New Lease of Life (26 page)

He didn’t have a clue what Colby was talking about but…. “I trust you.”

Colby’s light touch brushed the soles of Pip’s feet several times. The motion tickled, even through his socks, and Pip resisted the urge to wriggle. Colby traced under the base of Pip’s toes, stopping at the third one and then running his thumb down toward Pip’s heel. He stopped before he’d even got halfway down the sole of Pip’s foot and pressed firmly with his thumb.

“This is the pressure point called the Bubbling Spring.”

“So why couldn’t you do that to me in the shop? Oh!” His legs felt as though someone had replaced his blood with lemonade. Really, really fizzy lemonade. “That’s wh—sweet Jesus!”

The bubbling sensation shot into his balls, pooling until they felt as if they might explode, and then burst into his cock. Already half hard, the zap of bubbling energy between his legs sent his arousal into the stratosphere. Even the loose pajama bottoms he wore couldn’t hide the rigid line of his dick.

“Good?”

“Huh? Oh yes, amazing.” Pip lifted his head and looked down the line of his body toward Colby. His dick rose up between them, straining against the thin cotton, like a rising monolith. Colby wasn’t looking at him. Well, he was, but not at his face. Colby bit his bottom lip, then swiped it with his tongue, and Pip had to swallow down a groan of want.

Colby glanced up and then back down at Pip’s foot. He chuckled nervously and met Pip’s gaze with a wry grin. “Doesn’t look broken from where I’m sitting.”

“No. You really do have healing hands. You’ve taken away my pain and fixed my dick. Could I come like that?”

“Do you.” Colby sucked in a breath. “Do you want to find out?”

“Definitely, but not tonight.” He was too exhausted to even think about coming, but the gentle chafe of fabric against the solid weight of his dick was reassuring.

Colby let out a long sigh. It sounded a lot like relief.

“You don’t have to sound so thankful.”

“Shut up, Pip, and get into bed.”

“You could stay,” Pip said as he made a half-arsed attempt to maneuver up the bed. Colby sighed again, the sound put-upon but amused, and then Pip found himself being manhandled, head on his pillows, legs tucked firmly under the covers before the duvet was pulled up and tucked in under his chin.

“I want to wake up in this room so badly.”

Colby leaned in and pressed a kiss to Pip’s forehead. He sounded sincere, but Pip didn’t have the energy to open his eyes.

“But I’m not staying tonight. Too much has gone on. You’re tired and on a high from the fight and the massage. There’s only so many times I can knock you back when what I really want to do is cover you in kisses, take your eager cock into my mouth, and then hold you all night long.”

That sounded perfect. Exactly what Pip wanted too.

“I couldn’t bear it if the morning came and you were full of regret.” Colby dropped another kiss on the corner of Pip’s mouth, acquiescing when Pip chased his lips. He allowed Pip a soft kiss for a moment and then eased away. “It’s not rejection, it’s restraint. A whole bucketload of restraint. When I make love to you, I want you to be clearheaded. I want you to want me, not just to be proving a point.”

Before Pip could protest, the light from his bedside lamp, which had been bathing the inside of his closed eyelids in an orange glow, dimmed and then died completely.

The soft tread of footfalls on the rug took Colby farther away, but Pip was too tired to stop him. The rhythm faltered, and Pip’s heart picked up a hurried beat.

“Night, Pipsqueak. Don’t let the bedbugs bite.”

Night. Thank you for saving me.
But Pip was already sliding into sleep before he could form the words.

WHAT WAS
it with the men in his life? Neither Colby nor Davy were answering their bloody phones, and he needed to speak to both of them urgently.

He’d woken that morning in an excellent mood. Despite the emotional rollercoaster of the previous evening, he’d had an exceptional night’s sleep and some interesting and fulfilling dreams. His erection had made a reappearance sometime before dawn and, as the sun seeped through the jewel-toned curtains, casting stained glass window patterns on his skin, Pip had caressed and coaxed himself to a leisurely climax.

Colby hadn’t been far from his thoughts then—hell, he might have even cried Colby’s name into the quiet of his bedroom—and he’d stayed there for most of the day. At first, the lack of contact hadn’t bothered him. Colby had a shop to run, and he hadn’t specified when he would call Pip. He’d tried to call Davy, but his friend’s mobile had gone straight to voice mail, and his secretary had confirmed that he had the day off. Resigned to not hearing from Davy until at least noon and reluctant to bother Colby at work no matter how desperate Pip was just to hear his voice, Pip settled in to do several hours on an advertising brochure for a client.

HAVING PRESSED
Send on the draft copy for the food festival’s approval, Pip turned his attention to lunch. One o’clock, and still no word from either of them.

In the end he caved and called the shop.

“New Lease of Life. Can I help you?” A man answered, his voice much higher in pitch than Colby’s. Probably his other student/tenant/shop assistant.

“Hi, is Colby in?”

“Um. He’s out of the shop today.”

The lad sounded uneasy. Was he screening Colby’s calls? Did Colby not want to speak to Pip? “Who’s calling?”

“Tell him it’s Pi—Phillip Longhampton. I’m working on some improvements to the website, and I need some information from him.”

“Oh. Colby’s at a house clearance in Horsham. I’m not expecting him back to the shop today. You could try his mobile, but it’s probably on silent. He’ll be back in tomorrow. If he rings in, I’ll—”

“No, that’s fine. I’ll try him tomorrow. Thanks.”

A house clearance seemed a strange place to get clothes from. But, hey, the shop was well stocked, so Colby obviously knew what he was doing.

Thumb poised over Colby’s name, Pip contemplated calling. No, if Colby worked in an office, he wouldn’t just ring to hear him laugh down the phone—he’d be tempted, but he wouldn’t—and just because Colby’s job took him out and about didn’t mean he was at Pip’s beck and call.

He’d send Colby a text, just to let him know he was thinking of him. And one to that lazy arse Davy too. Surely he couldn’t still be in bed? Pip glanced at the clock on the mantel over the fireplace. Gone two. Davy’s radio silence was starting to worry him, but he’d need to keep his tone light in any message he left. He didn’t want to risk pushing his friend away again so soon after reconnecting.

Colby first.
Hey handsome. Thanks for last night. Missing you.

Was that too much? It was true, though. No matter how much he’d wanted Colby to fuck him—nope, he heard Colby’s voice in his head,
make love
—to make love to him last night, what he really craved was to wake up with Colby lying by his side, that first sleepy-eyed smile of the day for Pip’s eyes only. He needed that in his life more than a quick BJ after a Bubbling Spring. No matter how much he’d been gagging for it.

Gagging. Pip chuckled. Did the bears gag Davy? He’d always been a bit of a screamer when they’d shared digs at uni. Oh yes, he knew the text he wanted to send to his kinky friend. Pip grinned as he opened a new message, his fingers swiping over the keys.
Did you get your end away last night? You were gagging for it so I doubt they turned you down, you slapper :)

He hit Send before he could change his mind and returned his attention to Colby’s text, rereading what he’d already typed.

Hey handsome. Thanks for last night. Missing you.
Yep, he’d keep that. Onto the end he added,
Call me when you get a moment? Want to hear your voice.
Too much. He deleted the last line, finishing on the question, and then added a kiss or two.
Xx
. Was that—He cut off the questioning doubts and pressed Send before he could talk himself out of it.

What to do while he waited for one or both of them to get in touch? He’d told the lad in the shop he was working on the web design, so that was what he would do. He pulled up the shop’s website and a blank document. Every change or idea he jotted down was accompanied by Colby’s wry and amused comments.
Well, what do we want to do that for?
the Colby in Pip’s mind muttered.
No way is my photo going on the website! I’m selling the clothes, not me!

He kept Facebook open in the corner of his laptop in case Davy came online. Sent a private message alluding to dungeons and rescuing damsels in distress, but he heard nothing back.

By the time Pip’s phone rang, he had several pages of suggestions for amending the website, and he’d worked himself up into a frenzy of excitement. The familiar thrill of starting a new project thrummed in his veins, of pitching his ideas to a client and seeing which ones they ran with. Only this wasn’t any old client, this was his boyfriend, and he was doing it for love, not money.

Love?

Shit.

The phone rang again, and Colby’s teddy bear shot flashed on the screen. Pip grinned and grabbed for the phone. “Hi, Colby?”

Oh my God, his heart was hammering after the latest flash of realization. Would it burst out of his chest and bounce out across the surface of his desk? It was far too early in the relationship to be making that sort of declaration, and Pip could be wrong. He’d never really known love before. What he did know was that he needed Colby to understand how much Pip wanted him in his life. That yesterday he’d made a mistake by walking away. “I need to see you. Can we meet up later?”

“No you don’t.” Colby sounded wretched. About as far from his jovial self as Pip had ever heard him. “You can just as easily dump me by phone. In fact, I’d rather that. I don’t think I can watch you walk away from me.”

“Dump you?” That successfully doused his emotions in a bucket of ice water. “I’m not going to dump you. Why would I do that?”

“You obviously think so little of me that you think I’d go out on the pull after all I said last night.”

“On the pull? You’re at a house clearance in Horsham, aren’t you?”

“Actually, I’m home. Just walked through the door. You have no idea how pumped I was to see that I had a message from you. Until I opened it.”

“I don’t have a clue what you’re talking about.” Pip’s phone beeped to indicate an incoming call. He glanced at the name on the screen.
Davy
. “Hold that thought. Do
not
go away. We need to get this sorted, but I just need to take this call to make sure Davy’s okay.”

He stuck Colby on hold. “Davy? Where the hell have you been?”

“Hey, handsome. I’ve been sleeping. In Daddy Bear and Bear Cub’s bed. I’m Goldilocks in this scenario, by the way.”

“You’re a brunet, and I got the reference thank you. Are you okay? I’ve been calling and texting all day.”

“Phone went flat. Too many selfies. And some video.” Davy’s voice drifted away as though he were recalling a memorable event. “Charged it as soon as I got home, handsome, and within five minutes I was inundated with calls and messages from you. Funny one about the dungeon, not. There was no dungeon or red room. The bed was large and the headboard strong enough to strap me—”

“Enough, as long as you’re okay, I don’t need to hear any more.”

“A little sore.” Pip spluttered, and Davy laughed. “TMI? Thanks for caring, handsome.”

“Of course I care. You’re my best friend, and I’m sorry for how I treated you before.” Pip ran a hand through his hair and frowned. “Why do you keep calling me handsome?”

“It’s what we’re doing now. Isn’t it? Your text—”

A horrible sense of dawning comprehension crept over Pip. “Shit!”

Switching the phone onto speaker, Pip flicked through his texts.

“Bollocks. You’re under Colby.”

“Sounds good in theory, but even if he’ll share, I think he’s a bit vanilla for my tastes. Big hands, though. Do you think he’d smack me?”

“Davy, shut up. I love you, but I’ll call you back. I need to sort this mess out.”

Cutting off his friend midprotest, Pip took Colby off hold.

“I’m not dumping you. There was a mix-up….” Pip swore up a storm as he realized he was talking to empty air. “Pick up the bloody phone, Colby. Come on, I have no idea where you live, so I can’t make any grand gestures….”

“I’m here.”

“Oh, thank God.”

“I don’t need grand gestures. Just an explanation.”

“You’ll laugh.”

“I hope so.”

“I’m stupid.”

“Cambridge University educated. I doubt that. So?”

“You’re on top of Davy.”

“Never in a million years,” Colby muttered, but his voice already sounded softer, less wary.

“In my contact list. I was multitasking, badly, as it turned out, and sent his text to you. And vice versa.”

“Of course you did,” Colby said with a laugh. “Oh, Pip. And you want me to trust you with redesigning my website?”

“I’ve had some great ideas,” Pip said, his enthusiasm returning. “If I’m forgiven.”

“For being a numpty? Yeah.” Colby sounded adamant. “I’m hardly going to throw us away on the press of a key. I once sent a photo of my cock to my Aunty Beth because I was drunk and I read her name as Andy Beck.”

“You sent photos of your dick? By text?”

“You do crazy things when you’re a student. I wouldn’t do it now. I’m never drunk enough, for a start. Hang on.” Colby’s voice was faint, as though he was holding the phone away from his mouth but without putting Pip on loudspeaker. “Texting.”

Pip’s phone beeped a moment later. The message was from Colby and revealed nothing except an address in Ham.

“What’s this?”

“That’s my address,” Colby said with a laugh that sounded more nervous than Pip would imagine from the casual tone. “I’m not above a grand gesture if you want to come ’round. In fact, I’ve got something to show you.”

“Has your Aunt Beth already seen it?”

Colby barked out a laugh. “You should come over. Now I know I’m not being dumped, I’m starving. I’m going to phone for pizza.”