“Can you please close your eyes, too?” Marlon whispers.
I do immediately. He’s so dang cute. “Of course.”
A deep breath that I can feel as his chest expands. “Okay. Yes. Thank you.” God he’s so adorable. I usually seek out men to get rough with them, fulfil some carnal desire that doesn’t stir with women—but not right now. Marlon brings out a side in me I didn’t know I had.
“I—I mean, I don’t know,” he finally says. “I’ve never—I’ve never let myself—” He takes another deep breath. “It’s no surprise I’ve never done this, I can’t even talk about it.”
“Mar…” I blindly reach for his face and caress his cheek, so warm to the touch. “There’s absolutely nothing to be ashamedof. It’s okay. We’ll play it by ear.” I press a soft kiss to his lips. “I just want to make sure I’m not crossing any boundaries.”
He buries his face against my neck and I tip his chin up so I can kiss him again.
I’m not tender with anyone. Not even with Hadidja, back when we were still sleeping together. It’s never felt right. Now, though, I spend an immeasurable amount of time exploring this beautiful man’s mouth and love the tingles in me all the way down to my toes. I know we have a goal with all this, but it’s hard to break away from Marlon’s lips and the tiny, pleased noises he makes.
Eventually, he’s the one who breaks contact. “Is this,” he pants, “this is…okay?” I pull my head back so I can look at him, flushed and sprawled and messy-haired.
“No,” I say, honestly, and hurt flashes across his face, so I continue hastily. “I mean, it’s pretty fucking brilliant, right?”
Something sparks in his eyes and he bites his lip again. “Yeah,” he says softly. “It is.”
“And we’ll make sure it stays that way.” I bend my head and kiss him softly behind his ear, where his jawbone begins. “Tonight is all about you.”
He squirms again, embarrassed now. “You don’t have to—I mean, it’s probably boring for you if we?—”
I scoff and cup his face, my thumb stroking his cheek. “Mar.” We’ve both grown up in team sports and the importance of sportsmanship has been drilled into us from a young age, but right now is the wrong time for him to worry about my pleasure. “I’m having more fun than I’ve had in ages,” I say truthfully. “You’re disgustingly beautiful, has nobody ever told you?”
He blushes and tries to look away so I don’t notice, which only makes it more obvious. It’s a beautiful sight. I let him squirm for a bit, because I’m sure nobody’s ever told him. That’s not something that happens to young men. But he better getused to it, at least for tonight. I have every intention to shower him with affection.
Eventually, I turn his gaze back to me, turning his head with one finger. “I have no expectations,” I say, making sure he understands how much I mean this. “We’re doing all of this at your pace. I mean it, okay? And I’ll check in with you every time we take it a step further.”
Marlon swallows heavily and bites his lower lip. The sight turns me on more than it should. “Actually,” he says and can’t look me in the eye again, “can we maybe …keep going? And I’ll tell you when—if—I want to stop?”
This man. So determined. So driven. I’m impressed by how open he is with me despite his embarrassment. I’ve learned the bad way how important communication is in bed, but Marlon has understood the concept right away. If he keeps going like this, I might never get enough of him. “Yeah. Course.” I smile at him. “You might be the hottest lay I’ve had in ages.”
He’s blushing again and I smile, then kiss a soft line along his jaw. Marlon is responsive as fuck to every little touch; it’s so rewarding. I’ve been with men who lay there like bricks, not giving me any feedback. This is so much better. I like doing a good job and I like being told I do a good job. Marlon tells me in the best way I know—except scoring goals, maybe—with his soft noises and careful hands that dig into my back.
He’s wearing a nice shirt, much nicer than my hoodie, high quality linen, collarless, the exact colour of his eyes. It suits himverywell, but I still want it off. So I kiss my way down his neck, his collarbone, nip at the bit of exposed skin underneath the loose top button, then carefully open the first button, loving his smooth chest under my fingertips.
He rewards me with a little whimper that makes my stomach tingle and soft beats of arousal drip down to my groin. Encouraged, I keep going until I reach his pecs, muscularenough to drive me wild, and I close my lips around his nipple, softly tapping against it with my tongue.
“Freddie—” Marlon arches off the bed, toward me, pushing his nipple deeper into my mouth. I take the opportunity to bite, not too hard, but enough to test the waters.
He pushes me off him and I’m ready to apologise and back off, but instead he grips my face and kisses me hard, then grabs the hem of my hoodie and yanks at it impatiently.
I laugh, relieved and impressed, then pull it over my head and let my thin t-shirt follow. Marlon stares at me for a second like he’s never seen me before, then carefully reaches out until he touches me. Unlike him, I have a smattering of chest hair, curly and dark to match the top of my head, and Marlon runs his finger through it, his smile disbelieving and satisfied.
I close my eyes and my breath catches as he gets braver, lets his hands glide over my torso. Learning, exploring. I’m his test subject and so happy about it. Knowing he feels safe enough to try this with me warms my chest from the inside. “Mar…” It’s barely more than a whisper, but he must have heard it because he leans closer and lowers his mouth to my throat, then sucks gently.
The moan slips from my lips before I notice it building, and Marlon continues down my throat, mirroring my own actions from a couple minutes ago. It’s sogood, not just the actual touch of his lips and tongue, although that’s great too, but the knowledge of who’s touching me—that’s what makes this special. That Marlon so willingly takes part in this, is an active participant rather than letting it happen—I must have done something right so far.
His nose nudges across my chest, then his mouth closes around my nipple and sucks carefully. My hand shoots up and grips the back of his head and I can feel Marlon’s smile against my skin.
“Fuck.” My voice comes out low and stunned, because how is this real? “How are you so perfect?”
Marlon continues sucking and tracing with his tongue, but I can tell he’s no longer in the moment. Something I’ve said or done has pulled him out of the magic that had built around us, and that’s a damn shame. I softly pull on his hair until he gets my meaning and lifts his head. Then I pull him closer and search his face, carefully. “You okay? We can stop.”
He laughs and buries his face in my chest. “I was thinking about the opposite.”
“The opposite.” Arousal flares through me at the things I’d like to do with him. To him. “You mean?—”
