Decadent (21 page)

“Dude, you still haven't?” Coly asked, giving his shoulder a thump.

Lachlan shrugged as his only reply. The sun was beating down and his whole family were around him, but they had enough privacy that Coly had opened his big mouth.

“We're not rushing,” h
e answered honestly. He and Cormag had been together a year and they still hadn't had sex, but he didn't care as much as he used to. He actually found it completely charming and romantic. They had a physical relationship, but it hadn't gone that far yet. They were waiting for the right moment.

“Yeah, but…a year?” His friend laughed and pulled him into a hug that surprised him. He hadn't seen Coly in six months, since he went to college. He was still with Wendy, who was off cooing over Harper and Nessa's newborn son in the kitchen, but they had both gone to separate colleges so whenever they had a free weekend they spent it together. “I love you, kiddo. Don't ever c
hange,” he said quietly, into his ear.

“Never,” h
e promised, returning the hug for a moment longer than normal. It had taken Lachlan a long time to get over that last conversation with Konnor. All the anger and frustration of what he'd tried to do to Cormag was gone; now all that was left was the loss. He had grieved hard for the first few weeks, withdrawing into himself and sinking into his relationship with Cormag. It was only when Cormag objected, warning him that he risked losing the few friends he had left that he snapped out of it. He would never get over losing Konnor, but he tried to get on with his life.

“You okay?” Coly asked, pulling away from him. He squinted at him and cupped his chin in his hand, as if he was checking him for signs of illness.

“Yeah, fine. I'm…I don't know,” he passed it off because he didn't want to admit that a little bit of his heart would always be with Konnor. It sounded stupid, especially since he meant what he'd told him. He wasn't in love with him, but he did love him. Like a brother, like a best friend. Like a piece of his soul that would now always be missing.

Lachlan never told his friends about the revelation Konnor had surprised him with, because it wasn't his news to tell.
It turned out that over the year that passed, Konnor never told anyone either. He went off to college as planned and ended up dating some rich girl with a hot body and better than average brain cells. She had convinced him to commit to a solid relationship, but Lachlan still heard rumours.

If they were to be believed Konnor had turned into the bad boy in college; he not only had his girlfriend on the go
, but two fraternity jocks as well. None of them paid much attention to his antics anymore. Lachlan wondered, if he did, if he would get blamed for not loving Konnor back or else he'd want to wring his neck for hurting a decent girl by cheating on her with two guys. He had to face facts: Konnor was in a bad place and he was doing stupid things. Until he got his act together, he knew there was no chance of repairing their friendship. Konnor wouldn't listen until he wanted to.

“Lachlan,” a
voice penetrated his thoughts and he realised that he was staring off into space. Coly was staring at him with a concentrated frown, but the voice didn't belong to him. “Love, are you okay?” Cormag's tender tones made an impact and he turned to find him standing next to him, gently rubbing his shoulder.

“Off in a dream,
” Coly said, shaking his head. He nodded to Cormag and walked off while Lachlan took a moment to sink into his arms. He was feeling kind of vulnerable today, for no reason he could pinpoint.

“Is this too much?” Cormag asked, letting his hand drift down his back, where he slipped his hand under his t-shirt and massaged his lower spine. “Everyone is here except Konnor. It's the first time everyone's been together since graduation and he was at least ther
e, even if he wasn't beside you,” he explained, perfectly pinpointing what was wrong.

He hated admitting it, but he could only hope that it was only so hard because it was the first event without Konnor.

Everyone was there. His parents, Cormag's, their brothers and their partners, his friends and a few of the rugby players who were closest to his boyfriend. It was a family affair as they celebrated the birth of Harper and Nessa's first baby. Nessa had come through the whole thing like a trooper, monitoring her health like a paranoid doctor and getting checked out for even the smallest things. But that was how they wanted her to be; careful and vigilant. Thanks to her they had a new member of the family, baby Jonas, who was three weeks old and perfectly healthy.

“Yes,” Lachlan finally gave an honest answer as he looked up at Cormag. “I think it's too much. But I won't leave. There's no better way to get over it than to be here with our families.” He absolutely refused to let his mood get in the way of the celebrations.

It was the first time his parents were meeting Cormag's parents, though they had met his brothers twice in the last year. Surprisingly, his dad was having a good time at the barbecue party and the longer their relationship remained steady the more supportive he became. So much so that he'd moved into Cormag's house two months ago. He had never been happier so it was typical that a stupid random thought was ruining that.

Cormag tipped his head up with a smooth finger until they made eye contact. “You're allo
wed to miss him. It's not wrong,” he said, brushing his thumb over his jawbone in such a soothing way. He couldn't keep looking into his big brown eyes without cracking.

“Kiss me,” h
e asked, looping his finger into the belt loop of his jeans.

Cormag did as he asked, ducking down to kiss him as he used his grip on his jeans to pull him closer. He opened his mouth and stood on his tip toes to enjoy the moment, winding the fingers of his free hand into that thick hair. He could tell Cormag was a little reluctant to kiss him back in public, but the moment their tongues connected that resistance melted away.

“And you say you're still a virgin,” Coly's voice muttered beside him. Cormag pulled away, laughing to himself.

“Coly!” Lachlan objected, not sure what frustrated him more; the fact that Cormag had stopped kissing him to start a laughing fit or that one of his own friends was making fun of them. He gave the big mouthed moron a shove as he walked past. “And you shouldn't be laughing.” He used his grip on Cormag's jeans to pull him back in. He had those bedroom eyes he loved so much as they met halfway for a brief kiss.

“I can't help it. Still being a virgin is just one of a million things I love about you,” he said.

“You are the weirdest boyfriend.” Lachlan sighed and shook his head, convinced that he couldn't have found a more perfect guy even if he had actually been looking for one. He looked up into his dark eyes and let his gaze drift down to his sweet lips; he was about to kiss him again when Harper appeared.

“Come on, little brother. Nessa is gushing over your gift and she wants to thank you,” he said, giving him a cheeky wink that said there was more to it than that as he dragged Cormag away. Lachlan watched them go, looking around at the two families mixing together as if they were one already. He couldn't have asked for more.

“You okay, son?” Ron asked as he appeared, handing him a bottle of chilled water. He took it with a grateful smile and nodded.

After the whole Konnor incident, he'd forgotten to text his parents to let them know he wouldn't be home after dinner, to sleep in his own bed like he'd promised. Cormag had been too busy taking care of him to think about it either, so his dad had marched round to scream at him for breaking the rules. Lachlan still had no idea what happened; all he knew was what Cormag told him when he woke up to find his father sitting on the armchair in the bedroom, staring at him. He'd looked so sad and confused, but he refused to say why.

Cormag had explained later, that he'd been angry with himself for never trying to talk Konnor round to accepting his relationship, that he'd felt it was his fault that he couldn't protect him from the grief. Ever since then they had been closer than ever.

“It's hard…not having him here. I miss him so much it hurts sometimes,” he admitted the truth because he knew his dad understood. He wouldn't even have to say his name for him to know what he meant. His dad wrapped his arm around him and gave his shoulders a squeeze of support. “What scares me is that I know it's not even close to how I'll feel if anything ever takes Cormag from me.” Lachlan looked up at him as he made the confession, because he needed one last reassurance that he was comfortable with their relationship.

“Lachlan, that boy will never leave you. Your mother says he's smitten, but trust me he's in l
ove with you up to his eyeballs,” his dad said, brushing his hand over his hair. It was comforting to know that he could tell that without having to hear it for himself. Lachlan leaned into him for a moment, grateful that he still had his parents support no matter how up in the air everything had been over the last year.

The drive home after the barbecue was uneventful. Lachlan was lost to his thoughts, trying to push aside his delicate emotions and focus on the positive things that filled his life. His friends, his parents, Cormag and his family. Losing Konnor was something that wouldn't last forever; both he and Cormag were convinced of that.

“You off in la-la land again?” Cormag asked, making him look up. “Don't think you're getting out of cooking dinner tonight. It's y
our night and the game is on,” he reminded him.

Lachlan smiled as he thought about their deal. He'd promised that whenever there was a rugby game on that they wanted to see he would cook something quick and simple, rather than ordering in take out. Cormag was on a health kick after being asked to help train the Briarwood Fire Fighters rugby team; he wanted to get in shape before that job started in a few weeks time. He was willing to help him, but tonight he was a bit too distracted to cook anything that would be edible.

“Hmm, I could distract you from cooking if I put my mind to it.” He leaned over the gap between their seats to plant a kiss on his cheek.

“Like you did yesterday, when you tortured me with that parting gift before goi
ng off to your parents house?” he asked.

“Exactly.” Lachlan chuckled to himself as he thought about it; they had been curled up on the sofa together talking about a possible extension into the garden so they could make the library and kitchen bigger.

A teasing comment had turned into air-light kisses, which turned into some serious making out and clothing removal. The next thing he knew he had Cormag pinned to his seat on the sofa and he was on his knees with his very generous cock in his mouth. He guessed that maybe he liked doing that too much because he'd gone for a new record, to see how long he could have Cormag on the edge without ever tipping over.

It wasn't a new progression; far from it. They had been trading pleasure from hands and mouths for months, so, as always, his amazing hunk of a man had offered to reciprocate. But he was fast learning that he was a giver; he liked driving Cormag to distraction and taking pleasure from his enjoyment. Then, afterwards, he got to snuggle in and enjoy some peace for half an hour before he had to run off to visit his parents.

“Remember that I still owe you for that…and I'm not giving any warning when I call in payment,” Cormag teased, slipping his left hand off the wheel and onto his knee. He held it there, letting his mind churn with possibilities.

“Pull over,” h
e whispered to him.

“Is t
his becoming a thing with us?” he asked, as he pulled into the same spot they'd had their last encounter, after the rugby game.

“It could be,” h
e answered enigmatically. He wasn't quite decided on that yet.

This time Lachlan climbed into the back seat, wanting some space to get comfortable. Cormag went with him, shaking his head as he sat down on
the seat. “You are so adorable,” he claimed.

Lachlan wasn't overly fond of that word so he bypassed even thinking about it and kissed him instead.
The flames fanned right away. Nimble fingers made quick work of the buttons on his white shirt, while he returned the favour and pulled Cormag's t-shirt out from the waistband of his trousers. He pulled it up and over his broad shoulders, loving the way his hair ended up all ruffled and out of place. God, he looked so sexy without even trying. It was so frustrating. He wished he could be like that, but he was a teenager and he hoped that maybe with some practice he could figure out the secret to falling out of bed looking the way his boyfriend did. Namely being a walking billboard that screamed 'Fuck me'.

“What?” Cormag asked, as he caught him staring. Lachlan threw his t-shirt over the back of the driver's seat.

“You're absolutely gorgeous. I like to look at you,” he confessed, raising himself on his knees as he moved forward a little. Cormag had sat himself right in the middle of the back seat, which suited him fine. He moved in until he was kneeling right in front of him and cupped his well defined jaw in both hands. He leaned in to brush a gentle kiss against his lips.

“I like looking at you too,
” Cormag said, even though words were unnecessary by now.

“Then look and stop talking,” h
e insisted, teasingly. They were both smiling when he kissed his bottom lip and sucked it in his mouth. Cormag moaned, hands going to his waist and around to the small of his back as he opened his mouth in invitation.

Lachlan was never one to miss an opportunity; he brought their tongues together, where they belonged, and savoured the sensuality of the moment. It was always like this, for him. Always gentle, loving and sensual rather than rushed and desperate.

They both knew that they could easily have given in and had sex, but neither wanted their first time together to be rushed, in the back seat of the car or in the middle of nowhere. So without even discussing it they both kept the majority of their attention above the waist as Cormag pulled Lachlan's hips forward and carefully lifted his legs around his waist. As soon as he was sitting on his lap he was lowered down to the seat.

Lachlan left a flutter of tormenting kisses down Cormag's neck and to this chest, finishing by closing his mouth around his nipple. He got exactly the response he expected; Cormag held onto his hips and ground their erections together through their clothes, groaning at the shots of pleasure that coursed through them both. Lachlan thrust back until they were moving against one another to a content, slow pace. It was what he wanted; slow but steady and all the sweeter.

“Oh God,” Cormag gasped as his lips trailed lightly from his nipple to the sweet spot on his neck and began sucking sensually. While Lachlan toyed with him, Cormag reached between them and undid their trousers, pulling their clothes out the way.

***

It was Lachlan's turn to let out a gasp of surprised pleasure as Cormag took them both in his hand and allowed them to rub against each other as they moved their hips. Hands cupped his ass, pulling him closer as they continued to rock against each other.

He watched Lachlan's eyes close as his fingers dug into his skin, but he didn't care. It only excited him all the more. Cormag knew they weren't going to get what they wanted any time soon; they were both feeling far too playful. He wasn't even close to reaching orgasm, though he didn't doubt he could be if they played long enough. Instead, he leaned down and kissed him.

Lachlan kissed back in that lazy, beautiful way he had of dragging out every second to the fullest. He only moaned in complaint when he broke the kiss and climbed off him to sit on his heels, breathing hard. He couldn't even be bothered fixing their clothes. He wanted to sit there and ride out the incredible high that only Lachlan could give him. He desperately wanted to make love to him. But he also didn't want to rush. Lachlan was a virgin and he wasn't going to let that change until they were both absolutely convinced that neither of them would regret it later.

“Why?” Lachlan asked, reaching up to run his hand over his arm.

“Why what?” he wondered.

“Why is it that I don't care if we ever make love? Why is it that even when you back away at times like this I don't care? All I want is to b
e with you, in any way possible,” he explained, with a content smile on his lips. Cormag managed to smile back as he leaned his elbow on the back of the seat and rested his head on his hand.

“Because you love me. Love makes you do and feel stupid things. It's the reason why sometimes when we're like this I have to stop and look at you. Because I can hardly believe you're mine and this isn't a dream.” He gave the only explanation that made sense to his head, while trailing his fingertip over the inside of Lachlan's right thigh. His legs were spread out, his feet behind him, folded beneath his knees and he looked as relaxed as he would if they were in bed together.

“It would be a bloody fantastic dream though, right?”

“The best. And the worst,” h
e agreed.

“Hmm, could you imagine the disappointment? For you to wake up for work, without me in your life, with all of this a beautiful dream that isn't even remotely real?” Lachlan asked, a dreamy smile on his lips that said he knew how awful that would be for him. “For me to wake up and have to go to school? I'd still have Konnor, but I would never know if my dream was right and he did love me. I wouldn't have yo
u and that would break my heart,” he said, with a sadness in his eyes that said he knew how a broken heart felt.

Cormag knew that it had nothing to do with Orion; once he'd accepted his attraction to him and settled into their time together he realised that he had never loved her so there was no risk to his heart. But Konnor was a whole other story. He had always been in his heart, since they were children,
and now he was gone. “And mine,” he promised, glad to see that his smile shone a little brighter at those words.

“You kno
w what I love…other than you?” he asked.

Since he didn't, Cormag shook his head and waited.

“These moments. Right now. Sitting here with you. You should be all over me, since I am conveniently naked. Instead we're taking our time, savouring the moment and having a laugh. I love that. I love that I can talk story ideas with you and you take it seriously,” he confessed with a faint blush.

“Why wouldn't I? It's like me coming home and talking databases and farm equipment from the eighteen-forties with you.” He chuckled as he thought about how often he'd done that. And how many hours they had worked on that photograph display last year, for the provost.

“I love that too. I really love it when you talk about the museum. It makes you so happy. And writing makes me happy. Talking to each other about what we live for makes
us
happy,” Lachlan continued, amusing him even more. If he didn't know better he'd think he was wasted.

“I'm guessing this is
going somewhere?” he wondered, curiously.

“A year ago, before the whole thing with Orion, I had all these plans for my future. I knew exactly where my life was heading. Then we broke up
and I met you. I was so lost,” he began with a quiet voice, reaching out to take his hand, holding it tight.

Cormag wasn't entirely sure where this was going, but he waited before presuming anything.

“I thought that it would take at least a year before I could ever look at someone and contemplate another relationship. I was actually considering telling Konnor and my parents that I was asexual, so that no-one would try to force one on me,” he admitted.

Cormag could understand that; he had believed he was asexual because no-one had ever made him want the things that he did. It wasn't a
bad thing, but it all depended on where it ended.

“And suddenly you were there. You were like…this ray of bright shining light, full of life, so ready and willing to love someone.” Lachlan laughed, with a glaringly obvious joy in his eyes. It made him feel warm all over to think that he had done that to him. “You were the complete opposite of me; you had no clue where your life was going and all you wanted was to be with someone who could love you. And somehow we connected.”

Cormag lifted his hand to his lips, kissing the tips of his fingers as he listened to the tranquillity in his voice as he said beautiful words.

“You were too trusting and loving, too eager to lose yourself to someone else and I was too scared, too uninterested in relationships, too hurt to ever consider trusting anyone again. It felt like we cancelled each other out. I was the balance of negativity for your positivity; the balance of
disinterest to your eagerness,” Lachlan explained, with far away eyes and a thoughtful gaze.

“You th
ink that's why we fit?” he wondered, since he had a slightly different view of things. But that was what he loved; their minds ran on parallel courses, intersecting at random intervals even if they didn't come to the same conclusion. It was exciting.

“Maybe. Maybe it's because you're my other half. You remember what Plato said about us…that we were cut in half because we were too powerful, so we would only be half of who we were originally made to be. Then eventually we would find our other half and be who
le again?” Lachlan asked, waiting for the affirmative nod he gave him. “I think that's us. You got the optimistic part and I got the pessimistic part. Together we're balanced and whole.” Lachlan bit his lip as Cormag nipped the tip of his index finger with his teeth.

“You know what I think?” Cormag
asked, leaning back over the only man he knew who could make him speechless.

“What?”

“I think you need to stop saying such nice things about me or you won't be a virgin anymore,” he confessed, brushing their lips briefly.

It didn't help that Lachlan beamed at him, as if that was what he wanted. Instead of the teasing or laughter he expected he was treated to an especially sensual kiss. The way he slowly ran the tip of his tongue over his bottom lip and then retracted the appendage as soon as he opened his mouth was downright playful.

Lachlan enclosed his lips around Cormag's tongue and slowly drew them right to the tip, employing teeth at one point until he was shivering at the erotic pulses it sent shooting down his spine. He wasn't even sure that counted as a kiss, but it felt really good. Then he slipped his tongue into his mouth and ran it, lingeringly, from the underside of his tongue to the tip and across half of the top surface as well. It was the strangest, most lustful form of kiss he had ever experienced. It practically screamed 'make love to me right now'.