Flix froze. The night before Russ’s funeral?
He’d gotten drunk at the bar with Kazimir and some of the guys because he’d felt like total shit for having to lie to Ani about his brother’s death. And then…
And then…
“You’re making that up,” he accused, though there wasn’t much conviction in his tone.
“What? Why would I do that?”
“You’re the type of person who could even stab himself to manipulate me,” he reminded. “Lying about this? Not too big of a stretch. Certainly easier than another hole in your gut.”
Instead of getting angry, Aneski blinked at him. “Wait…Are you…You really don’t remember? So this whole time…Wow.” He burst into laughter and dropped his head back to the pillow.
“What’s so funny?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” he drawled. “Maybe the fact that for the past three years, I’ve been thinking about how bad I must have been for you to pretend like I didn’t exist? Or that maybe you’d just used me? Placed a bet with your buddies to see how long it would take before I put out? Or, and it’s probably this one, it’s the fact that you took my virginity and you don’t even have the decency to remember doing it.” He laughed again. “You really are a bastard, aren’t you, Flix Fulmini?”
“I…” He pulled out and sat up between his spread thighs, completely at a loss suddenly. “I did what?”
Surely he would recall something like that, wouldn’t he? He’d remember—
Soft sobs and even softer skin.
The press of warm lips.
Aneski’s body shaking beneath his…
“I thought it was a dream.” He’d woken up the next morning in his bed from the most vivid dream he’d ever had. Only, now he was learning that it wasn’t a dream after all? “How did I even get home in that state?”
“How the hell would I know?” Ani snapped. “I fell asleep afterward, and in the morning, you were gone. I figured you left to get ready for the funeral, but then when you showed up, you acted so different, so cold…”
“You fell asleep? Convenient.”
“For real?” He sat up. “Damn it! Flix. It was my first time, and we went for hours; of course, I fell asleep!”
“I was the first person who’s ever fucked you?” Flix trailed his gaze down Ani’s chest, taking in the smattering of bruises created by his mouth. It was coming back to him. How he’d done this before. “It wasn’t a dream.” That might mean… “You did that to me at your hideout because of this, didn’t you?”
Aneski refused to meet his eyes, clutching at the comforter as he stubbornly clenched his jaw.
Flix reached for his erect dick, gently wrapping his fingers around it to give a leisurely pump that had Ani’s hips lifting off of the mattress. “Did you play with yourself while thinking of me, Tiny Terror? Is that it? All those toys you used to torture me, did you use them on yourself?”
He twitched as Flix continued stroking him but otherwise refused to engage.
It made sense though. A part of him had always wondered why Ani had truly chosen that route. Had he really believed Flix wouldn’t respond to traditional torture methods? Was it reallyjust to satiate some dark fantasy of his? But if it’d been all of that and more, all of that and a means to punish Flix for hurting him more deeply than he’d realized…Well, those pieces clicked.
“Were you angry?” He used his other hand to flick one of Ani’s nipples, seizing the opportunity to grab onto him when the younger guy finally turned his head back and glared. Flix latched onto the collar and tugged, bringing him forward to meet his seeking mouth as he continued to work his dick between them.
Aneski’s lips were salty and he clamped them shut no matter how coaxing Flix’s tongue was for them to part for him.
“Have you been crying?” he asked, and, like the hypocrite he was, his chest constricted at that thought. He’d known, of course. Had threatened to lock Ani up like this and remove him from his friends and his passion. Of course he’d cried. “Are you scared, baby?”
“Flix,” Ani whispered the plea against his lips, effectively opening his mouth for him in the process.
He wasn’t above taking advantage, pushing his tongue inside. He kissed him savagely, his emotions all over the place as he pressed Aneski against the headboard. There’d always been sparks between them, even from across the room. From the very first time Flix had seen him, he’d felt them. He thought he’d done a pretty good job resisting, only now he was discovering that wasn’t the case at all.
He’d gotten drunk and slipped into Ani’s room, slept with him, and couldn’t even remember all of the details? What the hell was that about? What was wrong with him? He’d stayed away with the intent to protect him. How laughable. By the time Flix had gathered his courage to walk away, it’d already been far too late to go. All he’d done was leave Ani alone and in the lurch.
“Did I hurt you?” He couldn’t recall, his memories fuzzy and in snippets. That was why he’d been so certain he’d dreamedthe whole thing. “That night?” He licked into his mouth. “Did I hurt you?”
