Bishop

by A. E. Via

“I let that piece of shit get to me again.” Bishop dropped his face into his hands. He’d kicked and punched himself tired so all he could do now was snarl, “You know the saying don’t you, Trent? Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me, fool me three fucking times and I’m just a goddamn jackass.”

  “Yeah, you’ve lost a few battles, Bishop, but the war is still going. Go home and talk to Edison. Show him you’re still the same guy that he’s crazy about. And while Sky-bitch tried every trick in the book, all he did was make you and Edison stronger. That’s the only way to beat him that doesn’t involve you going back to prison.”

  Bishop’s knee bounced. “Thanks, man. All right. Take me to Eddie. It’s time to face the music.”

  “I got your back, bro.” Trent nodded.

  “I know, T.” Bishop didn’t say anything else as he rehearsed what he was going to say. He’d had his head down when Trent pulled into Edison’s cul-de-sac.

  “Bishop!” Trent yelled, making him jump. Bishop jerked his head up then glanced in the direction Trent was pointing. “Isn’t that that bastard’s coupe right there?”

  “Shit.” Not bothering to wait until Trent came to a full stop, Bishop jumped out of the truck. Why was Skylar’s car in Edison’s driveway? “Go around the back,” he ordered as he leapt up the porch steps.

  The door was already open when he barreled inside to the sound of yelling. As soon as he came through the door, Edison collided into him and Bishop barely kept them from falling to the floor from the force.

  “Bishop. Oh my god,” Edison cried, shaking against him. He wrapped his arms around him, clawing at his clothes as if he was trying to climb inside of him. He looked so damn afraid that Bishop’s protectiveness kicked into overdrive.

  He knelt and cupped Edison’s cheek, his own hands trembling when he noticed the splotches of blood on Edison’s forehead. “Baby, are you okay?”

  “No. No, he’s… I hit him with my head.” Edison’s voice was so shaky Bishop could just make out what he was saying.

  He jerked his head up when he heard a pained groan from farther in the house. Bishop walked forward but Edison clamped him on his arm his bloodshot eyes wide with fear. “No. Call 911.”

  It only took a second to see that Edison didn’t have any bruises, and the blood on his face wasn’t his own. Skylar worked his way off the floor using the back of the couch. Bishop tucked Edison behind his back with one arm and moved them both towards the living room. As much as he wanted to leap over the sectional and tear Skylar’s hands off for touching what was his, he wouldn’t dare leave Edison’s side. Not with the way he was shaking and clutching on to him.

  Bishop got a good look at Skylar’s face. It was bad. He had one hand over his nose which was leaking down his expensive shirt and both his eyes were already darkening underneath with bruises. A head butt could be a crippling blow. He was glad Edison had been paying attention to his lesson.

  He and Skylar locked eyes for a few tense seconds and a small part of Bishop smiled, but he didn’t let it show. This was the final battle, and he planned to win it. Skylar had worked overtime to make his life hell, had repeatedly harassed his boyfriend, had threatened his freedom and humiliated him in front of all of Town Center. There was only one way Bishop knew how to deal with problems like that.

  “Trent,” Bishop growled.

  “I warned you he’d let me loose, didn’t I,” Trent said, stepping inside the open patio door. “He always does.”

  Skylar held one bloody hand out in front of him, his frantic gaze darting around for an escape route but there were only two ways out. He’d have to either pass by him or by Trent.

  “I’ll sue. I have lawyers on speed dial. You can’t touch me,” Skylar said, trying to sound as if he still had the upper hand.

  “You broke into another’s man’s house and attacked him, now you want to be the victim?” Trent widened his stance. “It doesn’t work that way where I come from.”

  “Fuck you.”

  “I don’t swing that way.” Trent glowered. “But I am gonna make you bow at my feet.”

  “What?” Skylar asked. He didn’t have long to wonder what Trent meant when he accelerated towards him, leaving him with nowhere to run.

  “Oh no,” Edison whispered, clenching Bishop’s waist.

  “Look away baby,” Bishop mumbled and tucked Edison’s head in his armpit just as Trent brought his boot up and slammed it into Skylar’s midsection, making him fold over and fall to the floor… right at Trent’s feet.

  Edison clamped one hand over his ear. “Stop it, stop it!” he said repeatedly at the sound of Skylar’s scream.

  Bishop didn’t say stop, and Trent kept going. He grabbed Skylar by the back of his neck and hefted him until he was on his knees. “I’m not going to rearrange that face since Edison already did that.” Skylar grunted when Trent yanked his arm behind his back and snarled in his ear. “You don’t wanna have a face that pretty in jail, trust me. The fellas will keep you on your knees all night. You won’t have a moment’s peace.”

  Bishop made sure to keep his body in front of Edison while Trent worked.

  “You know. I think you owe Edison an apology for being such a dick all your life.” Trent threw Skylar so hard that he flew across the dining room floor, the momentum slamming him into the breakfast bar. He watched in satisfaction as Skylar cupped the back of his head, grimacing.

  “Bishop,” Edison sniffled.

  “Make the call,” Bishop said calmly, not wanting to make Edison more upset. He never took his eyes off Skylar. He wanted to get his own hits in, but he knew if he did… he wouldn’t be able to stop. Not until it was over. Not until Skylar had permanent damage. That’s why Trent preferred to do the manhandling—he had more self-control.

  Trent pulled out his cell phone, his chest heaving and sweat dripping down his temple.

  “Are you calling some gang people to come take him?” Edison backed away, shaking his head profusely.

  Trent barked a laugh, “You read to many fiction stories, Edison.”

  Bishop pulled Edison back to him. “I don’t have any gang people I can call, Eddie. Not anymore. He’s calling the cops.”

  Edison slumped against him.

  Trent stood over Skylar until the police came. No matter how much he’d begged Edison to not press charges, his boyfriend had been brave. He said he wasn’t letting Skylar get away with putting his hands on him. Period.

  Chapter Fifty-Eight

  Edison

  “Here baby.” Bishop set a glass of his Lipton calming tea in front of him. He was still a bit shaky, but he was feeling a lot better now that Skylar was out of his house and probably being fingerprinted at that moment. He was gonna have to speak to Presley first thing in the morning and let her know what had happened, because he fully intended to press charges to the extent that the law allowed. He also wanted to make sure that Trent was protected.

  He’d taken a long bath while Bishop cleaned up in the guest room. Trent left after about a half hour of talking to Bishop alone on the patio. When he’d come back inside, he stood in the center of his dining room just staring at him. Those dark eyes looking sad and tired. The reality of all that’d happened to them today slammed into him and Bishop was at his side, wrapping him tightly in his arms.

  Edison’s quilt fell from around his shoulders as he held Bishop back. He knew they needed to talk and clear the air but he didn’t want to. Didn’t want Bishop to have to go through any more embarrassment. He wished there was some gesture or emotion he could display that would make everything all right.

  Bishop eased out of their embrace, holding Edison’s hands. He stroked his thumb along Bishop’s palm waiting for him to say what he needed.

  “It’s true, Eddie.”

  Edison was quiet for a long time before he responded, “I know.”

  “Have you always known?” Bishop mumbled.

  Edison had to strain to hear what he was saying. “No. It seems I had to fi
nd out the hard way.”

  Bishop squeezed his eyes shut. “I wanted to tell you so many times. I swear I did.”

  “Why didn’t you?”

  “Because it’s the hardest thing in the world for a grown man to admit, besides he can’t get his dick up. Only Mike and Trent knew. That’s the way it’d always been. The moment I told someone else, he used it against me not even a month later.”

  “And so you thought I’d what…betray you, too… not want you anymore? Suddenly fall out of love with you?”

  “Yes. It’s my worst fucking fear, Eddie. Not for you to leave me because I was a jerk, but to leave me because I don’t measure up.”

  “Bishop, god. Do you know me at all?”

  “I’m sorry. Yes, I do know you. I was just hoping to maybe get a few more weeks of school out of the way and then I was gonna tell you. So, you’d see that I was serious, and committed.”

  “Is that the Tuesday night project you work on each week?”

  Bishop didn’t answer. Instead he got up and disappeared down the hall. Edison took a few more sips of his tea when Bishop came back and set that brown ALC envelope that he’d seen earlier, on the table. “I don’t just do this on Tuesdays, I do it every day. Even if it’s only for twenty minutes on my lunch break, I work on this.”

  “What is it?” Edison asked, sitting forward.

  “I uh. I enrolled a few weeks ago.” Bishop ducked his head when he removed the thin booklet and the lined paper he used to practice his handwriting from inside the envelope and spread it out on the table. “I’m still on level one, book two, or um, the beginning level. I thought after a few months or something I could show you something different than this. The book looks real childish I know but…” Bishop gripped his forehead.

  “This is the Adult Learning Center’s GED program?”

  Bishop wrung his hands so hard his knuckles popped. “Sort of. Like an extension of it. I’ll get to those classes eventually.” Bishop swallowed so roughly Edison heard it. “Since I can’t read well enough for the prep courses. I have to take these um… like… um, pre-prep… Shit.”

  Edison reached out for Bishop’s hand, but he yanked it away before he could touch him.

  “I don’t want any pity, Edison. I can do this okay. I know it’s a long way to go but I’m not a quitter. I’ll never give up,” Bishop said, frown lines creasing his forehead.

  “I know you won’t,” was all Edison said, his heart exploding with so much love for Bishop he wasn’t sure he had room for more. Mike had told Edison that he didn’t make sure Bishop went to school and instead had taught him street smarts to survive. “And I don’t have any pity for you. I respect you so darn much, you just don’t understand. The fact that you’ve soldiered through every obstacle in your life only makes me even more infatuated with you. Only makes me want to be worthy of your love.”

  “Just don’t judge me,” Bishop said painfully. “Please.”

  “Never.” Edison shook his head. How did he get Bishop to understand that they were better than okay? That this changed nothing for him, except for the better. He guessed he’d just have to show him. He got up and turned off the one light in the living room and led Bishop to their bedroom. After tonight, he’d want Bishop with him all the time. Night and day. Bishop was his and he’d be Bishop’s.

  Edison led them to his bed, his mind and body needing this connection with Bishop. He needed to see that nothing had changed for him. He turned and ran his hands up Bishop’s bare, hairy chest, letting one hand rest over his heart. He leaned in and placed his lips there, lingering for a long moment. He felt Bishop’s arms surround his waist, and Edison kept up his ministrations. He kissed all over those firm pecs until Bishop started to push them backward. His hair was gripped and his head tilted back so Bishop had full access to his mouth. He opened and fed Bishop his tongue, letting him suck on it until he couldn’t stop moaning. Thick fingers dragged through his hair then massaged his scalp.

  They fell onto the bed together, nestling under the covers and wrapping around each other. Bishop was on top of him, grinding his cock into his own, both of them leaking, making the glide deliriously stimulating. Edison wrapped his arms around them and squeezed Bishop’s ass, shoving him against him. They rocked and ground against each other in a sexy dance, their hands caressing and stroking what their mouths hadn’t tasted.

  “Eddie,” Bishop groaned.

  “Bishop,” he answered, spreading his legs wide and clamping them around Bishop’s back. “I need to…” He thrust his hips up, losing control, needing Bishop to take over.

  “You wanna come, baby.” Bishop grunted. “Right now.”

  Edison nodded, not caring how desperate he was behaving. It wouldn’t be a lie. His need for Bishop was too intense to put into words. A wide, slick finger pushed inside him, making him slam the back of his head into the pillow. “Oh my god. Yes. Yes, Bishop. Harder.” He rolled his hips up to get more, whimpering in agony when Bishop gave him just that.

  “Stroke us, Eddie. Let me feel your hands,” Bishop said, snapping his hips while he pumped his fingers in his hole. Edison used both hands to grip them and started to pump their shafts together.

  “Fuck,” Bishop groaned. “I can never last with your hands on me, Eddie.”

  Edison clenched his fist tighter and concentrated on their heads, flicking the rim just like Bishop liked it. But Edison was the one to yell first, his back bowing off the bed as he curled into Bishop’s body, hoping he’d anchor him and keep him from flying away. Bishop pegged his gland over and over until he was toppling over the edge.

  He jerked his hips as his hot come ran over his knuckles, his ass clenching around Bishop’s fingers. “Jesus Christ.”

  Bishop eased his fingers out of him and thrust into Edison’s fist a couple of times then threw his head back and came against him, crushing his weeping slit into his pelvis. Bishop moaned as he continued to stroke him. Bishop was always half hard, even after he came.

  “Unnnh, damn, Eddie.”

  Edison’s body was still on fire. Yes, he’d just come but his ass was empty and clenching around nothing, missing the fullness. Bishop rolled onto his back to catch his breath and Edison chased him. He flung his leg over Bishop’s groin and sat down on top of him.

  “Oh shit.” Bishop clamped his hands onto his hips when Edison began to rock his ass along Bishop’s length. “Eddie. Fuuuuk. What… what are you doing?”

  They were slick and messy from their releases and the more Edison smeared their essence along his crease the more his body started to shake. He didn’t have a plan, he was just going with what felt good. He leaned forward and sucked one of Bishop’s nipples, nibbling on the tight bud as he kept rotating his hips. He wasn’t sure what he was trying to do, all he knew was that he was empty, so tired of being empty. When he felt blunt pressure at his opening, this time he didn’t shy away from it. Instead, he tucked his bottom lip between his teeth and backed into it. His eyes widened at the fullness as the head pushed inside.

  He started to lose control of his breathing when he realized exactly what was happening. Bishop sat up and cupped his face, the move making him slide in deeper.

  “Oh god,” Edison whined. This was really happening. He was doing it.

  “Easy baby. Just like that,” Bishop groaned, his voice sounding as if it was on the verge of shattering. “Go as slow as you need.”

  Edison fastened his arms around Bishop’s neck and buried his head against his throat. He didn’t know what to do with the pleasure tearing through his entire body. Edison was alive from head to toe and he felt Bishop everywhere inside of him, not just his hole.

  “God, you’re so damn tight around me, Eddie.”

  Edison’s thighs clenched when he felt Bishop’s dick graze over that place that made him scream. Instead, he smothered his holler against the side of Bishop’s rough cheek. His cock was throbbing between them and he hadn’t realized he’d gotten so hard again. Bishop cupped his ass and used
his strength to rock him back and forth on his lap. Edison went lax and put all his weight on Bishop—knowing he could support him—and let his boyfriend take his virginity.

  Bishop kissed his shoulder, his collarbone and his neck, while he rocked his hardening dick inside him. He could feel Bishop getting thicker as he stroked in and out of his sensitive channel, and the feeling of being stretched so slowly was driving him insane. When Bishop had first slid inside, his softening girth had been perfect and Edison had felt little burn, only powerful sensations of bliss. Now, Bishop’s long hard shaft was nudging and stimulating him in places he didn’t know existed.

  “I’m coming,” Edison gasped.

  “Fuck. Me too.” Bishop grunted and thrust his hips up at the same time he pulled Edison forward.

  Edison felt his cock spasm and his hole clenched as he came all over himself for a second time.

  “Ahhh. God,” Bishop hollered. “Too tight.”

  “Yes. Only for you,” Edison breathed, feeling bolder, “Come deep inside of me, Bishop.”

  He pulled his head out of Bishop’s neck and looked him in his eyes. He needed him to see the love he had for him and that it was intact, it was unwavering. Nothing could come between them now, no one. They were both panting heavily against each other and he knew it was about to be over… for now. But, he couldn’t wait to do it again. It was unlike anything he could’ve imagined. Bishop gazed into his eyes then latched on to his mouth as he came, squeezing him to the point of cutting circulation. But he’d never complain as a warmth he felt all the way to his toes filled him.

  Bishop had taken his time and loved every part of Edison that was in need before he ever got to sexing his body. It’d never been a priority. All Bishop wanted to do was care for him and make him feel special and wanted. That was most important to his partner and it was what Edison truly needed. And he knew now what Bishop needed. He’d continue to feed him, talk with him, laugh with him, read to him, and support him with school. And he knew with Bishop, life would never be boring.