Til Darkness Falls, page 23
“Did you like that?”
Brian tried to give him a dirty look, but it was all he could do to keep himself together. He let his head flop back onto the bed. “Fuck.”
Alrick’s smile was downright wicked. He rubbed the tender nub with his thumb until Brian moaned. When he was satisfied, he lowered his head and started in on its twin. Brian tried, he really did, but Alrick was too damn talented. As though he had all the time in the world, he licked and sucked at Brian’s chest, bringing him to the brink several times as he shifted from one throbbing nipple to the other. Brian felt himself approaching the point of no return, and when he felt the shock of sharp teeth closing carefully around his flesh, he lost it.
Shouting out phrases that would have made a sailor blush, Brian came hard and didn’t give a damn how loud he was being. Every sensation gathered low in his belly and then rushed out through his cock in pulsating waves. The brown rod of his arousal moved like it had a mind of its own, jerking as streams of white shot from the tip. And just when he thought he’d been turned completely inside out, a large hand wrapped around him and stroked, coaxing out a few last drops.
Brian collapsed on the bed, lying in a boneless heap, his stomach coated with the sticky remains of his release. He felt lightheaded, as though his brains had spurted out along with everything else. His heart thundered in his chest, its decibel level rivaled only by his rasping breaths. It was only when his body started to return to normal that he noticed the firm lips sucking gently at his spent member. And damn if it wasn’t showing signs of life.
“Alrick, I can’t,” he whimpered.
The sucking continuing, joined by a few tentative licks, as though the blond was testing to see if he was too sensitive. Brian swore he could feel the bumps of Alrick’s taste buds, but he never made more than that one token protest. It felt too good. The soft caresses continued, joined occasionally by the exhilarating scrape of Alrick’s teeth. Brian moaned as his thighs were nudged farther apart. The other man made himself comfortable, settling in to wait for Brian to catch back up.
It took less than twenty minutes before the blond’s patience paid off. Brian couldn’t help feeling like a bit of a stud. When was the last time he’d gotten hard again so quickly after coming? Whatever, he thought, throwing everything he knew about himself out of the window. Clearly the rules didn’t apply when a blond German god was taking your cock down his throat. Brian decided to just go with the flow, burying his hands into Alrick’s thick, close-cut hair as the other man bobbed tirelessly on his rapidly stiffening rod. His hips began to pump, keeping pace with the lips surrounding him in a tight ring. Brian cried out when a slick finger probed at his twitching entrance. Alrick hummed as pre-come dribbled from the tip Brian’s cock, coating his tongue. The vibration made Brian’s balls pull up against his body.
“You’d better fuck me in the next five seconds or I’m gonna shoot in your mouth.” Brian groaned as Alrick drew off his cock with one last, long suck. The bulbous tip slipped from between the blond’s lips with a loud pop.
“As tempting as that sounds, I’ll have to enjoy that another time.” Alrick opened the drawer to the small nightstand next to the bed. Reaching inside, he pulled out a foil packet. Brian guessed the other man had put them there along with the lube while he was in the shower.
God bless German efficiency.
Alrick held the foil in one hand and ripped it open with his teeth, his other hand busily keeping Brian rock hard. A growl rumbled in the blond’s throat as he rolled the latex over the purple head of his cock and down its impressive length. Brian reached up to grab Alrick’s shoulders and pulled him down until they were face-to-face. His lips curved as he reached down with the other hand and took hold of the German’s thick hardness. The blond gasped as much from Brian’s impishly naughty expression as from the feel of the firm strokes working his pulsing, latex-covered hardness.
“I’ll bet you could hammer nails with this thing.”
Alrick moaned into his neck. “I’d rather hammer you.”
Brian laughed huskily. “That was so cheesy.” He licked at Alrick’s lips before staring into his eyes. “So go ahead, then. Do it.”
Brian grabbed hold of the comforter as his legs were lifted and pressed against his chest. Alrick stared down at the exposed place begging for his attention, and with a look of regret, he dipped his head and ran the flat of his tongue over the brown pucker.
“Nnngg!” Brian cried out. “Alrick, please!”
“Another time, I swear, but not now. I’m at my limit.”
He slid his lubed cock into Brian’s body, the thickness stretching the clenching flesh with a sweet burn. The muscular ring sucked him in, unable to wait even for the first thrust. The German slipped into his native tongue as he forced his hips forward and buried his length in his lover’s heat. Brian lost the ability for coherent speech in any language as his ass was plowed and his ears were treated to a rumbling Teutonic caress.
They were both too close for it to last long. The bed began to creak, the frame put to the test by the male bodies moving frantically against each other. They were dripping with sweat, and the scent of arousal filled the air around them, flooding their senses and raising their lust to a feverish pitch. Mindlessly releasing the bedcover, Brian grabbed Alrick’s shoulders, holding on for dear life. His legs wrapped around the other man’s hips as he pulled him as close as the laws of physics allowed.
“Ah, yeah. Faster!” Brian raised his hips in time with the blond’s downward thrusts. “Shit, fuck me,” he urged, modesty failing in the face of uncontrollable need. “Unng, I said harder!”
Answering his lover’s demands, Alrick let out a dark sound of pleasure as, after a few more powerful thrusts, he released his pent-up desire. Brian followed swiftly, his passion uncontained as it poured between them, coating their stomachs for a second time. A shared groan filled the room, and then there was as silence as they collapsed against each other.
The first thing Brian felt after the tremors subsided was the deliciously warm weight pressing him into the bed. The second was the sweat soaked blanket against his back and the stickiness gluing them together. “Eww. What in the hell are we going to tell the cleaning lady?”
A tired chuckle vibrated against his chest. “That we are enjoying our vacation very much.”
Brian let out a sharp sound of amusement. “Come on, blondie. I don’t fancy spending the night with my legs hanging off the edge of the bed.” After a few minutes of exhausted effort, they righted themselves. Alrick pulled Brian close to him as he settled into his preferred position for sleeping.
“Shouldn’t we take a shower?” Brian asked.
“Umm, later.” The blond’s words were slightly slurred, and a second later he was gone, his long, pale lashes resting motionlessly against his cheeks.
What am I, a teddy bear? Brian barely had the chance to wonder why the thought made him want to smile before he joined the other man in sleep.
ALRICK woke reluctantly as a shaft of sunlight penetrated the uncovered transom above the window, hitting him in the face. He groaned, turning his head away so that the beam landed on his pillow instead. His chin brushed against a textured softness, and he looked down at a mass of curly, dark brown hair. Brian was still asleep, his cheek pillowed against Alrick’s shoulder.
Smiling wistfully at the sound of his gentle snores, Alrick brushed his thumb lightly over Brian’s slack lower lip. I could get used to this. His smile faded as he reached up slowly, careful not to disturb his companion, and ran his fingers lightly through the messy brown mop. Brian’s hair was remarkable, the curls looser than other men he’d known of African descent, but still not completely overcome by whatever other blood he carried. Everything about Brian was beautiful, from his gorgeous eyes to the importance of his chosen career.
Alrick stifled a sigh as the thought of Brian’s job threatened to darken the brilliance of the morning. Possible solutions to this irreconcilable situation spun around in his head, each one less viable than the last. Brian was a man who upheld the law, and he had spent over half a decade breaking it. What future could they possibly have together? Nevertheless, Alrick wanted one desperately. He had never met anyone like Brian, had never felt so strongly for another person, and it had happened almost effortlessly, despite his innate caution. Meeting Brian had been the first good thing to happen in his life in a very long time.
Repeating the movement of his thumb, he gazed fondly at the glistening surface. Even Brian’s tendency to drool was fascinating. He shook his head, both amused and frightened by just how far gone he was. Alrick suddenly wished that he were someone else.
“Ummnnn.” Brian turned his face into Alrick’s shoulder, rubbing his face against the firm swell of muscles and leaving a trail of drool in his wake.
Alrick chuckled as his skin was coated with wetness. “Are you finally awake, or do you plan to stay in bed all day?”
A single hazel-green eye opened and peered up at him. “Would that be a bad thing?”
Alrick sucked in a sharp breath when the hand that had been resting on his midriff started venturing down toward more promising territory. Brian had just taken him into a teasingly loose grip when a loud gurgling growl ruined the mood.
“Perhaps I should feed you first?” Alrick bit his lip to keep back the laughter that was trying to escape.
Utterly embarrassed by the noisy demands of his stomach, Brian rolled his eyes in a show of nonchalance. His feigned brashness did nothing to lessen the redness in his face. “Hey, I haven’t eaten since lunch yesterday.”
Brian sat up and stretched with a pleasurable moan. As he watched the display of golden brown skin shifting over sinew and muscle, Alrick began to rethink his idea about leaving the bed to get food. They could always see if room service was available. But Brian had already thrown back the covers and was getting to his feet. The new view sought to destroy any willingness Alrick might have had to leave their bed let alone the room. Brian glanced back at him, his blush deepening as his gaze met smoldering blue.
Alrick felt his cock harden beneath the sheets as Brian’s bashful smile hit him right in the gut.
“Race you to the shower!”
BREAKFAST was a leisurely affair. Mrs. O’Malley served food buffet style for several hours to accommodate the guests’ differing schedules. There were only three other couples staying at the small inn. One was a young married couple still caught up in the newness of marital bliss. They seemed incapable of keeping their hands to themselves for more than a minute at a time. The other two couples were pairs of women. The two college-aged girls were friends enjoying an early spring break, but the other couple had Brian trying not to stare and failing miserably.
He’d never seen a lesbian couple before outside of the club scene, but they were perfectly nice and perfectly normal. They also recognized that he and Alrick were more than just two friends enjoying the great outdoors. The brunette of the pair noticed his surreptitious glances as he filled his plate and shot him a knowing smile before turning back to her girlfriend. The redheaded one brushed a lock of hair away from the brunette’s face, the gesture one of familiar affection.
Brian wasn’t sure if he felt more reassured or just more self-conscious.
Full of Mrs. O’Malley’s hearty country spread, he and Alrick decided to see what lurked beyond of the walls of their room. Brian had brought a warm jacket, but he hardly needed it. It was shaping up to be a fine morning, just as Alrick had promised. Settling for a flannel shirt over his undershirt instead, he ignored the I-told-you-so grin that curved the German’s lips.
The inn was even more impressive in the daylight, resembling something out of a Brothers Grimm story, only without the hungry witches or talking animals. Just past the immediate clearing of trees around the building, the woods spread out as far as he could see. The city, with all of its grime and seediness, seemed a world away. Brian decided he could really come to love this place and wondered if Alrick would come here with him when the seasons changed.
It was the first time he’d dared think of the two of them in a future sense. Brian marveled at the changes being with Alrick had caused within him. Somehow, without even realizing it, he had become hopeful.
They chose a hiking path at random and headed out, meandering without a sense of destination or urgency. Many of the smaller mammals were still hibernating for the winter, but several species of birds kept them company while they walked.
Brian kicked his booted foot through a pile of dead leaves, enjoying the resulting crackle as he gazed up at the leafless canopy. “Do you know what all these trees are called? You seem to be quite the nature buff,” he said when the blond glanced at him questioningly.
Alrick chuckled. “Well, I wouldn’t go that far, but I’ve spent my fair share of time outdoors.”
His blue eyes seemed to shine as they took in the stunning winter scenery. Brian would never have thought that the woods could be so lovely with nothing around but bare branches and pine trees. But the towering trunks flaring outward into their bony protrusions held an undeniably harsh beauty. Not as beautiful as the tall man walking beside him, of course. It was as if the sunlight was making love to Alrick’s hair, striking sparks off the white blond strands. Not for the first time, Brian thought he looked like some Italian master’s version of an angel.
“So what’s that one?” Brian pointed to a tree off to his left.
“A pine tree.”
Brian cast an incredulous glare at his hiking partner. “Oh, ha ha. Yes, I know it’s a pine tree. What type of pine tree is it?”
Alrick’s smile was regretful. “I must confess, I am far less familiar with the flora here than I am with Germany’s. I didn’t come to America until I was an adult, and when I do, I’m generally far too busy to indulge in nature walks. In fact, this is the first time I’ve managed it.”
“So, we’re both babes in these woods, huh?” Brian laughed at his own joke, and the blond grinned before casting a curious gaze toward him.
“What about you? We’re only a few hours from the city, and you said that you grew up there. You can’t tell me you spent all of your childhood in the city limits. Your father never took you camping when you were a boy?”
The abrupt shift from companionable chatter to tense silence alerted Alrick that something was wrong. Brian kept his face downcast so the other man was unable to read his expression. Alrick reached out and took his hand, and after a few moments, he squeezed it in return, wanting to ease the concern that had darkened the blond’s expression.
“I wasn’t really close to my parents when I was growing up.” Brian kept his attention on the path just in front of his feet. He was silent for a long while after making the revealing statement. Alrick didn’t try to break the quiet, but eventually Brian felt compelled to continue.
“I was a teenager before I realized I was gay, but there must have been some hint even I wasn’t aware of. My father was always, I don’t know, sort of uncomfortable whenever he was around me, like there was something about me that bothered him.” Out of the corner of his eye, Brian saw Alrick frown, but the blond didn’t interrupt. “It wasn’t like I was some little nancy boy who hated sports. I still play a mean game of b-ball when I have the time.” He shook his head. “Maybe he just noticed that it wasn’t girls I checked out whenever we went someplace. I guess my dad had better gaydar than I did.”
“Did he confront you about it?”
Brian sighed. “Only when he couldn’t deny it anymore. My mom found my stash of porn mags beneath my mattress one day. Stupid place to hide them, right? She usually made me clean my room, but that one morning, I guess she’d gotten fed up with my laziness.”
“They didn’t take it well.” The remark wasn’t a question. Alrick tightened his grip on Brian’s hand sympathetically.
Brian figured the blond probably knew how it felt to be a young man coming to grips with the realization that he was different. “You might say that. They didn’t disown me or anything like that, but that was the day my father stopped pretending that he gave a damn about me.”
“I’m sure that’s not true.”
“It was bad enough that my mother would flinch whenever I tried to hug her after that. Like she was afraid I was infected with something that she might catch if I touched her.”
“Brian,” Alrick murmured.
“But my father pretended like I wasn’t there, like I was a ghost in my own home. I still find it hard to believe that my parents could be such bigots when they knew what it was like to feel discriminated against. It wasn’t like my grandparents were thrilled when my folks decided to get married. To this day, I’ve only met them a handful of times.” Brian gritted his teeth as the memory of his parents’ unreasonableness stung him anew. “If Dennis hadn’t been there for me back then, I honestly don’t know what I would have done.”
Alrick’s brow furrowed as his frown deepened. “And who is Dennis?”
Brian froze, realizing what he had let slip. He had never told anyone about Dennis except for Angela, and it had taken him years to share that pain with her. Every time he spoke of his friend, it was like giving him away at piece at a time. And when that last piece was gone, he would have nothing left.
They had stopped in the middle of the path. Alrick was watching him closely, blue eyes filled with that incongruous warmth that never failed to amaze him. He had shared more of himself with this man than he had with anyone else in his life. There were sides to him even his partner didn’t know about, but Brian felt that he could tell Alrick anything and that he would understand. Alrick had shown him that he could open his heart without fear of having it torn out and crushed. Brian looked up at Alrick in wonder as his anxiety began to fade.
He makes me feel safe.
“Dennis was my best friend when I was a kid. We grew up together, practically since we were in pre-school. We went all the way through to high school together, always in the same class, on the same sports teams. Not a day went by that Dennis wasn’t there.”
