And finally, when he was ready again, he tilted his head back and looked up at Jake. “Thank you,” he said. Jake sort of shook his head, but then he bent down to meet Rye, and they kissed gently. A short, sweet kiss full of love.
“So, I guess we’re going to have to start all over,” Rye lamented when they parted, resting his head back on Jake’s shoulder.
Jake chuckled. “Start all over, huh?”
Rye nodded. “Yeah. Except this time, you’re already mostly naked, so I can just...” He trailed off and with a little bit of effort, pushed himself up onto his elbow. Then he let his eyes wander and his hand slip down Jake’s chest and back up, his palm flat.
“Ah, yeah, you can... you can do that. If you want to.”
“I do want to.”
“Good.”
Rye chuckled and then lowered his head and peppered kisses along Jake’s jawline, the now-familiar coarseness of Jake’s beard distracting him. His hand traveled along an unplanned route down across the taut muscles of Jake’s stomach and then along the waistband of Jake’s boxer briefs. Jake moaned softly, and Rye swallowed hard and lifted his head, his heart racing. His fingers traced the same path again, and he leaned over and whispered in Jake’s ear, “Can I...?”
“Yes. Please.”
Some new emotion swelled in Rye’s chest, and he wasn’t even sure what to call it, but in that moment, he felt strong and sure. And he loved hearing the need in Jake’s voice. He kissed the spot just under Jake’s ear and then lifted himself up and held his breath while he watched.
His hand slipped under the top of Jake’s briefs, his fingers meeting a patch of thicker hair. Then he found Jake’s erection, hard and hot, waiting for him. Rather impatiently, it seemed. As soon as Rye’s palm stroked lightly along the smooth skin, Jake’s shaft throbbed, twitching up into his hand, and Jake sucked in a breath.
“Is this okay?” Rye asked, though he was pretty sure he knew the answer. He glanced back up to see Jake nod tightly, his eyes closed and his lips pursed together. He remembered what had felt so good to him a few nights ago, and so he tried to copy that. He ran his open palm lightly down Jake’s thick, hard shaft, then wrapped his fingers around the base. His stomach swooped as Jake moaned, the sound throaty and deep. Jake then uttered a string of nonsense words as he brought his hands up to cover his eyes.
“God, Rye, god, I’m already . . . This is . . .”
Jake couldn’t seem to finish his sentences. He let out another sharp breath, his hands still covering his face, and Rye bit his lip to hide his smile. Then Rye lowered himself down to rest his forehead against Jake’s chest, closed his eyes, and stroked Jake’s length slowly all the way to the tip and back down. And god, the sounds Jake made as Rye repeated the motion again and again—Rye could feel every one of them rumbling deep in Jake’s chest. Another moan, then something else closer to a whine. Then a groan as Jake’s breathing became ragged and short.
Rye pressed his lips against the smooth, warm skin at the ridge of Jake’s collarbone. “Are you close?” he asked, his voice a rough whisper.
“Yessss. Yes, I’m... I’m close. God. Faster, just a little. Please.”
Jake groaned again, and his hand found Rye’s back, rubbing gently as Rye continued pleasuring him, picking up the pace of his strokes. Then Jake’s hand stopped low on Rye’s waist, and he moaned low and deep and slow as his shaft stiffened and then pulsed hard in Rye’s hand. Warm liquid spilled out over Rye’s fist with each pulse, and he sucked in a breath.
God.
God, he’d . . . absolutelylovedthat. And he hoped . . . he hoped Jake had too.
He lifted his head up to see Jake panting, one hand still covering his eyes, his mouth set tight. Trying to hide his uncertainty, he said, “Jake? Was that... okay?”
“Hmm? What? God, yes. I... I can’t... Rye, please, please can I kiss you? Please?”
Relief rushed through him, and Rye laughed and nodded eagerly as he pushed himself up onto his elbow. He gently released Jake’s arousal, not entirely sure what to do with his messy hand, and he ended up opting to awkwardly place his hand on one side of Jake’s briefs, since Jake would need to change and clean up anyway. Then he bent down to kiss his boyfriend. Jake met him partway, the kiss indistinct and raw, and Jake’s free hand came up to cup Rye’s cheek. Rye pulled away after a moment, both of them breathing hard, and Jake shook his head and tugged Rye down until their foreheads were touching.
“Amazing. Rye, that was... that was amazing. You’re amazing. God, I love you. Sorry, I’m—” Jake cut himself off as he shook his head again. Then Rye felt Jake’s whole body shudder, and Jake wrapped both arms around Rye. “I love you, Rye.”
I love you too.I love you. I love this. I love us.
Rye burrowed his head down in the crook of Jake’s shoulder and nodded, unable to speak. And he let out a long, slow breath as Jake held him tighter and kissed the top of his head.
He loved this.Right here.
Chapter Sixty-Nine
Jake
TherestofRye’stime staying with Jake seemed to fly by much, much too fast. They spent each morning together, beginning with the first few moments of sunshine streaming through the windows, when Jake would wake up to Rye snuggling deep into his arms. Then they spent each evening together, too. They cooked, ate dinner while discussing books or movies or work, and then they went to bed early. Together.
Wednesday night, Rye had been unusually tired by the time they’d crawled into bed, and though Rye had never said why, Jake assumed it was likely from all of the difficult things they’d talked about and done on Tuesday. Emotional challenges tended to make Rye exhausted, he’d noticed, and so, when Rye had fallen asleep only a few minutes after they’d gotten settled together in bed, Jake had just closed his eyes and relished in the intimacy and closeness Rye was permitting him. All that trust couldn’t be easy, and Jake had no intention of taking it for granted.
