“You want me to drop you at Jake’s house?” Alan asked as they got closer to the town center.
“No, I was thinking about grabbing some breakfast from the diner first. But thanks.”
“Sure thing. And if you need a lift back to the house later, call me.”
“I will.” He pushed open the door but then paused. “And thank you. It means a lot, that you’re helping me. I don’t know what I would have done—”
He had to take a breath to stop himself getting all emotional again.
“Don’t mention it, son. It’s what family is for.” Alan sent him an affectionate smile.
“Try telling my dad that,” he muttered.
“Well, it might do for me to go talk with him. Just try not to worry about it today, okay?”
Danny nodded and climbed out of the SUV. “Thanks, I’ll see you later.”
He shut the door and sent Alan a wave, before heading into the diner. It was still pretty early, earlier than the normal prework breakfast rush, so the place wasn’t packed. There were a few people here and there having breakfast; a couple of them were familiar faces, but no one he knew too well. That was the thing living somewhere like Everness and his dad owning the main garage in town—he’d pretty much met everyone at some stage or another. Still, he swore he got more than a few double takes and whispers following him. Hard to tell if it was from the accident in Jake’s Jeep, the incident at his house last night, or finding the dead body in the trunk of the car yesterday. Oh, or from the bruises he was likely sporting this morning thanks to his dad. Probably all of the above would be enough to keep the town gossip mill spinning for several months.
He ordered a couple of breakfast sandwiches that didn’t take long to cook and a couple of to-go coffees and then made his way to Jake’s house, hoping the food would still be hot enough when he arrived… and that Jake would be awake.
Even though Jake had said he got up early every morning to go jogging, they’d had a pretty late night, and the doctors had given Jake a couple of days off work, despite the fact he’d walked away with only a few minor bruises. Not to mention the car accident itself—Jake could have easily decided to sleep in.
However, as he juggled the coffees and paper bag to open the gate, Jake’s front door swung open and he came bounding out, obviously heading off for his morning run and definitely not looking like he’d driven his Jeep into a ditch last night.
“Danny!” A wide smile broke over Jake’s face as he came forward and took the coffee from him. “What are you doing here?”
“I thought—” A sudden bout of nerves struck him, and he stumbled over the words. “Breakfast?”
He held up the paper bag and Jake nodded, before leaning in to kiss him on the cheek.
“Breakfast with you? Sounds much better than running.”
Jake took his hand and led him inside. He’d done a little more unpacking since the last time Danny had been here, but not much. Mostly it just looked like he’d taken stuff out of boxes and hadn’t found places to put it yet. It was definitely more cluttered.
They went into the kitchen, and Jake set the coffees on the counter before taking the paper bag from him and setting it down as well.
“How are you this morning?” Jake turned to face him, hands settling on Danny’s hips. “If the accident wasn’t bad enough, what happened with your dad—”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
Concern edged into Jake’s features. “Danny, you can’t just pretend like it didn’t happen.”
“I’m not. I won’t.” He took a breath, not wanting to let his emotions bubble up again when he’d finally gotten a handle on them. “I just want to take today, get some distance. I’ll deal with it tomorrow. We can talk about it as much as you want, just not today.”
“Okay,” Jake agreed, understanding in his hazel eyes. “I get it. Actually, it’s probably a good idea.”
“See, I’m not just a pretty face.” It was a dumb joke, but Jake smiled nonetheless.
“You do have a gorgeous face, though,” Jake murmured before slowly leaning in to kiss him.
Danny immediately relaxed into his hold, sinking into the kiss and letting it wash away every bad thing that had happened. One of Jake’s hands skimmed up to the back of his neck as he deepened the kiss. Jake’s tongue slid sensuously against his, leaving him groaning and pulling Jake harder against him. The energy between them went from comforting to scorching in a single heartbeat.
Maybe it was one of those life-affirming things, or maybe a way for them to both escape the bad things that’d happened last night, but Danny was warming up all over, getting antsy like he was wearing too many clothes. Jake dragged his mouth away from his, kissing and sucking a path along his jaw and down his neck in a way that left him shuddering. Then somehow they started moving, Jake backing him up even as he pushed Danny’s jacket off his shoulders.
“What about breakfast? It’s going to get cold.” His words came out ragged because he couldn’t seem to draw a full breath. But he didn’t care. He didn’t need oxygen; he just needed Jake.
“Not hungry.” Jake dropped his jacket aside between kisses and then started tugging at his T-shirt. “Are you?”
Pulling back, Jake drew his own shirt off in one smooth movement and then carelessly tossed it aside. His lean muscles rippled, bronze skin smooth and looking too tempting in the golden morning sun streaming in through the kitchen windows.
“Nope, not in the least,” he replied hurriedly, gripping a handful of Jake’s thick dark hair and pulling him back into a melting kiss.
They managed to make it to Jake’s bedroom, leaving a trail of clothes and shoes, until by the time they fell onto the bed together, they were both completely naked.
Just as Danny was trying to decide exactly how he wanted Jake, he abruptly stopped to look at him carefully. “Is this okay? Your head isn’t hurting, is it?”
A swell of affection burned in his chest at Jake’s concern, competing with the tight-strung frustration needing release within him.
“I’m fine. The doctor said the concussion was very mild and should be fine after twenty-four hours.”
Jake’s lips pressed together. “It hasn’t been twenty-four hours yet. You’ve been through a lot—”
Danny rolled them so he ended up on top, slipping between Jake’s thighs so their hips pressed together. Danny groaned as their erections rubbed against each other. Damn, had anything had ever felt so good?
“I’m fine,” he repeated, breath short. “And if I’m not, I’ll tell you.”
“Take it slow,” Jake cautioned with one last frown.
Danny dropped down and caught Jake’s mouth, and this time the kiss got a little wilder, until Jake gently bit down on his lower lip, making Danny buck against him at the onslaught of unexpected sensation.
Jake shifted restlessly, and Danny broke the kiss but slid down a little, laving his tongue across Jake’s chest, tasting all that skin he’d been staring at moments ago. Jake reached over to the nightstand and yanked open a drawer, rummaging around and then settling again a moment later with a bottle of lube and a condom.
Jake pressed them into his hand. “I want you deep, Danny.”
His heart kicked against his ribs, and he pushed up on his arms to stare down at Jake.
“You want me to?”
Jake’s brow creased. “Well, not if you don’t want to. We don’t have to—I just thought—There’re plenty of other things we can do.”
“No.” He covered Jake’s hand. “I want to. I just don’t— I’ve never— It was always the other way around for me.”
Jake’s eyes widened a little, breath catching. “You’ve never been on top?”
Danny cursed and pushed off Jake to sit up, facing away from him, feeling like an idiot.
“Danny.” Jake’s hand landed gently on his shoulder. “There’s nothing wrong with that. I’m a little surprised, but honestly, it’s fucking amazing, the idea that I get to be yo
ur first.”
Danny looked back at him as Jake ran a hand over his shoulder, nothing but tender affection in his gaze.
“We don’t have to do anything that makes you uncomfortable, Danny. If you want to get dressed and go have breakfast, that’s fine.”
He huffed out a sigh, because just like that, Jake had put him at ease again. “How do you always know the right thing to say?”
Jake shrugged with a quick grin. “It might be my superpower.”
Danny shook his head in exasperation and then shifted around to kiss him briefly before pulling back to stare into his eyes. “You’re sure?”
Jake’s gaze darkened slightly, but he nodded, pulling Danny down on top of him again.
Danny kissed him, and this time there was a slow burning anticipation between them, the wildness and desperation of earlier having dissipated. Jake murmured suggestions to him, guiding them both until Danny found himself slowly pushing into Jake’s body.
When he was finally buried deep inside him, they both groaned, keeping still as they adjusted to the gentle intrusion.
“Oh God, so tight,” he muttered, clenching his fists into the sheets near Jake’s shoulders. It was indescribable, the sensations coursing through his body like lava. “Jake, I’m not going to last long.”
“It’s okay,” Jake returned on a ragged breath, reaching down to wrap a hand around himself. “Neither am I.”
The sight of Jake stroking himself sent a new burst of pleasure through Danny and he drew back slightly, testing the range of motion and sensation before thrusting forward again. He matched his rhythm to the stroke of Jake’s hand, adjusting his angle in a way that ended up making him go even deeper, and left Jake arching against him with a strangled curse.
Jake’s free hand clamped on his ass, fingers digging in, and Danny was done for. He plunged forward one last time, unable to hold back a shout as he came deep inside Jake, dimly aware of Jake shuddering beneath him and moaning loudly.
Danny collapsed on top of him, every limb turned to jelly in an instant.
Oh damn. That’d been so much better than he’d ever imagined. He’d never wanted to do that with any of the other guys he’d slept with, always satisfied enough being on the receiving end, so to speak. There was something unspeakably intimate about it—for him, anyway—and he was glad he’d waited to find someone as amazing as Jake to share it with.
“That was intense,” he mumbled, barely even able to get the words out.
Jake gave an affectionate laugh. “So, good, then?”
“Oh yeah. So good.” He sighed, relaxing even more as Jake wrapped his arms around him. The sleep that’d eluded him at dawn came out of nowhere, leaving him yawning.
Jake rolled them so Danny ended up on his side next to him.
“It’s still early. Maybe you should get some more rest.” Jake ran a hand through his hair in a way that practically left him purring.
“You need to wake me up in a few hours. That’s what the doctor said last night,” he told Jake as his heavy eyes fell shut like they had a mind of their own.
“Okay, I can do that,” Jake whispered. “Don’t worry. Just go to sleep.”
Danny thought he might have nodded, but he wasn’t sure, because in another second, he’d sunk into a blissful sleep.
Chapter Nineteen
JAKE GLANCED down from the book he’d been reading for the last few hours as Danny stirred, nuzzling closer. He’d been too awake to go back to sleep himself, but he’d also wanted to stay in bed while Danny slept, so he’d retrieved the crime novel he was halfway through reading and settled in for a lazy morning.
Danny was snuggled up against his side, head resting on his chest, sleeping soundly while Jake had occasionally brushed his fingers through the dark blond locks with idle strokes. Now, Danny’s breathing changed as he woke, shifting a little before stretching.
“What’s the time?” Danny murmured, bringing his head up to look at him.
“A little before noon,” he replied, leaning down to catch his lips in a lazy kiss.
“Breakfast will definitely be cold by now,” Danny said with a sigh when he pulled back.
“We can reheat it and call it lunch.” He set the book aside and then rolled onto Danny without warning, sealing their mouths together, the kiss deep and insistent.
Danny made a sexy little noise in the back of his throat, and any idea of getting out of bed for food fled his mind. He pulled away from Danny’s mouth, but only far enough to find his jaw, then kiss his way down his neck. Just below his collarbone, he paused to suck a little harder, making Danny arch beneath him with a groan. By the time he was done, a faint bruise had darkened Danny’s light skin and for some reason, he was way too satisfied with the idea of marking him.
Jake shifted his mouth onward, taking his time to kiss and stroke every inch of Danny’s body, learning where he was just the slightest bit ticklish, the places that made him sigh, and the places that made him moan.
When Danny was shifting restlessly beneath him, all but begging for mercy and Jake’s own erection was so hard he ached, he finally gave up the game.
“Roll over,” he murmured against the skin of Danny’s hip, where he’d been kissing a teasing path—everywhere but the one place he knew Danny really wanted his mouth.
Danny made a frustrated noise but complied, turning onto his stomach and fisting the pillow. Jake nudged his legs apart, settling between his thighs as he started kissing up along Danny’s spine.
“Jake,” Danny groaned, thrusting shamelessly into the mattress beneath him. “You’re driving me crazy. I don’t know how much more I can take.”
“That’s the point,” he replied, grinning at the unintelligible protest Danny made when he traced his fingers lightly over the curve of Danny’s ass. “What exactly do you want me to do about it?”
“Everything,” Danny demanded, pushing back against him. “I want everything. All of you.”
The words made his stomach flip over, made the next caress of Danny’s gorgeous body a little more reverent. Reaching over to the nightstand, he grabbed the lube, then took his time teasing Danny to the edge of sanity and making sure he was ready. He managed to torture himself almost as thoroughly, however, and by the time he rolled on the condom and slid home, both of them were almost desperate.
Danny had shifted to his knees and shoved back even as Jake thrust forward, sealing them together as deeply as possible. Reaching around, he took Danny’s erection in his palm, and when he stroked up and over the head, it was already damp and dripping.
Knowing Danny was so close snapped the last of his control. He surged against him with little restraint—wilder, more frantic, the energy building between them bright and explosive. And when the detonation came, it was all-consuming, taking him under in a way he’d never experienced before. But he welcomed the burn, relishing the feel of Danny tightening around him as he came, even as Danny spilled over his hand.
Danny sunk against the mattress, and Jake slumped across him, trying to catch his breath as his heart thundered.
“Fuck, that was amazing,” Danny breathed out, sounding way too satisfied with himself.
“Yeah,” he agreed on a sigh, since any other words were beyond him right at that second.
Danny shifted and Jake lifted up enough for him to slip out from beneath him. They lay on their sides facing each other, Danny flinging a leg over his thigh and pulling him closer.
“I’m thinking we should just spend all day in bed,” Danny murmured, staring at him with a hooded, satisfied gaze.
“Have you eaten today?” he asked, stroking his fingers down the middle of Danny’s chest.
“Does one cup of coffee count? If so, then totally yes.”
He shook his head in mock disapproval and pushed up on his elbow. “Come on, shower and then food.”
“Shower?” Danny repeated as he sat up, looking eager.
Jake laughed as he took his hand and tugged him off the bed. “Yes,
shower. As in, getting clean. Nothing else.”
Danny sent him an exaggerated pout. “Where’s the fun in that?”
Jake rolled his eyes as he led him into the bathroom and started running the faucets. Once the temperature was right, Danny hustled him under the water with a kiss, but didn’t stop with just his mouth. Oh no, Danny seemed intent on paying him back for the earlier torture, dropping to his knees as he kissed him all over, but eventually took him into his mouth.
Jake didn’t think he could possibly get hard again so soon after the mind-blowing sex they’d just had, but Danny’s lips and tongue all over him proved to be too much of a turn-on. In an almost embarrassingly short amount of time, he found himself scrabbling for purchase against the tiles as his knees threatened to give out. This time the orgasm washed over him slow and steady like calming waves as Danny eased him through with every stroke of his tongue.
After, he dragged Danny up and kissed him, long and languidly, enjoying the warm afterglow and the slick of their wet bodies pressing together.
Eventually they got out of the shower—mostly because the water went cold from the ancient water heater system attached to his house. After they dressed between kisses and finally made it to the kitchen, they ended up deciding the breakfast Danny had bought was a lost cause, so Jake made a batch of the pancakes he’d promised last week.
As they settled down to eat, Danny’s relaxed mood seemed to fade.
“Something wrong?” he asked as pensiveness edged into Danny’s features.
“I need to go to my parents’ house and get some stuff.”
Said like he was talking about going to his own execution. Jake reached across the table and took his hand.
“It’s fine. I’ll come with you. Your father will probably be in the garage, not the house, right? And if he even looks at you the wrong way, I’ll have the sheriff there faster than you can say homophobic asswipe.”
The ghost of a smile passed over Danny’s lips. “Thanks. You mind if we get it over with as soon as we’re done eating?”
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