by Ts McKinney
Landry’s eyes grew wide. Love words were foreign to him.
He liked them.
“Take it all, kitten. Enclose me with your heat,” Brookes ordered.
The man was totally making love to him with his eyes…his words…his cock.
“Yes, Sir,” Landry answered softly as he obediently pushed down on the burning rod he was poised over. He’d like to think Brookes slid into him easily but it took work to convince his body to accept the burning stretch. When he was finally fully seated, he wiggled until he found the right direction to bounce in to stroke his own prostate. His plan was to show Brookes just what he was capable of just how much he could take, but when he felt big hands close around his narrow hips and start a slow, seductive rhythm, he tossed Plan A out the window and went with Plan B.
Plan B involved wicked kisses where Brookes explored every inch of his lips, mouth, neck, ear lobe…well, the other man’s mouth managed to find one sweet spot after another. They were warm, wet, and magical. He felt like a spell was being cast and he was becoming more and more entranced with Jericho. All the while, those large hands controlled the pace, lifting him slowly…dropping him slowly. In and almost out. A bite at his neck. A suck of his tongue. In and almost out, over and over.
Landry felt his body start to respond in an urgent way that was usually only associated with a scene. He envisioned a row of fireworks inside of him and Brookes was lighting each of them, leaving him only minutes away from an explosion of epic proportions.
The hands grasping his hips tightened…the pace sped up…the thrusts harder.
Harder.
Faster.
Landry felt himself bouncing on the cock impaled inside him. The sounds of flesh sliding into flesh echoed in the room. Brookes’ hands fell away but Landry didn’t stop or even ease up on the pace. If anything, he tried to go harder and faster. When a hand enclosed around his cock, his roar bounced off the walls. Brookes’ hand slid up and down his shaft, base to head, as he continued to places kisses on every spot his lips could reach.
“Come for me, kitten. Come with me.”
The command, softly spoken but from his Dom, sent Landry toppling over the edge. His cock twitched and he felt his liquid coat his stomach and chest. Spurt after spurt. He couldn’t understand how he had this much inside of him, but he kept emptying himself. When he felt Brookes’ cock start jerking inside of him, he came some more. Brookes growled and pushed him deep on his cock and held him there, buried as deep as possible. He felt the man’s heartbeat inside his ass.
To Landry, they were one.
For the first time in his life, he felt complete…whole.
It scared the shit out of him.
****
It took them almost thirty minutes to get Landry’s limbs working properly. Getting dressed became an Olympic sport that he certainly didn’t medal in. His moves were sloppy and comical, but Brookes seemed to enjoy his standup routine. He couldn’t believe how utterly weak he still felt. Every portion of his body felt like Jell-O.
“You about ready, kitten?” He asked.
He’d slid that muscular body into those tight leathers like it wasn’t a challenge at all. Landry couldn’t have shimmied into anything so tight if his life depended on it. Thank goodness, he’d only had to slide his weary body into board shorts and a tight t shirt.
“Yeah, I think so,” he answered, suddenly worried about what would happen next. Never. He’d never ever invited anybody to his house, but he wanted Brookes there. It wasn’t much, but it was his, with all his clever attempts at decorating with cheap shit he found and swore to everybody it was expensive. It was his safety zone—that’s why no lover, Dom, or fuck, significant or insignificant, had ever been invited there. His friends had been there but that was it. Could he share this part of his life with Brookes? After their first scene, he’d joked at it, but he hadn’t really wanted Brookes invading that part of his life. He did now. Fuck, but he wanted Brookes to become a permanent resident.
He wanted to share this part of his life with Brookes.
“Good. I bet your friends are dying of boredom back in the office. Persistent little fucks, aren’t they? I’ve never had a babysitter while making love to a partner, but I suppose it wasn’t so bad. Anything for you, kitten.”
Landry blushed. His friends were over-the-top with the protectiveness. He loved the fuck out of them. “I’m certain Jagger has kept Colton more than occupied the entire time,” he said with a smile. The warm happiness glowing in his heart was a bit terrifying. Best friends looking out for him. Check. A Dom that could make his body soar. Check. The possibility that it wasn’t just fucking, but maybe the reality that he could make love really existed? Priceless. “I’ll go bang on the door and get them stirring.”
He was grinning from ear to ear like a lottery winner as he sashayed across the club floor and went to bang on Jagger’s office door. There weren’t any manly grunts or sexy whimpers that he could hear, so maybe they’d finished up as well. With swift feet, he made his way back to Jericho. He needed to ask—just ask and get it out of the way. Be a big boy. Pull up his big boy panties. He could do this.
When he got within arms’ length of Brookes, the other man yanked their bodies together and kissed him senseless. It was a kiss meant to mark territory and claim a possession. Landry felt himself melt straight into the strength and power the other man possessed.
As soon as Brookes’ lips eased away, he went straight for the gold. He hadn’t had a good life, but the one thing that life had taught him was just to dive headfirst into the situation and hope for the best. “Will you stay the night at my house? With me?”
The other man’s smile caused his heart to blow to a million pieces. A stupid cartoon vision raced through his head of his heart actually exploding when Brookes answered with the sexiest alpha smile in the entire fucking world. See? Diving headfirst did work sometime!
“Of course, kitten. I wouldn’t have it any other way.” This time he placed a softer kiss on Landry’s lips. The kiss wasn’t a stake of claim, but just as sweet…maybe sweeter. Landry had no idea he was even capable of doing sweet, but here he was, eating sweet up like the big bowl of sugar it was. Killing it!
“Wassup?” Colton asked as he swaggered into the room, Jagger thrown over his shoulder, cursing like a sailor. A good swift kick from Jagger to Colton’s lower gut and Colton relented, easing his lover to his feet. Jagger’s eyes were blazing with embarrassment as he turned to face Landry and Brookes.
“Stupid fuck,” Jagger muttered. Of course, it lost some of its punch because he wrapped his arm around Colton’s waist at the same time he cursed him. Then, with what had to be a wave of courage for Jagger, he turned to Brookes and said, “Could you please tell this idiot that you know I’m his and you have absolutely no interest in me…or anybody other than Landry, for that matter. This marking his territory shit is getting on my last nerve. The next thing I know he’ll being taking a piss on me.”
Brookes barked out a laugh and Landry couldn’t stifle a giggle.
“I’ve never been into that before, but I’m willing to try it if you want to, Wildcat,” Colton said. A cocky grin decorated his handsome face. Not a smidgen of shame could be found.
“You’re ridiculous,” Jagger mumbled.
“I don’t think there’s anything I or anybody else, for that matter, could do that would stop Colton from staking his claim. Sorry, kid, I can’t help you,” Brookes answered.
“Fine. I’ll just kick his ass next time.”
Jagger’s words were once again softened by the tight grasp he had around Colton’s waist. Their love for one another continued to grow daily. At first, Landry had been both over-the-top happy and under-the-weather jealous. He loved Colton and Jagger and couldn’t have been happier for them. He was sad for himself…which led to that ugly jealously he despised. With Brookes standing next to him, all that seemed to vanish away.
“Hey, guys, Brookes and I are heading out. Are yo
u ready to call it a night?” He asked and then turned to Jagger and joked, “You know I’m not paying you overtime for you and Colton fucking in your office, right?”
It was a joke, but Jagger had the most serious look on his face when he answered, “I wouldn’t dare authorize overtime for that. We have a budget.”
Brookes burst out laughing.
Colton yanked Jagger to him and said, “There’s my little penny pincher!”
Jagger blushed. “I was actually kidding that time,” he grumbled. Their group constantly teased him about his thrifty living, but it was always good natured and Jagger accepted it with blushes and grumbles—just like tonight.
Colton placed a sloppy kiss on the side of Jagger’s face and then finished it with a sexy little lick down the side of his neck. Landry saw the other man literally melt beneath Colton’s tongue.
“We’re ready. My Wildcat wore me out.” He turned to Landry and said, “He may be due a raise.”
Landry grinned. He knew his next words, while they might not appear earthshattering to Brookes or Jagger, would floor Colton. Colton was well aware of the fact he never took anybody home with him. “So, Brookes is staying me with tonight. At my place. With me.” He knew he probably sounded weird but it was a damned big announcement.
Colton’s face paled, not the reaction Landry had thought he’d receive.
“No! That’s…that’s not a good idea,” Colton said, sounding even weirder than Landry when he’d made the announcement Brookes was staying with him.
Jagger, as shocked as Landry, turned to Colton and said, “I don’t think he was asking our permission, Colton. He was telling us what they were doing.” Jagger’s blue eyes shot an apology in Landry’s direction. The apology was accompanied by a WTF?
“No, Colton, I wasn’t asking permission,” Landry agreed. Beside him, Brookes remained perfectly still, his entire body tense and on edge.
“Uh…yeah, yeah, I know that.” Colton fumbled with his words. “It’s just that Rory called and asked everybody to stay at his place tonight…or until we get more information from Detective Matthews on what’s going on. He’s got plenty of room and you know how the horror movies go – once you separate, you’re a goner. That’s all I meant.”
The lie wasn’t exactly blatant but it skittered so close to the edge that Landry decided to go ahead and toss it into the lie category. Colton never lied. There was a reason behind what he was doing, so Landry didn’t argue…but his heart broke just a little. He wanted a vision of Brookes naked on his bed, taking up over half the space with his manly glory. There was that, but there was also the worried look in Colton’s eyes.
He turned to Brookes. “Is that all right with you? I mean, Rory has a huge place. There’s plenty of room for all of us.” Landry had no idea how Brookes would react. He did, however, know that where Brookes laid his head tonight was exactly where he’d be.
Brookes smiled down at him. “I’ll be where ever you put your litter box, kitten. I’m with you.”
Landry crinkled his nose. “You did not just say that. My litter box? You’ve got to be kidding me. Don’t say stupid shit like that. That’s Rory’s job. We don’t need another one in our group of friends.” Litter box? Seriously?
“Okay, how about this—I’ll go where ever my kitten’s cream goes.” Gray eyes simmered…and Landry knew exactly what cream he was referring to.
“That’ll do.”
Colton’s look of relief was almost comical. Jagger kept looking at Colton like he wanted to strangle him. None of that shit mattered though. Landry was about to sleep next to a lover for the first time in his life. While at camp, he’d snuggled next to Alexander, soaking up whatever strength he could steal, but that was totally different. They’d been kids and he hadn’t been in love with Alexander.
****
Nearly an hour later, with morning only a few short hours from making its appearance, Landry finally got to fulfill his fantasy, he and Brookes in bed together, and not fucking, just cuddling. Up until that moment, he’d been a staunch supporter of the no cuddle rule. Now it appeared that cuddling might be his new favorite thing. Well, at least in the top five favorite things.
They lay there, so close that Brookes’ body heat kept Landry nice and toasty. His musky smell should be bottled as cologne. It made Landry’s lower body quiver and his brain flutter. They were naked and Brookes had one arm wrapped around him while his other hand drew little patterns against his skin. It was closer to Heaven than Landry had ever been or would probably ever get to see.
“So, tell me about your friends,” Brookes suggested softly. “They don’t like me…or trust me, at the least.”
He didn’t sound angry—just seemed to be stating the facts as he saw them. Landry suspected that Brookes had little doubts he could win them over but he also looked like the type of guy that would be okay if he didn’t. His lips formed a smirk as he waited for Landry’s response.
“Don’t take it personal. They don’t trust anybody. At least not when it comes to me or Jagger. Rory, Riley, and Colton—they’re all total alpha guys and along with that, they’ve all been blessed with a protective gene. Well, blessed or cursed. I guess it’s according to how you look at it. Sometimes it feels like a curse but sometimes a blessing.” He snuggled closer to Brookes’ warmth. “If they didn’t all possess those big eyes and little boy smiles, I wouldn’t put up with it, but they’re just so damned lovable that I can’t help myself.”
A soft chuckle from Brookes tickled Landry’s cheek. “Don’t they have any idea that you and Jagger are the strongest of the entire lot? Hell, both of you have this incredible strength that’s easy to see when I look into your eyes. Jagger has a touch of sadness that makes an appearance every now and again, but Colton rushes to his side and it simply disappears. You, my cuddly kitten, have a wildness and, every now and again, a darkness swirling in your depths. The wildness drives me crazy and makes my cock hard every damned time it sparks to life. The darkness…it,” he seemed to struggle to find the right words before continuing, “…it makes me sad. I hate that something put it there and that I don’t know what it is. I want to be able to take that darkness away.”
Landry needed to change the subject quickly. The darkness was something he hid from everybody except his closest friends. He was always terrified that it would scare people away. Hell, it almost scared him away half the time. A lighter subject was needed. Anyway, he wanted to learn more about Brookes. He wanted to know some of his secrets. “Okay, Jagger and Colton,” he began with a sneaky smile. “Jagger and Colton used to live close to each other somewhere in backwoods Kentucky. Typical rich kid/poor kid story with Colton playing the part of spoiled rich kid and Jagger being poor—and it wasn’t the poor happy family that had everything except money. I won’t say more about his past without his permission, but you can sum it up by saying it sucked. Colton saw Jagger and fell madly in love at the ripe old age of thirteen. Well, you know as much as a thirteen-year-old understood what love meant. He tried to be his friend, but Jagger shut that shit down at every turn.”
“Why?” Brookes asked. “Was Colton one of those mean rich kids?” Brookes couldn’t imagine Colton being a mean person. Other than Jagger, he was the only one that acted like Brookes might be acceptable to their group.
“Nope.” Landry paused, realizing he didn’t really know if Colton had been a mean rich kid before Jagger, but he couldn’t imagine Colton being mean to anybody, much less someone less fortunate than him. “He was nice enough, I guess. Jagger’s family life made it hard for him to trust people so I think he separated himself from everybody as a way to protect his feelings.”
“Speaking from experience?” Brookes broke in.
A chuckle bubbled from Landry’s lips. “Absolutely not. Quite the opposite, to be honest.” He punched Brookes’ flat stomach. “This is about Jagger and Colton anyway. Keep me out of it.” He ordered. “Now, where was I? Yeah, kiddiehood. I remember. Okay, so Colton tried and tried and
Jagger refused and refused every attempt. Colton’s family relocated to Key West when he was fifteen and one would’ve thought that was the end of the story.”
“Thank the fuck it wasn’t,” Brookes mumbled. He loved stories where love prevailed. He also loved stories where he ended up hooking up with a guy like Landry.
That was odd, Landry thought. “Why? Cause they’re such a cute couple together?”
“Well, they are a cute couple together but I’m more thankful because they were with you the first time I saw you at the club. I don’t know what you guys were doing or what was going on, but they were there…and Colton invited me to breakfast…much to your dismay.”
Landry had wanted to kill Colton for that one. He could still remember the eye signals he’d been sending his friend, trying to get him to say something to get rid of the man that was making his stomach do funny things. Instead of kicking him out of the club, Colton invited him for breakfast. He’d spent the next two hours smashed into a booth next to Brookes’ heat and muscles, overwhelmed by his masculine scent and aura of power. In desperation, he’d tried to find something, anything, wrong with the bigger man but he’d kept coming up short. He’d been friendly. He’d been funny. He’d been sexier than hell.
Landry hated him on sight.
“You’re right,” Landry answered. “I forgot to punish Colton for doing that to me. Remind me to get back at him for that one. Now, back to my story. Colton was in Florida and Jagger was in Kentucky. Colton couldn’t forget. He tried. I honestly think he tried, but he couldn’t. Jagger touched a part of his heart and soul that wouldn’t be denied. Years later, when they were both graduating Seniors in high school, they ended up at the same basketball camp. Jagger had just been offered his scholarship with the Kentucky Wildcats and Colton was half-assing his way through life, just trying to have fun and forget Jagger. I don’t know the entire story, but something happened between them in the showers at camp and it only fueled Colton’s desire for his dream man.”