by Alex Jane
“And what about Allie? Did you think about her in all of this?” Jack’s face was stony but his voice sounded less sure and his jaw tensed.
It was Alec’s turn to bark out a laugh. “You are joking! We’ve been dating less than three months and you think I should give up my chance at my dream job for a girl who only wants to see me as long as we keep it casual? Jesus, Jack, I know she’s your sister and all but we’re barely more than friends—we haven’t even slept together—and you expect me to drop everything for her?”
Jack’s face fell. He looked stunned. He clenched his eyes shut and shook his head, “Wait. I thought—”
But Alec didn’t let him finish. “And I know I shouldn’t go off at you when you’re struggling, but what the hell, man! You come in here and get into stuff which is frankly, none of your fucking business!”
“Well, it is my business if you’re just going to leave me high and dry! What am I supposed to do when you leave?”
Alec reared up at that and stalked around to Jack’s side of the counter, his finger outstretched and accusing. “No! Hell, no! You don’t get to do that! You don’t get to put that all on me! You were the one who wanted to quit drinking! You wanted to go back to school, get your life back together. Don’t you dare make me the bad guy for wanting the same thing for myself!”
Jack took a step back and Alec tried to stem the flow of his anger and frustration, and said more gently, “And you’ll be fine. You need a sponsor, one that’s not me, whether I’m here or not. And I’ll only be a phone call away—”
Jack shook his head and pressed his lips together. His face flushed red and he looked like he might break. When he spoke, the words croaked out, half broken, “No. I don’t want that. It’s not the same. I want—”
The words died in his throat and Alec looked at him, the giant, devastated, man in front of him, and felt like his heart might break. He wanted to reach out and grab him and hold him and tell him everything was going to be all right but instead he just stood and asked the question with a shake of his head and a shrug what do you want?
And then suddenly Jack was lurching towards him, a look of desperation on his pale face. He reached out both hands and grabbed Alec’s jawline, wrapping his fingers over Alec’s ears and pulled him forward. It wasn’t so much a kiss as Jack smashing his mouth onto Alec’s. It was all teeth in flesh and panic and their eyes locking, staring at each other in pain and surprise as it happened but Alec didn’t try to pull away, even when he felt Jack’s vice-like grip release.
Jack slowly drew back, his face pulled tight in the horror of what he’d done. Alec stood frozen, his eyebrows raised and eyes wide with surprise. He wanted to speak but wasn’t sure how he could even begin to address what had just happened. He could see blood smeared on Jack’s bottom lip and suspected it was his own.
Jack raised his fingers to his lips. He stared for a second longer and then blurted out, “Oh God. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” He grabbed his jacket from the chair, sending it crashing to the floor, and headed for the door.
It took a second for Alec to realize what was happening. Surging forward, he closed the gap, grabbing Jack’s arm from behind and spinning him around so that his back hit the wall before he could make it out of the kitchen.
Alec crowded into him. Jack looked confused and his eyes were wet, no longer able to keep the tears at bay.
Alec had a very clear thought: This is it. This is the line, the point of no return. Once we cross it, there’s no going back.
He wrapped his fingers into the neckline of Jack’s t-shirt and tilted his head up, pressed his mouth softly to Jack’s lips. The kiss would have been chaste if it weren’t for Alec’s suddenly hard cock digging obscenely into Jack’s thigh.
When Jack didn’t respond, Alec moved slowly back, rocking away on his heels, opening his eyes in time to see Jack do the same, astonishment dusting his cheeks pink. Alec let his tongue run out over the stinging crack in his lip, tasting the moisture Jack’s mouth had left there. He’d never felt so sure in life when he dipped his head forward and whispered, “Is this it? Is this what you want? Because I do. Never wanted anything more in my life. God help me, I don’t know why but I want you. I want you—”
A stifled sound escaped from Jack’s throat as he suddenly reached out and grasped hold of Alec—one hand cupping his face, the other on his neck—pulling him in and kissing him. Any gentleness was quickly lost to overwhelming passion, the two men fighting to get closer to each other, and taste everything they’d denied themselves until now.
If it was a battle, Jack won out. He ravaged Alec’s mouth, the force of it pushing them back until Alec’s back hit the wall behind him. Alec’s hands pushing up and under Jack’s t-shirt as they moved, running his fingers over Jack’s warm smooth skin, feeling the muscles flex and tighten as they walked backward, relishing the way Jack moved him, pushed into him with his tongue, and caged him against the wall.
Jack kept on pressing into him. Alec could feel the whole line of his body flush against his own. When Jack started sucking a line of wet, biting kisses down his throat, Alec’s cock twitched so violently, painfully, in his jeans that he cried out.
Jack’s wide firm hands slid down the sides of Alec’s body, then moved to his button fly, wrenching it open, and dragging Alec’s cock free. Alec gasped for air as the sensation of Jack wrapping his hand around his dick knocked the breath out of him. The feel of another man’s hand on him was amazing, like nothing he’d experienced before. Somewhere, beyond the stream of pleasure flowing over him, the need to reciprocate pushed through. Fumbling, he ran his hands around the waistband of Jack’s jeans and pushed his fingers down into his briefs, gasping at the thick sheen of pre-come coating the fabric and took hold of Jack. He felt so different from Alec’s own dick, heavier, thicker. A spike of awe shot through him but it only served to fuel his building orgasm.
Jack groaned and Alec felt like he was dying. Using his free hand, Jack managed to unzip his own jeans, allowing Alec to pull Jack’s dick out and start stroking it in time with the rough movements that Jack was using on him.
Jack pulled Alec closer to him, licking and biting at his lips through a litany of ‘Oh, God’ and ‘Oh, Alec’ getting louder and louder, Alec’s breathing ragged and harsh, his orgasm building, building, until he came, shooting up over his shirt and Jack’s wrist. His knees buckled with the force of it and Jack—keening loud, his teeth pressed against Alec’s cheek—seconds later came hard, covering his stomach and Alec’s.
They rested against each other, panting, bracing each other upright for a moment, heads resting against the other’s shoulders, sticky hands cupping softening cocks. Jack moved, sliding his wet hand around Alec’s waist and pulled him in close, burying his head in Alec’s neck. He took a deep breath and his shoulders shook as it shuddered out of him. Alec pressed his eyes closed and prayed that any tears were only relief.
Pulling Jack closer, Alec ran a hand through his hair and whispered, “Stay with me?”
Jack raised his head slowly and with closed eyes kissed Alec so softly that Alec could hardly believe it was the same man. When Jack broke the kiss he rested his forehead against Alec’s and nodded. “Oh, I’m not going anywhere.”
Chapter Thirteen
When Alec opened his eyes the next morning, it was to the familiar sight of the shadow of the tree outside his window dancing on the closed curtains of his room as they wafted in the breeze. The bright light, like a laser pointer burning his retinas through the gap in between, told him it was later in the morning than he normally woke and for a moment he could have sworn that he’d had the most vivid dream. But then he registered the way the mattress dipped behind him and slowly turned.
Jack lay face down, arms buried beneath the pillow, his face turned away so all Alec could see was his messy mop of hair pooled above his muscular shoulders, the curve of his naked back disappearing below the covers. Alec rubbed the sleep from his eyes and the gunk from the corners
of his mouth but could not tear his gaze away from staring at Jack, the shape of him under the sheet, the smell of him—of them—in Alec’s bed.
Alec had thought about it, had thought about Jack and being with Jack, but nothing had quite prepared him for last night.
When Jack showed up, Alec had felt so awful about the way things were turning out, about using the job offer from Matt to try and get away from the God-awful situation that he’d put himself in, dating Alicia but falling for her brother. Because he had fallen. Hard.
Things couldn’t have gotten more complicated. But when he lost his temper with Jack, so angry that he couldn’t hold his tongue, somewhere in the back of his mind he wondered if he’d hoped it would push Jack away, make him leave so he would be off the hook, all temptation lost and gone.
And then Jack had kissed him.
And then he had kissed Jack.
And then Jack was in his arms, in his bed, in his mouth and the whole night was a blur of tasting every inch of skin covering Jack’s body, running his hands over him, pressing his fingers into his flesh to pull him deeper, having Jack cover him with his heavy body. Sweat dripping down and coating them both, slicking the way so they could rock and slide, bringing each other to the edge and back, over and over, feeling like he couldn’t take any more but needing more, needing Jack, the raging heat of him, his mouth on him, the way he whispered all the filthy, wonderful things he wanted to do to Alec into his skin. And it was everything Alec never knew he wanted.
Lying there in the morning light, watching Jack sleep, seeing the total lack of tension in his muscles, the way his chest rose and fell with the quiet sounds of his breath, Alec prayed hard that he hadn’t made a mistake because it sure as hell didn’t feel like one.
Jack took a deep breath and sighed it out, scrubbing his face on the pillow as he turned to face Alec, his stubble rasping on the fabric. One bleary eye opened and peered through the bangs hanging over it and Jack smiled. Alec felt it catch on his own mouth and he beamed back. “‘Morning.”
Jack sighed again and croaked, “Morning, yourself.”
Alec reached out and tried to free Jack’s face from his hair, one strand at a time. Jack had other plans though and stretched an arm out across Alec’s chest, pulling him in as he pushed forward and buried his head in Alec’s neck, growling and nipping at his skin.
Alec laughed and threw his arms around Jack’s back, running his fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck. “Oh my God, you’ve been awake less than thirty seconds! You seriously wanna go again?”
He felt Jack chuckle against him and run his hand down the side of his body until it came to rest on his crotch and found Alec’s treacherous cock which had started filling the moment Jack had opened his eyes. “Well, seems like you sure as hell do.”
Alec kissed the top of Jack’s head. “No way. You’ve got to let me shower. I feel disgusting.”
He hissed as Jack stroked his over-sensitive dick. Jack looked up at him and smiled, his eyes wicked and sparkling. “Oh I’m sorry, Baby. Is that too much? Let me kiss it better for you.”
Alec attempted to half-heartedly protest but when Jack’s soothing tongue ran over the head of his cock, the words just didn’t seem all that important anymore. He tried to form them in his mind as Jack coated his dick with spit, gently suckling at the tip and mouthing along its length. But by the time the tip of his cock hit the back of Jack’s throat and Jack swallowed around him, he’d forgotten that he’d been speaking altogether.
While Jack finished up in the shower, Alec toasted bagels and set out every possible topping he could find in the fridge, along with fruit, orange juice and a plate of crispy bacon. Alec was pouring coffee and damn near dropped the pot when Jack finally made an appearance in the kitchen. They’d been apart for about fifteen minutes and Alec had somehow forgotten how fucking beautiful Jack was. His hair was slicked back so his whole face was visible for a change, and a t-shirt that was baggy on Alec pulled tight across Jack’s chest, showing off every curve and ridge that Alec had spent the night exploring. Thankfully, Jack’s jeans had survived unsoiled, as Alec did not want to try to squeeze Jack into a pair of his.
Jack raised his eyebrows at all the food laid out on the island. “Oh God, you shouldn’t—you really didn’t have to do all this, Alec.”
Alec shrugged and pushed the mug of coffee into his hand. “I didn’t know what you liked, so… Aren’t you hungry?”
Jack looked at him like he was an idiot. “After last night I think I may need to eat half a grocery store to get back the calories.”
Jack blushed a little when he’d said it but Alec just smiled and waved him down onto one of the high stools at the counter. “Well, let’s start with this and see how we go from there.”
Jack sat and perused the selection of breakfast foods before taking a bagel and spreading it with peanut butter, trying to sound casual as he asked, “So. Where’s your mom?”
Alec snickered, wrestling a couple of clean glasses from the dishwasher. “Don’t worry. She’s not holed up in her room with a pillow over each ear or anything. There was some conference. For work. She’ll be back tomorrow night.”
Jack sighed out a laugh. “Thank God. I wasn’t sure what flowers to buy that say ‘Sorry for having really loud sex with your son ‘til four in the morning’.”
Alec laughed. “Well, we should figure that out pretty soon and hope that it covers neighbors too. I believe my bedroom window was open all night. They’re probably forming a support group as we speak.”
Jack groaned and covered his face with his hands. Alec sat on the stool next to him and bumped him with his shoulder. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll just tell them I was watching a horror movie or something.”
Jack peeked out from between his fingers. “I’m not sure that’s entirely complimentary.”
Alec smiled and leaned into him. He pushed Jack’s hands away from his face and whispered, “Oh it is. It really is,” before leaning further and kissing Jack’s mouth until they were both smiling.
They managed to eat and make out, and completely avoid the reality of the situation until all the food was gone and Jack started to clear away the dishes.
Alec sat and watched him, nursing the dregs in his coffee mug for a few long minutes before biting the bullet. “I’m going to talk to Allie today. I don’t know what to say but I know I have to say something. Maybe I should just tell her I met someone else—”
“Oh God, don’t do that!” Jack interrupted. Alec was surprised by the force of his voice. Jack leaned heavily on the counter and wiped a hand over his mouth, before turning to Alec, and in a steadier tone said, “Please, don’t do that. There’s stuff that she really can’t deal with and cheating—well, she won’t cope with it well. Our family history—you know how messed up it is and it’s just—even if you forget all the stuff that happened with our dad, she had such bad luck with guys and Allie grew up with Mom telling her that men are lying, cheating assholes and shouldn’t be trusted…”
Their eyes met and neither of them could deny the truth of what they had done or hold each other’s gaze for long.
“I just think telling her that, I don’t think it’s the best thing to do—”
His voice trailed away and his face said what they were both thinking. There was no ‘best thing’ to do. It was a mess, a total fucking mess and that all they were doing was delaying the inevitable.
“Okay,” Alec said, “I’ll tell her that I need to take a step back, being that I’m going to have to be ready to move and get oriented in the job if I get it.”
Jack stared at him blankly.
Alec felt a hole open up in his chest and blurted out, “Last night—you—I want you. I’ve wanted you—so badly—but it doesn’t change—this opportunity—I can’t say no if they offer it to me, Jack. I just can’t.”
Jack nodded and it made the hole in Alec’s chest grow wider, especially when he smiled weakly, and said, “I understand. I do. I’ll jus
t have to make the most of you ‘til then. And like you said, Austin’s not that far away.”
They remained in silence for what felt like an eternity, Alec studiously swirling the coffee dregs in his mug and Jack with his back to him, looking out across the garden, watching the light breeze bustle through the scorched leaves in the trees, until he muttered, “I want to go to the meeting. Can we go?”
Alec walked to him and tugged Jack down by the neck, kissing him sloppy and desperate, before wrapping his arms tight around him. Jack leaned into him and pulled him close, as Alec said, “Yes. Of course. Yes.”
Chapter Fourteen
The next week passed by in a blur.
Talking to Alicia was as hard as Alec had imagined it was going to be. He kept his voice flat and calm, and didn’t stumble over his words but his gut was churning with every word. She didn’t scream or throw stuff but Alec could see her physically harden from the inside out as he spoke. He didn’t want to hurt her but even the gentlest of let downs was always going to sting. She let him hug her as he was leaving, but her body was stiff and cold.
He went straight to the garage, looking for sympathy and to tell Jack how fucking terrible he felt. Ten minutes later Jack was on his knees, being very sympathetic, noiselessly sucking Alec’s cock in the employee bathroom, with Alec having to smother his mouth in the crook of his elbow as he came down Jack’s throat. He left with the tang of his own come on his lips, wracked with guilt but convinced that things could actually have gone worse.
Ethan made a couple of comments that made Alec think he should have told him what had happened but instead he simply said that he and Jack were ‘working it out’ and then change the subject. Jack was adamant that he didn’t want anyone to know about them, just in case it somehow got back to his sister.