Rough [02] - Roughhousing (8 page)

Bram grabbed his hand out of the air and began strolling toward the area James had chosen, a firm but casual grip on James. Bram's fingers laced together with his and the big man's usual long stride shortened to match James’ pace.

In the end, James picked out the style and size appropriate for the house and courtyard while Bram had the final say in the design. It came down to two fountains. They were both three-tiered works of art, one with fluted bowls, six swans at the base, and a trio of cherubs frolicking at the top. The second had a quartet of stallions forming the base, smooth, deep bowls for the waterfalls topped by a regal, thick-maned lion calmly surveying his kingdom. The lion won by unanimous vote. James vaguely understood they had just made their first household purchase as a couple, but shied away from examining the fact.

By the time they had examined all the smaller fountains and made their choice, James found himself edging closer and closer into Bram's personal space, comfortable as a couple in the quiet display area, even with other customers milling around them. No one paid the least bit of attention when Bram swung his arm over James’ shoulder and pulled James to his side to walk out of the nursery. When Bram planted a quick kiss on his temple as they walked, a burst of pleasure blossomed in his chest.

As he slipped out from under Bram's warm embrace to get into the truck, he realized how open they were being. He glanced around at the other parked cars and Saturday shoppers. Again, no one but a toddler hanging from his passing mother's tight grip even looked at him. The child grinned and wordlessly offered him a grimy, little fist full of animal crackers as his mother heedlessly breezed by. James smiled and waved and took his seat in the truck, his nervousness replaced by a bright smile for his lover as Bram slid behind the wheel. It had been a good morning so far.

The rest of the day was spent shopping for groceries, picking up dry cleaning, and taking over an hour for Bram to help select the right lock for his apartment door. James would have purchased the easiest one to install, but Bram had insisted on finding the hardest one to break instead.

By afternoon, they had stopped for lunch at “Bits and Pieces", a local diner near Bram's place. James had feasted on a steak sandwich so stuffed with savory meat, onions, cheese, and mushrooms he had trouble getting it into his mouth. He met several more neighborhood regulars there, and even one of Bram's crew dropped in. The diner was a very popular haunt.

At home Bram decided to spend the next couple of hours cleaning up the courtyard and disassembling the old fountain, all the while musing about what to do with the empty library. He dropped the hint that it was big enough for two people to share as an office without danger of crossing over into each other's space. James absently agreed, but in his head he indulged in the fantasy of his drafting desk set up near the bank of glass doors and his collection of architectural digests and books on the rich mahogany shelves.

Shaking himself out of the daydream, James put his back into the job of clearing the neat, well-worn paving stones of dirt and leaves, happy to be included in the simple domestic chores. He'd missed the feeling of accomplishment working on a personal project gave him. If he was truthful with himself, he missed having a real home. His apartment was comfortable, but it had never given him that sense of permanence or security that even just spending time at Bram's home did. He hadn't felt that way since leaving his parents’ house, and knowing he wasn't welcome back there had added an extra hollow spot to his heart. It felt particularly empty right now.

A rough hand ruffled through his hair as he swept away a pile of dry leaves. Looking up, James caught an expression of gentle fondness mixed with simmering heat on Bram's dirt-smudged face. It brought a grin to his lips. The cold ache that had been building in his stomach vanished. Damn. One glance from the passionate, free-loving man and James’ body and soul responded and warmed. Bram seemed able to fill all the lonely spots in James’ life, even the ones the other man didn't know existed.

James returned the smoldering look, but doggedly went back to sweeping away the debris from the cozy courtyard. There would be plenty of time to put out that fire later. He was sure of that. Bram was a very loving and demonstrative man.

Bram choose that moment to lift off the top tier of the old fountain and James stopped working long enough to appreciate the man's bulging muscles and tight ass and thighs as he hefted the heavy section and carried it out the side gate. James wasn't sure which made him hotter, the man's buff body or the raw, sensual power Bram possessed. Maybe it was both. Then again, he decided, maybe it was the surprising depth of tenderness and caring that lay under all that hard flesh.

Despite the cool breeze picking up, by eight o'clock they were both hot, sweaty, and tired. Bram brushed the remnants of crumpled leaves off the knees of his jeans. He arched his back.

"What do you say we call it a night, Jamie, okay?"

James pulled the last weed growing up from the fine cracks between the ancient stone pavers and tossed it into the wheelbarrow at his side. Standing, he groaned and mirrored Bram's stance, blinking at the sound of his vertebrae popping back into place.

"I'm down with that.” He hissed and rubbed his low back. Shrugging, James worked one shoulder, then the other, trying to loosen the sore muscles. Getting a whiff of himself as he raised his arms, he wrinkled his nose and pulled his sweat-stained shirt away from his sides to let the night breeze flow around him. “Need a shower.” His stomach growled loud and long.

Bram chuckled and rubbed a rough, grubby hand over James’ stomach. Eyes bright with desire, his hand lingered, then dropped lower to rub over the front of James’ pants where the fabric had suddenly become strained.

James returned the heated stare, swallowing hard. “Need ... a couple of things, but I want a shower first."

Bram wrapped his arms around James’ waist and tugged him close. His large hands kneaded the curve of James’ ass while his lips rained a shower of light kisses over his lover's upturned face. “Here and now is good for me, baby, but if all slick and soapy is what you want, far be it from me to deny you.” He pulled back, threw his arm around James’ shoulders, and began walking them toward the library doors. “Showering with you is near the top of my list of favorite things to do. Let's see if we can find something new and interesting to do with a loofah."

* * * *

James rolled his forehead back and forth over the cool tile wall; a small groan escaping his lips as the showerhead pulsed a steady rhythm of hot water over his back. Legs spread comfortably apart, he kept his balance by placing both hands on the smooth surface of the over-sized enclosure. Tiny rivers of moisture trickled down his skin, following the path of his arched spine and hunched shoulders until they converged at his lower back and tickled the crease of his ass and tumbled over the curve of his hips.

Each droplet hammered down on his sore muscles, stinging and pelting every exposed inch of his flesh. The barely tolerable heat seeped into his skin, washing away the grime of the day and leeching out the remainder of his flagging energy. The shower's mist filled the air and the warm humidity invaded his lungs, bringing a heaviness to his body. His thoughts slowed and his senses heightened.

Groaning out loud again, James shivered despite the heat. Scalding plates of iron worked over the muscles of his calves. Bram's large, rough hands massaged his legs, working each ankle, foot, and even his toes. The big man knelt behind James between his spread legs.

If James tried, he could just see the powerful curve of one bent knee on the floor between his thighs, its muscles and tendons taut, corded in a crouch that held more energy and strength than James imagined he possessed in his whole body. The sight made his cock stir and it began to curve up from its resting place nestled against his own thigh.

The rough yet tender caress worked up his thighs and James jumped as Bram mouthed over the swell of his ass. The other man licked at the crease between his cheeks and bit at the soft underside of his butt where thigh joined cheek, alternating the pressure and sharpness of the attentions. James didn't know what to expect next, a tender touch of Bram's talented tongue or the sting of teeth. His breathing increased and his head swam, a mix of anticipation and need combined with a touch of fear of the unknown.

The thrill of giving over control to this man was intoxicating. James often felt like he would pass out just from Bram's slightest touch when they were like this, loving each other, giving each other what each desired most during lovemaking. And nobody knew him the way Bram did. No one instinctively met his needs every single time the way this primal, possessive, caring mountain of a man did. Bram always knew what James needed even when James didn't know it himself. Like now. James had envisioned a hot shower and a quick, mutual jerk off session. Bram had other plans.

Too tired to give much thought to sex when they came upstairs, James had instantly turned control of his body over to Bram. From the slow, sensual stripping off of his clothing to the sudden, unexpected fireman's carry into the wide, luxurious shower, Bram had been working his body and his mind until James hovered on the brink of ecstasy, held there by his lover's massive, protective hands.

Hands that were now kneading his ass and spreading his cheeks to let a stream of hot water and a whiff of cooler air alternate over the sensitive, needy ring guarding the entrance to his body.

James whimpered and rolled his head, using the chilled surface of the tile to help him keep focused. His fingers curled, nails dragging over the ceramic squares, the fine scratching noise next to his head oddly loud in his ear.

He felt a tongue invade his hole, its rough texture and sliding heat sending a jolt of delight deep into his pelvis where the sensation became a heavy ball of unsatisfied desire. With each plunge of the thick muscle at his rim, the sensation built, sending out tendrils of liquid lust that flowed through his flesh seeking out his already inflamed and straining tissues. It curled around his balls and pushed through his cock, forcing it to swell until its head glistened a dark, rosy red, the tightness milking out droplets of translucent white pre-come from the slit. It bobbed between his outstretched legs looking for comfort and attention, but he had been positioned away from anything that he could rub against for relief except for his lover.

A deep, soft voice pulled James out of his ass-centered, spiraling thoughts.

"That's it, baby, shake for me. You know I love it when you tremble under my hands.” A warm wall of iron-hard muscle suddenly draped itself over James’ back and a hard shaft rubbed between his ass cheeks and up his lower back.

James shivered again as the steam-filled heat from the water was replaced with the satiny smooth, hard lines of his lover. Bram worked his hands between them and his strong, relentless fingers kneaded the flesh of James’ back and shoulders, working out the kinks and literally squeezing out the soreness of the day's physical strain. In his mind, James could see his aches and pains pushed out of his pores by Bram's sheer strength to drip off his body and disappear down the drain.

Kisses peppered the curve of his shoulder and neck and bulging, thickly corded, well-defined arms wrapped around his chest. Through half-open eyelids, James watched as Bram's fingers plucked and rolled his nipples. Out of the blue, a fist-sized loofah appeared and its coarse weave stroked over the crinkled, rosy buds until it felt like a flaming match tip instead of a sponge. James felt the heat rise in his face as his tits burned, puckered and taut under the torturous, sensual assault. He pressed back into his lover's body and moaned.

"Fuck!"

"Not this time, baby.” Bram's other hand slid over James’ quivering abs and grabbed hold of his cock, stroking and teasing its length with a heavy, firm grip. “Sweet as your tight ass is, it's time for something simpler tonight.” Bram grabbed James’ hips and turned him around, one hand reaching for James’ cock and the other for the container of liquid soap hanging from a handhold bar.

James pressed his palms against the solid ripples of Bram's chest, thumbs finding the man's large, swollen nubs without conscious thought. He shook the cascading water out of his face, shifting slightly to redirect the flow between their bodies. The scent of soap and his own musky come drifted in the air. James glanced down in time to see Bram's slicked fist close around both of their shafts before he flung back his head and arched into the swift, almost brutal rhythm his lover immediately took up.

Tight, slippery strokes pressed his cock against Bram's thicker shaft, the pulsing veins and heated rod like velvet glass on his flesh. Bram's callused thumb pad swirled under the rim of his cock head and then rose up to dip into the tiny, leaking slit. Each swirling pass pushed him closer to climax, then a firm squeeze of his shaft would back off the need.

Panting, body restless and tense with the physical demand for release, James shuddered and whimpered, mouth devouring the salty curve of Bram's armpit and tender side. One deeply searching lick pulled a low growl from his lover and James’ head was yanked away and his lips were swallowed by Bram's possessive, hungry mouth. Teeth nibbled at his lips and a commanding tongue forced its way in, laving and stroking his palate in time to the swirling, tugging heat on his cock.

The hand in his hair and the one around his cock clenched and James cried out, the sound swallowed down by his lover. His climax boiled in the pit of his groin, spreading in slow motion as it fanned up and out, the sizzling, sparking flames roaring through his nerves like a grass fire out of control. Come soared from his cock, coating his stomach and baptizing Bram's shaft. On James’ final spurt, Bram's own climax jetted up and his lover stroked their combined offerings into their flesh as he continued to milk every drop of pleasure from it.

James’ climax stole his breath and made his heart pound mercilessly in his chest. It washed away his awareness of the moment as if it was as fragile as the soapsuds drifting down the drain. Time skipped a beat and when James opened his eyes he was supported against Bram's chest. For several long seconds he watched Bram's confident hands gently dry off his body, then the room dipped and swayed and cool sheets enfolded him. Just before sleep turned the room black, James felt warm breath ghost along the dip of his spine and a softly murmured “Love you, baby, so much,” was burned into his flesh from the sheer heat of Bram's raw, throaty voice.