Don't Read in the Closet volume one (23 page)

CHAPTER 7

I’m
driving him to his sister’s house, where we’re going to have a barbeque and
play with the kids. How the hell did this happen?
He checked on Kail in
his car seat in the back seat, and then flicked a quick glance at the hunk of
tanned man sprawled in the passenger seat next to him. Sully had switched his
pajama pants for a pair of hibiscus print board shorts in teal and blue and a
simple white tank top. He’d allowed the flip flops to drop from his feet as
soon as he’d gotten into the car, and somehow, unfairly, even his feet were
sexy and turned Devyn on.

Was he really
so starved for masculine company that he fell for the first man to smile at
him? No. He wasn’t that kind of guy. Sully was special, a man to be counted on.
Maybe, eventually, a man to be trusted. The timing sucked, but he couldn’t
regret the advent of Sully into his life. If only his Dad would call back with
news from the lawyers about his urgent plea for an emergency custody hearing!

It turned out
that Tally and Dude lived in one of the coastal towns, but not on the beach
itself. It was a quiet little family neighborhood and a pretty big house and
lot by California standards. The palm of Sully’s hand in the small of his back
reassured him and it didn’t occur to him until the door swung open how the
posture would appear to Sully’s sister, who greeted him with a beaming smile
and an exuberant hug.

He tried to
hang back, but Sully drew him forward, introducing Devyn and Kail to a herd of
children and a tall blond man with knowing blue eyes. The food was good, the
conversation was fun, and Kail clearly loved the attention and was fascinated
by the Rawlings’ baby girl. Devyn relaxed over the course of the afternoon.

He sat on a
lounger watching Kail playing with little Amber in an inflated kiddie pool when
Sully strolled over and perched on the edge of the chair next to him. He
flicked a glance out the corner of his eye, and gulped iced tea from his glass
when he saw that Sully had that damn key in his mouth again.
Damn. Has he
got any idea how sexy that is?

Sully played
with the key for a moment or two, eyeing Devyn. “So.”

“What?” He
bolted upright nervously. His heart pounded in earnest now, but from fear not
arousal. Had Sully discovered his secret?

“I’m not sure
about how you’re going to feel about this, so I’m going to come right out and
say it.” Sully dropped the key and pulled his sunglasses down from his hair. He
tapped his lower lip with the earpiece, and Devyn licked his own lips,
remembering Sully sucking the earpiece by the pool the day before. What had he
said? He had oral issues? Damn.

“You’re going
to come right out and say something, go ahead.” He couldn’t help the
belligerence that echoed in his voice, and the responsive spark of interest in
Sully’s eyes intrigued him. Arousal, fear, anger, pleasure that such an
attractive, clean cut man found him, with his piercings and tats attractive,
the emotions swirled through him.

Sully shoved
the glasses on, concealing the flames in his dark eyes, effectively hiding how
he felt. Devyn regretted that. At least when he looked into Sully’s eyes he
knew he wasn’t the only one bewildered by this connection between them.

“Tallia and
Dude, they’re offering to watch Kail while we go out for a bit, get a drink,
maybe
walk on the beach.”

Yes! His body
leapt at the idea, but his mind said he couldn’t leave Kail with people he’d
just met. “I shouldn’t leave Kail.” His protest was weak and he knew it. Tallia
and Dude were clearly loving, responsible parents, and Kail was due to nap in a
bit anyway. He latched onto that as an option. “Maybe, if Kail naps?”

“No pressure.”
The key was back in Sully’s mouth again, and Devyn squirmed in the lounger,
such a small leap to imagine something else in place of that key. “They’re
offering. Doesn’t mean we have to accept. We can just stay here and enjoy the
patio.”

Realizing how
much he wanted to go, to be alone with Sully, Devyn agreed before he could
second-guess himself. “Okay. But just for an hour. I’ll leave my cell phone
number. We won’t go far?”

Sully rose to
his feet in a smooth movement from the shallow lounger. Devyn fumbled a bit
getting out of his. “Dude! We’re going for a walk. You’re on deck to watch the
pool.”

The tall blond
haired man obligingly ambled over from his wife’s side to take the lounger
Sully had vacated. “Okay. Y’all
be
careful out there.”

“My cell
number….” Devyn began.

“He’ll call on
my phone, all right?” The first sign of impatience he’d seen from Sully was in
that statement. Devyn wondered if he was making a serious mistake. Sully might
be putting on a great laid-back act in front of his family. Closer acquaintance
might show the same unpleasant character traits that Kayla had displayed.
Unreasonable jealousy, possessiveness, selfishness; he really wasn’t up to
dealing with that again.

He shook his
head. “You know? On second thought—”

Sully’s hand
closed on his own and dragged him away before he could utter the words that
would change their plans. Out of sight of the others, just around the corner of
the house was a paved walkway between the garage and the main house. Sully
guided him onto that walkway and slammed him up against the side of the stucco
building, covering his mouth urgently.

Devyn’s mouth
opened on a gasp of surprise, and Sully took the opportunity to explore.
Slightly dizzy with desire, Devyn rubbed his tongue eagerly along Sully’s,
sucking at it hungrily. It had been just this morning that he’d kissed this man
for the first time, but this made the kiss he’d bestowed on the sleeping Sully
seem chaste. This kiss claimed, it aroused, it demanded response that Devyn
found
himself
all too willing to give.

Panting, Sully
drew back, lips gleaming with moisture that he licked with that agile tongue.
Devyn reached out to draw him back, but Sully shook his head. “I’ve wanted to
do that all day, since you woke me so sweetly with a kiss this morning. But we
can’t continue this here.”

Intent dark
eyes stared into his and Devyn shivered. Slowly he became aware that he was
grinding his erection against Sully’s taut thigh, and shuddering, tried to
still the movements of his hips. Strong warm hands closed on him, and he swore
he could feel the possessive burn of each finger on his ass through the fabric
of his board shorts. He opened his mouth, tried to speak, but could only
whimper in protest. He wanted. Very badly.

Sully pressed a
thumb to Devyn’s lower lip, and Devyn sank his teeth into it. Fucking tease.
Sully was right. They couldn’t do this here, six kids and Ma and Pa Cleaver
were just around the corner. He watched Sully’s eyes melt and darken, heard his
breath catch.

“I still have
the key.” Sully gestured toward the garage meaningfully.

Devyn couldn’t
make sense of it though. That one kiss had sent all his blood rushing south,
and his brain was functioning without. “Uh.” He managed.

Sully pulled
the key on its chain from around his neck. “This key unlocks the apartment over
the garage. It’s not rented out. If you want to, that is.”

CHAPTER 8

Sully held his
breath, his hand clenching around the key as he waited for Devyn’s answer. He
was being pushy, he knew it, but he’d never felt this instant response to
anyone before. Physical, sure, but he genuinely liked Devyn, and he more than
liked Kail.

Devyn’s brown
eyes sparkled and he drew in a deep breath, pushing away from the wall. He
nudged Sully gently out of his way and stepped forward. “Up there? There’s a
bed?”

Relief surged
through him. “Yes. A nice soft mattress on a full size bed. It’s soundproofed,
and you can see the back yard from a window around back. Is that a yes?”
Pushing
again, back off. Soundproof? Really? You had to mention that? Like you’re
guaranteed to make him scream? Shit.

He turned his
hand over palm up, and waited a bit longer while Devyn hesitated about putting
his hand into it. At last, they were moving up the walkway to the outside
stairs of the studio apartment. As they crossed the threshold, Sully peeked
back over his shoulder to see Dude’s eyes on him. He gave a little nod, and
urged Devyn forward with his palm in the small of his back.

Devyn froze a
few feet inside the door and surveyed the small living space. His voice, when
it came, was hesitant. “I should probably tell you I’ve never done this
before.”

“Oh, baby, we
don’t have to. We can sit over on the sofa and have a drink and talk, if that’s
what you want.” His own voice shook with the effort of staying calm and
reassuring, but the knowledge that this would be Devyn’s first time, that the
younger man came to him
a virgin, sent flames
of
arousal licking through his system.

“No. I want to.
It’s just—I was married for so long, and it wouldn’t have been right. So, I’ve
never been with a man. I thought that was the kind of thing you should know.”
Devyn ducked his head in embarrassment, and Sully’s mouth watered. He herded
Devyn over to the window, and pointed out into the yard of the main house.

“There’s Dude
with your little man. He’s keeping a close eye on him for us.”

Devyn peered
through the window anxiously, and Sully wondered why he seemed so guarded about
the kid. Something to ask about later. Meanwhile, father reassured about his
son’s well being, it was time for distraction.

Sully edged
between Devyn and the window, using his larger frame to nudge Devyn back out of
view. He curled a hand around the nape of Devyn’s neck, and tilted his head
slightly to the side. Devyn was temptation personified. He wanted to explore
every inch of tattooed flesh, to suck every piercing. “Made for me. You were
made for me.” He marveled at how well they fit together before covering those
plump tempting lips with his own. He lost himself in the pulse of blood, the
throb of sex, as he licked and sucked and nibbled those plump curves. The
gentle scratch of Devyn’s beard, the silky texture of his long hair, he was
drowning in sensation.

Devyn pulled
his mouth away, panting heavily and pressed his head into Sully’s neck. Sully
arched his neck to grant better access as Devyn licked and sucked, shivering as
he grazed Sully’s Adam’s apple with the sharp edges of his teeth.

“Yes,” He
murmured. “Bite me.”

Startled
silence greeted this demand, and he wondered if he’d exposed too much too soon,
then a sharp nip of teeth and he groaned
,
wrapping
both hands around Devyn’s head to guide him to the spot he liked best.

“Make love to
me.”

A deep shudder
racked Sully’s body, and he swore his cock doubled in size the instant his
brain comprehended the words. “Not yet, not yet,” he whispered soothingly,
stroking the lean muscles under the tank top Devyn wore. He allowed enough
space between them to pull the shirt off and quickly removed his own, hissing
in pleasure at the contact of bare flesh. Oh, God. This was not a good. He was
too aroused, too on edge. He had to do this right, make it good for Devyn. For
the first time, he cursed Devyn’s virginity. Getting down and dirty, a bit of
wham bam thank you man had its place in a man’s sexual repertoire, but not for
a first time. A man’s first time needed to be slow, tender and careful.

Maybe he
shouldn’t be doing this. “Are you sure?” He hated this. He’d be living in
torment if Devyn changed his mind. “This is big step. You should maybe not do
this with someone you’ve just met.”

Devyn answered
him by dragging his mouth back for another kiss. “I don’t feel like I just met
you. It seems like I’ve known you forever. I trust you. I want the first time
to be with you.”

Jesus. He
shouldn’t be so relieved, so happy. Devyn’s blind faith in him, that he
wouldn’t hurt him, put him on his mettle. Now he had to make it memorable.
Tenderly, wonderingly, he brought their mouths together again, reaching for the
drawstrings of their shorts and loosed both with a single tug.

Devyn’s husky
voice whimpered into his mouth, just a trace of laughter buried there in the
thread of sound, “Sully, please.” He thrust his hips forward, and their cocks
glided together in an intimate caress.

Sully took
Devyn’s hand again and led him to the bed, positioning him on his back. This
position was more intimate; it spoke of emotion, of engagement beyond sex. It
would allow him to measure Devyn’s responses through the expressions on his
face, the emotion in his eyes. He fumbled the drawer of the nightstand open and
withdrew a tube of lube and a condom packet.