There was something magical in taking Jayden like this. Something which sang between them like a siren's call, beautiful and alluring, but also utterly irresistible.

Lucas wouldn't want to resist it even if he could.

The date was amazing, but this? This was something else, almost like an out of body experience which went beyond himself, beyond Jayden, and bled them both together into a single being of life, and energy, and love.

He wanted Jayden to enjoy this. He knew Jayden was on the cusp of something huge, emotionally, and that was a hard thing to balance, especially as Jayden didn't want to work through it right now.

He had to trust Jayden's self-awareness. The man knew how to make Lucas stop if he needed it, and he hadn't said either of those words.

Lucas gently released Jayden's balls and moved his lips to that long, slender shaft instead. He nuzzled from root to tip, kissing, licking, gently sucking, until he reached the top and could envelop Jayden's head in his mouth.

Jayden's high-pitched gasp was music to his ears.

The thickening of the cock in his mouth was even better.

He took his sweet time sucking Jayden off. He didn't want to push him anywhere near to orgasm. Not yet. So he went slowly, his head moving barely a couple of inches over the course of a minute while his fingers played across delicate chest hair and rock-hard nipples alike.

Jayden's breath hitched in little gasps and grunts. His body writhed in a slow, sinuous dance against the sheets. Every muscle in his body begged without so much as a single word.

Lucas left him there.

It was moments before Jayden seemed to notice that Lucas wasn't even on the bed any more, and he whimpered a question.

Lucas didn't answer it. Not with words. He knew where Jayden kept the lube and he fetched it, replying only with the click of the lid as he popped it open.

He slicked his cock slowly as he returned to the bed, making eye contact with Jayden the whole time. He grew hard in his own hand, thick against his palm, and he squeezed a little more lube in as he went like it was a necessity.

Like Jayden was gonna need all the help he could get.

Jayden's eyes grew wider the closer Lucas got to him. "Oh, God," he whispered. "Lucas."

"Right here," Lucas murmured as he slipped his hand between Jayden's legs and began to slide lube across his entrance.

Over his hole.

Inside his body.

He curled his finger and sought Jayden's prostate, then circled his fingertip around the hard flesh and stroked it for a while, idly dipping in to suckle on his cock again as Jayden squirmed and panted and began to beg.

"Lucas! Oh, shit, Lucas! Please! Please, just fuck me! God, please, now!"

Lucas withdrew. Wiped the excess lube off onto the sheets. Then he coiled hands around Jayden's thighs and lifted his ass clean off the bed. He tugged Jayden closer and pulled him up Lucas' thighs, then rested him there a moment to adjust his hold. He carefully drew Jayden's feet up and rested them either side of his own neck, and then grabbed Jayden's ass and hoisted him up. He rested his tip against Jayden's entrance.

Jayden slid his feet over Lucas' shoulders until his calves were against them. His fingers clutched the sheets and his head rolled back so that Lucas could see a beautiful arc from stomach to throat.

He took his sweet time lowering Jayden onto his cock. Every step had to be sure, his hands had to be certain. He held Jayden's weight in his arms and a slip was out of the question, and so he waited. Inch by inch, he waited for the little gasps, the clench around his cock, the soft moans which told him he could go further.

And then Jayden's ass rested against Lucas' lap and he was able to let go.

"Oh," Jayden moaned faintly. "Shit. Lucas..."

"It's all right," Lucas murmured as he leaned forward, arms moving to help move Jayden's legs back down again, to hold them flush against his own waist, to keep himself buried deep inside Jayden as he moved. He had to release one as he leaned further, so that he could reach forward and land on one hand, but Jayden took the hint and coiled his legs around Lucas' waist. He felt the heels tuck together in the small of his back, and let go of the other leg.

His hands against the mattress, his elbows began to bend, until his chest pressed to Jayden's and his lips found Jayden's mouth.

Jayden's arms swept around his shoulders as Lucas' hands dug beneath Jayden's shoulders in turn. They moved as one, tongues clashing, hips softly swaying, and Jayden's moans grew deeper.

Sweeter.

Lucas thrust slowly, and Jayden undulated beneath him until they found a gentle rhythm which made his heart clamor and his body slick with sweat. It seemed crazy that such soft, gentle movements should bring about such heat, but he wasn't going to rush this.

Not this.

This wasn't fucking.

It was making love.

He moved with Jayden, shared breath with him, felt Jayden's heartbeat thrum against his own chest. Everything was Jayden, from the heat around his cock to the hotness in his mouth, the limbs around his body and the taste on his tongue. Every sound, every sensation, it built and it grew, like the slow rumble of distant thunder until it was a storm that was right here.

Right inside them.

Lucas' muscles trembled with the warmth that began to flow through him. He was close. So close. He was about to spill, to fill Jayden, to feel that infinite moment when they would both be truly connected as one.

He gazed into Jayden's eyes as he gasped his intent.

Jayden stared up at him, need and hunger and adoration and love all clashing in his eyes. His fingernails dug against Lucas' back, and he whimpered his own intentions.

No words.

There was no need.

Lucas buried himself deep inside Jayden in a few last thrusts, and the storm broke. He cried out as it burned him from the inside out, taking from within and filling Jayden until Lucas thrust helplessly into heat that was wet and slippery with his own juices. Jayden was tight around him, pulsing, almost crushing, sucking the life from him in a lustful hunger as the heat spilled between their bodies.

Lucas shuddered and rested his forehead in the crease of Jayden's neck. His eyes closed, and he savored the aftermath, the little shivers, the whimpers and moans that came from them both.

"Fucking hell, I love you," he whispered. "You're out of this fucking world."

Jayden didn't speak for a few seconds, but Lucas wasn't concerned. It didn't even occur to him that Jayden might not say anything. The guy was wordy as hell. It'd come, in time.

Maybe a minute passed. He couldn't be sure. But then Jayden's words were there, washing over his ear.

"I love you, Lucas. And you can do that again any time. Like, seriously. Whenever."

Lucas chuckled, and held him. He could move in a few minutes, when he had the strength.

They shared the bathtub. Lucas had vetoed the shower because he wanted more time with Jayden in his arms, and Jayden didn't complain about that.

He held Jayden against his chest as they relaxed together. His fingers, now and then, would idly brush across Jayden's skin beneath the water, casting little ripples over the surface. Jayden's head rested back against his collarbone, and those brilliant blue eyes were closed for now.

Neither of them seemed at all inclined to rush on toward a second round of sex, and Lucas idly turned that over in his brain as he examined it. He couldn't go again if he wanted, but he didn't. It felt like that would be cheapening the evening somehow.

There was a time for round two, and a time to savor what had already been done.

"I don't know what I expected," Jayden whispered. He didn't open his eyes. "A date, sure, but..." He tailed off, and his hands slid along Lucas' thighs below the surface. "It's like going to the store for milk and coming out with champagne."

Lucas smiled dryly and rested his chin on Jayden's shoulder. "Yeah," he agreed. "I dunno either. I'm not..." He struggled to find the right words. The ones that didn't sound rude. "I'm not this guy," he finished lamely. "Not usually. Never, actually. It's rare when you're in the Military, and we don't know how to deal with it once we're out. So we stay busy. We're used to long hours, long months, away from anyone we might love like this, and we... don't know how." He closed his eyes briefly. "So if I get it wrong, I'm sorry in advance."

"I don't think there's a right way or a wrong way." Jayden shifted in his arms as he adjusted his position. "There's no training, no manual, no path to follow. Especially for us, when people think they're entitled to opinions about whether or not what we're doing is even right, morally acceptable, theologically sinful, you name it. Everyone and their dog's got something to say about sexuality. The only way to get through is to follow your heart."

Lucas grunted softly at that. "What if my heart's wrong?"

Jayden pulled away from him as he sat up, and Lucas leaned against the tub to face him. Jayden's expression was suddenly fierce, like he was ready to fight to the death, and it made Lucas blink rapidly.

"Your heart is never wrong," Jayden bit out.

Lucas raised one hand from the water to rub his own jaw. "Maybe your heart knows what it's doing," he murmured.

"All hearts do. You just have to be able to listen to them and not drown them out." Jayden's glare transformed into a broad smile. "The moment we start going to school we get taught to ignore our hearts. We get taught how to 'grow up', how to be an adult, how to stop dreaming and hoping and using our imaginations. You either conform and crush your heart into a box, or you go your own way and recognize that you'll never be a part of the world like you belong in it." He tapped his finger to Lucas' chest. "Those are the choices. I don't fit, and I listen to my heart. But you know how to listen to yours, too, or we wouldn't be here."

Lucas eyed him. The urge to tell him he was being fanciful was strong. That he was a dreamer, a fantasist, that he wasn't rooted in reality.

That he wasn't grown up.

Goddamn, the pressure was real, wasn't it? Here was Jayden being this brilliant ray of sunshine, and Lucas' first instinct - his trained instinct - was to quash those dreams.

Maybe he did need to learn to listen to his heart.

"Okay," he rumbled. "You may - I repeat, may - have a point. But sometimes we've gotta be adults. I can't just call in sick all the time because I'd rather be with you. I've got bills to pay, mouths to feed, a little girl to raise. There has to be a balance."

Jayden scrunched his face up and sucked on his teeth. "Okay, that's fair. But my heart wants you, Lucas, and I'm not gonna ignore it any more."

Lucas watched him in awe, and finally all he could do was laugh and draw Jayden back into his arms.

"Okay, okay. I surrender," he murmured as he kissed Jayden's jaw. "I'll do my best. I need you. I know that I need you. So let's take this one day at a time, and see where it goes."

"You got it," Jayden agreed.

Yeah, Lucas thought. Whatever it was, he'd definitely got it, and he wasn't gonna let go of it.