Kissing Lessons

by Susan Laine

  Merry blushed and looked away, worrying his bottom lip with his teeth. “I watch movies, okay? You can hardly avoid seeing people slobbering over each other.”

  “Sure. But they’re not real-life. This is. So let’s get to it, shall we?” Boone waggled his eyebrows suggestively until Merry burst into laughter. Boone smiled. “Finally. I thought you’d just scowl at me the whole day.”

  Merry smiled back. “It’s Saturday. I don’t wanna frown on the weekend.”

  “Good. Ready?”

  Merry nodded, and Boone followed suit. Then he brushed a kiss over Merry’s cheek, a fleeting touch, barely a flirtation of lips on skin.

  Merry frowned, pausing to ponder the touch. It was strange, but that touch, though less than a closemouthed kiss, somehow felt more intimate when it came from his best friend. As though lips were okay, since they were, after all, having a lesson about kissing, but on the cheek felt… closer somehow.

  “You okay?” Boone asked, sounding and looking concerned.

  “I’m fine.” Merry gently caressed the spot where Boone’s lips had lingered for a second or two. “Just felt… I don’t know….” He couldn’t find the word he wanted.

  Boone smiled. “I know. With lips, they’re all that touches. A kiss on the cheek puts our faces closer. Feels more… intimate somehow.”

  As usual, Boone had hit the nail on the head, practically reading Merry’s mind. Boone was verbally and socially far less awkward than Merry, who always expected people to laugh at him for this reason or that. He liked to be left to his own devices, in peace and quiet. It had taken Boone to draw Merry out of his shell. And that had been back in kindergarten.

  At the moment, though, they were joined at the hip in an altogether different way.

  “What’s next?” Merry found that even though he was scared, he was also excited to keep going.

  “You don’t wanna try the kiss on the cheek for yourself?” Merry shook his head, and Boone shrugged. “Mmm….” Boone narrowed his eyes as though he were weighing his options. Merry gulped in anticipation. “How ’bout… this?”

  Instead of moving in on Merry’s lips, Boone cupped Merry’s face and tilted him down so Boone could kiss his forehead. But he didn’t stop there. He kissed Merry’s closed eyelids softly, which was like getting a kiss from the wind, then his nose, both his cheeks, and finally his jawline. Only then did Boone make his way to Merry’s lips. Boone kept the touch featherlight, barely there, and his lips stayed closed, same as Merry’s.

  When Boone pulled back, he smiled. “That would be a teaser kiss. Or as I like to call it, a teaser trailer or preview of the… the good stuff.”

  Merry swallowed hard. His mouth was dry, his skin seemed to burn from the inside out, and his heart beat a rapid staccato. The rhythm struck a similar chord inside his jeans, and to his horror, Merry realized he’d gotten a boner.

  Did Boone feel it? Surely he had to, Merry reasoned, since they were in awfully close quarters. Merry’s dick throbbed and pushed insistently against his zipper—and Boone’s abdomen. He’d have to be numb or made of stone not to sense Merry’s excitement.

  And Merry had zero ideas how to get himself out of this mess, the true implications of which he didn’t even dare consider.

  “You next,” Boone commanded. But Merry froze, unable to respond. He shook his head, again declining the opportunity to learn. Boone narrowed his eyes but then shrugged, as if he took no offense to the refusal. “Wanna continue your lessons, grasshopper?”

  Boone’s smooth voice swept over Merry’s senses like silk brushing over his body. He knew the answer. Yes, he was half-hard, and would be rock-hard before the session was over. But the two of them had jacked off together before, so this wouldn’t be any different.

  Right?

  “Yes.”

  Chapter 3

  BOONE SHIFTED, and Merry ended up shaking slightly on his lap. Boone wound his arms around Merry’s waist, and Merry tried his best to breathe normally. This was just another day with his best friend, nothing unusual going on.

  That tactic backfired. Merry felt hot all over, so he worried he might smell sweaty or feel gross. At least Boone didn’t comment on it.

  Boone moved to Merry’s cheek again. Merry’s gaze wandered about the room, settling on nothing, as he focused on the sensations. And they soon followed. Boone batted his eyelashes against the spot he’d kissed a moment before. Merry giggled and squirmed, ticklish.

  As he drew back, Boone chuckled. “That’s a butterfly kiss.”

  Merry smothered a moan. The way Boone fluttered his lashes echoed in the fluttering of Merry’s heart. He felt queasy and jittery and so hot he thought he might combust. How did people kiss every day and not get hopelessly flustered?

  “Oh. Um, nice…?” Merry’s voice croaked and squeaked as he lost control of it.

  Boone merely smiled back seductively. “How about bees next?”

  Merry stared, utterly dumbfounded. Bees kissed? Boone laughed, dipped his head, and kissed Merry’s neck under his ear. His lips inched and glided over Merry’s jugular, which was undoubtedly pounding like crazy. No tongue, though, Merry noted clinically.

  Then the buzzing started. Boone hummed, murmured, and growled while hovering over Merry’s skin. The resulting vibrations from his lips sent shockwaves and shudders all over Merry, who couldn’t muffle his moan this time.

  “Ahh, mmm-hmm….” He threw his head back and let Boone do whatever he wanted—as long as he didn’t stop.

  Boone chuckled, and with his lips still attached to Merry’s neck, that sound too traveled along Merry’s sensitized skin and nerve endings until he shivered, hot and cold quivers wracking his body.

  Then Boone parted his lips and nipped at Merry’s earlobe.

  Merry gasped and drew back in a rush, his hands flying to his ear to feel the mild sting and warm moisture from Boone’s tongue. “What…?”

  Boone grinned. “From the bee kiss to the earlobe kiss. How’d it feel?”

  Merry made a noise in his throat, but it sure wasn’t a word, let alone a sentence.

  “Good,” Boone purred, seeming pleased. He was obviously starting to enjoy inflicting this sensual torment on Merry, who’d expected nothing more than being taught how to kiss properly with tongue without coming off as a drooling idiot. Then again, Boone had always been competitive and had to outdo everyone, including Merry. “Your turn, sweetheart.”

  Merry pursed his lips at the endearment, probably made in jest, but complied. He closed the distance between them, of which there was little, and placed a puckered-lip kiss on Boone’s lobe.

  Boone laughed, rubbing his ear as if it tickled. “What was that? Do it again.”

  Merry felt like he’d been reproached by a teacher. He’d never liked being put on the spot. His cheeks heated, but he obeyed.

  Dipping in again, he opened his mouth and took Boone’s earlobe between his lips. He was surprised it didn’t really taste like anything. Just… skin. He licked tentatively and felt Boone shiver at the touch. Emboldened, Merry sucked a little, enough to take a firm hold and drag a bit.

  “Yeah, that’s good,” Boone murmured. Was it Merry’s imagination that Boone’s voice cracked slightly and sounded breathy and wanton?

  Merry stopped and pulled back, thinking he’d learned this kiss. In all honesty, he was far more intrigued by the reaction he’d caused in Boone than by his own mastery. He was starting to see the point of this kissing thing.

  Without giving a heads-up, Boone licked the soft shell of Merry’s ear again, sucked on the lobe, and gently grazed it with his teeth. Merry shuddered. How could a simple touch to a single part of his body cause him to feel things everywhere, all at once?

  Each wet lick sent cold chills up and down Merry’s spine. Each draw was like Boone was sucking on his dick instead. And the feeling of Boone’s powerful arms around Merry, holding him close, baffled him to no end because he found himself loving it. Was it the fact that this experience was so new
and amazing? Or was it because of… Boone?

  Then Boone released Merry’s ear and tackled a spot beneath it, fluctuating between lips gliding, tongue sweeping wetly, and teeth nipping and raking across the softly tortured skin. Merry whimpered, and his hips bucked. Boone’s arms wound tighter around Merry, and his kisses turned ravenous and demanding.

  “Oh God,” Merry murmured, unable to think. His body quivered of its own volition, as though it knew what to do and how to react to such passion with no input from Merry.

  For that was absolutely what this was: passion. Until now, it had been a mere word in Merry’s vocabulary. Now it had a deeper meaning and real-life application, and the sensations drove him mad with a lust he’d never felt before.

  “Mmm, that was a necking kiss. And now a downward kiss,” Boone muttered hungrily as he traversed slowly around the column of Merry’s neck to suck softly under his jaw, twirl his tongue around his Adam’s apple, and kiss the tiny indent between Merry’s collarbones. “I could keep going farther down if you want.”

  As Boone made his journey back up to the other side of his neck and kissed his other ear, Merry struggled between his options. He should stop now before things went any further or they’d both regret this tomorrow. And Merry sure as shit didn’t want to feel remorse over something that felt so superb.

  “Um, maybe we should….” Merry’s brain must have frozen because it didn’t work the way it should. Tongue-tied, he felt like he was losing his mind and his touch with reality.

  “This is a hickey kiss,” Boone said in a low tone as he sucked on Merry’s jugular hard enough to leave a mark, his teeth lightly scraping over the skin. “Lover’s mark on you, a brand in a kiss, also known as a vampire’s kiss. Does it hurt?” His fingers grazed over the tender spot, lovingly caressing away any sting that might have been left there.

  In truth, it wasn’t that spot alone that stung and burned and buzzed. Merry’s whole body did that, humming and vibrating along some sexual frequency he hadn’t even known existed. How could people not want it, like, all the fucking time?

  “No. No, it doesn’t… hurt,” Merry managed to utter, shivering all over. He wasn’t sure if he was hot or cold, but his clothes felt constricting and in the way. He wanted them gone. The impulse scared him a little.

  “Good.” Boone, as usual, sounded as though nothing was amiss, as though they did this sort of thing all the time. “Now you.”

  “No. I don’t wanna do that.” Merry knew that was his truth as he blurted out the words. He just couldn’t do that, bruise his best friend’s skin at a place where everyone could see. No one would know it came from Merry except him, but he feared he’d give away what they’d done to the whole world every time he looked at Boone. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt Boone by encouraging the false assumption that Boone was gay.

  “Okay.” Boone didn’t appear pissed off. “Hmm, how ’bout this?”

  Boone licked a long leisurely line along Merry’s neck and then blew a cool breath on the wet patch of skin. Merry groaned, and goose bumps rose all over him, even in places where Boone hadn’t so much as brushed his skin with hands or mouth.

  “Shit.” Merry cursed several times. His hands shook around Boone’s neck. Wait, how’d they get there? Hadn’t they just been resting on Boone’s shoulders? Merry was flummoxed. He was either missing moments of time or losing all conscious awareness of his own actions.

  Was this what happened to everyone engaged in foreplay—or actual sex?

  “That’s the hot-and-cold kiss,” Boone said as he drew back to look at Merry. Merry suspected Boone didn’t mind seeing Merry in such a state, with his pupils blown, his cheeks and neck flushed, his lips parted on panting breaths, and his mind and body reeling from an overload of new and wonderful sensations. “More?” Boone asked, grinning wide and wolfishly.

  “Uh-huh” was the best Merry could do at the moment.

  “Okay, let’s move on to the main event, shall we?” Boone’s grin made butterflies dance chaotically in Merry’s belly. “Open your mouth, but just a bit. We’re not trying to devour each other. Yet.”

  So anxious and excited he felt faint, Merry nodded frantically. He blinked hard to clear the haze from his eyes as Boone inched closer, his lips parted as well. Before their mouths connected, however, Boone brought out the tip of his tongue and slowly, carefully, traced the shape of Merry’s upper and lower lip.

  Merry’s eyelids fluttered in shock until he closed his eyes and focused on the curious, if not altogether unpleasant, sensation. Though the touch tickled a little and the hot, wet glide felt kind of odd, overall Merry decided this qualified as a kiss.

  Boone withdrew, his gaze remaining riveted on Merry’s lips as he licked his own. “So how was that? It’s a lick kiss.”

  Merry smiled, flushing. “A bit weird but… not bad.”

  “Great.” Boone raised an inviting eyebrow. “Your turn, honey.”

  Merry frowned at the endearment. Boone was really having fun with this experiment. He leaned closer, remembering not to close his eyes or he’d hit something precious once again, and touched Boone’s lips with his tongue. Blinking, he shuddered and drew back. This wasn’t as easy as it had seemed when Boone had done it.

  “You okay?” Boone asked, his expression one of concern.

  “Yeah.” Merry moistened his lips and tried again. Perhaps Boone was simply more experienced and nimble, because Merry couldn’t quite get the tip of his tongue to go where he wanted it to. “I… I can’t do it.”

  “It’s okay.” Boone’s smile was encouraging, with not a trace of pity. “Maybe we need to get your tongue in on the action with a little practice first. So… next stage?”

  “Uh-huh.” Merry didn’t bother to hide his eagerness.

  With a husky, seductive chuckle, Boone leaned in. But he still didn’t kiss Merry properly. He captured Merry’s lower lip between both of his own and pulled on it gently with a soft, sexy suction.

  Merry shuddered, his lip trapped in the warmth of Boone’s kiss. It seemed like a kiss done by one person without the participation of the other. Not exactly intense, but instead like a slow flame, igniting Merry’s desires. He couldn’t quite taste Boone’s mouth, but he caught a whiff of his breath, smelling of what they’d eaten while playing: cheese-and-bacon popcorn and sugar-free sodas.

  Boone didn’t let up for a while. The tip of his tongue teased Merry from time to time in the midst of the heavenly suction. Then Boone switched up, letting go of the bottom lip and taking an equally firm hold of Merry’s upper lip. He sucked far more gently this time, and Merry sighed into the luscious sensation.

  Apparently Boone didn’t like to stay in one place for long because soon he returned to tend to Merry’s bottom lip again—but this time he brought in teeth. He nibbled gently on the fleshy form, and Merry was grateful to find the bites didn’t hurt or cause discomfort. Instead, they acted on him like sparks, starting blazing fires, increasing his hunger for more.

  “That was a lip-sucking kiss, also known as a single-lip kiss, and the other one was a nip kiss,” Boone said when he pulled back. “See how easy it is to make the transition from one kiss to another? Kissing is supposed to be fluid, the kissers reacting to each other.”

  Merry felt dreamy and woozy, but even in his muddled state, he saw Boone’s darkened eyes, reddened cheeks, and glistening lips. He sounded out of breath too, his voice raspy. The effect on Merry was visceral, as though he’d been punched in the gut, but instead of pain, he felt pleasure.

  “Awesome,” Merry muttered, mesmerized.

  “Yeah.” Boone sounded surprised, as if he hadn’t expected the response he was getting from his partner—or from himself. “Now you.”

  The two kisses had felt fucking brilliant, so Merry was enthusiastic about trying them. He parted his lips and molded them around Boone’s bottom lip. At first Merry puzzled over how the suction was supposed work. Then he got the hang of it, sipping on Boone’s lower lip softly, tastin
g the salty-sweet flavor of popcorn and soda, pulling the tender piece of flesh into his mouth.

  When a full-body shudder wracked Boone’s body, Merry feared he might have gone too far. So in a flash, he switched from one kiss to another, nipping barely enough to graze Boone’s lip. Boone groaned deeply, yanking Merry closer until they were plastered together from lips to hips.

  Merry withdrew slowly, sucking Boone’s lip till it dropped out with a pop. That kiss had been easier than he’d expected, and the response appeared to be instantaneous, if Boone’s reactions were anything to go by.

  Boone cleared his throat, blinked, and frowned a bit, but offered a shaky smile. “So, Mer… you ready for the real deal? The french kiss?”

  Merry swallowed, paling. His hands were cold and clammy, and his heart beat fiercely. He had no voice, so he could offer nothing but a hesitant nod.

  This is it.

  Chapter 4

  BOONE’S SELF-CONFIDENT smile was Merry’s reward for his compliance. Boone seemed to take the whole situation in stride. Then again, he’d always been more levelheaded than Merry, who fretted over this and that—quite needlessly as it usually turned out.

  “Wh-what do I do?” Merry asked, again unsure.

  “Same plan as before: me first, then you,” Boone instructed, his gaze flickering between Merry’s eyes and lips as though he found it hard to take his eyes off Merry’s mouth. That impression of his best friend’s reaction shocked Merry but also lifted his spirits. He purred with pride inwardly, turned on by doing the same to Boone.

  “You lead, I follow.” Merry nodded his acquiescence. He was dying to try this himself. But he was willing to bide his time and let Boone show him the ropes.

  Boone chuckled and rolled his eyes. “Look. Though this kiss sounds easy—and it can be—it can also be hard to master.” Merry cocked his head, baffled at the mystifying directions. Boone said, “Don’t do the lizard kiss. The french kiss does involve tongue, yes, but don’t dart in and out or jab your tongue too quickly. This is supposed to be leisurely, so don’t rush.”