Chapter Four
Kade
Iread the truth on Tanner’s face as he hopped into my SUV. Something Nita had said or done upset him.
Well, it could’ve been Cam, I supposed, but he’d disappeared into the backyard with Dad, so that left Mom and Nita. Since my mother didn’t have it in her, that left my bratty sister.
She’s not a brat. That’s cruel.
Well, nosy, then. Something told me she wouldn’t be any happier with Tanner and me getting together than Cam was.
Are we getting together? Hooking up? Will we have sex?
My cock stirred. I drew in a deep breath as I pulled out onto the street. “What happened?”
“Rohit’s moving in with Nita.”
“Ouch.” I signaled a left turn that would take us out of the subdivision and onto Cedar Street. “You’ve been roommates for what—”
“Ten years.”
“Christ, that’s a long time.”
“I know.”
I chanced a glance at him as we sat at the red light. “You’re going to need a place to stay.”
“Yeah.”
“Any leads?”
He scoffed. “I’ve known for what, ten seconds? No, I don’t have offers of people coming out of the woodwork to give me a room.”
“You know…I have a second bedroom in my condo.”
“That you use as a gaming room-slash-office.”
He had a point. Still. “I can move that stuff into storage. We can set up a bed for you. It’ll be a single.”
“It won’t fit.”
“How do you know? Hey, why don’t you come to my place right now, and we can take measurements?” Even as I drove south down Cedar Street, the plan coalesced. “Really, Tanner, we can make this work.”
Fifteen minutes later, as we stood in my second bedroom, I read the doubt on his face with the little furrow in his brow.
“I suppose we could fit a single bed.” He held his arms out.
“Look, I can donate that huge desk. And I don’t need a treadmill at home. We have plenty at the office—”
He held up his hand. “I don’t want you to rearrange your life for me. I can find another place.”
I snagged his hand. “Maybe you can. But chances are, you’ll be paying way more money than I’d ever charge you. And I know you’re saving up for your own place.”
His gaze caught mine.
“Seriously, Tanner, do you think there’s anything about you that I don’t know? You’re my sister’s best friend. You’ve been in my life for almost twenty-five years.”
“You don’t know everything.”
He said the words quietly, and I caught the wistful expression.
I snagged his chin and tipped it toward me. “Okay, I admit I didn’t see what was right in front of me. I don’t know what got switched on last night, but I finally saw you for the man you are, not as Nita’s friend.” I wasn’t going to say as the little brother I’d always considered you. “And maybe I was out of line for kissing—”
When he lunged at me, I was caught off guard. He pushed me against the wall, pressed his body to mine, and dragged me down for a kiss.
Since we’d had the consent discussion last night, and because I definitely consented, I dove in wholeheartedly. I thrust my tongue into the recesses of his mouth, demanding submission. I pressed my hands against the wall, rubbing myself against him.
He reacted.
I reacted.
Our cocks brushed and, even through the cotton of our shorts, I couldn’t help but feel his heat. “My bed. Please.”
He met my gaze, his eyes a little glazed. “Yes, please.”
I snagged his hand and led him away from the office. My bedroom was…the chaotic mess it tended to be. But then I’d never had someone to share it with. Had never had a reason to keep it clean—unless I knew my mother was coming over. Those times, I always remembered to hide the sex toys as well.
Tanner stopped at the foot of my bed. He pulled his lower lip through his teeth. “I’ve never…”
“Yeah, I suspected.” I met his gaze. “Do you think you want to top or—”
“Yes, that. Please. If you don’t mind.”
“Oh, sweetheart, that’s how I prefer it.” Nothing in the world made me happier than when a guy was nailing my prostate. I snagged his T-shirt. “Let’s get you naked.”
“And you?” His eyes brightened. “Because a bathing suit is sexy, but—”
I pressed my lips to his.
He cupped my cheeks as he enthusiastically reciprocated. His kiss was unschooled, but I didn’t care. We could work on finesse.
Practice.
We had all the time in the world.
Because I wasn’t ever prepared to let him go.
And yeah, that should’ve felt weird. Yet, as I tugged his T-shirt off him, the rightness of this settled. This was my Tanner. I knew so much about him and was eager to figure out the rest.
He snagged the edge of my T-shirt and yanked it off me. Then he reached for my zipper.
I let him. Usually I was the aggressor, but I wanted him to take this at his speed. Whatever he wanted, I’d give it to him.
He lowered my zipper, then gently shoved my pants and underwear down. Carefully, he took me in hand and squeezed.
I moaned. “Yeah, sweetheart.”
His chuckle amused me.
“You know, I’m not a complete virgin.”
I cocked my head.
“I might’ve given a couple of blow jobs to cadets from RMC.”
“See, I knew it.” My eyes narrowed. “Does Cam know?”
His eyes went comically wide. “Uh, Nita doesn’t even know.”
“And have you ever been on the receiving end?”
He shook his head.
“Well, we’ll just have to rectify that.” I unzipped his shorts and pulled them down along with his boxer briefs. “How about you lie on my bed?” Before he could answer, I pivoted to the bed, grabbed the pile of clothes, and hauled it over the far side. “Laundry later. I promise the sheets are clean.”
“I wouldn’t care, Kade.” He laughed. “I’m naked. With the man I’ve loved for about fifteen years. You think I care about clean sheets?”
His words halted me. “That long?”
He tried to shrug.
I stood before him, and grabbed his cheeks. “I’m sorry, Tanner, that I didn’t see.”
“But you see now.” He blinked. “And maybe before wouldn’t have been the right time. Now, though…”
“Yeah.” I snagged his hand and guided him to the bed, saying a thank you to the laundry gods that I’d done a load three days ago.
He lay in the middle and I proceeded to give him the first blow job he’d ever received.
The blissed-out look on his face assured me I’d done okay.
He wanted to reciprocate, but I wanted this moment to be about him.
We had all the time in the world. So we napped and talked and ordered pizza for dinner.
The thread of nervousness through him was taut, but I wouldn’t let him relax. A touch here, an innuendo there…all building to the inevitable climax. In other words, I edged and teased the shit out of him.
Sadistic bastard.
Yeah, but I was edging myself at the same time, as I’d yet to come.
After dinner, I led him to my bedroom. Well, what we’d agreed would be our bedroom. Somewhere between the second and third slices of pizza, I’d convinced him that he just had to move in.
I eased Tanner out of the bathrobe I’d loaned him. Then I slid out of the pajama pants I’d put on for propriety’s sake when the pizza guy delivered. He’d seen me in all states of disrepair over the years.
Naked, I coaxed Tanner into bed.
This time, I lay in the center. I handed him a condom. “Do you—”
He smacked my chest. “I do know some things.”
“Great.” I snagged the lube. “I suggest you watch because it really turns me on when guys do this to me.” I coated two fingers, opened my legs, and began to work my fingers inside.
Tanner rocked back on his heels while kneeling, clearly entranced. “And I can…”
“You bet.”
“Cool.” A little smile crept across his face. “And I’ll be able to find your prostate?”
Even as he said the words, I tapped mine. My cock perked. “Oh, yeah, you can do this.”
He licked his lips at the sight of a drop of precum.
I grinned. “Condom. We need to have you home before midnight.” Even though tomorrow was Saturday, we’d agreed we’d sit Nita down together before he spent the night. I’d thought she might go to Rohit’s tonight, but Nita’d texted that he was at the house. I tried to convince Tanner that was a good reason for a sleepover, but I couldn’t quite get him to agree. Oh well, by next weekend, he’d be living here permanently.
Dextrously, he slid the condom on, even if his hands shook a bit.
“Add a bit of lube.”
He slathered it on his cock. Then he put the bottle on the nightstand. Finally, he returned to his spot between my legs.
I reached out to guide him.
His hesitancy was clear, but I couldn’t miss the eagerness in his eyes as our gazes met. “Just go slow. I’ll tell you to slow down, if I need to.”
“Right.” And, as promised, he slowly pressed into me.
I took in every nuance of emotion crossing his face. Wonder. Joy. Curiosity. Caring.
In return, I gently urged him to push in farther. “I can take it, sweetheart.”
At my words, he pushed all the way in. When he bottomed out, I pressed my lips to his. “Now, fuck me.”
He did. Not as rough as I liked it, but he did a damn good job. His diligence paid off and, as I neared my orgasm, I grasped my cock in my hand and jerked myself to the rhythm he set.
I erupted, spurting cum over my hand, with some of it landing on his chest.
In return, he thrust three more times before stilling. His eyes drifted shut as he held himself rigid above me.
Then, all at once, he collapsed on me.
As I held him for the longest time, I knew I’d found my heart.