Gus (Bar 28 Book 1)

by JJ Harper

  “Nothing, just thinking.” I meet his lips. A collective sigh from a group of girls sitting in the corner by the window has us smiling. Gus chuckles, then pulls away.

  “No more thinking, honey.” He winks and steps behind the bar with a definite swing of his hips. He called me honey. It’s not the first time he’s used an endearment, but never with others around us. The negative thought of him with someone else has gone, vanished away by one little word. Maybe I’ll get another four-letter word from him soon. I know I’ve fallen for him.

  “Oh, you’ve got it so bad, Max,” Leo says as he cashes up his till, collecting all his receipts to take into the office to check.

  “I know, and I don’t care.” I beam at him as he shakes his head.

  “You’re going to be fighting off the other men, Max. You okay with that?”

  “I am because I know Gus feels the same way about me.”

  “Good for you. I’ll see you on Saturday.”

  “Yeah, thanks for today, Leo.”

  I wipe down the bar, then walk around to collect some empty glasses and to have a chat with the customers.

  When I reach the table by the window, the girls all smile at me. One of them gives me a wink. “You and your boyfriend are so cute together. We can’t decide which of you is the luckiest.”

  I let out a laugh and glance over at the bar. Gus is pretending not to be watching or listening. “Definitely me. I need to keep pinching myself to test if it’s not a dream.” I can’t stop myself from peeking at him. A small smile plays on his lips, and his cheeks are pink. “He’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me.” After checking if they need anything else, I move on to the next table.

  When I get back behind the bar, Gus wraps his arm around my waist. “I think I’m the luckiest,” he whispers in my ear. “I show you later how much I mean it.”

  “Are you coming home with me tonight?”

  “If I can. Is that okay?” When he lets go of me, he brushes against my hand, and I wince in pain. “Jesus, Max, what the hell have you done?”

  “It’s nothing. I burnt it this afternoon.” I hide my hand behind my back before he can see more clearly.

  “Let me see.” Gus gives me a stern look and wiggles his fingers, gesturing for me to show him his hand.

  “Look, it’s a little bit red. I’m fine. Leave it, please.”

  He drops his arm and steps back, a look of shocked hurt on his face. I hate seeing him like that, but I hate being fussed over even more. It makes me uncomfortable. My parents never cared. All they did was tell us to pick ourselves up and stop snivelling.

  Gus does exactly as I asked. He leaves me alone. He’s not sulking or angry. He’s distant from me but joking with Beck and being chatty and fun with the customers. Damn it. That’s not what I wanted.

  “Gus?” I wait for him to look at me. “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s okay, Max.” He gives me a sweet smile, then gets back to work. Shit, he’s still not okay. I really screwed up. But I don’t know what to do. I’ve not been in a relationship like this before. Any other time I would’ve simply walked away, deeming it not worth the trouble. But Gus is worth it. I want him back by my side.

  “Please, Gus.” I touch his arm. “I don’t like any fuss. I’m not used to it.”

  “Max, I get it. It’s fine.” His smile is a bit warmer this time. It’s not the lazy, sensual one he’d given me when he first got here, but I’ll take it for now.

  “Will you still come home with me tonight?”

  “Sure.” That’s not the enthusiastic answer I was hoping for, but at least he hasn’t said no.

  I lean back on the counter at the back of the bar as Max locks the doors. I’m exhausted. Tonight has been crazy busy, and my feet and head hurt. Too little sleep last night and doing my research and writing one of my essays today have worn me out. Now I’m going to have to go home with Max. Otherwise, he’ll think I’m rejecting him after his shitty attitude.

  Beck stands beside me. “You okay? You look beat.”

  “I’m knackered, but I can sleep in tomorrow. Are you ready to show me how to cash up?”

  “Sure, I didn’t know if Max was going to or not.”

  “He hasn’t said anything. Doesn’t he have other things to do? Come on, we could be doing it rather than talking about it.”

  Beck shows me, then watches me do mine. Luckily, it balances. Then we cash up our tips. Wow! I’ve earned more in tips than my wages.

  Max takes the money from us and locks it in the safe. I grab my bag and my jacket from the break room and wait for Beck and Max to finish talking. Max must sense me hovering in the corridor. He peers over Beck’s shoulder and gives me a hopeful smile. I nod to reassure him. I’ll go back to his place, but I need to sleep, not have mammoth sexcapades. I’m here again tomorrow evening. The three of us walk out together. Beck says goodbye and continues down to his car. Max stays quiet until Beck is out of earshot.

  “I’m a fucking idiot, Gus. I’m sorry I snapped at you. Nobody cared enough to want to look out for me for, well, ever. Jonas knows the score, and he’s pretty much the same as me. Do you forgive me?”

  “Max, it’s fine. I told you I was okay. Can we go now, please? I’m exhausted, and I’ve got a headache.” I rub my hand across my forehead. The dull throb is still there.

  “Why didn’t you say anything? You could’ve taken a longer break. Have you taken anything? Never mind. I’ve got paracetamol.” He takes my hand, and we walk briskly to his apartment building.

  “I enjoyed it tonight. It was fun, even though it was crazy busy,” I tell him, not wanting him to think I didn’t like it.

  “I’ve told Jonas we need more staff. At least two more behind the bar. I’m going to put flyers out again and an ad in the paper. Three in the evening isn’t cutting it.”

  “There’s not much room behind the bar. How will everyone fit?”

  “One extra per shift will be doable.” Max keys the code into the door on his apartment building, and we get in and head to the lifts. “No more work talk now.” He leans in but stops before our lips touch. His eyes are asking the question. I don’t bother with answering him but close the gap and press my lips to his. His teeth nip along my lip. Then he plunges his tongue inside my mouth. It’s a messy kiss, a bruising kiss, full of teeth and tongues, that goes on until the lift stops, and we stumble out.

  “Come on, we both need a shower and some sleep.” Max opens the door and, without turning on any lights, wanders down to his bedroom.

  I drag myself after him. He’s already stripping out of his clothes, not caring where they fall. I step over his strewn shoes and place my bag on the bed, then sit next to it and toe off my shoes. I’m knackered. All I want is to flop back and close my eyes and not move for about twelve hours. But I keep going and pull off my T-shirt with heavy arms. When I start with my jeans, Max’s hands are over mine. “Let me help, baby.”

  When I’ve only got my underwear on, I lie back on the bed. Max takes both my hands in his. “Come on, it’s shower time. You’ll feel better.”

  We walk together to the bathroom, where Max opens the cabinet and takes out a box. “Takes these for your headache.”

  He pops two white tablets out of the strip and fills a glass with water. “Thank you,” I say after swallowing them and putting the glass down on the sink. I allow him to take my hands and nudge me towards the shower.

  The bathroom is already warm and full of steam. I stumble into the shower, letting out an unholy groan of delight. Max chuckles. “That’s usually a sound you save for me.” He kisses my forehead and proceeds to wash me, including my hair.

  “I think I’ll keep you forever if you do this for me whenever I’m tired,” I mumble, then yawn so hard my jaw clicks.

  “I’ll keep you to that. Tip your head back so I can rinse your hair. Then you’re done.”

  “Thank you, Max.” I comply, and he wrings the water out of my hair. He steps out and grabs a towel from the ra
il. He quickly dries off and hands me another towel.

  “I’ll be with you in a sec.”

  I dry off haphazardly, not really caring too much. Then stumble back to the bedroom and all but faceplant onto the bed. I don’t even feel Max get in next to me.

  I wake up feeling much better. My headache has cleared. Sleep and the paracetamol are the perfect combination. Max is snoring softly, little puffs of breath escaping his lips. He really is incredibly handsome—high cheekbones and forehead, a long but not large, straight nose, and full lips I hold back from kissing. His eyelashes are thick and black and long enough to touch his cheek as he sleeps. I prefer his eyes open, though. They give away his every mood. The rich brown irises flash with humour, darken with lust and passion, sparkle with mischief. They are my favourite part of him. Although his mouth is pretty talented too. I think back on all we’ve done and talked about and about what is still to come.

  “What are you smiling for?”

  “Good morning.”

  I give him a quick kiss and try to pull back, But Max deepens the kiss, telling me in no uncertain terms that he’s not stopping. Of course, this makes me moan. He grabs my hips and drags me on top of his hard, muscular body. Then just as I’m about to climb and rut senselessly against his thick, solid dick, my phone rings. It’s not just any ringtone. It instantly softens my erection and makes the tension in my balls vanish before I can blink.

  “I need to answer that. It’s my mum, and she’ll just keep ringing until I do.” I groan. Her ability to cockblock me from two hundred miles away is impressive.

  “The ringtone for your mother is Goldie Lookin Chain’s ‘Your Mother Has a Penis’?” Max raises his eyebrow, questioning my choice.

  “She hates it, but I love winding her up.”

  “You’d better answer it, then.” He laughs and rolls me off his body.

  “Oh god, kill me now.” Grumbling, I reach over the side of the bed to my jeans and grab my phone out of the back pocket. I swipe the screen to accept the call. “Hi, Mum, is everything okay? It’s early for you to call.”

  “Of course everything’s okay. I thought I’d find out how your first night at work went.” She pauses. “And to see if you’re going to tell me about the new man you have in your life.” The amusement is clear in her voice.

  “What? How?” I shake my head. “How do you know I have a new man.”

  “Just a guess. I haven’t heard from you in nearly a week, so I assumed you’d met someone. What’s his name?”

  I flop back onto the bed and cover my eyes with my arm. “He’s called Max, and that’s all I’m saying. It’s not a good time for me now. I’ll call you later.”

  “Oh, he’s your one. That’s wonderful, August. I’m so happy for you. When do we get to meet him?”

  “Not yet, Mum.” I remove my arm. Max lies on his back with the cover pushed down, exposing his long body and the firm squares of muscles on his abs and the exquisite V that points down to his very hard dick. I swallow hard, my mouth too dry to speak. “I’ve got to go.” Max is stroking himself now. I drop my phone on the table, my eyes drawn to him taking long, slow pulls up and down his shaft. A bead of precum leaks from the slit as he squeezes on the upstroke. Instinctively I lean over and flick my tongue out, capturing the clear drop on the tip.

  I shift positions and kneel between his parted legs. “You want my mouth, babe?” I ask. “Or my arse?”

  Max gives me a slow smile that is so sexy I’m left breathless. “I’ll leave that up to you. I’m yours to play with.”

  My stomach tightens as wicked thoughts enter my mind. “How long can you hold on to your load?”

  Max gulps and licks across his dry lips, narrowing his eyes as apprehension turns into a challenge. “Give it your best shot.”

  I drink him in. God, he’s stunning. “Hands over your head. Don’t move them.” He leisurely lets go of his cock and slides his hands up over his stomach and chest, stroking over the perfectly round, dark chocolate-coloured disks, making the nubs peak. He continues his slow journey upwards, all the while tormenting me with his heated gaze. Once he’s finished his show and his hands are over his head, I take charge. It’s my mission to have him begging for release. I want every cry and moan to be for me.

  I run my hands up his thighs, my thumbs pressing into the thick muscles all the way to the apex where I tickle under his balls. As I press firmly over his taint, his eyes widen. The dark brown of his irises has all but disappeared, giving way to onyx that glows with passion, desire, and lust. Mainly lust.

  My hands roam over the taut skin in the crease at the top of his thighs, my fingernails scraping through the neatly trimmed hair around his cock but not touching him where he so obviously wants. He cants his hips up, trying to push his cock nearer to me. Precum is running in a steady trickle down from the tip to the skin under his belly button, collecting in the thin line of hair that travels down to his cock.

  “Look how desperate you are for my touch. Just say the word, and I’ll let you come.” I take one of his nipples into my mouth and tug the peak with my teeth. Max hisses but doesn’t cave, not even when I wrap my hand around his length and languidly stroke up and down as I put all my attention on torturing his nipples. I suck on one and flick it over and over with my tongue. Max pants, puffing out shallow breaths through his clenched teeth. Deep lines are etched in his forehead as he focuses on holding his orgasm at bay.

  My grip gets tighter and faster as I kiss him, my tongue fucking his mouth the way I know he wants to pound my arse. I nip his bottom lip, then travel back down his body to replace my hand with my mouth. I sink onto his cock, taking him to the back of my throat, grateful for the hours of practice with a banana to get rid of my gag reflex. How much butt play has he had? Maybe he’s always topped and doesn’t like it, or will he allow me to play with his hole? Time to find out. I trail my middle finger through the precum on his belly, then rub down his taint to his tight pucker and the thousands of nerve endings it contains. Max tenses infinitesimally, then spreads his legs, bringing his feet up to flatten on the bed. I take that as the green light to continue. He’s biting down on his lip, but his eyes are still on mine. I give him a wink and circle his hole. The sound that comes out of his mouth is between a cry and a grunt, but he doesn’t say stop. I get back to sucking him as I play with his arse. When his balls pebble and shrink up, I pull off.

  “Ready to come?” I tease, keeping my finger pressing down on his pucker.

  “God, yes, please, Gus.” He moans and pushes down onto my finger. I slip it inside halfway up to the first knuckle, and he tips his head back, the tendons in his neck straining as he huffs out a controlled breath. “More.”

  “I haven’t got any lube. I’m not going inside you dry.”

  He lets go of the headboard, yanks open his drawer, grabs a bottle, and throws it down to me. “Now you can.”

  With one hand, I click the lid, still watching my lover, and pour a steady stream down his taint, waiting for it to reach my finger. I withdraw the tip and coat it with the lubricant, then slide slowly back inside, farther this time, one knuckle, then a second until I reach my target. Bingo. I stroke over his prostate, and he gasps.

  “Fuck, Gus. Oh god, do that again,” he barks at me, and I laugh heartily.

  I pull out, only to coat two fingers, then ease gently back inside. Max is twisting and squirming, unable to lie still. Time to end the game. I stroke his dick with my free hand and slide over his sweet spot until he’s bucking up and shouting out his release. Cum fills my fist as he clamps down on my fingers, shuddering and shaking through his climax. I carefully slip my fingers out and sit back on my heels, waiting for Max to open his eyes. When he does, I’m not convinced he can see straight.

  “You okay?” I ask cautiously.

  “I don’t know. My brain just exploded through my dick. You’ve wrecked me, baby.” He extends his arm. “Come here.”

  “I need to clean up first.” I show him my hand with t
he mess of cooling cum all over it. He grimaces. I get off the bed and hurry to the bathroom, where I wash my hands, then grab a cloth for him.

  After nearly losing my mind to Gus’s abilities to edge me, I took care of his orgasm, and now he’s cuddled into my side, snoozing. Not asleep but not really awake either, I close my eyes. What would the future hold for us? Is he going to be moving away when he graduates? He’ll need a job. I don’t expect him to stay here for me. He’ll want a position where he can put his skills to good use, and if he can earn a lot of money, even better. I can’t leave, though. My work is here. I love the bar. It’s been my and Jonas’s dream for so long. We worked so hard to save up for it. Jonas drew up the business plan allowing us to get a loan from the bank. We have every part of our lives invested in this venture. But I’m not sure I can give Gus up. Only seven or eight months until he graduates and we’ll be saying goodbye.

  “Why has your heart rate suddenly rocketed,” Gus murmurs sleepily.

  “Just thinking, baby. It’s all good.” I stroke up and down his back until he makes a purring sound. No more worrying about something I can’t control.

  After another hour of laziness, Gus stirs. “I need to get going,” he mumbles and pushes himself away from me.

  “Really? What have you got going on?”

  “I’ve got a meeting with one of my lecturers. She said she has something to discuss with me about my coursework.”

  “Oh, is everything okay? I can’t imagine you have anything to worry about. It’s not like you’re going to forget anything you’ve read.”

  “How do you know about that?” He frowns, but I don’t think it’s aimed at me.

  “Jonas mentioned it.” I shrug.

  “Okay, that’s cool. I don’t think I’ll see you before I have to go to work. You won’t be there tonight, will you?”

  “I won’t be working, but I’ll be in to see you. I’ll need to walk you home afterwards.” I waggle my eyebrows.

  “You just want in my bed again.” He pulls clean underwear out of his bag and gets dressed.