CHAPTER 15

ajay

Dane and I stayed out with Hector until early afternoon with the two of them promising to meet up again in Sydney. I didn't know where I factored in that arrangement but I guessed my appeal had diminished after Hector found out I was straight. Or at least, straight-ish.

I had kissed a man very, very thoroughly just this morning after all.

Dane and I watched a movie after dinner. I let Dane choose without complaint, one of his artsy types that I knew would go straight over my head. But I was just switched on enough to know it hardly mattered what we watched. Because my mind was still a million miles away.

It was nearing ten before I heard the side door that led to the garage open and I about jumped out of my seat. Fortunately, Dane was transfixed on the boring as hell movie and didn't notice that I had suddenly developed a severe case of ants in my pants.

Nick suddenly moved into the room like a breath of fresh air, bringing all the oxygen in the world in with him. His eyes found mine as quickly as mine found his.

"Hey," he said.

"Hi," I managed to stumble out. "How was your course?"

"Good. But long and exhausting. I'm gonna," he said, indicating with his head upstairs. Right, go to his bedroom. Of course. Not sure what else I'd been expecting from him even though I'd been listening out for his car since about three in the afternoon. Did I want him to stride over to me with his long, tanned legs and sink to his knees? Take me in his arms and kiss me again with his brother sitting right alongside? Finish what we'd started this morning?

And more importantly, did he sleep naked?

"Night," I rasped, eyes locked on him the entire time as he turned and headed for the stairs. He caught me looking half way up, sending me a wink that had my heart spiking in my chest. Okay what? What was that wink supposed to mean?

I fidgeted through the rest of the movie, my mind a puddle of overactive hormones and confusion. It was one of those extra long movies too, a real thinker. I could not have given even the simplest summary of what it had been about. The second the credits started to roll I was out of there, almost running up the stairs to the second floor.

I stalled in the hallway, eyes on Nick's closed door. I could hear the sound of soft music floating through the gap in the door and I wondered desperately what he was doing. What he looked like when he was lying in bed.

I took my time brushing my teeth and then made my way back to my bedroom. I stripped out of my clothes and pulled on the loose boxers I liked to wear to bed, the silky kind that felt nice on my skin. Except not tonight. No, every bit of fibre in contact with my skin was too much, my body a heated, molten mess.

I tossed and turned for an hour, the sound of Nick's soft music calling to me like a lure. I threw the covers off my body, accepting that I was not going to find sleep any time soon. Everything about me was just so hardwired for the man at the end of the hallway.

Was I brave enough?

Was I brave enough to walk the handful of steps down the hallway, knock on his door and see what was up? That kiss from this morning now felt like a taunt, like dangling a piece of meat in front of a lion that didn't know he was starving until he had caught the scent.

I whooshed out a deep breath. Yes, I was brave enough. I was strong enough to take what I wanted. And what I wanted was to see Nick. I drew on that scrap of inner strength, one of the things I had always admired about Nick which was probably yet another thing to reclassify over to the lust pile, and stepped out into the hallway.

The soft beat of music coming from Nick's room was the only sound up here, the otherwise silent space amplified in my pounding ears. I glanced in the direction of Dane's bedroom to see that his door was closed shut and there was no light coming from under the gap. Hopefully indicating he was fast asleep and not about to bust me attempting to make a move on his older brother.

I focused my attention back the other way in the direction I had been looking since I had first stepped foot on the sand down here. I stepped out into the hall, padding carefully down the floorboards, trying to keep my steps as silent as possible so that I could back out again if I lost my nerve.

A loose floorboard creaked under my foot, the sound like a shotgun in the otherwise silent night. Of course I had managed to find the one squeaky floorboard in the entire hallway. I froze, knowing my game was up and cursing the floorboard for taking my decisions away from me. I had to go through with it now. There was no way Nick hadn't heard my clumsy little giveaway.

Of course, it was possible that maybe he was asleep already. Maybe he just used the music to drift off to sleep after his long day on the training course. Maybe he hadn't heard the squeaky floorboard. Maybe he had no idea I was currently lurking outside his door like a creeper. Maybe I should just man up and find out.

I squared my shoulders and stepped up to Nick's door, rapping my knuckles like a whisper.

"Come in."

His voice hit me deep and low and my heart sprang to life in my chest like a marching band. Not asleep then.

I slowly twisted the nob, opening the door and trying not to have a heart attack when I found Nick lying in his big queen size bed. He looked up at me with those sparkling blue eyes as mine took a quick detour down all that visible chest on display. Damn.

Nick was scrolling through his phone but immediately shut it down and placed it on his bedside table.

"I was hoping I'd see you again tonight," he smirked, casual as could be. Unlike me and my fast pounding heart and my sweaty palms and oh, were those butterflies in my stomach?

"You were?"

"Mmhmm," he replied, tucking one arm behind his head and drawing all my attention to his flexed bicep. Dammit, everything about him was just so hot. My bravery up and vanished as I froze to the spot, so out of my depth where this guy was concerned. He seemed not to notice or maybe he took pity on me because next second he drew back the sheets of his bed beside him.

"Want to join me?" he asked.

I answered by closing the door behind me with a soft click, the finality of that little snickety sound feeling momentous. I took a measured step into the room, my mouth drying out and hands a little shaky. But then my body decided it was going to take control, leaving my head to its own games and it was all I could do to stop myself from running to him. Nick's eyes were on me the whole time, watching every step as I climbed onto his bed, feeling awkward and out of balance as I lay down beside him. I angled my body towards him, feeling a little breathless when he did the same.

"I was hoping you'd come find me tonight," he said softly as my nerves bubbled up inside me. He hadn't even touched me yet, a clear foot of space separating our two bodies as we lay facing each other. I guessed Nick was playing this carefully with me too and part of me appreciated that. The other part wanted him to just take control, lay waste to me and forget about the pretence.

"You didn't say anything downstairs."

"You wanted me to invite you upstairs to my room to do all sorts of naughty, scandalous things to you in front of Dane, huh?" he returned, a trace of a smile on his face.

"Well, no. But you could have come to me."

"Could I?" he asked, serious for the moment. "I had no way of knowing that either."

"I suppose."

"Tell me what you want, Ajay," Nick asked, his hand tracing leisurely patterns on the sheet between us. My eyes followed the path he was weaving with those clever fingers. It was distracting as hell.

I also wasn't sure I wanted to answer his question. Because deep down I knew I wanted everything from him, the full day apart bringing some much needed clarity to my mind. But clarity didn't bring boldness and I hesitated before I told him, "I want to continue what we started this morning."

"Do you?" Nick asked, a teasing grin on his face. Those fingers inched forwards, still circling patterns on the sheet and I realised he was playing with me.

"Yeah, I do," I replied with a little more confidence. "So are you going to stop playing with me and kiss me?"

"Oh, I promise to never stop playing with you, Ajay," Nick replied as that wicked grin spread across his face and I suddenly realised exactly how far out of my depth I was. But he shifted closer, just a few more inches, that hand that had been teasing me lifting to grip my chin, his blue gaze heated as he held my eye. "You want me to kiss you, Ajay?"

"Yes."

"Like this?" he asked, bending his head painfully slowly before his mouth brushed soft, teasing kisses along my jawline. It was barely a whisper of a touch but I still felt it everywhere, my body instantly heating for him.

"No, not like that," I managed to grit out.

"No? More like this?" he continued, pressing firmer kisses up to my cheeks, leading ever closer to my lips. But not close enough.

"No," I grumped, desperate enough for him to not want to play games, fun as they may be.

"No?" Nick pouted, leaning back to look down at me. "Well then, better give you what you came here for." And with that he planted his mouth firmly on mine, instantly reigniting that spark that had first fired off between us this morning.

I pulled him closer, one hand in his hair, the other trapped in the space between us as he pressed into me, the kiss deepening in an instant. I couldn't hold back the little moan that escaped me as his tongue demanded entry and I let him in, the kiss fast becoming needy and open mouthed and just so freaking hot I didn't know what to do.

His hand was still on my jaw, using his grip to angle my head in that way he had done to me this morning to give him better access and I ceded control over to him, wanting to give it all over to him. His tongue was in my mouth, tangling with mine, his lips fused to mine as he plundered me.

I was overheating all over, the kiss streaming my blood to life, sizzling inside me and kickstarting that part of me I now realised was where lust and desire co-existed. Something that had been lying dormant in me before now, before this kiss.

Before Nick.

Nick's hand moved down my neck to my throat, the move a dominant one which had my cock perking up in a way that shocked me. I liked this. I liked this about him. I liked that he was taking control of me and I was more than happy to let him do what he wanted, to be under his command.

And Nick knew what he was doing all right, knew how to tease and tempt, knew how I would react when his hand skirted down to my pecs, teasing my nipples between his thumb and finger until I was squirming. He huffed a laugh and pulled off the kiss, his mouth tracing the path his hands had just been, down my jaw, down to my neck where he found little spots I didn't even know I possessed.

His hand was tracing the smooth skin of my flat stomach when his mouth found the nipple he had just teased and he sucked it into his mouth, an involuntary gasp leaving my lips at the pure pleasure he was evoking in me.

"You like that?" Nick smirked, the warm breaths of his mouth ticklish against my skin.

"Yes. A lot," I squirmed, my eyes blown with heat when Nick looked up at me, the heat in his own eyes matching mine. His mouth came back up to my neck as his hand dropped lower, thumb teasing just under the waistband of my boxers, my heart pounding deep in my chest.

Nick paused to look down at me, a question in those blue eyes as his thumb gently caressed the skin just under my waistband.

"Yes?" he asked, a genuine question in that word. One I'd never been asked before. That was when I knew exactly how safe I was with Nick. That I could trust him with this, with me, with us. That he would never do anything I didn't want to do. Not that I could really think of a list of what that would entail just then.

"Yes. Keep going," I rasped, breath catching in my throat as his hand dipped even lower, clasping onto my rock hard dick while his eyes held mine. I sucked in a jagged breath as he flicked his thumb over my head, a smile tugging at his lips as he watched me react to him.

"Nick," I breathed, sucking in more air as his hand slid down my length.

"More?" Nick asked, eyes dark pools of heat as he set them on my mouth. I could only nod, words evaporating as his hand gripped me tighter and his mouth dropped to mine. He kissed me while his hand pumped me slowly but not so gently and my heart went haywire.

His hand felt so big wrapped around me, so strong and firm with rough calluses on the tips of his fingers from his years on building sites. I had calluses on my fingers too from years of playing guitar but they felt different to this, this rugged, earthy, manliness that Nick felt like.

That torturous mouth was soon back on the move, tracing down the way it had come, down to my chest and then lower still, licking along my non-existent abs until his face was buried in that little treasure trail of hair.

He looked up at me then, a wicked smirk on his face that had my heart stalling in my chest.

"Tell me if you want me to slow down," he said, serious for half a second before he continued exploring with his mouth. He let go of my dick as his hands came up to the waistband of my boxers, eyes on mine as he slowly peeled them down my legs until I was completely exposed in front of him. The way he was looking at me told me he liked what he saw and I felt my inhibitions fall away. I was safe with Nick. I knew I could trust him.

"Absolutely fucking perfect," he murmured, hands brushing up my thighs as he shifted between my legs. "You going to let me taste you, Ajay?"

My mind blanked out at his words but I felt myself nodding, wanting his mouth on me more than I'd ever wanted anything.

"Yes," I rasped, watching as he kissed his way down to my thighs, teasing and exploring and driving me absolutely wild with want. He must have taken pity because he finally gave me what we both knew I wanted, pausing once again with his eyes on mine as he gripped the base of my cock with his hand and then slowly, purposefully licked across my slit. A stuttered breath left me before his mouth enveloped my dick, swallowing me whole.

He sucked hard and I cursed again, hands gripping the sheets on either side of me as Nick took me all the way to the back of his throat. I had never had a blowjob this good before as my back arched involuntarily at the sensations he was drawing from me. I was sure the sounds coming out of my mouth would likely make me blush tomorrow as Nick used his mouth to show me how much he wanted me, to show me how good he could make me feel.

And he was making me feel very, very good.

"Oh, Nick," I started to pant, my mind slowly going to that place of no return as tingles spread along the base of my spine. "Nick, I'm going to … oh, Nicky." I could only say his name like a prayer, my mind all but blown by what he was doing to me. I gave him a chance to pull off but he just slid his hands up the insides of my thighs, squeezing tighter and sucking me down so hard that my hips jolted off the bed as my orgasm tore through me, hitting so hard I saw white lights.

He sucked me until I had nothing left to give, only then pulling off me with an indecent pop. He held my eye as he used the knuckle of his pinkie to swipe at the side of his mouth, drawing it into his lips to suck the remnants.

"Fucking delicious," he smirked.

"Holy. Hell," I managed to stammer, mind completely blown with lust and desire as Nick smirked down at me.

I was coming to learn the many different types of smiles that made up Nick. I knew the genuine one from the one he forced. I knew the one that was just for me. And now I knew this one, the smug, slightly evil smirk that always looked like he was the only one in on the joke.

I liked them all.

Nick made his way back up my body and I suddenly felt like I was the prey trapped in his headlights. Nobody had ever made me feel this way before, never had I felt this good or this free or this utterly desired and wanted. Never had I felt so completely mindless with desire for someone, for this sexy guy who was all male and masculinity as he planted his strong arms on either side of my head, hovering over me for half a second before he leaned down and kissed me senseless.

He planted his hips between my legs and I could feel how hard he still was. For me. That turned me on way more than I expected, knowing I had this amazing, gorgeous man wanting me so bad. It gave me the boldness I needed to flip the script a little, to shift him onto his back so that I was the one hovering over him.

I was nervous as hell, my hands trembling as Nick went willingly, giving me the reins for the moment. I hadn't even really touched him yet, not anywhere interesting at any rate and I felt my nerves ratchet up and I faltered.

Nick seemed to sense what I needed as he clasped onto the back of my hand which had made it as far as his shoulder.

"You want to touch me?" he asked, eyes hooded and lips puffy from our kiss.

I could only nod, words gone from my head as Nick gripped the back of my hand and shifted it down that glorious body I had looked at way too many times for a guy who claimed to be straight. We made it to his pecs, touching both sides and Nick watched me with those hooded eyes as I tried out what I'd wanted to do for some time, feeling those incredible muscles, teasing his nipples with my fingers.

Nick gently moved our hands lower, taking control of me the way he must have sensed I needed and I got to try out each and every dip and groove in those divine abs that had kept me up at night.

Nick loosened the pressure on my hand and I knew he was giving me the reins for what happened next. But I knew what I wanted, heart up in my throat as I shifted our hands lower, over the top of the tight black boxers he was wearing and onto his straining dick.

Nick let out a soft moan as I stroked, his hand still clasped over mine and making this feel doubly sexy.

"You want to lose the boxers?" I asked, surprising myself at how calm I sounded.

"If that's what you want, Ajay," Nick returned. "There's no pressure."

"That's what I want," I told him, no room for uncertainty in my words. Nick grinned at me and we somehow managed to get his boxers off between us, leaving him completely naked and spread out for me. That was when my nerves started to get the better of me again.

"How are you real?" I choked out, looking down at his impossibly perfect body.

"I'm very real, Ajay," Nick replied, reaching down to stroke himself and reminding me of what I wanted to do. I reached down, dislodging his hand as I wrapped mine around his dick, getting a feel for it before I gave him a few soft pumps. He felt incredible, so smooth and velvety yet firm as a steel rod as I ran a thumb along his vein. Nick let out a choked sigh, his eyes fixed on what I was doing with my hand.

"You have no idea how many times I have imagined you here like this. With me," he rasped.

"Yeah?" I asked, inordinately pleased by those words.

"Yeah. I've made myself come to images of you just like this since the day I first met you out on the sand."

"That's hot," I whispered because in hindsight I was pretty sure I had been doing the same in my own room next door. I just hadn't quite let my brain connect the dots until now.

"This is hotter."

"Show me how you like it," I asked, wanting this to be just as good for him as what he had just done to me. I had never touched another guy before and I wanted to make sure I was doing this right.

"Any way you touch me is going to be amazing," Nick breathed. "But I like it here," he continued, reaching down to guide my hand, moving my thumb to the cleft on the underside of his head. I ran my thumb across it on my next downward stroke which immediately had him moaning.

"Yes. Like that," Nick panted. He kept his hand around mine for the next few strokes, helping me set the pace he liked before he dropped his hold. I took that as my cue and I worked him over the way he'd shown me, feeling a burst of pride at how wrecked I was making this perfect man beneath me as he came undone.

Nick's breathing picked up and he dropped his head back on the pillow. I knew he was close.

"Keep going," Nick pleaded, a desperate edge to his voice that had me smiling. I did as he asked, watching with rapt attention as he said my name, hips lifting off the bed as he came all over my hand. I stroked him right to the end, not sure I had ever seen anything so hot in all my life.

Nick was still breathless and I felt pride in my chest when I let go of him and lay down beside him on his pillow, watching him recover.

"Fuck, Ajay," he finally muttered, eyes a little wild as they studied my face. "You are more amazing in real life than even my wildest dreams."

I smiled at that, liking those words way more than I should have. Nick watched me, a seriousness on his face I wasn't used to seeing. I wished I knew what he was thinking, what he really thought about this, about me.

He twisted onto his side, mirroring the way I was turned towards him. His hand came down to my hip, moving softly over my waist, the curve of my ass and back up my sides as we just watched each other.

I wasn't sure what to do next, whether that was my cue to go back to my bedroom or not. But I didn't want to go and it seemed Nick wanted me to stay a little longer when he leaned down to press another kiss on my lips. It was soft and gentle and I liked it as much as the other hot and heavy kisses we'd shared.

I'd never known how amazing it was to just lay beside someone and kiss with his warm body pressed up to my side. We kissed for ages, just soft and gentle and so incredible. I could have kissed him like that for hours more.

But it didn't stay soft and gentle. Nick's tongue speared my mouth and I was putty for him as things kicked off into gear once again. Nick shifted on top of me, his body pressed into mine as I opened my thighs to let him in closer.

Things escalated fast from there, both of us hot and hard again after that beautiful recovery time and I got to experience a whole other way of doing things with a guy as Nick ground against me, my mind close to exploding with all the things he was making me feel. Especially when he snaked a hand between us, gripping us both in his large fist and I wasn't sure I would ever come back down again from this high of having Nick at last.