by Chloe Adler
“Why no sex for three years? Were you in a coma or something?”
He smirked, nervous. “I wish. Kidding. No, it’s a long story but the short version is that my dad’s old-school Chinese and doesn’t approve of . . .” Flicking his wrists up, he gestured toward his body.
“Oh man, that’s rough.”
He touched my arm lightly and leaned in. Cradling my arm around him, I tilted his head up and dusted his lips with mine. If he hadn’t been touched in three years, I needed to respect wherever he was. Whether it was moving slowly or moving fast, I’d let him set the pace. His response was immediate, but gentle. He sucked in my tongue and licked at my lips, but he didn’t pull me to him. We lay this way, making out for several minutes, with him in my arms. The bulge in his pants could not be ignored but I didn’t want to make him uncomfortable.
“Do you want to move into my bedroom or stay here?” I asked him, breaking the kiss for a moment.
Those intense brown eyes stared up at me, blinking. Then a sigh. “Oh, Jared, I really want you to fuck me, but . . .”
“Whatever you need. I don’t need to fuck if you need to wait. I like you.” I smiled down at him, wondering where that had come from. It was true.
“Can we go into your room and cuddle? I feel stupid even suggesting that but what I really need right now is simple contact. I need to be touched and held. The orgasm isn’t—”
“Shhhh.” I bent down and placed a single closed-mouth, tender kiss on his lips. “No need to spell it out.”
He sat up and I took his hand, leading him to my bedroom. I opened my door with a flourish because, well, I was proud of my room. Holding it open, I motioned for him to enter. He craned his neck around, taking it all in.
“Wow,” he muttered, sucking in his breath. “Cool room.”
I beamed, walking over to start a fire. It was gas, not wood burning, with fake logs that almost looked real. I’d installed a fan so the heat would circulate and warm the room, not that it ever got too cold in Southern California. But being by the water, the house did get damp at times. Then I sat down on the oversized sheepskin rug in front of the fire and patted a space next to me. The rug was actually four sheepskins sewn seamlessly together and it was my favorite accessory.
Alec sat down cross-legged, like he actually sank down onto the rug in that position. Impressive. Was he a yoga guy? I hoped not. I never much liked yoga but maybe with him I would.
I grinned at his swiveling head, trying to see my room through his eyes. My king-sized bed perched on a raised wooden platform painted black. The platform served two purposes. It was my bed frame and also my dresser, with long drawers containing my underwear, socks and T’s. Black pillows nestled on my red comforter. The bed itself rested against an exposed brick wall hung with framed black and white photographs, mostly abstracts.
One wall of the room was mirrored, another painted a matte black, and the fourth was matte red, with a hint of blue. I loved the effect. Common wisdom was to paint one wall an accent color, but I’d decided on four completely different walls. It rocked.
“You have fantastic taste,” Alec said to me. Instead of answering, I lay out on the rug and pulled him down beside me. He settled into the crook of my arm and wrapped his body around mine. His hard-on pressed through his jeans, against my thigh, and I pressed my thigh back into him, not making any other moves. He nuzzled my neck and then tenderly kissed me there. I let him, lying still otherwise. His hands combed up and down my body and I shivered as he ran them over my thighs, my hardening cock, my stomach and abs.
“You know what I’d really like?” he asked, his voice thick and heavy.
“Tell me.”
“I want to taste you.”
My eyebrows rose. “Are you sure?”
“Oh yes,” he said, resting his hand on my bulge. “Can I?”
I smiled at him, my eyes giving him permission, and in a second he was on me, tearing at my jeans like a wild animal. This made me even harder and by the time he got them open, I was throbbing so hard it hurt.
He pulled my jeans completely off. He may not have been in the ring for several years but he still knew how to ride.
Pulling my cock out of the front of my briefs, he licked around the head while squeezing the base tightly. His hand cradled my sac through my briefs and he tugged slightly, moving first to lick up the side of my base and then taking my entire erection into his mouth and sliding all the way down it. His throat opened and my length slipped in—all the way. The sensation of him swallowing against the head of my cock was rapturous. I pumped into his mouth. Alec’s head bobbed, matching my rhythm, sucking me deep. My eyes rolled back into my head. His other hand alternately worked my balls and pressed against the sensitive area just behind them. The pace picked up and suddenly I didn’t want to come in his mouth. An image of coming all over his lovely body flashed in my mind and I put my hands firmly on his shoulders to stop him. He looked up, confused.
“Is something wrong?”
“Oh no,” I purred at him. “Quite the opposite.”
He put his hand back on my cock and kept playing with me, crawling up to kiss me. I spun him over on the rug and straddled him, unbuttoning his black shirt and exposing his hairless chest. “I want you to jack me off all over you. I want to cover your chest in my come.”
Smiling up at me, he started pumping me with his fist, the other hand tugging at my balls. He stopped, spit on his hand and returned his fist to my bulging cock, which was getting impossibly harder.
“I want to suck you again. Taste your come,” he gasped, watching my cock.
“Oh, you’ll taste me,” I promised, riding his hand. “Harder.”
He complied, squeezing me just the right amount. My ass was resting on his bulge and I pressed and clenched against it distractedly. He moaned and writhed beneath me, dry-humping like mad.
“Do you want me to touch you?” I asked, trying to hold on and not spurt yet.
“Yes.” His voice came out garbled and strained. He was licking his lips and staring into my eyes with a look of complete ecstasy.
Unzipping him, I freed his cock, which sprang up full and dripping. I used his ample pre-come to swirl my thumb around the tip and massage the shaft.
“Oh god,” he moaned. “I don’t think I can—”
“Pump me harder. Squeeze my balls and pull them,” I commanded and he did. It was just what I needed, my release imminent.
“Come with me, Alec,” I howled and pumped his cock with my hand. We spurted all over his gorgeous body together and still neither one of us let go. We kept up the touch but lighter and slower until we had both expelled everything we had.
I pulled off my T-shirt and fell on top of him, rubbing our come into our bodies. It was wet and slippery and we writhed against one another, kissing and running our hands through each other’s hair. We rolled over and off the rug onto the black and white carpeting I had installed just last year.
Alec ended up on top of me and he sat up, looking hungrily into my eyes. “Wow. Thank you. That was exactly what I needed without even knowing it.”
I shrugged under him. “I was following your lead.”
His mouth quirked up into a half smile. “I’d say you were the one leading, but I know what you mean and I appreciate it.”
I patted the area next to me, slipped off and let me put my arm around him again so he could lie in the crook.
“This is exactly where I want to be,” he sighed.
I wrapped my free arm around him and we dozed off together in front of the fire.
Chapter Five
I woke to the vibration of my cell phone and reached to stop it.
“Gah,” I managed as Alec rolled off of me. He had been sleeping on my chest, nestled in the crook all night long.
“What’s wrong?” he asked sleepily.
I jumped up shaking my arm and crying out, then laughing. “Arm. Asleep.” My phone had slipped out and onto the carpet. I bent to stop the buzzing, s
aw the caller ID and snatched it up. Couldn’t be.
“Sam?” I said into the phone even before I had it to my ear. “Where the hell are you?”
Alec sat up and pulled his knees to his chest, shrinking into himself. I held a finger up to him and left the room, barely registering the dejected look he gave me. Making my way into the living room with a dried-semen-encrusted chest, I dropped onto the couch, thankful the room was empty. A rare occasion. The girls tittered in the kitchen, making coffee, tea or breakfast.
“Sam. Talk to me,” I said into the phone.
“I can’t, not over the phone.”
“I haven’t heard your voice in . . . forever. I deserve an explanation,” I hissed, losing my cool.
“You do. I’m on my way to the Edge.”
“What? Here? Now?” My heart physically leapt in my chest, then clenched, and the beat came strong and fast. “Fine. Look, I’m hurt. I’m angry. But I need to see you.” I bit my lip.
“Coffee?” Chrys asked me from the doorway but I held up my hand and shook my head. She looked affronted before disappearing back into the kitchen. Burgundy appeared a moment later and traipsed right over, sitting down on the couch and putting her arm around me. She leaned into the phone to listen. I let her. We had no secrets. Her eyes widened when she heard Sam’s voice.
Sam? she mouthed at me and I nodded. What? she mouthed. I shrugged.
Sam was still talking but I’d tuned out. “I’ll be there tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow? Good. I need to see your face,” I whispered into the phone, clutching it with both hands. Burgundy rubbed my back and kissed my neck as I hung up the phone and looked at her. The tears in my eyes were reflected in hers.
I heard the front door click softly and looked up, then back at Burg. “What was that?” I asked. She shrugged. I got up and ran back to my room but Alec wasn’t there. I looked in the bathroom and then in the kitchen. “Chrys, did you see Alec?”
She tossed her head. “Alec was here?”
“Yeah, he spent the night.”
“Lucky you.” Chrys wiggled her eyebrows at me. “Sorry I butted in while you were on the phone.”
“No, no—it was a weird call. I was distracted.”
“What’s going on with Sam?” Burgundy asked, entering the room.
“She’ll be here, tomorrow.”
“Who’s Sam?” Chrys asked.
“My sister. I haven’t seen or heard from her in years.”
“You have a sister?” Chrys put her hands on her temples. “Why didn’t I know that?”
Burgundy grabbed a cup of coffee and cleared her throat. “Sam moved to Europe when Jared was sixteen and he hasn’t seen her since.”
“Oh, that’s awful,” Chrys said, counting on her fingers. “Six years ago? Why?”
“It’s a long and ugly story,” said Burgundy.
I growled low in my throat.
Chrys looked between us.
I sighed, then plopped down in a chair and stared at my phone, reaching for something nice, or at least fair, to say in deference to the good times my sister and I had once shared. “I’m sure that somehow she thought she was doing the right thing. That girl does not have a mean bone in her body.”
“Didn’t you try to reach her?” asked Chrys. “Over the years?”
“Sure, hundreds of times, but she never answered. I even tried to track her through her phone, but she either removed her SIM card or she kept her phone off all these years. I don’t know.”
“Well, you’ll find out tomorrow.” Burgundy smiled at me. “Now where is that doll you brought home last night?”
“Vanished,” I said with a wry smirk. “Just like all the good ones.”
“Ha. You have his number?”
I shook my head.
“You can track him down later at the club.”
“Yeah. I’m going to go get cleaned up.” I shot up from the table and went into our shared bathroom to run a shower. I had just climbed in and was soaping up when Burgundy entered and perched on the edge of the tub.
“Need help reaching your back?” she offered.
“Sure.” I handed her the soap and she stood to wash me.
“So was he good last night?”
I growled at her involuntarily.
She smirked. “Put your fox away, Mr. Sensitive.”
“We were good. Together,” I told her.
“Wow. I’ve never heard you talk like that before.”
“It was sweet. Hot, definitely. But also sweet. We cuddled.”
She snorted and pinched one of my butt cheeks. “I thought you reserved cuddling for your women.”
“I’m an equal-opportunity cuddler.”
“I’ll go grab you some coffee. It looks like you may need an extra cup this morning.”
“Burg?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m a little worried about seeing Sam.”
“I know.” She leaned into the shower and took my hand in hers. “Whatever happens, I’ll be here for you. All of us will.” She sauntered out of the bathroom and I stood under the hot water, letting it wash away my doubts.
Both Burgundy and I had to work at the club that night and I found myself not wanting to go in. I wanted to see Alec but I didn’t want to bartend. What had started out as a guaranteed way to bed men had lost its appeal. The constant rotation of sheet buddies felt shallow, meaningless, with each conquest blurring into the next. And I still couldn’t shake that nagging feeling that it wasn’t my ultimate calling. Stationed behind the bar, I kept looking for Alec but he didn’t show. I’d checked on arrival, too, but nothing. Benedict had said he was scheduled to work, though, so I could only wait.
A few minutes into my shift, Sadie and Ryder approached the bar and sat down.
“Did you tell him your good news?” Ryder asked her.
“Not yet. I don’t want to blab to the world, it’s too soon.”
“It’s not too soon,” Ryder insisted.
“Are you pregnant?” I asked in mock alarm, throwing my hand up to my chest.
Sadie leaned across the bar and slapped me playfully. “I’m starting my own business.”
“Oh.” I rested my elbows on the bar and leaned toward them. “Congratulations.”
“I’m so proud of her,” said Ryder. “She’s starting a landscaping business. Sadie’s Designs.”
“That’s awesome,” I said and kissed her cheek. “I’m so happy for you. You’ve worked really hard for the past year. Are you done with school?”
Sadie shook her head. “I’m not finished yet but I’m going to go down to part-time and start this on the side. It takes years to build up a clientele. I figure by the time I get my horticulture degree, I’ll have enough clients to work full-time.”
“That’s a really good idea.”
“Ryder came up with it,” she said. “I think he likes it when I’m out of the house so he can devour me when I get back home.”
“Absence makes . . .” Ryder winked at me.
I knew he was teasing. Those two were practically joined at the hip, but Ryder did have to work long hours himself and Sadie needed a creative outlet.
“Hey,” Sadie leaned in again, “have you seen the new male dancer?”
I nodded, trying to keep a straight face. It wasn’t my place to blab. “I have.”
“And? He’s so hot, right?”
“He is.”
“Do you think he’s bi?” Sadie whispered.
I shook my head. “Dunno. You should ask him.”
She squealed and jumped off the barstool. “Oh, I plan to.” Grabbing Ryder’s hand she pulled him off his stool too. “Gotta go find Burg and tell her the good news. Kisses, love.” She blew me a kiss and flitted toward the back room. Burgundy was in her dressing room, getting ready for her set.
My heart did a little flip-flop. Where was Alec? Surely if he’d snuck past me into the dressing rooms, Burgundy would have told me. But maybe not, she had her own.
“Hey, Carter?” I called down the bar.
“Yeah, man?”
“Can you cover for me for just a few minutes?”
“Sure, no problem. Crowd’s not here yet.”
“Thanks.”
A few minutes later I entered the back of the club through a door behind the stage and next to the sex rooms. Luckily, Benedict had installed full sound insulation in all of the walls so as not to distract the dancers. The dressing area was one large room lined with mirrors. Two walls held a bank of stools and a low countertop that ran the length of the room. Makeup, hair spray, accessories and blow dryers cluttered every station. The other two walls were full-length mirrors. In one corner were two clothing racks filled with costumes, and against the bottom of one wall were clear plastic shoe boxes filled with footwear of every size. Long-time dancers like Burgundy brought their own costumes, but newbies were encouraged to use whatever the club had.
I surveyed the room. Alec was perched in the corner farthest from the door. He was applying foundation to his rather pensive face. As I strode over, he looked up, surprised.
“Hey.” I pecked his cheek. “Where did you go this morning? I wanted to make you some coffee.”
He looked around, uncomfortable. There were several other dancers getting ready but no one looked over. Shrugging his shoulders, he didn’t meet my eyes. “You were busy.”
“Not too busy for you.”
His laugh was clipped. “That’s not what it sounded like to me.”
“What do you mean?”
“I heard you, Jared, talking to your lover.”
Two of the other dancers looked over, suddenly interested. I lowered my voice. “Lover? When? Who?”
“Sam. On the phone.”
“Ohhhh.” I laughed and sat down on the stool next to him. “No, no. Sam is my sister.”
“Your sister?” He looked up at me.
“Samantha.”
He let out an audible sigh and then turned back to the mirror. “Look, I don’t want to sound like a jealous boyfriend. We aren’t even—” He waved his hand between us. “I just got butt-hurt. I don’t know why. I’m sure you have other lovers. We’re . . .” He shook his head. “Nothing. It’s just a bit of fun, right?”
