13. Saint
We reached San Julio as the sun came up the next morning. We found a restaurant and had breakfast, nothing but time to kill until check-in time at the hotel.
I got a text from Shiloah checking in when we were nearly done eating, and I wrote back with a quick update. I hesitated to tell him about the news from Eddie, but I couldn’t justify leaving it out.
A moment later the phone rang. “They think you’re doing what?” Shiloah’s deep voice was angrier than I’ve ever heard it.
I patted the air in front of me while Rio watched me. “Lee and the others are working on it,” I said placatingly.
Shiloah growled softly, and I heard another voice in the background. “I know, Jackson…” he murmured, then he blew out a harsh breath. “Michael, anything I can do to help, let me know. I’m serious, too, none of that ‘it’s not your responsibility’ crap. Let me be there for you.”
Shiloah’s tone went through me in a way I didn’t expect. I often said that when someone offered help. I’ve been on my own since I was a teenager, I rarely accepted help. I needed it now, though, and I had Rio and Shiloah both pleading with me to let them do what they could.
It was very strange.
“I appreciate it, Shiloah,” I said quietly. “I’ll ask if I need your help.”
“Thank you,”Shiloah said. I could hear genuine relief and gratitude in his voice. “Give them my card number for the room, okay? We don’t know how long this’ll take and I don’t want you to drain all of your savings.”
I didn’t like that, but he was right, we didn’t know how much longer this would take. I sighed and told him what hotel it was, and he said that later he would get the payment method changed.
After we hung up, I sighed so deeply that I felt like I was deflating when I let it all out.
“Okay?” Rio asked.
I hummed. “So much for independence,” I murmured and went back to drinking my coffee.
Rio didn’t answer, but his face said some things that I purposefully didn’t analyze.
***
We checked into the room at 11, and Rio admired the king-sized bed and leered at me, then set to unpacking. I chuckled and shook my head as I set to my own.
My phone rang again when we were nearly finished with the name of the clinic we had gone to on it, and I cut my eyes to Rio as I answered it. “Hello, may I speak to Michael Durand?”
“This is he,” I said.
“This is Nina at Sierra Clinic, getting back to you with those test results. Everything came back negative, and no further follow-ups are needed. Do you have any questions?”
“No, thank you. Thank you so much, good-bye.”
I hung up and pocketed my phone, then looked at Rio. He was organizing his socks and underwear, and it took him a minute to realize that I was staring at him. “Si?”
“Where’s your phone?” I asked.
Rio looked at me with a frown, opened his mouth to answer and was cut off by his phone beginning to ring. He looked at the display and smirked at me as he answered it. I listened to him have the same conversation I had just had, then watched him hang it up. I smiled at him, and got a look like a lion stalking prey in return.
“So, Saint Michael,” Rio said, standing up. His accent was suddenly much deeper. He crossed to me slowly, his eyes trailing over me. “Do you still want to play with me?”
His words send heat and fear through me in equal measure. I did want to play with him, even if the thought of giving up control also scared me. He was sweet and kind, and I trusted him – what a novel concept.
I swallowed and nodded. “I do,” I said, proud that my voice sounded nothing but confident.
“Good…” He reached me and ran his fingertips up the side of my neck, tilted my head, and kissed me. By the time he released me, I had fisted my hands in his shirt and had to lock my knees to keep from sinking down to them right there in front of him.
“I will take care of you,” Rio promised again. “Tell me, Sexy, do you want to submit to me? Do you want to let me take care of you? Do you want to be good?”
He purred ‘good’ against my lips and I moaned as a deep shudder wracked me. I nodded, swallowing. He kissed me again, holding me more firmly, then backed off a step. “Boundaries?”
“B– Boundaries?” I asked, a little dazed from the kiss.
“Si. For this scene, what is off limits?”
I blinked at him. He was taking control, nothing was off limits from him. I tilted my head and his lips pinched.
“Okay,” he said when it became clear that I wasn’t answering. “For this scene, no penetration, no impact play, and we use traffic lights. Green is keep going, yellow is wait while we reassess, and red is stop with no questions asked. Sound good?”
I nodded slowly, and he smiled. “Good. Now, let’s talk about what you would like… Would you like to be on your knees for me?”
I shivered. “Yes…”
“Would you like your hair pulled?”
I could feel my eyes go wide and I nodded.
“Would you like praise? Would you like me to tell you that you’re gorgeous and sexy and suck me like you were made for it?” Rio grinned as I whimpered. “I’ll take that as a yes? Green?”
“Green,” I confirmed. I was still nervous, but this scene sounded so good…
Rio kissed me more lightly, ran his hands down my torso, then shifted them to my wrists. “How do you feel about earning rewards?” he asked.
I felt my anxiety spike again, but I nodded. “I can.”
Rio studied me, then nodded. “All right. Your reward is being on your knees sucking me while I pull your hair and praise you, do you want that?”
I did want that. I nodded, watching him avidly to see what I would need to do to earn that.
“To earn it, you need to be good, and let me tease you for a little while. I want to play with your body, I want to listen to you get closer and closer slowly.” He slid one hand up to my pec and thumbed my nipple.
I didn’t know what I had expected him to want from me, but I did know that wasn’t it. I stared at him with wide eyes for a moment, then nodded. “Please… Sir?”
A lopsided grin came to Rio’s face. “Sir?”
I flushed. “Well…”
“I’m here for it,” he said, kissed me again, and then stripped off his shirt. “And what do you want to be called?”
I lowered my eyes. I didn’t have a strong preference for what I liked to be called, although there were a few things I didn’t like. There was one thing, though, that I thought I liked… “I liked it when you called me Sexy.”
He hummed and wrapped his arms around me. “You are sexy, and you’ll be even more sexy on your knees for me. You were fantastic when we did that before and that was with a condom.”
I shivered and smiled. “You liked it?”
“I did… But you’re wearing far too many clothes.”
I looked down at myself and then back at Rio’s muscular torso. “Yes, I am.”
***
“Put your hands under the pillow and keep them there,” Rio told me, tone commanding. I was naked now, mostly hard, and flat on my back in bed. Rio was wearing his underwear, deep blue boxer briefs that left nothing to the imagination.
I obeyed, toying with the material, watching him. My heart was still beating harder, definitely aroused but also nervous. Rio’s hands were always warm though somewhat rough-skinned. They were pleasant as they slid up my thighs, over my hip bones, and swept over my stomach. I watched him, my eyes darting between his hands and his face, while he watched his own hands sliding over my skin.
He spent some moments running his hands up and down, sometimes using his whole palm and other times just his fingers, glancing up at my face now and again. “Green?” he asked as he tightened his path closer and closer to my groin.
I nodded. “Green,” I said. I wanted to touch him too, this being still and letting him play was unusual for me. “You’re sure you don’t want me to do anything?”
Rio shook his head. “Nope. Be still and let me touch you.” I could see his eyes trailing down much the way his hands had. “You’re…” He stopped, clearly thinking. “Antsy? You’re sure this is green, right?” His tone clearly indicated that he would be displeased if I was less than truthful.
“It’s green and you’re right, I am antsy. I feel like I should be doing something for you.” I shifted but kept my hands under the pillow.
Rio hummed. “I understand… and you are doing something for me. All of you is doing something for me.” He grinned when my eyes flicked to his groin. “Si?” He thrust his hips forward a little, emphasizing his erection outlined in the dark material.
“Yes,” I almost hissed. I stretched a little and then relaxed into the mattress.
“Good. You’re very good, aren’t you?” he asked, dropping his voice to a rich purr. “You just want to behave and be rewarded, don’t you? Can you behave for me?” He ran his fingers lightly up the underside of my cock and I shivered from head to toe.
“Yes,” I answered. “Yes, Sir.”
He lay down next to me and kissed me, licking delicately until I let him in. He teased my mouth as his fingers teased up and down my length, and before long I was gripping the underside of the pillow. “You’re being very good, Sexy,” he praised, smiling into my eyes, his own deep, dark pools of warmth and approval. I had never been looked at like that by anyone in my life and in this moment I would have done whatever Rio asked of me.
I swallowed when he continued looking at me. “Thank you, Sir,” I said quietly. “I– is there anything else you’d like me to do?”
Rio shook his head. “No, just what you’re doing.” He bent to kiss me again and resumed the trailing palm. I wanted his hand back on my cock but I didn’t say it. I would be good and wait and earn my reward.
Rio kissed me until I was panting into his mouth, then shifted down lower and traced my nipples with his hot, wet tongue, my bitten-off gasp drawing a soft hum of delight from him. “Fuck, Sexy, you sound so good like that.” He lipped at the side closer to him, opened his mouth wider and bit my pec lightly, and finished with a strong suck that made me arch. His delight in my sounds was good because I couldn’t have been quiet if my life depended on it by the time he was finished.
“Green?” Rio asked me, raising his head.
“Green!” I agreed quickly. “Very green. Forest green.”
He chuckled. “Good. Adding to the list.”
I looked at him. “There’s a list?”
He used my hair to turn my head and bit that spot on my neck, sucked there, then looked at me pointedly. “There’s a list.”
I felt a drop of precome land on my belly and I shuddered. “Oh.”
Rio played with me until I was shivering, delicate tremors that I hadn’t experienced before. I was gripping the underside of the pillow, but I hadn’t moved my hands. He had praised me for that several times, his attention to the smallest movements intoxicating. I had almost come once as he played with my cock, sucking and tonguing around the head while he stroked the shaft, but at the last moment he had squeezed the base, staving it off. I had swallowed back my protest, but only barely, and he had slid up the bed beside me, wrapped his hand in my hair, and kissed me deeply. “So good for me, Sexy,” Rio purred. “You’re so fucking gorgeous. You’re doing so well.”
I gaped at him like a codfish and his smile and kiss were more than sexy, they were fond and sweet.
By the time he was palming himself, I was desperate. “Sexy…” he groaned. “Fuck I need your mouth now. Do you want your reward?”
I nodded eagerly but didn’t move my hands. I wouldn’t move my hands until he said I could. I had done well, I was getting a reward, and I wouldn’t spoil it this close to the end.
“How do you want to do it?” Rio asked.
I looked at him, mind racing as I swallowed again. I wasn’t fussed, although I did like the knees idea. I thought he wanted me to answer, but a small part of me was a bit hesitant.
Rio watched me as I thought about it, then glanced towards the edge of the bed. “Do you want to be on your knees?” he asked.
I nodded. “Yes, please…?”
Rio grabbed the pillow and dropped it down next to the bed and sat there, while I slithered off the bed and down onto it. He petted my hair and my eyes closed of their own accord. “You were so sexy while you let me play with you,” he praised quietly. He cradled my jaw, skimming his palms back to comb his fingers into the hair at the nape of my neck. He leaned forward and kissed me, his thumbs stroking the hinges of my jaw. “You did so well and I would love to do that to you again. Would you like that?”
I nodded. “Yes?” I glanced down at his erection. “But I also want to–” I palmed his bulge and he groaned.
“I definitely want that,” he agreed. “Show me what you can do, Sexy,” he ordered.
I grinned. “Want me to show off?” I asked and he laughed. “My pleasure.”
I gave Rio every trick I had and he heaped praise on me in return, pulling my hair just the way I liked it. As he got close, he tugged more sharply. “Hand or mouth?” He asked roughly.
I shook my head as much as I was able. I didn’t care about that yet, I wanted to finish him. I fondled his balls as I hollowed my cheeks and he cursed, then came. After he leaned over me, petting me while he caught his breath. “Do you want my hand or my mouth?” he asked again before he tilted my head up to kiss me.
I didn’t know. I had done well, I had been rewarded, and even if I was still hard I felt… good. I would be happy with whichever Rio chose, but I couldn’t tell him myself. He looked at me once he broke the kiss and smiled. “Deeper than I thought,” he murmured, hauled me up, and kissed me while he wrapped his hand around me.
My release took only a few strokes, and then Rio covered us. He had to have wiped his hand somewhere, but I wasn’t paying attention to that, because the next thing I knew he was cuddling me into his chest and I felt better than I think I ever had. “So good, so sexy, Michael,” he almost crooned.
I hummed softly and buried myself in his arms, wishing I could stay here forever.