Doug rolled his eyes.
“I’m joking, I’m sure he’s a nice lad. Looks like a bit of a Nancy, but if that’s your thing, who am I to judge?”
“Are you drunk?” Doug asked.
“Am I
drunk
?” Stewart leaned his shoulder against the bar, thick arms crossed in front of his chest. “Why do you ask?”
“Because you’re sounding a bit...British tonight.”
“I am a bit British. But I’m not drunk. Not yet, anyway.”
Doug glanced to his right and saw the muscle head Stewart had been talking to, hovering in the crowd. “So who’s the
dude
you’re with, Stewart?”
Stewart hooked a finger around Doug’s belt loop and tugged him closer. The action made his cock begin to swell. “I’m not with anyone,” Stewart said.
Doug swallowed hard. “You were talking to some guy.”
“And now I’m talking to you.”
Right on cue, the muscled guy stepped up and tapped Stewart’s shoulder. “Hey, you want a dart game?”
Stewart smiled at him. “No thanks, Patrick. Not in the mood tonight.”
Muscle-head gave Doug a dark stare, then moved off, gorilla arms curved at his sides.
“He doesn’t look happy,” Doug said.
“He’s fine. How’s your back?”
“It’s better.” Doug glanced over at the table and saw that Jairo had returned and was chatting with Madison. Rod danced with Isla in front of the stage.
“You want to go back to your friends?” Stewart asked.
Doug looked at him, hypnotized by his midnight blue eyes, his pointed gaze. He could feel Stewart’s body heat through his shirt, and suddenly found it hard to breathe. How was it that in the short time since their last encounter, he’d forgotten just how infuriatingly perfect Stewart was? His body responded with a sharp longing, a desperation that was almost anger.
He’s for you
, that longing said.
Take him
.
“I can’t go back to the table right now,” Doug said.
Stewart’s brow furrowed. “Why?”
Doug shrugged. “Because you’re still standing here. And I couldn’t walk away from you if I tried.”
Stewart let out a breath. He held Doug’s eyes. “So stop trying.”
The silence that followed was awkward, but not unpleasant, flutters of anxious excitement stealing through Doug’s limbs until he felt weak. “I saw Corey today,” he said, and Stewart flinched, turning away. “What happened with you two?”
“Not now,” Stewart said. “Please. Talk about something else.”
Doug nodded. “What do you want to talk about?”
Stewart leaned in, their faces close. “Actually...I don’t want to talk,” he said, running a knuckle down the length of Doug’s inner arm.
Trying to control his breathing, Doug cast his eyes down. “What do you want to do, then?”
“You know what I want to do,” Stewart said.
Doug lifted his eyes. “You’re killing me.”
“The feeling is mutual,” Stewart said, easing back, putting a bit of space between them. “Leave with me. Now.”
“I’m with Jairo,” Doug said. “He invited me. I can’t just walk out.”
Stewart glanced over toward the dance floor. “Jairo looks fine without you.”
Doug followed his gaze and saw Jairo dancing with the others, their table abandoned.
“I’m sorry, Doug, I don’t mean to pressure you. I just...” He looked upward, shaking his head.
“What?”
He let out a breath and met Doug’s eyes. “I want your company tonight. Shit, I want your company all the time. But especially tonight. Even if it’s just to hang out, talk.”
Doug chuckled. “Talk, huh?”
“I can behave myself,” Stewart said. “We’ve just
talked
before.”
“It’s not you I’m worried about. Honestly, Stewart, I don’t trust myself with you.”
Stewart grinned. “I hope that’s not supposed to deter me, because it’s having the opposite effect.”
Doug laughed, unable to tear his eyes from Stewart’s face.
“Tell you what,” Stewart said. “I’m gonna go home and sit on my front balcony, enjoy the night air for a while.” He tugged Doug in by his belt loop again. “If you get home within the next hour, I’ll come downstairs. And we can...talk.”
Doug held his eyes, groin swelling painfully. His throat was tight, so he nodded.
Stewart released him. “Okay then.” He gave Doug a final smile, then moved off. Doug watched him walk away, heart still hammering in his chest.
Letting out a long breath, he faced the bar and picked up his beer. He could barely see straight. Stewart was like a damned drug.
When he got back to the table, Jairo and Isla were seated there, voices loud and raucous as they swilled their drinks. “Hey!” Jairo said. “I thought we lost you.”
“Nah.” Doug sat down. “The bar was crowded.”
Jairo shuffled his chair closer. “I noticed,” he said, dark eyes on Doug, one eyebrow cocked.
Doug winced. “You did?”
Jairo nodded. “You’re crazy, man.”
“Why?”
“Stewart?”
“It’s nothing, we were just talking.”
“You don’t really want to be the meat in that nasty boy sandwich, do you?”
“It’s not a sandwich,” Doug said. “It’s got nothing to do with Corey.”
“Uh huh.” Jairo nodded. “How is that possible when Corey lives with him?”
“It’s not...” Doug shook his head. “Stewart and I have our own thing. We get along. He’s super easy to talk to. I just like being with him, that’s all.”
Jairo studied him a moment, then leaned back in his chair, grinning. “Damn. You poor bastard. You’re in
love
.”
“Please.” Doug waved him off. “Gimme a break.”
“What’s up then?” Jairo asked. “And don’t tell me it’s nothing. I almost got wood just watching you two.”
Doug shook his head. “I don’t know.”
“Ooh.” Jairo scowled. “I don’t know is bad.”
He nodded. “Yeah. The worst.”
Jairo cackled. “Better you than me, my friend.”
“Oh, don’t get all superior.” Doug grinned. “You were ready to pick out china patterns after sleeping with Corey.”
“Yeah! But I wriggled the hell out of that fly trap, didn’t I?”
“You did,” Doug said. “But...it’s been a little tougher for me.”
Jairo’s eyes followed something over Doug’s head. Doug turned and saw Stewart leaving the bar. Facing front, he took a sip of his beer and stayed focused on the dance floor, not wanting to meet Jairo’s eyes.
“He’s leaving,” Jairo said.
Doug nodded.
“Hey,” Isla said. “If you guys are gonna gossip over there, at least include me.”
“I’m sorry,” Doug said, laughing.
She grinned. “Girl trouble?”
He shrugged. “Not quite.”
Her eyebrows rose. “Oh,
boy
trouble.”
Jairo made a sour face at Isla. “You thought Doug was straight?”
“Well, what the hell, I don’t know!” She shrugged. “Hey, Rod’s single,” she said to Doug.
Jairo burst out laughing.
Doug nodded, grinning. “Thanks.”
Rod and Madison came back to the table, flushed and sweating. “Hey!” He gave Doug’s shoulder a pat. “I’m going to the bar, who needs something?”
“Me!” Isla stood.
“I’ll go with you,” Madison said. “I need some water.”
The three of them took off through the crowd, leaving Doug and Jairo alone again. Doug kept his eyes on the band, but he could feel Jairo staring at him.
“Do you want to leave?”
Doug turned to him. “What? No. I’m having fun.”
Jairo studied him. “You want to go after Stewart, don’t you?”
Doug’s lips tightened. He shrugged.
“Well?”
“I shouldn’t. Go after him.”
“But you want to?”
Doug looked down at his beer, sighing. “Yeah.”
“Go,” Jairo said.
“What?”
“Go,” he said. “Now, while they’re up at the bar. I’ll make your excuses.”
“You really don’t mind?”
Jairo shrugged. “I’m a hopeless romantic. Get out of here.”
Doug stood and slapped Jairo’s shoulder. “I’ll call you.”
“You better,” he said. “I want details.”
Doug stepped out into the warm spring night. He didn’t bother over thinking it. He didn’t bother asking himself for the countless time what the hell he thought he was doing. And he didn’t try to talk himself out of it.
Corey spoke of energy, webs and tendrils, reaching out and affecting things. If any of that was true, then Stewart had a tendril wrapped right around Doug’s heart. Or maybe around his cock...
Either way, it was drawing him in, pulling him toward its host. And the more he tried to struggle away from it, the tighter its hold became.
So he gave up resisting, and followed it home.
Chapter Sixteen
Doug saw the festive lanterns illuminating the second floor balcony when he pulled into the driveway. He parked, let himself in through the back door, then ran to the bathroom to pee and brush his teeth. He checked himself in the mirror. “Okay,” he whispered. “It is what it is.” He’d made the decision to dive into the deep end. There was no swimming back now.
Since talking with Stewart at the bar, he’d had the distinct feeling that something was coming to a head tonight. Corey was out of town. The two of them were having problems. And while Doug didn’t want to take advantage of that, he wanted to know what Stewart was thinking. He had to know. He wasn’t about to barrage Stewart with questions. But he hoped the night would bring some sort of clarity. Stewart had asked Doug straight out the other night what he wanted. Now Doug needed the same answer from him.
He moved through the living room, turning on a few low lights, then went to put on some music. He wanted something sensual, but not obviously so. He settled on Morcheeba, then moved to the couch and took out his phone. He texted Stewart.
‘I’m home.’
Five minutes later he heard Stewart coming down the stairs. He went to the door and opened it before he could knock. “Hey.”
Stewart held a thin plastic shopping bag. “Hey. You came home.”
Doug stepped back, smiling. “I did. Come on in.”
He stepped into the apartment and glanced around. “Your place is really cozy,” he said. He sat down on Doug’s plush Oriental rug instead of moving to the couch.
Doug walked over and sat down on across from him. “What’s in the bag?”
Stewart grinned. “I got you something.”
“You did?”
“Yeah, I was downtown and I spotted it and had to pick it up for you.” He pulled out a tee shirt and handed it to Doug. It was black with the Superman emblem etched in silver.
Doug laughed. “Wow, you got this for me?”
Stewart’s belly laugh came, and he snatched the tee shirt, holding it up to Doug’s chest. “Because of the other night at The Horse and Carriage, when you stepped in and tried to save the day.”
“Thank you,” Doug said, warmed by the gesture. “Just don’t tell anyone my super powers got me slammed into a car.”
“Oh, come on,” Stewart said. “Superheroes are always getting slammed into cars, part of the job.”
Doug leaned in and kissed him quick on the lips. “Thank you.” He started to pull back, but Stewart’s hand hooked the back of his neck and drew him in again, capturing his lips in a full, soft kiss with tongue. Melting into it, Doug grasped his shoulders, then slid his hands around to his back, holding him tight.
“I want you,” Stewart breathed into his mouth. “Right now.” He eased Doug down onto his back and climbed on top of him.
Doug hissed out a breath as Stewart’s weight pressed down on him, covering his body. Tangling his fingers in Stewart’s hair, he pulled his face down and they kissed, open mouthed, tongues gliding together slowly. Feeling the urgent press of Stewart’s hips, the hard evidence of his arousal, Doug spread his legs and wrapped them around Stewart’s knees, clinging tightly to his back.
Stewart broke the kiss and stared down at him, his blue eyes hazy with lust, cheeks flushed pink. He didn’t speak, just remained there, looking into Doug’s eyes. His silent gaze ignited Doug further, and he tilted his hips, pressing his own hardness up. The sensation of the solid man between his legs sped his heart. “I thought you wanted to talk,” he said, his voice hoarse and breathy with need.
“I do,” Stewart said. “But I can’t think right now, much less talk. I have to make love to you first.”
Stewart’s words made Doug’s breathing heavier, and he glided his hands over his strong back, down to his ass. Lifting his hips, he tugged Stewart against him.
Stewart groaned, eyelashes fluttering. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
“Yes,” Doug said. “Do you want to move to the bedroom?”
Shaking his head, Stewart grinned slightly. “Bedroom’s too far away. And I came prepared.”
Doug shivered. “Oh. All right.”
Pushing himself up on his arms, Stewart rolled off of him, then stood. He slipped his hand in his pocket and pulled out a condom and small tube of lubricant, showing Doug. Doug started to sit up, but Stewart shook his head. “Stay where you are,” he said.
Doug smiled, and leaned back on the rug, arms propped behind him. “Whatever you want.”
Stewart set the items aside on the couch, then peeled his shirt off, exposing pale skin over thick muscle. He smiled down at Doug as he tossed his shirt aside. “Whatever I want. I like hearing you say that.”
Kicking off his shoes, Stewart unbuttoned his jeans and dragged the zipper down. Hooking his thumbs at his hips, he pulled them down, taking his underwear with them, and his thick cock bounced up, full and ready. Stepping out of his pants, he walked his nude body over and knelt down, straddling Doug. He reached down, unbuttoning Doug’s shirt.
Doug watched Stewart’s face, heart pounding. He started to help him with the buttons but Stewart stopped his hand. “Let me,” he said. “Let me do it all.”
A hard breath left Doug’s lips. Stewart’s naked body straddled on top of him, fingers unbuttoning his shirt, he was more turned on than he could ever remember being. Stewart finished with the buttons and gently slid the shirt off Doug’s shoulders, holding his gaze.
Doug wriggled out of the sleeves and set the shirt aside, then Stewart’s warm palms pressed against his chest, urging him back. “Lie down.”