Dare to Hope

by Caitlin Ricci

  The jumping, spinning, punchy things Samuel did were beautiful, and Chris wished he knew what any of it was called. It would have been nice to have a conversation about something Samuel clearly practiced, if the controlled, graceful movements were anything to go by. Chris wasn’t a complete klutz, but he knew he wouldn’t look anything like Samuel did if he attempted to replicate any of what he was seeing. Sometimes Samuel was so fast he didn’t even understand what he was seeing to begin with.

  Multitasking was something Chris did exceptionally well, and while he continued to stay focused on Samuel and what he was doing, Chris also let himself think about what a life here would mean. He’d looked into it, a little, and knew there would be tests to get licensed and he’d have to prove that his education and experience back home qualified him to be a lawyer in New Zealand. But what else would it mean? Getting to look at Samuel all the time? Maybe even living with him someday if they could stand each other that long?

  He’d only ever lived with Bran, and that had been one crazy, messed up experience. He loved Bran, and he knew they would be friends again. That they could play together as they had back at the house proved that to Chris. But he didn’t want to live with a roommate again. Maybe Bran was better now. Maybe he didn’t throw a fit if a towel was left on the bathroom floor or if his toothbrush had been used by accident after a night of drinking anymore.

  But living with someone meant giving up his privacy and his space. Sometimes maybe he didn’t want to have someone else always on top of him. Maybe he wanted to watch his own movies and not share the remote. He didn’t know what living with Samuel would be like, especially since they couldn’t seem to go a day without arguing, but maybe if he lived close for a while, and Thames was only twenty minutes away so it qualified to him, then perhaps they could try things out for a while until they got sick of each other. Which always happened with the guys he was with. Six months was his limit, and maybe the only reason he’d been into Samuel for almost nine months now was because they hadn’t been around each other that much. He didn’t want to lose out on Samuel just because they got tired of each other.

  He’d become a lawyer in New Zealand regardless, though, simply to see if he still knew what the hell he was talking about. He was qualified to practice in all but three states, because he liked proving how good he was and had wanted to make his dad proud. Maybe this time he could take the test to be proud of himself.

  And New Zealand definitely had the lack of snow thing going for it. He’d looked up normal winter temps for the country, and after he’d figured out that he was looking at Celsius and not Fahrenheit, and therefore didn’t have to panic, he realized they really weren’t all that bad.

  Samuel seemed to be slowing down, his harsh breaths rocking through him as he continued to beat at the heavy punching bag. Some people may have been afraid that the person they wanted could get angry enough to become this violent, this absolutely brutal. Chris was not one of those people, but he wasn’t stupid either. Samuel had the potential to really hurt someone. And now he knew why Misha said he wouldn’t want to face him in a match, because he was fucking dangerous.

  But Chris’s belief that Samuel would never hurt him intentionally was absolute, so he leaned back, enjoyed the show, and waited for Samuel to work out whatever it was that was bothering him this time. Chris had a pretty good suspicion that he was at the heart of Samuel’s frustration at the moment, though, which he was okay with. He knew he was an asshole sometimes, and he’d intentionally pushed Samuel too far in order to get him alone. Wouldn’t it just suck if his plan backfired on him now?

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  SAMUEL COULDN’T remember when last he had been this angry at a person and so sexually frustrated at the same time. The complete irony of the situation—he was sexually wired for a guy he wanted to throttle—should have been funny, but he couldn’t find the energy to laugh at himself over his stupidity.

  The best way to work it all off was over-the-top exercise to the point of pain. After leaving Kaden’s house he came straight home to change into a pair of cutoff shorts and hit the workout room with a vengeance. Sweat soaked every piece of skin and ran down the side of his face. His heart pounded as adrenaline pumped into his bloodstream, his body in full combat mode. Pulling on his last reserves, he managed a few more roundhouse kicks to the rocking bag before grabbing it with both hands to stop its momentum.

  Then he turned around and glared at Chris, where he stood by the door. “You don’t want to be here right now.”

  Chris only smiled at him. “Actually, I think I do. I’m enjoying the view. Keep hitting the bag thing for a while. Your ass looks great when you do that.” He pushed away from the wall and came toward Samuel, but instead of going to him, as Samuel had expected, Chris went over and poked at one of the larger punching bags. It swayed a little, and Chris nearly giggled. “It looks like fun.” He looked back at Samuel. “I’m serious. Keep going. Mirrors everywhere here and I want to watch you. You’re yummy to look at.” He stripped off the thin shirt Samuel had wanted to peel off him back at the house and tossed it aside, giving Samuel a wink as he did.

  All the workout he had done meant shit as he watched a cocky Chris walk through his exercise equipment—weights, treadmill, and a bench press, but when Chris bent over to lift up one of the smaller weights, Samuel lost the fight against his slipping control.

  In two steps he rushed Chris from behind and full-body tackled him to the soft mats on the floor. Chris grunted an oomph as he hit the ground, but Samuel made sure to fall sideways to spare Chris his heavy weight. Before Chris could open his smart mouth, Samuel flipped him over and pinned his arms above his head. Only then did he look in his eyes.

  “Should I be asking what you’re doing?” Chris asked, making Samuel groan as he wiggled against him.

  “I’m doing what I should’ve done a long time ago to shut you up,” Samuel growled as he used one hand to hold Chris’s arms and the other to loosen the button on his pants and started pushing them down over his hips.

  Chris’s smirk annoyed him, as did the kiss he blew him, as if he thought Samuel wouldn’t follow through this time.

  “If you wanted to give me a hand job, all you had to do was say so. You know I’m game for that. And if this is what I get every time I piss you off, I’ll have to figure out more ways to annoy you. If I wash your reds with your whites and turn everything pink, would that do it for you?”

  “Shut up! All you have to do to piss me off at the moment is open your mouth and speak.”

  Samuel slammed his mouth down on Chris’s and roughly shoved his tongue inside to taste him. Chris took a second or two to respond, as if surprised to be kissed at all, and then all bets were off. Teeth clicked and tongues dueled, and at one stage Samuel tasted a bit of blood from a split lip, but tough shit. He’d waited a damn long time for this.

  When he got Chris out of his pants, Samuel stood up and straddled Chris below him before pulling off his own shorts.

  “Can I say something?” Chris bugged him.

  “What?” he almost yelled as he lowered himself onto Chris’s body, skin on skin.

  Chris moaned a little at the contact and looked like he was enjoying himself. “The piercing is only from this morning. It looks healed, thanks to an awesome spray, but it’s still raw, so try not to tear it out. Deal?”

  Samuel pushed himself up and looked at the object of discussion. “Deal.” Without further delay he moved back, stroking his palms down Chris’s chest, abdomen, and over the amazing tattoo to his hips before taking his hard cock into a firm grip.

  “Does begging count as talking?”

  “I’ll just ignore you,” Samuel retorted. He wet his lips and took Chris into his mouth all the way to the base.

  Chris laughed, but he wasn’t laughing long as Samuel swallowed him. He didn’t mind when Chris thrust as much as he could into his mouth, especially since he was only squeezing his shoulders with his hands, not pushing his head down. />
  “Fuck, you’re good with your mouth. Whatever got into you, tell me so I can do it more.”

  Samuel held the root of Chris’s dick and got to work on making him come. He applied all his knowledge and technique, which wasn’t too much with his limited experience, but he did what he enjoyed done to him, and it worked, if Chris’s exclamations and scratching nails were anything to go by. Samuel was sure he’d have long red scratches over his shoulders, but he didn’t stop, even when Chris started to push him off.

  “Stop,” Chris gasped. “Not yet. Too soon.”

  He kept pushing, but Samuel refused to move as he worked his mouth over Chris’s length, even as Chris whimpered and dug his nails sharply into Samuel’s shoulders. He tasted Chris’s precome and felt his cock harden more as his climax approached, and still he didn’t pull off.

  Chris must’ve realized there was no stopping, because he planted his hands on Samuel’s head and came with a cry of surrender. His body bucked and shivered beneath Samuel, and Samuel swallowed some of the come before pulling off and jerking Chris to gather the rest on his hand.

  While Chris lay there taking deep breaths, Samuel pushed his legs back slightly, giving Chris enough time to refuse if he wanted to, even as Chris smiled up at him and ran his hands down Samuel’s sweat-drenched chest. Chris opened his legs farther, and Samuel took some of the release on two fingers and rubbed them around Chris’s entrance.

  Chris made a sound Samuel could only describe as a purr. For the first time he realized what a sexual creature the man before him was, and it made him regret holding out on Chris for so long. If they did end up together, Sam had his work cut out for him keeping this cat satisfied.

  Using persistent pressure and gentle strokes, he loosened Chris’s tight muscles enough to penetrate with first one then two digits.

  Chris hissed and gave him a sexy smile. “I had forgotten how good that feels.”

  Samuel looked down at where he stretched Chris’s ass and spread his fingers a little to prepare him some more. “I will feel much better.” With his left hand he added more come to the outside and worked it in, before adding a third finger.

  “So damn good.” Chris squirmed slightly, trying to push himself down on Samuel’s hand, and he couldn’t wait any longer. He leaned forward on one arm and lodged his cock at Chris’s ready hole. “I’m clean. Got tested three months ago. You?”

  Chris stroked his hands over Samuel’s tattooed shoulders and upper arms, the appreciation of his body clear to see in his eyes. “I got tested before I came here. No one after my second visit to Montana. Nada.”

  Samuel kissed him as he pushed in slowly, lifting one of Chris’s legs up to make it easier. Chris complied wonderfully by wrapping both long legs around his hips. By the third thrust, delicious tight heat enveloped his cock, and Samuel growled at the feeling of possessiveness that stole over him.

  Chris surprised him by wrapping his arms around his shoulders, pulling him closer, showing he was just as desperate as Samuel was in that moment. He was as liquid metal under him, all hot and responsive, gasping with each slow movement as Samuel pushed into him.

  Samuel sucked Chris’s tongue into his mouth, their very breaths mingling in their closeness, and still neither broke it off. When breathing became too hard, he slid his lips down Chris’s stubbly cheek and latched his teeth and lips onto the skin and tight tendon in his neck. He sucked the spot to make a mark and continued his journey down. He pumped his hips slowly, in no hurry to finish what they’d started and careful to avoid rubbing against Chris’s belly piercing.

  By far his most responsive lover, Samuel knew he wouldn’t be able to give up this thing with Chris easily. Not when every ounce of pleasure was so easy to see in the tight lines of his face and his easy, breathless gasps. He seemed to hold nothing back, no part of himself, as he gave Samuel everything he had without a single word. Now he understood why Chris chose sex so long ago as an outlet, because it was one way he could let go of all his problems and give himself away fully.

  Bowing his back Samuel licked and nibbled Chris’s nipples, first one, then the other. Chris went wild beneath him, squirming and thrusting back up to deepen the penetration of his body. With every stroke Samuel took, Chris pushed up, and the desire Chris had for him made this so much better than any anonymous sex could ever be. Chris knew him some, they had kissed, cuddled and fought, but he wanted Samuel with a passion humbling to see.

  “Look,” Chris said in a breathless moan, and Samuel followed the direction of his gaze to see them gloriously naked and making love in the mirror beside them. Chris let go of him with one hand, and Samuel instantly missed the contact, but he watched as Chris pushed his hair back from his face, the soft curls growing tighter with his sweat as they clung to his skin.

  “I want to—” Chris bit off before clamping his mouth shut again as if he was afraid to say what he wanted to. Instead he brought his hand back up to Samuel’s shoulder and ran his fingertips down his arm.

  “Tell me what you need.”

  Chris laughed breathlessly. “Need? What I need is you. What I was going to say was that we had so fucking much to talk about and I wanted to talk to you. That can wait until tomorrow, though. Right now I only want to enjoy you. Until you get pissed off at me again. Of course… if this is my reward for making you mad, I’ll gladly do it every damn day.”

  Samuel smiled a bit. “Being mad at you doesn’t change how much I want you, so if you piss me off I’ll only fuck you again. So it’s a good deal. We can talk tomorrow, because we’re talking a different language right now.” Samuel kissed him again, his lips red and swollen from their earlier aggressive kisses.

  “Turn over. I want to ride you,” Chris said, surprising him with his words and also the hard tap on his shoulder.

  They’d have to separate for that, but Chris did look pretty insistent. Samuel carefully withdrew and rolled over Chris’s leg onto his back, the mat cool against his sweaty skin.

  As Chris balanced himself over Samuel, he couldn’t deny how gorgeous and completely sure of himself Chris looked as he lowered himself back onto Samuel’s shaft, hissing as he took him fully again. At first he didn’t move at all, just knelt there on top of him, but when his slow movements came Samuel was nearly entranced as Chris gently moved his hips, the smallest motion rocking Samuel in him and making him gasp. Of course Chris looked smug, especially as he dragged his hand down his side, over his tattoo, taking Samuel’s gaze with the movement.

  “I knew you’d like this. Having me on top seems to be everyone’s favorite. I don’t mind. It’s mine too.”

  Samuel growled in frustration. “No more talk of anyone else doing this to you. You’re with me and only me. I don’t want you doing this with another person, because as much as we fight, you know as well as I do, we can’t deny this. What we have. The way we met, what are the chances?”

  “I do so love that you consulted me on this decision,” Chris said with a grin. He rolled his hips, increasing the movement, and laid his hands on Samuel’s stomach. “The chances are slim. I’ll give you that. And it’s weird that really we’ve spent so little time together but I’ve been into you longer than anyone else in my life. Also, holding my wrists, I wouldn’t have been able to go to even Bran for that. So you read into that all you want. But do it later. I don’t want you distracted right now.”

  Samuel used his hands to touch Chris the way he wanted to when he first saw him without a shirt. Using a finger, he traced the lines of Chris’s tattoo and a big circle around his navel, looking at Chris’s face to see if it hurt him, but he only increased the pace. Samuel pulled his knees up and supported Chris’s back, and it pushed him deeper into Chris’s body.

  Chris leaned over and sucked on his nipples, goose bumps rising all over his skin as his hips lifted involuntarily at the pleasure he got from it.

  “You okay coming in me when you’re ready?” Chris asked him huskily as he laid his forehead against Samuel’s neck. “I think
I’ll cry if you say no.”

  “Why is it so important to you?” Samuel wondered.

  Chris didn’t lift his head. “Because no one ever has.” He rocked himself over Samuel’s hard length, no longer looking at him as he seemed only focused on giving Samuel pleasure, on making him come.

  Samuel took his face between his palms, forcing Chris to look into his eyes. “It’s a first for me too. I’m ready when you are.”

  “Don’t get sappy on me now, old man,” Chris teased him, even as he leaned down to kiss Samuel on his cheek.

  He moved and caught Chris’s kiss on his lips before sliding his tongue inside. He wanted to kiss this man as they both came. Nothing could be any more intimate than this. Chris lifted his stomach from Samuel’s without breaking their kiss, and Samuel began to feel the rough slide of Chris’s knuckles against his belly as he stroked himself. Soon his soft moans turned into gasps and he began to tremble in Samuel’s embrace.

  “You better be close,” Chris grunted against his lips before smashing his mouth back against Samuel’s.

  Samuel’s whole body went hot and tight as his orgasm started to form. “With you,” he managed to gasp against Chris’s kiss.

  With a strangled cry, Chris suddenly went still above him, and warmth splashed between them as he came. Samuel found his release only a second later, filling Chris and being with him in a way he’d never experienced with anyone else.

  The moment was over far too soon, though, as Chris’s phone began ringing and he started to pull away. “Leave it,” Samuel said, trying to hold him.

  “Nope.”

  But he was exhausted, and Chris was slippery with sweat, letting him escape as he got up and went over to his pants. Samuel felt an intense sense of pride as he saw a glistening line of come sliding down Chris’s leg as he walked away.

  He wasn’t gone long, though, before he was back and lying on his side next to Samuel. “Hey,” he said into his phone, which lay on the mat between them.