Open Wounds: The Boxed Set

by Michelle Frost

  “These are the only pictures I have of us,” Magnus said quietly before slipping his wallet back into his pocket and taking the frame back from Rory. He stuck the edge of his pictures under the inside edge of the frame so that they laid beside the strip Rory had encased in glass. “These belong together,” he said decisively and looked back up at Rory. “And I want new ones.”

  Rory swallowed hard. “We can do that.”

  Magnus set the frame down on the dresser Rory was leaning against, then moved into Rory’s space, going up on his toes and pressing his lips to Rory’s. “Make love to me.”

  He whispered the words against Rory’s lips, and felt a shudder go through him a moment before Rory’s hands gripped his hips, and he sealed their mouths together in a searing kiss. It was everything Magnus wanted, deep and searching, making heat lick up his spine and pool in his belly. God, he’d missed the way Rory tasted. The way he smelled. Being in Rory’s arms, feeling the strength of his bigger body and trusting him implicitly made Magnus hotter than he could ever remember being.

  He reached for the hem of Rory’s shirt, tugging until Rory pulled back enough to rip it over his head before possessing Magnus’s mouth in another kiss that left him panting. When Rory pulled back to press their foreheads together, Magnus threaded his fingers into the dark red curls covering Rory’s chest. He’d always loved Rory’s hair, the red was such a gorgeous shade, and it stayed the same shade down his entire body. Fire kissed, people called it. Magnus called it beautiful.

  Grinding his hips forward, they both groaned when Magnus’s erection rubbed against the matching hardness in Rory’s pants. Even through clothes it was so good Magnus knew he wouldn’t last long. He chuckled against Rory’s mouth. “We might have to take the edge off. I’m already about to blow.”

  Rory’s breath was a sweet puff of air against his mouth, and Magnus had to kiss him one more time before he let him speak. “Are you sure? We don’t have to rush.”

  Magnus thought his heart might burst in his chest, and that simple statement made Magnus only want Rory even more. Before they got much further, though, he wanted Rory to understand something. Pulling back just a little, he kept his arms around Rory and looked into his eyes. “I really am okay, Rory. Finding out that Nolan is here brought it all back today, but as we talked it out and I got to see my support system in action, it made me realize how far I’ve come. I’m ready for this. I’m especially ready for this with you.” Magnus cupped Rory’s face, letting his fingers settle in his beard. “You’re not the only one that thinks they found the love of their life when they were still in their teens.”

  Rory’s eyes went shiny, and he gave a little nod. “Okay. You’ll tell me to stop if you need to?”

  “Of course, and the same for you if I do something you don’t like.”

  Rory nodded, a small smile pulling at the corner of his mouth. “I can’t imagine what that would be.” He took a deep breath, face going serious again. “Have you...have you been with anyone since…” His voice trailed off, but Magnus knew what he meant.

  “No.” He shook his head. “Not even for work. The shoot I did that day was the last I ever recorded.”

  “I’ve never watched any of your videos,” Rory admitted. “I tried once, but couldn’t do it.”

  Magnus ran his hands up and down through Rory’s chest hair. “I’m sorry that it makes you uncomfortable.”

  Rory shook his head. “Don’t apologize. It’s a part of you, and I’m not saying I’ll ever be completely okay with it, but I want to try.”

  Magnus smiled at him. And he thought he couldn’t love this man more. He raised an eyebrow. “Could be fun.”

  Rory chuckled. “Why do I feel like you’re going to push the boundaries of my limited sexual experience?”

  Magnus tilted his head. “Limited?”

  Stepping close enough to wrap his arms all the way around Magnus, Rory pressed their foreheads together again and let his hands glide down, brushing the top of Magnus’s ass before sliding his hands beneath his shirt.

  “I haven’t been celibate, Maggie, but I haven’t been particularly adventurous either.”

  Magnus hummed as Rory’s calloused hands slid over his skin, making him shiver. “There’s nothing wrong with that.”

  Without warning, Rory reached down and gripped Magnus’s ass with both hands and lifted until Magnus wrapped his legs around his waist. “How about an adventure in the shower?”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Rory’s back hit the slick wall of the shower as Magnus launched an assault on his mouth that had him struggling to get enough air. As soon as Rory had gotten them into the en suite bathroom, they’d wasted no time stripping bare and climbing into the still warming shower. Rory could remember every time they’d been together, every intimate touch they’d ever shared, but none of them compared to the intensity building between them with every brush of their tongues together, every slide of Magnus’s cock against his.

  Reaching between them, Magnus took him in hand and glided his hand up and down Rory’s length, making him see stars.

  “I’ve missed this,” Magnus said against his lips. “Missed you.” Then he was dropping to his knees, and Rory felt his own go weak at the sight. Magnus’s dark hair was plastered to his head, a dark vision sliding down the skin of Rory’s chest and stomach. Magnus licked a stripe up the line of hair leading from his belly button down to his groin and he groaned, sucking in a startled breath. He wanted to throw his head back and relish in the exquisite torment of Magnus’s mouth on him, only not where he needed it most, but he couldn’t tear his eyes away.

  Magnus smiled up at him, hazel eyes melted to dark pools of lust. “You have the prettiest cock.” He took Rory in his hands then, one stroking him lazily and the other sliding down to massage Rory’s balls where they were already sucked up against his body. “It’s so pale and perfect.” A mischievous glint shown in Magnus’s eyes a moment before he opened his mouth and swallowed Rory down to the root.

  “Fuck,” Rory gasped, one hand grasping at Magnus’s hair and the other slapping back against the shower wall, searching desperately for something to hold onto. Bobbing his head, Magnus pressed the tip of his tongue into the slit, and Rory nearly came right then.

  “Magnus.” He reached down, grasping Magnus under his arms and pulling him back to his feet before slamming their mouths together. He wanted to be inside Magnus when he came, wanted them joined together, and he wanted Magnus to be desperate for him before they got to that point. He licked into Magnus’s mouth, sliding their tongues together while he reached for his body wash with one hand. Squirting a blob into his palm, he slid his hands down Magnus’s body before turning and pressing Magnus’s chest against the tiled wall. He rested against Magnus’s back, relishing the way they fit together and letting the tip of his dick slide up and down against the top of Magnus’s crease and his lower back.

  Licking the shell of Magnus’s ear, he let his hands roam the dips and curves of Magnus’s torso, grinning at the feel of Magnus’s breath catching in his chest. He glided slick palms down, gripping Magnus and spreading soap up his length as he worked him slowly, twisting his wrist and adjusting his grip to the cadence of Magnus’s pleas.

  “Stay,” Rory growled against Magnus’s ear. Magnus whimpered, but nodded. Rory grabbed the detachable shower head and rinsed the soap from Magnus’s front before running a finger down Magnus’s crack and using two fingers to spread Magnus enough that he could rinse the soap there as well.

  “Rory.” Magnus’s voice had taken on a desperate edge, and Rory noticed his hand moving like he was going to reach for himself.

  “Don’t you dare.” Rory chuckled before leaning in again to lick the water from beneath Magnus’s ear and whisper, “I’ve got you, baby.”

  Magnus nodded, fisting his hands where they were pressed against the shower wall, and then it was Rory’s turn to drop to his knees. He sank down slowly, re-learning Magnus’s body as he went. From the sof
t skin of his back to the sloping curve of his ass to the dark crinkly hair on his legs, Rory left no spot untouched. He wanted to worship every inch with his lips as well as his hands, but his lover was growing more wantonly desperate with each touch that wasn’t where Magnus wanted him.

  “Dammit, Rory,” Magnus growled, popping his tight ass out and creating the most delicious curve with the arc of his lower back.

  Chuckling, Rory took pity on him, gripping Magnus’s cheeks and splitting him open before plunging in and running the flat of his tongue over his twitching little hole.

  “Yesssss,” Magnus gasped, pressing his ass even further back. Rory reveled in it, alternating between licking and sucking, and when Magnus relaxed enough, he sucked one of his own fingers into his mouth, wetting it, before pressing it inside. Magnus was a tight, all-encompassing heat around his digit making Rory groan as he pushed his finger in and out. Rory pressed open mouth kisses all over the soft skin of Magnus’s cheeks and lower back while he skated his other hand around Magnus’s hip to grip his cock.

  “Rory,” Magnus panted. “I’m close. I-I’m so close.”

  “Just let go, baby,” Rory whispered against the wet skin of Magnus’s lower back before he crooked his finger with purpose, massaging Magnus’s prostate and jacking his dick in tandem. Magnus wailed, muscles going tense before he was splattering the shower wall and Rory’s hand.

  He gentled his strokes on Magnus’s length and gently withdrew his finger. When he stood, Magnus leaned back against him, turning his head and seeking out Rory’s mouth for a deep kiss.

  “That was amazing.” Magnus’s smile was dreamy even as he wiggled his ass, pressing against Rory’s still very interested erection and making him curse.

  “Bed,” Rory ground out, turning the water off and dragging Magnus out of the shower.

  Rory had him spread out on the cool sheets of his big bed in no time flat, and Magnus found himself totally at ease while he watched Rory roll on a condom before crawling up to kneel between his legs.

  Before Rory could say anything, Magnus lifted his knees, gripping his legs around his thighs and spreading himself wide. Rory sucked in a hard breath, lube bottle shaking as he squeezed some onto his fingers. He set a finger against Magnus’s entrance, massaging gently before looking up at him with eyes so full of emotion that Magnus felt his stare like a physical weight.

  “You’re so beautiful, Magnus,” Rory said reverently, pressing two fingers inside and making Magnus’s back bow up off the bed. It was so good. Everything with Rory was so good. It was like this man had a direct line to every pleasure nerve and erogenous zone on Magnus’s body. He was a livewire of sensation, from the scrape of Rory’s beard where he’d leaned down to kiss Magnus’s thigh, to the feel of Rory’s fingers pumping in and out of him, making him ready for the pale perfection that was Rory’s cock. He’d never get over how pretty it was—a smooth, porcelain masterpiece.

  Slipping his fingers free of Magnus’s body, Rory moved closer, bracing himself with an arm beside Magnus’s head and using the other to guide himself. He leaned down, claiming Magnus’s lips before pulling back to look him in the eye.

  Magnus nodded at the unspoken question there, running his hands up and down Rory’s back. When Rory breached him, it hurt, but he was expecting it. Moving slowly, Rory pressed into him, giving him time to adjust, and pressing kisses all over Magnus’s face and neck. His cock, which had started to fill again, went a little soft until Rory reached between them and jacked him slowly to the same rhythm that he was pulsing his hips. Little flexes, back and forth, until he was fully seated inside.

  Magnus’s breath stuttered out of his chest, and Rory was there to swallow his little sounds of pleasure at being filled so surely and with so much care. He threaded his fingers through Rory’s hair, wanting him to stay right where he was, and sealed their mouths together, sliding their tongues together as Rory’s hips started to flex, driving into him in short controlled thrusts.

  “I’m okay,” Magnus gasped out as Rory stroked over his gland, making him see stars. “It’s so good.”

  Rory gradually increased his tempo, hips driving forward relentlessly, but he never stopped kissing Magnus. His mouth, his throat, his cheeks. They didn’t speak the words, but it was all there between them in every brush of skin, and kiss, and loaded stare.

  I missed you. I love you.

  Magnus came again, almost without warning. One moment his orgasm had been building, a tingling line of fire lighting up his spine, and the next, he was gasping out Rory’s name as he spilled between them. Rory followed him with a shout, thrusting several more times before burying his face against Magnus’s neck and breathing deeply. A tremble went through his lover, and Magnus wrapped him up with arms and legs, pressing kisses into Rory’s damp hair.

  “I love you, Maggie,” Rory breathed against his skin. “I know you’re not supposed to say it during sex, but it’s true. I love you, and I didn’t want to wait anymore.”

  Magnus chuckled, tears that had been pooling in his eyes leaking out to run down his temples. “I love you, too, and you can say it whenever.”

  Rory lifted up, tears clinging to his lashes which made even more well up in Magnus’s eyes. “Ack, look at us.” His brogue was coating his words, and fuck, Magnus loved the sound of it. “Can you imagine if we’d told our teenage selves we’d be crying after sex?”

  Magnus full on laughed. “We would have been horrified.”

  Rory settled his weight on his elbows, forearms caging Magnus’s head and pressed their lips together. “Aye. But I wouldn’t have been surprised that we’d still be having sex all these years later.”

  Magnus shook his head, eyes tracing over Rory’s face. “Me either. I knew you were it for me.”

  “Aye. Likewise, my love.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Rocco’s back hit the wall with a slam, and Rory was right there, pressing a forearm across the other’s man throat and snarling in his face. “You were using him as fucking bait! And you didn’t even tell him!”

  “Rory!” Magnus was up and around his mom’s dinner table in a flash, but he didn’t beat Vidar who grabbed Rory by the shoulder to pull him off Rocco, except it was Rory, so normal rules didn’t apply. He deftly slipped out of Vidar’s hold, and a moment later, Rory and Magnus’s eldest brother were nose to nose, and it felt like the entire room was holding its breath. Out of the corner of his eye, Magnus saw Harbor climb to his feet, ready to intervene as the tension in the air built.

  “Boys,” his mom’s voice broke the mounting storm like glass shattering on concrete. “That’s enough.” She set the pot of coffee she’d gone into the kitchen to get down on the table along with the cream and sugar. Dagen walked in behind her carrying a tray with cups for all of them and looked between Rory and Vidar with a raised eyebrow.

  “Sorry, Stella.” Rory’s voice was tight as he pushed past Vidar. A moment later, the back door open and closed. Magnus started to follow, but Harbor raised his palm at him.

  “Give us a minute, okay?” Then he was turning to follow Rory outside.

  Magnus’s eyes moved to Rocco and Vidar who were pointedly not looking at each other. “You okay?” Magnus asked Roc.

  “I’m good, Mags. Honestly, I thought he’d deck me right off the bat, so this went better than I’d hoped.”

  Magnus blew out an incredulous breath and moved so he could see the back deck out the window. Rory was still breathing heavy, puffy white clouds pouring out of him and into the early morning light, but he was at least listening to whatever Harbor was saying. “I’ll be right back,” Magnus said, walking to the door. The cold air slapped him in the face, and he immediately wrapped his arms around himself.

  Harbor and Rory both glanced his way, and there was a little grin on Harbor’s face, so Magnus thought things must be going okay.

  “Thanks, brother,” Rory said, gripping Harbor’s hand and leaning in for a hug.

  “Anytime,” Harbor replied just
as Magnus reached them. Harbor shot him a wink, then bumped their shoulders together as he walked past to go back into the house.

  “I’m sorry, Magnus,” Rory said quietly. “I know I don’t speak for you, but I just—”

  Magnus kissed him, capturing his moving lips with his own and pressing inside until Rory melted against him and wrapped his arms around Magnus’s waist.

  “Hush,” Magnus said when he pulled back. “I understand. I wasn’t very happy with Rocco either, but...I get it. It makes me sick to think that Nolan has hurt other people, too. I wish I’d been brave enough to go to the police in the first place.”

  “What he’s done is not your fault. Period. And you did go to the police eventually. Fat lot of good it did.” Rory’s voice still had an angry edge to it. Not that Magnus really blamed him. He’d be just as pissed if roles were reversed, but he needed to move forward. What was done was done.

  “True. Let’s go back inside and figure this out. I don’t want us to have this cloud hanging over us any longer than we have to.”

  Rory nodded and as they turned for the door, Vidar stepped through it. Magnus felt Rory go tense, and he seemed to unconsciously start to put Magnus behind him before he stopped himself. Looking between the two in their silent standoff, Magnus wondered if maybe they really were going to duke it out when Vidar walked forward, something on his face Magnus didn’t catch must have given him away because Rory met him halfway for a tight hug. After a round of back slaps, they separated, and Vidar smirked before turning and walking back into the house. Rory’s face was as light as it had been when they’d woken up wrapped around each other that morning.

  “All good?” Magnus asked, looking between the closed door and Rory’s face.

  “All good.”