Chapter Eighteen

DAKOTA

Dakota’s heart had jumped into his throat at the sharp knock on his front door. Eight years after his parents’ death, and he still expected to find a cop at the door letting him know that his world had collapsed.

In his defense, not a lot of people knocked.

At this hour of the night, odds were it was his new landlord. The man currently occupying approximately eighty-seven percent of his thoughts, the ridiculously sexy and sweet, professional hockey player, Bryce Lowery.

Yeah, he may have spent the last two hours watching YouTube videos of the man in action. Just like he had last night. It was getting to be a habit, something that was between him and his browser history.

Maybe if he ignored Bryce, he would go away.

The next knock was louder. Beezy raised her head and looked sleepily at Dakota as if asking if he was going to do anything about the noise.

“Not even one bark?” he asked the dogs. “Useless. I should give you to a petting zoo.”

Beezy thumped her tail on the couch, hitting Lu in the face. The other dog didn’t budge.

Might as well get this meeting over with. Bryce wouldn’t leave until he laid out all the reasons why Dakota had been wrong today.

With a sigh, Dakota got up to answer the door. Once he had committed to moving, the dogs jumped off the couch, barking loudly, and following him down the narrow hallway. “Useless,” Dakota muttered under his breath as they pushed past him.

He would hear Bryce out, nod in agreement, and then get back to drinking and pretending to read.

As with everything that had happened in the last, oh, forty-eight hours, things had not gone the way Dakota had expected.

From the second Bryce had apologized, Dakota had felt off-balance. Try as he might, he couldn’t find anything underneath Bryce’s words. No hidden meanings, no subtext. How was he supposed to react to a genuine apology?

Kyle had wielded apologies like weapons, granting or withholding them as a way of getting what he wanted.

He knew it wasn’t fair to prejudge Bryce based on his experiences with Kyle, but he couldn’t help it. That relationship had become the baseline against which all other relationships were measured.

Not that he and Bryce were dating. They weren’t even friends. They were just strangers forced together by circumstance.

Now the guy sat in his back room, stomach growling because he hadn’t fed himself all day, and Dakota couldn’t stop staring at the bruise his mouth had left on Bryce’s neck. It peeked out from underneath the collar of his buttoned up and tucked in flannel shirt.

Never mind. Even if Bryce had waved off his apology, Dakota had left him on his own all day. The least he could do was feed him.

“Come on, I’ll make you some food,” he said to Bryce. The man must have to eat six times a day to maintain that muscle mass. “Did you at least grab an apple or two off a tree?”

Bryce stopped in the hallway, mouth hanging open. “It didn’t even occur to me,” he admitted. “I don’t expect food to be literally hanging around.”

Dakota smiled despite his inner turmoil. How could this guy be so physically imposing and so damn cute at the same time?

Before he could stop himself, he reached out, cupping his hand around Bryce’s neck and rubbed his thumb over the purpling mark.

His brain might be confused around Bryce, but his body knew with one hundred percent certainty what it wanted.

So did Bryce’s. He shivered, pupils expanding rapidly.

Dakota slid his fingers up the line of Bryce’s jaw, feeling the combination of new stubble on his freshly shaved face. “I think I like you better without the beard. But I love the plaid.”

Dakota dragged his hand down Bryce’s shirt and turned away before he did something stupid like push Bryce against the wall or drag him into his bedroom.

Dakota had learned the hard way not to trust decisions he made when he was scared and sad and lonely. Especially ones involving gorgeous men who offered to save him.

He’d only been sixteen when his parents had been killed in a car crash. Tommy had been almost as distraught as Dakota, and they’d both been floundering, unable to help each other or themselves.

Kyle had shown up like an answer to a prayer. He’d taken over management of the orchard, leaving Tommy free to handle the myriad details that came with a sudden, horrible death.

Then, a little bit later, Kyle had taken over Dakota. More vulnerable than he’d been since his birth mother had abandoned him at five years old, Dakota had been easy pickings for the older man.

As embarrassing as it was to admit, Dakota had idolized Kyle. When Kyle came into Dakota’s bedroom a few months after he turned seventeen, he had gone to him willingly, eagerly.

Now, when Dakota was grieving the loss of his family for a third time and facing very real fears for his future security, here came Bryce, checkbook in hand, offering to take care of Dakota and make everything better.

Knowing Bryce was nothing like Kyle made it harder to resist. Bryce wasn’t an opportunistic narcissist taking advantage of a vulnerable kid. He was a genuinely nice guy trying to find a way to fix a shitty situation not of his making.

Dakota flipped the kitchen light on and opened the fridge door. He pulled out two unlabeled bottles and handed one to Bryce.

The bottles hissed as they twisted the caps off. “Cheers,” Dakota said, tapping his bottle against Bryce’s.

Bryce lifted his in response. “To new friends.”

Dakota smiled and drank half the bottle down in one long pull. It meshed nicely with the two of its friends already in his stomach.

Bryce held the bottle up to his nose and sniffed. “What is this?”

“Hard apple cider made with apples from your very own trees and honey from your bees.” Dakota struggled to keep the bitterness out of his voice. They should be his trees, his bees.

Bryce’s eyes widened. “Really?”

Dakota nodded.

With a huge smile, Bryce took a large sip.

“Did you eat anything at all today?” he asked Bryce as he pulled food out of the fridge.

“A bit. Not a real meal.” Bryce took another sip of the cider. “This is so good. Don’t worry about it. I had some granola bars in my carry-on, and one of those little bags of pretzels they give you.”

Dakota frowned at him. “That can’t be nearly enough food for a guy your size.” He pulled out some eggs and cheese. “I’m sorry again for ditching you this morning. I just couldn’t deal with it.”

“I don’t blame you at all. It was too much to ask. And despite all the evidence to the contrary, I am a functional adult who can take care of himself.” He poured the last of the cider down his throat.

Watching the way Bryce’s lips wrapped around the neck of the bottle, Dakota couldn’t help but remember that mouth sliding down his cock. All he could think about was how he’d like to slide his ass down Bryce’s gorgeous cock. Was it wrong of him to want to be Bryce’s first everything?

Dakota realized he was staring, so he dragged his gaze away from Bryce’s mouth, only to meet his lust-darkened eyes.

Busted.

Bryce kept his eyes locked on Dakota’s as he slid the bottle slowly out of his mouth.

Dakota’s hands shook as he put down the carton of eggs he’d been holding. “How hungry are you?”

“Not very.” Bryce put the bottle down on the counter.

Dakota picked it up and put it to his lips, tasting Bryce on it. Closing his eyes, he finished the last drops. When he opened them, Bryce stood right in front of him. “Have you ever done something you knew was a tragically bad idea even as you were doing it?”

Bryce smiled wryly. “No. I really haven’t.”

“Do you want to?” Dakota put his hands flat against Bryce’s chest.

“So badly.”

Dakota shoved him against the fridge, the impact making the bottles and boxes stored on top of it rattle ominously.

Bryce wrapped his hands around Dakota’s shoulders pulling them together and trapping Dakota’s arms between them.

Being a resourceful man, Dakota worked on unbuttoning Bryce’s shirt at the same time he crashed their mouths together and kissed the taste of apple cider out of his mouth.

Bryce cradled the back of Dakota’s head with one huge hand, holding him in place. As if he had plans on going anywhere else. Which, come to think of it, he did.

He pulled back just far enough to get his tongue out of Bryce’s mouth. “Bedroom,” he said.

Bryce nodded in agreement and slid his hand down the back of Dakota’s loose pants. He groaned against Dakota’s mouth when he felt bare flesh and grabbed his ass hard.

With one last press of his body against Bryce, Dakota took a step backwards, pulling Bryce with him. His fingers still worked on the buttons of Bryce’s shirt.

The final one popped open, and he pushed it down Bryce’s arms where it got caught on his wrists. “You buttoned the cuffs?” Dakota asked as he reached down and dug through the material for Bryce’s hand. “Who does that?”

He quickly took care of the other wrist, shaking his head as he pulled the shirt out from where Bryce had tucked it into his jeans. “And a belt. So formal.”

Finally, the shirt fell to the floor. Bryce stepped over it, spun them around, and slammed Dakota into the wall, threatening to send several framed photographs crashing to the floor. With one hand, he reached behind himself, grabbed the neck of his t-shirt, and yanked it over his head.

Dakota whimpered at the sight of his bare chest and ran his hands over every inch of skin. Bryce pressed Dakota hard against the wall, sealing their mouths together again and forcing his tongue between Dakota’s lips, tasting every inch of him.

Dakota couldn’t stop pressing his fingers into the strong muscle. He’d never felt anything like Bryce’s body.

Bryce shoved his muscular thigh between Dakota’s legs and pressed up, grinding it against Dakota’s balls and forcing Dakota up onto his toes.

“Holy shit.” Dakota’s head thumped back and his hands dropped down to his sides, scrabbling at the wall for purchase. “You’re a quick fucking learner.”

Bryce took advantage of his lack of coordination and pulled Dakota’s t-shirt off. He stepped back, running his hands down Dakota’s sides until his thumbs caressed his hip bones.

He spread his hands as wide as he could, fingers spanning Dakota’s torso from ribs to hip. “Why is that so fucking sexy?” he whispered to himself.

Dakota grabbed the belt loops of Bryce’s jeans and hauled him back. He manhandled the bigger man down the hall; their mouths joined the entire time and his pants threatening to fall off under Bryce’s assault.

In an impressive display of coordination, Bryce managed to molest Dakota’s mouth while walking backwards and kicking his shoes off and unbuckling his belt.

Bryce yanked Dakota’s head to the side and bit down on the tendon in the curve of his neck. In retaliation, Dakota slammed them into the wall, rattling the flight of wooden birds loosely attached to it. “You fucker.”

He pinched both of Bryce’s nipples at the same time, and Bryce pulled his mouth off Dakota’s neck with a shout, head banging against the wall. “Fuck.”

Dakota grinned and did it again, grinding his cock against Bryce’s. He attacked Bryce’s neck and the sensitive skin under his jaw that had been covered by the beard the last time they had done this.

Bryce’s hands clamped on his ass, rolling their hips together with surprising skill for a beginner. A quiet stream of curses and moans fell from his lips as Dakota continued to torment his nipples and nip and suck at his neck.

Bryce shuddered and turned his head towards the doorway about a foot away from where they stood tangled together. “Is that your room?”

“Yeah.” He dragged his blunt nails down Bryce’s sides.

“Hold on,” Bryce warned him, and then slid his hands around Dakota’s thighs and picked him up.

“Oh fuck,” Dakota wrapped his arms and legs tightly around Bryce’s strong body. He couldn’t stop thrusting his cock against Bryce’s rock hard abs.

When that knee was all healed up, Dakota was going to make Bryce hold him up and fuck him against that very wall.

In the room, Bryce dropped him on the bed. He hit the mattress with a bounce, and then strong hands pushed him down. He lifted his hips so Bryce could rip his pants off.

God, he couldn’t remember the last time someone had wanted him so badly. The look in Bryce’s eyes took his breath away. His heart pounded, and he was halfway to orgasm already. “Pushy for a virgin,” he said.

“Not a virgin,” Bryce reminded him as he shoved his jeans down his legs. Under them, he wore a much smaller brace this time, more neoprene and Velcro than metal and nylon webbing.

“I guess we’re not taking it slow?” Dakota asked.

Bryce’s lustful gaze burned as it raked across Dakota’s naked body. “Do you want to?” Bryce’s eyelids fluttered as he stroked his own cock. “Fuck. I don’t think I’ve ever been this hard,” he said, wonder in his voice.

“Get down here,” Dakota commanded, sliding back further on the bed. “I need to feel you on top of me.”

Bryce moaned softly then quickly but carefully climbed over Dakota. He hovered there on his elbows and toes, his body infuriatingly not touching Dakota’s. His hair hung down and curtained their faces. “You sure I’m not too heavy?”

Dakota grabbed Bryce’s ass and lifted his hips, brushing their cocks together. “I’m not some fragile girl. Now get down here and fuck me.” He spread his thighs and pulled Bryce to him. Bryce shuddered under his hands.

They both groaned as his full weight landed on Dakota, their cocks pressing tightly together. Dakota wrapped his arms around Bryce’s back and twined his legs around Bryce’s legs. He couldn’t touch him in enough places.

He pushed the curtain of hair away from Bryce’s face, biting at his jaw, at his shoulder, anywhere he could reach. “God, I want to eat you alive,” he growled into Bryce’s ear. “Your body is fucking incredible. You feel incredible.”

Bryce whimpered, hips driving into Dakota’s, dragging the hot sticky skin of their cocks against each other and pushing Dakota down.

Bryce’s fingers tightened on Dakota’s biceps, each thrust of his hips forcing a soft, deep grunt out of Bryce.

Dakota dragged his nails down Bryce’s back, looking over his shoulder at the red trails they left behind. Something about the strength and size of Bryce’s body brought out this part of Dakota that wanted to batter itself against the larger man; to leave his mark on his skin alongside the scars and bruises other men had put there.

“Fuck. God, Dakota. It feels so good. So good.” Bryce’s voice was strained and tight.

“I can’t wait for you to fuck me into this mattress,” Dakota confessed.

“Oh fuck, God. You can’t… I can’t…” Now he sounded pained.

Dakota twined a hand in Bryce’s hair and yanked his head up to see the beautiful agony on his face. “The things I want to do to you.”

All the things he wanted to do, he wanted to do for Bryce, with Bryce, not just to him. Helping Bryce discover what he liked, teaching Bryce how much pleasure he can get with another man, was a gift Dakota wanted to give him. He needed to make Bryce’s discovery of his sexuality something good, something joyous.

Kyle had taken what he wanted from Dakota, done what he wanted, always confident that he knew best. He’d added a layer of shame on top of the sexual pleasure. Shame when Kyle mocked him for his hesitantly revealed desires, shame when he had to keep their relationship hidden.

Bryce pushed up and away from Dakota, bracing himself on his hands and one knee. He panted, sides heaving like he’d just run a marathon. “Do you really want that?” he asked Dakota, eyes wide. “Do you really want me to fuck you?”