Chapter Five

Chapter Five

Confessions

Now that we were here, naked and safe together in this private space where Aiden lived—hopefully alone—I was eager and so, so hungry. Maybe it helped that he looked nothing like Daniel, who had been red-haired and pale-skinned, with freckles everywhere.

Stop thinking about him, I told myself. I pushed his image from my mind. I couldn't fuck a ghost, and it was time to stop torturing myself. Daniel was dead, and I was still fucking alive.

Aiden pulled away and grinned. "I don't either."

He pulled me onto the bed.

"Do you want a lamp on?" he asked, between hungry kisses.

"No. Don't need it. Don't care."

God, I was so desperate, I didn't want anything to distract me from getting what I needed. The moonlight and glow from the streetlamps gave the room an ethereal illumination.

"Hey, Fletcher," Aiden said, pulling back and regarding me with concern. "Nobody's gonna take it from you. We don't have to rush."

"Okay. I know. Sorry," I said.

"Oh God, don't be sorry, baby," he murmured. "It's very flattering. Come on. Let's get these off."

He slipped his fingers under the waistband of my boxer briefs and dragged them down my thighs and all the way off. Then he did the same with his.

We came together now, completely naked and desperate, kneeling on the mattress, our breaths and soft moans the only sounds in the room.

"I want to suck you," Aiden said.

"Okay. Please."

He gave me a wicked grin and slid down the bed. My hips thrust up as he took me into his mouth.

"Oh my fucking God!" I gasped, my whole world becoming warmth and suction and Aiden's dark eyes gazing at me. "Fuck, fuck, fuck."

It felt so good. So right. He ate me like I was his last meal, slobbered over my cock like he was starved for it, and used his hand to jerk me like a porn star.

Daniel had been all about slow teasing and long make-out sessions. Aiden was a whirlwind of hunger and lust, and I let him take me over. I splayed my arms out and closed my eyes, focusing on the way Aiden was going at me. He was fierce and desperate, and my body responded to his actions with unpredicted fervor.

"Oh fuck, oh fuck. I'm gonna come. Stop."

He stopped.

"I want to keep going," he said.

"I'll come."

"So?" he said, waggling his eyebrows. "Good."

I swallowed. "Isn't it too soon?"

He laughed. "Too soon for who? Not for me. I want to watch you."

I blinked. "But then it'll be over."

"Oh, no, Fletcher. It will have just begun," he said, as he wrapped his fingers around me and took me down his throat again.

I groaned and gaped at the ceiling as he brought me to the edge again.

"You probably don't want to—" I said, before the orgasm bolted through me and my cock overflowed, pleasure rolling in waves. "Oh…fuck…"

Aiden popped off my cock and spat out the jizz that had started to fill his mouth. But he kept jerking me as I rode the waves, making sounds of enjoyment.

"How are you so beautiful? Honestly."

I gazed at him, blinking, trying to get my breath back.

"What?"

"When you come. You're radiant. It's so fucking hot." He glanced at the digital clock on the dresser. "How long have we got before you have to get home?"

"A couple of hours," I said, my head still spinning from the comment.

"I can work with that."

"Do you have a towel?"

"Hold on."

I lay there while Aiden got a cloth and wiped up the mess I'd made. As he leaned over me to put it on the side table, I reached for his cock.

"Oh, hello there," he murmured, covering my hand with his as he settled back down on the mattress. "You going to jerk me?"

"I'd like to. Lube?"

"Here," he said, passing me a jar.

"Coconut oil?"

"Nothing but the best. Smells good, too," Aiden said. "Don't use it with a condom. But it's great for manual activities.

I scooped some onto my fingers and found his dick again. He was longer and narrower than I was, and it leaned slightly to the right when he was erect, like now.

"You're really hard."

"Yeah," he panted.

"Like, rock solid."

"Feels like it."

"I'll say."

"Oh, fuck yes," he breathed, placing his hands on his thighs as he watched me. "That looks so hot, what you're doing."

"That coconut oil does smell good," I said, meeting his gaze.

He sat back on his heels as I jerked him. I watched as he got more and more turned on. He was a stunningly beautiful man, even more so now, with his cheeks darkening to a rosy color and his sweet mouth open, his eyes deep pits of longing.

I sped up as Aiden's breaths made a staccato rhythm and he thrusted into my hand.

"Oh fuck, I'm gonna come…gonna come," he groaned as hot spurts shot over my fist. "Oh…my…God…yes…"

I kept going until he put a hand down to stop me.

"Too much. Too much," he laughed. "Mmm."

He took a shaky breath as I reached for the towel. I wiped my fingers and passed it over. Aiden cleaned himself up.

"Oh, I feel much better," Aiden murmured, sliding down to the bed and gathering me close. "Where have you been, Fletcher Marin?"

I waited for panic to start, or tears to come, but there was nothing, nothing but a soothing calm that spread over me, everywhere. I could have fallen asleep.

"Don't let me fall asleep," I whispered, snuggling closer.

"Don't worry," Aiden said, as his fingers gripped my hips and he surged against me. His cock was soft but his lips and tongue on my neck told me he was still aroused and ready for round two. I hoped I could keep up.

Turned out I needn't have worried.

Aiden easily got me hard again, and soon we were as desperate as we'd been before. This time, we stretched out and frotted our cocks together.

"Look," I said, gazing between our bodies.

"So pretty. The dark and the light."

'I wrapped my hand around them and surged against him.

"Oh, yes, yes, yes," Aiden gasped as we thrust in a quickening rhythm until, with a groan, he came, and I followed.

As we lay there, recovering, we gazed into each other's eyes like long-time lovers.

"So hot. So lovely," Aiden said, gliding his fingers along my hip and over my ass. "So…are you a bottom or a top, my dear Fletcher?"

"Wow, so direct," I said, amused. "I've done both."

"Really? And which do you prefer?"

"How about you?"

Aiden laughed. "I asked you first."

I made a show of sighing, but I wasn't annoyed. "I prefer to bottom. But I'm open to anything."

Aiden stroked his tongue in a languid path over his bottom lip.

"Versatile. Excellent."

"You?"

"Well, I like to top, so I suppose this might work out after all."

He gazed at me, and I gazed at him—and I wondered if my days of being lonely in my grief were gone…at least for a little while.

* * * *

I punched my code into the door lock and went in as quietly as I could at around two in the morning. Cocoa came up to me wagging her tail, and Eddie followed, giving one small bark and whining, as if complaining about me being out so late.

When I rounded the corner into the living room, I saw Patrick snuggled under a soft throw on the sofa, sound asleep, with a magazine laying on his chest. I turned on a lamp, then went up to him and touched his shoulder.

"Hey…I'm home."

Patrick blinked in the sudden light. "Oh. Hey. What time is it?"

"It's two in the morning. I'm so sorry." I gave him a guilty look, but I couldn't help smiling.

"I guess you had a good date," he said, rubbing at his face.

"Yes, it was. Thank you for being here. I'll call you an Uber."

Once I had seen Patrick off, I wandered around the place, tidying up and thinking about my date. It had been an incredible evening, and I wondered when we might see each other again.

My phone dinged with a text message.

Gnight, Fletcher.

Gnight, Aiden. Ty.

For what?

For looking after me so well. I don't just mean the spider.

* * * *

"Why don't you bring Aiden to Maverick Molly's?" Patrick said, out of the blue, a few weeks later.

"Huh?"

Aiden and I had been dating and becoming more intimate. It had been going well, but we hadn't broached the subject of kink. I wasn't in a rush, although the idea of being dommed by Aiden was intriguing.

"The vibe in the gaming parlor is so cool. You feel like you've stepped back in time. And there's the kink room in the back, if you think you guys might want to give it a try?"

Patrick poured himself a glass of milk.

"You'd have to go when I'm not there, if you want me to watch the wombat, so you won't get to see me in action."

"Huh. Bummer," I said, with heavy sarcasm.

"Ha-ha. Anyway, it's a trip. You don't have to go hardcore or anything."

Ever since I'd had to go in and use the washroom, I'd been thinking about the place and wondering what it would be like to go there. But would Aiden be into it?

There was only one way to find out.

I asked him about it the next time I went to see his band, The Tardy Boys, play. I'd been a few times, and it was always a good time. Aiden had a great voice, and the way he interacted with the other band members was fun to watch. He became this other guy, this ultra-cool musician, that upped his attractiveness factor by at least twenty points. And I'd thought he was amazing already.

The band was taking a break, and Aiden was sitting at a table with me, chatting briefly with anyone who came up to the table and wanted to say hi to the lead singer. I tried to take it in stride, but it felt like I was dating a celebrity. I supposed the fact that he was very attractive, a compelling vocalist, excellent guitar player and gay had something to do with his general appeal.

"Patrick thinks we should check out Maverick Molly's."

Aiden took a sip of his IPA. "He thought we should check it out?"

"He's a server there. I've never been," I admitted. "Well, I went in to use the bathroom once."

"I've heard good things about the place. Don't the servers dress as Victorian tarts?"

"As a matter of fact, yes."

Aiden laughed. "I love that your nephew works there. That's fantastic."

"Yeah, it's pretty funny."

"There's a kink room for rent there, too, isn't there?" Aiden said, affecting disinterest, as he met my gaze.

"Patrick said it's called The Bordello. I think you have to reserve it in advance…"

My voice trailed off as I took in Aiden's expression. His face had lit up, as if I'd proposed a trip to Paris. And now he seemed to be trying to temper his enthusiasm.

"Wait. Did you want to go to the kink room?" I asked.

He lifted his tankard to his lips and took a long sip, holding my gaze as he did.

"Fuck," I said, my dick getting hard in my pants. Seemed to always happen around him. I didn't say anything for a long moment then I said, "If we did go to the Bordello, what would you be interested in doing there?"

"In general?" he asked. "Or…more specifically?"

I kept my gaze on his and shrugged. "You can be specific."

Aiden rubbed his hands together. "Oooh boy. I wondered when we might have this conversation. Didn't expect it to be so soon."

"I guess we can thank Patrick for that."

He laughed. "Yeah."

"Are we having this conversation?"

"I think we are."

"All right." I sipped my beer. "I should tell you that…Daniel and I…we had a sort of arrangement…"

I didn't know what to call it. It hadn't been a twenty-four seven deal at any point. But before Lucy had come along, it had been a frequent thing.

"What do you mean by ‘arrangement'?" Aiden asked, his eyes widening.

"I mean," I said, blushing and worrying the place where my wedding band had been.

I'd kept it on for a year after Daniel had passed. But on the first anniversary of his death, I'd put it in the little wood box that held his cufflinks, his watch and his matching wedding band. It seemed like it kept us together somehow, more than me wearing mine on my own would.

It was important to be honest.

"I mean, an arrangement where…" I swallowed, gazing at the table. "Where I…I served him…in all kinds of ways."

There. I'd said it.

He blew out a long breath. I didn't dare look up.

Then his hand was on my back, soothing me.

"Served him…how? Like domestic stuff?"

"Sometimes."

Aiden's hand stopped. He cleared his throat. "Sex stuff?"

The breath whooshed from my lungs and the relief I felt was incredible.

"Yeah."

"Is that why you remembered me from so long ago? Because you knew what I was, and it drew you to me?"

"Maybe that was part of it. But also, you're you," I said, waving my hand at him.

He smiled a languorous, confident smile.

* * * *

We made plans to go to Maverick Molly's that Thursday, when Patrick was off and could look after Lucy.

I hadn't known what to wear, but I ended up in a dressy pair of black pants and a light gray sweater over a T-shirt, with a black blazer over top. Patrick had said that most of the men who came to Molly's dressed a little formal, since it harkened back to times when people got fancy to go out.

Aiden had texted me that he was running late, so I'd said I'd go in and get us a table or at least scope the place out, and he could find me inside. Maybe that had been a mistake, because I felt decidedly out of my depth as I entered the lamplit interior of the club.

I stood in the hallway after hanging up my coat, feeling uneasy and anxious, when a young black man wearing bloomers and the rest of the molly-boy outfit under a red kimono came out of the main room.

He stopped and cocked his head. "Well, hello there, handsome. I've never seen you before!"

His smile was cheeky and cheerful, and made me feel welcomed.

"Nope. This is my first time." I didn't want to reference the bathroom incident. "But, my nephew works here."

He gasped. "A virgin!" He looked me over. "And who is your nephew, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Patrick Lafferty."

"Oh! My, my, my. He didn't tell me he had such an attractive uncle!"

I didn't know what to say to that. He was obviously putting me on. I smiled.

"I'm Robin. And welcome to Maverick Molly's. Can I help you get settled in the gaming parlor?"

"That would be great. I'm expecting someone."

"Wonderful! And you are?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm Fletcher Marin."

"Excellent. If you'll just follow me, Mr. Marin, I can show you around and introduce you to a few people." Robin turned and beckoned me to follow. The red kimono had a large dragon embroidered in gold on the back of it.

Introduce me to some people? This was already more than I'd bargained for. Why hadn't I arranged to meet Aiden out front?