Early June
Speaking of
Todd Nelson rolled over and wrapped his arms around his boyfriend Tucker Thompson. Tuck’s back, warm and hard against Todd’s chest, felt like shelter from the storm. He listened to the sound of Tuck’s soft snores, loving how, even in his sleep, Tuck’s fingers rubbed against the back of his hand.
They lay in Todd’s bed. While Todd loved everything about Tuck as a person, the chaos of his lover’s bedroom made it impossible for him to relax at night. Even so, Tuck willingly shared Todd’s bed without a fuss. They hadn’t spent one night apart from each other since the night they’d confessed their love.
Todd smiled, pressing a kiss at the base of Tuck’s neck. The moment had been sappy and exuberant—the kind of moment where he would have groaned had he been watching it play out in a Lifetime movie of the week. But as a scene from his real life, it had been perfect. Better than he’d ever imagined.
Theirs was a bond forged in commonality, brotherhood, friendship, and pain. They’d both been foster kids, both placed in the same home for their formidable years. Tucker had been there first. His mother had been abusive. The scars they’d left on Tucker had been more emotional than physical, and it had made it hard for him to believe he could be loved.
Todd’s situation had been much different. His mother never abused him, never called him names or treated him badly. She’d been helpless, needy. Drugs had been her crutch of choice, and Todd had spent his early years cleaning her up and cleaning up after her. She’d been arrested for selling drugs, and the state had taken Todd and placed him in care. When he’d met Tucker, the young boy had needed him, much like his mother, or so he thought. But over the years he’d discovered the great strength Tucker possessed. In fact, he was probably the toughest person Todd knew.
He remembered all the nights during their teenage years when he’d stared at Tucker’s sleeping form from across their small room at night. Even though they shared space, they’d had their own twin beds to sleep in. Todd had suppressed the urge to leave the cocoon of his own blankets to join Tucker, to crawl in bed with him, touch him, just to be near him. He’d never taken the risk.
He scooted closer and stroked his fingers down his boyfriend’s chest. So many years wasted. He kissed Tucker again, lower, between the shoulder blades. Tuck’s fingers laced between his own. He inhaled the scent of his lover’s skin—black cherry. Tuck’s favorite shampoo. Todd’s body reacted too easily to the aroma. Earlier in the week, he’d gone to Wal-Mart. Walking past the candle section, he’d gotten the barest whiff of a black cherry votive and it gave him an instant boner.
Speaking of boners…His hard length brushed against the back of Tucker’s thighs.
Tuck rolled over to face Todd. In the dark, the sharp planes of his face and his straight Roman nose, accented Tuck’s masculinity. His wide mouth, full and sensual, curved up into a lazy smile as he reached his hand between them and encircled Todd’s cock for a brief squeeze.
“I guess you’re up,” he said. Tuck stroked down the side of Todd’s face before picking up a blond curl near his ear and twirling it around his index finger.
“Lucky guess,” Todd said. He winced when Tuck pulled his hair tight—a small show of possession. He understood these little gestures of claim. He’d promised Tucker that he would give up his string of men if they were together, and he’d meant it. In the past two months, he hadn’t given another man a second glance. But Tuck had watched him with a parade of strangers over the years, and while Todd knew his intention to stay true was real, he loved Tuck enough to be patient while he figured it out.
He outlined the planes of Tuck’s chiseled chest. Jesus. He could work out every day and not get the same definition. He traced the light dusting of blond hair between Tucker’s pecs that led to the slightly darker happy trail, ending in a short nest of sandy-blond curls. The back of his hand rubbed against the full thickness of Tuck’s erection.
“You’re up too,” Todd said. “Incredible.”
Tucker smiled, his eyes slimming with the upward lift of his defined cheeks. “I’ve been getting hard for you for years. There’s nothing incredible about it.”
Todd’s chest warmed with a myriad of emotions. Tucker was a gift. One Todd hadn’t earned or deserved. He worried he would fuck it up. Fuck up what they’d found in each other. Worried he would be a disappointment. Worried, in the end, he wouldn’t be enough for Tucker. He’d never been enough…
His expression must have darkened, because Tuck lifted his chin and said, “You okay?”
Tuck’s sweet concern, his sincerity, drove away Todd’s doubts for the moment. He smiled and moistened his lips. “I’m perfect.”
“Yes, you are.” Tucker’s breath blew hotly across Todd’s lips before his mouth lowered in a gentle, loving kiss.
With a soft moan, Todd parted for him, welcoming the invasion of Tuck’s tongue sensually stroking his own. Tuck still tasted like the cinnamon mouthwash he’d used before they’d gone back to bed. Sweet, spicy, and hot. Tuck rolled on top of Todd, pressing him into the mattress. He wrapped his arms around Tucker, pulling him closer. Todd’s hands roamed his lover’s body from head to ass, grasping at Tuck as need and desire rushed warmth to his groin.
Tuck kissed him deeper, drawing Todd’s tongue into his mouth, sucking it with raw demand. Todd clutched at him, digging his fingers into Tuck’s firmly muscled ass. An appreciative rumble sounded before Tuck kneed apart Todd’s thighs and nestled his lower body between them.
Todd tore himself from the kiss and groped his nightstand for the bottle of lubricant. Tucker never took his mouth off Todd, kissing, licking, and sucking along his jaw and neck and ear.
He rocked his hips forward as he squirted the slick substance into his palm. Reaching between them, Todd generously spread the oily liquid until both their lengths were coated. Tuck went up on an elbow. With his free hand, he reached down and encircled both shafts. He began to thrust his hips, dipping his head, his mouth slanting over Todd’s, kissing him as the friction against Todd’s cock made his balls ache for sweet release.
“You’re so fucking hot,” Todd muttered, raising his hips to meet every insistent stroke. “So good.” His brain muddied with lust, and he couldn’t think—didn’t want to think—beyond how fantastic Tucker made him feel.
They ground and thrust against each other, both fucking while being fucked with unspoken demands. Tuck kept himself propped up, a testament to his physical strength, as he continued to piston his hips between Todd’s thighs.
“I’m going to come,” Tuck ground out between clenched teeth.
The declaration made Todd’s cock harden even more as his balls drew tight to his body. “Yes,” he said, urging Tuck to let go. “Come for me, babe.”
“Oh God,” Tuck groaned. He blinked, his eyes rolling up as he thrust faster. Suddenly, his body went rigid, the veins in his neck bulging as a sharp cry tore from his lips. Tuck’s pleasure ripped Todd wide open as he stroked them both with his hand, milking Tuck’s cock, milking his own, while ropes of semen shot out onto Todd’s chest.
When they’d finished, Tuck dropped to his side on the bed next to Todd. He rubbed his hand across the creamy evidence of their desire, his expression serious. “You know how I’ve been thinking about going to the community college, but I’m not sure what I want to do for the rest of my life?”
“You’ve mentioned it once or twice.” Or a dozen times. Todd felt a squeeze in his chest. He knew Tucker wasn’t satisfied working as a bartender or a waiter for the rest of his life. He wanted Tuck to have everything, but a part of him worried Tuck would outgrow him—intellectually and emotionally.
Tuck grinned. “Beyond a career, I think making you happy is going to be my ultimate goal.”
Todd laughed. “Then you are already a big success. Congratulations.”
The cell phone next to Todd’s bed trilled loudly, startling him from his moment of pure bliss. The display said “unknown” and it was three o’clock in the morning. He glanced at Tuck who shrugged and shook his head.
Todd slid his finger over the screen and put the phone to his ear. “Hello?”
“Baby,” a woman’s voice answered.
His body locked up as the full weight of his shock hit him.
“What’s wrong?” Tuck asked.
Todd shook his head.
“Todd? Baby?” he heard the caller ask.
When he found his voice, Todd stared at Tucker as the word left his mouth. “Mom?”