Jonah paced in front of the door to his penthouse, glancing at his phone every fifteen seconds. Five thirty. Christian had said he would be here at five thirty, and it was now five forty-three. Where the hell was he?

It wouldn’t have been as big a deal, but Jonah had gone out of his way to send a car to the tiny little AirBnb Christian was staying at. So it couldn’t have been that he didn’t have a way to get to Jonah’s, or he got lost. The driver knew how to get there. He was on the verge of calling when there was a knock on the door. Like Christian needed to knock. He took a deep breath through his nose and let it out through his mouth, then crossed over to the door and opened it.

There he was.

If the universe were kind, he would be seeing Christian in a different light now. He would have lost his attraction and instead looked like a troll to Jonah. Instead, he still looked exactly as he did the day Jonah had said goodbye to him. Had it really been less than three weeks ago? Anger, hurt, betrayal, and love warred with each other, each one fighting for the right to speak first. Instead, Christian did.

“Look, I know I have no right to see you. I hurt you in every way possible and I’m so, so sorry.” He stared at the floor in front of Jonah, his hands clasped in front of him. “Can I… can I come in?”

He wanted to say no. Maybe the hurt on Christian’s face would make him feel better about what Christian had done. But he knew better than to think it actually would. Instead, he sighed and opened the door wider.

Christian walked in and took a look around, then let out a low whistle. It was an impressive space, even to Jonah, with its dark wood floors and eggshell walls. The furniture had a mid-century modern flare to it, cool greys mixing with vibrant oranges and greens. His living room looked like it could be an installation in an art gallery, from the number of sculptures and art pieces hanging on the wall. But it was home. His home. And he felt comfortable here. At least he had until Christian walked in. Now, it all just felt excessive.

Crossing his arms, Jonah shifted from one foot to the other. There were still so many things he wanted to say. So much he wanted to ask. Just pick an emotion and stick with it. He settled on hurt.

“Why did you do it?” he asked quietly. “You promised. You promised you wouldn’t tell anyone and then you told everyone.”

“I didn’t mean to,” Christian said, nearly cutting him off. “I know you’re not going to believe me, but I swear I didn’t. After work, I went out drinking with some friends. You were texting me off and on and we weren’t talking about it. I just needed a place to think. Somewhere I could put down what I was feeling and look at it the next day and analyze everything.”

“You’re telling me you posted a professionally-written blog post while you were shit-faced? Yeah, sorry, but I don’t think I can buy that one.” Anger was very quickly replacing hurt, but he did his best to tamp it down. There would be time for that later. Right now, he just wanted the facts.

“I told you you weren’t going to believe me, but that’s how it happened,” Christian said, a defensive edge in his voice. “I hit spell-check before I went to bed just to make sure I could understand everything the next morning, but it’s not exactly the first time I’ve ever written while drunk. Ask Mason. I told him the same thing.”

“I don’t care what you told Mason. I care that you told the entire fucking world that you had sex with me!”

Christian pressed his lips together. “I didn’t mention you by na—”

“You didn’t have to! It’s only a matter of time before people find out it’s me.”

“Well you’re not exactly doing anything to hide it, are you?” Christian snapped.

“What the hell are you talking about?” He’d done everything to hide it, double checking everything he wore, every person he spoke to, each step he took to make sure it couldn’t be construed as ‘too gay.’

“I mean that dinner you had with Kyle Keaton a couple of nights ago. You two looked pretty fucking cozy when you walked out.”

Jonah stared at him in disbelief. “Are you—you seriously think I’m fucking Kyle? He’s my best friend. And the only one other than my agent I’ve told about this mess. I needed someone to talk to because I couldn’t fucking talk to you.”

“Phones work two ways, Jonah.”

“Yeah, they do. So you could have picked yours up and called to apologize, dammit.” Anger had definitely taken over at this point. His hands were clenched into fists at his sides, and it took every effort in him not to deck Christian. He would have deserved it.

“I didn’t think you would want to hear from me,” Christian said, his voice softer.

“I didn’t. But you still owed me an apology. I asked you for time. Time to figure out what the hell this meant to me, and you fucked all of that up. Do you have any idea what I’m going through?” His breath came in harsh pants, and he realized just how close he was standing to Christian. Close enough he really could hit him.

“But no one knows it’s y—”

“I don’t mean with other people. I mean in here.” He slammed his hand against his chest. “I haven’t been able to eat or sleep in days. I can barely focus on my lines on set. All because of your fucking blog post.”

He pushed hard against Christian’s chest, sending him stumbling backward. Fury flashed in Christian’s eyes as he regained his balance.

“Goddammit, I told you I was sorry. What more do you want from me?”

Jonah saw Christian’s hands come up and he grabbed him by the wrists. Electricity crackled between them. The space between them was nonexistent, their chests brushing together with every breath they took. Christian’s wrists still in his hands, Jonah crowded his space, forcing him to step back until he hit the living room wall. The rage in Christian’s eyes had given way to a different kind of heat, the kind that sent a shiver down Jonah’s spine. He pinned Christian against the wall and nudged his legs apart with his knee.

“Fuck, Jo—”

His words were lost as Jonah captured his lips in a searing kiss, his teeth scraping harshly against Christian’s bottom lip. Christian whimpered, giving Jonah access that he took advantage of immediately. The kiss, if it could even be called that, was a clash of teeth and tongues as Jonah pressed Christian harder against the wall. His cock was aching in his jeans, but he ignored it for the time being, instead claiming Christian’s mouth, his lips a hot brand.

When they finally broke apart, they were both panting. Jonah dragged his gaze up and down Christian’s body, noting just how turned on Christian was by the manhandling. Well, he could certainly play that up with very little trouble.

“My bedroom,” he rasped. “Now.”

Belatedly, he remembered that Christian had never been to his apartment, and therefore had no idea where his bedroom was. He grabbed Christian’s wrist again and half-dragged him down the hall to his bedroom, the little gasp Christian uttered going straight to his cock. God, he was going to have to control himself or he was going to come before the fun had even started.

Kicking the bedroom door closed, he shoved Christian toward the bed and tugged his own shirt over his head, ordering, “Strip.”

Christian did, hastily at first. But when he caught Jonah looking—and he definitely was looking—he grinned and slowed down, taking his time. He made a show of pulling his shirt up, exposing each inch of glorious tanned skin, skin Jonah knew so very well. He knew exactly how it felt beneath his hands and lips, and all he wanted to do was feel it again.

Letting the shirt drop to the floor, he made quick work of his socks and shoes and started on his jeans. He flicked open the button and unzipped his fly at a pace that had Jonah itching to do it for him. But this was what Jonah had asked for, and by god, he was going to indulge in the performance. He let his own jeans fall and stepped out of his shoes, then tugged his socks off. By the time he looked up again, Christian had just shoved his jeans down past his hips.

“Stop,” Jonah said, when Christian reached for the waistband of his underwear. “Get on the bed.”

Christian visibly shivered, but did exactly as Jonah said. He looked absolutely stunning, his body a beautiful contrast to the dark green comforter. Rather than stretching out, he pulled his knees to his chest and looked to Jonah, as if waiting for further instruction.

“On your hands and knees.”

Jonah’s breath hitched at the sight—Christian on all-fours, his hair hanging down in his face as he stared at the mattress. He looked absolutely fuckable.

Pushing his own boxers down to the floor, he crossed the room deliberately, like a predatory stalking its prey. The room was completely still, the only sounds their breaths and the clock ticking on the wall. Reaching the bed, he opened his nightstand and pulled out a tube of lube and a condom. But instead of joining Christian, he walked over to the dresser and scanned his ties before selecting a silk one the color of blood.

He walked back over to the bed, waiting for Christian to realize what he had in his hands. When he did, Christian looked up at him, his eyes wide.

“Do you trust me?” he asked.

Christian nodded. “Completely.”

“Then put your hands on the headboard.”

Wordlessly, Christian reached up and wrapped his fingers around the wrought iron, his chest heaving as Jonah bound him to the headboard. Christian tugged lightly on the tie, more as a show of helplessness than to check the integrity of the knot. Satisfied, Jonah climbed on the bed, the mattress dipping with his weight. His cock twitched as he took in how gorgeous Christian looked like that. He was already leaking precum, but he forced himself to stay focused on the task at hand.

Sliding his hand across Christian’s hip, he reached around and rubbed Christian’s cock through his briefs, feeling the wet spot that had started to form.

“You’re already so fucking hard for me. Fuck, you want it so badly, don’t you?”

“Yes,” Christian groaned.

He pushed against Jonah’s hand, and Jonah slapped him lightly on the thigh. “I’ll give you what you need, when you need it. Understood?”

The clock ticked three times before Christian muttered, “Understood.”

“Good.”

In one swift movement, he tugged Christian’s briefs down, exposing his ass and freeing his cock and balls. He took a deep breath to steady himself, his mouth watering. Since returning to LA, he’d seen his fair share of gay porn, and he knew this was going to be good for Christian. Whether he would actually be good at it was another story, though.

Jonah gripped Christian’s ass cheeks in his hands and spread them apart, then leaned down and licked a stripe up the cleft.

“Oh fuck!”

He grinned. It might not be so difficult after all. Christian’s back bowed, pushing his ass further up in the air. There; that was the perfect angle. He knelt again and repeated the movement with the flat of his tongue, then slowly circled it around Christian’s entrance. When he’d watched the videos, he hadn’t understood the appeal of eating someone else out. But the steady stream of curses, whines, and moans coming from Christian made it all worth it.

Rather than immediately fucking Christian with his tongue, he moved downward, slicking Christian’s balls with his saliva. He pulled one into his mouth, gently sucking, before doing the same with the other one. Christian’s thighs trembled, his entire body tense, but Jonah still didn’t give in. Instead, he licked a stripe from Christian’s balls to the top of his crack, then pulled back just enough to blow a stream of hot air directly above his hole.

“Jesus, Jonah, I need more,” Christian pleaded.

Jonah thought about continuing to tease him, but that wasn’t what this was about. His movements became more intentional as he licked and sucked around Christian’s entrance, until he pushed his tongue inside. Christian gasped and Jonah couldn’t help but smile again. He dug his fingers into Christian’s hips, urging him backward as he thrust.

Christian rocked back, panting hard as Jonah speared him with his tongue. He spread Christian’s ass cheeks further, massaging them as he tried to dive in deeper. It was only when he’d reduced Christian to one continuous, low sound in his throat that Jonah finally pulled away.

He didn’t stay gone for long. Grabbing the condom, he ripped into the foil packet and rolled it on. For a split second, he debated forgoing the lube. After all, the condom was pre-lubricated. But even though he was being rough with Christian, Jonah didn’t want to hurt him too badly. So he took the bottle of lube and uncapped it, adding even more to the outside of the condom.

“Come on,” Christian whined. “I need you.”

“I told you I would give you what you needed,” he said firmly.

After a sharp slap on the thigh, he gripped Christian’s hip so hard he knew it would leave a bruise. Part of him loved that. Knowing that he was marking him for only Christian to see. Pressing on his back with his free hand, Jonah adjusted Christian until he was just right. Then he lined up and pressed inside.

It nearly took his breath away, just how perfect it felt to be inside Christian again. Christian’s body seemed to welcome him, tightening around his cock and drawing him even further in. He pulled out almost all the way, then thrust in again, the breath leaving his lungs in a whoosh. He wasn’t the only one affected, though.

Christian cried out as Jonah pushed back in, his body tensing, and for a moment Jonah thought he had come. But when he wrapped his hand around Christian’s cock, Jonah found him still hard and leaking onto the comforter below. He rocked his hips forward, setting a near-brutal rhythm as he fucked Christian with abandon. Nothing existed except the two of them in this bedroom.

He slid his hand into Christian’s hair, tugging his head back so he could suck a dark bruise into the skin of his neck. By the time they were finished, there wouldn’t be a single inch he hadn’t touched. And all Christian could do was beg for more.

When he felt his orgasm approaching, Jonah didn’t try to stop it. Instead, he continued to stroke Christian off, his movements jerky and erratic. It wouldn’t take much for either one of them to tip over the edge. He pressed his forehead against Christian’s back, gasping when Christian tightened around him as he came. A moment later, he followed, spilling into the condom. Shaking, he rode out the aftershocks until his over-sensitized dick protested.

Carefully, Jonah withdrew and pulled the condom off, chucking it in the trash. He undid the tie, freeing Christian’s hands, and they collapsed onto the bed, Jonah arranging them so they would avoid the wet spot where Christian had come.

His chest still heaving, he pulled Christian into his arms and pressed a kiss to the side of his head. “For the record? I think forgive you.”