by G. R. George
Without warning, the older man pushed Dev up against the wall. His wool coat, cold and wet with freshly fallen sleet, made Dev’s nipples hard. “I miss you.” He stroked Dev’s cheek with his gloved finger. “Don’t you miss me?”
Did he? This close to the man he’d thought he loved for the last five years, the man who had claimed to love him…until two weeks ago. Dev should have been jubilant, ecstatic even. At the very least, he should be confused about his feelings. But he wasn’t. “You have to leave, Michael. I have company coming over.”
“Call him,” Michael pleaded. “Tell him not to come over.” His warm breath puffed over Dev’s cheek.
Chapter 6
Jack decided to walk from his house to Dev’s. He’d picked up dinner at Linguini House, a place he’d loved as a child, and waited until ten minutes before six to head over. Initially, wet snow and ice pelted him, but he waved his fingers away from his body. The weather backed off him and the food. It was a handy ability. One his father would abhor him using for personal reasons. Too bad. He had a date with the “boy next door.” He didn’t plan to show up with an ice-cold meal and looking like the abominable snowman, who for the record, was a lousy date.
When Jack arrived at Dev’s house, a red compact car sat in the drive. Steam rose from a warm hood, which meant the car hadn’t been there long. It alarmed Jack to find the front door wide open, but it alarmed him more to see Dev in what appeared to be an intimate embrace with another man. He considered leaving. He was carrying two bags of Italian take-out, lasagna, bread sticks, house salad, and a world-class tiramisu.
No, he wouldn’t leave. Dev would have to send him away. He strode to the door with more confidence than he felt. “Am I early?”
The question startled both Dev and the handsome stranger as they turned their heads simultaneously to stare at him standing in the open doorway.
“Uh, hi, Jack,” Dev said. “You’re right on time.” He pushed the other man away from him. “Michael was just leaving.”
The guy—apparently Michael—laughed. “I was?”
Dev pursed his lips. “Yes, you were.”
“Is this your plan?” Michael’s brow narrowed as he assessed Jack’s leather jacket and faded jeans. “He seems a little pedestrian, even for someone like you.”
Jack barely controlled his temper. “Oh, I don’t know.” He put the food bags just inside the door and sidled up close to Dev. He put his arm around Dev’s waist and yanked him close. “I think I’m just pedestrian enough.”
In a brash and reactive moment, and an urgent need to wipe the smug look off Michael’s face, Jack leaned in and pressed his lips to Dev’s mouth. He’d meant the gesture to be quick, for effect, but Dev surprised him by cupping the back of Jack’s neck and deepening the kiss. Jack parted his lips and welcomed the invading tongue into his mouth.
Jack put both his arms around Dev, kneading his back, groping and grasping as their tongues tangled in a frantic dance of passion. His hard cock pressed painfully at the buttoned fly of his jeans. When Dev rubbed his own rigid bulge against Jack’s, he moaned. Desire flooded every cell in his body with a heat he’d never experienced. His skin sizzled at Dev’s every touch. Holy, snowman, he’d always thought it would be good with Dev, but he’d never imagined just how wonderful it would feel to be in his arms.
The slamming door stopped them both mid-grope. Dev’s tongue went still in Jack’s mouth for a hesitant second, before he pulled back. His wide-eyed stare, that of a child caught with his hand in the proverbial cookie jar, or in this case, his hand trying to get into the neighbor boy’s pants, made Jack laugh. After another shocked second, Dev started to laugh as well. Awkwardly and reluctantly, they moved apart.
“I’m sorry,” Jack said, only sorry that the uncomfortable erection threating to burst the seam on his jeans wouldn’t deflate. “That guy really wound me up.”
“Oh.” Jack didn’t miss the disappointment in Dev’s tone or his expression. “I get it,” he said. “Michael has that effect on people.” He brushed his long, slender fingers through his light brown hair, and Jack ignored the impulse to reach out caress his cheek.
There was a lot of history in the way Dev had said, “Michael.” Enough heaviness and emotion that Jack’s chest squeezed. He didn’t want Dev thinking about anyone but him. “Did I interrupt something?”
“No,” Dev said quickly. “Those bags by the door. Dinner?” The man was good at deflecting the conversation.
“Oh, shoot.” Jack retrieved dinner from the floor. “I hope you like Italian.”
“Love it.” Dev took him into the hallway. “Bathroom is the first door on the right here, by the way.” His cheeks blossomed with a flush of pink. “You know, if you need to go or whatever ever. The kitchen-slash-dining room is just to the left here.” He pointed to an open archway.
Inside, the table was set and the candlelight’s flickering dance lifted his spirits. The smell of cinnamon and pumpkin filled Jack with warmth and comfort. Garland decorated shelves with touches of holly. Beyond the bathroom were two closed doors. On impulse, Jack opened the first one. A dark walnut desk, a high back, brown leather chair, a computer, and bookshelves full of science and academic tomes covered one wall, the other held fiction. Jack caught a few of the author names and recognized them as mystery writers.
“You like a good whodunnit, eh?”
Dev appeared unperturbed by Jack’s snooping. He smiled as he gazed around the warmly lit room with its pale blue walls and dark chocolate accents. “This used to be my bedroom. It took me about two years after my parents sold me the house to move into the master bedroom and turn this into my office.” He walked over to the window and parted the curtain.
Jack smiled as he watched Dev trace the frost picture he’d left for him the night before on the pane. He would have to leave soon and cut a path of winter through the northeast territories, his father’s route, for the Christmas holiday. Taking over his dad’s job was the right thing to do, the proper son thing to do, but as he stared at Dev’s long, slender waist, his narrow hips, and his firmly rounded ass, Jack wanted to be anything but good. He licked his lips, holding his breath to keep from groaning as his dick responded to Dev.
“I’ve always loved the cold,” Dev said. “I look forward to snow every year. The blanket of white makes me feel as if everything is renewed.” He turned from the window, his smile faltering as he met Jack’s gaze. “I must sound like an idiot.”
Hot damn, even with his insecurities, and maybe even more so because of them, the man was sexy as fuck. Jack wanted to crush his body against Dev’s and rub himself over every inch of the gorgeous nerd. Jack took his jacket off and let it fall to the carpet.
Dev’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he stared at Jack. “Does the food need to be reheated? I should preheat the oven.” He took a step toward the door, toward Jack. “Are you hungry?”
“Starved.”
“Of course, you are,” Dev said. “You brought food, and—”
Jack crossed the room to Dev in a few short strides and covered Dev’s mouth with his own. Dev, again, responded immediately, and with a veracity matched by Jack. Dev’s warm hand’s slid under Jack’s shirt and kneaded the muscles in Jack’s back as he tightened their embrace until there was no space left between them.
Dev laced his fingers into the Jack’s hair at the crown as they devoured each other with a sizzling passion Jack had never felt for another living soul. When Dev tightened his grip, tugging Jack’s head back just a fraction, the tiny of bit of pain sent a plush of pleasure through him. Their tongues danced in an erotic ballet while they writhed against each other. Suddenly, Dev yanked out of the kiss, his breathing harsh and ragged.
“What are you, Jack Moroz?”
Jack staggered back, his legs weak with lust. He’d rushed Dev, pushed him too far, too fast. “I’m—”
“I know it’s probably just the head injury, and I must sound like a whack job, but I wish you could see yourself the way
I do. You are beautiful like a first snow.”
“You can still see me?” Dev hadn’t reacted when Jack arrived so he’d just assumed his normal vision had returned.
“What do you mean still?”
“I…I only…” He knew he should lie. Deny, deny, deny. It was what he’d been taught his whole life, but something inside him wanted Dev to know the truth. It made the lie harder to tell.
“You’re breath. It’s white again, like what happens when you exhale into the cold.” Dev’s eyes widened. “Thank you for the beautiful pictures. I have always loved them.”
“Do you know what I am then?”
“Only that you’re wonderful.” He wrapped his arms around Jack and kissed him.
It started tentative, a gentle exploration, but desire made Jack reckless. “Too many clothes.”
He stood back as Dev stripped his shirt off and began unbuttoning his slacks. Jack pulled his shirt over his head. Dev’s ravenous gaze made his balls tighten with need. He raised a brow as his mouth quirked into a half-smile. “You like what you see, Dev?”
Chapter 7
Dev’s mouth went dry at the sight of Jack’s wide, muscular chest. He still saw the man with silvery skin, which only enhanced the cut of his muscles. They were unnaturally defined and toned—the type of sculpting that only happened immediately after an intense workout. The crevices were a slightly darker shade of gray as if he’d been airbrushed for a photo shoot in a fitness magazine. He knew in his heart Jack was more than a normal human. Since the accident, he’d thought he’d been losing his mind, but he wondered if the head injury had only opened his eyes to a reality beyond human comprehension. It didn’t matter to him, not at this moment. Not with Jack standing half naked in front of him.
The man of his dreams splayed large, deft fingers over his shiny, muscular chest. “I said, do you like what you see?”
“Nice,” Dev said, barely managing to speak. Nice? What the hell? Nice was how you described scented candles or practical gifts from your aunt, like underwear and socks for Christmas. Nice was not the word you used to describe a man you wanted to throw across an expensive, custom desk and ravish until neither of you could walk. “I only mean…well…you look…crap, now I am such an idiot.” It was as if his swollen cock had blocked the blood flow to his brain—at least the part that could speak in complete sentences.
Jack chuckled. “I think you’re endearing. Are you nervous?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Dev tucked his chin, taken aback for a moment. “Why what?”
“Why would you be nervous?”
Dev pinched the bridge of his nose and swallowed hard as he composed himself. “There are a million reasons under the starry sky as to why I’m nervous, but the most important reason is the fact that you do my head in, Jack Moroz. You always have.”
A feral growl of passion tore from Jack’s lips, the sound amplifying Dev’s desire. When he unbuttoned his jeans and unveiled his generous cock, Dev couldn’t keep his lust-filled gaze off the thickly erect shaft. He licked his lips, dying to taste the man he’d fantasized about for so long. Dropping to his knees, he grabbed Jack’s hips and engulfed the flared, swollen head of his length between his lips, loving the way the silky shaft danced along his tongue. Jack’s cock tasted of peppermint, and the unexpected flavor made him swallow. Jack moaned.
“Mighty Santa and his eight reindeer. That feels so good. So good,” Jack said, his hands tangling in Dev’s hair, his fingers grazing Dev’s sutures. “Oh. Sorry, sorry. I don’t want to hurt you.”
Dev ignored the apologies and quickened his movements, sucking and licking as he stroked Jack with his mouth. He didn’t care if Jack tore the stitches out, as long as he stayed put. When his lover began to move his hips in short thrusts, Dev looped his fingers on the waistband of the muscular man’s jeans and tugged them down over his firmly rounded ass and down his thighs. He reached up, cradling Jack’s balls, fondling them gently, while tugging.
“Sweet mother of mercy,” Jack said, his voice coarse with desire. “If you don’t stop I’m going to come.”
Yes! Come, Dev thought, as he increased the pressure of his tongue and quickened his strokes. He stared up, watching Jack’s skin shift from a light sparkly-gray to a dark stormy night, his face slack, his blue-green eyes staring at Dev as he eagerly took the considerable length to the back of his throat. He could feel the tears leak down the side of his face when the girth of Jack blocked his ability to breathe, but he didn’t care. He’d never felt so much joy or happiness in any single task ever. Bringing Jack pleasure felt like a calling.
He swallowed hard, his throat closing around the bulbous head, and Jack rewarded him with a long, low moan. He swallowed again.
“Oh Dev,” Jack said. His hips jerked, nearly knocking Dev over, as he came hard.
His cream carried the same light peppermint taste as his skin, and Dev drank him down. He sucked on Jack until the man’s moans of ecstasy turned to a ragged pant of exhaustion. Only then did Dev let the softening cock slip from between his lips.
“You’re so…” He grasped for the right word—magnificent, fantastic, glorious? None of them did Jack justice.
Jack knelt down on one knee in front of Dev. He used a finger under Dev’s chin to tilt his head up. He wiped the tears from Dev’s cheeks and kissed him tenderly. “You are more than I ever dreamed, Dev Garson, and I’ve dreamed of you for a very long time.”
“I can hardly believe it.”
Jack rubbed his face against Dev’s. “Just having you this close, smelling the masculine scent of your skin, seeing your lips red and swollen from sucking me, and even after that magnificent orgasm, I’m starting to get hard all over again.” He took Dev’s hand and put it on his dick. Sure enough, the man was already semi-erect. “Is that real enough for you?”
“Yes,” Dev said. “God, yes.” He cupped his hand behind Jack’s neck and pulled him down for another kiss. Flushing with warmth as Jack’s tongue swiped his lower lip. “You taste so good,” he told Jack. “Like candy canes and Christmas.”
Jack grinned. “Christmas, huh?”
Dev smiled back. “I haven’t enjoyed the holiday in years, but I have a feeling this Christmas is going to be different.”
“Dev.” Jack’s grin faltered, and whatever he was going to say, Dev didn’t want to hear.
“Have you ever heard of The Snowman by Hans Christian Anderson?”
Jack cocked his head to the side. “The one about the snowman who falls in love with a stove?”
“Yes.” Dev took Jack’s hand and pressed the palm over his heart. “When we were in high school, I had a crush on you.”
“Had?”
“Still do,” Dev admitted with a quick smile.
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
“We weren’t friends, Jack. We were neighbors, yes. And sometimes we said cordial greetings as we passed by each other, but we weren’t friends. You were popular, athletic, and gorgeous. I was socially awkward, nerdy, and insecure.” He shook his head and chuckled. “I still am, really.”
“You’re so much more, Dev, but I like all those qualities in you.”
“Thanks. But really, you don’t have to say so.” He caressed Jack’s face. “The point is, I understood that sad snowman. He was destined to love from a distance, from the outside. Always from the outside looking in. You’re the stove, Jack. That one thing, the one person I’ve ever yearned for, so I will take what you can give me. I’ll risk melting against your heat, because, in my heart, I’ve never felt more content than I do in your arms. If this kind of complete happiness only lasts for a fleeting moment, then I will call myself lucky.”
Jack kissed him, his fervid response all Dev needed to know he felt the same.
He put his hand on Dev’s groin, and his already hard cock painfully swelling even more. “Wow, Dev. Quite impressive.” He gave the fabric-covered shaft a squeeze. “Admirable even.” He pushed Dev back and
started pulled his underwear and pants down his legs, past his calves, and off his feet. “That’s better.” He stood up and took off his boots, socks, and pants.
Dev almost shot his load, his dick jerking against his belly, when Jack fondled his own cock, once again rigid and ready, stroking himself as he stared down at Dev. “It’s my turn to make you come,” he said.
Sexual tension thrummed through Dev’s body as he went up on his elbows. “It won’t take much,” he said honestly. He felt like a teenage boy watching porn for the first time.
Jack straddled Dev’s thighs. “I want you to fuck me, Dev.”
“You do?” The thought made his balls tingle and his cock jerk. “I mean, I want that too. So much.”
Jack rewarded him with a delighted smile. “But first, I have to taste you. I’ve fantasized about it for too long to let the moment slip by.” He leaned over, his bangs brushing against Dev’s stomach.
Dev smoothed his hair away and roughly exhaled when Jack peered up at him to make sure he was watching. Jack’s cool fingers wrapped the base of Dev’s shaft and angled his cock up.
“Holy fuck.” Dev groaned, ecstasy pouring through him, as Jack slid his sensuous lips over the smoothly rounded head and swallowed down his shaft.
Chapter 8
Jack swallowed Dev’s length, tasting every inch of him as Dev groaned with pleasure. He watched Dev’s angular face soften at the eyes, his lips slightly parted. His lover’s breathing became irregular, quick and shallow. Jack dragged his tongue up the thick vein on the underside of Dev’s cock, making sure that Dev could see himself getting licked like a delicious lollipop. His pre-come was both lightly salty and sweet, reminding Jack of gourmet caramel.
“I think your dick is fast becoming my favorite food group.” He paused, relishing the weight of Dev’s cock in his mouth. He wanted to make a memory of this moment. One that would last him a lifetime. The soft curls above Dev’s shaft were trimmed into a neat triangle. It tickled Jack’s nose when he took him deep again. Dev squirmed, moaning with pleasure.