Artifacts

by Bailey Bradford

  The plastic bag he was carrying and that the man was tearing at ripped in the struggle, the handles staying with Aldric and the body of the bag falling to the ground. Aldric had no time to think about that, however—not when he was close enough to the man who’d been holding him. He spun and kneed him in the balls as hard as he could. It worked. With a cry like an animal, the guy bent over, curling into himself.

  The amount of force Aldric had put into the maneuver had him staggering sideways, and he put his foot down awkwardly, at an odd angle. It sent him crashing to the ground. His hands flew out to break his fall, but he still ended up with a face full of gravel.

  “Aldric! Are you okay?” Darrell demanded, appearing beside him.

  Aldric nodded, groping for his lost glasses. Darrell clapped him on the shoulder then raced off after the crooks. Well, just the one who had been slowed down by Aldric’s assault on his balls. Panting, coughing, Aldric had got to his knees when he saw Darrell leap on top of the guy. Aldric cried out, because he could see what Darrell probably couldn’t, from his low, flat position—the other, faster guy whirled around and sprinted back to the two figures on the ground.

  “Darrell!” yelled Aldric, intending to warn him. And oh God, he wished he hadn’t when Darrell levered half-off the guy he’d tackled to look back at him, giving the second man the opening he needed to kick out at Darrell. Aldric couldn’t see where the kick connected, but it sent Darrell sprawling backward. Another kick, this time to his stomach, kept him there long enough for the guy to scoop his accomplice up and drag him along the remaining section of the path to a silver car. They were gone in seconds, pulling out into the traffic along Roosevelt Avenue in a blare of car horns.

  “Darrell!” He was already on his feet and holding his side when Aldric reached him.

  “Damn. They got away, and I didn’t get the license plate,” he said. “Did you see anything that would identify them?”

  Aldric ignored that. “Darrell, you’re hurt.”

  “I’m okay.” Darrell shook his head. “Bastard got in a lucky blow. Got my rib.”

  “Oh no!” Aldric coughed a little to get his voice working properly. “Do you need to go to the hospital? Of course you do. X-rays and machines that beep.”

  “No.” Darrell’s hand cut him off. “Ribs heal. It’s probably just bruised. Ice, painkillers, I’ll be fine. What about you?”

  “I have those things. At home. In my apartment. Come on.” He took Darrell’s arm.

  “’S that?” Darrell felt the lump on Aldric’s chest and started to laugh, clutching his side. “You still got the puzzle box?”

  “Yes, of course.” Aldric produced it from under his jacket where he’d shoved it after snatching it up from the ground. “It’s Intrinsic Value stock, and I have to return it.”

  Darrell was still chuckling when they reached the small van with the name of the store on the side. “You came in this? I thought you didn’t drive?”

  “I don’t as in I don’t have a car. I do as in I can.” Aldric’s attention was focused on the road, the traffic and pulling out into it. He pretended not to hear Darrel’s muttered, “You can’t,” or see how he clung to the Jesus strap, his knuckles white. Okay, so he rarely got behind a wheel and needed practice.

  “But you’re okay?” Darrell asked again. “You hit the ground pretty hard.”

  “I hit that creep harder though.” Aldric grinned.

  “Yeah, you did. Nice moves.” Darrell smiled back at him. “Did you take self-defense classes?”

  “I watch YouTube videos.” He wasn’t going to say which lady instructor’s clips he liked to watch, or more accurately, listen to when he went to sleep. Some of it must have stuck. He’d leave her a comment.

  When they reached his garage apartment, he got out first to open the passenger-side door and made sure he walked up the stairs behind Darrell, in case he stumbled. Darrell was taking slow, deep breaths. “There’s a first-aid box in the bathroom. Come on.” Aldric went to lead the way.

  “I can do it.”

  Aldric stared after Darrell as he walked off. Sure, he liked to see his tight butt and strong thighs, but he was wondering if he’d upset him. He’d only offered to help. Ice. He’d promised ice. Water. Darrell would need some. He drank a glass himself and had another poured when Darrell came out. “Did you find the ibuprofen?”

  Darrell showed him the orange tablets in his hand that he swallowed with the water. “Thanks. My ribs aren’t broken. There’s a little swelling, but I didn’t hear a crack and I would be in a lot more pain.”

  Aldric’s eyes stung with tears he refused to shed. “I’m so sorry. If it wasn’t for me, you wouldn’t have gotten hurt.”

  “Call this hurt?” Darrell stripped off his long-sleeved tee and twisted a little to show Aldric the redness on his upper chest that spread to his side. Aldric should have been concerned, but when he reached out to touch, his fingers soon left the bruising spot and crept up to Darrell’s nipples. When he reached them, he feathered a thumb over one.

  Darrell’s face cracked into a grin. “I thought you were going to hold an ice pack to me. But maybe I should check you’re not hurt. A thorough examination?”

  “How? I mean yes.” He couldn’t stop toying with Darrell’s nipple, now drawing his thumbnail across it. Darrell shivered.

  “Maybe here’s not the best place.”

  Aldric knew that. He was under no illusions that his apartment was conducive to spontaneous sex in the living room. There was no wide, inviting couch and the carpet was threadbare. He dropped his hand.

  “So, the bedroom?” Darrell prompted, curling his hand around Aldric’s hip, then cupping his ass on the way.

  This is better, Darrell thought, taking the lead again. His ribs were tender and would be sore for days, but he was fine. He’d power through. He’d done so through worse. Darrell didn’t need someone worrying over him and taking care of him—babying me. Aldric was his babe, not the other way around. It was fine for Aldric—timid, fluffy-haired Aldric—to be hesitant and unsure, needing support and guidance, reassurance and softness, but not him.

  Inside Aldric’s small bedroom, Darrell made a quick scan of the contents, glad there was a double bed. And Aldric had mentioned a patio, which, from the position of the building, must face the small park over the back. Hmm. Privacy outdoors could be fun. He switched off the overhead light and turned on the small lamp next to the bed, pleased with the intimate glow it gave off.

  “C’mere, gorgeous,” he ordered, pulling Aldric in to nuzzle his neck, then trailing his lips over his jawline before laying a long, deep kiss on him. “Wanna see a really sexy man?” He turned Aldric to face the long strip of mirror propped against the wall.

  A pretty pink blush spread over Aldric’s face. His eyes were huge and luminous in the mirror’s reflection. “W-what are you doing?”

  “Showing you.” He reached around Aldric to unbutton his shirt. Darrell pushed it open, then caressed his chest. “Nice,” he whispered into Aldric’s ear, seeing his knees buckle. “Ever considered a piercing?” He pinched both nipples hard between forefingers and thumbs as he spoke.

  Aldric moaned, a long, low sound of need. He panted for a moment before answering. “There was a guy in high school. Had a nipple ring in one and a bar in the other. He was a rebel. I liked the look. Wanted…”

  “His style or him?” Darrell asked. Close to Aldric, he felt more than saw the shrug he gave and squeezed his nipples to go along with it.

  “Both.” Aldric gasped but gave no sign that he wanted Darrell to stop.

  Interesting. Darrell tugged then twisted. “And?”

  Aldric shuddered from head to toe. “Oh…oh…that feels so…mmmm.”

  “The guy?” Darrell asked, enjoying the way his lover was unraveling. “Tell me.”

  Aldric gulped and took a shaky breath. “I tried, but it didn’t work out.”

  His fingers still tormenting Aldric’s swelling nubs of flesh, Darrell could tell
Aldric didn’t mean he’d tried a homemade piercing. “With the guy.”

  “For prom.”

  “Ooh.” Darrell winced for Aldric. He’d get the full story later, although he could guess that it had gone so badly that Aldric hadn’t tried or maybe hadn’t dared to date guys again. At the moment, he had other things to do. He smoothed his hands down to unbutton Aldric’s fly and unzip his pants, smiling when he felt Aldric’s growing hardness under his palm. “His loss. My gain,” he assured Aldric. And he meant it.

  He let Aldric’s cock spring free, wrapping his hand around the stiff flesh. “You’ve got a nice size dick on you. It filled my mouth well.” He’d deduced before that Aldric liked dirty talk. Pre-cum was already slicking the head of his cock, making it easier to work him. “You liked me blowing you, huh?” Aldric’s frantic nod nearly smacked his head into Darrell’s forehead, like he’d done to the creep earlier. “Taking you deep, feeling you thrusting in my throat, got me hard. One day soon, I’d love you to really fuck my face. Hold my head and just fuck me until you scream and come down my throat.”

  Aldric’s guttural moan filled the small room.

  “Wanna see what you look like with your dick down my throat?” Darrell continued, relentless, indicating the mirror. Before Aldric could stammer out a reply, Darrell was on his knees in front of him, sliding his lips from the tip of his shaft to the base in a smooth, practiced glide that tore a moan from deep inside Aldric. He pulsed in Darrell’s mouth and more pre-cum leak from his slit, the taste making Darrell’s cock as hard as his nightstick.

  “No. Stop.” Aldric shifted his hips and pulled free. “You—you’re always doing that. I want to. To you.” He heaved in a breath. “I want to suck your cock. Please.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Darrell had never had anybody beg to suck him off before. To have Aldric do so now turned him on unbearably. “Undress me,” he said, moving so Aldric had room. Aldric’s eyes went wide, and his fingers fumbled a little as he took Darrell up on his invitation, but he got the first couple of fly buttons to his fly undone.

  “Not used to these,” he confessed, tugging at the lower ones.

  “It’s easier without a huge erection in the way,” Darrell agreed. “But then, that’s your fault. And we’re stuck in a loop here. The more you get your hands on me there, the more I’m raring to go, giving you less room to work.”

  “Sorry!” Aldric yanked a little hard, rocking Darrell on his feet.

  “It all adds to the anticipation.” Darrell believed that about button-fly over zippered jeans. He liked being able to open all five buttons in one quick and satisfying series of pops when speed was of the essence, and also drawing it out to tease a partner by popping one at a time. Now, though, with his dick grateful for each slow centimeter of freedom Aldric gave it, Darrell feared he’d come sooner than he wanted to. Think about Fuentes. And Miller. Ugh. That helped. It almost helped too much. Still, it did the job, pushing back his urge to come in minutes.

  “Let me do the rest.” He toed off his shoes and socks then shoved his pants and briefs off as well.

  “You’re just right.” Aldric tipped his head to one side, like he had in the museum. “All those muscles, but they’re not too big and bulky.”

  “Thanks.” Darrell stripped Aldric, leaving his glasses on his naked body. Jesus, Darrell found that sexy. He gave him a gentle push onto the bed before he could cross his arms around himself or cover his groin. “You’ve got nothing to hide either.” Darrell positioned Aldric on his back and eased down the bed.

  Aldric’s face creased. “But I wanted—”

  “In a minute. I want to taste you some more.” Darrell pushed him flat when he tried to sit up and stroked Aldric’s soft, pale inner thighs, feeling the skin quiver and pebble under his fingertips. The crease where leg became hip had always been a favorite body part for Darrell and he feathered along Aldric’s now, enjoying the gasps escaping from Aldric’s lips in response.

  Darrell bent low to trace his tongue down the path that his fingers had forged, and Aldric’s dick jerked. A pearl of pre-cum leaked from Aldric’s slit. “Gotta clean that up,” Darrell murmured. He licked Aldric’s cockhead clean, slowly scooping into the slit with the tip of his tongue.

  “You tasted there already,” Aldric whined when Darrell tongued the vein he’d investigated before, now following it home to the base of Aldric’s shaft.

  “Okay, fine. But not here I didn’t.” Darrell’s reply came out muffled when he nosed into Aldric’s balls. He sucked one into his mouth and Aldric’s hips jerked off the bed in an almost violent reflex. “Because I want you in my mouth as well, we’re gonna have to do something we haven’t yet.” He made quick eye contact with Aldric as notice of what he intended to start next, and Aldric biting into his lower lip had Darrell’s cock jumping in response. “Don’t do anything you don’t feel like, okay? And if you try something and it doesn’t feel good to you, stop. Same as you’d tell me to stop if I do anything you’re not enjoying.”

  He waited for Aldric’s nod before lying on his side next to him, but the wrong way around. Or the right way for what he had in mind. His cock was level with Aldric’s mouth, but Darrell wanted Aldric to find his own way to it. There was no rush. He had plenty to play with—plenty being a good name for Aldric’s dick, which had a nice, thick girth Darrell was swirling his tongue around.

  Aldric’s curiosity won out over any nervousness he might have had quicker than Darrell had imagined it would. The tentative wet swipe to Darrell’s tip was a thrill, knowing he was the first that Aldric had done this to. Or am I? Darrell had made a couple of assumptions about the timid, naïve guy before, only to discover they were wrong. And just because he’d never had anal sex didn’t mean he hadn’t given head. He tried to assess whether the laps of Aldric’s tongue spoke of experience.

  Aldric’s ministrations earned him a spurt of pre-cum, and Darrell wondered how he’d deal with that. A second later, Aldric swallowed. Well, that answered that, and it made Darrell throb harder. He hoped Aldric could take his thickening-by-the-second cock. Within a minute, it was clear that Aldric was following Darrell’s lead. Literally, as in mirroring what Darrell was doing to Aldric. Well, trying his best—if Darrell’s assumptions were correct. He couldn’t expect to take Darrell as deep as Darrell was swallowing him.

  Darrell gave an experimental hum around Aldric’s cock, enjoying the full-body shiver it produced in Aldric, who then hummed around him. Okay. Darrell stuck a finger in his mouth and wet it with a mixture of his saliva and Aldric’s pre-cum. Keeping one hand on the base of Aldric’s shaft, he stroked down his cleft with the other. Their position on the bed, with their legs bent to allow access, meant there was no need to part Aldric’s cheeks.

  Aldric had tightened up again, his sphincter muscles taut around his hole, but he relaxed enough when Darrell rubbed him there, and Darrell slipped his finger in easily, making sure to rub his knuckle against Aldric’s walls. He might have been considering angles and depth, but then he wasn’t thinking at all when Aldric’s finger breached him.

  The fuck? Darrell was used to toys and occasionally liked a dildo in his ass while he fucked a partner. Hell, Ric, before Mateo, had enjoyed sliding Darrell’s thinnest wand in and out as foreplay, seeing how long Darrell could take it before he flipped Ric over and pounded into him. But this, feeling Aldric’s warm living flesh inside him, now retreating, now surging back thicker when Aldric added a second finger—this was a different story.

  He clenched around the penetration as Aldric was doing to him, wondering if he could take a third digit and if he wanted to take something even bigger that wasn’t made of silicone. But he was a top, not a bottom or vers. Taking a dick up the ass wasn’t what he did. Wasn’t who he was. In his mind, it connected to the feelings of vulnerability he’d had earlier—not so much the injury he’d sustained, but the way Aldric had reacted to it, caring for Darrell as if he were weak. No.

  He sucked harder, flickering
his tongue, wanting Aldric to come first. Repositioning Aldric’s top leg and his own hand, he fondled Aldric’s balls, then worked his hand over them to tease his taint, wanting to stroke over his prostate from the outside. In some guys it was easy to find. Some liked it and some didn’t feel anything. Aldric gave an immediate shudder, and he jerked upward with a sharp, high cry.

  The stream of cum that flooded Darrell’s mouth seconds later caught him by surprise and almost choked him. He swallowed and carried on sucking until Aldric was writhing under his hands, shaking and babbling out nonsense words. The way he said Darrell’s name, the reverence in his voice, lit fires everywhere from Darrell’s belly button to his thighs and detonated his release, had it tearing through him like lightning streaking the sky.

  Aldric gagged, and Darrell tried to pull free. He should have known that, stubborn as he was, Aldric wouldn’t let him set the pace. Aldric clamped his hands to Darrell’s butt, holding him where Aldric wanted him, and sucked until he’d milked the last drop from his cock. When Darrell was allowed to slip out, he turned on the bed to check on Aldric and saw the sexiest, most perfect sight ever—Aldric, sweat-mussed hair, flushed face, dazed eyes and swollen lips, from which a trickle of Darrell’s cum was escaping.

  Aldric raised an unsteady hand to his mouth and wiped at the liquid with the back of it. If he’d intended that as an innocent what’s this happening to little ol’ me gesture, the sly flicker of his eyes toward Darrell’s undercut it, and the contradiction, the paradox that was Aldric engulfed Darrell and made him want more.

  He scooted up the bed to wrap an arm around Aldric’s neck and bring him in for a kiss, knowing he still tasted of Aldric’s release, just as Aldric did his. Aldric returned the caress, nuzzling into Darrell. Darrell had been intending to grab a washcloth from the bathroom and clean them up, but Aldric’s weight on him bore him down. He barely had time to settle on his back, Aldric on his chest, before Aldric was asleep. It wasn’t the most comfortable position for Darrell, with his bruised ribs, but he wouldn’t move.