Don't Read in the Closet volume one (40 page)

“Yeah, he has
good days and bad days, but he’s got Dale, and he always says so long as he has
him, everyday is a good day.”

“It sounds like
they love each other a lot.”

“They do. They
were about as opposite as opposite can be when they were young, still are in a
lot of ways. My uncle, Lee, is kind of haphazard, messy, and still has a little
wildness in him. But Dale is all about structure and being organized. He
manages one of the largest banks in Dallas, so you can see the rocker and the
business man, kind of an oil and water mix. It was because they were so
different that they were always breaking things off, but they also couldn’t go
long without finding their way back to each other again.

“When Lee found
out he had HIV, that’s kind of what sealed it in them realizing how much they
loved each other. He didn’t think Dale would want him anymore, and he even
tried to push him away. But Dale held
on,
and more
than ten years later, they haven’t spent a day without each other.” Jackson
chuckled. “And fighting! They can still get ripping in some good ones, bitching
and bellowing at each other. But those moments always end in an embrace and a
kiss.”

Ash smiled.
“It’s beautiful they can work through that.”

“Yeah, but
they’ve hit a point where neither of them takes offense to what the other says.
They’re so confident in their love for each
other,
they brush those moments off like they’re nothing.”

Ash placed his
hand on Jackson’s bicep. “I’m sorry for saying I didn’t think you’d care about
this charity. I guess I was passing judgments again, and it was crap of me to
do that.”

Jackson lowered
his gaze. He slowly lifted his other hand and rested it over Ash’s on his arm.
“We’ve both done that too much.”

Ash looked at
Jackson’s hand over his. His heartbeat hit a frantic pace.

Jackson glanced
up, catching Ash’s gaze. “Plus, as a gay man myself, it makes it extra special
for me. But like you said, it’s important for all people to know and understand
about it.”

No other words
would come to Ash. Jackson…did he really just say that? Ash’s mind spun with
him desperately trying to catch hold of some comprehension. Jackson just
confided in him that he was gay. And even if he doubted Jackson’s words, he
couldn’t doubt the way Jackson was looking at
him,
or
the softness in his touch.

Still unable to
find words, his mind still floating, Ash tipped his head slightly toward him,
watching to see what Jackson’s reaction would be. Jackson’s eyes half closed,
his hand slid up Ash’s arm to the back of his neck. It was the only sign Ash
needed. He closed the distance between them, his arms going around Jackson as
he brought their lips together.

A hushed groan
rumbled in Jackson’s throat. He started to part his lips, and Ash slipped the
tip of his tongue through them. Jackson opened wider, accepting Ash’s tongue
into his mouth. Ash took control of the kiss, rubbing his tongue across
Jackson’s, sucking it into his mouth.

The kiss came
to a slow end. Ash kept his eyes closed for a long moment before opening them,
and saw Jackson doing the same, as if he was also savoring the kiss.

Jackson
couldn’t bring himself to pull his hands away from Ash. He let out a single,
short laugh that held more confusion than humor. “What’s happening here?”

“I don’t know,
but I’m running with it.” Ash took Jackson’s face in both hands, pressing their
lips together in a more forceful kiss.

He turned
Jackson toward the table and pushed him back to sit on the edge. Jackson spread
his legs wide for Ash to stand between them. Ash’s fingers went to the buttons
on Jackson’s shirt, working with deft skill in opening them, his lips never
breaking from Jackson’s. The last button undone, he flung Jackson’s shirt open
and drew the kiss to an end so he could see the body he’d been dying to get a
look.

Jackson’s
pectorals were thick with muscle, his abdomen cut in deep grooves. But what
surprised Ash was the tattoo on Jackson’s left pec. He hadn’t expected him to
be inked. The image looked as if Jackson’s skin had been ripped open, not
bloody or gory. Rather, it made it appear that beneath Jackson’s skin was an
American flag, and in front of his “skin” was the profiled head of a bald
eagle.

Ash ran his
hand over the tattoo. “That’s cool.”

“Thanks.”
Jackson slipped his fingers under Ash’s shirt, edging it up. “I know you’ve got
more than
what’s
on your arms. I’ve seen pictures of
you with your shirt off a lot.”

Ash grinned and
stood up straight to pull his shirt off. “You've seen pics of me with it off,
or you’ve looked for shots of me with it off?”

“Considering
the position we’re in right now, I guess I can admit it’s been more of the
second one.”

“I like hearing
that.” Ash dropped his shirt to the floor.

Jackson looked
at Ash’s chest. Adorning each pec where two nude male angels, their bodies
inked to be muscled and beautiful, one with feathered wings, pure and heavenly
in appearance, and the other with black reptilian wings, dark and haunting.
Each embraced half of a heart, as if in battling against each other, they’d
torn it in two. Along with the tattoos, both of Ash’s nipples were pierced with
silver rings.

Jackson placed
his hands on Ash’s waist, running them up his sides. “I love those two. They’re
beautiful.” He drifted his hands in to Ash’s chest, flipping the nipple rings
with his thumbs. “And
I’m really liking
these.”

Ash closed his
eyes. “And
I’m really liking
what you’re doing with
them.”

Encouraged by
Ash’s words, Jackson leaned forward, placing a kiss on Ash’s chest just above
his nipple before covering it with his mouth. He sucked on it, flicking the
ring with his tongue. Ash laid a hand on Jackson’s head, a quiet moan purring
in his throat. Jackson brought his hands back down Ash’s sides to his hips, and
slid them behind him to his ass. He rubbed his palms over the cheeks, and as he
switched to give attention to the other nipple, he clamped onto Ash’s ass,
jerking him forward.

Ash pushed his
hands between their bodies to Jackson’s jeans and opened them. He gave a little
growl at confronting Jackson’s boxers.

Jackson tugged
the nipple ring with his teeth before sitting back. “I’m guessing you’re not a
boxers
kind of man.”

“I’m not an
underwear kind of man, period.”

Jackson dropped
his gaze to Ash’s crotch, realizing what that implied.

Ash pulled at
Jackson’s jeans, trying to get him to lift his hips. Jackson rose slightly off
the table, and Ash dragged his jeans lower, taking the boxers with them. He
looked down at Jackson’s cock, the thick shaft curving in an arch, the tip
resting at his navel. Ash touched his middle finger to the slit and traced down
the full length to where it met Jackson’s sac. The length, the girth, it was
perfect. His body already yearned to feel it stretching and filling him.

Ash wrapped his
fingers around Jackson’s cock, squeezing against the hardness. Jackson’s head
fell back, his eyes closing as a moan passed over his lips. He lifted his hips,
moving his cock in Ash’s hand. Ash pumped the shaft in harmony with each raise
and lower of Jackson’s hips, watching how Jackson moved them, envisioning them
working between his own legs.

Jackson brought
his head forward again, looking down at his cock sliding in and out of Ash’s
hand. He wanted Ash’s cock in his hand, to stroke it and make him come. He
reached for Ash’s jeans, able to see the hard line behind them. He unfastened
the button, and as the zipped came down, Ash’s cock pushed out. He gripped the
shaft and rubbed his thumb in circular motions over the broad head.

Having
Jackson’s hand on his cock broke Ash’s control. He took Jackson’s mouth in a
rough kiss, pressing him to lie further back on the table. Jackson reclined on
one elbow, refusing to take his other hand off Ash’s cock. Ash rocked his hips
with Jackson’s hand motions, never losing the rhythm of pumping Jackson’s cock.

Jackson broke
the kiss to take few quick, deep breaths. With Ash’s body over him, the fierce
hunger in how Ash worked him and kissed him, he could already feel his orgasm
starting to rise.

Ash kept his
lips close to Jackson’s, sharing each quick breath with him. He thrust harder
into Jackson’s hand, jerked faster on Jackson’s cock. He felt Jackson shudder,
his abs constricting, and knew Jackson was about to lose it. He dipped his head
toward Jackson’s ear, his voice a gravely whisper as he spoke. “Let it go,
Jackson. Let me make you come.”

Jackson tipped
his head back, his voice leaving him in a loud moan as his climax overwhelmed
him. Ash focused on Jackson’s cock, watching the white fluid leave it to
splatter Jackson’s abdomen. He flicked his gaze to Jackson’s face. Jackson’s
expression of pleasure finished him even more than seeing his cum.

Ash stood up
straight, grabbing hold of his own cock. Jackson’s had lost his grip on it when
his orgasm claimed him, but he’d brought him close to the edge. Ash stroked it
hard and fast, pushing himself over.

Jackson opened
his eyes in time to catch the final few strokes before Ash came, and he found
himself entranced. He looked at the fluid on Ash’s hand, his mouth watering for
a taste. But even more, he wanted Ash’s body close to him again. He extended a
hand to him. Ash took it and dropped forward, bracing himself on the table with
his other hand as they met in another kiss.

Ash eased the
kiss to an end. He took a deep breath. “Well, that was one way for us to work
out the tension between us.”

Jackson smiled
and placed a light kiss on Ash’s lips. “I think I like it a lot better than
bitching at each other.”

“So do
I
.” Ash dipped his head down, laying a kiss in the center of
Jackson’s chest. “You got some towels around here?”

“Down by the
bathroom, there’s a closet with some.”

Ash pushed off
the table and turned to get towels. He found washcloths as well, and after
quickly wiping himself clean, he returned to Jackson and ran the cloth, damp
with warm water, over him.

Jackson
couldn’t help but feel touched at the gentle way Ash cleaned him. He wondered
if he should speak his thoughts. He wanted to, and at the same time, he didn’t.
But even more than voicing not wanting to voice his emotions, he didn’t want
Ash to think he was just a random quick hook-up. Jackson glanced up at him, his
voice hushed. “I can’t even begin to say how many times I’ve thought of having
moments like this with you. No matter what you said to me in the press, I could
never shake how attracted I was to you.”

“It was the
same for me. You’ve driven me nuts all this time, constantly making me pissed
and horny at the same time. That’s just not right.”

Jackson laughed
and claimed Ash’s lips in another kiss.

A soft chiming
sound interrupted them.

“What’s that?”
Jackson asked.

Ash shoved his
hand into his front pocket and pulled out his phone, the chiming becoming
louder as he did. He hit a button, shutting it off. “A reminder alarm. I set it
so I’d make our rehearsal on time.”

“Guess that
means you have to go.”

“Yeah, sorry. I
should’ve thought of that before we got into this, but you kinda made me forget
about everything after we kissed.”

“Sounds like
I’m the one who should be apologizing.”

“Being hot is
nothing to be sorry for. Look at me. You don’t see me apologizing for it, do
you?”

Jackson gave
him a playful grin. “No, but with some of the hairstyles you’ve had, an apology
or ten might be in order.”

Ash let out a
huff. “You’re going to fit right in with Devin, Chad, and Jeremy.”

“Just do me a
favor. Try to keep your hair like this for longer than a couple days.
I’m really liking
the color.”

“It’s my
natural color. I decided to start from scratch again after my mohawk disaster.
I had to get it cut down to this length just to fix it.” Ash laid his hands on
Jackson’s hips and brought their bodies close again. “But if you want me to
keep it like this, then I’m guessing you want to see more of me.”

Jackson angled
his head to kiss him. “I want to see and touch every part of you.”