Falling Bundle (10 page)

“Yes! Yours!” Arjen clearly would have agreed to anything to get Max to let him come; he was so frantic that if his hands hadn’t been bound, his nails would have been raking down Max’s back. The belt must be biting into his wrists. Max dipped his head and stole a kiss, dipped further to taste his throat, savouring the salt on his skin. Arjen moaned aloud in helpless abandon. “Max, Max—”

“Come,” Max said through gritted teeth. “As soon as you’re ready.” Preferably in the next few seconds while Max was still clinging to the last of his self-control. “I want to feel your ass get so tight around me that I can’t fucking think.”

Arjen let go with a sweet cry. He squeezed so tight that Max saw stars as his climax hit him with the force of an explosion. Arjen rocked desperately under him, slipping and sliding up and down on Max’s impaling length, shuddering his pleasure. Finally he lapsed into shaky silence.

They lay twined together for a long time, still joined intimately, Arjen’s heart beating fast against his. Max let his head drop onto Arjen’s shoulder, panting, dazed, shaken by the force of their pleasure. Jesus. Arjen was trembling in his arms.

“Good?” Max kissed him.

“So good.” Arjen sighed contentedly.

Max pretty much glowed. He eased out of his body, unbound his hands, and took a moment to clean them both. Then Arjen snuggled into him, warm and sweet and trusting, and whispered, “Mine.”

Max stroked his hair, overcome with tenderness. “All yours.” He settled Arjen comfortably against him; Arjen rested his cheek against Max’s bare chest.

Arjen burrowed deeper into Max’s arms. “Stay tonight?”

Max smiled down at him. Nothing in the world sounded better. “I’ll stay,” Max said. “As long as you’ll have me.”

Max woke already smiling.

His smile only deepened as awareness came back, as he remembered where he was and why. The ticking of the unfamiliar clock, the softness of the unfamiliar bed brought back memories. Someone was asleep beside him; the knowledge filled him to brimming with contentment. Max lay in the warmth of that shared bed, eyes still shut, basking in an intense sense of wellbeing. It was such a perfect moment that he wanted to hold on to it as long as he possibly could.

He took a deep breath and let it go in a sigh of satisfaction. He already knew what would greet him when he opened his eyes.

When he finally opened them, sunshine spilled hazy through the tilted window above his head. Where it touched, it struck sparks from the shining metal of a laptop and glowed gold on wooden shelves. The room was all clean lines and pale colours, shelves piled high with books running along the walls. A stack of textbooks stuffed with tiny coloured slips of paper teetered on one shelf. Sunlight poured across the rumpled covers and pooled in the dips of the bed.

Arjen was snuggled into him fast asleep. His arm was draped across Max’s bare chest, his open hand over Max’s heart. His lashes lay against his cheeks, fluttering slightly with dreams, and his breathing was deep and even.

It was such a sweet sight by the light of dawn that Max stared up at the ceiling with tears in his eyes. He swallowed hard, remembering.

The first time they’d ever slept together Max had woken just like this. Except when he’d first felt this fragile uncurling of tenderness inside him, strange and intense, it had freaked him out. So badly that he had kicked out the one person he should have begged to stay.

He had not been allowed to spend the night with Arjen ever since. In fact, he had never slept in Arjen’s bed. So just waking up with him felt miraculous. Max remembered last night and smiled even bigger.

He was so glad to have a second chance. He might have messed up before, but he could do it right this time. He could treat Arjen the way he should have treated him all along—like something precious and irreplaceable.

Max stretched lazily and laced his fingers behind his head. The pillow was sun-warmed beneath him. Arjen only murmured and snuggled closer.

He was so stunning it took Max’s breath away. He had those sharp, chiselled features that Max wanted to memorise. Dark hair that Max liked to run his fingers through. Dark lashes lying along his cheekbones, hiding those beautiful dark eyes. Arjen was the smouldering type, smoky dark, and he’d only gotten hotter since Max had first laid eyes on him.

Max stroked a hand up and down his bare arm, enjoying the muscle there. He was delightfully warm. “You’re perfect.” Max kissed the top of his head. “And you’re all mine.”

Mmm. Arjen smelled good. Felt good. All warm and inviting tucked into Max’s side. Maybe Max should reward him for forgiving him. He wanted to give Arjen a good incentive to never spend the night apart from now on.

Max flung back the bedcovers and that familiar stab of hunger hit him. The sunlight painted Arjen’s lean body, bringing out the gleam of his skin, the reds in his dark hair. Irresistible. Max slid down his body, kissing as he went, tasting and exploring. He wanted to relearn that flat stomach, the planes of muscle, the sensitive dip of his navel that made Arjen shift even in deep sleep. Max spread his pale thighs, stifling a growl of hunger, trailed kisses along the inside of his thigh and nipped gently. Arjen stirred again in his sleep, getting harder.

“You are a very deep sleeper,” Max told him, before taking his cock into his mouth.

He took it in one slow, hot slide. Arjen made a small sound, starting to arch and tense under his hands. Max spread him wider, enjoying the heat of him, the taste, the feel. Those open thighs invited Max to do all kinds of wicked things to him. Max pulled off and licked up and down the length of his shaft, teased the tip with his tongue, took it deep into his throat.

“Oh.” Arjen arched beneath him, eyes fluttering half open, still mostly asleep. His hand lifted as if to catch Max’s hair, then fell back, fingers curling into his palm.

Max smiled around his mouthful. He slid off his cock and eased back up his body. Rifling through the bedside drawer turned up some lube; he took his time getting Arjen slick and ready for him with one finger, then two, while Arjen’s hands fisted in the bedcovers. Then Max braced himself over him and slid into him. It was pure torture sinking into such a hot, tight body and he groaned aloud as he fought the urge to come.

Christ. He took deep breaths and counted to ten until he regained control. Arjen shuddered under him, making the most delightful sounds.

“You drive me crazy,” Max told him once he’d caught his breath. “And I like it that way.” Max slid lazily in, then out, dragging little shivers from him. He dipped his head to taste the exposed line of his throat, clean and salty. “This is where you belong. All slippery under me. Mmm.” He licked, then nipped. “I can do this for you every morning, baby. Just ask.”

Arjen was starting to clutch at him even in his sleepy state, so Max coaxed him to a sweet climax and kissed him as he came. Arjen clenched deliciously around him. “I love you,” Max whispered to him, his voice cracking under the strain of holding back. “Never leave me.” He pushed Arjen’s thighs wider and pounded him hard until the intensity of his feelings broke over him in a wave and he had to let go.

Afterward he settled his beloved in his arms and soothed him back to sleep. Max kissed his cheek and stroked his hair until Arjen slid easily into dreams. It was utterly satisfying just to watch Arjen sleep like this, all of his stresses and worries smoothed out, safe and trusting in Max’s arms. Max kissed him one last time and sneaked out of bed to hit the shower.

The hot water burst on in a cloud of steam. Under the spray, Max grinned like an idiot. He could not believe how good he felt right now, happy and carefree, his heart so light it threatened to escape altogether. He was going to make this the best day ever. Make sure Arjen never regretted giving Max another shot.

After his shower he pulled on last night’s jeans and headed downstairs. Shafts of sunlight filled the hall, the living room with its leather recliners arranged around a flat-screen television, the kitchen with its tall metal fridge. Everything glowed gold. Max hummed as he started making breakfast, struck frequently by the memory of the night before, making him smile. He got the bacon and mushrooms frying, the bread in the toaster, the kitchen filling with delicious smells. It made him laugh at how domesticated he was becoming, but he liked it this way. He was going to surprise Arjen with breakfast in bed and enjoy his smile. He cracked an egg into the frying pan; it sizzled as it hit the hot surface.

Half an hour in, the stairs creaked. “Max?” Arjen sounded on the edge of panic.

Max dropped his knife into the butter and went straight to Arjen in alarm. Arjen stood in the hall, wearing only Max’s shirt, looking as though somebody had hit him.

When he saw Max his expression cleared into intense relief. Max realised with a sudden stab that Arjen must have woken up thinking Max had left. Max’s heart turned over and he caught Arjen’s face in both hands, bringing Arjen’s forehead to his. “I’m here.”

“I thought…” Arjen’s voice cracked. He covered Max’s hands, fingers curling through his. He was leaning into Max hard, as though only Max could hold him up. Max could only imagine how he must have panicked, thinking that Max had left him after Arjen had only just dared to trust him again.

“No.” Max poured every ounce of conviction into the word. “No. Definitely not. I was just making you breakfast. See? Breakfast.” Max tugged him along and ushered him into the kitchen with a hand at his back.

He could only hope it was pleasing to Arjen, even though he had left the breakfast half made and the kitchen in a state. Eggs sizzled on the hob, toast toasted in the toaster. The air was warm and rich with delicious scents. The table had been laid and the kettle was just boiling for coffee.

“Oh.” Arjen broke into that bright smile Max had been dying to see.

“I’d never leave you. Never. Not again.” He wanted to make that clear.

It might take time to teach Arjen that Max wouldn’t leave him again, but Max could play the long game. Just keep showing up day after day. Show him that Max was devoted to him.

Assuming—an awful thought occurred to him—that Arjen still wanted that. “You didn’t…?” His throat closed and he couldn’t get out the words.

“Change my mind?” Arjen said in a gentle voice. “No.”

Thank God. Max was so relieved. “Arjen, I meant what I said last night. About being in love with you. I really—I just want you to be happy. And I’ve never been in love before and I don’t know how this works, so if there’s anything you want, anything I can do to make you happy, please just tell me. Because when you smile like that, I feel…” He trailed off helplessly. The words choked him and he didn’t know how to explain. That his whole world brightened and the sun came out just because Arjen was happy.

Arjen smiled up at him, twining their fingers together. “We could start with breakfast.”

Max laughed. “You have simple tastes.”

So he dished up and they ate together at the wooden table. The bacon came out crispy and the eggs perfect. Arjen told him that his cooking was good; Max wasn’t sure that frying bacon counted, but it certainly seemed to make Arjen happy.

They talked for a while over coffee while Max put his chin in his hand and just smiled at Arjen across the table. God, he was beautiful. They should do this every morning.

Afterward, because Arjen insisted and Max was very amenable, they went back to bed. Back in the warm sunlit covers, Arjen draped himself all over Max with the determined heaviness of one who had no intention of waking up to find Max gone again. Arjen smiled up at him. “Hi.”

Max melted. “Hi.”

“I wonder what to do today.” Arjen stroked Max’s bare chest with a mischievous smile, fingers sliding downward.

Max grinned. “We’ll think of something.”

“Oh, I think we will. Now that I have you just where I want you.”

Arjen proceeded to give him a spectacular blowjob. That man was pure sin; he knew exactly how to tease Max unbearably, until Max was gritting his teeth and taking deep breaths, trying not to beg. Arjen took Max slowly, torturously deeper into his mouth, and Max’s fists clenched as he fought for control. It just wasn’t fair that Arjen was this hot. Nobody could resist this. Arjen sucked hard and Max caught his hair with a gasp. “Arjen!” He loved that wicked gleam of a smile from Arjen.

He cupped Arjen’s face in both hands with a gentleness that surprised even himself. Arjen made a small sound, turning his cheek into Max’s palm. Max knew he liked it best when Max took control, so Max began sliding in and out of his mouth, his hands flexing and tightening in Arjen’s hair. Arjen’s eyes fluttered shut.

Max could quite happily have spent the rest of his life like this, just fucking his mouth lazily, but it felt too good, he wasn’t going to last. “Come here and let me fuck you.”

Arjen let his cock slip from his mouth with one last lick that made Max shiver all the way down to his toes. Arjen smiled up at him, warm and teasing. “You’re so impatient.”

Max growled. “You’re going to get fucked hard before I let you out of this bed.”

“Promises, promises.” Arjen straddled him and slid slowly, inch by inch, down onto his slick cock. Max groaned aloud and Arjen gasped at the intensity of the sensation; Arjen clutched him, arms tightening around his neck. Max kissed his temple, his cheek, soothing him through that first burn of penetration. The feel of Arjen clenching around him, slippery and squeezing, was unbearable. Max set his jaw as he forced himself to hold still. “Feels good? Doesn’t hurt?”

“Oh, God.” Arjen rocked against him, sliding up and down on his cock, riding him. It felt fucking amazing. Arjen braced himself with both hands against Max’s bare chest, bottom lip caught between his teeth, brow slightly furrowed as he focused on the rise and fall of his body, the slip and slide of Max inside him. Max watched his face, learning the exact angle and depth to get him to make that stifled sound of pleasure, delicately adjusting his angle to hit that spot over and over.

“Oh, that’s good.” Arjen turned his face into Max’s shoulder with a whimper.

Max picked that moment to strike. He rolled Arjen beneath him in one smooth movement and captured his hands above his head. When he drove home, Arjen cried out, pinned beneath him. “You’re mine. Say it.” Max drove into him again.

“Oh.” Arjen arched into him, sweet and hot.

“Say it.”

“N-no.” Arjen was struggling to focus.

Max bit his earlobe and felt him shudder under him. Max loved the taut line of his body open beneath his, his quick uneven breathing, the racing of his pulse. When Max surged into him, then slid back, Arjen groaned. “I can keep this up all day,” Max teased. He shifted Arjen under him to hit a deeper angle.

Arjen threw back his head with a moan. He was irresistible like this, all spread open, face flushed, eyes hazy. “You are so beautiful,” Max told him between deep, slow kisses. “I’d like to keep you here forever. Tied to this bed. You’d like that, wouldn’t you. Being at my mercy.” He slid in, then out. In, then out. Arjen shuddered, his breathing ragged. “I’m going to fuck you until you beg me to let you come.”