Chapter 11
Tristan
I’d purposefully waited for the weekend to attempt to remove the paint from the concrete driveway, having sprayed chemical stripper over the slanderous word in hopes it would be easier to scrub away.
Plus, it had been forecast to be the last warm day before the cold really hit, so I figured it would be an ideal opportunity to get some warmth to my joints before the year ended.
The day flew by. It didn’t take long until I was drenched in sweat and every muscle in my body ached, but I ignored the warning signs, keen to get as much paint removed as possible.
When the sun reached its peak, and I couldn’t take the heat any longer, I stripped my shirt off and flung it into my van to dry out.
With the final letter almost gone, I pushed on, knowing that my day tomorrow with the girls was going to be ruined. Maybe I could convince them to watch Christmas films all day with me so I could rest on the couch. That would be an easy sell, especially if I bribed them with candy.
“I see old McScroodge has finally got round to doing the place up,” a voice from behind me said, pulling my thoughts from what Christmas film the twins and I would start with.
Probably Elf.
Turning off the power scraper, I wiped the sweat off my brow as I spun, coming face to face with a guy I’d never seen before. “Yeah. Is there something I can help you with?”
His gaze traveled over my body, but not in a lecherous way, more out of curiosity, before he held his hand out.
“Oh, my apologies. I’m Gary. I live next door.
” I took his hand, giving him a curt nod.
“My wife and I have seen you here these past few days. Say, what’s McScroodge’s plans? Is he doing the place up to sell?”
Regardless of how much Ben irked me, I didn’t like how this dude was obviously trying to get information from me. Before I could release his hand and tell him to mind his own business, the car I’d ridden in last night turned into the driveway.
I couldn’t see Ben’s gaze hidden behind the tinted window, yet I knew he was watching me, or specifically, where Gary was clasping my hand.
As Ben pulled the car to a stop, I released Gary’s hand, the two of us watching with equally confused expressions as Ben slammed the door and thundered over to us.
“Mr. McScroodge, I was just saying to this young man how wonderful it is to see you doing the place up,” Gary said, looking nervously between Ben and me.
“A word with you. In private,” Ben snarled at me, ignoring Gary before storming off.
“Oh dear, I hope I haven’t gotten you into trouble,” Gary said, worry creasing his brow.
I shrugged, playing down the nerves vibrating under my skin. “Nah. I’m used to him. I’d best go and see what’s up, though. It was nice to meet you.”
Following in Ben’s wake as if I were walking to my execution, I shoved open the front door, finding him standing in the foyer with his hands on his hips and rage written all over his face.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” he growled, his gaze dropping to my shirtless torso before jumping back to meet mine.
“You keep asking me that. I’m clearing up my mess like you wanted me to.”
He closed the gap between us so we were chest to chest. The tie he usually wore with his suit was missing, and the top two buttons of his shirt were undone. His Adam’s apple bobbed before he spoke. “I’m not talking about that. I’m talking about you parading topless in front of my neighbors.”
Unlike the other day, there was no mistaking the jealousy in his tone, and unable to resist teasing him, I allowed my lips to lift into a mischievous smile. “Jealous of how hot my body is?”
His features contorted into disgust, but his eyes once again dropped down my body, landing on the tattoo that covered most of my chest. When his eyes met mine once more, heat blazed in them. “I’m not fucking jealous.”
His breath hitching gave me the confidence I needed to make my move. I didn’t think about the consequences if this backfired; all I knew was that I wanted to do this. “Oh, I get it now.”
“Get what?” he hissed at my widening grin.
“You like what you see. That explains why you were at the bar last night.” His jaw clenched, but no denial came, so I continued. “You wanted to see what my date looked like. See what your competition was.”
“You’re out of your goddamn mind, Bug,” he growled, making no attempt to put any space between us.
And still, there was no denial.
“Am I?” I asked, raising a brow. “See, I think I’m right on the money. You like me, you’re attracted to me, but you’re just too stubborn to do anything about it. So maybe I should.”
I didn’t give him a chance to respond. With my heart pumping adrenaline through my entire body, I leaned forward, crashing my mouth against his.
He froze on the spot, not pulling away, which I took as a sign to continue. I pressed my lips firmer against him, refraining from forcing his mouth open so I could slide my tongue into it, no matter how desperate I was to feel his tongue against mine.
I didn’t know how many seconds passed before he shoved me away, a mix of lust and fury lighting up his eyes. Wrapping a hand around my throat, he shoved me until my back collided with the front door, where he kept me pinned.
His shoulders heaved, but no words came as his gaze darted between mine. I wasn’t ready for this to be over, certain from the way he breathed that my making the first move had elicited something in him. I just needed to push a little harder.
Keeping my eyes firmly on his, I let my tongue dart out to swipe along my bottom lip. His gaze tracked the movement, and that was all it took for the final strands of his resolve to snap.
“Fuck it,” he growled.
Before I had a chance to prepare, he slammed his mouth against mine, the grip on my throat growing tighter. His tongue pressed against my lips, demanding entry, which I eagerly gave him, groaning when his tongue brushed against mine.
My hands flew to grip his shirt, blood rushing directly to my cock. I’d only ever been with two guys before: the guy I’d lost my virginity to, and my long-term boyfriend, who ended things two years ago. Neither kissed the way Ben did.
His teeth nipped at my lower lip before he sucked it into his mouth, the hand not holding my throat roaming over the planes of my chest and abs. My cock throbbed, and I couldn’t stop from rolling my hips against Ben, not at all surprised to feel his cock was as hard as mine.
My hands wanted to lower to rub against his erection, but I held back, letting him set the pace.
I didn’t know if he’d ever been with a guy or if this was some kind of awakening; either way, I wasn’t going to rush him.
While I’d always been comfortable with my sexuality, it took some guys time to accept it.
My ex struggled with it for most of our relationship, part of the reason why he was an ex.
But with the way Ben was claiming my mouth, along with his hand stroking over my pecs, it was taking all my resolve to hold back. Until he removed his hand from my throat and cupped my cock through my pants, the tenuous hold on my restraint frayed in a heartbeat.
“Fuck, that feels good,” I growled against his lips as he squeezed my length.
“Touch me,” he ordered between raw, desperate kisses.
I dropped my hand to his belt buckle, fiddling to undo it. “With fucking pleasure.”
He pulled his mouth away so he could watch as I unbuttoned his pants and lowered his zipper. His breath caught when I reached into his boxers and wrapped my hand around his length, grinning at discovering how damn big and hard he was.
“Fucking fuck,” he snarled, almost venomously.
“You like that, baby?”
His hand was back around my throat quicker than I could blink, squeezing it hard. “Don’t fucking call me that.”
I couldn’t help but smirk. I hadn’t meant to call him baby. I’d never used any terms of endearment on a guy before, but with Ben, it felt right.
Despite him almost cutting my air supply, I slammed my mouth against his again, parting his lips with my tongue, and the two of us fighting for control.
I wasn’t usually the dominant one in a relationship; I preferred to submit, but I would have been lying if I said there wasn’t something fucking hot about trying to battle for control with Ben.
Pulling his cock completely free from the confines of his pants, I began pumping my hand, his breath quickening. When I ran my thumb over the crown, swiping off the pre-cum gathering there, Ben growled, thrusting his cock against my palm.
He released my throat again, both hands dropping to my hips as if he didn’t know what to do with them.
“Take my cock out,” I demanded, roughly stroking his thick shaft, and desperate to feel his hand around me.
I waited for him to deny me, to suddenly come to his senses and pull away, but then his trembling fingers moved to unpop the button of my cargo pants.
The two of us paused our frantic kissing to look down, watching together as he released my cock from my pants and wrapped his hand around it tightly.
A flash of worry passed through his eyes as he copied my movements, our crowns knocking together with our hurried jerks. I flung my head back, my climax building. “Fuck, that’s it,” I encouraged, increasing my pace on his cock.
He followed my lead, and as his pace turned rougher and quicker, my balls began to tighten. It wouldn’t be long until I was going to come, and I had a feeling it was going to be one of the most explosive orgasms I’d ever had.
“Jesus fucking Christ,” Ben panted, capturing my mouth in yet another bruising kiss. “I’m going to come.”
“Me too, baby,” I replied, the word falling before I could stop it.
He didn’t seem to notice, though, lost in his own impending orgasm. With his grip almost becoming too much, tingles bolted down my spine, landing in my balls. I dropped my gaze in time to see hot spurts of come shoot from the tip of my cock, coating both our hands and his crown.
As if seeing my release was the final push he needed, he roared as he thrust into my hand, and thick white ropes erupted from him, his come mixing with mine, and fuck if that wasn’t the hottest thing I’d ever seen.
Like mine, his cock pulsed until he’d released every drop, and for several long seconds, we stood, covered in our come and panting as we tried to regain control over our breathing. Slowly, Ben lifted his head, his gaze meeting mine.
“That was…unexpected,” I said, grinning like a fucking madman.
My heart plummeted to the soles of my shoes at the storm brewing in his eyes. As if he’d just been zapped with bolts of electricity, he jumped back, ripping his hand from me.
“Fuck!” he bellowed, his booming cry reverberating around the foyer.
He quickly pulled his pants up, wiping his hands on the material as disgust colored his features.
“Hey-” I started, wanting to reassure him, but the murderous glare on his face silenced me.
A sneer twisted on his lips, hate filling his eyes. “Clear yourself up and get the fuck out of my house. You’re done here for the day.”
He spun as I tucked myself away. “Ben, wait.” Reluctantly, he turned back, the thunderclouds darkening in his gaze. “Do you want to talk about-”
“There’s nothing to talk about, and I swear, if you tell anyone about this, I’ll rip your tongue out with my bare hands.”
With that, he stormed away, his heavy footsteps echoing through the house until a door slammed somewhere.
Doing my best to ignore the hurt sinking into my bones, I headed in the opposite direction to where I knew there was a spare bathroom. As I washed our combined come off my hands, I couldn’t bring myself to look at my reflection in the mirror, afraid of what I would see staring back.