Strongman (23 page)

When Griff spoke, Fort was so lost in the fluid line of his spine, the flex of his buttocks, that he missed it. “What?” he said stupidly.

“Cloth?” said Griff patiently, obviously not for the first time.

Fort pointed. “Cupboard.” It was amazing. That uncomfortable spiky feeling in his gut had disappeared, gone as if it had never been.

“Lie back.” Hard hands shoved him in the middle of the chest and he stretched out, automatically avoiding the wet spot. Griff chuckled. Then he wiped Fort’s stomach with the warm wet cloth, moving down to his genitals and his thighs.

Fort lifted his gaze to the little wooden figure of the Goddess in the worship niche.

What did She think now She’d had Her way with him? Was She pleased?

I give you joy
,
child
.

He ran his hand up Griff’s thigh, enjoying the feel of the long muscle beneath the hair-dusted skin, the latent power of it. The tumbler purred, pushing into his touch.
This
was his joy, this wondrous, infuriating being of muscle and quicksilver wit and warmth. Fort’s throat closed and he swallowed hard.

Griff finished cleaning himself up and tossed the cloth aside. Scooping up a shirt from the floor, he laid it over the wet spot and stretched out next to Fort with a contented grunt, his head on his shoulder.

“Hey!” Fort gripped a fistful of silky golden-brown hair and tugged. “That’s my shirt!”

Griff winked, unrepentant. “Of course.” He wriggled closer. “Twister, this bed’s small.”

“Come here.” Fort hauled the other man on top of him, their bodies sealed together from chest to knee, their legs tangling.

125

Denise Rossetti

Griff buried his nose in Fort’s neck. “You like this. You did it last time.”

“Mmm.” Fort skimmed his palms over the strong knobs of Griff’s spine, kneaded a taut buttock.

Griff nibbled a tingling path down the strong muscle in the side of Fort’s neck.

“Never thought of you as the cuddly type.” He slid a hand over the big man’s chest, took a nipple between his fingers and tugged.

The caress echoed in Fort’s genitals as if a line of fire connected the two points. “Go to hell,” he managed.

The other man chuckled, low and wicked. “Then I’m taking you with me.”

Fort’s heartbeat throbbed in the head of his cock, a delightful, nagging ache. He shifted his hips, rubbing his swelling length against Griff’s. The tumbler lifted his head, his dark eyes twinkling with wicked pleasure. Humming under his breath, he licked Fort’s lower lip, teasing and nipping.

“Griff?”

“Mmm?”

“I have to go back to work soon.”

“So?” The tumbler slithered down and sucked Fort’s nipple into his mouth. He bit, simultaneously taking the other man’s shaft in a strong, confident grip.

“
Lufra
!” Fort arched under the lash of the small pain. “Can we— I need—”

Griff lifted his head. “No rush. They won’t expect to see you again today.” He swapped sides to torture the other nipple. His busy fingers squeezed Fort’s girth, rubbed and caressed. He murmured into his skin. “Gods, you taste good.” Then he added, “Or even tomorrow.”

Fort’s brain was all muzzy and dazed. He struggled. “Why?”

The tumbler licked a long trail across Fort’s belly, blew on it. “I saw Leo on the way in.”

Fort shot upright. “
You told him
?”

“Didn’t have to.” Griff kneeled between his thighs, Fort’s cock still held in a businesslike grip. “They know,” he said. “For Twister’s sake, they’d have to be blind as well as stupid!”

“Shit!” Fort reached down and wrapped his hand around Griff’s. “Stop,” he growled. “I can’t think.” A hot shaming wave flooded over him.
Crookedness
.

“No.” Griff’s jaw bunched. He leaned forward, his sloe eyes snapping. “Get it through your thick skull, Fort.
They don
’
t fucking care
. No one cares but you.” Abruptly, he released the other man and sat back on his heels. “I will not be your dirty little secret.” His cheeks flushed. “You said you love me. I heard you.”

Fort shut his eyes and counted five breaths.
Lufra
,
give me strength
. He opened them again. “Yes.” Slowly, he reached out and took the tumbler’s face in his hands. “I did. I do. But I told you I was fucked up.”

126

Strongman

Griff snorted. “You’re big enough and mean enough to cope. It’s too late anyhow.

They probably knew before you did.”

Two feathery tails twining together with nonchalant, explicit intimacy. What would Jan do if someone sneered at him and Mirry? Fuck, that was easy. Kill them.

Fort huffed out a pained laugh. He couldn’t kill everyone. Hell, the whole Fair knew and he hadn’t even been aware of it. There’d been no sniggers, no sidelong looks.

He wasn’t a boy any longer, caught in the grip of the Straight Church. Fuck, he knew how to be intimidating, didn’t he? He’d made a career of it. Hiding wasn’t an option, not anymore. Anyway, how much worse could it get? He already knew nothing could be worse than losing Griff.
Nothing
.

The tumbler was still speaking. “Did you know Leo shares a wagon with the barman from the grog tent? And it’s not platonic.”

“Really? Who else?”

Casually, Fort ran his hands down Griff’s arms to his wrists. Then he tightened his grip, jerking the other man down hard, flat on his back with his arms over his head.

Griff stared up at him, his eyes wide, his mouth open.

“You ruined my bed,” growled Fort, dropping over him with his full weight. Griff grunted with the impact. “And gods, you’re going to pay.”

Griff’s eyes narrowed and he flexed his arms. “Who’s going to make me?”

Fort thrust his face into the other man’s. “I am, pretty boy.” A rusty chuckle bubbled out of him. “Lufra, you should see your face.”

“Fuck it, I am
not
pretty!” Griff surged up, so strong that Fort had to put real effort into keeping him pinned. “I can take you any day, old man.”

Fort circled his hips in a leisurely fashion, rubbing his erection against Griff’s. He raised a taunting brow. “You think? Didn’t do too well last time.”

Griff’s eyes went brilliant with excitement and lust. “Come with me to the practice tent.”

“Uh-huh.” Fort delivered a long lick across Griff’s chest, flicking a rosy-brown nipple on the way past, relishing the other man’s helpless shudders. “Why?”

“Mats. On the floor.” Griff writhed under his seeking mouth, his hips arching. “All kinds of equipment. Do you know what I’m going to do to you when I win?”

“Cocky little shit, aren’t you?”

Griff stretched, flaunting himself in Fort’s grip. “In every possible way.” He lowered his voice to a lazy murmur. “I’m going to do everything you’ve done to me, Fort.”

Lufra
’
s tits
! All the blood in Fort’s body spilled into his cock, so that it reared like a trained vran and he felt dizzy. Gods, what if he lost? They were so evenly matched, only luck had given him victory last time. Shit, the bastard was as clever as a fellwolf and very nearly as strong. Heat exploded at the base of Fort’s spine, stealing his breath, sizzling into his skull, frying his brain.

127

Denise Rossetti

When he came to, he found he had both Griff’s wrists in one hand, the hot bulk of the other man’s cock in a stranglehold in the other fist. He was pumping ruthlessly fast, sliding the satin skin over the rigid core. The tumbler was gasping, his face contorted, sweat pouring off him. His hips hammered up, thrusting into Fort’s grip.

“Let me—” Griff jerked his wrists. “
Please
.”

Something in his tone, perhaps the word itself, wrapped itself around Fort’s heart and squeezed. He opened the fingers holding Griff’s wrists. The moment he was released, Griff reared up, pulling Fort’s head down into a bruising kiss, all thrusting tongue and desperate suction. Strong fingers seized Fort’s cock and stroked, a hard, confident pull that shattered his control, fractured and remade his soul. The offering surged, spraying out of him endlessly. Every time he thought it had finished, the feel of Griff’s shaft spurting in ecstasy in his hand, his throaty whimpers, pushed it higher and higher, until his whole world narrowed to sensation so pure it
hurt
. Ah gods, an absolute perfection of hurt!

They lay in a tangle of limbs, chests heaving, too spent for speech.

Eventually, Fort raised his head from Griff’s chest. “Winner takes all?”

The tumbler’s fingers moved in his hair. “Yes, and then I get to fuck your virgin ass.”

Fort raised an ironic brow, but he was shaking so hard, he knew Griff wouldn’t be deceived. “No tumbling for another month, wasn’t that what Tril said?”

Griff swore under his breath, but he nodded.

“Right. I won’t risk it, not until it’s time. But when it is…” He bared his teeth and got a fierce, blood-heating grin in return. “I’ll tie you down, make you scream.”

Griff made a face at him. “Sure, strongman. If you can.”

Fort let that one go. The fingers moving rhythmically back and forth over his scalp were making his eyelids droop. His thoughts all muffled and ponderous, he floated off somewhere warm and soft and dark, his cheek pillowed on the muscled plane of Griff’s chest. From very far away, he heard the tumbler’s voice, slow and thoughtful. “This is going to work.” A hard knee nudged his thigh. “
Isn
’
t it
?”

“Uh-huh.” He was too comfortable to move, too content, too
complete
.

I give you joy
,
child
.

128

About the Author

When Denise Rossetti was very young, she had an aunt who would tell her the most wonderful fairy stories—all completely original. Denise grew up, as little girls do, but the love of stories has never left her. It was only when she dared herself to write down the secret sagas in her head, that life become
really
interesting!

Denise remains an incurable romantic. She loves happy endings, heart-stopping adventure and the eventual triumph of good over evil. All hail the guys in the white hats, she says. Unless the ones wearing black are more...um...intriguing?

She lives in a comfortable, messy old house in the Australian suburbs with her darling husband of more-years-than-she-cares-to-remember. And yes, she knows how lucky she is. She has one of everything that matters—one husband, one son, one daughter, one dog, one cat and, thank heavens, one cleaning lady. Denise is small and noisy and dreadfully uncoordinated and tends to wave her hands around a lot, which can be unfortunate if the tale she's telling happens to have explosions in it!

Denise welcomes comments from readers. You can find her website and email address on her author bio page at www.ellorascave.com.

Tell Us What You Think

We appreciate hearing reader opinions about our books. You can email us at [email protected].

Also by Denise Rossetti

Ellora’s Cavemen: Seasons of Seduction I
anthology

Phoenix Rising 1: Gift of the Goddess

Phoenix Rising 2: Tailspin

Discover for yourself why readers can’t get enough of the multiple award-winning publisher Ellora’s Cave. Whether you prefer e-books or paperbacks, be sure to visit EC

on the web at www.ellorascave.com for an erotic reading experience that will leave you breathless.

www.ellorascave.com