Flesh Market

by Kate Lowell

  “How can you say that? You weren’t a trained agent when you went in there.”

  “I wasn’t an idiot either. I was briefed, just the same as you were. You could say I had a better briefing, because I had all your reports as well. So I didn’t anticipate some of the stuff that happened. You didn’t either.” He put a hand on Leo’s arm and squeezed. “We did well, and we screwed up. Both. But we got them, and that’s all that counts.” Not Shiro, and Leo’s face told him that his mind had gone straight to that memory too. Julian shook his head. “No, I don’t blame you for that either.”

  He slid his hand up Leo’s arm, luxuriating in the muscle sliding beneath his palm. At the top, he changed direction until he could drag the backs of his fingernails up Leo’s neck and trace a path over his mouth. “I want to know if what I felt in Vegas was real.” He raised his eyes to Leo’s. “I should remind you, in case you forgot, that I wasn’t kidding that night in Vegas. I’m pretty much an exclusive top. If that’s not something you can handle, we can talk about it, but I’m only so flexible on that point.” He grinned sheepishly and shrugged. “Sorry.”

  Leo stuck an arm behind his head, making the muscles in his chest and arm stand out, so Julian could barely think. “And I told you before, smarty-pants, I can deal. But I’m thirty-nine. You’re twenty-one.”

  “Twenty-three now, actually. And therefore we’re both adults. Get up and show me your bedroom.”

  “Julian—”

  “Shut up, Leo. What you should be doing with that mouth is making me howl.” He balled his fists in Leo’s shirt, pulled him to his feet, and kissed him again. “So, bedroom?”

  “Think about this—”

  “I have.” Julian let go and stepped back a pace. Stubborn, stubborn man. But he could be stubborn too. “If this goes anywhere, I’m assuming there’ll be some talk. I’m okay with that. What I’m not okay with is the question mark that night in the hotel left behind. I think there’s something real behind it.” He left it at that. The weird intimacy of the undercover operation was back, working full force. It was almost like he could follow Leo’s train of thought as the man worked out the positives and the negatives of the situation. In fact, he knew, almost before the expression on Leo’s face changed, that Leo had given in.

  Ha, like he’d had a choice. Julian never lost when he’d set his mind to something. And Leo hadn’t really wanted to win anyway. That was obvious from how he met Julian in another kiss, how he moaned and pulled their bodies close and then started to shuffle them toward the door into the cabin.

  “You’re moving awful slow, old man,” Julian teased, shoving Leo’s T-shirt up over his belly.

  “I’ll show you slow.” Leo crouched and threw Julian over his shoulder.

  Julian whooped with laughter and slapped Leo’s ass. Leo stopped dead halfway to the door.

  “Did you really just slap my ass?”

  “Am I in trouble?”

  “What do you think?”

  “Uh-oh.” But a small snicker escaped Julian’s not-so-iron control.

  He could hear the laughter in Leo’s voice when he said, “Come on, little toppy man, and we’ll see who’s old.”

  LEO CARRIED JULIAN up the stairs, his laughter infecting Leo with its hilarity.

  “Don’t you dare drop me!” Julian yelled behind him when he missed a step and lurched against the railing. He felt a sharp smack against his ass again.

  “You keep hitting me, and I’ll make a point of it.” He leaned forward and set Julian carefully on the next step.

  “Sorry. It’s so tempting. You have a nice ass.” Julian stepped closer and continued with a sly smile. “I can’t wait to get inside it.”

  Leo couldn’t keep the grin off his face.

  Julian wound his hand in the collar of Leo’s T-shirt. “Come on. I’ve waited two years to see if you’re really as good as I remember.” He pulled a willing Leo into a kiss, all tongue and youthful enthusiasm. It made Leo feel like a fresh-minted agent himself, with the world by the tail, and the power to do anything.

  “Top of the stairs, on the right.”

  “Yum.” Julian turned and practically ran for the room, dragging Leo behind him. They rushed through the door, and then Julian was on him, and his clothes were off him, and they were both somehow naked on the bed together.

  “I need to learn to trust my memory more,” Julian muttered as he mouthed his way down Leo’s chest. “This is even nicer than what I’ve been jerking off to.”

  “I got back to the gym.” Leo gasped as Julian attacked his nipples. “You’ve been jerking off to me?”

  “That explains the six-pack. And yes. You and no one else. I couldn’t forget you.” Julian started tracing grooves, his tongue leaving hot-cold trails behind it, making Leo’s body tighten with urges moving too fast to keep up with.

  Leo propped himself up on his elbow and rested the other hand on Julian’s head. “Come up here, will you? I haven’t kissed you enough yet.”

  “Mmm. You did say you thought I was a good kisser.”

  “You remember that?”

  Julian rested his chin in Leo’s belly button, a gesture so casually intimate it stole Leo’s breath. “I remember everything you said about me.” He crawled up Leo’s body, loose-jointed and dark-eyed, his desire filling the room up until all Leo could do was pull them together and surrender.

  Leo splayed his hand over the back of Julian’s head, buried his fingers in the dark hair. It was longer than he remembered, with a touch of curl that hadn’t been there in the warehouse. It was still soft, though, and inviting to play with. He tried wrapping it around his fingers while his tongue explored Julian’s mouth, coils of desire spinning tighter every time their tongues slid hotly along each other. Faintly, over the sound of his pounding heart, he heard the noises Julian made, moans and gasps and determined little grunts punctuating dirty talk.

  “Fuck, Leo, you’re so hot. I’m so damn hard for you it hurts.” He shifted his weight to the side and reached for Leo’s cock. “I’m going to suck you. Lie still.”

  “You too,” Leo gasped. As Julian spun to suck Leo’s cock in, Leo grabbed his hips and lifted, fitting his head between Julian’s thighs. He’d tried hard not to notice Julian’s cock during the operation, and things had been so rushed and heated in Vegas there hadn’t been time to look his fill.

  It was a shame because Julian’s cock was a lot like Julian himself—well-shaped and strong, and Leo wanted it so badly. He swirled his tongue around the end and flicked the underside just behind the head.

  “Oh fuck,” Julian said. “I’m going to die.”

  “Take me with you.” Leo sucked the tip in, almost choking when Julian did the same thing. He pulled it in a little farther, and Julian followed suit. Leo let his head fall back on the bed and glanced down his body, to find Julian looking back at him. “What is this—monkey see, monkey do?”

  “The mirror game?”

  “Enough of that, you tease.” Leo bent his legs and flipped them over, startling a whoof out of Julian. Fine by him. He wiggled sideways and pinned Julian to the mattress with his arms, then swallowed him down halfway.

  Julian cried out and thrust up into Leo’s mouth. His cock bumped against the back of Leo’s mouth, then farther into his throat. Leo clamped his lips tight and sucked, pulling back until he could breathe easily. Julian was smooth beneath his tongue, the flesh giving ever so slightly under the pressure of Leo’s mouth. He played with it, running the tips of his fingers over the base, cradling Julian’s balls in his palm. Leo stretched out his other hand and rubbed it across Julian’s chest, toying occasionally with his nipples but mostly just enjoying the feel as Julian shuddered beneath his fingers.

  The first hint of bitterness hit the back of his tongue, and he trailed his lips up Julian’s shaft to lick at the head and run the edge of his tongue into the slit and then out again. Julian groaned and shivered beneath Leo’s weight, his head rolling restlessly against the covers. One of his h
ands found Leo’s and followed the path made by Leo’s arm down to clutch at his shoulder. “Leo?”

  Leo pulled off and rubbed his cheek against the curve of Julian’s hip. “Yes?”

  “This is going to be really fast if you keep that up.”

  “You’re twenty-three. I’m not worried about your ability to reload.”

  Julian lifted his head. “Then take me to your condoms.”

  Leo grinned at the joke first. Then his grin faltered. “Your blood tests…”

  “Clear.” Julian sat up, rolling Leo off his lap and onto the mattress. “Just cautious.”

  Leo sighed his relief, then… “Uh, shit.”

  “Don’t tell me you don’t have any.”

  “I didn’t think you’d come.”

  Julian lifted Leo to him for a kiss. “Oh, I plan to come. And lucky for you, I am prepared.” In a flash, he was off the bed and had bolted for the door. Leo flopped back onto the covers and listened to the thunder of his feet down the stairs, then the thump of the front door closing and Julian’s “Fuck, goddammit!” when he hit the gravel in the drive. Leo rolled over and muffled his laughter in the bedclothes, ears straining for the sound of Julian coming back.

  Moments later, the door slammed again, and Julian took the stairs at record speed. “Do you know how big the fucking bugs are out there? I thought they were going to carry me back to their nests to eat later.” He threw a bag on the floor and dug in it, tossing clothes this way and that until the box of condoms flew through the air to bounce off Leo’s hip and land on the bed. Lube followed right after. “I’ll expect you to scratch all my bug bites for me after this.”

  “I’ll be sure to do a thorough examination,” Leo said solemnly, then buried his face in the covers to snort with laughter.

  “Jerk.” Julian smacked his ass again.

  Leo rolled over. “You’re cruising for a bruising there. That’s three.”

  “I can’t help myself. It just begs for me to put my hands on it.” Julian ripped the box open, showering Leo in condoms. “Aha!” He picked one up off the hollow of Leo’s hip. “Be right with you.”

  Leo crossed his arms behind his head. “That’s okay. I like looking at you.”

  The look Julian threw him was startled and flattered, and he fumbled briefly with the condom before the package tore with a crackling rip. He rolled it on with shaking hands and grabbed for the bottle, covering himself thickly with the clear gel.

  “Wait. Let me turn on the lamp.” The light coming in the window was fading. In Vegas the room had been mostly dark. This time he wanted to see Julian. He crawled backward up the bed until he could twist the button on the base of one of the lamps. The light came on, painting Julian in warm gold and shadow.

  “Oh, God, Leo.” Julian crawled up the bed after him and lay down on top of him, spreading Leo’s legs with a brush of his hands. His cock slid in behind Leo’s balls, down his taint, and Leo’s body responded eagerly to the promise of things to come. His legs spread farther of their own accord, and his cock ached and leaked for the man so fervently working at his mouth. Julian kissed like tomorrow would never come, sucking at Leo’s lips and tongue, breaking away to rain kisses over Leo’s cheeks, his nose, the soft curve of flesh under his chin. He didn’t seem aware of the sounds he made, but Leo was hypersensitive to every soft moan, every noise of frustration that escaped Julian’s mouth.

  He ran his hands over Julian’s back, exploring the ridges of his shoulder blades, the gentle rise and fall of skin over his ribs and the bones of his spine. Then he curled his hands around the slight concavity of Julian’s waist.

  Julian moved between his legs, hips rolling, his cock sliding up and down the crack of Leo’s ass, a slow bump-and-grind that stirred Leo’s need into a torrent. “I want to fuck you,” Julian whispered into the side of Leo’s neck and closed his teeth softly over the long muscle that defined its edge.

  “You’re the one on top.”

  “Damn, you’re right.” Julian grinned at him, and his hand disappeared between them.

  Pressure at his hole told Leo that Julian was ready. He put a hand on Julian’s ass and squeezed. “Come here.”

  Julian pressed forward, and Leo felt the stretch and the slight coolness of the lube as Julian breached him. Slow, oh so slow, but wonderful all the same. He closed his eyes for a moment and let his head fall back, all his attention on that slow stretching and the low whimper Julian was making.

  It seemed to take forever for Julian to seat himself completely. A small grunt and a shifting of weight were Leo’s only warning; then Julian began pulling out again, faster this time. The head of his cock slid over Leo’s prostate. Leo sucked in a breath and opened his eyes so he could watch Julian.

  His eyes were closed, his lower lip caught between his teeth, and his breath shuddered out of him as he pushed inside again. He opened his eyes and grinned at Leo, laying one palm along Leo’s jaw. “I’m keeping you here all weekend.”

  “We have to eat sometime.” Leo wrapped his legs around Julian’s waist, hooking his heels into the hollow between his thighs. He squeezed gently, like riding a half-wild horse.

  Julian made a soft humming sound of pleasure. “But not right now.” He rocked his hips and pushed himself up on his arms, spread his knees wide.

  Leo rubbed his palms over Julian’s chest, then ran his hands around to rest in the small of Julian’s back. “No, not right now.” He curled up to kiss Julian and nipped gently at his lips. “Fuck me.”

  Julian’s eyes lit up, and he kissed Leo back, hard and greedy. Then he braced his arms and began to thrust.

  The feel of him moving inside sent electric tendrils snaking out through Leo’s body, connecting mouth to nipple, the depths of his gut, his cock and his ass, in a wide-ranging net of desire. The light flickered over Julian’s body, highlighting his eyes, his mouth, the curves and hollows of his shoulder. Leo tried to follow it, but it moved too quickly, and he was too easily distracted by the smooth skin below his fingertips, the fullness of pleasure spreading out from his center. He hitched his legs higher, chasing Julian’s cock within him. Julian laughed and pushed harder, his hips slapping against Leo’s ass, meaningless words tumbling from his mouth. No dirty talk today, though Leo hoped for it later. For now, it was the two of them, straining together to wrest that ultimate pleasure from each other’s bodies.

  “Oh fuck, so close,” Julian stammered, his eyes squeezing shut in concentration.

  “Do it.” Leo reached down to spread his hands over the backs of Julian’s hips, fingers dipping and moving with the flexing of the muscles beneath them. Julian slipped a hand between them to slide Leo’s cock through his fingers, clumsy and urgent, demanding Leo’s release. A sacrifice to Leo’s arrogant godling.

  Leo might have laughed at the thought—he wasn’t given to poetry at all—if Julian’s efforts hadn’t been quite so effective. While part of his mind remained baffled at his sudden romantic bent, the rest of him was sucked under by the flood of desire swelling through him. His body tightened, and Julian yelled something—Leo wasn’t sure what—and then Julian thrust so hard he practically bent Leo in two, and Leo was coming, marking the two of them with his pleasure, and Julian collapsed on top of him, exhausted.

  They rested a long time, neither moving except for the gradual slowing of their breaths. It felt comfortable, right, Julian’s head tucked under his chin, the heat of their bodies steaming away in the cooling night. Julian took Leo’s hand, lacing their fingers together, playing the tips of his over the backs of Leo’s.

  “So what do you think?” Julian said quietly.

  “I think you fucked my brains out.”

  Leo felt Julian’s lips twitch against the skin over his collarbone. “I mean, about us. Still think you’re too old?”

  “Depends. Do you have plans to change my mind?”

  “Greedy. Be serious a moment.”

  “All right. Yes, I’ll try.” He’d lose Julian eventually, to someone youn
ger, someone from his own generation. The sixteen years between them made it inevitable. But Leo could keep him for now and maybe delay that moment as long as possible. “Have you thought about a place to live when you get back from KC?”

  “Not really. I figured I’d stick with Dave, but he had some family problems, and he’s not living in DC anymore.” Julian lifted his head. “Are you asking me to move in with you?”

  “It’s a pretty simple solution.”

  “Pretty fast too. Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

  “I don’t have any problems with it.” Leo kept his eyes fixed firmly on the ceiling. It was too soon, but he’d always been an aggressive strategist. One of these days he’d have to stop treating his relationships like operations.

  “I’m not sure I’m ready for that.”

  “Ah.” He’d been hoping for a different answer.

  Julian lifted his head, then crawled over Leo so he could look directly into his eyes. “I could use someone to scout apartments very close to yours. Like, close enough that I could just walk over for a booty call.” He kissed Leo, a gentle kiss, with so much fire in the background it was a wonder the sheets didn’t go up in flames.

  When it ended, Leo had to ask, “Is that all I am? A booty call?” He wasn’t certain he could live with that; he wanted so much more from this bright star on top of him.

  “No.” Julian traced Leo’s bottom lip with the tip of his index finger, his brows drawn together in a frown. “It never crossed my mind. But the way we started—I don’t want that to be all we ever are, you know? I want a fresh start.” He spread his hand over Leo’s cheek. “I want to know you as you, not some crazy mix of you and Leon.”

  “Me too. Okay. One nice apartment within walking distance of my place.” It felt a little like giving up.

  “That makes me happy.” Julian stretched his neck out to drop a sweet kiss on Leo’s mouth.