Ropes and Dreams (10 page)

Will reached over and took a round container from the shelf. “This stuff is awesome. Look.” He unscrewed the lid and dipped two fingers into what looked like wax to Drake.

“It’ll hold a style unless there’s some serious fucking going on, at which point, who the hell is thinking about hair?” Will scooped out some of the stuff then rubbed it on his other hand. “And it doesn’t make your hair feel all gross. Keeps it soft. Here.”

Drake let Will primp him up and help him get ready. Will wanted to line his eyes with a blue pencil, but Drake stopped him. “I don’t know how Ian feels about makeup.”

Will grimaced and tapped the pencil against his chin. “The important thing here is, how do
you
feel about wearing it?”

“I can take it or leave it, I guess. I never bothered much.” He shook his head. “No, I’d rather be comfortable tonight, and I won’t be wondering if Ian is turned off by guys in makeup. I just want to be myself.”

“And you should be,” Will agreed. “As long as you don’t try to turn into someone else for Ian.”

“I won’t.” Drake wasn’t going to lose himself. He was just discovering what he liked and, really, who he was. He thought he’d like to have Ian with him on that journey, though. “I should go shoe shopping.”

“I want to go with you!” Will exclaimed, batting his lashes at Drake. “Oh my God, Carlos and Troy bitch and moan and whine—let me tell you, their testosterone is gone right along with pride when I’m shopping for shoes. They have no retail stamina.”

Drake laughed and glanced at himself in the mirror. His hair looked good, his face was smooth and he had a friend he could go shoe shopping with. “Where would we go to buy heels? I doubt there’s a friendly place for us to shop at.”

Will scrunched up his nose as he considered the question. “I’ll do some research. If nothing else, we can shop together online. Or take a road trip. Everyone can feed themselves while we’re gone.”

“Sounds good.” Drake smoothed down his T-shirt. “I should have worn something dressier.” Not that he had anything dressier.

“Nah, it’ll probably get ripped off anyway. Ooooh.” Will licked his lips. “That would be so hot. Ian could do a sort of growling thing as he did it, just tore the shirt right off your body and flung you down on the bed…”

“Stop,” Drake pleaded, pressing his hands against his burgeoning erection. “Geez, I don’t have another pair of clean jeans if I get a spot on these.”

“Then you’ll just have to eat dinner naked,” Will crooned, waggling his eyebrows.

Drake was saved from replying by a knock on the back door. He bolted from the bathroom.

“Have fun!” Will called out. “I’m going to!”

Drake stopped at the back door and took a deep breath. He let it out and glared at his cock. There was no way Ian wouldn’t notice his excited state. But, if they were going to be lovers, Drake shouldn’t be afraid of letting Ian know he wanted him.

“Hey,” Drake said when he’d pulled the door open. “Come in.”

Ian looked him over slowly before entering. “You are one sexy fucker, Drake.” He handed Drake a bouquet of wildflowers. “I didn’t know if you’d like them, but I love flowers. Never gotten any like this, I mean, but I love to have them growing in the yard.”

As he’d spoken, Ian’s cheeks had darkened and his words had almost dragged. Drake noticed that when Ian seemed uncomfortable, his expression might not alter, but his speech did. He’d heard it happen when they’d been on the phone earlier, too.

“They’re lovely,” he said in response as he took the flowers. “Thank you.” Feeling daring, Drake leaned in and kissed Ian, just a chaste brush of lips. “Thank you,” he said again before stepping back. “Please, come in.”

Ian did, and Drake barely kept from drooling over the man. The tight jeans were dang near indecent, the way they cupped Ian’s package and his butt. Ian wore a long-sleeved button-up shirt that stretched perfectly over his shoulders. The shade of green really set his pale eyes off, too.

Drake had to touch. He wasn’t ever interested in topping, but he appreciated a fine backside like any healthy person did. As Ian passed him, Drake rubbed his bottom. Ian stopped and peered over his shoulder at Drake questioningly.

“I just have to touch it,” Drake explained, looking down to watch as he did so. “I meant what I said before. I don’t mind fingering or rimming you, toys or whatever, but the idea of topping makes me kind of…uncomfortable.”

Ian reached back and put his hand on top of Drake’s. “This is good to discuss, to learn each other’s boundaries. I don’t like anything up my ass, although I don’t really know about rimming. I’ve never let anyone do that to me. No one’s ever offered, actually. That’s a rather personal thing, more than fucking and not something I’ve done to anyone else, either. Haven’t wanted to.”

“Oh.” Drake let Ian guide his hand, encouraging Drake to squeeze and grope.

“I didn’t want to do that with a temporary partner,” Ian was saying, his voice deepening. “I’ve only ever sucked a sub’s cock once before I sucked you the other night. I wanted to learn how, in case… But you—I had to have your cock in my mouth, Drake. I want to do everything we both want.”

“Yes,” was all Drake could manage, then Ian was spinning them both around. Drake ended up pressed against the wall as Ian plundered his mouth. The flowers were dropped on the floor as he grabbed a hold of Ian’s shoulders. Geez, he’d been waiting for this forever!

Ian’s hands on his hips felt perfect, the press of his body against Drake’s sparking every nerve inside him to shivering tendrils of need. Ian moaned and thrust his cock against Drake’s. Heat swirled out from Drake’s groin and he hitched his right leg up for better, more, everything he could get.

Ian’s thrust grew harder, driving Drake’s butt against the wall. Drake’s climax built rapidly, but just when he thought he was going to come, Ian backed off, panting unevenly.

Drake closed his eyes and smacked his head against the wall. “Shoot. Didn’t mean to get carried away.” They needed condoms on and naked, being naked, would be awesome.

“We could warm dinner up later,” Ian suggested, but his stomach rumbled and Drake shook his head.

“Once we make it to bed, I don’t intend to let you up again until morning,” he told Ian. The flare of want in Ian’s eyes, the way the pupils chased the blue away until only a thin ring of it remained, had Drake feeling like a million bucks and a stud extraordinaire.

“I’m holding you to that.” Ian stepped back. “I wasn’t sure what you’d want, but since it’s going to get down to fucking, let me run out to the truck and get my bag.”

Drake blinked at him.

“I didn’t want to be presumptuous.” Ian grinned then pinched Drake’s left nipple hard enough to make him grit his teeth—not against a ‘stop’, but against a plea for more. Ian needed to eat.

Ian went back outside, and Drake heard him talking to the pups in their pen, which had been doubled in size over the past week. The pups were growing fast, and their enclosure had to do the same. Carlos said he was paying someone to come out and help them train the dogs. Drake’s offer to help with the cost was rejected since Carlos said he’d have paid the guy the same fee whether Drake had been learning or not.

Drake shook himself out of his wandering thoughts and walked into the kitchen. He took the steaks out of the oven, along with the baked potatoes and asparagus. He frowned. Maybe fixing a green vegetable hadn’t been a smart thing to do. Visions of him in orgasmic bliss with green stuff stuck between his teeth flitted through his mind.

“Oh, God…” Drake looked at the trash can as he heard the screen door being opened. They could just have the baked potatoes and steaks… The door smacked shut and Ian’s footsteps sounded down the hall.

Okay, okay. Just chew it with the molars and check your teeth in the bathroom mirror.
Drake got the food on the table as Ian came into the room. “What would you like to drink? There’s beer, soda, water and tea.”

“Sweet or unsweet?” Ian asked as he set a small duffle bag beside one chair. He sat down and Drake held up the pitcher.

“Unsweet, but I can fix yours with sugar if you want.”

“No, thank you,” Ian told him. “I prefer unsweet. This looks delicious. Smells it, too.”

“Thanks. It’s just a simple meal, but I didn’t know if you had any food allergies or dislikes. This seemed a safe bet.” Drake got some ice then poured out two glasses of tea. He set the glasses down then sat himself down, too. “I like cooking. I don’t want to be a chef or anything like that, but this job suits me.”

“You look happy when you’re talking about your life and job here,” Ian observed.

Drake felt like he was beaming when he smiled at Ian. “I really am. I’m beginning to figure things out about myself. Always before, I just let the guy I was with make me what he wanted, or what he thought he wanted. I guess that’s some kind of self-loathing or something.”

“Or a need to submit twisted by idiots who didn’t realise what a treasure they had in you.” Ian stared at him, as if he were willing Drake to believe him. Drake wanted to, but the best he could do right then was not to disbelieve him. “I won’t push you to do anything you don’t want to, but part of what a Dom does is push within the boundaries he and his sub set. Like I said before, I’m not interested in a constant D/s thing, but when it comes to sex, I definitely like to be in control. I like to do things that might be out of your comfort zone. We need to talk, see what we can learn about each other’s needs.”

Drake cut his steak and sniffed at the delicious aroma wafting up from his plate while he ran Ian’s words around in his head. He couldn’t find anything to complain about, nor could he find a reason to doubt Ian. Drake put the meat in his mouth and chewed, delighted to see the way Ian’s gaze zeroed in on his mouth.

He licked his lips and Ian’s breath hitched. Ian wasn’t the only one with power in this budding relationship.

“This will be just me and you,” Ian said roughly, a moment later once Drake had swallowed. “I don’t want to share, and, in return, I wouldn’t fuck around with anyone else, either.”

“I can agree to that.” Drake cut another bite and ate it as Ian kept watching him. It was unnerving yet erotic, to be the focus of Ian’s attention. Then Ian’s belly rumbled and Drake pointed his fork at Ian. “Eat. I wouldn’t want you passing out on me later.”

“Not gonna happen,” Ian said, and he rose up enough to lean forward. He snagged the bite right off Drake’s fork, tugging on the utensil a bit before sitting back down.

Drake’s cock stood up and wanted to come out and play. He winced at the pinch of his jeans against that delicate skin.

“Problem?” Ian asked, a cute smirk barely tipping his lips up.

The man might look like he was chiselled in marble, but he was really sweet under that stern mask.

“You could say that.” Drake squirmed and reached down to shift his dick into a less painful position. “If you’d eat faster, we could get naked. I—” Lord, he was going to blush, he could feel it starting. “I did what you said and bookmarked the videos I find, um, interesting possibilities. It’s all set up in my room.”

Ian’s expression darkened to something sensuous and powerful. It tugged at Drake’s gut and made him long to slide right out of the chair and kneel at Ian’s feet. But Ian wasn’t interested in that kind of stuff outside of sex. Then again, this entire meal was like foreplay with food. Drake decided it wouldn’t hurt to ask.

“When you say you only like the D/s stuff during sex, does that mean I won’t be doing any kneeling and stuff like that outside of when we’re in a scene?”
Geez, that almost hurt to ask.

“A scene doesn’t have to start with sex, Drake. In fact, most of them begin with other things, like dinner, or relaxing on the couch, watching TV together. A scene can go on for minutes, or hours, or days, if that’s what floats your boat.” Ian took a bite of his steak but never looked away from Drake.

Drake couldn’t eat another bite. His nerves were rattling as desire clamped down on his insides. He lowered his head but looked up through his lashes at Ian, hoping Ian would understand what he couldn’t bring himself to articulate.

Ian sat up a little straighter, and those pale eyes seemed to see right into Drake’s fantasies. “Come here.” Ian patted his thigh.

Excitement had Drake clumsily rising. He took the two steps he needed to in order to get to Ian’s side, then he lowered himself to his knees.

“Sit back, ass to heels,” Ian said.

Drake did so.

“Spread your legs and put your palms on your thighs.”

Drake’s breath sounded loud in his own ears as he followed the orders.

“Very good,” Ian told him, running a hand over Drake’s hair. “I’d love to see you like this, naked, plugged, clamps on your nipples, and a cock ring, or even better, a cock cage in place. A collar—” Ian touched Drake’s neck and he shuddered. “Would you like that, Drake? To have something of mine here.” He lightly gripped Drake’s neck.

Drake’s shaft pulsed, as if he were on the verge of coming. He was, and that wouldn’t do. He pulled up every ounce of restraint he had to keep himself from losing it.

“Answer me,” Ian growled.

Drake clenched his buttocks, that hidden spot between them suddenly feeling empty and needy. “Yes, sir.”

“Ian is fine, unless you prefer Sir.” Ian stroked his hair again, then cupped Drake’s nape. He pulled until Drake lowered his head to rest it on Ian’s thigh.

“Ian,” Drake murmured, dizzy with the comfort and need Ian brought to him. Ian kept his hand there on the back of Drake’s neck for the next several minutes as he ate. “Are you sure you’re full?” he asked after a while.

“Yes, Ian.” Drake’s eyelids felt heavy, just as his groin did. How could he be so horny and so…content at the same time?

Ian sat for another minute or two—or it could have been half an hour. Drake was so relaxed. He was finally where he needed to be. Time ceased to matter—Ian was enjoying his meal, and Drake was in a peaceful place. The past weeks had been full of fear, but Drake didn’t feel any of that now.

Ian murmured things to him occasionally, but honestly, Drake didn’t hear the words, just the tone. It soothed so many wounds inside even if it didn’t obliterate them.