“Oh, that I can definitely do,” Joe promised between nibbles.They shuffled toward the living room, neither of them wanting to let go.So it was several minutes before Austin found himself stretched out on his back with Joe’s solid weight above him, a dirty mirror of their cuddle the other night.He could get used to Joe the personal heater, especially if he kept being so obliging.“You like this,” he murmured against the skin of Austin’s neck.
Sure, if bylike thisyou meant all Austin’s blood had rushed to his dick and he’d lost voluntary motor function below the waist.His hips kept hitching up toward Joe without his conscious input.Austin didn’t think he could be blamed; Joe had a pretty mouth and obviously knew how to use it, and guys exchanging hand jobs in bar bathrooms didn’t tend to go right for Austin’s throat like this.It was the novelty factor.
Having Joe’s weight pinning him to the couch wasn’t terrible either.
“Yeah, baby,” Austin managed, much smoother than he expected, “I like it.”
Joe scraped his teeth up the side of Austin’s neck.“Not baby,” he grumbled.The sharp pressure of a bite followed, just enough to hurt in the good way, as Joe shoved his thigh firmly between Austin’s legs.
Someone made a desperate sound—they were close enough together for Austin to have plausible deniability—and Austin worked one of his thighs open to better slot Joe between them and hooked his ankle around Joe’s back.He couldn’ttouchJoe properly like this, but he could score his nails over Joe’s scalp to the back of his neck until he shuddered.“No?”God, he felt good.Joe’s thick, solid thigh made a perfect surface to rut against, and the pressure against his balls and taint sent something zinging through Austin’s body.
“Hnn.”Joe had released Austin’s neck, but he left his head tucked there, his breath hot and tantalizing in Austin’s ear, which somehow felt even better than the pressure on Austin’s dick.
“You, uh—” Joe tongued his Adam’s apple.Austin forgot how to make words for a handful of seconds.Then, “You want a substitute?”
It wasn’t like Austin had forgotten their first trip down this road.Joe wanted Austin to say his name, repeatedly.Austin couldn’t blame him; everyone liked a little ego stroking.But Austin had never gotten toteasea partner, and he was enjoying it.“One that’s just for you?”He curled his fingers in Joe’s hair and tugged a little, pulled back until he could see Joe’s face.“How about ‘sweet thing’?”
It wasn’t supposed to beserious, but Joe flushed scarlet to the roots of the hair Austin was still holding and thrust down against him a little too uncontrolled to be on purpose, and—okay, right, Joe wanted Austin to call himsweet thingwhile they made out.That got him hot.
What the fuck, why did that make Austin’s brain feel like it had boiled over?
Joe kissed him again, and Austin decided he didn’t care, even if this meant he couldn’t use this new knowledge to his advantage.
But then Joe pulled away, still bright red, and squashed himself sideways on the couch next to Austin instead of on top of him.Not ideal—now Austin was cold, sliding dangerously toward the floor, and sadly dick-frictionless.“What—” he squawked.
Joe wrapped an arm around him before gravity could finish him off and pulled him back onto the couch, on his side this time, so their chests were pressed together.“Sorry, uh.”
Austin blinked.
Joe’s cheeks were scarlet.“I’m too old to dry-hump to orgasm.”
On the one hand, Austindefinitelywasn’t cold anymore.A wave of heat had just washed right over him.He’d been enjoying himself, obviously—he was hard and there was a damp patch in his underwear—but he wasn’t in danger of coming in his pants.
Joe was, apparently, which was… surprising.Hot.Interesting.
“What got to you?”Austin asked.It had to be something.Austin’s neck was pretty nice, but not have-an-orgasm-about-it nice.
“I’m not answering that,” Joe said.“You got enough ammunition tonight.”
Fair.Austin would figure it out soon enough.“Okay,” he agreed.“Different question—do you think I can get off the couch without falling on my ass?”
Chapter Eighteen
AFTER NEARLYcoming in his pants because Austin called himsweet, Joe got a reprieve from further potential sexual embarrassment.Not because Austin had failed to accidentally uncover any previously unexplored kinks—Joe wasn’t sure yet if it was the wordsweet, the mild degradation ofthing, or just the praise that got him going, and frankly he wasn’t ready to look into it—but because they hadn’t had the time for any more R-rated action.
Between their day jobs and the upcoming holiday, they hardly had enough energy to drag themselves to bed, let alone do anything other than sleep there.
By the morning of Christmas Eve, Joe had readied everything that could be prepared in advance and all that was left was the day-of work.Which was still plenty.
Joe wasn’t making the Feast of the Seven Fishes, because he didn’t want to bankrupt himself financially and physically, but he had planned a menu of a light charcuterie board, caprese salad, lasagna, and fish as the main course, and a mixed platter of season-appropriate sweets for dessert, which included panettone, cookies, and Nanaimo bars (Gavin’s favorite).
Then Austin accidentally rewrote the menu.It wasn’t his fault.He’d been eyeing Joe’s shopping list and asking questions about various items, when he said, “Well, it’s not like I’d know much about traditional.I don’t remember ever having a turkey-dinner Christmas.”
Exercising an impressive level of restraint, Joe did not pull Austin into a hug or vow to reform the entire foster system or throw out all of his plans for Christmas dinner right then and there.Instead, he hummed softly and said casually, “Oh, that’s too bad.”And started making plans.
Doing a whole turkey dinner the day of would be impractical, especially since he’d need the oven for the lasagna.But that didn’t mean they couldn’thaveturkey.
Joe had been wanting to try spatchcocking a bird anyway.
