Chapter 17
THE FOLLOWING morning, Lizzie must have decided to sleep in, because Forrest woke up alone next to Conrad. He slipped out of bed and dressed before going downstairs. He found things for breakfast and figured bacon would probably wake both Lizzie and Conrad… and he was right.
“Bacons…,” Lizzie said as she climbed into a chair, bright-eyed and expectant.
“Yes.” He made a piece of toast and got the eggs going. “I’ll give you some in a few minutes when it’s done.” Conrad joined them with his phone to his ear, talking to someone about something work-related. He was giving instructions and sounded frustrated but held up two fingers.
“That’s it. Just make that change and you should be good to go.” He waited a few minutes and smiled. “Excellent. Let me know if there are more issues, but you should be good.” He ended the call and sat down next to Lizzie.
Forrest finished the bacon and got Lizzie a few slices, then worked on more toast. It almost felt as though they were a family.
With his parents busy schedules, he had felt a little on his own for the past few years, and their deciding on a cruise over Christmas only made that more acute.
But Lizzie and Conrad made that disappear, and he was excited for the holiday.
He dished up plates for himself and Conrad and brought them to the table.
“What are the plans for today?”
“Lizzie is going to Gramma’s for a while because you and I have Christmas stuff to do,” Conrad said. Forrest wondered what he meant, but he ate his eggs and figured it was best if he went along with it.
Lizzie seemed happy enough, and after breakfast, Conrad got Lizzie dressed for outside and walked her over to his mom’s. By the time he returned, Forrest had the dishes done and turned to Conrad expectantly.
“I thought you and I could try to finish our work in the basement. Our submissions are due in January, so I figured we could see about getting it completed.”
“Sounds good.” Life in general seemed to have gotten in the way of their project. Well, that and the fact that their new relationship had shifted what time they had to other, more intimate things. “I’ve had some ideas that I thought we could try.”
“All right.” He took Forrest by the hand.
“Let’s get started.” Energy flowed off Conrad, and Forrest was drawn to that like a magnet.
He followed him down the stairs to their model, which now stood on the floor.
The legs, hips, and torso were done. Forrest had completed the desert reeds and plants that would allow the steadying connection from the hips to the base to blend in.
Those parts sat on another table, along with the rest of the accessory pieces they had finished.
“I have a few design ideas for the head, but I wanted to get your thoughts. He’s depicted in a number of ways, and I thought this one was the most interesting. ”
“I like it too, especially with the headpiece. It adds a lot of drama, but it’s going to add weight.”
“Yeah. So I was thinking, remember how we built that central column up the body for stability? We can use that to support the headdress. We’ll extend that to the top of the head. It will funnel the stress of the headpiece right to the base. Do you want to work on that while I finish the head?”
“Sure.” He got the bricks they’d need and built the support up to the base of the neck while Conrad put finishing touches on the crocodile head.
A couple of times they checked that everything was going to mesh up, and once Conrad was ready, they placed the head on the figure.
Then the two of them worked together to build the headdress, which extended to the shoulders and down the back, adding additional stability.
It looked danged cool and pretty intense.
The crocodile head was a deep green, which stood out against the black body.
Once they were done, they both stood back and Conrad gave Forrest a kiss, followed by a huge grin.
“This is awesome. It’s grand in scale and it looks right, especially with how we handled the head.
The headdress covers the change in color, so it looks perfect. ”
“Yeah, it’s great. Now for the arms,” Forrest said with a groan. “They are going to be tough.”
“Not really. One holds a staff, and the other will bend and rest against the hip.” He pulled up a picture on the internet. “Like this. He’ll be holding something, so it gives the hand a purpose, but it will also make it stable.”
“Damn, you’re good,” Forrest said, and Conrad looked at him with banked heat that sent warmth spreading through him.
WHO WOULD have thought that working on a Lego model would be sexy, but the hours they spent together were like extended foreplay.
They had to build the arms at the same time for balance, so their fingers touched a lot, and every time they did, the heat between them flared a little more, building slowly until Forrest found it hard to think.
When he dropped a dish of bricks to the floor, he groaned and bent over to pick them up.
His back was covered in warmth as Conrad’s arms slid around him. “I love that view.”
Forrest stilled. “You do?”
“Yeah. You have the backside of a god.” Slowly Forrest straightened up, and Conrad continued holding him. “Maybe we’ve done enough for today.”
Forrest turned in Conrad’s arms. “Maybe you’re right.
The arms and crown are going to take a while, as are the hands, so we may as well start fresh the next time.
” He drew Conrad close. “So what exactly do you have in mind for the rest of this day? Lizzie is away, and we have the house to ourselves.”
Conrad crooned softly in his ear. “You know, we could… I don’t know… play Clue? Maybe watch Mulan for the eighteenth time…?”
Forrest chuckled. “Or we could go upstairs and I could drive you out of your mind before I strip you naked, slick up your tight little hole, and slide right inside you.” He had never been much for dirty talk, but Conrad quivered in his embrace, and damn, he found himself taking Conrad by the hand, leading him to the stairs, and up to his bedroom.
He closed the door, probably out of habit, but didn’t stop to think about it.
Kissing Conrad hard, he tugged off his shirt and opened his pants, shedding Conrad’s clothes as fast as he possibly could.
He needed him, and it seemed by the way Conrad’s hands shook as he pulled off Forrest’s shirt, that the feeling was very much mutual.
“I want you,” Conrad whispered, and Forrest lifted him off his feet and propelled him onto the mattress. Then he stripped off the rest of his clothes, stepped out of his pants, and climbed onto the bed.
“I want you too. I want to be inside you, to feel you around me. I want to touch your heart so you know without a doubt how I feel.” Forrest rolled Conrad over, spread his bubble butt cheeks, and ran his finger over his opening, teasing the skin around it.
“Forrest,” Conrad groaned.
“Do you have stuff?” Forrest asked, and Conrad pointed to the nightstand. Forrest fumbled in the drawer but found a bottle of slick. He squeezed some on his fingers and slid inside Conrad while he kissed his way up his back. “You are so beautiful.”
“I—” Conrad began to say but groaned instead, arching his back. “Forrest.”
“Say my name again. Tell me how you feel.” The deep, guttural groan told him all he needed to know. Forrest loved how Conrad could send a ripple of desire coursing through him with just a single sound.
“Forrest,” he said again, deep, rich, filled with passion. “Don’t make me wait.”
He groaned and found a condom, rolling it on as Conrad lay face up on the bed. He raised his legs, bringing them to his chest, and kissed him, tasting those sweet lips as he slowly sank into him.
Fuck, the heat, the pressure—all of it made is mind swim with joy. And it was so much more than mere sex. He could feel Conrad’s heart, take in his breath, and watch as his soul opened to him through his deep eyes. “Is this okay?”
Conrad nodded and gasped, holding him tightly. “Don’t stop.”
“I’m not going to. I’ll never stop loving you.
” Everything had gotten so tangled up together that the one couldn’t be separated from the other.
The physical sensation, his love for Conrad, all of it was so wrapped together that he couldn’t separate them if he tried.
Not that he wanted to. Bring with Conrad was like touching heaven, and he so wanted that, over and over again.
They moved together, slowly at first, but that changed quickly.
Each time he sank into Conrad was like coming home.
He held him tightly, instinct and a wave of pure emotion driving him.
This was what he wanted and what he needed.
This was what had been missing from his life, and he wanted it to go on forever.
“Forrest,” Conrad whimpered. “Can’t last….”
“I know. I can feel it.” He kissed him and Conrad held his head in his hands, nipping back as he groaned into his lips, the release overpowering him. The sensation of Conrad coming on his cock was too much, and Forrest followed behind him with blinding flashes that sent him soaring.
HE DIDN’T want to move. Conrad lay in his arms without stirring, just quiet. Forrest was as content and happy as he could remember being. And the last thing he wanted was for it to change… at least for as long as possible.
“I think Mom is going to bring Lizzie home pretty soon,” Conrad said. “So we should probably get dressed.”
“Yeah. And I should probably go on home.”
“Do you have to go in to school tomorrow?” Conrad asked. “I’m off at the end of the week, but I need to go to the office tomorrow for part of the day. We’re closing at noon.”
“What do you all do on Christmas Eve?” Forrest asked.