CHAPTER 17
Cole was relieved that Gabe didn’t ask why he needed to feel safe. That was something he couldn’t tell him—or anyone—ever.
Sitting on the bed again beside Cole, his back to the headboard with their shoulders touching, Gabe took Cole’s hand and threaded their fingers. “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Gabe looked at him and smiled.
Cole shrugged, laughing softly. “I don’t know.”
“When you were a kid, was there something you thought you might want to do?”
Cole’s smile wavered. “I never really thought about the future.” I was too busy just trying to survive the present. He hadn’t thought he would have a future.
“Yeah,” Gabe sighed. “I didn’t think much about the future either when I was a kid. After my parents died, I ran away from the foster home they stuck me in and lived on the streets.” He chuffed. “Not a lot of time to think about the future when you’re just trying to survive day to day.”
Cole understood about surviving day to day, too well.
“What do you want to do with your life now?” Gabe asked. “Any thoughts?”
“Not really.” Even after running away, he still only thought about life in the present tense, living moment to moment, afraid to build a new life—scared he hadn’t really escaped.
Until now. Sitting on the bed beside Gabe, holding his hand, feeling safe…
it finally seemed like the nightmare was over, buried deep in the past, dead forever.
“I didn’t either,” Gabe admitted. “Until I came to the Phoenix. As soon as I walked through the doors, I knew I was home. It was like that euphoria you get after being away from home for a long time, then coming back.” He smiled.
“I mean, I guess. I never really experienced it before, but I imagine it was the same kind of feeling.” He looked at Cole. “Does that make any sense?”
“Yeah,” Cole murmured. “I kind of…” He swallowed. “… felt the same thing yesterday, when I walked into the club. I’d never experienced it before, either.” Cole’s childhood home wasn’t a place that sparked euphoria or comfort, and he never wanted to go back.
“That’s what I want to do,” Gabe said.
“What?”
“Run a club, like the Phoenix. Maybe even manage the Phoenix someday.” His blue eyes lit up with the prospect. “That would be cool. Or own my own club.” He bumped Cole’s shoulder. “Since you have no plans, you could do it with me.”
“Me?” Cole laughed. “I don’t know anything about running a club.”
“Neither do I,” Gabe grinned. “Yet. But Max could teach us. He’s pretty cool. He encourages his boys to chase their dreams. I think the Phoenix was his dream; he seems to truly love it, like it’s a part of him.”
“Max isn’t that old, is he?” Cole asked. “Early thirties? How did he start a club like the Phoenix? Seems like it would’ve been pretty expensive. Does he have a lot of money?”
“Now,” Gabe said. “I don’t know about before.” He shrugged. “Maybe he has friends in high places who invested in his dream.”
Cole nodded.
“So?” Gabe nudged him again, grinning. “What do you say? Want to be my partner?”
Cole just stared at him.
Gabe laughed. “Business partner.”
“You’ve barely known me for twenty-four hours,” Cole chuckled. “And you already want to go into business with me? Isn’t that risky?”
Gabe raised one eyebrow, a smirk twisting his lips as his gaze dropped to Cole’s mouth.
“I told you before...” He leaned in, his warm breath ghosting across Cole’s skin before their lips met, soft and electric.
“...I’m a risk-taker.” He captured Cole’s lower lip between his own, the gentle suction sending a shiver down his spine as Gabe’s fingers traced a feather-light path along his jawline.
“I thought you were, too...” His voice dropped to a husky whisper that vibrated against Cole’s mouth. “...or were you fibbing again?”
It was sometimes difficult to know whether Gabe was joking, but looking into his baby-blue eyes now, he believed the man was dead serious. He was really ready to take a chance on Cole with something big. Cole couldn’t begin to describe how… necessary… that made him feel.
Cole kissed him back, pushing into it with hungry intent.
His tongue traced the seam of Gabe’s lips before slipping inside, tasting the lingering flavor of mint toothpaste and something uniquely Gabe that made his groin tighten.
Their bodies shifted closer, thighs pressing together as Cole’s fingers found the warm skin of Gabe’s lower stomach, teasing the quivering flesh just above his growing erection.
“I wasn’t fibbing,” he panted, his breath hot and damp against Gabe’s mouth, pupils dilated with desire.
“I think I would love to be your... partner.”
Gabe’s lips curved into a grin against Cole’s mouth before he nipped at his lower lip, drawing a soft gasp from him. “Awesome,” he whispered, voice rough with want as his hand slid possessively up Cole’s thigh. “We have us a plan, baby.”
A full-body tremor rippled through Cole when Gabe slid his hand further up his warm thigh and wrapped his strong fingers around his cock.
Gabe sucked his tongue, stroking the velvety appendage sensually as his fist slid along the length of Cole’s erect dick in a matching rhythm.
Gabe shivered with delight at the feel of the member hardening against his palm, the thin layer of skin stretching taut and slipping against the thick muscle beneath.
Cole trembled again, pushing his shaft through Gabe’s fist, and slid his hands up Gabe’s neck, his fingers sinking into his hair. Soft, whimpering moans collected in Cole’s throat as his body pressed closer to Gabe, wanting him. Gabe wanted him, too—so fucking bad. Wanted all of him.
“Cole…” Gabe groaned as he tugged the man’s warm, wet tongue, sucking it against the top of his mouth. His hard cock rubbed along Cole’s thigh muscle, his hips pushing forward as he slid his leg across Cole’s.
Regaining possession of his tongue, Cole moaned, “Yes,” into Gabe’s mouth, thrusting his cock desperately through Gabe’s squeezing, stroking hand. “Take me… fuck me.”
Gabe was ready to take him right then and there, then—he’s a virgin.
You can’t just dive in. Despite the heat building inside him, the idea of being Cole’s “first” gave him a charge like nothing else ever had.
He felt the excitement all the way down to his toes, causing them to curl against the cool sheets.
Leaning back slightly, Gabe’s lips parted from Cole’s with a wetness that allowed the flavor of the man’s kiss to linger. “Any chance…” he panted in a whisper, “… you have lube… or condoms?”
Cole sighed as his head sank back against the headboard. “No. I, uh… I haven’t needed them.”
Gabe smiled, kissing his throat. “I’m okay with that,” he moaned, gently sucking his sensitive skin.
“But we do need them.” He straightened, sitting up.
“Will it kill the mood if I make a quick dash to the store?” Gabe dipped forward again and kissed Cole on the mouth.
“And I do mean quick. I’ll be the Flash. ”
Cole chuckled and pressed his palms to Gabe’s cheeks, kissing his lips. “Nothing could kill my mood right now.”
The heat of desire in his gray eyes fueled the hunger inside Gabe, causing his cock to jump and drool. “Or mine,” he groaned. “Though I might look conspicuous walking into the store with a massive stiffy.” He laughed.
Cole laughed too. “Well, even without the stiffy, the lube and condoms would give away your dirty plans for tonight.”
“True.” Gabe kissed him again, finding it difficult to pull away.
He finally managed to break contact, a hard groan escaping him.
“I better go now, or I won’t make it.” He crawled out of bed before the heat of Cole’s body, the hunger in his eyes, and his touch trapped him beneath the sheets. “Be back in a flash.”
Cole lay trembling on the bed, his erection painfully stiff beneath the blankets, Gabe’s phantom fist still squeezing the shaft. He wanted to grab himself, stroke away the tension, but knew if he started, he wouldn’t stop. And he didn’t want to cum without Gabe.
Please be quick, he thought as a quiet agony settled in.
He closed his eyes, resting back against the pillows, and tried to clear his mind.
Instead, his head exploded with vivid images from earlier of the two of them “fucking” wildly, almost frenzied, on top of the bed.
His erection stretched and throbbed, and his balls tightened painfully.
Oh fuck, Gabe—hurry!
Cole’s silent pleas were answered in what felt like minutes when Gabe returned.
Maybe he really was the Flash. Hurried footsteps came down the hall.
As Gabe entered the bedroom, he tossed the small bag onto the bed.
Before it landed next to Cole, Gabe was already out of his shirt.
His pants came off next, flung to a nondescript corner of the room.
His erection remained as stiff as when he’d left.
Cole’s eyes locked on Gabe’s swaying cock as he walked to the bed.
Cole shoved aside the paper bag and crawled forward, the sheet and blankets falling away from his nude form, exposing his own intense hunger.
When Gabe slid one knee onto the mattress, Cole grabbed his dick and began to lick it like a sweet treat. And indeed—it was.
“Fuck, baby,” Gabe shuddered and groaned.
His palm slid down the center of Cole’s back as Cole perched on hands and knees before him, lathering his tongue all over his cock.
“Uuummm!” Gabe ran a finger between Cole’s ass cheeks, rimming his hole.
Cole’s hips jerked slightly, and he opened his mouth, sucking the head of Gabe’s dick.
“Shit…” Gabe flinched and cupped the back of Cole’s head with his free hand, gently nudging his cock deeper into his mouth.
Cole welcomed him in, savoring the weight and heat as Gabe’s length glided past his lips and over his tongue.
When the swollen crown pressed against the back of his throat, he felt his jaw stretch to accommodate.
A vibrating moan escaped him, the sensation traveling through Gabe’s flesh as Cole drew back slowly to the tip, applied firm pressure with his lips, then enveloped him completely once more.
After Eric, he hadn’t thought he’d love sucking cock so much, but he couldn’t get enough of Gabe’s dick.
A shaky breath escaped Gabe as both his hands found their way into Cole’s silky hair, lightly gripping his head, tense fingers pressing into his warm scalp as Gabe rolled his hips with increasing urgency.
The swollen tip of his cock bumped the back of Cole’s throat with a hypnotic rhythm that matched Gabe’s ragged breathing, dribbling tangy precum down his throat.
Cole whimpered and sucked harder, his tongue flat against the sensitive underside as he tugged on Gabe’s thick, veiny dick with his whole mouth, cheeks hollowing with suction, glistening saliva wetting his reddened lips and dripping down his chin in pearly strands.
“Holy fuck…” Gabe gasped, his thighs trembling, hips pumping unevenly.
“Fuck, baby, you do that so goddamn good.” His fingers tangled in Cole’s short, blond strands, heavy pants puffing out of him.
“I didn’t want to cum… before we fucked…
” he groaned. “But I think… if I don’t… I won’t last two minutes… inside you.”
Cole’s pace quickened, his lips stretched taut around Gabe’s thickness.
The symphony of slick sounds, desperate moans, and ragged breathing filled the room as Gabe’s pleasure built to its peak.
Cole felt his own need throb in response, hovering dangerously close to release as Gabe’s body tensed above him.
When Cole reached for his own throbbing dick, Gabe stopped him.
“No…” Gabe clenched his jaw, huffing between his teeth as he teetered on the brink of orgasm. “Don’t cum… I want you hard as a rock… when I fuck you.” Gabe’s hips suddenly jerked, and he let out an animal grunt as he emptied himself in hot pulses down Cole’s throat. “FFFuuuck… Huh! God… yes…”
Cole swallowed, his throat bobbing as he downed each shot. As Gabe’s cock deflated a little, allowing more room in Cole’s mouth, he clamped more tightly onto his shaft and sucked harder.
A fierce shudder swept through Gabe as he swore sharply and clutched Cole’s head as Cole pulled his full member into his mouth, held it, and suckled the pulsing muscle until it ran dry.
“Uuhh… huuhh… uuhhh…” Gabe gasped, chest heaving. His skin glistened with a sheen of sweat, a light flush warming his face and neck.
Cole sat back as the man’s spent cock slipped from his mouth, shiny with Cole’s saliva.
Cole wiped the wetness from his mouth and chin, his lips throbbing and feeling slightly swollen.
A lingering ache settled in his jaw, but not unpleasantly so.
He was starting to love the after-effects of sucking Gabe.
“Fuck, Cole…” Gabe grabbed his face and crushed his reddened lips, thrusting his tongue inside his mouth. Both men groaned. Cole squeezed his waist and rose up, pushing harder into the kiss.
“Please fuck me now,” Cole whimpered, panting into his mouth. “I want you inside me, Gabe… I want you so bad…”
Gabe pushed him down on his back against the pillows and hovered over him, the heat of his body like a warm blanket settling onto Cole’s sensitive skin. He kissed Cole again, less fierce, softer. “You have me,” Gabe whispered.