12. Chapter Twelve
Chapter Twelve
Zach
Zach marveled at how relaxed and comfortable and safe he felt, lying there in Drew’s arms, tucked into the crook of his shoulder like the spot had been made just for him. After they’d gotten cleaned up and decided just boxer briefs was enough clothing for the rest of the night, they’d had a quick snack from their leftovers and then crawled back into bed with the intent of trying to actually pick a movie this time.
But all Zach wanted to do was hold Drew, be in his arms with his leg slung over Drew’s leg and his fingers drawing lazy patterns on Drew’s chest. It seemed like Drew was pretty content with this plan too. With his ear against Drew’s chest, Zach could hear Drew’s heartbeat, and maybe he was just being fanciful or couldn’t really hear his own rhythm so well, but it sounded like, felt like their hearts were beating in unison.
Fanciful. Surely, it was just fanciful. But god, he couldn’t explain why or how he felt so close, so connected, so one with Drew. It didn’t make sense, but he was insanely grateful for it, whatever magical force this was.
“What are you thinking about?” Drew asked softly, his fingers caressing Zach’s forearm and trailing farther up to his bicep.
Zach buried his grin in Drew’s chest, shaking his head slightly .
Drew chuckled lightly and turned his head toward Zach, hooking a finger under his chin and encouraging him to tilt his head up. Those gorgeous eyes looked at Zach with such joyfulness and affection he was pretty sure his heart stuttered. “I wanna know,” Drew murmured.
Zach grinned again, sure that his cheeks were pinking up, and he let out a small huff of laughter against Drew’s chest. “I was thinking about how our hearts seem to be beating as one but oh my god that’s so corny and you’re totally going to laugh at me.”
Drew’s chuckle this time was louder, his chest jostling under Zach’s cheek, and the sound and motion somehow reverberated and ping-ponged wonderfully around inside Zach’s chest.
“See?” Zach said, glancing up with a playful pout but tightening his embrace around Drew. “Laughing.”
“Do I lose points for laughing?” Drew teased, his hand coming back up to Zach’s face, his fingers drawing lightly over Zach’s cheek and stubbled jaw.
Zach gave a breathy chuckle, his heart racing at Drew’s touch. “Hmm, maybe?”
“Can I earn them back?”
Zach nodded against Drew’s chest, and his pulse kicked up another notch as though his heart knew what was coming next.
Drew’s fingers paused on Zach’s chin, his eyes dropping to Zach’s lips for a moment before looking back into Zach’s eyes. Zach’s breath quickened too, and he titled his head just slightly, stretching up even as Drew slowly dipped down closer.
A breath escaped Zach’s mouth, and Drew seemed to capture it in the same instant he captured Zach’s lips. The kiss was warm and soft, and Zach could feel his heart racing again, probably still in time with Drew’s. Eventually, even though it was much too soon, Drew pulled back, his fingers dancing at Zach’s jawline again .
“How many points was that?” Drew asked, his eyes twinkling with mischief as they met Zach’s.
Zach huffed out a laugh. “Oh god, like a million?”
Drew’s head fell back as he laughed again, but then he quickly returned to staring into Zach’s eyes. “I feel like that’s a lot, but I never did find out how many points I lost, what the point scale is, the earning rate, and whether there’s a cap on earnings, or spending for that matter. Is there a place to spend them?”
“Are you talking lawyer to me? Because it’s kinda fucking sexy.”
Drew shook his head, grinning. “Not really... I think lawyer talk would involve more... briefs.”
Zach bit his lower lip, trying not to smile. “Ah, yeah, we don’t want that. Far too many briefs in this bed to start with.” He wiggled his hips against Drew’s to emphasize his point.
Drew’s laughter was loud and bright, shaking both of them lightly, and Zach decided right then that he always wanted to make Drew laugh—the way it made his heart feel inside his chest was too amazing.
“Ten points for the effort,” Drew said with a mostly straight face.
Zach buried his face into Drew’s chest, laughing hard, and when he finally came up for air, he tried his best to look admonishing. “First of all, only ten points? Really? And second of all, I’m not sure I agree with your point system!”
“Ah, but remember you haven’t given me all of this information. I have not been, ah”—Drew cleared his throat, maybe to disguise a laugh—“ briefed on the rules.”
Zach tried to groan and laugh at the same time, smacking Drew lightly on the arm. “That was bad. Good, but really bad.”
“You know, I think my strategy here is to just take context clues and run with them, try and earn as many points as possible, and then I won’t have to worry?” Drew reasoned, amusement woven into his voice along with a measure of huskiness that set Zach’s heart racing all over again.
“What if there’s a cap on earnings?” Zach teased, his voice suddenly thready.
The look in Drew’s eyes was somehow playful and smoldering at the same time, causing heat to spread through every nerve in Zach’s body. Drew held Zach’s gaze as he shifted, pushing against Zach until he was on his back with Drew on top of him and one knee wedged between Zach’s legs. And an instant later, Drew’s lips were on Zach’s neck, drawing wet, open-mouthed kisses along his skin.
They’d been talking about something, but now Zach couldn’t convince himself to care or even try to remember what. And when Drew’s hips pressed down into Zach, he closed his eyes and pushed his head back into the pillow, groaning with pleasure as all his blood rushed south and he felt Drew’s arousal already hard against his thigh. “Damn, that—that feels so good... Ahh, Drew!”
There was heat everywhere, heat and tingling, and fuck, it was amazing, feeling Drew’s body hot and half-naked against his own. But god, this was so much more than just arousal and desire. Somehow, he felt connected to Drew on this whole other level, something deeper and more profound that touched part of his soul.
As Drew’s lips explored and loved at every inch of his neck and chest, Zach let his hands smooth over the muscular planes of Drew’s back. The fire within him was spreading, burning hotter with every moment, but this arousal—everything with Drew so far—was unlike any arousal he’d experienced before. There was this underlying sense of comfort woven into the zip and tingle of every touch and word and caress .
“God... Drew... what you do to me...” he rasped, almost breathless, his fingers pressing into Drew’s backside now, trying to pull him closer. “I’m so fucking hard. I... god, I need you.”
Zach whimpered as Drew sucked at one hard nipple and then the other, nipping gently and then soothing, the whole pattern driving Zach even more wild with desire. But a sudden need pulled at him from deep in his chest, and he moved his hands up to Drew’s face, tugging gently as his own whimpering continued. “Drew... baby, please...”
Drew looked up, his eyes intoxicatingly clouded with the haze of want. Zach tugged again, and then Drew was on his lips, their mouths almost clashing together with every breathless kiss. When they next came up for air, Drew panted, then kissed him soundly one more time before moving down swiftly, his hands trailing fire along their path on Zach’s body.
“Wh-what—what are you...?” God, Zach could hardly talk, let alone think. All he knew was that Drew’s hands were like fucking magic everywhere they touched, and then they were tugging on Zach’s boxer briefs and freeing his already painfully hard erection from its confines. He let out a breath that might have been a groan, the relief only temporary before the flare of desire came right back.
Now naked again before his lover, Zach fought for breath and some semblance of sanity. He’d been about to say something or ask something, but oh god, he couldn’t think. And when he felt the warm, wet heat of Drew’s mouth on his rock-hard shaft, all thought fled and was replaced with pure pleasure.
“Ohhh . . . oh god . . . ahh, so good . . .”
Drew’s hand replaced his mouth and started long strokes, and then his tongue was hot against Zach’s slit, licking up the precum and then swirling around Zach’s crown. Fuck, he’d never felt anything so good. He moaned again, loudly this time, and when Drew’s other hand came up to cup and gently squeeze Zach’s balls just as Drew took all of Zach’s dick in his mouth again, Zach almost came right then.
He needed... needed... God, he needed more of Drew. Zach reached a hand down, his breathing growing more and more erratic. And Drew seemed to just know, his hand moving from Zach’s sac up to intertwine their fingers as he continued sucking Zach’s shaft.
Zach squeezed Drew’s hand, holding tight because his heart felt about to burst out of his chest. Everything started tingling. Every nerve in his body was electrified, and then he was exploding, every deep pull from his balls pumping out his seed as Drew swallowed again and again.
Zach felt like he was floating, or maybe he was sinking into the mattress, not a single bone left in his body to hold him up. But Drew’s hand anchored him to reality—that, and the feel of Drew’s lips against his skin. Drew fluttered soft kisses along Zach’s body—across his hip, his stomach and chest, his shoulder and neck—until he reached Zach’s mouth and captured it in a slow, simmering kiss.
When Zach managed to open his eyes, Drew’s were right there, deep and blue and endless, and Drew was lying on his side, so close to Zach that he couldn’t quite figure out where he started and Drew began.
For a moment, all he could do was get lost in Drew’s eyes, even though he desperately needed another kiss. He managed to gather the energy to shift onto his side so he could face Drew more fully. Then he brought his hand up, splaying it out on Drew’s chest. Zach was utterly spent, his muscles weak, but oh god, his heart was so full, especially with the way Drew was looking at him... as though Zach was the most precious thing he’d ever seen.
“All the points,” Zach whispered. “You can have all the points in the world. ”
The beginnings of a smile twitched at the corners of Drew’s mouth, but Zach could tell by the sheen of fresh tears and the depth of emotion in his eyes that Drew must be feeling something deeper too.
While part of him wanted to stay like this forever, Zach knew by the insistent hardness pressing into his hip that Drew needed release too. And Zach wanted nothing more than to be the one to make Drew feel the same way he had.