“What? What’s sad?”
“That sex never meant nothin’ to you. Haven’t you ever been in love?”
Pain lanced through me. “No. I’d have to believe in it, which I don’t.” Plus I’d have to know what love was, but I sure as hell wasn’t about to say that to Cort. I’d always assumed my parents loved me, but them turning their backs on me so easily now made me suspect I was wrong.
“Why not?”
“I don’t know. It doesn’t make sense. The way I see it, love is all about taking from someone.”
“You’ve got it backward. Love is about giving. You’re giving your heart to another person.”
“And I’m seeing it from the opposite side. That person is taking your freedom to be with someone else. They expect you to only be with them. It would be selfish for me to expect you to only be with one other person the rest of our lives. I mean,” I explained hurriedly as Cort’s eyes widened in surprise, “just using us as an example.”
“But what if that’s what I wanted? To only be with you because being with you makes me happy.”
His low voice wove its hypnotic melody around me, and I shivered. Nervous and itchy, I got up to refill my glass from the sink, but Cort followed me into the kitchen. I drank down the water in two gulps and set the glass on the counter, my gaze fixed to my feet. I wanted to move but found myself unable.
“Harlan, look at me.”
My heart flipped at his commanding tone, but I couldn’t. I’d always prided myself on having unflappable nerves, yet I trembled like a child in front of the class.
“Hey.” He put his hand under my chin and tipped my head up so our eyes met, and at the sight of his burning gaze, my breath came in short, uneven pants. “You wanna know what I was thinkin’ of when I was doin’ my show?” His big hands cupped my jaw, the tips of his fingers rough against my cheeks.
My insides liquefied—if I moved, I’d sink into a puddle. Cort’s nearness rendered me mute.
“You. This feisty, smart mouth of yours. That quick tongue. You’ve had to be strong; I know how tight you keep yourself. How hard you are. I bet you’re soft here, though.” His thumb swept across my lips, and fuck me all the way to hell and beyond, but I swayed toward him, drunk again, this time with his touch. Dizzy and high, I lost what little self-control I possessed. Cort pulled my strings, and when his arms slid around my waist to draw me close, I gasped but didn’t pull away.
“Oh, yeah.” He sighed in satisfaction at my reaction. “That’s all I needed to know. Now show me. Show me what you want. Take from me.” He lowered his mouth until it hovered over mine and his breath tickled my overheated face. “I know you want it. What’s your fantasy?”
A rush of fire ran through me, and I closed my eyes. Desperate and out of my mind, I pressed my lips to his…and the whole world exploded.
Chapter Seven
CORT
Pink. Soft andsweet like sugar, Harlan’s lips on mine tasted like a cloud of cotton candy from the county fair, and I sucked, licked, and nibbled, then let him melt into my mouth. I let him use me as his life preserver, and he held on to me like he was drowning and would never let me go.
At the hesitant touch of his velvety tongue to mine, I lost track of time, place, and part of my mind, the ecstasy running through my blood hot and pure like a shot of lighting. This must be what getting high was like. A burning flame searing you from the inside out so that your skin felt like it was coming apart and your heart struggled to remain intact.
I allowed him to explore, holding back the hunger sweeping through me to drag him to my bed and strip him naked. Instead, I forced my lips to stay undemanding, and I touched him lightly on his back, briefly smoothing over the cheeks of his ass. A shudder ran through him, but he didn’t move away. Emboldened, I pressed him up against the counter and molded our bodies together, lips clinging, tongues finally clashing and tangling in our mouths. My world reeled as the hard ridge of his cock pressed against mine, and my kisses grew more insistent with the unmistakable sign that he wanted me.
“Don’t say no. Please. Lemme touch you,” I murmured against his mouth as my fingers plucked at the button of his jeans. A surge of triumph shot through me when he didn’t say no and even helped me unzip him. I pushed his jeans and boxers down, revealing him to me. “Gotta touch you.” And without waiting for an answer, I sank to my knees and took him in my hand.
“Ohhhh.” Harlan’s deep moan echoed off the walls of my tiny kitchenette. I waited for him to pull away. He didn’t. Encouraged by his sounds, I hefted his heavy balls in one hand while I stroked him, teasing his slit with my finger. I inhaled, learning his smell and the feel of his skin in my hand.
“Cort, oh my God.”
I glanced up and almost came in my pants at the sight of his panting, ripe mouth, reddened, wet, and swollen from our frantic kisses. His eyes were squeezed tight, and his head was thrown back, exposing his white throat. This had to be the first time Harlan had been with a man, and it made me determined to give him the ride of his life.
“Gonna take care of you so good,” I crooned and grasped the length of his dick, tracing the veins and ridges, reveling in its hardness. He could pretend all those hard edges all he wanted, but now that he stood naked and bare in my home, I saw the truth.
I squeezed him and at the same time slid a finger down his crack to press at his quivering hole. He hissed and shivered violently when I scraped my fingernails lightly against his cock.
“Please,” he moaned and clutched my hair. I didn’t think he even knew what he was doing. Harlan didn’t seem like a man who’d lose control, yet here he was, whimpering and shivering.
“Don’t move.” I rubbed my cheek against his shaft, and that simple act made me harder than ever. The tip of my finger circled the sensitive rim and eased inside him.
“Fuck.Oh, fuck.” Harlan cried out and spasmed, shooting his hot, creamy load over my fist. “Goddamn it.” He bucked his hips, and I held him around the waist, tightening my hand around his pulsing cock. I imagined him in my mouth, the saltiness of him tasting better than the coldest beer on the hottest day.
