Inherit the Sky (Lang Downs 1 ) (25 page)

“I didn’t think I’d given you one tonight until you got ready to storm out,” Macklin said. “I’m not saying you were wrong to be upset, so don’t look at me that way. I’m just saying it’s not as easy as you telling me not to give you a reason to walk out. I’m trying to be as honest with you as I can. I’m making a huge change in my life, in my way of thinking, in everything.That doesn’t happen overnight.”
Sometimes it does
, Caine thought, remembering his decision to come to Australia, but unlike Macklin, he’d had nothing left to lose. Macklin had nearly everything. Caine would have to be worth that risk. “So what do we do now?”
“I hope you’ll come back to bed and sleep in my arms again,” Macklin said. “It felt good having you with me last night. I know that isn’t what you want, but it’s something, I hope, and then we’ll see how tomorrow goes.”
Tomorrow was supposed to start with Caine waking Macklin up with a blow job, but after tonight, Caine wasn’t sure how likely that was to happen. He wanted it more than ever, as a chance to prove to Macklin how good it could feel to let someone else be in charge occasionally, but Caine was afraid that was wishful thinking. He’d try, but he wouldn’t get his hopes up for success. Still, sleeping with Macklin was better than sleeping alone. Being asked to sleep with Macklin was even better. He would have to remind himself to celebrate the tiny steps rather than assume they would simply move through them.
Not for the first time, he felt like he had entered an entirely different world than the one he’d left behind in Philadelphia. “Sleeping in your arms is good,” he said, realizing Macklin was still waiting for an answer.“Waking up in your arms will be even better.”
“Then get rid of those clothes and come to bed,” Macklin said. “I’m freezing.”
Caine smiled and stripped back down, climbing beneath the covers and snuggling against Macklin. “Turn over,” he said. “I want to hold you for a while.”
Macklin tensed, but Caine nudged his shoulder. “I’m not going to do anything you aren’t ready for. I just want to have you in my arms too.”

Macklin nodded and rolled slowly onto his side with his back facing Caine. Caine scooted up behind him, adjusting the pillow and their arms and legs so he could spoon behind Macklin. It was a bit awkward with the slight difference in their heights, but Caine eventually got comfortable. “There,” he said, pressing a kiss to Macklin’s spine.“This isn’t so bad, is it?”
“I could get used to it,” Macklin replied.
“So could I.”

T
HE sky outside the hotel window was still pitch black when Caine awoke the next morning, startled from sleep by the rumble of a passing truck. Macklin had rolled onto his back during the night, still in Caine’s arms, but no longer spooned together. Caine smiled. The perfect position for a little morning fellatio.

Moving carefully so Macklin wouldn’t wake up soon enough to protest, Caine slid beneath the covers, seeking Macklin’s groin by touch alone. His cock, when Caine found it, was already at half-mast, making Caine wonder what Macklin was dreaming about. Caine hoped it was him.

Shifting around to find a comfortable position, he lifted up over Macklin’s belly and closed his mouth over the tip of the other man’s erection, sucking lightly as it swelled against his tongue. At that angle, he couldn’t take the entire length in his mouth, so he gripped the base with his hand, working the entire shaft. He wanted Macklin to come awake to such pleasure that he wouldn’t protest Caine touching him.

The groan above him suggested he’d been successful. “Caine.”

Caine didn’t stop what he was doing, reaching for Macklin’s hand instead to reassure him. Now that Macklin was awake, Caine moved a little more so he could take more of the shaft into his mouth and throat, nearly touching the curls at the base of Macklin’s cock with his lips.

Caine took that as a sign of approval and did it again before pulling back to run his tongue beneath the foreskin and along the slit that was covered in salty fluid. Macklin cursed again, pushing the covers down. Caine shivered in the cool air, but he didn’t protest. If Macklin wanted to see him in the slowly lightening room, Caine was fine with that. Anything to reassure his lover.

Caine backed off, bobbing his head so his lips ran up and down the fully hard shaft again.
“Turn around,” Macklin said. “I want to touch you too.”
It wasn’t exactly what Caine wanted, but it was better than Macklin telling him to stop. Careful not to break contact with Macklin’s cock—he was afraid if he did, Macklin wouldn’t let him start again—he shifted his hips until his knees bumped the headboard and his groin rested near Macklin’s head.
Macklin pushed Caine’s hips to the bed, rolling until he straddled Caine’s head. Caine moaned as the new position allowed Macklin’s cock to slide easily into his throat. He rested his hands on Macklin’s hips, urging him to move if he wanted. He didn’t immediately, keeping his hips at a height that put the tip of his cock directly against Caine’s palate. A moment later, Caine felt wet heat surround his own neglected erection. He moaned around his mouthful, stroking Macklin’s side in encouragement.
When Macklin shivered, Caine stroked again, sliding his hand between their bodies so he could find Macklin’s nipples. He tugged at one lightly, winning a groan from his lover that sent the most delightful vibrations through his cock. Macklin lifted his head enough to speak. “If you keep that up, I’m going to end up fucking your mouth, pup.”
Caine tweaked his nipple again in silent invitation, lifting his head as he did so more of Macklin’s cock disappeared into his mouth.
Macklin’s hips jerked downward, filling Caine’s mouth completely. He managed to swallow so he didn’t choke on the sudden invasion, but he dropped his head back quickly, letting Macklin set the pace rather than trying to dictate it himself. He’d end up gagging for sure if he did. He was tempted to slide his hands over the tempting swell of Macklin’s ass bobbing in his face, maybe even fondle the sac that kept smacking his nose, but after Macklin’s reaction the night before, he decided not to take the risk of Macklin pulling away. He’d play with Macklin’s nipples instead and save the rest for later. One of these days, though, he was going to get his mouth on that pink pucker that kept flashing into view as Macklin’s buttocks flexed and released.
Macklin’s mouth returned to Caine’s cock after he’d established a rhythm with his hips, but the contact was tentative, as if he didn’t really know what he was doing. The thought made Caine want to smile. Macklin might not be willing to come out yet, but he was making changes for Caine, letting Caine into his life in ways he’d never done for anyone else. That made the challenges ahead easier to contemplate. It might take time, but Macklin wasn’t refusing to consider other options. He just needed to reach each step at his own pace.
Macklin’s thrusts sped up, the rhythm faltering. “Close,” Macklin gasped, pulling out to the very tip so Caine had a chance to pull away if he wanted to. He grabbed Macklin’s hips with one hand, pushing them back down toward his face as he tugged on Macklin’s nipple again with the other, giving silent permission for Macklin to find his release in Caine’s mouth.
It only took a few more thrusts before the salty flavor of Macklin’s release exploded on Caine’s tongue, filling his mouth and running down his chin even as he tried to swallow. Macklin groaned through his climax, his head resting against the inside of Caine’s thigh as he shook with the force of his orgasm. “Don’t move,” he ordered when Caine started to shift from beneath him. “I’m not done with you yet.”
Caine certainly hoped not. He hadn’t intended to pull away so much as move to the side so Macklin could lie down if he wanted to, but the foreman had other ideas, his mouth returning to Caine’s cock as his fingers probed between Caine’s cheeks. Caine spread his legs wider, inviting the caress. He had no idea when Macklin had found the lube, but the fingers that slid inside of him, two to judge by the stretch, were slick, moving easily inside him as Macklin found his gland again and teased it as he had the night before. Caine tossed his head on the mattress, caught between Macklin’s tentative mouth and masterful fingers. The contrast nearly brought him undone right then.
It was probably the most awkward, bumbling blow job Caine had ever received, but Macklin’s fingers in his ass kept him fully engaged and on the verge of release, and the determination in Macklin’s stance as he kept trying to take Caine deeper into his mouth endeared him to Caine even more. It would be so easy to fall in love with the man as he was right now. The problem was the way he acted the rest of the time.
“C-c-close,” Caine gasped out when a particularly well-aimed thrust of Macklin’s fingers left him struggling for control. Macklin lifted his head, his hand pumping Caine’s cock hard and fast, tipping the balance in the favor of release. If a part of Caine was disappointed that Macklin had pulled back, he reminded himself how long it had taken before he had been comfortable letting someone come in his mouth.
The fact that Macklin had given him a blow job at all was a huge step. Caine just needed to hold on to that fact when he started doubting how serious Macklin was about their relationship.
When Macklin suddenly got up and disappeared into the bathroom, Caine told himself not to panic. Macklin hadn’t left. He’d gone to get a washcloth to clean them up. When he heard the water running, he relaxed, waiting for the return of the tender lover who had cleaned him so carefully the night in the drover’s hut. When the door didn’t open immediately, he remembered Macklin’s hesitations and made himself wait patiently while his lover attended to his own ablutions before returning. His patience had nearly reached an end before the door finally opened and Macklin came back out, washcloth in hand, to tenderly wipe Caine’s stomach clean.
“Sorry it took me so long,” Macklin said.“I needed….”
“Did I freak you out again?” Caine asked. “I was hoping it felt too good for that.”
Macklin shrugged sheepishly. “It did feel good. It was only after the fact that I lost it a little. I’ll get better.”
Caine took the washcloth from Macklin’s hand and tossed it aside, patting the space on the bed beside him. “If you get any better, you’ll kill me.”
“I pulled back before you came.”
“If you’d stopped and left me hanging, I’d complain,” Caine said, “but it took me a long time before I could let someone come in my mouth. It’s not a competition, Macklin. If you make me feel good and I make you feel good, how we do it isn’t the issue. Although you didn’t have to get up to clean me up, you know. I’d have loved it if you licked me clean.”
“That’s a little too much too fast, pup,” Macklin said, “but for you, I might manage it next time.”
Caine didn’t stop to think about Macklin’s taste lingering in his mouth. He simply reached for his lover, pulling him into a deep kiss because that declaration of willingness was tantamount to a declaration of love as far as Caine was concerned. If Macklin didn’t feel something for him, something that had the chance at being real and abiding, he wouldn’t have said anything at all. He would have stopped with “too much too fast.”
The odd look on Macklin’s face when they parted, the way he rubbed his tongue across his lips like he had tasted something odd or unexpected, finally registered with Caine. He leaned forward and kissed Macklin again, close-mouthed this time. “That’s what you taste like,” Caine said. “I’m hoping you’ll give me another taste soon.”
“If you keep looking at me like that, it won’t take long,” Macklin said.
As tempted as Caine was to suggest a second round, the sun was above the horizon now, and they had work to do and a five-hour drive ahead of them. “Tonight,” he said instead.
“Tonight,” Macklin agreed.