The Innocence Series: Complete Bundle

by Riley Knight

  If he did that, could he count on Gunner to catch him? Sam had always thought when he fell, he would mean it with his whole heart. If he let himself feel what he was feeling, would Gunner return his emotions?

  “Thanks. I’m gonna go get some coffee and half a bottle of Advil,” Sam said, pleased when he saw that he’d teased a little bit of a grin out of Gunner. Gently, Sam leaned in and kissed the other man, then pulled away, found his clothes, which were moderately neatly draped over the back of a nearby chair.

  Dressed, he went to the door, but he couldn’t help but look back. And when he did look, he saw that Gunner was staring right back at him.

  * * *

  Sam had tried to brace himself, because in a house as full as this one was, there was usually someone around. It was not quite nine yet, so chances were good that someone would be in the kitchen.

  Probably the worst possible person would be Ben, of course. Ben, who had seen Sam acting like an idiot the night before, and who was probably going to want to talk to him about the fact that Sam was apparently dating Gunner.

  So, of course, the first person that Sam laid eyes on was Ben, who was bustling around the kitchen, preparing breakfast. The only good thing about that was that Ruby was also there, kicking her feet idly as she stuffed what seemed to be her entire body weight of pancakes and bacon into her mouth.

  Ben wouldn’t say anything around Ruby, he knew. So Sam relaxed, nodding cautiously to his brother as he went to the coffee maker, ruffling up Ruby’s hair as he passed her. She stuck out her tongue at him, looking years younger than her age, and Sam grinned and poked his own out in return as he poured coffee into a mug. A lot of coffee.

  “You hungry, Sammy?” Ben asked, and Sam noted that he didn’t feel the same annoyance when he heard his nickname. He had gone on a campaign to get people to stop calling him that once he was a teenager, but then Gunner came along and suddenly, Sam didn’t mind so much.

  “No,” Sam said honestly. His stomach clenched at the very thought of food, and Ben smirked briefly at him as their eyes met. His brother knew very well why Sam wouldn’t be interested in food, and he cracked a couple of eggs and added more bacon to the pan.

  “Trust me, little brother, you’re going to want to eat,” Ben told him. “Sit. The grease will help.”

  “Help with what?” Ruby asked curiously, and Sam made a face at her. Nosy little brat. A sweet kid, but always asking questions.

  “Sammy just woke up on the wrong side of the bed,” Ben commented diplomatically. “He’ll be fine. Eat your pancakes.”

  Ruby stood up, grabbing her sticky, mostly empty plate and wandering over to put it in the sink.

  “I’m full. Can I go play with Marcy?” Her current best friend, Sam knew. Ruby was pretty much obsessed with her and had been spending more time with her than she had been at her own home.

  A hot, crawly sensation rose in Sam, something he recognized dimly as close to panic. If Ruby left, he would be alone with Ben, and without her calming influence, Sam was pretty sure there was going to be an uncomfortable conversation between them.

  “Sure,” Ben allowed, and Sam looked down at the plate which Ben set down in front of him. It was a bit of a shock to him, but the eggs and bacon actually didn’t smell completely repulsive. He usually ate a lot healthier than this, and his breakfast was more likely to be a green smoothie than a big plate of eggs and bacon, but at the moment, this seemed to be just what the doctor ordered.

  “Thanks! I’ll ride my bike over,” Ruby ran over to hug Ben, then nudged Sam affectionately on her way past, which only made him feel moderately nauseated even as his stomach was jostled. It was an improvement.

  Then she was gone, all of her preteen energy leaving with her, and it was just Sam and Ben. Sam focused on his eggs like he might actually keel over dead if he looked up, but he heard the faint rustling of Ben settling down at the table with him.

  “So,” Ben commented, and his tone was so deliberately offhand that Sam knew he was just as in for it as he had thought he would be. “Where should we start?”

  “Nowhere,” Sam suggested. Not that he had a lot of hope for that, but he figured he should give it a shot, anyway. “There’s nothing to start about.”

  “Uh huh.” Ben snorted, a soft sound of derision, and Sam knew that he didn’t want to look up right then. He knew what he would see. He knew his brother’s face, the man who had, let’s face it, saved him, maybe better than he knew his own.

  “Look, if this is about Gunner,” Sam suddenly spoke, and he let his eyes rise, only to see exactly what he had known that he would. Ben was looking right at him, his hands cupping a mug of coffee, and there was amusement on his face.

  Not just amusement, though. Concern, too. Sam sighed, then let his gaze drift to the big window. He heard a dog’s bark and saw Shadow’s huge black form almost fly past. Sam knew his dog, though, and he knew that Shadow was happy, excited, not barking at an intruder but at a friend.

  It was Gunner. He came into sight a few moments later, dropping down to his knees and scratching enthusiastically behind the dog’s ears. Adorably disheveled, the handsome man played with the big black lab, chasing him around the yard, giving Shadow the workout and getting some of that puppy energy level out.

  “It’s about Gunner. What’s going on? Are you dating him?” Ben called Sam’s attention back, and there was a knowing look in his eyes that Sam was sure that he didn’t particularly care for. It was a question, but at the same time, it wasn’t one.

  How much did Ben know already? Some, obviously, from the bar, but Ben had a bad habit of being annoyingly observant. He had probably already suspected even before he had confirmation.

  “I don’t know,” Sam sighed, finally giving in. This talk was going to happen, and once he let himself see that, he was also able to see that part of him wanted it to. He did need someone to talk to, to help sort through all of this, and if Ben knew already, he was the obvious choice.

  Ben looked at him expectantly, and Sam drew in a deep, deep breath, letting it out slowly, letting it settle his mind a little bit.

  “I don’t know,” he repeated. “We’re something.” Something more than sex, he meant, but he would be damned if he was going to say that to his brother. “I don’t know if I should let myself go there, though.”

  Ben didn’t comment, just sitting there and sipping his coffee and waiting for Sam to speak, to release the words from his mouth. And once he’d started, it was so easy just to continue.

  “I guess it was a date last night.”

  Saying it aloud to someone was liberating, and Sam’s shoulders relaxed as he turned his attention back to his food. Though his eyes drifted back over to the window, where Gunner was still playing with Shadow. Which had to be just about the cutest thing that Sam had ever seen.

  “Do you like him?” Ben finally spoke and then added, “Because if you do, and you don’t see where it goes, I think you’ll probably regret it. Gunner is a good kid, Sammy. And I think you guys both deserve to be happy.”

  “I like him,” Sam admitted, as much to himself as to his brother. “But I still don’t know if it’s a good idea.”

  “Because he might leave?”

  Sam shook his head, and a slight smile touched his lips, pounding headache and awkward conversation or not.

  “No. He asked me if I’d like him to stay. Mike gave him a job.” Sam looked at his brother, hoping that somehow, the older man could understand. It was just complicated, that was all.

  “If this is a bullshit thing where you think you’re straight and can’t do this, I mean, I guess I can’t stop you from making whatever choices you wanna make. You’re an adult.” Ben turned to look out the window as well, looking at Shadow and Ben. “But I just gotta go on record as saying I think you’d be making a mistake to let this one go.”

  Ben got up and started to run hot water to do the breakfast dishes, and Sam, without a word, got up to help. It seemed like the conversation was over, and
it seemed like he had his big brother’s blessing to be with Gunner if Sam wanted to go there.

  More and more, it seemed like the best idea to him, just to let himself fall and see what happened.

  FOURTEEN

  Gazing around the shop, Gunner wiped his hands on a rag and let the smug satisfaction fill him. His bike was still in the shop, of course, but other than that, and Mike’s penis extension Jag, the shop was empty. He and Sam and Mike, working long, hard hours, had cleared it out completely.

  Sam caught his eye and shot him a secret little smile, and Gunner tried hard not to feel the surge of hope that threatened to lift him right up off of the ground. Sam still hadn’t answered him if he wanted Gunner to stay around or not, and Gunner had asked a couple of days ago.

  So he probably shouldn’t let himself think that there might be a chance. Sam was still in the closet, as far as Gunner could tell, and Gunner was asking him to at least consider coming out. It was a lot, and Gunner knew it. For both of them.

  He would give Sam whatever time that he needed, even if patience had never exactly been a huge virtue of his.

  “See you tomorrow, boys,” Mike called, poking his head in from the other room. Gunner waved to him, and it amazed him that he, of all people, was trusted to be left almost alone in someone’s business. This place was more than a job to Mike, and it touched Gunner deeply that he had been accepted so fully.

  “Come on, let’s get out of here.” Sam had sidled over to him and was pressing himself against Gunner, lightly brushing their bodies together in a fairly blatant erotic challenge. Every chance they got, they stole these moments together, and even if Sam never opened his heart to Gunner, he knew that he was lucky to have this beautiful man interested in him, even if just for sex.

  “I just have to finish sweeping,” Gunner informed him. He was being given a chance, and Mike had made noises about being willing to keep Gunner on as long as he wanted to stay. So he let the bristles of the broom slip over the floor, and as he went, he brushed against the shrouded shape of the Jag.

  “Gunner, watch it!” Sam scolded, as the dustsheet which covered Mike’s pride and joy started to slip. “I swear, Mike will have kittens or something if you scratch that thing.”

  Chagrined, Gunner snagged the dustsheet as it slipped free and then paused with a low whistle as the gleaming car came into sight. It was just so beautiful, the sort of car that Gunner would cheerfully sell his soul for if he could find an interested buyer.

  “Hey, Sammy?” Gunner turned to look at his lover, shooting him a wink. “I know where Mike keeps the key to this pretty girl.”

  “Oh my God. Gunner. No.” Sam’s eyes were wide with alarm, but there was interest in his face, too. Gunner could swear to it.

  “We could just sit in it. Haven’t you ever wanted to make out in a classic car?” Gunner started to fold up the dust sheet, turning to face Sam as he tucked it aside. “Mike will never know. You must be at least a little curious.”

  Sam hesitated, and Gunner grinned to himself. How could someone not be curious? Even Sam, who wasn’t the most mechanically inclined guy on the planet, could be intrigued by a car like this. Anyone would be.

  But Sam was such a stickler for rules. Gunner rolled his eyes but pulled out his phone. He sent off a quick text to Mike, asking for permission, pointing out that it was bad for a car to not be driven. Machinery worked better if it was used.

  Seconds later, he got back a reply. Just two words, but two words that showed Gunner just how much trust Mike had in him.

  Be careful.

  That was it. Gunner showed the text to Sam, then pulled him close and kissed him, wildly excited, the beginnings of an erection starting to form from the moment their lips touched. It was a beautiful night, he had a gorgeous man by his side, and he was going to get to go in the car which he’d been drooling over since he had arrived.

  “Okay,” Sam finally agreed, flushed and laughing, as the kiss finally broke. “Let’s get this show on the road.”

  Gunner couldn’t have agreed with those particular sentiments any more than he did.

  * * *

  The car handled like a dream. It was very clear how much love and attention had been put into her because the sound of her engine was a smooth, seductive, rumbling purr. Gunner was pretty sure that he’d actually died and gone to heaven, and he headed immediately out of town, onto the open road, which had once been the only home that he had.

  “Do you miss it?” Sam asked, his hand slipping over to rest on Gunner’s leg, squeezing lightly. Briefly, Gunner reached down and pulled those fingers further up his own leg, then held it, fingers stroking lightly over the back of Sam’s hand.

  “Miss what?” Gunner asked, and Sam smiled at him, then rested his head against Gunner’s shoulder, snuggling against him in a way that would have seemed utterly impossible even a week ago.

  “Being on the road,” Sam replied, and Gunner shot a startled glance over at Sam. Had his lover developed some sort of telepathy? Gunner had literally just been thinking about that.

  Or was it just that, against all the odds, Sam was getting good at reading Gunner? What an absolutely horrifying thought or it should have been. Gunner made a point of not letting people get him so that no one could predict what he could do. His life depended on it, even.

  But if he could trust anyone, surely it was Sam?

  “Sort of,” Gunner answered honestly, a little bit to his own surprise. That wasn’t like him at all. “Mostly, no.”

  What he didn’t say was too uncomfortable for him to put into words—that he was happier being in town, knowing where he was going to be sleeping every night, where his money was coming from, and

  that Sam was going to be there.

  “Huh.” Sam was silent for a good two or three minutes after that, as the road whizzed by under the wheels. Maybe someday, it would be good to hit the road again, with Sam by his side.

  The silence between them was just starting to feel awkward, and Gunner was just reaching over to see what non-country music he could possibly find on the radio when Sam finally spoke up again.

  “Yeah. I think I would like you to stay.”

  The words came as a complete shock to Gunner. As Sam spoke, Gunner realized that he had pretty much expected for Sam never to answer the question. Or, rather, to answer it by default by waiting until Gunner was finished fixing his bike and then left.

  A wide smile which probably made him look like a bit of an idiot spread across Gunner’s face, and he didn’t even care. Sam had just admitted to wanting to be with him. Sure, there were still details to work out, like what was going to happen when Sam went off to school, but they would work that out somehow.

  “Really?” Gunner finally managed, feeling like he could barely speak around the thick knot of his heart, swollen and full of hope in a way that he never allowed himself to become. It was almost painful, and part of him screamed in the back of his head that he was making a big mistake by letting himself feel this.

  “Yeah.” Sam shot a smile at him, warm enough that Gunner could feel it against him even though he was looking at the road. “Pull over, babe.”

  Gunner smirked a little. Sam’s hand was sneaking playfully up high on his thigh, and he had the idea that he knew exactly what it was that the other man had in mind. There was no one around for miles, it seemed, and Gunner did pull over, letting the car coast to a stop and then killing the engine.

  “Now what?” Gunner asked, and it was sort of adorable how Sam still looked so nervous. The guy was no longer a virgin, maybe, but he was still such an innocent in so many ways. Was it possible that Sam would never lose that quality since he’d kept it for so long? Gunner sort of hoped so.

  “Now this,” Sam murmured, and he pretty much jumped on Gunner, his tall, lanky, tight body settling against Gunner. They kissed, mouths and tongues and lips meeting, every bit as thrilling to Gunner as that very first stolen kiss had been.

  All of a sudden, Gunner fell back
as the seat seemed to drop away under him. Looking up with wide eyes, Gunner saw the look of pure mischief lingering in Sam’s beautiful green gaze. He had pulled the lever to drop the back of the seat down while distracting Gunner with hot kisses.

  “Hmm, just what do you have in mind?” Gunner murmured back, rocking his rapidly hardening cock up against the younger man, feeling the firm, tight orbs of his ass against his dick even through the annoying layers of their clothing.

  “I want to try something,” Sam admitted, and he tugged out a condom and even a little single-use packet of lube. Gunner blinked, about to point out that they had already tried that when it occurred to him that there was one thing they hadn’t tried, one way that they hadn’t done this.

  “Do you want …?” Gunner started, as Sam, his large body slightly cramped in the small space, started to strip them both. Just their pants and Gunner picked up on the reason why immediately. If anyone did happen to drive by, as unlikely as that seemed, they would still seem to be completely clothed.

  There were advantages to dating a genius, it seemed. As wrapped up in sensation, in arousal, as Gunner was, he probably never would have thought of that.

  “Yes,” Sam admitted. “I want you inside of me.”

  That was almost enough to make Gunner shook off right then and there, and he softly hissed as Sam eased the condom down, rolling it over Gunner’s suddenly throbbing dick. He had never really given any thought to this, had been sure that Sam would never go for it, but he’d wanted to. Of course he had.

  Sam had possessed him, and now, he would have Sam. Clearly, he hadn’t given the other man enough credit for his willingness to try new things, and Gunner watched, with his whole body aching and yearning for the pretty young man, as Sam got Gunner’s cock ready.