Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
Ezra
Friday night, Rocky and I picked up Skylar and Scooter, then took a walk in a park they hadn’t been to yet. A couple months ago, I would have shot myself with an arrow rather than be a forty-year-old vet walking proudly with a man who had a tortoise on a leash.
But Skylar was so animated, his hands making sweeping arcs as he told me a funny, very involved story about the time he’d tried to bleach his own hair when he was seventeen. His eyes cut over to me all the time, as if he needed to check that I was still there and that I still looked entertained and engaged by what he was saying. Rocky was padding in watchful circles around us, pausing when his nose was near Scooter’s face to dip down as if they could communicate dog-mind to tortoise-mind if their eyes were locked.
It was exactly what I wanted. Someone who was interested in me, who didn’t mind carrying the burden of the conversation, doing something low-key with animals. Every double-take I got from someone who knew me when they saw Scooter—or the way Skylar casually ran an appreciative hand over my shoulder or the small of my back—didn’t even phase me. In fact, the only thing that could’ve made it better was if my kids were here.
Just for the walk.
I wanted Skylar all to myself once we were in private.
“…and then,” Skylar gasped as though he were listening to the story, not telling it, “Tiegan said that he was offended that I’d come alone to the party! As if I planned it!”
“All of your friends seem,” I started, then paused and hunted around quickly for a better way to finish than selfish or like dicks . “Very colorful. But maybe a tiny bit immature.”
Skylar’s bottom lip pushed out in a brief pout, but then he tipped his head and conceded, “They do sound that way when I tell stories, I guess. But a lot of our best stories are from when we were young and weren’t jaded by the cruel adult world yet. They seem much cooler than telling you more recent stories, which have a tinge of bitterness to them, you know, darling. At least they stopped being friends with my asshat ex-boyfriend, when you know we used to think we could all stay friends with everyone.”
“That’s fair,” I said. “I like hearing about your new friends from your bar trivia team.”
Beaming, he agreed, “I admit, I was worried I would never make friends here before I saw the trivia night flier at Killer Distiller and went over last week. But they’re so cool!”
I shook my head and then lunged at him, snagging him around the waist. Rocky barked with excitement and knocked us even closer together as Skylar laughed in his carefree way.
Looking down at Skylar, I felt a big smile stretching my face before I dipped to kiss him.
It wasn’t as intense a kiss as I wanted to give him, since we were in public and I wasn’t the type of man who’d ever wanted to kiss in public with anyone. But it was still powerful. My heart still raced and my fingertips tingled, wanting to touch him everywhere.
“Do you want to get out of here?” I asked, my lips brushing his earlobe as I spoke.
Shivering, he nodded fast. “How about my place since Scooter’s house is there?”
“Okay.”
Grinning, Skylar swept Scooter up into his arms and took off towards the parking lot, whistling sharply to bring Rocky to heel from where he was peeing on every rose bush. It warmed my heart to see how easily he’d taken to Rocky and how much he already looked at home in the park. It was a far cry from when we’d met not too long ago at all, when he’d been such a city boy earnestly talking about communing with nature.
Before I knew it, I was driving us out of the park to his place.
“Welcome,” he said, flinging the door wide to let Rocky bound in and get acquainted. He took Scooter over to his habitat under a picture window and called in a teasing way, “Go ahead and sniff around like Rocky too. I want you to be comfortable in my den.”
I chuckled at his animal-themed puns.
But damned if I didn’t start to investigate his space. It smelled faintly of pineapple and sunscreen, plus the tortoise, and was brighter, newer, and cooler than my house. There were dishes in the sink and his very full laundry hamper took up half the bathroom. His couch was scattered with an open bag of pretzels, a tablet and noise-canceling headphones, and a lot of oversized books on nature and… animals.
That had me pausing to nudge them so I could take a peek at the titles.
“Um, I got them to start learning about the local ecosystem,” Skylar told me, coming up next to me while Rocky gave a doggy sigh and rolled onto his back on the rug. “And all the native animals. I wanted to, you know, know a fraction of what you do.”
My head shot up, meeting his sweet, earnest gaze. “You do?”
“Well… yeah,” he answered like it should be the most obvious thing.
“Oh.” I shoved my hands into my pockets as my heart picked up speed.
A devilish little smirk flirted with his mouth as he sauntered over, reaching out to smooth his hands in slow exploration from my neck to my belly, humming happily.
“Do you want to see my bedroom?” he invited, fingers stroking my stomach.
I pressed my hand over his and nodded sharply. “Yeah.”
Twisting his fingers until we were holding hands, he led me to his bedroom.
I shut the door, telling him, “To keep Rocky out.”
We stopped next to his bed, which was tidy with a neon purple comforter with the Milky Way on it and at least six pillows. When I flicked my gaze over to him, his smirk spread and then his eyes shifted to wander over his bed too.
“I feel confident that, since we’ve been doing pretty well so far on this date, we can do pretty well at sex too,” he said, his thumb rubbing over the thin skin on my inner wrist. No one had ever done that before that I could remember, and it made me shiver. It was so simple, but it seemed like such a secret, intimate spot to touch. “If that sounds good to you.”
“If you’re worried about pressuring me into sex,” I replied tartly, “next time consider saying that to me before you invite me to your bedroom.” His mouth fell open in a really adorable expression of dawning horror that had me laughing. “Let’s start with kisses, hm?”
“Hell yes,” he exclaimed, then launched himself into my arms, offering up his mouth.
The kiss started out as playful, little licks and nips and hums of pleasure. But soon, my blood was racing and my breathing was out of control as I hugged him to me, locking our bodies together. He tore his mouth free on a loud gasp, his hips punching against mine.
I took it as my cue to take off his sweater, stretching it up before it snapped into the air between our chins because I refused to step away from him. Peals of his sunny laughter rang out as he flung it over his head and returned the favor, mapping my skin in more of that same slow exploration. My touches were lighter, skimming the point of one of his tiny nipples and the blond fuzz on his chest and above the button of his tight jeans.
“I’m not going to break if you use a firmer touch,” he told me.
“I like the way I’m touching you.” I paused and frowned a little. “Do you not like it?”
“Ezra.” He shook his head, but instead of saying anything, he yanked my pants open, then pushed them down until he could grab my ass with both his hands. Shocked by the boldness, I sucked in a hard breath while my cock lurched against my open fly. “Sweet goddess, you have a very fine ass. C’mere and kiss me before I try to devour you too fast.”
Gulping, I licked my suddenly dry lips. “I want this. But can you let me… steer?”
“Honey, you can grab the reins and ride me any which way you want,” he laughed.
A wheezing, whistling noise escaped me.
His expression softened and he cupped my jaw. “Too much?”
“N-no,” I lied through my teeth.
But he saw right through me, since I was a terrible liar. With a little wink, he gently took off my pants and then fastidiously pulled my boxers up to their usual place. Then he took off his own jeans, leaving him in only briefs, just like the ones I’d seen him in at the hot springs the day everything changed for me. With a reassuring smile, he pulled me up onto the bed with him and settled us so we were lying on our sides facing each other.
“I really like you,” he said, his pale blond eyelashes fluttering. “I didn’t realize you’re actually nervous or I wouldn’t have joked around. What I meant was, I like you, so you can take the lead. You can control the pace so you feel comfortable and safe.”
Something lodged in my throat, and I tried to clear it away. “I appreciate that.”
“Is it, like, you’re not sure what’s on the menu, or you’re not sure what you like or want to try?” he asked, and it was thoughtful, but there was mischief mixed in too.
I flopped onto my back and groaned, pressing my hands over my eyes. “I’m a dumbass, aren’t I? I should have done research or read a book or something,” I mumbled.
“Like studying for a test,” he agreed, humor lighting up his voice.
Dropping my hands away from my face, I shot him a look.
“I can always grab my laptop and show you gay porn,” he offered, but just wiggled closer to me until our legs brushed. Cupping my neck, he looked into my eyes and smiled reassuringly. “You’ve probably had sex a million times.”
“Maybe a thousand,” I countered with light self-deprecation.
“Even if you’ve only had sex ten times,” he continued, raising an eyebrow, “you have good information on what turns you on, what you like. You, um, you liked the phone sex.”
My body shuddered at the mention of it. I’d never done that before, since I wasn’t a big talker and it seemed like that would be a showstopper. But Skylar had been so sexy and understanding at the end of the date and while I hadn’t been ready for hands-on stuff yet, I’d called him. He’d been breathless and delighted with what I said and did, not needing more than yeah and the sounds of me jerking off for him.
“We can do that again, but in the same bed this time,” he suggested.
It was tempting to let my nerves, caused by feeling at such a disadvantage because I’d never been with a man before, push me into moving forward in baby steps like that. But Skylar was so tempting it made me bold, his light green eyes bright with desire and patience in equal measures, his hair in sexy disarray, his body relaxed except for his cock.
“Sometime, yeah,” I replied, moving closer and nudging him onto his back. “It’s sweet that you don’t want me to rush this self-discovery, but I’m not going to break, either.”
That beautiful grin split his face and he dug his fingers into my hair. “Great, I’ll stop being conscientious then,” he teased. “How about you dive right in and suck my dick, then?”
I burst into laughter, my shoulders shaking and hunching down so I could muffle the laughter in the softness of his stomach. It had been so long since I’d been with someone who could make me laugh, let alone in bed, and I stroked his sides in appreciation.
“Shit,” he gasped, his whole body twitching. “Your beard feels so good.”
Not missing the hint, I rubbed my chin and jaw over his stomach and hip like a cat. Savage pride rose up out of my depths when his skin pinked up and he twitched more. And when I rubbed my beard over the big bulge in his briefs, he shouted out.
Suddenly I had to see him completely bare, and I moved back to peel off his briefs.
For a second, I locked up like I’d turned to granite because he was so perfect.
Then his hands crept up towards his cock as he blurted out, “I know I’m not?—”
“A woman?”
“—ripped,” he finished at the same time.
Rearing up to my knees, I grabbed his hands—realizing he hadn’t been about to cover up his cock, but his stomach—and pinned them to the bed. “Do I look like I’m disappointed in any way by what I see?” I demanded, almost glaring at him. “I’m forty, I don’t just… spring boners unless I’m turned on by not only what I see, but who you are. I saw you coming out of the hot springs, and trust me, you might as well have been naked then too.”
His smile crept back onto his face. “Wow, that was practically a monologue.”
“Well, I’m serious,” I huffed, sitting back on my heels.
As his smile widened, he tugged my boxers down.
“You’re seriously packing an A+ cock,” he told me, wrapping his hand around it, squeezing and stroking expertly.
My head fell forward as a harsh groan tore out of me in agonized pleasure.
I slid my knees wider for leverage to fuck my cock through his grip more easily.
A string of curses spilled out when he wedged between them and sucked the head of my cock. There was no first lick, no delicacy. The tight seal of his lips bore down my full length in one effortless plunge, burying me in his throat. He made a noise of pure happiness. Without retreating, his tongue rippled over my frenulum and the underside of my shaft, while his hand squeezed my balls, one finger nudging behind them to tease my taint.
“I thought I had the reins,” I rumbled.
He pulled off and said mock-seriously, “Oh, sorry about that. I’ll stop.”
Pretending to move away, he laughed when I palmed the back of his head. Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t do that, worrying it might be aggressive. But Skylar had made the first move, glorying in showing me what he could do, and he’d told me not to treat him as though he was breakable. I trusted him to tell me or show me if he didn’t like it.
“More, please.”
“Happy to,” he promised me, then took me back into his mouth.
It was more bliss than I’d ever experienced in my life when he began to bob, deepthroating me and holding it for however long he wanted. While yes, he had amazing skills and if I were less disciplined, I would’ve shot off already, that wasn’t why it was perfect. Somehow , he was conveying to me how much he valued me and appreciated me.
Once I recognized that, I slid my cock out of his mouth and moaned, “My turn.”
My chest heaved and I wrapped my arms around him, rolling us around until we were back where we’d been a while ago, him on his back and me planted above him.