Falling Bundle

by Jace, Alex

  “Mmm.” Arjen was so easily persuaded.

  Max turned him around and tugged his jeans and underwear down, baring that delightful ass that Max couldn’t wait to fuck. He slid a hand down Arjen’s taut stomach to take Arjen’s cock in his hand, loving the feel of him, hot and eager. He stroked and Arjen leaned back into him with another little moan, letting Max do whatever he wanted with him.

  Max nipped his throat. “I’m going to enjoy making you come, Arjen. Getting you off while I’m buried deep inside you. Feet apart.” Arjen spread his legs obediently, as much as he could while still tangled up in his jeans. He could be very well-behaved when he wanted Max inside him. “That’s good,” Max praised, feeling him tremble as Max stroked him gently. “You want my fingers in you?”

  “Yes.” Arjen pressed into him harder, turning his face into Max’s shoulder.

  “Good. Because you are very, very hot when you’re all slippery on my fingers.” Max squeezed some lube onto his fingers and began to circle that sweet little pucker with just the tip of one finger. Arjen caught his breath, clutching at him now; Max kissed his cheek, his throat, keeping him grounded. Arjen’s back was pressed warm against his chest. Max kept stroking his cock as he delicately teased him with his fingertip, enjoying Arjen’s shivers. “More?” Max murmured against his cheek.

  “Yes.” Arjen was panting now. He shifted, trying to spread his legs wider but trapped in his jeans.

  Max slipped his finger in. Arjen tightened up delightfully around his finger; the thought of him doing that when Max thrust into him made Max rub against him with a growl. “You are wicked, Arjen. You need a good fucking just to keep you in line. Teach you who you belong to.” He pushed his finger in and out, in and out. Arjen was scorchingly hot in his arms, breathlessly trying to rock on his finger, trying to take it deeper. He was getting Max unbearably hard.

  “Max. Please.” Arjen pushed back against him.

  “Another finger?”

  “Please fuck me.”

  “When I’m ready,” Max whispered in his ear. Arjen made a wonderful sound of frustrated need. Max could not imagine ever getting bored of being wanted this badly.

  Now that they lived together, he could spend every night doing this. Max’s grin got wider as he slid a second finger into Arjen’s tight body and made him shudder again.

  “Max… I need…”

  “Hush.” It gave Max an intense satisfaction to play with him, plunging his fingers in ruthlessly, rubbing that little spot inside him until Arjen was ready to beg. “I should make you go down on me before I fuck you. Put you on your knees pleasing me.”

  “Max!”

  Max chuckled. “You’re so impatient.” Max liked making him wait; it emphasised Max’s power over him, his control. And it drove Arjen absolutely crazy. “Hmm. Perhaps since you’ve been good, I’ll let you have what you need.” He pushed Arjen face first down over the desk and gripped him by the back of the neck. Arjen shivered under his hand as Max fumbled his own trousers open, both of them so ready for this.

  He finally pushed into that sweet body with a deep groan of satisfaction. “Christ, that feels good.” Hot and slick and squeezing around him. Mmm. Arjen made a strangled sound; Max pinned him harder. “There. That’s better, isn’t it.” He drew out, then slammed in.

  This time Arjen cried out. Pleasing as it was to hear him, Max clamped a hand over his mouth. Personally Max had no problem with the entire world knowing that he could make Arjen scream, but he didn’t want to embarrass Arjen. Plus he thought the rough treatment kind of turned Arjen on. So he tightened his hand over Arjen’s mouth as he pounded Arjen into the desk.

  Arjen was so slippery, so needy that Max nearly came within seconds. Max set his jaw and took deep, steadying breaths. He couldn’t seem to think past Arjen beneath him, hot and taut, the wonderful arch and flex of his body. Max shifted his grip and adjusted his angle to drive deeper, trying to hit that spot that made him—yes, Arjen jerked under him as Max found exactly the right angle.

  Arjen clutched at the desk as he came hard. The clenching of his body tipped Max straight over the edge and Max spilled himself into him with a growl. It felt so fucking good to come in him. Filling him with his seed, claiming him as his own.

  Once the final pulses of heat had slowed Max eased out of his slick body. “There. That’s better.” Max dropped a kiss on the top of his head. Arjen stayed flat on the desk, catching his breath; Max steadied him with a gentle hand. He loved this time after sex, when he could take his time with Arjen, cleaning him up, helping him dress, gathering him into his arms. Taking care of him. It reminded Max that this was more than just sex. He could get laid anywhere—it was only Arjen who wanted to snuggle into his arms.

  “Wow,” Arjen said once he’d caught his breath. “That was amazing.”

  Max grinned. Success.

  When they headed back downstairs, Max was brimming over with the warm glow of satisfaction he always got from Arjen. He could smile at everybody with complete confidence because he was the only one Arjen wanted. The only one who got to feel Arjen contracting hard around him as they both came.

  He left a possessive hand at Arjen’s back, letting everyone know that Arjen belonged to him. He stared coldly at the blond guy who’d dared to look at Arjen. The movers finished up, made their excuses and scuttled out.

  “Nice try,” Max muttered as the door shut behind them. That left him and Arjen alone among the stacks of boxes in the middle of their new future.

  After a day of unpacking, they celebrated with a romantic dinner. Max had seen those in movies, so he considered himself an expert. He laid the table with a snow-white cloth, brought out the silverware from a corner cupboard, set out shining wine glasses with elegant stems. He stood back with folded arms, wondering if he should be scattering rose petals, then realised Arjen was silently laughing.

  Max glared at him. Arjen barely stifled another laugh, his dark eyes crinkling at the corners. “I had no idea you were such a romantic, Max. I thought football and beer was more your style.”

  “Hey,” Max said. “I can be classy.”

  Arjen made coq au vin, because he was fancy and knew dishes with French names. It tasted amazing, with crisp potatoes and tender chicken in a dark, rich sauce. Arjen claimed it was just practice that made his cooking so good, though Max suspected he used some kind of sorcery.

  Max plied Arjen with the remainder of the red wine because Arjen was doubly adorable when he was tipsy. Max loved to hear him laugh like that, see him glowing with happiness. They clinked glasses and drank to a long and happy stay here in their new home.

  “I got you something.” Arjen smiled up at him.

  “Chocolate sauce?”

  Arjen laughed. “Not that kind of something, although I’m filing that suggestion away for your birthday, but I hope you’ll like it anyway.” He pulled something out of his pocket and laid it on the table, keeping it hidden under his palm. “Please don’t panic, okay?”

  “Panic?” Max furrowed his brow.

  Arjen uncovered the gift. It was a small box, black velvet, the type that would hold a ring.

  Max stared at it, frozen. He was suddenly and acutely aware of the candles on the table, the wine glasses, the man he loved now watching him anxiously. Max’s throat tightened as terror hit him and for a second he wanted to flee.

  “Open it,” Arjen said, his voice a whisper.

  Max couldn’t move. Couldn’t seem to breathe. Strange, impossible thoughts were beginning to occur to him, possibilities he had never dared even dream about before. Surely Arjen would never suggest that… It had never even occurred to Max that some day…

  In a daze, he reached out for the little velvet box.

  He opened it with numb fingers.

  A key shone inside, silver and new. It glimmered in the candlelight.

  Max’s chest tightened and he had to swallow hard. It was his key to Arjen’s house. Their house. He took it out, a tiny sliver of cool metal that wa
rmed at his touch. His future with Arjen, small enough to fit in his hand.

  “Max?” Arjen was on the edge of his seat, his face full of hope.

  “Thanks,” Max said, his voice rough. “For everything.” For allowing Max into his bed, his home, his life.

  “Well.” Arjen’s smile turned shy. “You needed a key, really. Now that you’ve moved in.”

  Even after all the time they’d known each other, Arjen still had the capacity to amaze him. Arjen could melt his heart with a single gift. God, Max loved him.

  Max cleared his throat, trying not to let his voice break. “I got you something too.” Jewellery, in fact.

  He made Arjen hold out his cupped hands. Arjen was smiling, his face aglow in the candlelight. Max poured the jewellery into his hands like liquid, pooling in the dip of his palms. It was a silver chain.

  Max had wanted to give some big speech, but now that it came to it, he could barely get out words. “I got this for you. I’d—I’d like you to wear it. To say that you belong to me.” He wanted to be able to wind his fingers in the chain and know that it was as strong and unbreakable as Arjen’s feelings for him.

  “Thank you.” It was Arjen’s turn to swallow hard. Maybe he’d never been bought a gift by a partner before. He smiled up at Max with so much love and affection in his face that Max could barely keep from kissing him.

  Max came around behind him and slipped the chain around his throat, kissing the top of his head as he did so. Arjen bent his dark head so that Max could fasten the little catch at the nape of his neck. He was so inviting that Max nuzzled him there, his nice warm Arjen, all for him. “I love you,” Max whispered.

  “I know.” Arjen leaned into him, hands coming up to tug Max down to kiss him.

  Max kissed him for a long time, enjoying Arjen cupping his face. He wanted every kiss to express that Arjen was his absolute favourite person in the world. The first person he wanted to see in the morning and the last at night.

  With each slow kiss the heat built between them, until Max tugged Arjen into his lap to kiss him deeper, one hand cupping his ass, the other buried in his hair. He was so hungry for this man he felt like he would never get enough. And every little sound from Arjen only made Max crave him more. He tugged Arjen tighter against him, wanting fiercely to be pressed together so close they were like one person.

  Then Max took his beloved to bed. They undressed each other between kisses. Max worked on the fiddly buttons of Arjen’s shirt while Arjen pulled Max’s simple black t-shirt over his head. Finally he could lay Arjen down in the soft covers of their bed. He drew Arjen’s hands above his head and bound them there, wanting Arjen helpless beneath him.

  For a long second Max just leaned back and stared. The dim light of a lamp painted the scene in shades of warm gold. He loved the sight of Arjen spread out in his bed wearing only Max’s chain. It looked extraordinary on him, the silver links against his pale skin, against the ink darkness of his hair, against his beautiful eyes. The chain pooled in a bright gleam at the hollow of his throat. Perfect.

  Max took his time with him, kissing him, worshipping every inch of his body, licking, teasing and tantalising before he finally slid down between his legs and took Arjen in his mouth. Arjen arched under his hands, trying to push up into Max’s mouth, but bound down he was at Max’s mercy. Max loved how intense this obviously was for Arjen, the little hitch in his breathing as Max sucked him just a bit harder.

  Max dragged it out mercilessly before he finally slipped him a finger, then another, sliding them deep into his hot body. Arjen shuddered under his hands, open and vulnerable. “Max,” he begged. “Please. Now.”

  Max slid up his body and eased into him. His entry dragged a sweet moan from Arjen, and Max paused there, buried deep inside him, giving Arjen time to adjust to being stretched and filled. Arjen was panting, straining against Max’s pinning weight. A complete delight.

  Max drew out of him, then pushed back in, rocking his body with lazy thrusts. “Tell me who you belong to.”

  “I… I belong…” Arjen bit his lip, his face flushed, his eyes shut, hazy with pleasure.

  Max dipped his head to bite down on his exposed throat. He stilled his thrusts; Arjen gave the most delightful whimper of frustration. “Tell me now.”

  Arjen tried to stretch up to catch Max’s mouth in a kiss. Max nipped his lower lip as well. “Tell me, sweetling.”

  Those heavy eyes fluttered open, dark and glazed, barely focusing on him. “You,” Arjen whispered, his voice rough and decadent, hoarse from crying out. “I belong to you.”

  Max’s smile slowly spread, and he wrapped the warm chain around his fingers as he resumed rocking into him.

  He stayed deep inside Arjen for what felt like endless hours. He lost count of the number of times Arjen pleaded with him for relief. It was just as well Max had tied his hands, because he knew Arjen would have clutched at him in desperation, his nails digging in. Finally Arjen arched up into him with a sweet little sound of surrender, squeezing so tight around him as he came helplessly. Max growled his hunger and braced himself over him, the chain still wrapped around his fingers, driving home relentlessly until he came too.

  The sheer rush of pleasure he got from coming inside Arjen was unbelievable. Every time they were together it seemed to get better. So good that it washed away the memory of every time he’d ever been sad. Until all that was left was the knowledge that Arjen loved him.

  In the aftermath they lay twined together, hot and breathless, basking in satisfaction. Arjen rubbed his cheek against his, simple and sweet. Utterly trusting.

  Max untied him and let Arjen snuggle into him. “You have strict instructions to never take that chain off.”

  Arjen laughed. “Even in the shower?”

  Max pictured him all slippery and wet in the steamy shower, getting himself all soapy, maybe playing with himself. Mmm. He was going to hold onto that thought. “Especially then.”

  Arjen smiled. “I won’t take it off.”

  “Good.” Max squeezed him tight. Because at the risk of turning this into a chick flick, he wanted Arjen to take equally good care with Max’s heart.

  Next morning they had breakfast at a local café before work. Dying leaves drifted down out of a leaden sky as the wind picked up, whistling between parked cars, ruffling the pages of Arjen’s newspaper where they sat opposite each other at a metal table outside on the pavement. Max loved the sight of Arjen in his smart suit, crisp and professional, the chain gleaming at his throat. It was discreet enough to wear to work and only the two of them knew what it meant.

  Max reached over and played with it, running the silver links between his fingers. “This was an excellent idea, if I do say so myself.”

  “You can go blind praising yourself,” said Arjen with a mischievous smile.

  Max chuckled, and tugged Arjen closer by the chain to kiss him. It was utterly satisfying having Arjen wear his proof of possession for everyone to see. Max rewarded him by kissing him very thoroughly.

  When they parted for air Arjen was delightfully flushed. “You like wearing this?” Max tugged gently on the chain.

  Arjen’s eyes darkened and he bit his lip, which was all the answer Max needed. “Yes. I like it. Knowing that it’s yours and nobody else knows what it means. It’s a secret.”

  “I should buy you more things to wear.” Max grinned, picturing all the trouble he could get Arjen into.

  Arjen sipped his coffee with that playful gleam in his eyes that gave Max a delightful shiver. “Maybe when we’re feeling braver, we should try a symbol everybody will recognise.”

  “Like what?”

  “Oh, nothing in particular.” Arjen smiled behind his coffee.

  Max’s eyes narrowed. He was beginning to suspect that Arjen was plotting something in his sneaky lawyer way. In fact, if Max were the suspicious type, he might think that Arjen had given him a jewellery box during a candlelit dinner to test his reaction.

  And after some thou
ght, Max decided he kind of liked it that way. Because the day might come when Max might want some more permanent, more public symbol. Something that signalled how deeply and irrevocably Arjen belonged to him. Something that might come in a little velvet box.

  Maybe. Some day.

  “We’ll see,” Max said, but he caught himself starting to smile.

  BATTLE OF WILLS

  Max wolf-whistled. “Nice view.”

  “Stop objectifying me,” said Arjen without looking up. Max grinned.

  He stretched out on the leather recliner and put his feet up on the coffee table with a contented sigh. There was still half an hour to relax before work and he was finishing his morning coffee while enjoying watching his totally adorable partner get ready. Arjen was leaning against the kitchen counter sleepily buttoning up his shirt, the autumn light running its fingers through his ruffled dark hair. Max began idly thinking about unbuttoning him again.

  Max’s gaze dragged slowly down his body as he imagined it. Undoing button after button until he could pull that white shirt off him, exposing lean muscles that just begged to be touched, hot skin that ought to be tasted, the little dip of his navel. Then opening his belt, slipping his hand in there…

  His stomach contracted with a sudden surge of hunger that stole his breath. Max knocked back the last gulp of coffee, jumped up and closed in. He lifted Arjen’s face to his with a finger under his chin; Arjen looked up at him already melting into a smile. He had the most beautiful dark eyes. The effect was mesmerising. “You,” Max told him, “are distracting me.”

  “Good morning to you too.” Arjen just kept smiling up at him. He really was smoking hot. His cheekbones alone were spectacular.

  “How are we feeling after last night? Well fucked?” Max had seen to him quite thoroughly. He’d discovered fingernail marks on his upper arms in the shower this morning.

  “Hmm. It was tolerable.” Arjen’s smile turned playful.