Yours All Along (10 page)

“That. Was. So. Hot,” Alice said, giving a slow clap. “I might’ve just gotten a semi.”

Mark’s attention swung to her. “We’re so getting married. You’re like the perfect woman.”

Alice rocked to her feet. “How about I let you to buy me coffee first?”

Mark pumped a fist in the air in victory and then patted Devon on the ass as he went over to Alice. “Thanks for taking one for the team, man.”

“You kids have fun. Make sure to use lube when you peg him, Al,” Devon called out.

Alice rolled her eyes, but the sparkle in her expression was hard to hide. She came over and kissed him on the cheek. “Call me if you need anything.”

Devon watched them go, shooing Brad away, too. He just wanted to get up to his room and get to bed. But, of course, he wasn’t alone yet. Hunter had stood by like a sentry for the last few minutes and now he was wearing a scowl.

“What crawled up your ass, big man?” Devon asked, moving slowly toward the staircase.

“You’re hurt.”

He trudged up the steps. “I’m fine.”

Hunter followed close behind, not saying anything until they were nearly to their room. “You kissed Mark.”

The hard tone had Devon looking back over his shoulder. “It was a joke.”

“So you’ll just kiss any of us for the sake of helping out, huh? Mark to impress a girl. Me ’cause I got curious.”

Devon didn’t know where the bitter tone was coming from—Hunter or the alcohol. But he didn’t have time for this shit tonight. He hobbled into their room and shut the door when Hunter followed. “I kissed Mark because it’d help your case, asshole. Throw any remaining suspicion out the window after your big drunken cocksucking pronouncement. And let’s not pretend a peck on the lips is the same as what happened with us.”

Color blazed high on Hunter’s cheeks.

Devon pressed his hand to his side, trying to ease some of the throbbing pain as he sat on the edge of his bed. “And what do you care who I kiss anyway? You had your tongue down Sparkles’s throat for ten minutes before you even noticed there were other people in the room.”

Hunter’s eyebrow lifted. “Sparkles?”

“That stupid top she was wearing. Is she trying to blind a guy so you’ll be distracted from her annoying-ass accent? God, I might’ve kissed her just to shut her up.”

Hunter crossed his arms across his chest. “Sounds like you were paying pretty close attention.”

“Hard to look away when you sat right across from me.” Devon grabbed the edge of his T-shirt. He just wanted to get undressed, get under the covers, and sleep this off. But a hot knife of pain jabbed him in the side when he tried to lift his arms up to tug his T-shirt off. “Fuck.”

Hunter blew out a breath and crossed the room. “Here. I’ve got it.”

Hunter grabbed the arm of Devon’s T-shirt and held it out so that Devon could gingerly guide his arms out of the armholes. When he was free of it, Hunter pulled it over his head for him. He tossed it to the side and straightened, peering down at Devon with an unreadable expression.

“You need help with your jeans?”

Dev cleared his throat and toed his shoes off. “I can get them undone if you can pull the legs down. I’m not sure I can bend over all the way.”

Hunter nodded and guided the jeans off, leaving Devon in just his boxer briefs. It was a view Hunter had seen before. Nothing new. But the way Hunter’s eyes roamed down Devon’s body was altogether different.

The silence stretched between them. Devon wet his lips. “Hunt . . .”

“I’m sorry that Jones called you those names. It was about me. He got booted from the team after he blew up over losing the starting pitcher spot. He knows we’re friends, was trying to get to me.”

“It’s not your fault the guy’s an asshole. And he’s not the first and won’t be the last to call me names. I can handle myself.”

“I know you can, but it doesn’t mean I didn’t want to demolish the guy for saying all that shit. I don’t know how you deal with all of that on a regular basis. I’d probably be in jail.”

Devon sighed. “You’re probably going to have to figure out how not to beat down everyone, because that guy and twenty of your not-so-close friends heard you say you’re sucking my dick every night. The guys figured out you were joking, but the rest of the rumor mill is going to eat that shit up like candy. People are going to say stuff about you, to you. Doesn’t matter if it’s a lie.”

Hunter sank onto the foot of his bed at that, running his hands through his hair and looking a little pale. “Shit. I didn’t think. I just wanted Jones to see he hadn’t gotten to me.”

“You were drunk and pissed. Bad combination. But if you want to squash this, you need to be proactive. Get yourself a girl quick. Be seen with her. Make out in front of people at parties like you were doing tonight. It’ll go away quicker that way.”

Hunter grimaced and laced his hands behind his neck. “It shouldn’t matter if it’s the truth or not. Why should anyone care who I sleep with?”

“They probably wouldn’t if you were a regular guy on campus. But you’re not. You’re a star baseball player with the senator father. People are going to pay more attention.”

“People need to get a life.”

“Agreed.” Devon pushed slowly to his feet so he could grab some ibuprofen out of his dresser drawer. His teeth ground together at the pain. “God, I hope that idiot is hurting worse than me. I can’t believe I let him get a rib shot in.”

“He looked way worse than you.” Hunter got up and went over to the mini-fridge to grab a bottle of water. He brought it over to Devon. “You sure you’re going to be all right?”

“I’ll live. I’m just going to be hating life in the morning.” Devon popped two pills and swallowed them down.

Hunter gripped Devon’s elbow. “Come on. Get in bed before you hurt yourself worse moving around so much.”

Hunter guided him to the bed and pulled back the blankets. Devon eased down, leaning on Hunter more than he wanted to, and tried to find some position that didn’t feel like knives were filleting him from the inside out. Hunter grabbed an extra pillow off his own bed and brought it over to put beneath Devon’s head.

“Thanks, man.”

“No worries,” Hunter said, face creased with concern as he looked down at him. “Need anything else?”

“Powerful narcotics”

Hunter smirked. “Fresh out.”

“Fucking useless roommate.”

“I know.” Hunter walked over to the door and flipped off the lights.

Devon closed his eyes and tried to think about anything but the pain. He could hear Hunter leave to go wash up for the night and then heard the creak of the door when he returned a few minutes later. Clothes rustled as Hunter undressed and got ready for bed. It was the comfortable sound of home for Devon. And he tried to focus on that and relax enough to fall asleep, but he never slept on his back like this and all he wanted to do was roll on his side. His eyes grew heavier and his thoughts begin to drift, but then he got a white-hot pain racing up his rib cage. He hissed through the agony, realizing he must’ve dozed and automatically tried to flip to his side.

“You okay?” Hunter called from his side of the room.

Motherfucker. Son of a bitch.
Devon ground his teeth trying to keep his curses to himself. “I’m fine. Sorry.”

The floors creaked a minute later and in the dark, his mattress depressed. Devon’s eyelids snapped open. He could barely see Hunter’s profile in the dark, the moonless night not offering much help. “What are you doing, Hunt?”

“Helping. Close your eyes and if I do something wrong or hurt you, tell me.”

“What? Hunter—”

“Shut up, Crowe.” The blankets peeled back and cold air sent goose bumps trailing over Devon’s skin. A large hand slid over his thigh, hesitant at first, but then Hunter moved the touch higher and cupped Devon through his boxers, sending awareness and all the blood in his body straight downward.

“Hunter—”

“Dude, I said shut up. This will help distract you.” Hunter stroked, bringing instant heat burning up Devon’s spine.

Holy shit. Hunter was going to jerk him off. “Hunter, seriously, you don’t have to—I’m fine or I could do this myself.”

Hunter paused and tugged Devon’s boxers down, careful not to jostle him too much, and then stroked Devon skin to skin. “If you can do this yourself, color me impressed.”

And then Hunter leaned over and put his mouth on him.

Everything inside Devon seized at once, and he gripped the sheets in tight fists. “Oh, fuck.”

Devon’s cock had only been half awake from the touch, but now he turned to steel at the hot, slick feel of Hunter’s mouth. God.
God
. His body was trying to implode with the rush of sensation, not just of physical pleasure but of knowing that it was Hunter’s lips wrapped around him. He could tell Hunter was unsure how exactly to go about this, his movements a little too gentle and tentative, but
Jesus
. Devon’s eyes wanted to roll back in his head.

“You don’t have to do this. I’ll be okay. I—”

Hunter lifted his head for a second, making Devon mourn the loss of his mouth immediately. “I know I don’t have to. I want to. Just tell me what you need for me to make you feel good.”

“I—” Devon tried to find his words. But he wasn’t noble enough to stop this. If Hunter Riley was going to insist on sucking his cock, he was going to let him. “Just do what you know feels good for you. You don’t have to be gentle, just watch the teeth.”

Hunter grunted his response, and then he was sliding his mouth over Devon’s cock again, sending Devon’s body tumbling into this warm, beautiful place where pain didn’t exist and all that mattered was the man sharing the moment with him and the way he was making him feel. Heat and pressure and slickness. Gripping hands and sliding tongues. And more than that, this utter awe of knowing that Hunter was doing this for him to help but also because on whatever level, he wanted Devon. The guy wasn’t rushing through this or white-knuckling it. He was exploring, taking his time and testing things out. He sucked him hard. Devon groaned. He teased the slit. Devon cursed. The man wasn’t experienced but he wasn’t scared either. And when he tried to take him all the way to the back of his throat, he gagged a little and pulled off for a second, but then went back to the job at hand.

Devon laced his fingers in Hunter’s hair, rolling in the bliss of it all. He was no longer aware of the pain in his ribs. Hell, he wasn’t sure he still had ribs. Maybe they’d melted along with the rest of his bones. He just felt like a knot of burning, aching need beneath Hunter’s mouth. His grip tightened against Hunter’s scalp. “Hunt, pull off, I’m gonna come.”

But Hunter didn’t move, just kept going with even more enthusiasm.
Ah, fuck.
Devon tried to hold back, knowing that swallowing could be a bit of an acquired pleasure. He didn’t want to push Hunter too far. But when he tapped Hunter’s shoulder in additional warning, Hunter didn’t budge and Devon couldn’t stop. Release ripped through him like a lightning bolt, and he had to bite his lips together from crying out loud enough for the whole house to hear.

Hunter stayed in place through the whole thing and didn’t sit up until it was obvious Devon was done. Devon’s head collapsed onto the pillow as he tried to catch his breath. “Holy fuck.”

Hunter coughed, choking a little.

Devon opened his eyes and turned to look his way, a small laugh spilling out of him. “I have some water left in that bottle if you need to wash it down. I tried to warn you, dude. You don’t have to jump in the deep end your first time.”

Hunter grabbed the water bottle and gulped some down. “Hey, if I’m going to do something, I’m going to do it right. And it wasn’t that bad, just didn’t expect it to hit with such force.”

Devon snorted, the move reminding him his ribs were throbbing, and carefully tugged up his shorts. “I once inhaled some by accident. Thought I was going to die. Never give head upside down.”

Hunter sniffed. “Noted. Did it at least help?”

“I don’t even know my name right now.”

He couldn’t see it, but he could feel Hunter’s smile in the dark. “Good. Maybe you can get some sleep now.”

Hunter moved to get up and Devon reached out, grabbing his arm, needing to touch him, wishing he could pull him down into bed next to him. “Hey.”

“Hmm?”

“What are we doing here, Hunt?”

He blew out a breath, the sound full of deep weariness, and sank back to sit on the bed. “I don’t know, man. I don’t fucking know.”

Devon’s heart squeezed in his chest. Part of him wanted to let all the shit he felt inside spill out, was tempted to tell Hunter that he wanted to be with him so much it hurt, that he loved him, that they could have this every night if he wanted them to. But he knew it wasn’t that simple, that throwing big declarations would freak him out and send him running, that outside consequences couldn’t be ignored. Hunter didn’t need a boyfriend. He needed space to figure himself out. “It’s okay, you know. Whatever it is, it’s okay. I’m not asking you to declare something. Just know that either way, it’s okay. We can be friends like we’ve always been. We can be friends who do this. We can be whatever you need right now, all right?”

Hunter ran a hand over the back of his head and looked his way. “I didn’t like seeing you kiss Mark tonight, even for a joke. It pissed me off and made me feel sick all at the same time.”

“Hunt . . .” Unable to resist, Devon grabbed his hand and guided him down next to him. Hunter stretched out alongside him carefully but without protest, heat radiating off of him. Devon leaned his head against Hunter’s shoulder, exhaustion from the whole damn night taking over. “I fucking hated Sparkles, wanted to rip her hair extensions out one by one.”

Hunter made a noise that could’ve been a laugh but was too tired sounding to be classified as such. “We’re a fucking mess.”

“Yeah.”

It was a long few seconds before he spoke again. “You should get some sleep.”

“You can stay here,” Devon said, knowing he shouldn’t ask but unable to help himself.

Hunter sat up. “No, I really can’t.”

The resigned tone in his voice twisted something in Devon’s gut. “Okay, no worries.”