Rough [02] - Roughhousing (11 page)

James had the sudden urge to tell Bram the truth about his fears about moving in, but the man was already fast asleep. Light snores ruffled James’ hair, tickling the side of his face.

Concentrating, he willed himself to take slow, deep breaths. By the time he was breathing normally again, his heart had stopped pounding and the sweat had dried on his chest. The scratching at the window faded to a mild annoyance and James slipped into a fitful sleep.

Chapter Eight

The room was still dark. This time it was a firm touch that pulled James out of sleep and into the gray shadows of the morning gloom. A strong hand moved over his skin leaving a trail of warmth everywhere it touched. Bram's rich, earthy scent teased his senses, evoking visions of sweaty, straining muscles and passionate, hungry kisses. Sleep fell away like a discarded cloak as his lips were claimed and Bram's weight settled over him.

James could only make out the outline of his lover, but his memories supplied the details of intense blue eyes and rippling pecs and abs. Seemingly on their own, his fingertips explored Bram's chest and arms, reaffirming his mental image of his powerful lover, adding the texture of fine hairs and curved, solid flesh.

Soft but demanding lips kissed his mouth, urging him to open it to them. James surrendered to the kisses, moaning into the heat and force of the tongue that invaded. He returned as good as he got and got even more back. His mouth was ravaged, devoured.

The blackness of the room heightened James’ senses. Lost in the consuming embrace of hands, lips, and tongue, he barely noticed the thigh wedged between his own legs or the questing touch on his abdomen until his cock was captured in a coarse sheath. Three long pulls and his shaft was hard. Two more delicious tugs and it was released to lay abandoned, full and eager against his groin.

Silent, Bram moved to rain light kisses over James’ closed eyelids and flushed cheeks. The kisses traveled to his neck, adding little nips and sucking motions to the seduction.

As the distracting kisses marked James’ chest and upper arms, his fingers entwined with Bram's thick, square ones. His arms were eased up under the pillows.

Stretched and exposed to the chill of the room, James shivered, then moaned as a wet, rough tongue invaded his armpit, lapping at the soft hairs and sensitive skin secreted there. He arched his back, grinding into the weight of muscle and bone pinning him to the bed, head thrown back and eyelids tightly clenched.

"Oh, yeah.” Bram's raw, passionate voice sounded like a lion's growl in the night, startling James. “Tremble for me, baby. Show how much you love me."

Desire coursed through him, making his skin burn and his mind spin. He shuddered, his body grinding into Bram's voracious embrace. No one made him feel the way Bram did. No one else had ever known how to achieve the right balance of rough dominance and skillful tenderness that James craved from a lover. James shook his head, throwing out all thoughts other than the joy of the immediate moment. He sank into the erotic pleasure of his lover's knowing touch and let Bram carry him away on a tide of lustful need.

Every lick and sucking nibble sent an electric jolt along his nerves. Part of it rocketed to his groin and lay sizzling in his balls, building and tightening his need. Another part lodged under his ribs, an ever-expanding globe of want, anticipation, and hunger that only responded to Bram—the touch of Bram's work-roughened hands, his supple, firm body, his earthy, masculine smell, and his wanton, devouring mouth.

Pressed chest to chest, James could feel his lover's heart beating against his. In his mind, James could see it reaching out to touch him, soothing his own rapid, hammering rhythm, calming it until it matched his lover's pulse, beat for beat.

His wrists were pushed down onto the mattress, a firm, unspoken warning to leave them there. James groaned, the desire to caress and stroke his lover's smooth skin suddenly overwhelming once the ability to do so at will was taken away. He fisted the pillowcase, digging his fingers into it to keep his arms from reaching for any part of Bram he could find.

The weight on James shifted as Bram moved down his torso. The absence of physical restraint made leaving his arms in place even harder. It also made his cock swell and jerk.

The constant path of Bram's teasing, wet tongue journeyed over his ribs, and then laved a nipple until it was hard and hot. The other nipple received the same attention. Bram mouthed and suckled it until it was swollen, then rolled and plucked it between his teeth until James felt the burn all the way down to the base of his cock. His asshole clenched and flared, empty and protesting. He could feel his climax building, coiled in the heavy sac between his legs.

An abrupt swirl around the rim of his navel jerked James’ concentration back to Bram's busy mouth. He sucked in his stomach and squirmed, the sensation both exciting and unbearable. Bram's powerful hands held his hips still as that tongue plundered his belly's sweet spot over and over again. While that tongue worked, Bram's thumbs stroked over the crease where thigh met groin, caressing tantalizingly near James’ neglected cock.

James’ hips bucked and he bit back a cry as Bram burrowed his face into the light growth of hair at the root of James’ cock. Bram nuzzled the shaft, licking the sides and base, lips soft and wet against the hard flesh.

Through the shadowy gloom, James saw Bram unexpectedly loom up between his wide-open knees, his legs gripped in the big man's hands.

Mouth still loving James, Bram pushed his lover's thighs forward, giving him access to the hidden pleasures James had to offer.

His tongue bold and strong, Bram made it dance over the wrinkled sac beneath James’ cock. He explored the tender strip of soft flesh stretched over the root of James’ shaft, then dipped lower to moisten the rim of his opening.

The sensation was hot, wet, and all too suddenly gone. The crunch of the pillowcase fabric squeaked in James’ ears, his fists desperately twisting the cloth in the effort to keep his hands in place.

Sharp bites and soothing licks wandered up the length of his inner thighs, visited the back of his bent knee, then traveled down his tensed calf and ankle. By the time Bram reached his feet, James’ toes were curled and his spine arched, every muscle taut with anticipation and unreleased passion. He nearly screamed when Bram worked his way back down his leg and up the other, pausing only once to lean away and fumble for something from the bedside drawer.

When Bram turned his efforts back to sucking the curl right out of James’ toes, James concentrated on the bruising grip his lover had on his thighs to keep from coming.

The sharp snap of a bottle cap being opened was followed by the sudden glide of cool gel against his ass.

"Take it slow, baby. Gonna take it nice and slow."

Bram's low, raspy command sent a shiver through James. One finger, then two eased into his ass, toying with the rim, stretching it, starting the familiar burning ache deep in his pelvis near the root of his cock.

"Gonna make it good for you, baby."

With one hand stroking inside of him, Bram used his other to grip and tug James’ cock.

James snapped his hips to the rhythm of the strokes, first grinding down on Bram's fingers then thrusting up into Bram's fist. Each downward movement brought him into contact with Bram's shaft, its broad, wet tip nudging at the small of his back again and again.

The dual sensations of filling Bram's tight, slick fist and of his ass being filled drove James to the edge of climax, where he hung on, waiting. Each time he approached orgasm, Bram would vary the speed or the depth of his strokes and the moment would fade a few degrees. James thought he would explode if he didn't come soon.

"Christ! Fuck!” Gritting his teeth, James hissed, then begged, “More. Harder. Just a little bit more!” Arching his back, he shoved his ass down hard, impaling himself on Bram's hand, forcing the stiff fingers in deep. The new angle allowed Bram's fingertips to brush over the small, hidden gland. James cried out and rocked his hips harder, lost in the approaching bliss of mind-shattering orgasm, egged on by Bram's throaty demands.

"That's it, baby. Give it to me. Give me all you've got."

His climax boiled up, white-hot and burning, from his balls and shot out in short, stuttered dabs of white. He felt it coat the head of his cock and trickle down the sides.

His ass flared around Bram's hand, each spasm milking the fullness inside of him, trying to draw his lover's essence into himself. His orgasm faded, and James regretted the loss of substance the moment Bram's fingers eased out. His lower torso was laid flat on the bed.

Pliant and sated, James made a contented sound in his chest, primal and universally known to lovers. Shudders ran down him from head to toe, the lingering pleasure of orgasm still tingling in his bones. The sudden, supple weight of his still unsatisfied lover flowed over him like a favorite blanket.

Groaning, Bram aligned their slick cocks. He thrust his hips back and forth, sliding their heated shafts over each other, letting friction and pressure work their own brand of magic.

James’ cock stirred, reluctant to respond to the provocative rhythm. Half hard, he bucked his hips up in time to the ancient beat, primal drive replacing reason.

He yanked Bram down for a blistering kiss, their tongues dueling for control. He won the battle until Bram lifted him up and wrapped those arms around James’ slender back, engulfing him in a crushing embrace that left no question who the dominant male in the room was.

Surrounded by an amazing amount of strength and power, James relinquished both the kiss and himself to his lover. Knowing hands roughly caressed his skin while his full erection traded Eskimo kisses in the dark with Bram's.

The moment turned fast and furious. James felt a wave of dizziness wash over him, his second orgasm taking away his ability to speak. His sudden release forced a cry from him.

"Jesus, Bram, damn! Fuck!"

Bram grunted and increased the speed of his thrusts until he abruptly froze in place, neck tendons taut and head thrown back. The firm shaft pressed into his groin pulsed and liquid heat splattered between them.

"Oh, baby! Shit!"

In the moonlight, James could see sweat beading on Bram's forehead. The sweat ran down his face to drip off the corner of his square jaw. James wiped at the next drip that threatened to fall, hand as unsteady as his racing heartbeat.

Rolling on his side, Bram dragged James over with him, pulling James in close so he could run his hands over James’ bare back and hip.

James rested his head on Bram's chest and listened to the fast but steady heartbeat. The hypnotic, comforting rhythm like a favorite fairy tale, lulled him back to sleep. He felt a quick, rough kiss brushed across his forehead and then awareness slipped quietly away in the dark one more time.

Chapter Nine

The hunt for an affordable apartment was tedious and frustrating. James had invited Bram to go apartment shopping with him in an effort to soften his refusal to move in with the man. Bram sullenly agreed to accompany him. Making good use of his construction background, Bram was quick to point out every flaw and negative aspect of each place until even the landlords began looking at the buildings with a more critical eye.

Almost completely through the newspaper's available listings, James thought he would never find an acceptable, safe and convenient apartment that wouldn't break his budget or send Bram into fits. By mid afternoon, the two of them had looked at eight apartments and one duplex, all of which were either in a bad neighborhood, too expensive, too rundown, or too far from work for James. With one address left to check out, James was tired and discouraged.

Parked at the curb, James stared out of the passenger window of Bram's truck at the next rental possibility. It was a moderate-sized, three story, brick apartment building. He was unexpectedly pleased by the sight of its neatly manicured shrubbery and even walkway leading to a sturdy-looking, security-keyed lobby door. The quiet street had little traffic for the middle of the afternoon and the surrounding neighborhood was neat and clean. He double-checked the address against the newspaper to be sure they had the right place.

"You sure this is it?” James asked.

"Address on the curb matches the one in the ad."

"Uh-huh."

"Let's take a look."

"If it's for real, it's probably gone by now."

"Never know unless we go in. It looks great."

"Uh-huh."

"It's close to the office."

"Uh-huh."

"And not that much farther from your place then where I'm at now."

"You're at my place now. The perfect distance away. None."

"Bram. We went over this."

"Uh-huh."

"Will you stop that?"

"What?"

"That!” James scowled at the innocent, affronted look Bram gave him. “Christ, never mind. Let's go.” He climbed out of the truck and waited for Bram to join him on the sidewalk. “It'll probably be too expensive anyway and then you can say ‘I told you so'."

"You'd save a whole shitload of money just staying where you're sleeping now."

"You never give up, do you?"

"Uh-uh."

James growled under his breath and stalked to the lobby door. Bram followed behind, critically examining every aspect of the building on the way to his lover's side.

In the end, the apartment was available. The rooms were spacious, the kitchen and bath recently updated with new fixtures and appliances, and the carpet had been replaced only six months prior. The obvious cosmetic touches had been attended to, but the elderly, wooden front door was secured with only one ancient lock that fought back when the landlord tried to open it. It took three tries before he was successful.

After quizzing the landlord relentlessly, including insisting on knowing how often the police were called to the building, even Bram couldn't find an outstanding problem to complain about. That still didn't erase the unhappy expression from his face.

They waited while the landlord ran a credit check, each exploring the apartment, James with obvious pleasure and Bram with thinly disguised disappointment. Fifteen minutes later, James paid a first month's deposit, signed a six-month lease, and got the okay to move in. James heaved a sigh of relief while Bram's frown deepened.