Chapter Twenty-Five

Seth held his breath as he waited, not knowing if he could ask the question, even though he desperately needed to hear the answer.

Vargas reached for him and slid a hand around the back of his neck. He leaned in. “Nothing could make me stop loving you. That’s how I know this isn’t about guilt or pity or remorse.”

He drew Seth the rest of the way forward, offering the same languid, tender kiss Seth had given him. That simple kiss and his words drove away the last of Seth’s doubts and fears. He slipped his arms around Vargas and fell into the moment.

The kisses flowed one into the next. The slide of Vargas’s tongue on Seth’s was exquisite, the touch of his hands electric. Seth wanted more, so much more. He kissed him deeper, harder, and when they pulled back for air, he swept his lips along Vargas’s jawline to his earlobe, then down the side of his neck, all the while running his hands over those broad shoulders and toned upper arms. He wanted the clothes out of the way, wanted to really discover Vargas’s body, feel him everywhere this time.

Vargas tilted his head back to give Seth more room to nuzzle and explore. “You sure we should do this?”

Seth straightened in a rush. “Yes.” He bent in for another kiss, their mouths open, tongues brushing against one another, Vargas tugging on Seth to pull him closer. Seth did the same in return. He wanted everything. Now.

He got up and straddled Vargas. “I want to feel all of you against me.” He couldn’t control the frenzied sound of his voice or the whimper that followed when Vargas slid his hands under his shirt and caressed his bare flesh.

Seth felt free, alive, vibrant. He shifted forward and back, pressing his groin against that solid body under him.

Their mouths met once more. They kissed again and again, alternating between soft, sensual presses of their lips and hungrier, frantic kisses.

Seth reached for Vargas’s tie and got it open and off him in a flash. Then he tore open Vargas’s shirt, most of the buttons popping off in his haste, but that didn’t slow either of them. Vargas gripped Seth by the hips and helped him slide forward and back along his lap, repeatedly putting pressure on their cocks as they came in contact.

They kept moving against each other, petting everywhere they could reach, both beyond desperate to take things to the next level. Then Vargas hauled Seth tight against him. He held him by the waist with one hand, planted his other hand on the floor, and shifted his hips, bucking up against Seth as if they were already naked and his cock was buried inside him.

Seth could practically feel Vargas’s dick sliding into him. He whimpered again. He really needed Vargas to get naked. Now. He wanted to feel every inch of that powerful, tattooed body pumping up under him. He let go of Vargas and hauled his own shirt up his torso. A twinge of pain shot through his lower back, and he winced.

“Shit.” Vargas froze. “You okay?”

“Yeah.” Seth waited for the pain to worsen like it usually did, but there was nothing more. Maybe his physical therapist had been right. Maybe the worst of it was over and all he needed to do now was strengthen his body and his weakened muscles. He might always have occasional stiffness and chronic pain in his knee and back, but it wasn’t bad. He got started on his shirt again, unhurriedly this time, and Vargas helped him pull it off.

He knew what Vargas would ask next, so he beat him to it. “Please don’t stop. I want this so much.”

“Why don’t we wait for the bed?”

Seth shook his head. “It didn’t hurt that much. Not like I was expecting it to. It used to be bad.”

“I know.”

Yeah, he did. Vargas had been there with him through the worst of it.

“I’m okay, really. Maybe just a little…” He worried his bottom lip between his teeth. “Nervous.”

“We don’t have to do anything you’re not ready for. I just want to be close to you.”

“That’s just it. I’m ready for more.” He ran his fingers through the hair above Vargas’s ears. “I feel safe here with you. I don’t want to wait any longer. Not for anything. I want it all.”

Vargas searched his eyes, then traced Seth’s lower lip with the pad of his thumb. He kissed him again, and Seth returned the kiss, trying to convey all that this meant to him.

When they eventually parted, both breathless and gasping, clinging to each other like they’d lose this chance if they let go, Vargas rested his forehead against Seth’s. “Trust me?”

“Always.”

“Stand up.”

Seth got up, reluctant to move, but he meant what he said. He trusted Vargas not to hurt him or let him down.

After he was standing, Vargas gripped his waistband. “Come closer.”

Seth moved in until he stood straddling Vargas’s outstretched legs. Every inch of his body vibrated as he waited, wanting, needing Vargas to make the first move that time.

As if Vargas understood exactly what Seth couldn’t voice, he again reached for the top of Seth’s sweatpants. He kept his focus on Seth’s face as he slid the fabric down, brushing the backs of his fingers over Seth’s underwear-clad erection in the process, then repeating that action again, leaving no doubt he made the move on purpose. He gave one more teasing sweep of his hand, then shimmied the pants down over Seth’s hips and his thighs, lowering his underwear next and freeing his aching erection.

Vargas finished removing the clothes, and then Seth was naked. In what felt like a reverent move, Vargas trailed his warm palms up Seth’s calves to the backs of his thighs, then his ass.

“You’re so gorgeous.” Without delay Vargas leaned in and ran his tongue around the flared head of Seth’s cock. Once, twice. He massaged Seth’s ass as he sucked the entire head between his lips, kissing and licking and savoring the crown until Seth shook from the pleasure.

Vargas let go of him. “What do you want?”

“You. Naked too.”

Vargas grinned up at him. “Step back.” He got up from the floor and stripped off his shirt, taking his time, toying, teasing. He kept Seth in his sights as he licked his lips and reached for the front of his slacks next. He undid the button and the zipper and tore open the front. With a powerful thrust, he shoved the pants down and stepped out of them and his underwear. Then Vargas stood there completely bare.

Seth swallowed and tried to keep from looking like a drooling fool who’d never seen a naked man before. Hard to do with all that fine muscle and sleek flesh on display before him.

Vargas pulled him in close. “You like what you see, huh?”

Before Seth could answer, Vargas kissed him, their bare bodies connecting along their lengths.

The feel of their crashing arousal and the unrestrained way Vargas touched and held him was intoxicating, had Seth dizzy. A surge of sensation rushed through him, and his body swayed without his consent.

That was okay. Vargas had him.

He kept hold of Seth’s hips even as he dropped to his knees before him and loved on his cock again, this time lowering his mouth all the way down his shaft with each stroke, repeating the slick action again and again. Seth laid a hand at the back of Vargas’s head. His breathing picked up speed, turning erratic.

As if Vargas didn’t want this to end too quickly, he released him. “Come down here.” He helped Seth sit over his thighs, that time nothing between them. He carefully drew him closer. “You tell me if anything hurts.”

Hurt? He hadn’t felt this amazing in forever. He knew Vargas needed the reassurance, though. “I will.”

“You tell me if you want us to stop.”

“I promise.” Seth offered another kiss, running his palms up Vargas’s muscular chest. He wanted to draw this out, to know what would drive Vargas’s arousal higher. He wanted to see what he’d look like when he was on the edge, writhing and desperate for more. He wanted to give him everything. He grazed his thumb over a nipple, and Vargas sucked in a sharp breath, then dived into the kiss with more fervor.

Someone liked that.

Seth teased both sides of his chest then, taking turns with each, flicking them to a point, then soothing with the pad of his thumb. “I want…” He didn’t say the rest, just moved off Vargas. “Lay down.”

Without delay Vargas shifted to lie on the floor, his head propped on a pillow. With complete focus, he watched Seth crawl to him.

Starting at Vargas’s knees and making his way up, Seth worshipped his body with hands, lips, and tongue, learning every inch of him, memorizing Vargas’s reactions, every shift of his breath, every gasp, every laugh when he hit a ticklish spot, every raw groan when Seth found his erogenous zones: along the tattoo above his pubic hair, the inside of his thighs, any place on the side of his neck.

Seth could’ve continued on like that all night, but he also wanted to give him more. He settled with his head over Vargas’s erection.

“Wait.” Vargas lifted his head. “You don’t have to.”

“I know. I want to.” He held Vargas’s shaft in one hand and parted his lips. He took the tip into his mouth and swirled his tongue around the head.

Goddamn.

He’d nearly forgotten the thrill and power that came with having a man’s dick in his mouth.

And this time, it wasn’t just anyone’s. It was Vargas’s. How many times had he dreamed about this moment?

That thought alone had him opening wider, taking in the entire top half of Vargas’s length and pulling to the tip, loving the sleek feel of that intimate, warm flesh sliding along his lips and tongue.

Despite Seth’s words to Vargas, somewhere in the back of his mind, he’d been worried about a panic attack, but all he felt was an incredible blast of adrenaline and arousal.

He was sucking cock again.

That urged him on. He engulfed the head once more, running his tongue over the tip and all around the glans. Vargas groaned, and Seth let his eyes fall shut, relishing in the rush of lust that came with offering himself in this exquisite act of pleasuring another man.

He worked Vargas over more, jerking the base with his hand, never letting up with the wet heat of his mouth and tongue. He wanted this to be the best damn blowjob Vargas had ever received. He flicked his tongue over the slit, then went down on him again and again.

His slick sounds filled the small room.

Vargas moaned louder. His hands were at his sides, clenching over and over like he was trying to grasp on to something. Seth took one of those hands in his and brought it to the back of his own head.

As if that was all the permission he needed, Vargas threaded his fingers through Seth’s hair. He didn’t grasp or tug or hold him down. He was just there, completely in the moment with him. Something about that move made the whole exchange even more personal. Seth felt connected to Vargas in an entirely new way.

Vargas groaned again, louder and longer that time. His abs tightened. He was close. But then he bolted upright. “Wait. Stop. Stop.”

Seth lifted his head. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Come here.” He pulled Seth up so he was lying over him, their bodies lined up. “Together? Like this?”

“Yes!”

Vargas gripped Seth by the hips and helped him rock back and forth so Seth’s cock was dragging along the length of Vargas’s with each shift of his body. The hair on Vargas’s muscular thighs grazed Seth’s own. Vargas added bucking up under him in little movements, aiding in the beautiful slide of their pricks.

Seth had no words for how incredible it all felt. But he wanted more. He rolled onto his back, pulling Vargas on top of him.

Vargas locked his arms, keeping his weight off Seth. His dark eyes held a panicked look of alarm. “You sure?”

“Yes. Please.”

Vargas searched his face. The concerned expression dissipated, and he nodded. With hands propped on each side of Seth, he gradually lowered down onto him, their naked skin coming together once again. Instinctively Seth spread his thighs, and Vargas settled in between them. He rotated his hips. Once. Twice. Then he thrust forward, sliding his erection along Seth’s. He did it again. And again. Long, deep strokes. With each plunge, Vargas drove harder against him, gliding his cock and body along Seth’s shaft over and over.

Seth reveled in the buzz of sensation, in the way Vargas held nothing back, and in the feel of that powerful body pushing them both to the edge.

Their eyes met. Seth knew this man, knew his heart and soul, and understood the dark places he’d been and why.

He trusted Vargas with everything he was. He’d never had that with anyone before, definitely not anyone he’d ever had sex with. That emotional connection, mixed with the physical one, was beyond exhilarating.

Maybe it was the same for Vargas. His movements slowed as he kept his eyes locked on Seth’s, like he wanted to draw out the moment, or make it far more meaningful than a raw coming together of aroused flesh. He seemed to be longing to say something but wasn’t sure if he should.

Seth offered a nod. “Yeah. Me too.”

Vargas sucked in a shallow breath and moved with more vigor. Wild, unrestrained, his hips jerked faster, creating searing friction between them, the heat of his skin caressing Seth’s cock from base to tip and back. The muscles of Vargas’s arms bulged with the strain. His hot breath grew rapid against Seth’s lips. “God, I love you.”

That did it. Seth dug his fingernails into Vargas’s ass and held on as he came, his entire body bucking and shaking with the force of his release. “Oh God. Yes! Yes!”

He was still shooting when Vargas groaned, humping against him with little swift jabs of his hips as he plunged into his own orgasm.

They clung to each other for several long minutes, their deep breaths and rapid heartbeats finding a synchronized rhythm as they came back from the sated place they’d gone.

When Vargas slid off him onto his back, he lay still for a moment, breathing deep. Then he reached for the paper towels from the tub. He swiped at the sticky residue on his own stomach, then Seth’s. Returning to lie beside him, he asked, “You all right?”

Seth exhaled. “Jesus, yeah.” He reached out for him. “Come back.”

Vargas moved into his arms, then scooted down and laid his head on Seth’s stomach. “This okay?”

“Yeah.”

He brushed a hand down Seth’s side. He kissed him above his bellybutton, then higher between two raised scars on his right side. He hesitated, then kissed each scar. “How about this?”

Seth breathed deep and ran a hand over the back of Vargas’s head. “Yeah.”

“I wish…”

“What?”

Vargas planted another kiss in the center of Seth’s chest. Then another. “I wish I could erase them for you.”

“You kind of are. Every time you touch me.”

Vargas shifted up and propped himself on an elbow beside him. “That was not the right thing for me to say.”

“No, it was.” Seth traced an invisible path across Vargas’s creased brow, trying to erase the concern locked there. “I like knowing what you’re thinking. I don’t want you to ever hold back. And I don’t want to pretend the scars don’t exist. It happened. I can’t change that. But I’m working through it.”

Vargas leaned in and kissed him. “Yeah, you are.” He reached for a blanket and pulled it over them, then settled in to lie facing Seth, one arm tucked under his head.

They stayed on the floor of the safe room like that for a long while, fingers sweeping across each other’s sensitive skin, their legs entwined, their gazes locked, no more words exchanged but each saying so much, everything Seth had told himself weeks ago not to hope for. But now, it was all there, lying bare before him.

“Are we okay?” he asked.

Vargas grinned, and the smile reached his eyes in a way Seth wasn’t sure he’d seen from him before. “I don’t know about you, but I feel like we’re flying way beyond okay. And not just because of the sex.” He came forward, cupped the back of Seth’s head, and whispered in his ear. “Although damn, that was a beautiful thing.”

A surge of pleasure flowed through Seth, leaving behind a satiated happiness that far exceeded the remarkable orgasm he just had. They were going to be okay, more than okay.

Vargas pulled back and settled on his arm again. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

They held the stare between them.

Then there was a change in Vargas’s demeanor. Although he hadn’t moved or looked away. A moment later, he cleared his throat. “I need to tell you something. I was waiting for the right time, but I don’t want to keep it from you any longer, even for a little while.”

This wasn’t about sex or the two of them. Seth braced for what was to come.

“I know who was trying to get Prescott out of prison.”