Valor on the Move (33 page)

Shane chuckled as heat tingled through him. “Want to see me touch myself?”

Even though he blushed furiously, Rafa kept his gaze on Shane’s. “Yeah. I want that.”

Shane disentangled himself so he could reach the lube on the side table. He bent up his left leg, giving himself some purchase while not blocking Rafa’s view on his right side. Slicking his palm, Shane stroked his cock, which had been twitching to life for the past few minutes and now swelled in his hand. He groaned, and Rafa did too.

“Oh my God, I’m going to shoot in five seconds.” Rafa tugged on his dick, which was indeed straining already.

“Don’t touch yourself. I’m going to make you come after.”

Nodding eagerly, Rafa pushed up and sat back on his heels, keeping his hands behind him. His cock bobbed, glistening, and Shane licked his lips. Rafa watched him avidly, his lips parting as Shane twisted his own nipples and thrust up into his hand. Shane didn’t think anyone had watched him jerk off since he was a kid messing around with the other boys down at the beach, and the way Rafa looked at him like he was the sexiest, most amazing thing he’d ever seen sent another surge of possessive energy through Shane.

He wanted to show Rafa everything. Teach him how good it could be, with no shame or hang-ups or other people’s bullshit. Spreading his legs more, Shane reached down to tease his balls. “This is all for you, Rafa. No one else.”

As Shane worked himself, breathing hard, Rafa watched. He was so beautiful, and Shane felt like the luckiest bastard in the whole damn world.

“Don’t come yet,” Rafa murmured breathlessly, his eyes locked on Shane’s groin. “I want you inside me again.”

Shane smiled to hear Rafa give an order of his own. “Yeah? You know what you want?”

“Uh-huh.” His Adam’s apple bobbed and his cock leaked.

The urge to bury himself in Rafa any way he could was building and building, but Shane forced a deep breath. “I don’t want to hurt you, baby. It’s only been a couple hours, and—”

“I know what I want.” Rafa scrambled onto his hands and knees. “Like this. Please. I’ve always… I want you to take me from behind.”

With a groan, Shane pushed to his knees. They both moaned as he leaned over Rafa and licked down his spine. He spread Rafa’s ass and blew a stream of air over his hole. It was red and would surely be sore tomorrow, but Rafa was pushing back desperately.

Shane took his time, using so much lube it was dripping down Rafa’s thighs. Rafa panted and grunted, and when Shane eased inside him as gently as he could, Rafa cried out and pushed back.

“Fuck, Shane. It’s so much better than…”

He thrust deeper. “What?”

“When I would use my fingers and pretend it was you.”

Shane groaned as he pushed into Rafa’s body. “Did imaginary me fuck your tight ass good?”

“Uh-huh. Don’t stop.”

Shane didn’t think he could if he tried, especially as Rafa squeezed around him. It felt so good without rubber between them, and he was so grateful that they could have this.

“I’ll never let anyone hurt you again.” The words spilled out. “Never,” Shane muttered, running his hands over Rafa’s back.

“I know, Shane.” Rafa looked back at him with trust shining in his eyes. “Me either.”

When Shane eased out a few inches and pushed back in, Rafa cried out so prettily, dropping his head. Fuck, he was everything Shane had imagined, but so much more. So free and generous, moaning his pleasure as sweat slicked their skin.

His hips bumped against Rafa’s ass, and he watched as he thrust in and out. Shit, he wasn’t going to last long at this rate. Tangling his fingers in Rafa’s curls, he leaned over and lifted his head for a messy kiss.

On the next stroke, he found Rafa’s prostate, rubbing over the swollen nub as Rafa called out, grunting and panting. Shane dug his fingers into Rafa’s hips, wanting to empty himself so badly, but not before Rafa came.

Reaching around, he jerked Rafa’s rigid cock, whispering into his ear the words he knew he wanted to hear. “Going to fill you with my cum until it’s leaking out of you. You want that?”

“Yes, yes, yes.” It was like a prayer as Rafa spread his knees wider and dropped to his elbows, jerking as he spurted on the tangled sheets.

He clamped down on Shane’s cock, and it was Shane’s turn to come, his mouth open as he emptied himself. The sensation of spilling right into him made Shane’s eyes roll back and his hips snap forward, rutting against Rafa’s ass.

Gasping, Shane bent forward and braced his hands on the mattress. He pressed kisses to Rafa’s back and shoulders, the salt of his sweat tangy on his lips. He was still inside him, and it was wet and messy and
wonderful
.

Curls tickling his nose, he kissed the back of Rafa’s damp neck. “How was that?”

Rafa’s voice was raw. “It was okay, I guess.”

The laughter burst out of Shane, joy and warmth shaking his limbs as he collapsed. He pulled out and stretched his legs, lifting up enough for Rafa to stretch out too before covering his body again. Tenderly, Shane touched his fingertips to Rafa’s sticky hole. “I’ll try to do better next time.”

“Mmm. Could you?” Rafa mumbled. “That would be great.”

“So you’re a wiseass in bed, huh?”

Rafa turned his head. “I guess sometimes I am.” He frowned. “Is that weird?”

Pressing a kiss to his cheek, Shane murmured, “That’s perfect.”

A sharp wind danced off the waves, and Rafa shivered as he stepped off the back porch of Shane’s little house. The sand was cold as the sun made its way above the horizon, but he still dug his toes into it as he walked toward the Pacific’s edge, his jeans rolled up past his ankles. Stopping short of where the sand was wet, he turned on his phone, laughing at the extended text from Ashleigh.

I’m going to take your silence as a positive sign that you and your man are fucking ten ways to Sunday. When you’re able to climb off his undoubtedly well-endowed dick for a few minutes, send me an update. Things in New York are pretty good. My job at the modeling agency is soul-sucking, but your sister-in-law remains the sweetest and took me to a party to network with fashion types. My parents barely acknowledged my birthday, but whatever. Oh, and there’s one new thing. I met a girl at a bar last night who is a DaVinci and a half. Her name is Penelope. (For real.) Babe, I’m in love.

He quickly typed out a response.

It was actually eleven ways to Tuesday. We spent practically the whole day and night in bed. My ass is sore, and I’ve never been this happy in my entire life. He’s coming with me to Australia. It’s happening, Ash. Have fun with Penelope, and I’ll tell you all the details later. Love you. Breaking it to Mom and Dad now. Light a candle for me.

Taking a deep breath, he hit their number in his contacts. While it rang, he listened to the sleepy gulls cawing over the rolling surf.

“Rafa? Hello, darling. We got your text yesterday that you’re safe and sound. Is the hotel all right? You’re sure it’s not in a bad area?” His mother’s voice went distant. “Ramon! It’s Rafa.” She spoke into the phone again. “He’s just coming in from shoveling the driveway.”

Rafa smiled. “You’re really back to the real world, huh?”

“Indeed. Well, we still have a detail outside, of course. One of them helps shovel. Lovely young man.”

“How’s the new house?”

“We’re still settling in. It’s…well, it’ll be just fine. A good amount of property, so we can’t see the road or the neighbors. It’s nice to have privacy again. Well, it’s mostly private. Oh, here’s your father. Let me put you on speaker.”

“There’s no one else there? No agents inside?”

“No, they don’t come in the house. They’re set up in a granny cottage out back, and they patrol the property. There are cameras on the perimeter as well, of course. But most of the time I forget the agents are there.” Her voice went tinny. “Can you hear us? You’re on the speaker.”

“Yep. Hi, Dad.”

“Hello, Rafa.” His father’s rich baritone echoed down the line. “How was the flight? I see it’s eighty-five in Sydney today. I hope you’re appreciating it, because New Jersey is cold as a…cold thing.”

Rafa laughed, imagining his mother’s glare. Then his smile faded, and he swallowed down a swell of nerves as butterflies went to town in his belly. “Actually, I’m not in Australia.”

Silence. Then his mother spoke. “What do you mean? Where are you?”

“In Laguna Beach. I changed my flight so I had a stopover in LA. Not just a connection.”

“All right,” she said. He could imagine his parents exchanging glances and having a silent conversation. “Are you visiting your sister? Neither of you mentioned this.”

“I did crash with her on Friday night.” Digging his toes into the cold sand, he inhaled and exhaled deeply, his shoulders almost brushing his ears before dropping back down. “Now I’m with Shane Kendrick.”

More silence. This time it continued.

Rafa went on. “Uh, he was the Secret Service agent who—”

“We know who he is,” Ramon said tightly. “What are you doing there with him?”

With his free hand, Rafa tugged on the strings of his hoodie. “We’re…well, I came to see him. He transferred out here after the kidnapping. I…I have feelings for him, and I wanted to see if he felt the same.” It was true enough. Minus the fact that anything had happened in DC.

“Feelings,” Camila echoed.

“Um, yeah. I know this must be surprising to you. It surprised us too.”

“Us. There’s an ‘us’?” Ramon asked. “He returns your…feelings?”

Rafa gripped the strings, pulling them tight. “He does. And I know he’s older than me—”

“Yes, he certainly is!” Camila’s voice raised. “Exactly how old is this man?”

“Forty, but it doesn’t matter. We really care about each other.”

Camila sputtered. “It most certainly matters!”

“Rafael, I want an honest answer,” Ramon commanded. “Did this man do anything to take advantage of you while he was on your detail?”

“No! I swear, he didn’t.” It was the truth—Shane had never taken advantage. “Look, I understand why you’d think that, but it’s not like that. I’m not a child. I’m twenty-two now. You guys were practically married at my age. I know what I want. And I want to be with him.”

His mother exhaled sharply. “So you’re abandoning your plans for Australia? The Cordon Bleu? Throwing away your dreams?”

“No! Of course not. Shane’s coming with me. He quit the service. He’s going to do security work down there.”

After another silence, his father asked, “How long has this been going on? How long did you plan this without saying a word to us?”

“We didn’t plan anything. Honestly. I showed up yesterday, and we talked, and we realized we both want the same thing. To make a go of this. To make a go of being together. Maybe it won’t work, but if we don’t try, we’ll never know. And I know I’d always regret it.”

“So you realized these feelings for each other while he was protecting you,” Ramon said.

“Well…yeah. And after the kidnapping, he transferred because he knew it was a conflict of interest. He knew we couldn’t see each other anymore. He’s not…I understand why you’d think he’s taking advantage or whatever, but he’s a good man. And he really cares about me. He…he loves me. And I love him.”

His heart thumped as another silence hung between them.

“Darling.” Camila sounded pained. “I think it’s likely very normal for people to develop strong feelings after experiencing a life-and-death incident. But…”

“It’s not that, Mom. It really isn’t. I know it’s weird for you—me actually dating a guy.”

“A
man
, Rafa!” she exclaimed.

“But I’m a man too, Mom. I’m not a kid anymore.”

She sighed. “We’ve tried very hard to support you and encourage you to be happy. We really have, darling. But you should be seeing boys your own age!”

“It’s not what I want. Last semester I tried it. I met other guys at school. But I don’t want anyone else. I love Shane. I
love
him.”

After another pause, Ramon said, “Well. This was certainly not the phone call we were expecting, Rafa.”

“I know. I’m sorry to spring it on you. But I needed to see if he even wanted to be with me.” A powerful wave washed higher on the beach, and Rafa jumped back just in time to avoid a soaking. He smiled to himself. “And he does want to be with me. I just…I can’t tell you how happy I am.”

His father said, “Things can be wonderful when they’re brand new. But when the shine wears off…”

“Then we’ll see what happens,” Rafa insisted. “We love each other, and we’re going to make it work. We’ll never know if we don’t try. Don’t you remember when you were first in love?”

“Vaguely,” Camila replied dryly. “But love is hard work, Rafa.”

“I know. But I’m not going to give up on something I want—something that makes me so, so happy—just because it won’t always be easy. You didn’t teach us to be quitters. You always said anything worth having is worth hard work.”

His father’s voice had a smile in it. “I suppose you’ve got us there.” He sighed. “And I don’t suppose we really have a choice but to accept this.”

Grinning, Rafa danced away from another wave, not caring that his feet were like ice now. “You said you were worried about me going to Australia alone. Well, not only will I have company, but he’ll keep me safe too.”

“He’d damn well better,” Camila snapped.

Rafa laughed. “Language, Mom.”

“Yes, yes. When are you going to Sydney now?”

“Soon. Shane just has a few things to wrap up.”

“Perhaps we should visit California before you go,” Ramon said. “We can get to know this man better.”

Rafa sucked in a breath. “Oh, uh, I don’t think there’s time.” He imagined sitting across from his parents in Shane’s living room, the Secret Service lingering outside while they make awkward conversation.
Shit, we’ll go tomorrow if we can.
“Besides, aren’t you guys doing that event for the foundation?”

“We are,” Camila said. “You’re off the hook. For now. Australia isn’t really so far away.”

“That would be great if you came to visit.” At least he’d have a couple months to plan awkward conversation topics. Glancing over his shoulder, Rafa saw Shane on the porch with a mug. He lifted it and nodded toward the house. “I’ve got to go. But I’ll talk to you guys soon, okay? I’ll give you my new itinerary when I have it. And thanks. For not completely freaking out and stuff.”