RR-CDA (14 page)

Cole sat down and worked on removing his skates. His feet ached, and when he finally got his boots back on, he had that phantom-blade-in-the-middle-of-his-foot sensation. Owen was still standing there, looking down at him with a weird expression.

“What?” Cole shook his head. “I’m heading out either way. If you want to stay and skate, go for it.”

Owen glanced around before he sat beside him on the bench and removed his own skates. “I got the impression the other night that you didn’t want anything more to do with me.”

There was that. “Not really.”

“I came after you to apologize for whatever I’d done. I’ve replayed everything over in my head, but I can’t figure out where I’d screwed up.”

That was the problem, Owen
hadn’t
done something wrong. Cole was paranoid at best. There was nothing wrong with being cautious, about keeping his distance from a man he could easily lose himself in. But that didn’t mean he should sacrifice the beginnings of what was turning out to be a good friendship.

“Honestly, you were fine. The last few weeks have been overwhelming. I keep forgetting that Steven left me only earlier this month. I’m overreacting to everything. Right now I need a friend and you’ve been a better one to me than I’ve been to you.” He got to his feet, holding his skates by the blades. “I’m sorry. If you’d like, I’ll buy you some lunch to make it up to you.”

One moment Owen looked as though he might cry, and the next he was grinning like a fool. “That sounds awesome. If you’re up for it, I found out that
Silent Night, Deadly Night
is playing on-demand.”

“A Christmas horror movie?”

“Apparently a really bad one.”

That was normally the last type of movie Cole would want to watch. But saying yes meant spending time with Owen, something that he now wanted to do more than anything. “Why not. If it sucks though, I’m out of there.”

“Fair enough. I promise it will be horri-bad in all respects, but hilariously fun. At least that’s what I’ve been told.”

“You haven’t seen it?”

Owen shook his head, grinning even more broadly. “I’m always up for something new to try.”

They fell into step on their way to the street vendor. Two hot dogs and fries in hand, they chatted as they walked and ate. Cole knew in his heart that a relationship with Owen was foolish, especially after his realization of how little he knew the other man. Typical him, moving from acquaintance to friendship to relationship in his head in the span of days. This was why his relationships didn’t work out. Unrealistic expectations.

Unrealistic expectations. But forewarned was forearmed, right? All Cole needed to do was keep his brain from making that leap to relationship mode and everything would be good.

This time when he made the trip up the stairs to Owen’s apartment, he was in a far better mind-set. Owen got them two beers each, and they took up residence on his couch to watch . . . well, whatever the hell this movie was supposed to be.

It didn’t take long for the two of them to start groaning and heckling the action on the screen. The movie was a typical eighties horror film, complete with big-busted girls and an evil nun at an orphanage. Still, there were some good jumps that had him squirming in his seat. He really didn’t like horror movies.

Owen took another sip of his beer and stretched his arm out along the back of the couch. “This thing got banned at the time. Too controversial having Santa with an ax. Apparently it only played for two weeks in the theaters.”

“I can appreciate that. If I had kids, I wouldn’t want them to see this and freak.” Without thinking, Cole let his head fall back against Owen’s arm.

The contact drew his attention away from the movie and refocused it on Owen. He had on a long-sleeved cotton shirt. The material was soft against the back of Cole’s neck, and he gently moved so he could enjoy the sensation of it against his skin. Once he’d stopped moving, Owen shifted again; this time his fingers brushed against Cole’s hairline.

A shiver raced through Cole, and his cock hardened. Shit, this wasn’t right. He couldn’t lead Owen on again, taking something when he knew there wasn’t a future for them. He needed to stop this. Now.

“Owen—”

He sucked in a surprised breath when Owen cupped the back of his head, leaned in, and nipped on his earlobe. “I haven’t been able to get you out of my head.”

Fuck.
“Owen, I’m not sure we should do this.”

“I’ll stop if you want.” He nuzzled his nose against the side of Cole’s neck, kissing and licking a trail across his skin. “If you really want me to. Just say the word.”

This was such a bad idea. A terrible mistake. “Don’t stop.”

Owen sighed and continued his exploration of Cole’s neck. They began to make out as the movie played in the background. There was no urgency to what they were doing, no expectation that anything else needed to happen. The brush of lips and tongues, gentle nips and soft moans allowed Cole to relax and simply enjoy.

It was fucking awesome.

Owen kept his hands mostly above Cole’s belt, rubbing and squeezing his arms and chest. It was nice to know that he was respecting Cole’s previous reluctance, but the more they kissed, the more Cole needed things to move to the next step.

He took Owen’s hand and slid it down to the hard bulge in his pants. “Look what you do to me.”

“I want you too.” Owen shifted so Cole could feel Owen’s hard cock against his leg. “I’m going to suck you.”

Thank God.

“Then I’m going to get some lube and a condom and fuck you over my couch.”

Jesus save me.
“Hurry.”

Cole had never undressed that quickly before. He popped a button getting his shirt off, and for once didn’t care about the state of his clothing. Owen seemed to be just as frantic, pulling and tossing clothing without looking. Once he was naked, Cole picked up the remote and turned the television off. “Don’t want that shit on anymore.”

“Yeah, not the sort of thing you want to fuck to.” Owen pulled him hard against his chest and bit his chin. “You drive me fucking insane. I want to do all these things to you. Just you.”

“Like what?”

“I want to fuck you hard and fast. I want to spank you so I know what noises you make. I want you to fuck me on my back, your hands on my throat so I feel possessed by you.” The intensity of his gaze matched that of his words. “I’ve never been like this with another person before. This is crazy. I want to do everything with you. Everything.”

The thought equally terrified and thrilled Cole. This wasn’t a friendship or even a causal sex thing. Owen was on a path that he didn’t know if he could follow. The smart thing would be to stop things right then, get dressed, and walk away before they both got hurt.

He was beginning to realize that he wasn’t a smart man. “Get the lube and condom.” He swallowed hard. “I need you to fuck me now. Right the hell now.”

That was it. Owen left him to get what they needed, and Cole moved behind the couch. He leaned over the back of it, spread his legs, and waited. He knew the second Owen returned because the other man groaned.

“That’s a sight I would never get tired of seeing.”

Cole reached behind and smacked his ass. “Don’t spend too much time gawking.”

“No worries about that.”

Owen came up behind him and squeezed his ass cheeks with both hands. He kneaded and pulled at his ass, until Cole’s body shook. He tried to push against Owen, hoping the other man would take the hint, but clearly he had a different plan.

The first smack of Owen’s hand across his ass surprised the hell out of him. The sting from the contact burned for a moment before dissolving into an almost pleasant heat. Owen continued kneading his skin. “Like that?”

Did he? Spanking hadn’t even been something he’d thought of before now. “Not sure.”

Owen spanked his other ass cheek, though not quite as hard as he had the first time. Cole’s cock swayed from the impact, bringing the head into contact with the couch. His body was revved up, ready for anything that Owen threw at him.

“Your body should be illegal.” Owen placed a series of kisses down Cole’s spine to his tailbone. “I’ve never been this hard for a guy before. Ever.”

The lube-slick finger slipped easily into his ass, and the subsequent sensation skittered through his body. Owen worked his body open quickly, and Cole felt Owen’s hands shaking as he moved around him. The crinkle of a condom wrapper cued him to widen his stance, getting ready for the fucking he wanted more than anything at that moment.

One hand, then the other on his hips, and finally the long, slow side of Owen’s cock into his waiting body. Cole shuddered as he leaned his forehead against the top of the couch cushion. Owen moved in and out of him at a painfully slow rate. Every inch of his cock filled Cole, stretched him wide until he couldn’t breathe. The uncomfortable burn quickly eased away as his muscles relaxed, and Owen was finally free to take him however he wanted.

“Fuck me, Owen.”

“As you wish.”

Cole cried out at the abrupt change of pace, his cock instantly leaking at the pounding his prostate was taking. He didn’t want this to end—the intensity, the pleasure, the way Owen seemed to know exactly what he needed even before he did.

Case in point, he was half a second away from grabbing his cock when Owen beat him to it. He started stroking Cole’s shaft in time with his thrusts. Pleasure zipped through Cole, spreading to fill every inch of his body. It wasn’t going to take long to push him over the edge, but he didn’t care. This wasn’t like their first time together. The intimacy had been almost too much, too soon. The raw nature of their fucking now, yes, this was better. He understood this, wanted it. Had never shared anything even remotely close to this with anyone.

This was all Owen.

Owen leaned forward and bit down on Cole’s shoulder. “Come.”

Fuck.
Cole squeezed his eyes shut, thrust into Owen’s magic hand, and came hard. His muscles tensed, and his hips bucked into Owen’s touch. He couldn’t think beyond
Yes, more
. Finally, after what could have been an eternity, the pleasure receded enough that he was able to come back to his senses. Owen had released Cole’s cock and how gripped both of his hips. He could feel his cum on his skin where Owen touched him. It was wonderfully messy. Owen was still holding on, but Cole sensed he wasn’t going to last much longer.

The stuttering rhythm picked up speed once again. Cole braced himself, thrusting back to meet Owen. His legs shook from the strain of Owen against him, but he didn’t care. He didn’t want to stop, not until Owen came.

“Fuck me, Owen. Come on.”

Fingers dug into his hips, and finally Owen slammed into him hard and cried out. It was a primal roar of pleasure as cum filled the condom. Cole was the one who felt owned, possessed by Owen. He was safe and sated, at the mercy of the man behind him.

And damn it if he didn’t like it.

Owen pulled out and placed several kisses across his back. “Holy shit.”

Cole laughed as he pushed himself up, questioning if his legs would be able to hold him after all that. “I agree.”

He didn’t get far, as Owen wrapped him into a hug. As frantic as their fucking had been, their shared embrace was a place of calm. Their breathing synced up as he ran his hands through Owen’s hair. “That was . . . awesome.”

“And unexpected.” Owen kissed him soft and slow. “After you left the other day, I didn’t think I’d be in this position again.”

Cole closed his eyes, not wanting his brain to kick in and ruin the moment. “Yeah. Me either to be honest.”

This wasn’t the time or place for him to start thinking about the future. Christmas was in a few days, and he wanted nothing more than to spend time with his family, eat, drink, and maybe have some fun with Owen.

Nothing else. No relationship business. No Steven or what his leaving meant.

Nothing.

“Want to take a shower?” Owen’s question jerked him back to reality.

“No. I wouldn’t say no to a cloth though. You messed me up.” The cum on his hip had already dried and was flaking off.

“I’d apologize, but I won’t lie to you this close to Christmas.” Owen grinned. “Let me get you something.”

They chatted as they cleaned up and got dressed. Then they moved to the couch for some postcoital cuddling. Their conversation drifted from random topics to spaces of quiet. It was nice. Peaceful. It was also the first time he’d shared something like this with another man.

“Hey.” Cole pushed away from Owen, but took his hand. “I know I’ve said this before, but thank you. I’m not sure I would have been okay with Steven leaving me the way he did if it wasn’t for you.”

“You’re welcome.”

As simple as that, Cole’s heart melted another degree. How could he resist Owen and his loving, easygoing nature? Why would he even want to?

Because you don’t know him, not really.

But that didn’t mean that he couldn’t take the time to fix that little problem. It was simple enough to do.

He cleared his throat. “I was wondering if you might want to go out on a date. With me. Not something designed to make me forget Steven, but something that will let me get to know you. I think I could find myself falling in love with you very quickly, and I don’t want to repeat past mistakes. I want to go into things with my eyes open.”

He wasn’t looking at Owen as he spoke, nerves and embarrassment prevented that. But when Owen lifted his chin and kissed him hard, Cole knew he didn’t have anything to worry about.

“You idiot. Of course.”

He huffed out the breath he’d been holding. “Good. Great.”

“We can work out the details later.” Owen pulled Cole back against him and grabbed the remote. “First, I want to see the end of the movie.”

“You’re kidding. It’s awful.”

“Shh. I like the way you lean against me in the scary parts. Like I can protect you from Santa.”

Cole settled into his spot against Owen’s side and relaxed. Maybe this rebound thing with Owen wouldn’t be like all the rest. For once, things seemed to be going his way.