Cuddle bear, p.11
Cuddle Bear, page 11
As the front door closed behind me, embarrassment raced around in my gut. The electricity being off made me feel strangely guilty because I couldn’t offer Wick much hospitality. My house from end to end probably wasn’t as big as the great room in Wick’s mansion. I’d bought and paid for this property, and he’d inherited his—Wick’s wealth was still a hell of a difference between us. I bit the inside of my cheek and spun toward him.
“I’m sorry. You would’ve been more comfortable at home, especially if you have power there. It’s too warm here.” I tugged at my collar, but not because of the physical heat in the room. I was melting down due to the way I was feeling, not the humidity, and I didn’t like that. I’d avoided these types of emotions for the last few years. It was difficult to think about opening up to a man, and damned terrifying to put myself out there again. I wasn’t sure I would survive having my heart stomped on one more time.
Wick shrugged. “We can both go to my place in the morning. With the roads the way they are, it’s better to stay put and hope a crew goes through to clear away the trash before we need to get anywhere.”
I clutched the flashlight as if it were a lifeline. “You’re sure? Won’t anyone miss you?”
He grinned and stuffed his hands into his pockets as he paced toward me, his silver hair glinting brightly. “Mrs. Riggins will probably send a text checking that I won’t be back tonight, but I don’t have to answer. I do own the place. I don’t have to ask anyone’s permission to run away from home or bring guests over.” The wink he flashed had me sighing.
I shoved his arm. “That isn’t what I meant.”
“What did you mean?”
Shit. Who knew anymore? I sure don’t. “Uh. . . .” I shrugged.
Wick snorted and grinned. “Did you eat yet?’
I nodded. “Unfortunately. It was crackers and peanut butter. I had to toss everything in my fridge. I’m hoping mold doesn’t set in before the power comes back. After Hurricane Ida I had to get rid of the fridge because it was too gross to save. It would be a shame, since this one wasn’t that old.”
He hummed. “Yeah, that would be some bad luck.”
I plucked at my wet shirt and shook my head as a drop of water rolled down my face. “I’m not sure if I have anything you can wear, but you can come into the bedroom and check with me.”
Wick rested his hand on my arm and squeezed, not hard enough to hurt, simply to get my attention. “Would you say we’re dating now?”
My heart thudded in my ears as I nodded, then shrugged. “Yes?”
“If you don’t mind, then, I’m fine stripping to my underwear and hanging the rest of the clothes to dry. You’ve seen me in less.”
My head felt light as I groaned. “You mean if they dry. With this humidity, it’s just as likely they’ll rot. Sometimes I wonder what I was thinking living so close to Lake Émeraude. I love my small boat, but it’s almost not worth it.”
His grin was a vivid flash of teeth in the low light. “You say that today, but will you mean it tomorrow? I suspect you enjoy fishing more than you would a lawn to take care of in St. Loren.” He tugged lightly on my ear, and I laughed. “Besides, miracles occur every day. They might dry.”
He began to unbutton his shirt and my head swam as his chest hair came into view.
“Uh, let’s hang our stuff over chairs in the other room. They’re not real wood, just the plastic stuff pretending to be wood, so they’ll be fine.” I went through the open doorway into the kitchen, and his footsteps were barely a noise behind mine, but I couldn’t ignore them or think about anything else. Irritation had me scowling at the fridge for a moment. If I had to replace another large appliance, let alone the same one I’d gotten brand new two years ago, because of the damned weather, I would not be happy.
The sound of fabric rustling knocked the wind out of me. Wick is in my house and taking off his clothes. Oh my God.
Once I was at the table, I set down my flashlight, and then I didn’t have much more of an excuse to stall. He tugged his open shirt out of his pants and draped it over one of the chairs. When I glanced his way, his attention was firmly fixed on me.
“Do you need help with your clothes?” he asked, tone teasing.
“No! No, I’m good,” I said, quickly working on the buttons down my front. I flung my shirt on a chair.
His chuckle was wicked in all the right ways, and my body scorched as I unbuckled my belt and heard the answering tinkle of his. I almost stopped breathing as I stepped out of my pants before draping them on a chair. I fumbled off my socks and tossed them onto the floor.
“I’m not going to pounce on you.” Wick’s voice barely carried to me.
“I know.”
Wick hummed. “Unless you would like that.”
The burst of laughter that escaped me was a shock, and he grinned when I peeked at him. He came around the table and wrapped his strong arms around me. All I could think about was his skin pressed to mine, and even though we were both sweating and it was too warm to be touching, I didn’t want him to let go.
“Can I spoil you at my house, since you refuse to allow me to take you out and make a big deal about our relationship?” Wick asked. His steady gaze had me sweating bullets.
My fingers crept up his biceps all on their own, and since they were already there, I gave the muscles a squeeze. He dragged me closer until our fronts were firmly pressed together and his cock nudged my stomach.
“You want to do that?” I let out a long breath.
Wick squeezed me. “You take care of me all the time. I would like to do the same.”
My face burned and I cleared my throat. “Are you ready for bed?” My chest flooded with warmth as soon as the words left my mouth. “I didn’t mean—”
“If you did mean you want to get in my pants—er, underwear—I would be happy to do anything you like. If you aren’t ready, that’s understandable. This is new for us.” He leaned down and pressed a kiss to my temple.
And if he keeps this up, I might die. Where did he learn to act this way? “You gotta stop saying reasonable, nice things to me. It’s confusing.”
Wick hugged me tighter, his toned body—firm and delicious—pressed against mine. “What do you do for fun when all the lights are out?”
Groaning, I buried my face against his chest and inhaled. I loved the tang of musk and man and faded cologne. “Sleep.”
“Is that so?” He kissed the arch of my ear, and my cock took that as an invitation to get happy. “Nothing more exciting?”
I shook my head.
“I don’t believe you. You’re a steady guy but not boring.” He dipped his head down, and I couldn’t leave him hanging—I tilted my chin up and kissed him. When I slid my hand along his jaw, Wick didn’t jerk away or fight the touch like I’d half expected, simply leaned against me and let me suck on his bottom lip.
He pulled back, and there was a pop between our mouths as he tugged the last bit free of me, which had us both chuckling.
“I didn’t come out here because I was horny.” Wick bumped his nose against my cheek. “We don’t have to do this.”
Leaning up, I captured his mouth again, and his stubble scraped against my lips. “I know. I want. . . .”
Wick flexed his arms around me. Our lips stayed locked together as we teased each other, and kissing turned into nipping flesh lightly with teeth. He ground his cock against me, and I moaned—we needed to get out of the damned kitchen. I fumbled for the flashlight and had to stop kissing him to snatch it. I grabbed his hand, and we stumbled to the closed door that led to my room. I had trouble turning the knob, and he chuckled and brushed his lips along my neck until I got the door open, and then we almost fell inside.
“Just a second,” I said, peeling myself away from him. I went to the nightstand where I already had an LED lantern set up. The windows were cracked, letting in the slightly cooler air outside that carried in the scent of ozone and night-blooming flowers. I turned on the lantern, then flipped off the flashlight and set it on the floor.
Strong hands landed on my back and Wick began to knead my muscles, which was amazing. I was still stiff from the work we’d done on Saturday. “That’s good.”
“Do you have supplies?”
I snorted. “Yeah. I replace the condoms when they expire. It’s an exercise in optimism.”
“That’s great news because I’m very hopeful we’ll have a good time,” he murmured in my ear, and I closed my eyes, enjoying the pleasant prickles that rolled over my skin.
“They’re in, uh.” I fumbled open the drawer on the nightstand and took out the unopened box with the plastic sealed tightly around it. He kissed across my shoulders, and I had trouble getting my thumbnail under a corner of the seal on the box to open it. I growled, and he rubbed his hard-on along my ass. For a moment I was extremely aware of my cock pushing against my boxers, trying to escape.
“What do you want tonight?” Wick sucked a kiss on my neck—this man was going to fucking kill me. He snagged the box from my hands and like magic had the wrapper off and gone in almost no time at all. He took out a condom and reached around me to set the box beside the lantern. I leaned back against his chest, and he slid his arms around me, holding up the condom. The gray square somehow had the power to make my brain shut down.
“I’m not sure.”
“Am I wearing this or are you?”
The air leaked out of my lungs. “You want me to top?”
He shrugged and his cheek bumped mine. “If the spirit moves you. I like it all.”
I jolted into action and yanked open the nightstand drawer again, this time fishing out the lube I used to rub one out most nights. Wick nudged me toward the bed, and in a blink I went from standing beside it to lying on my back with him pressed up against my side, kissing me.
It all seemed to happen really fast.
Excitement had me trying to smile, even though my lips were pressed to his, and I rolled toward him. I still wasn’t sure what would happen if we did this—I was worried my entire life might fall apart—but his arms around me were amazing, and his hard body flush against mine had my cock throbbing. I slung my leg over Wick’s hip to get a better angle. Our cocks rubbed together, short-circuiting my brain, which hadn’t been firing on all cylinders since his lips first touched me.
Wick grunted and kneaded my ass, rocking his body against mine, then slid his hands to the waistband of my boxers and tugged. I got the hint and scooted back just enough that I could slide out of my clothes, and he did the same. It was amazing to watch the material slip away from his cock and see it bounce out to point at the ceiling.
Once we’d both kicked away our underwear, he rolled toward me and kissed along my chest. His hot tongue flicked over my nipple, and I hissed at the jolt of pleasure that made my cockhead tingle and throb, sliding my fingers into his hair. He stayed there for a minute, sucking on me, and then his hand rubbed along my thigh, so close to my cock that I felt like I was going to fly apart. The anticipation was an electric sizzle through my gut that had my balls ready to unload.
He kissed down my chest. “Is it okay for me to keep going?” He nibbled lightly on my stomach.
Embarrassment had my cheeks on fire. “If you want to and you like it.”
He trailed kisses over my belly, along the line of hair in the middle, and I chuckled when he rubbed his prickly cheek against it. My cock strained and I flexed my hips.
“Oh, I’ll take care of you,” he whispered, and I wasn’t sure if he meant for me to hear him or not, but he slid down and licked all around my cockhead, teasing the foreskin. I arched off the bed, and he popped his lips around me. A long time passed that way, with him expertly torturing my wood and making me gasp. Eventually he rolled my balls in his palm—then a slick finger slid down toward my hole. I moved to give him better access, tilting my hips up.
“How did you get the lube without me seeing?” I asked.
“Your eyes have been closed for a while,” he snarked back, but I liked that he sounded amused. “Thought I would take charge.”
“Oh. That’s good. Yeah, why don’t you do me this time?”
He laughed, and I groaned as he pushed his finger in deep. After adding more lube, one digit in my ass became two, and I didn’t say anything even though I would’ve been fine with it if he’d just slathered his cock and shoved in without any prep. I wanted him and was able to handle a little discomfort, but he stretched me and massaged my prostate until I thought I might pop from that alone.
“Wick, I can’t take much more of this.”
He hummed, crawled up the bed between my thighs, and then sat up on his knees. With a toothy grin, he shoved the condom into my hand. “Get me ready?”
I fumbled with the square, so he took it and ripped it open, then handed it back. I loved smoothing the latex down his shaft because his mouth fell open and his head dropped back. When I coated his cock with lube, he thrust against my fist. His campaign of extended teasing had taken a toll on him as well as me. I stared up at him in awe. His body sparkled with droplets of sweat. It was hot in the room and I didn’t fucking care anymore. Right now everything seemed perfect, as if the world was as sultry as what was going on between us.
“You’re so fucking sexy.”
He smiled and lifted my thighs over his arms, angling them closer to my body, and I curled and grunted as he forced me into the position he wanted. “Too much? Uncomfortable?”
“It’s fine. I just wouldn’t be able to do this alone.”
“Good thing you aren’t, then.” His smile was absolutely evil and I loved it. “Relax, I’ll take care of you.” He let go of my right leg and guided his cock to my hole, and I squeezed my eyes closed as he nudged against that sensitive spot.
“Okay. Do it.”
Wick eased forward and his cock split me open in the best way possible. He didn’t stop, just carefully edged into my body, and I was stretched to my limit by the time his groin touched my ass. I loved it. While being stuffed full wasn’t so much that I couldn’t handle it, I also couldn’t focus on anything else except for Wick and what he was doing to me.
I forced my eyes open. His chest heaved with the deep breaths he took, and he looked like a statue of everything a man should be—muscles straining and jaw hard. It was almost surreal.
Fuck, I’m so lucky.
Wick moved slow, teeth bared.
“I can take it. Fuck me,” I said.
“You’re sure?”
“Ye—oh.”
Wick snapped into action and began to pound his body against mine, rocking the bed until it squeaked. He leaned forward, and I wrapped my arms around his middle. I did my best to try to move with him, but he was clearly in control right now, and after a few futile attempts I gave up. He growled, sliding my legs higher on his arms and fucking faster. I closed my eyes and drifted, blissed out.
Then Wick wrapped a lubed hand around my cock and began to jerk me off in time to his frantic thrusts. I yelled wordlessly and tried to move, but I couldn’t get much traction—I had to let him do what he wanted with me. All at once my moment rushed up out of nowhere, and I bowed forward as the first blast of cum shot out of my cock. Pleasure tore through me, and I couldn’t open my eyes even though I wanted to see Wick’s face. After a few more bursts of cum, the last drops dribbled out of me. I panted.
“Are you finished?” Wick’s breath was hot in my ear.
“Uh, yeah,” I said, then laughed.
He let go of my cock and collapsed on top of me, burying his face against my neck, and I held him tight as he humped his hips until he whined. The tiny sound was the hottest fucking thing I’d ever heard in my life, and I kissed his sweaty temple as he stiffened and his muscles went rigid while he came. Eventually he turned to rest his cheek against my shoulder, body still connected to mine. I didn’t want to let him go.
“What would you be doing if I hadn’t stopped here?” He licked my neck and it tickled.
“Hmm. Probably working on my article for the Quiltbag Reader.”
He poked my side until I met his gaze. “What do you write for them?”
I shrugged. “Different things. I contribute to the style section and do other stuff. Whatever I feel like writing about, they usually take. I’ve only had them reject one or two articles over the years, but they’re not exactly picky. It just has to be local stuff. They tend to stay away from politics that are too divisive.”
“Why didn’t I know this about you? That’s interesting.” His gaze was bright with curiosity as he stared at me, and I had trouble looking at him.
“Do you read it?”
“Sometimes.”
It was easy to turn my face away, much simpler than looking him in the eye. “I write under the name Reece.”
He hugged me until I could barely breathe. “I’ll pay more attention from now on.”
His promise was something small, but it made me feel good. Other than the few people I wrote about or who worked on the Reader with me, no one really knew I contributed to it.
“You don’t have to.”
He turned his face and yawned against my shoulder. “I do.”
Wick finally moved to pull out, and I hissed because I was a little tender. He went up on his knees, and it gave me a strange, sexy squirm in my gut to watch him take the full condom off his cock and tie it. I groped alongside the bed and found the garbage can I kept there, then lifted it, and he tossed the trash in. Because I was so relaxed, I felt very accomplished with the short distance I’d moved as I dropped the can back to the floor. He snuggled in at my side and wrapped an arm around my chest, and I held on to him with both hands.
“You’ll still be here in the morning, right?” he mumbled.
Guilt ripped my heart into a thousand tiny pieces, but he pressed a soft kiss to my lips and put it back together again. “Yes, I promise.”
11
WICK
The ceiling wasn’t the one in my house. I stared at the white wood, illuminated by the lantern, for a while before I remembered I was in Maurice’s shotgun home. I took stock of the things I hadn’t taken the time to notice last night. The color scheme inside seemed to match the one on the exterior—teal and yellow—but I couldn’t be sure without real light. I’d woken up before my alarm, and I’d intended to get out of the bed, but with Maurice beside me on the soft sheets, that wasn’t an attractive prospect. I studied him and ran a finger along his jaw.
