max slid a hand down his spine to yank him against him so tight Arjen gasped. He kissed Arjen into breathless silence before finally taking his mouth away. “No more talking,” Max said.

  Arjen was flustered, trying to catch his breath. He said nothing.

  Max took his hand. Arjen glared at him, but did not pull away. His shoulders were stiff, his spine a straight line.

  Max must be getting soft. Because he ached for the day that Arjen would reach out to take his hand of his own accord.

  He led Arjen on a winding path back and forth across the sunlit park. Long slants of light painted the grass in shades of pale gold. The occasional crisp leaf crunched underfoot. A squirrel shot across their path and leaped up into the nearest tree in a blink. Max squeezed Arjen’s hand, tentatively. No response.

  They entered the wood. The trees were closely clustered, gnarled roots reaching out to trip them. A dense canopy of leaves tinted the sunlight green. As they moved deeper, the screams of delighted children died away and stillness closed in on them, a silence so deep that each footfall sent ripples across its surface.

  Max was the first to speak. “You didn’t answer your phone last night.”

  Arjen was still stiff beside him. Max had not realised how intensely Arjen could bear a grudge; if he had, he might have thought twice about kicking Arjen out of bed that fateful morning. “Why would I? You’d already come over.”

  Max let that go. It was probably deserved. Because while Max lay awake at night missing Arjen desperately, wondering if maybe he could tempt Arjen into letting him come over again, he was pretty sure Arjen did nothing of the kind. Arjen just wanted Max to fuck him, then leave.

  It would probably be easier to control the situation if Max didn’t want that as well—if Max could leave him hanging for days, waiting for Max to call. The problem was that Max couldn’t keep his hands off him. He had tried life without Arjen and he couldn’t take one more day of it. His hunger was obsessive; he came over every evening after work to fuck Arjen, and at weekends he refused to let Arjen out of bed until they were both so exhausted they couldn’t possibly fuck again.

  He needed it more than he could admit. The more he could please Arjen, the less likely it would be that Arjen would leave him.

  And the sex was fantastic, it always was with Arjen, but afterward there was always the silence. That loaded silence, weighted with tension, in which Max heard the echoes of every harsh word he’d ever said.

  He couldn’t stand the hush any more. He switched his grip on Arjen to his upper arm and dragged him off the path into a secluded glade. The grass spread out before them, green and scented. A shaft of sunlight slid through a gap in the canopy to strike sparks off the silver waters of a little stream. That was all the impression he let Arjen get in the split second before he pushed Arjen up against a tree and kissed him again.

  That familiar spark of hunger caught and kindled into a blaze. Max captured his mouth fiercely, taking his lower lip between his teeth. When Max bit down gently, Arjen caught his breath. Max could never resist that little hitch in his chest, so he nuzzled along the roughness of Arjen’s jaw to nip at his ear, lick down his throat, suck on the hot skin. Arjen tipped his head back against the bark with a groan, inviting more.

  Max rubbed up against him, slow and hot, enjoying getting him worked up. Arjen grabbed him by the belt to drag him closer. Max slid a knee up between his thighs, pressing against the hot bulge in his jeans. “Nobody’s coming,” Max murmured against his throat, finding the pulse gently with his mouth. “Unless you scream too loud.”

  “Shut up.” Arjen pulled him down into another kiss.

  Max fumbled open Arjen’s belt, his jeans, pushed a hand in to wrap around his cock. Arjen stifled a moan. “Ssh,” Max whispered in his ear, and Arjen made a small sound. He was so hot in Max’s fingers, so eager. Max squeezed him and made him clutch at him. Perfect. “Think you can keep quiet if I fuck you?”

  Arjen’s eyes darkened. “Yes.”

  Max chuckled. “Liar. You’re always loud.” He turned Arjen roughly anyway. “Hands against the trunk.” He yanked Arjen’s jeans down around his ankles, leaving him tangled up in them.

  Arjen waited, panting, his hands obediently on the trunk
of the tree. He was irresistible. Every taut plane and lean muscle called to Max. Max stepped up behind him, pressing against him, sliding a hand down his belly to take hold of his cock again, even as he ran one slick finger down his cleft. He found that tight pucker with his fingertip.

  Arjen squeaked. He really was adorable. “I said quiet.” Max teased him ruthlessly with that fingertip, circling his pucker for ages before starting to press against it, giving him just a little bit of pressure. Arjen’s ragged breathing caught again as the finger slipped in, but he made no sound. “Good,” Max whispered to him, and started to work a second finger into him. Arjen felt incredible, so tight and yet so yielding. Arjen shifted against him, trying to spread his legs wider but too tangled in his jeans. He was starting to tremble.

  “I’m going to fuck you now.” Max tugged his earlobe between his teeth, knowing it always drove him crazy. “Try to relax.” He pressed the tip of his cock against his slick opening, using his grip on Arjen to keep him firmly in place.

  Arjen barely choked off his cry as Max pushed into him. He arched into Max’s stroking hand. Max soothed him with whispers as he slid slowly, relentlessly in, until he was fully sheathed inside him. Then Arjen hung his head, gasping for breath. Max could feel the rapid thump of his heartbeat.

  “You’re being very good today. I should reward you.” Max gripped him and started to thrust harder. Arjen’s first little whimper rose into a moan as Max took him mercilessly. Max changed his angle to hit the exact right spot and Arjen cried out in earnest that time despite Max’s sharp reminder—“Ssh!” The bark crumbled beneath Arjen’s scrabbling fingers.

  Max clamped a hand over his mouth, tightened his grip on his cock and slammed home. That sent them both over the edge into fireworks. Arjen came intensely around him, silenced by Max’s hand over his mouth, as Max emptied himself into that tight body.

  By the time Max’s daze wore off, he was leaning hard into Arjen, pinning him against the rough bark. Arjen was unresisting beneath him, his cheek turned against the tree trunk, clearly recovering. He was delightfully hot to the touch. Max stifled the urge to kiss his cheek, sneak his arms around him, maybe whisper how much Max liked him. That would be forbidden.

  Max eased out of him gently and helped him dress. “I told you you’d be too loud.”

  “Not my fault.” Arjen reddened.

  “Don’t be embarrassed. I like knowing that it’s good for you.”

  Arjen stepped away from him. It was a clear signal that their meeting was over.

  Max sighed. However intense the sex, Arjen always managed to leave him feeling unsatisfied. Every time he met up with Arjen he came away more painfully aware of the gap inside him that could only be filled by being allowed to wrap Arjen in his arms.

  The next day Max arranged to meet Arjen in town. He could hear in the silence that Arjen had nearly put the phone down there and then, but with some coaxing Max managed to persuade him that it would be worth his while.

  In the heart of the city a tumble of shops spilled out from under a series of huge domes, all beautiful curves of glass. Light fell through the glass roofs overhead to strike sparks off the shining floor. Max had timed their meeting perfectly; it was a Sunday afternoon and the shops were bursting with crowds, the clamour bouncing off the domes above. A red balloon rose lazily toward the glass, trailing its string.

  Max leaned against a balcony, whistling a tune as he looked out. He was planning in delicious detail what he was going to do to Arjen. How he was going to crank up the anticipation notch by notch until Arjen begged him to fuck him. He smiled to himself.

  Predictably, Arjen showed up five minutes early. He paused before stepping under the glass domes, and Max drank in the sight of him, letting his gaze roam up and down. Arjen was wearing that fancy tailored trenchcoat of his with the big buttons; it looked spectacular on him. A man that smart needed to be unbuttoned. Flustered. Probably dishevelled. Mmm.

  Arjen looked around at the mayhem and rolled his eyes; Max smiled. Despite his annoyance, Arjen went to the clock obediently and waited beneath it like Max had told him to.

  Max pulled his phone out of his pocket and called him.

  “You’re late,” Arjen said.

  “I’m right on time,” Max purred. “I’m watching you.”

  “You are?” Arjen looked around.

  Max inched behind a pillar. “Don’t. You won’t see me. But I’m watching you. Thinking about taking you home and fucking you senseless.” His voice dropped an octave into a deep growl of promise.

  Arjen licked his lips, making Max harden involuntarily. “Then come take me home.”

  “Oh, I’ll do that. When I’m good and ready.” Max’s smile only broadened. “You have no idea how hot you look right now. I can’t wait to mess you up. I’m going to take you home and fuck you against every wall in your house. I’ll have you screaming when I’m pounding into you. You’ll come so hard for me.”

  Arjen cleared his throat, but his voice still came out shaky. “Max…”

  “Am I making you uncomfortable?” Max teased him. “Getting you hard, maybe?”

  Arjen shifted, looked around guiltily. Max kept winding him up. “I’m going to play with you soon, Arjen. I’ve been buying some toys for you. I think you’ll like them. There are so many things you still haven’t tried. And I like making you come.”

  “Stop it.” Arjen coloured, a sudden flush. “We’re in public.”

  “Mm-hmm. Have you ever been fucked with a dildo?”

  “Max!” Arjen was scandalised.

  Max chuckled. “I knew you hadn’t. You’ll get off on it, believe me. I think I’d like tormenting you with a nice thick dildo. You’d be begging me then. All spread out for me. Pleading with me to let you come.”

  “Max, please take me home.” Arjen was clearly beyond flustered.

  “Are you hard, sweetling?”

  “Are you serious? You’re talking about f—” Arjen swallowed his words as a woman passed him with a pushchair. “Yes!” he hissed.

  “You’re cute when you’re worked up. I bet you’ll come as soon as I get inside you.”

  “Max…” It was pure desperation.

  “Yes?” Max was enjoying himself.

  “Let’s go home. I’ll behave. You can do whatever you want to me. Just take me home and fuck me.”

  Those were Max’s favourite words. “Touch yourself,” Max said.

  “I can’t.” Arjen hunched his shoulders.

  “You can. Nobody is looking. You’re wearing a coat. Nobody will know if you’re touching yourself.”

  “Max, I don’t know.”

  “Try it for me.” Max used his coaxing voice.

  Arjen slipped his free hand into his pocket. The stifled sound he made when he stroked himself got Max even hotter for him. “Oh,” Arjen said, barely a whisper.

  “Does it feel good?”

  “Yes.”

  “You need more?”

  “Yes.” Arjen shifted, slipping his hand deeper into his pocket.

  That would be his cue. Max sauntered downstairs and sneaked up on him. He leaned in and whispered in his ear, “I love it when you touch yourself.”

  Arjen jumped, then spun around, snatching his hand out of his pocket. His face was scarlet. “Max!”

  Max grinned as he led Arjen away with a hand at the small of his back. “Admit it. You were having fun. Getting all worked up in public, touching yourself while all those people had no idea. You have a wicked side.”

  “Home. Now.” Arjen clutched Max’s arm.

  “All in good time.” Max had parked in the far corner of the car park, shielded by high walls, where he was confident nobody would see them. He got in as Arjen slipped into the passenger seat. It always gave him a prickle of excitement when he lured Arjen into his car; it meant he was about to get lucky. Today he wasn’t even going to wait until they got home. “Go down on me.”

  “Here?” Arjen looked around, half guilty, half enticed. Max had p
lanned this carefully to lower his inhibitions; under normal circumstances he didn’t think Arjen would have agreed.

  “Here. Nobody’s around. Nobody will know except me. And I know you like having my cock in your mouth.”

  “Yes.” Arjen bit his lip.

  Max reached up and gently tugged him down. Arjen went without resistance. He pressed his face into Max’s crotch. Max clenched his jaw, fingers tightening in Arjen’s hair, fighting down the urge to take control. Arjen nuzzled his rapidly hardening cock through the fabric of his jeans. “Go on, sweetheart.” Max stroked his hot cheek.

  Arjen fumbled his jeans open and went down on him. He took Max’s cock into his mouth in one smooth movement, taking as much of it as he could, his hand curling around the base of Max’s cock. Max hissed; he could have come right there and then. The need to push deeper into Arjen’s mouth surged up and his jaw tightened with the difficulty of holding himself back.

  Arjen sucked him eagerly, his cheeks hollowing as he exerted more force. Max groaned. “That feels so good.” That tongue alone should have been the eleventh deadly sin. Max kept running his fingers through Arjen’s hair, a stolen moment of forbidden pleasure; he knew that Arjen would not normally let him touch him like this.

  He had been keyed up with anticipation for so long that Arjen got him off hard and fast. Max bit back a strangled sound as he came, spurting into Arjen’s mouth, hot and shaky with pleasure. His hand flexed in Arjen’s hair, keeping him there for a long moment before Max reluctantly let go.

  Arjen pulled away, flushed and rumpled. The way he licked his lips sent one last hot shiver through Max. The man was pure sex.

  “That was great, sweetling. You’re so good with your mouth.” Max zipped up. “I’m going to take you home and take care of you now.” He seemed to remember promising to fuck Arjen against every wall in his house.

  Arjen said nothing. He did up his seatbelt.

  Once again, the silence came back.

  As they pulled out of the car park, Arjen said, “I don’t want you to call me that.”