“Because he’s Kade, that’s why,” Ian shouted over the music. “And that’s why we love him. Kade doesn’t hit on other guys. He waits for them to hit on him first, and he definitely doesn’t take people home—not until he’s got a solid character reference first.”
Ian and Paul dissolved into laughter, and Kade wanted to throw his drink on them. He decided to down it instead before getting himself another one while his friends’ laughter still rang in his ears.
He knew they were just trying to be playful. They probably thought that if they teased him enough, they might spur him into action or at least make him laugh, but their words were cutting too close to barely healed scars.
He turned and propped himself against the bar again, using his hip to shunt Ian and Paul a little farther away as they resumed the important task of eating each other’s face off. He looked about the club, wondering how long it would be until he could beat a hasty retreat—and there he was.
Blake.
He was on the dance floor, a tight vest accentuating his strong biceps, broad shoulders, tan skin and slim hips. He was wearing the same baggy jeans he had been wearing earlier. Kade wondered if he’d traded the flip-flops for something more appropriate, but he couldn’t see for the young guy who was dancing against Blake.
‘Attempting to climb his body like it was a tree’ would have been a more appropriate description of those dance moves. Kade sighed again, mentally chastising himself. He didn’t know when he had gotten prudish and so fucking old.
Kade made himself watch, made himself pay attention as the young guy moved his hips against Blake’s crotch while Blake smoothed his hands down the guy’s bare back. The kid looked up and leaned in for a kiss. Blake ducked out of reach, spinning the guy so he was facing the other way, stroking across the guy’s lean chest.
Seeing those big, tan hands contrasted against the young guy’s pale skin made Kade remember how rough and calloused they were. That, in turn, got Kade wondering what Blake’s hands would look like on his own chest, and it must have been something to do with the combination of wine and vodka and rare steak for dinner because that thought got Kade’s already-tight jeans feeling even tighter.
Blake left his dance partner and headed for the other end of the bar. With Ian’s words still ringing in his ears, he downed yet another drink then dumped his glass and took as deep a breath as his nerves would allow before starting to push through the crowds to where Blake had managed to clear a space for himself.
Ian grabbed his arm before he could get more than three steps away. “Where the fuck do you think you’re going? You are not leaving yet. The night has only just started, and you’re bloody well going to see it through to the end.”
Kade shook his head and smiled. “I’m not leaving,” he shouted before pulling free.
He made his way slowly over to Blake, keeping close to the relative calm of the curving bar. He stepped in beside his Mr. Australia. Blake didn’t turn to look at him.
Even given the circumstances, Kade assumed it was still acceptable to start with, “Hello.”
Blake turned his head and Kade felt that warmth he had felt with his back to the fish tanks in the Asian supermarket.
“Hi,” Blake said, his voice deep enough to carry against the music.
He turned, opening his body and inviting Kade to step closer. Kade did. He wanted to, wanted to see if that strange connection was still there between them.
“Who’s your friend?” Kade asked.
Blake just shrugged. “Don’t know. Just some kid. Art student, apparently. He was a good dancer, though.”
“Not a good kisser?”
Blake looked Kade up and down, taking his time doing so. Kade had firmly believed the idea that someone could undress you with their eyes was a concept fit only for the cheap romance novels his mum used to read, but he couldn’t think of a better way to describe what Blake was doing to him. The words needed to describe how that made Kade feel wouldn’t be fit for polite company—not that Kade was really in polite company.
“I wouldn’t know. Didn’t want to kiss him.” Blake reached out to stroke down Kade’s right arm from his shoulder to his wrist. He left it there for a few moments, holding tight, then pulled Kade’s hand to his hip. Kade teased Blake’s tight, strong stomach muscles with his thumb. When Blake let go, Kade didn’t move his hand away.
“Why didn’t you want to?” Kade couldn’t stop staring into those bright blue eyes.
Blake shrugged and wrapped his hand around Kade’s neck. “He’s not my type. And I was hoping I would meet someone else here tonight. I thought it was a long shot, but I didn’t want to take the risk and ruin my chances.”
Despite his recent drink, Kade’s throat felt dry. He didn’t even care if that was a lie. Blake was rubbing Kade’s neck just below his hairline.
“Who were you hoping to meet?” Kade asked.
Blake tugged him in close so their bodies were pressing together. Kade slipped his hand around Blake’s back, holding on tight as Blake brought his lips to the side of Kade’s neck.
“You,” Blake whispered. They were so close to the loudspeakers that the word should have been lost, but Kade heard that loaded syllable that translated to heat through his body, like he was stepping into a hot bath.
“Are you here with somebody?”
Kade shook his head. Blake spread his legs. There was barely any distance left between them.
“Then would you mind if I did this?”
Kade turned his head to find Blake’s lips less than an inch away from his own. He smiled and tried for one of those winks he was so not used to giving before letting Blake close the distance between them.
Blake pressed their lips together in one long, soft touch and wrapped his fingers in Kade’s hair. Kade followed suit, twining his hands in Blake’s long, blond locks. Just as Kade was about to deepen the kiss, Blake pulled away. He smiled.
“I’ve been thinking about doing that all day.”
Kade was glad it was dark at the bar, the strobe lights directed at the dance floor, because he started to flush. He cleared his throat and tried to sound a lot calmer than he felt. With his Mr. Australia pressed so close to him, Kade realized Blake was hard. He could feel a good length waiting for him, with more of that warmth that seemed to radiate from Blake’s skin. Kade might be boring, but he was still a man. He was pretty sure he knew which brain was about to take control of proceedings, but there was something he wanted to say first.
“Listen,” he said as Blake stroked down to his hips. “If it still stands, I’d like to take you up on that offer of lunch from earlier.”
Blake pushed against him, still smiling. “It’s a little late for lunch, don’t you think?”
Kade shrugged. For a second, he wondered if that was a rejection, but Blake wrapped his arms around Kade’s waist. Kade knew what was coming next. He dropped one hand onto the Aussie’s strong chest and used the other to trace his bottom lip. Blake stared at him, like he was leaving it up to Kade to bring them together. Kade pressed his mouth where his thumb had been, allowing his hand free to tangle back into Blake’s long hair.
When Blake parted his lips, Kade tasted rum on his breath, and when he opened his mouth, Kade pushed inside to kiss the bitterness away, so he could discover the taste of the man himself.
Faced with soft lips, rough stubble and the gentle probing of Blake’s tongue, Kade let the music fade away to nothing. All that remained were the vibrations, the steady pulse of the base seeming to match the solid thump of his pulse. He was aware of the writhing bodies around them, the energy in the room that helped make kissing a stranger the natural thing to do. Kade concentrated on the kiss and on Blake, who tasted so different from Niall—sweet and hot, even after Kade had kissed away the taste of the rum.
He moved differently too. He clearly knew exactly how to stroke and push, canting his hips gently to meet Kade’s. He felt powerful, not just because of his solid muscles, but as a result of his
confidence that showed in the way he moved. Kade was pretty sure that if he got lightheaded from the lack of oxygen reaching his brain, Blake would be strong enough to hold him up.
Blake dragged him in closer still, until Blake tightened his thighs ever so slightly around him, pinning him in place. He didn’t think he could have disentangled himself in a hurry even if he’d wanted to, but he pulled his mouth away reluctantly, breathing hard. His heart kept up the steady pulse, the bass rocking his body as he held on to Blake. Blake looked flushed, his lips dark with blood.
“How about breakfast instead?” Blake asked, not letting go of him.
Kade kept one hand wound tight in Blake’s hair as he nodded.
“Breakfast sounds good to me. Do you want to wait for your drink?” He gestured to the bar as Blake freed one hand and brought it between them, placing it on Kade’s chest and moving it, pausing over his hard nipples before heading south to rest at the waistband of Kade’s jeans. Blake stroked across the sensitive skin and hair just above his boxers and Kade failed to stifle a groan.
“I didn’t get a chance to order one.”
“Thank fuck for that.” Kade hadn’t meant to say the words out loud, but when he did, Blake laughed.
Blake pushed him back a little, creating enough space between them to let Blake slip a hand beneath the waistband of his own jeans. Kade watched him adjust the denim over that impressive erection before Blake threw one arm around Kade’s shoulders and tangled his other hand in his T-shirt. He started to pull Kade toward the exit.
Kade was fighting a fleeting urge to look over at where he’d left Paul and Ian when Blake leaned in to whisper, “I hope you live close, Kade.”
“Not close enough, but I know where we can get a taxi.”
Chapter Five
Show Me the Bedroom
It took Kade three attempts to get his key into the lock on his apartment door. Blake’s assault on the back of his neck was pretty distracting. When the door finally swung open, they stumbled into the living room without turning on the lights.
Kade’s pulse was flying. It hadn’t really calmed since the club. His hands were shaking as he pulled at Blake’s clothes. They had kissed in the taxi, not able to keep their hands off each other, and when they’d tripped and fallen on the stairs inside Kade’s apartment building, Blake landing on top and pushing his hips against Kade’s, Kade worried they weren’t going to make it to his apartment at all, let alone his bed.
Despite the desperation in their touches, Blake’s heavy breathing and the ache in Kade’s groin, Kade didn’t feel like Blake was pushing him, but he could tell the other man was savoring every touch and kiss, just as he was.
The part of Kade that could still think straight felt a little nervous as Blake pushed him back against the front door, sucking and nipping at his neck. It had been such a long time since Kade had been with anyone other than Niall, and Niall’s horrible words were still lurking close to the surface of his consciousness.
What if we get to bed and Blake finds me boring? What if I’m too dull and too inexperienced for someone who seems as worldly as he does? A little voice in Kade’s head was shouting at him that he didn’t behave this way. He did not bring random men back to his flat to fuck. Anything could happen. A stranger could turn faster than wind in a storm, hence Ian’s little joke about Kade always needing a character reference. But he felt safe with Blake. Those hands, big and strong and rough though they were, felt reassuring on his body.
Kade reached down to pull Blake’s lips back to his. He let Blake’s kiss and the alcohol still coursing through his system drown out the doubts in his head, killing off his insecurities with a bolt of desire so strong that Kade soon felt like he wasn’t sure where he was anymore. Everything felt alien to him—different and new and fresh—with Blake brushing his tongue against his.
Kade let Blake drag them both toward the sofa. Their trip across the living room sent an end table crashing to the ground but Kade didn’t give a damn.
The only light was coming from the streetlight outside his living room window, but that was enough for what Kade wanted to see, and there was something comforting about the blanket of darkness.
Kade pushed Blake down into the middle of the sofa. Blake spread his legs, stroking across the thick muscles of his legs under the baggy denim jeans. Kade took a step back, his jeans too tight across his crotch and his breath coming too fast and hard as he looked down at Blake.
Blake’s chest was rising and falling quickly too. His abs were perfectly defined under his vest, and Kade could make out the outline of that nipple piercing again. He wanted to see it. Touch it. Taste it.
As if reading his mind, Blake grabbed hold of the bottom of his shirt and yanked it over his head in one fluid movement. He threw the shirt, and Kade didn’t bother looking to see where it had landed. Everything he wanted to see was in front of him. Well, not quite everything. The sight of Blake’s fingers on the top button of his fly silenced that nagging voice in Kade’s head completely, and Kade dropped to his knees in front of Blake to help the man lose his jeans as quickly as possible.
Blake kicked off his shoes—boots instead of the flip-flops he had been wearing earlier—leaving Kade to tangle his fingers in the buttons of Blake’s baggy Levi’s, but before Kade could strip him of his jeans, Blake pulled him up onto the couch.
Kade straddled Blake, feeling Blake’s erection pulsing underneath him. He groaned and leaned in for another kiss, stroking up Blake’s smooth chest until he found the little bar punched through Blake’s left nipple. He rubbed gently across the bar and got a better reaction than he had been hoping for.
Blake dropped his head away from the kiss onto the back of the sofa. He started moaning—deep, rough, guttural noises that went straight through Kade, stirring his already painfully hard cock. Kade shuffled backward to press his lips against Blake’s chest so he could flick that bar with his tongue.
Blake groaned again and grabbed Kade’s short, brown hair. Kade flicked his tongue across the piercing again, wondering what sounds he would hear if he sucked that nipple between his lips, but before he could find out, Blake was pushing him down.
Kade pulled free and slid from the couch. He dropped hard onto the wooden floorboards. Kade couldn’t remember the last time he’d gotten on his knees for anyone. Niall never got off on having his cock in Kade’s mouth. Before Kade could get control of himself, the little voice in his head spoke up, offering the possibility that Niall’s reaction said something unpleasant about his technique. He tried to shake those thoughts away.
Kade focused on Blake as the man lifted his hips to shove down his jeans. The buttons popped open around Blake’s swollen cock. Before the doubts built up, Kade reached forward and took hold of Blake. Rough hairs stroked his fingers. He stretched up, spread himself across Blake’s thighs and pulled his hard member into his mouth.
It may have been a long time, but some things were impossible to forget—the stretch of jaw, the weight of an erect penis, the taste, the shocking intimacy, the trust… Kade flicked his tongue across Blake’s cockhead, tasting salt. Then he swallowed him down.
The taste was so alien and yet so familiar. Kade breathed through his nose so he could take Blake deeper, keeping everything tight and hot as Blake clamped his fingers almost painfully into his hair. Blake’s breathing become erratic, and he heard the groans that were dying on Blake’s tongue. He looked up and saw the Aussie staring at him, his pupils dilated and lips parted. Kade watched him try for a smile and almost manage it, but then he stroked his thumb across that metal bar and Blake dropped his head onto the sofa like someone was yanking his head back with a string.
Kade stole another breath and took Blake even deeper, until he could feel Blake’s cockhead rubbing at the back of his throat. He used his hand to stroke the inches he couldn’t fit into his mouth as he used his tongue to lap and push against the thick vein pulsing in Blake’s cock. He recognized the telltale signs before Blake gripped him ti
ghter, pulling him off. Kade sat back and stroked Blake’s penis gently. The skin was so hot and stretched so tight that Kade wondered if Blake was riding the same pleasure-pain knife edge that he was.
Blake’s hand joined his on his now rock-hard cock. Something about the way Blake’s stomach heaved—the muscles there tense—made Kade desperate to get back to where they had left off. He knew Blake was close.
“I’ll come if you do that again,” Blake said, his voice so rough and raw that it sounded like he’d been the one with a cock down his throat.
“Then why would I stop?”
It took Blake a long time to get the words out. “Because I don’t want to come like that. God, I do, I really do, but I don’t. I want to be inside you, at least touch inside you.” Blake let go and took hold of Kade’s hand instead. “Can I do that? Please, Kade. I really want to fuck you. I want to hear what noises you make when I’m buried inside you. I’ll make it so good.”
Kade smiled—or at least he tried to. He wanted to smile, wanted to tell Blake that as dirty as those words were, they amounted to the best thing Kade had heard in a very long time. But that nagging voice was back. He wasn’t good enough, not making enough noise, not getting Blake off, not doing anything fucking right as usual. He swallowed those bitter thoughts, along with the taste of Blake, and shrugged, forcing a confidence from deep inside that he didn’t really feel. He rubbed a hand across his own aching cock, still trapped tight in his jeans.
“You’re young. You can do both. Right?”
Blake dropped his head back onto the couch, groaning ‘Christ’ on a long breath as Kade took him into his mouth once more. Just a few hard pulls with his hand this time, with his fingers latched with Blake’s, and Blake flooded Kade’s mouth, crying out something that sounded a lot like Kade’s name. Kade swallowed down everything Blake had to give and licked him clean before Blake hauled him up onto the couch. He wrapped Kade in strong arms. Kade thought the feeling of those arms tight around him was almost as intimate as the taste of Blake that lingered in his mouth.
The Bucket List Page 3
