Falling Bundle (6 page)

Arjen jerked his arm out of his grip. Just like that. “You lied to me, Max.” He spat the words. “You told me to trust you. You said I was safe with you. You promised.”

Max stared at him, stricken. He had figured Arjen would be stung by his rejection, he’d seen the look on Arjen’s face, but it hadn’t occurred to him that he had broken his trust. And Arjen’s obvious hurt made him feel small inside.

He didn’t know how to explain. He had been so alone for so long that he could hardly imagine having what he wanted desperately: Arjen at his side, in his arms, in his bed.

Christ’s sake. He was being stupid again. The only game Max understood was getting people into bed; that was all he was good for.

He reached for Arjen again. Arjen moved sharply away. “I will call security from my work if you don’t leave me alone.”

Fine. Max stepped right up to him, barely an inch away. It forced Arjen to react, his breath catching, his eyes darkening. The tensing of his body said that he expected Max to grab him again at any second. Max drank it in. “I want to fuck you again.”

“I thought you were done with me.” Arjen threw his own words back at him.

“I said I want to fuck you. That’s all. Don’t get all fuzzy.”

“Why would I ever want to sleep with you again?”

“You seemed to like it well enough last time.” Max met his eyes.

Arjen flushed. They were both remembering that endless night: Max’s insatiable hunger for him, the number of times he had made Arjen come underneath him. Arjen scrabbling at the covers, his body arching and tightening around him, his voice raw from crying out. Max had never wanted anyone so badly, never wanted so much to give pleasure.

“It was all right,” Arjen said with a decent attempt at indifference. It was a cruelly accurate echo of what Max had said to him that morning.

It stung unbelievably to be told that Max’s best efforts to please had failed. Max’s jaw tightened. “Don’t fuck with me, Arjen. You liked it plenty. The only reason you wouldn’t want me to fuck you again is if I hurt your
feelings
.” He made it scornful, as if it was impossible that Max could have hurt him.

Arjen’s chin came up as his eyes narrowed. “You know what? You’re right. You didn’t hurt me, because I don’t care about you. At all.” Each word was a stab. Max fought for calm. “So why not fuck? It’s no big deal. When I get tired of you I’ll just find someone else.”

Max seethed. He was going to prove that he was irreplaceable. “Fine,” he snapped.

“Fine,” Arjen snapped back.

“You can come to my place. I’ll sort you out.”

Arjen jabbed him in the chest with his finger. “I don’t think so, Max. When I’m done with you, I’ll be the one kicking
you
out.”

Max barely suppressed a growl. That simply would not happen to him. Would. Not. Happen.

He took Arjen hard by the arm. Arjen glared at him, but this time did not fight his grip. “Fine.” Max bit off the word. “Let’s go to your place. I can fuck you anywhere you want.”

Max drove him home in simmering silence. He had to fight not to fidget; tension and urgency sizzled in him, making him twitch with the urge to move. He wanted to fuck him, wanted to hold him tight, wanted to beg for forgiveness. It would be simple to reach out and take Arjen’s hand, but the six inches between them in the car might as well have been a chasm. There was no way he could cross it.

It was probably just as well. If Max touched him for even a moment he might not be able to hold himself back. He wanted him so badly he could barely think.

Arjen stared straight ahead, his jaw set tight. If he was half as wound up as Max, he wasn’t showing it. Damn it. Max was going to prove to both of them how much Arjen wanted him. He was going to make Arjen beg before he was allowed to come.

“Cate’s out?” Max’s voice came out tight with strain. He was gripping the steering wheel.

“Yes.” Arjen kept it equally curt.

Good. So there was no reason Max couldn’t fuck him against every surface in the house.

They parked. Got out of the car. Max barely noticed the tall house looming in front of him, its freshly painted door, the roses blooming in every corner. He couldn’t think about anything except the man beside him. They stood so close he could feel the heat of his body. It was maddening.

Arjen took forever to get his house keys out and open the door. Max gritted his teeth. He was not going to tell Arjen to hurry up. He was not going to—

The door opened. Max gripped him by the back of the neck and shoved him inside, his impatience bursting out, stepped into the hall and kicked the door shut behind him. Arjen turned toward him and Max slammed him into the wall with his full weight. Their mouths crashed together. The chemistry between them was instant and irresistible. Every ounce of his frustration and longing set him on fire with ferocity and he gripped Arjen’s hair to keep him in place so Max could kiss him some more. Arjen gasped as he arched up into him, one arm around his neck dragging him down to kiss him deeper, his free hand already under Max’s shirt.

His touch ignited an even fiercer longing. Max couldn’t wait any longer, he was shaking with eagerness, with hunger. He ripped at Arjen’s shirt with absolutely no care for his expensive tailoring; buttons zinged off and skittered across the floor. He pulled his shirt off and bent to bite his throat, then his shoulder, marking the bare skin with his teeth. Arjen gasped again and Max got a tighter grip on his hair, holding him still for Max’s mouth. He cupped Arjen through the front of his trousers, squeezed and rubbed as he sucked hard on the fragile pulse at the base of his throat, and Arjen made a strangled sound.

“Strip. Now.” Max yanked at his belt, fumbled with the button. Arjen helped him, both of them clumsy with need, then he finally got Arjen as naked as he wanted him. He pushed a finger into him with no attempt whatsoever to be gentle; Arjen said “Oh,” his whole body arching, and Max rubbed that sweet spot inside him mercilessly. “Oh!” Arjen was clutching him now, pressing into him, entirely his.

He ought to take more time, make sure Arjen was ready for this, but he couldn’t slow down, this need was killing him. His possessive fury was so huge that it shut out thought. He just lifted Arjen braced against the wall and slammed home with one savage thrust.

Arjen cried out in pure desperation. His body clenched so unbearably tight that Max damn near lost it there and then; it took a monumental effort of will not to spill himself deep inside him. His grip tightened on Arjen’s thighs, his fingers biting home. He forced Arjen wider and slammed into him again. Arjen was frantic beneath him, pleading with him, and the next time Max drove home Arjen came violently. His arms tightened around Max’s neck and his body arched again. He was shuddering, gasping, rocked by his climax.

“Couldn’t wait, could you,” Max growled in his ear. “Knew you wanted me. You always do. I’m not letting you off this easily.” Max gathered him into his arms, still sheathed tight inside him, carried him into the kitchen and threw him down on the table.

It creaked beneath the impact. Max didn’t care. His sole focus was on the man beneath him. When he pushed back in Arjen groaned; his spent body must be doubly sensitive now. Max spread his legs wider, holding his thighs open, and Arjen leaned back, bracing himself on his hands. His face was dazed, his hair a mess. Max began driving into him over and over. He was going to make Arjen come again if it killed him.

It struck Max suddenly to wonder if Arjen had brought anyone else home since Max had kicked him out. It had been a week, he could have bedded a different man every night. Dozens of them. Hundreds. The thought filled Max with an irrational fury. He took Arjen by the chin, forcing Arjen to meet his eyes. “Who have you been with since the last time I fucked you?”

Arjen jerked his chin away. “That’s none of your damn business.” The roughness of his voice gave Max intense satisfaction.

Max recaptured his chin. “It is my business. Was there anybody?”

“What do you think?” said Arjen coldly.

He pictured another man in his place between Arjen’s legs, driving into him exactly like this, and his anger rose in a growl. “You sleep with me, Arjen. Just me. Nobody else.” He gripped Arjen tighter, starting to pound harder. Arjen’s gasp melted into a moan. “I’ll give you what you need. Plenty of it.” Harder still until Arjen was starting to cry out again. He was going to leave Arjen so exhausted that Arjen couldn’t even think about sleeping with another man. “Tell me there was nobody else.”

Arjen turned his face away. His face was twisted with strain.

“I’m not letting you come until you tell me there was nobody.”

And Max didn’t. He dragged it out impossibly long, until he was shaking with the urge to finally come in him, until Arjen was begging him again, hot and slick and open for him, and only when Arjen finally whispered the truth to him—“Nobody, Max, God, there was nobody”—did Max allow them both sweet, blessed release.

Arjen came for him wonderfully, clutching him so tight, while Max spilled himself so fucking hard it was like fireworks lighting him up. He could only grip Arjen hard as he pumped pulse after pulse into his body.

Afterward they lay together on top of the table, gasping for breath. Max turned his face into Arjen’s shoulder, and for a pitiful moment he could have wept. He had thought that fucking Arjen again might get it out of his system, but it hadn’t. If anything, his longing was worse. He wanted Arjen in his life so badly he could hardly stand it.

Just let him stay here a while longer. He was exhausted, filled with that glow of satisfaction, Arjen warm in his arms. He could feel Arjen’s heartbeat against his own. He craved this closeness with every fibre of his being.

Arjen ran his fingers through his hair. Max held his breath, caught by surprise by the unexpected tenderness of that gesture. For a moment the entire world trembled on the edge.

“Get out,” Arjen whispered in his ear.

Max flinched. It was such a kick in the teeth. He had everything he wanted right here in his arms and it was being taken away. “Arjen—”

“We’ve fucked,” said Arjen, deliberately mimicking every cruel word Max had said to him. “We’re done. Out.”

The crack in Max’s heart told him exactly how much he must have hurt Arjen that morning. Because if Arjen had felt even a tenth of this, it must have been devastating.

Please,
he wanted to say.
Let me stay.
But he unwrapped himself painfully from around Arjen, seeing the bruises he had left on him, and stood up.

Arjen got to his feet and began dressing without a second glance. “You can let yourself out.”

Max had never felt so low. And the worst part was that he deserved it.

“Fine,” Max muttered. “I don’t care.”

Arjen stopped when he was still a dozen feet away. “No,” he said. “Absolutely not.”

Max stretched out on the park bench, his fingers laced behind his head, and ran his eyes lazily up and down Arjen’s lean frame. “You look good.” Good enough to eat. Arjen glowed in the sunshine, with his sharply chiselled features, his dark hair ruffled by the breeze, a leaf or two catching in the collar of his coat. The chill had brought out the colour in his face.

“Why the hell did you want me to meet you in a park?”

“It’s sunny.” Max pointed out the obvious. Autumn was truly setting in now, a crisp bite in the air, the leaves starting to turn colours. Families strolled through the huge sweep of the park with their puppies and children scampering around them. Away down the tumbling slope, woodland gathered in a hollow, filling it with shadow.

Max crooked a finger. “Come here.”

Arjen folded his arms, staying right where he was. He was particularly handsome when he was smouldering like this, his dark eyes narrow. “I don’t think so, Max. This is just sex, nothing more. So I don’t see the need to hold hands in a park like we’re teenage sweethearts.”

Max’s jaw set. One day he was going to get through a conversation without Arjen coldly reminding him that Arjen had no interest in him whatsoever outside of bed. “You’re trying my patience, Arjen.”

“
Your
patience?” Arjen was getting steadily louder. Heads turned. “You wanted it like this. You kicked me out of bed the first time we slept together. You told me that this was nothing, it was meaningless to you. So we’re meeting to fuck. That’s all.”

That was it. Max jumped to his feet and stalked toward him.

Arjen held his ground, his chin coming up; he was four inches shorter than Max but rarely shrank like most people did when Max was looming over them. “You’re not going to—”

Max caught his face in both hands and kissed him. Hard. The fire of that first touch ignited in him, filling him with heat; he kissed him like there was no oxygen and only Arjen could save him from suffocating. Arjen melted into him like he always did, hands coming up to grip Max’s lapels, and Max slid a hand down his spine to yank him against him so tight Arjen gasped. He kissed Arjen into breathless silence before finally taking his mouth away. “No more talking,” Max said.

Arjen was flustered, trying to catch his breath. He said nothing.

Max took his hand. Arjen glared at him, but did not pull away. His shoulders were stiff, his spine a straight line.

Max must be getting soft. Because he ached for the day that Arjen would reach out to take his hand of his own accord.

He led Arjen on a winding path back and forth across the sunlit park. Long slants of light painted the grass in shades of pale gold. The occasional crisp leaf crunched underfoot. A squirrel shot across their path and leaped up into the nearest tree in a blink. Max squeezed Arjen’s hand, tentatively. No response.

They entered the wood. The trees were closely clustered, gnarled roots reaching out to trip them. A dense canopy of leaves tinted the sunlight green. As they moved deeper, the screams of delighted children died away and stillness closed in on them, a silence so deep that each footfall sent ripples across its surface.

Max was the first to speak. “You didn’t answer your phone last night.”

Arjen was still stiff beside him. Max had not realised how intensely Arjen could bear a grudge; if he had, he might have thought twice about kicking Arjen out of bed that fateful morning. “Why would I? You’d already come over.”

Max let that go. It was probably deserved. Because while Max lay awake at night missing Arjen desperately, wondering if maybe he could tempt Arjen into letting him come over again, he was pretty sure Arjen did nothing of the kind. Arjen just wanted Max to fuck him, then leave.

It would probably be easier to control the situation if Max didn’t want that as well—if Max could leave him hanging for days, waiting for Max to call. The problem was that Max couldn’t keep his hands off him. He had tried life without Arjen and he couldn’t take one more day of it. His hunger was obsessive; he came over every evening after work to fuck Arjen, and at weekends he refused to let Arjen out of bed until they were both so exhausted they couldn’t possibly fuck again.

He needed it more than he could admit. The more he could please Arjen, the less likely it would be that Arjen would leave him.

And the sex was fantastic, it always was with Arjen, but afterward there was always the silence. That loaded silence, weighted with tension, in which Max heard the echoes of every harsh word he’d ever said.

He couldn’t stand the hush any more. He switched his grip on Arjen to his upper arm and dragged him off the path into a secluded glade. The grass spread out before them, green and scented. A shaft of sunlight slid through a gap in the canopy to strike sparks off the silver waters of a little stream. That was all the impression he let Arjen get in the split second before he pushed Arjen up against a tree and kissed him again.

That familiar spark of hunger caught and kindled into a blaze. Max captured his mouth fiercely, taking his lower lip between his teeth. When Max bit down gently, Arjen caught his breath. Max could never resist that little hitch in his chest, so he nuzzled along the roughness of Arjen’s jaw to nip at his ear, lick down his throat, suck on the hot skin. Arjen tipped his head back against the bark with a groan, inviting more.

Max rubbed up against him, slow and hot, enjoying getting him worked up. Arjen grabbed him by the belt to drag him closer. Max slid a knee up between his thighs, pressing against the hot bulge in his jeans. “Nobody’s coming,” Max murmured against his throat, finding the pulse gently with his mouth. “Unless you scream too loud.”

“Shut up.” Arjen pulled him down into another kiss.

Max fumbled open Arjen’s belt, his jeans, pushed a hand in to wrap around his cock. Arjen stifled a moan. “Ssh,” Max whispered in his ear, and Arjen made a small sound. He was so hot in Max’s fingers, so eager. Max squeezed him and made him clutch at him. Perfect. “Think you can keep quiet if I fuck you?”

Arjen’s eyes darkened. “Yes.”

Max chuckled. “Liar. You’re always loud.” He turned Arjen roughly anyway. “Hands against the trunk.” He yanked Arjen’s jeans down around his ankles, leaving him tangled up in them.

Arjen waited, panting, his hands obediently on the trunk of the tree. He was irresistible. Every taut plane and lean muscle called to Max. Max stepped up behind him, pressing against him, sliding a hand down his belly to take hold of his cock again, even as he ran one slick finger down his cleft. He found that tight pucker with his fingertip.

Arjen squeaked. He really was adorable. “I said quiet.” Max teased him ruthlessly with that fingertip, circling his pucker for ages before starting to press against it, giving him just a little bit of pressure. Arjen’s ragged breathing caught again as the finger slipped in, but he made no sound. “Good,” Max whispered to him, and started to work a second finger into him. Arjen felt incredible, so tight and yet so yielding. Arjen shifted against him, trying to spread his legs wider but too tangled in his jeans. He was starting to tremble.

“I’m going to fuck you now.” Max tugged his earlobe between his teeth, knowing it always drove him crazy. “Try to relax.” He pressed the tip of his cock against his slick opening, using his grip on Arjen to keep him firmly in place.

Arjen barely choked off his cry as Max pushed into him. He arched into Max’s stroking hand. Max soothed him with whispers as he slid slowly, relentlessly in, until he was fully sheathed inside him. Then Arjen hung his head, gasping for breath. Max could feel the rapid thump of his heartbeat.

“You’re being very good today. I should reward you.” Max gripped him and started to thrust harder. Arjen’s first little whimper rose into a moan as Max took him mercilessly. Max changed his angle to hit the exact right spot and Arjen cried out in earnest that time despite Max’s sharp reminder—“Ssh!” The bark crumbled beneath Arjen’s scrabbling fingers.

Max clamped a hand over his mouth, tightened his grip on his cock and slammed home. That sent them both over the edge into fireworks. Arjen came intensely around him, silenced by Max’s hand over his mouth, as Max emptied himself into that tight body.

By the time Max’s daze wore off, he was leaning hard into Arjen, pinning him against the rough bark. Arjen was unresisting beneath him, his cheek turned against the tree trunk, clearly recovering. He was delightfully hot to the touch. Max stifled the urge to kiss his cheek, sneak his arms around him, maybe whisper how much Max liked him. That would be forbidden.

Max eased out of him gently and helped him dress. “I told you you’d be too loud.”

“Not my fault.” Arjen reddened.

“Don’t be embarrassed. I like knowing that it’s good for you.”

Arjen stepped away from him. It was a clear signal that their meeting was over.

Max sighed. However intense the sex, Arjen always managed to leave him feeling unsatisfied. Every time he met up with Arjen he came away more painfully aware of the gap inside him that could only be filled by being allowed to wrap Arjen in his arms.

The next day Max arranged to meet Arjen in town. He could hear in the silence that Arjen had nearly put the phone down there and then, but with some coaxing Max managed to persuade him that it would be worth his while.

In the heart of the city a tumble of shops spilled out from under a series of huge domes, all beautiful curves of glass. Light fell through the glass roofs overhead to strike sparks off the shining floor. Max had timed their meeting perfectly; it was a Sunday afternoon and the shops were bursting with crowds, the clamour bouncing off the domes above. A red balloon rose lazily toward the glass, trailing its string.

Max leaned against a balcony, whistling a tune as he looked out. He was planning in delicious detail what he was going to do to Arjen. How he was going to crank up the anticipation notch by notch until Arjen begged him to fuck him. He smiled to himself.

Predictably, Arjen showed up five minutes early. He paused before stepping under the glass domes, and Max drank in the sight of him, letting his gaze roam up and down. Arjen was wearing that fancy tailored trenchcoat of his with the big buttons; it looked spectacular on him. A man that smart needed to be unbuttoned. Flustered. Probably dishevelled. Mmm.

Arjen looked around at the mayhem and rolled his eyes; Max smiled. Despite his annoyance, Arjen went to the clock obediently and waited beneath it like Max had told him to.

Max pulled his phone out of his pocket and called him.

“You’re late,” Arjen said.

“I’m right on time,” Max purred. “I’m watching you.”

“You are?” Arjen looked around.

Max inched behind a pillar. “Don’t. You won’t see me. But I’m watching you. Thinking about taking you home and fucking you senseless.” His voice dropped an octave into a deep growl of promise.

Arjen licked his lips, making Max harden involuntarily. “Then come take me home.”

“Oh, I’ll do that. When I’m good and ready.” Max’s smile only broadened. “You have no idea how hot you look right now. I can’t wait to mess you up. I’m going to take you home and fuck you against every wall in your house. I’ll have you screaming when I’m pounding into you. You’ll come so hard for me.”

Arjen cleared his throat, but his voice still came out shaky. “Max…”

“Am I making you uncomfortable?” Max teased him. “Getting you hard, maybe?”

Arjen shifted, looked around guiltily. Max kept winding him up. “I’m going to play with you soon, Arjen. I’ve been buying some toys for you. I think you’ll like them. There are so many things you still haven’t tried. And I like making you come.”

“Stop it.” Arjen coloured, a sudden flush. “We’re in public.”

“Mm-hmm. Have you ever been fucked with a dildo?”

“Max!” Arjen was scandalised.

Max chuckled. “I knew you hadn’t. You’ll get off on it, believe me. I think I’d like tormenting you with a nice thick dildo. You’d be begging me then. All spread out for me. Pleading with me to let you come.”

“Max, please take me home.” Arjen was clearly beyond flustered.

“Are you hard, sweetling?”

“Are you serious? You’re talking about f—” Arjen swallowed his words as a woman passed him with a pushchair. “Yes!” he hissed.

“You’re cute when you’re worked up. I bet you’ll come as soon as I get inside you.”

“Max…” It was pure desperation.

“Yes?” Max was enjoying himself.

“Let’s go home. I’ll behave. You can do whatever you want to me. Just take me home and fuck me.”

Those were Max’s favourite words. “Touch yourself,” Max said.

“I can’t.” Arjen hunched his shoulders.

“You can. Nobody is looking. You’re wearing a coat. Nobody will know if you’re touching yourself.”

“Max, I don’t know.”

“Try it for me.” Max used his coaxing voice.

Arjen slipped his free hand into his pocket. The stifled sound he made when he stroked himself got Max even hotter for him. “Oh,” Arjen said, barely a whisper.

“Does it feel good?”

“Yes.”