by Piper Scott
Tie hanging, undone, around his neck, Sterling turned to face the grinning young man in the doorway. “That’s as happy as I’ve seen you since you came to stay here.”
“Gabriel and I were just talking.” Adrian’s grin grew, rounding his cheeks. “He’s agreed to check into Stonecrest.”
Sterling abandoned the dresser to sweep Adrian into his arms. Adrian laughed as Sterling lifted him up and spun him in a circle. Before Adrian’s feet hit the ground again, they were kissing.
As his feet touched the floor, Adrian took hold of both sides of Sterling’s tie and used it to keep Sterling close. Sterling didn’t need the incentive. Seeing the joy on Adrian’s face and the sparkle in his eyes kept Sterling glued to him.
“We’re going to go check him in tomorrow, and I was wondering if you could drive us.” Adrian toyed with the ends of the tie. Happiness lifted his face and made him glow in a way that even pregnancy couldn’t compete with, and Sterling fell for him all over again. There wasn’t anything official between them, but in many ways, they’d started to act as a couple without expressly stating their commitment.
It gave Sterling hope that Adrian would give him an answer soon.
“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Delight shining in his eyes, Adrian tugged at Sterling’s tie and brought their lips together again. Sterling’s arms didn’t stray from around Adrian’s waist. Affection flowed between them more readily these days, but whenever Adrian was the one to initiate it, Sterling found every moment all the more special. Adrian’s snark would never die, but he was toning down his hostility and growing into the respectful, loving young man Sterling knew he could be.
How far he’d come in such a short time.
Sterling grinned against Adrian’s lips and kissed him again. When the kiss broke, he remained close enough so their noses were touching, and he spoke under his breath so Adrian alone would hear. “What’s Gabriel doing right now? Is he busy?”
“He’s packing for tomorrow, then he’s going to shower and go to bed.” Adrian slid the tie from around Sterling’s neck and looped it over his own. “Why?”
God, was he handsome like that. Sterling’s eyes followed the lines of Adrian’s shoulders as he toyed with his tie, drinking him in. The pointed words Sterling was so used to weren’t as caustic anymore, but there was still enough sass in them to let him know that Adrian hadn’t lost his spirit. No matter what, Adrian would always be Adrian.
“Because,” Sterling whispered, grinning as he stole a quick kiss, “I think we should celebrate.”
“A celebratory dinner?” Adrian grinned back. “I have pork chops in the fridge I could fry up. Maybe pair them with some broccoli. What else do we have?”
“A phone.” Sterling held back a laugh. No matter how much he loved Adrian, he couldn’t pretend that Adrian’s cooking was worthy of a celebratory dinner. “Let me order dinner—something Gabriel loves. He’s eaten enough saltines for a lifetime. Let’s make sure he’s treated to something nice before he goes.”
“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear the thinly veiled mockery of my cooking.” Adrian rolled his eyes, but he smiled the whole time. “I’m on it, okay? You’re on door duty.”
“Got it.”
Sterling let Adrian go, and Adrian stepped into the hall, keeping his eyes on Sterling like he didn’t want to part ways just yet. The chemistry between them was still there, thickening the air and running rampant in Sterling’s veins. It was the kind that was there even when they were apart—the kind that made Sterling wonder what Adrian was doing while he was tending to matters at the club, or plodding through paperwork in his office.
The kind that made him want to succeed, if only so he could make Adrian proud.
Sterling hadn’t told Adrian his feelings, and he wouldn’t until Adrian gave him his final answer, but it didn’t matter. Even though they hadn’t said a word, Sterling could read the affection in Adrian’s eyes and feel the love in his touch. They’d gone about it in an untraditional way, but no matter the method, they were becoming a family.
As Adrian broke eye contact and turned, a spring in his step, Sterling stood in the doorway and watched him go. He didn’t even bother taking back his tie—it suited Adrian better, anyway.
When Adrian closed himself in Gabriel’s bedroom, Sterling returned to his dresser to pick up his cellphone. He’d placed it on the dresser top. A scan of his thumbprint unlocked the screen, and Sterling fired off a quick message to Clarissa to clear up his evening.
Something’s come up and I won’t be heading to the club. If anything goes wrong, please text me and I’ll make a trip.
Business be damned—he had family matters to attend to. He wouldn’t be visiting the club tonight.
Gabriel fit a burger the width of his fist into his mouth, and Sterling watched in mild amazement as his jaw made short work of his first bite. Cheese melted down the side of the bun, and some of it had smeared across the wax paper the burger had come wrapped in. A piece of bacon tumbled out, and Gabriel made a noise of mild disappointment, then set the burger down.
Before he could reclaim the dropped bacon, Adrian swiped it off the paper. Gabriel, mouth full, made an angry humming noise. Adrian laughed.
“I got you extra, extra bacon.” Adrian twisted the strip back and forth between his thumb and his index finger. “Big brother tax isn’t going to ruin your night.”
“Mmpht’s mine!” Gabriel grumbled through his mouthful.
Adrian snickered and popped the piece into his mouth. As he chewed, he met Gabriel’s eyes with the kind of amused look only brothers could get away with. “Not anymore.”
Sterling had never eaten anything from Slim’s before—fast food wasn’t really his thing. But to see Gabriel so happy, and to know that Adrian was having just as good a time, made the indulgence worth it. Besides, it wasn’t like Sterling hadn’t had a hand in the meal. Two virgin gin and tonics occupied spaces near Adrian and Gabriel. A true gin and tonic stood proud just beyond Sterling’s fried chicken sandwich.
“You know,” Gabriel said once he’d finished swallowing, “There’s not going to be any bacon in Stonecrest at all. Lucian told me. They serve healthy things in there.”
“And that’s why I’m going to make sure you have an in.” Adrian leaned toward Gabriel on an elbow conspiratorially. “I know a guy who’s married to a guy who works in Stonecrest as one of the counselors. If you end up working with him, I’ll make sure he slips you the good stuff while you’re there. If he ends up not being your counselor, I’ll make sure he figures out a way to arrange a drop-off.”
“I don’t know if I should be condoning this.” Sterling looked between the two of them, an eyebrow raised. “There’s a reason why there are rules in place at Stonecrest, just as there’s a reason why there are rules in place… elsewhere. You do remember how important it is to follow the rules, don’t you, Adrian?”
Adrian’s gaze sharpened, but not even Sterling’s firm reminder could strip the humor from his eyes. “Yes. But Sterling, think of the gummy bears. If I’m not slipping them to Gabriel, where are they going to go? You wouldn’t put poor, defenseless baby bears out on the street, would you?”
Oh, he was good. Sterling held back a smirk. “What if the gummy bears were adamant that they could get their own apartment? I wouldn’t want them to think that I don’t believe in their independence.”
Adrian snickered, and when his eyes met Sterling’s again, they were lit from the inside not with anger, but with the kind of intense adoration that made Sterling’s heart skip a beat and sent his pulse skyrocketing. The conversation moved on, but the feeling didn’t.
And Sterling didn’t think it ever would.
Late that night, after cleanup in the kitchen was seen through to completion and everyone had showered for bed, Sterling laid back and rested his head on his pillows much earlier than he usually did. Beyond the floor of his penthouse, just a few feet from where he now relaxed, another night was in full s
wing at The Shepherd. For the first time in a long time, he realized that he didn’t miss being there.
Tonight had meant more to him than the club he’d dedicated his life to.
The blackout curtains were drawn tonight, as they always were, but clumsiness on Sterling’s part had left a sliver of window uncovered. Electric blue light from The Shepherd’s neon sign shone through the window, bathing the room in a dull glow that let him pick out each distinct piece of furniture in the room. The bedposts, the dresser, the television suspended on the opposite wall… all of it had been collected over time to provide a sense of stability to a life that was incomplete.
Tonight, heart brimming from how Adrian and Gabriel had gotten along over dinner, Sterling understood just how lonely he’d been. No matter how many partners he took or which relationships he’d chosen to pursue, the void inside had never been fully filled. After their mother’s death almost a quarter-century ago, Sterling had worked tirelessly to provide for Clarissa as a parental figure—but he’d never had someone do the same for him. Now, older and wiser, with his distant father buried and his only tie to the world the sister he’d raised from childhood, Sterling finally found his needs met. The family he’d never been able to have had found him.
A baby, an unofficial boyfriend, and that unofficial boyfriend’s little brother.
When had he ever been so happy?
Sterling ruminated on the thought as the night passed. When at last he grew tired of his thoughts, he pushed his elbow into the bed and made a move to get up, but stopped before he’d so much as pulled back the sheets.
The bedroom door clicked as it opened, and Sterling watched as his unofficial boyfriend slipped in through the narrow crack he created.
Blue light played across Adrian’s face, darkening the shadow cast by the bridge of his nose and shading his golden-brown hair. He wore pajamas, just as he did every night.
The door closed. Adrian turned, then crossed the room and climbed up onto the bed until he was straddling Sterling on his hands and knees. Sterling looked up at him as Adrian looked down, and for a little while, they held that position without saying a word.
Then, without prompting, Adrian slid his hand along Sterling’s cheek and through his hair. His palm directed Sterling’s head back, and as Sterling bared his throat for Adrian, their lips met, and they shared a scorching kiss.
Words weren’t important anymore. There were things that Sterling wanted to say, but they fell by the wayside. Adrian already knew them, anyway. All that was important was touch, and taste, and feeling.
And no one made Sterling feel like Adrian did.
As the kiss deepened, Adrian lowered himself onto Sterling. The sheets between them and the thin material of Adrian’s pajama pants did little to hide Sterling’s growing erection—nor did they hide Adrian’s, especially when Adrian pushed his hips forward to grind against Sterling’s thigh.
“Let me take care of you tonight,” Adrian whispered, his voice starved for breath. “Let me give back everything you’ve given to me.”
“There’s no need to give me anything.” Sterling stole another kiss that he was sure would lead to them stripping each other, but to his surprise, Adrian pulled back.
“I know.” Neon lights glinted in Adrian’s eyes and made the moisture on his lips look glossy. “I want to do this. It’s important to me.”
“Then who am I to tell you no?”
Sterling dealt in pleasure. If allowing Adrian to take control for the night would create it? It was worth submission. The give and take between them wasn’t typical of Sterling’s relationships, but with Adrian, it was right.
There were very few men Sterling would submit to, but the small, pregnant partner grinding slowly against his thigh was a definite exception.
Adrian’s hands threaded down Sterling’s arms until they were palm to palm. With gentle insistence, Adrian lifted them and laid them over his head so his wrists crossed. Sterling didn’t fight him—he allowed Adrian to take of him freely.
“Stay,” Adrian commanded.
And Sterling would, indefinitely.
28
Adrian
There was no hesitation from Sterling, no bitter glances or irritated looks. Adrian kept his wrists pinned with one hand, heart racing. This time was different than it had been before. The familiar ache in Adrian’s chest was there, its tightness snug and its presence radiating. Like a dandelion ready to spread its seed, that awareness gusted through Adrian, leaving traces of itself wherever it so happened to snag.
In his chest. In his stomach. In the small hairs on his nape…
The love he felt would not be contained, not anymore, and the sensation was no longer strange so much as it was welcome. After years of self-loathing and hatred, Adrian had come to embrace what he truly needed: forgiveness, and a man who was willing to show him the way to it.
Tonight, Adrian would show Sterling how much that meant to him—and how much that meant to his family.
Sterling’s tie—the same one Adrian had taken from him earlier that night—had been neatly folded and placed with care into the pocket of Adrian’s pajama pants. He took it out now, unfurling it until the fat, pointed tip pooled on Sterling’s chest. Sterling looked up at him, eyes partially lidded, as he waited obediently for what Adrian was going to do.
Adrian didn’t keep him waiting.
He moved the tie to Sterling’s wrists and looped it around and around until he’d effectively bound Sterling’s hands together. Then, careful not to tear the expensive silk, he fitted the knot into one of the restraints on the headboard.
“Safe word is fern,” Adrian murmured. He ran a hand down Sterling’s chest affectionately until his fingertips met the top of the sheets. Lifting one leg, then the other, Adrian guided it down to eliminate the first layer between himself and Sterling.
To his delight, he found Sterling naked beneath the sheets.
“What’s the safe word, Sterling?” Adrian traced a finger along the valley of Sterling’s abs, allowing himself to be drawn into the moment. Here he was, almost half Sterling’s age and at a physical disadvantage, binding Sterling to the bed while in complete control.
This was what he needed.
He hoped it was what Sterling needed, too.
“Fern.”
“Good. That’s all you need to say, and then I’ll stop.” Adrian kissed him, then sat back on his haunches and stripped his shirt over his head. He tossed it aside, then took off his pajama pants so he, too, was nude. Adrian’s erection bobbed without support to hold it in place, its head glossy with precum. Adrian gave it a cursory stroke, then made eye contact with Sterling and held it for a tense moment before he moved down Sterling’s body.
Sterling’s cock could cut diamond, but for something so sturdy, it was surprisingly sensitive. Cut, the pretty band of his frenulum was on display. Adrian caressed it, allowing his fingertips to explore as his mind worked in ways it never had to bring Sterling not only utmost pain, but unexplored pleasure as well.
Adrian’s relationship with pain had changed. The urge to inflict it and see it shape the faces of the men he played with still spoke to him, but his intent was different now. The liberation Sterling had worked him toward through sensual domination woke Adrian to the reality of his situation—since he’d come to The Shepherd, his sexuality had become an outlet for his anguish and guilt rather than a device of pleasure and satisfaction.
Now that he realized that, he did his best to correct it.
His fingers found their way down Sterling’s shaft until they met the pouch of Sterling’s balls. Adrian traced patterns there, tantalizing Sterling with the sensation, but also with the thrill of the unknown. Sterling knew to expect something, but what that something was, Adrian wouldn’t say. He wasn’t sure he knew. What he did needed to feel right, and he hadn’t quite pieced all the parts together in his mind. Sterling was his blank canvas. Adrian wasn’t going to lose the chance to do with him as he wanted.
&
nbsp; Beneath the neon lights, Adrian allowed his fingers to follow the veins of Sterling’s cock back up to his slit. Once he arrived, he smoothed his palm down Sterling’s shaft, then gave it an exploratory pump. Sterling puffed out a breath of contentment, and his head rolled back.
Adrian’s heart skipped a beat, and he pumped him again.
There was power in taking control from someone physically stronger than he was—power greater than Adrian had ever noticed. And in a way, it was frightening. Before, when all he’d cared for was his own selfish gains, it hadn’t bothered him that the responsibility of play was on his shoulders when he assumed a dominant role in the bedroom. Now, it was harrowing in a way Adrian had a hard time coming to terms with.
Sterling was at his mercy. Bound as he was, the only way he could derive pleasure was from Adrian’s actions. Being in control wasn’t only about seeing power taken away from a lover—it was about guiding a body otherwise helpless through orgasm. What Adrian did brought him closer to Sterling than anything else could have. Sterling trusted him to provide the pleasure he’d so gladly relinquished.
And now, the responsibility to see their session through was in Adrian’s hands.
“What do you think they’d say if they saw you like this?” Adrian asked, bolder than he felt. The first few shivers of excitement spread through him, starting in his spine to branch outward like ribs until his chest was snug with static-like anticipation. “Every man and woman downstairs right now who thinks of you like a God? Who believes you keep harems of boys whose mouths will always keep your dick wet, and whose tight asses still aren’t enough to keep you satisfied every night?”
A moan, muted out of necessity, escaped from Sterling’s lips. Adrian pumped him a little harder, letting him ride the first wave of pleasure as far as he could take it. Humiliation mixed with gratification. He loved to see Sterling this way.
