Viscount’s Wager

by Ava March

  If nothing else, Gabriel’s kisses in the grotto had screamed his desire for Anthony. Hell, the man had even admitted his desire for him. Maybe Gabriel had been busy of late with his escort duties. After all, Gabriel hadn’t come to London to spend all his time with Anthony.

  By the time he reached his apartment building, his hair was plastered to his head, his trousers were stuck to his shins and his cravat was a sodden mess about his neck. Ah well. Everything, including himself, would eventually dry.

  The first order of business upon arriving home was to get the fire going in his bedchamber. Then he hung his greatcoat on a coatrack to dry, peeled off his clothes and tossed them in a basket for the afternoon maid to see to and went into the washroom. His apartments might not be impressively large, but the building had been recently outfitted with the latest inventions of modern plumbing, complete with a boiler system that allowed hot water to be pumped to the shower-bath. Not having to lug bucket after bucket from the kitchen or to make do with cold water? Now that was a luxury that more than made up for ceding the town house to his mother and sister.

  He was just walking out of the washroom, nicely warmed up from his shower-bath, when a knock sounded on the front door.

  His pulse kicked up a gait. Could that be Gabriel?

  He dropped the towel he’d been using to dry his hair and quickly pulled on a pair of trousers. Just in case it wasn’t Gabriel, it wouldn’t do to open the door without a stitch of clothing on.

  Yanking a shirt over his head and shoving his arms into the sleeves, he crossed to the door and opened it.

  Thank you, God.

  His patience had been rewarded. There stood Gabriel, a bit worse for wear from the rain but not soaked through. The man must have found the only hackney out in London tonight.

  “Good evening, Gabriel.” Stepping aside, Anthony opened the door fully for Gabriel to enter. “How nice to see you.”

  But Gabriel didn’t move. “My apologies. Did I rouse you from bed?”

  “No. Do come in.”

  A pause, then Gabriel complied.

  “I was just going to head to bed, though,” Anthony said as he shut the door and locked it. He turned to face Gabriel. “Care to join me?”

  Still clad in his greatcoat, Gabriel didn’t immediately reply. His gaze was pinned on Anthony’s lips.

  Just when Anthony began to wonder if tonight would be a repeat of Gabriel’s last visit, complete with the same initial awkward stiffness, Gabriel’s arms shot out to grab hold of Anthony. His mouth slanted over Anthony’s, the kiss harsh and determined and full of desperation.

  And the little niggle of worry that perhaps Gabriel hadn’t been desperate to be alone with him again was completely vanquished.

  Anthony worked his hands between their bodies, undid the buttons on Gabriel’s damp greatcoat and coat as the man practically devoured him. Within no time at all, Anthony’s cock was stiff and aching from the blatant promise in Gabriel’s kisses. Gabriel was going to bugger him good and hard tonight, and damnation, but that was exactly what Anthony wanted from him.

  To be taken. To be used. To be left sore and wrung dry with a giant smile on his face.

  Gabriel dragged his mouth to Anthony’s jaw, nipped at the skin there. “I can’t stop thinking about you,” he murmured, hands delving under Anthony’s loose shirt to splay across his lower back.

  “The feeling is mutual.” He pushed the coats from Gabriel’s shoulders. “Bed? Yes?”

  Gabriel nodded, his eyes banked with lust. He shook his arms free of the coat’s sleeves, then grabbed Anthony’s wrist and led him across the parlor to the open bedchamber. The moment Anthony crossed the threshold, Gabriel pulled him close again, his mouth once again devouring Anthony’s as if unable to get enough. And his hands were everywhere—tugging on the buttons of Anthony’s trousers, pulling Anthony’s shirt up and over his head, stripping him bare. Hot palms scorched across Anthony’s skin, touching, stroking, ratcheting up the passion between them.

  And then Gabriel was nuzzling his neck, lips gentle, arms wrapping around Anthony to hold him close, the blistering urgency gone as if it had never been there.

  “You’re so beautiful, Anthony.” A press of lips to Anthony’s collarbone. “So handsome.” A kiss on the point of his pulse. “So...everything.”

  Anthony had never felt more cherished in all his life. I’ve found him. The knowledge sank into his bones. He had found the one.

  Cupping Gabriel’s jaw, he brought their lips together again. The kiss long and slow and absolutely perfect.

  Yet his cock refused to be ignored. It was pressed up against Gabriel’s hard length, the soft rub of wool a reminder that one of them had not shed their clothing yet.

  Pulling back slightly, he broke the kiss. “And you’re still dressed.” He ground his hips against Gabriel, illustrating his point.

  Gabriel’s eyes drifted closed, a grunt issuing from his chest. “That I am.”

  “I can help you with that,” Anthony said, dropping to his knees, hands going to the placket of Gabriel’s trousers. Gabriel’s erection strained against the fabric. Anthony licked his lips in anticipation. He looked up, caught Gabriel’s gaze. “The door is locked.” The top two buttons gave way. “We’re completely alone.” Another button freed. “May I suck your cock?” The last button released. Anthony watched the shudder roll through Gabriel’s body. Reaching inside, he pulled out Gabriel’s erection. “Or shall the offer earn me another reprimand?”

  Gabriel shook his head. “Please do.” The words were soft, drenched in trembling anticipation. Then Gabriel swallowed, and that delicious sense of command reared its head again. “Suck my cock, Anthony.” The growl in Gabriel’s voice...

  He couldn’t get his mouth on Gabriel’s gorgeous cock fast enough.

  Thick shaft held firmly in one hand, he took Gabriel inside. Relished the feel of his lips sliding down satin-soft skin. And the low grumbling sounds emanating from Gabriel?

  Anthony sucked hard, took Gabriel deep, wanting to hear more of those sounds. A hand cupped the back of his neck, another gripped his shoulder, as Anthony bobbed along Gabriel’s length. Hell, the man even tasted gorgeous.

  With his free hand, he tugged Gabriel’s trousers down his hips. He gripped a firm arse cheek, encouraged Gabriel to move in counterpoint to his rhythm. To fuck his mouth.

  “Anthony, Anthony.” His name was like a benediction, punctuating each bump of Gabriel’s hips.

  Harsh pants cut through the air around them. Quickening, shortening. He could taste the musky hint of Gabriel’s seed. Could feel the impending orgasm in the rigidity of the cock sliding over his tongue. And while Anthony had definitely wanted to swallow Gabriel’s seed in the grotto, tonight he wanted more from his lover.

  He pulled back with a crude, wet pop and met eyes blazing with lust. “I want you to fuck me.”

  “Hell, yes, Anthony.”

  “Then get rid of the waistcoat,” Anthony said, pushing to his feet.

  As Gabriel saw to his clothes, Anthony went to the bedside table for the vial of oil. Then he flung the coverlet back, dropped the vial onto the sheet and climbed onto the bed.

  He’d barely settled on his back against the pillows when Gabriel practically pounced on top of him. Bare skin pressed against bare skin. Kisses beyond urgent. Spit-slicked erection sliding along the crease where Anthony’s thigh met his groin, teasing him, taunting him.

  Drawing his knees back, Anthony palmed Gabriel’s arse and rocked into him. When that didn’t work to get Gabriel to move things along, he twisted his head to break free of the kiss. “Fuck me, Gabriel, please. If you want me to beg, I will. I just need...”

  With a nod, Gabriel pulled back. “I do too.” With his usually tidy hair completely mussed, he glanced about, and then reached to his left.

 
The scent of almond oil teased Anthony’s nose, ramping up the anticipation that had become damned near intolerable. He watched, breaths coming hard and fast, as Gabriel passed an oiled palm over his erection. Then those oiled fingers were reaching down, sliding across Anthony’s entrance.

  Eyes closing, Anthony tipped his head back, his body eager for those slicked digits to push inside.

  The mattress shifted beneath him. He felt the heat of Gabriel’s body hovering over his own an instant before those teasing, whispering fingertips were replaced with an unmistakable blunt pressure pushing against his entrance.

  His eyes few open. He put a hand on Gabriel’s chest, halting him. “Wait. I’m not ready for you yet.”

  Gabriel jerked back a few inches. A furrow of confusion crossed his brow. “But I... What did I do wrong?”

  “You didn’t do anything wrong, exactly.” Or at least Anthony had stopped him before Gabriel could shove his cock into Anthony’s unprepared arse. That would have stung. “Just almost skipped a step, that’s all.”

  “Which step?”

  Did Gabriel truly not know?

  Dropping his feet back to the mattress, Anthony studied Gabriel’s face. That exhilarating touch of command had been replaced with unmistakable uncertainty.

  Gabriel didn’t know.

  Anthony opened his mouth, paused then voiced the question that begged to be asked. “The other night, when you were here last. Had that been your first time with a man?”

  A short, distinctly uncomfortable nod from Gabriel. “Yes,” he mumbled more than spoke the word.

  He had been Gabriel’s first?

  All right, then. There was no way he could suppress the smile. “Really?”

  “Yes.” He lowered his head, his brow a wrinkled mess. “Are you disappointed?”

  “Do I look disappointed?” Levering up, he nipped at Gabriel’s lower lip. “And in case there is any doubt in your mind—no, I am not at all disappointed.”

  “Were you disappointed the other night?”

  “No.” Hell, no. Except for the now very understandable nervousness that had gripped the man during the first few minutes at his apartments, Gabriel had given a very good showing of himself. So good, in fact, Anthony had slept for ten hours straight and had awoken with a smile.

  “But you had to finish yourself off. I should have seen to that for you, but I couldn’t hold off any longer.”

  “Well, you held off longer than I did my first time.” Half a dozen strokes, and he’d spilled his seed like the green lad he’d once been. “There are instances when it is perfectly acceptable to finish oneself off and not have it take the form of an insult.”

  “Oh. All right.”

  Gabriel’s gaze darted about the bedchamber, his weight rocking back, pulling away from Anthony.

  All this talk was clearly making Gabriel nervous. And a nervous man did not make a good bed partner, as evidenced by the now half-erect prick hanging between Gabriel’s thighs.

  “Back to the reason why I stopped you. The natural state of the muscles in that area is to be constricted. They need to be coaxed to relax before accepting a man.”

  “How?”

  “There are a few different methods.” Anthony’s attention went to Gabriel’s lips. Just the thought of that proper mouth on his most intimate skin... “The easiest is to use one or two or three of these.” Lifting his arm, he wiggled his fingers.

  “But the other night, I didn’t... Did I hurt you?” True concern reflected on Gabriel’s face.

  “No. I took care of it myself. That’s the quickest method. I was a bit impatient at the time,” he added. “And given we were on the couch, it was also easier to see to it myself.”

  “When you reached behind yourself, that’s what you were doing? I thought you were slicking up.”

  “That, too.”

  Gabriel nodded. One of those nods used to fill a void.

  “So...” Anthony reached to his right, fingers encountering cool glass, and grabbed the vial. “Do you want to learn how it’s done?”

  “Yes.” Rocking back full onto his knees, Gabriel held out a hand. “May I...”

  “By all means.” He placed the glass vial into Gabriel’s palm. Grabbing the backs of his thighs, he pulled his knees back up to his chest, fully exposing himself to Gabriel. “Use some oil and start with one finger. You’ll be able to feel when I’m ready for more. Then you can progress to two, and given you aren’t a slight man, you can then go to three. And by that time, I’ll be begging you to bugger me.”

  “I like it when you beg.”

  “Do you, now?”

  Gabriel let out another of those delicious growls. Damn, but Anthony was growing fond of that sound.

  And then a freshly oiled digit was passing over his most intimate skin. Gabriel pushed inside. Hesitant at first, but at Anthony’s nod for more, the hesitancy slipped away and Gabriel was working Anthony’s arse like he’d been born to do it. Deep thrusts interspersed with soft teases of the perimeter. One became two became three, as Anthony’s muscles fairly melted under Gabriel’s attentions.

  Damnation, Gabriel was a quick study.

  “Come on, Gabriel. Fuck me. Bugger me.”

  Twisting his fingers, Gabriel brushed up against that fantastic spot inside of Anthony, pulling a beyond desperate groan from Anthony.

  “Are you sure you are ready for me?” Gabriel asked, all confident swagger.

  And when the hell had Gabriel become so cocky?

  “Yes, damn you. Now. Please.”

  Pulling free, Gabriel swooped down to give Anthony a searing kiss. “So beautiful,” he whispered against Anthony’s lips. Then he rocked back onto his knees and lined up his cock. With his attention on Anthony’s face, he pushed inside slowly.

  Too slowly.

  The stretch, the fullness... It was what Anthony craved, but he wanted damned more of it. “Please, please, please,” he begged. “I’m ready. You don’t need to go slow. Ram me.”

  With a short nod, Gabriel grabbed Anthony’s arse and pulled back until just the head remained inside. And with a snap forward of his hips, he proceeded to give Anthony exactly what he’d begged him for.

  Hard, ruthless slams that shook the bed. Anthony’s erection hitting his own stomach with each thrust. Gabriel’s ballocks smacking his skin with each downstroke. Fingers digging into Anthony’s arse cheeks. Hopefully Gabriel left bruises again. Seeing those marks on his skin from the last time... He hadn’t been able to get his hand on his cock fast enough to stroke himself off.

  Gabriel hauled Anthony toward him to meet the next thrust. And then the next one. And the next one. Luscious pleasure jolted through Anthony’s body. He couldn’t stop the grunts from slipping past his lips.

  Gabriel Tilden is fucking me!

  How many times had Anthony fantasized about this very thing? Too many times to count.

  And it was actually happening. For a second time.

  A part of him reeled in awe as Gabriel did a damned good job of ramming his arse. And who would have thought such a reserved man would end up being such a commanding beast in the bedchamber?

  Stretching his arms over his head, Anthony grabbed for the spindles on the bed’s headboard and held on tight as Gabriel picked up the pace, his thrusts verging on brutal. And Anthony loved every second of it. “Yes, yes. Fuck me hard. God, yes, Gabriel.”

  A feral sneer pulled Gabriel’s lips, transforming his gorgeous features into the very definition of ruthless determination. Sweat dripped from Gabriel’s temples, his gaze not fixed on where their bodies were joined, but on Anthony’s face.

  He wasn’t just an arse to fuck for Gabriel. He was more than that.

  A hand left Anthony’s hips to wrap around his cock. Two strokes, then Gabriel paused, bent
his head and spit onto Anthony’s erection. Such a resourceful, considerate man.

  Anthony nodded in approval, then he let out a groan as Gabriel began working his arse and cock in counterpoint. The orgasm built with startling swiftness. Tightening his ballocks, tightening every muscle in his body. Then sensation crashed over him.

  With his hand still sticky with spit and seed, Gabriel grabbed Anthony’s hips with both hands and held him tight up against him. And on a low growling grunt, Gabriel spilled deep inside of him.

  He felt the aftershocks jolt through Gabriel’s body. One, two, three of them. Then Gabriel let out a whoosh of air, shoulders slumping and head bowing.

  “Damnation,” Gabriel muttered.

  “Yes, indeed.”

  For a moment there, Anthony thought Gabriel was going to slump down on top of him, and Anthony wouldn’t have objected in the slightest. But instead, Gabriel pulled free and flopped onto his back next to Anthony.

  While Anthony would have been very content to simply close his eyes and let sleep overtake him, the feel of cooling and drying seed on one’s skin was not a pleasant one. So he levered up enough to reach over to the bedside table drawer and grab a couple of handkerchiefs.

  He held one out toward Gabriel, who took it from him with a murmured, “Thank you.”

  A few swipes, and at least he didn’t feel so sticky anymore. So much for the shower-bath earlier, but the price had been more than worth it.

  Once Gabriel had wiped up, Anthony held out a hand to him. “I’ll take care of that.” He took the soiled linen from Gabriel, balled it up with the one he had used on himself, then pushing into a seated position, tossed both handkerchiefs toward the hearth. Neither made it to the intended target. Both landed someplace on the other side of the footboard. “Ah well.”

  With that, Anthony lay out on his side next to Gabriel.

  “I can get that for you.”

  “You don’t need—” But his attempt at a protest proved in vain. Gabriel was out of the bed and striding to the spot where the handkerchiefs had fallen.