When Oliver opened his mouth to speak, Felipe stroked him harder and pressed his bare chest against his back. He smiled to himself as the words dissolved into a moan. Oliver shut his eyes as Felipe freed his lover’s painfully flushed cock from his trousers and drawers and let them drop to the floor. Without a word, Oliver kicked them off but didn’t move to turn or escape Felipe’s grasp when he let go long enough to remove his remaining clothing. Felipe wrapped his arms around him once more, and as he pulled him close, Oliver leaned into him as if the press of skin on skin was a relief.
Running a leisurely hand along Oliver’s length and tweaking a nipple between his fingers, Felipe asked, “Were you going to say something before?”
Heat rose in Oliver’s cheeks as he glared over his shoulder at his partner. “If I didn’t know better, I would think you’re enjoying torturing me. I hope you know that if you don’t let me touch you soon, I might cry… or spend like this.”
“We can’t have that. I promise we’re almost done talking about the case. Can you hold out a little longer?”
Oliver bit his lip and dug his fingers into Felipe’s arm, but after releasing a bracing breath, he nodded.
“Good,” Felipe whispered, kissing Oliver’s cheek. “Obviously, there was nothing from the investigators who went missing in Aldorhaven. They sent a letter back to the Paranormal Society the day they arrived confirming they had reached Aldorhaven, but a few days later when they were supposed to go to Camden to send an update via telegram, it never came. The New Jersey Branch waited another few days before sending out a second team to see what was going on.”
Slicking the moisture gathering on Oliver’s head down the velvety length of his prick, Felipe’s heart beat loudly in his ears. He licked his lips and pressed them to Oliver’s shoulder. His mouth had gone dry, and his cock knocked against Oliver’s thigh impatiently as the desire coursing through the tether stoked his own. He hadn’t realized his hand had stilled until Oliver prodded, “And the second team?”
“The second team…” Felipe tore his mind away from the warmth of Oliver’s body against his and the heaviness of his breath as he panted in time with his touch. “The second team didn’t say much in their official report. They came to Aldorhaven looking for their comrades, something happened in the woods, and they abruptly left. They said they didn’t see any trace of the other investigators and refused to go back when ordered. Their head inspector described them as ‘uncharacteristically shaken,’ though supposedly the second team wasn’t as seasoned as the first. And now, it’s our problem to figure out what’s going on with the dead and to see if we can find out what happened to the first set of investigators.”
“Deal with the dead, avoid the woods, find out about the other investigators, got it. Is that everything?”
“Yeah.”
The word had barely left his lips when Oliver turned and caught his mouth in a fierce kiss. Felipe staggered back, catching his balance against the armchair as Oliver’s hands roamed across his body. His fingers were in his hair, thumbing the hollow of his collarbone, following the curve of his hip, caressing his cock. Incoherent encouragement slipped from Felipe’s lips, but he could scarcely think anymore. With a gentle push, he sank onto the rug and shut his eyes against the current of pleasure battering his senses. Oliver straddled his hips as he kissed and nipped down his neck, keeping just far enough away that Felipe’s straining cock couldn’t reach him no matter how hard he tried.
Felipe groaned. “Oliver.”
“Are you expecting mercy after all that?” Oliver said with a laugh.
“You know, I would have stopped after the first investigators if you hadn’t asked.”
A smug smile crossed his lover’s lips “I know, but I was enjoying myself.”
“Here, let me make it up to you.”
Pulling Oliver closer, Felipe took him in his mouth. His lover’s fingers twined into his curls as he swept his tongue over the head and down his shaft. He massaged the delicate flesh between his legs and trailed his tongue and teeth along his thighs before returning to his prick. Oliver squeezed his shoulder in warning, and Felipe pulled back.
“Thighs?” Felipe asked. The rush of heady heat in his chest was enough of an answer, but Oliver quickly nodded and turned as Felipe rose to his knees. Nudging Oliver’s legs apart, Felipe nestled behind him and carefully lowered Oliver onto his lap. Felipe shut his eyes as Oliver’s warm thighs closed around him. A moan rose in his throat as he thrusted and Oliver ground against him in return. He needed this; he needed him. Felipe rested his head against Oliver as he leaned back. Pinning Oliver against him with one arm, he wrapped a hand around his cock and moved in time with his thrusts.
Oliver’s mouth opened in a silent gasp as Felipe rolled his nipplebetween his fingers. He loved any kind of intimacy with Oliver, but he relished the times when Oliver seemed to fully let go. No one else got to see that side but him. Pressure built in Felipe’s core with each rock of Oliver’s hips in time with his. A second before a massive wave of pleasure rolled across the tether, Oliver’s legs tightened around him. Felipe muffled a curse against Oliver’s shoulder as his lover’s body locked and twitched around his cock, sending Felipe over the edge with him. For a moment, Felipe couldn’t tell where his orgasm began and Oliver’s ended; everything was white, blinding ecstasy and heat.
As Felipe lifted his head, the only sound in the parlor was the crackle of the fire and their strained breaths. Felipe held Oliver close, balancing the taller man on his lap until the aftershocks subsided. With a sigh, Oliver leaned bonelessly against his chest and gave Felipe a dazed, contented smile. A laugh broke from Felipe’s lips as he kissed Oliver’s cheek and hugged him tightly.
“Better?”
“Much.”
“Good. Stay here. I’ll be right back,” Felipe said as he carefully untangled himself from Oliver’s limbs and stood on shaking legs.
Ducking into the bedroom, Felipe wet a cloth at the washbasin and tossed it to Oliver from the bedroom door before the sated haze could wear off. Despite enjoying sex, Oliver did not enjoy being sticky or sweaty after, and he couldn’t blame him. Felipe mopped himself off and was about to return to Oliver when his gaze snagged on the quilt covering their bed. Despite being nearly twenty years old, the quilt looked brand new. When Oliver had brought it up to their room a few weeks before, he had mentioned that his nana had made it for him not long before she died. Now that Felipe could put a face and life with the fabric, it felt different to him.
The quilt had a dark grey background with a border of twisting ivy and an overflowing urn of flowers in the center. He recognized green carnations along with purple heliotrope, red roses, forget-me-nots, curling ferns, and blue violets all lovingly sewn into a bouquet of fabric. Felipe was surprised she hadn’t made him something more sedate thatfit his personality, but Oliver cherished it far more than the utilitarian patchwork quilt that sat folded at the foot of the bed in his basement apartment. Pulling the blanket from their bed, Felipe draped it over his arm and gathered Oliver’s pajamas from beneath his pillow. In the parlor, he found the washcloth hanging on the fireplace screen, their clothes neatly folded on the closest armchair, and Oliver lying across the rug in only his drawers. A smile crossed Felipe’s lips at Oliver’s peaceful expression. Color still clung to his cheeks, and a wave of black hair flopped over his forehead. At rest, he looked far younger than Felipe felt. As if sensing him, Oliver’s grey eyes opened and locked onto his. A contented sigh escaped his lips as he beckoned for Felipe to join him.
“I thought you might get cold,” Felipe said as he set the pajamas beside the other clothes.
“Not if you join me, though I gathered your robe and trousers too in case you wanted them.”
“I’ll be fine like this.”
Felipe spread the blanket across them before nestling against Oliver’s side with his arm tucked under his neck. Shutting his eyes, Felipe let himself be lulled by the beat of Oliver’s heart beneath his ear as he traced the familiar raised line of the scar along his ribs. Peace hung as thickly as the quilt in the darkened apartment as evening became night, and Felipe slipped into the warm, hazy place between sleeping and waking. At the sound of Oliver’s voice, Felipe stirred.
“I love you.”
