by Tara Lain
“Uh, two hundred here. Not so crushable.”
Ryan nuzzled against JJ’s neck like a gopher. “Umm, I like that about you.”
Yeah, uncrushable body. Highly destructible heart. “Good.”
Ryan pushed himself up on his forearms and slid off JJ. A slimy condom pulled out of JJ’s throbbing ass, along with Ryan’s cock. “That was amazing.”
“Yeah.”
Ryan pulled off the condom. He rolled over and reached for a tissue on the bedside table and wrapped up the latex, then stashed it beside the clock. He rolled back and lay on his side, staring intently at JJ. “So, what now?”
“I was just wondering that myself.”
“I’ll bet. Any chance we can see each other sometimes?”
“You mean sneak around?”
He sighed. “Yeah, I guess that’s what I mean.”
JJ didn’t say anything. A tiny trickle of pain pushed behind his eyes. Not good. He didn’t trust himself to talk.
Ryan stared at the sheet in front of him. “I know it’s asking a lot, but I think we have something, uh, special. Kind of great. Hard to walk away from it, you know?”
JJ managed to make his mouth work. “The sex, you mean?”
“Yeah, that. But, hell, what I said before—I like you. You’re fun and easy to be around. We could do stuff together. You know. Two guys. Go to games and have a beer sometimes. Maybe dinner. If you want, that is?”
Did he want? Truth, he wanted Star. But did he want him any way he could get him? “We can try it, sure.”
Star’s solemn face lit up. “Hey, that’s great. Really great.”
JJ rolled the other way and sat on the edge of the bed. “Yeah. But right now, I have to go to work.” He stared at the window that looked out on some hillside trees. That way Ryan couldn’t see the tears in his eyes.
“Sorry you have to go.” JJ heard the smile in Ryan’s voice. “I could use some more rehabilitation.”
Okay, no crying. You made your choice. But, man, he knew he’d regret it later. He turned and faced Ryan with a smile. “I’m sure you’ll require long-term care.”
Ryan laughed and sat up as JJ padded around the bed and grabbed his clothes from the floor. Ryan said, “Want to catch a beer after you get off tomorrow?”
“Sorry, I have school really late.” Oh shit, why had he said that? He pulled on his briefs and hoped Ryan forgot what he said.
“School? I didn’t know you went to school too.”
Okay, no such luck. “Yeah. I’m getting a degree in, uh, art.” He pulled on the T-shirt and followed with his jeans.
Ryan cocked his head. “Oh, you paint?”
“No. Like, commercial art.” That sounded a lot more macho than interior design, right?
“You going into advertising?”
“Maybe. I’m not sure yet.” He hadn’t counted on Ryan being really interested in his chosen profession. He hadn’t counted on anything. He slid on his sneakers and headed for the door.
Ryan grabbed a pair of sweatpants from a chair, pulled them on, and followed JJ to the front door. “I work late until the weekend. Damn. I’ll call you, okay?”
“Okay.”
Ryan caught his arm and turned JJ around. His blue eyes gazed up at him. “Thank you. Thank you for, I don’t know, taking care of me, I guess. On many levels. I really appreciate it.”
JJ smiled. That made a lot of things worth it.
Chapter
Seven
SWEET GOD of horny decorators, seven days with no Ryan added up to a world of frustration. JJ adjusted the display in the gallery window. It needed some work since so much of their inventory was still at Winter Fantasy. He looked up and waved to Amelia from the shop across Forest Avenue. She gave him a thumbs-up. Must be lookin’ good. The gallery wasn’t as busy as in summertime, but people still loved to buy art for the holidays.
He went back to the stockroom for some more new pieces. Jeez. Between Ryan’s double shifts and JJ’s school, work, and the Winter Fantasy, they hadn’t found a hole in the schedule to find the hole in his ass! It was hard not to think of the fact that if Ryan was out, they could have met a dozen times, like for lunch outside the police station or on dinner break. As it was, though, no go.
He’d considered a night with the twins. They’d come into the gallery with wonderfully wicked intentions. But once you went Ryan, you never went back. Or at least for now, JJ couldn’t face another liaison. He was a one-cock guy. Still, his dick was in a perpetual state of anticipation.
He heard the bell that meant someone had come into the gallery. Grabbing two more Kwan Yin statues, he hurried out of the stockroom. Well, son of a gun. “Good afternoon, Detective Star. Thinking of buying some art, are we?”
Ryan was inspecting a Roman portrait of a beautiful man with long blond locks and matching pubic hair. He smiled sheepishly. “Hi. I got too frustrated and couldn’t hold out another minute, so I came to see you.”
JJ smiled and stuck out his butt. “Oh, you mean you missed little old me?” Actually, that was a pretty amazing idea.
“Yeah, I did.”
JJ softened his smile. “Me too.”
“I wish—”
Two women swung in the door. One was saying, “This is the place I told you about. You have to see these great portraits.”
Ryan turned and started looking at small objects on the counter.
Shoot. JJ smiled and walked over to the women. “Were you looking for portraits by Roman, ladies?”
The older blonde woman smiled. “Yes, he’s a genius.”
Her younger brunette companion shook her head. “I don’t know much about art, but I sure love the subject matter. You wicked thing, Cindy. I think coming here is just an excuse to look at larger-than-life cocks.”
The woman named Cindy blushed but still laughed. “Rachel!” She turned to JJ. “We obviously have nefarious intentions, young man. Don’t let me take you from your other customer.” She nodded at Ryan, who was browsing through the art books.
JJ nodded. “Thank you. I’ll just check in with him.” He walked over to Ryan. “Mr. Star, that statue you wanted to see is in the back. Let me show it to you.”
Ryan looked surprised but let himself be led to the storage room by JJ. Once behind the curtain, JJ grabbed Ryan’s head and pulled him in for a searing kiss.
Ryan moaned and slipped his hand behind JJ’s neck, holding him close. Their tongues battled and danced while JJ’s penis leaped into a full-blown cockstand.
He leaned back, laughing.
Ryan looked down at their matching tent poles. “How are you going to manage your customers now, Mr. Cirque du Soleil?”
JJ held up a finger and grabbed a floral kimono from the wall where David kept it for moments he felt dramatic. JJ slipped it on and pulled it over his erection.
Ryan clamped a hand over his mouth to stifle the laugh that erupted.
JJ posed and then grandly swept out of the storage room in the kimono. Ryan thought it was funny, but JJ loved wearing the thing. It made him feel pretty. Not a feeling he would share with Ryan—sadly.
The two women were standing in front of a small portrait by Roman. JJ walked up and the younger woman glanced at his new outfit. “Oh, very nice.”
JJ patted his hair. “Thank you. You’re admiring Reflections by Roman.”
The older woman, Cindy, nodded. “It’s so beautiful.”
The one named Rachel laughed. “I’m just reflecting on how well-hung the model is.”
Cindy put her hands on her hips. “I don’t care if you make fun. I’m going to buy it.”
Rachel looked surprised. “That will set you back.”
Cindy turned to JJ. He carefully smoothed the kimono. Even the prospect of a commission on $9000 couldn’t dampen the demand of his throbbing dick. “Young man, I’m going over to the bank to get cash to buy this painting.”
“Uh, ma’am, a credit card would be fine.”
“I don’t believe in them.”
“Check?”
“I’ll be back in a few minutes. Come on, Rachel.”
The younger woman gave JJ an elaborate shrug and followed her companion out the door.
Time!
JJ raced back into the storage room and found Star staring at one of the Japanese shunga paintings where two men in kimonos rubbed their hugely exaggerated cocks together. He looked up with wide eyes. “These are so hot.”
JJ laughed. “That book has seduced more than one gay man in this gallery.”
“You’ve been luring unsuspecting males?”
“Not me. David.” He was happy to see a look of relief on Ryan’s face. JJ unfastened his belt, pulled down his jeans and briefs while Ryan stared, and flipped up the kimono. Then he opened a drawer in the desk, pulled out a box of condoms, and handed one to Ryan. Leaning over the desk chair, he pointed at his ass. “Get to work. We only have a couple minutes.”
Ryan looked startled, then smiled, whipped out his thick cock, and sheathed it. He looked around.
“Use spit. I don’t care. Just get it in me before that lady comes back with her nine grand.”
“The condom’s lubed.”
“Go for it.”
Ryan stuck in a finger. JJ waggled his butt. Ryan got the idea and pulled out the finger, replacing it with a much more invited guest. It took two big shoves, but he got it in.
“Oh God, yes!” Finally JJ had what he needed. Crap, he felt crazy. He shoved his hips back frantically, and Ryan leaned over him, grabbed JJ’s waist, and turned that dick into a pile driver.
“Unh, unh, unh.”
Ryan hissed in his ear. “Shhhh. Somebody might come in.”
“It’s me that wants to come—but not in. Unh.”
Ryan seemed to catch the fire, and the two of them turned into a fucking machine. Pounding and driving. Closer and closer.
“Helloooo. Are you here?”
Shit! “Be there in a minute.” JJ drove back like a madman. Ryan reached around and cranked JJ’s cock. It only took two strokes. “Yes.” He whispered it, but the sound echoed through his whole body as hot cum spurted out onto the back of the desk chair.
“Unhhh.” Ryan froze over his back, pumped three times hard, then fell over him and kissed his shoulder.
JJ turned, pulling Ryan’s cock out of him. He grabbed a tissue off the desk, wiped his cock, pulled up his pants, and belted them. He leaned forward and kissed Ryan’s nose, then whispered, “Would you mind cleaning the chair? The sink’s in the bathroom.” He nodded toward the door at the back of the storage room. “I have to go make Roman some more money.”
Ryan grinned. “You’re on fire.”
JJ tried for a grand entrance into the store and hoped he didn’t smell too much like sex. “All right, ladies, let’s be naughty.”
JJ PAID homage to Guys and Dolls in full voice while he dusted the glass shelves in the gallery. Stupid to feel so good, but after the orgasm of the century, if he didn’t count the last one, plus a small commission on three sales, it had been a feeling-good kind of day.
“You seem happy, darling.” David peeked over JJ’s shoulder, which meant he had to be standing on tiptoes. “Any reasons I should know about, hmmm?”
“Hi, boss.” JJ smiled big to cover the blush creeping up his neck. “Yes. I sold Reflections today and two of the new Tibetan pieces.”
“Aces, darling. That’s great news.”
“And the lady paid cash for Reflections, if you can imagine.”
David’s eyes widened. “As in green stuff?”
“Yep. I’ll take the deposit over on my way to Winter Fantasy.”
David went in the back while JJ grabbed the cash bag and loaded the money into it. He called to David, “How was the day at the booth?”
No answer. He looked up. David stood outside the storage room staring at JJ. In his hand he held the box of condoms JJ had pulled from the drawer.
JJ looked down at his feet. Crap. He felt like a little kid. Or a big kid who had been fucked up one side and down the other in the storage room, and now had to admit it. “Sorry.”
“Look, darling, I’m not one to frown on extracurricular activities in the shop. Hell, Gareth pretty much set new records for oral sex while waiting on customers. I just wonder who’s the lucky extracurriculee?”
He could lie. “Ryan.”
“The detective? Funny, I know you went on one date with him, but I haven’t seen him since, so I figured that was a bust.”
David’s wise eyes pried into him. He could feel them digging in his conscience. “He’s not exactly out.”
“Ah. And you’re seeing him anyway? A closeted cop? It’s not my business—”
JJ looked up. “No, it is your business. I always want to know what you think.”
David put a hand on his hip. “I think you’re the catch of the century and deserve a lot better than some guy who makes you sneak around and offers no possibility of a future. That’s what I think.”
JJ scuffed his shoe against the hardwood floors. “Not every date has to be a potential soul mate.”
“No, but at least you could go places, see people, and have a good time. Meeting for a quick fuck in the storage room is a lot more fun if you can walk out on Forest Avenue holding hands afterward.”
JJ nodded. David was damned right. “But I like him so much.”
“Why?”
JJ exhaled long and slow. “It’s hard to explain, but he’s got this odd sweetness under the tough cop part.”
David’s big eyes narrowed. “And your chances of sharing in that part of him?”
“Not too much, I guess.”
“Just think about it, JJ. I don’t want to see you hurt, and I sure as hell don’t want you throwing away any more of your life on some tough guy who can’t love you the way you deserve.”
JJ felt the corners of his lips tighten. “No. Not anymore.”
David came over to the counter and hugged JJ. “Guess you’d better get our windfall to the bank.”
“Yeah. Thank you.” JJ walked out of the store, but it was hard with that elephant standing on his chest. David was right. JJ didn’t want to hear it, but everything his boss had said was true. How could he claim to be proud of who he was when he snuck around in storage rooms? He just proved his father right. Ten feet down the sidewalk, his phone rang. “This is JJ.”
He listened.
He smiled. After he clicked off, he ran back to the shop. “David.”
His handsome boss looked up from the counter.
JJ gave a small leap in the air. “Ryan just asked me to go to Yosemite with him. We’re going skiing!”
HOW HARD can it be? How hard can it be? How hard can it be? The litany played through JJ’s mind. At least the scenery was to die for. Towering evergreen trees and craggy peaks covered in snow filled the view through the car window. Oh my God, look at that frozen waterfall.
They’d pulled into the valley, and JJ fought not to cry from the sheer majesty. Seven miles long and never more than a mile wide, it said in the guidebooks, Yosemite displayed its treasures in a staggering array of three-thousand-foot peaks. He’d always heard about Yosemite, but he’d never been here. All the hyperbole had been a shadow of the place’s beauty. If he didn’t have to think about putting wooden sticks on his feet tomorrow, he’d have been in heaven.
He looked over at Ryan, sitting behind the wheel. The man was smiling. God, he looked younger by years just staring at this place. Ryan glanced at JJ. “You like it?”
“It’s amazing.”
“I lucked out and got us the Ahwahnee for the weekend.”
JJ had picked Jerry’s brain again and knew the Ahwahnee Hotel was historic and completely coveted. Also wildly expensive. They’d had to change the name in some kind of stupid dispute, but to the world, the hotel would never be anything but the Ahwahnee. “That’s incredible. How did you manage it?”
Ryan grinned. “I come up a lot, so they know me, and they’re really gre
at to cops.”
Ryan pulled up in front of a massive stone and wood building with teal-colored awnings. Nice touch. JJ expected to see a princess and a dragon appear somewhere near the top. “Oh my God, I can’t believe this place.”
“Wait until you taste the food.”
They left the car with the valet and walked into the lobby. JJ stopped and just stared. Towering beamed ceilings and rustic furniture dominated the huge space. He wanted to pull out a notebook and copy the name of every artist who had done the early American paintings. His aesthetic was more modern, but this was a masterpiece of classic California. He caught a glimpse of a big fireplace as they approached the desk. He could imagine sitting in front of it with a hot toddy and sketching. Wow. What a place.
Ryan walked up to the desk clerk. The man smiled. Maybe it was time for JJ to fade into the background. He started to walk away, but Ryan turned and motioned for JJ to come up beside him. Surprise after surprise.
The clerk was saying, “Good to see you again, sir. Sign here, please.” The young man’s eyes flicked up to JJ but quickly returned to Ryan. “Do you need two keys?”
“Yes, please.”
“Help with your bags?”
“Sure. We left them in the car. Just have them brought up. And I made a reservation in the dining room for seven. Could you confirm it for me, please?”
“Of course, sir.”
Wow. Ryan was smooth as silk. Like police detectives visited the finest hotels all the time. Who’d have thought it?
The clerk’s eyes flicked to JJ again, and he smiled just a little. Hmm. Looked like the guy played for their team. Was that why Ryan seemed so comfortable and uncloseted? The clerk handed Ryan a little packet with keys. “Shall I have a bellman show you to your room?”
Ryan glanced at the room number. “No, thanks. I know right where it is. Just have the bellman bring the bags.”
“Will do, sir.”
Ryan smiled at JJ and pointed toward the elevator. When they got on, JJ shook his head. “I can’t believe I’m here. It’s amazing. Thank you so much.”
Ryan grinned. “Everyone deserves to stay at the Ahwahnee at least once.”
