When Theo and Les returned some time later, Max was not surprised to see a change in the two men. Whatever they’d discussed outside, they’d come to some sort of understanding. The earlier tension had gone, and in its stead were two men clearly on the same page. It had been a risk to make the announcement he had, but it was the easiest and quickest way to put a stop to the forced engagement between Grady and Ryan.
If Max had learned anything during supper, it was that no two people were so poorly suited as Grady and Ryan.
Just no.
Ryan was a sweet guy, definitely moved in the same circles as Grady, but he was so naïve it was bordering on painful. He hadn’t had sex with a man yet, though he was more than willing to go all the way. He’d pretty much begged Max to take his virginity without saying it in so many words. He was exactly the type of young guy who would come to Frantic on a Saturday night and would end up circling the dance floor, uncertain how to even approach someone who’d caught his eye.
Grady, with all his seductive confidence, would eat this kid for dinner.
Not that he seemed to even know Ryan was in the room. Max had snuck the occasional glance at him to see Grady throwing him a death stare. So he’d lowered his voice a bit more and made a corny joke that he knew Ryan would laugh at, just so he could see Grady grow even more annoyed.
It shouldn’t have been this fun or easy to tease him, but it was. Max didn’t want to question what that said about himself.
The rest of supper passed quickly, and before he knew it, they were saying good night to everyone, and Grady was trailing along behind him on the way back to their room. Despite the simmering tension, the evening hadn’t been a complete waste. Ryan, while young and still trying to figure things out, had been pleasant enough company. It had been fun teasing him and his naiveté, something that Max hadn’t seen in a long time. The people who came to Frantic generally knew what they were looking for and where to find it.
The air in their room was cool, refreshing after the warmth of the dining room. Max kicked off his dress shoes as the stiffness left his shoulders. “Supper was amazing. I can see why you haven’t fully moved away from—”
Grady was on him, cutting the sentence short. His mouth plundered Max’s, his hands clawed at Max’s back, his hair, his shirt. The sounds coming from Grady were raw, angry, possessive.
Max took him by the shoulders and pulled him back. “The fuck?”
“Kiss me. Now.”
“Not until you tell me what’s going on.” He should have really said no, but after he’d released himself from his promise to keep Grady at bay, Max knew that sex would be inevitable. “What’s gotten into you?”
“You with any luck.”
“I’m serious.”
“So am I.”
Grady growled, stepped back, and started taking his shirt off. “I had to spend hours watching that little punk flirting with you. Even worse when he found out that you were mine.”
Interesting. Max hadn’t been on the receiving end of a possessive lover before. “Well, technically—”
“No technically about it.” Grady flung his shirt to the floor and went to work on his pants. “Take it off.”
Max couldn’t wipe the grin from his face, and instead did as he was told. “Yes, Mr. Barnes.”
Grady froze. “No. Never call me that.”
Yeah, he should have known that was a no-no. “Sorry.”
“Call me anything but that. Pookie. Baby doll. Sweet cheeks. I don’t care. Just never that.”
Max burst out laughing. “‘Pookie’?”
“Fuck off.”
“Sure thing. Pookie.” He let his pants fall to the floor.
“You’re forgiven.” Grady grabbed Max’s cock through his briefs and gave it a squeeze. “Doubly so when you start using this.”
“Why don’t you say hello first?”
“Good idea.” Grady held eye contact as he dropped to his knees. He pressed his mouth to Max’s cloth covered cock and breathed out. “Hello.”
Blood pulsed through his shaft and his balls tightened. “God.”
Grady pulled Max’s briefs down slowly, letting the cotton band scrape against his sensitive skin. He’d had many blowjobs, but he never remembered being this turned on before. This ready to feel the warmth of another man’s touch on his body.
Thankfully, Grady’s teasing didn’t involve holding back. Rising up on his knees, he licked a long swipe up the length of his shaft. Fingers teased the underside of Max’s balls, sending heat and a pulse of lust through him.
Max kept his gaze locked on Grady; he couldn’t get enough of seeing pleasure flit across his face, the flush on his skin as he began to work his mouth on Max’s cock. Giving in to the temptation he’d been fighting all weekend, Max pushed his hands into Grady’s black curls. God, the hair was as soft as Max had imagined it would be. Grady enjoyed the contact as well, humming his contentment around Max’s cock.
The flick of a tongue across Max’s cockhead pulled a moan from him. Saliva slipped from Grady’s mouth, easing the way and adding to the rising pleasure. One of these days, he’d ask if Grady would mind if he came in his mouth, on his face, maybe even across his chest. The mental picture was nearly enough to push Max over the edge.
With his hands cupping Grady’s face, he pulled back. “You’re far too good at that.”
Not that Grady wanted to be done; he leaned forward and sucked one of Max’s balls into his mouth, before releasing it with a pop. “So good.”
Yeah, Max needed to take control of matters before he came all over the place like a kid. “Bed. Now.”
He didn’t exactly wait for Grady to do as he asked, pulling him up by the arms and dragging him the short distance to the object in question. Much as they had that first day, Max pushed Grady to the bed, watching his body bounce briefly before climbing up beside him.
Unlike that first day, Max wanted to show him how much he wanted to do this, to enjoy this without the guilt and reservations he’d had before. Removing Grady’s briefs, Max took several deep breaths to calm himself down enough to ensure he would do this right.
Grady’s engorged cock was purple, his balls were tight. He was clearly as aroused and wanting as Max. But Max suspected this had as much to do with Grady needing to feel less like a tool to be used by his family, as it did with him wanting to be with Max.
Well, he was the right man for the job.
Sliding to Grady’s side, Max propped his head up with his left hand, while he ran his right across Grady’s stomach, and up to his chest. “Someone’s a little turned on.”
“I need you to fuck me. Condoms are in the nightstand.”
Max bucked his hips, pressing his cock against Grady’s thigh. “And I will. But not until I’m ready.”
“Just . . . come on. I need this.”
“I know. But you need this more.”
Bending over him, Max placed a gentle kiss to Grady’s mouth. It was almost chaste and a complete contrast to their current positions. Still, he continued to place small, gentle kisses to Grady’s mouth, his chin and cheeks, down on the side of his neck and shoulder. Each one he mentally attached to something he liked about him.
His smile.
The way his eyes sparkled when he was up to no good.
How much he loved his brother.
The way he tried to do things for Max, to take care of him.
It was that last one that had begun to resonate with Max more than any other. He’d spent so much time being the one looking after others, that it was strange and wonderful to have someone want to do things for him.
By the time Max made the way back to his mouth, Grady was squirming and moaning continuously. “What are you doing to me?”
“What people should have been doing for years. Showing you that you’re worth it.”
“Worth what?”
“Everything.”
Grady’s eyes filled with unshed tears as he cupped Max’s face. “Damn you.”
Their next kiss was deep, and Max felt his chest constrict from the force of the passion he felt for Grady. He didn’t want to question it, couldn’t if they were going to get through to the wedding. Instead, he kept going.
Reaching down, he cupped Grady’s cock and balls, stroking and teasing as he moved as close as he could to him. Soon he’d need to get the condom, but for now he wanted as much skin-to-skin contact as he could manage. Grady shifted to his side so they were now pressed together, cocks touching.
“Are you even real?” Grady bit Max’s chin. “I’ve never met anyone like you.”
“Me either. This is crazy.”
It was. Two men, from two different worlds with little in common, had somehow been thrown together in a bizarre situation. Not only did it not make sense, it should never work.
At least sex was a common element that would bind them together.
Knowing he wouldn’t last long, but not able to hold back any longer, Max grabbed the condom and lube. Grady sighed, and by the time Max had rolled back, he was on his back once more with his legs spread.
Next time, Max wanted to be the one on his back. He wanted to feel Grady stretch his body, spread him wide until he couldn’t take anymore. Next time.
Because he now knew there would be as many next times as he could manage.
Max squirted lube across his fingers and carefully spread Grady open. With each thrust of his finger, Grady relaxed, his hips bucked, and his breathing shallowed. “Good enough.”
It probably wasn’t, but Max wasn’t in the mind-set to argue either. He quickly slipped the condom on as Grady flipped over and got to his hands and knees. “I want it hard. Fuck me hard, Max.”
Jesus.
Grabbing his hips, Max lined up and thrust forward. It took several tries, but soon enough he was buried deep. They were connected on a primal level, two men coming together as one with no one else to stop them.
Max let his eyes slip closed and began to match Grady’s thrusts with his own. Tight warmth enveloped him, making it impossible to think of anything else than the man beneath him. Grady’s body began to shake, and Max knew he was fisting his cock.
Yes, that was what he wanted. “Come on. Stroke it. Try and come with me.”
Max didn’t know if he’d be able to hold back that long, but he was damn sure going to try. Doubling his efforts, he thrust harder, deeper, using Grady’s moans as a guide for when he was doing things exactly right. Grady’s skin grew slick with sweat and his muscles trembled beneath Max’s touch. It was the cut-off moan and the way his muscles clenched around Max’s shaft that told him Grady was about to come.
“That’s it.” Max thrust harder. “Do it.”
Grady thrashed, his back arched, and with a final shudder he cried out. The tightness was all it took to push Max over the edge. With one final thrust the wave of his orgasm crashed over him, blinding him. Skin met skin, ecstasy consumed him, and for a moment Max lost control.
Finally, the pleasure loosened its grip and Max fell forward, pressing his chest to Grady’s back. The weight must have been too much, and Grady’s knees gave out, sending them both to the mattress in a heap. When Grady tried to pull away, Max wrapped his arms around him and held him still. His softening cock was still in Grady, and he wanted nothing more than to stay this way as long as he could.
“God.” Grady adjusted so he could rest his head on Max’s biceps.
“For the record. While Ryan is a nice guy, he’s not my type. Too young, too unsure of himself, and way too blond.”
“Who’s your type?” Grady kissed his forearm.
“Apparently, I like cocky assholes.”
Grady chuckled. “Lucky me.”
Max must have drifted a bit, because the next thing he was aware of was Grady reaching down and pulling the condom from his cock. “Sorry. You were sleeping, but this was gross.”
“Thanks.” He took the warm cloth that Grady offered. “I don’t normally sleep that hard after sex.”
Grady was still wonderfully naked as he climbed back on the bed beside him. Unlike the cocky man Max had accused him of being earlier, he seemed more than a little unsure.
“What’s up?”
Grady finally looked him in the eye. For a moment Max thought he was going to ask him something, but instead he shook his head. “It’s good. I’m just sex drunk.”
“It’s getting late, and tomorrow is that wedding thing at the country club. Let’s get some sleep.”
Grady nodded. Then once more with additional confidence. “Okay.”
It had been a long time since Max had shared a bed with someone. Crawling beneath the covers with Grady didn’t feel awkward at all. They didn’t even discuss which side of the bed the other wanted. With a few quick moves they were spooning together, Grady in Max’s arms, in the dark.
This was what he’d been missing in his life. A partner. Someone to share struggles and successes. Someone to hold through the night.
Someone like Grady.