Jory fell gladly into David"s arms. Their mouths met and clung for one perfect moment, and then David was pulling away.
"Gotta go."
So did he, Jory realized. The sun would be rising soon, and he had to be inside his trailer with the UV shades pulled down.
"I have your number," he said, regretfully letting David climb into Sweet Rose"s cab. "I"ll be calling. Maybe I can see you soon?"
David paused, half in and half out. "I"d like that," he said simply. "Next weekend? I wish it could be sooner, but I"m double- shifting after tomorrow. Money." He laughed. "I sure spent enough of it tonight, but it felt good. So many treasures!"
"Speaking of which, don"t forget this." Jory pa.s.sed over David"s bag of treats, augmented by a few candles, the lace cloth, and his own cell phone number written on a sheet of yellow legal paper. "Important things in there."
"Very." David patted Jory"s front jeans pocket, where his number nestled. Right next to his c.o.c.k. From the wicked look he gave Jory, his not-so-shy lover knew exactly what he was doing, too. He gave Jory one last caress, kissed his forehead, and hopped into the truck cab. One turn of a key and the engine was revving.
David leaned out the window. "Be good," he said seriously, albeit with a twinkle in his eyes.
"Spoilsport," Jory said just as solemnly. "Go on, now. But call me!"
"I will." David withdrew, rolled up the window, and put Sweet Rose into reverse. He waved from behind the window, and Jory waved back.
Then, with a small puff of gravel dust, he was gone. Driving back to his mortal life in a human world full of sunlight.
Watching him go, Jory felt suddenly small and cold. "Bye, hon," he said to himself. With a sigh, he turned around to head back to his trailer -- -- and ran smack into a really solid chest. One that smelled familiar.
"Oh, great," Jory mumbled. He looked up into an all-too-well-known, haughty face, far more handsome than he"d ever be, surrounded by loose, shining red hair. "Julian," he said. "What"s up?"
Julian, the bane of Jory"s undead existence, ignored his greeting. He nodded over Jory"s shoulder. "Who was that?"
Uh-oh. Questions already, from the so-called "Master of the City." Not a good sign.
"Just a friend," he prevaricated, retreating a few steps. "Listen, do you mind if I head for shelter? You might want to look for some yourself. It"s going to be bright and sunny out here pretty soon." More ignoring. Jory rolled his eyes. He"d gotten pretty used to that treatment from Julian. The older vampire kept his eyes fixed on a spot in the distance. "He is one of The Brothers," Julian p.r.o.nounced. "I have had my eyes on him for a while."
Jory bristled at that. "Hey! I laid claim to him."
That got Julian"s attention. He favored Jory with an amused smile. "Did you really? Hmm." He shrugged elegantly. d.a.m.n him, how did he pull the gesture off? "I care not. So long as you keep away from the Brother called Bree. I want that one for myself."
"Don"t have a clue what you"re talking about, Julian, and I frankly don"t care." Jory backpedaled around the other vampire.
If it came down to things, he wasn"t afraid of a fight. He wasn"t anywhere near Julian"s age, but he knew a thing or two and, hey, he didn"t have to depend on glamour to hide his true face. He could mark Julian up pretty good if he had to.
Lucky for him, Julian didn"t seem to be in the mood for a fight. He shook his head. "Go find shelter, weakling," he said dismissively. "Just remember what I have said."
"Yeah, yeah. Hulk smash if I touch Bree. Whoever the h.e.l.l Bree is. Have a good one, Julian." Jory hustled past the older vampire, heading toward his trailer posthaste. He could feel the dawn approaching and was cutting it too close for his liking. David had been worth it, though.
Lost in his thoughts, he slogged on through the parking lot, head down -- -- and b.u.mped into the second person he most hadn"t wanted to see that night. A small man, neat and trim, looking a little tired around the eyes, but unshakeable as Gibraltar. The incubus Liam.
Jory heaved a sigh and decided the Fates really, really hated his a.s.s. They sure seemed determined to fry it.
"Liam," he said, going for casual. "What"s up?"
The guy sniffed him, then drew back with a satisfied smile. "Nothing much, and everything at all." He folded his arms across his chest. "You met up with my David, I presume?"
"Your David?" Jory blurted. "Oh, no. h.e.l.l, no. How many people do I have to explain this to? He"s mine. Sealed with a kiss. Do I have to fight you for him?"
Liam held up his hands. "Fight me for David? You have me all wrong. If you treat him right, I have no objections to David being with you." The incubus"s eyes narrowed. "Treat him right, I said." His tone and demeanor turned menacing. "I believe that would include telling him the truth about yourself, which I suspect you have not."
"Jesus, Liam ..."
"How odd that you can speak that word without it burning your tongue," Liam mused. "Then again, you were always unusual among your kind. How goes the night shift at the Red Cross?"
"Just dandy," Jory gritted out. "Now, can I get inside somewhere? I"m going to toast my buns any second now."
"By all means." Liam stood aside as if to let him by, but as Jory made his way past, fell into step next to him. When Jory glared down at the little man, Liam beamed at him. "Just giving you safe escort," he said. "I have a vested interest in you."
Jory blinked hard. "Me? Why?"
"Because," Liam said, tucking his arm into Jory"s in a move that sent chills down his spine, "I have an even more vested interest in David."
Chapter Six
Ring.
Ring. Ring. Ring.
"h.e.l.lo, David spea--"
"You know, I once knew a guy named David. Handsome as h.e.l.l and great in bed but, boy, was he hard to find afterward."
David"s face relaxed into a grin. He leaned against his kitchen counter, abandoning the midnight snack he"d woken up for and been in the middle of preparing. The warm voice, dripping down the lines like melted maple sugar, sounded as familiar to him as his own. "Jory." He savored the name on his tongue. "I didn"t know if I"d ever hear from you again."
"Oh, ye of little faith." Jory sounded amused. "You gave me your number, right? I promised I"d call. And, look, here I am.
Two voices in the night reaching out to touch someone."
"Yeah. It"s just, you know, it"s been around five days, so I kind of figured you were giving me the brush-off, which I would have understood, and I was going to just bow out kind of gracefully, and ..." David trailed off. "Except now here you are," he said in amazement. "You actually called."
"And you had truly thought I wouldn"t." There was a slight rustling, and David could almost see Jory shaking his head. "You have no idea what I see in you, do you?"
David glanced down at himself, taking in the loose sweatpants, baggy T-shirt, and bare feet. There weren"t any mirrors handy, but he knew he was sleep-tousled and had a shadow growing in. "If you looked at me now, I doubt you"d have any idea, either."
"Mmm." Jory made a clicking sound with his tongue. "Why don"t you let me be the judge of that? Open your front door."
"Jory, are you outside?"
"Little bear, little bear, let me in." Jory chuckled. "I"m waiting for you by this azalea bush. Make me wait too long, and I"ll start picking flowers for your hair, and we really don"t want to flame that hard."
"I"m on my way." Holding tightly to the phone without disconnecting, losing track of the fact that he"d been asleep, disregarding the time on the wall clock -- 2 a.m. -- David hurried toward his apartment"s front door. He"d refinished the door himself, turning the scarred old wood into a thing of beauty. Planted the azaleas, too.
His hand shook as he laid it on the doork.n.o.b, but for all his nerves, he turned the latch and let the door swing wide. "It"s you." He spoke into the phone. "It"s really you."
Jory stood leaning against the frame, twirling a pink flower between his fingers. "Surprise." He shut his cell phone, slid the slim piece of plastic into his pocket, dropped the flower, and gathered David into his arms. David"s own cordless. .h.i.t the floor with a thunk both ignored.
"Glad to see me?" Jory breathed in David"s ear. "And before you answer that, can I come in?"
"Yes and yes." Glad of the strength his size gave him for once, David hauled Jory over the threshold of his home and elbowed the door shut behind them. Both men were laughing, Jory protesting at being hauled around like a sack of potatoes, and then, just as if they"d never stopped, as if no time had pa.s.sed between the Fest and this moment, their lips were on one another"s, fingers tangled deep in each other"s hair, and their bodies pressed together.
David felt Jory"s c.o.c.k coming to a hard rest against his stomach, a long solid length which made his head spin. "Is this where I ask if that"s a banana in your pocket, or if you"re happy to see me?" he asked shyly when they parted for air.
"What do you think?" Jory rotated against David in a wonderfully raunchy b.u.mp and grind, pushing his erection against David"s belly. "You ever hear of a booty call, cowboy?"
David felt himself blush so bright a red that he knew his ear-tips were flaming. "You"re -- you"re not serious, are you?"
"As life or death, but rest a.s.sured, I will respect you in the morning." Jory"s eyes sparkled, dark and crystalline. He thumbed a wisp of hair away from David"s forehead and dropped another kiss on his lips, one that spoke of need and urgency. "I"m on break from the Red Cross. Told them I had an emergency I needed to take care of."
"And you don"t?"
"Oh, yeah, I do. I had to see you in the worst way. Didn"t know if I"d survive another day without getting my arms around this big hunk of man I"ve fallen for." Jory seized David by the waist. He pressed his mouth to the edge of David"s warm ear and whispered, "Tell me you had a burst of optimism after we first met, and you"ve got supplies. Tell me you"re not afraid of using them."
David began to tremble. "Tonight? As in, right here and now?" "Right here. Right now." Jory traced the tip of his tongue along David"s ear. "I"ve only got an hour, less the time it takes to drive, and we have to make every moment count." He held David tight. "Look, I know this is sudden, and I have been an a.s.s for not calling before, I"ll admit that. But now that I have, I"m here to say I want you so badly I"m about to burst." He licked a stripe down David"s temple. "Knock, knock," he breathed. "Let me in, please?"
David"s entire body shuddered, but from somewhere -- he had no idea where -- he summoned a wave of courage and rode it in to sh.o.r.e. Turning his face toward Jory"s, he kissed the man on his cool lips, tasting the sweetness of sugar. "You"ve been eating Popsicles again."
"Poor subst.i.tute for what I"d like to have my lips wrapped around," Jory murmured, grinding against David once again. "But then again, I"ve already done that once. A tasty treat, but I"m feeling more in the mood for a little mutual satisfaction tonight."
David glanced at the clock. "What time did you leave?"
"One-forty-five."
"And you have to be back in an hour. Which leaves us just about twenty minutes."
"Sounds like you"re with the program," Jory said saucily. He bit down on David"s earlobe, teeth almost too sharp, sending a p.r.i.c.kle of pleasure-pain skittering down David"s spine. "Want to be in me, lover?"
David automatically flinched away. "I can"t -- I haven"t --"
"Hey, hey, it"s okay. You"ve never been on top, have you?"
"No." David shook his head, ashamed. "Tommy, my ex -- my one and only, actually -- he always had me on the bottom."
From a distance of inches, Jory looked at David through narrowed eyes. "So is it more shocking that someone would want you to top them, or more frightening to think you yourself might want to?"
David began to tremble. "I don"t know. Jory, don"t make me choose."
"Shh, shh, it"s okay. Everything"s fine. It doesn"t matter if you aren"t ready. I might not have ever been in the Scouts, but I came prepared." Jory melted back into the circle of David"s arms, cozying back up to his ear. "Do you trust me?" he whispered.
"Will you let me inside?"
David shut his eyes and took a deep, deep breath. Slowly, he nodded. His reward was Jory pulling back and kissing him, wet and deep and dirty, all his urgency pouring out through the eager workings of his lips and tongue. No one had ever kissed David that way, as if they were going to f.u.c.k mouth-to-mouth, deviant and delicious. Slowly, shyly, he began to thrust and parry back, delighted when Jory moaned into his parted lips.
"Fifteen minutes now," Jory said, nipping at the swollen edge of David"s lower lip. "I can work with fifteen. Can you?"
David found himself wanting to laugh. "I"m game."
By fourteen minutes, Jory had maneuvered them around into a position with David leaning up face forward against a wall, bracing himself with his hands while Jory pulled down David"s sweatpants, then undid his own loose beige trousers.
By twelve minutes, the supplies had been unloaded -- some fragrant sort of lube and two condoms -- and Jory"s clever hands were coming around David"s stomach, reaching for and fondling his c.o.c.k, unrolling a rubber over the rapidly swelling girth, and giving him a hard pump to "Get your motor revved up," as he put it.
Ten minutes, and Jory"s fingers were in David"s a.s.s, slippery-wet with lube, stretching him wide.
Eight minutes, and the head of Jory"s c.o.c.k was lined up to David"s hole, nudging past the first tight ring of muscle. Jory hooked his chin over David"s shoulder and whispered soft nonsense words to him as he pushed in one inch at a time.
Six minutes, and David knew he"d never really understood what s.e.x could be about. Tommy had always been so rough, ripping into him like a piece of meat. Jory f.u.c.ked him hard, but tenderly, and his free hand had reached around to pump David"s d.i.c.k in time with his own thrusts.
Four minutes, and both men were sweating and swearing, urging each other on with raw, animal cries.
Three minutes, and Jory o.r.g.a.s.med with a strangled shout. Feeling the man throb and pulse in his own a.s.s pushed David over the edge. He came hard enough to see stars and twinkling lights, so hard his ears roared and the room grayed out around the edges.
One minute, and David had been pulled around to kiss Jory, who"d disposed of the condoms and didn"t seem to be in any hurry to leave at all.
Zero hour, one final press of mouth to mouth, and a promise to call before much time went by, and Jory was gone, pants fastened firmly in place. Nothing remained to mark his pa.s.sing but a crushed azalea blossom on the floor, a small crack in the wall where David had leaned his full weight into the cheap plasterboard, a delicious ache deep in his a.s.s, and the weight of kisses still tingling on his lips.Dazed, but happier than he"d been since, well, the Fest, David unsteadily began making his way toward the bathroom. He needed to wash himself off ... and maybe he"d come a second time, remembering the feel of Jory"s hands on his c.o.c.k.
Oh, G.o.d, yes.
I think I love him.
"Not in any hurry tonight?" David used his big, gentle hands to rub circles on Jory"s scalp. Jory tilted his head, letting David get at him at every angle possible, half wishing he could purr like the legends said his kind were able to. If it had been within his range of abilities, he"d have burst into a rumble that said, Oh, yeah. I"m in heaven.
Then again, doing so would tip David off as to the nature of his partner so, yeah, probably a good thing Jory couldn"t purr.
"No rush," he answered instead, arching his neck to let David scrub tart, citrus-smelling shampoo into the base of his curls.
"Took the night off."
"No other plans?"
What was that tone in David"s voice. Was he --? Was he teasing Jory? The scamp! Jory grinned broadly and leaned back against David"s big frame, letting his lover bear both their weight. "Where else would I want to be?" he asked lazily, before turning sideways for a kiss. Their lips met for a brief moment before David firmly moved Jory back, nudging him beneath the water cascading out of the shower head.
"Rinse," he ordered, nimble fingers working soap out of Jory"s tangled locks. "Don"t want to get soap in your eyes, okay?"
Careful, his David was always so careful of him. If only he knew he couldn"t have damaged Jory no matter how hard he tried. "Yes, sir," Jory murmured under the pelting patter of the water. He rolled the thought around in his mind, toying with the idea of playing some real adult games, and wondering how long it would take to ease David"s fears enough to get him in some handcuffs or silken ties.
No, he wouldn"t do anything until David was ready. He was a vampire, so what did time mean to him? Jory had learned patience over the years and, while parts of his body wanted to hurry up and get to the peak every time he was with the other man, he listened to the part of his brain that told him to slow down and wait.