Kate Sherwood - Dark Horse 1.3 - Riding Through Fire (3 page)

But that doesn't work for this situation. Evan's made it crystal clear that he's had lots of experience. There's no need for Jeff to be any sort of mentor— hell, from the sound of things, maybe Evan should be the one
Riding Through Fire | Kate Sherwood

doing the teaching. And maybe that makes it okay, makes it clear that Evan isn't some innocent victim in all this. But it still doesn't feel right. Evan may have slept around a lot, may have had a lot of physical experiences, but that doesn't mean that he's all that emotionally mature. Of course, Jeff hadn't been very wise either, when he'd had his older lover, and it's still definitely a positive memory for him. Jeff wonders for the first time how Rich, the older man, thinks about their time together, or if he thinks about it at all.

"You're right," Jeff decides. "I shouldn't. It was fun tonight, and, you know, it's good to see you out and enjoying yourself. But anything else—I still really…."

"Yeah, okay," Evan cuts in. "I'm just a kid, I know."

Jeff frowns. "No. No, Evan, you're not. Yeah, you're young, and that's… it's a problem, for me. But I've been around over the last months, and I've seen how you've stepped up. It's not… you're not a kid. You're a man. I get that."

There's silence, and then Evan laughs, low and unhappy. "So it's not the age thing. You just aren't into it. Jesus, Jeff, I know I come on strong, but you could have just told me that, saved us the trouble."

"What? No, Evan, it's not…." Jeff catches himself. Evan's old enough to raise a child and run a company, old enough to have made the decision to change his entire life in order to live up to his responsibilities. So it's insulting to think that he's not old enough to decide who he wants in his bed. And Evan's wrong— Jeff is absolutely into it. So what exactly is his problem? Is he just afraid? And is it fair for his fear to interfere with Evan's ability to take a step back towards his normal life? He takes a deep breath. "Evan?"

"Yeah?"

 

"Uh— when we get to my place? I'd like it if you'd come inside."
Riding Through Fire | Kate Sherwood
*****

Jeff's used to Evan being flirty and confident. He doesn't know what to make of the nervous, distracted Evan he sees as soon as they're inside the door of Jeff's house. And he doesn't know exactly what to do to make it better. Alcohol's always useful…

"Want a beer?" He tries to keep his own voice casual, as if this is just another one of the many times that Evan has been in Jeff's house. "Or a glass of wine?" Evan jerks around as if he's been caught in some embarrassing situation, moving so quickly that he almost runs into the wall he'd been leaning against. "Or, Jesus, maybe a sedative of some sort? I don't know what I can offer in that area…"

Evan giggles, sounding like a little kid. It's enough to make Jeff reconsider this whole thing. Even if Evan doesn't need a drink, Jeff's pretty sure he does. He needs to buy some time, see if his strange, impulsive decisions with this kid are going to get him into a little trouble, or a lot.

"Sure, yeah, a beer," Evan manages, and Jeff leads the way to the kitchen and fishes two bottles out of the fridge, twisting the lids off before handing one to Evan.

"Want to go sit in the living room?"

"Not the bedroom?" And seductive Evan is back, but this time Jeff has no trouble seeing through the mask. So, no, not the bedroom. Not yet, and maybe not at all. But saying that straight out doesn't seem like a good way to relax the kid.

"Why don't we slow things down a little. And you were telling me about Tat's counselor - it sounds like he's pleased with her progress?" Nothing like talking about a guy's baby sister to get his mind off sex.
Riding Through Fire | Kate Sherwood

It takes Evan a couple of seconds to reorient himself. "Uh, yeah. He said she's still dealing with stuff, obviously, but she's making good progress. And he agreed with you, that it's not the end of the world to cut her a little slack when she's obviously upset, but he agreed with me that she needs stability, and so the more rules we can stick to, from before, the better."

Sounds good, then." Jeff sinks down onto his leather couch and tries to look casual. Evan's eyes cut from the couch to the armchair and back. Apparently the sister talk wasn't quite enough to totally redirect his attention. Jeff isn't quite sure what he's doing, but he's always been a fan of clear communication. "Look, Evan…we don't have to do anything, here."

Evan shakes his head emphatically. "Oh, no, you don't. Don't weasel out on me!"

"I'm not weaseling out." Jeff doesn't know whether to laugh or to grit his teeth in frustration. "But if this is one of those things…you know, it looks good when you think it's never going to happen, but the closer it gets, the worse it looks… I understand that. You're… there's no stage where it's too late to say 'no,' here."

Evan looks surprised, and then smiles, and he's looking much calmer now. "No, that's not what's happening." He lowers himself onto the couch, close to Jeff, but not right on top of him. A good distance for talking. "I know it isn't, 'cause…I gotta tell you, Jeff - there's never been a doubt in my mind about this happening."

"What?"

"I'm serious. I've…I told you I've had a crush on you forever. And you know how determined I can be. I've pretty much always known…okay, you'd say 'believed,' maybe, but for me, it's 'known'…I've known that we were going to get together. It would be…." Evan looks up at the ceiling as if searching for the words. "It would be a cosmic injustice for me to have spent all this time wanting you, and then not get to have

Riding Through Fire | Kate Sherwood
you."

 

"Jesus, kid, as long as there's no pressure. I mean…you know there's no way I can possibly live up to that sort of buildup, right?"

 

"I'm not worried about that at all."

 

"Okay, so - what are you worried about? Don't even try to tell me you're not nervous."

Evan blushes as he shakes his head. His bangs fall in his eyes and Jeff has to keep himself from reaching out and brushing them back. "I'm just - you know, I don't want to screw it up. I don't want to come on too strong, or not strong enough. You know. I want this to be… I want it to be good, and I want it to be more than just one time. So, yeah. I'm just nervous about whether I can make you want that too."

"Evan, Jesus." Jeff lets himself do it, then, leaning forward and running his hand gently through Evan's bangs, then back over his head and down his jaw. Evan's pliant, but tense, practically quivering underneath Jeff's fingers. Jeff's surprised by how much that turns him on. "I really don't think that's going to be a problem."

"No?" Evan's an interesting mix, now, half-seductive, half-tentative, and wholly irresistible. Jeff decides to ignore the voice in his head that's screaming for a more cautious approach. He leans forward, slow but sure, his hand gently holding Evan's head still.

Their lips brush, barely a real kiss, just a suggestion of what's to come, and Evan leans after Jeff when he pulls away. He groans in frustration when Jeff's hand catches his hair and keeps him from following, but he doesn't fight the restraint. Jeff was on the other end of this dynamic, the time when he was the over-eager youngster, but he has a pretty good idea of what to do. What he wants to do.
"Okay, kid, if you're sure. But remember, you can back off at any

Riding Through Fire | Kate Sherwood
time. Just say the word."

 

Evan takes a long, slow pull from his bottle, his eyes never leaving Jeff's. "I'm not going to back off, Jeff."

And Jeff believes him. "Okay, then." He can feel the grin working its way to his face, and he doesn't try to hold it back. "Let's see what you've got, hot stuff."

There's a moment of stillness, and then Evan launches himself along the length of the couch. Jeff's pushed back into the leather arm, twisted at an awkward angle, with Evan as close to horizontal as he can get, his torso pressed up against Jeff's, his legs sprawled out along the couch behind him. And his mouth… his mouth is everywhere. Jeff's lips, then his throat, then down onto his chest, Evan's fingers fighting with the buttons of Jeff's shirt, seeking more skin.

Jeff lets it continue for a while, and he can't say he's not enjoying it, and lord knows his body is responding, but it's not quite what he wants, and not what he thinks Evan needs. When Evan's attentions start getting dangerously close to Jeff's belt, he brings his hand back to Evan's hair and pulls back, and this time there is some resistance, but Jeff perseveres. Once he sees Evan's face, pupils dilated, lips wet and swollen, he almost loses his resolve. Damn, the boy is beautiful. "Okay, kid, ease off for a second."

Evan groans dramatically, but after a moment's thought he lifts his body up and off of Jeff's, although he just supports himself with his arms, hovering there, clearly ready to resume his assault as soon as he's permitted. Jeff smiles gently. "Let's slow it down a little. Make it last a while."
Evan frowns, but doesn't argue, so Jeff continues. "How about I

Riding Through Fire | Kate Sherwood
drive? You know, since you have such huge expectations for the whole thing— I want to be sure I contribute a little, at least."

"Dude, you're contributing a lot…." Evan pulls forward, but Jeff keeps his hand firm. Evan seems to consider his negotiating options. "Maybe we could go fast now, and then slower for the later rounds?"

Jeff has to think about that. He's quite a bit older; he knows he's got a few 'rounds' in him, but probably not as many as Evan. "I'll think about that. But in the meantime, my back's about to crack in two from getting shoved up against the sofa."

Evan is on his feet instantly, apologetic and solicitous, and Jeff feels a bit bad for having exaggerated his discomfort. There was nothing about his back that he couldn't have worked through on his own. He shifts around and stands up himself, Evan's hands instantly on him, first running over his back in a quick, totally useless massage, but quickly shifting back around to Jeff's belt buckle. If Jeff's going to stick to his plan, he needs to take charge, now.

"Okay, kid, those hands are the first thing we're going to have to get under control." He steps out of Evan's embrace and smiles to show that it's not a rejection. "I think it's bedroom time now." Jeff has to force himself to turn nonchalantly and walk down the hall, but he thinks he carries it off, and he can hear Evan right behind him.

They make it through the doorway and Jeff makes himself keep going, in order to not leave any lull in the action for Evan to start trying to take over again. "Shoes and socks off, then you on the bed, sitting against the headboard.”

Evan's bending over to take his shoes off even as he asks, "Just shoes and socks? I've got a lot of other clothes that could…"

 

"Just shoes and socks," Jeff says firmly. "For now."

 

Evan doesn't argue, and Jeff has to take a deep breath to calm
Riding Through Fire | Kate Sherwood

himself down. He had no idea that this would be so exciting. Being the one in charge, exerting his will without the careful negotiations he normally finds himself caught up in - it's intoxicating. And now that he's committed to it all, he finds that all the things that made Evan forbidden fruit just add a dash of exotic spice to the proceedings. Jeff's going to have to find some time to think about all this, at some point, but for now, he's content to let himself get lost.

Jeff toes his own shoes and socks off as Evan climbs onto the bed. When Jeff's attention returns to the bed, the image of Evan, back straight, legs sprawled on the sheets, impressive erection clearly visible beneath the soft fabric of Evan's dress pants— Jeff's hand moves to his own cock without thought, rubbing firmly through the cotton. "Damn, kid." Jeff crawls up onto the bed himself, but when Evan leans towards him, Jeff leans back. "You behave, now," he admonishes, and he knows that Evan won't know exactly what that means, won't have a clear idea about the rules that he's supposed to be following, not yet, but the kid's smart— he'll get the general idea.

And, indeed, Evan leans back against the headboard, waiting obediently for Jeff. Jeff rewards him by reaching forward and undoing the buttons on his shirt. He takes his time, lets his fingers explore a little as he goes, and he's glad that Evan hadn't worn an undershirt— it's nice to get a little skin-on-skin contact. He restrains himself, though, making sure he doesn't get carried away. It wouldn't be fair to have slowed Evan down just so Jeff could go crazy, instead.

When the shirt is unbuttoned, Evan leans forward as if giving Jeff space to take the garment right off. Jeff has a better idea, though, and he leaves Evan's arms in the sleeves and bunches up the back of the shirt, lifting it up and over one of the wrought iron curlicues on the head board. Evan isn't really restrained; he wouldn't have any trouble getting loose if he tried, but he doesn't try. He just watches Jeff, his eyes dark and excited. That's the first test passed, then, and Jeff finds himself breathing a

Riding Through Fire | Kate Sherwood

little easier. It would have been a bit messy, a bit awkward, if Evan had rebelled. Newly confident, Jeff takes his time to explore Evan's torso, using his hands and mouth, rubbing his stubbled cheek against the smooth skin of Evan's stomach. Evan doesn't complain, doesn't try to free himself from the makeshift restraint, but eventually he starts squirming, pushing his chest up, trying to catch Jeff's mouth with his own, doing whatever he can to escalate the situation. Jeff doesn't give in; he's enjoying this part.

"All in good time, kid." Jeff's lost track of the number of people who've told him that his voice is sexy, a low, gravelly rumble when he's turned on, and normally he thinks they're crazy, but Evan responds to the words with a little gasp and even more writhing, so Jeff's willing to take advantage of the situation. "You're doing great, kid. So beautiful, so hot. You even taste good…." And maybe that last part's a little strange, but Evan doesn't object, just stretches his face up for a kiss. It's not a demand, just a suggestion, or even a request, so Jeff gives him what they both want.

The kiss deepens, and Jeff shifts up so he's straddling Evan, getting a better angle. The new position brings their cocks together, and Jeff can feel Evan's whole body quiver as he groans and pushes up, trying desperately to find more contact. "You're right on the edge, aren't you?" Jeff lets his voice be as husky as it wants to be. "It almost hurts, doesn't it, needing to come that bad?" Evan's eyes can't lie, and his mouth doesn't even try. Jeff grins in triumph. "Who's the tease now, kid?"