The rough-smooth feel of Drew’s tongue was like a balm to Ash’s cock. Drew’s hands rested on Ash’s thighs, the tips of his fingers rubbing gentle circles on his hip bones. Ash encouraged him to lick along the whole length and suck the sensitive underneath part by the head. All the while, Drew’s hand kept a steady stroking motion on the part of Ash’s cock that wasn’t inside his sweet mouth. He wasn’t expert and lacked the finesse of a more practiced technique, but for Ash it was perfect. It came from the heart, and Drew’s need for Ash as the person he knew him to be. It was pure Drew.
The heat that always preceded Ash’s climax flooded through him as his heart began to race, his balls tingled, and with a hushed groan, he came, filling Drew’s mouth. Ash worried for a moment Drew wouldn’t be able to handle swallowing, but when he’d recovered enough to open his eyes and search Drew’s face, there was nothing but a smile on those glistening lips.
He pulled Drew up and kissed him, enjoying the softness of his lips and the heat of his mouth. Ash discovered he loved kissing Drew. “Baby, you were amazing. But why?” He held Drew close, listening to the pounding of his heart matching its beat with Ash’s own. Totally in sync. “Why me?”
“Because I’m tired of watching life happen around me. Everyone thinks they know what’s best for me: my sister, my friends. They treat me as if I have no backbone or I’m too emotionally immature to make my own decisions, especially after the disaster with Jackie.”
Ash kept silent, holding on to Drew and stroking his back. He’d seen it—the way Drew’s friends took over his life and made decisions for him. He’d never thought to say anything before, as he hadn’t known it bothered Drew. But with a sinking feeling, he understood what Drew had said to him.
“So I’m your rebellion? A way to show everyone that even though they don’t like me, you’ll do what you want?” Ash held his breath, waiting for the answer.
“Hell no.” Drew’s denial was emphatic. He tipped his head back to stare into Ash’s eyes, and it was as if Ash could look straight through him into Drew’s heart. “Don’t you get it yet? You’re so much more than that to me. I know we need to talk, but I have to get back to my grandmother, and you need to get dressed and go back to work.”
Drew’s lopsided grin as Ash reached down to pull up his boxers and pants caused a funny thump in Ash’s chest.
“It’s not my fault I was attacked at my desk. I was trying to do work.” Ash grinned as he slipped his hand under Drew’s collar, resting it on the nape of his neck. His thumb swept back and forth against the soft skin there. What was it about this man that made him helpless? He kissed Drew’s cheek, enjoying the barely there shiver that rippled under Drew’s skin as Ash held him tight. “You really want me with you at the hospital?”
Drew sighed and nodded against his chest. “I do. I want you with me. Do you want that?”
“But why? I know I want you. But you’ve never been with a man before, and from what I’ve seen, it was never on your horizon.” Ash still didn’t understand Drew’s ease with their sexual relationship.
Drew leaned his hip on the desk. “We had an unconventional upbringing. I’ve never been hung up on sexual labels. When my parents were alive, they told both Rachel and me that as long as we loved the person, it didn’t matter who we slept with, man or woman. After our parents died and I went a bit wild, like I told you before, Rachel also did some experimenting. It’s obvious she’s now very much in love with Mike, and I hope it stays that way forever.”
“Your parents were very special.” Ash wondered if his own parents knew he was gay even at his young age and that was one of the reasons they’d dumped him and ran. “But aren’t you concerned about what people might say now, if they found out?”
Drew’s voice came out uncharacteristically hard. “It’s nothing that I ever needed to discuss with anyone and still don’t. My sexuality is my own personal business, and like I said to Jordan, who I choose to sleep with is my decision.”
Ash contemplated Drew’s profile. Drew might not have an overpowering physical presence, but Ash could take a lesson from his emotional strength. “Baby, you’re amazing. I’d be proud to be with you anywhere.”
The sweet smile that broke across Drew’s face took his breath away.
“Don’t disappear on me again. Talk to me and tell me how you feel. Okay?”
Ash nodded. “I promise.” He leaned over and kissed Drew’s cheek again, his lips lingering on his freshly shaven skin. “Come home with me tonight?” He kissed Drew’s lips. “Stay with me?”
Drew’s hands crept up to hold on to his shoulders. “I want to, but the cat…” He moaned as Ash planted kisses along his lips, nipping and licking their softness.
“Please, baby. I want you so much. Bring the cat with you. Stay with me.” Before Drew, Ash had never needed to touch his lovers beyond the physical necessity to achieve release. He didn’t pay much attention to whether or not they received pleasure of their own. Being with Drew changed him from a selfish lover to one who cared about giving pleasure.
“Bring Domino to your apartment?” Drew sounded incredulous. “But what if he ruins something or has an accident?” His eyes danced with laughter. “He can be a little vindictive if he gets annoyed.”
Ash thought of his pristine apartment and winced. But he really wanted Drew in his bed tonight. “Maybe we could go over to your apartment and feed him, then go to mine?” His eyebrows waggled. “I’ll make it worth your while.” Ash bent Drew backward over his desk, prepared to convince him with his lips and his body, when his personal cell phone buzzed with the specific ringtone he’d assigned to Martinson.
“Shit, I have to take this. It’s the private investigator I hired to find Luke and Brandon.” When he saw Drew stand and make his way to the door, he asked Martinson to hold. “Where are you going?”
Drew stopped and turned around. “I figured you wanted me to leave, like you did the last time he called.”
“Don’t be an idiot. Please wait? Sit down on the sofa where you’ll be more comfortable.” He pulled Drew to him for a quick but fierce hug, then turned his attention back to the phone.
Martinson’s no-nonsense voice reassured him. “It seems that after Luke Conover left the house, Paul Munson and his wife took the other boy, Brandon, and left the state. They ended up in Pennsylvania, where Munson got a job with a small sheriff’s department, and Grace Munson taught Sunday school in the local church. Brandon went to high school, played baseball, and was well liked by everyone.”
So excited he was practically shaking, Ash asked, “And now? Do you know where he is now?”
Drew came to stand next him, and Ash hugged him tight, his anchor against the storm of his life.
“That’s the strange thing. He disappeared the week before he was supposed to leave for college. No note and no trace of him.”
Ash’s heart sank. “But that’s almost ten years ago. No one’s heard from him?”
