More Than Everything

by Rachel Kane

  Noah was scooping up the hot water with his hands, letting it drizzle down Dalton’s back. Dalton could feel goosebumps rising all over his skin. He sighed and settled back into the tub, as Noah ran the water down his chest, the rivulets catching in his hair like little crystals reflecting back the soft lights overhead.

  “My god,” groaned Dalton, as the hot water rose to his waist. “Just bury me like this, okay?”

  “If you like this, you should really try one of the tubs at Superbia Springs. The minerals make you feel like you’re going to float on top of the water.” Then Noah suddenly pressed his lips together, as though he’d said something he shouldn’t.

  Oh, come on, you can’t be worried about me buying the place at this moment, can you? We’re supposed to be forgetting everything else in the world right now.

  Noah busied himself with pouring out bodywash onto the loofah. Then he began to make soapy circles over Dalton’s chest. It was almost too much. Dalton knew, if he let himself go, he might come right there, without even having his cock touched. He had to control himself…at least for a little while. He put his head against the back of the tub.

  “This is backwards, you know.”

  “Is it?” Noah continued making his circles, scrubbing Dalton’s shoulders now.

  “You should be in here. I should be bathing you.”

  “How do you figure?”

  “It’s a control thing. He who controls the loofah, controls the bath.”

  “Ohhh, I see. You’re afraid you might be giving up power to me, is that it? Lift your chin, let me get under there. Sometimes you have to give a little. Didn’t they teach you that in business school?”

  “All I learned in business school is how to avoid taxes and final exams.”

  “That’s too bad, because there’s going to be a test at the end of this bath.”

  He wanted to grab Noah, to drag him into the tub. What would Noah do then, with his sweater soaked and heavy with soapy water, the leather pants ruined? Would he be furious? Or would he strip them all off and sit right on Dalton’s heavy cock? It was such a gamble. He did not want to make Noah mad. Not with what he was doing right now, the kindest thing anyone had done for him in forever, these soft circles on his throat, the foam hissing lightly over his skin, just barely audible above the water flowing into the tub.

  For the second time in a few minutes, he grabbed Noah’s wrist. Just as a test. Would Noah pull away? Would he fight him?

  Instead, Noah watched him carefully, looking from where Dalton’s fingers soaked into the edge of his sweater’s sleeve, up to Dalton’s eyes. There was so much emotion in Noah’s face, but so complex that Dalton found he could not read it.

  You were born to be a wealthy man, a man with rich tastes, someone to be taken care of, someone to be treasured. I don’t know anything about your past, except that it weighs on you, and I can see it lurking there, behind every expression, every thought. You’re so much deeper than you want the world to know.

  Oh, these exhausted thoughts. He should pass out right here, let Noah keep him from drowning while he slept off this weariness in the tub. Yet he was still holding on to Noah’s wrist, and a decision had to be made. There was still a chance for Noah to yank his hand free. That would be a decisive message.

  Dalton lowered Noah’s hand. The loofah fell into the water. He kept his grip, pushing Noah’s hand down to his cock. His eyes never left Noah’s, and Noah’s did not leave his. There were no words, no signals, just a softening of Noah’s expression, as he wrapped his fingers around Dalton. Dalton let go of his wrist and closed his eyes.

  Noah’s hand clasped him, not hard, but firmly enough that there was no question that he was holding on. He drew his fingers down the length of Dalton’s cock. The shudder that went through Dalton was as strong as if the water had suddenly turned ice-cold.

  Let me forget the world. Let me forget everything. I gave you what you wanted. I gave you a look inside me…and you’re still here.

  Whatever had gone on between them just now, Dalton knew he had passed Noah’s test. Knew, with every stroke of Noah’s hand, that they had crossed some boundary, some border that had lain between them. He kept his eyes closed, even though he was desperate to look at Noah, to take in his face, to see him in this crucial moment, as a different kind of tension began building in Dalton, as the heat of Noah’s touch instantly drove him toward an inescapable endpoint.

  When it happened, he did open his eyes. When it happened, it was like all the water in the world was pouring down on him, an ocean of hot pleasure that had him raising his hips to meet Noah’s hand, had him groaning and gasping and clutching the sides of the tub as his entire body seemed to want to levitate right out of the water. “Noahhhh,” he whispered as he came, and saw that Noah’s eyes were locked on his own, that Noah’s eyes filled up his vision, until he could see nothing else.

  He came, and came, and came, amazed at the strength of the orgasm wracking him, amazed how something as simple as Noah’s hand could bring him to this point, could bring him to the brink and then shove him over, until he was falling, falling.

  That hand slowing now, gripping more softly. The thumb gently making circles on Dalton’s slit, little circles in the cum that poured out of him.

  It had an unmistakable effect on Noah. There was no misunderstanding what Dalton saw, as his vision cleared; the bulge in Noah’s tight pants, his cock straining, desperate to get out. And even after his climax, Dalton still wanted more. Once wasn’t enough. He doubted that ten times would be enough, not with the way he felt tonight.

  Still tingling from his orgasm, he reached up and grabbed Noah, dragging him into the water. Noah whooped and laughed, sliding, trying to get purchase, finally landing with his knees straddling Dalton.

  “I’m soaked!” he mock-complained, and it was true, the angora was instantly water-logged. But Dalton wouldn’t take any complaints, mock or not. He pulled Noah to him and kissed him, tasting the fresh whiskey on Noah’s lips, tasting the warmth of his tongue. He wrapped his wet arms around his back and pulled him down, down, until Noah was half-submerged in the water, his hard cock pressed against Dalton’s, only the leather between them.

  He stole this kiss from Noah, and another. Each time, Noah opened his mouth as though to say something, but Dalton was already there, teeth nibbling Noah’s lips, or tongue searching, and Noah’s breath was taken away so that there were no words at all, just the sound of the water pouring around them, splashing, their bodies making rhythmic waves as Noah began to kiss back, hard, with a hunger and need that matched Dalton’s own.

  “You…” whispered Noah between kisses.

  Dalton shook his head, no words, and sucked Noah’s lower lip into his mouth.

  “You have to fuck me. Right now.” Noah’s whisper was urgent and not to be denied.

  There would be time to question who had the power right then, Dalton, with all his money, or Noah, with his strange way of making Dalton want to obey. But that would have to be some other time, because Dalton found himself more than willing to do exactly what Noah had asked.

  18

  Noah

  “I just assumed you’d been kidnapped,” said Judah over the phone. “I’ve been checking my email for the ransom note.”

  Noah peered into the gigantic fridge, looking for something for breakfast. “Let me tell you, I haven’t woken up in a strange bed in a long, long time. I almost didn’t wake up. All I wanted to do was sleep. Dalton—”

  “If you’re about to tell me details of your billionaire sexscapade, I’m going to ask you not to.”

  He pulled a bottle of orange juice from the fridge, as well as a bottle of champagne from a lower shelf. “Ooh, he has morels. I wonder if they’re still good. Do you know how to tell?”

  “Did you say he has morals? Then why—”

  “No, morels, like the mushroom. I’m thinking I could make an omelet. Eggs, does he have eggs? He has no eggs, Judah. What kind of billionaire can’t
afford eggs?”

  “The kind who kidnaps you from your home, and then leaves before you wake up?”

  “I think he just didn’t want to disturb me. I was out cold. Besides, he’s busy. He left me a nice note. There’s prosciutto. There’s cheese. Damn it, why are there no eggs? Am I going to have to go to the store? I don’t even know where the stores are in this part of town! I’m adrift in a city no longer my own!”

  “Speaking of, when are you coming home?”

  “Um…I guess whenever I’m released from Dalton’s gilded cage?”

  During the pause that followed, he could hear Judah saying something with the phone covered, and laughter from the background. Liam and Mason, probably.

  Then suddenly Liam picked up. “All right, spill it. What did you do to him?”

  “To Judah?”

  “To Dalton. We got the news this morning, his offer has been rescinded. That Marcia lady sounded pretty steamed. So are we back on track with the grant application?”

  He looked at the phone like it was speaking gibberish. Dalton decided not to try to buy Superbia Springs…but didn’t tell Noah about it?

  I’ve always called my ass magical, but I didn’t realize just how magical it was!

  “I haven’t spoken to him this morning,” he said. “I don’t even know what time he left. I’m going to wander around his apartment and snoop. Who knows what secrets lurk within his sock drawer?”

  “Please don’t do anything to piss him off,” Liam said.

  “You missed the part where he’s not here. He won’t know I’m snooping.”

  “If he’s giving us a second chance at the grant, you cannot do anything wrong!”

  “Like I did in my speech to the town council?”

  “Noah… I can hear the tone in your voice. Please stop messing with me. We need that grant.”

  He sighed into the phone. “Why do you automatically assume I’m going to wreck something? We slept together, okay? It was great. Fantastic, in fact. I’m not going to ruin that.”

  “You don’t have the greatest record with men,” Liam pointed out. “They often end up mad at you.”

  “Your faith in me is touching. See you soon.”

  “Wait, promise me—”

  He tapped the button and made the call go away, then set the phone on the counter. “All right, kitchen. Which button do I press to make breakfast magically appear?”

  Half an hour later, the TV flashed on, and when he looked up at it, there was Dalton staring down at him. “Oh good, you found something to eat.”

  Noah, as startled as he was puzzled, looked around. “How did you do that? Am I on TV too? Are there cameras? I swear I wasn’t snooping!”

  Dalton laughed. “It’s just some teleconference software hooked up to the TV. Don’t worry, I’m not spying on you. Although I did stare at you for a while this morning while you slept. I’m sorry I had to leave, but I got a message from work—”

  “The note you left was very sweet.”

  Was that a bashful look? God, blown up on the big screen like this, every detail of Dalton’s eyes was huge, beautiful. Suddenly Noah wanted a big wall-sized poster of those eyes to hang up in his room.

  “Listen, things promise to keep being busy around here, and I wanted to give you the option of heading home, and I’ll drive down the minute I can—”

  “You’re kicking me out?”

  Dalton laughed. “Colby’s furious that I left for even a few hours. I have the feeling I’ll be here all night again. Don’t worry, I’ll come see you, I promise.”

  “Speaking of home, a little bird tells me you withdrew your offer to buy Superbia Springs.”

  Dalton had the most interesting expression then, one that Noah at first didn’t know how to read; he sat back in his chair, getting further from the camera. Lifting a hand to his face, he seemed to be shielding himself. Was he embarrassed? Nervous about how Noah would take it?

  “I was hoping to tell you that myself…I should’ve called earlier.”

  “You should’ve called in sick to work and stayed in bed.” He aimed a pout at the TV.

  “You do the petulant thing very well. I’d offer to bring you over here to work, but unless you know how to do revenue forecasting—”

  “Nope, sorry, I missed that day at Farmer Joe’s Cow College.”

  “Why don’t I send you the car? You can see the city before you go home, maybe do a little shopping for some clothes that aren’t ruined.”

  Noah felt the beginnings of a blush, and hoped it couldn’t be seen on-screen. “I didn’t really bring money…”

  “No, no, you’ll use my card.”

  “Come on, I can’t do that.”

  Dalton rolled his eyes. “I completely wrecked your outfit. You can’t wear that bathrobe all day. I mean, you could, it looks good on you, but how are you going to ride home with no clothes?”

  “It’s a private limo.”

  “It’s not a private interstate.”

  “We slept together, Dalton.” Noah blurted it out, and found the words had so much weight to them. So much weight.

  “We did a lot more than sleep.”

  “You don’t think there’s anything a little weird about you buying me an entire new wardrobe the day after I got in the tub with you?”

  “I don’t recall saying an entire new wardrobe.”

  “Oh, I see, there are limits to your generosity. Maybe I should’ve kept you in the tub a little longer.”

  By now, Dalton was laughing so hard it must have been calling attention to him, because he looked up somewhere beyond the screen and nodded to someone. “Okay, okay, look, buy whatever you want. I’ll let you know when I’m able to escape from here. I’ve got to go, we’ve got another board meeting. But Noah…?”

  “Yeah?”

  “I… I’m glad you came.”

  The temptation to say something ironic was almost overwhelming, but in the end, Noah said the simple truth: “I’m glad too.”

  He stared at his phone. Six simple digits. One more would make seven, a phone number, would connect a call he had not made in years and years.

  I’m in Atlanta, he said to himself. It’s a natural time to call.

  After all this time?

  It was the same battle he fought every time he came back here. Somehow, when he’d lived here, he’d never felt the temptation to call.

  She’d probably just hang up on you anyway.

  There was that.

  He and his mom hadn’t gotten along well, those last few years he was living at home. The constant boyfriend trouble, the struggle to put food on the table, the taunting of his classmates whenever Liam and Judah weren’t there to defend him—it had made every conversation with his mother fraught.

  That last note he’d left her…

  Dear Bonnie, I can’t do this anymore.

  He’d torn it up and put it into the trashcan.

  Had she read it anyway? Because after that last time of running away, she didn’t come after him.

  For once, she’d given up on him.

  It had been all the signal he’d needed, to know he made the right decision.

  They had hardly spoken since.

  And now he was back in town, in the back of a limousine, and his phone screen glowed with her number, almost her number, he just needed one more digit—

  He clicked the off button and lay the phone face-down on the seat beside him.

  No.

  Not right now.

  Not with all that he was feeling.

  A battle would just bring him down off this high.

  “Oh my god,” said Judah. “What did you do?”

  Noah brushed past him, shopping bags in hand, then spun around to model his outfit. “Do you like it?”

  “It’s very…you. Except that’s not what you were wearing yesterday.”

  “One does have to change clothes occasionally,” Noah said. “Oh, Judah, it was incredible. All these places I’ve only window-shopped, a
nd I went in and bought things.”

  “With what money?”

  He showed off his floral-print shirt. “This is Gucci, and the pants are Prada, and I said they were too expensive, but Dalton’s driver was with me and he said The man told you to buy some clothes, you better enjoy it while it lasts, and I was so nervous—”

  Judah burst out laughing and shook his head. “This is the most excited I’ve ever seen you. And over clothes.”

  “Not clothes. Not just clothes. You should have seen Dalton’s apartment. You should have seen his tub!”

  “We have tubs here. Hot springs resort, remember? Lots of tubs.”

  “I know, but…” Noah took a breath and grinned. “I had a really good time with him. That’s all.”

  “Are you two…?”

  “I don’t know! Maybe? Maybe not? He’s going to drive down when he has a chance, so we can see each other again. I was going to text him from the car but I thought that might be too needy. Would it have been? Should I text him now? Should I—”

  “Well, well,” said Liam, emerging from his office with Roo. “The prodigal friend returns. Whatever you did to convince Dalton not to buy the place, thank you.”

  “He sold his body for us,” Judah said in a dramatic stage-whisper.

  “Hush,” said Noah. “I did no such thing. We didn’t even talk about the house.”

  Liam’s hand was on his shoulder, squeezing it, pulling Noah in for a hug. “Then maybe you’re just our good-luck charm. Because I have been worried sick these past few days, thinking I was going to lose this place, and now you arrive with…well, quite a few shopping bags, and news that we’re safe, and…”

  “Are you crying?” asked Judah.

  Liam scowled. “I am not.”

  “There’s a tear in your eye!”