by Kate Steele
“Oh, shit,” he panted. “Dustin, I forgot the condom.”
Dustin tensed but his voice sounded calm. “I’m clean, Chad. I get tested every six months and I’ve always used protection.”
“I wasn’t worried about that, baby. I just didn’t want you to think I’d hurt you. I’m clean too.” Chad felt Dustin relax under him except for the slight wiggle of his butt.
“Then it’s okay. You’re the first one who’s ever come inside me.”
“And the last one,” Chad added.
“And the last one,” Dustin agreed.
Chad knew the feeling of satisfaction and pride he felt was an outdated he-man reaction but he wasn’t going to fight the illogic of it. His mate was well and truly marked. No one else could claim this privilege. No one else would plant their seed deep inside his chosen. Chad rubbed his cheek against the back of Dustin’s neck, softly kissed his skin and whispered, “Mine.”
“Yes.”
“You know this didn’t work out exactly the way I planned it. I wanted to see you shoot all over that tight belly and those hard abs of yours.”
“Next time,” Dustin mumbled. “Maybe we should get up before I get glued to the couch.”
“Good thing the sofa’s scotch guarded.”
Chad’s comment was rewarded by a sleepy chuckle.
* * *
“So tell me again. What are we doing here?”
“You know perfectly well why we’re here. Just as I said before. We’re looking for Jerry. Settle down, Dustin,” Chad warned.
Dustin gave Chad a petulant glance before looking around the bar. As gay bars went, Peter’s Bar & Grill was fairly sedate. Guys playing pool, some throwing darts, others sitting at tables and in front of the bar talking to their friends or lovers. And as usual, there was a certain amount of cruising going on. One good-looking blond had drifted past their table three times in the past half hour.
Chad had asked earlier what places he and Jerry had frequented. This was one of them and Chad planned to make the rounds. It was something they’d disagreed on. Dustin maintained that if Jerry was laying low, coming to his favorite haunts wouldn’t be a smart idea. Chad countered by explaining that people were creatures of habit and that Jerry, as a relatively small fish, would have very little to worry about in the way of the police actively hunting for him. Therefore he would feel safe in coming to his favorite places.
Piqued at having his opinion disregarded, Dustin was feeling snippy. “I think you just like being cruised by all these cute guys.”
“I can tell you’re the baby of the family. I’ll bet you were indulged and spoiled. That won’t continue.” Chad turned his head and captured Dustin’s gaze.
Dustin’s eyes widened. The look Chad was giving him was stern and uncompromising. He managed to suppress the shiver that threatened to wing its way down his spine. Chad reached out and cupped Dustin’s chin, his thumb sliding over his lover’s full bottom lip. Unable to stop himself, Dustin let his lips part, revealing his anticipation. Chad leaned forward but instead of kissing Dustin, with a little pressure at his chin, he turned his face until his mouth hovered near Dustin’s ear.
“Unless he wants a spanking, I know a certain young man who’d better straighten up. You don’t want to be spanked, do you?”
Unable to stop the soft moan that slid from between his lips, Dustin scrunched his eyes tightly closed. Pure unadulterated need made his stomach clench in reaction to Chad’s words.
“Well now,” Chad purred. “That’s interesting. Looks like my baby does like the thought of being spanked. Is that right, baby? You want me to put you over my knee and spank your sweet, little ass?”
Dustin’s indrawn breath was sharp and unsteady. “Stop it.”
“Why?”
“I don’t want… that.”
“Careful. Lying gets you extra swats.”
“I don’t have to worry about that ’cause I’m not getting punished at all. You can stay here and look for Jerry. I’m leaving.”
Embarrassed at having his most guilty fantasy so easily revealed, Dustin rose from his chair and strode out. Less than a block from the club he was halted by a hand on his arm. Chad stepped in front of him, effectively blocking his path.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Dustin shrugged but refused to meet Chad’s eyes.
“Dustin. Look at me.”
“Why?”
“Because there’s no need for you to be embarrassed. We all have fantasies. I would never make fun of you or denigrate your needs.”
Hesitantly, Dustin raised his eyes to Chad’s. What he saw there made him catch his breath. “I don’t like having you know.”
“Because it makes you feel vulnerable, exposed?”
“Yeah.”
“The good thing about that? Everything about you, every little bit, is safe with me. Damn, babe, in case you didn’t notice, the thought of spanking you was turning me on all to hell.”
Pushing his discomfiture aside there was still a question he wanted answered. Dustin voiced it while carefully watching for Chad’s reaction. “So you don’t think it’s, um, unnatural?”
Chad’s eyes remained steadily on Dustin’s not a flicker hinting at anything but the truth. “No.” Chad slid his arm through Dustin’s. “It’s common for people to have fantasies. Like dressing up and playing master and maid and fucking on the dining room table or pretending to be housewife and plumber playing hide the pipe wrench in the kitchen.”
By this time, Dustin was laughing. “Are you talking about role playing games?”
“Yeah, lots of people do that to spice up their sex lives. There’s nothing wrong with it.”
“What about the spanking thing? Isn’t that a little more unusual?”
“Common as dirt,” Chad assured him with a grin and got them walking.
“How do you figure that?”
“You’ve obviously never spent anytime involved in the leather scene.”
“And you have?”
“As a matter of fact…”
“Do tell. In fact, why don’t we go home? Maybe you can do a little show and tell.”
“Mmm, I like the way you think.”
* * *
“Dustin, where do you want this?”
Dustin looked up to find Crewe holding a large vase he’d bought at a craft fair. It was sculpted to resemble an elegantly naked male torso and buttocks. The glaze was done in subtle shades of cream, cocoa and rose. He, his brothers, Crewe and Chad were packing Dustin’s things and moving him out of his former apartment.
“That’s beautiful. It’d look great on the mantle in the living room. Let’s take it home with us. Yeah?”
Dustin smiled at Chad who’d peeked around the kitchen doorway. “Yeah.” He turned back to Crew. “Put it with those boxes that are full of my clothes. The ones by the front door. Thanks.”
Crewe left on his mission and before Dustin could return to what he was doing a pair of strong arms wrapped around his waist. “Thanks.”
“For what?” Dustin asked snuggled back against Chad’s solid chest.
“For sharing your stuff with me.”
Dustin turned in his arms. “You’re sharing your home with me. It’s the least I can do.”
“Our home. I thought we discussed this last night. Among other things.” Chad’s hand wandered down to lightly cup one cheek of Dustin’s ass. He murmured in Dustin’s ear. “Is your little butt still sore?”
Dustin squirmed a bit but not from pain. “It’s a little tender.”
“Poor baby. You think it’ll help if I lick it all over?”
“Chad,” Dustin wailed softly, “I’m not gonna be able to work with a hard-on.”
“All right, break it up, you two.” Nick and Ethan came shuffling out of the bedroom with the mattress from Dustin’s bed. Nick fixed Dustin with a stern eye. “Crewe needs help with the box spring.”
“Yes, sir.” Dustin backed away from Chad, turned and s
aluted, sending his brother an impudent grin.
“You know he’s a pain in the ass brat, don’t you?” Nick asked Chad.
The wicked twinkle that filled Chad’s eyes fueled the flutter of panic in Dustin’s stomach. He gave Chad a look that promised dire consequences if he revealed anything that would embarrass him in front of his brothers.
Chad gave him a challenging stare while replying to Nick’s question. “I think I can handle the brat. And his ass.”
Ethan and Nick both started laughing. Ethan’s grip loosened on the mattress. Making a grab for it, instead of catching it, he lost his balance and fell against it causing Nick to lose his grip as well. The mattress flopped to the floor with Ethan riding it down. While Ethan bounced Nick, Chad and Dustin howled with laughter.
Nick went to his knees and crawled across the mattress to where Ethan lay. “You all right, bro,” he gasped.
“Yeah, no thanks to you. Why’d you let go?”
“Hey, don’t blame me. Blame Chad, he made us laugh.”
“Maybe we should blame Dustin or more accurately, Dustin’s ass,” Ethan teased with a mischievous grin.
“Hey, leave my ass out of this.”
“Leave your ass out of what, Dustin? And what are you doing lying there? Come on,” Crewe ordered, pulling Ethan to his feet. “There’s work to be done, gorgeous. You can lie around at home.” He pulled Ethan close. “With me on top of you.”
Ethan’s face flamed. He took a mock slug at Crewe. “Damn it. Don’t divert attention from Dustin. I was enjoying not being the one everyone teased for a change.”
Crewe kissed one of Ethan’s hot cheeks and turned back to Dustin. “In that case, like I asked before, leave your ass out of what? What did I miss?”
“Never mind. Come on, people, there’s work to be done. Chop, chop, let’s get to it.”
Dustin hustled Ethan and Nick on their way and followed Crewe toward the bedroom. He looked back and intercepted a roguish wink from Chad. His grin was impish and immediate. He gave his backside a little wiggle.
“Don’t tempt me, Dustin,” Chad warned.
Eyes widening, Dustin hurried after Crewe but smiled at the sound of Chad’s warm chuckle as it sounded out behind him. In the bedroom, he and Crewe grappled with the box spring. Standing it upright, they maneuvered it out of the apartment and down the stairs. Nick was standing in the bed of Crewe’s pick up, he and Ethan having wrestled the mattress aboard. Crewe set his end of the box spring on the tailgate and with Nick’s guidance, Dustin pushed it in place next to the mattress. While Crewe and Ethan headed back upstairs, he stayed to help Nick wedge them in place between his sofa and disassembled kitchen table.
Satisfied that everything was going to stay in place during the drive to the storage facility, the two of them took a break. Sitting on the tailgate, Dustin let his feet swing free. Nick sat cross-legged beside him.
“So, you and Chad, huh?”
Dustin glanced over at his elder brother. “Yeah. What do you think?”
“Well, baby bro, to tell you truth -- I like it.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Chad seems like a nice guy. The strong and steady type. I think he’s just what you need.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Nick shot his brother a grin. “Remember what I said about you being a brat?”
“Yeah?”
“It’s true. You have a tendency to be a little willful, a little demanding. You pout when you don’t get your way.”
“Do not,” Dustin denied.
“Remember when you were twelve? That time you pitched a fit ’cause Mom and Dad wouldn’t go straight to the store and buy that new video game you wanted the day it came out? God, even I remember that. It’s a wonder Dad didn’t blister your butt and that wasn’t the only incident. Mom and I were doing some reminiscing on the phone last week.” Nick snorted a laugh. “She said we spoiled you and you didn’t get spanked enough when you were a kid.”
“Jeez. What is it with everybody and this urge to do things to my ass today?” Dustin looked down at his hands where they rested on his lap. “Am I really that bad?” he asked, almost afraid to hear Nick’s answer.
“Not anymore. You’re growing up, kid. I’m proud of you. We all are, Dust. But I still think Chad’s the guy you need. He won’t take any of your guff. Hell, if you got too far out of line it wouldn’t surprise me if he’d turn you over his knee.”
Dustin felt his cheeks heat, not only from the remark about Chad spanking him but because his brother was proud of him. “Hmm, you might be right about Chad and, um, thanks for the other thing you said.”
“Just tellin’ it like it is.” Nick sighed. “Well, I feel like my job’s done. Both my brothers settled down and walking the straight and narrow. No pun intended.”
Dustin smiled. “What about you? Any prospects?”
“There’s always prospects. Every time I walk into a club the prospects come out of the woodwork, but don’t be expecting me to settle down like you guys. That’s not my thing.”
Eyeing his brother, Dustin gauged his words. Like he and Ethan, Nick had the Parks brown hair and blue eyes but Nick’s hair was so dark as to be nearly black. His blue eyes were a shade deeper, the pigment richer. He was also the tallest, his body larger, more well defined and muscular. Side by side, Dustin knew he looked like a smaller, paler version of Nick and he’d never had trouble meeting guys. He could well imagine how easily such came to Nick.
“You wouldn’t want to be with just one guy?”
“I’m not saying it’s totally out of the question. I just don’t see it happening anytime soon. I honestly don’t know if I could maintain a one-on-one relationship. If I’m even capable of it.”
“You would be. All you have to do is meet the right guy.”
“Which isn’t as easy as it sounds.”
Dustin nodded thoughtfully then blurted out something that had been bothering him for a long time. “Do you think Mom and Dad are disappointed in us? I mean, you know, God, what are the odds that all three of their sons turned out to be gay?”
“Have they ever said anything to you about it?”
“No. They’ve been surprisingly supportive. Considering some of the horror stories I’ve heard from other guys about their parents, I can’t believe how incredibly lucky we are.”
“I know. I think maybe the only thing that disappoints them is the fact that they aren’t going to have grandchildren.” Nick paused for a moment then scooted around until he was facing Dustin. “I’ve considered the idea of finding someone to have a baby with.”
“What?” Dustin yelped in surprise.
“Shhh! You’re gonna bring the guys running from upstairs.”
“You can’t be serious. You wanna what, have sex with some woman, get her pregnant and then what? You’re not talking about getting married, are you?”
“Hell no. Jeez, Dustin. I just admitted to being reluctant to settle down with a guy, my mate of choice. Do you really think I’d marry some poor woman? I’m talking about artificial insemination with a surrogate. She’d have the baby and legally give up her parental rights to it after the birth. I’d have a son or daughter and Mom and Dad would have a grandchild.”
Wild as the idea was, Dustin could totally picture Nick as a father. “Holy shit. I never thought of that, but you know, I think you’d make a great dad. Hell, you helped Mom and Dad raise me and Ethan. You should do it. You know Ethan and I would help with our niece or nephew. I can just see Mom and Dad now. Man, they’d be over the moon. But just one thing.” Dustin studied his brother carefully. “Would you be doing this for you or them? ’Cause if it’s just to give them a grandchild then don’t. It wouldn’t be right.”
“I know that, bro. And no, it wouldn’t be just for them. I love kids. It’s weird. I remember so much about you and Ethan growing up. I felt so responsible for you guys, still do to a certain extent,” Nick mused. “I loved being there for you, helping you grow
and learn. I miss that. Sometimes though, I wonder if it’s a good idea, my having a child. I’d probably turn in to some overprotective asshole and my kid would hate me.”
“Ethan and I never hated you. You’re too damn slick at getting people to do what you want,” Dustin teased, wanting to ease his brother’s sudden melancholy.
“That’s the old Parks charm,” Nick said with a returning grin. “Something you didn’t get.”
“Fuckhead.”
“Buttwad.” Nick reached out and slung an arm around Dustin’s shoulders. “Do me a favor. Keep this conversation under your hat?”
“Will do.”
“Good, I’d hate to have to beat your ass.”
“Damn, there’s my ass again with a starring role in the conversation.”
Crewe took that moment to appear around the side of the truck with a box in his arms. “What the hell is it with you and your ass today?”
“Aw, fuck. I give up.” Dustin hopped down from the tailgate and walked away shaking his head in disgust to the sound of Nick laughing his butt off.
Chapter Five
“Mmm, Chad, please.”
Chad lifted his head, pausing in the pleasurable act of swirling another sensual lick over the slightly pink mound of his mate’s ass. “Please what, baby?”
“Fuck me.”
“I intend to. What’s your hurry?”
Dustin’s ass wiggled. “I’m horny. What’d you expect would happen when you insisted on using this damn butt plug?”
Chad’s soft laugh wafted warm air over those smooth, damp cheeks. He trailed his tongue up the sleek indentation between them and slowly up the flexing length of Dustin’s spine. Halting at the nape of his neck, Chad kissed, nibbled and licked his way from one side to the other, enjoying the way Dustin shivered at his touch. Stopping to pay special attention to the ear that was exposed by the turn of Dustin’s head, he smiled at the low moans that issued from his lover’s parted lips. For some reason, he was in no hurry tonight. To savor every nuance of this mating was his goal.
Carefully he lowered his body and settled against Dustin. “Am I too heavy?”