The Protector

by Jessie G.

  “How far away?” Saul asked when he didn’t continue.

  “Pennsylvania. Not quite the gay mecca of the world, but I wasn’t leaving so I could come out. You know what happens when you’re suddenly all alone and far from anyone you ever knew, and the mere thought of talking to people gives you panic attacks?” Again, he didn’t wait for a response. “I had to find a way to get my own shit handled—schedule, dorms, work, food—there is no magic college fairy that does all that for you. So I started pretending I was someone else and by midway through first semester I was functioning like everyone else around me...normal, or what I thought normal meant. I even met a guy and we started dating quietly. Not the great love that got away or anything, but at least no one tried to kill me for it. To this day I have no idea how word got back to the fine upstanding folks of Shitsville—we’d only dated a few months. I went home for Christmas break and found out my folks were nearly destitute. Somehow they found out that the Jansen’s had a gay son who was fornicating at that fancy school up north. Bible thumpers like the word fornicating.”

  “Kyle…” Saul offered his hand across the table, willing him to take it.

  He ignored the soothing tone and the hand even though only a few minutes ago he was aching to be comforted. “That’s when my folks told me what really happened to the postmaster, to that kid in school. Pretty much the deal was if I never came back, the town would forgive my folks for raising one of them fags and do business with them again. They had just enough to pay for my next semester and twenty-four hours after I arrived home, I left and haven’t been back since.”

  “You haven’t seen your parents since you were sixteen?” Javier looked mortified. Kyle knew he’d lost his parents when he was a teenager and probably missed them tremendously.

  That wasn’t to say Kyle didn’t miss his and maybe it was worse because he knew exactly where they were. “We’ve seen each other a few times, when they’re able to get someone to cover the ranch, and we call or email. They didn’t disown me. I walked away because it was the right thing to do. My plan was to get whatever jobs I could, couch surf with friends when the dorms were closed and save for the next semester. Somehow it worked out.” Kyle took a deep breath, needing to move forward. Harping on those years would give them the wrong impression. The last thing he wanted was for them to blame his parents for protecting him the only way they could. “At the beginning of my third year, the school had arranged for some former students who ‘succeeded’ to visit and speak at a seminar. One was a pretty famous swimsuit model—which, incidentally, wasn’t on the curriculum. Her agent stopped me one day on the quad and asked if I’d ever modeled.”

  With a start Kyle realized he’d picked up Saul’s hand and was absently tracing the scars. Saul realized his intent before he could pull away and flipped his hand, trapping Kyle’s own in its warmth and strength. Suddenly he couldn’t remember why he’d refused to take it in the first place. Saul even gave him a second to decide if he was going to accept the offering or pull back, before he asked, “She came up to you just like that?”

  “Don’t sound so surprised. Just ask my Twitter followers. I’m a total stud, ya know.” Javier chuckled and shook his head. This depressing conversation needed some levity and if that made him weird, he could live with that. “Of course I laughed. Models were tall, waif-like creatures that always looked perfect. I’m five foot five on a good day and there is nothing waif-like about me. She said those were runway models and that print models came in all shapes and sizes. I figured I needed the money bad enough that it was worth a shot. She’s still my agent and we have had a nice, long, profitable run.”

  “She get you into porn, too?” There was no judgment in the question, proving what Kyle had suspected. They wanted to know to understand him, not judge him.

  “No way,” Kyle laughed, “and boy were her panties in a bunch when I told her I’d met Tex. His porn house was just getting off the ground and he was traipsing the two models he’d signed to every gay bar they could drive to. Both contracts happened were solidified within days of each other. At first she was worried the porn thing would make me unmarketable. Instead they fed off each other and she branched out, going for the edgier work. I needed it to work.”

  “You needed the money,” Saul clarified.

  “Yeah, but it wasn’t just about the money. It was a statement, albeit a stupid one, a coming out. If I was going to be accused of fornicating, well gosh darn it, I was gonna be the best damn fornicator around!” This time he got twin eye rolls and grinned. “There were promises of adventure and fame and...yeah, I needed the money. I did my first magazine shoot and my first porn scene in the same week, and never looked back.” Kyle shifted and looked only at Saul, intentionally ignoring Javier. This was the important part that Saul needed to hear. “I knew it was coming to an end and figured I’d take some time off, find someplace to settle and decide what I wanted to be when I grew up. Then I saw these two guys in a café in Miami, hottest fucking couple I’ve ever laid eyes on. Ask me what got my attention?”

  “You mean beside our smokin’ hot looks?” No one did unfunny like Saul. The joke was delivered so perfectly, Javier even dissolved into a fit of giggles. But, man oh man, those eyes were lethal, warning him to be careful how he proceeded. “What did you see in the café that got your attention?”

  “I saw the way you took care of Javi.” Did those eyes get darker? There was a curious detachment in wondering if he should be concerned for his own safety. Like it never really translated from thought to actual feeling and without that feeling he just kept digging his grave. “The way you knew what he needed without words and how you provided it without hesitation, without any ulterior motive. I saw his unwavering trust, all the tension melting away as soon as you touched him. The love...I saw the unconditional love.”

  “You saw all that in the café?” Javier asked softly, drawing his gaze.

  As soon as he mentioned love Saul looked away, and knowing he didn’t believe the love was real made Kyle’s heart hurt for them both. “Yes, I did. It was beautiful and heartbreaking. I was honored to see it and so envious. I’d have given anything to feel that. To have someone look at me the way you looked at each other. To have someone see me and still want who I really was. Of course, in that moment it wasn’t so much that I wanted it from you. After all, you were in a committed relationship.”

  Javier nodded enthusiastically. “A lot like us reacting to you and seriously considering a third, where we’d only just half-heartedly talked about it before. We didn’t think we’d see you again, but having had that same reaction made it become a real possibility.”

  “Exactly. Then you were there in the club, asking to meet me...it all got tangled up.”

  Saul looked over finally and he forced himself not to fidget, unlike Javier who began squirming as the silence stretched. “We recognized something in each other that night beyond the physical attraction.”

  “As if we were supposed to know each other.” Javi finished it perfectly.

  “Yes.” It was a great explanation for what happened that night. “The combination of you, the tenderness, the dominance...it spoke to me. Then you both spoke on my behalf, as if you cared about my well-being. It was...shit, I don’t know the word for it, but I wanted more.”

  Saul nodded slowly, as if all his rambling made some sort of sense. Kyle wasn’t sure it did. During his time away he had a lot of time to think, to rehearse what he would say, but once he started talking about the past it sounded more like he was looking to replace his parents...how clichéd was that? “I made up Kip Veil so I could survive. Now I’m completely stripped of him and the life he led. I don’t know who Kyle is, but I know I’m supposed to find out with you. You said if I came back you’d take me over, that I’d lose myself under the weight of your needs…I don’t know how else to say this, but that right there is exactly what I want. To give you my needs and have them matter. Take me over and let me rebuild myself in the care of your tend
erness and strength. I won’t lose myself under the weight of your needs, I’ll find myself there. It’s selfish, but I need you to need me, to want me and accept me and make me feel and…”

  It was too much all of a sudden and Kyle just wanted the conversation to be over. A little desperately, he jerked out of Saul’s grasp and stood, needing to move. Saul was on him instantly, crushing him against that brick wall of a chest, surrounding him. Warm breath tickled his ear, raising goose bumps all over his body, as Saul whispered, “I’ll give you everything you need, but will you give me what I need? With everything you know, can you accept this monster?”

  Kyle’s heart broke with that whispered plea. He struggled to turn, needing Saul to see the truth in his eyes. Gently he cupped that weathered, scruffy cheek in his palm and promised, “I already do.”

  Chapter 29

  Kyle

  “I need one more thing,” Kyle whispered, trying not to smile. “I need you to fuck me until I can’t remember any of our names. Like the most epic fucking in the history of fucking.”

  A look so feral, so all consuming, stared back at him. “Did you just challenge me, Pup?”

  “Gauntlet thrown.” In that unyielding embrace he softened, melting into the man he knew would always hold him up, and batted his eyelashes.

  “Run.” Kyle blinked, unsure if he heard correctly until Saul grinned darkly. “Run, little puppy, run.”

  Kyle squirmed and wiggled, somehow breaking out of Saul’s grasp, and darted around the table. Without slowing down, he grabbed Javier’s hand and jerked him out of the chair. Just like that, the weight of their conversation was gone and he couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

  “You’re insane!” Javier laughed at him as they jogged down the stairs, not slowing down as they flew across the landing to the next set of stairs.

  Kyle looked back and saw Saul sauntering across the landing, his grin predatory. Just because he couldn’t wait to be caught didn’t mean he had to make it easy. Javier tried to slow when they neared the bedroom, but he kept tugging, urging him toward the last set of stairs.

  “Where are we going?”

  “I have no idea.” Kyle laughed again. “Not a friggin’ clue, but I’m not just gonna roll over and let him win!”

  Javier grinned and suddenly he was doing the tugging, pulling Kyle down the last few steps and turning into the living room. Chris and Liam jumped up when they burst in, their faces a mixture of shock and concern, and they only laughed as they darted around them.

  “What the fuck!” Liam shouted, turning fast. “Javi, what’s going on? Are you okay?”

  “Don’t let him get us!” Javier called back, pulling Kyle toward the other entrance that lead to the kitchen.

  Kyle looked back and didn’t see Saul. “Wait, Javi, wait...where is he?”

  Javier skidded to a halt and looked back. They waited, barely breathing, but there was no sign of Saul. “Liam, go look and see if Saul’s in the foyer.”

  “What...is this a game? A seeeeex game?” Liam waggled his eyebrows, making Javier giggle.

  The two boys looked at each other and grinned before Liam strolled over and took an exaggerated look around. With a shake of his head, he came back and stood with Chris. “Nope, he’s not in the foyer.”

  “Well, shit, Javi, where would he go?” Kyle demanded, feeling his upper hand slipping away.

  Chris tilted his head and smirked, and that’s when he felt it. With Javier straining to see if Saul was going to dart in from the foyer, Kyle turned and found him leaning against the entry leading in from the kitchen.

  “Uh, Javi?” Kyle tightened his grip and took off in the other direction. Javier stumbled, caught himself, and took off at his side.

  “Should we split up?” Javier asked as they raced into the foyer.

  “Don’t you watch horror movies? You never split up.” Kyle looked around and was about to dart into what he thought was the office when a strong arm wrapped around his waist, hauling him off the floor. “No!”

  Javier laughed and jumped on Saul’s back. “You cheated!”

  “How did I cheat? You two were running.” Kyle wiggled and squirmed and only succeeded in having Saul’s arms tighten around him. “Now, be good pups and admit defeat.”

  “Never!” Kyle really meant it to come out as a battle cry, but he was laughing too hard to pull it off. Javier was no better, having laughed so hard he was gasping for breath. Out of the corner of his eye, Kyle saw Chris and Liam standing a few feet away, watching them in surprised amusement. “A little help?”

  “No can do, man,” Liam said without apology.

  Kyle figured he had two choices, he could either admit defeat or he could get loose. Not ready to give up, he let his body go lax, playing possum and waited. And waited. Finally he looked up at Saul who grinned down at him. Then, surprisingly, that arm loosened and Saul nudged him toward the stairs. “Your choices are getting fucked right here in the hallway where anyone could see or you can hustle that little ass up to my bed. Either way I’m ready to claim my prize.”

  Kyle had more than his fill of being watched to last a lifetime. If the sharp slap on his ass was any indication, Saul wasn’t interested in having an audience either. Saul adjusted Javier, carrying him on his back as they followed behind him. “Epic, right?”

  Saul made some rude comment about pups pushing their luck and then, finally, they were in the bedroom. Before Kyle could come up with another smart ass challenge, they were on him in a whirlwind of eager hands that sent clothes and shoes flying until they were skin to skin to skin. That first contact made him hiss and writhe, needing…needing.

  There was no script to tell him which angle was best or who should be were and he felt lost. Again they took him over, hands and mouths racing over him, silently telling him to stand there and take it. Those talented tongues worked over his ears and neck before moving down, tackling his nipples with nearly identical intensity. Needing the support, Kyle reached up, gripping a dark head in each hand. Too late he thought to consider Javier, but the man didn’t jerk back or pull his hand away. Sharp teeth raked the hardened peaks they created and there was no way he could hold back his cry.

  The back of his legs collided with the bed and a gentle push sent him free falling into heaven, then those strong bodies came over him as they picked up where they’d left off. A soft tongue stroked the length of his cock, another followed and then they were kissing each other with the dripping head of his erection between them. There was no way to temper his reaction, hips writhing artlessly, his hands gripping the sheets for purchase. They worked up and down his length, chasing each other over his skin until his eyes rolled back in his head and the sound of his own begging filled the room.

  “Grip the headboard.” Saul’s deep voice against his ear startled him, the words completely foreign. Incapable of a response, Kyle was grateful when strong hands took his wrists, dragging his arms up over his head until his hands were wrapped around the slatted headboard. “Don’t let go.”

  Effectively tied down by just those words, he tightened his grip. Immediately Javier took him completely into the heat of his mouth, all the way to the base, and didn’t flinch when his hips bucked in response. Oh my fucking hell….

  “You like Javi’s mouth on your cock?” Saul was still at his ear, taunting him. Kyle looked over desperately and whimpered, beyond coherent words. “You should see him. He was definitely hungry for a taste of you.”

  It must have been true. Javi was ravenous, relentless, taking him deep on every down stroke, sucking hard on every upstroke and suckling the head before releasing him. He didn’t wait for him to catch his breath before he did it again and again. Without missing a beat Javier shifted around to straddle his upper body. Before Kyle could surge up and take the cock teasing his lips, Saul pressed him back with a hand at his throat.

  “Do you want that cock?”

  “Yes, please, yes…” Instead of letting him have it, Saul leaned in and took it in his
own mouth, treating Javier to that same relentless sucking until Javier cried out. Fascinated, Kyle could only watch as Saul tugged Javier closer and literally fed him that cock from his own lips.

  “Suck him good, Pup, I want you both screaming before I’m done. And don’t let go of that headboard.” If his mouth wasn’t full, he’d salute, click his heels and offer a hearty Yes, Sir.

  Then Saul was gone, leaving Kyle to follow his orders. If Ryder thought they’d write poems to his cock sucking skills, he’d make Javier dedicate plaques to the blow job he’d deliver this night. Relaxing his throat, he sucked Javier down to the root and swallowed. Javier screamed, his hips involuntarily thrusting down and Kyle hummed in approval. Oh yes, there would be screaming.

  As focused as he was, Kyle was thrown off when his legs were spread and lifted, shocked when a warm, wet tongue stroked down his crease and sought refuge in his tight hole. They were devouring him, that double attack equal parts pleasure and punishment. Saul had promised retribution and he was delivering it. If he lost control no one would care; his hands were firmly restrained by his own desire to be held down. That gave them free reign to wreak havoc on his body and they exploited it. Sucking and thrusting in tandem, working him higher and higher until his body was strung so taut he feared he was going to be the first to explode.

  Suddenly they both stopped and he cried out at the loss. There was a murmur of voices but he couldn’t see past Javier, could barely hear, and probably wouldn’t understand anyway so he just focused his efforts on the cock almost effectively gagging him. Just as suddenly Javier’s mouth was back, taking him all the way in and holding him in place. His legs were lifted higher and slick fingers found his hole, preparing him. Saul worked him up again, easing first one, then two fingers inside, making sure he was slick and open. Someone was begging, a strangled please, please that echoed the plea in his head.