Chapter 12 #2
Charles could get used to that throaty, desperate tone of voice.
“No. Never be embarrassed. It feels good to be wanted. I hadn’t expected anyone to feel that way about me again.
” That was a deep and private truth. He knew he would find company if he wanted it, but he never thought anyone would see him—look at him the way Ryder was looking at him—ever again.
“Oh, honey. You’re hot as hell.” Ryder stepped into his space, face lifted for another kiss.
He heard that, but there was more in Ryder’s eyes than heat. He could see it.
For a man who was used to being in a hurry, Ryder’s kisses were remarkably sweet. He savored it, tongue exploring, tangling with Ryder’s, tasting curiously.
Ryder’s hands were rough, callused, and they made his skin sing, his eyes rolling back in his head.
He grunted, the sound rumbling in his chest as he opened his jeans to give his cock more room, then took a step forward, backing Ryder past the couch and toward his bedroom in the suite.
He didn’t object to making love on a couch—or anywhere really—but not for a first time, and especially not this first time.
He wanted to be comfortable. He wanted Ryder to feel safe and cared for.
Not only that, but he needed to assure himself that Ryder understood how special this was.
He bent to remove his boots once they reached the bedroom and set them aside, then straightened up to slip out of his jeans. “Unfortunately, I’m not…prepared. I certainly didn’t have this in mind when we left the lake house.”
“No. I didn’t either, but we can make each other feel good in a bunch of different ways.” Ryder stroked his belly, petting him.
“No doubt.” He kicked his jeans aside and let Ryder get a look at him in his black boxer briefs. “You’ve proven yourself to be resourceful.”
“I am a smart dog. Trust me.” Ryder winked up at him, licking his lips and wetting them.
That was an invitation he was looking forward to accepting. He kissed those lips again and lifted Ryder to set him on the bed. Ryder was smaller, but all muscle, and more solid than he’d expected.
“Mmm…strong.” Ryder rubbed their noses together, then nipped his bottom lip.
“You too.” He reached for Ryder’s waistband and worked those green boxers down and off, then circled his fingers loosely around Ryder’s pretty cock.
Ryder spread, his lips parting on a soft little gasp. “Oh fuck…”
He took his time, learning the feel of Ryder’s hot skin, the length of the thick veins, and the weight of Ryder’s prick in his hand, feeling as if he’d never held another man’s cock before.
It had been that long.
“Beautiful. So lovely.”
“I—You have the warmest hands…” Ryder’s eyes rolled back in his head, and he felt the throbbing of Ryder’s cock, the flesh turgid and needy.
“Because I’m burning up over you, darling boy.” He slid out of his boxer briefs and climbed over Ryder, making sure their hips lined up and their cocks slid against each other. He couldn’t help his groan, it felt so good. Charles wanted Ryder every way he could have him.
Ryder’s hand wrapped around his hip, helping him move, dragging their bodies harder together.
He took another kiss, stealing Ryder’s breath as he rolled his hips, fascinated by this side of Ryder—so much need from a man who never asked for anything.
Ryder’s abs were hard as hell, the ridges on the flat belly fascinating as they bumped the tip of his prick.
He sucked at a little bud of a nipple and pinched it between his teeth enough to make it sting a little, testing, learning what Ryder was into. Ryder gasped, body stiffening, a wild little cry splitting the air.
Oh, that was lovely.
So lovely, in fact, he tried it again on Ryder’s other side, and this time the sound was softer, but Ryder couldn’t keep still. Charles braced a hand on one hip and held it down. “Easy, cowboy.”
And then he did it again.
One of Ryder’s hands found his head, tangling in his hair. “Fuck!”
He’d never heard his cowboy curse, not really. Ryder seemed so incredibly gentle…
So far Ryder had been feisty in bed, and to be honest, that combination worked for him. He could be a bit spicy sometimes, and he thought Ryder might just be up for it.
“Such a mouth on you,” he teased. “You like that, hm?” He wanted to hold the cowboy down, give him something to fight so he could feel all that strength working against him. He wanted more of those wild sounds. Mostly, he wanted inside Ryder. “I wish I’d come prepared for this.”
Ryder huffed out a sharp breath, shivering the slightest bit under him. “Me too. I—I didn’t even begin to think that this could be a thing.”
“Not in my wildest dreams.” Well, perhaps in his wildest dreams, but he didn’t plan to admit to that. He wasn’t exactly sure what this thing between them amounted to yet. Ryder wasn’t just anyone; there was something more at play and he was just beginning to get his head around it.
Right now he wanted out of his head though.
“We can improvise.” He caught Ryder’s gaze. He reached for the hand that was still in his hair curled his fingers around Ryder’s wrist, then got hold of the other wrist as well.
Ryder blinked at him, the expression sweet, hungry, and confused all at once, totally endearing. “I’m good at improvising, I think.”
“I’d imagine so, with only eight seconds to get it right.” He winked and kissed each wrist before moving them above Ryder’s head and holding them there as he rocked firmly, pressing their hips together.
“I—I can’t love on you like this…” Ryder grunted out the words even as he met Charles’s strength.
“I know.” And he’d graciously take no for an answer if he got one, or even anything like it, but Ryder’s cock pressed right up against his hip, and he didn’t think he’d hear much of that.
Ryder arched underneath him, those muscles lifting him, cock leaving wet kisses on his skin. That read very much like a yes to him.
Enough yes to make his eye cross. “Want you.” Desperately, in fact. He returned the effort, and they rocked together, hips grinding, meeting each other right in the middle of give and take.
Ryder rolled his eyes, feeding Charles a moan that fed his soul. That was pure need, hot and fierce and all for him.
He took another kiss, stealing more of Ryder’s breath, releasing those delicious lips just enough to say, “So close. Come on, cowboy. Don’t make me wait another second. I want to feel your heat on my skin.”
“Oh, fuck me. You’re pure fire.” The words came seconds before Ryder did.
He watched the confusion of pleasure and need cross Ryder’s face, and that surrender was so sweet. “You’re so lovely.” He let go of Ryder’s wrists so he could brace himself for a couple of final, wild thrusts and gasped as he shot, groaning through the release that his body had been begging for.
“So pretty.” Ryder stroked his hair as he murmured the words, gentle little compliments that helped ease him down.
“Mmm.” Charles kissed Ryder again, slow and deep, before settling along the cowboy’s side. “You have a little bit of a naughty streak, darling boy.”
“Mmm…only the littlest bit. Most of me is good as gold.”
He nodded, wanting to pull Ryder in and protect him, though from what he wasn’t sure. “You’ve been good to me, no question. Do you snuggle? I’d like to hold you.”
Ryder blinked hard, eyelashes flashing quick. “I hate sleeping alone, so yes, sir. I sure do.”
They needed to clean up, but he’d hold Ryder for a while, make sure his cowboy knew that what happening here was more than just the sex to him. “Come on, then.” He rolled away a little, giving Ryder room to snuggle in.
Ryder hummed and curled right into him, sighing softly against his throat. Oh, so sweet. The cowboy was a champion snuggler.
He tucked his arms around Ryder’s shoulders and hugged him close until he felt Ryder’s breathing even out, then he relaxed a bit just keeping his cowboy close.
Ryder melted, quiet and solid against him.
Was this really happening?
He let Ryder rest while he took it all in. Charles let his eyes close, but his mind was busy. They were consenting adults, and he didn’t mind what others thought, but this was more than sex. It was complicated and layered, and there would be so much to talk about when they woke up.