Aden was shocked by Brody’s story but made sure it didn’t show on his face. When he’d seen the older man in Brody’s hall, he’d been taken aback, then alarmed by his intensity. He wore smart clothes and spoke like a BBC news presenter, but appearances were deceptive. The guy had been poisoning Brody from the day he’d touched him.

But Brody had no idea how bad Aden would be for him. Even with his month trying to be good, Aden was not the solution to Brody’s problems. The irony was that Aden would probably have been better for Brody if he’d been his normal self. Fun to fuck around with for a while. Now, if Aden let anything happen, he ran the risk of making Brody’s life worse.

He hadn’t told Brody the truth about his past. He hadn’t been lying about Bradshaw, but he hadn’t been the first. No one was ever going to hear about that. Part of him was disappointed Brody had let himself get used for so long, but he’d been a kid and the teacher had mesmerised him. The teacher wasn’t just a nuisance, he was a threat. Aden hoped Brody meant what he’d said about not calling him.

Though who was he to judge weakness? He’d fucked up his own life by letting his past mess with his head. Brody had made mistakes, done some stupid fucking stuff, but at least tonight he’d told the teacher to leave. Just as long as he didn’t take him back.

Because you’re going to be in his life?

No, but… Maybe Raphael would let him stay if he and Brody fell in love. Yet how could that happen? No one returned after they died. Why should Aden be an exception? If he was, and it was a big if, they’d probably take his memories to stop him revealing what happened after death.

Fuck it, what a mess.

Aden pushed his empty plate away. “That was really good. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. You want something else? Food,” Brody added quickly.

Aden raised his eyebrows. “What else are you offering?”

“Ice cream.”

“I’ll pass.”

Brody’s gaze skittered away from Aden’s face and he got up to put the plates and cutlery in the dishwasher. When he began to wipe down a counter top that didn’t need wiping, Aden knew the guy was having trouble.

“What’s wrong?” Aden asked.

Brody sighed. “I feel like a stupid wanker.”

“You are a stupid wanker.”

Brody spun round.

“Join the club.” Aden pushed to his feet. “There’s an upside to making a mistake, and that’s recognizing you made it and not doing it again.”

“I did do it again. And again. And again.”

“You drew the line when you moved here. Draw it again now. You don’t have to call him, don’t have to see him. He’s history. Leave him there.”

Brody tossed the cloth in the sink. “You make it sound easy. I’ve known him so long.”

“And how many of those years were happy? There are a lot of things in life that are hard. This isn’t one of them. Don’t open the door to him. He’s not good for you.” Aden finished off his wine and put the glass on the counter.

Brody picked it up and placed it in the dishwasher. “Have you ever done something you wish you hadn’t?”

His voice was sulky and Aden guessed that was born of embarrassment.

Aden shoved his hands in his pockets and leaned against the wall. “I’ve done the wrong thing all my life. I once did something very bad. But do I wish I hadn’t? I don’t know. Once I’d got my head around it, it felt like I’d done the right thing. Later, I wasn’t so sure. Now I try not to think about it. Maybe my life would have been the same fucked up mess whether I’d done it or not. But knowing what I did, well I’ve had to live with that and it hasn’t been easy.”

Don’t ask me what I did because it’s a million times worse than what you did.

“I shouldn’t have gone into the stockroom with Matt.”

“He shouldn’t have taken you in there,” Aden snapped. “This is entirely his fault. Not yours.”

“I’ve—”

“I know what you’ve done. I can imagine what you’ve not told me. You can’t take the sort of risks you talked about without getting hurt. But the teacher fucked you up. The first time he raised you up to think he wanted you, he started to knock you down, make you dependent. He’s to blame. Not you.”

“But I kept—”

“Because of him. Because you were a kid and he took advantage. But you’re not a kid now.”

“I don’t want him back in my life.”

Aden smiled. “That’s the right thing to say, though my guess is you’ve said it before.”

Brody rested against the counter. “That’s true, but each time I say or think it, I feel stronger. This is the first time I’ve turned him down and felt I meant it.”

“Good.”

“Because of you. You made me believe it.”

Brody had whispered but Aden caught the words.

“I’m glad you were here,” Brody said. “He worried me tonight.”

He’d worried Aden as well.

“He’s too strong for me,” Brody said. “Though I get that he’s also weak because he uses his strength to get what he wants.”

“That’s not much consolation if he’s hurting you.”

Brody let out a long breath. “Tell me more about you.”

“I say my prayers every night. I help old ladies across the street. I give away my money to those who need it more.” Aden frowned. “And I lie. I’m selfish, self-absorbed, self-indulgent and I have a fucking filthy mouth.” Dante’s words flooded back. “There’s no charity in me, no patience, kindness or humility. I care for no one. Not even myself. I have no compassion.”

“That’s a load of crap. You’re kind. You do care. You have compassion. You listen. You understand. I like your filthy mouth.”

A shot of pleasure filled Aden’s veins. “Part of me wants to be a better guy, but the other part of me is stronger. I’m trying to be good now. But you’re very tempting.”

Brody’s eyes widened. “I nearly missed that. I was imagining you on your knees saying your prayers with that filthy mouth.”

Aden chuckled. “I did pray when I was kid. Didn’t work so I stopped.”

“Maybe it did work. Maybe it just took a long time for your prayers to be answered.”

“Er…I think I’d have noticed a million quid in my bank account.”

Brody smiled. “Was money all you wanted?”

“When I was a kid? Yep. I thought money could solve everything. It would have.”

“How can you think you’re a bad man when you saved my nephew’s life, saved my brother’s dog, helped rescue those sheep, stayed when you saw Matt?”

But they weren’t selfless acts. He knew he couldn’t die, and what was Matt going to do with Aden watching?

“And Captain knows a good thing when he sees one.” Brody smiled. “Me too. If you hadn’t stayed tonight, I don’t know how far Matt would have gone.”

“Yeah, you do. He wouldn’t have listened to no. He’d have raped you, then made you believe it wasn’t rape at all.”

Brody pressed his lips together.

“I’ve been trying to be good this week,” Aden said. “But after that meal my resistance is low.” Aden took a step toward him. “Time to back away if you’re not up for this. My timing is crap, but maybe we can both forget stuff for a while.”

Brody moved forward and Aden felt the familiar lurch in his gut. He knew it was a mistake, that Brody was damaged enough without him making matters worse with a quick fuck and swift departure tomorrow. Even with twenty-two days left, there was no way Aden could make himself worthy of love, or fall in love. The impossibility of that was becoming all too clear, but he didn’t see why he needed to deprive himself or Brody of sex, fun, a short period of happiness. Brody wanted him. He wanted Brody. Sick as it was, he sort of liked that the guy was fucked up. Luckily not as fucked up as him.

They stood inches apart. Aden brushed his fingers against Brody’s and his heart gave a hard thump against his ribs.

“I’m thinking back to the first time I saw you,” Brody said. “You looked so sexy.”

“When you thought I was dead?” Aden filled his voice with mock-horror.

“Yeah. Necrophilia.” Brody ran his tongue over his lips. “Did I mention it was a hobby?”

“Any others I should know about? I mean I already know you earn a living sticking your hands up animals’ backsides. I’m not into that by the way. Neither doing it, nor having it done.”

“I never seem to have made time for hobbies. Too busy sticking my hands up animals’ backsides.”

“Which hand?”

“Right.”

Aden took hold of Brody’s left hand. Brody laughed then choked the sound off. Aden’s heart was pounding so hard now he could hear it in his head. He felt as if it had lurched into his throat and he swallowed hard against the obstruction.

“You feel…something?” Aden asked.

“Anguished anticipation? Yeah.”

“I thought the earth’s magnetic poles just switched.”

Brody clutched his fingers more tightly.

“I have to admit at this point, I have no idea what I’m doing,” Aden said.

“What?”

“The last time I was thinking about sex, I tugged a guy into a bathroom stall and fucked him. There was no handholding. I’m not sure we exchanged more than a few words.”

“When did you last fuck someone?”

The concert. The memory flashed back. He’d been in the bathroom, walked out and … What? He blinked. “Not long ago. Not since I met you.”

Brody took a deep breath. “That guy in the bathroom stall could have been me.”

“Nope, I’m pretty sure it wasn’t. I’d have remembered you. What about you? When did you last have sex?”

“Not since I met you.”

Aden smiled, then remembered the bruises and scratches on Brody’s face and his smile faded. “What happened?”

Brody’s gaze skittered to the side and Aden knew he was going to lie. “Bathroom stall.”

“And you’d said yes?”

“Not after,” Brody whispered.

Oh God.

“Don’t want to think about it.” Brody rubbed Aden’s hand with his thumb.

Shit. Aden wanted him so much, he hurt, but now he was even more worried about making things worse.

“Don’t,” Brody said. “I want this. Okay? I trust you.”

Double shit. But Aden liked that they were both finding their way. Liked that holding hands made his heart beat fast and his cock swell against his zipper. He slid his free hand to the back of Brody’s neck and threaded his fingers in his hair. Brody’s tongue ghosted across Aden’s cheek and when their lips met Aden wasn’t sure who’d moved first, if they’d both advanced at the same time, whether it mattered. He’d managed to go slowly up to now, but a rush of blood from his head to his groin propelled his tongue into Brody’s mouth.

Their tongues tangled as they pulled each other close, erections colliding, hips clashing, hands grabbing. It wasn’t that Aden never kissed, he did, but there was something more in this kiss, some connection. Just the same as they had last time. Or is that wishful thinking? Oh fuck, how am I supposed to know if what I feel means something?

“You taste good,” Brody mumbled into Aden’s mouth.

“Your triple cooked chips.”

The kiss grew rougher as they clutched each other tighter. Fighting yet not fighting, just tussling for dominance until Aden had Brody pinned against the counter, rocking his hips against him, eating at his mouth. Then Brody spun and pinned him and that felt so right, so perfect that Aden forgot he was usually the leading partner, forgot he needed to breathe. As they rutted together, they sucked and nipped and licked, kissed for so long that when they broke apart gasping noisily for air, it was almost as if they’d just climbed their way of out some deep hole to be born into a new world.

“Fuuuuck,” Brody panted into Aden’s shoulder.

Aden was consumed by need, too impatient to move somewhere more comfortable. They pulled at buttons and zippers until they had each other’s cocks in their hands. Long and uncut. Like mine. Aden ran his finger along a vein and over the slit.

Then they were kissing again, grinding their bodies together, trying to crawl inside each other, their hands caught between them, fingers and cocks soaked with precome.

Aden spit on the fingers of his other hand, slid it down the sensitive skin of Brody’s lower back, then wormed his way inside his chinos and onto his butt. He felt Brody’s swift inhale and smiled against his mouth. Aden pushed his spit-slick fingers down the crease of Brody’s backside, ringed his pucker and swallowed the guy’s moan. Only to release his own groan as pressure spiralled from his balls and triggered a blaze in his gut. 

He wanted to slow things down but he was caught fast in a firestorm and couldn’t break free. But if he was going to come like this, fast and furious and needy, then Brody was going to come too. He circled the entrance to Brody’s body with his finger, teasing the muscle barrier, but didn’t even get inside before Brody gasped, tensed, and then shuddered. The flood of warmth against Aden’s hand, coupled with Brody’s tightening grip on Aden’s cock triggered his own release and he held his breath as he emptied himself into Brody’s palm. Fuck, that was good.

When their breathing had steadied, they moved their heads apart, opened their eyes and looked each other. Brody smiled.

Aden felt panic stirring. He’d been right. This was different. This meant something to both of them.

 

 

Brody cleaned up in the bathroom wondering if Aden was still going to be there when he came out. He’d let Aden wash up first to give him the chance to leave without having to say anything. Brody hadn’t missed the look on Aden’s face after they’d both come. It might have been fleeting but Brody recognized panic when he saw it. Though he didn’t understand it. What they’d done had felt good. Aden had been into it as much as him. If the guy had been put off by what he’d told him about Matt, the unstated admission he’d been raped, then why let anything happen?

An uncomplicated bit of fun had turned complicated.

Aden had revealed a little about himself, but not much compared to Brody. It might have looked as if Brody had just opened his mouth and let it all spew out, but Aden had no idea how hard it had been to say any of that. Brody knew it made him look weak, and he hated that. He understood how difficult it was for anyone to appreciate the strength of Matt’s hold over him. Brody had taken a risk in being open with Aden because he liked him. Maybe he’d wanted the fun to become complicated. He stared into the mirror. Aden said he was bad and Brody just wanted him more. I like him enough to want to get to know him better.

That didn’t happen often. The last time he’d really liked someone and the feeling had been reciprocated had been with Peter. But Peter and Aden were very different. Peter had revealed his whole life story the first time they met, and there was nothing bad in there apart from a slightly disappointed mother who’d wanted grandkids with her son’s genes. Peter was just an average, kind, straightforward guy. Brody hadn’t opened up to him about Matt because he’d been scared Peter would walk away. Peter hadn’t been rough. He’d been gentle and sweet and considerate, and maybe deep down, Brody had known they wouldn’t have lasted.

But Aden…

There was a hell of a lot he didn’t know about Aden. Parents dead in some trauma that caused Aden to stop speaking age ten. Trawled into care and abused. For how long? How did he get to be a mechanic? How did that fit with recruitment into MI5 or the SIS? Was that seriously credible? It seemed too far-fetched. There was a daredevil side to Aden that flew in the face of the caution needed by someone who intended to be involved in espionage and yet wasn’t that also the sort of guy an intelligence agency would love?

Brody emerged, clothed, into his semi-lit bedroom to find Aden lying on the bed, also clothed. Brody knew the surprise had shown on his face.

“Not done a runner then?” Brody asked.

“Did I look as though I was going to?”

“I wasn’t sure.” Brody dropped down next to him. “But then you don’t have anywhere to run to, do you?”

“I have next door.” Aden leaned up on one arm. “That’s not what’s keeping me here.”

Brody felt a tingle run down his spine. “I knew my chips were good.”

Aden smiled. “I’ve never spent the night with anyone before. All my…interactions have been a means to an end. Fuck a guy, we both get what we need, then I go. No, that’s a lie. I have spent the night with a few men, but only because I needed a bed to sleep in. I have a bed next door, so I don’t have any excuse to stay other than wanting to.”

That was good, so why did Brody sense there was something else Aden was going to say that wouldn’t be good.

“You know I have to leave tomorrow,” Aden said.

There it was. Brody bit down on his cheek.

“Your brother has paying guests arriving.”

Was that all? “I have a spare room.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“I know. Okay, how about an alternative? You can stay in this room with me.”

Aden’s lip quirked. “That’s not what I meant.”

“I know that as well.” Brody held his breath.

“It’s taking advantage. You’re aware I don’t have anywhere else to go. You know it’s just for another twenty-two days. Then I…won’t be around after that.”

Brody brushed his thumb across Aden’s chin. “A lot can happen in three weeks.” I can change your mind about not staying around. You might not get the job. If there is a job.

Aden opened his mouth and sucked Brody’s thumb, rolling his tongue around it before he released him. Goose bumps popped up on Brody’s arms and chest.

“I want you to stay,” Brody said. “I might even beg.”

“Don’t beg. Ever.”

“I’ll sulk quietly then.”

Aden nipped along the edge of Brody’s index finger. “Will your brother mind?”

“I don’t have to ask his permission. I’m paying rent.”

“I could help with the horses and around the farm. Give me something to do when you’re not here to play with.”

Brody gulped. “Des won’t turn down help.”

Aden threaded his fingers with Brody’s. “I have an idea. Want to pretend we have no past? No preferences? There’s no teacher in your history. No care worker in mine. We meet at school. You’re a nerd, and I’m cool. Two boys experimenting for the first time. We’ve snuck off to your bedroom.”

Brody was surprised to find himself excited at the thought. “Can you be the nerd?”

“We have to have some realism. I couldn’t read until I was seven. I bet you were reading Dickens when I was on Run Spot, Run. Though once I got going, I read everything.”

Brody smiled.

“I’m just a teenage fuck up, baby,” Aden sang.

Brody felt a jolt at the sound of his voice—sweet, low, sexy. Aden rolled to pin him down, then lifted himself up on his forearms.

“Come with me, Brody, don’t say maybe,” Aden crooned.

Aden rolled his hips and Brody felt Aden’s erection brush against his own. Even through the material, the touch felt perfect. Aden slid to Brody’s side and as he began to undress him, Brody trembled.

“I kissed a boy and I liked it.” Aden sang then grinned.

There was something in that grin that jolted Brody’s heart like an electric shock. What if they had met when they were teenagers? How different would their lives have been? A boy who understood him, was like him. Yet not like him at the same time.

Aden peeled back Brody’s shirt and gently licked the bite mark Matt had made. “I’ve seen you around school. Thought you looked cute whenever I could see your face. But you hide your eyes with your hair and you always have your head buried in some science book.” He fluttered his tongue over Brody’s nipple and Brody bit back his gasp.

“I’ve seen you too. Mr. Popular,” Brody said. “Playing football, cheating at cross country, messing around in chemistry, making everyone laugh.”

“It’s my animal magnetism and you’re into animals, right?”

Aden sucked until the nipple was hard and Brody was moaning louder and louder. Brody slid his hand into Aden’s back pocket and squeezed. Were they feathers he could feel? What—?

Then Aden nipped him and Brody jerked out his hand as his back arched, the feathers fluttering onto the bed. His breath hissed out as Aden’s fingers worked at his button and zipper. Aden kept sucking and nipping as he levered Brody out of his chinos. Brody’s shorts were in the laundry bin in the bathroom. He hadn’t bothered with socks. Aden undressed him until he lay naked on the bed while Aden was still fully clothed.

“I’ve never seen anyone naked before,” Aden whispered. “Apart from me.”

“Any surprises?”

“Nope, you appear to be in full working order.”

Brody’s cock strained toward his navel, a thin trickle of precome glistening in the dim light. Aden dragged a finger from the base to the tip, gathering some of the fluid, and then stared at Brody as he stuck out his tongue and licked it. Brody groaned. He couldn’t take his eyes off Aden.

“You ever tasted yourself?” Aden asked.

“No.”

Aden gathered another smear of precome and put his finger on Brody’s lips. “Better than chocolate.”

Brody sucked Aden’s finger and gulped. “Not sure that’s better than chocolate.”

“I know one thing that tastes better,” Aden said.

“Beer?”

“Me.”

Brody snorted. “Can we have the lamp on?”

“No, we can manage with the bathroom light. We don’t want anyone to see us.”

It also stopped Brody getting a good look at Aden’s back which made Brody even keener to see it.

“Take your clothes off too,” Brody choked out.

Aden pushed to his feet, swaying and singing quietly as he stripped. Aden was on the skinny side, but still beautiful, all long limbs and silky grace. His pecs were small but firm, and topped by tight, dark nipples. No chiseled six pack or washboard abs, though the faint outline of the muscles was there, as was a dark treasure trail sneaking down from his navel. Bony hips framed a thickly veined cock and appealing as that was, Brody kept thinking about Aden’s back, but he was wary of spoiling the moment.

“I’ve never been naked with a guy before,” Aden whispered.

The heavy feeling in Brody’s gut made the breath catch in his throat.

“I get off on the idea that your brother might come up to your bedroom and see us.” Aden smiled. “Or your parents. Or the postman.”

“What’s the postman doing in my house?”

“Use your imagination. Could be the local vampire looking for his next toy, or the alpha of that werewolf pack based in Caterham.”

“There’s such a thing as vampires and werewolves?”

Aden looked shocked. “Yeah, and angels and demons and unicorn hunters.”

Brody had always been short on imagination. He didn’t have time to dream. He’d studied hard, slept well, worked hard, slept well. Real life was complicated enough without dragging fantasy into it. But…

Aden glanced at the door. “Sure we’re not going to get caught?”

“No I’m not sure,” Brody choked out. “But I don’t care. You lie that side and they’ll get you first. ”

“You’ve got a juicier backside.”

Brody laughed. When Aden climbed over him, Brody wrapped his hands around his buttocks and pulled him down. Aden dropped his face to Brody’s shoulder and licked him, slowly working his way up the side of Brody’s neck until he reached his ear. A nip at the lobe, a warm exhale around the shell, and Brody’s head turned to mush. He couldn’t think, couldn’t concentrate on anything other than the sensual slide of Aden’s tongue and lips over his skin and the hard press of his dick. Every touch raised the level of his excitement and when Aden filled the hollow of his ear with puffs of air, he writhed in pleasure.

“You like that?” Aden murmured against Brody’s throat.

“Not sure. Keep doing it for an hour so I can make up my mind.”

When Aden chuckled, the vibration raced straight to Brody’s balls. Aden shifted so that he lay on his side behind Brody, then kissed his way across his shoulders and at the same time danced his fingers down Brody’s spine.

“Can I put my finger inside you?” Aden whispered.

“Yes.”

“Got any lube?”

“Drawer behind you.”

A moment later, Brody jolted as cold lube hit his backside.

“Oops,” Aden said. “It came out faster than I’d expected. And I’m talking about the lube, not me.”

Brody’s chuckle died away as Aden teased his arse hole, pushing and circling until the circle of muscles allowed him in.

“How about two fingers?” Aden raked his shoulder with his teeth.

“Yeah.”

Brody groaned when Aden added another finger, then gasped when those fingers pushed in and out, then curled and hit his prostate. Ripples of warmth trickled down his legs and his toes tingled.

“Ride my fingers, Brody.”

Brody squirmed against the mattress as he rocked back into Aden’s hand.

“Good?” Aden asked.

“Yeah.”

“Don’t come.”

Brody groaned. “Like I have an option.”

“Don’t come because I want you to fuck me first,” Aden whispered.

Brody froze with shock. “Me?”

“Is there someone else in here with us?” Aden rubbed the light scruff of his stubble on Brody’s arm.

Brody was almost tempted to look around. He knew that everything he’d told Aden would have led the guy to assume he was not the dominant partner. No way was Aden a guy who preferred to be fucked.

“Don’t you want to?” Aden asked.

“Yes.” Christ. Brody almost came at the thought. “Why me and not you?”

“One of us has to go first.” Aden pulled his fingers from Brody’s body, wiped them, then undulated his hips so his cock stroked the crease of Brody’s backside.

“You’re in position.”

“But I trust you more than I trust me. Go first?”

“Okay,” Brody said.

He could count the number of times he’d topped on the fingers of one hand. He suspected Aden could count the number of times he’d bottomed in the same way. A surge of excitement at the thought of fucking Aden propelled a further rush of blood to Brody’s cock. He liked the idea of them not doing what they usually did, except he needed to get it right. Brody rolled Aden onto his back and stared into his eyes. “Tell me if I do something that freaks you out.”

“You won’t freak me out.” Aden stroked his face. “Just as long as you don’t dress up as a gorilla. Gorillas freak me out big time.”

Brody had to reach for his wallet to find a condom.

“Tell me you have more of those,” Aden said.

“In the bathroom.”

“You know how to put one on, right? You did listen in sex ed? Because I’ve been practicing on a banana, using my mouth. Want me to show you?”

Brody had almost forgotten they were playing at being inexperienced teens. “Oh God. I don’t have any bananas.”

“On you, you wanker.” Aden laughed.

“Answer’s still no. Not this time.”

He kissed his way down Aden’s body, thrilled when skin fluttered under his touch, smug when he heard the breath catch in Aden’s throat. Brody pushed up Aden’s legs to give him better access and Aden’s fingers threaded Brody’s hair as Brody sucked him off. Up and down, around and around the head, pumping his fist at the base at the same time as he licked and sucked, keeping up a relentless rhythm he knew Aden wouldn’t be able to resist for long.

Aden tugged, pulled and twisted Brody’s hair. The harder Brody sucked, the more Aden writhed beneath him, cries and grunts and moans spilling from his lips along with occasional words that made sense. “Fuuuu…oh Chr…shhhh. Jesus, that’s so good.”

It has to be better than good. Brody fluttered his tongue up and down Aden’s cock, tracing the path of the veins before he mouthed his balls, separating them with his tongue, sucking gently, then teasing the strip of flesh beyond. When he looked up, Aden leaned on his elbows, staring down at him, his eyes opening and closing, teeth embedded in his lower lip. Brody used the lightest touch on Aden’s sac because there was a lot more he wanted to do to him before he came.

“For a first timer you’re really good at this,” Aden said. “What did you practice on?”

Brody grinned. “Myself.”

“Fuuuck.” Aden’s grip on his hair tightened. “I like bendy boys.”

Brody pushed Aden’s legs back and pressed his mouth behind Aden’s balls, rhythmically massaging, licking, nuzzling his taint.

“Christ,” Aden moaned. “God, I… Shit. You… Oh fuck. Fuck.”

A warm roiling feeling blossomed in Brody’s gut at the knowledge that he was rendering Aden insensible. When he licked around the entrance to his body, Aden’s thighs tensed against Brody’s shoulders. Brody fluttered his tongue over the tight, puckered hole and Aden’s breathing grew noisier, his language dirtier, and Brody’s smile broadened. He reached for Aden’s cock only to find Aden had wrapped his own hand around the base and was gripping it tight.

Brody left him to it and squeezed lube onto his trembling fingers. His heart was pounding so hard it echoed all over his body. He’d have liked to rim Aden a little longer, but as well as exciting Aden, he’d excited himself and his chances of lasting a respectable amount of time before he came were shrinking fast. If he was being honest with himself, there was a chance he’d come the moment he pushed through that ring of muscle. He circled Aden’s hole with his index finger, pressing and teasing until the muscles relaxed enough to let his finger slip in.

“You okay?” Brody asked.

“You want me to talk as well as breathe?”

Brody smiled against Aden’s thigh and slid his finger back and forth until he could get it all the way in to the webbing.

“Oh Christ,” Aden muttered. “That is one huge cock.”

Brody sniggered, curved his finger to find Aden’s prostate and stroked it. Aden’s backside lifted off the bed.

“Sure you haven’t done this before?” Aden gasped. “Not counting on yourself. And just to slip out of character here, do animals have prostates? Fuck. I’m stupid. Shut me up.”

“Most male mammals have prostates. Not the echidna though, which might be why the short-beaked echidnas have large balls for their body size.”

Aden laughed and then groaned. “I bet you know which mammals have anal sex as well.”

“I think maybe humans are the only ones who enjoy it.”

Brody kept up the rhythm with his finger and with his other hand reached for the depression between Aden’s pecs, dragging his thumb down the central line to his navel then at an angle onto his groin where the skin was satiny smooth and highly sensitive. Brody added another finger to Aden’s arse, and Aden’s breathing labored. When Brody stretched up to kiss him, Aden wrapped an arm around his back and pulled him close. He pressed his teeth into the cord of Brody’s neck and Brody arched against him, pleasure flooding his body.

“I was trying to go slow,” Brody whispered. “But I’m desperate to fuck you. Except I have to be sure you want this, that I’m not pushing you into it.”

“You think you could push me into anything? Even a swimming pool? Well, maybe a swimming pool, but into almost anything to do with sex?”

“No. But—”

“Shut up.” Aden wrapped a hand around Brody’s neck and silenced him with a kiss.

When Aden let him go, Brody pulled back to get the condom. His fingers shook as he ripped it open. He couldn’t hold back the sigh of relief when he got it on without fucking up. He coated his dick with lube, held tight to the base, and pressed it against Aden’s arse hole. Once he was part way in, he leaned to kiss Aden again then pushed hard, tongue and cock entering Aden’s body at the same time. Aden’s legs were up and spread, his arms wrapped around Brody.

Brody pulled back from the kiss to look into Aden’s eyes. “Okay?”

“Yeah. Move before I change my mind.”

Brody pulled back and shoved deep and Aden flung back his head, striking the top of the bed.

“Ouch.”

Brody ran his hands along Aden’s arms, pushing them back, then linking fingers. “This feels good. Fuck you’re tight. Your muscles…arrgh.”

“I’m devastated,” Aden panted. “Only good?”

Brody laughed and Aden winced.

“I’ve only just started.” Brody began to thrust and almost at once, fell out of control, his hips rocking faster and faster as he buried himself inside Aden, thrusting hard and deep. He couldn’t think of anything but the man beneath him. He knew the sacrifice Aden was making. He could feel it in the tightness of his arse, the way the muscles were gripping him, dragging at him and Brody’s chance of holding back the explosive surge already fizzing in his balls was zero.

Aden had his eyes closed now, his dark lashes brushing his cheek bones as he screwed up his face in that mix of pleasure-pain Brody usually felt. This was all pleasure, fucking another guy, sinking into him, taking him. Brody dropped down for another kiss, a tongue stealing, mouth licking, all-consuming kiss that wound him even tighter. He tried to ease into an alternate rhythm, plunging his tongue into Aden’s mouth as he pulled his cock back, but he couldn’t concentrate. He was too close to coming.

When he felt the warm spurt against his belly as Aden came, orgasm shot through Brody like a bullet, a fiery rush that filled every vein and sent come shooting from his cock in stuttering bursts of delight. He cried out louder than he’d ever heard himself cry out before, and slammed his mouth shut. But with each wrenching spasm, he felt better and better, and when it was over and his body was coming down, and he should have felt his head coming down, he didn’t. The feeling inside him kept growing. Aden had freed him. Well, not completely, but he’d empowered him, returned his control.

“For a guy who called himself stupid, you’re pretty smart.” Brody pressed a tender kiss to Aden’s lips.

“Am I?”

“Yeah, you are. That was…very good.”

Aden laughed. “Right.”

“If I go straight to stupendous, where is there to go from there?” Brody pulled out of Aden’s body and held tight to the condom. “Let me go and clean up.”

He was quick, but by the time he came back into the bedroom, Aden was lying on his back fast asleep, his hand still wrapped around his softening cock, come over his belly and chest. Brody went back to get a cloth, cleaned him up without him waking, then tucked in at his side and pulled the duvet over them both. He was still struggling to get his head around what had just happened. He’d topped and he’d enjoyed it. He would never have had that happen with Matt. Brody didn’t want to think about him, not while he had Aden in his bed, but he knew Matt wasn’t just going to go away. Brody had to find a way to persuade him to leave, convince him they didn’t have a future together.

There was no pang in his chest at that thought. Oh God, am I finally done with him? He pressed his face into Aden’s hair and inhaled. Losing Aden now he’d found him gave him an unsettled feeling in his stomach. Too soon to know if they had something here but Brody wanted him to stay. He had three weeks to convince him.