14. Chapter 14

"You think you have the stamina for round two?" Von looms over me with his glorious hair forming a curtain around us. I sink my hands into it, taking fistfuls, and its heaven.

A fantasy forms in my head of his hair, spread out on my chest as he sucks my cock. I'm tantalized by it tickling my body while his mouth ravishes every part of me.

I'm breaking all my rules. Rules that work for me and the men I sleep with. Those rules are fuzzy at the moment. But this isn't a thing. We aren't a thing.

I use his tactic of keeping silent against him. He smiles, and I have the urge to tip forward and lose myself forever in this happy version of Von. He's usually stoic and reserved, but right now, he's wide open with desire and lust.

Satisfying his needs is my sole intent. To be the one to make him boneless and sated. To be the one who those blue eyes lock onto when he's needy and begging for an orgasm.

But then he mounts me like a Norse god and all I can do is hang on and take what he's offering.

Von grinds his hips in small circles, giving me an excellent view of his muscles expanding and contracting with the movement. My hands don't know where they need to be. In his glorious hair, or trailing his broad, strong shoulders. His biceps are larger than a twink's thigh.

Although his body is the most enticing work of art I've ever seen, one part has me enthralled. His uncut cock is fascinating. I wonder if the sensations are different for him.

Mindlessly, I buck to put space between us. Von's forearms come to rest on either side of my head.

"I want to see you lose control." Von's mouth covers mine, sucking my tongue. He's fierce and takes my mouth as if he can climb inside me and take up residence. I'm not sure I would object if he did.

He lifts his hips to slide our cocks together but lingers in our kiss. One of Von's touches could set the place on fire, and I would not stop kissing this man.

I teased him, wanting him to see my face when another guy blows him but, before Von, I didn't even like kissing. Maybe I've been kissing the wrong men.

There's a big red flag waving at me because one night will not be enough with him. Sleepovers and repeats are broken rules I'll deal with later. For now, I'm going to take this godlike man to bed and fuck for as long as our bodies will allow, and then I'm going to take him again. This night is for the two of us.

Von doesn't break eye contact as he reaches into the drawer of his bedside table. I'm mesmerized. Fucking gone––a kid getting his first taste of cock. I could come from the way he's staring and the friction of our bodies. He pops the top of the lube, and my heart is so loud, it's all I can hear along with Von's erratic breathing.

I shoot up in surprise and pleasure when he wraps his palm around both of our cocks. My motion catches him off guard and we nearly knock heads.

"You always this smooth in bed?" He's smug as fuck, and my thrashing heart skips a beat. I swear this man makes being an asshole sexy.

Von jacks us together with his huge hand. I don't think I've ever had such a large hand on my cock and honestly, I've been missing out. His hands are rough from working with metal, which creates extra sensations over my sensitive head.

"Nothing to say?"

"What?" There's no executive function in my brain as Von leans back and braces himself on my shin. My hand reaches out to cup his pectoral muscle, and it pops under my touch. I wonder if it's an involuntary reaction, or he's trying to show off. Either way, I'm here for it. He groans as I thumb his hard nipple.

My hand slides over abs that should be on the cover of a magazine. He has an eight-pack or possibly a twelve-pack. My fingers dip into the ridges and valleys. His lean muscles are on display, with our cocks the stars of the show. I commit the scene to memory because I'm sure I'll replay this in my head to get off until the day I die.

Von's hand keeps a steady rhythm, which prolongs our pleasure as he inches us toward completion. I'm frenzied to watch him come undone, see his face in ecstasy, but I don't want this to end.

Von's blue eyes are fire until they become an inferno. His hand slows as he pours a little more lube over us. Then straight out of my wildest fantasy, he positions himself high above me as he gathers up his foreskin and covers the tip of my cock with it. The sight alone might have tipped me over the edge, but being surrounded by Von's cock hurtles my entire body and brain into an orgasm so intense, I see stars and nearly black out.

"Fuck, you made me come so hard you took my common sense too." My words are breathy.

Von drapes himself over my torso without letting go of our spent cocks.

I lie there in the silence, listening to him breathe, waiting for the awkward moment of reality to set in. It doesn't come and instead I relish the weight of him on top of me. Yesterday, I swear it would've suffocated me, and I'd make an excuse to leave as soon as possible. Now, I'm impatient for us to recover for round three.

A contented sigh leaves Von as he pushes up, taking most of his weight off me. I fling my limp arms around him, pulling him down. "Stay here."

Von relaxes onto me, sweeping my sweaty hair back. "Okay," he says.

"Whoa there." I laugh. "Don't strain yourself with a conversation."

Von takes my mouth in a languid kiss. His tongue explores me, committing it to memory and cataloging every sound I make. Von makes everything so effortless. His only expectation—enjoying this moment right here—right now.

I'm still half hard and my dick doesn't know if it should rev up again or go limp from exhaustion. Von's kiss slows, and he separates us to lie next to me. The rock-hard steadiness of his body gone.

"I'm not good at this," I blurt out, wincing at my words. I don't know what to say to a guy that I plan on seeing again. Asking him questions about his cock is probably rude. Google most likely has those answers.

But more than sex, he's my friend and losing that will hurt.

Von's expression is perplexed as his lips touch mine. "I disagree. You were made for kissing." He hauls me into his arms, and in a blink, I'm lying on his pillow. It's another red flag—I really, really like him manhandling me.

His eyes are glued to where my cock is lying against my thigh. It twitches with his attention. Von leans over and licks up the cum. Sound emanates from the back of his throat and I'm hard again, that quick.

"I was going to get a washcloth," he says apologetically before tasting me again. I prefer Von's tongue over anything else to clean me up.

Running my fingers through his cum, I bring it to my lips. His flavor bursts in my mouth and I'm greedy for more. Tasting Von and licking his orgasm off his stomach, I roll him under me before I consciously make that decision.

Von is crisp and sharp and the most delicious thing I've ever put in my mouth. Opening my throat and swallowing is not the same as savoring his taste. I lap up his cum but can't stop. I'm licking and sucking and desperate for more of him.

"Here, ?lskling." He feeds me more of his cum from my body. I hold his wrist as he drags his hand across my stomach again and brings it to my mouth. I suck his fingers down with a whimper, knowing there isn't any more.

He rests his forehead on mine.

"What the fuck is wrong with me?" I've never, ever craved anyone the way I do him.

"We both want more." His nose glides alongside my jaw.

I hum in agreement, feeling better that it's not just me.

He rolls off, but I'm not ready to break the contact, so I pivot on top of him.

"I will stop worrying that I'll crush." Von palms my ass.

"Yup. Take that off the list of worries." I twist my fingers in his tangled hair.

"What are your worries?" He runs his palms up to my shoulder and back to my ass, and I fight a shiver.

"What did you call me?" I dodge his question. This is not the moment to tell him I'm done after tonight, even though I'm sure I'll want him again. That is definitely worrisome.

Von, Mr. Intense Eye Contact, looks away. "It is a term of endearment. You Americans say babe." But his hands drop to his sides and his ears turn pink. I think he called me something more sentimental than that. I should hate it. It should raise another red flag and send me running out the door, but it does the opposite. I like it and I like it even more that it's made this steady man unsettled.

"Reeeaaallly?" I reach to place his hands back where they belong—on my ass. "So if I look it up in Google Translate, that's what I'll find."

"Yes." He nods and adds, "If you can spell it."

An embarrassed Von is fucking adorable. "Good thing I won the third-grade spelling bee."

"Naturally, there were lots of Swedish words, so you are an expert?" He arches his barely there eyebrow at me.

"Of course, and you'll owe me a blow job if you're lying." I nip his neck.

"Or you'll owe me one," he counters.

"Hashtag winning," I sing. "Either way, I'll be king." I accentuate the words with a thrust and gratuitous eyebrow wag.

Von closes his eyes and sighs. When he opens them, there's a thin layer of frost.

"Nope, wish not granted. I'm still here." I tug a strand of his hair.

"You are literally the little boy provoking the girl he likes." Von huffs.

"Baby, you're all man and you like it when I provoke you." My heart beats faster with the thought that he might throw me out, so I wedge my leg between his as if that will make a difference.

"Skit fan, I do." And a flicker of flame replaces the iciness.

"You need to teach me to swear in Swedish." I kiss him because he says I'm an expert, and every bit helps me not screw this up.

"A man needs a few secrets." His lips trace my jaw. "Now I plan to lick every single one of your tattoos while you tell me the meanings."

"You first." I push his pelvis away to see his tattoo. "This is similar to the necklace you made Mads." I trace it with my forefinger.

"It is. It honors the dead—my best friend. Odin's symbol that connects the transition from life to death and back again." His voice is heavy with anguish.

I'm taken aback that he chose that symbol for Mads and sorry he lost his best friend. I won't pry, but I'm curious. "That's not the usual place to put a tat for a friend."

"My grief is private. I needed something for me that wouldn't be on display for everyone else."

"That's touching." I kiss it. Von holds his emotions so tight I'm not surprised he wants it to be private. "And the one on the back of your shoulder?"

"It's the Nordic symbol for courage. Luckily my brother talked me out of getting the symbol for strength because he said in this day and age, it's an asterisk. Fan was right. So I have courage on my shoulder." His mouth turns up as he lays me flat on my back, but I hate the pain in his eyes. "Your turn could take hours." He sucks the flesh on my collarbone. "I'm keeping you up until dawn."

Von's true to his word, and exploring my tats eases the hurt in him. I have so many tattoos that it's hard to remember when and where I got them. Cole inked the most intricate and meaningful ones. I didn't trust anyone else with my skin once I met him. He taught me everything I know, and I wouldn't be the artist I am without him.

Von has covered my torso and back and moves to my legs. My groin and ass are tat-free. He rests between my legs, massaging my thighs. He's avoided the tattoo across my chest but can't ignore it any longer.

"What does that mean?" He tilts his chin up, indicating my chest.

I can't give any of my usual answers because he'll call bullshit. The truth is messy. "When I was young, other kids could tell I was different. I didn't know what gay was and I'm sure they didn't either. But they called me poison ivy as a play on my last name. Typical kid stuff." My shoulder rises to shrug, but I stop the motion because of Von's expression.

"I hated it. Then I found hockey as an outlet—a way to be normal." I motion air quotes around the word normal. "I got to release aggression and leaned into the insult. Mads helped me make a jersey with Poison on the back, as if it was my last name. A friend of a friend knew a guy who would tattoo me underage. I asked Cole to fix it as a reminder of where I came from."

"Where did you come from?"

"Hate. And I choose to reject it," I say, but Von looks skeptical.

"Is that why you said you're bad at this?" He circles back to my admission.

I sigh. "I don't do relationships for a reason. They lead to unrealistic expectations, which I fail at and fuck up."

I don't say out loud that I don't trust guys enough to try.

"Then no expectations." His fingers trail over my legs, causing my muscles to jump. "Your incredible thigh muscles came from hockey." He changes the subject and I'm grateful.

"High school and a year of college." I shrug. "But they're nothing compared to the trunks on you." I slide my hands up and down the granite of his thighs.

"I used to run. A lot." His face is blank and I know there's a story, but he speaks again, changing the subject. "What's your favorite tattoo?"

"It's not a simple question. It's like asking a book lover for their favorite book. There's the one that means the most, the design that I'm most proud of, the one that makes me happy, and I could go on." I smile as he scans my body, trying to figure out my favorites. I let him get away with avoiding the subject of his muscular build. At some point, I'll get it out of him.

"Tell me everything."

Stifling the urge to tease him, I'm serious. "The wolf on my shoulder means the most to me. Cole and I designed it together, and we both have it. Did you know Cole is a widower? His deceased husband had it too, since wolves symbolize loyalty and family. I had nothing, and they took me in and became family." Von traces the wolf with his jaw clenched as I explain.

I regret telling him until he says with haunted eyes, "I am glad you had them."

Then there's no more talking. No more dredging up the past. We devour each other as if we hadn't had each other less than an hour ago.