by Darien Cox
His fist slowed on my cock, running his thumb over the head and making me catch my breath. “I was watching you work in the main bar one day. You climbed onto a stool to get a bottle that was too high up. I looked at the muscles in your legs and thought…damn he looks strong. Bet he could ride me all night.”
I grinned and put more work into those very leg muscles, increasing my rhythm as I rode him. “Like this?” His head fell back, that neck I’d been lusting over exposed. I leaned down and sucked it, tasting his salty sweat, inhaling his cologne. “This how you imagined it?” I whispered.
He released my cock and caught my face in his hands, pulling me in for a quick kiss. “Better. You feel so good, Zachary.”
I straightened and went back to pressing my palms against his chest. “Told you not to call me that.”
“Why can’t I? It’s a beautiful name.”
I didn’t answer. He stopped my hips with his hands.
“Why can’t I call you Zachary?”
“Because Corey always did.”
Duncan went still. Damn it, what was wrong with me? Talk about ruining the mood. I shouldn’t have said anything. But every time I heard the name I thought of Corey. Even my mother didn’t call me Zachary, Corey was the only one.
“And it makes you miss him?”
I scowled down at him. “No! I don’t miss him at all. He always called me that when he was losing patience with me. It makes me think of his annoyance and that reminds me of all the stupid things I did back then.”
“Oh. Well we can fix that.”
Duncan dove up, grabbed me, and flipped me over. His cock slipped out of me, but he quickly spread my legs with his knees, lifted one of them, then guided himself back in. I laughed, then moaned when he started thrusting against me. “This is fixing it?” I gasped.
“Zachary,” he whispered. “Remember this instead.”
He pinned my arms over my head and I gasped as he started humping me so hard my entire body jerked. I loved it, a little rough but blasting all the right places inside me.
“I won’t call you that in the future if you don’t like it,” he huffed as his hips snapped. “But tonight I want to say it. Zachary. I want you to come, Zachary.” He rose to his knees and held my leg up, then gripped my cock and started pumping into me even harder, his neck muscles straining with the effort, and my orgasm hit me like a bomb had detonated.
“Oh, fuck, Duncan!”
“That’s it, Zachary. Come hard for me.”
I think my eyes crossed, his voice pulling the climax out of me harder as ecstasy traveled up my ass and out my cock. I think I even felt it in my feet, and my toes curled as I whimpered, edging over the peak and tumbling down the other side.
“Oh fuck,” Duncan whispered, then collapsed on top of me, our sweaty skin gliding together, his head dropping onto the pillow beside mine.
“Oh fuck is right,” I said, my heart drumming. “I came so hard.”
“Good.” His fingers stroked my face. “Remember that, Zachary.”
I chuckled, because holy shit, mission accomplished. I doubted I’d ever again hear my full name without thinking about this.
Duncan jolted up and went to the bathroom. He returned moments later and cleaned me up with a hot towel. “You okay there?”
“That was…holy hell,” I said as I caught my breath. “That wasn’t sex, that was like therapy.”
Duncan chuckled and slid down onto the mattress, lying on his back. “Therapy never worked that way for me, I must not have been paying enough.”
I turned my head to look at him. “I can’t imagine you ever needing therapy.”
“No?”
“You’re weird, but you’re also pretty much the most together person I know.”
“Thank you. But I’ve gone through my lost periods. Back when I was your age.” He shifted onto his side, brown hair sweat-soaked, eyes drowsy. “When I didn’t know where my life was going.”
“Ah. I can relate to that.”
“I thought you might. Speaking of unexpected directions, this is not how I expected this night to go when I showed up here.”
I smiled, and that’s when something dawned on me for the first time. “Hey. You trucked ass over here to find me after Barry told you I quit. You did that instead of just calling.”
“I wanted to look you in the eye. I buzzed your apartment. When you weren’t here I waited outside for an hour.”
I sat up. “An hour you waited for me?”
Duncan sat up and eased back against the wall. “That’s right. So I apologize for being rude to you out on the street, but I’d been stewing for a while.” He chuckled. “I was angry but I was also worried. Trying to figure out what your motivation was for quitting.”
“Okay.” I studied his eyes. “Can’t say that explains why you accused me of advertising my body.”
“Oh. That.” He winced. “Like I said, I apologize.”
“Why did you say that? About my shirt being too tight. Were you just lashing out at me? Because you know how I feel about being treated like…like there’s something shameful about me.”
Duncan groaned and rubbed his eyes. “I know. I shouldn’t have said that, Zach. I didn’t mean it. It wasn’t about you.”
“You called me confusing before. You’re confusing too, for the record.”
He dropped his hands in his lap. “I don’t want you to think I’m this creepy older guy chasing after you.”
“I don’t. You’re not creepy, and you sure as shit haven’t been chasing after me. Quite the opposite.”
“I didn’t know you got a new job, and that you were dressed for work, all right? When you were out so late then came home dressed like that, I figured you were off with some man. I was already worked up, so I just added that to the list of things bothering me. Again, I’m sorry.”
I shifted so we were facing each other. “You saying it would bother you if I was with another man?”
“It was a kneejerk reaction, I have no claim on you, Zach. No right to jealousy. I’ve had someone else in my bed since I was with you.”
My heart sank, then an old, familiar companion bubbled up, and its name was anger, its sidekick jealousy close behind. “Who? Who was in your bed after me?”
“It doesn’t matter who.”
“What happened to ‘I have nothing to hide’ and all honesty, Duncan?”
“Things are different now.”
“It was Greg, right? Did you sleep with Greg?”
“Zachary…”
“Don’t call me that, we’re not fucking right now.”
His eyebrow cocked, and he smirked at me.
“Oh, you’re amused?”
“Yes.” He reached out and gripped my chin. “Extremely amused.”
I tried to resist the Stengel smirk, but a grin was trying to curve my lips. “It isn’t funny.”
“You jealous over me? Trust me. It’s funny.” He rolled his eyes and a laugh escaped me before I could stop it. “See? It’s funny,” he said. “You’re laughing.”
“I’m laughing because of your face, Duncan.”
Duncan’s head fell back and he laughed long and hard. “Thanks, Zach.”
“You’re right. I’m jealous. Who was in your bed after me?”
He laughed harder and shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. I only mentioned it to make the point that I had no right to behave the way I did when I saw you dressed that way. I’ve got no business acting like I have a say in what you do.”
“You wouldn’t be laughing if your nephew had told you what a nightmare I can be when I’m jealous. I’m both annoying and pathetic, but I’m tenacious.”
Duncan grabbed my hands and tugged me closer, leaning his face into mine. “You want to feel less pathetic?” he asked in a whisper, like we were sharing a secret.
“Yeah, if that’s possible.”
“I, am jealous of…” He poked my chest with his finger. “You, and my nephew. I wish I’d met you first.”
I
tried to hide my grin but a chuckle escaped.
“Try not to look so pleased, I’ve just prostrated myself and shown you one of my flaws.”
“You realize you have no reason to be jealous of him.”
“When has jealousy had anything to do with reason? I have no reason to be messing around with someone your age either, but here I am.”
“You’ve never been with someone younger?”
“Not more than a few years younger. Have you ever been with someone this much older?”
I shook my head. “No.” I grinned. “But I like it.”
He pulled me in so my legs were resting on his thighs. “I like it too.”
“Can we see each other again after this?”
His lips parted and his eyes flicked over my face. “Do you want to?”
“Yeah. I really do.”
He smirked. “You could come back to work.”
“We talked about that already.”
Duncan sighed. “All right. But the job is open for you indefinitely.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really.” He grabbed my face and kissed me. “You can return any time, that’s a promise. And I hope you will.”
“Thank you, I’ll think about it. But I wasn’t talking about seeing you at work.”
“What did you mean then?”
I gave him a pointed glare. “Come on, Duncan. You know what I mean.”
“Are you saying you want to date me?” His crow’s feet wrinkled as his expression became disbelieving.
“Wow. Is it that bad an idea?”
“I just hadn’t imagined you’d ever want that with me.”
“Why?”
Duncan shrugged. “Well, you told me about how long it’s been since you dated, and the last person I’d expect you to break your fast on is me.”
“You knew you were the first person I’d had sex with in ages, you mentioned my celibacy that night in the pool.”
“So you mean you want to fuck me more.”
“Yeah. But also…date you.”
“Well.” His brows rose. “This is unexpected.”
“Hey, listen, I’m not gonna beg. My begging days are behind me. If you don’t want to, just say no. I can handle it.”
“Bring the energy down a notch, Zachary, I’m taking a moment to catch up. I’m old, remember?”
I grinned with my lips pressed together, enjoying the banter but nervous now that I had laid it out there. “Do you not enjoy spending time with me, talking, when your cock’s not in my ass?”
He chuckled. “I enjoy that very much. I’ve enjoyed your company from the moment we met, when you were swearing and sassing Corey. I like you.”
I shrugged. “I like you too. I want to hang out more.”
“If I date you it would be more than just ‘hanging out’. I do know how to romance someone, Zach, so don’t let my recent fumbling make you think otherwise.”
“Then romance me,” I said, leaning in and giving him a quick kiss.
He pinched my chin, smiling. “People will talk.”
“Probably.”
“You don’t care?”
I shook my head. “Nope. We’re both adults, and I don’t work for you anymore.”
“We have…connections.”
“You’re worried about Corey.”
He shrugged. “A little. Are you worried about him?”
“Please. He’s getting married. And there’s no rule saying you can’t date a relative of your ex. If you think someone should talk to him, that should be you. I’ve been out of his life a long time.”
I felt like we were negotiating a diplomatic contract here. I supposed it was the grownup way to handle it. But it kind of took the wind out of my sails, that he had these reservations. I went back and forth between thinking Duncan wanted me even more than I imagined, and thinking he felt cornered now and wanted to flee. And yeah, I was still thinking about who had been in his bed last, but I tried not to. We weren’t pledging monogamy here. I had to reel this fish in carefully.
“All right.” Duncan slid his arms around my back and pressed his forehead to mine. “In that case, I’m going to date the fuck out of you, Zachary.”
A soft laugh huffed out of me, but I was swooning inside. “That sounds great.”
“But now I have to go to sleep.”
“Because you’re old?”
“Yes, Zach. Because I’m old.” He hit me with a pillow. “I’m assuming I can spend the night here?”
I peeled the sheet back and held it up for him to climb under. He sidled up next to me and I gave him my back, letting him spoon me. “Good night, Duncan.”
He squeezed me tight, then relaxed. “Good night.”
Duncan’s body was comforting against mine, but sleep didn’t come easily. I was happy, but I took a moment to acknowledge the strangeness of it. The agony of the past month, not knowing what the hell was going on. Culminating in this, the man I wanted, right here in my bed. I was going to be dating Corey’s uncle, and that almost made a giggle erupt. I tried to imagine Corey’s reaction if Duncan told him. Corey would make that face like he’d smelled something bad. He might even try to talk Duncan out of me, thinking I’d be as big a problem for his uncle as I had been for him.
But I didn’t think that would deter Duncan. I’d been forthcoming about myself, my past mistakes, and my efforts to correct them. Shit, at least I hoped Duncan didn’t let anyone talk him out of it. I hoped he didn’t talk himself out of it.
Because I had a feeling dating the fuck out of Duncan Stengel was gonna be a wild ride.
Chapter Twelve
Despite working late nights, I usually woke up with the sun, which was probably why I was a huge fan of afternoon naps. Today was no different. I heard birds doing their happy morning song outside, and blinked my eyes open, peeling my face off the pillow. Sun streamed through the window, and I saw a steaming mug sitting on the sill.
I twisted in the sheet and sat up. Duncan was sitting on the floor next to the bed, cross-legged holding a mug, shirtless in his dress pants, his hair loose and sexy. “Good morning. I made you tea, it’s on the sill. Your phone has been blowing up with texts.”
I smiled, happy to see him still here. The rich dude in my tiny apartment, sitting on the floor because I didn’t have any goddamn chairs. But he made me tea. And he looked comfortable and relaxed. “Morning,” I said. “Thanks.” I reached over and took the mug off the sill, then settled back against the pillows. “Did my phone wake you up?”
“The heat did, actually. Sorry, but I’m getting you an air conditioner, whether it makes you feel like a whore or not.”
“Okay.” I chuckled. “I won’t fight you. But I can get my own. I’m making pretty good money at Immunity.”
“You’d be making more at Elfy Choices.”
“You really want me to come back to work there.”
“You belong there. It’s yours. I weep whenever I see a stuffed mushroom.”
I snorted. “Be honest, Duncan. Do you really want to be fucking your employee?”
“Oh yes. Absolutely. Whenever possible. Here.” Duncan handed me my phone. “If we ever spend the night together again, you’re shutting your phone off.”
“If?”
He cocked an eyebrow, smirking. “When.”
“That’s better.” I scowled at my phone, flipping through messages. “To be honest, I don’t usually get this many texts. I only have three friends.”
Duncan chuckled. “I doubt that.”
“No, I’m serious. I’ve been hermiting-out for a while now. Some of them ditched me back when I was a dramatic nut. Others because I went into a cocoon the past year with school and shit. Friends drift when you refuse invitations for long enough.”
Duncan raised a brow. “I don’t believe you only have three friends. Name them. Quick, without thinking about it.”
“Sarah, Yvonne, and Doug. Well, Doug is a recent addition, but we hang out a lot now.”
“Doug…Corey’s Doug?”
“Corey doesn’t own Doug. He’s mine now too.”
Laughing, Duncan nodded. “All right.”
I frowned at my phone. “Robert…oh shit, he wants to know why I quit.”
“A lot of people want to know why you quit. You were quite popular at Mythic.”
I sighed. “Yeah, yeah, I know, I’m in the naughty chair.”
Duncan chuckled. “I’ll smooth it out for you. Somehow.”
“Thank you. Ah crap.” I frowned.
“Something wrong?”
“My mother wants me to come to dinner. She’s relentless.”
“You don’t want to see your mother?”
I tossed my phone onto the floor and took a sip of tea. It was good, sweet with lots of almond milk, just how I liked it. “We had a big blowout a while back, that’s when I quit school. We haven’t spoken since. So no. Not really top of my to-do list.”
“Sorry to hear that. Is it something that can be smoothed over?”
I scowled into my mug. I hadn’t spoken about this with anyone but Sarah. It made me grumpy. “When I came out years ago she did the whole ‘I love you no matter what’ business. She didn’t like Corey, but I assumed that was just about Corey. He can be a fucking asshole…” I glanced quickly up at Duncan and flushed. “Shit. I actually forgot he was your nephew for a second.”
Duncan’s eyes narrowed then he laughed. “I get it. Corey can be difficult. What happened between you and your mother?”
“After my life blew up a couple years ago, she told me she’d pay for school if I moved in with her. That way I could go full time, not have to work. I was all heartbroken and lost and existential at the time. And my remaining friends all told me it was a grand fucking opportunity and I should take it, even though I felt like a loser moving back home at twenty-five.”
“What happened?”
“Just what you’d expect. It’s true, you can’t go home again. We were at each other’s throats all the time. My mom’s this sweet little woman half my size, but man, can she get mean.”
Duncan looked amused. “Your mother was mean to you?”
I snickered. “Yes! She was mean to me.”
“Mean how?”
“She was just always on my case. Used to hide my keys if she didn’t think I should go out at a certain hour of the night, and then lie about it. I’d be tearing apart the house and she’d say ‘You must have dropped them somewhere’. Then they’d magically reappear the next day. She was trying to control me like I was a little kid or something. Oh! And one day she told me I breathe lazy.”
