Chapter 22
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
GREG
I awakened slowly, my mind still foggy from sleep.
As my brain came more fully online, I noticed two things.
First, the bed was way more comfortable than my own.
Second, there was the warm body at my back and a strong arm across my waist. I was in Tony’s bed.
I had broken my own rule and stayed the night at Tony’s place.
The strangest thing was that I wasn’t panicking.
I found myself just…curious, wondering how it had happened.
I remembered the spectacular sex. I also remembered begging Tony to kiss me.
I felt my cheeks get hot. I had pushed him to break his own rule.
Well, didn’t that make me the biggest hypocrite ever?
What did this mean? I could admit to myself that this was the first time I’d felt comfortable waking up with a man in my bed in more than a decade.
Pushing that aside for a moment, I went over the rest of the evening in my mind.
After giving me a mind-blowing orgasm, Tony had practically collapsed on me after his own climax.
He’d wrapped his arms tightly around me and I’d returned the embrace with all my strength, despite the cooling cum between us.
The rest was a bit fuzzy. Exhaustion had hit me hard after days of stressful anticipation of the show. I had vague memories of a warm washcloth running over my abdomen while Tony murmured quiet words of comfort. Then I was under warm blankets, my head cushioned by the best pillow ever.
Now here I was lying safely cradled in Tony’s arms. Unlike in the past, I didn’t feel trapped or controlled. Instead, I felt safe. Protected. Cherished.
I heard Tony inhale deeply and his arm tightened around me. I sank into his embrace, aware that he likely expected me to bolt as soon as my eyes were open. But I didn’t want to, which was new for me.
“Good morning,” I said quietly.
His body stilled, and his voice was rough with sleep when he replied. “Good morning.”
I turned in his arms so we were facing each other in the dim morning light. “So that happened.”
The wariness in his expression hurt my heart. He’d never done anything to earn my mistrust. “Yeah,” he replied gruffly, “You pretty much passed out. You were asleep before I got the blankets on you.”
I ran my fingers through his tousled hair. “Thank you.” I kissed him lightly on the lips. “Thank you for taking care of me. I do remember some of it. I’m…not used to being cared for like that.”
“Well, that’s some bullshit right there,” he grumbled.
“I’m beginning to understand that.” I looked into his sleepy, dark eyes. “I don’t want to do this anymore.”
His body stiffened. “Oh. Okay. I’ll let you go.” His expression shuttered and he started to pull away.
It took a second to understand why he was reacting that way. When I did, I wanted to smack myself in the head. Jesus, I was bad with words. “No! That’s not what I meant.” I wrapped my arm around his waist. “Please don’t go.”
“Greg, you’re doing my head in. What do you mean?”
I took a deep breath. “I meant, I don’t want to keep doing just friends with benefits. I want something more.”
His body relaxed and he pulled me closer. “Like what?”
I let my body curve into his, loving the feel of his hairy legs entwined with mine. “Like maybe we can date. Spend more time together. Get to know each other better.”
“I don’t know,” he said. “I know lots of things about you already.” He sank his teeth into the juncture of my neck and shoulder. I let out a low groan as my back arched and my dick hardened. “I know you really, really like that.”
I shifted so our cocks were rubbing together. Tony moved until I was flat on my back and he was above me. I smiled at him. “I love having your weight on me.”
He looked surprised. He raised himself up on his elbows. “You do? Why didn’t you say so?”
I put both hands on his ass cheeks and ground my hips to get more friction. “Because I didn’t want to admit it to myself. I was afraid of what it meant.”
“And now?” he asked. “What’s changed?”
“I trust you,” I said simply. “All this time I’ve been keeping my distance, and you’ve been nothing but kind and patient. You honored every single boundary I set and never once pushed.” I slid my gaze away from his. “I was the one who pushed you.”
His brow furrowed in confusion. “What do you mean?”
“Last night, when I begged you to kiss me. I knew you hadn’t been kissing me on the lips because you were trying to keep it casual.” I looked away from him. “I’m really sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.”
Tony took hold of my chin and gently turned my head so he could look in my eyes. “And I could have said no. But I didn’t. I wanted it as much as you did.”
He pressed a soft kiss to my forehead, then lowered himself until our bodies were touching and our semi-hard cocks were aligned. “It seems to me you had a much better idea going before we started talking about all this serious stuff.”
I arched my back, trying to get some friction going. “Tony, please,” I gasped.
He wrapped his large hand around both our cocks, and a few tugs got us both to full hardness.
He settled himself between my legs and started stroking.
It was a little rough without lube, so I reached over and grabbed the bottle from the nightstand.
I flicked open the top and poured some into my palm.
Wrapping my lubed hand around our dicks, I joined Tony in the sensuous slide.
“Yeah, baby, that’s it,” he rasped. Our groans could probably be heard in the hallway.
We began thrusting, finding a matching rhythm. It felt so good that I knew I wouldn’t last long. Heat coiled in my groin and a familiar tingling began at the base of my spine. “Close,” I gasped.
“Same,” he ground out. I felt his cock get harder against mine.
His rhythm stuttered as he lowered his head to take my lips in a searing kiss.
A guttural groan rose from me as I arched up into him and found my release.
White-hot pleasure overtook me and jets of my cum splashed onto my stomach.
Tony’s body shuddered as he came moments later, adding to the mess on my belly.
Tony wrapped his arms around me and held me close, like he’d done the night before.
In the past, I would have been trying to wriggle out of his hold, but I didn’t want to.
Instead, I wanted to burrow into his embrace and stay there.
Unfortunately, the cooling cum between us was becoming increasingly more uncomfortable.
Tony raised his head. “Shower?”
“As long as we can shower together,” I replied.
His grin lit up his entire face. “I like that idea.”
He lifted his body off me and we shuffled into his ensuite.
Tony’s shower was amazing. More than big enough for two men, it had large rainfall showerheads mounted at both ends and a handheld massaging showerhead that had many very interesting uses.
Needless to say, the shower took a lot longer than usual.
When we went back into Tony’s bedroom, I saw that Tony had folded my clothes from last night and put them on a chair in the corner of the room. As much as I didn’t relish the idea of putting on the shirt I’d sweated in for two and a half hours the night before, there was nothing for it.
I headed for the chair, but Tony stopped me by drawing me into his arms. “I can give you a clean pair of sweats and a T-shirt to wear home. That way you don’t have to put dirty clothes on your nice, clean body.”
And now I wanted to dirty up my body again. I kissed him lightly on the lips and stepped back. I wanted to, but I couldn’t. It was after nine in the morning, and I had work to do. Tony had interviews to attend at his office. “Being a responsible adult sucks,” I muttered.
Tony snorted a laugh. “Truth.” He got the sweats and T-shirt from his dresser and pulled out a set for himself. “How about I make us some coffee before you go?”
“Sounds good to me,” I replied.
Once the coffee was brewed and poured, he leaned against the counter while I leaned against the kitchen table. He took a sip of his coffee and met my gaze. “So what does dating look like for you?”
I paused with my cup halfway to my mouth.
“That’s a good question. No one’s ever asked me that before.
” I paused and took a moment to enjoy the strong brew before I answered.
“I guess I want to spend time together, just the two of us. I like talking to you. I know some of the things we’ve done felt like dates.
” My mouth twisted in a grimace. “I feel bad about that. I wasn’t trying to mess with your head.
I think…” I shook my head. “No. I know I was in denial of how I really felt about you.”
“And now?” he asked quietly.
“And now I want to try. I trust you more than I’ve trusted anyone in a very long time.” My heart did a silly flip. “I think we could be good together.”
Tony set his mug down on the counter. Then he took mine and put it on the table. He folded me in his arms and kissed me. “I think so too, baby. Thank you for trusting me. Thank you for giving us a chance.”