A Breath of Innocence

by K. A. Merikan

  Griffith swallowed and rested his arm on the edge of the tub as he rubbed his face over the underside of Mark’s jaw, and then pressed it to Mark’s cheek, seeking his warm lips. “I used to think it would be difficult to find someone for me. All the stuff you hear about everyone wanting to experiment when they’re young... that’s not really me,” he whispered.

  Mark chuckled. “No? Didn’t you say you wanted to ‘try everything’?” His hand lazily climbed up Griff’s spine, and even though Griffith had already gotten used to the way their bodies fit together, the gentle glide made him shudder and rock against Mark.

  “Yes, but... I want to try them with you,” he whispered, pressing his nose into the soft yet scratchy skin of Mark’s cheek. He squeezed his thighs on his cock, which was slowly coming back to life. “I don’t know... I never wanted to have sex with many different people. It would feel... so intrusive, and what if sharing intimacy meant they have something to threaten me with in the future?”

  Even now, fingers sliding between Griff’s buttocks made him tense up, but Mark was there to soothe his insecurity with a kiss. “I thought I wanted many people, and it took me a while to realize I wasn’t getting what I really wanted that way. A bit like stuffing your face with cheap snacks and then having no room for the lovely dinner.”

  Griffith chuckled and tightened his arms around Mark despite the unfamiliar presence at his ass. He never tried to touch himself there for this purpose, but the gentle movement of warm fingers left no way to deny that he was sensitive there. Anal sex had never been prominent in his fantasies, as he’d usually focused on imagining closeness, weight, taste, and the feel of another body on top of his in the most minute detail. But now he didn’t have any doubts that he wanted this to happen, and not just because he wanted to make Mark happy either. He loved Mark’s cock, he loved Mark’s touch, and there wasn’t a single place on and in him where he didn’t want its touch.

  “I like that metaphor so much. So it’s me you really want to eat?”

  “Oh, babe… I’ve been starving myself for this.” Mark sucked on Griff’s bottom lip, and the flush on his face was making Griff dizzy with excitement. “Turns out snacks can never fully satisfy.”

  When the tip of Mark’s finger teased the entrance of Griff’s anus instead of just gently tracing the sensitive skin between his buttocks, Griffith stirred in Mark’s lap, unable to keep still. He shut his eyes and leaned closer to Mark, sliding his foot up the side of the tub and eventually resting his knee on the edge. This opened him up in a way so obscene that for a moment he wished he hadn’t done that, but then again he was with Mark, the man who he was ready to trust to never hurt him.

  “How did you find out? Other than... having a lot of snacks.”

  Mark kept slowly teasing him with one hand, while the other explored Griff’s chest, rubbing Griff’s nipples time and time again. Griffith shut his eyes, on the verge of melting into the water. It felt as if Mark was ready to give him all the time and attention he needed, and that in turn made Griffith more relaxed by the minute.

  “After a few years around my dads, I could see I was missing out on something. A real connection. They’re… I wouldn’t exactly say they’re good role models in every sense of the word, but the way they love each other is so fierce, and so intimate.”

  Griffith kissed the side of Mark’s mouth and cupped his chin, unable to cope with just how close he wanted to be. “That must be beautiful. My parents... they work well together, and I’m sure they like each other, but they never really expressed those feelings freely when I was around. They’re so... proper all the time.”

  Mark snorted. “There’s nothing proper about my dads. I’m actually dreading you meeting them some day, because they can’t seem to shut up, and sometimes they should.”

  Even though they were just talking, Mark’s finger kept rubbing against the sensitive skin of Griff’s anus, creating a need previously unfamiliar—for Mark to press on. There was a heat building inside him, and in his balls, just below Mark’s fingers. Griffith flexed his buttocks, just to make the touch that bit more intense. “It’s okay. I want to meet them. They must be amazing if they raised you.”

  “I’m a mixed bag. They only adopted me later, so I come with a part of me that’s messed up and broken. My real parents didn’t have much love for each other. Or for me.”

  Mark leaned forward and kissed Griff’s breastbone, as if he wished to communicate the extent of his adoration. The heat of his lips seared Griffith’s muscles and made him arch, splashing the lukewarm water. Mark’s fingers were still insistently rubbing the delicate flesh between his buttocks when their lips clashed again, and somehow it felt as if Mark were tugging on Griff’s cock too, bringing it back to stiffness.

  “There’s nothing broken about you. You’re amazing,” Griffith whispered, pressing his forehead to Mark’s. His heart fluttered like a trapped bird, seeking a way out of the confines of Griff’s chest.

  “And you’re the sweetest creature I’ve ever met, and I can still hardly believe you even looked my way.”

  But there was confidence to the way Mark touched him. Given the chance, he wasn’t backing away or hesitating. Griff only realized what the target of Mark’s fingers was when they travelled all the way to his ankle and stopped, as if asking a silent question.

  He gave a nervous chuckle but moved his toes against Mark’s palm. “You’re kidding, right? Everyone’s in love with you as soon as they meet you.”

  Mark gasped at the touch, his fingers twitching. “Because they don’t know what lurks inside.”

  Even though it still felt slightly weird to see Mark so interested in touching Griff’s feet, knowing that Griff had the power to provoke such excitement in the first place somehow made it all kind of arousing.

  “What is it that lurks inside?” he uttered, shutting his eyes when Mark’s thumb pressed into the underside of his foot, evoking a sensation so pleasurable he wouldn’t have expected it coming from this place on his body. Maybe Mark wanted to condition Griff to love the feeling by combining it with the never-ending teasing of Griff’s ass. It was unnecessary, he’d already succeeded.

  “The big bad wolf who eats boys like you for lunch.” Mark smirked and pushed the tip of his finger into Griff.

  The sudden invasion sent a jolt of electricity all the way up Griffith’s cock, and he jerked on top of Mark, rocking against him as the digit gently moved around in Griff’s hole. His sphincter clamped down on it, but the penetration wasn’t large or deep enough for it to hurt, and Griffith relaxed yet again. With his heart in his throat, he leaned back to look into Mark’s face.

  “Eat me.”

  Mark’s pupil went so wide it almost filled the whole iris. “Oh, Griff. You don’t have to ask twice. But let’s get out of here, because it wouldn’t be comfortable.”

  Griffith nodded, his head too empty to produce a coherent response. He only moved once Mark nudged him to, and even then, needed to hold on to the tub to stay stable. His balls were too heavy, and his cock felt like it was on fire, but most of all he now missed the new sensation of being touched around his anus.

  Before he could get cold after leaving the water, Mark wrapped him in a fluffy towel and gave him another kiss. “Wait downstairs, I’ll get us comforters.”

  Griffith’s first instinct was to argue, but when he met Mark’s gaze, it struck him that this was something Mark wanted to do for him. And he? He wanted Mark to take care of him too, so he gave Mark a kiss and walked downstairs, into the sitting room that was lit up only by the Christmas tree. After endless minutes of lounging in the warmth of Mark’s arms, this space prickled Griffith’s still-damp skin with cold, so he took his time to dry himself with the towel.

  Mark came down with a bundle of blankets and comforters stacked so high Griff couldn’t see his face, but fortunately Mark managed to avoid stumbling down the stairs.

  “It’s so cold!” He laughed and started quickly arranging his bounty into a cocoon
on the floor. Any other time, Griffith would have proposed using the fireplace for warmth, but it would have posed too much of a risk.

  Griffith dropped the towel to the floor and approached Mark with nothing to hide under. When Mark glanced his way, his lungs filled with a sense of safety. There was absolutely no reason to feel self-conscious about his nakedness. His body was clearly attractive to the man he desired, and even though there were things he didn’t particularly love about himself—like the feet that were always battered, bruised, and covered by patches of rough skin—what was the shame in that? Mark wanted Griffith the way he was. Wanted him, not some boy with perfect feet and perfect everything.

  He was free to explore his sexuality, and with Mark he was safe to do so.

  “I’ll make you warm, I promise,” he said, pressing his face between Mark’s shoulder blades, which in the sparse light looked like two ridges surrounding a desert ravine that smelled of musk and warmth.

  Mark looked over his shoulder with a grin and turned around to wrap his arms around Griff’s waist, but his hands quickly traveled back south, to Griff’s ass. Once again, Mark pressed his cock against Griff’s skin, like a reminder of how long he’d waited for this.

  “I’ve got no doubts about that.” Mark pulled Griff down to the impromptu bed.

  Griffith let out a laugh, more excited than nervous when he slid into the nest of still-cold comforters and blankets, positive that their temperature would soon spike. He rolled to his back and pulled hard on Mark’s hand to throw him off balance.

  “Come here.”

  With a happy groan, Mark landed on top of Griff and pulled a comforter over their bodies. “I won’t let you out of here.” He sat up between Griff’s legs with a blanket resting on his head so it flattened his curls. He pulled on Griff’s leg to caress the foot in his hands.

  The covers still felt cool under Griff, but not Mark’s hands, not his chest - their touch was scorching hot and beckoned Griffith to follow his instincts as he stretched his other leg and gently pressed his foot between Mark’s thighs. Keeping up the eye contact as if it was the most natural thing in the world, Griffith gasped when Mark’s warm, stiff dick rested under his sole, its damp head touching the back of Griffith’s toes.

  Mark’s breath quickened as he kissed Griff’s other foot with those soft, warm lips. “I never wanted to do this with anyone, but with you it’s an urge. I want to cherish every single bit of you.”

  Griffith pressed his heel more forcefully against Mark’s cock, and a whimper escaped his lips when it twitched, releasing dampness between his toes. Heat exploded in his brain.

  “I told you you can eat me.”

  Mark gave a slow nod and grabbed Griff’s ankle. In one swift move, Mark grabbed at Griff’s hip as well and flipped him as if Griff were weightless. Or a pancake. Griff much preferred to think of himself as the former.

  “Ass up,” Mark demanded in a raspy voice that made Griff sweaty with anticipation.

  Griffith exhaled against the fabric. For the briefest moment, embarrassment crept up his back, but it was gone the moment Griffith imagined how much pleasure Mark has already given him. Without a word, he raised his hips while keeping his hand under his cheek for support. His toes twitched, still cooling as Mark’s precum dried on his skin, and the throbbing in Griffith’s cock became so intense he squeezed it with one hand.

  “Have I ever told you that your ass is a work of art?” Mark chuckled behind him, but since Griff expected the touch of fingers, his mind went blank when Mark’s face pressed against his buttocks, tongue licking its way up from Griff’s balls.

  His first instinct was to back away, but Mark’s hands, which had so far been so incredibly gentle, firmly held him in place. Nose buried in the comforter under him, Griffith clenched his fingers on the fabric and desperately pumped his cock as the trail of saliva left behind by Mark’s tongue turned into fire.

  “Oh, God...”

  The sound Mark made was so guttural, so hungry, it only spiked Griff’s excitement. Mark’s nose trailed the inner part of Griff’s buttocks, but then that hot tongue dipped into Griff’s hole and thinking became impossible.

  Griffith turned into shuddering jelly when his muscles gave up and for a moment left him at the mercy of Mark’s support. The colorful room rolled around him like a caleidoscope while he arched, and rocked, and thrashed, unwound by the unexpected sensations. Mark’s tongue was so agile, so incredibly soft even as it pushed inside, licking Griffith’s inner walls and teasing all around the hole. Griffith’s head spun with the scent of pine, and his entire being focused on what Mark was doing to him.

  Mark's hold on Griff's thighs was firm enough to keep him in place, and when Griffith’s buttocks were spread even wider, the covers could no longer offer him any pretense of modesty. His ass was ripe for the taking, and the continuous onslaught of pleasure dimmed Griff’s mind to the point where he didn’t right away notice that Mark backed out a bit.

  “Up,” Mark whispered, with a pat to Griff’s ass. When Griff complied with neither will nor strength to question the suggestion, Mark pushed a pillow under his hips, against Griff’s painfully erect cock. He whimpered when the cold fabric touched his dick, which felt so hot it was a surprise the contact sent no vapor into the air, but Mark’s touch told him to stay put.

  “How does it feel?” Griffith whispered, rolling his face over the comforter to look back.

  “What? To be fucked? Depends who you’re with.” Mark watched him as he squirted some lube onto his fingers before delving them all the way to Griff’s tender ass. “Does this feel good?” A slippery digit entered Griff with ease, but his sphincter squeezed around it right away. The tension in the muscle stung a bit, but after several seconds, Griffith managed to relax.

  “Nice, but it’s like my body has its own mind.”

  “We’ll take our time. It shouldn’t hurt, so if it does, tell me.” Mark lay next to Griff, one leg hooked over his when he started moving his finger inside Griff at a relentlessly slow pace. “I can’t wait for it to hold my dick that tightly.”

  Griffith arched against the firm chest, trying to get used to the unfamiliar presence inside him. It didn’t hurt anymore, but unlike the touch of Mark’s tongue, it didn’t provide the same immediate gratification either. Still, he glanced at Mark, resting his face on his folded hands as it went on. “I’m a bit apprehensive. But excited. I want to feel more of you. I want to have you on top of me,” he whispered, meeting Mark’s gaze. It felt good to no longer be embarrassed by this, as if the bricks that made up his mind had shifted, making place for intimacy.

  Mark hummed and nuzzled Griffith’s ear while he twisted his finger inside him. "You know what I want? I want to hear you moan, and feel you squirming. Every little gesture you make turns me on as much as watching your lovely ass.” As he spoke, leaving soft kisses on Griff’s neck, a second finger slid inside Griffith, this time causing no discomfort.

  He would forever associate the scent of pine, and the glowing Christmas lights with Mark lying so close, touching him, and making him feel safer than ever before. They kissed, and Griffith pushed even closer to his lover, gradually relaxing to the gentle stroking inside his hole. By the time Mark added a third finger, the sense of being stretched was only an afterthought in the face of pleasure.

  There he was, in the arms of a man who struck him like lightning from the second they met. He was Mark’s sole focus, his sun, because to Griffith it felt as if his whole world revolved around Mark.

  By the time Mark pulled out his slippery fingers, Griff had almost forgotten why they were doing this in the first place, but the rock hard cock pressing against his hip was a quick reminder.

  Griffith opened his eyes, seeking out Mark’s gaze and petting his chest. “Yes,” he whispered and rocked his hips back to rub against Mark’s hand. Their cocoon of fabric was scorching hot, and he needed to be released from the fire burning inside him.

  Mark let out a heavy exhale, watching Gr
iff as if he were the most sparkly bauble on the Christmas tree. He rolled on top of Griffith, and his weight was everything Griff had imagined it would be—a reminder that he was in fact with a man, who was strong and tall. Mark’s hands curled over his shoulders while soft lips left featherlight kisses at the back of Griffith’s neck. The hard cock slipping its way against Griff’s buttocks was a burning presence that couldn’t be ignored.

  Still, Griffith backed away when the thick head pushed at his hole, both somewhat nervous and itching to continue. Mark was so warm, so caring. He’d saved Griff from harm and never once did anything Griff didn’t want, always remaining considerate and sweet. Who else could make this good for him? There was no reason to be afraid.

  “It’s so hot,” he whispered, pushing back. The movement made Mark’s cock glide between Griff’s buttocks and eventually rest on his tailbone.

  “No, you are,” Mark nipped on Griff’s nape, and backed away so that his cockhead alligned with Griff’s well-stretched hole.

  The wait was killing him, but Mark had mercy, and the next time he thrust his hips, his dick pushed in past the sphincter. A part of Griff was still shy about this, but the moment the gorgeous cock opened him up, all he could think of was their bodies connecting in such an intimate way.

  He curled his shoulders, briefly on the edge of panic when the unfamiliar invasion continued at a slow pace, but then Mark’s curls slid across his shoulders, his lips left damp kisses on Griffith’s neck, and everything fell into place. Mark slid in very slowly, and Griff could feel every inch pass through, until he was so full he was no longer capable of breathing without relaxing his upper body. Not knowing what else he could do to express his need, he bent his legs and dug his heels into Mark’s buttocks, pulling him in.