Torrid

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Torrid : A Shounen-ai Romance Copyright © 2005 Morgan Hawke ISBN: 1-55410-595-1 Cover art and design by Eiris Key All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher. Published by eXtasy Books, a division of Zumaya Publications, 2005 Look for us online at: www.zumayapublications.com www.extasybooks.com

For Brent N. - Thank you so very much.

Morgan Hawke

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y sister asked me to find a good looking guy that can actually dance to be a male stripper for her bachelorette party. Want to do it?” Leonora, tall, elegant, raven-curled and blessed with curves for days, smiled from behind her broad desk. Trey set the last aluminum chair against the whitewashed wall and looked up the long studio floor at the ballroom dance school’s proprietress sitting at the far end, close by the double-door entrance. “Your sister wants a what?” He sauntered across the heavily waxed dance floor to perch on the edge of her desk. Leonora tapped the leather-bound appointment book before her with her decorative green and yellow ballpoint. Her red nails gleamed under the studio’s bright lights. “She wants a male stripper.” “Huh.” Trey pulled at the elastic holding his fine, straight hair in its customary tail. He freed it long enough to comb it through his fingers, then bound it neatly back again. “So, why not hire one from the 1

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phone book?” He stood up and turned sideways to tuck his discreetly pleated tuxedo shirt back into his snug black dance pants. That afternoon’s salsa class had been pretty rowdy. A bunch of excitable housewives had brought their less than enthused husbands. The husbands had warmed up as soon as they saw how hot all the hipshaking got their wives. “Forget the phone book.” Leonora scowled. Not pretty with all that red lipstick. “My sister wants a man that knows how to dance. Most male strippers suck at it.” “Oh.” Trey frowned and folded his arms. “So you think I’d be better? “Look, you’re amazingly cute, long blond hair, blue eyes, you’re built, and you dance like raw sex when you’re in the mood. You’re perfect.” Leonora held out his gold, wire-framed glasses. “It’s worth five hundred bucks.” Trey froze, hand outstretched. “Five hundred bucks?” Leonora smiled broadly. “For twenty minutes of your time.” “Wow.” Trey took his glasses and put them on. The world abruptly dropped into focus. He could see long distance just fine without his glasses; it was the middle distance and up close that gave him problems. “That’s quite a bit of money.” “All you need to do is show up here.” Leonora scribbled an address on the back of one of the ballroom dance school’s business cards. “Bring a g2

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string and those tall, sexy boots you wore to the last competition, for the pirate thing. I’ll bring the music.” She held up the card and pouted at him. “Shall I tell her to write out the check?” Trey took the card and examined the address. It was a public hall not too far out on the edge of town. He’d done a dance contest there once before. “The money is nice, but I don’t know if this is such a good idea.” “Too late, sucker, you took the card!” Leonora pulled her hands back and grinned broadly. “Can’t back out now!” Trey sighed. He might as well give in, because he knew for a fact that he’d lose any debate with her anyway. He was a pushover, and she knew it. “Okay, so where do I get a g-string for a guy?” Leonora happily scribbled on another business card. “Presario’s Lingerie, the best little adult toy store in the city!” She held it up, grinning. “Leather, handsome. The ladies like leather.”

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~ One ~ rey walked through the glass doors of Presario’s and stopped in astonishment. He had thoroughly expected a sordid and trashy men’s magazine place, but this shop was set up like an expensive and classy boutique. Everything was tastefully displayed, with direct lighting on the products and soft lighting everywhere else. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all. Bemused, Trey walked to the counter, and asked the girl where the male g-strings were located. She grinned, showing the cutest dimple in her cheek. “Really?” She leaned over the counter to look him up and down, then licked her lips. “Damn, you’re fine, too. You’re gonna make somebody very happy!” She pointed toward the back. “Go down that aisle, they’re on the back wall.” Smiling from her compliment, Trey sauntered down the indicated aisle, making his way toward the back. The shelves were loaded with every kind of brightly colored sex toy imaginable. He’d had no clue

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that there were this many different kinds of dildos, in that many shapes and sizes. He snorted and smiled. Scary… Ahead of him, Trey spotted another male customer frowning at a tasteful bondage display. The g-strings were on the wall just beyond him. Trey pushed his glasses higher up on his nose and moved past him. The customer turned to look at Trey. Trey turned to look at him—and almost stopped in his tracks. The man’s face was painfully masculine with strong high cheekbones, a square jaw, straight nose, and slanted black eyes under upswept black brows. His sleek black hair was combed straight back and bound into a tiny queue. He was clearly an Oriental, but one hell of a nice specimen. His long dark coat was no disguise for his incredible build. His shoulders were amazingly broad, tapering down to slim hips and strong thighs. Trey passed him and couldn’t help but think that the guy would have been a far better choice for a stripper. But could he dance? He smiled. Probably not. Painfully masculine guys like that rarely bothered to learn how to move their bodies, not when it was so much easier to simply pose. Trey continued to the wall and finally came across the display of male g-strings on tiny hangers. He frowned. They were little more than dick-pouches with straps, and awfully small. He sighed and flipped through the selection. A leather one caught his eye. He pulled it down to check the ‘holding capacity’ and frowned. How was he supposed to get all of him in 5

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something so small? He flipped through a few more and found something a bit roomier. He pulled it down. He was pretty sure he could get all of him in there… “What? Is it too big?” Trey sighed. “No, too small.” He looked over his shoulder. It was him, the Oriental guy, right behind him, almost touching. The guy was a couple of inches taller, so Trey actually had to look up. Heat flushed through him and his heart thumped for no apparent reason. A straight black brow lifted over a very direct midnight gaze, and a slight smile lifted the corner of his mouth. “Is that for your lover?” “No.” Trey’s cheeks heated. He looked away, dodging his gaze, but raised his chin. “Me.” “You?” The smile appeared, like a sunrise. “Are you a stripper?” The guy’s gaze moved down Trey’s body, then back up. “You definitely got the body for it.” Trey’s breath caught, both pleased and appalled by the compliment. Was the guy flirting? He seemed to have that interested look in his eye. What should he say? His impulse was to flirt back. That’s what one did when a woman flirted with you. But this was a guy! So? What could it hurt to flirt back just a little? It wasn’t as if he’d ever come back in this store again. Oh, what the hell… Trey pulled out his sexiest smile and tilted his head to look over the top edge of his glasses. “Yep. I’m shopping for a stripper costume.” 6

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He held up the leather dick-pouch. “Really?” The guy’s lush mouth curved up into a devastatingly erotic smile, sharpened and honed by his direct and distinctly predatory black gaze. He leaned a hair closer to Trey’s back, almost making contact. “I’d like to see that, you dancing.” Warm breath caressed Trey’s cheek, and heat rolled off the guy’s body, carrying the scent of clean, masculine sandalwood soap, and a hint of something more…feral. Under that unyielding gaze, warmth flushed up Trey’s collar and into his cheeks, then spilled back down into his belly. His dick twitched, filling, tightening, hardening… His smile slipped and he swallowed hard. Good God, he was getting turned on! Time to go! Trey broke the guy’s unblinking and aggressive stare and rolled smoothly away from his maddening presence. He turned back to smile at him. No need to piss the guy off with a hard cut. “Sorry, it’s just a private show.” The guy turned, frowning. “A private show?” Trey twirled the g-string on his finger and waved. “Real shame you can’t see me perform. I’m a damned good dancer.” The guy’s brows dropped low, his gaze hardening. Oh, shit, talk about playing with fire! “Bye!” Trey turned around and practically bolted up to the front of the store. He had to get out of there.

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~ Two ~ he night of the performance came faster than Trey expected. The drive was uncomplicated, and the hall was easy to find. He parked his Jeep behind what looked like about a million suburban housewife type vehicles. This far back from the door, it was going to be a hike to get there, too. Trey sighed, grabbed his smallest black gym bag, climbed out of his Jeep and started hiking toward the single-story building with his jacket and gym bag flung over his shoulder. He wove through the crammed parking lot, practically invisible in plain black jeans and a plainer black T-shirt. The main room was big and dark with dozens of tiny round tables covered in red cloths, crammed with aluminum chairs. The square stage in the very center wasn’t too bad, or all that big. It was a rental stage, so no brass pole. He was almost disappointed. There were a lot of women there—a whole lot. And all of them were deep into getting blitzed out of their minds. It looked like he was the only male there

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beyond the staff, anyway. However, despite his glasses and ponytail, the ladies seemed really happy to see him. In fact, he had to dodge more than a few enthusiastically groping hands, and he was still fully dressed. Trey hit the aged bar for a shot of scotch to get up the guts to go take his clothes off for them. Once he hit the stage, he’d be fine. Stage fright was something that happened before a performance, never during, but this… He looked around at all the seriously drunk women. This was just plain scary. Leonora came out of the crowd wearing a slinky red dress that almost contained her boobs and butt. Looping her arm through his, she led him all the way to the back, where the men’s room was. “Okay, do you need help getting ready?” She winked suggestively. Good God, no! Trey threw up his hands, his smile tight with alarm. “That’s quite okay, I’m good!” Leonora set her hands behind her and pouted. “Okay.” She waved him into the bathroom. “Well, go get naked, we’ll put on the music when you get on the stage.” Trey gave her a thumbs-up and bolted into the men’s room with his tiny bag. He must have been out of his mind to agree to this. The men’s room was huge, hospital green and pristinely clean. He could smell the fresh pine cleaner. Probably because he was the only guy there. Sighing, Trey walked into the biggest stall, the one with the handrails all the way around it, and dropped his bag. 9

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Crouching, he opened it and dug out his tall black leather pirate boots, the tiny leather pouch for his dick and a bottle of clear lube. His skin was sensitive to oils, so rather than baby oil, he figured the edible lube he’d picked up at ‘Presario’s’ would work on his chest and ass for shine. It was water soluble, so it ought to come off easier than oil. The g-string fit, but just barely. The tall boots were fine. They went up over his knees, but he’d broken them in really well at the last competition. He tugged the elastic from his hair and took off his glasses. A quick brush made his hair fall just past his shoulders rather nicely. He stepped out of the stall and stood in front of the full length mirror against the far wall. Time for a shine. Smiling sourly, he poured a handful of lube and started smearing it on his chest. It was certainly shiny—and smelled like vanilla. He supposed it was far better to smell like a pudding or an ice cream rather than something fruity, like strawberries. He poured more goop into his hand and started working on his ass and upper thighs. By the time he was done, the stink of vanilla was overpowering. Trey walked over to the tiny window and cranked it open to get some fresh air in there. Trey walked over to the men’s room door and prepared to run for it. He was going to have to run if he wanted to make it to the stage through all those drunken women with his g-string still on. He smiled and took a deep breath. He was definitely going to need another shot of whiskey when this was over. 10

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Trey launched out the door and jogged with a huge grin pasted across his face. Screams and whoops erupted all around him. He dodged and twisted through the ladies and leaped onto the stage, arms out, head up and ready to rumba. And right there in front of him, leaning against the back wall, was the guy—the guy from the adult toy store in black jeans and a black muscle shirt that showed off his gorgeously defined arms. “I’d like to see that, you dancing.” Trey blinked in astonishment. So did the guy. In fact, his mouth fell open and he straightened, his arms falling slack to his sides. Then he frowned, as though puzzled. What was he doing there? Trey almost frowned, but he latched onto his wits and kept his smile pinned on. The salsa music crashed into Trey’s ears and he went into action. It was automatic and instantaneous. He whirled in place, arms out, then slammed his heels and started rolling his spine and rocking his hips to the pounding music. His patented ‘you know you wanna fuck me’ smile bloomed across his face. The open admiration of the women and the scotch he’d downed encouraged him to twirls and spins. The music switched, but Trey’s boot-heels kept thumping in perfect time. He dropped to his knees, threw out his arms and bucked his hips, tossing his hair and panting for breath. The women whistled, screamed and tossed money at him. 11

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Encouraged, Trey leapt up onto his feet, and dropped face down in a push-up position and rolled from butt to shoulder and back like he had a body under him, tossing his hair for good measure, and all without touching the stage floor. He then flipped over onto his heels and shoulders and bucked upwards, too. The screaming escalated. The money increased. Trey hopped onto his feet and circled the stage, shaking his ass, rolling his hips and panting for breath while the women shoved money down his tall boots. Laughing, he tossed his hair and just barely managed to keep his g-string out of the hands of the more enthusiastic women. The guy from Presario’s inched closer to the stage, frowning, his arms crossed. Trey simply could not resist. He moved toward him, rocking, swaying and shaking his ass. He spun around, his blond hair flying, to give the guy a good look at his ass and dropped hard to his knees right in front of him. The guy looked straight into Trey’s face, his eyes widening. Trey winked and blew him a kiss, then lunged up onto his feet and bolted to the far end of the stage. The music slammed into a finish and ended. The women screamed and threw more money. Trey scooped up as much cash as he could, shoved it into his boots and made a mad dash for the men’s room. Yep, he was out of his mind.

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~ Three ~ anting and sweating, Trey leaned against the metal wall of the huge stall and peeled his boots off, scattering crushed and wadded bills everywhere. He smiled. Apparently he was a hit. He didn’t bother to count it, just pulled his folded clothes out of his bag and stuffed all the money in as-is. He’d un-wad all of it and count it once he got home. Barefoot and wearing only his g-string, he padded over to the sinks to try and get some of the sweat and goop off before he climbed back into his clothes. Unfortunately, the lube proved difficult to get off. A lot of wet paper towels and handfuls of the bathroom’s poor excuse for soap later, he finally realized that it was going to take a shower to get the vanilla scent off his skin. He was going to smell like a freaking pudding cake all the way home. He scowled at the wasted paper towels and groaned. “Shit.” “Damn, something smells good enough to eat in here.” The voice was masculine and very familiar. At the sink, soapy paper towels in hand, Trey

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froze. He closed his eyes. No way… He did not follow me in here. He opened his eyes and turned. The guy smiled from the doorway. “You were right; you are a damned good dancer.” Oh, shit… Trey smiled weakly. “Um, thanks.” The guy sniffed and frowned. “What in God’s name…? Is that vanilla smell, you?” Trey felt his cheeks heat and looked down at the sink. “I’m sensitive to oils, so I used…” No way he was going to say lube. “I used something else, and it’s vanilla flavored.” What am I saying? He looked up at the guy in shock. “Scented! Vanilla scented!” “Is that so?” The guy grinned and approached, his gait slow and easy, a stalking predator. “I don’t know. You smell pretty tasty to me.” Watching him closing in, Trey’s heart thumped in his mouth. I think I am in serious trouble here. He swallowed. “I think I should check and see.” The guy’s brows lifted. “Take a taste-test.” A taste test…? Trey sucked in a breath, dropped the paper towels in his hand and backed away. “Uh, let’s not, okay?” The guy’s smile sharpened, showing very white and very even teeth. “After that display up on the stage, right in front of God and everybody, now you’re shy?” Trey backed into the wall. “How about—not gay?” The guy snorted. “Good, me neither.” He lunged. Trey twisted around him and bolted. The guy reached out almost casually and snagged 14

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Trey’s wrist, spinning him. “Oh, no, you don’t, you little cock-tease!” Panicked, Trey swung his fist. The guy caught it in his hand. “Spirit! I like that.” Trey stared at his fist, captured in a hand bigger than his. “Fuck…” “Good idea.” The guy tugged Trey into him and casually twisted both of Trey’s arms behind him, holding him close, Trey’s naked chest to his black muscle-shirted chest. There was a huge erection under the guy’s black jeans, pressing against Trey’s crotch. Unfortunately there was an erection growing in Trey’s g-string, too. He bit down on his lip. “Shit!” “Before you go screaming for help…” The guy started walking forward, pushing Trey back step by step. “Keep in mind that you and I are the only guys in here, besides the employees. Do you honestly think any of those women out there can do anything for you?” Trey took one breath after another. No, they couldn’t, not against this guy. He was fucked. “Look, I’m sorry I teased you…” “Oh?” He kept pushing Trey backwards. “I’m not. I kind of liked it. I liked watching you shake your ass up there—right in front of me.” He maneuvered Trey into the big bathroom with all the safety rails, then back against the long wall. “The way you moved made me wonder what you’d look like when you came.” He smiled from only a kiss away. “Okay, that’s enough!” Trey struggled, jerking at 15

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his wrists. “Let me go!” “I don’t think so.” The guy pressed his chest against Trey’s pinning him against the wall. He clasped both of Trey’s wrists behind him in one big hand, then reached into his back pocket. He pulled out a pair of handcuffs. “This was supposed to be a gag gift.” He ratcheted one side open. “Oopsie, I kind of forgot to give it to the bride—about the same time I saw you wiggling your tight ass in my direction.” He reached behind Trey. “No, stop!” Trey shoved at the guy, but it was like shoving at a wall. The cuff closed around his wrist. “Oh, God!” Then it closed around the other. Oh, fuck… The guy stepped back, releasing Trey. Trey tugged. The cuffs were around both wrists and looped through the safety bar. He pulled, straining. The damned things wouldn’t break, either. He was well and truly caught. “Oh, nice.” The guy smiled, and tugged the hem of his shirt free from his jeans. “Struggle some more. It shows off all that muscle in your chest and arms.” Trey glared at him. “Asshole.” “What, on our first date?” The guy laughed; a deep, low, and sinful sound. “I really don’t think you’re ready for that.” He pulled the shirt up and over his head, then dropped it on top of Trey’s bag. Trey gasped. The guy’s chest, abdomen and arms were cut and defined like a god, but it wasn’t gymmeat; big bulky muscles from weight lifting. This guy was built like someone who had gained his bulk the 16

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hard way, through constant use. He wondered what it would feel like to touch it. A hot bolt of erotic heat spilled into his dick and made it throb. The guy’s brows lifted. “Like what you see?” Yes… Trey looked away and sucked on his bottom lip. Since when did seeing another guy excite him? “Hey.” Trey looked up and found the guy only inches away. He jerked back against the wall, nearly smacking his skull. The guy smiled. “Watch your head, idiot.” He caught Trey’s chin in one palm, tilted it up and lowering his mouth, he lapped at Trey’s bottom lip. Out of sheer habit alone, Trey opened his mouth. A strong, wet tongue surged in and stroked his. Trey stilled. He’s kissing me? He moaned in shock and tried to turn his head, but the hand under his jaw was mercilessly strong. And the tongue was insistently gentle. Trey felt his head go light under the delicately aggressive kiss. Trey didn’t know when he started exploring the guy’s tongue, but the guy was one hell of a kisser, and it just seemed like kissing him back was the right thing to do, simply out of sheer appreciation for the skill being used on him. A hand swept across his chest and encountered Trey’s hard nipple. It closed on it and pinched lightly. A bolt of sheer erotic delight stabbed straight into Trey’s painfully hard dick. He moaned into the guy’s mouth and his hips pressed forward against the guy’s hips and an equally rigid prick hiding in the guy’s 17

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pants. The guy moaned in apparently delighted reply, and pressed his hips against Trey’s, rubbing cock against cock. He released Trey’s mouth. “Well, now, that’s better.” Trey turned his face away, his cheeks flushed with heat. He licked his lips. He’d been kissing…a guy. And enjoying it. Lips and a tongue attacked Trey’s nipple. Delight burned hot and fierce, straight down to his cock. He threw up his head, releasing a small startled cry and jerked to the side, away from the mouth. The guy wrapped his left arm around Trey’s waist, holding him firmly in position. A dark eye stared up at him while a long pink tongue swirled around his nipple. Trey panted, and worked hard to suppress a moan. The guy lifted his head, then ducked and swept his wet tongue clear across Trey’s belly. Trey gasped and writhed, his knee lifting. The guy jammed a muscled thigh between Trey’s legs and lifted his head again, licking his lips. “Hmmm, you taste sweet, like…vanilla sugar.” His brow lifted. “And it smells like it’s all over you.” Trey dodged his narrowed gaze. The guy leaned close, and licked across Trey’s chest, up on his shoulder, down his arm, then ducked and tasted his thigh, and then the side of his butt. Trey squirmed but couldn’t escape the seemingly random swipes of wet tongue. Small sounds escaped his throat. 18

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They guy lifted his head and chuckled. “The shit is all over you!” His chuckle became a deep, rolling laugh. “My God, you used edible lube for shine!” Trey glared from the corner of his eyes. “Oils make me break out.” The guy braced his hands against the wall and leaned back. “So you used edible lube instead?” Trey ducked his head. “It was what I had, and it was water-based.” The guy laughed out loud. “It was friggen sugarbased, you idiot!” He fell against Trey, bare chest to bare chest, chuckling against his throat. “God, you are some piece of work.” “Great.” Trey rolled his eyes. “Thanks, can I go now?” The guy leaned back to look into Trey’s eyes. “In a minute.” Trey’s brows shot up. What was he up to now? The guy leaned close and stroked the side of Trey’s throat with his tongue. It tingled warmly, all the way down. Trey went still, then shivered hard. The guy purred right in Trey’s ear, “Oh, found a hot spot.” He licked Trey’s throat from neck to ear— stirring mind-numbing, cock-stirring sizzle. Completely unable to stop himself, Trey lifted his chin for more, his knee rising to writhe against his captor, rubbing his aching cock against the guy’s hard stomach. “Oh, yeah, you like that.” Teeth raked Trey’s throat, then clamped down on the broad, long muscle. 19

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Erotic fire seared straight down to Trey’s needy cock. His eyes opened wide. He hooked his leg around the guy’s thigh and bucked hard up against him, gasping out a long moan. The guy leaned back to gaze into Trey’s eyes. “You almost came there.” He licked his lips and smiled. “Hell, I almost came with you.” Trey bit down on his lip to keep from uttering a word. He needed to cum, and he needed it bad. He was shaking with desperation. But he was not going to ask for it, not from a guy, and certainly not from this guy. The guy rolled to Trey’s left. “Okay, I think we’ve both suffered enough.” Leaning his shoulders against the wall, he tugged at his belt, opening it. Trey flinched away. “What the hell are you doing?” The guy popped the button open and snorted. “What does it look like? I’m freeing my dick.” He looked over at him and pulled the zipper down. “My jeans are really fucking tight.” His cock-head appeared at the top, flushed and purple. He threw his head up and groaned, shoving the waist of his jeans down and wriggling to get it past his hips. Trey couldn’t look away. Watching all those muscles flexing while he struggled with his jeans was a shockingly erotic sight. The guy’s shaft appeared, long, curved and rigid, then the mature muscles that saddled his hips, his Apollo’s belt, then his ass, then the root of his cock, nested in tight curling black hair, and finally his balls. 20

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The guy groaned and released a breath, dropping his head. “Fucking-A, that’s better.” He turned and looked straight at Trey. “Remind me not to wear tight jeans around you, ‘kay?” Trey had no clue what to say to that. The guy smiled and leaned up against Trey’s side. “Your turn, pretty boy.” He reached out and grasped the top edge of Trey’s leather g-string. Trey gasped and his entire body went rigid. The guy yanked downward. Trey’s cock sprang free as though spring loaded, and worse still, it was so rigid it actually curved upward, reaching for his navel. The guy’s brows lifted. “Nice. Let’s see the rest of your package.” He jerked the g-string further down and released it. The tiny scrap of leather slithered all the way to Trey’s ankles. The guy took a sharp breath. “My God! You shaved? Everything?” Trey bared his teeth at him. “Of course I shaved! The damned g-string looked like crap with all my short and curlies sticking out of it!” The guy stared at Trey for a whole second, then burst into helpless laughter. He covered his mouth with both hands, obviously trying to stop his laughter. He stomped his foot. Trey turned away and scowled. “Oh, give me a fucking break, it’s not that funny!” The guy gasped for breath. “No, no…” He shook his head, and clamped his hand back over his mouth, his eyes tightly closed. A tiny chuckle still escaped. He dropped his hand. “It’s not what you said, but how 21

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you said it.” Trey glared at him. “What?” The guy wiped tears from his eyes and grinned. “You killed me when you said ‘short and curlies’.” Trey snorted, but a smile lifted the corner of his mouth. The guy leaned against Trey. “God, I could just see it, too.” Trey rolled his eyes. “Oh, please…” The guy caught Trey’s chin and turned him to face him. “Seriously, I like you.” Huh? Trey stilled, staring into midnight eyes. The guy’s mouth descended and Trey didn’t even try to move from it. Lips brushed against his very gently, then a tongue swept into his mouth to stroke his tongue with unbelievably hot velvet caresses. Trey’s eyes closed, and he found himself returning the caresses. He just couldn’t seem to resist. Fingers slid through Trey’s hair, gathered it tight, then pulled, forcing Trey’s head back and away from the guy’s mouth. He moaned in protest before he could stop. His eyes opened. The guy smiled. “Okay, time to show me the money shot.” Trey stiffened in complete alarm. “What?” “Don’t worry, I’ll do the work for you.” He licked his lips. “All you got to do is enjoy it.” Trey felt a hot hand close around his dick. It felt so good that he closed his eyes and groaned. “Oh, that’s nice.” Trey’s eyes opened. He couldn’t move his head to 22

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look down and see what he was doing. The guy had too tight a grip on his hair. But he could see those black eyes staring into his, and the smile on his lips. The hand on his dick stroked up to the flared edge of his cock-head in a strong firm pull, then his thumb swiped across the head. Trey’s mouth opened and his hips jerked, pushing his cock into the guy’s hand. He couldn’t help it. It felt so damned good. The guy smiled and stroked down slowly, then up slowly, then down again. Slow smooth stroke after slow smooth stroke. In fact, too slow. Trey gasped and strained, trying not to push into his hand to make him go faster. He wanted to cum, but he didn’t want to cum in another guy’s hand. But God, he desperately, desperately…wanted…to cum. “Easy, boy.” Stroke, stroke, stroke… “Don’t try to resist, just let go and empty your load for me.” Trey gasped, and winced. It felt so good. It felt too good. It felt like his dick was going to explode, and his head with it. “I don’t think I can.” He groaned. Liar, liar, pants on fire! He was so close already… Too close. Way too close. “You can. You’re right on the edge.” He swept his thumb across the top of Trey’s cock-head. Pre-cum slithered under his thumb. “Oh, yeah, you’re right there.” He squeezed just a little. Erotic fire flared from Trey’s balls to the tip of his dick. He choked and his body took over, his brain going bye-bye. A moan escaped his mouth. He bucked hard into the guy’s hand, and kept bucking, 23

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thrusting into the guy’s palm, fucking his hand, gasping out small, embarrassingly desperate sounds. He was going to cum. “Yes, that’s it, cum for me.” Bucking hard and fast, a choking cry came out of Trey’s mouth before he could stop it. “Look at me!” Trey’s eyes opened. His head tilted back, his body thrusting into a hot palm lubricated by his own precum, he stared straight into the guy’s black and direct gaze, looming over him, only inches from his face. His balls tensed and released. He froze and felt the delicious liquid fire of cum jetting up his dick. He cried out, his eyes trying to close, his mouth open with the ecstasy of cutting loose. He spilled, and spilled, shooting his load. His hips jerked instinctively, thrusting his cock into the guy’s hand, using his tight grip to milk himself dry. He moaned and his knees gave out, falling forward onto the guy. The guy released his hair, and his dick. Trey laid his head on the guy’s shoulder, panting for breath, his body shaking from the effects of his climax, his heart racing in his chest. “Oh, God…oh, shit…fuck…” The guy’s arm came around his waist, holding him up. “That was very good, very nice. Very sweet.” He positioned himself directly in front of Trey, his booted feet between Trey’s bare feet. His hand moved between them in a short up-down movement that brushed against Trey’s belly. 24

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“What…?”Trey tried to pull back. The guy wouldn’t let him. “Hold still.” Trey’s breathing quickened. “What are you doing?” The guy’s other arm came around him, embracing him, and his hold tightened. “I was greasing my dick with your cum.” Tray stiffened. “What?” Then he felt it, the rigid heat of the guy’s dick tight against his bare belly. The guy reached down with his other hand to grab Trey’s ass-cheek, his fingers digging in. He hunched, thrusting his dick up against Trey’s stomach. He relaxed and thrust again, then groaned. “Oh, yeah, this won’t take long at all.” He thrust up against Trey’s belly, then again, and again, harder and faster, his arm locked around Trey and his fingers digging tightly into Trey’s ass. The guy was masturbating against Trey’s body. Handcuffed and trapped in the guy’s embrace, Trey had no choice but to submit to the cock rubbing against him, greased in his own cum. The guy bucked against him, thrusting hard and fast, his balls banging softly against Trey’s. His breathing sped up to soft gasps. “Oh, yeah, oh, yeah…” Trey turned his head and his lips came in contact with the straining muscles on the side of the guy’s neck. He opened his mouth and tasted the guy’s sweat—and his arousal—against his tongue. It tasted…interesting. The guy moaned and shivered violently. His 25

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thrusts became erratic. Trey could not stop himself from lapping the guy’s neck, tasting him all the way to the back side of his jaw. He closed his teeth on the lobe of the guy’s ear, just because. The guy froze, and jerked against his stomach. “Oh, fuck!” Fiercely hot wetness spilled against Trey’s belly. Trey felt a bolt of shock. He had cum. He had known he would, that was the point of this exercise, but still… He’d never actually felt another guy’s release happen against his own body. The guy thrust again, slower this time, grinding his dick against Trey until all rigidity was gone. He slumped against Trey, groaning and pressing him back against the wall. His heart hammered against Trey’s chest. “Fuck…yeah.” The guy pulled back and they both stared at the creamy white wetness smeared across their bellies. He smiled. “Damn, boy, we dumped quite a load.” Trey scowled at him. “I’m going to have bruises on my ass from your fingers.” The guy smiled proudly. “Yes, you are, and you’ll remember that my hand put them there every time you see them in the mirror.” Trey stiffened. He hadn’t thought of that. The guy took Trey’s mouth in a fierce kiss, then pulled back. “Damn, that was good. Come home with me.” Trey jerked in his hold. “No! I can’t.” “Why not?” 26

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“I don’t…” He turned his head away. “Not with guys.” The guy’s leaned over to catch his gaze. His brow lifted. “But you just did.” Trey turned his head the other way, dodging his gaze and blushing furiously. “I, uh…yeah, but that wasn’t…normal. Not for me.” “Huh.” The guy stepped away, walking over to the sink. The water hissed on. The water went off. The guy walked back into the stall with his dick tucked in his pants and wet paper towels in his hand. “Does this mean I’m your first?” Trey looked away. Yes. And God help him, preferably his ‘only’. “Well, hot damn, a virgin.” He leaned over and stroked Trey’s dripping belly with the warmed paper towels, wiping away the cum. Trey shivered under the strong strokes. “I am not a virgin!” The guy looked up at him. “Then you’ve been assfucked?” Trey jerked back against the wall, horrified. “No!” The guy grinned and straightened. “Heh—cherryboy.” He leaned close and dropped a quick kiss on his lips. “Now you’ve got to come home with me. I haven’t had a virgin ass in ages.” He walked away with the soiled paper towels. “What is up with you?” Trey shook his head in astonishment. The cuffs rattled against the safety bar. “What part of ‘no’ don’t you get?” The guy walked back into the stall and picked up 27

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his black muscle shirt. “The handful of your cum that says, ‘yes’.” He pulled his shirt over his head and tucked it into his pants. What a load of crap! Trey scowled. “That’s just mechanics.” The guy’s black gaze narrowed and his jaw tightened. “Really?” He grabbed Trey by the face and took his mouth hard. Trey tried to resist, but the guy’s tongue found its way into his mouth, and then somehow Trey found himself stroking the guy’s tongue with his own, kissing him back just as fiercely. Moans boiled from his throat. The guy released him and scowled. “Mechanics, my ass.” Trey slumped against the wall, his knees weak. He’d kissed him back. He turned his head, but couldn’t stop looking at the guy from behind the fall of his blond hair. Why had he responded to that kiss? Confusion and a sense of imminent loss made the weirdest mix, congealing into a cold, hard lump in the base of his throat. The guy stared hard at Trey while fastening his jeans, his mouth tight. Trey shivered. Probably an effect of all the sweat cooling on his body. Yeah, that was it. Cooling sweat. The guys stepped up to Trey and reached around Trey’s body with both hands. Trey felt his entire treacherous body yearn to go to him, to lean against him, to fall into his warm embrace, to be held—which frightened him more 28

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than the threat of a dick up his ass. He raised his chin and stiffened, but a fine trembling broke out all over him. Trapping Trey’s gaze with his black stare, the guy and unfastened the handcuffs. He stepped back, staring. Trey gasped for a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding, and rubbed his sore wrists. The guy tilted his head to one side, his gaze focused and intense, then tossed the cuffs onto Trey’s bag. “Memento for you.” He turned to the side, reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. Trey leaned back against the wall, eyeing the guy warily. That better not be money he’s pulling out of there. I’m not a whore. The guy held up a white business card between two fingers. “When you change your mind, call me.” He dropped it onto Trey’s bag, shoved his wallet in his back pocket and thumped out of the men’s room. Trey took a piss, washed at the sink, then got dressed and packed his bag, all while desperately trying not to think about anything at all. His hair brushed and bound back in its customary tail and his glasses firmly perched on his nose, Trey abandoned the men’s room and fled to his Jeep without saying a word to anybody. He drove home with the radio playing as loud as he could stand it to drown out any possible thoughts. Once he was ensconced in his small apartment, he dropped the bag on his bedroom floor and kicked it 29

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under his king-sized bed so he wouldn’t have to look at it. He went into the bathroom, dropped his clothes and took the longest shower of his life.

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~ Four ~ t was two whole days before Trey had the guts to dig his black nylon gym bag out from under his bed. Kneeling on the hardwood floor he stared at it, then reached for the zipper and tugging it back with shaking hands, opening it. The scent of vanilla wafted out. His dick hardened, violently. According to the money still crammed into the bag, he not only had a check for five hundred already deposited, thank you very much, but four hundred and eighty in cash. His boots needed airing out desperately. He left the handcuffs in the bag. His gstring was missing. According to the white business card, the guy was Ken (Kenshin) Asano, a martial arts teacher of Shudokan, a Japanese style of karate. Trey blinked. No wonder he couldn’t do a damned thing to stop him. He was a fucking karate expert! Oddly, Trey suddenly felt a whole lot better about the situation, though he couldn’t quite put his finger on why.

I

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That didn’t stop him from masturbating in the shower while his imagination burned with visceral memories of the guy’s hands on his cock, and his tongue sweeping his skin… He spilled his load on the shower floor, gasping out Kenshin’s name. He went to work the following day with Kenshin’s card tucked in his wallet.

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~ Five ~ rey went to work, and did his best to express just how much fun dance could be when done with a partner to all the happily married couples and the freshly divorced singles that filled his classes. But somehow, it was harder to get enthused. At the end of the week, Trey’s paycheck in hand, Leonora rose from her desk chair. “Trey, honey?” Leonora set her warm hand on his shoulder. “Did you go and fall in love?” Trey jerked back so hard, his heels skidded on the freshly waxed floor. He nearly fell on his ass. He stared at her, his heart pounding painfully in his chest. “What?” Leonora winced. “That bad, huh?” Trey let his mouth hang open, too alarmed to say a single thing. What could he say? He closed his mouth and looked away. Was he…in love? No way, not after only seeing the guy only once. Well, okay, twice. An image of Kenshin’s smile flashed through his memory, and a stab of sorrow ached in his heart.

T

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Okay, so love at first sight was supposed to be possible, but was this…awful feeling weighing against his heart, love? Wasn’t love supposed to be exciting and wonderful? Love wasn’t supposed to…hurt, was it? He just didn’t know. He shook his head and wiped a hand across his jaw. “I’m… I’m not sure.” Leonora smiled sadly. “That’s okay, I am.” “What?” Trey turned back, staring at his boss in complete astonishment. Leonora crossed her arms and stared straight at him. “You’re not eating. My fridge is full of snacks you normally raid blind…” Trey lifted a shoulder and dodged her stare. “I’m just not hungry.” “Not hungry, my ass…” Leonora’s gaze narrowed. “You’re not happy, either. You don’t smile, at least not for real, and you have completely stopped laughing in any way, shape, or form. Every drop of cheerfulness you show is an act that you use like a weapon to make the class work, but it’s not real. The students haven’t noticed, but I have.” Trey’s jaw clenched. “Then if it’s not hurting the students, why does it matter how I feel?” God, did he just say that? Feel? “Because I care about you, you idiot!” Her lipstick red mouth curved up into a grim smile. “It happened at the bachelorette party, didn’t it?” Trey stepped back and turned around. He crossed his arms tight. He was not going to say another damned word. 34

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“Oh, Trey, sweety, do you want to talk about it?” Trey dropped his chin and shook his head slowly. “I don’t think…I can.” “Okay. I won’t push.” Leonora sighed. “Anyway, I have a private class coming in after closing, but I have an appointment I completely forgot about, can you do the class for me?” Trey sighed and turned to look at her. “Sure.” He didn’t have anything better to do. “What is it?” Leonora opened her appointment book and tapped a long nail against the page. “They’re signed up for the waltz and the tango. They need it for a wedding cruise.” She smiled. “They told me they’re trying to prove a point.” Trey frowned. “A…point?” “Yeah.” Leonora opened her desk drawer and pulled out the most gawd-awful gold sequined purse he’d ever seen. “Apparently it has something to do with the fact that one has a disgustingly wealthy, oldmoney family. They’re in love; in fact they’ve been living together for a while. I think they’re just trying to prove that their relationship not only works, they refuse to be ashamed of it.” Trey took a step back. “So they come from different backgrounds, what’s the big deal?” Leonora walked over to the door and plucked her long, creamy chenille coat from the coat stand. “I don’t see the problem, and neither do they.” She shoved her arms in the coat sleeves. “I guess they just want to put on a good show.” She buttoned her coat and blew Trey a kiss. “Make me proud, sweety.” 35

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Trey lifted his hand in a formal salute and smiled grimly. “One waltz and one tango coming up, ma’am!” Leonora walked out the door, leaving him in the empty dance studio. Trey headed straight for the stereo to find the right music. The couple came in, right on time. A gorgeous and busty redhead in a tight black velvet dress, and her slender partner with short-cropped tousled blonde hair in pleated dress pants with the dress shirt sleeves rolled up to show tattooed forearms. They were holding hands, rather ferociously. They were both female. Trey blinked. Okay, so they’re lesbian… The door behind them opened, admitting a tall, slender young man, also in pleated dress pants with his sleeves folded up over his forearms. His dark hair was pulled back into a long tail that fell to the middle of his back. The two young women turned to him, smiled, and snatched for his hands, sandwiching him between them. He leaned down to kiss one, and then again to kiss the other. All three stared at Trey with a look of aggressive determination. Trey stared back. Three of them? Oh, boy. “All of you…together?” The young man smiled. “For about five years now.” The blonde in the pleated pants curled her lip. “We are not roommates.” Trey dropped his chin and covered his mouth to 36

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hide his smile. Fierce. “I understand.” “Do you?” The redhead lifted her chin in clear challenge. “We’re here to learn a three-way waltz and a three-way tango. Can you do it?” Trey stilled. Three-way dance? Leonora had said that this was for a wedding cruise… Suddenly everything made an almost painful kind of sense. They were a bi-sexual trio going to a wedding for two. So, a three-way dance. Could it even be done? Trey frowned in thought. If they put the one in the dress in the middle and kept the other two moving around her, they could switch off, back and forth… Trey’s brows lifted. It could be done. He lifted his chin, and put on his best smile. “Yes, I can, but it’s going to be tricky. Do you guys know the dances? This will go a whole lot easier if you already know some of the basics.” The trio smiled at each other and animatedly began relating what they knew about both dances, but they were at a loss as to how to make either one balance as a romantic three-way. Trey turned on the music and got to work. They were a dream to work with; the two in pants naturally gravitating around the redhead in the dress. However, both the blonde in the pants and the young man were just a bit too stiff. She knew to keep her chin up and her shoulders square, but she was stiff in every other manner. He was the same way. Neither one wanted to let their hips unlock from their spines, like husbands afraid that they were not masculine 37

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enough. It was making their movements clunky. Trey set his hands on his hips. “Look, you two in the pants, guys don’t have to be stiff to be guys.” He rotated his hips in a big round circle, yet kept his shoulders perfectly still. “See?” The blonde scowled. “But you’re gay!” Trey choked out a laugh. “Oh, hell no, I’m not!” He leaned forward, grinning. “I’d do both you ladies in a heartbeat…” He eyed the young man, who suddenly looked very offended. “If I thought I had a chance.” And it was true, he’d been fighting the buzz in his dick since they got there. It was kind of reassuring. He still liked girls. Yes! All three of them exchanged a weighted stare, the redhead in her slinky black dress smiling smugly at both the blonde in her dress pants and young man with the dark ponytail. Trey raised his brow at them and hit them with his favorite line. “James Bond can dance, and no one says he’s gay.” The rest of the lesson went very well; particularly the tango. Long spinning steps got all three rotating back and forth between music shifts. The redhead swung back and forth, sharing equal time between both her grinning partners, and then the two in pants paired up with the redhead spinning around them. It looked pretty damned impressive, and very hot. At the end of the lesson, the trio perched on Leonora’s desk to share a soda and some of their experiences. Apparently the redhead’s parents had the money, and the pairing issues. 38

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The redhead sighed. “I just don’t see why they don’t get it. We’ve been living together, all three of us, for years now, you’d think they’d finally get that we’re not roommates.” The blonde leaned into the young man and smiled. “But we are best friends.” The young man lifted the soda. “Good thing, too, or we’d have killed each other long before now.” The redhead snorted. “Only over the TV remote.” She turned and pressed a quick kiss to the blonde’s lips. “TV hog.” The blonde huffed. “Am not!” Both the redhead and the young man chorused, “Are so!” Trey shook his head. “Well, if that tango doesn’t give away that you are a set, nothing will.” The blonde patted the redhead’s knee. “I don’t know, I kind of liked the waltz with all three of us in one big happy knot.” Trey swallowed. That had been one of his better ideas. “Just watch your feet!” They laughed, hopped off Leonora’s desk, thanked Trey and left, all three still holding hands, though not quite so ferociously. Trey watched them go, then walked into the back room to see what Leonora had in the mini-fridge.

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~ Six ~ unday was cold, dark and pissy with rain. It was Trey’s day off, so he got in his Jeep to go do a little shopping. Unfortunately, once he got to the grocery store, he couldn’t think of a single thing he needed. Well, he needed to buy something, or why bother getting in the Jeep? He hated wasting a trip. Trey drove around, trying to think of what it was he was looking for, and quite by accident, he passed a karate school—Kenshin Asano’s Shudokan karate school. The building was simple, square and had huge picture windows all along one side. Trey had no clue what he was doing, or why, but he pulled the Jeep into the parking lot next door and parked facing the school’s windows. From where he sat behind the wheel, with the rain pissing down his windshield, he could see someone moving around in there. The sign said ‘closed’, but someone was definitely in there. Why the hell was he there? He didn’t know. “I must be out of my mind…”

S

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That didn’t stop him from grabbing his big black umbrella and getting out of the Jeep. He locked the door, stepped over the median and shoved through the bushes to get closer to the windows. Standing under his umbrella, he peered in the big plate windows from only a few feet away, and there was Kenshin, all by himself. His muscular chest was bare and his black pants loose, almost shapeless. A slender black sash with red stripes was knotted around his hips. He threw kicks, punches and chops in what looked like a very formal pattern, almost a dance. His heavily muscled body moved with unusual grace and breathtaking power. His chest gleamed with sweat. It should have been icy cold standing under his umbrella in only a thin T-shirt and worn jeans, but warmth flushed up Trey’s throat and into his cheeks. His breath steamed out. Heat spilled down into his belly. His dick twitched, then filled, tightening, hardening… His pants became uncomfortably tight. Trey stood there, in the rain, watching Kenshin, rock hard. The want in his gut was so strong he could barely breathe past it. He knew lust when he felt it, but there was an ache in his chest too, and behind his eyes. The force of it was nearly overpowering. Is this love? He shook his head. It couldn’t be love. It hurt too much. Trey turned away and walked back to his Jeep. He closed the umbrella, shoved it in his Jeep, and then closed the door and just stood there. The rain soaked into his T-shirt, drenching him. Maybe the cold rain 41

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would cool his ardor, and chill some sense into his brain. He took off his glasses and stuffed them in his back pocket, then leaned his bare arm against the chilly roof of the Jeep and pressed his overheated brow to his wet wrist. The rain soaked into his jeans. It didn’t make his arousal go away, or make his heart feel any better. God, why did he feel so awful? “Hey.” Trey nearly jumped out of his skin. He turned sharply. Just an arm-reach away was the guy, Kenshin, big as life, shirtless and steaming under the rain. His jaw was tight and his black eyes narrowed. His hair was loose from its neat queue and spilling across his shoulders, wet and running, like ink. Trey couldn’t think of a word to say. Kenshin stepped closer, only a hand span away. He focused on Trey’s mouth and leaned down, very slowly. His head turned and his lips made soft contact. Trey froze, then lifted his chin, parting his lips in invitation and tilting his mouth to fit. His eyes closed and the soft moan came from nowhere. Kenshin took the invitation. His tongue swept in, tasting of tea and feral male arousal. His hands closed tight around Trey’s upper arms. His bare chest pressed against Trey’s, pushing him back against the Jeep. His kiss became hungry, insistent, devouring… Trey fell back against the Jeep, trembling under the hottest kiss he’d ever had. His hips pressed up against 42

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Kenshin’s, rubbing the heavy arousal in his jeans against a cock just as fully erect behind Kenshin’s loose pants. Trey froze. Oh, God, he was doing it again—letting his balls take control of his brain. He needed to stop or… Or he didn’t know what he’d do. His eyes opened and he grabbed for Kenshin’s arms, lifting his chin to break the kiss. Kenshin glared straight into his eyes and pressed his mouth harder against Trey’s, refusing to stop the kiss. He wrestled only briefly with Trey’s hands, then pinned them to the roof of the Jeep. An insistent growl rumbled in his throat. Trey moaned under the lash of Kenshin’s tongue, the press of his heated and powerful body, the tight grasp of the hands on his wrists. Trey’s body boiled with heat, his cock aching, a hard, hot weight in his pants, and his heart hammering with desperation for something he couldn’t name. But he could name it. It was Kenshin. That’s what he wanted; to be right where he was, being kissed into moaning submission. Oh, God, he was in love. A soft sound of dismay left his throat, and his eyes watered. He stopped struggling, he stopped fighting. He was in love, and it was far too late to do anything about it but bleed. His knees gave out. He slid in Kenshin’s hold, too weak to stand. “Whoa!” Kenshin caught him around the waist, pulling him into his embrace. “I got you.” Trey wrapped his arms around Kenshin’s neck, 43

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and laid his head on his shoulder, shocked, appalled, and utterly unable to stop himself or his heart from wanting this very thing. Kenshin sighed. “That’s better.” Abruptly, he knelt, shoved his shoulder into Trey’s belly and lifted, hefting Trey up over his shoulder and off his feet. He stood and started walking. “Hey!” Trey gasped and lifted his head. “What…? Where…?” Kenshin was carrying him back to the dojo. “Cut it out!” He pushed at Kenshin’s muscular back, and kicked out. “You cut it out!” Kenshin’s arm clamped down over his legs. “You idiot!” He swatted Trey’s wet butt, hard. “Do you want to fall and hurt yourself?” Trey’s ass stung from the swat. He winced. Damn it, that hurt! He fought to keep his head up, but it was hard in this position—this completely undignified position. Good God, what did he think Trey was, his gym bag? His pirate booty? “What are you doing?” Kenshin laughed, and it vibrated through Trey’s body. “What does it look like?” He walked around to the end of the building, up a short stair and opened a door. The dojo was warm, dim, and smelled somewhat of incense. Kenshin let him slide from his shoulder down onto his feet. Trey landed and wobbled unsteadily. A hard shiver erupted from nowhere. Kenshin caught him by the arm. “Damn, you’re soaked, and cold. Too cold.” He yanked Trey’s T-shirt up over his head. Trey snatched for it. “Kenshin!” 44

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Kenshin pulled the shirt out of Trey’s reach and grinned. “That’s my name, and you’re Trey.” He turned and tossed the shirt toward the door. Trey’s mouth fell open. “How did you know?” Kenshin snorted. “My sister was a bridesmaid. She signed your check.” Trey frowned. “So, you were there…?” Kenshin rolled his eyes. “I was her designated driver for the party.” He pointed at Trey’s feet. “Take off your shoes.” Trey blinked, startled. “What?” “Your shoes.” Kenshin lifted a foot and peeled his canvas shoe off. “You don’t wear shoes in a dojo.” He peeled off his other shoe. They thumped to the floor. “You better take your socks off, too, they’re probably soaked through.” Trey put his hands up and backed away. “I can’t…” His heels came in contact with something. He turned to see a knee-high pile of folded gym mats. He turned back. “I can’t stay!” Kenshin smiled. “Like I’m giving you a choice?” He lashed out with a bare foot, catching Trey’s ankle, and pulling his leg out from under him. Trey tumbled backwards. He yelped and landed on his back on the pile of folded mats. “Shoes off!” Kenshin grabbed Trey’s ankle locked his arm around his shin and jerked off Trey’s shoe. It thumped to the wooden floor. He tugged the sock off too, then threw it toward the door. Trey flopped back on the mats. He knew he couldn’t fight him. He was a dancer, not a martial 45

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artist. He thumped the mat with a fist. “Pain in my ass!” Kenshin grinned at him. “We’ll get to that.” He grabbed Trey’s other leg, tugged off the shoe and then the sock, tossing it. He released Trey’s leg, and stood. “All right, come on.” He stepped away from the mats. Trey sat up. “Come on, where?” Kenshin waved toward the plain wooden door on the far side of the mats. “To the showers. You’re shivering. If you don’t warm up, you’ll get sick.” Trey leaned forward. Pushy bastard… The floor was ice cold under his bare feet. Kenshin crossed his arms and lifted a brow. “Do you want me to carry you again?” Trey propelled himself upright. “No!” Kenshin smiled and started walking. “Good. You’re fairly heavy.” He waved a hand for Trey to follow. “You’ve got quite a bit of muscle on you.” Trey smiled slightly at the compliment and followed him. He was just too exhausted to keep fighting, especially when he knew he couldn’t win. Kenshin pushed open the wooden door, leading Trey into a small, white-walled locker room. “So, what do you do, besides stripping?” He walked the length of the room and pushed through another door. Trey followed him into a smaller room, this one of white tile, with three curtained shower stalls. “I’m not really a stripper. I’m a dance instructor.” Kenshin looked back at him. “Really?” He smiled. “No wonder you can actually dance. You looked good up there.” He walked into the last stall and 46

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turned on the water. I looked good? Trey shook his head. “I don’t know… Whatever it was you were doing in here when I drove by was pretty damned impressive.” Kenshin stepped back out with his brows up and his lips pursed. “Really? Thanks.” He jammed a thumb over his shoulder. “Get in.” He continued past Trey and out of the shower room. Trey blinked at the closed door. He’s not going to bully me into sex? Trey wasn’t sure if he was disappointed or not. He shrugged and stripped out of his wet jeans, leaving them on the bench in the corner, then tugged the elastic from his wet hair. A shiver shook him. Hot water beckoned. Trey stepped into the steaming shower, pulled the curtain to, and shoved his head under the water. It didn’t seem all that hot, but against his cold skin it scorched him like raw flame. He hissed and rubbed at his skin. The curtain jerked to the side. Trey shoved water and hair from his eyes and stared. Kenshin stepped in, naked and fully aroused. Trey backed up against the wall. “Here.” Kenshin held up a large golden-yellow natural sponge and a squeeze bottle of liquid soap. “You’re gonna scrub my back, then I’m gonna scrub yours.” “Oh.” Trey took the sponge and soap. Kenshin turned and jammed his head under the water. He set his palms against the wall and moaned. 47

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He dropped his head, letting the water run down his shoulders and back. “God, that feels good.” Trey found a smile lifting his mouth and poured soap on the sponge. The scent of vanilla filled the shower. His brows shot up. “Oh, no, you didn’t…” Kenshin laughed. “Oh, yes I did! That damned smell makes me hard every time, too.” He sighed. “It makes me think of you.” Trey’s smile slipped. He set the sponge on Kenshin’s muscular shoulders and scrubbed in a circular motion. Kenshin had thought of him enough to buy vanilla soap. It was both a frightening and comforting thought. Could Kenshin be in love, too? It was just a bit too much to hope for, but it was a nice hope, all the same. Trey dribbled soap onto his other hand so he could scrub with one hand and explore the interesting bulges and hollows of Kenshin’s back with the other. Kenshin groaned. “Damn, you’re good at this. I’m going to have to take you to the next competition, so you can be my bath-boy after the bouts.” Trey’s brows shot up. “You compete?” “Occasionally. Win occasionally, too.” Trey nodded. He knew how that went. “I do dance competitions. I could use a bath-boy myself.” Kenshin snorted. “The way you dance? You probably need a bodyguard more than a bath-boy.” Trey shrugged. “Some of the women, and a few of the guys, can get…insistent.” Kenshin looked over his shoulder at Trey. “Not anymore, they don’t.” 48

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Trey smiled. “I’m very good at dodging.” Kenshin chuckled. “I didn’t have any problems catching you.” Trey swallowed. No, he hadn’t. “But then, I think you wanted to get caught.” He looked over his shoulder, pinning Trey with his hot black eyes. “Caught—by me.” Trey knelt, dodging Kenshin’s far too knowledgeable stare. Trey was painfully aware that he might be right. Scary thought. He dribbled more soap on the sponge and swept it across the perfect arches of Kenshin’s round butt and down his strong thighs. Trey’s eye was drawn to the bottom curve of Kenshin’s butt. Nestled discreetly between his muscular thighs was his plump ball sack. Trey stared, and felt his dick twitch. A sharp spark of curiosity mixed with his more than a little pique for the near uncontrollable desire Kenshin stirred within him. He set the sponge down, then drizzled soap on both his hands and rubbed them together. He licked his lips, reached out with both hands and cupped the hard curve of Kenshin’s ass. He slid a thumb into the crease of his ass, pressed in, down, and under, to cup him in his palm. Kenshin’s head whipped up, he choked and rose up on his toes. He fell forward, his hands smacking into the wall. “Oh, damn…” Trey’s brows lifted. Nice reaction. A smile curved his lips. Kenshin spread his legs wide. “More.” Trey sucked on his bottom lip. “Okay.” He reached 49

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in with his other hand, using both, rubbing the plump sack with his thumbs, behind and before, and exploring the very base, the root of his seriously rigid shaft with his fingers. Kenshin’s head dropped. He rocked back and forth, rubbing himself against Trey’s palms. His breathing became panting groans. Trey used the back of one hand to rub the spraying water from his brow and considered the puckered bud of Kenshin’s anus. He licked his lips, then rubbed a thumb across the tight flesh. Kenshin groaned and stopped moving. “I wouldn’t go in there if I were you. At least, not until you know what you’re doing with it.” Trey pulled his hands back. Kenshin turned around. His thick hard cock pointed straight at Trey. The flared head was a rich plum in color, seeping with his excitement, and only a kiss away from Trey’s lips. Trey’s heart slammed in his chest. He was not ready to suck dick! He leaned back to come to his feet. Kenshin set a hand on Trey’s shoulder. “Oh, no, you’re staying right there, on your knees. You started it. Finish it.” Trey looked up at him in alarm. “Uh…” Kenshin lifted a black brow. “Soap and hands.” Oh. He could do that. Trey released a breath, nodded and picked up the soap. He put a goodly dollop of the vanilla soap in his palm, then rubbed his hands to make lather. He reached out and grasped Kenshin’s cock. The slightly curved shaft was hot in 50

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his grasp, very stiff, and knotted with veins. He pulled on it with his soap slick hands, then stroked back to the root. Kenshin leaned back against the wall and sighed, his eyes closing. “Oh, yeah, that’s nice. Just like that.” His hands splayed out on the wall and the muscles tensed in his arms and shoulders. Trey stroked and pulled, watching, fascinated. Kenshin sucked on his bottom lip, clearly enjoying Trey’s working hands. His hips rocked toward him, pumping his cock slowly into Trey’s palms. Trey felt a stab of heat in his dick, and moisture oozed from the tip of his cock. It was incredible to see Kenshin this aroused—and he was the one doing it to him. Kenshin groaned, opened his eyes and straightened. “Stay right there, on your knees. Trey frowned. Now what? Kenshin turned to let the water rinse the soap from his cock, scrubbed it for good measure, then turned back to point his freshly rinsed shaft at Trey. “Okay, let’s have your mouth.” Trey gasped jerked back to lean on his hands. “What?” Kenshin snorted. “Quit panicking.” He reached out and grabbed the wet hair at the back of Trey’s head, pulling him toward his cock. “Just lick me. Slowly.” Trey winced, and grabbed for Kenshin’s wrist. He couldn’t budge it. “I really don’t…” Kenshin tightened his grip and scowled. “You got me this hard. Do it.” 51

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Trey groaned and eyed the cock at his lips. The many times he’d begged a date for a blowjob suddenly came back to haunt him. He released a breath. “Fine.” He stuck out his tongue, encountering clean, hot and very soft skin. It wasn’t too bad, just a little…strange. He lapped at the dripping water, then leaned in and stroked his tongue along the shaft. He came back to the tip and swirled around the sensitive plum head. Kenshin moaned. Encouraged, Trey pressed his lips to the tip of his cock and lapped. Salt and musk hit his tongue like a grenade. He opened and sucked the head into his mouth, just to taste it more thoroughly. “Oh, shit, that is really nice.” Trey looked up at him, his lips around Kenshin’s cock-head. Kenshin’s eyes were narrowed and his smile showed white teeth. “You look good with my dick in your mouth.” Trey felt a kick in his groin that nearly made him spill right there. Kenshin pushed, just a little. His cock slid deeper into Trey’s mouth, but not far. Trey stretched his tongue, just as an experiment, and lashed the underside. Kenshin gasped and pulled Trey’s head back, jerking his cock from Trey’s mouth. “Okay, that’s enough, get up. It’s my turn to scrub you.” Trey got to his feet feeling just a little proud that he’d made Kenshin jump, for once. 52

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Kenshin grabbed his shoulders and turned him toward the wall. “Hold still.” More than a little nervous, Trey looked over his shoulder. Kenshin snagged the sponge and soap from the floor. “So, you came here, to me.” Trey looked at the wall. “Yes.” Kenshin’s hand and the sponge made contact with his back. He didn’t quite flinch. “So, now that you finally came…” Kenshin set one hand on Trey’s shoulder and used the sponge to scrub with the other. “You going to run away?” Run away? His heart lurched hard at the idea. Trey rocked under the strong strokes, and frowned. “I don’t think I can.” “Good.” Kenshin looped his left arm around Trey’s chest, holding him, his chest pressing against Trey’s back. The long line of Kenshin’s cock was scorching hot against Trey’s spine. He reached down and grasped Trey’s swollen cock with his right hand. Trey was so hard he choked, came up on his toes and leaned over to grab Kenshin’s wrist. “That was fast!” “Yeah? So?” Kenshin chuckled and tightened his arm, keeping Trey upright “I like making you come apart in my hands.” He stoked Trey’s cock with firm steady pulls. Trey groaned and trembled. That was a really good way to put it. Kenshin set his chin on Trey’s shoulder. “Take it easy, just let it go.” 53

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Trey gasped and fought to hold on. “You didn’t… You didn’t cum.” “I will. You first.” Kenshin licked the side of Trey’s neck. Trey shuddered and lifted his chin to let the tongue have its way with him. “Oh, shit…” He trembled and felt his balls tighten. He moaned and jerked, pumping uncontrollably into Kenshin’s hand. Kenshin sighed. “That’s it.” His mouth opened on the side of Trey’s neck and his teeth clamped on the long muscle, the tongue lashing from within. Unable to stand the shivering erotic fire, Trey cried out, thrust hard and fast into Kenshin’s palm and felt his balls release, his cum surging up his cock. “Fuck!” He stiffened, thrust and spilled. His cum splattered the shower wall with creamy ropes. Kenshin released his throat. “Oh, yeah, that’s what I wanted.” He stroked Trey’s cock, milking it dry. Trey groaned, the tension bleeding from his body. He sagged in Kenshin’s arms. Kenshin chuckled. “My turn. Hold still.” He drew his hand back and shifted against Trey’s back. His cock slid between Trey’s legs, a long hot presence nestling under his balls. “Close your legs tight.” Trey closed his legs and felt pressure on his balls. “Take it easy with that thing, you’re rock hard.” Kenshin chuckled in his ear. “Nice of you to notice.” He gripped Trey in a punishing embrace. “Put your hands on the wall, or I’ll bang you into it. Trey leaned forward and braced himself. It was strange seeing a second cock sitting right under his. 54

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Kenshin hunched against him, sliding his cock between Trey’s legs, up against his balls, then pulling it back, only to thrust again, a little faster, and then again, a little harder. It was the oddest thing Trey ever felt, and slightly alarming to have something that hard rubbing up against his balls. Kenshin tightened his grip, his thrusts coming faster and harder, until his hips slapped against Trey’s ass, grunting with his hammering blows, masturbating his cock between Trey’s thighs. He groaned and stilled. “Ah, fuck!” He thrust hard again, and then again and spilled, his hot cum spraying the wall and splattering. A shockingly hot erotic surge slammed Trey low in the gut. Kenshin thrust slower, using Trey’s thighs to squeeze the last of his cum from his dick. He exhaled and leaned against Trey’s back, breathing hard. “You’re lucky I didn’t think to bring the lube, or that would have gone right up your ass.” Trey stiffened. Kenshin tightened his hold. “Will you get over that?” Trey shook his head. “But I like girls!” He did, which didn’t make any sense seeing as Kenshin got him so damned worked up, every time. “So? I like girls, too.” He kissed Trey’s throat. “But I still want to bang your ass so bad I can taste it.” Trey shivered in his arms. “Then you’re bi?” Kenshin snorted. “Let’s put it this way. I don’t 55

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normally get a hard-on for guys, but I really, really want to fuck you.” He chuckled and released Trey. “And this time, you have to come home with me.” He moved under the water to rinse off. Trey got under the spray for the same reason. “I do?” Kenshin lifted a brow at him and delivered a feral smile. “Do you have a dry set of clothes?” Trey bit down on his bottom lip. “Uh…no.” Kenshin nodded. “Then you’ll be wearing mine. See?” He reached out to shut off the water, then walked out of the shower. Trey had no choice but to follow him. His wet pants were missing off the bench, replaced by a pair of white towels. “You really are a manipulative bastard.” “Who, me?” Kenshin picked up a white towel from the bench. “You’re the damned tease!” He tossed the towel at Trey. “What?” Trey caught the towel. “I’m the tease?” He started scrubbing water from his skin. Kenshin picked up another towel. “Damned straight you are!” He applied the white nubby cloth to his wet body. “You walked right past me in that dildo-shop shaking your ass, like you were begging me to plug it for you.” He scowled, then rolled his eyes. “Then, when I go to check you out, you go and smile right in my face, and tell me you’re going to be strutting around naked, wish I could be there!” He flipped the towel over his shoulder and walked out of the shower room. 56

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Trey chased after him. “Hey, you were flirting with me!” He walked into the locker room, practically on Kenshin’s heels. “I was just flirting back, to be…polite.” “Polite?” Kenshin stopped and turned so fast Trey nearly ran into him. His ferociously narrowed midnight eyes pinned Trey’s gaze. “Then how do you explain that dick-shaking act practically in my face on the stage?” Trey shivered and leaned back. Well, he had gone down on his knees right in front of him. “Uh…” Kenshin snorted and plucked the towel from Trey’s hand. “Admit it, you little shit, you were playing ‘cock tease’.” He turned and tossed both towels at a hamper in the corner by the shower room door. He walked over to a locker and banged it open. Trey scowled and hunched his shoulders. “Teasing is what a stripper is supposed to do. I wanted to be sure the ladies got their money’s worth.” “Yeah?” Kenshin pulled a large green gym bag from the narrow locker. “Then how come you were staring at me almost the whole time?” He dropped the bag on the long bench that ran down the center of the room. Trey sucked in a deep breath. “What?” He stomped over to the locker. “I was not!” Of all the freaking ego… “Were too.” Kenshin grinned, and jerked the zipper open on the gym bag. Trey scowled and set his hands on his hips. “That’s bullshit!” 57

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“Really?” Kenshin’s brows shot up. “Then how come I was asked if you were my boyfriend by just about every female in there?” He smiled viciously, showing his teeth. “What?” Trey’s heart leapt into his throat. He covered his mouth with his hands. Oh, my God… Kenshin snorted and dug a set of gray sweats from the gym bag, and then a set of black sweats. “Why do you think not one female followed you into the men’s room?” He thrust the gray set at Trey. “Here, put these on.” Trey groaned. “Shit…” He took the sweats and unfolded a plain long-sleeved top and matching drawstring bottoms. He dragged the bottoms on, and turned to frown at Kenshin. “So what did you tell them?” “Huh?” Kenshin dragged the long-sleeved black top over his head. “About what?” He picked up the black bottoms. Trey ground his teeth and pulled the gray sweatshirt over his head. “About being my boyfriend?” He fished his long, wet blond hair out from the collar. “Me? Not a damned thing.” He grinned at Trey. “I just smiled a whole lot.” “You shit!” Trey sat down on the bench with his back to Kenshin. Son of a freaking bitch. Every last one of those females must be convinced I’m gay! Kenshin leaned over his shoulder and held out Trey’s gold, wire-framed glasses. “That’s what you get for being a cock-tease.” 58

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Trey snatched his glasses and scowled. “You are such a pain in my ass!” “Not yet, I’m not.” Kenshin walked back over to zip his bag closed. “I’m waiting for a nice soft bed before I bang your ass.” He hefted his bag onto his shoulder. “So, you ready?” His brows lifted and he delivered a smile worthy of Satan. Trey groaned and stood up. “What did I do to deserve you?” Kenshin scowled and headed for the door. “You’re gonna deserve a spanking if you keep whining like that.” “What?” Trey’s temper surged hot and furious. He stomped after him. “I am not whining! I’m bitching!” “So?” Kenshin looked over his shoulder at him. “I’ll spank you for that too.” Trey about tripped. Spank…? Kenshin dropped his bag by the door and groaned. “Shit.” He turned to Trey and pointed back toward the locker room. “Go get the sponge and the soap from the shower. I’ll go get a bag for our wet clothes.” Trey rolled his eyes and went back. He had the soap and wet sponge in hand before he realized that he’d simply obeyed Kenshin’s order, without even the slightest protest. He set his hand on his brow, over his glasses. Good God, what was Kenshin doing to him? He turned and went back out. Kenshin waited by the door with his gym bag and a white plastic garbage bag at his feet. He held out his hand. Trey handed him the soap and the sponge. “My 59

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shoes?” “They’re in the bag.” Kenshin crouched, tucking both soap and sponge into a side pocket in his gym bag. “You can walk across the parking lot barefoot.” Trey scowled. “Gee, thanks.” “I think you’ll live.” Kenshin straightened, opened the door and led Trey out into the rain. Out in the dojo parking lot, Trey splashed through chilly puddles, following Kenshin toward a huge black Nissan SUV. The Nissan chirped, signaling that the doors had unlocked. Kenshin opened the back door and shoved both bags on the floor. Trey lifted his hand over his glasses and turned to stare at his Jeep, over in the other parking lot. “You thinking of running off on me?” Trey jolted and turned back. Kenshin stood by his open driver-side door, his shoulders slightly hunched, his mouth tight, his gaze intent, the rain making his hair flat and inky dark. Trey dropped his chin and sighed. “No.” He looked up over the tops of his glasses. “I can’t.” He smiled. “You have my shoes, my jeans, and my wallet.” Kenshin smiled. “Why, so I do. Get in.” He jammed a thumb over his shoulder toward his Nissan. “You’re getting my clothes wet.” His clothes wet… Well, that certainly put things in perspective. Trey splashed around to the passenger side and got in on the passenger side. Kenshin started the SUV and turned to look over his shoulder, backing the SUV out. He spun the 60

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wheel, turning the big vehicle around in the parking lot, then headed out into the light Sunday traffic. Trey stared at Kenshin’s strong profile. He was really doing this—going home with Kenshin. He didn’t harbor any illusions. He knew he was about to get his butt reamed, literally. Anxiety and alarm mixed with anticipation, creating a heady wash of emotion too big to actually label. A hot shiver spilled down his body. He swept his hand down his jaw. He was out of his mind. Kenshin draped his arm across the back of the seats. “So, when can you move in with me?” He grinned. Trey gasped. His heart slammed in his chest. “What?” He stared at Kenshin’s grinning face. “How can you say that? We just met! We don’t even know each other.” Kenshin’s smile disappeared. “I know I’ve been feeling seriously shitty waiting for your call.” He shot a narrowed stare at Trey. “I don’t want to feel like that any more. I want to know you’re there.” Trey shook his head. “It’s too fast…” Kenshin’s brow lifted. “Why? Do you have a livein girlfriend or any other nasty habits I need to know about?” “No, I broke up with my last girlfriend about a month ago.” Trey snorted and raised his brow at Kenshin. “A live-in girlfriend is a nasty habit?” Kenshin scowled at the road. “Mine was.” He released a breath. “One of those that would get mad 61

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and stay that way for days, but wouldn’t let me know why until it was too late to do anything about it, then she’d make my life miserable with all the crying.” He looked away. “You couldn’t argue with her, she wouldn’t argue, just stare at me, like I was this big horrible brute.” Trey smiled. “Well, you are something of a bastard.” Kenshin lifted his chin and snorted, a sour smile appearing. “Now, that’s why I like you.” He raised a brow at Trey. “That short temper of yours lets me know right away what’s going on in your head.” He nodded. “Really refreshing. Honest.” “You like me for my temper. Oh, gee, thanks.” Trey sighed. Kenshin smiled. “And you’re very entertaining.” Trey’s brows shot up. “Entertaining?” “You’re quirky, and fun.” Kenshin shrugged grinned. “I’m never bored for a second.” He glanced at Trey. “You make me smile. Probably why I fell for you so fast.” Trey stilled. Fell for me? Shit, this was getting scarier by the second. “Kenshin, it’s still really fast for something this…permanent. I shouldn’t move in with you.” “I want you to.” Kenshin shrugged and fidgeted with the stick shift. “I don’t like to be…alone.” Trey stared. He didn’t like to be alone? This big brash martial artist didn’t like to be alone? Kenshin rubbed his jaw, clearly uncomfortable, then sighed. He jammed a big smile on his face. “And 62

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you could use a baby-sitter.” “What? A baby-sitter?” Trey scowled. “I’m a fully grown adult!” “That so?” Kenshin snorted and shook his head. “You’re too scrawny, by half.” “Scrawny?” Trey bent his arm at the elbow and flexed the muscle. “I don’t think so!” Kenshin bent his arm, showing off muscles nearly double in size. “Yep, too scrawny.” He nodded firmly. “You need decent food.” “Food? Wait, you cook?” This sounded interesting. “Yep. Hope you like steaks. Oh, and the way you walk around, shaking that butt of yours, like sex in jeans? You’re just begging for trouble. You definitely need someone to keep people from taking advantage of you.” Trey stared. Sex in jeans? Taking advantage…? He curled his lip. “You took advantage of me. What’s your excuse?” “Did I?” Kenshin turned to look at him. “Are you sure?” His mouth was still curved in a smile, but his midnight eyes were hot, dark and intense with a powerful emotion that wasn’t anger. It almost looked like…hurt. Trey couldn’t look at him. He covered his face with his hands. “You are out of your freaking skull.” Kenshin shrugged. “Been that way since I met you.” He lifted a brow at him. “See? It’s all your fault.” “All my fault?” Trey say up very straight and scowled. “You’re the pushy bastard…!” 63

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“And you’re the cock-tease.” Kenshin grinned. “So, when can you move in?” Trey pressed back against the door. “I need time to think about that.” Kenshin nodded. “I can do that.” He shot Trey a narrowed glance honed with a smile loaded with white teeth. “I give you ‘til dawn.” Scowling, Trey crossed his arms, and sank down, slouching in the seat. “Arguing with you is like arguing with a brick wall.” Kenshin grinned. “Good, then give up already. I can have the spare room cleared out for your stuff by next weekend.” Trey turned sharply to face him. “Kenshin!” Kenshin lifted a midnight brow. “Trey?” Trey shivered hard. The sound of his name on Kenshin’s lips… Trey groaned and sank deeper into the seat. Leonora was right. He had it bad.

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~

Seven ~

he drive through the rain ended only a handful of streetlights later. Kenshin lived in a very nice townhouse on the very edge of the better side of town. Kenshin parked his huge black SUV in an underground parking lot and led Trey, barefoot and slightly chilled, into the elevator. A slide key shut the door. Trey’s brow lifted. Wow, posh. The door opened on a tastefully plain hall. Kenshin had the third door on the right. Kenshin pushed the door open. “Wipe your feet.” Trey wiped his bare feet on an excruciatingly coarse carpet, then followed Kenshin in. Kenshin’s place was painfully clean, and decorated simply. White walls with gorgeous Oriental scene paintings, plush and brilliant Oriental rugs thrown across highly polished hardwood floors. The living room had a low black lacquer table surrounded by pillows rather than chairs, right there in the middle. No couch or other bulky furniture, so a ton and a half of floor space.

T

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Perfect for a martial artist—or a dancer. Trey shook his head. He was not ready to think that way. He peeked into the next room. He was pretty sure it was supposed to be the dining room, but in Kenshin’s house, it was a private gym, with odd-looking wooden equipment. Trey’s brow lifted. Probably karate stuff. Kenshin waved from the doorway just past it. “This way!” Trey walked into a very spacious kitchen with a small round table jammed in the corner with four chairs. Kenshin shoved open some wooden folding doors and a washer and dryer appeared. With swift efficiency, he dumped Trey’s black jeans and T-shirt, and his black karate clothes out of the plastic bag. He fished Trey’s wallet, keys and hair elastic from the pockets of Trey’s jeans and tossed them on the kitchen table, then swept everything into the washer. Soap and softener later, the washer rumbled contentedly back behind the wooden doors. Smiling, Trey finger-combed his hair, made a tail and looped his elastic around it. “You’d make someone a good wife.” Kenshin grinned. “Sure you want to go there?” Trey jerked back. “Uh…” Kenshin snorted. “Thought not.” His brow lifted. “So, how do you like your steak?” Trey’s stomach snarled, loudly. His cheeks flushed with heat. Leonora was right, he hadn’t eaten very well in a while. “Still mooing, if you please.” 66

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Kenshin laughed. “Good! I hate cooking the taste out of my meat.” Dinner, consisting of steaks cooked to juicy perfection, tossed salad, and cold micro-brewed beer, was served on the low table in the living room, right in front of God’s gift to stereos. Trey almost fainted over Kenshin’s collection of seriously hard to find music. He could spend hours just looking through it all. Kenshin glared from the table. “Will you get over here? Your steak is getting cold.” Trey rolled his eyes and abandoned the stereo. “Yes, dear.” Kenshin snickered. “You say that so sweetly.” “Oh, yeah?” Trey folded his long legs and sat down on one of the pillows. “Bite me.” “Just give me time.” Kenshin dumped salad into a small bowl by the platter holding Trey’s huge, steaming steak. He smiled. “I’ll get to that, too.” Conversation drifted across music, movies, college, their experiences with rivals at competitions, and Trey’s practically non-existent family. Kenshin’s brows lifted. “Damn, divorced parents? My mother would gut my dad if he even thought about leaving; and no brothers or sisters? I have scads. You’ll meet them all over the holidays.” He grinned. “Grandma is going to love you!” Trey swallowed. Kenshin wanted him to meet his family? “Oh, gee, I can’t wait.” Trey was amused to find that Kenshin was rather domestic. He cleared the plates, set the dishes to 67

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washing, pulled their clean clothes from the washer, set them in the dryer, and scrubbed the grill, all while holding up his end of the conversation on his passion for cartoons and comic books. “No, seriously, anime and manga are nothing like American comics or cartoons…” Somehow Trey found himself dragged upstairs and into the master bedroom, where Kenshin kept a monstrous TV facing the foot of his enormous kingsized four-poster bed. Lying on their bellies, side by side, on Kenshin’s black silk comforter, Trey found himself engrossed in watching the most shockingly violent animated movie he’d ever seen. “What movie is this again?” Kenshin grinned. “Akira.” Trey stared, fascinated. “Wow…that is some…” He swallowed. “Art.” Kenshin snorted. “This is old, too, a classic. I get mine straight from my cousin in Japan. This is one of the few I have in English.” Trey continued to stare, fascinated. “Wow…” Kenshin leaned up and over him, radiating heat and intent. His warm hand made contact with the small of Trey’s back, then slid up, under his sweatshirt, brushing gently across his skin, and then up his spine, pushing the fleece shirt up to expose his back. Trey took a breath, and swallowed. He didn’t move away, but his fingers fisted the comforter. Oh…shit… Hot breath scorched Trey’s back, then lips, then 68

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tongue. Trey shivered violently and dropped his head to take a deep breath to hold in his moan. Kenshin fisted the hem of the sweatshirt and dragged it up toward Trey’s head. “Sit up.” From the determined way Kenshin was pulling up his shirt, Trey didn’t have much of a choice. He pushed up onto his knees, and Kenshin about ripped the shirt off him. Trey grabbed for his glasses. Kenshin reached out to capture the delicate frames. “I’ll take those.” He turned and stretched out across the bed to set them on the nightstand by the window, way up at the far corner of the bed. Trey turned partway around. “Hey! I can’t see the TV without those!” Kenshin grinned and stalked across the bed on his hands and knees. “You’re not watching any more TV.” He pulled his sweatshirt off with a long feral roll of muscle. Up on his knees, Trey leaned back on his hands, somewhat distracted by the sight of Kenshin’s chest and erect nipples. What had he been saying? Oh, yeah, no more TV. “I’m not?” Kenshin got up on his knees, his eyes dark and narrowed. “No.” He lunged. Trey yelped and scrambled to get out of the way. Kenshin caught Trey around the waist and tumbled him over onto his back. He rose up over him, his hands to either side of Trey’s waist, his knee jammed between Trey’s thighs and up against his balls. The warmth of his body rolled over Trey, scented with soap, vanilla and the masculine musk of 69

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arousal. Trey stared up into Kenshin’s hot dark gaze and warmth filled his cheeks. He trembled. “Uh, Kenshin?” “Yes, Trey?” Kenshin casually leaned down to brush his warm lips against the side of Trey’s throat, then opened his mouth to stroke the corded muscles with his wet tongue. Trey gasped under Kenshin’s scorching mouth. Heat blazed through him, then rolled back down to knot in his belly. His dick twitched, swelled, hardened, and rose up to press against Kenshin’s hard thigh. He closed his eyes, grabbed Kenshin’s bare shoulders and lifted his chin. Rolling under the achingly delicious feeling of arousal, he dug his heels into the mattress, pressing his bare chest up against Kenshin’s, and moaned. Kenshin chuckled against his throat. “Submitting already? That was fast. Good thing I have the lube right here.” Lube? Trey eyes snapped wide open. Oh, shit! Twisting sharply under Kenshin’s hands, he rolled free, and off the bed. Panting at the foot of the bed, he stared at Kenshin. “Now? You’re going to...?” He couldn’t even say it. He wrapped his arms around his naked chest. “Can’t we just skip that part?” In the middle of the bed, Kenshin leaned up on his heels and set his hands on his hips. “Why should we?” “Because…?” Because guys didn’t fuck guys, they fucked girls. But then, guys didn’t kiss guys… Or 70

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want them to kiss you, or make you hard just from a smile, either. Confusion boiled through Trey, even as his cock ached. He backed up a step. “This is all messed up…” “What? Trey, it’s just sex.” Kenshin smiled and eased over to the edge of the bed. “You’ll get used to it, I promise.” Just sex? A dick up his ass was just sex? Trey swallowed and inched toward the bedroom door. “I’d rather not do…that.” “Oh, come on.” Kenshin rolled his eyes. “You’ve done just about everything else.” Trey froze. He had. They had gotten off on each other just about every other way. He’d even tasted Kenshin’s cock… And he’d wanted to do it—all of it. Sure, he’d been talked into it, if you could call it talking, but he’d been more than interested the whole time. Rock hard, in fact, right from that first smile. Hell, I’m rock hard now. Trey looked down at the floor and winced. Oh, yeah, he had it bad, all right. This had to be love. There was just no other explanation. But giving in to an ass-fucking? Kenshin set his legs over the edge of the bed and looked at the floor. “Trey, I swear I know what I’m doing.” Trey licked his lips. “I can’t talk you out of…this?” Kenshin’s midnight gaze locked on him from under lowered black brows. “I want to make love to you Trey, and that means me inside your body, making you cum.” 71

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Trey stilled shocked. “I want to make love to you…” He took a breath. The truth was he wanted to touch Kenshin, and to have Kenshin touch him. He wanted to feel him, taste his skin, his kiss, his…love. He wanted it so bad his knees were shaking for it. Trey licked his lips. “So why can’t I do you, instead?” “Two reasons.” Kenshin stood and raked his fingers through his tousled black hair. “One, I know what I’m doing, and won’t get so carried away that you’ll be hurt.” He looked up at Trey from under a fringe of black hair. “And two, I’m bigger than you, so I get to be on top.” He smiled. Trey’s mouth fell open. “What has being bigger got to do with anything?” Kenshin faced him and shrugged. “If you can hold me down long enough to get it in…” He raised his brow and his smile sharpened. “Then, of course, you can do me.” Hold down a martial arts expert? Trey’s head came up and he jerked back a step. “That is so unfair!” “Well, that’s life for you…”Kenshin took a casual step toward him. “So, are you going to get back in that bed, or do I put you there?” His head came up and his black eyes narrowed. “I’m good either way, you know.” “You bastard!” Kenshin shrugged. “I guess this means I put you there.” He took a determined step toward Trey. Trey utterly panicked, and bolted out of the room and down the stairs. He couldn’t stop himself. He 72

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stopped at the end of the hall, facing the entry to the living room, the kitchen and the exercise room. All the other rooms, the office, the spare bedroom, the bathroom, were upstairs. Kenshin’s place just wasn’t all that big, not a whole lot of places to run to. Shit! The slightest breeze caressed Trey’s bare back. He jolted forward and whirled. Kenshin smiled grimly from an arm-reach away. “Damn, missed.” Trey backed up, into the living room. “Kenshin…” Kenshin stalked after him, his feet utterly silent. “You know, Trey, those sweatpants don’t do a damned thing to hide your erection.” He grinned. Trey swallowed. Kenshin’s sweatpants were tented pretty big too. Too big. Way too big to fit up his ass… “Ha!” Kenshin threw out his left arm. Trey ducked and dodged the other way. Kenshin smiled. “Good, I didn’t want you bumping into the table.” Trey scowled. “I knew it was there.” “Did you?” Kenshin lunged after him, both arms out. Trey backpedaled fast and spotted the wall right behind him. Shit! He shot a narrow glare at Kenshin, lunged forward, ducking low. Not that he had a choice, he was fresh out of backwards. He twisted sharply to the side to avoid a hand—and was pulled to a sharp halt by the ponytail. Trey yelped and grabbed for his hair. Kenshin tugged him backwards by the hair. “You know, I really like this ponytail, Trey. Makes a nice 73

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handle.” He wrapped an arm around Trey’s chest, embracing Trey and pinning him, spine to hot muscular chest. His breath caressed Trey’s ear. “Game over. I win.” “Hair-pulling?” Trey hissed through his teeth. “That is a girl-stunt.” Kenshin slid his free hand down Trey’s belly. “Really? Then what would you call this?” His hand slid right into Trey’s pants and closed around his erect cock, tight. Trey gasped and came up on his toes. It didn’t hurt, beyond being just a tad too tight, but it was scary as hell. He couldn’t think past the serious potential for pain in the root of his cock. “Hmmm…” Kenshin chuckled softly. “You sound a little breathless there. Maybe I should put you to bed?” He tugged, just a hair, on Trey’s cock, and pushed on the ponytail. “Start walking, pretty-boy.” Trey released a tiny whimper, and started walking. Kenshin tugged his hair to stop him at the base of the stairs. “You gonna walk the rest of the way, or do I need to keep a hold on your leash?” He squeezed Trey’s dick just a bit tighter. Trey gasped and arched up on his toes. His voice came out in a tight, breathless squeak. “I’ll walk! I’ll walk!” “Good.” He released Trey’s cock. Trey gasped for breath and grabbed for it with both hands, just to make sure it was still there. “Holy fuck!” Kenshin grabbed the back of Trey’s pants and 74

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tugged on the ponytail. “Up the stairs, or it’s wedgietime for you.” Trey started up the stairs. “What, did you take lessons on being a sadistic bastard, or is this all natural?” Kenshin chuckled. “I guess you could say both. It’s a side effect of being an older brother.” Trey scowled. “Makes me glad I was an only child.” “Oh, quit your bitching. You’re still hard as a freaking rock, so I know you’re enjoying it.” Kenshin forcibly turned Trey into the master bedroom and released him with a push toward the bed. “Time to lose the drawers, sweet cheeks. You’ve had enough foreplay.” Trey turned around. “What?” Kenshin caught him in the chest with the flat of his hand, and pushed. Trey yelped and fell sprawling onto the side of bed. Kenshin grabbed both legs of Trey’s sweats and pulled. They slid right off, and Trey was naked. Kenshin tossed the sweats in the hall behind him. Trey sat up on his elbows in time to see Kenshin strip out of his sweats, too. Kenshin’s erection was thick, and knotted with veins. The flared head was a deep, dark plum, and seeping with anticipation. And Kenshin planned to shove that big meaty weapon up his ass. Trey turned and scrambled for the far side of the bed. 75

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Kenshin’s fingers closed tight around his ankle, jerking him to a halt. “Enough.” Trey leaned up on his side to look down his body at the man holding his ankle. Kenshin snorted then smiled. “You are such a cherry-boy.” He climbed up on the bed and hauled Trey over onto his back. A very brief struggle ensued, punctuated by small alarmed yelps and pleased chuckles, until finally Trey’s head was up on the pillows with a very heavy, and heavily aroused, Kenshin straddling Trey’s hips. Kenshin’s cock bobbed above Trey’s navel, while Trey’s cock was trapped under Kenshin’s ass. Kenshin pinned Trey’s hands to either side up on the pillows. “Now stay there, and be good.” He released Trey’s hands, and leaned to one side to release Trey’s leg. One knee between Trey’s thighs, Kenshin pulled Trey’s leg up and over his bent thigh, then leaned the other way to pull the other leg up, leaving Trey spread wide and practically sitting in his lap. Kenshin leaned forward, his big muscular body looming, warm and powerful, over Trey. He came down to brush his lips against Trey’s mouth. His tongue flirted with Trey’s bottom lip. Urgently feeing the need for reassurance, Trey opened his mouth to let him in. Kenshin took Trey’s mouth with slow strong swipes of the tongue. The promise of comfort in the gentle kiss relaxed Trey enough to reply in kind. He barely noticed when Kenshin leaned to the side to pull a small squeeze 76

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bottle out from under the pillow. Kenshin released Trey’s mouth to kiss the side of his throat, sending shivers down Trey’s spine and coils of heat straight down. Trey groaned and lifted his chin. The lips and tongue on his throat stirred an erotic buzz that brought the small hairs up on his body. Overwhelmed by the sensual assault Trey grabbed onto Kenshin’s shoulders and dug his heels into the bed, arching up to rub his aching cock against Kenshin’s firm belly. Kenshin groaned in encouragement and bit down on the long muscle in Trey’s neck. Erotic fire lashed down Trey’s spine. He grunted and bucked up hard against Kenshin’s belly. There was a suspicious squirting sound, followed by a soft squelching sound. Trey’s breath caught, and he froze. Kenshin was clearly greasing his prick. Kenshin’s mouth shifted down to Trey’s nipple and licked. Trey choked with the incredible sensation. It felt like that tongue on his nipple was actually licking across the head of his dick instead. He looked down. Kenshin’s dark eyes focused on him and his long pink tongue licked again. Trey’s cock jumped in hungry interest. He groaned and shuddered. Warm, wet hands closed around his cock and balls. Trey felt his balls tighten, boiling with imminent release. His back arched and he choked, stiffening with a strangled moan. “Shit!” 77

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Kenshin sat up and clamped his hand around the base of Trey’s cock, stopping the pressure from spilling into his dick. “Oh, no, you don’t. You’re not shooting off on me yet.” Trey released an anguished moan, and then felt wet, firm pressure on his anus. “Push out.” Trey jerked in confusion, barely able to think past the haze of lust boiling in his brain and the need to release. “What…?” Sitting upright, Kenshin shifted under Trey’s thighs. His eyes were dark and his mouth tight. “I need to lube you. Trust me, you don’t ever want to do this dry.” The pressure on Trey’s anus increased. “Push out.” Trey didn’t argue, he couldn’t get enough brain cells working do more than groan and push. His anus abruptly relaxed, and a thick, slippery finger slid into his ass. He blinked, startled almost sober. Then it moved, circling the interior edge. And circling it, and circling it…encouraging the flesh to open wider. Shivers raced up Trey’s spine, making him tremble. It was the strangest sensation he’d ever felt. Not in a bad way at all; it was definitely pleasurable, just a pleasure that was really different. A second finger was added to the first, and pushed deep. Trey sucked in a breath, not sure how he felt about it. The fingers moved within him, circling. That oddly pleasurable tingling sensation returned. He squirmed, 78

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just a little. Then the fingers pressed against something up inside his ass that really, really made him want to cum. He gasped, coming up on his curling toes, his back arching. “Holy…fuck!” Kenshin groaned in obvious appreciation. “Oh, yeah, you like that.” He pulled his fingers from Trey’s ass. Trey dropped, panting and twitching. “What the fuck was that?” Kenshin smiled. “That, my sweet cherry-boy, was the prostate; your cum button.” He looped his left arm under Trey’s right thigh. Trey frowned at him. “I’ve never felt…” “Of course not.” Kenshin slid his other hand back under. “You’ve never had a dick up your ass.” He leaned forward and his mouth tightened. The pressure on Trey’s anus was back. “Push out, hard.” Trey grabbed the blankets and tensed. This was it. The pressure increased. Something hot, hard, slippery and uncomfortably wide was forcibly spreading his anus. It burned sharply. He gasped and jerked away from it. “Shit!” Kenshin tightened his arm around Trey’s thigh, holding him still. “Don’t tense up! Push out!” Desperate to stop the sharp pain, Trey pushed. His anus spread, and spread. The burning receded, but something violently hard and atrociously hot moved into his butt and lodged there. Trey arched and moaned. “Fuck! You’re big!” Kenshin grunted. “No, you’re tight.” He looped his other arm under Trey’s other thigh. “That’s just the 79

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head.” He pulled on Trey’s legs, shoving his cock deeper. “Keep pushing.” Trey groaned and pushed. Kenshin pulled until Trey was completely seated in his lap and his cock buried to the root. He groaned. “There, I’m in.” Trey licked his lips. Kenshin’s thick shaft was in his body, buried to the balls. His ass felt ungodly full. Kenshin released one of Trey’s legs. He pushed Trey’s other leg forward, bending Trey’s knee, then rose up on his knees and dropped over Trey, balancing with his forearm on the pillow. He set his damp brow on Trey’s shoulder, breathing hard. “God, your ass feels like a fist.” Trey panted under him. “And you feel like an iron bar.” He shifted to get his other knee up, curling his back in an effort to ease the fullness in his ass. Not that it worked. “Are we done yet?” Kenshin chuckled. “Not even close.” He lifted up and looked Trey in the eye. His cheeks were flushed. His mouth came down on Trey’s in a devouring kiss. Trey moaned under the stroking kiss. Kenshin released Trey’s mouth to reach back and hooked Trey’s other thigh over his arm, bending both knees up. He leaned forward, setting his hands on the mattress and bringing Trey’s legs up high, nearly to his shoulders. Trey bit down on his lip and trembled. He was in the most incredibly vulnerable position imaginable. He grabbed Kenshin's wrists, just for something to hold onto. 80

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Kenshin caught his eye, trapping him in his black gaze. He licked his lips. “Now, I fuck you.” He eased back. The cock in Trey’s butt began to retreat. It felt pretty good. He released a breath. Then it surged back in, slowly. The burn was back in his butt, but not anything like before. He tried shifting to ease it, but his curled position kept him from doing more than arching. The cock suddenly put pressure on that hot spot in him, the one that made his cock start weeping. He groaned, and tried to push down on it harder. Kenshin smiled, showing teeth. “There it is.” Trey sucked on his bottom lip, his body a tangled mess of aches and fierce need. “There…what is?” Kenshin licked his lips. He pulled back, faster, and surged in faster—and struck that heavenly spot within Trey’s ass. It jolted Trey deliciously in the balls, echoing up into his cock. He choked and hunched up to meet it. “Oh, damn…” Kenshin grinned. “There that is.” He pulled back, and thrust, just a little harder, and a little faster. “Your cum button.” He thrust, then again, and again, fucking Trey with increasing speed and power. Trey arched to meet his thrusts, the delicious jolts of pressure steadily increasing the delight boiling in his balls. The feeling gained in intensity until his grunts became choking cries and his toes curled. Kenshin closed his eyes, his strokes coming harder and faster until his hips struck against Trey’s ass with sharp smacks, the muscles in his body flexing and 81

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standing out with his efforts. The pressure in Trey’s balls reached the explosion point. Trey grabbed for his throbbing dick and started pulling on it. Kenshin grinned evilly over him. “That’s it, cum for me. I want to see you cum with my dick in your ass.” His words shocked Trey hard. Ass-fucked, he was being ass-fucked… Suddenly he felt it, the hard tight kick of release deep and low in his balls. He threw his head back and howled with the hardest climax he’d ever had. The agonizingly delicious sensation of cum raced up his cock, prolonging the ungodly ecstasy. He shook violently and spurted, spilling across his hand, spraying across his belly and spattering his chest. Moaning and shaking, he tightened his fist and pumped, squeezing every last drop of rapture from his cock. “Oh, shit, oh, fuck! Oh, God!” Kenshin choked, and stilled, then dropped on top of Trey, his arms tightening in a bruising grip around Trey’s legs. He rammed in hard and fast, grunting with his hammering strokes. Trembling with the dregs of his mind-blowing climax, Trey watched Kenshin straining powerfully toward rapture. His heart ached with the sheer physical beauty of it. Kenshin choked, jammed himself in deep in Trey’s ass, and groaned. His eyes closed tight, and his body went completely rigid. “Fuck!” He bucked hard once, then again, and shuddered. The cock in Trey’s ass jumped, and Trey felt the 82

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thick, hot slide of something wet filling and trying to spill out. He had cum. Kenshin groaned, released Trey’s legs and dropped heavily on top of him, folding him into his arms. His heart slammed against Trey’s. Trey disentangled his arms and wrapped them around Kenshin, staring past his lover’s broad shoulder, and up at the ceiling. His hands slid across Kenshin’s damp back. He closed his eyes and pressed his lips to the side of Kenshin’s neck. It had been incredible—embarrassing, too—but still incredible. Kenshin groaned and lifted up to look down at Trey. He lowered his head and sought Trey’s lips. Trey opened for his kiss and tasted spent passion on his lover’s slow, stroking tongue. Kenshin released Trey’s mouth and licked his lips. “You okay?” Trey smiled. “I’ll let you know when my brain gets back online.” Kenshin smiled “Good enough for me.” He sat up on his knees, between Trey’s thighs. “Shower?” Trey moaned. “God, yes!” He pushed upright and felt the thick wetness of Kenshin’s spent cock sliding from his butt, then more wetness. He winced. His ass was full of cum. Kenshin grinned. “Got an assful, huh?” Trey raised his brow. “Gee, I wonder where it came from?” He moved off the bed and his knees simply refused to work. He nearly hit the floor. Kenshin caught him around the waist. “That good, huh?” 83

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Trey smiled sourly. “Sure.” Kenshin walked him toward the master bath. “Oh, come on, you screamed your fool head off!” Trey dropped his chin and smiled. “Okay, okay, it was good.” Kenshin smiled smugly. “Told you.” He set Trey in the bathroom’s chrome and white tile shower stall and proceeded to give Trey the most sinfully sweet, and embarrassingly thorough bath of his life, using a lot of vanilla soap. Trey didn’t bother to protest. He simply didn’t have the energy to do more than stand there and take it. Kenshin changed the sheets and tucked them both back in bed with the comforter pulled up. He curled Trey into his embrace, spooning against his back and nuzzled against Trey’s neck, making disgustingly happy noises. Trey smiled in spite of himself. “Pleased with yourself?” Kenshin leaned up over Trey, dropped a kiss on his lips and grinned. “Pop goes the cherry-boy!” Trey gasped, then swatted at him. “Bastard!” Kenshin lifted an arm to block the blow and smiled. “Just so you know, you have the sweetest ass I’ve ever fucked.” Trey lifted his brow and crossed his arms. “Oh, so you love me for my ass?” Kenshin’s smile disappeared. Trey froze. Oh, God, he was a moron, he’d used the ‘L’ word. He raised a hand to cover his face. 84

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“Never mind.” He turned away. “Let’s just go to sleep…” “No.” Kenshin grabbed his shoulder, pulling him back. “Trey, look at me.” Trey looked up from under the fringe of his hair, truly afraid of what he was going to see. Kenshin stared into Trey’s eyes. “I think I am in love with you.” He shrugged and sucked on his bottom lip. “I don’t get how it happened so fast, but there it is.” Trey grasped Kenshin’s arm, leaned up and pressed his lips to Kenshin’s in a gentle kiss. He smiled. “Good. Because I think I have the same affliction.” Kenshin’s brow lifted. “Love?” Trey nodded and made a sour face. “Pretty bad, too.” Kenshin shook his head and smiled. “Me, too.” He groaned and fell back against the pillows. “So, when are you moving in?” Trey groaned and wiped his hands down his face. He scowled at Kenshin. “Not that again?” Kenshin snorted and folded his arms behind his head. “Get used to it. You’re going to hear it until the day you do move in.” Trey folded his arms and sank into the pillows. “Great.”

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~0~ rey folded his arms across the cruise ship’s railing and looked up at the full moon floating over the midnight ocean. The tailed tux and dove-gray cravat around his throat was a little warm for the Bahamas, but it looked damned good on the dance floor. He smiled. “And what are you grinning about?” Trey turned to see Kenshin walking up with a scotch on ice in his hand. He had been in a full tux earlier, but had since removed the jacket and the bow tie, rolling the white linen sleeves up over his forearms and opening the collar. However, his inkdark hair was still combed back into its customary neat queue. Trey turned around and leaned back on his elbows. “I was just thinking about how good I looked.” He smiled smugly. “Compared to how scruffy you look.” “Scruffy…?” Kenshin rolled his eyes. “There you go with the cock-tease act again. You planning on stripping anytime soon?”

T

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Trey waved a hand toward the packed ballroom. “Already did for this bunch, remember?” Kenshin grinned and waggled his brows. “As if I could forget?” Trey lifted his brow at Kenshin. “Mind telling me how we ended up on this cruise? You never did say.” Kenshin smiled. “My sister’s a bridesmaid, remember?” Trey frowned. “Yeah, so?” Kenshin leaned over the rail to stare at the ocean far below. “Somebody skipped out, but the tickets were already bought. She asked if I wanted them. I said sure.” Trey turned around, but looked up at the moon. “Oh.” Kenshin nudged his elbow. “I thought it’d be nice to celebrate the fact that you finally moved in with me.” He snorted. “It sure took you long enough.” Trey rolled his eyes. “So I made you wait longer than a week.” Kenshin scowled. “You made me wait a whole month.” Trey peered at him from over his wire-framed glasses. “It takes time to break a lease, and tie up bills.” “Yeah, right, sure.” Kenshin sipped at his scotch, then lifted his chin and smiled. “Oh, hey, did you see that threesome on the dance floor doing the tango?” He shook his head. “That was incredible.” He pursed his lips. ‘Specially the little redhead. Wow…” Trey smiled. “Yes, yes, they were.” He was quite 87

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proud of them. They’d carried off their dance beautifully. Kenshin’s smile faded. “I like when you do that.” Trey shook his head and grinned. “Do what?” “Smile, just like that.” “Huh?” Trey turned. Kenshin’s beautifully sculpted face was all silver and shadows from the moonlight. It made his expression seem slightly, haunted. For no reason whatsoever, Trey leaned close, set his hand on the larger man’s shoulder and pressed his lips to Kenshin’s perfect mouth. Trey swept his tongue across Kenshin’s bottom lip and tasted scotch. Kenshin groaned and closed his arms around Trey, meeting him, tongue for tongue, then pressed closer until Trey was bending over the rail from the force of Kenshin’s kiss. Kenshin finally released him and smiled. “Come on, let’s go back so we can cruise for chicks.” He stepped back, pulling Trey with him. Trey grabbed onto Kenshin’s forearms. “Cruise for chicks?” “Oh, hell yeah.” Kenshin reached up and fiddled with Trey’s folded cravat. “That’s the real reason I kept you. You’re pure chick-magnet material.” Trey gaped at him. “What?” Kenshin grinned. “Come on, a long-haired guy that actually dances? We’ll have any girl we want in our bed, hell, almost every night!” Trey tucked his hand under his other arm, and pushed his glasses back up on his nose with his other hand. He shook his head. “You are insane.” 88

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Kenshin nudged him with a big brawny shoulder. “Yes, but you love me for it.” Trey rolled his eyes. “Somebody has to.” Kenshin grabbed him by the elbow. “Come on, it’ll be fun!” Trey groaned. “That’s what I’m afraid of!” But he followed his lover toward the ballroom anyway. God only knew what kind of trouble Kenshin would get him into next…

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About the Author

“F

or me, writing is more than a passion, it's an obsession.”

Morgan Hawke has been writing erotic fiction since 1998. She has lived in seven states of the US and spent two years in England. She has been an auto mechanic, a security guard, a waitress, a groom in a horse-stable, in the military, a copywriter, a magazine editor, a professional tarot reader, a belly-dancer and a stripper. Her personal area of expertise is the strange and unusual. Ms. Hawke maintains a close and personal relationship with her computer and her cat.