He wanted Mason. He’d always wanted Mason, and it was becoming clearer by the day that he always would.
He knew that following his desire down the rabbit hole wasn’t a good idea, but his thumping heart didn’t care. Maybe just tonight, he could give in. Maybe this moment would be what he needed for closure. Maybe then he could put the past behind him once and for all.
But no, that was reckless thinking and would only end with old wounds ripped wide open. Colt leaned back and broke the spell that had fallen between them.
The circadian music of nocturnal creatures competed with the pounding pulse in his ears. He stood up on legs that felt weak, as though they couldn’t support his weight. He had to get away from Mason but didn’t trust his legs to carry him.
Mason put his glass on the small wood table between the chairs and rose a little slower but made no effort to move inside, his gaze still locked on Colt.
“It’s late,” Mason said. His voice was low and velvety and felt like a caress over Colt’s skin. “We should call it a night.”
Colt nodded. Bed. Alone. That was the smart thing to do.
But Mason still didn’t make any effort to follow through, and Colt’s every sense heightened as the air surrounding them buzzed with anticipation.
By some unspoken agreement or divine synchronicity—or maybe an overdose of pheromones in the air—Colt moved forward at the same time as Mason. Colt fell into him, or maybe it was Mason who fell into Colt, but all he could think about was Mason in his arms, their bodies flush together, and the feel of Mason’s lips—warm and firm and tasting a tantalizing mix of bitter and sweet from the lemonade he’d drunk.
The first touch was soft, but somewhere inside, a cannon went off, and the kiss exploded into a fiery, passionate need so intense a growl ripped its way up Colt’s throat, deep and low and shredding. He plunged his tongue inside Mason’s mouth, and Mason tangled his own around it as he rocked his hips into Colt. Electricity sparked along the wires of rational thinking, and Colt grew impossibly hard. Aching for release, aching for Mason. For his touch, his body.
As though Mason had read his mind, he pushed Colt until his back connected with a porch pillar and then dropped to his knees.Oh god, yes.
Colt tangled his hands in Mason’s hair as Mason fumbled with Colt’s belt and zipper with an urgency that Colt felt to the depths of his soul. This was needed. This was necessary.
Inevitable.
Mason opened Colt’s jeans, tugged his boxers down, and then wrapped his hand around Colt’s cock. He stroked and tugged a couple of times as though gauging the weight of him, while Colt trembled from the inside out. He shot out a hand to hold on to the veranda railing for support.
Mason paused and looked up. Gazes collided. There was a softness in his expression, a longing that Colt didn’t want to see, didn’t want to acknowledge. A faint voice far, far in the back of his mind warned him this wasn’t a good idea. But then his cock disappeared inside Mason’s mouth, and his thoughts ceased completely.
“Jesus, Mase,” Colt breathed, awed at the sight, the heat of Mason’s mouth. “Yes.”
He watched, rapt, as Mason’s cheeks hollowed out as he sucked, as tears gathered in the corners of his eyes when he took Colt deep into the back of his throat. Worshipped him. Mason pulled off, took a breath, his lips glistening and eyes never leaving Colt’s.
“Use me,” he rasped and then took Colt down again.
Colt’s entire being cracked and popped, like a string of lit fireworks exploding in the middle of the street. And Mason’s mouth was the match that ignited him.
He pumped gently into Mason, not wanting to be too hard, to push too far, but Mason growled, clamped his hands on Colt’s hips, and yanked him forward.Okay, then. Colt rocked into the hot, slick, demanding cavern of Mason’s mouth until tears streamed down Mason’s cheeks, and tension rose in Colt’s body, higher and higher until he hung suspended on the edge of orgasm. He took one last gasp of air, and then his climax stole his breath.
Mason worked him through his release, suckled him until he was dry and sensitive, before slowly releasing him. He leaned back on his heels—lips red and swollen, a drip of cum in the corner of his mouth. Movement drew Colt’s gaze to Mason’s hand between his legs. He’d brought himself off while he’d pleasured Colt to within an inch of his life. A keening sound he’d have been embarrassed about any other time escaped him. If Colt hadn’t already just come so hard he’d seen stars, the sight of Mason jacking himself would have done it. Mason’s mouth hinted at a crooked smile, and a sated glow brightened his eyes.
For a moment, the last twenty years vanished.
For a moment, there was no heartbreak.
For a moment, Colt imagined how amazing their lives might have been if Mason hadn’t turned his back on him.
Anger and hurt, Colt’s longtime companions, resurfaced at the thought, threatening to clog his throat and dull his orgasm high. He shoved his emotions down violently. Forced his mind into silence. He wouldn’t regret what they’d just done, but he needed to keep his wits about him. Needed to guard his heart against Mason. Needed to finish this job and move on with his life.
He cleared his throat, tore his eyes from Mason, and pulled his jeans up.
“That was . . .” he croaked, his voice gruff.
His heart and mind held him frozen in place as they battled each other. His heart saiddive in. His mind saidrun away. But he couldn’t do either.
Mason stood and spurred Colt into action. He chose flight and brushed past Mason on shaky legs.
“I, uh . . . Good night.”
