Aria (8 page)

S
AM hadn’t planned on going back to Aiden’s hotel, but he wanted to. His attraction to Nick had been a low, steady thrum, but the sexual need he felt when he was near Aiden was a palpable thing. Like sitting too close to a fire, it burned, but he didn’t want to move away for fear of the cold.

The hotel was a hybrid: small, like most European hotels, but with the conveniences of its US counterparts. Sam was surprised to find that the bar in the lobby featured a jazz trio, and even more surprised to discover that the live music was quite good. He and Aiden lingered over their drinks, alternately listening to the music and continuing their conversation.

“I had no idea it was so late,” Sam said in stunned surprise when he finally looked at his watch and saw that it was nine o’clock. “I should get going. Jules and Jason will be expecting me back.”

Aiden, who was sipping his third or fourth vodka tonic, smiled at him and, with one practiced movement, put his hand over Sam’s. Their eyes met as he said in an undertone, “Come up to my room? I can order us some dinner.”

Aiden waited patiently, his earnest gaze focused on Sam. The easy conversation and Aiden’s relaxed charm were so damned enticing, and the candle on the table seemed to bring out the amber in Aiden’s eyes.

Sam inhaled slowly and swallowed. “Sure.” His voice sounded confident, but his gut clenched in anticipation. He wasn’t exactly nervous—the alcohol had dulled most of that—but he wasn’t quite convinced that it was the right decision either.

Stop analyzing. This is a vacation. You’re supposed to enjoy yourself.
Aiden flagged down the waiter, insisting over Sam’s protests that he pick up their tab. They rode the elevator upstairs in silence as Sam texted Jason once more to let him know that he might not be back until morning. He could imagine Jason’s expression as he read the text, but the only response he received was a simple
Enjoy yourself
.
Aiden’s room was far nicer than anything Sam had imagined, a suite with a separate sitting room and a bathroom that was larger than any he’d seen before in a European hotel. Aiden had moved up in the ranks of opera singers if the price tag for a room like this was any indication.
“Nice.” Sam looked around appreciatively.
Aiden smiled. “When I first came to Europe, I slept anywhere I could. David introduced me to Jason and Jules… I got intimately acquainted with their couch.” He chuckled.
Sam thought of Aiden’s earlier comment that he’d once thought of settling in Paris. “So London’s home?” He wouldn’t ask about Aiden’s ex. Not yet, at least, although he was curious after reading the article on the Internet.
“I guess you could call it that.” Aiden’s expression betrayed nothing, but Sam swore he saw a hint of pain in his eyes. “I’m not there very much. I’ve been so busy singing, I don’t have time to put down any roots.”
In some ways, Aiden was much like Sam had been before he’d moved to Philly. Nick’s death had left him without a place to call home. Nick had
been
his home. There was something familiar in the emotions Sam sensed in Aiden. He seemed unsettled.
No. He seems lonely.
Sam walked over to Aiden, stopped a foot or two away, and met Aiden’s eyes. Even with the buzz of the alcohol, he still felt nervous this close to Aiden. He hoped his hands weren’t shaking as much as he thought they were. “I know we said just friends,” he began, “but I’d really like to kiss you.”
Sam knew it was silly—neither of them believed this was about being “just friends” anymore. But the look of pleasure on Aiden’s face was needed encouragement. Sam stepped forward and put his hands on Aiden’s face to draw him closer. Aiden smelled of musk and rain, and his jaw was rough with stubble.
Sam brushed his lips over Aiden’s, a feather’s touch, taking his time to linger and inhale the other man’s scent. Sam’s cock filled in response, and he felt Aiden’s shudder as their bodies pressed together. Aiden was hard too. Sam could feel his erection as surely as he felt his own against Aiden’s thigh. He linked his hands behind Aiden’s head and slipped his tongue past the willing lips. He closed his eyes and reveled in the feel of Aiden’s body, the warmth of him.
God, he’d missed Aiden! He hadn’t realized until now just how much. For five years he’d rationalized their relationship away. He’d convinced himself that he’d been getting over Nick, that he needed Aiden because he craved the warmth of another person after being alone for so long. But now, as he ghosted his hands over Aiden’s shoulders and back, he understood that Aiden had offered him much more than warmth all those years ago. Sam just hadn’t seen it. He hadn’t been
ready
to see it.
Aiden untucked Sam’s shirt and pulled it over his head before licking a line up to Sam’s neck. Sam’s breath came in ragged gasps as Aiden tossed the shirt aside and began to nip and suck on Sam’s nipples.
“Harder.” Sam spoke in a hoarse whisper.
Aiden growled as if he’d been holding himself back, waiting for Sam’s approval. He took Sam’s left nipple between his teeth and Sam hissed his response, shuddering as the sting melted into pleasure.
He had never let himself go sexually, never shown anyone the side of himself he kept hidden. He had always been the one with the power. But with Aiden, he wanted to take the chance. He wanted to give up control.
“Fuck me,” he moaned. “I’ve never let anyone do that to me. I want you to fuck me like I did to you when we first met.”
It seemed to take Aiden a minute to fully comprehend Sam’s words. But Sam could tell he understood. He could see the hunger as well as the pleasure in Aiden’s eyes, and he knew it was reflected in his own.
“Get undressed.” Aiden’s tone wasn’t harsh, but there was no mistaking the command.
Sam’s body thrummed with both excitement and apprehension. He took a deep breath, forced back his fear, and did as Aiden asked. He kicked off his still damp shoes and socks, not caring where they landed. Then, his eyes on Aiden’s, he unbuttoned the fly of his jeans and pushed them down over his hips. He stepped out of them, wearing only his boxers.
“All of your clothes.”
Sam was already painfully hard. He pulled the boxers off, his face hot with embarrassment at his jutting erection, his shoulders tense. He felt vulnerable, but he couldn’t remember ever being so turned on. Perhaps sensing Sam’s anxiety, Aiden walked behind him and began to massage his shoulders, working his fingers into the muscles until it hurt.
“Turn around and put your hands on the bed,” Aiden ordered.
Sam complied, bending over so that his ass was displayed. He ached to know what Aiden would do to him. Then he felt Aiden’s hands on his buttocks, squeezing and manipulating the muscle there. Aiden nipped at the skin, then licked and kissed the pain away. At each tiny bite, Sam moaned until Aiden spread his cheeks and Sam felt the warmth of his tongue at his hole.
No one had ever touched him like this. He felt momentarily uncomfortable. But Aiden’s soft moans of pleasure soon had Sam forgetting all about his embarrassment. He closed his eyes and just let himself feel.
“Oh… damn… Aiden….” Colors flashed beneath his eyelids and his breath came in gulps.
“You taste so good.” Aiden’s voice was impossibly low and a bit rough to Sam’s ears. Aiden spread him even wider and pressed his tongue inside him, past the tense muscles Sam fought to relax, deeper still. Sam growled, the alcohol and the intensity of the sensation making him feel as though he were floating.
Aiden withdrew and said, “Lick your hand and rub yourself.”
Sam willed the room to stop spinning around him. He spit on his hand, although he didn’t need much since he was already leaking so badly. His cockhead was so sensitive that he had to squeeze himself a few times or he’d have come right then and there.
By the time Aiden had replaced his tongue with several lubed fingers, Sam was coming hard all over his hand and the sheets. It was almost painful, he was so stimulated. From a distance, he heard Aiden rip open the foil condom packet. He felt Aiden press against him, then ease himself past the clenched ring. It burned.
“Relax, baby,” Aiden purred near his ear. “It’s going to hurt a little, but I promise you it’ll be worth it. Just relax.”
Sam let his mouth fall open and leaned his head forward on the pillows. He stopped fighting the intrusion, imagining himself opening to Aiden’s cock.
“That’s it, Sam. Let me in.”
“Oh, fuck!” Sam shouted as Aiden seated himself fully inside. The burn intensified and faded as Aiden slowly pulled out, then pushed back in, using Sam’s hips as leverage. Three or four thrusts, and Sam’s spent cock reawakened. His single thought—
why the hell didn’t I do this before?
—dissolved into a blur of sensation. Sam didn’t think, he let himself
feel.
“You good?” Aiden asked.
“God, yes. It feels….” Sam couldn’t finish the sentence. The sensations were too overwhelming. It was as though he had discovered a completely different part of himself hiding under the veneer of control he’d worked so hard to master.
Aiden’s throaty laugh echoed about the room. He reached around Sam’s waist, pulled him up a bit from the bed, and fisted Sam’s cock. “Come with me, Sammy,” Aiden whispered in Sam’s ear. “Let me hear you come when I come inside you.”
“Yes. Please. More. Make me come again.”
The next thing he knew, Sam was coming into Aiden’s slippery hand. A heartbeat later he felt Aiden’s body shudder his release. Aiden bent over him so that his chest was tight against Sam’s back. Sam felt Aiden’s heart pounding and heard Aiden’s gasps against his sweaty neck.
“So good,” Sam said. “God, that was so good.” He turned his head and met Aiden’s gaze.
Aiden kissed him.
“So fucking good.”
A
IDEN awoke to moonlight seeping through the half-drawn drapes, Sam’s arms wrapped around his waist, Sam’s head on his chest. It wasn’t that he couldn’t sleep; he didn’t
want
to sleep. He’d guessed at what lay beneath Sam’s controlled exterior years before. But tonight had been a revelation. He wanted to remember this night and the sound of Sam’s voice as he came, the look of surrender in Sam’s eyes. He wanted to remember how he felt when Sam ceded control. Completely.
His mind wandered back to New York City and to their brief time together.
Nothing’s changed
.
In two weeks, he goes home and I’m still here.
And that’s how it should be. He wasn’t interested in giving up his career, and Sam had made his feelings about long-distance relationships clear five years before.

A
IDEN glanced at Sam as they ran, side by side, down the path that led by the upper lake in the Bois de Boulogne. They’d spent the better part of the past two days together, exploring the city when Aiden hadn’t been in rehearsals. And the nights—Aiden almost grinned to think about the past few nights in his hotel room. They’d made love, they’d fucked, they’d slept spooned together like lovers who had been together for far longer. Sam felt so damn familiar, sometimes Aiden imagined the intervening years had been more like a few weeks.

“This place is incredible.” Sam’s voice brought Aiden back to the here and now. “Reminds me of Central Park.”
“When I was doing auditions years ago, I’d come here every chance I got. Take the subway and spend the day. I had a lot of downtime.”
“Seems like you don’t anymore.”
“A few weeks here and there. Every once in a while, I get more than a week. I’ve got two weeks off in August.”
“Anything special planned?”
“I rented a place on the beach in Alabama. Nothing exciting. I thought it’d be nice to chill somewhere out of the spotlight.” Aiden’s family had never been able to afford vacations. He’d grown up envious of the other kids whose families had rented houses on the Gulf Coast, so when he’d made enough money to take a vacation, Aiden hadn’t thought about Monte Carlo or the French Riviera. Besides, those places reminded him of Cam and the days they’d spent aboard the Sherrington family’s yacht.
“Seriously? I used to go there with my folks. Where do you stay?”
“Fort Morgan, not far from Gulf Shores.” Aiden warmed with the reminder that Sam had grown up so close to his own home in Mississippi.
“We stayed in Gulf Shores a few summers. We’d all pile into the minivan. My dad would fly back up to Memphis to work during the week, but my mom would take us to play miniature golf and to the beach.”
Aiden wondered—in that vague, dreamlike way he’d begun to wonder about Sam since they’d reconnected—if maybe someday he and Sam might spend some time there together.
They headed back to Jules and Jason’s a few hours later and arrived around lunch.
“Meet you at the hotel lobby in about an hour?” Sam pushed a stray lock of hair from his eyes.
“Sounds great. One of the other singers told me about a new place near Étoile that’s supposed to be good. We can do some shopping afterward if you’d like.”
“Perfect. I’d like to pick up a few gifts for folks back home.”
Aiden couldn’t resist leaning over to kiss Sam lightly on the lips. “See you soon.”
Aiden walked backward and waved as Sam punched the code on the outer doorway and slipped inside. It had been a great morning. He had rehearsal at five, so there’d be plenty of time for a quick lunch and a trip to Galeries Lafayette or one of the other big department stores.
Jules had invited Aiden for a late dinner that night after rehearsal, back at the apartment. Aiden felt slightly guilty that he’d been monopolizing Sam for most of his Paris visit, but neither Jason nor Jules seemed particularly concerned. In fact, it was quite the opposite. Both men would disappear when Aiden showed up at the apartment to meet Sam, then claim to have something to do. This was usually followed in short order by Jules biting his bottom lip to keep himself from smiling or a text from Jason saying
Have fun
. Or both.
Subtle as a freight train. Both of them.
Aiden loved them for it.
S
AM showered and dressed quickly, choosing a pair of dark jeans and a lightweight linen sweater Jason had picked out for him from Jason’s sister’s line of menswear. It fit the contours of Sam’s broad chest and was slightly translucent. Rather than try to tame his wavy hair, he let it dry naturally. After a quick glance in the mirror, he decided he looked about as good as he could. He hoped Aiden would notice.
Aiden. God, but the past week had been a surprise. Sam knew he would have to leave in less than two weeks, but he was having such a good time with Aiden he’d pushed the thought from his mind on several occasions, focusing instead on the here and now.
Sam walked into the hotel lobby to find Aiden speaking to a young woman. Aiden’s back was to Sam, so Sam, not wanting to interrupt, waited patiently a few yards away. He didn’t intend to listen in, but the sound of their voices carried through the room.
“But certainly you can understand that my editor needs more than just a ‘no comment’ for this story, Mr. Lind,” the woman said in a clipped British accent. “Your public wants to know about Madame Gilman. Especially after Lord Sherrington suggested that you two might have been seeing each other behind his back.”
Aiden’s body tensed at those words. “He said that?” The shock in his voice was evident.
“What’s your response, Mr. Lind? If it’s a lie, this is your opportunity to set the record straight.”
“I never cheated on Cam. Never.”
The woman tapped the screen and scribbled something onto her tablet. She looked back up at Aiden and asked, “Why would Lord Sherrington suggest it, then?”
“I have no idea. Look, Miss Evans, is it?”
The woman nodded.
“I have nothing more to say. I think—”
“Mr. Lind,” she said with a knowing smile, “I know Lord Sherrington still sends you flowers every few—”
“How the hell would you know
that
?” It was more than simple irritation now. Aiden was obviously angry.
“All I’m asking is whether you and Madame Gilman are still together.”
“We’re not,” Aiden replied. “We never
were
together. It wasn’t anything like that.”
“Tell me why I should believe you, Mr. Lind, and I promise I’ll leave you alone.” Her expression was unforgiving. “Give me something my editors will be happy with, and I’ll hop the next train back to London.”
“I can’t give you—” Aiden began, his voice raised.
“Aiden,” Sam interrupted, striding over to them and kissing a very surprised Aiden soundly on the lips. “I thought we had a lunch date.” He spoke in a thick Southern drawl. “Or were y’all planning on keepin’ me waitin’ all afternoon?” He embraced Aiden, put his lips to Aiden’s ear, and whispered, “I’ve got your back.” Sam sincerely hoped he hadn’t overstepped by intervening. But Aiden looked so uncomfortable, and Sam hadn’t been able to stop himself.
“Excuse me,” the reporter said as Sam finally released Aiden. “Are you a friend of Mr. Lind?”
Sam ran his fingers through his hair, making sure to look the woman directly in the eyes. “A friend? I’d say we’re much more than friends, wouldn’t you, baby?” He snaked his other arm around Aiden’s waist and pulled him close.
She had her tablet poised as she asked, “What’s your name?”
“Beau McKenzie.” Sam didn’t hesitate. “And I’m afraid Mr. Lind here is late for lunch. If y’all will excuse us, maybe we can talk sometime later.”
Without another word, Sam led a speechless Aiden into the elevator and pressed the button for Aiden’s floor. The door closed as the woman shouted, “Wait! Mr. McKenzie, I’d like to ask you a few—”
A moment later, Aiden was doubled over, laughing. “Beau McKenzie? Where did you come up with that one?”
Sam grinned tentatively. “My oldest sister married him. Only name I could think of on the fly.” He shoved his hands in his pockets and glanced down at the floor. “I hope you don’t mind.”
“Are you joking?” Aiden licked his lips and laughed again. “That was priceless. But you didn’t need to—”
Sam kissed Aiden, relieved that Aiden wasn’t angry and even happier that Aiden seemed genuinely pleased. “Nah, I didn’t need to. You’d’ve handled it fine, I’m sure. But it was
damn
fun.”
The elevator door opened and they stepped out. “But seriously, Sam,” Aiden said, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything to that woman, I should have just told her to get lost.”
“No need to apologize. Remember? We said no more apologies.”
“But that stuff about Alexandria. We were never—”
“Old news.” Or Sam hoped it was. He hoped he hadn’t misjudged Aiden, that the articles he’d read online hadn’t been the “real” man. But he knew he had no right to ask Aiden not to see other people. He brushed aside his discomfort and changed the subject. “So how about lunch?”
“We could slip out the back of the building and grab a taxi. She’s probably gone by now.”
“I was sort of thinking we could have lunch in the room,” Sam said with an impish smile. “You know, in about an hour or so.”
Aiden laughed. “All right, Mr. McKenzie. Just don’t tell Sam, okay?”
“You got it.”