"Jesus." Chris didn't take the Lord's name in vain. He didn't claim any particular religion as his own, but he did have a healthy respect for all forms of divinity, so Geoff had always suspected that any name or word that represented those powers was included in that respect. It was one of Chris's many eccentricities that he appreciated in ways he didn't even think about. They were an essential part of who Chris was.
"Sitting down."
Geoff let Chris sink to his ass on the tile. He stepped out of the shower, keeping the door wide-open so the maximum amount of oxygen filled the small space. Sitting down on the tile outside the stall, Geoff kept a proprietary hand on his knee, both in reassurance and because he wanted to keep touching him. Chris propped his wrists on his spread knees, his forearm against Geoff's hand, and turned his head toward Geoff, though he kept his temple braced against the tile wall.
"I could feel it," Chris said slowly. "You were on your knees, sucking my dick, but somehow, you were still in charge. How do you do that?"
"It wasn't tactical. Just instinct. When we had to take down the dead tree in the backyard, you were the leader then." Geoff trailed a hand down his arm, over his thigh. "When it comes to this, I am. Did that feel good?"
"No, it sucked." Chris shot him a lopsided grin, but his dark eyes were studying Geoff seriously. Reaching out, he touched Geoff's face, moving down to the collar of his T-shirt. He screwed his fingers in it, tightly enough that Geoff felt the pull over his shoulders.
"It's going to take a few minutes to get things going in the right direction," Chris said, "but I want to go to your room. I want to be in your bed tonight. And I want to be inside you . . . like we talked about."
There was a question in it, an implicit request for permission, underscoring the point Geoff had just made. Whether or not Chris recognized it, he appeared easier with the idea, though the tension in his fingers said he had other reasons for being keyed up. Since Geoff hadn't had a release, and he was finding out how uncomfortable it could be to have a hard-on in wet jeans, he was ready anytime Chris was.
"Okay," Geoff said. "Sounds like a plan. I want to run through my shower real quick so we can both be squeaky clean. Why don't you come with me to my room? For one thing, you could probably use a few minutes of horizontal."
"Yeah, maybe. But don't look so smug about it."
Geoff grinned wolfishly, but he helped Chris up and handed him a towel. Stripping off his wet shirt, he left it hanging on the shower bar. "Want something to drink? Ice water?"
"Yeah. And a couple of those peanut butter cookies we picked up at the park, if you don't mind."
"Don't mind a bit. Head for my room and I'll meet you there."
He waited, making sure Chris was steady enough to manage the hallway, and he was. Fortunately he didn't look back to see Geoff mother-henning him, since he was sure his friend would have teased him, but it didn't stop Geoff from watching out for him.
When Geoff returned, Chris was in Geoff's room, though he wasn't yet lying down. He was studying the expanse of Geoff's mattress and his back was to Geoff. Geoff paused, savoring the sight of the powerful body naked from head to toe, dark hair tousled and damp, a few stray drops gathered in the small of his back. Geoff touched the ice-cold side of the glass against it and snickered as Chris jumped. His friend gave him a narrow look and took the glass, but he was too thirsty to retaliate, gulping down about half of it before he set it aside. Wiping the back of his hand across his mouth, his gaze slid down Geoff's chest. "Wet jeans can't be comfortable."
"They're not. You want them off, right here and now?"
In Chris's eyes, Geoff saw careful calculation of Geoff's intent, the weighing of the delicate balance between them. "Yeah," Chris said. "If you don't mind. But I'd like to do it myself."
In answer, Geoff dipped his head. Chris didn't need to be asked twice. Despite the short break between shower and snacks, Geoff's cock was still pretty firm and noticeable against the soaked fly. Chris slipped the button and worked the zipper down carefully, but after that, he ran into a logistical issue.
As Chris tugged at the wet jeans, Geoff couldn't help it, he chuckled. Glancing at him through the fall of hair over his concentrated brow, Chris shook his head, lips tugging into a rueful smile. "Okay, wet jeans look sexy as hell, but they're superglued to your thighs. A little help here?"
Geoff obliged. When he finally managed to skin them off and tossed them to the side, he found Chris's attention on the soaked cling of his dark brief shorts. Geoff drew in a breath as Chris passed his knuckles over the pale skin of his upper thighs, then across, a featherlight brush over his cock, which made it twitch under the damp covering. Chris hooked the sides of the underwear and took them down Geoff's legs to his ankles. Geoff stepped out of them, kicking them away, and Chris was on his heels, looking up at him, both of them naked and damp.
"First time I saw you without any clothes was when we were thirteen," Chris said. "We went swimming in that pond where that copperhead was. Remember?"
"How can I forget?" Geoff said dryly. "We could have beaten an Olympic sprinter out of that hole."
"It chased us out of the water and we kept running for like another quarter mile." Chris rose and put his palm on Geoff's chest, fingertips learning his shape. Geoff had watched Chris plant and grow things, nurture countless things with his hands. He could feel all of that in them now. Strength, gentleness, the ability to understand what a living thing most needed. Geoff thought that touch could help him grow and be more than he could be on his own. It turned the moment into something more.
"We never talked about it," Chris mused, "but neither of us ran as fast as we could, because we were both trying to make sure the other stayed ahead. It's a good thing the snake gave up." Chris lifted his gaze to Geoff's. "We wanted to make sure if the snake caught one of us, it would be the one lagging behind, so the other would be okay."
"Yeah." Geoff lifted a shoulder. "If I'd known that the copperhead is one of the least venomous poisonous snakes, I would have sprinted a mile ahead of you."
"No, you wouldn't." Chris cocked his head, gaze sweeping Geoff once more. If he kept doing that, Geoff was going to put aside his honorable resolve to let this be Chris's show and just tackle him.
A muscle flexed in Chris's jaw. "Go get your shower. A fast one."
Geoff smiled, bumped his body with his shoulder, and went into his bathroom. He saw Chris sit down on the edge of the bed to watch him as he got the water hot. When he ducked under the spray, he did make it quick, though he was thorough. As he came out, toweling off, he found Chris was still in the same spot.
"Can you come here?"
"I can." Feeling an absurd tightness in his chest, Geoff set aside the towel and approached the bed.
"Some of those guys we played football with today," Chris said. "They've been friends for years, like us. They love one another, but they don't think about doing what we're doing right now. They won't ever want to take it to this level."
"Yeah, that's true. No matter what it is or isn't, do you wish we were like that?"
Chris paused, thinking. Geoff realized he was holding his breath. Chris slid a hand along Geoff's forearm and rested his palm on his hip. "If I said I did?" he asked at last.
"If you said you did, and you meant it, I'd do my best to respect it." It would be like passing kidney stones. "It's kind of a hard thing to shut off once you've opened the tap."
"Feeling this way about you makes things more complicated. Especially with Sam in the mix."
"Yeah." Geoff curled his hand around Chris's wrist. "But I'm not going to let complicated keep me from getting something I want. Look at it this way. Say we have Sam's gorgeous naked body between us. You think we could just shut off any overlap on wanting each other? Forever?"
Chris shook his head. "No, but . . ."
"Are we arguing the point here, or just shooting the shit? What's the real issue?"
Chris grimaced. "The lawyer, wanting to get to the root of it."
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"Actually, a lawyer figures out every way in the world to circle around the root of it until the judge is like a frustrated parent who gives in to the kid because he's sick of the nagging."
Chris smiled. Somehow he'd twisted his hand so he was linking fingers with Geoff's, thumb on his wrist. "But you're not that kind of lawyer. I think you should do it, you know. What you said a few days ago about joining the DA's office after you pay off your loans. You'll like that more."
"It will be no travel, a lot less pay and the dregs of humanity will get inside my head in ways the corporate world can't imagine."
"But it will balance. What you do will feel like it matters way more. Money pays bills, but it doesn't feed the soul."
"Deep." Geoff shoved him. "Time to shut up, unless you're trying to tell me you want out of this."
"No." Chris's brown eyes kindled. "No way. I'm just making sure you're not thinking it's open-ended."
"Excuse me?"
All of a sudden Chris looked like he wished he were wearing clothes. "Tyree Fredericks. Alex Worth. And Robert Sanders."
Geoff blinked. Chris had rattled off the three men Geoff had been with sexually in the past few years. The kicker was he'd never told Chris he'd had sex with any of them. They'd been only vague references related to work, since that was how he'd crossed paths with all three of them, but Chris had known. His far-too-neutral yet penetrating expression said so.
"Tyree comes over from the French office a couple of times a year," Chris continued, as if he anticipated Geoff asking how he'd known, though Geoff would have bitten through his tongue first. "He wears a pretty distinct aftershave. Robert and Alex were one-time things, I'm pretty sure. Right?"
The neutral expression slipped, showing a wealth of emotions behind it. Now Geoff shared Chris's discomfort about being naked during this discussion. But Chris was waiting, those earth-toned eyes measuring. That look set Geoff back on course. Yeah, Chris deserved a straight answer, but this moment wasn't about a friend-to-friend communication. Whether Chris realized it or not, the structure and reassurance he was seeking was a challenge to the Dom side of the equation. Which meant Geoff needed to respond accordingly. He backed up a few steps to lean against the wall and give his friend a close scrutiny before answering.
"So now that I'm fucking you, you want to know if I'm going to think it's okay to fuck Tyree when he's in town? Or any other guy that makes my dick sit up and pay attention?"
Chris's lips tightened, but he didn't answer.
"Do you think Sam will ask us that question about other women?" Geoff raised a brow. "Or will she just assume it's a given we'll be faithful to her, unless we'd like our genitals hacked up with a butcher knife?"
"Don't be an asshole," Chris said quietly. "I just need to know."
"Do you think I'd cheat on Sam with other women, now that things are in play with her?"
"No." Chris's answer was immediate, and relieved Geoff immensely. But he pasted on a harder look, just to get his point across, and sauntered--yes, sauntered naked--over to stand right in front of Chris again. When Chris started to get up, Geoff put a hand on his chest and shoved him, pushing him back on the bed and stretching out next to him in one deliberate move, curling his fingers in Chris's hair, the other hand spread out on his chest.
"Then why do you think I'd treat you any differently?"
A muscle ticked in Chris's jaw. "I just wanted to be clear."
"Absolutely. Let's be clear. I should have hit you a lot harder with that belt." Geoff leaned in, met him eye to eye, breath caressing his face. "You're mine, and nobody else is going to stick his dick in you unless he wants me to personally cut it off and feed it to him. I'll make you watch, just so you get the point."
Chris blinked. "I think I'd prefer you just to punch them out and try to punch me out. Less prison time and national news coverage."
"Try to punch you out. Yeah, right." Geoff's fingers tightened in his hair. "I've been clear, so you be clear. Say what you want to say."
Chris reached up and skimmed his fingertips along Geoff's jaw before curling his hand in a loose fist on his breastbone. He tapped Geoff, a light tattoo. "No one but me and Sam. Now and forever."
"You got it. You need it in blood, or should I draw up a formal contract?"
"Asshole." Chris was done being pushed around. He rolled over Geoff, setting off a wrestling match. Geoff gave him a run for his money, but in this position, Chris had the advantage in bulk. When he was eventually sitting on Geoff and they were fighting with hands like a couple of boxers, they were both laughing too hard to do much damage, though Chris accidentally slipped past Geoff's guard and bumped his jaw hard enough to elicit an "Ow" and an aggrieved look from Geoff. A look that became something else as his gaze slid down Chris's body.
"Looks like we're ready for that second round you wanted."
Chris nodded, closing his eyes as Geoff wrapped his hand around his erect cock, working it in slow, easy moves. "Yeah, there you go. Getting harder for me, aren't you, big guy? Gonna put all this up my ass?"
"Yeah," Chris said hoarsely. "But I've never done that. I did the fingers-and-plug thing with Sam."
"It's pretty much the same. A round peg in a round hole." Geoff figured it was the strain in his voice that had Chris opening his eyes again and studying him. "Get the lube out of the drawer of my nightstand." Geoff eyed Chris's dick. "Make sure you use lots of it."
Chris grinned and leaned over, retrieving the lube. Seeing muscles ripple and stretch at that proximity had Geoff skimming his hands over Chris's chest, to his hips. Sitting back, Chris studied the lube. "Girls are lucky. They come with their own natural version. Not as sexy to be slapping this on when you want to be inside someone right then."
"Depends on how you do it," Geoff said. "Did you think about me rubbing it on myself when I had you bent over the bench?"
"Yeah."
Geoff raised his attention from the lube in Chris's hand, poised over his erection, to the thoughtful eyes. "I'd like to see you do it."
Squirting lube in his hand, Chris cupped it around his stiff organ and began to slick it on under Geoff's intent scrutiny. The attention worked Chris up further, but that was a two-way street. Geoff could feel his own cock hardening and thickening where Chris was sitting on it, his buttocks shifting in a friction that had Geoff gritting his teeth at the mounting sexual frustration.
Chris moistened his lips. "You said you'd usually done the pitching. Does this mean I'm the first? Like you were with me?"
Geoff had never been big on the whole virgin thing, but recalling the inexplicable delight of knowing he was the first inside Chris, he bit back chagrin. "I wish I could give you that gift," he said quietly. "But I did it a couple of times, in the beginning. I wanted to know what it felt like, to make sure I never did it too rough or the wrong way, especially if I was doing it in a session, where someone might be restrained and gagged."
It was sensible, but he could tell Chris was disappointed. Geoff closed his fingers on his forearm. "Come down here."
Chris set the lube aside and braced himself over Geoff's face. Geoff threaded his fingers through the fall of hair on his forehead and tugged lightly. It was profound, lying here beneath Chris, staring up into his face, the intimacy between them as comfortable and necessary as their friendship was. The wonder was that they'd waited this long.
"Sex is sex," Geoff said. "Nothing more, nothing less. But when the heart gets involved, it becomes way the hell more. Tyree was sex." He moved his touch to Chris's shoulders, gripped hard. "He's actually been back to the office five times in the past year, but we didn't, not after those first two times. He made the mistake of mentioning he'd gotten married. I put the brakes on immediately. He told me it didn't matter to his spouse, the usual We have an open relationship bullshit."
When Chris rolled his eyes, Geoff dropped his hand to the fine pelt of chest hair on Chris's broad chest. "Yeah. I told him to get his husband on the phone so he could tell me that dir
ectly. Tyree wouldn't do it, big shock, so that was the end of our arrangement."
As Chris's gaze kindled, Geoff nodded. "You know who and what I am, Chris. You know I'd never hurt you like that. I wish you were my first, but to my mind you are. You're the first I've allowed . . . to take control. Tyree, Robert, Alex, all that was sex. Dinner and a little entertainment. Tyree was no more inside my heart or head than anyone else. You, on the other hand, have been in my head and heart for a long time. Now you're in my bed. Okay?"
In answer, Chris bent over him and put his mouth on his. Thank God. Geoff slid his hand to the back of his neck, massaging as Chris explored, discovering what it was like to enjoy a man's mouth at his leisure. He was damn good at it for a novice. When Chris curled his hand around Geoff's cock, Geoff growled.
"You don't do this soon, I'm going to take over," he muttered. "Some of us haven't gotten off yet."
Chris's grin was dangerous and sexy at once. "Should I do this with you on your back, or the other way? What way works best for you?"
"It's your fantasy, big guy." Geoff passed his fingers over his lips. "How do you want me?"
"Can we do both?"
Geoff laughed. "Sure we can. Just not at the same time."
Chris thought it over in that careful, slow way he did, then he offered Geoff a hand to help him sit up. His fingers tightened on Geoff while his other hand dropped to caress Geoff's hip, exerting pressure to turn him over onto hands and knees. It wasn't entirely natural for Geoff, because the instinct to top was so strong. However, the curiosity and lust in Chris's gaze, as well as Geoff's desire to make up for the hurt of Chris not being his first, to offer him something for allowing Geoff to be his first, put all that aside.
"Just guide it in. There are a couple of rings of muscles there, just like it was for you. You never shove when it comes to anal sex. Take your time and wait to feel those muscles release. I'll push out, and . . ." Geoff let out a blissful curse when Chris stretched him and pushed through, so easily it was a pleasurable torment. The guy who could handle the fragile body of a bird in his hand would never be too rough when the moment called for a gentle touch. And his care in this context was erotic as hell.
"Never mind. You're doing just fine . . . Jesus." Geoff sucked in a breath at the size of him, the sensation as Chris pulled back, pushed back in, so slow and provocative Geoff's cock felt as if it was going to split its too-tight skin. Chris reached under him, gripping him with his big hand, and Geoff arched into him in reaction, impaling himself deeper on Chris's organ. "Fuck . . . need a condom . . ."