Burn Zone, page 17
part #1 of Hotshots Series
“Depends. How buzzed are you?” Linc kept his voice low as he studied Jacob, making him have to fight the urge to squirm. Instead he grabbed one of the empty seats at Linc’s table, helped himself to a fry.
“Not that much,” he hedged. He wanted in on whatever Linc had planned, but he couldn’t deny being a little tipsy—his beer had been refilled by helpful people and Kelley had insisted on a birthday shot. “I walked over if you’re worried about me driving.”
The bar was only a few blocks from his RV park, and he hadn’t wanted to bother with finding a parking spot. Plus, if he was honest, he’d been hoping for a ride home, another chance to have Linc’s big body filling his little trailer.
“Hmm.” Linc’s mouth twisted. “Guess you shouldn’t have to walk.”
“Nope.” Stealing another fry, he grinned over at Linc. “Don’t worry. I’ll put it around that you did me a favor, nothing more.”
“Luckily, I’m not planning on parking at your place.”
“You’re not?” Jacob hated how disappointment hit him like a dart, deflating all the fun out of the evening.
“You’ll see.” Linc gave him an arch look, one that worked like a patch over Jacob’s wounded hope. Maybe all wasn’t lost. “Go on, now. Make your goodbyes. No more shots. You drunk isn’t part of my plans.”
“What is?” He resisted the urge to lean forward, close the gap between them. His minor buzz made it that much harder to not flirt or touch.
“That’s for me to know. Meet me at the truck.” With that, Linc stood, giving a little salute in the direction of the others, leaving Jacob to go make excuses for leaving.
“I could give you a ride.” Kelley pouted.
“You’re not driving either,” McKenna said firmly, using her jumper-in-charge voice, which made Kelley nod meekly. Interesting. The two of them had been getting along better since the end of training, but Jacob couldn’t get a read on what exactly was going on there. “Go on, Hartman. Glad to hear you’ve got a ride.”
There. He’d practically been ordered to leave with Linc. And if he wished they didn’t need to dance around the truth so much, be so darn careful to not rouse suspicion, he quickly pushed that aside. He got to see him. That was what mattered right now. Bad idea or not, there was no drink, no drug as powerful or addictive as Linc’s pride, as his praise, as the feeling he got in his embrace, and he wasn’t giving it up.
And that delicious curl of anticipation about what Linc might have planned didn’t deserve to be extinguished by pointless thoughts about what could be. What it was was plenty.
Linc was waiting in the truck, some country station on the radio, female singer crooning about hard-to-love men. His slow smile when Jacob opened the door though had the polar opposite effect on Jacob—this man was too damn easy to like. Too easy to fall for, too hard to get over.
“So, what’s the plan?” he asked as he buckled up.
“You’ll see.” Linc headed toward Jacob’s place but then turned before they reached it, taking one of the rural roads out of town. Because it was June with its long days, it wasn’t all the way dark yet, but getting there, a pretty pink twilight settling over the craggy rocks lining the curving road that led toward one of the nearby state parks.
“Bit late for hiking,” Jacob joked.
“And you’re not sober enough for that either.” Linc’s voice was stern, but there was an affection there that warmed Jacob even as the outside temperatures dipped. “I’m not letting you slip down one of the rocks.”
Linc left the rural highway for increasingly smaller roads until they were truly in the middle of nowhere as the last of the late evening light fled, but not before they got a spectacular view of a rocky canyon with mountains in the distance, not a trace of civilization outside of the gravel path that had led them here.
“Well, if night hiking’s out, you must have brought me here to get up to no good. And since I don’t think you’re a serial killer, I’m betting I get a birthday kiss.” Already anticipating, he turned in his seat as soon as Linc parked.
“Maybe. If you behave.” But Linc didn’t offer a kiss right away, instead getting out of the truck, leaving Jacob to do the same. Linc went around to the bed of the truck, sitting on the tailgate, dragging a bag close. “Come here.”
“What’s all this?” he asked as Linc shook out a thick blanket.
“Nothing much.” Linc finished making a little nest of blankets, then withdrew a six pack of Jacob’s favorite beer. “I owe you a drink. That’s all.”
Jacob’s chest grew painfully tight as he hefted himself up next to Linc. Six years now, give or take some, he’d tried to get Linc to give in to what was between them. And now he had, weeks of perfect memories capped by this moment right here, gorgeous vista, sunset, twinkling planets starting to come out. The stars would be a while, but this far out of town, the sky was likely to be spectacular and he couldn’t wait. The man might claim to have no use for romance, but this was possibly the most romantic moment of Jacob’s life. He was almost nervous to speak, to ruin this magic.
Linc pulled a plastic container from the bag. “And I know your mom’s probably doing a better cake this weekend for you—”
“Sunday. Brunch. I’m supposed to be reminding you. She said she left you a message.”
“Yeah. I’ll try. Anyway, it’s not a birthday without some cake. This is just something from the grocery.” He offered Jacob the container that had one of those mini-cakes in it. Exactly enough for two. Jacob had to swallow hard. He wasn’t ever going to deserve this man.
“Thanks.” He took the container and one of the plastic forks Linc held out. “This is...maybe my favorite birthday ever.”
“Better than the year you got a mountain bike? Or one of your mom’s chocolate cakes?” Linc scoffed. “Doubt that.”
“Maybe I appreciate things more now. And if you want her cake, you need to come Sunday. I told her I want German chocolate this year. Surely you can put up with being social twice in a weekend.”
“Yeah. I suppose I can. For you.” Linc looped an arm around Jacob’s shoulders, pulled him close. He was warm and solid and smelled like his usual classic soap with a tangy undercurrent of shaving cream. Liking the idea of Linc getting ready for this, like a real date, Jacob’s blood rushed south. He pressed a kiss to Linc’s smooth neck, trying to do a better job of showing Linc how much this meant to him.
Linc plotting all this out had to mean he felt some of what Jacob did every single time their lips met—that this was more than convenience, more than scratching an itch, more than some secret fuck-buddy arrangement or whatever the hell they were telling themselves that week. This was real. And big. Bigger than either of them alone. Bigger than Jacob wanted to admit, even now.
Instead he put all of that uncertainty and want into a kiss, claiming Linc’s mouth with a new desperation. And Linc met him fully, needy sigh and grasping hands, pushing the cake and the beer aside. Darkness fell in earnest. Temperatures dipped. The first flickers appeared in the sky, and still they kissed. They kissed sweet and they kissed slow and they kissed dirty. Their mouths and tongues and lips met every way two people could meet and still it wasn’t enough.
Not breaking the kiss, he unbuttoned Linc’s shirt. Soft blue cotton, vaguely Western styling, and it looked a hell of a lot better on the truck bed floor than on Linc and that was saying something. Linc was equally deft at getting Jacob out of his T-shirt, and then their bare skin met, chilly air, warm flesh, soft quilt under them as they tumbled backward. Their pants were next to go, leaving them in their boxers, Jacob wriggling into Linc for warmth as they continued to trade kisses.
“Tell me that magic bag of yours has stuff,” he panted as Linc moved from his mouth to his neck, soft little licks that wouldn’t leave a mark except on Jacob’s soul where he felt every tender gesture, every touch.
It wasn’t even that he needed to come as much as that he wanted to be with Linc, every way possible, dragging this out until the sun rose again, still kissing, still needing, still together.
“Yup.” Linc fumbled around, came up with a condom and small bottle of lube, pressed them into Jacob’s hand.
“What? You want...” His brain struggled to make sense of the gesture.
“Happy birthday.” Linc pressed another kiss to his mouth, swallowing Jacob’s gasp.
“You don’t have to...” Although he’d made passing comments about getting fucked before, Linc always seemed to have a single-minded focus on getting inside Jacob when it came to actually doing. Not that Jacob was complaining because he’d gone from ambivalent about fucking to downright craving that with Linc. This, though, was something else, less craving and more a hopeful wish, a long-held fantasy that he hadn’t ever truly thought he might get.
“Want to.” Kissing him harder, Linc drew him back down into the blanket nest. “Want to with you. Right here.”
And as Jacob followed him down, his pulse sped up. Maybe some wishes really did come true. And fuck, he hoped he had it in him to make this good for Linc, make him feel even a fraction of everything coursing through him right then. Don’t let me fuck this up.
Chapter Fifteen
Linc tugged Jacob back down, but he was still tense. Which, honestly, wasn’t at all the response Linc had been expecting.
“Can we please not do that thing?” he asked.
“What thing?” Jacob’s voice was too cautious to be entirely ignorant of what Linc meant.
Linc couldn’t hold back a groan. “That. That thing where you ask me if I’m sure a dozen times and tell me that I don’t have to. How about you believe me when I say yes, I’m sure. And yes, I’m well aware that I don’t have to. But I want to. Don’t make this more than it is. I want to get fucked. That’s all.”
“Okay.” Jacob wasn’t any less tense, but he at least didn’t ask again.
“Rumor says you’re good at this, so maybe try relaxing?” Linc teased.
“You’ve listened to rumors about me?” Jacob sounded vaguely pleased as he finally stretched all the way out next to Linc, feet tangling as they lay on their sides.
“Only the ones you’ve bragged about nonstop,” Linc lied, not wanting to admit how closely he’d paid attention over the years—or how deeply he’d felt the weird mix of curiosity and jealousy over Jacob’s hookups. “Now, can we get back to where we were? We’ve got cake for after, and you trying to talk me out of the fun parts wasn’t part of the plans.”
“I like your plans.” Jacob licked his way across Linc’s jaw. “All of it. The drive. The cake. This.”
And then they were kissing again, no more awkward talking. This they were good at. This he could count on, solid and real and reliable, the way it heated him up from the inside out.
They rolled slightly, giving Linc a view of the sky over Jacob’s shoulder. The stars were starting to come out in earnest now, a glittering canopy that dwarfed them, making Linc feel like little more than a speck of dirt on a soccer ball. But also wide-open, full of endless possibilities. He’d always loved this place for that reason. Far from the light pollution of any city, even the moon seemed closer, the sky that much bigger and brighter. But he’d never brought Jacob here, never had it to where what was in his head and heart was every bit as awe-inspiring as the sky itself. In the past, he’d come here for perspective, but with Jacob kissing him, everything got jumbled up in his brain, making him feel more significant, not less, and more alive than he had in years.
“Man. The stars really are something.” Jacob pulled back, wonder in his voice.
“Thought you might like it.” Maybe Linc didn’t have the first clue about birthday presents, but he could give him this, could share this place.
“I do.” Jacob’s mouth was more purposeful now, and Linc found himself surprisingly content to let him lead. Usually he liked to keep control, set the pace and be in charge regardless of who was doing the fucking, but with Jacob he was able to let some of that go.
They’d been at this enough weeks that he knew he could snatch the reins back at any point and Jacob would happily follow. And Jacob was hardly the type to take more than Linc wanted to give. Letting him explore and tease was freeing, allowing him to drift and watch the stars as Jacob kissed his mouth, then his ears and neck, all sorts of nerve endings Linc had forgotten he had.
“I can do whatever I want, right?” Jacob’s mouth ghosted across Linc’s collarbone as his fingers toyed with the waistband of Linc’s boxers.
“I’m yours.” Linc had meant to give a more trite “it’s your birthday” response, but the truth slipped out instead. And he was. Jacob owned him in almost every way that mattered, had Linc’s head and heart both.
“Good.” Jacob’s kiss was firm and decisive as he shoved Linc’s boxers out of the way. He shifted, a momentary rush of cool air before his warm mouth swallowed Linc’s cock in a smooth move.
Linc’s mouth opened, him about to tell Jacob that he didn’t need anywhere near this much prelude, but all that came out was a low groan cutting through the still night air. Usually when it came to fucking, he got in a mood, got fucked, simple as that, but of course nothing with Jacob was simple. He made complicated fun, long drawn-out encounters magical. Jacob inspired him to try all sorts of foreplay he’d previously ignored—massages, shared showers, kissing for what felt like hours. And apparently Jacob enjoyed returning the favor as well.
Now, with Jacob’s mouth working him with its usual practiced ease while his fingers grew more adventurous, Linc had to exhale, take a moment to appreciate the slow road he was always advocating to Jacob. Slow was good. Delicious even, the way Jacob easily paired the methodical, deep deep strokes of his mouth with gentle explorations of his slick fingers against Linc’s rim. He sucked harder as his fingers pressed in, a devilish move that Linc filed away for later. Not able to stay still any longer, he tangled his hand in Jacob’s thick hair, body surging toward Jacob.
“More,” he demanded and mercifully, Jacob complied, going for a second finger and faster pace with more tongue action on the underside of Linc’s cock. “Fuck. Damn, you are too good at this...”
“I try.” Jacob chuckled before diving back down, mouth sinking all the way to the root, fingers going deeper, firm pressure against Linc’s prostate that had him moaning louder.
“Now. Come on. Don’t wanna come this way.” Unlike Jacob, he didn’t entirely hate getting fucked after coming, but that wasn’t what he wanted right then, wanting to drag this out longer, let it build even more.
“Always so bossy,” Jacob chided even as he shifted backward. The sound of foil tearing and more lube being applied had Linc’s body tensing with more of that delicious anticipation. To his surprise, Jacob didn’t have him flip, instead pushing Linc’s legs up and back as he moved between them. Huh. Being on his back like this wasn’t Linc’s usual preference, and he almost asked to switch, but then Jacob was kissing him again, mouth hot and needy. Linc swallowed back his objections. The position might make him more vulnerable than he liked, but this was Jacob, and if Jacob wanted him like this, then Linc would give it to him, would give him everything he had within him to give.
Jacob pressed in, broad cockhead stretching more than his fingers had, but Linc willed himself to relax, knowing the initial burn would fade into something worth the momentary discomfort. And it did, his body remembering what it liked about this, moving with Jacob to find a rhythm that had them both groaning. As they moved, Jacob kept returning for more kisses, sweet and dirty and lingering, driving Linc every bit as crazy as Jacob’s cock.
He got a hand on himself, stroking slow, matching their pace, still not ready to come, but liking the way that magnified the sensations, liking the rub of their bodies against his fist as Jacob loomed over him for another kiss. It had been so long since he’d even thought about doing this that he’d forgotten how good this could feel, how all-encompassing, not unlike the stars and their surroundings. He reveled too in Jacob’s strength—the flex of his lean muscles, the firmness of his kisses, the way he balanced on his forearms.
“Oh, fuck. Linc. Need you to get there.” Jacob’s voice, rough and ragged, slid over Linc, another caress, one that ramped him up, knowing how turned on Jacob was.
“Yeah.” He didn’t speed up his hand, though, instead letting the sensations wash over him, letting Jacob’s intensity be the thing that got him closer.
“Fuck. It’s too good. Tell me...what you need. Anything.” Jacob begging always did it for Linc, and this was no different, the way he was both totally in control and still dependent on Linc for his pleasure.
“You. Need you. Go hard. Hard as you want.” Linc knew what he needed, what they both needed. And even more than the pressure and friction, he needed to hear and feel Jacob lose control. Hell, simply his moans were almost enough to push Linc over. He sped up his hand. “That’ll get me there too. Promise. Want to see you go.”
“Yeah. Fuck. Oh, God.” Jacob’s hips stuttered, losing the rhythm but gaining intensity. Him not holding back was a thing of beauty, the way he went deep even as his head tipped back, totally lost to his pleasure.
“That’s it, baby. Go fast.”
“Can’t...hold back.” Voice breaking, Jacob pressed another desperate kiss to Linc’s mouth.
“Don’t.” Trying to match him, Linc went fast and hard on his cock, letting each of Jacob’s moans carry him higher.
“Right there. Fuck. Right there.” Going deep, Jacob’s whole body shuddered, climax so intense that Linc swore he could feel him pulsing in his ass, even with the condom.
