I Can See for Miles (14 page)

Charlie lifted his hand, stroked his fingers through Josh’s sweat-dampened hair, and pressed a kiss to the forehead that lay inches from his lips. Being with Josh was unlike anything he had experienced before, and he felt completely sated. Every muscle ached in the most delicious of ways and, unbelievably, his cock was
still
at half-mast. With Josh wrapped around him and his heavy arm lying across his waist, Charlie could fool himself into thinking everything was okay—for now.

“Charlie?” Josh asked softly, his voice thick with impending sleep.

“Mmm?”

“Where did you go today? Mike said you had errands to run.”

Charlie cleared his throat before answering. “Yeah, I had to get some stuff for the camp, and I’d promised my mom a shopping trip,” he said softly, his gut clenching guiltily at his lie.

Josh chuckled gently and emitted another huge and contented yawn. “Your doctor’s appointment is Wednesday, isn’t it?”

Closing his eyes, Charlie turned his face so his lips and nose were buried in Josh’s hair, and he tried to swallow past the lump in his throat. “Yeah… Wednesday.”

Chapter Ten

“W
HERE
do you think
you’re
going?” The words were mumbled into the soft, sleep-warm skin of the back of Charlie’s neck, and Josh tightened his arm around Charlie’s waist, forcing him back down onto the bed.

“Josh.” Charlie drew out his name in complaint. Not that the grumble seemed genuine because Charlie shuddered against his lips as Josh pressed soft kisses across his shoulders. “I have to get up to the house. I’ve got things to get ready.”

Josh mumbled something about not giving a rat’s ass about everyone else and began to trace the muscles of Charlie’s back with the tip of his tongue. “What if I won’t let you go?” He grinned at the way Charlie’s muscles twitched and bunched under his ministrations. “What if I keep you locked away in my little cabin, to do with as I please?”

Charlie turned in Josh’s arms and slowly carded his fingers through Josh’s hair. “And how do you propose to keep me here?” he challenged, tugging on Josh’s hair and brushing his lips against the soft skin of Josh’s cheek.

“I’ll come up with something,” Josh replied, reveling in the gasp that fell from Charlie’s lips when he stroked his fingers down Charlie’s flanks. Using his hands as a guide and placing openmouthed kisses to Charlie’s chest and stomach, Josh worked his way lower and disappeared beneath the covers. Where his hands were resting, he could feel Charlie’s breathing quicken with the rise and fall of the skin under his touch. He grinned and dipped his tongue into Charlie’s belly button, feeling the softness of the line of hair that led to Charlie’s cock. Josh didn’t even realize he’d been holding his breath until he felt it flow from his lips at the feel of the head of Charlie’s cock brushing against his cheek, leaving a smudge of wetness on his skin. “Looks like
you
came up with something,” he drawled, his voice muffled by the covers.

“Josh… please,” Charlie whimpered.

“What do you want?” Josh said teasingly, turning the tables by feeding him the same line Charlie had given him last night. “
Tell
me.”

“Your mouth,” Charlie groaned, his hips moving of their own volition, instinct and need taking over. “God, Josh… put your mouth on me… please.” When Josh slid his lips over the head of Charlie’s cock, he quickly pushed on Charlie’s hips when they thrust involuntarily into his mouth as Charlie groaned loudly.

“You want coffee, Josh?” Mario asked as he appeared in the doorway.

“Holy
fuck
!” Charlie yelped, making a grab for the sheets.

Josh couldn’t help it. He let go of Charlie’s cock and stuffed a handful of sheet in his mouth to stop his laughter from being too obvious. What a priceless moment this was. He could imagine the look on Charlie’s face and, even better, the look on Mario’s.

“Oh,” Mario said, much to Josh’s amusement. “I see you already have your mouth full,” he drawled and closed the door firmly behind him.

Charlie batted at Josh’s head. “Josh, get off… Mario…,” he trailed off as Josh slipped his fingers behind his balls and circled his entrance. “Josh…,” Charlie moaned softly, and the fingers that were batting at Josh’s head curled in his hair instead.

Josh lapped at the head of Charlie’s cock, tasting the pearls of precum dropping onto his tongue, then spoke in a husky voice. “Is he still here?”

“No…,” Charlie breathed.

“Then stop talking, unless it’s to moan, groan, curse, and, of course, whimper. Oh, and if you really must chant my name over and over, that’s okay too.” Josh took Charlie back into his mouth and continued to work the rock-hard shaft like Charlie was his personal oasis in the middle of the Sahara while Charlie cursed, moaned, groaned and, of course, whimpered. Josh grinned against the flesh in his mouth at the sound of his name falling from Charlie’s lips, when he slipped his index finger deep inside Charlie and massaged that sweet spot he found there. Charlie bucked wildly into his mouth and pulsed hot, briny spurts onto Josh’s tongue and down his throat as he lost control and came hard.

“Okay.” Josh said, licking his lips as he crawled back up Charlie’s body and then kissed him deep and slow. “You can talk now.”

“Uh-uh,” Charlie grunted with a shake of his head.

“Speechless, huh?” Josh chuckled, buried his face in Charlie’s neck, and kissed the racing pulse he found there. “I believe my work here is done.”

“Confident son of a bitch, aren’t you?” Charlie panted, obviously still coasting along on his post-orgasmic high, running his hand up and down Josh’s spine.

“I’m going to ignore that and just take the fact that you’re twitching like you’ve been electrocuted and have practically melted into the mattress as good signs,” Josh retorted before licking a path up Charlie’s throat and finding his way to the other man’s lips, kissing him soundly. “Didn’t you say something about having to get things ready?” He rested his chin on Charlie’s shoulder and grinned up at him.

“Oh, so
now
you want me to go. Now you’ve had your wicked way with me, you want me to up and leave?” Charlie teased, smoothing Josh’s hair back from his eyes. “Okay… I’m going, but I’m not going alone. I am not stepping outside of this room without backup.”

“Awww, poor baby.” Josh mocked him, shaking his head in disbelief. “You’re bigger than him, for God’s sake. Don’t tell me you’re afraid of one tiny Texan?”

“Damn straight I am,” Charlie retorted, nudging at Josh so he could get out of the bed and scrabble around for his clothes. “I just spent the night in here defiling ‘Momma’s little boy’. He’s probably waiting out there with his shotgun on his lap.”

Josh chuckled as he clambered out of bed and quickly got dressed. Then he chuckled some more while he pulled on his boots, and the chuckling turned into belly laughs when Charlie made him leave the bedroom first. Apparently Charlie was at least 80 percent sure Mario wouldn’t shoot through Josh to get to him. “You are such a wuss,” Josh muttered, feeling Charlie’s hand in the small of his back and fingers curled into his T-shirt. “It’s incredibly cute…,” he trailed off, opening the door and shaking with fresh laughter when Charlie positioned him like a shield. “Oh for God’s sake, this is stupid. Tavella! Do not stare, glare, or even raise an eyebrow at Charlie. He spent the entire night fucking me into the mattress, and I’m perfectly okay with that. Do you have anything to say?”

“Josh!” Charlie hissed through his teeth.

“Tavella?” Josh repeated.

“I’d rather not give your saggy ass, and what Charlie was or was not doing to it, too much thought, if that’s okay by you,” Mario drawled in response.

“See—” Josh said, grinning as he turned to pull Charlie into his arms and nuzzled his cheek. “All that panic for nothing. And you thought he was going to kick the shit out of you.”

“Shut up!”

“Never said I
wasn’t
gonna kick the shit out of him. Just said I’d rather not think about
why
I’m gonna kick the shit out of him,” Mario added, and Josh wrapped his arms tightly around Charlie in a parody of protection.

“Ignore him, Charlie,” Greg yelled from the bathroom. “He’s just yanking your chain. Do you want any coffee before you go?”

Clearing his throat, Charlie peeked over Josh’s shoulder and shook his head. “No thanks, I really need to get up to the house and help Maggie with breakfast before she sends a search party out for me. Y’all are coming up for breakfast, right?”

“Is Jason making those pancakes again?” Mario asked with a note of excitement.

“I’m sure he can be persuaded.” Charlie teased, and Josh smiled against his mouth when he felt Charlie’s lips brushing gently against his. “I’ll see you later—” Josh swallowed whatever Charlie had been going to say as he hauled him against his chest and plundered Charlie’s mouth. He really didn’t give a crap if Mario, and probably Greg, could see them or not. He was not letting Charlie leave the cabin until he’d made sure the other man knew exactly how he felt about last night.

“Eww, dudes,” Mario complained. “Now I wish
I
was blind.”

“Shut up,” Josh drawled and kissed Charlie again at the door then stood there listening to his footsteps traverse the creaky porch steps then grow quieter and quieter before closing it behind him.

“You look like you slept with a hanger in your mouth,” Mario remarked sullenly, but Josh could hear the smile in his voice.

“Believe me,” Josh replied, sinking down onto the sofa, “it wasn’t a hanger I had in my mouth.” He threw back his head and guffawed heartily when he heard the rustling of a newspaper and Mario’s grumble about overshare.

“A
ND
just where do you think
you’re
going?”

Charlie froze midstep as he tried to sneak past the kitchen door. Turning, he smiled sheepishly at Maggie and shrugged. “Um… just going to have a shower, and then I’ll be down to lend a hand.”

“Yeah… right. Like I’m gonna let it go at that.” Maggie snorted, grabbed his hand, and dragged him toward the office. After shoving him inside, she closed the door behind them. “Okay,” she said, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow, “guts… spill them… now.”

“What do you want to know?” Charlie shifted uncomfortably under her steely gaze.

Lifting her hand, she counted off on her fingers. “I want to know what the doctor said. Where you went after your parents dropped you off outside the friggin’ front door. And there was something else… what was it now?” She made a show of tapping her chin with a manicured finger. “Oh yeah, that was it. Whose bed have you been sleeping in, Goldilocks?”

“Maggie… come on.” Charlie sighed, leaning back in the chair and rubbing his fist into his left eye, which had begun to ache ominously.

“Don’t you dare shut me out,” Maggie said softly, walking across the room and pushing his knees together before sitting down on his lap and looping her arms around his shoulders. “Whatever it is, you do not have to go through it alone, asshat. Now, tell me what Frank said before I beat you to a bloody pulp with that cute little paperweight your momma brought you back from Napa.”

Leaning his head on her shoulder, Charlie entwined his fingers with hers and told her Frank’s prognosis in a quiet voice. He glossed over his feelings of utter helplessness and desperation, knowing he didn’t have to explain them to Maggie for her to know they were there. He sometimes thought she knew him better than he knew himself, and there had never been a need to cross every
t
or dot every
i
—she’d always known what was in his heart. “So that’s it,” he finished, pushing his glasses up on the bridge of his nose. Only the tightening of her fingers on Charlie’s shoulders showed him how affected she was by the news. He smiled softly to himself. She would never let him see that she was worried or afraid. There was a lot of strength in the teeny, tiny package that was Maggie Dalton.

“Okay,” she replied, nodding her head as she digested the information. “No biggie. We’ll just deal with whatever when we get to it.” Her tone was firm and so was the kiss she pressed to his forehead before cupping his face in her hands and lifting so his gaze met hers. “Just like we always have. Nothing can stop the dynamic duo, right?”

“Oh God, you’re not going to burst into ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’, are you?” Charlie teased, pasting a look of mock horror on his face.

“Are you sure you’re gay?” she huffed. “We’re having an out and out Streisand moment and you ruin it. God, I so need to get me a more well-rounded fag to be hag to.” She put her hands firmly on Charlie’s shoulders and pushed him back into the chair as he made to move her off his lap. “Hold on, Liza, where do you think you’re going? You’ve only answered one of my questions. Would you like to tell me where you spent the night?”

Charlie cleared his throat and sighed heavily. He knew the little pit bull who was his best friend would make his life hell until he’d answered her, so it was easier to get it over with. “IwaswithJosh,” he said on a rush and blushed even more when he watched her mouth drop open as she deciphered what had come flying out of his mouth.

“I’m sorry… would you repeat that?” she said slowly.

“You heard me, you demonic munchkin, now let me up.” Charlie groaned, pushing at her legs and trying to loosen the grip of her arms around his neck. Standing, Charlie looked into her eyes and shook his head in exasperation when her grip grew tighter, and her legs wrapped themselves around his waist. “Ewww, I can feel your boobs. Get off me!”

“Shut up, or I’ll rub myself off on you,” Maggie threatened, delight in her eyes. “How was it? Is he big? Of course he’s big. He’s ten feet tall, for God’s sake.” Her gaze grew mock sympathetic. “Ouch… it’s been a while. Can you sit down okay? Do you need a rubber ring? I think we’ve got a spare in the storeroom.”

“Shut up! I’m not listening to you,” Charlie yelled, putting his hands over his ears and walking from the room with Maggie attached to him like a howler monkey. He headed for the kitchen in search of someone who could relieve him of his… problem.