The Honeymoon Gambit (Catalina Dreams Book 2), page 12
“Eric!” Todd said. “What the fuck—”
“Oh, don’t worry,” Eric said. He pointed his forkful of chicken at Todd. “You’re still their creative. I made sure.”
“But… But I… What about you?” Todd said. He got to his feet, his food forgotten. He walked forward a few paces and couldn’t think of where he was going, grabbing his phone. “Eric, what the hell! How are you so calm? This is complete bullshit!”
“I suppose I should be more upset,” Eric said.
Todd scoffed in incredulous agreement, but Eric said nothing further. He just kept eating his dinner.
Todd finally shook his head. “I’m getting in the hot tub.”
“Won’t your muscles cramp if you’ve just eaten?” Eric called after him.
“I’ll be fine!”
He’s losing it, Todd thought later.
Away from Eric’s penetrating gaze, Todd had slipped into a fresh pair of trunks. He eased into the bubbling waters of the hot tub and sighed happily, all the tension easing away.
It was hard not to worry about Eric, who lived for his job more than most. Not that Todd wanted him upset, but Eric didn’t even seem to care he’d lost the account. It made Todd wonder if losing to Stackler had thrown him right over the edge.
“Hey, Eric!” Todd had left the sliding doors open between the patio and the suite.
“Yeah?” Eric called back.
“Come join me when you’re done!” He blushed even as he said it. “I mean to relax! Is all I meant! If you want too!”
“Okay!” Eric called back.
He rested in the bubbles and let his head fall back, a gusty breeze blowing his hair around. He lost track of time, feeling faintly meditative even as his mind raced.
Eric was off the account.
They needed to do something drastic. No more games, Todd thought. A serious talk with Jordan and Alphonso was in order. He imagined what he would say; impassioned speeches, an extolling of Eric’s talents. He’d make them feel like absolute assholes for even considering Stackler over Eric. Which was what they deserved, in his opinion.
Todd heard the slap of Eric’s feet on the patio and kept his eyes shut. He folded up his legs in the water to obscure his stomach. It was silly, and he knew it. Todd had seen him splayed out on the deck of the Gigis’ yacht, warts and all. Still, he couldn’t help himself.
Eric climbed into the hot tub, and Todd clenched his jaw. He didn’t even have to open his eyes. He knew Eric would be wearing the cute little pair of trunks he’d probably paid a couple hundred bucks for. Eric with his perfect abs that Todd wouldn’t mind licking if he were given another opportunity in bed with him…
“What happened with you in the water...” Eric cleared his throat and Todd cracked an eye open to look at him. Sure enough, Eric was beautiful. No surprise there. His gaze was even more intense than usual and fixed firmly on Todd, who spread his arms out behind him and gripped the edge of the tub just to have something to hold on to. “I think it just reminded me that there are more important things in life than who gets what account.”
“Huh.” Todd opened both eyes and sat up a little in the tub. “I almost drown and you have a come to Jesus moment? My life didn’t even flash before my eyes. Why did it flash before yours?”
Eric chuckled at that; the second laugh of the day. Todd wished he had it on video. “I don’t know. But I just felt as if... I-I needed to… Why is this so hard now? My heart won’t stop pounding.”
“Eric. Don’t do this.” Todd spoke slowly. He rubbed his eyes. “Listen, whatever you’re about to say, it’s probably because this place is getting to you. Because it’s romantic and because we’ve been pretending to be in love and because you saved my life today and… Just don’t say anything you really don’t mean. You’re not yourself right now. Maybe losing the account just freaked you out and—”
“I felt this before that.” He moved forward in the water, hovering in the middle of the tub, his chest brushing Todd’s legs.
“Felt… Felt what?” Todd crossed his arms in front of him, defensive and hopeful all at once.
“Why are you all curled up like that?” Eric said. He pressed his palms to Todd's knees. Todd swallowed, feeling the touch all the way to his bones. “You don’t look very relaxed.”
Todd opened and closed his mouth and finally blurted, “Probably because you’re the most beautiful human being I’ve ever been this close to. And extremely hot. And I’m getting hard, but also my body is—”
“You’re getting hard?” Eric whispered. He bit his lip, his gaze unwavering as he slid his hands down Todd’s calves and stepped a little closer.
Holy fucking shit.
“Um… maybe,” Todd murmured. He definitely was now, at the very thought of Eric making a move. “What... what did you want to say?”
“That I…” Eric growled, and it made Todd shiver. He spread his knees a little, just to give his swelling cock some room. “It’s easier to show you than to say, I imagine. What were you about to say about your body?”
“It’s…” Todd shrugged, feeling heat behind his ears in his embarrassment. “It’s not like yours, that’s for sure. I’m soft—”
“I know,” Eric said, and his hands slid up Todd’s legs, back to his thighs. He ranked his nails along the soft skin he found there, his fingertips digging into Todd’s flesh. “I like it.”
“Um…” Todd’s breath was short. Eric pushed his knees further apart, gently nudging so that Todd let his legs down into the water. “You do?”
“I mean I like looking the way I do.” Eric shrugged one shoulder; adorably sheepish. “I work out a little obsessively just to maintain it. But I like this too.” His palms covered Todd’s thighs in the water and he stepped in between Todd’s knees. “It’s sexy to get a handful of man, you know?”
“Oh.” Todd felt stupid. He was pretty sure the more his cock grew in his trunks, the lower his IQ dipped as Eric’s touch moved from Todd’s thighs to his soft stomach. Eric nudged him to lie back, as the touch traveled up his chest and out of the hot, bubbling water. He raked his fingers through Todd’s chest hair, watching his own movements with his typically intense focus, as if astounded by his own actions. Eric’s thumbs graced Todd’s nipples, and he whimpered faintly. That made Eric smile, and he did it again, pressing ever closer.
“Doesn’t this feel good?” Eric whispered. “Because it does to me.”
Todd glanced down at Eric’s crotch and saw his designer trunks tented with his erection under the water. “Feels fucking amazing,” Todd said, just before Eric moved in to kiss him.
Todd felt as if every nerve ending in his body stood up all at once and shouted for more attention from Eric Yoo. His blood was singing. His lips tingled. Eric’s kiss wasn’t so different from the way he’d shown off at the lounge. It was just as passionate, promising the human volcano that Todd was just getting to know. There was a confidence in the way Eric prodded his mouth open, his tongue sneaking out to taste Todd’s. Eric’s hands kept moving. They journeyed all over Todd’s body, determined to touch every inch. Todd fell forward, his hands reaching out to return Eric’s touches.
For a while, they simply explored each other’s mouths and bodies as much as their positions in the hot tub would allow.
Eric kept sighing and murmuring when Todd touched him a certain way; pressing his fingers to Eric’s abs or running his thumb down the middle of his chest and watching his muscles twitch. Todd shut his eyes, feeling the feverish desperation to remember every sound and sensation.
“Todd,” Eric said against his lips.
Here it comes.
Todd braced himself for rejection.
“Can we move this inside?” Eric said. He moved back and Todd saw that his pupils were blown, his lips red and swollen from all the kissing. He cupped Todd’s cheeks between his palms. “Todd?”
Todd nodded dumbly, and Eric cast him a delighted grin. Todd had never seen him smile that way before. He wondered if being in an actual relationship with Eric meant making such discoveries all the time?
“Yes,” Todd said. “Yes, yes…”
There was no magic spell that could be broken. They weren’t simply overtaken by passion. Eric wanted this. With Todd. He couldn’t get his head around it.
Eric moved in the water and climbed out with ease. Every move he made seemed so graceful to Todd, who had always felt like a clumsy oaf standing next to him. Except now he didn’t, even as Eric took his hand and helped him climb out with his mildly injured leg. The way Eric looked at him made him feel sexy.
The moment he was out of the tub with both feet on the ground, Eric’s hands were on him again. He kissed Todd deeply and said, “I just didn’t want to give Avalon a free show.” He nodded out beyond the balcony.
Oh.
Todd had completely forgotten they were visible to anyone. All he could see was Eric.
17
Eric
Eric had not planned on seducing Todd.
But his mind was made up sometime around Todd’s display of outrage that Eric had lost out to Stackler.
They’d come to Catalina as a team, and Todd had shown his loyalty before.
But things felt different now and seeing Todd so passionate in his defense even when he hardly cared himself was both moving and a huge turn on.
I’m falling in love with you.
The words were right on the tip of his tongue. A more honest declaration would be that he’d fallen in love a long time ago without realizing it; somewhere in between finding that raspy voice always making snarky comments a comfort and waking up blitzed in the hospital to see Todd right there at his bedside when he’d had no reason to come.
The words weren’t ready to leave his lips yet. Fear held them back. But this he could do.
“I can’t believe this.” Todd murmured against his jaw as Eric laid soft kisses along his throat.
They stood on the patio, too distracted by each other’s bodies to make their way inside.
“I dunno why,” Eric said. He licked a stripe along Todd’s collar bone and smirked to himself when Todd shivered. His body was so responsive, as if he couldn’t help but show Eric how every kiss and touch affected him. “We’ve been building up to this. Haven’t we?”
“Yes.” He didn’t have to look to see Todd’s smile. He felt his muscles move and heard it in his voice.
Eric’s ex was the opposite of Todd as far as responsiveness went. So much of the lovemaking had been a matter of guesswork. Sometimes Eric would think he was doing just fine only to be told his performance was lacking and other times he would think he was doing nothing for Henry at all, judging by Henry’s utter blankness in bed, and Henry would tell him days later how good he was.
But Todd was like a child’s toy that lit up and beeped and buzzed when you touched the right button.
Magic, Eric thought.
“Inside,” Eric said.
“Okay…”
Eric gently pushed Todd toward the wide open sliding doors. Todd seemed dazed, as if he couldn’t remember how to walk. He shuffled, stumbling back a step until Eric caught him and leaned over to kiss his neck. In a flash of imagination he thought of late nights if they lived together, prodding a groggy Todd into the bedroom. What it must be like to have someone so close…
Eric broke away and tugged on Todd’s hand, leading him inside. A lock of his hair fell over one wide hazel eye. His other hand rested across his stomach, absently stroking his own chest as he followed Eric to the bedroom. His five o’clock shadow was growing in.
Eric wanted to eat him for dinner.
“Are you a volcano?” Todd said.
In their room, Eric immediately crowded him up against the foot of the bed, wrapping his arms around Todd’s neck, content to stand there and pause a moment. There was something freeing to him about the way they took their time, giving each other plenty of room to change their minds. There was anticipation and giddiness in every little agreement.
“A volcano?” Eric said. He raised an eyebrow and leaned forward to taste Todd’s mouth once more, licking at his top lip and sucking gently. They were dripping wet on the nice carpeting. They’d dripped all over the living room. He didn’t care much about the carpet, but being soaking wet during lovemaking wasn’t as sexy as it seemed. Eric broke away and smiled to himself at Todd’s plaintive whimper. He went to their bathroom and found a giant, fluffy hotel towel, jogging back to wrap Todd in it and dry him off. “What do you mean a volcano, Todd?”
“All serious and buttoned up but super passionate inside?”
“Is that what a volcano is?” He laughed softly and watched Todd light up at the sound.
In the last twelve hours, he’d discovered that laughing in front of Todd was another sort of button. It seemed to please him inordinately, and that made Eric want to laugh forever just to please him.
Must be love.
“Maybe I am,” Eric said. “For the right person.”
“Oh…” Todd ducked his head and kissed Eric’s shoulder. “Okay.”
“You’re so cute and nervous,” Eric said.
Todd took the towel from him and helped Eric to dry off. Todd blushed and his cheeks were splotchy and pink. Eric reached up to stroke Todd’s face, running his knuckles lightly over that auburn stubble.
“Ha… Well, you’re different.” Todd said. “People are different in bed, I guess. I always thought you would be, but… Um. Do we need condoms and lube? I’m not- I’m not as-assuming we d-do?” He laughed to himself and ran a hand through his hair.
Eric kissed his cheek. “I think we do?”
“Fuck, me too,” Todd mumbled. He broke away and went to his suitcase that sat on the floor next to Eric’s, a heap of clothes atop it. Eric watched him and took the opportunity to slip off his trunks, standing naked as he watched Todd bend over. He absently stroked his own thickening cock and thought of sinking his teeth into the round ass presented before him.
He took a deep breath and crawled up on the bed, laying down on his back. He bit his lip and continued to stroke himself slowly as Todd pawed around his suitcase.
“Got it,” Todd said under his breath. He stood and looked around for Eric. Seeing him on the bed, he breathed in sharply, his gazing roving hungrily over Eric’s naked form. “Jesus…”
“Come here,” Eric said. He nodded at Eric’s trunks. “Take those off and come here?”
“Okay. Okay sure, Eric Yoo,” Todd muttered to himself. He tossed the packet of condoms and the little bottle of lube on the bed, looking away as he stepped out of his trunks. “Let’s just all be naked together. Just another day with Eric Yoo naked in bed with me because we’re about to bone. This is very normal.”
Eric couldn’t speak for laughing. He wiped his eyes and watched Todd, fond and aroused.
Todd was racked with nerves. That much was clear. But Eric’s mouth watered at the sight of a fleshy, pale ass, an auburn thatch of hair, and a thick pink cock. Todd crawled up on the bed beside Eric and took a second to make himself comfortable. Eric let him before impatience got the better of him and he moved to climb on top of Todd who gasped in surprise, but immediately threw his arms around Eric.
Their cocks brushed together, and Eric sighed. He braced himself on one elbow and fixed his gaze on Todd, staring back at him.
“Your eyes are beautiful.” He leaned in and kissed him; a slow drag of lips. “Never told you that.”
“So are yours. I always thought so. Um… I dunno if I can… if I can handle this, if you keep saying nice things about me.” Todd sounded breathless. He tangled his fingers in Eric’s hair. “After so long of you, ya know... not.”
“I didn’t know how to…” Eric opened and closed his mouth, pained. This was the hard part. The physical part he found easy. “I’m sorry. Todd, I’m sorry if I’ve ever—”
“Don’t,” Todd whispered. “Don’t talk about being sorry now. Just keep touching me. Keep kissing me.”
“Yes,” Eric breathed, and mouthed along Todd’s throat, delighting in the bristle of Todd’s stubble along his lips. He licked his skin and tasted the chlorinated water of the hot tub and the salt of the sea. “I can do that.”
Eric’s cock pressed against Todd’s hip; a fleshy love handle he fully planned on biting once he made his way down. Experimentally, he rutted against him as he tasted Todd’s skin, unwilling to move beyond his neck yet as Todd’s blunt fingernails scratched along his back.
Eric scooted down the bed and took his time moving from Todd’s throat to his chest. His mouth kept watering as he tasted Todd’s skin, and when he reached Todd’s nipples he moaned at the taste of the pebbly bit of flesh against his tongue and between his teeth as he bit gently. Todd moaned and Eric chuckled, grinning against his chest.
“I like it when you make noise,” Eric whispered. He grasped Todd’s hip and squeezed. “When you move. When you let me know it feels good.”
“I’m not very good at um... pretending otherwise. Oh, Jesus..”
Eric buried his nose in Todd’s chest hair and chuckled against him. Todd said, “Are you going to…?”
He didn’t finish his sentence, but Eric guessed what he meant and didn’t say yes. He only moved his way down, lost in the wonderland of Todd’s body and the groans and whimpers he elicited until he reached the erection waiting for him between two meaty, pale thighs.
Eric couldn’t help but smirk as he took Todd in hand. He raised his head and watched Todd throw his head back, biting his bottom lip, his eyes shut as if the anticipation of what was to come would alone drive him mad. Eric thumbed the head of Todd’s cock and licked and kissed it, teasingly, watching Todd tremble.
“Sit up a little,” Eric said, and nudged Todd’s legs until he raised his knees, giving Eric greater access. Eric rewarded him with tongue kisses to the inside of his thighs. He bit into the flesh as he stroked Todd’s cock and then fondled his balls, tracking the way Todd sighed or gasped.
