23. Ridley #2
My stomach flutters as I grip his shoulders, pumping my hips slowly as he keeps his eyes trained on my face, his wet lashes framing the jewels of his irises perfectly.
His tongue rubs on the underside of my cock, like he’s catching the drips from an ice cream cone, and not for the first time, I tell myself I could get used to waking up like this.
He moans around me, the sound vibrating down my spine and coaxing my orgasm to the surface.
I want it to last forever—the hot water falling over us, his eager mouth, those pretty eyes gazing up at me like I’m some kind of god—but my body isn’t having it.
My balls tighten and the tension in my belly reaches a crescendo, making my knees go weak as my cock pulses and Wren catches the first sticky rope of my release.
“Fuck,” I moan, gripping his shoulders as I ride out this wave of pleasure, fucking into his mouth with everything I’ve got.
Wren sucks around me, milking every drop until I shiver and pull away from him, but just as quickly, I grab under his arms and lift him up. He yelps in surprise as I push him back to the tiled bench and sink to my knees, ready to worship at my favorite altar.
His cock swings, heavy with desire, and I close my mouth over him, sucking his entire length down my throat until I choke myself with it.
“Ridley,” Wren moans, pumping his hips and twisting his fingers in my hair.
His cock fits perfectly in my mouth, and my mind drifts to what it would feel like fucking me. Mmm, yeah, we need to make that happen soon.
“You’re gonna fuck me soon, little rabbit,” I murmur before diving back in to deepthroat him.
“Oh god,” he moans, leaning his head back on the tiles. “Gonna come.”
I suck with as much enthusiasm as I can muster, excitedly waiting for the moment he coats my tongue again, and as he tugs my hair, he arches his back, quietly moaning my name as his cock pulses in my mouth.
I drink him down, my belly warming with the knowledge that I’ve given this beautiful man such intense pleasure.
We stay like that for a minute or so—me on the floor between his legs, my head resting on his thigh as he cards his fingers through my hair.
When the water starts to cool, I force myself to my feet to turn it off.
Wren curls his wet body around mine as we step out of the shower.
I grab a towel and wrap it around the both of us, then bend my head to kiss him, lingering there.
Somewhere along the way, this shifted from quick and dirty late-night hookups to morning intimacy, and I don’t hate it. In fact, I think I more than like it.
“You okay, man?”
I startle, looking up to see Indy behind the bar, grinning at me. “Uh, yeah. What time is it?”
“Two-forty. How long you been sitting here?”
“No idea.” I sat down to chill after the lunch rush and got lost in a whirlpool of thoughts. “Can I talk to you?”
“Of course.”
“Outside.” I don’t need Wren walking up in the middle of what I need to talk about.
“Sure thing.”
We head outside to the patio, finding a spot in the sun and sitting down. Indy leans back, watching me with a curious expression.
“When you and Salem started, it was just physical, right?”
Indy nods. “Yep. Neither of us had interest in anything more.”
“But that changed, obviously.”
“It did.”
“How? Was it one of you who brought it up or did it just evolve? How did you know what you were feeling was more than lust?”
A soft smile spreads across his face. “This is about Wren?”
“Obviously.”
“What’s going on?”
“I’m not sure. I feel different with him than anyone I’ve hung out with in the past, you know?”
Indy nods. “Like?”
“We have things in common, like horror movies. It’s just easy to be around him. Conversation flows but silence is comfortable too. The sex is…” I glance over my shoulder. “So damn good, but it’s more than that.”
“More in what way?”
“More intense. More intimate, I guess. I don’t feel detached like I do with other people. I guess what I want to know is, how do you know it’s not just endorphins or the excitement of something new? How do you know if it’s real?”
“I feel like you’re answering your own questions, man.”
I open my mouth to object, but end up speechless.
“That’s how I knew,” Indy continues. “Because it was different. It felt like more than it had in the past, and I wanted to be around him all the time. I wanted any bone he threw my way, and the idea of him being with someone else made me feral. That’s how I knew.”
My chest tightens with that knowledge. I don’t let myself think about Wren moving on, not seriously, and I’m sure if I did, it wouldn’t be a benign reaction.
“Did you get there at the same time?”
“I think so. We were both feeling things before we said anything, but when we did, we were on the same page.”
“What if only one of you is there?”
He shrugs. “I don’t know, man. I guess it would be better to know so you could let it go sooner, but based on what I’ve seen, I don’t think that’s the case.”
“What do you mean?”
“Wren is different too. He comes around a lot more in his off time, he laughs easier. Lowen insists his creativity in the kitchen is growing. He’s confident, and since he was always good at the food part, it’s easy to figure that his personal life improving had a positive effect on other parts of his life. ”
I chew my bottom lip as the realization sinks in that I went and caught feelings.
A surprised laugh bubbles out of me and I rub my forehead.
“I never thought it would happen. Not for me. Not now. I spent my whole adult life wondering if I was missing a chip or something, ’cause nothing ever stuck.
I would get bored so fast every single time, but with Wren, I keep coming back for more.
I think about him all day. Last night, he was asleep in my bed when I got home. Asleep, Indy.”
Indy smiles. “That must’ve been a nice feeling.”
“Amazing. We slept together. I don’t do that, but I do with Wren.”
Indy reaches across the table and pats my hand. “Welcome to the club.”
We both laugh until the reality of my situation sinks in and my laughter trails off.
“Now what? Do I tell him? What if he’s not ready and I freak him out?”
“It’s a chance you have to be willing to take. I told Salem first, knowing he might freak out, but I couldn’t hold it in anymore. I was hopeful that he felt the way I did so I took the leap.”
I nod, replaying his words, but then a new, more terrifying thought takes hold. “What if I’m wrong? What if it’s just a crush and I set him up to be hurt? I’d never forgive myself.”
“Close your eyes.”
“What?”
“Humor me.”
Blowing out a breath, I close my eyes. “Okay.”
“Imagine yourself five years from now. What does your best life look like?”
“Five years.” I conjure up images of the bar, my friends, and then I see myself snuggling next to Wren in my bed.
I see steamy showers, horror movie marathons, his laughter filling my space.
I see us cooking together in the kitchen at the house, me making messes and him smiling proudly at me for trying.
I see a future I’ve never pictured before.
I open my eyes slowly to see a grinning Indy. “Like what you saw?”
“Yeah. It was good.”
“There’s your answer. That’s when I knew. When there wasn’t a future I wanted that didn’t include Salem. If all you wanted was to fuck around, you’d know that by now.”
I nod, swallowing the lump of emotion in my throat.
“I get that it can be scary at first—I was there. But man, I gotta tell you, nothing compares to going all in. I never knew I could feel this way about a person. If he wasn’t ready when I told him, I would’ve waited for him to get there.
I would’ve kicked things up a notch to romance him even harder. ”
“He deserves…” I shrug. “The world. I don’t know if I can give him that.”
“You don’t know his definition of ‘the world.’ He might already have it. Don’t sell yourself short.”
“Thanks, Indy.”
“Anytime.”
The doors to the patio open and Florian, Carlos, and Wren come out. Wren smiles, taking the seat next to me.
“Everything okay?”
I nod, lifting his hand and kissing it in front of everyone. “Everything’s perfect.”