Burning Bright (8 page)

Neal squeezed both of Sasha’s ass cheeks around the toy and then rotated them, moving the toy inside him. Sasha had to pull back for more air as the motion stimulated his prostate. He’d never come this way. Neal’s hands moved closer to the sensitive tissue between his anus and scrotum and massaged it. Sasha arched his back, pushing into Neal’s hands, and Neal chuckled.

“Like that, do you?”

“Yeah,” he gasped.

“What happened to you turning the tables on me?”

Sasha chuckled. “Bet you I still can.”

“Not if you come this way, you won’t.”

“No one’s ever done it to me before,” Sasha taunted. “What makes you think you’ll be the first?”

“Let’s say I’m not like your other lovers and leave it at that?”

Sasha could read the angry possessiveness in the depths of his cinnamon gaze.
Note to self: don’t tease the big Marine, he doesn’t like it.
Of course, if it made him fuck Sasha harder, it might be worth it… “Prove it.”

Neal’s eyebrow cocked. He walked over to the cabinet and got a second condom. As Sasha watched, he smoothed it onto himself and stroked a few times to reinforce his already swollen erection. He held Sasha’s eyes as he lubed it with strong hands, the shine of the thick viscous stuff making Sasha shiver with anticipation. Neal walked back and kissed him, a possessive feel to it that he loved.

He moved his mouth to Sasha’s ear. “Like I said, I don’t fuck my clients.”

“Please, Boss,” Sasha whispered. “Please…”

“I only fuck my lovers,” the big man murmured. “Not my clients.” He bit down on Sasha’s neck. “Are you available?”

“Yes,” he whispered, his heart pounding. If he wasn’t careful, he was going to fall for this man. “Please, Boss.”

“I’ll think about it.” Neal leaned over him.

Sasha pressed up against Neal as the top’s hands slid around his body and over the swell of his ass. Neal yanked the plug out with a quick movement. Sasha cried out, the sensation too thick, almost to the point of pain. Neal didn’t give him a chance to catch his breath, but laid him carefully on the table, his ass off the end, making sure he didn’t jar the ribs. Grabbing Sasha’s hips, Neal pulled him back toward the big man’s body. He sat Sasha onto his thighs, like sitting him in his lap, and grabbed both sides of his ass. He spread Sasha wide and plunged himself to the hilt in Sasha’s waiting flesh. Neal cried out when Sasha did, his muscles quivering against Sasha’s back. Neal paused, breathing deeply, and pulled Sasha backward off the table. Neal supported him as he lowered them until the bigger man sat on his heels. Sasha cried out again as the new position hilted Neal deeper inside him.

“Fuck!” Sasha shouted.

Neal chuckled and pumped his hips hard enough that it bounced Sasha’s jaw. He had no idea how Neal managed it at this angle, but he clamped their bodies together and pounded into Sasha, heavy meaty sounds that echoed in the big room. He stilled again, holding Sasha tightly.

“Relax, Doc,” Neal grunted in his ear.

“I…” He tried to catch a breath, do something to help, but couldn’t control his body. “Gods… Neal.”

“Trust me, I know what I’m doing.” He kissed the side of Sasha’s neck. “Let it happen, let me in…”

Sasha didn’t understand. Wasn’t he relaxed already? But something in his body opened to the other man and his magic awakened. Heat, composed of whatever it was that he could do with animals, spun out of him like light. His body reacted, the hairs all swaying in a hidden breeze, and something inside him clicked. His legs released their frenzied clamp against the man at his back and his body molded to the larger one riding him.

“That’s it.” Neal gasped, panting in his ear. “Oh God, is that it.”

“Neal…”

“Say my name.”

“Gods. Neal.”

Neal grunted and his other hand came around to splay against Sasha’s abdomen. He pressed Sasha back and squeezed both his arms in his hands, palms slick against Sasha’s skin and very warm. Neal’s hips slammed into Sasha, harder than before, and a pressure built in Sasha’s lower back. He leaned his head against Neal’s chest, squeezing his eyes shut. Neal’s teeth closed on his shoulder, in the bend by his neck, and bit down firm enough to bruise but not break the skin.

An orgasm unlike any Sasha experienced before started to build and then smashed into him, clenching every muscle from toes to scalp. He screamed, emptying his seed and covering Neal’s wrist in shiny white fluid.

Neal bent forward and caught himself against the side of the table with one hand, keeping the other firmly around Sasha’s body. He thrust twice more and then slammed into him so hard Sasha fell forward with Neal riding him. As the big man’s cock pumped inside him, Sasha widened his legs and pressed back with his hips. Long moments passed before Neal stopped shuddering and then he slumped to the side, careful not to collapse onto Sasha.

Sasha gave a long sigh of contentment. “I can’t move.”

“I’ll carry you.” Neal rolled to his feet and gathered up his clothes. He kneeled next to Sasha and slowly, teasingly, slipped the cock ring off his body. Neal bent down and rolled Sasha’s balls in his mouth, playing with them with his tongue.

Sasha raised his hips and pressed against his mouth. “Gods, that feels incredible.”

Neal’s hands caressed Sasha’s stomach and nipples. “Come on. Let’s go upstairs. I think we certainly worked up an appetite.”

It took Sasha a time or two to stand, but he managed it. Neal handed him a black cotton robe with the Factory logo on the breast and slipped into another one himself. They made it back to Neal’s room and the top locked the door. Sasha watched as he collapsed on his back on the bed, arms out to the side and a grin on his face.

Sasha crawled onto the mattress and curled up next to him. Neal pulled the flannel sheet over them both and started snoring the moment it settled. It sounded like a rumbling purr, a deep sound that had a very slight whistle. Sasha smirked; it sounded cute. Dinner could wait. Sasha rolled into Neal’s warm body to snuggle on his chest.

Chapter Nine

Not the Charger!

Sasha woke alone in Neal’s big bed, but the sheets bore the heat of his lover’s skin. After eating, they’d slept the rest of the night entwined, Neal curled around his body like an enormous cat with one heavy leg over him. The big man’s body radiated warmth.

He hadn’t slept so well in ages.

He rolled over and inhaled against the pillow, pulling the big man’s scent into his nose. Neal smelled good, musky like expensive cologne. The door opened and Neal walked in.

“Morning, sunshine,” he greeted.

Sasha blinked at him from his nest, his morning wood rubbing pleasantly against the sheets. “Morning.”

“What do you want with your eggs?”

“My what?”

“Eggs. Usually served with toast and, for more civilized types, bacon.”

“Bacon isn’t civilized, it’s saturated fat that hardens the arteries.”

“Uh, ew?”

Sasha laughed. “I like all sorts of things in my eggs.”

“Okay. Should we put strawberries and shrimp in them?”

“Now who’s being disgusting?” Sasha yawned. “What are my choices?”

“Pico de gallo, cheddar or brick cheese, mushrooms, spinach, broccoli, onions or garlic.”

“How about all of the above?”

Neal chuckled. “That’s what I told Steve. He’s making them now.”

Sasha’s head came up and he stared at his new lover. “What?”

“You heard me.” Neal winked and got his robe, freshly laundered, and tossed it over Sasha’s body. “Come on, get up, lazybones.”

Sasha rolled out of bed with fewer creaky joints this morning and examined his bruised ribs in the bathroom mirror. They seemed less discolored and definitely didn’t hurt as much. He took care of business and washed up, the smells from the kitchen teasing him. He slipped into Neal’s robe and stepped into the living room right as Steve served the bacon.

“Smells good in here,” Sasha said.

Steve grinned. “Have some coffee, it’s on the counter.”

“I’ll get the toast,” Carlos offered.

“Can I get anything?” Sasha asked.

“A chair?” Steve retorted.

Paul walked in from the hallway and pushed the door shut. “He says he won’t come in, Boss.”

“Dammit,” Neal muttered.

“TJ’ll come around when he’s ready,” Carlos murmured.

“Who’s TJ?” Sasha asked, stirring the cream into his coffee.

A short silence met his question and then Neal sighed. “He’s one of my men, but he had a rough time after Afghanistan and has trouble with strangers.”

“Oh.” Sasha sipped, and added more sugar. Neal and Paul exchanged a look as he turned. Sasha frowned. What was it about this TJ that had them on edge?

“Okay, guys, sit down.” Steve brought a huge skillet over and served them each a huge helping of colorful scrambled eggs and vegetables. Carlos passed around toast and they all dug in, concentrating on eating, and a lull fell on the conversation.

Sasha offered to help with the dishes, and he and Carlos rinsed them and filled the dishwasher. Paul stepped out to check on something downstairs and Steve went with him to collect his laundry.

“Is this the only apartment on the top floor?” Sasha asked.

Carlos nodded. “Yeah. Me and the guys, except Mario, share apartments on the second floor.”

“Who’s Mario?”

Carlos sipped his coffee. “He was in our unit. He’s the cook now. He lives with his huge family that bugs him to produce grandkids.”

Sasha chuckled.

“What was your interview for?”

“A new post at Northwestern, in Veterinary Medicine.” He glanced over to find Carlos studying him with every appearance of interest. He explained more of the job.

“When do you find out?”

“In a couple of weeks.” Sasha sneaked a peak at Carlos’s ass as he loaded the dishwasher, but Carlos turned his head and caught him at it. Sasha flushed with a surge of heat that made him dizzy.

Carlos didn’t seem to mind. “Wow, you’re really full on, aren’t you?”

Sasha frowned. “What do you mean?”

“You don’t like girls?”

He shrugged. “I’ve experimented, like anyone else. I like girls, they just don’t get me hot. I knew pretty early on I liked men. Why?”

“I like to keep my options open.”

Sasha shrugged and turned to reach for the stack of plates waiting to be rinsed. “I came out when I was twenty-two, but by then it was a formality. Turns out, my aunt and the rest of my coven already knew. I thought my dad would kill me, but he was really cool about it.”

“What’s he think about you moving here?”

“He died when I was in college.”

Carlos’s eyes widened. “Wow. I’m really sorry.”

“Thanks.”

“What about your mom?”

“She was upset I wouldn’t give her any grandkids. You know how her generation is. I’m an only child and my mom was pretty protective of me, since she wanted a big family and they almost didn’t even have me.”

“Mama’s boy, huh?”

“Shut up.”

Sasha wiped down the table and turned back to find Carlos right behind him. He stopped, inches away, eyes locked on Carlos’s lips. Full and soft-looking, they quirked up into a grin. He flushed and stepped back.

“Sorry,” he mumbled.

The door sprang open and Paul appeared. “God dammit, Neal!”

“What? I’m busy,” Neal shouted from the bathroom.

“Tell him somebody’s busting up the Charger,” Paul snarled at Sasha and raced into the hall. Carlos blinked and then shot after him.

Neal burst out of the bathroom. Sasha frowned, amazed that Neal could hear while in the other room and the speed with which he moved. Sprinting after Neal, Sasha couldn’t seem to catch up until he joined the men in the alley. He vowed to ramp up his running again; he must be
way
out of shape.

He listened while yet another huge man explained what happened. “…after TJ yells on the radio that we have company in the car lot, I come out as the welcome wagon and must’ve scared them off.”

Sasha could understand the reaction. This new man had Marine stamped all over him, literally, with USMC tattooed on his biceps. Over six feet tall, he possessed more muscles than any of the men Sasha met to date. The assault rifle probably helped too.

Paul made the introductions. “Doc, this is Mario, the cook.”

Sasha blinked and the other man glared at Paul, who grinned back. Then the new man’s attention switched to him. Swinging the rifle over his shoulder and behind his back, he reached out huge arms and engulfed Sasha in a bear hug.

“I heard about you and how you got hurt. You okay, little guy?”

“Fine, except my ribs.” Sasha blinked away the tears that the hug caused. That nickname better not stick… “Call me Doc. Everyone else does.” After being released, he got an awkward pat on the shoulder instead. “How did TJ know what was going on?”

“We have a camera on the private lot, because it’s so far from the back door.”

Joining the men walking down the alley, they drew nearer to Neal. Neal had run past them to check the damage to his car and no one seemed in a hurry to interrupt his inspection. He kept circling the Charger, his boots making crunching noises in the glass scattered over the pavement. His silence was kinda scary. Sasha winced seeing the broken windshield and taillights.

“Punks,” snarled Paul.

“That’s the odd thing. It was a big guy dressed like an eighties pimp, not a gang banger. And when he jumped in the waiting car I think he yelled something Russian,” Mario explained.

Sasha’s heart sank. The last thing he had wanted to do was cause trouble. “If these guys are back because of me… Wait, I remember something one said.” Neal turned to look at him and Sasha was the center of attention. “They said that it was boring staking out this place.”

“Crap, they’re casing us and we didn’t notice.” Carlos glared around, as if expecting them to drive back.

“Guess we shoulda listened to TJ and gotten more cameras, Sarge,” Mario rumbled.

“Okay, everyone back inside. Tell TJ to call somebody to fix the gate. We need to have a briefing.” Neal didn’t look happy.

While Paul spoke into the radio, they all trooped back into the building.