Bringing Him Home

by Penny Brandon

  "Get dressed," he said. "I've gotta get moving."

  "Jared?"

  Jared stiffened, his back to Kyle, knowing he'd spoken roughly and regretting it. He turned to find Kyle's troubled eyes staring at him.

  "What's wrong?" Kyle reached out and ran his warm hand over Jared's shoulder.

  Jared immediately felt the tension draining out of him. "Sorry, but I just realized we're parked on the side of the road. This really wasn't a good place to stop."

  Kyle's smile started at his mouth and reached his eyes, lighting them back up. "Impatient, were you?"

  Jared shrugged and then smiled. "You're lucky I didn't stop ten minutes after you crawled in here."

  Kyle started pulling on his jeans, only just managing in the cramped space. He passed Jared his T-shirt. "When we stop tonight, how about we find somewhere more comfortable and less public?"

  Jared grinned. "Deal." He pulled on his own briefs and jeans and slipped his T-shirt back over his head before edging into the driver's seat. Kyle was right behind him, buckling himself in the passenger seat as Jared restarted the engine. He kicked the truck into gear and pulled it back onto the road.

  Kyle relaxed beside him, looking comfortable, and Jared had to admit, he was just as comfortable having him there. He smiled to himself and looked at the clock on his dash, counting down the hours before he was able to stop again and have Kyle for real. It was all right having Kyle's delicious cock as an appetizer, but what he really wanted was his ass.

  Kyle tried not to reflect on what had happened in the last half hour, but it was pretty impossible not to when his body kept reminding him how incredible it had been.

  He studied Jared as he drove. Jared was certainly fit, perhaps an inch shorter than he was but at least thirty pounds heavier, and all of it muscle. Jared's dark hair was just a little longer than his own and right now was all mussed. Kyle managed to stifle the urge to reach out and run his hands through it; he didn't think Jared would appreciate it while driving. His face was classically good-looking and definitely one that would attract a lot of attention. But Kyle thought Jared's eyes were his best feature, warm and appealing.

  He hadn't expected to find anyone like Jared. Jared was passionate, and unbelievably responsive, but it wasn't just that; it was the look in his eyes, his smile, and his generosity that got to Kyle. And it was the fact that Jared wanted to take this further. Right now Kyle wasn't sure what this was, but it was definitely not just a one-night stand, and he was more than willing to go with it.

  He also wondered how far Jared was willing to go and how much he'd already started along on this path. He smiled to himself and decided to test the waters. "This morning, in the shower stall?" he began.

  Jared flicked him a glance, the brown in them warm, reminding Kyle he hadn't seen if they'd changed color when Jared had come. Kyle knew he had to check that out tonight.

  "Yeah?" Jared prompted him.

  "Were you thinking of me while you were jacking off?"

  Jared's eyes went wide as he turned to stare. "What!"

  "Keep your eyes on the road, buddy," Kyle admonished him while laughing. He leaned back and put his bare foot on the dash. "Well, were you?" he asked, deliberately lowering the tone of his voice.

  "Oh yeah." Jared's honest answer and the deep, rough set of his voice had Kyle groaning.

  "What's wrong?" Jared quickly asked.

  "I just got fucking hard!"

  Jared's laughter filled the cabin, but it did nothing to alleviate Kyle's problem. "You asked me," Jared informed him.

  "Yeah, I know, and I'm sorry I did now. Fuck!" Kyle shifted in his seat, trying to make himself more comfortable while Jared kept surreptitiously sending him hot glances.

  "It was your eyes," Jared said.

  Kyle eventually eased open the top of his jeans so his cock didn't feel like it was being strangled. "What about them?" he asked, not really paying attention to what Jared was saying but fully aware of how Jared was looking at him as if he wanted to devour him, which wasn't helping his cock any.

  "You have beautiful eyes," Jared informed him, his own gaze once again concentrating on the road ahead.

  Kyle smiled. Of all the things a man could compliment him on. "What about my cock?" he asked with a grin, knowing he was pushing his physical endurance one step too far.

  Jared chuckled. "You have a beautiful cock. Nice and thick, just the right length, and that plum-colored top you've got going on? Makes me drool just thinking about it. Oh, and just in case I forgot to mention it, you taste good too."

  "You're jerking my chain, aren't you?" Kyle stared at Jared. He hadn't expected this either. The playful banter was exactly what he liked, knowing that what he said would be taken as it was meant and given back in return.

  Jared risked another look at him. His eyes had warm toffee highlights that swirled among the blue and green, something that Kyle focused on. It made him feel like he could easily melt into their sweet depths.

  "No, I'm not jerking your chain." Then Jared cursed. "Now I'm fucking hard!"

  A deep laugh rumbled up through Kyle's chest.

  "Distract me," Jared said. "Talk about something else."

  Kyle didn't have to think about it. "When did you know you were gay?"

  "That's going to distract me?"

  "I'm curious."

  "Why?"

  "Why am I curious? I just want to know you better." A lot better, Kyle added silently.

  Jared gave a little smile. "I was about fifteen. I realized that unlike my mates, I wasn't interested in girls. Didn't think much of it at the time, then Bobby Inglis, a local mechanic, came round to the house one day to work on my father's truck. He'd stripped off his shirt because it was hot, and was tinkering under the hood, bending over, when I spotted him from the back porch." He glanced over at Kyle, grinning. "I got an instant hard-on and creamed my jeans before I'd even realized what the hell was going on." He set his gaze back to the road. "I jerked off that night with the image of Bobby implanted firmly in my mind. Right then I knew I was gay. Never looked back."

  "When was your first experience with a man?"

  At that Jared laughed again. "That wasn't the best night of my life."

  "What happened?" Kyle had turned in his seat so he was looking directly at Jared. Even in profile he was able to discern Jared's expressions. He saw Jared grimace and then smile.

  "It was my twenty-first birthday. I got drunk, hit on a guy, gave him a blowjob, and then spewed all over him."

  Kyle clamped a hand on his mouth to stop himself from laughing, but Jared had seen the gesture. Kyle tried to look apologetic but knew he'd failed miserably. "I assume you never saw him again?" he asked at Jared's disdainful look.

  "What do you think?"

  Kyle bit his lip to hide his smirk but knew he hadn't done any better of a job when Jared rolled his eyes. "So, six years from your first jack-off session to actually doing something about it. Why'd you wait so long?"

  "Lack of opportunity." Though the answer was swift in coming, Kyle noticed the finality of the statement. Jared wasn't going to expand on it, and Kyle knew this wasn't the time to push the issue.

  "What about you, Kyle? When did you find out?"

  "I was seventeen." At Jared's flickered glance, Kyle smiled. "Late bloomer."

  "And?"

  Kyle licked his lips, not sure how to explain it. He wasn't proud of that night. It didn't go as badly as Jared's, but it wasn't pleasant, and it showcased his naivete. "I got picked up by this guy. I was naive, certainly about my sexuality but also about the practices men indulged in. What he showed me was enough for me to realize I was gay, but I didn't like everything he did."

  "He hurt you?"

  Kyle should have realized Jared was astute enough to pick up on that. He sighed. He'd started this conversation; it was his own fault if he didn't like where it was going.

  "Yeah, he was a little...rough."

 
; The tightening of Jared's hands on the wheel told Kyle more about Jared's personality than anything else he could have done right then. He smiled inwardly. At least one good thing had come out of this conversation; he knew Jared would never deliberately hurt him.

  "And since then?"

  "I played the field awhile until I realized I wasn't getting what I wanted."

  "Which was?" Jared glanced at him again; this time he held his gaze for longer than was strictly safe.

  Kyle felt his heart start to speed up. Was he ready for this? Was he able to voice the need that had been insinuating itself in him for the past couple of years? Would Jared understand? Would he be interested? He took a deep, calming breath and took a chance. "Something less casual."

  "You mean something permanent?"

  Kyle couldn't believe his hands were shaking and his mouth had gone dry. He tried to keep his gaze steady on Jared's, who had practically slowed the truck down to a crawl. Cars were zooming past, blasting their horns, but neither of them paid any notice.

  "Yes."

  Jared's eyes were dark as he stared at him. "Me too."

  With those two simple words, Jared had just made Kyle hopeful for a future he'd only ever guessed at.

  He stared out the window for a while, watching the dry, gold-red scenery of the Australian bush go by but not really seeing it. Could he be that lucky? He took a quick glance over to find Jared staring at him again. They both grinned.

  "Where are we headed?" Kyle asked, gazing out the window again and noticing for the first time that they'd left all signs of civilization behind them and seemed to be in the middle of nowhere.

  "I thought we'd stop at Tamworth and spend the night."

  "And then what?"

  At Jared's silence, Kyle glanced over at him. Jared looked uncomfortable; that awkward set of his shoulders was back. Unease settled in Kyle's stomach, hard to ignore but easy to pinpoint why. "You haven't decided what to do with me yet, have you?"

  Jared didn't look at him, and Kyle knew that was a bad sign. Strong fingers gripped the steering wheel tighter, and for a moment, Kyle didn't think he was going to answer, but then Jared sighed. "No, I haven't."

  Kyle knew he could push the issue or let it lie. He didn't want to do either; he wanted something in the middle. "Your family doesn't know you're gay, do they?" Okay, maybe that was pushing the issue. There had to be a reason why Jared was reluctant.

  "Shit, Kyle! What kind of question is that?"

  "Humor me," he said, watching Jared's posture very carefully. Jared revealed a lot with his body.

  There was obviously something in his voice, because after only a few seconds, Jared relaxed his hands and loosened his shoulders. "You're wrong; both my mother and my sister know."

  "They okay with it?"

  "Yeah, they're both fine." Jared looked at him then, his dark eyes assessing. "Where are you going with this?" he asked.

  So maybe Jared's reluctance had nothing to do with his family. Maybe whatever was happening between them was just not strong enough to commit to. Maybe he was just expecting too much and should back off. He shrugged. "Nowhere. It doesn't matter."

  The edge of Jared's mouth turned down. "What about yours? Do they know?"

  "My parents died in a car crash two years ago."

  "Sorry."

  "Don't worry about it." Kyle knew he sounded tense but couldn't help it. He watched the scenery go by again until a warm hand gripped his and linked their fingers together. Jared gave him a reassuring squeeze, and Kyle squeezed back, though he didn't say anything more. He didn't trust himself to.

  Chapter Three

  Jared was exhausted. The conversation he'd had with Kyle earlier kept playing on his mind, not letting him rest, not letting him think of anything else. He was torn, wanting one thing, knowing another, and not having the slightest idea what the fuck to do about it.

  He wanted to bring Kyle home with him, wanted to see if there was any chance of a future together, but he just didn't know if he was ready to make a stand against the small-minded people in the town where he lived. No one there knew he was gay and having an open relationship with another man was not something that would be accepted, and Jared needed to be accepted. His business, his life was there. And what about Kyle? Would he be prepared to live in a town where he could be ridiculed, abused, run out? Jared grimaced. The possibilities were real; he had firsthand knowledge of what one bigoted man could do to another just because of his sexual orientation. But that was one man, not a whole town. Was he just making this too big of a deal?

  "Don't."

  Jared quickly glanced at the man who up until then had been sitting quietly at his side. Kyle had turned in his seat and was facing him, one leg tucked beneath the other.

  "Don't what?"

  "Overanalyze."

  How could he not when everything he'd ever wanted hung in the balance of someone else's opinion? "I'm not," he lied, consciously trying to ease the tension that had crept into his shoulders.

  "No? Then why are your knuckles white? You grip that steering wheel any tighter and the damn thing is going to snap."

  Jared instantly loosened his hold, flexing fingers that had started to go numb. "I'm fine, just tired."

  "Too tired?"

  He would have to have been stupid not to know what Kyle was talking about. He grinned despite his concern. "No."

  "Good. Thought I was going to have to start using my arsenal of seduction techniques to get you into bed with me." The light, teasing tone Kyle used didn't disguise the unease that edged his comment. There was no doubt Kyle had picked up on Jared's conflict, though he probably hadn't got a clue as to what it was about. He glanced at Kyle again and caught him staring back.

  "One step at a time, Jared. Fucking first, talking later. Agreed?"

  "You think we need to talk?" Jared asked, surprised Kyle had brought it up.

  "Yes, at some point. But not now."

  "Why not now?"

  The blue in Kyle's eyes flared bright with something akin to desire and frustration. "Because right now we need to fuck each other senseless, and then see what happens. Seriously, Jared, you need to get laid. I've never seen a man so tense."

  "What if nothing can happen?"

  "Why don't we wait until tomorrow and decide then?"

  "It's not that simple."

  "If you want me the same way I want you, then yes, it is." The heat in Kyle's eyes this time was all desire, and Jared couldn't help but be affected by it. He wanted Kyle. Kyle wanted him. Did anything else matter?

  "Am I going to have to crawl onto your lap right now and show you how good it can be between us?"

  Jared groaned as a complete visual of a naked Kyle on his lap teased him, bringing his body to full wakefulness. A light tingle of need slid down his spine, worked its way through his ass, and lodged itself in his balls. He shuddered.

  "Don't say stuff like that while I'm driving," he begged, flicking his gaze to the man who was bringing him to the brink of distraction. God, the man's eyes were compelling, making it hard for him to think.

  "Well? Do I need to persuade you?"

  Jared shook his head, but he wasn't sure if he was giving Kyle an answer or just trying to free it of scattered thoughts that wouldn't leave him alone. By the look on Kyle's face, he didn't seem to think it had been an answer either. Kyle sighed and sat back, his fingers drumming on the armrest at his side. In that instant, Jared thought Kyle had given up, and he almost protested. He didn't want Kyle to give up. He actually did want Kyle to persuade him otherwise, to persuade him that it could be good between them, that something could come out of this.

  "Have you ever been rimmed?"

  At the unexpected question, Jared's foot slid off the accelerator and his stomach flipped. He gathered his wits and settled his foot back into place, but his stomach was still doing somersaults. He glared at Kyle, about to tear him a new hole, but the man was grinning, that twi
st of his mouth that filled Jared's heart and did a lot to make Jared want him even more.

  "No, I haven't," Jared said instead.

  "Have you ever done it?"

  "No."

  Kyle turned back to the sweeping view out the windshield.

  "Is that it? You're going to ask me a question like that and then drop it?"

  Kyle turned his head, the hot, steamy flare in his eyes making Jared's body melt. "Do you want to?" Kyle asked.

  If this was Kyle's way of persuading him, he'd succeeded. Jared gave up worrying about tomorrow. He tightened his hands on the steering wheel as he contemplated Kyle's question. There was only one real answer. "With you, yes," he answered, surprised at how steady his voice sounded. "Do you want to?"

  Kyle's grin was slow and cocky. "I'm thinking about it."

  "Kyle!"

  "What?"

  "Fuck!"

  Kyle just laughed, the sound so innocently sweet that Jared seriously contemplated shoving the truck into park and hauling Kyle's ass to the sleeping berth behind them.

  "Your ass is mine, Kyle," Jared growled, meaning it as a warning but knowing it came out as a promise.

  Kyle took a quick glance at him, then shook his head. "Unless you intend on rimming it, I don't think so."

  Slowly Kyle's words sank in. "Then it looks like we have a problem."

  It took a couple of seconds, and then Kyle groaned. "Aw, come on, Jared; don't tell me you're a top."

  Jared grinned; Kyle sounded worried. "Do I look like a bottom to you?"

  "Looks have got nothing to do with it." Kyle now sounded petulant. He shifted in his seat. "Have you always topped?"

  "Yes."

  Kyle was silent for a moment. "You thinking of changing anytime soon?"

  "Not unless you are too."

  "Fuck!"

  When Kyle didn't say anything else for a while, Jared wondered if he seriously wasn't considering allowing Jared to fuck him. Jared knew he was willing to bottom, but only if Kyle was as well. Whether they would actually get a chance to do both was still in debate, but Kyle had to at least agree to it.