Bringing Him Home (5 page)

"Yeah, he was a little...rough."

The tightening of Jared's hands on the wheel told Kyle more about Jared's personality than anything else he could have done right then. He smiled inwardly. At least one good thing had come out of this conversation; he knew Jared would never deliberately hurt him.

"And since then?"

"I played the field awhile until I realized I wasn't getting what I wanted."

"Which was?" Jared glanced at him again; this time he held his gaze for longer than was strictly safe.

Kyle felt his heart start to speed up. Was he ready for this? Was he able to voice the need that had been insinuating itself in him for the past couple of years? Would Jared understand? Would he be interested? He took a deep, calming breath and took a chance. "Something less casual."

"You mean something permanent?"

Kyle couldn't believe his hands were shaking and his mouth had gone dry. He tried to keep his gaze steady on Jared's, who had practically slowed the truck down to a crawl. Cars were zooming past, blasting their horns, but neither of them paid any notice.

"Yes."

Jared's eyes were dark as he stared at him. "Me too."

With those two simple words, Jared had just made Kyle hopeful for a future he'd only ever guessed at.

He stared out the window for a while, watching the dry, gold-red scenery of the Australian bush go by but not really seeing it. Could he be that lucky? He took a quick glance over to find Jared staring at him again. They both grinned.

"Where are we headed?" Kyle asked, gazing out the window again and noticing for the first time that they'd left all signs of civilization behind them and seemed to be in the middle of nowhere.

"I thought we'd stop at Tamworth and spend the night."

"And then what?"

At Jared's silence, Kyle glanced over at him. Jared looked uncomfortable; that awkward set of his shoulders was back. Unease settled in Kyle's stomach, hard to ignore but easy to pinpoint why. "You haven't decided what to do with me yet, have you?"

Jared didn't look at him, and Kyle knew that was a bad sign. Strong fingers gripped the steering wheel tighter, and for a moment, Kyle didn't think he was going to answer, but then Jared sighed. "No, I haven't."

Kyle knew he could push the issue or let it lie. He didn't want to do either; he wanted something in the middle. "Your family doesn't know you're gay, do they?" Okay, maybe that was pushing the issue. There had to be a reason why Jared was reluctant.

"Shit, Kyle! What kind of question is that?"

"Humor me," he said, watching Jared's posture very carefully. Jared revealed a lot with his body.

There was obviously something in his voice, because after only a few seconds, Jared relaxed his hands and loosened his shoulders. "You're wrong; both my mother and my sister know."

"They okay with it?"

"Yeah, they're both fine." Jared looked at him then, his dark eyes assessing. "Where are you going with this?" he asked.

So maybe Jared's reluctance had nothing to do with his family. Maybe whatever was happening between them was just not strong enough to commit to. Maybe he was just expecting too much and should back off. He shrugged. "Nowhere. It doesn't matter."

The edge of Jared's mouth turned down. "What about yours? Do they know?"

"My parents died in a car crash two years ago."

"Sorry."

"Don't worry about it." Kyle knew he sounded tense but couldn't help it. He watched the scenery go by again until a warm hand gripped his and linked their fingers together. Jared gave him a reassuring squeeze, and Kyle squeezed back, though he didn't say anything more. He didn't trust himself to.

Chapter Three

Jared was exhausted. The conversation he'd had with Kyle earlier kept playing on his mind, not letting him rest, not letting him think of anything else. He was torn, wanting one thing, knowing another, and not having the slightest idea what the fuck to do about it.

He wanted to bring Kyle home with him, wanted to see if there was any chance of a future together, but he just didn't know if he was ready to make a stand against the small-minded people in the town where he lived. No one there knew he was gay and having an open relationship with another man was not something that would be accepted, and Jared needed to be accepted. His business, his life was there. And what about Kyle? Would he be prepared to live in a town where he could be ridiculed, abused, run out? Jared grimaced. The possibilities were real; he had firsthand knowledge of what one bigoted man could do to another just because of his sexual orientation. But that was one man, not a whole town. Was he just making this too big of a deal?

"Don't."

Jared quickly glanced at the man who up until then had been sitting quietly at his side. Kyle had turned in his seat and was facing him, one leg tucked beneath the other.

"Don't what?"

"Overanalyze."

How could he not when everything he'd ever wanted hung in the balance of someone else's opinion? "I'm not," he lied, consciously trying to ease the tension that had crept into his shoulders.

"No? Then why are your knuckles white? You grip that steering wheel any tighter and the damn thing is going to snap."

Jared instantly loosened his hold, flexing fingers that had started to go numb. "I'm fine, just tired."

"Too tired?"

He would have to have been stupid not to know what Kyle was talking about. He grinned despite his concern. "No."

"Good. Thought I was going to have to start using my arsenal of seduction techniques to get you into bed with me." The light, teasing tone Kyle used didn't disguise the unease that edged his comment. There was no doubt Kyle had picked up on Jared's conflict, though he probably hadn't got a clue as to what it was about. He glanced at Kyle again and caught him staring back.

"One step at a time, Jared. Fucking first, talking later. Agreed?"

"You think we need to talk?" Jared asked, surprised Kyle had brought it up.

"Yes, at some point. But not now."

"Why not now?"

The blue in Kyle's eyes flared bright with something akin to desire and frustration. "Because right now we need to fuck each other senseless, and then see what happens. Seriously, Jared, you need to get laid. I've never seen a man so tense."

"What if nothing can happen?"

"Why don't we wait until tomorrow and decide then?"

"It's not that simple."

"If you want me the same way I want you, then yes, it is." The heat in Kyle's eyes this time was all desire, and Jared couldn't help but be affected by it. He wanted Kyle. Kyle wanted him. Did anything else matter?

"Am I going to have to crawl onto your lap right now and show you how good it can be between us?"

Jared groaned as a complete visual of a naked Kyle on his lap teased him, bringing his body to full wakefulness. A light tingle of need slid down his spine, worked its way through his ass, and lodged itself in his balls. He shuddered.

"Don't say stuff like that while I'm driving," he begged, flicking his gaze to the man who was bringing him to the brink of distraction. God, the man's eyes were compelling, making it hard for him to think.

"Well?
Do
I need to persuade you?"

Jared shook his head, but he wasn't sure if he was giving Kyle an answer or just trying to free it of scattered thoughts that wouldn't leave him alone. By the look on Kyle's face, he didn't seem to think it had been an answer either. Kyle sighed and sat back, his fingers drumming on the armrest at his side. In that instant, Jared thought Kyle had given up, and he almost protested. He didn't want Kyle to give up. He actually did want Kyle to persuade him otherwise, to persuade him that it
could
be good between them, that something
could
come out of this.

"Have you ever been rimmed?"

At the unexpected question, Jared's foot slid off the accelerator and his stomach flipped. He gathered his wits and settled his foot back into place, but his stomach was still doing somersaults. He glared at Kyle, about to tear him a new hole, but the man was grinning, that twist of his mouth that filled Jared's heart and did a lot to make Jared want him even more.

"No, I haven't," Jared said instead.

"Have you ever done it?"

"No."

Kyle turned back to the sweeping view out the windshield.

"Is that it? You're going to ask me a question like that and then drop it?"

Kyle turned his head, the hot, steamy flare in his eyes making Jared's body melt. "Do you want to?" Kyle asked.

If this was Kyle's way of persuading him, he'd succeeded. Jared gave up worrying about tomorrow. He tightened his hands on the steering wheel as he contemplated Kyle's question. There was only one real answer. "With you, yes," he answered, surprised at how steady his voice sounded. "Do
you
want to?"

Kyle's grin was slow and cocky. "I'm thinking about it."

"Kyle!"

"What?"

"Fuck!"

Kyle just laughed, the sound so innocently sweet that Jared seriously contemplated shoving the truck into park and hauling Kyle's ass to the sleeping berth behind them.

"Your ass is mine, Kyle," Jared growled, meaning it as a warning but knowing it came out as a promise.

Kyle took a quick glance at him, then shook his head. "Unless you intend on rimming it, I don't think so."

Slowly Kyle's words sank in. "Then it looks like we have a problem."

It took a couple of seconds, and then Kyle groaned. "Aw, come on, Jared; don't tell me you're a top."

Jared grinned; Kyle sounded worried. "Do I look like a bottom to you?"

"Looks have got nothing to do with it." Kyle now sounded petulant. He shifted in his seat. "Have you always topped?"

"Yes."

Kyle was silent for a moment. "You thinking of changing anytime soon?"

"Not unless you are too."

"Fuck!"

When Kyle didn't say anything else for a while, Jared wondered if he seriously wasn't considering allowing Jared to fuck him. Jared knew he was willing to bottom, but only if Kyle was as well. Whether they would actually get a chance to do both was still in debate, but Kyle had to at least agree to it.

"I'll toss you for it." Kyle's sudden suggestion had Jared relaxing.

"You are talking about a coin, right?"

"Well, the alternative sounds good too."

Jared ignored Kyle's smirk. "Won't work. Whoever loses won't take it for long," he said.

"Yeah, I guess. So what then? We take it in turns?"

It wasn't lost on Jared that Kyle was talking about them being together more than once. The tension still in his body slowly began to ease. They could work through this. "Seems the only way to me."

"I bags you go first," Kyle proposed.

Jared shook his head and smiled. "I'll toss you for it, and before you say anything, I mean with a coin."

Kyle sighed and put his feet back up on the dash. "You're no fun, you know that?"

Jared grinned. Kyle had an easy way about him that made being with him enjoyable. He was also ripe for being teased, and Jared love to tease. "It would take the edge off, though," he said.

Kyle glanced at him. "What would?"

"A jack off. I'd love to see your hand on your cock."

"Fuck, Jared!" Kyle instantly palmed the front of his jeans. Groaning, he quickly unzipped and slid his hand inside.

"Hey, don't start now!"

"I'm not. Fuck, you just got me hard."

"Just? I've been hard for the past ten minutes."

Kyle groaned again. "Did anyone ever tell you you're a prick tease?"

Jared laughed. "I'm going to take that as a compliment."

"Take it any way you like. Shit, Jared." He spread his legs wide and rubbed the rock-hard bulge in his jeans.

Jared's own cock twitched in response. "Stop that or I'm going to crash the truck."

"You started it!"

"And I'm gonna finish it in your ass if you don't stop that now."

Kyle stopped, sending a quick grin in Jared's direction. "You really want my pretty little ass, don't you?"

Jared suddenly imagined Kyle, spread out before him, ass in the air, his hole waiting, begging to be fucked. He groaned and shot Kyle a dark glare. "Now who's the prick tease?"

Kyle laughed, the sound so infectious that Jared couldn't help but laugh with him. He geared down as he turned into the outskirts of Tamworth. There was a motel about halfway through town that he often stayed at while traveling this way. It was within a few minutes' walk of where he could park his truck. Pulling into the large graveled parking area, he maneuvered the big rig until it was positioned out of the way. After he released the air brakes and turned the engine off, he sat there in relative silence. This was it, he realized. He turned to Kyle.

"You ready?"

Kyle's gaze met his, the blue of his eyes bright and clear and trouble-free. There was a flash of excitement in their depths just before Kyle smiled that slow, sexy smile that flipped Jared's stomach. "Yeah, I'm ready."

Light fissures of electricity coursed their way through Jared's body. His fingers and cock tingled, and he couldn't suppress a low moan, which had Kyle grinning again.

"Come on," he said, opening his door and grabbing his bag before he did something stupid, like lean over and kiss Kyle. Once he started, he knew he wouldn't be able to stop.

Kyle grabbed his own bag and was waiting for him as he came around the front of the truck. Jared didn't say anything but headed toward the small motel. The air was warm and calm, and at this time of night, the streets were quiet. Occasionally the soft sounds of a string guitar along with the half-mournful voice of a country and western song could be heard. They were in the heart of New South Wales' country region, not too far from the town in which Jared lived. It was a place Jared loved, and as he glanced at the man walking by his side, he wondered if it was possible for Kyle to love it too.

Kyle brushed against his shoulder, the contact ridiculously breathtaking--and dangerous, but not half as dangerous as Jared wanting to grab Kyle's hand and link their fingers together. He'd never shown any affectionate display in public before, had never even come close, had never wanted to, but with Kyle he'd already kissed him in a location that was open to everyone and anyone, and now he wanted to hold his hand? What kind of man was he turning into? Jared hadn't got a clue what Kyle was doing to him, but while one half of him worried over it, the other half, the one not thinking, the one just feeling, was stupidly ecstatic.

They reached the motel, and unspoken but by mutual consent, Kyle waited outside while Jared went and paid for the room. He knew the receptionist would have no idea what was going on in his head, but Jared had a feeling every carnal thought Kyle induced was visible on his face, and try as he might, he couldn't stop the stupid grin that broke free when the receptionist told him to have a good night.

Outside, Jared found Kyle lounging against the wall that separated the reception area from the rooms that lined the building.

"Room ten," he said, tossing Kyle the key.

Kyle looked to his left and started down the length of driveway. "Stop it."

The demand was said with a tease, one that elicited another grin on Jared's face. "Stop what?"

"Looking at my ass."

"It's an ass worth looking at."

Kyle turned and started walking backward. Jared's gaze remained in the same vicinity, but now he was looking at something far better.

"You're incorrigible, you know that?" Kyle told him, stopping at their room and slipping the key into the lock.

"I'm only what you're making me." Jared quickly caught up and followed Kyle inside.

The room was typical of all hotel rooms he'd been in over the past few years: old but serviceable, with ridiculous matching bedcover and curtains. But Jared wasn't interested in anything but the bed itself. There was a single, which he tossed his bag onto, and a double. The double meant he and Kyle were virtually going to be sleeping on top of each other, but that was okay by him. He saw Kyle eyeing the bed as well, and saw also the quick grin Kyle didn't try to hide.

Proud of himself for not grabbing Kyle right then and tackling him to the bed, Jared indicated the laminated menu of a local Chinese restaurant sitting by the phone. "Are you hungry?"

Kyle looked about ready to say no, but then he nodded. "Yeah, I guess."

"Go ahead and have a shower. I'll order."

Kyle nodded again and turned to the bathroom, then stopped. "You coming with me?"

"I hope so," Jared answered suggestively.