Stuff My Stocking: M-M Romance Stories that are Nice and Naughty (15 page)

“I’m sure you are.” Alex was brisk, all business as he tried to warm Jamie back to a normal temperature.

“You can stop.” Jamie straightened, remembering why he was here, plunging himself back into the well of grief. “And you can go.”

“I’ll stay.”

“I don’t want you to.” Jamie pushed away, smacked at Alex’s hands when he reached for him. “I’ll see you on Monday.”

Alex sighed, patted his hands together, blowing on them like he was warming his fingers.
Buying time
, Jamie thought.

“I’m not leaving you alone on Christmas Eve.” Alex shrugged. “I’ve been looking forward to tonight for over a month, planning dinner and picking the perfect gift for you.” He held a hand up when Jamie opened his mouth. “I’m smart enough to see plans have changed. But if you need to be here, I need to be with you. We both stay.”

Jamie didn’t know what to do. There had never been a man who cared enough to notice the change in him on this most god-forsaken day, let alone one who would sit alongside him in freezing weather at an old grave. His lip quivered and he bit down to stop the weakness from showing.

Alex wrapped his arms around Jamie, pulling him into the circle of warmth. “Baby, he wouldn’t want you to suffer like this.”

“What do you know about it?” Jamie hiccupped, wishing he was strong enough to not snuggle into Alex’s embrace like he was currently doing.

“I talked with Amber. Well, actually, she talked to me. I didn’t say much.” Alex rubbed his back. “She misses her friend.”

“She should hate me.” Jamie trembled. “I’m the reason her brother is dead.”

“You are the reason
she
is alive. Don’t you get that?” Alex gripped Jamie’s arms and held him away to look into his eyes. “Without her brother’s sacrifice, and your help, she would have died.”

Jamie stared back at Alex.
Was that true? Cody sacrificed himself for Amber?
“I never thought of it like that.”

Alex pulled him close again. “She does. Baby, she loves you and it’s killing her that you don’t speak to her anymore.”

His mind completely numb and unable to process a new side to what had happened all those years ago, Jamie dropped his head to rest on Alex’s chest. “I want to stay awhile.”

“I brought coffee.” Alex stepped away, scooped the thermos from the marble stone, and took a seat on the cold ground next to it. He motioned for Jamie to join him.

Jamie sat beside him, taking a drink of the offered coffee. “Cody was a lot like Amber is now.”

“To know that, you’d still have to be watching out for her.”

Jamie pulled his knees up tight to his chest, wrapping his arms around them. “I stay away from her so I’m not a constant reminder of that night.”

“It doesn’t work that way, you know.” Alex took a drink, screwed the cap back on and set the thermos to the side. “Did you think less often of that night by staying away from her? Or did you hurt more because you had no one to share it with?”

Jamie pressed his face into his knees. “I figured that out within the first year. But by then it was nearly impossible to approach her, so I kept watch. It’s selfish, but it made it bearable for me.”

“You should talk to her. I think it would go a long way to putting closure to what happened.” Alex sat similar to how Jamie did.

“Yeah, maybe I’ll do that.”

Alex shifted to lean on the headstone, tugging Jamie until he rested against him, and they sat in silence for what seemed an eternity as Jamie took a good look at what he’d let himself become over the last five years. His heart still ached but realizing that he’d carried out Cody’s last request, that he’d saved a life that night too, dulled the hurt.

Jamie stretched his hand out and traced the letters of Cody’s name, feeling for the first time the warmth of friendship along with the pang of loss.

He took a deep breath, drawing in the scent of the man sitting with him. A new sense of clarity told Jamie he no longer belonged camped out in this cemetery, pining over what should have been. He needed to be wrapped in his lover’s arms. “Can you take me back to the office? I caught a cab here.”

Alex’s arms tightened around him. “Let me take you home.”

 Disappointment cloaked Jamie like a second skin and he pushed up from the ground. “Sure. I’ll give you directions.”

Alex stood with him, catching his hand to stop Jamie from walking away. “You know where I live?”

Jamie scrunched his brow. “What?”

Alex smiled, one side of his slim lips curving up. “Baby, I want to take you to my home.”

The confusion evaporated and heat rushed Jamie’s cheeks. He found it hard to breathe under Alex’s intense gaze. He nodded. “Okay, then.”

****

Alex unlocked his front door, pushing it wide and motioning for Jamie to go first. He didn’t want to let Jamie too far out of his sight for fear that he’d crumble back into the bleak despair that had surrounded him earlier. He flicked the light switch and closed the door behind them.

Jamie toed off his shoes automatically as he shucked his borrowed coat, his gaze roaming the large living room in front of him. His face was soft, relaxed. “This is lovely, Alex.”

Following suit by removing his own coat and shoes, Alex peered around Jamie, half expecting to see someone else’s place. He searched for what made it special.

The faux-suede couches were set at a ninety-degree angle to each other and both faced the fireplace on the north wall. Most of the floor was hardwood but a large, dark blue area rug covered the seating area. The cream walls gave the room a fresh feel and were soft enough to complement the oak tables. Nothing extraordinary.

“Thanks.” He pressed gently on the small of Jamie’s back to move him further into the room. “Amber helped pick it all out.”

“She helped you?”

Alex laughed, self-deprecating at best. “No. She helped the designer. I simply moved in when it was finished.” He tapped a knuckle on the sofa table next to him. “Until recently, that fact didn’t bother me.”

Jamie smiled up at Alex, a sweet curve that Alex realized had been missing in many of their so-called dates. “Lots of people have interior designers finish their homes. Don’t sweat it.”

“Yeah, but until just a few minutes ago, this wasn’t a home.” Alex cupped Jamie’s chin, brushing a light kiss to his mouth. “Your skin is still chilled. I’m going to start a shower for you.” He turned away, willing his stubborn cock back under control. Years of hurt didn’t disappear in a flash and Jamie didn’t deserve to be rushed.

“Alex.”

He stopped in the doorway to his bedroom, looking back over his shoulder. “Yes?”

“I’m okay.”

Alex wondered if he spoke of more than the fact he’d nearly frozen himself to death. “Then make me feel better and take a shower.”

The slight smile on Jamie’s lips turned into a full-blown grin. “Oh, I can make you feel better.”

Holy shit.
Alex’s cock hardened painfully in his jeans. Jamie’s eyes were dark, sparkling with desire. “We don’t have to jump into that tonight, baby. Just relax and let me pamper you for a bit.”

Jamie’s eyebrow crept up. He started a slow circuit around the room, skirting the furniture and moving in Alex’s direction. It was a curious sensation to be the one stalked instead of being the stalker. The fine hair on Alex’s nape prickled as Jamie neared.

“You really want to pamper me?” Jamie whispered as he stopped facing Alex. “Then remember I’m your lover and not your child.”

“Oh, I’m a long way from thinking of you as a child, baby.” Alex’s breath was short and this new side of Jamie was throwing him off his game. Not that it didn’t make him hot as hell. Shit, his cock was ready to burst with even the slightest touch.

Jamie closed the gap, rubbing their erections together, pushing Alex to his limit. “Good, then you’ll be okay when I say that I don’t want a fucking shower.” He grazed his lips along Alex’s jaw, nipping lightly as he went. “I just want to fuck.”

Alex cleared his throat. “I can probably help with that.”

The smile Jamie cast at him was nothing less than an invitation as he stepped around Alex. “Your bedroom, I presume?”

“Yeah.” He’d forgotten Jamie had never been here before. The only room in the house he’d done himself was his bedroom. It hadn’t felt right for someone else to pick out even a stick of furniture for what he thought of as his sanctuary.

“Nice.”

Alex followed, finally finding his equilibrium again. He slid his hands around Jamie’s waist, pulling him back against him, nestling his cock in the crevice of Jamie’s ass. His prick wept with need as he rocked his hips forward.

Jamie dropped his head back on Alex’s shoulder, his eyes closed, his lips parted. “Yes.”

Muscles bunched under Alex’s fingers as he explored Jamie’s chest and stomach, sending his hands on a quest south of Jamie’s belt. “Like that?” He cupped Jamie’s erection through his pants. “Mmm, this for me?”

“You know it is.” Jamie was breathless, arching into Alex’s touch. “More.”

Alex nuzzled Jamie’s ear, increasing the pressure on Jamie’s cock at the same time he shifted against him from behind. Jamie caught his lower lip between his teeth, moaning, writhing between the twin points of contact.

With a flick of his thumb, Alex opened the snap of Jamie’s pants, then pulled the zipper down to give him access to the soft steel underneath. A sharp hiss when Alex wrapped his fingers around Jamie’s hard prick egged him on. Swirling his fingers around the swollen head, Alex used the pre-cum leaking from Jamie’s slit to lubricate his hand as he slowly jacked up and down Jamie’s cock.

Alex skimmed his other hand to collect Jamie’s ball sack, rolling each nugget in his fingers. He licked his way along Jamie’s neck, sucking a mark just behind his ear. Alex felt Jamie’s balls draw up tight to his cock, his back bowed away from Alex and ribbons of cream spurted over Alex’s hand as Jamie cried out.

Catching Jamie when his knees gave out, Alex scooped him up, yanked back the comforter on the bed and lay him on the cool cotton sheet. He stripped Jamie’s clothes away, trailing his fingers over every inch of pale skin as he exposed it to the chilly night air, ignoring his own throbbing hard-on for the moment.

“Taking a tour?”

Jamie said the words too casually, drawing Alex’s gaze up. The guarded expression wounded Alex’s heart more than anything Jamie could have said. He was painfully aware he’d neglected to see what Jamie needed from him. “As a matter of fact…yes.”

“Why?” A trace of panic edged Jamie’s voice.

Alex knew the truth would send Jamie running. “Because you have the most delicious skin I’ve ever seen.” Alex reared from the bed, stripping his clothes off and throwing them to the floor. He crawled back up the bed, curling into Jamie’s side.

“Oh.” That single word escaped on a sigh and Alex knew he’d chosen correctly.

A rush of desire pooled in Alex’s groin. He gripped Jamie’s hands and stretched them over his head as he rolled on top of Jamie. “You know what that means, right?”

“Mmm.” Jamie pressed up into Alex, grinding their cocks together. “You’d better tell me.”

“I’d rather show you.” Alex slid one knee between Jamie’s legs, then followed with the other. His new position lined their cocks next to each other and he instinctively shifted to create friction.

Jamie moaned low in his chest, tossing his head back against the pillows.

Alex pounced on the exposed stretch of skin, sucking at the pulse beating in the hollow of Jamie’s neck. He reached under the pillow for the tube of slick he’d put there earlier, and thought briefly of the missed reservations at his favorite restaurant.

Jamie wiggled against him and all thoughts flew from his mind.

He knelt, pulling Jamie’s legs over his thighs to get at the tight bud clenched between Jamie’s cheeks. Alex brushed his thumb over the puckered opening, enjoying the flush covering Jamie’s body.

Jamie mewled in the back of his throat at the tease and spread his knees wider for more. “Please.”

“Patience, baby.” Alex flicked open the lube and drizzled a thin stream on his fingers. He rubbed them together, warming the slick before circling Jamie’s hole.

Bucking his hips, Jamie grasped Alex’s forearm with more strength than Alex gave him credit for. “Fuck patience. I want your cock. Now.”

Alex smirked at him and pushed two fingers into Jamie’s clutching ass, curling them to hit that spot that would make him-

“Oh my God!” Jamie launched his hips from the bed, pushing down on Alex’s hand. “Fuck. Fuck. Alex.”

“Yeah, baby?” He slid his fingers out, then in over Jamie’s gland, again and again until Jamie was a writhing mess holding onto sanity by a thread.

“Don’t. Make. Me. Beg.” Jamie pushed the words through his teeth as he fought for more, fought for that touch that would send him careening over the edge.

Alex pulled his fingers away, smiling at the low whimper when he leaned over to the dresser for a condom. “One or the other, baby. Me or my hand.”

“You. Always you.”

Alex ripped the condom open, rolled it down his prick and pressed the head against Jamie’s ass. He rocked his hips forward. “Let me in, baby.”

Jamie relaxed his muscles and Alex slid in the first inch. He kissed along Alex’s neck, working up to Alex’s mouth. “Get a move on, bossman.”

With a surge forward, Alex seated himself balls deep in Jamie’s channel, simultaneously drilling his tongue into Jamie’s mouth; the kiss a more powerful aphrodisiac than anything Alex had ever experienced. He struggled for control to allow Jamie time to adjust to his invasion.

Gripping Alex’s arms, Jamie gave him a shake. “I’m not some fucking china doll. Fuck me, damn it.”

Alex took him at his word, establishing a hard and fast rhythm, reaming Jamie’s ass with every bit of pent up desire roiling in his blood.

Jamie met him halfway, thrusting up into each stroke. He threaded his fingers through Alex’s hair, crushing their lips together as he wedged his legs under Alex’s arms, creating a different angle for Alex’s thrusts forward.

Each withdrawal drew Alex’s cock over Jamie’s gland, sending the smaller man into a frenzy. He sucked in air, wiggling for more contact.