The cool night air felt exhilarating against his heated skin. He walked over toward the darkened corner of the lot, where he had parked. They walked in silence, but Nathan was acutely aware of Chris’s presence beside him. He wondered if he was going to ask for his number. Part of him wanted him to. The other part did not want to mar the perfection of the night with the reality of another meeting. Perhaps, it was best to leave this night as a happy memory of a pleasant encounter with a perfect stranger.
He heard Chris’s sharp intake of breath and turned to him with a sudden look of alarm.
“Look at that bike!” Chris gasped. Nathan followed his gaze to the parked motorcycle that he was practically drooling over.
He felt a slow smile spread over his face. “Do you like it?”
Maybe it was the alcohol, but something inside of him wanted to toy with Chris, to give him a little scare.
“Do I like it?” He stepped closer to the bike and examined its features. “It’s amazing.”
Nathan threw his leg over the motorcycle and settled into the seat. He felt his jeans stretch over his toned abs and hard leg muscles, and he knew that was an image that Chris would find appealing. Whether he knew it or not.
“Nathan!” Chris exclaimed.
He tried to shoo him off the bike but Nathan just laughed. Chris was worried. “Get off of it,” he said, remonstrating with him, worried. “You can’t go touching other people’s bikes. If someone comes out here they’re going to be furious!”
Nathan continued to laugh as Chris anxiously tried to coax him off of the bike. The fear that it might topple over was written plainly across Chris' face.
“I’m serious!” Chris placed one hand on the handlebar to hold the bike steady and another under Nathan's elbow as he tried to guide him off of the contraption.
Nathan pulled him keys from him pocket and twirled them on him index finger.
“Am I supposed to be mad that you’re touching my bike?” He grinned.
It took a few moments for his words to settle in, but eventually Chris’ face turned from panic, to shock, to surprised.
“This is yours?” His words conveyed his disbelief.
“All the way down to the tailpipe.” Nathan crossed his arms over his chest and stared at him with a knowing grin. He watched Chris' eyes flicker from the hard biceps, to the bike beneath him, and back up to his face. He smiled inwardly.
“You’re trouble.” Chris laughed.
Nathan shrugged and climbed off of the motorcycle to stand in front of him.
“That’s what my brothers tell me,” he smiled.
Chris nodded at the bike parked beside him own and informed Nathan that it belonged to him. The pair of Harleys sat in the darkened corner of the parking lot, their owners reveling in their shared passion.
Eventually, Nathan made a move that signified it was time to make his exit. Without warning, Chris’s hand snaked around his waist and pulled him against him. He hesitated just long enough for him to protest, but he did not. A moment later, Chris' mouth covered his ears in a salty, sweet kiss that did little to conceal the passion that was burning inside of them both.
Nathan could not explain what was happening, nor did he want to take the time to evaluate the situation. He was not prone to frivolous actions and, while he did not know Chris well enough to speak on his behalf, he would guess that he had a similarly serious nature.
Nathan allowed his hands to rise up and around his shoulders. The muscles beneath his shirt were rigid and well-defined. Chris placed his hands on his lower back and pulled him closer than he would have thought humanly possible, and, yet, it was not enough.
The doors of the bar opened and they fumbled their way further into the darkness. Shaded by the trunk of a nearby tree, Nathan found his back pressed against the ragged bark. Headlights moved off in the distance and the passers-by never suspected a thing.
Chris’ mouth moved against the hollow of his neck and Nathan felt a shiver trail down his spine. He had never felt this responsive before. He had never felt the cry and urge so deep in his bones, as if resisting would be the death of him.
His hands crept beneath the hem of his shirt and splayed across the smooth skin of him back. Nathan gasped and pressed his hips more firmly against him, the pressure of his erection between them was almost painfully hard.
He wanted to feel his hands in other places. Maybe it was a result of the shots, but Nathan felt without a doubt that he needed this. Maybe the stresses of completing his residency had snowballed. Maybe it had simply been too long since he had allowed himself the pleasures of a sexual encounter. Maybe Chris was just too damn sexy to resist. Either way, he did not want him to stop whatever it was that he was doing to drive him so close to madness.
He tore at his shirt, tugging it roughly over his head and eliciting a deep, rumbling laughter from Chris that made the heat inside of him grow.
He leaned away and looked straight into his eyes.
“Nathan…” He began. “I just want to be perfectly clear…” He could tell that he was having a hard time controlling the urge to continue. Especially, since he was purposefully ignoring him as he ran his fingertips down the rigid planes of his abdomen.
He released a quiet curse and grabbed his hands to prevent their trek downward.
“I don’t do serious.” His words rushed out in a burst of air.
Nathan cocked his head to the side and stared up at him. “Good.” He smiled. “Neither do I.”
He released his hands and with a primal growl was upon him once more. This time there was no hesitation. No questions, no answers. Just two people reveling in the sensations that were exploding inside of them.
Nathan felt his shirt removed from behind him as if by magic. Chris, standing behind him, slid his hands over his chest, the warmth of his muscled hands stroking him in a way that made his breath stop. Nathan needed to ensure that Chris was suffering as he was. His hand snaked between their bodies and came to rest against the taught fabric of his jeans. Chris groaned against his back, and he could feel the tension beneath his palm increase.
Nathan felt a hand slip round and loosen the fastening of his jeans. The other hand eased its way inside his waistband to cup his firm backside.
Nathan could not say if he had ever been more turned on. Perhaps it was because he could not remember ever having such a powerful effect on a man, as he was at this very moment. That knowledge in itself was intoxicating.
Whatever it was, he wanted more.
The length of Chris against his hand was… impressive, to say the least.
Nathan felt his own hands work at the waist of his jeans and he moved his hips to help him as he eased them towards the ground.
When his mouth returned to Chris's lips this time, it was with renewed vigor. Their tongues met and battled for the dominance that neither of them was willing to relinquish.
Nathan gasped against him. The sharp bite of the tree bark against his skin a long forgotten inconvenience. When Chris slowly turned him, he took no notice of the rough surface chafing his hands.
With slow precision, Chris entered him. His cry of pleasure was loud and unrestrained. A low laugh warned him to remain quiet, and he reverted to heavy sighs and shallow breaths that seemed to drive him even wilder.
Together, they moved as if they were longtime lovers. Instinctively, Chris seemed to know exactly what his body craved. Nathan matched his movements with his own. He smiled to himself as a string of low curses passed between them.
His orgasm crashed without warning, and he felt Chris shudder in the completion of his own pleasure. Suddenly, it was as if the entire world around him had frozen in this one perfect moment and he wanted to stay there forever.
Slowly, their breathing regulated. The pair disentangled, yet remained as one as they recovered against the tree.
After a moment’s reprieve, Nathan slipped out of Chris’s shadow and hastily clothed himself.
Chris was standing there in shocke
d silence. The look on his face revealed everything that Nathan felt. What the hell had just happened? His heart raced with exhilaration. He had never had such a glorious release, and with a complete stranger to top it off!
“I’ve got to go.” He moved toward their bikes, but Chris restrained him with an arm on his hand.
“How can I contact you?” He asked. His breath was still ragged from the exertion and Nathan was shocked to find himself wanting him again.
He said nothing, but shook his head. He did not want to refuse, but he felt he had no choice.
“Come on…” Chris did not like his answer, clearly. “Give me a number. Even a last name I can look up, anything.” He begged.
He shook his head again.
Stepping forward, he placed his hands against his chest and kissed him with a gentle finality.
Then, before he could recover, he slipped onto his motorcycle and peeled out of the parking lot.
Chapter 3
Chris woke the next morning with a pounding in his head. For several minutes he laid in bed recalling a dream that he had had about a muscled, dark haired man with a killer Harley.
He sat up in bed with a sudden start.
It had not been a dream. The memories washed over him, creating conflicting emotions. Part of him wanted to revel in the one-night-stand. Another part was kicking himself for letting him get away without a full name or number.
Not, he reminded himself, that he was looking for a relationship. No, sir. He had enough on his plate without the drama that a relationship like that could bring to his life.
However, the sex had been phenomenal, and he would not be opposed to a repeat performance.
Chris shook his head. He should be grateful that the man had given him the perfect opportunity for a nostrings-attached fling. He needed to tell his brain to take it for what it was and stop wondering where Nathan was at this very moment.
When it came to military bases, even though he was surrounded by men, and even though there were plenty of men with whom he had had encounters, he had never had one like that. In all his time, Chris had never met anyone quite like Nathan.
He forced all thoughts of the dynamic and mesmerizing man from his mind. The next thing he knew, he would be convincing himself he had feelings for this man. Chris laughed to himself. Those were dangerous thoughts. It was best this way, and he appreciated that he understood that.
Most of the men on base were already tied down with families. Young wives and children who dominated their free time and caused additional stresses during a dangerous mission. For example, Chris’s best friend Tony Pomeretti had a wife and three children that were left to deal with the aftermath of Tony’s sudden death.
A commitment like that, and the torture that went with it, was not something that Chris was interested in having. So then why could he not stop thinking about the man from last night?
Two hours later he had almost put him from his mind when he pulled in to the VA outpatient clinic. The stress that he was feeling about the upcoming appointment was enough to distract him from just about anything else. This clinic was designed to help veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder. Chris did not think that he had any reason to be here. He knew perfectly well what had happened. Was there trauma that he might never wrap his head around? Yes. But it was not something that he ever wanted to talk about. Especially not to a complete stranger.
He entered the clinic and his eyes roamed around its sterile halls. There was nothing comfortable about this place. Nothing soothing. Even the antiseptic smell made his stomach churn so that he had to suppress the urge to abandon the appointment completely.
Commander Barclay had made it very clear that these appointments were not optional. If he failed to pass the tests provided by the psychiatrist, he could kiss his career goodbye.
He signed the arrival sheet and began to pace the waiting room. The last time he was in a room like this was when the last man in his unit was dying in the other room. He hated hospitals. So maybe this was not exactly a hospital, it still brought back memories that he did not want to confront.
Chris picked through the brochures that were spread along the edge of the table. They listed symptoms such as flashbacks, night terrors, amputations, and all sorts of things that did not apply to him. He felt like there was no reason for him to be here.
Sure, he was angry. There might be a lot of things that he would never understand. But he was not traumatized. He was still physically and mentally capable of carrying out any mission that was asked of him.
“Mr. Hobbs, Dr. Bennett will see you now.” The receptionist ushered him down the hallway and toward a loan door that listed the psychiatrist’s name on a bold placard.
Chris took a deep breath and hardened his resolve. He would do what he had to to complete the requirements in order to return to active duty, but he had no intention of sharing any more information than was absolutely necessary.
He entered the room with a confident air that dissipated the moment that he crossed the threshold.
Sitting on the other side of a massive oaken desk, was none other than the man from the night before.
Chapter 4
Nathan Bennett felt a cold sweat break over his skin. He had just been scanning the notes for his first case, when the patient entered. The door had clicked shut behind the receptionist when he had looked up into the very last face that he had expected to see this morning.
He glanced again at the name on the folder and felt his heart sink.
Chris Hobbs. Chris. It was such a common name that it never occurred to him that the man from the night before might be his patient. Let alone his very first patient as a psychiatrist at the Naval Outpatient Clinic.
He forced his facial features into an ambiguous mask. He was sure that his patient would have seen the moment of sheer panic on his face at his arrival, but he had no intention of letting him know that he could fluster him. This was his job, and he was not going to ruin his career on his first case.
Nathan stood and rounded his enormous desk. He had hated the thing the moment that he first laid eyes on it. The imposing piece of furniture would create a distance between him and him clients that he did not want to encourage. Instead, he had been determined to encourage his patients to settle into the more casual corner of his office, where a comfortable circle of furniture sat waiting.
Now, however, his mind cried for him to remain behind the barrier of the desk. The last thing that he needed was a resurgence of the desire that he had felt the night before. Unfortunately, Chris was wearing his crisp uniform and looking all-too dashing for his taste.
“Mr. Hobbs,” he began with a professional air, as he gathered his folders and gestured toward the sofa. “Why don’t you choose a seat?”
“I’m pretty sure that we are well past the ‘Mr. Hobbs’ phase.” Chris’s smile was like a beacon in Nathan's boring office. He had not yet had a chance to unpack his things and his office felt terribly empty and impersonal.
Opposite him, Chris continued to smile. He knew that Nathan was uncomfortable, and Nathan had a terrible feeling that he was not going to let the topic slide.
Again Nathan gestured at the sofa. “Alright, Christopher. Please have a seat.”
His eyebrows raised as he waited for his patient to take his seat. With an exaggerated huff, he sat down.
“Chris. Please.”
Nathan nodded frostily.
“Nathan Bennett…” Chris mused, smiling at him.
Nathan cut him off with a sharp glare. He refused to play this game with him. Sure, Chris was charming and sexy, but he would not have him fooling around during his therapy. This was his work, and he was doing his tasks as a therapist. He had to maintain respect between himself and his patient.
“Where would you like to begin?” He began to flip through his file.
This man had an extensive history, it seemed.
“Well… Personally, I’d like to begin where we left off last night,” Chri
s replied. His voice all but dripped sex appeal.
Nathan had to suppress the urge to throw his notebook at him. The grin that crossed the face opposite him told him that he knew exactly what he had refrained from doing.
“Alright, if you don’t have a preference, why don’t we start with your recent trip to Afghanistan?”
That shut him up.
For a moment, Chris Hobbs's face turned steely. Then, with the precision of a true loner, he gave a false laugh and pretended to make light of the situation.
“Oh, you know… just another day in the field.”
His response told Nathan a lot more than he realized. He stared at him as he waited for him to continue, but he did not. Nathan narrowed his eyes briefly. In the best of circumstances Chris Hobbs would be a tough patient to handle. In light of recent events, however, he was fairly certain that he was never going to reveal a thing.
For a moment Nathan considered submitting his evaluation to his commanding officers immediately. However, he knew that Chris' refusal to open up would be detrimental to his career, and Nathan having a failure on his very first case would be likewise damning for his own. At that moment he knew that, despite their sultry past, he needed to help him talk through what had happened.
Nathan gestured toward the doorway and pierced Chris with his most prim glare.
“I don’t think that we will be able to accomplish much today.” He spoke with a firm, detached tone. He saw the man opposite narrow his eyes in response.
“Are you uncomfortable, Dr. Bennett?” Chris rose from his seated position. The immense height of this man seemed to swallow what little space was left in the office. In one step he was standing entirely too close.
“Not at all.” Nathan replied, trying to keep his voice mild. “I suggest that we postpone this meeting until later in the week. That way we can both participate without any shock or…”
“I think we both participate just fine.” Chris cut him off. The devilish smile that crossed his face told Nathan exactly what sort of participation he was talking about.
Nathan felt his cheeks grow hot and he forced himself to sit still. He never blushed! What gave this man the power to affect him on such a visceral level? It made him angry that he could get under his guard so easily. Other emotions thrilled through him as well, a cocktail in his blood.
Celestial Seductions: The Complete Series: An MM Gay Paranormal Mpreg Romance Collection Page 39
