“What the fuck are you doing?” Lucky yelled through the music, hurrying to help the guy up.
David sneered at him. “Is that the way you flirt or something?” Raja had to blink to make sure that it was in fact David giving him so much attitude. But yes, the gold cross was around his slim neck, and it was David’s chest staring back at him, bare in public.
He opened his mouth, staring between David, Lucky, and the stripper, who was back on his feet and squinting at Raja. “What are you doing?” Raja uttered in the end. “What the fuck is this make-believe? Everyone can see you.”
David crossed his arms on his chest, making his muscles look more pronounced on the overall slim body. When he opened his mouth, Lucky butted in.
“He’s single now, so he can do whatever he wants. Especially at my party. Why do you wanna police your ex, when you were boasting about your hookups just now?”
Raja’s head heated up within split seconds. How the fuck did Lucky know David used to be with Raja? Asty. Bloody baseball-bat-wielding gossip.
David rolled his eyes, causing Raja to lose the plot for a moment. But when images of the stripper lapping at David’s face came back to Raja, he grabbed David’s arm, pulling him closer. “At least I wasn’t fucking touching anyone! This isn’t anyone else’s business!” To make matters worse, David smelled of booze. This was not going to be pretty.
“Hey, man! Lay off,” the stripper said, though he didn’t dare approach Raja. Wise choice. “He doesn’t have to dance with me if he doesn’t want to, but you have no say in this.”
“Since you’re my ex. And single at that,” David grumbled and tried to pull out of Raja’s grip, but Raja wouldn’t let him and pressed his mouth against David’s ear, his hand shaking with anger.
“Why are you doing this? I’m not fucking anyone behind your back! This is disloyal!”
“So just say you’re single, not pretend you’re sleeping around, making up stories of your hookups.” David hissed back, and Raja hoped the music was loud enough to drown their words.
Raja squeezed his hands tighter on David’s arms and shook him. “But I am sleeping with someone!” He pulled David away from Lucky. He needed to move this conversation somewhere else. He wouldn’t be doing this in front of everyone. He couldn’t even think straight anymore with the flares exploding all over his brain.
“It’s not like we’ll ever be official, so what does it matter?” David choked out close to Raja’s ear, and Raja had a feeling that this clusterfuck has come about because of Lucky making David’s cocktails too strong.
“Stop pulling him!” Lucky yelled and grabbed David’s other wrist.
Raja was ready to punch him, but Tooth’s presence, tangible behind his back kept his fists down. “Fuck off. This has nothing to do with you, so stop meddling!”
“Meddling?” Lucky let go of David, causing him to fall back into Raja’s arms. “I am just doing a public service against evil ex-boyfriends!”
David sighed, straightening up. “It’s… it’s not like that.”
Raja clenched his teeth, glaring at him. “And this is not a conversation to have in public. Christ!”
“I don’t feel like talking right now,” David groaned and tried to pull away like a spoiled brat, but Raja wouldn’t let him. It seemed he was finally learning about the downsides of dating a teenager.
“You were the one to start.” He leaned closer to David to whisper into his ear. “And I told you to wait. We’re gonna come out eventually.”
“I didn’t know he’d lick me,” David muttered back with an angry scowl, as if it were all somehow Raja’s fault. Thank fuck for loud music and a crowd, which at least made them stand out less.
“You were fucking him without taking off your pants! What the hell is wrong with you? Is your virginal devotion to your first fuck dispersing now that there’s more cock on the market?” growled Raja, itching for something to break into little pieces.
It didn’t hurt, but it sure as fuck shocked Raja when David pushed him back.
“You’re one to talk! Keeping me your dirty secret until someone better comes along! ‘Charity case’? You don’t want to be out because you’re embarrassed of being with me! Who the hell do you wish you were dating instead, huh?” David pushed Raja again, even though he fell back a little from the impact. “So you’ve got a hot body and a big dick. What makes you think you’re so much better than me?”
This argument was getting too long to remain ignored by the other guests, and Raja could feel the weight of their gazes on him, he could sense them eavesdropping to fish out the best gossip. Even Milk was probably filming all this to jerk off to later.
Raja’s head was spinning, and his gaze slid all the way to Lucky’s smirk. All the birthday boy now needed was some popcorn and 3D glasses. The little fucker had messed everything up for fun!
“I don’t think like that. And I wasn’t talking about you,” Raja said, looking straight into David’s eyes, which suddenly started getting all wet and glittery. Raja was a fox with its leg stuck in a trap while the hunters were coming right after a pack of bloodthirsty hounds. Or, literally, Hunter would be coming. Any second now.
“Who were you talking about then?” David’s eyes went wide. “You have someone else? Another secret you keep?”
“No! For fuck’s sake!” hissed Raja, knowing that the story that was a hybrid of Raja’s many hookups rolled into one was about to fall apart like a house of cards. “Nothing’s gonna change if people know.” Not that it mattered, because now everyone knew. Raja had just gotten outed yet again.
“I’m sick of leaving your place at two in the morning! Oh, my God!” David raised his hands into the air, and Raja could swear Lucky whispered, “juicy.”
Raja stepped back. “What, you want to move in with me now?”
David’s face twisted into an ugly scowl that could be glistening with tears any moment. He turned around and pushed past the stripper, but Raja grabbed his hand and yanked him back, all the way to the bar. There was a plan of the party written on a whiteboard on the wall next to the counter, and a whole stack of colorful markers on an aluminum shelf beneath it. Raja grabbed one of them, fighting against the furious pulsing in his temples. He’d been thrown into deep waters without knowing how to swim, but he would survive.
Raja turned back to David and steadied him, putting the marker against the tanned skin of that lovely chest. The letters he wrote one by one were bold in solid black, and anyone who’d see them would have no doubts about whether they should put their dirty hands on David.
David was Property of Raja.
David looked down, confusion painted all over his handsome face, lips parted, chest rising and falling rapidly. “I… Am I yours now?” he mumbled as if he didn’t know that it was Raja who was in fact his, that it was he who held all of Raja’s secrets in his grasp.
Raja wheezed and held on to David’s shoulder, dropping the marker to the floor. He was so emotionally exhausted he wanted to just fall into a bed. With David next to him. “You’ve been mine for the last two months, silly boy. Why do you listen to everyone but me?”
David rubbed his eyes and pulled closer for a hug. “I’m afraid of losing you,” he whispered before his soft lips met Raja’s mouth.
Raja blinked, and the soft pop music that still played all around them was like the perfectly strange soundtrack to this moment. His heart thumped. Everyone was watching them, but he didn’t dare look around and just followed David’s lead, deepening the kiss and pulling him so close that no one would even dare to pull them apart. The world spun with disco lights and mirrors, but he didn’t give a damn for once. Maybe he’d gotten pulled into this relationship kicking and screaming, but once the dust settled, he knew he wanted to give it a shot.
He wanted those pancakes for breakfast.
He wanted that midday blow job.
He wanted to say no to the hot guy on Grindr because he knew he had something better at home.
He
wanted the jogging together, and he wanted the post-workout shower in a stall too small for two yet oddly fitting them both.
He wanted David to never leave.
David wrapped his arms around him and teased Raja’s tongue, pulling him close and not coming up for air. Even though his mouth tasted of vodka, Raja wouldn’t swap it for another.
“You’re special. Do you believe me now?” whispered Raja when he finally broke the kiss and hugged his lovely boy. Nothing felt as good as David in his arms. Not even wind in his hair when he rode his bike at full speed.
“Yes…” David took a deep breath against Raja’s cheek. “I really thought you were ashamed of me.”
Raja shook his head. “No... I just... this is hard. It’s like I’m changing right in front of everyone, and it feels weird.”
“I know exactly how that feels.” David smiled gently, and Raja knew his words were true. He’d watched David come out, he’d been David’s first fuck, and he’d seen David morph into his true self day by day.
Someone pulled on Raja’s arm, and pushed him into the crowd so hard the person who stopped Raja’s body fell over with a screech.
“The fuck do you think you’re doing messing with my brother’s head, huh?” Hunter yelled at him, but there was a look of dread on his face when he glanced at David and noticed the writing on his chest. Raja couldn’t have gotten any more clear than by marking the boy as his property.
The music immediately became like a swarm of hornets drilling into Raja’s ears, but he kept himself upright by grabbing the bar counter. Hunter’s lips were smudged by his girlfriend’s black lipstick, but the look of dread painted all over his face wiped any trace of amusement out of Raja’s heart. It hit him then that Hunter could actually disown David too for wanting to be with Raja, and if David needed anyone, it was the remaining family that still accepted him. Raja had been avoiding this confrontation for far too long.
“Hunter, I am serious about this.”
Hunter took half a step Raja’s way, but David stood between them. “Me too. I know it’s confusing after all that happened, but we made up. Raja needs me,” he added, leaving Raja dumbfounded. David had a way of saying things that made them so honest they felt raw.
He stepped closer and pulled David against his chest, only then able to breathe freely again. It was difficult to look into the eyes of someone who thought Raja was a fraud, but he did it anyway. He didn’t even notice when the music became quieter, as if a certain someone wanted to eavesdrop without being too obvious about it.
“Hunter, we’ve been dating, and we are gonna continue dating.”
Hunter looked at David. “You’re back with this scumbag?”
“It’s not like that! Everyone makes mistakes.” David pressed against Raja, and his warm hand found Raja’s. “We belong together.”
Raja could take a shitload of dirty talk, but these words made him flush. He scratched his head and shrugged. “You heard him, Hunter. This little guy’s unstoppable, and I doubt that, out of all things, anyone could deny him me.”
Hunter groaned, stepping back and slouching his shoulders as he watched them with a deep frown. He must have come to the conclusion that David would probably sooner sever the connection with his brother than give up on Raja, because there were no more fists flying. “If he breaks your heart,” he said to David, “I’ll tell you it’s your own fucking fault. But if he does,” he looked up at Raja, “I’ll still go and break his jaw. Understood?”
Raja kissed the top of David’s head, never looking away from Hunter. It was a challenge, but he couldn’t deny that he wanted his friend back, and he wanted to be accepted as David’s man, not just someone temporary, who’d be swiped away like the next attractive body on someone’s phone.
“You think I’d have made a fucking spectacle of myself if I didn’t mean it?” asked Raja, daring to look around. Sadly, people were staring.
Hunter made a deep exhale when David turned around in Raja’s arms and kissed his neck. “Fine. Let’s have a drink to this.”
Raja’s knees softened a bit, and he leaned on David. It felt as if a giant weight had suddenly dropped to his feet and he was free to just take David’s hand and show off that they belonged together. Something he had never been able to do with his first ever boyfriend. Why had he even waited for so long? It wasn’t just because he was afraid of the backlash in case he’d change his mind.
“Yes, let’s do that... brother,” he said slowly.
When Hunter actually smiled back at him, Raja hugged David tightly. Just as they all leaned against the bar, Lucky appeared out of nowhere to make them drinks even though it was his birthday. Asty came up to them, her head cocked in confusion. She adjusted the cups of her corset and frowned at Raja.
“What did I miss?” she asked.
Raja scowled and rested his forehead against David’s shoulder. He couldn’t believe he’d be going through all this public torment again.
Chapter 28
Raja pulled David out into the night, and David couldn’t help but laugh as he stumbled over a can of beer someone left by the door. His heart was still thudding from the excitement of them coming out as a couple. Raja could have taken this opportunity to back out, but he didn’t. He really wanted them to be together.
“Where are we going?”
Raja pulled him close and slapped his ass. “Can’t believe you made me deal with all this in public,” he said, walking along the wall of the clubhouse, into the cool night air.
David yelped, but then only walked closer to Raja, squeezing his hand. “I’m sorry. I just heard you were boasting about the sex, and I wasn’t even sure if it was made up or not, and I lost it.”
Raja growled, but with the way he put his arm around David, it didn’t seem he really detested David’s behavior earlier. “I’m your man. You should trust me. And Lucky’s the worst gossip I’ve ever met, so why would you take his word over mine?”
David opened his mouth to protest, but he knew Raja was right. As good of a friend as Lucky was, he loved to know everything about everyone and tended to be overly eager to give unsolicited advice. “I guess I was upset. I wanted to dance with you. To kiss you. And it was the first gay party I’ve been to. It was all too much.”
Raja leaned down, capturing David’s lips in a rough kiss, without breaking his stride even after they left the lights behind and stepped into the shadow of the other buildings around the clubhouse. Each step was a surprise, with dips in the asphalt and stray pieces of rubble lying around in their way, but he trusted Raja to catch him if he stumbled.
“You’re such a brat,” said Raja.
David laughed. “Maybe you should spank me then.” He grabbed Raja’s shoulder to prolong the kiss. Life was too good to be true, or maybe it was just because David finally chose to take it by the horns?
Raja groaned and pushed David against the wall, almost too hard, and only David’s natural reflexes saved him from hitting himself on the head. “Don’t make challenges you won’t be able to survive,” whispered Raja, pressing himself against David, like he wanted to leave an imprint of their bodies on the wall.
David’s hands went up Raja’s pecs, as if a natural instinct pushed them to it. “I’m still learning my limits,” he muttered with a smile and kissed Raja’s lips, unable to unglue himself from them for even a minute. Raja’s presence had his whole body aching for everything carnal.
Raja pushed David’s head to the side and sucked on the skin of David’s neck so hard David already knew it would leave a bruise, but he loved the idea of everyone seeing he’d been taken by the most amazing, courageous, sexy man around. He whimpered when Raja frantically rubbed their hips together.
“I’m gonna teach you all about your limits, baby boy.”
David moaned when the sucking on his neck became more intense, and he already imagined wearing a turtleneck tomorrow. “Yes,” he whispered breathlessly. “I will take everything you have.” His fingers burned where he squeezed
them over the hard muscle of Raja’s pecs. With Raja’s body grinding against him, it felt as if they were fucking already. Right here, outside, where someone could see them.
Raja’s breath was erratic, but the kiss he pressed to David’s mouth was surprisingly sweet and gentle. “Never believe that I think badly of you, okay?” Raja whispered, massaging David’s neck in circular swipes of his fingers. The cool night air was freezing against the growing heat of their bodies, and David really didn’t care that there was a party going on so close by. He could still hear the music, but all his attention was on Raja’s soft words.
He looked into Raja’s dark eyes and his heart skipped a beat. “Okay. Even when I dance with another guy?” He wiggled his eyebrows, and wrapped his arms around Raja’s midsection, sliding his hands all the way to Raja’s ass.
Raja gasped and initially fled David’s hands, pushing their groins tighter together. “That made me fucking angry, but a ‘charity case’? I’ve been chasing you since we met, you dumb boy.”
David bit his lips, enjoying the freedom to touch Raja wherever he wanted. “That’s true. I might have been easy at first, but I didn’t make it all that easy on you, did I?”
“No, you’re a fucking pain in the ass,” rasped Raja, pushing back to fill David’s hands with his amazing buttocks. “And you need to be shown your place so that you never doubt me again.”
“I won’t, I promise.” David leaned in for another deep kiss, unable to get enough of Raja’s touch. Every time they fucked felt like the first time, though he was definitely more confident and experienced by now.
Raja was silent for a few seconds, then sank his teeth into David’s chin, and he pushed his hand inside David’s pants. It was so sudden David yelped, grabbing Raja’s arms. The hand was like a burning hot codpiece, which pushed all of his senses into overload.
David gasped and rocked against him, getting lightheaded from the combination of alcohol and arousal. Raja’s hand, so unmistakably male, had David’s cock hardening on demand.
Heart Ripper Page 29
