13. Chapter 13

My brain was mush from the orgasm I'd had while sucking on Gage's cock and I wasn't sure working was the best thing for me to do when things were still so fuzzy around the edges. I kind of wanted to spend the afternoon relaxing and blow off work altogether.

"How about we go for a hike this afternoon—instead of working?" I suggested. "You can show me more of the property and we can find a place to lie in the sun and just chill."

"I'd be down for that," Gage agreed. "Let me slip on my hiking boots and I'll toss a couple of bottles of water into a backpack. We can walk out to Look-out Point. It's a ledge that overlooks the lake below."

"Sounds great. I'll go put on some shorts," I said, and we both headed toward our respective bedrooms, although I hadn't used my guest room much, except to catch a few hours of sleep in between our work sessions. The room was more of a closet for me since things between Gage and I had changed to something intimate. Getting off with Gage and then spending the night in his bed felt so good that now I wanted nothing else. I wanted to spend every night with him but I wasn't sure if he felt the same way or if he wanted his own space.

The last day or so had left me raw with emotions and I was struggling to process, mainly because I was just getting to know Gage. I never expected to feel this connected to a man I'd only known for a few days. But what I truly hadn't expected was for him to reveal so much of himself this quickly. I expected someone of his celebrity status to keep everyone at arm's length with all his secrets locked up tight. I thought he'd be guarded and maybe even a little off-putting as a way to retain his privacy. That wasn't what he did at all. He presented himself as an open book—a real page turner, too, and I seriously hoped there would be a happy ending waiting for us, whether it was in orgasmic bliss or perhaps a long-term relationship.

We hiked for over an hour, slowly weaving our way through the trees and outcroppings of rock formations that dotted the hillside. It was gorgeous out there with the sunlight flickering through the tree canopy and the heavy scent of earth and moss all around us. Even the silence was blissful and I found myself smiling broadly at how at peace I felt. Everywhere I looked there was another beautiful sight to see. I wasn't sure which view I enjoyed the most—the untouched wilderness or a shirtless Gage. Watching his natural swagger shift those narrow hips and the broad expanse of his tanned back was positively knee-weakening porn for me. The warmth of the sun and the exertion of our hike made his skin shiny with a thin layer of sweat. I wanted to lick the tiny beads off of him and feel the warmth of his heated flesh on my tongue.

Yeah, I was obscenely attracted to the man which was dangerous because once Gage realized he was done with his gay experiments, I'd be dealing with a broken heart. My only option was to enjoy that state of bliss for as long as he was interested. I'd figure out the rest once I got back to my condo in Los Angeles.

"You're on your best behavior," I commented to Gage.

"What do you mean?" he asked, giving me a quick glance over his shoulder.

"We're outside and you're wearing shorts," I said and grinned.

Gage came to a stop along the trail and without any words exchanged he popped the button on his cargo shorts and let them fall to his ankles—and mercy, he was commando. The sudden sight of his glorious body made me lose my balance. I stumbled one step before I righted myself and Gage chuckled at me.

"Is that what you wanted to see?" he asked. His cock was already starting to fill.

"You are a wicked, wicked man," I sighed. I watched Gage roll up his shorts and then stuff them in the backpack he carried.

"I feel very overdressed," I said and glanced at my tight white t-shirt and navy-blue board shorts.

"Then join me in the au natural club," he said and winked at me.

I looked around us as if someone might be lurking behind a tree watching with a telephoto lens pressed to their face and Gage laughed loudly.

"There's not a chance in hell anyone can see us right now," he explained. "I've walked around out here countless times and not one photograph of my bare ass has hit the tabloids."

"I'm not sure the focus would be on your ass," I teased. "The real money shot is clearly the hefty log hanging between your legs."

Gage stepped closer and wrapped his arms around me. "But I thought you loved my mighty sword," he said beside my ear.

My hands rested on his bare ass cheeks, the fingers toying with his crack. His teeth nipped at my earlobe and we both moaned at the same time. Now my cock was beginning to thicken.

"You have no idea how much I love your cock," I admitted.

His face moved in front of mine and he rubbed our noses together. "That's good because I've taken a liking to yours, too," he said and then covered my mouth with his.

How a kiss could roar to life like his did, I had no idea, but within two seconds of his tongue playing with mine, my entire body was an inferno. In moments we were both groping at each other.

"You're wearing way too many clothes," he complained. "I can't feel the goods and I really need to feel the goods."

I took a step back and tugged my t-shirt over my head and then quickly pushed off my shorts. Gage grabbed both articles and added them to the backpack. He took a beat to appraise my naked form and I watched his smile grow. His gaze on me felt like a caress and my cock was eager to salute his appreciation.

"Wow, would you look at that," Gage sighed reverently. "It's like a giant, thick-stock mushroom reaching for the sun."

I chuckled at the visual he provided but my levity faded when Gage stepped into me again, his body trapping both of our erections between us. My fingers combed through his silky hair and our gazes held.

"Every part of you turns me on—including your brain," I whispered. "In fact, your brain might be my favorite part of you because I love the way you think. Your brilliance shines through in your music, too—in case you were wondering."

Gage bit my bottom lip and pulled it away from my teeth. "Mmm, stroking my ego again," he teased when he let go of my lip. His tongue licked into my mouth then and elicited another groan from me. I became shameless around him or maybe it was that I couldn't stop the way my body reacted to his attention.

I pressed him against the wide trunk of the tree closest to us and he hissed and then gasped when the bark dug into his back. As much as I was easily aroused by him, I could sense the same about him with me which was powerful. He also seemed to like it when I took control and that triggered another whole level of desire. He rolled his hips into me and a shiver shot through me like lightning. I could feel the wetness of his tip slicking up my stomach with his pre-come and wanted to growl like a goddamn caveman.

"I know you're not ready yet, but one day I'd like to ride that monster," I said in a seductive tone.

His breath hitched and he licked his lips. "Is that what you like—taking a cock like that?" he asked.

"Are you asking if I bottom?"

"Yeah, I guess I am," Gage said. His face flushed and I knew he felt out of his element. He was used to knowing exactly what to do with a woman and that had to mess with his head a bit.

"I actually enjoy both," I explained. "I'm what you call versatile. I top and I bottom."

His gaze became intense, like he was thinking deep thoughts. "Would you be interested in topping me?" he finally asked.

I did my best to hide the surprise I was feeling from his question. I never expected Gage would want to bottom—ever. He seemed like a total power top to me but if he wanted me to top him, I certainly wouldn't say no. It would be an honor I would cherish knowing I was his first.

"Is that something you think you'd want to try?" I asked him.

He nodded and smiled faintly. "Yeah, I think I would," he said. "I mean, I really like your fingers, so it makes sense I might like your cock."

"Taking my fingers is a lot different than having a cock inside you but, in an effort for full disclosure, I can say that a cock feels way better after the initial stretch than fingers do," I detailed.

"Then, it sounds like I have something to look forward to," Gage said.

I kissed him. Hard, and he matched my intensity with his own. I could feast on his lips and mouth for hours and become completely lost and swept away in him. "If that's something you really want to try, then I'm happy to show you how good it feels," I said against his lips, "and I promise I'll make you feel incredible. It's a mind blown kind of pleasure. Trust me on that."

"Everything you do to me feels like that," Gage admitted, and a slow smile lifted his lips. "And for the record, I do trust you."

"We're not screwing out in the woods, though," I said. "Our first time needs to be in a bed."

His fingers carded through my hair and tugged on the short ends. "I'm in no hurry," he said. "I'm really happy the way things are right now and what we've been doing."

"Me, too," I said. "How about you show me that look-out spot you mentioned earlier?"

"I'd love to," Gage said. He reached for my hand, and we started walking along the path again.

Naked.

Gage made wearing nothing but hiking boots and socks the sexiest thing I'd ever seen on a man. I glanced down at myself and chuckled. I was used to wearing expensive suits—not walking around in the woods without any clothes on. I'd never done anything this daring and it was exhilarating as hell. My entire body was buzzing. I felt wild and hyper-aware of every breeze, every snap of a twig under our feet, and the smells of dirt and leaves all around me. It was kind of an aphrodisiac to have all my senses feel so alive.

We walked for a while before Gage finally came to a stop. He pointed through the woods at a downward slope that dropped to the lake. "There it is," he said.

My gaze followed the direction he pointed and saw an overhang of rock with a view of the sparkling water below. It was a good distance from where we were on the pathway above the ledge and the drop-off looked perilous at best.

"It's a little tricky getting down there, so hold on to the trees and there's a rope to grab on to as well," Gage explained. He didn't hesitate at all and just started down the steep slope with a comfortable ease like he made this trek every day. Then again, maybe he did. He obviously knew the woods well enough to play guide to newbies like me—which I was grateful for.

"We're going down to the ledge—from here?" I asked incredulously.

"Yes, that spot is the whole point of this hike," he hollered over his shoulder.

Internally I sighed and did my best to tamp down the fear roiling through my body and took the first step and then another. But I took my time and clung to everything I could reach to prevent myself from sliding down and off the rock to my death. Gage kept assuring me I was fine but I had to say I was a scared to death of every foot placement I made.

My heart was pounding by the time I reached the ledge. Gage had already spread out a large beach towel for us to sit on that was set back away from the edge. I wasn't even daring enough to stand and look over the rim of the rocks and I really didn't need to in order to enjoy the magnificent view of the water and tall pines around the lake.

I sat on the towel with my legs bent and my arms loosely wrapped around my knees. Gage positioned himself right beside me, close enough that our shoulders almost touched.

"What do you think? Was it worth the hike down here?" he asked me with a nudge to my shoulder.

"It was for sure, but I'd be lying if I said I'm not nervous to climb back up to the trail," I declared.

"That's not how we get out of here," Gage said, stone-faced serious. "There's a rope swing that we use to swing out past the ledge and treetops and then we drop ourselves into the lake."

I stared blankly at him for a moment, blinking several times and disbelieving my ears. There was no way in fucking hell I was swinging off this cliff. Hitting the water from this height would do some serious physical damage and I didn't have brass balls. I also had no problem admitting I was afraid to do what he was suggesting. After a long moment, Gage finally burst out laughing.

"I'm joking," he said. "We'd die for sure if we attempted to drop off this cliff and we'd never make the water from here. Even I'm not that crazy."

"Thank fucking hell," I said. "Although, I'm not too keen about climbing back up that incline either." I punched my thumb over my shoulder for emphasis at the steep grade looming behind us.

Gage pointed to a trail to our left that had rope railings attached to metal posts secured into the ground and traversed the side of the incline while slowly rising in elevation up to the trail above us.

"You bastard! Why didn't we come down that way?" I asked.

Gage shrugged while he chuckled. "I wanted to see if you had what it takes to hike down the steep way we came," he stated.

"I was scared out of my mind," I admitted.

"But it got your adrenaline pumping, didn't it?"

"I can think of other—safer—ways to get my heart pumping," I scoffed.

"Speaking of things that make your heart pound," he said with a sexy lift of one brow. "I'd like to try and blow you sometime, like you did for me earlier. If that would be okay."

I smirked as my face heated. It was uncharacteristic of me to blush but sometimes the words that spilled out of his mouth were definitely flush-worthy and this was one of those times.

"You don't have to ask to blow me," I said. I still had the stupid grin on my face and bumped my shoulder into his. "For the record, I'm never going to say no to anything sexual you want to do to me. My answer will always be yes—unless it's hardcore bondage or involves large amounts of pain. That's not really my thing."

"Noted, and just so you know, I'm not into the hardcore stuff either," Gage admitted. "I enjoy a little bit now and then—like tying a partner up or spanking them, but I do have hard limits."

"Then, I'm glad we got that squared away," I said.

Gage grabbed two bottles of water from the backpack and offered one to me. I uncapped it and chugged a good portion before setting it beside my hip on the stone. I was scanning the water below when I felt Gage drape his arm over my shoulders.

"What were you like growing up?" he asked. "Were you a jock or a geek?"

I inhaled slowly before I glanced at him. "I guess I was a mixture of both," I answered. "I was part of the track team, but I also loved math and science."

"No one loves math or science," Gage said with a scoff. "That's not possible."

"Actually, I was pretty good at both," I said.

"When did you come out?" he asked.

I swallowed hard. We were drifting into a part of my life I didn't like sharing with anyone—including Gage, but I wouldn't tell him that. I'd do what I always did and dance around the subject.

"Not until college," I said. "I knew in junior high I was gay and I hooked up with a few guys in high school but I was totally in the closet throughout that time period."

"How'd your parents take it?"

I shook my head, not wanting to proceed any further but Gage deserved at least a small slice of knowledge about my past. "I'm not telling you this to make you feel bad for me, but my parents died when I was twenty," I said. "They died before I had a chance to come out to them."

"Holy shit. What the hell happened?" Gage inquired with interest.

I already saw pity in his eyes and that was exactly why I didn't like telling people about this. It was a long time ago and I'd come to terms with all of it. I couldn't say I'd moved on from the grief but I had definitely found a level of acceptance to what happened.

"It was a drunk driving accident," I said.

"Did they catch the person who hit them?" Gage asked.

"Actually, the accident was my father's fault," I explained. "It was ten days before Christmas and they were coming home from a holiday party. My dad was driving drunk. Both were well over the legal limit to drive, so neither of them should have been driving. My dad veered over the center line of the road and hit an oncoming pickup truck. They died instantly—including the guy driving the truck."

"Fucking hell," Gage sighed. "I'm so sorry."

I shrugged with ambivalence that I didn't feel. "It was almost eighteen years ago."

"But that had to be life altering for you to go through so young," he said. "Do you have siblings?"

"No, it was just the three of us," I said. "They were good parents, though, so I'd like to think they would have been fine with me being gay, but I'll never know."

Gage leaned into me and set his head against mine. "Hopefully you had support from friends and relatives to help you through that."

"More or less," I said. That's as far as I was willing to go with sharing my past. I went through a dark period after they died which no one knew about and that's the way I planned on keeping it—no matter how involved Gage and I became. "What about you? Are your parents alive or have they passed?"

"Yeah, they're both still living and reasonably healthy," he said. His fingers rubbed at my nape, loosening the muscles there. "They're retired and live down near San Diego. I don't get to see them as often as I should, but I do my best. They've never been too enthusiastic about my choice of career. They love that I'm successful at it—and famous, but they aren't the type of parents to attend my concerts or award shows and that's fine. I have a sister, Annie, and I see her every few months or so. Depends on if I'm touring."

"Where'd the name Gage come from?"

"It's my mother's maiden name," Gage answered. "I thought it sounded like a cool stage name, so I kept it, unlike a lot of musicians I know. For instance, Dagger Drummond from Black Ice. That's a name he fabricated himself. I'm not even sure what his birth name is, although I think I've heard it's Liam something or other."

"Gage is a strong name and fits your stage persona perfectly," I said.

He closed the space that lingered between us and pressed his lips to my temple, then his fingers gripped my chin and turned my head to face his. Before I even had a chance to inhale his mouth was on mine, breathing new life into me. I honestly loved the taste of him and quickly deepened our kiss. Gage laid me onto my back and continued to devour my mouth. His hand slid to my throat and then down onto my chest where his fingers splayed over my heart.

"What was your first time like?" he asked.

"Having sex or just fooling around?" I questioned for clarification.

"I guess all of it," he said.

"My best friend, Teddy," I began. "We were really close as friends, maybe unreasonably so as compared to other boys I knew, but we didn't care what anyone had to say about it. Teddy was fourteen, like me, and one day he told me that he thought he liked boys instead of girls. It was something I'd already been questioning about myself, which I told him about and he seemed quite relieved. The next day we were playing video games in the finished basement of my childhood home and he kissed me. Things progressed from there and we ended up sharing all our firsts together."

"How long were you with him?" Gage asked as his lips softly toyed with mine and his fingers slid over my chest in slow, comforting strokes.

"About a year, I think," I answered. "But then he developed a crush on one of the football players. I didn't think much of it at first because I would have sworn the guy was straight. Turns out, he wasn't all that straight and Teddy hooked up with him. We stopped messing around together but we remained friends. I saw a handful of guys in school but nothing serious. College was a free for all. It seemed like everyone was gay, or wanted to experiment, and I took full advantage."

"So, you were a slut, is that what you're saying?" Gage teased.

"I guess we have that in common," I replied with a smirk.

"Yeah, I did sleep with a lot of women," he admitted. "Sometimes more than one at a time. The parade of beautiful ladies was long and endless. After a while, they all blurred together and it stopped being fun. In some ways it felt like sleeping with them was simply expected of me and it no longer completely fulfilled me. I guess now I know why."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

Gage lifted up on one elbow and stared down at me. His expression was serious and reflective, and honestly, it took my breath away.

"I've recently learned that I love being with men—well, one man in particular, and for the first time, I am completely sated on every level. I never had this with the women I was with. It was nothing but sex, whereas everything with you feels like more. It's not just a physical release—it's everything. Even things like this conversation, I've never shared this much about myself with anyone. But with you it feels—mostly easy."

"Mostly?" I asked and grinned.

"It's an unfamiliar nuance to being with you but I love it," he admitted. "I think it's about the connection I feel with you."

I bit my bottom lip and nodded. "I get it because I'm feeling the same way," I admitted. "I'm not a stranger to having relationships with men but with you it all feels new—different in a good way."

"New, like I'm a shiny new pull toy for you?" Gage teased.

"Mmm, yes, something like that—but more," I answered.

"Have you ever been with a woman?" he asked me.

"Nope, never had an interest, an attraction, or even a curiosity," I answered. "I can appreciate a woman's beauty, but I never had the desire to touch them."

"I could say that about men," he said. "I can see why women find some men attractive and agree with what they're seeing, but it never went beyond that for me until I met you. Now, all I can think about is touching—and tasting you, but I'm not sure I'll ever be able to explain the whys behind it."

"Jesusss," I hissed. "I love hearing you talk like that."

Gage ghosted his lips over mine and smiled as he pressed our mouths together. "I'm really happy with you, Cain. Does that sound cheesy to admit out loud?"

"Not cheesy if it's the truth," I said and wrapped my arm around his neck to pull him closer. I kissed him then, slow and sexy, and I loved how he melted into it. I opened wider and eased him onto his back before rolling partially on top of him. "Does that lake have fish in it?"

"It sure as hell does," Gage replied.

"How about we go try and catch us some dinner?" I suggested.

"You're on."