CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Jack’s hands were shaking so badly when he got to the cabin that he dropped his keys twice before he managed to unlock the door. When it swung open, the first thing he saw was Luke curled up on the sofa, looking very young and even more devastated than Jack felt.
He took a cautious step toward him, not sure if he’d fallen asleep. Luke sat up before he reached him.
“Jack!”
“I’m here, baby.”
Luke ran to him, and he opened his arms just in time to scoop him up. Luke buried his face against Jack’s neck. After a few seconds Jack’s shoulder grew damp, and Luke began to shake with sobs. Jack just held him. He didn’t know what else to do.
When he’d quieted, Jack rubbed his back and planted kisses on his forehead. “We’re going to figure this out.”
Luke pulled back, and their eyes met. Jack felt something between them, something binding them together. He thought, he hoped, this hold they had on each other was strong enough not to break completely.
He kissed Luke, desperate for reassurance. Luke moaned as Jack licked his lower lip. Then he slid his tongue along Jack’s, and the kiss turned fierce.
They clung to each other, hips grinding together as the fear and tension of the morning fueled their passion.
“I need you to fuck me,” Luke said. “Just you and me this time. No games.”
“We should talk first.”
Luke shook his head. “I can’t talk, can’t even think until I have you.”
Jack couldn’t bring himself to protest. They both needed comfort.
“Come on.” Jack took his hand and led him to the bedroom. He meant to get Luke naked, but he couldn’t stop himself from kissing him again. When he’d taken another taste of his mouth, he kissed his way down Luke’s throat. Luke tilted his head away, giving Jack better access, and he bit down on the tight muscle where neck became shoulder.
Luke cried out, shuddering, and Jack gave soothing licks to the teeth marks as he let his hands roam over Luke’s torso, skimming across his nipples, savoring the hard ridges of his abs, and enjoying the dusting of hair that led down to his waistband. He pushed Luke’s shorts and briefs over his hips and took a step back. “You’re so fucking beautiful.”
With a shy smile Luke toed off his shoes and kicked the shorts and briefs away. “My turn.”
Jack grinned. This still felt just right. The rest of their lives might have been turned upside down, but touching each other felt as natural as it always had between them.
Luke started on the buttons of Jack’s shirt, but Jack was too impatient to wait for Luke to undress him completely, so he kicked off his shoes as Luke pushed his shirt off his shoulders. Luke hadn’t bothered with the cuff buttons, and the shirt stuck on Jack’s wrists; Luke made a distressed sound as he tried to untangle the sleeves.
“Work on my pants. I’ll fix it.”
Jack managed to get the cuffs undone, but it was no easy feat with Luke’s fingers brushing over his cock, which was still trapped in his jeans. “You’re supposed to be freeing me, not torturing me.”
Luke laughed, and the sound did wonders for Jack. Finally, he was free of his shirt, which was a good thing because once Luke got his pants down, he wrapped a hand around Jack’s cock, easing up and down, rendering Jack incapable of doing or even thinking about anything else. He closed his eyes and focused on how perfect Luke’s hands on him felt.
“Like that?” Luke asked.
He groaned. “So much.”
“Fuck me, Jack.”
Jack could tell Luke didn’t want a lot of preliminaries. As fun as it would be to draw this out, to touch Luke everywhere, tease him, work him up until he was begging, that wasn’t what today was about. They needed to remember how connected they were to each other, even if outside the bedroom, things weren’t working out.
“Get on the bed.”
Luke stretched out on his back. Jack would’ve let him choose any position he wanted, but he was glad Luke chose face-to-face, because he wanted to watch Luke’s expression as he came, and he loved the feel of Luke’s legs wrapped tight around him. He’d need that memory because what he was going to say when they were done was going to hurt. This might be the last time they were together, at least for a while.
Loving Luke meant he had to do what was best for him, right?
“Don’t hold back,” Luke said as he watched Jack ready his cock; his expression was a heart-wrenching combination of eager and anguished. Sadness and desperation were right there, beneath the surface of their lust.
“Stop thinking and fuck me,” Luke demanded.
Jack gripped his thighs, pushing his legs up on his chest. Then, holding Luke’s gaze, he positioned himself and thrust deep.
Luke cried out, head tilting back, body arching.
“Is this what you want?” Jack asked.
“Yesss!”
Jack pulled out slowly and thrust in even harder, keeping the pace slow until Luke was squirming under him and squeezing his arms hard enough to bruise.
“Faster. Fuck me faster.”
“Like this?” Jack went at him hard, and Luke struggled under him, trying in vain to meet his strokes.
He let go of Luke’s legs. “Wrap them around me.”
Luke did, and then he pulled Jack down for a kiss. Jack thrust his tongue into Luke’s mouth, possessing it as thoroughly as he possessed his ass. Luke arched up, rubbing his cock against Jack’s body, clearly needing more friction.
Jack pulled away, not ready to give him that yet. He sat back on his heels, shifting position until Luke cried out, letting Jack know he’d hit Luke’s sweet spot.
“Fuck, yes.”
“Think you can come hands free?”
Luke sputtered. “What?”
“You heard me, boy.”
“God, I love when you call me that.”
Jack couldn’t help but grin. “I know you said no games, but—”
“No. This is perfect. You need control, and I need to give myself to you.”
Jack craved that surrender. He needed to push Luke toward it, to have Luke be utterly his.
But if you love someone, you have to set them free.
No, don’t think about that now.
“More. Please!”
Jack gave him more.
“You’re close, aren’t you, boy?”
“Yes!” he cried. “God, yes.”
“I want to see you come and know me working your ass did that.”
“Yes!”
Luke arched up, and his ass squeezed Jack’s cock so hard, it took his breath away. Luke shuddered as come shot from his cock, almost reaching his chin. Then spurt after spurt of seed covered his body.
Just watching was enough to make Jack go over, but he held himself back until the tension drained from Luke and he sank into the mattress.
“That was beautiful, boy.”
Luke smiled. “You too! I want you to come in my ass.”
“Damn right I will.”
It only took a few thrusts before his balls drew up and heat raced through his body.
“Luke! Need you!” he shouted as his climax took him. He felt like he truly was draining his essence, like Luke was taking all that he was, and without him, Jack would be more alone than he ever had been.
They both lay in silence, breaths loud and ragged. Luke toyed with Jack’s hair, stroking it. “Is it always this good?”
Jack rose enough to meet his gaze. “Fucking you? Hell, yes.”
“No, I mean sex in general.”
Jack shook his head. “This—what’s between us—it’s special. We fit together in a way not all partners do. Sex can be good with anyone who’s into it and willing, but no, this is way better than typical sex.”
They stared at each other until Jack finally turned away.
How was he going to say what he had to? At least they didn’t have to talk right away. They needed to get dressed and eat and—
Don’t chicken out.
“What are we going to do?” The bleakness of Luke’s tone made Jack’s stomach knot.
He almost blurted out his plan, but that wasn’t the right way to approach this. So he stood and pulled open one of the drawers where he kept a few casual outfits.
“First we’re going to get dressed. Then I’ll get us something to drink, and you can tell me exactly what happened this morning.”
“The whole town knows already, don’t they?”
Jack blew out a long breath. “I expect they know about us, but not about what made you run.”
Luke sighed. “I should let my mom know I’m okay. I don’t want her to be scared. I just…”
“It’s okay. I called Trish while I was driving out here. She’ll let your family know you’re safe, but she won’t say you’re with me. Lucy knows where you are too.”
“She can keep a secret. God knows I’ve kept enough of hers over the years.”
Jack smiled. “You too were really close growing up, weren’t you?”
Luke nodded.
“Before Cal found you at the inn, she told me to look for you where you used to hang out on the hill above the bridge.”
Luke’s expression brightened. “Wow. I haven’t been out there in ages. We loved that place. You went all the way up there? It’s quite a trek.”
Jack scowled at him. “I may be older than you, but I can still manage a moderate hike.”
“Good for you, keeping fit in your old age.”
“Ha! Lucy was sure that’s where you’d have gone, but we’re off track now. Tell me what made you take off without even grabbing your phone.”
***
As he dressed, Luke explained about his mother waking him and the horrible argument they had. “I don’t want to go back.”
“You’ll need to talk to her eventually, but I do think moving out is the right thing.”
“You do?”
Jack nodded. “You need to get much further away than the garage. You should get an apartment in Greensboro like you’d planned, so you’ll be close to school.”
“In Greensboro?” Jack wanted him to leave?
“Yes, you told Lucy you wanted to move there.”
“Well, yeah, I had, but I…”
Jack laid a hand on his leg. “What’s wrong?”
“I thought you were going to ask me to move in with you.”
“What?” Jack seemed thoroughly surprised.
“Oh, wow. I…” How could he have been so stupid? The world spun, and the edges of his vision darkened.
Jack took hold of his arm. “Come sit down.”
Jack’s words seemed far away. Luke wanted to crumble in on himself, but he let Jack lead him to the couch. Was this really happening? He’d run to Jack, thinking at least now they could be together openly, spend more time together, and—
“I think you need time on your own.”
This couldn’t be happening. “You’re breaking up with me?”
“No. I’m saying you need a chance to truly be independent.”
“Without my family and without you?”
Jack hated the anguish in Luke’s voice. “You need to see—”
“I don’t want to see anyone else.”
“—what it’s like to have your own life outside Ames Bridge.”
“Have my own… Wait… You’re not…”
“I’m not telling you to date other people. I’m just saying you should take some time away.”
“Away from you? Not just away from Ames Bridge?”
Jack nodded. “I’ll be here if you want to come back. You need to know you’re free to be whoever you want to be. You can’t do that if we’re together.”
What did he mean? He was freer with Jack than he’d ever been in his life. “Fuck yes, I can.”
“You should spend time with people your age to see what that’s like.”
Now he sounded like Luke’s mom. “I want you, not somebody else. I don’t care how old you are.”
“You feel that way now, but you don’t have any experience to compare it to.”
Hot anger welled up in him. “So you want me to go fuck somebody else? You want me to have another man spank me, tie me up?” He tightened his fists. He wanted to punch something or maybe Jack.
But Jack cupped his chin and forced him to meet his eyes. “No. I don’t want that. The thought of it… I’m not talking about you dating anyone. You deserve friends, people who share your interests, people who aren’t locked into this small-town mindset, but if you do find someone else, someone you want to…”
“Fuck?”
“Yes. Then you should go for it.” Jack’s expression grew grimmer with each word. Luke wanted to kiss him, but he kept talking. “You need to leave here with no strings attached. I don’t want to be one more person holding you back.”
“You’ve never held me back.” All he’d done was fulfill a need for love and comfort, something Luke had theoretically been surrounded by his whole life but had never really felt.
“If you keep coming back here to see me—”
“We’ll meet at the club. It’s not that far from—”
“Luke, please.” Tears shone in his eyes.
“Why are you doing this?”
Jack wiped at his eyes. “So when you come back, you’ll be sure. That this… That we…”
Luke brushed his lips over Jack’s. “You are what I want.”
“You’ll be more sure of that if you go live out there in the world for a while.”
“So Ames Bridge is another planet now?”
Jack snorted. “There are times I’m convinced it is.”
“Planet of the Gossiping Matron?”
Jack laughed, and the sound made Luke smile despite the emptiness inside. “I’ll do what you ask under one condition.”
Jack studied him closely. “What is that?”
“That we go out to dinner tonight. I want us to show everyone we’re not ashamed of being together, that no matter what they say, we’re not changing because of them.”
“You don’t have to prove anything for those assholes.”
“No, I don’t, but if I leave, people might think I’m running from you as much as my family. They’ll decide you seduced me, and when I realized you were a predator, I took off.”
“Wouldn’t they be more likely to think that if you ran back to your family?”
“Maybe, but I’m not leaving you here to face the consequences alone.”
Jack looked like he wanted to argue, but he didn’t. “All right. Let’s face this thing together. You want to go to Trish’s? That’s probably the best way to send our message loud and clear.”
“Go big or go home?”
“Right.” This time, they both laughed.
Jack took Luke’s hand. “I know this isn’t how you wanted things to go.”
“Us being outed, or you sending me away?”
Jack shook his head. “I’m sending you to do something you already wanted to do.”
“Then I met you and—”
“You still need to get away.”
Luke hated how sensible that sounded. “Fine. Not living in Ames Bridge will be good for me. School will be good for me. Not seeing you…”
“Is the best way to figure out if this is what you want, if taking the heat we’ll keep getting is worth it.”
“I told you—”
Jack laid a finger on his lips. “Can you understand how important it is to me for you to be sure?”
Luke considered that for a moment. “I guess so. I wish I’d just gone home and told my parents like you suggested.”
“You did what you thought was right, and I’m not sure it would really have made all that much difference. They’d still be upset. You’d still have argued.”
“At least I would’ve been more prepared for it, but maybe…” Luke swallowed around the lump in his throat. “Maybe it will turn out to be for the best.”
He could tell Jack wanted to say something, but he waited patiently instead of pushing.
“I think—” Jack’s voice broke, and he took a shaky breath. “I think it will. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t do this. You probably think I’m an unfeeling bastard, but this is… It’s tearing me apart.”
Luke blinked back tears as he tried to find the right words. “No matter how much I wanted to get away from my family—how did I manage to fool myself that living over the garage would make a difference?—I don’t know if I actually would’ve left without this push. Sure, I complain about my mom hovering and treating me like a baby, but I’m used to it. I expect people to take care of me, to be there if I stumble, to solve my problems.”
“Don’t be too hard on yourself. You came to the Edge, didn’t you?”
Luke smiled. “I couldn’t exactly ask my family for help with that problem.”
“No, but it took a lot of courage to show up there and admit what you wanted.”
Heat filled Luke’s face. “Thanks, but I have it so easy at home. If I don’t want to make dinner, I just go to the farmhouse or Mama brings it over to me. She still calls to make sure I’m up in the mornings. Trish makes sure I’m doing okay when I work at the diner. Roscoe makes sure my truck gets serviced. My family is everywhere.”
“Which shows that you need to move away and find out what it’s like to live without all that interference. You can still call me if you really need something, though.”
“But you said we should—”
“I’m talking about an emergency, not just because you’re horny.”
Luke groaned. “I’m going to be fucking horny all the time. After being with you regularly, how can I go back to not having any?”
“You don’t have to.” Jack sounded serious again.
Luke glared at him. “I told you that you’re the only man I want.”
“Just know I’m not putting any restrictions on you. You’re free to find out what it’s like with someone else if you want to.”
Luke shook his head. “I don’t.”
“What if you change your mind?”
“I…” He wouldn’t, would he?
“Don’t worry about responding to that. I don’t expect you to.”
“And I’m supposed to say the same to you?”
“No, if you ask me not to see anyone else, I won’t.”
“But that’s not fair.”
“This isn’t about being fair. It’s about what we each need to get through this.”
What Luke needed was Jack. “How long do you think this experiment should go on?”
Jack tilted his head as if pondering his answer. “Until the end of next semester.”
“Next semester? But that’s over five months.”
Jack nodded. “You need time to adjust to school, to make friends, to find a job.”
Luke almost blurted out that he loved Jack; that might change his mind. But he didn’t want to use that confession to manipulate Jack. This wasn’t the right time, but what if Jack found someone else? What if Luke never got a chance to say it?
No, he couldn’t think like that. He would do what Jack was asking. Once school started, time would pass quickly. He’d make a new start, meet new people, prove to himself and his family that he could live on his own, and then he’d come back to Jack and stake his claim.
“We should warn Trish that we’re coming,” Jack said. “I’ll give her a call.”
“No, let me. I should’ve talked to her about us way before now.”
“All right, then.”
Luke took the phone. He knew once he made the call, he was starting a new phase of his life. He just prayed it would turn out to be the right choice.