A Different Light

by Morningstar Ashley

  “Didn’t you ever wonder why we never got along as kids? Why would two people dislike each other so much?” Mac asked.

  “I’ve given it some thought recently, and I don’t understand, to be honest. I guess I always thought we were just too different.”

  “Yeah, I guess you would. The truth is, that was probably only part of it. I hated you as much as I had a crush on you. You were this cute boy that had brains for miles and no sense of humor and you were a snarky little shit. But god, I loved those things about you. Sometimes your lack of a sense of humor was what I found the funniest.” Mac found himself smiling at the thoughts of little Bennett Cole.

  That boy had made him smile.

  Until his parents took it away.

  Oh shit. That’s when the thought hit home. It was their fault. Not Bennett’s. The whole time he was blaming Bennett, lashing out at him instead of his parents. Allie had been right. Damnit.

  Quietly, Mac continued, “My parents. They’re the ones that hate me.”

  “Mac. No. They love you,” Bennett immediately replied. He had no true knowledge of that because Bennett had only ever talked to them when they were praising him.

  “They do. I’m not the son they want.” Mac paused, thinking. Did he dare say the truth? Could he tell Bennett who they wanted for a son? “You are.” Bennett scowled, opening his mouth to say what Mac was sure to be a denial. “B, please. I need you to listen now. This isn’t easy for me to say to you of all people.”

  Bennett gave Mac a quick nod.

  “They wanted a son more like you. Someone perfect. They would ask me over and over and over why I wasn’t like you. Why couldn’t I have friends like yours, why couldn’t I study like you, talk like you, dress like you.” Mac felt like he’d run up five flights of stairs.

  “I’m not white collar enough. I’m not smart enough or educated in the right field. I have tattoos and wear work boots. Me and my ‘silly little company’ don’t rank high enough for them.” His voice had come out rough and tired. Saying those words to the man in front of him was hard. Telling anyone that your own parents thought you were worthless was painful. His heart hurt from admitting it.

  Especially to Bennett.

  “I’m sorry, Mac. I had no idea.” Bennett moved closer and rested his hand on Mac’s thigh. That gesture meant a lot. Just the fact that he wanted to lend him comfort filled a few empty places inside Mac. “But I must say that all those years of you being an ass make a lot more sense now. I kind of want to kick your parents in the shins really hard.”

  Mac laughed. It was a rough sound, clogged with emotion, but it felt good. Leave it to Bennett to make him laugh during a heavy-ass conversation.

  “I am not sure why you’re laughing, Mac, cause if I see them I’ll probably do it,” Bennett continued in all seriousness.

  “And I’d pay to see it, Princess.”

  They sat in silence for a while, Bennett’s hand still resting on Mac’s thigh with his head back and eyes closed, and Mac just staring at the picture on the wall across from the couch. With all the thoughts going through his mind, one thing remained clear. “B, I owe you an apology.”

  “Oh, no, you—”

  “Yeah, I do.” He interrupted forcibly. “It never occurred to me in all this time, especially in the last month that you’ve been back, that I was blaming you for my shitty parents. Treating you like shit for just being you. In the end, it’s all on them.” Mac could see now that his parents’ issues had twisted the crush he once had on Bennett, turning everything Mac once thought of as good and cute to something ugly. “They’re the shitty people, not you. I’m sorry.”

  “Apology not needed, but I accept it anyway since I can see that’s what you need.”

  His heart thumped. Huh. That’d felt weird. Bennett doing something just for him. Just because he needed it. It caused a little jolt to his heart.

  He looked up, and Bennett was closer than before. Their thighs were touching, spreading warmth through Mac. Such a simple contact but it felt so big. Mac didn’t want Bennett to stop touching him.

  “Hey, B?”

  “Yeah, Mac?” Bennett replied without lifting his head.

  “Can you…would you be willing to stay with me tonight?”

  Bennett’s head snapped up as he turned, eyes wide with shock on Mac. That was when he realized how what he asked sounded. “Not for that. Just to sleep. I like you close.”

  Bennett’s eyes softened at his statement and a smile bloomed on his face. “You know, I’m quite the cuddler.”

  Mac smiled in return. “Are you now? A man of many talents.”

  “Yeah, and lucky you, you get to see the awesome freaking boxers I’m wearing.” Bennett winked.

  It was that soft contented look that made Mac realize that he was falling hard for Bennett Cole.

  Bennett woke up slowly, not sure what it was that felt off. His mind was slow to start. Rather than trying to think when his mind was foggy with sleep, he reached out for Mac, just to have a hand on him while he slept. But what he felt instead was an empty space and cold sheets. He opened his eyes, looked out the window and saw that it was still dark outside. Sitting up, he turned his head toward the bathroom to see if the light was on, it wasn’t.

  After the ups and downs of the day, Bennett worried about what must be going through Mac’s mind that he would’ve gotten out of bed in the middle of the night.

  He climbed out of bed, clad only in his boxers. Earlier, as they undressed, Mac laughed at the boxers that Bennett was wearing. They were dark blue and said Science. It’s like magic and here is my wand with an arrow pointing to his dick. It was something of a thing between them. Mac would often ask him what boxers he was wearing. He never answered.

  Bennett walked down the stairs, through the living room, and into the family room in his search for Mac, but he wasn’t in any either of those rooms. He searched the kitchen, that was empty too. Thinking that maybe he was in the room with the door that was always closed that Mac studiously distracted him from asking about, he walked toward the door to knock on it. Catching movement out of the corner of his eye, he looked straight ahead and saw Mac standing on the wraparound porch.

  As he walked out the door as quietly as he could, he saw Mac leaning with his hip against the railing, staring out in the big yard. The night was still very warm, and since it was July, the air was thick with humidity. Mac was dressed only in his plaid PJ pants that clung to his hips and his sleep tousled hair.

  Bennett walked closer to Mac. He hadn’t turned to face Bennett, but he was sure the man had to know Bennett was there. He was hesitant about what their boundaries were. They gotten off together, and after a day of hand holding, romantic fireworks, and heavy conversation, he was sleeping—just sleeping—in the man’s bed. But what did that mean? Did any of that give him the right to walk up behind Mac and wrap his arms around his naked torso like he wanted?

  Before Bennett could make a decision, Mac turned to face him. The fragile look that was on Mac’s face sealed his decision. He walked slowly toward Mac, giving him time to protest if he wanted. But once Bennett was within touching distance, Mac opened his arms as if reading Bennett’s intentions.

  Wrapped around each other, they stood there completely silent. The only noise was the crickets and toads and the slight rustle of small animals scurrying through the woods that bordered the yard.

  Bennett felt comforted being in Mac’s arms. The strong build of his body compared to the leaner build of his own made Bennett feel surrounded, safe, and like he never wanted to move. But just the embrace alone told him that Mac had something on his mind, something heavy most likely.

  Drawing his head back out of the crook of Mac’s neck, he looked into those steel gray eyes. It was too dark to actually see the color he’d know anywhere, but not too dark to see the uncertainty lurking in their depths.

  Bennett was relieved to see uncertainty. If it had been regret or distance, he would be stepping back for some more of
those heavy conversations they seemed to keep having. Uncertainty was good, it was what he’d been feeling as well. That meant he wasn’t alone in whatever was happening between them. His next step would hopefully clear up any hesitancy for Mac about what Bennett wanted.

  Carefully, he kissed his lips. This was the first kiss they shared that wasn’t rushed and heated. One small lick to Mac’s bottom lip and he stepped back out of his arms, grabbed his hand, and started to walk backward, hoping that his eyes conveyed what he didn’t want to put into words.

  The silence was sparking and alive, somehow making what he hoped was about to happen between them even hotter. He just hoped he survived it without going up in flames.

  Once he got near the door of the house, Bennett turned, not letting go of Mac’s work roughened hand, and used his free hand to open the door. Just like that, his hand in Mac’s, he led them back to Mac’s bedroom. Neither one of them making a sound.

  As they walked through the bedroom door, Bennett guided Mac straight to the bed. It was the first time he wished Mac had on more clothes. More clothes meant removing each item piece by piece. And if there was one thing that Bennett loved about sex, it was foreplay. Teasing his lover mercilessly. The time for that wasn’t now. It was time to get Mac back on the bed.

  Climbing on without a word, he dragged Mac back down on the bed until he was lying completely flat. Bennett straddled his hips, resting his ass on Mac, and Mac lay his hands on Bennett’s thighs. Bennett loved that position. Being on top of his lover gave him free reign to touch, lick, and kiss his way around their body, finding all those spots that lit them up.

  Bennett placed his hands on Mac’s stomach, using his fingertips to follow the trail of hair that led down to his cock. He marveled at finally being able to touch him this way, to soak in every last sexy goddamn inch of muscle, every delicious line and ripple. He glided his fingers back up the trail of hair, not ready to give in to the need to put his hands and mouth on Mac’s cock.

  The whole time he was exploring, Mac just lay there staring at him, eyes intense and dark. The only lighting in the room was the moonlight coming in through the windows, creating a soft glow. Bennett couldn’t have planned a sexier moment than this one.

  When his fingers had touched the body under him everywhere he could reach, he switched to using his lips. The most erotic moans Bennett thought he’d ever heard started to pour out of Mac. With every lick and bite, the sounds Mac made seemed to get deeper and rougher, as though the pleasure was too much.

  It all felt so slow and sensual, like they had all the time in the world to just explore each other. Well, for Bennett to explore Mac anyway.

  He didn’t have enough yet, not enough touching, tasting, and teasing. Bennett felt like he could torture Mac for hours.

  If Bennett wasn’t already hard from all the touching and visual stimulation, the sensation of Mac’s cock hard against his ass would be enough to get him there. He wanted Mac. Wanted Mac to fill him, wanted to feel the stretch and burn of Mac’s cock fucking into him. Or maybe Bennett fucking himself on Mac. Just the thought made his dick throbb inside his tented boxers and a groan spilling out of his throat.

  He trailed small kisses and bites up Mac’s sculpted abs to his collarbone. Using his tongue, he made a wet line up the side of his neck, flicking Mac’s earlobe. Mac let out a short groan, tightening his hands on Bennett’s thighs as Bennett worked the lobe into his mouth, nibbling and sucking until Mac was reaching his hands around and grabbing Bennett’s ass. Mac pulled him in tight, moving under him and grinding their dicks together.

  His need for Mac’s lips on his grew too strong in that moment. Lifting up, he cupped both sides of Mac’s face and leaned down, slowly kissing him. Nothing more than rubbing his lips against his with small licks in between, the small kisses ratcheted up both of their need for more. Bennett wanted to draw it out, to drive Mac so crazy, he was out of his mind like Bennett was.

  A second later, Mac’s hands tightened on his ass again, and he rolled them. Maneuvering them until Bennett was under him, Mac tried to push closer, to put his full weight on him. Mac braced his hands on either side of Bennett’s face and stared at him.

  Neither of them had spoken. There was so much already being said in the touches and looks they gave each other, words weren’t needed. And Mac’s look at that moment said he’d reached his limit. It was his turn to be the one in control. Bennett shivered, his body screaming Yes. Want. Please. That was the reaction he loved when he teased. That moment when his lover had had enough and needed more. Enough to take it.

  And Bennett loved being taken.

  With that thought, he moaned out loud and Mac growled. Quickly sitting up, Mac reached for the band of Bennett’s boxers, pulling them down as he lifted his ass to help. Lying there naked with Mac’s heated eyes roaming his body, he could feel the goose bumps spread across his skin. He wasn’t ashamed of his body or nervous about being naked in front of Mac. Bennett may not look as sexy as Mac, but he took care of his body and he knew he looked good. He just wanted Mac naked too. Wanted to see his cock, and maybe even finally get his lips on it.

  Mac shook his head as though he was reading Bennett’s mind. Before he could break their long-held silence, Mac’s mouth engulfed his dick, making Bennett cry out hoarsely, gasping from the wet heat that surrounded his aching cock. Oh god. He clawed at the bedding that was under him and tried to push up into the mouth that was causing him to lose his mind, but Mac’s hands held him down. Bennett couldn’t control the sounds that poured out of him as Mac’s tongue, throat, and teeth worked him slow then fast. The more Bennett seemed to enjoy what Mac was doing, the more Mac hummed around his cock, shooting pleasure through his body.

  Bennett was sure he was going to come in the next few seconds.

  It seemed that just as quickly as Mac had started, he stopped. Bennett couldn’t open his eyes. All he could do was concentrate on breathing and not coming. He felt the bed move and shake and peeked out from behind his eye lashes to see Mac removing his sleep pants. Bennett sighed, knowing what was coming next. The tease and torture they traded back and forth was about to be over.

  He would finally have Mac inside of him.

  A very naked Mac was plastered to him within seconds. Every part of them touching. Bennett’s legs spread wide to wrap around Mac's muscled frame. Bennett couldn’t help the noises he was making. He felt needy and desperate. Gone was the slow, sensual tease, and all that was left was his deep-seated need to be fucked.

  He could feel the slide of their cocks, their pre-come leaking onto their bellies making the slide easier. Bennett had thought their night on Mac’s couch was hot as fuck, but being able to feel that hard body skin to skin with his own had already knocked whatever he thought their frottage night was out of the park. It was everything he craved. Cocks together, strong hands holding him down, Mac’s woodsy scent invading his senses. Bennett pushed his hips against Mac’s over and over. Mac guided their rhythm until they were both breathing heavy.

  Bennett had felt Mac moving off him, and he almost whined because Mac’s weight leaving him was the last thing he wanted. Bennett felt blissed out. High on their sex smell and lust. His brain was one of his best qualities, but in that room, on that bed with Mac, he couldn’t form a coherent thought. He couldn’t care about what was happening other than he wanted more from Mac.

  The first touch of wet fingers parting his ass cheeks sent a jolt of surprise through Bennett, his eyes flying open to watch. Mac was kneeling between his still spread thighs, his hard length jutting up to his belly with his fingers rubbing slowly over his hole in sensual movements that nearly short-circuited his brain again. He wanted to see everything Mac was going to do him.

  Mac continued to circle his fingers around Bennett’s hole as he stared like he was mesmerized by where his fingers were. Mac lifted his fingers away and sucked them into his mouth, soaking them with his spit before returning to torture him some more. Then, as Bennett exhaled, Mac pus
hed a finger into him, and they groaned in unison. Everything in Bennett was screaming more, more, more.

  After what felt like a too short amount of time, his finger was gone, and Mac was fumbling through the night stand drawer. He pulled out condoms and lube, tossing the condoms on the bed by Bennett’s hip. He heard the click of the bottle opening, that simple sound sending a bolt of excitement through him. Bennett spread his thighs further. Take me. He reached down, grasping his own hard length and gave it a tight squeeze before stroking slowly up and down.

  Then Mac was back, slipping in two fingers. Long teasing strokes. “Holy fuck.” Bennett’s voice had broken the silence that had stayed with them, but there was no way he couldn’t give voice to the feeling of that stretch. A few more strokes and then the fingers were gone, and Mac was putting on the condom. He didn’t say anything in response to Bennett’s words just a cocky as fuck smile.

  Bennett felt cocooned in a bubble. Mac was the only thing he wanted, the only thought on his mind, the only need he needed fulfilled. Mac caught his mouth in a heated kiss, tongue thrusting, and Bennett wasn’t sure he wouldn’t come from that kiss alone. Mac rubbed his cock against Bennett’s hole for long tortuous moments, causing Bennett to groan and curse, but he never wanted the delicious torture to end. Because apparently, he liked getting teased as much as he liked doing the teasing. Who would’ve known he was a masochist?

  He could feel Mac’s cock pressing against his hole. Bennett was so far gone that his body hadn’t bothered to tense. The burn and stretch that he been wanted flared up and Bennett reveled in it. He shuddered when Mac finally bottomed out.

  Mac’s shallow breath gusted out of him against Bennett’s lips as he slid a hand down, grasping and linking their hands. The feeling of being connected to this man was overwhelming. Bennett felt him everywhere at once, and he didn’t know what to do with the feelings rushing through him.