Mandarin Orange: Sweet and Sour (19 page)

Kelly sighed and nodded slowly. “I know. I wasn’t telling you that because... well, okay. I was using it as an excuse. I mean, I never loved him, but there was
something
there, you know? Maybe just my own expectation that when he said ‘exclusive,’ it meant--”

“What? Exclusive?” Riley pulled on his hand and Kelly didn’t bother to fight it. “I might be pretty much straight, aside from you, or maybe it’s just that guys who are my ‘type’ don’t come along all that often, but whatever. If you let me be yours, Kelly, you’ll never need to worry about whether I’m messing around with anyone else. Male or female. And I guess I get why you got all bent out of shape when I lied to you, but I’d never lie about anything that really fucking mattered. Fuck, I won’t lie to you on purpose again. I really fucking won’t.” Riley blushed, and Kelly took it as a promise.

“I. Okay.” It wasn’t a declaration, as such, but judging by the way Riley’s lips found his own, Kelly figured it was enough. For the moment, anyway. Then there was tongue, and
enough
became
nowhere close to enough
, but it was Riley’s lips and tongue and hard body against his own. It was amazing. And awesome. And maybe a little bit scary, but Kelly could handle scary. He could handle Riley, too. Happily.

***

There was something about leading Kelly to the bedroom that had Riley sweating in the metaphorical sense, rather than the great-globs-of-wet way. Maybe it was because the overwhelming passion of the last time wasn’t the driving force. Oh, Riley was feeling incredibly fucking passionate, and he was pretty sure Kelly was, too, but it was different. Like maybe they were going into it with their eyes wide fucking open instead of being blinded by lust.

Either way, Riley liked feeling Kelly’s hand in his own. Liked the way Kelly’s fingers -- longer and more slender than his own -- felt. Fuck if Riley didn’t more than like it. He loved it. Loved squeezing Kelly’s digits where they tangled with his, and he had a complete fucking hard on for the small sounds Kelly made with each tightening.

Maybe he should have said something more, Riley thought. Something that would make his position clearer. Unfortunately, Riley didn’t know what the fuck that might be. He couldn’t say he was in love with Kelly, not without lying, and he knew how Kelly felt about lies. That would be the wrong way to start whatever it was he and Kelly were starting. But he couldn’t claim to just like the guy, either. Riley had liked plenty of dudes before, and none of those likings had ever led to nakedness and sex. As that was where Riley hoped things were going with Kelly right then, he was a little bit lost.

There wasn’t much time to think about it, either, because the hall wasn’t all that long.

“Uh.” God, he sounded like a fucking halfwit. Shit. And Kelly was looking at him like Riley was exactly that, all of a sudden. Fucking fuck. If Kelly had been a woman, Riley would have known what to say, or even what not to say. Something cheesy and romantic, most likely. But Kelly was a guy, and...

Maybe Jer’s right and I should just say what I’m thinking. Or feeling, because fuck if I know how to say what I’m thinking without sounding like a fucking moron.
It was worth a try, anyway.

Riley stopped just inside his bedroom door and turned, using his hold on Kelly’s hand to pull the guy closer. Then he closed his eyes for about a second before opening them and giving his mouth free fucking rein.

“Kelly. Look, I don’t want there to be any fucking misunderstandings, okay?”

Kelly seemed to freeze, or at least he went utterly still. Riley couldn’t even swear the guy was breathing. Then a small shudder passed through Kelly. Riley felt the small tremors of it in the hand he still held as Kelly nodded. “Okay,” Kelly said, his voice close to a whisper. “At least this time I’ll hear it before the sex, right?”

Oh, for fuck’s sake. “Jesus Christ. It’s nothing bad.” Riley paused, then offered a small smile and an equally minuscule shrug. “At least I don’t think it is. It’s just...” He sighed and forced himself to continue. “I need to tell you something, man.”

Deep brown eyes met Riley’s and there was something in them, something Riley was maybe imagining, that had him wanting to rewind the last few seconds. Fucking time wasn’t likely to accommodate him, though, and Riley knew it, so he pushed on, pulling Kelly even closer.

“This. Whatever the fuck this is,” Riley said, his head bowed just enough that his lips were less than an inch from Kelly’s, “I like it. A whole fucking lot. And I never expected to feel like this about anyone, especially not a dude. But I do, and it’s you, and I don’t think I’ll ever feel this way about anyone else. Shit, I never have, and it’s been my whole fucking life without it ‘til now.”

Kelly seemed to be paying attention. His gaze somehow sharpened, even from so close. “And?” Kelly asked, the word barely more than a breath.

“And I meant what I said before,” Riley rumbled, his own eyes leaving Kelly’s to lock on the guy’s lips. “I want you. Not just for now, okay? I might not be all fucking in love with you or whatever. Not yet. But I think... Fuck, Kelly. I more than like you, so maybe I just love you, man. ‘In love’ will probably happen soon. I can’t figure any reason it wouldn’t. But I just want you to know, this fucking means something. It means a lot. I don’t want us to be some weird-ass, bullshit
thing
.”

Kelly was quiet then. Riley knew it was only for a few seconds, but it felt like a fucking eternity. Then Kelly laughed, soft and slow.

“I never thought it would be possible, but even with all your cussing? That’s possibly the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard.” Kelly sounded amused, but the way he was suddenly pressed up against Riley made it clear that the guy meant it. “And I understand the difference between love and being in love,” Kelly added. “I’m glad you do, too.”

Then Kelly’s mouth was on his, and Riley gave up on more fucking words. He didn’t need them and neither did Kelly. Not right then. What they needed were hands stripping clothes away, and tongues working in tandem. Skin on skin and soft moans that became sharper, rougher as they set out to explore each other.

Riley learned that his nipples were far more sensitive than he’d ever known before, and that the backs of Kelly’s knees were a hot spot. He discovered that Kelly’s lube-slicked fingers, while slender, were incredibly skillful when pushing inside him, and that Kelly seemed to have a belly button kink. At least, Kelly appeared to enjoy shoving his tongue in and out of Riley’s navel, and Riley was surprised to find himself gasping every time Kelly did it. Of course, he also gasped and moaned each time Kelly’s fingers slid deeper inside him and twisted.

“Now,” Riley groaned, after however much time had passed. It could have been minutes or hours, but fuck if he cared. All Riley knew was that he was going to go completely fucking insane if Kelly didn’t get inside him already. “Fuck, Kelly! Now, okay?”

The long black hair that had been trailing so wickedly over his skin moved as Kelly raised his head, and Riley almost came from the heat in Kelly’s eyes when their gazes met. “Are you still sure you want--” Kelly started to ask, and Riley cut him off.

“Fuck me,” Riley demanded. Then, “Please,” when Kelly’s face twisted with what looked like uncertainty. “Please, Kelly. I just really need... Fuck. I need
you
, okay? Just you. In me. Now.”

Riley watched as Kelly’s teeth closed over that bottom lip, but Kelly nodded. “I. Yeah. Okay. I just. I want you to be sure.”

“Dude,” Riley said, grinning as much as he could while laid out naked with Kelly’s fingers up his ass. “If I was any more sure, I’d be a can of fucking deodorant. So stop making us both fucking crazy and get on with it!”

Kelly laughed, his fingers delving deeper, and Riley let out a small cry as those digits brushed right up against his prostate. “Get on with what? Doing
that
? Again?” Kelly asked, and just that quickly, things went from entirely too serious to just funny enough to be fun.

Riley chuckled and shifted enough to reach the nightstand drawer. “Yeah. Do that again, man,” he answered as he groped inside for condoms, then found the tube of lubricant on the bed. “All of it. Now.”

Kelly shook his head and pulled his fingers from Riley’s hole, and Riley moaned, finally understanding how it was possible to feel empty down there. “Soon, but not quite yet,” Kelly murmured, and Riley snorted. “I don’t want to see any regrets,” Kelly added quietly.

Riley nodded and dropped the necessities beside Kelly, then turned and settled himself on hands and knees in the middle of the bed. “I guess this’ll work, if it’s more your thing.” But Christ, he hoped it wasn’t. He really did want to be able to see Kelly the first time Kelly pushed inside him. Wanted to be sure Kelly was seeing
him
, too, and not some nameless, faceless fuck.

“I meant I wanted to be able to see how sure you are,” Kelly said simply. “But it might be better to start this way. It’s one of the easier positions for someone new to, um…”

“Getting fucked?” Riley suggested, and okay. “Dude, I’m totally following your lead here. As long as it’s not because you don’t want to look at me.”

Kelly’s laugh was quiet and Riley felt Kelly’s hands shifting Riley’s thighs just a bit farther apart. “I would love to see you,” Kelly answered, sounding so sincere that Riley couldn’t doubt those words. “This way should hurt less, but believe me, Riley. I’m only seeing you.”

Kelly’s hands moved, stroking skin, and then slick digits circled Riley’s hole again.

“Oh! Oh, that’s... yeah. Do that some more, Kelly!” Those long, slender fingers felt even better pushing inside him the second time. “Oh, fuck!”

***

God, it was unbelievable, but Kelly was seeing it with his own eyes -- feeling it with his own hands. And what he was seeing and feeling made it clear that whatever Riley was experiencing right then, regret wasn’t even in the ballpark.

He pushed his fingers deep one more time, adding a slow twist of his wrist, and Riley gasped out some combination of moan and plea that went directly to Kelly’s already full, tight balls.

He fumbled for the string of condoms Riley’d more or less thrown at him, silently cursing the manufacturer for making it so difficult to separate one from the rest with just one hand. But screw it. He wasn’t willing to stop stretching Riley yet, so he made it work, just as he made opening the single packet with his teeth work, though he got a slight and unwelcome tinge of spermicidal lubricant on his lips. Even so, it was worth it.

“Fuck!” Riley shot the word out, sharp as glass to Kelly’s ears as that muscular rear pushed back, forcing Kelly’s fingers deeper. “Seriously, man, that’s enough fucking stretching, okay? I want you to shove your cock up there, not the fucking Death Star!”

“I’m getting there,” Kelly answered, his voice shaking with repressed laughter and not-so-repressed need. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

A snort filled the room for a second. “Dude. Unless you’re hung like King fucking Kong, which I know you’re not, I’m thinking I’m good to go. So fucking go!”

Kelly shook his head and smiled as Riley’s head turned, the man’s eyes glaring at him from over one very broad shoulder. “You don’t even know the meaning of the word ‘patience,’ do you?” he asked, surprised to find that he was really enjoying Riley’s irreverent attitude. Kelly wasn’t sure why it surprised him, though. He’d been scandalized, mortified, and completely taken aback by some of the things Riley had said in the past, but he’d always enjoyed the guy’s perspective. That devil-may-care-but-I-don’t kind of mentality.

“I know ‘patience’ means pretending to be happy to wait for shit,” Riley replied, and Kelly moaned softly when Riley’s hole closed tighter around his digits. “I figure we’re both here and you’ve got your fucking fingers up my ass, so unless you’re running for sainthood or some such shit, I’m tired of waiting. Get a move on, man! Or did you change your mind? I’ve never really studied my naked ass, but if you don’t like it...”

“Shut up,” Kelly said, carefully twisting his fingers inside Riley one more time. “Just like the rest of you, your ass is gorgeous, okay?”

Riley smirked, then Kelly lost their locked gaze because Riley’s head dropped forward, apparently so Riley could stare at the bed again. “I figured. I do a good glutes workout. Now, will you just fucking-- Oh!”

Kelly chuckled at the sound Riley made, then dragged his fingers fully from the tight, hot clench of Riley’s hole. He drizzled a small line of lube over the opening, then spread a bit more along his own latex-sheathed dick. His lube-free hand latched onto Riley’s hip while he used the other to position himself, and as much as he wanted to just push right in, Kelly paused.

“Try to relax,” he murmured, his voice shaking again. This time the trembles were from being so close to
inside
, not laughter. All of a sudden, Kelly didn’t feel like laughing at all. “I’m going to take this really slowly, Riley. I want you to like it, okay?”

He didn’t wait for Riley to respond. Instead, Kelly pressed forward just a tiny bit. Just enough to feel Riley’s well-prepared entry start to give. Then he pulled back even less before pushing forward again, and Riley moaned.

It wasn’t a deep moan, or a loud one, but it seemed to brush over Kelly’s skin, traveling from the tops of his ears to the tip of his dick and back again. It was a helpless moan, and Kelly couldn’t do anything but repeat his motions, in the hope of earning another sound like that one.

“Oh, fuck.” It was nearly a whisper, but Kelly heard it. Wanton enough that Kelly wasn’t sure Riley had meant to say it out loud. Low enough that Kelly pushed just a tiny bit harder, went a little bit deeper, and felt the strong, lube-slicked ring of Riley’s hole almost close over the ridge of his prick. One more small shove later, there was no almost about it.

Kelly gasped quietly, the sound lost under Riley’s strong grunt, but that was fine. Hearing that rough, loud exhalation was just as exciting as the sensation of Riley’s body wrapped so tightly around his tip. Kelly couldn’t remember ever feeling so damned right.