Like a Lover (5 page)

Josh
frowned as he studied Rupert. He reckoned he was in his mid-twenties, or maybe
a little older.

“What?”
Rupert asked.

“I was just
wondering how old you are.”

“Twenty-six.
What about you?”

“Twenty-two.”

Rupert
raised his eyebrows in surprise. “I thought you were younger. But I’m relieved
to find you’re not a teenager. I did wonder.”

“I’m in my
second year at uni, but I started late. I left school at sixteen. Went back to
college a couple of years later to do my A levels.”

“Oh yeah?”

Josh
ignored the questioning tone. The less said about those two lost years of
drinking and taking any drugs he could get his hands on, the better. He was
lucky to have come through it without getting arrested or worse, and he wasn’t
proud of that part of his past. The memory of those dark days was what kept him
focused now, working his way out of the shitty hand life had dealt him in order
to secure himself a better future. It gave him the drive to work, to earn the
money he needed, to succeed.

He could
see Rupert looking at him speculatively, and, wanting to fend off any more
questions, he moved closer until their lips were nearly touching. He reached
down and cupped Rupert’s soft cock. Squeezing lightly, he murmured, “Are we
gonna talk for the rest of your time, or do you want to fuck me again?”

Rupert
curled a hand around Josh’s neck and kissed him. The kiss was deep and Josh’s
heart was pounding when Rupert pulled away and grinned. “In case it wasn’t
obvious, that’s a yes to fucking again.”

The second
time was nothing like the first. Rupert rolled on top of Josh and snogged him
senseless before moving down his body, trailing teasing kisses and licks over
his torso. He nosed at the line of hair below Josh’s navel and breathed warm
air over his cock before pressing just one kiss to the shaft and moving south
to lick at his balls.

Josh parted
his thighs to give him space and groaned as Rupert sucked on the skin behind
his balls, so close to where he wanted Rupert’s mouth.

As though
Rupert could read his mind—“God, I want to eat you out. But lube tastes
gross.”—he moved back up and nuzzled Josh’s cock. “I want to suck you
too, you smell so good.”

Josh was
about to tell him he could, with a condom, of course, but Rupert was already
moving up to kiss him again. He stroked Josh until he was fully hard.

“What do
you want?”

“Fuck me,”
Josh said between kisses. “Just fuck me.”

When Rupert
pushed into him, he kept kissing Josh, circling his hips and rocking in with
perfect pressure. Josh moaned his approval and bucked up to meet him, begging
for more with his body because his mouth was otherwise occupied.

But Rupert
kept the pace maddeningly slow. Josh’s cock was trapped between their bodies,
getting some friction with each careful thrust, but it wasn’t quite enough.

Josh felt
Rupert’s tempo gradually build, his breathing getting faster and the sounds he
made between kisses becoming wilder. Josh was so close now, right on the edge.

“Can you
come like this?” Rupert drew back to ask, jaw tight as he struggled for
control.

“I don’t
know… but don’t stop.” It was too good, Josh was riding that crest, and he
didn’t care how long he stayed there. The destination was less important than
the journey.

So Rupert
carried on, and Josh lost himself in the sweet slide of Rupert’s cock inside
him and the hunger of his kisses. When Rupert came, Josh clenched around him,
milking out his release, holding him tight as he shuddered and stilled.

“Sorry.”
Rupert smiled ruefully. “You feel too good. I couldn’t hold out.”

He eased
himself out of Josh and slid down the bed. Before Josh realised what was
happening, Rupert had Josh’s cock in his mouth and was sucking lightly on the
head.

“Oh God,”
Josh moaned, pushing half-heartedly at Rupert’s head. “You shouldn’t… not
without a condom.”

Rupert
pulled away. “Do you test regularly?”

“Yes,
but—”

“And you’re
negative?” His breath was a hot caress on the tip of Josh’s cock, so
tantalising.

“Yes.”

“Me too.”

There was a
long pause, and then Josh’s cock jerked involuntarily and tapped Rupert on the
chin.

They both
laughed.

“Okay,”
Josh said. “But I’ll warn you when I’m going to come.”

Rupert
didn’t waste any time, sucking Josh down into the silken heat of his mouth
until Josh’s toes curled with pleasure so deep, he knew this wouldn’t take
long. It felt like forever since he’d had another guy’s mouth on him without a
barrier, and it was so damn good. He started to move his hips, unable to stop
himself from thrusting up into that delicious, wet, warmth. Rupert hummed
around him, encouraging him. Then Josh felt Rupert’s fingers circling his hole.

“Yeah,” he
gasped. “Yeah, do it.”

Rupert’s
fingers were dry, and Josh was sensitive from being fucked. It was almost too
much but the curl and press was exactly what he needed. Lightning exploded up
his spine and his hips bucked. “I’m gonna come,” he warned Rupert.

Rupert
pulled off just in time but carried on fucking Josh with his fingers. Come shot
out of Josh’s cock in thick sticky strands as his body locked tight, muscles
straining. Josh groaned, then hissed as it became too much, wriggling away from
those relentless fingers.

“You done?”
Rupert grinned up at him.

“Fuck.
Yeah,” Josh managed weakly, “you could say that. Jesus.”

Rupert
chuckled softly and crawled up the bed to press a soft kiss to Josh’s lips
before collapsing back beside him. “Come here.” He lifted his arm, encouraging
Josh into his embrace.

Josh put
his head on Rupert’s chest. He lost track of how long they lay like that, with
the thud of Rupert’s heart a reassuring beat in Josh’s ear. He was awake but
relaxed, enjoying the feel of Rupert’s arms around him.

Rupert
finally broke the silence by asking, “How long have I got?” and Josh remembered
they were on the clock.

“Dunno,” he
said. “I forgot to check the time when we started. It doesn’t matter. I don’t
have anything else to do tonight, so I’m not in a hurry.”

“Well, I’m
not going to get it up again,” Rupert said, amusement in his voice. “So don’t
hang around on my account.” But he tightened his arms around Josh, and Josh
stayed for a while. Fucked out and sleepy, he was in no rush to move.

CHAPTER FIVE

When they
finalised their arrangements for Friday, Rupert asked Josh to meet him for a
drink first. “As part of the two hours,” he’d assured Josh on the phone.

Josh
agreed, so they met in the bar where Josh had picked him up exactly two weeks
before.

Rupert
arrived early and nursed a whisky and water while he waited for Josh to show.
The anticipation bubbling inside made him feel as though he was on a date. He
had to keep reminding himself that wasn’t what this was. But his heart didn’t
get the memo, and it pounded erratically as Josh walked through the door a few
minutes after nine.

“Sorry I’m
late.” He took the seat opposite Rupert. “I had to wait ages for a turn in the
shower. The curse of living in shared houses.”

He was
flushed and breathless as though he’d been rushing. It reminded Rupert of how
he looked in bed and did nothing to quell the excitement rippling through him.

“No
worries, can I get you a drink?”

“Thanks,
I’ll have a lime and soda.”

“Your
usual?” Rupert’s lips quirked, remembering that was what Josh had been drinking
the first time they’d met.

Josh
smiled. “I suppose.”

Rupert had
to wait a while at the bar to be served. He drummed his fingers impatiently,
aware of the time ticking away while he was here instead of with Josh. Maybe
they should have met in the hotel room again, but Rupert wanted more than a
quick fuck. He caught sight of his reflection in the mirror behind the bar. He
looked good, he thought objectively. He’d picked his clothes carefully tonight:
a crisp white shirt that showed off the breadth of his shoulders and trim
waist, paired with his best jeans.

He felt
suddenly foolish for making the effort to look good for someone he didn’t need
to impress. Josh was a sure thing because Rupert was paying him.

Rupert had
spent all week thinking way too much about Josh. He knew he should have been
sensible and cancelled, made his excuses, and relegated Josh to a wank fantasy.
It was crazy to keep paying someone for sex, to keep craving intimacy with
someone he couldn’t have—not the way Rupert wanted him. But the urge to
see Josh again had been too strong.

“What can I
get you?” The barman’s words pulled Rupert out of his discomfiting thoughts. He
ordered Josh’s drink and carried it back to the table.

Josh’s
smile was welcoming, and he slid over on the bench seat, patting the space
beside him, encouraging Rupert to sit there.

“Cheers.”
Josh raised his glass.

Rupert
clinked his own against it before taking a sip of the bitter whisky.

“Don’t you
ever drink while you’re with… while you’re working?” Rupert tried to make light
of it, but the words stuck in his throat. Again, he wondered what he was doing
here and why he was doing this to himself.

“I don’t
drink at all.” Josh didn’t volunteer any more information, and the closed
expression on his face discouraged Rupert from asking why.

“So, what
do you do in your free time?” he asked instead, trying to get the conversation
flowing. “Do you have time for hobbies?”

“Not much,”
Josh said. “Studying takes up most of my spare time, but I read to relax, or
watch films, sometimes play computer games. I swim too—to keep fit.”

“Indoors?
Or in the sea?”

“Both. But
indoors in the winter. I’m not one of those mad people who swim in the sea all
year round. Have you seen them? There are some people who swim in the middle of
winter.” Josh mock shivered at the thought of it. “They don’t even wear
wetsuits.”

Rupert
chuckled. “Ouch.”

“Yeah. I
use the university pool in the colder weather, but I love swimming in the sea
when it’s warm enough.”

The
awkwardness from before had dissipated. Josh was animated and smiling, and
seeing him like that made Rupert feel warm inside. Their knees brushed where
Josh had angled himself to face Rupert, and the small point of contact was
tantalising. Rupert wanted to touch him all over.

Soon
.

While they
finished their drinks, Rupert answered Josh’s questions about his own hobbies.
They both liked reading, although Rupert was more into contemporary fiction
whereas Josh liked sci-fi and mysteries. There was more crossover in movie
tastes, though they both liked quite a range.

The
slightly halting conversation gradually became easier as they relaxed and
opened up, and it felt like they were on a date. The subtle flirtation of
extended eye contact and the warm pressure where their legs touched made
Rupert’s nerves and excitement build as they got closer to the time where they
would take this somewhere private.

Josh was
fiddling with a beer mat, tearing strips off it with his slender fingers, and
Rupert’s eyes kept getting drawn to the movement. He wondered if Josh was
nervous too and whether this was his way of channelling it.

When both
their glasses were empty, Rupert finally gave in to the urge to reach for Josh.
He took Josh’s hand and laced their fingers together. Squeezing gently, he
asked, “Do you want to get out of here?”

As though
Josh’s answer wasn’t already a foregone conclusion.

Josh paused
for a beat, biting his lower lip, before going along with it. “Yeah, let’s do
that.”

Rupert kept
hold of Josh’s hand as they wove their way between the tables. Josh didn’t try
to pull away, and Rupert felt the thrill of possession as he noticed a few
people glancing their way and noticing their joined hands. The idea they might
assume Josh was his boyfriend made Rupert’s stomach flip, shocked by how much
he wanted that. Once again he found himself wondering what the hell he was
playing at.

Once they
were alone in the hotel lift, Josh reeled him in and kissed him passionately,
erasing all Rupert’s misgivings. Josh threw his head back as Rupert kissed down
his neck, and rode the thigh that Rupert shoved between his legs.

“Fuck,
yes.” Josh wound his fingers into Rupert’s curls and tugged him back up to his
mouth.

Distracted,
they almost missed the lift stopping on their floor. Rupert was glad nobody was
waiting to get in, because they couldn’t keep their hands off each other as
they stumbled down the corridor to the room Josh had booked.

They
stripped as soon as they’d locked the door behind them. Josh seemed as
impatient as Rupert was to touch and taste, and when Josh pulled down his
underwear along with his jeans, his cock was hard and ready. Rupert was glad of
the visible evidence of Josh’s arousal, reassured that Josh wanted him too. He
pulled Josh into his arms for another hungry kiss. Their erections bumped
together, and Rupert took them both in one hand to squeeze and stroke for a
moment. With his other hand, he reached around to cup Josh’s arse, and Josh
moaned into the kiss, pressing his cock into Rupert’s grip so that they slid
together.

Rupert
pulled away. “Get on the bed.” He slapped Josh’s arse lightly as he moved. “No,
on your stomach.”

Josh
complied, lying on his belly, head cradled on his arms. He spread his legs and
tilted his hips invitingly.

Rupert’s
cock jerked as the sight of Josh’s hole—tight and pink, waiting to be
opened. He crawled onto the bed and lowered himself over Josh to kiss his neck
first, and then his shoulders. He started with the inked star at the top of
Josh’s spine, and licked and sucked his way down to the smallest one that lay
between the dimples at the bottom of his back. Rupert dragged his face
deliberately over the smooth skin, tickling Josh with his stubble and making
him squirm before moving lower still. He kissed the pale curves of Josh’s
buttocks, then took one in each hand and opened him up.

“Did you
prep yourself today?” he asked.

“No,” Josh
answered breathlessly. “You said not to.”

“Good.”
Rupert pressed his face into Josh’s crack and licked a long, slow stroke from
his taint up to the star at the base of his spine. Josh gasped as Rupert’s
tongue dragged over his hole and the muscle clenched and released. “Is this
okay?” Rupert asked.

“Yeah.” Josh’s
voice was strained.

Rupert
licked again. This time he stopped at Josh’s hole and lavished his attention
there, circling his tongue and making him wet and slippery. Josh was clean from
his shower but the tang of his body was there under the soap. Masculine and
musky, it made Rupert’s cock ache as it rubbed against the sheets. Josh started
cursing, pushing back against Rupert’s tongue and making little breathy moans
of approval. His body softened, opening up, and Rupert pressed his tongue in,
stabbing it into the muscle in sharp jabs that made Josh gasp. Josh spread his
legs wider, rocking his hips rhythmically as he ground his cock against the
bed.

“You’re
gonna make me come if you don’t stop.” His voice was hoarse, desperate.

Rupert
didn’t stop. He dug his fingers into Josh’s arsecheeks and tongued him harder,
humming encouragement until Josh stilled and came, his hole pulsing around
Rupert’s tongue as he shot his load into the sheets. “Oh… fuck. God that’s….
Fuck
.”

Rupert
never found out what it was, but he assumed it was good if Josh was having
trouble getting the words out. He finally pulled away and wiped his face with
the back of his hand.

“Okay?” He
moved up to lie beside Josh, who seemed barely capable of moving, but managed
to flop over onto his back and smile blearily at Rupert.

“Death by
amazing orgasm,” Josh chuckled. He looked drunk or high, pupils blown wide and
cheeks flushed pink. He glanced down Rupert’s body to his cock. “Give me a few
minutes and I’ll fuck you, or blow you. What do you want?”

“No rush,”
Rupert said, although he wasn’t sure his cock agreed. He rolled closer for a
kiss. That would do for now.

They kissed
lazily for a while, Rupert trying to be patient while Josh came back to life.
He ended up on top of Josh, rubbing off against his stomach in a slow, steady
grind, smearing his precome into the smooth skin as he kissed Josh’s neck. He
was sensitive there, shivering and moaning with every slide of Rupert’s tongue,
every scrape of his stubble. Rupert sucked a little too hard and left a red
mark at the juncture of Josh’s neck and shoulder. He drew back and pressed his
fingers against it. “Oops, sorry.”

“I don’t
care.” Josh tugged Rupert’s head back down and tilted his own head back against
the pillows in an invitation.

It was too
tempting to resist, but Rupert avoided leaving marks high on Josh’s neck. Josh
might say he didn’t care, but maybe he’d like the option to hide them at least.
He wouldn’t be able to hide them from whomever he was seeing tomorrow night,
though—unless he kept his clothes on. That realisation sent a possessive
surge through Rupert, making him suck harder, holding Josh’s skin between his
teeth as he drew the blood to the surface to mark his territory. He worked his
way down Josh’s torso, his kisses turning softer again. When he reached Josh’s
cock, it was half-hard, and Rupert drew it into his mouth and sucked until Josh
was fully erect. Josh made no move to stop him this time, stroking Rupert’s
face as he sucked. After a few minutes, he pushed Rupert’s hair out of his eyes
and said, “I’m ready to go again. Want me to ride you?”

Rupert
nodded, mouth still full of cock, and then he pulled off to grin and say,
“Hell, yes.”

They
swapped positions. Rupert stretched out on his back, and Josh straddled him.
Josh reached for the lube, but Rupert took it from his hand. “Let me.”

He slicked
his fingers and found Josh’s hole, still soft and wet from Rupert’s tongue. Two
fingers went in easily, and Josh moaned, arching back into the sensation.
Rupert thrust them gently, watching Josh for any sign of discomfort, but all he
could see on his face was pleasure. Josh’s cock jutted towards Rupert, bobbing
slightly as he moved.

“Feels
good.” Josh said, eyes closed, and he raised himself up and sank back on
Rupert’s fingers, clenching around them and ratcheting Rupert’s arousal up
sharply.

Suddenly
desperate to get inside that tight heat, Rupert muttered, “Condom?”

Josh moved
to reach for one from the bedside table, his body twisting gracefully and those
internal muscles tightening again as Rupert’s fingers slipped free. Josh ripped
it open and rolled it down Rupert’s shaft in a practised move, then
repositioned himself with the tip of Rupert’s cock pressing against his hole.
He sank back onto it. Rupert gasped as he felt tight, hot pressure around his
crown, and then Josh eased himself all the way down.

“Fuck,”
Rupert hissed, gritting his teeth as he fought for control. “I won’t last
long.”

“I’ll go
slow.” Josh grinned down at him. Completely in control, he started jacking
himself, just sitting on Rupert’s dick. The only thing moving was his hand.
Rupert watched the slide of it, up and down, the head peeking through his fist
on each stroke. Occasionally Josh’s internal muscles would squeeze reflexively,
gripping Rupert’s cock and making him try to push up and get some more
friction, but Josh didn’t budge until Rupert groaned.