by N. R. Walker
Table of Contents
Legal Page
Title Page
Book Description
Dedication
Trademarks Acknowledgement
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
New Excerpt
About the Author
Publisher Page
A Totally Bound Publication
Clarity of Lines
ISBN # 978-1-78148-896-8
©Copyright N.R. Walker 2013
Cover Art by Posh Gosh ©Copyright December 2013
Edited by Eleanor Boyall
Totally Bound Publishing
This is a work of fiction. All characters, places and events are from the author’s imagination and should not be confused with fact. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, events or places is purely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form, whether by printing, photocopying, scanning or otherwise without the written permission of the publisher, Totally Bound Publishing.
Applications should be addressed in the first instance, in writing, to Totally Bound Publishing. Unauthorised or restricted acts in relation to this publication may result in civil proceedings and/or criminal prosecution.
The author and illustrator have asserted their respective rights under the Copyright Designs and Patents Acts 1988 (as amended) to be identified as the author of this book and illustrator of the artwork.
Published in 2013 by Totally Bound Publishing, Newland House, The Point, Weaver Road, Lincoln, LN6 3QN
Warning:
This book contains sexually explicit content which is only suitable for mature readers. This story has a heat rating of Totally Burning and a Sexometer of 3.
This story contains 103 pages, additionally there is also a free excerpt at the end of the book containing 7 pages.
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Thomas Elkin
CLARITY OF LINES
N.R. Walker
superiorz.org
Book two in the Thomas Elkin Series
When some lines blur, others become crystal clear.
Absolutely smitten, Thomas Elkin and Cooper Jones have decided they’re prepared to give a relationship a try.
What they’re not prepared for is the reaction from their families, who try to force them apart.
Both men are about to learn that there are lines that define us. Sometimes the lines blur, sometimes the lines become crystal clear.
Dedication
For my husband…
Trademarks Acknowledgement
The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of the following wordmarks mentioned in this work of fiction:
Bluetooth: Bluetooth SIG
Google: Google, Inc.
iPod: Apple, Inc.
Jell-O: Kraft Foods Holdings, Inc.
Mercedes: Daimler AG
Xbox: Microsoft Corporation
Chapter One
The view from my office was spectacular. It was a beautiful clear day, the sky was a brilliant blue and while most people would have cursed having to work, I was still smiling. Line five on my desk phone lit up. My personal line. I picked up the receiver knowing who it would be.
A familiar voice spoke in my ear. “Mr Elkin.”
I chuckled into the phone. “Mr Jones.” It was the third phone call that day. “Don’t you have enough to do?”
“Oh, I have plenty,” Cooper answered. “But you haven’t agreed yet.”
“I told you it wasn’t really my scene,” I told him again. “Why don’t you take one of your other friends?”
“You mean younger friends,” he replied. “I don’t want any of them to come with me. I want you to come with me.”
Cooper had two tickets to see some god-awful too-loud band at Madison Square Garden, and right or wrong he wanted me to go with him.
“Is this not something we could discuss over dinner?”
“I like annoying you at work,” he said cheerfully. “Usually if I pester you enough, you’ll just agree with me to shut me up.”
I groaned. “Is that a skill you work on, or is it a natural-born talent?”
“It’s a Gen Y thing.”
“It’s a Cooper Jones thing.”
He chuckled into the phone. Then his tone of voice changed to a playful whisper. “Come on, baby. You know you want to. It’s Linkin Park. They’re my favourite.”
“Lincoln who?”
He burst out laughing this time, and I sighed. “I’ll talk to you about it tonight,” I told him. “Will you come over?”
“That depends.” I could tell he was still smiling.
“On what?”
“On you saying yes to the concert.”
“I have a lot to do today…”
“Then agree with me.”
“Goodbye, Cooper.”
I hung up, still smiling, and not even half a minute later, my private line lit up again. I pressed the flashing button and laughed. “All right, I’ll go with you if it will shut you up so I can get some work done.”
But Cooper didn’t laugh. There was only silence. I quickly checked the line to confirm it was on my personal line and not a business call, just as another familiar voice said, “Excuse me?”
Shit.
Sofia. My ex-wife. I cleared my throat and said, “I thought you were someone else.”
“Obviously.”
I could have reminded her that she had called me on my private line at work, but instead I took a breath and started again. “Sofia, what can I do for you? Is everything okay?”
“Everything’s fine,” she said in a cool tone, like I had no right to ask. “I was just calling to remind you that Ryan’s birthday is in three weeks.”
“I remembered.”
“Yes, well, he’s thinking of having a party up at the Casa. I told him he needs to let me know by Friday so I can get it organised.”
“Okay.”
Then, not being one for small talk, she said, “He tells me you’re seeing someone.”
“Yes, I am,” I said slowly, wondering—dreading—what Ryan had told her. “What else did Ryan say?”
“Nothing really,” she said. “Just that you were getting serious.”
I exhaled in relief. “Yes, well…” I wasn’t sure what to say. I wasn’t embarrassed or ashamed of Cooper in any way…it was just that I wasn’t about to explain to my ex-wife over the phone that I was dating a man the same age as our son.
“Mmm,” she hummed. I could picture the look of disdain on her face. “Well, whatever Ryan decides to do for his birthday, be sure to bring…your friend.”
My friend.
Sure, she was ready to admit I was gay, but she wasn’t ready to say ‘him’, or ‘he’, or ‘boyfriend’.
The line clicked in my ear. Sofia also wasn’t ready for amicable goodbyes.
Given I’d already just made one faux pas on the phone by assuming it was Cooper and been blindsided by my still-mad ex-wife, I decided text would be safer. At least I could see who the incoming messages were from.
I pulled out my cell and selected Cooper’s cell number and typed out a message.
You’re in so much trouble. Just took a call. Thought it was you. It wasn’t.
My phone beeped a short time later.
LOL Did you answer the phone with the offer of a BJ?
I snorted.<
br />
Close.
His reply was almost immediate.
LMAO.
‘LMAO’? Dear God. I really was dating a twenty-two-year-old.
I typed, Keep the first weekend of next month free.
Okay, he replied.
He didn’t even ask why. Then another message, Keep the fifteenth of next month free. I bought TWO concert tickets.
Did you ever take my NO seriously?
Nope. Now, about that BJ…
I smiled as I threw my phone into my top drawer. He was so horny. He wanted sex, he thought about sex, all the time. Not that I was complaining. I’d never been more satisfied, and I’d never been fitter.
I needed to be fit just to keep up with him.
When Cooper arrived at my apartment, letting himself in with his own key, it was getting late. The sun was setting over the city, casting its final rays across my living room. I was in the kitchen reading through my mail. He walked in and kissed the side of my head. “Good evening, Mr Elkin.”
“Mr Jones.”
“You didn’t reply to my text messages?”
When I had checked my phone before leaving, there were three messages from him, all wanting details on this supposed blow job I’d almost offered whoever had called my office.
“No, I didn’t reply,” I said, taking his hand and leading him to the sofa. I pushed him down so he was seated and I slowly knelt between his legs.
Cooper’s eyes widened, as did his smile. “Well, I think I like this better.”
Without taking my eyes off his, I undid his belt buckle, then the button on his pants and I gently pulled down his fly. I slid the elastic of his briefs down to reveal my prize and ran my tongue over the head of his cock.
“Oh, fuck,” he whispered. He spread his legs wider and lifted his hips, giving me more access. I licked him again and took him in my mouth, swirling my tongue and sucking him. He was hard in no time, making a whimpering sound.
He always made the sweetest sounds.
His fingers were in my hair and I could tell he was trying not to thrust into my mouth. He wanted more. So I took him deeper, deeper, opening my throat to take him down. Cooper arched his back and moaned, and I knew he was close.
I cupped his balls with one hand and pumped the base of his cock with the other while I sucked the head, making him cry out. His cock swelled in my mouth, he gripped my hair and he spurted hot and thick into my throat.
There wasn’t anything like it.
It was empowering to make him come so quick and hard.
He let go of my hair, slumped into his seat and groaned out a laugh. “Tom, Tom, Tom…”
I smiled rather proudly and got up off my knees, only to kneel over his thighs. Cooper’s head lolled heavy on the back of the sofa. I put my hands on either side of his face and waited for him to lazily open his eyes. He grinned and put his hands on my hips, so I planted my mouth on his, letting him taste himself in my mouth.
Cooper pulled my thigh down and pushed me sideways, back on the sofa, and lay over me, pressing down on me. He kissed me again, slower this time. “Well, that was better than a text message,” he said with a smile.
“Much better,” I agreed.
He opened the first two buttons on my shirt and kissed down my neck. “We should text each other more often.”
I laughed and ran my hand down his back and over the curve of his ass, pushing his hips into mine. “Having messages from you about blow jobs was too distracting.”
I could feel him smile against my neck. “Mmm, I like making you think about sucking my dick. It makes turning up here a lot more fun.”
I chuckled again and playfully bit his neck. “I’ve been thinking about doing that all afternoon.”
Cooper pulled back and pecked my lips, twice. “So what am I doing the first weekend of next month that I would need to make sure I’m free for? Taking me away somewhere for a dirty weekend?”
“Not really. Sorry to disappoint. It’s Ryan’s birthday.”
“Cool,” he said, resting his head on his hand, his arm bent at the elbow. “That’s not disappointing. It’ll be fun. What are we doing?”
“We’re heading up to the Hamptons.”
His eyes widened, excited. “Really?”
“Don’t get too excited,” I warned him. “Sofia will be there. She wants to meet you.”
His smile faded. “Sofia? Your ex-wife?”
I nodded. “Ryan’s mother.”
“She knows you’re dating me?”
“No,” I admitted. “But she’s about to find out.”
Chapter Two
Cooper took the prospect of meeting my ex-wife quite well. True to Cooper form, he was inquisitive and asked a lot of questions. “Does she know anything about me?”
“She knows I’m seeing someone. She doesn’t know who it is.”
“How will she take it?”
“I don’t know. I’d guess not well.”
“Do you care what she thinks?”
“Not about me. Only when it concerns Ryan.”
“And she called you?”
“Yes.”
“Do you talk to her often?”
“No.”
“Do you miss her?”
That question stopped me. “I used to. When we first separated,” I told him. “I missed my friend. We were married for almost twenty years. It wasn’t easy, particularly for her.” I looked at him and smiled sadly. “But I don’t miss her anymore.”
“Tell me about it,” he said softly. “Tell me what happened.”
“Why I left her?” I asked.
He nodded. “I know why you left. Tell me what made you decide to do it.”
I got up from the sofa, walked to the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of merlot and two glasses, and walked back to the sofa. I poured us both a glass and left the bottle on the coffee table. Cooper waited, watching me patiently, and he smiled at me when I handed him the glass of red.
“I met Sofia in college. She was a driven woman, but a lot of fun. I was…curious…with guys. I knew I was attracted to them. I had a few…experiences, but I hung out with Sofia so people wouldn’t suspect I was gay. I wasn’t gay…well, that’s what I told myself.”
I sipped my wine, and Cooper curled his legs up underneath him and put his hand on my thigh, giving me his undivided attention.
I took a deep breath and continued, “My father would never have understood. He paid for my college tuition and kept a very close eye on me. He pushed me hard, and I wanted to make him happy.”
“You married Sofia to make your father happy?” Cooper asked. There was no judgement in his eyes, just curiosity.
“It was expected of me,” I told him. “My parents knew Sofia’s parents, and it was just assumed we’d be together. It was a different time then. It’s just what you did. You went to college, got married, bought a house, had a family.”
Cooper sipped his wine. “Did Sophia ever suspect you liked guys?”
I shook my head. “No. I thought it was an exploring thing. You know, in college you explore, experiment. In my twenties, I thought the attraction to men was just a phase that would pass. But it didn’t. I struggled with it. I ignored it. I told myself I was happy with Sofia and that I should be grateful.”
Cooper squeezed my thigh.
“But it got harder to ignore.”
“Did you ever”—he hesitated—“you know, with a guy while you were married?”
“No,” I said adamantly. “Never. I never cheated on Sofia. In my head, yes, a thousand times over I fantasised and dreamt about it…” I sighed. “I don’t know, maybe that’s just as bad.”
“No, it’s not,” he answered quickly. “It’s not, Tom. It’s nothing like it. Fantasising about it and actually doing it are two very different things.”
I smiled at how he tried to placate me, and I sipped my wine. “And then I hit my thirties. I knew I had to do something. I knew I couldn’t keep living a lie…but Ryan was in high schoo
l, and I didn’t want to derail him. It wasn’t a simple divorce,” I said softly. “I didn’t just have to tell him I was moving out and that his mom and I were separating. I had to tell him why.”
Cooper refilled our glasses and patiently waited for me to speak again.
“It was my thirty-ninth birthday and I just knew. I knew I had to come clean. I felt if I got to forty and was still living a lie, then it was all over. I don’t know why, it’s just how I felt. I’d waited and waited so long then all of a sudden I couldn’t wait any more. I felt like I was drowning…”
Cooper moved closer to me and slid his hand into mine. “Oh, Tom.”
“I told Sofia the truth, and while it felt like a weight was off my chest, I simply transferred the weight to her. She was devastated.”
“I’m sure she’ll understand,” Cooper said with a nod. “In time.”
“It’s been five years. She’s still very angry with me and I don’t blame her,” I admitted. “I hurt her very deeply. She was the one who had to face all her friends and associates and tell them her husband was gay.”
“But you didn’t have a choice,” Cooper replied simply. “You couldn’t have denied yourself happiness forever.”
“My happiness or hers?” I asked rhetorically. “And I did have a choice,” I told him. “I shouldn’t have married her, I should have told her twenty years before, when we were kids in college. But we have Ryan, and he means the world to me. But I still should have told her.”
“You couldn’t,” he countered. “Your father would have disowned you.”
“He still would.”
Cooper was surprised by this. “Doesn’t he know?”
“Well, my parents know I’m divorced of course, much to their disgust,” I said. “But not the reason why.”
“Sofia never told them?”
I shook my head. “She’s mad with me, yes, but she always loved my parents. She’d never hurt them.”
