by DJ Monroe
Officer Anders and Milton exchanged glances and nodded.
“That’s exactly what we needed,” Officer Anders said. “You’re free to go.”
“You’ll let me know if he’s apprehended,” Lincoln questioned, Colton’s whereabouts still on his mind.
“We will. And thank you for your help,” Officer Anders shook his hand and opened the door.
Slick was waiting for him outside the door and the two of them left the police station together. Lincoln didn’t breathe until he was out in the bright morning sunshine and he felt like Slick was reacting the same way.
“Now what?” Lincoln asked as they walked back toward his car.
“Can you drop me off at my place over on Wyoming Street?” Slick asked.
“Sure,” Lincoln said, happy that Slick did not want to come back to his apartment. His next task was to find Colton and explain what had happened the night before and he wasn’t sure how he would do that with Slick hanging around. This made it a whole lot easier.
“So, I’ll see you around, I guess,” Slick said when he got out of the car in front of a run- down apartment building about five blocks on the opposite side of Paddy’s.
“Not at Paddy’s,” Lincoln said. “I don’t think I’ll ever go down there again.”
The boys were still playing basketball, but he was exhausted. Thankfully they didn’t see him and he was able to get into the apartment building. He reluctantly checked his mail. It was mostly junk. He tossed it into a nearby trash can, turned and came face to face with Colton, who was standing in front of the elevator with a shopping bag in each hand.
“Oh, my, God,” Lincoln said, grabbing the man by both arms without even thinking. “I’ve been so worried about you.”
“Evidently, not too worried,” Colton said, trying to hold his voice steady. “You must have had a good time at Paddy’s last night.”
Lincoln shook his head. “No, no, you’ve got it all wrong.”
“Really?” Colton asked.
The elevator arrived and Colton stepped onto it, placing the bags at his feet. Lincoln hesitated. God, he hated that elevator, but he wasn’t about to let Colton keep thinking he had spent the night with someone from Paddy’s.
“Are you coming or not?” Colton asked, his finger on the DOOR OPEN button.
Lincoln stepped on board and the doors rattled closed behind him. Colton pushed the button for the third floor then crossed his arms over his chest, leaning casually against the wall.
“Please, at least let me explain what happened last night,” Lincoln began.
“I’m listening,” Colton said. “I just want you to know, I’m more hurt than angry. We had dinner plans and I was really looking forward to it.” He paused as if unsure of how to finish. “And then I saw you down at that—that place. You didn’t even have the courtesy to let me know.”
“We’ve never exchanged phone numbers so I didn’t know how to get in touch with you,” Lincoln said. “I left a note on your door”
Colton continued to shake his head. “I never saw a note.”
“I know. I found it on the floor about halfway down the hall in the middle of the night last night,” Lincoln explained.
When Colton still looked skeptical, he continued. “Two of the men you saw me with were police officers. They were there to talk to the other man, the blond, named Slick. He knows David pretty well, as evident from the black eye and bruised lip. We convinced him to come with me to the police station this morning and pick this guy out of a lineup.”
Colton’s expression softened somewhat.
“Besides, you were at Paddy’s, too. If you’d just waited for a few minutes...”
“I left you a note when I couldn’t find you,” Colton said, his defenses right back in place.
Lincoln nodded. “I found that, too. Late last night when I was looking for you,” Lincoln explained. “It looked like they both fell into the floor and neither of us saw them.”
“Wait,” Colton said, holding up one hand. “Why were you looking for me?”
Lincoln cleared his throat. “I was worried.”
“Worried?”
“When you left Paddy’s I ran outside, trying to catch you. But you were gone. You just disappeared. I couldn’t see you anywhere. And then I began to worry that David, the guy who robbed me, had... Well it sounds silly now, but that he kidnapped you,” Lincoln explained, his words coming out in a rush.
“Right out of the parking lot?” Colton asked.
“He’s that bad,” Lincoln said. “And if something happened to you because of me...”
The men stood there quietly for a moment staring at each other and then Lincoln did something he’d been wanting to do since he’d had dinner at Colton’s place. Taking a chance that he might get punched, he leaned in and kissed him. It was nothing more than a gentle brushing of their lips together but Lincoln inhaled Colton’s clean scent, loved the smooth skin of his mouth and the taste of coffee on his breath.
Colton gasped and Lincoln forced himself to pull away, not knowing whether to kiss him again or flee to the other side of the elevator. Was he surprised? Angry?
Finally, he realized Colton was just standing there, trembling, eyes half-closed. Lincoln swallowed hard.
“May I kiss you again?” Lincoln asked.
‘Y—yes,” Colton whispered.
Lincoln kissed him again. This time there was no hesitation and the gentle kiss quickly grew more passionate by the moment. Colton’s lips parted and Lincoln’s tongue darted inside, teasing, tasting. He groaned.
Colton moaned softly, sliding both arms around his shoulders, fingers tangled in the hair at the nape of his neck. Lincoln pulled Colton closer, and soon the full length of their bodies were touching. Soon, the only thing he could think about was the man in his arms. He explored Colton’s mouth with his tongue, groaning again when Colton responded, sucking gently and straddling the thigh Lincoln worked between his legs.
Making a silent promise, Lincoln slid a hand between them and fondled the growing bulge in the front of Colton’s jeans. That brought another low moan from Colton and they came up for air.
Lincoln was about to suggest that as soon as they got to Colton’s place, he would finish what they’d just started but before he could speak, Colton frowned, turned his head toward the elevator doors and said, “Listen.”
Burying his face in Colton’s neck, licking the skin there, Lincoln said, “I don’t hear anything.”
“Exactly,” Colton said. “And none of the buttons are lit up.”
“What?” Lincoln said, finally letting Colton out of his grasp.
“I think it’s stuck,” Colton said. Without letting go of Lincoln, Colton took a step toward the control panel. He punched THREE and nothing happened.
“Like between floors, maybe?” Lincoln asked.
“I think so,” Colton said. “We’ll have to call Mr. Ashley.”
Lincoln already had his cell phone in his hand, keying in the number. He explained where they were and what was happening and then nodded a couple of times. “Okay, well, hurry. Colton has groceries here.”
The call ended and Colton looked at Lincoln, licking his lips as if he was still tasting their kiss. “It’ll be a while. He has to call the elevator people,” Lincoln explained.
“Good,” Colton said, sliding right back into Lincoln’s arms as easily as if he’d been there a dozen times or more. “I’m not saying we can finish what we started but...”
“Oh, yes I can, and being trapped in an elevator with you is just what I need.”
Lincoln caught Colton’s face in both hands and kissed him again. Colton sighed and returned the kiss. Their tongues danced, playfully, taking turns exploring while their hands did the same.
This time, when they took a moment to breathe, Lincoln looked down into Colton’s eyes. They were a dark, stormy gray now with flecks of gold and held him in a magic spell. He licked his way down Colton’s neck, thrilled at the little gaspi
ng moans coming from the other man. His body reacted, jeans growing uncomfortably tight, and Colton traced around the most ominous bulge with his fingers.
“I have to taste you,” Lincoln whispered.
Again, Colton simply gasped and leaned back against the elevator wall, but he didn’t take his eyes off Lincoln. Slowly moving to his knees, Lincoln unbuckled Colton’s belt and lowered his zipper. The tip of his cock was already wet with pearly drops of excitement and Lincoln swiped his tongue across it tenderly.
“Oh, God,” Colton groaned.
Lincoln licked him again and again, each time sucking him a little further into his mouth. By the time Colton was completely erect, over half of his cock had disappeared between Lincoln’s lips and the rest was disappearing quickly.
“Dear, God,” Colton murmured and gave an involuntary thrust of his hips.
Glancing up, Lincoln saw that Colton was watching him. He winked and then swallowed the rest of Colton’s cock easily. He freed it as slowly as he had sucked it inside and then swallowed him again.
“Please, Lincoln,” Colton whispered. “It’s been so long.”
Lincoln released Colton’s cock with his mouth but continued to stroke the thick, wet staff with one hand. “Should I stop?” he asked, not sure what Colton had meant by that last statement.
Colton tangled his fingers in Lincoln’s hair and shook his head. “I’m not going to be able to take much more of this without losing control,” he said, his voice thick with need.
Lincoln grinned. “I’m not sure I can wait much longer to taste you.”
More droplets oozed from the slit in Colton’s swollen knob and Lincoln licked them clean, moaning softly at the sweet/tangy taste, just a preview of what was soon to come. He swallowed the full length of Colton’s cock, withdrew slowly and then swallowed him again, each time moving faster and faster. Lincoln squeezed him with his lips, teased him with his tongue until Colton was grunting, fucking Lincoln’s mouth steadily and hanging onto his head with both hands.
“Ohgodohgodohgodohgod,” Colton’s throaty cries rose steadily.
The cock in Lincoln’s mouth twitched against his tongue and began to swell. He was suddenly torn between wanting to swallow every drop of Colton’s hot seed and longing to feel it spurting onto his own throbbing erection. Within seconds, the decision was made for him. With a strangled sound, Colton exploded in Lincoln’s mouth, hot fluids coating his tongue. He moaned and swallowed quickly as stream after stream of the hot nectar poured out of Colton.
Lincoln used his lips and tongue to make sure Colton was completely drained. Finally, he used his hand to milk the last drops from the tip of his cock. He lapped them up hungrily and then glanced up at Colton and winked.
“Oh, Lord,” Colton gasped, tucking his cock away and zipping up his pants with shaking hands.
Lincoln stood, kissing Colton’s mouth, allowing him to taste himself. “Oh, Lord, indeed.”
Colton laughed softly and reached up to touch Lincoln’s wet lips. He wanted to kiss him again and again. “I can’t wait to taste you.”
Lincoln nodded and was about to give Colton that opportunity when he heard voices. They’d been rescued much too soon.
“Looks like it stuck between the second and third floor.” A man’s voice that Lincoln didn’t recognize reached his ears.
The elevator doors squeaked opened and Lincoln saw that they were indeed, stuck between floors. All he could see were the head and shoulders of three men standing on the second floor. He recognized one as Mr. Ashley.
“Don’t worry, guys, we’ll have you out of there in a jiffy,” one of the strangers said. Lincoln assumed he worked for the elevator company.
One head disappeared and Lincoln heard a voice coming from almost directly below the car.
“Here’s what happened,” a disembodied voice said, sounding satisfied.
The two remaining heads disappeared as they stooped to look.
Colton and Lincoln grinned at each other and Lincoln held one of Colton’s shopping bags in front of him, hoping to hide the bulge in the front of his jeans.
“Easy fix?” Mr. Ashley asked.
“Yep,” came the reply.
Footsteps sounded and Lincoln and Colton were alone again. In just a few moments, the button labeled as THREE lit up on the elevator, the doors closed and the car jerked into an upward motion. It took several minutes for it to stop and settle. Lincoln held his breath until the doors finally creaked open and he fought the urge to grab Colton and physically pull him out of that death trap.
He didn’t feel safe until both of them were standing on the third floor.
“I’ll never ride that elevator again,” Lincoln said, shaking his head.
“Well, considering -.” Colton began and started toward his apartment.
Lincoln’s phone chimed. He frowned at the screen. It was Jon. Unable to stop himself, he answered it and was greeted by sobbing that he recognized all too well.
“Hello,” Lincoln said, heart racing.
“Lincoln, he’s gone,” Jon sobbed. “Pete dumped me and moved out and—" More sobbing, unintelligible, slurred babbling. “I can’t live without him. I can’t go on.”
Colton located his keys, unlocked the door to his apartment and reached for the bag sitting by Lincoln’s foot.
“Are you drunk?” Lincoln asked.
“Probably,” Jon answered, bursting into tears anew. “I’m going to end it all.”
“No, you are not,” Lincoln all but shouted to be heard over the sobbing. “Where are you?”
“In my car,” Jon slurred.
“What! Don’t move. Don’t drive. Tell me where you’re parked,” Lincoln commanded.
Jon rambled on for a few moments and then finally told Lincoln where he was. “I don’t know what to do and—”
“I’m on my way,” Lincoln said.
Finally, the call ended and Lincoln saw that Colton had left the door to his apartment open for him. He stepped into the apartment, clean and bright and cheerful, just like he remembered, just like the man himself.
“I can make lunch,” Colton called from the kitchen.
Lincoln followed him into the small space. He wanted to skip lunch, take Colton to bed and never leave the room but Jon was in trouble. “Um, I have to leave,” Lincoln said.
“Oh,” Colton said, disappointment showing in those warm gray eyes. “I was hoping we could—”
“I was hoping that as well,” Lincoln said. “I don’t know how long I’ll be gone but I’ll let you know when I get back, if you don’t have other plans.”
Colton shook his head. “No other plans.” And then he smiled. “You know where I live.”
Taking a chance, Lincoln took a step forward, kissed Colton quickly and rushed toward the stairs. If he hadn’t run, he would never have left.
Chapter Seventeen
More disappointed than hurt that Lincoln had stood him up the night before, Colton went to the corner market to pick up a few things for dinner and another bottle of wine. He tried calling Richard but it kept going to voice mail. After leaving the third message with no return call, he gave up. He had only talked to his friend once that week and had not seen him for a while until the night before when he saw him at Paddy’s with Grant.
He shrugged off the thoughts about Richard. Richard had never been a predictable person and had probably picked up someone at the bar and taken him home. Grant had always been predictable, dependable, solid, sure and Colton had loved that about him.
As it turned out, in the end, Grant had let him down as well. And then another thought came to mind. Had Grant met someone at Paddy’s last night and taken him home? That didn’t sound like the man he knew. But, then again, he had no idea Grant would cheat on him with someone else. That pain was just something he was going to have to get used to, he supposed.
No matter how he tried to avoid it, his thoughts strayed to Lincoln again and he began to wonder why he hadn’t come home. Of course, th
e obvious reason was that he’d spent the night with someone from Paddy’s. As he shopped, Colton wondered if he could handle a one-night stand or just picking up some stranger out of a bar. He didn’t think so and the truth was, until recently, he hadn’t wanted anyone but Grant—or at least he thought that was the case.
He’d been thinking of Lincoln more and more ever since they’d had dinner together. The night he was supposed to introduce him to Richard.
Colton was standing by the elevator with the two shopping bags by his feet when, as if conjured up by his own thoughts, Lincoln entered the lobby and headed straight for the mail boxes. Wearing what looked like new jeans and a dress shirt, Lincoln unlocked the little door, pulled mail out of the box and studied it for a moment.
Colton took a step closer to the elevator hoping not to be seen. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to face Lincoln right then or not. In spite of that, though, Colton could not help but admire the other man’s athletic physique. His well-muscled back and broad shoulders tapered into a trim waist and, Colton had to admit, an ass he would like to see naked.
Finally, Lincoln tossed the mail in the trash can, turned and saw Colton.
Before he could move, Lincoln rushed toward him, grabbing him by the shoulders. “Oh, my, God,” Lincoln said, sliding his hands up and down Colton’s arms as if checking to make sure he was all in one piece. “I’ve been so worried about you.”
“Evidently, not too worried,” Colton said. He didn’t want to sound so petty, didn’t want to let Lincoln know how much he’d been hurt. Trying to hold his voice steady while he eased out of Lincoln’s grasp. “You must have had a good time at Paddy’s last night.”
Lincoln shook his head. “No, no, you’ve got it all wrong.”
“Really?” Colton asked, not believing a word of it.
The elevator arrived and Colton stepped onto it, placing the bags at his feet. Lincoln hesitated. “Are you coming or not?” Colton snapped, sounding more harsh than he meant to as he held his finger on the DOOR OPEN button.
