Faking It

by Christine d'Abo

  Max smiled down at him before walking around the table to take the remaining chair next to Ryan. “Hi. Max Tremblay.”

  “Ryan Bouchard.”

  Before his father had time to complain, the staff brought out the first course.

  When an avocado and strawberry salad was placed before him, all Grady could do was shovel the spinach leaves into his mouth and hope he wouldn’t choke on his indignation.

  “That’s quite the perceptive man you have there.” Justin spoke soft enough that no one other than Grady would hear. “I’m surprised he knew what game your father was playing.”

  “Father’s always playing games, and I told Max as much. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that out.”

  “Still.” Justin nodded toward his father as he took a bite of food. “He’s got class and tact. Nice to see you with someone like that.”

  Grady looked over long enough to see the death glare Father was leveling at Max. “That won’t go well later.”

  Dinner conversation began stilted and formal and eventually morphed into awkward pleasantries. Mrs. Bouchard peppered Serena and Lincoln with questions about the wedding. Father and Les discussed business reports, punctuated with grunts and snorts. And Grady mostly took to glaring at Max and Ryan and the jovial conversation they seemed to be having. When Ryan laughed at something Max said, Grady actually growled.

  “Careful,” Justin teased. “You don’t want to cause a scene and embarrass your fiancé.”

  He had no reason to be jealous. Max was being gracious by entertaining Ryan, they weren’t actually engaged, and therefore Grady had no reason to be jealous at all. Not to mention the fact that maybe Max and this man had a genuine connection happening. This might be a budding romance that Grady had been responsible for facilitating, something that would bring Max happiness for the rest of his life.

  He growled again.

  “Grady, how about you?” Mrs. Bouchard turned her attention his way, sending a jolt through him. “Anyone special in your life?”

  The air immediately seemed to vacate the room, and everyone froze. Lincoln and Serena’s eyes both widened at the same time; Justin stiffened, and his head snapped to Grady. For his part, Grady squeezed the life out of his fork and tried not to jump across the table to stab his father.

  “Actually, Mrs. Bouchard, Grady and I are engaged,” Max said as calm as could be, held up his glass, and smiled. “We didn’t want to spread word around too much with respect to Serena and Lincoln’s day. It just didn’t seem right.”

  The blood drained from his father’s face as Les Bouchard set his fork down and leaned forward. “You didn’t mention that, Theo.”

  Before Father could say anything, Max interjected once more. “In all fairness to Mr. Barnes, we hadn’t said anything ahead of time either. It was recent, and again, Grady didn’t want to do anything to overshadow Lincoln and Serena’s big day. I’m sure Mr. Barnes would have mentioned things tonight.”

  It was weird how Max had been able to position things to not only avoid any awkward conversations for Grady, but still managed to save face for his father. Grady wouldn’t have been that generous.

  For his part, Les seemed to accept the reason at face value. “Well. That’s unexpected.”

  Mrs. Bouchard leaned forward and smiled brightly at them all. “But congratulations! That’s so exciting for you. Theo, I know how you worried about Grady ever finding the right person.”

  His father still said nothing.

  “Well, I’m thrilled that we don’t have to keep the engagement a secret anymore.” Serena got to her feet and held up her glass. “To Max and Grady. May you always have one another, in sickness and in health. For better or worse. Pretty much all the damn time.”

  “Hear, hear.” Everyone chimed in and drank.

  Grady drained his glass. “Thank you.”

  “I’m sorry to hear you’re off the market.” Ryan smiled, not to Grady but to Max. “I guess I’ll have to set my sights on someone else.”

  Justin snorted and took another sip. “Looks like you have competition.”

  Thankfully, the next course came and conversation took another turn to less intense topics. Grady couldn’t help but keep his eyes locked on Max and on how Ryan, despite now being armed with the revelation that Max was taken, continued to flirt shamelessly with him.

  When Grady’s father pushed away from the table, conversation screeched to a halt once more. “I need a smoke.”

  “I’ll join you.” Les dropped his napkin to the table.

  “Sweetheart, you know what the doctor said.”

  But Les brushed his wife’s concern away. “We’ll be back before dessert.”

  Lincoln leaned in on his opposite side to whisper. “That could have gone worse.”

  “Pardon?” Justin leaned back.

  “Wanted to know if Grady wanted a smoke too. I had a pack hidden in the other room.” Lincoln never smoked, so he knew that was bullshit. Justin would too.

  Mrs. Bouchard, bless her, soldiered on. “So Max, what do you do for a living?”

  “I own a club, ma’am.”

  “Oh, that’s wonderful. What kind of people does your club service?”

  Max smiled as Grady choked on his steak. “It’s actually a nightclub. A gay bar if I’m being specific.”

  “Oh. Of course.” She blushed.

  Serena leaned over Max’s other side and slipped her arm around his. “Max was telling us the other night that Frantic is one of the best nightclubs in Toronto.”

  “Toronto? So you’re not from around here?” Ryan looked as though someone had kicked his puppy.

  “Yes. My mom and I moved from Calgary when I was fifteen, and I fell in love with the city. When she eventually moved back home, I stayed put.”

  “I don’t think I could handle it if Ryan moved away from Vancouver. I’m too used to having him around.” Mrs. Bouchard was a lovely enough woman, and a seemingly odd match for her scheming husband. “Why did your mother move from Calgary? Work?”

  Grady might not have known Max long, but he’d become an expert in reading his expressions in the short time they’d been together. So seeing the spark, the joy, bleed from his face made Grady’s stomach turn.

  Max took a drink of wine and smiled. “Yes.”

  That was the biggest lie he’d ever heard in his life, but this wasn’t the time or place to call him on it. “How are you liking your steak, Mrs. Bouchard?”

  “A bit rare for my liking, but I’ll power through.”

  That seemed to be the theme of Grady’s life these days. Nothing was going the way he’d hoped or planned, but he continued to power through. Faced with this new mystery, he knew he wouldn’t rest until he discovered what had happened to Max in Calgary.

  Because if he recognized anything, it was when another person had been through hell and come out the other side.

  When Theo and Les returned some time later, Max was not surprised to see a change in the two men. Whatever they’d discussed outside, they’d come to some sort of understanding. The earlier tension had gone, and in its stead were two men clearly on the same page. It had been a risk to make the announcement he had, but it was the easiest and quickest way to put a stop to the forced engagement between Grady and Ryan.

  If Max had learned anything during supper, it was that no two people were so poorly suited as Grady and Ryan.

  Just no.

  Ryan was a sweet guy, definitely moved in the same circles as Grady, but he was so naïve it was bordering on painful. He hadn’t had sex with a man yet, though he was more than willing to go all the way. He’d pretty much begged Max to take his virginity without saying it in so many words. He was exactly the type of young guy who would come to Frantic on a Saturday night and would end up circling the dance floor, uncertain how to even approach someone who’d caught his eye.

  Grady, with all his seductive confidence, would eat this kid for dinner.

  Not that he seemed to even know Ryan wa
s in the room. Max had snuck the occasional glance at him to see Grady throwing him a death stare. So he’d lowered his voice a bit more and made a corny joke that he knew Ryan would laugh at, just so he could see Grady grow even more annoyed.

  It shouldn’t have been this fun or easy to tease him, but it was. Max didn’t want to question what that said about himself.

  The rest of supper passed quickly, and before he knew it, they were saying good night to everyone, and Grady was trailing along behind him on the way back to their room. Despite the simmering tension, the evening hadn’t been a complete waste. Ryan, while young and still trying to figure things out, had been pleasant enough company. It had been fun teasing him and his naiveté, something that Max hadn’t seen in a long time. The people who came to Frantic generally knew what they were looking for and where to find it.

  The air in their room was cool, refreshing after the warmth of the dining room. Max kicked off his dress shoes as the stiffness left his shoulders. “Supper was amazing. I can see why you haven’t fully moved away from—”

  Grady was on him, cutting the sentence short. His mouth plundered Max’s, his hands clawed at Max’s back, his hair, his shirt. The sounds coming from Grady were raw, angry, possessive.

  Max took him by the shoulders and pulled him back. “The fuck?”

  “Kiss me. Now.”

  “Not until you tell me what’s going on.” He should have really said no, but after he’d released himself from his promise to keep Grady at bay, Max knew that sex would be inevitable. “What’s gotten into you?”

  “You with any luck.”

  “I’m serious.”

  “So am I.”

  Grady growled, stepped back, and started taking his shirt off. “I had to spend hours watching that little punk flirting with you. Even worse when he found out that you were mine.”

  Interesting. Max hadn’t been on the receiving end of a possessive lover before. “Well, technically—”

  “No technically about it.” Grady flung his shirt to the floor and went to work on his pants. “Take it off.”

  Max couldn’t wipe the grin from his face, and instead did as he was told. “Yes, Mr. Barnes.”

  Grady froze. “No. Never call me that.”

  Yeah, he should have known that was a no-no. “Sorry.”

  “Call me anything but that. Pookie. Baby doll. Sweet cheeks. I don’t care. Just never that.”

  Max burst out laughing. “‘Pookie’?”

  “Fuck off.”

  “Sure thing. Pookie.” He let his pants fall to the floor.

  “You’re forgiven.” Grady grabbed Max’s cock through his briefs and gave it a squeeze. “Doubly so when you start using this.”

  “Why don’t you say hello first?”

  “Good idea.” Grady held eye contact as he dropped to his knees. He pressed his mouth to Max’s cloth covered cock and breathed out. “Hello.”

  Blood pulsed through his shaft and his balls tightened. “God.”

  Grady pulled Max’s briefs down slowly, letting the cotton band scrape against his sensitive skin. He’d had many blowjobs, but he never remembered being this turned on before. This ready to feel the warmth of another man’s touch on his body.

  Thankfully, Grady’s teasing didn’t involve holding back. Rising up on his knees, he licked a long swipe up the length of his shaft. Fingers teased the underside of Max’s balls, sending heat and a pulse of lust through him.

  Max kept his gaze locked on Grady; he couldn’t get enough of seeing pleasure flit across his face, the flush on his skin as he began to work his mouth on Max’s cock. Giving in to the temptation he’d been fighting all weekend, Max pushed his hands into Grady’s black curls. God, the hair was as soft as Max had imagined it would be. Grady enjoyed the contact as well, humming his contentment around Max’s cock.

  The flick of a tongue across Max’s cockhead pulled a moan from him. Saliva slipped from Grady’s mouth, easing the way and adding to the rising pleasure. One of these days, he’d ask if Grady would mind if he came in his mouth, on his face, maybe even across his chest. The mental picture was nearly enough to push Max over the edge.

  With his hands cupping Grady’s face, he pulled back. “You’re far too good at that.”

  Not that Grady wanted to be done; he leaned forward and sucked one of Max’s balls into his mouth, before releasing it with a pop. “So good.”

  Yeah, Max needed to take control of matters before he came all over the place like a kid. “Bed. Now.”

  He didn’t exactly wait for Grady to do as he asked, pulling him up by the arms and dragging him the short distance to the object in question. Much as they had that first day, Max pushed Grady to the bed, watching his body bounce briefly before climbing up beside him.

  Unlike that first day, Max wanted to show him how much he wanted to do this, to enjoy this without the guilt and reservations he’d had before. Removing Grady’s briefs, Max took several deep breaths to calm himself down enough to ensure he would do this right.

  Grady’s engorged cock was purple, his balls were tight. He was clearly as aroused and wanting as Max. But Max suspected this had as much to do with Grady needing to feel less like a tool to be used by his family, as it did with him wanting to be with Max.

  Well, he was the right man for the job.

  Sliding to Grady’s side, Max propped his head up with his left hand, while he ran his right across Grady’s stomach, and up to his chest. “Someone’s a little turned on.”

  “I need you to fuck me. Condoms are in the nightstand.”

  Max bucked his hips, pressing his cock against Grady’s thigh. “And I will. But not until I’m ready.”

  “Just . . . come on. I need this.”

  “I know. But you need this more.”

  Bending over him, Max placed a gentle kiss to Grady’s mouth. It was almost chaste and a complete contrast to their current positions. Still, he continued to place small, gentle kisses to Grady’s mouth, his chin and cheeks, down on the side of his neck and shoulder. Each one he mentally attached to something he liked about him.

  His smile.

  The way his eyes sparkled when he was up to no good.

  How much he loved his brother.

  The way he tried to do things for Max, to take care of him.

  It was that last one that had begun to resonate with Max more than any other. He’d spent so much time being the one looking after others, that it was strange and wonderful to have someone want to do things for him.

  By the time Max made the way back to his mouth, Grady was squirming and moaning continuously. “What are you doing to me?”

  “What people should have been doing for years. Showing you that you’re worth it.”

  “Worth what?”

  “Everything.”

  Grady’s eyes filled with unshed tears as he cupped Max’s face. “Damn you.”

  Their next kiss was deep, and Max felt his chest constrict from the force of the passion he felt for Grady. He didn’t want to question it, couldn’t if they were going to get through to the wedding. Instead, he kept going.

  Reaching down, he cupped Grady’s cock and balls, stroking and teasing as he moved as close as he could to him. Soon he’d need to get the condom, but for now he wanted as much skin-to-skin contact as he could manage. Grady shifted to his side so they were now pressed together, cocks touching.

  “Are you even real?” Grady bit Max’s chin. “I’ve never met anyone like you.”

  “Me either. This is crazy.”

  It was. Two men, from two different worlds with little in common, had somehow been thrown together in a bizarre situation. Not only did it not make sense, it should never work.

  At least sex was a common element that would bind them together.

  Knowing he wouldn’t last long, but not able to hold back any longer, Max grabbed the condom and lube. Grady sighed, and by the time Max had rolled back, he was on his back once more with his legs spread.

  Next t
ime, Max wanted to be the one on his back. He wanted to feel Grady stretch his body, spread him wide until he couldn’t take anymore. Next time.

  Because he now knew there would be as many next times as he could manage.

  Max squirted lube across his fingers and carefully spread Grady open. With each thrust of his finger, Grady relaxed, his hips bucked, and his breathing shallowed. “Good enough.”

  It probably wasn’t, but Max wasn’t in the mind-set to argue either. He quickly slipped the condom on as Grady flipped over and got to his hands and knees. “I want it hard. Fuck me hard, Max.”

  Jesus.

  Grabbing his hips, Max lined up and thrust forward. It took several tries, but soon enough he was buried deep. They were connected on a primal level, two men coming together as one with no one else to stop them.

  Max let his eyes slip closed and began to match Grady’s thrusts with his own. Tight warmth enveloped him, making it impossible to think of anything else than the man beneath him. Grady’s body began to shake, and Max knew he was fisting his cock.

  Yes, that was what he wanted. “Come on. Stroke it. Try and come with me.”

  Max didn’t know if he’d be able to hold back that long, but he was damn sure going to try. Doubling his efforts, he thrust harder, deeper, using Grady’s moans as a guide for when he was doing things exactly right. Grady’s skin grew slick with sweat and his muscles trembled beneath Max’s touch. It was the cut-off moan and the way his muscles clenched around Max’s shaft that told him Grady was about to come.

  “That’s it.” Max thrust harder. “Do it.”

  Grady thrashed, his back arched, and with a final shudder he cried out. The tightness was all it took to push Max over the edge. With one final thrust the wave of his orgasm crashed over him, blinding him. Skin met skin, ecstasy consumed him, and for a moment Max lost control.

  Finally, the pleasure loosened its grip and Max fell forward, pressing his chest to Grady’s back. The weight must have been too much, and Grady’s knees gave out, sending them both to the mattress in a heap. When Grady tried to pull away, Max wrapped his arms around him and held him still. His softening cock was still in Grady, and he wanted nothing more than to stay this way as long as he could.