Chapter Twenty-Seven

Neville Doesn't Need to Know That Part

Rafe

Unsurprisingly, fucking a pumpkin head with my neighbour was not how I'd envisioned my morning going.

But fuck, if it didn't put me in a great mood.

After getting over the shock of the toy laughing when we came in it, I flopped back in the armchair with a long, relieved groan. A big, loopy smile spread over my face as I stretched. I was almost deliriously happy all of a sudden. My dick was free, and I'd just nutted so hard I'd almost pulled a muscle.

I heard Dan chuckle as his legs shifted against mine and I sensed him lean forward. A second later, a warm nose was nuzzling my cheek as his smiling mouth brushed the corner of my lips.

"You've definitely never smiled at me like that before, kitten." He pressed a soft kiss to my cheek, then trailed his lips and nose down to my neck, making me shiver.

I huffed a laugh, my hand automatically rising to thread through his hair as I lay there with my eyes closed, basking in the immense relief and satiation. My leg was still hooked over the armrest, and now that I wasn't mindless and frantic with the need to come, I was a little embarrassed by how shamelessly I'd spread myself out before him, but I was too relaxed to care enough to move.

Dan was pressing light kisses along my collarbone and shoulder now, and my throat tightened with a little moan I just about managed to hold back. My fingers shifted in the soft strands of his hair, scratching lightly at his scalp. He seemed to like that, because he groaned in pleasure as his mouth moved lower. My breath caught when he nuzzled a nipple, then plucked at it gently with his teeth.

I'd never had anyone pay much attention to my nipples before, and I'd always assumed I wouldn't get much out of it anyway, but my whole body must've been extra sensitised, because a zing of pleasure shot down through my belly and into my balls.

My softening cock twitched in reaction, but now that I wasn't desperate to come…

"Shit, my dick is kinda sore." I winced, finally lifting my head to peer down at it. It twitched again when I saw Dan's cock hanging out of his fly just inches from mine. He was still half-hard, flushed and a little slick from the lube in the sleeve.

His hand smoothed down my chest and over my belly as he looked down, and I shivered again. His hands were big and masculine, and it was insanely arousing to see him touching me like that.

He chuckled, hand slipping down to the top of my thigh. My breath caught when he squeezed, his thumb resting less than an inch from the base of my cock.

"Poor kitten." He grinned up at me. "Worth it in the end though, right?"

I found my mouth tilting into a grin of my own. His eyes heated before he lunged forward to kiss me.

"You're even prettier when you smile like that, kitten," he murmured against my lips.

I blushed. He was the only person who'd ever called me pretty. I'd been called good-looking before, sure. Handsome—not just by him. Hot. But not pretty.

I liked it.

"And fuck, your body," he growled, pulling back to look down at me.

My cheeks grew even hotter as I bit my lip. I could feel his gaze running over me. The hand on my leg squeezed, then glided down the outside of my thigh and back up, making the muscles twitch. When my cock tingled, I winced. It was definitely too tender for me to get another boner right now.

"Don't… don't make me hard again," I croaked. "Still a little worried I've caused permanent damage. It needs to rest."

Dan chuckled and sat back, kneeling on the footstool. His hands slid down to my knees. "Looks fine to me, handsome."

"Shit, I should start getting ready for work." I rubbed a hand over my face and yawned. Honestly, I could easily go take a nap after that eventful morning, and I hated napping. Hated waking up feeling all groggy and like I'd wasted the day. "I think I need another shower."

I'd been sweating with anxiety, and now my dick was coated in lube and cum. Plus my pubes were feeling a little crispy from all the lube I'd desperately poured on myself when I was trying to get the pumpkin head off.

Dan shifted off the footstool and stood, unhurriedly tucking his cock back into his ludicrously tight jeans, then he held out a hand for me. I hesitated before taking it and letting him help me up. My legs were still a little unsteady.

Heat rushed to my face when I suddenly became acutely aware that I was buck-ass naked and he was fully dressed. Dan smirked, yanking me closer in a rush and wrapping his arm around my waist as he leaned down and crushed his mouth to mine. I grunted into the kiss when he slid his hand down and gave my ass a good squeeze, and by the time he lifted his head, I was breathing faster again.

"Go take your shower, handsome," he rasped. "I'll wait down here."

"'Kay," I breathed faintly, then blinked hard and cleared my throat as I took a step back. "Uh… you don't have to wait just because of—"

"Oh no, I'm staying." He flopped down into the armchair I'd just vacated and tucked his hands behind his head. I tried not to stare at his huge biceps as they flexed. "Maybe we could even go into work together."

"Uh…"

"That's what good neighbours do, right?" He smirked, gaze slowly drifting down my naked body. Reaching down, he adjusted his cock in his jeans. "Better get moving if you don't want to be late, handsome."

It should've annoyed me, the way he'd just dictated what was going to happen in his usual cocky, overbearing manner, but I found myself huffing out a small laugh as I turned for the door. "Fine."

"Damn. Look at that ass."

I froze, face heating as I glanced back to shoot him a weak glare. But my belly swooped as he grinned at me, unapologetic, then popped his head off to settle it in his lap.

I hesitated, then turned back to head upstairs. If I came down and found him sucking his own dick in my living room, I was going to… Well, I had no idea what I'd do. Probably yell at my poor cock to rally for a second round, tenderness be damned.

It still hadn't fully sunk in—what I'd agreed to. Our new arrangement. Neighbours with benefits, I guessed. Fucking around without any expectations.

I wasn't sure what to think of it. It wasn't like I wanted to date Dan Ewen—no way—but Nev had been right. I wasn't much of a hookup guy. I tended to end up in relationships, though it had been a while.

But, well, why couldn't I become a hookup guy? At least temporarily, while Dan and I fooled around. It would just be some fun. I'd get to try a lot of new things without worrying about any of the other stuff.

Because while I now knew that I was definitely sexually attracted to men, that didn't mean I'd enjoy being in an actual relationship with one. I was sure it was different, in some ways. Then again, maybe it wasn't. It was still just two people who simply wanted to be together.

That isn't this, though , I thought quickly as I turned on the shower and waited for the water to heat up. Dan and I didn't want to be together. God no. He still annoyed me, and I was sure I annoyed him, being the grouchy guy next door who complained a lot.

The thought of him in my house all the time , going through my kitchen cabinets and manspreading on my couch and scratching his nuts with his hand down his pants as he watched my TV, made me shudder with horror as I stepped under the spray. I'd never been in his place, but it was probably horrendously messy. His yard certainly was. He probably left stuff out on the counter for days, dumped his dirty clothes on the floor of his bedroom and considered aiming for the shit stains in the toilet bowl with his piss as ‘cleaning.'

There was no way anything was going to come of this. Which I didn't want anyway, and I knew for a fact that Dan was pretty much allergic to relationships. This would just be fooling around. Knowing that when I was horny, I could literally just walk next door to get some relief.

I grinned to myself as I soaped up. That sounded perfect, actually.

—

When I got downstairs, freshly showered and dressed in a shirt and slacks for work, Dan was no longer in the living room.

Nor was the pumpkin head.

I heard movement in the kitchen just as the smell of freshly brewed coffee hit my nose. When I walked into the room, Dan was standing at the counter in front of two steaming cups, adding a splash of creamer to one.

The pumpkin head was sitting proudly on the island, grinning at me. I blushed at the sight of it just as Dan turned.

I kind of couldn't believe I'd done that.

Fucked a pumpkin head.

With Dan Ewen.

I wasn't sure I'd tell Neville that part.

"Made coffee. Hope you don't mind." Dan held out the cup with a grin.

"Uh." I walked over and took it. "Thanks."

He tilted his head toward the pumpkin, grin turning sly. "Washed out the sleeves too. It's all ready for next time."

He'd even thrown out the plastic bag and flattened the box to put it in the recycling. Huh.

And, I noticed, he'd washed out the bowl of hot sauce that had been left on the floor. I coughed awkwardly and raised the cup to my lips so I didn't have to say anything. I wasn't sure how he knew how I took my coffee, but he'd added the perfect amount of creamer.

"Should probably head off in about fifteen minutes," he said casually, grabbing his own cup. He took his coffee black, I noticed.

"Okay."

Feeling a little disconcerted that he was just… here, in my house, I had another sip before setting down the cup. I could feel him watching me as I grabbed the big bowl of pasta salad I'd previously made for my lunches from the fridge, then bent to get a couple of Tupperware containers from the cupboard.

"Looks good," he commented cheerfully as I spooned pasta salad into a container and snapped the lid on. "You like to cook?"

"Uh, nah. Not overly." I grabbed the big half-eaten bag of tortilla chips that Neville and I had snacked on last night and dumped some into the other container.

"Is that for portion control?" Dan asked with interest.

I shook my head. "I just can't stand feeling the inside of a chip bag. It's all greasy and you end up with salt grit all over your hand."

He huffed in amusement. I sensed him move closer as I snapped the lid on the container, and then my belly flipped when he suddenly looped an arm around my waist from behind and nuzzled my neck. "You're cute, kitten."

I parted my lips automatically to tell him not to call me that, but ended up biting my lip when he pressed a soft kiss just beneath my ear.

"You don't have to be like that, you know," I blurted, because my stomach was going weird.

He paused before lifting his head. "Like what?"

Flustered, I turned to face him, my lower back pressed against the counter as he loomed over me. "I'm not, like… Just because of what happened last time doesn't mean you have to be all…"

When I trailed off, he raised a brow. "All what?"

"Nice," I finished hoarsely, trying not to think too hard about the feel of him pressed up against me.

He stared down at me blankly for a second, then burst out laughing and stepped back. "I'm bein' normal, kitten. I'm always nice."

What? But this wasn't normal. Not for us, at least. Not that there was an us , but… I knew Dan wasn't interested in any romantic shit. We weren't a couple going about our familiar morning routine. We'd agreed to start fooling around and nothing else, so I just wasn't sure why he was being… like this.

Nice.

Kissing my neck when he knew nothing could come of it right now, because we had to leave for work.

Confused, I sidled out from between him and the counter and grabbed a protein bar from the cupboard and an apple from the fruit bowl. After draining my coffee, I retrieved my backpack from the hall and stuffed my lunch into it, then looked at Dan, who was placing both our cups in the sink.

"Ready?" I asked awkwardly.

Was I really going to share a car with Dan to work?

"Uh-huh." He ambled over and took my bag from me, making my brow quirk. "I'll carry this, kitten."

"Why?" I asked blankly as I followed him into the hall.

He grinned back at me over his shoulder as he reached for the door handle. "Because I'm nice."

I huffed and snatched up my keys, still feeling kind of weird, but also loose and relaxed from that orgasm, though my cock was definitely a little tender.

But still. This was weird.

"Oops," Dan said as we stepped outside. "Left the key in the door."

Before I could reach for it, he'd snatched my spare key out of the lock and slid it into his pocket, then sauntered off the front porch.

I eyed him as I locked up. "Uh, am I gonna get that back?"

"Get what back?" he replied airily.

I snorted as I followed him to my car. "You can't just keep a key to my house, dude, just because we're…"

He stopped by the passenger side door and gave me a winning smile. "But what if there's another pumpkin head emergency?"

I flushed and glanced around self-consciously, hurriedly unlocking my car so he wouldn't say anything embarrassing where the neighbours could potentially hear.

"There is no way I'm ever using that thing again," I muttered as we climbed in. "In fact, I'm going to smash it with the baseball bat you left in my house the moment I get home."

"Aw, come on, handsome." He chuckled and reached over to briefly squeeze my upper thigh, making it tingle. "It was fun at the end there."

I pursed my lips as I switched on the engine and put the car in reverse. "It was probably the weirdest thing I've ever done."

He snorted, leaning his head back against the headrest. "That wasn't weird. You just wait 'til I get you naked again, kitten. I'll show you how weird it can get with a dullahan."