Because of the noise—or so Gabe told himself—he leaned in closer and spoke into Cole’s ear. “Don’t think about it too much. Just let the music take over, let the rhythm find you.” He inhaled the man’s scent—distant soap fragrance, a hint of cologne—and shivered slightly. Why did this man smell so much better than all the others he rubbed up against? There was nothing particularly unique about the way he smelled, and yet… somehow… Therewas.
Did he just smell me?Cole shivered—not in an unpleasant way. Everything Gabe was doing triggered shivers. He couldn’t explain why. Was he more desperate for “physical” touch than he realized? Cole had avoided intimacy—especiallysexual intimacy—with others since he ran away from home. What he had been forced to do while living in that nightmare… he hadn’t wanted to touch anyonethatway—even if it was consensual.
Gabe’s hand pressed against the small of his back, the heat of his palm warming his skin through his shirt. This was the first time he’d allowed someone to touch him or get this close in seven years.Why now?
He didn’t know and didn’t care. It had frightened him somewhat to think that, because of what had happened before, he would never be able to get close to someone again… physically or otherwise. He’d thought it might cause some form of PTSD to engagesexuallywith another person. But whatever was happening here with this beautiful, sexy stripper… it didn’t cause an adverse reaction in his mind or body. Instead, it feltgood, soothing, eventherapeutic.
Their bodies moved in rhythm with each other. Gabe lowered both hands to Cole’s waist, while Cole cautiously placed his hands on the man’s firm, broad shoulders. He wore a simple white T-shirt, but the cotton seemed to melt away under Cole’s palms, his skin hot to the touch.
With each sway of their bodies, they moved closer until they were nearly pressed against each other. Cole became aware of the subtle sensations: the buttons of their jeans catching, the slight roughness of denim against denim, the heat of their chests melding through their shirts.
They were nearly the same height, and Cole kept his head slightly tilted down, avoiding Gabe’s eyes as his heart beat too fast and hard, stealing his breath. His fingers tingled with the urge to brush into Gabe’s short, dark hair. He was sure the man wouldn’t mind, but what signals would that send?
What signals do you want to send—you want to stroke his hair, for fuck’s sake?
Cole didn’t know the answer. He didn’t knowanythingright now. This was uncharted territory for him. The club atmosphere and Gabe’s touch were overwhelming, and Cole didn’t trust himself to think clearly at the moment. For years, he’d dreamedof breaking the chains of his past, freeing him to feel comfortable getting close to another person—if only physically. Now, he was suddenlythere. If he got any closer to Gabe, they’dbecome one. And he wasn’t sure how to handle it.
The sexual man within—abused and repressed most of his life—screamed to be free. The swelling of his crotch as Gabe’s hips swayed sensually against him made Cole realize how desperately the “sexual” man within was craving release. With each “rub” of Gabe’s arousal, the gentle strokes of his fingertips along Cole’s lower back, and his warm breath on Cole’s cheek, thatmaninside became more desperate—hungrier.
Cole wasn’t aware that his arms had slipped around Gabe’s neck until he realized he was hugging his head, fingers buried in his dark hair. The man tightened his hold in response, sliding his hands up Cole’s back and pressing more firmly against him. The rhythm of Gabe’s hips shifted slightly, and Cole felt himself falling in sync, the sensuality gradually escalating. He waited for uncertainty, possibly evenpanic, to take over, but it never did.
This felt good. This felt likefreedom.
Where he had felt out of place in this club before, it suddenly now felt welcoming, warm, and maybe even a little like… home.
Gabe felt the change happen in Cole. The exact moment it occurred. As if something inside the manlet go, and he “fell into” Gabe. His arms curled around Gabe’s neck, fingers sinking into his hair, body relaxing—not just allowing Gabe to press against him but pressing back—completelyaroused.
Normally, Gabe would escalate things quickly, driving the man into a sexual frenzy until he was ready to empty his walletfor just one session in a private booth. But this time, it wasn’t about the money. Gabe wasn’t even “on duty”—in fact, he was about to leave when he saw Cole walk into the club. He couldn’t explain why he’d become so invested in this one man, but he just couldn’t walk away.
When Cole matched the rhythm of his hips as they inched away from “traditional” dancing toward theexotic,Gabe’s heart did a littleskipthat caught him off guard. Sure, he loved his job and enjoyed every second he spent seducing customers. Fuck, it was fun as hell. He enjoyed it, they enjoyed it—it was all good. But no one had ever made his heartskip—not the hottest, horniest, handsomest customers. Not fucking one of them.
That tiny twitch in his pulse stole his breath as surely as if he’d been punched in the gut. It was both mystifying andexciting. Gabe loved anything thatthrilledhim and always craved more.
He could almost feel Cole’s heart pounding as their chests pressed together, tightening the embrace as Gabe gently squeezed the man in his strong arms. He nuzzled Cole’s ear, unable to resist, overwhelmed by the soft, inviting scent of soap and mild musk cologne.
Come home with me, Gabe unashamedly thought as they both hardened down south.I want to taste every inch of your body, even if it takes all night. He would make sure itdid—even if he had to taste everythingtwice.
The invitation was out there—in every sensual rotation of his hips, every caress of his fingertips along Cole’s spine, every uneven breath puffing into Cole’s ear.
Please say yes.
A faint tremor swept through Cole’s body. Gabe felt thevibrationfrom the tips of his toes to the hair follicles on his scalp. Cole’s fingers slowly clenched in his hair, pulling at his roots—andfuck, it feltgood, sparking vivid images of the manbeneath him, clutching fistfuls of his hair as they fucked the night away on a wave of sexual ecstasy.
This time, Gabe trembled, surprised by how badly he wantedthatvery thing.
Cole was suffocating in the intense sexual heat of Gabe’s body and the club itself. They were no longer just dancingtraditionally; they were practically clinging to each other, bodies pressed so closely together that they seemed to exist as a single entity.
I want to fuck him.The thought hit him suddenly, with enough force to jolt Cole and make him flinch. As much as the idea shocked him—it wastrue. The throbbing ache in his loins confirmed it. But he couldn’t... could he? People didn’t do that, did they? Just walk into a club, start rubbing up against someone, and then...fuckthem? Was thatmoral?
Gabe’s entire body was “pumping” out the invitation, his tense hands caressing Cole’s lower back, fingertips grazing the upper swell of Cole’s ass without actually going there. Cole couldfeelthe throb in the man’s rock-hard erection as it ground into Cole’s crotch.
Gabe let out a shaky breath. “Confession,” he panted into his ear. “I was never… a scout.” Maybe an apology? Maybe. His hands slid down over Cole’s ass, squeezed, and pulled Cole up tighter against his crotch. Gabe boldly rolled his hips, gripping Cole’s cheeks tightly as he guided him into a matching rhythm. Their bodies moved in sync with the music pulsating through the club—and through Cole’s bloodstream, feeling the beat at his pulse points.
“I didn’t… think so,” Cole gasped shakily into the man’s hair. The way his body moved surprised him. He’d never imagined “dancing” like this, never thought he’d have the boldness orconfidence. Or maybe he thought he’d feelembarrassed. He didn’t. It was exhilarating and freed something inside him, something he’d been suppressing,denying, all his life.
He focused on Gabe’s hands, the way his strong fingers dug into his ass cheeks through the denim, and how he held Cole sotightlyagainst him as if he intended tomergetheir bodies.
Pretty sure that’s exactly his intention.
