Chapter Six #2
“Cheyanne Davenport. Pagebound Media.” When he didn’t say anything further, she pressed on more insistently. “Readers have been waiting eighteen months for the next installment of the popular Marshall Kane series. Can you tell us why the delay and when we can expect to see future novels?”
Computing the name to memory, he offered a genuine smile as he slid into the back of the SUV. “No comment. ”
Reporters pressed against the back window when he closed the door, still shouting questions at him. A few of them even ran along beside the SUV when Ryder pulled away from the curb, but they fell away quickly, leaving them in blissful silence.
“I’m sorry,” Cameron muttered as they slowed to a stop at a red light. “I shouldn’t have said that.” A lock of chocolate-brown hair flopped over his brow when he hung his head. “I shouldn’t have said anything .”
“Maybe.” Talon would certainly agree. “I don’t need you to fight my battles, sweetheart.”
Cameron winced. “I know. I really am sorry. It’s just that—”
“With that said,” Asher cut in, speaking over him.
“Thank you.” He chuckled when Cameron snapped his head up to stare at him.
“I’ve been writing for a while.” As he spoke, he reached out, brushing the loose hair back from Cameron’s face.
“In all this time, I don’t think anyone has ever believed in me like you do. ”
“That’s not—”
“Not Luke,” he interrupted again, his smile growing wider when Cameron huffed. “Not Becca. Certainly not my publisher.” That tight feeling in his throat was back, and there was a flutter in his chest. Not uncomfortable but definitely noticeable. “It means a lot, Cameron.”
“I didn’t say anything that wasn’t true.”
Jesus, the guy was killing him .
“Don’t you see?” Taking both of Cameron’s hands, he brought them to his lips to brush soft kisses over the knuckles. “That’s why it means something. You didn’t do it because you thought it would help, or because that’s what they wanted to hear. You said those things because you believe them.”
Cameron stared up at him, his brow creased, and his head tilted a little to the side.
He looked adorably confused, and truthfully, Asher couldn’t blame him.
He could describe every subtle nuance of his characters’ emotions in painstaking detail, but when it came to his own feelings, words always failed him.
Then again, he’d never felt like this before he’d met Cameron. He couldn’t say exactly what the feeling was, only that it was warm and weightless.
And foreign.
And slightly terrifying.
Which was why it was probably best not to say anything else on the matter until he figured out exactly what the hell was happening to him.
Reaching out, he hooked a hand around the back of Cameron’s neck and pulled him into a blistering tangle of lips and tongues. Cameron offered no protest, sinking into the contact with a happy sigh that went straight to Asher’s dick.
Asher groaned, tilting Cameron’s head back to deepen the kiss. It probably made him an asshole, and it definitely made him a coward, but kissing Cameron felt like a much better idea than talking about his feelings.
~
An hour later, Cameron lounged back in Asher’s hot tub as he went over everything that had happened during the evening.
He really shouldn’t have said anything outside of the restaurant. In his defense, he hadn’t planned it. Honestly, he hadn’t even known he was going to say anything until the words were already spilling out of his mouth.
The entire point of the outing—no pun intended—had been to address the rumors that Asher was gay. Cameron had known the question of how that information might affect book sales would come up at some point. He had thought he’d been prepared for it.
Sinking deeper into the heated water, he tilted his head back and stared up at the clear, inky sky with a sigh.
When that reporter had suggested that Asher’s sexuality might negatively impact his work, he’d just kind of snapped. While he’d meant every word he’d said, he also realized his opinion on the topic might be slightly biased…and incredibly na?ve.
In a perfect world, it wouldn’t matter if Asher liked men or women. Who he chose to take to his bed wouldn’t influence book sales or the path of his career. His work would be judged on merit, and no one would care about anything else.
They didn’t live in a perfect world, though, and there would always be people who cared. It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t even logical, but that was the reality they lived in…and Cameron hated it.
“Stop it,” Asher muttered, leaning over to prod Cameron in the forehead with two fingers. “Whatever is going on in that head of yours, just stop it.”
Frowning, Cameron pushed his hand away. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You’re still thinking about what happened at the restaurant.”
It would be childish to deny it, as well as a total lie. Cameron said nothing.
“Cam, let it go. You didn’t do anything wrong, and even if you had, there’s nothing you can do about it now.”
He was right, of course, which didn’t help at all. Cameron wasn’t the type of person to just let it go . “They’re going to take what I said and twist it into something horrible.”
“Probably.”
“It’s going to be all over the internet by morning.”
Asher shrugged. “If it’s not already.”
Groaning, Cameron sank lower, sliding off the built-in bench until every inch of him was submerged.
The skin that had been exposed to the chill of the night air stung as the heated water churned around him.
The roar of the jets battered his eardrums, blocking out everything else, and the recessed lights cast hues of blue and purple across his closed eyelids.
For one fleeting moment, nothing else existed, but it couldn’t last. Even if he could have held his breath forever, hiding wouldn’t change anything.
“Are you okay now?” Asher asked when he resurfaced with a gasp.
Sliding back onto the bench, Cameron wiped the water from his eyes and pushed his dripping hair back from his face. “Not really.” He would be, though. He had no other choice. “Do you think we’re doing the right thing by staying quiet?”
“We’re not staying quiet. That was the whole point of tonight.”
“Yeah, I know, but we didn’t even answer any questions about the trial, or what happened when you were a kid. I mean—” He shrugged defeatedly. “—did it really do any good?”
“Talon said—”
“I know what Talon said.” Sliding closer, Cameron stared up at him, searching his face for any clue as to what he was feeling. When Asher met his gaze, he said, “I’m asking what you think.”
To his credit, Asher didn’t answer right away. He didn’t give Cameron one of his signature, roguish smiles or some flippant, witty comeback. In fact, he looked just as lost as Cameron felt.
“I don’t know,” he answered after what felt like an eternity.
“I don’t know if we’re doing the right thing, because I don’t even know what the right thing is.
” His voice was calm, even, but a world of pain shimmered in his eyes, darkening the bright amber.
“I don’t know anything right now, which is why I have to trust that Talon does. ”
The part of Cameron that needed control and order wanted an immediate solution.
He wanted a clear course of action with logical steps and concise rules.
A list of pros and cons would be a bonus.
Yet, in their current situation, normal protocols didn’t seem to apply, and no matter how he tried to rationalize it, nothing made sense.
“Yeah, okay,” he relented, cuddling into Asher’s side and burying his face against his neck. “I guess you’re right. I just hate it.”
“I know you do, Cam.” Asher shifted around, pulling him more securely into his arms, and began stroking his hair. “I hate it, too.”
They fell silent after that, and though Cameron did his best to quiet his restless mind, uneasy thoughts kept intruding on the moment.
He worried about what the blogs and articles would say about him, about Asher.
He wondered if he’d done more damage than good by speaking his mind.
He quietly raged at Landon Dwyer and Kyle Anders for starting the whole mess in the first place, and he contemplated how much longer the madness would last.
“You’re still thinking about it, aren’t you?” A hint of amusement tinted Asher’s sleepy voice.
He winced. “Sorry.”
“Mmm,” Asher hummed as he skimmed his fingers down Cameron’s spine. “Maybe you need a distraction.”
From the wandering hands on his body to the naked cock swelling against his hip, Cameron didn’t need to buy a vowel to know exactly the kind of distraction Asher meant. He played along anyway.
“Oh? What did you have in mind? Maybe trivia? Or a board game?” He sat up and tilted his head. “Do you even have board games?”
Strong arms wrapped around his middle, lifting him easily out of the water and sliding him across Asher’s thighs. “Cameron?”
He couldn’t help but laugh at the disgruntled look on Asher’s face. “Yes?”
Long fingers tangled in his wet hair as Asher pulled him close, holding him still so that their lips were barely a breath apart. “Shut up and kiss me.”
~
Cameron was obsessing.
It wasn’t surprising, but Asher hated seeing the anxiety in his eyes.
If left to his own devices, Cameron would make himself sick worrying about every little detail, imagining all the ways it could have gone differently.
If the online articles did indeed twist his words and try to use them to paint a negative picture, he’d blame himself, and there wasn’t a damn thing Asher could do about it.
He could, however, offer a distraction, a few moments of pleasure to quiet his racing mind.
Clenching his fist, holding more tightly to Cameron’s hair, he slanted their mouths together, plunging his tongue between those soft, plump lips. He swallowed down Cameron’s gasp and delved deeper, attacking his mouth in a brutal kiss that had them both groaning and panting for breath.
As he licked and nibbled at his lips, he insinuated a hand between them and fisted Cameron’s rigid cock beneath the water. Cameron groaned, jerked out of the kiss and squeezing his eyes closed.
“No,” Asher growled. Releasing the damp locks, he slid his hand along the curve of Cameron’s throat and urged his head up by pressing a thumb to his chin. “Look at me.”
Their eyes met, held, and the world faded away as Cameron thrust his hips forward, pushing his thick length through Asher’s grip.
“That’s it,” Asher praised, stroking him in quick glides from base to tip. “I’ve got you, Cam. Just let go.”
Asher’s own cock hardened painfully, throbbing and aching, but this wasn’t about him. Pushing aside his own desires, he focused on Cameron, enjoying the way his creamy skin flushed a beautiful shade of pink that started in his cheeks and spread down his neck.
Soft hands came up to rest on his shoulders in an almost tentative touch as Cameron rocked his hips, fucking into Asher’s fist. Every breath rushed from his kiss-swollen lips, faster, shallower, but he wasn’t there yet.
Asher could see it in the tightness that still lingered around his eyes, a narrowing that had nothing to do with pleasure.
He stroked him harder, almost roughly, pushing Cameron closer to the edge until quiet, needy moans poured from his mouth.
Adjusting on the bench, he parted his legs, spreading Cameron’s thighs wider in the process.
He arched into him, capturing his lips in another blistering kiss as he slid a hand down Cameron’s crease to tap at his puckered entrance.
The reaction was immediate. Cameron moaned into his mouth and bucked his hips, his thrusts erratic and uncoordinated, making the water churn around them. Asher circled the tight muscles, stroking and teasing but never entering as he brushed his thumb across the slit of Cameron’s cock.
Cameron writhed, his body coiled tight and vibrating with need. Wrenching his mouth away from Asher’s, he threw his head back, his face tipped up to the stars. His fingertips bit into Asher’s shoulders as he thrust harder, finding a rhythm he liked and grinding against him .
“Look at me,” Asher said, repeating his earlier order. He wanted Cameron’s eyes on him.
Cameron groaned and lowered his head.
“That’s right. Look right here at me, sweetheart.” Asher groaned, his cock throbbing more insistently at the expression on Cameron’s face.
Lips wet and swollen. Eyes glassy and hooded. Pupils blown. His skin flushed with desire.
God, he was fucking gorgeous.
“Come for me,” Asher bit out, twisting his wrist around the head of Cameron’s cock. “Let go of everything and come for me.”
He lowered his head, bringing his mouth to the side of Cameron’s neck and scraped his teeth down the sensitive skin. Not hard enough to leave a mark, but enough for him to feel it.
Cameron shuddered as every muscle in his body tensed. A loud moan burst from his lips, and he thrust twice more, spilling creamy ropes of semen into the clear water. Asher continued to stroke him, massaging the rigid shaft until Cameron let out a shaky sigh and collapsed against his chest.
“Jesus,” Cameron panted a moment later. “I think my brain just leaked out of my dick.”
Asher grinned and pressed a kiss to his forehead as he drew languid lines up and down Cameron’s back with his fingertips. His cock ached, still hard and swollen, but he was perfectly content to sit there and hold Cameron until the sun broke over the horizon.
He’d never been a selfless lover. Sure, he’d given his share of blowjobs, but always with the expectation of receiving something in return. A guy’s ass or his mouth, Asher hadn’t been picky as long as he got off in the end.
With Cameron, everything was different. Asher liked bringing him pleasure.
He craved every moan and whimper, felt a rush every time Cameron called his name.
Watching Cameron fall over the edge, knowing he’d put that look of bliss on his face, filled him with a deep satisfaction he’d never experienced from club hookups and one-night stands.
Cameron snuggled closer, his head resting on Asher’s shoulder. The movement positioned his ass right over Asher’s erection so that the hard length slid along his crease. Cameron chuckled.
“Need a hand with that?”
“I’m good.” He tightened his arms around Cameron’s back when he tried to sit up. “I don’t want to move yet, though.”
“Asher?”
“Really,” he promised. “I’m okay. Just stay here with me for a little while longer.”
Cameron relaxed against him again, his cheek rubbing over Asher’s shoulder as he nodded. “Okay. I can do that. ”
Asher didn’t want to go back to reality. He didn’t want to worry about reporters or headlines or rumors. He didn’t want to think about his past or contemplate what the future would bring.
He just wanted to stay right there, suspended in that moment with Cameron, forever.