Fortune's Favor

Chapter Eight

Avery didn’t want to, but he couldn’t help relaxing under Nathan’s firm hands. He might be a master manipulator, but Nathan had a heavenly touch. He worked the stiffness from Avery’s muscles until Avery’s entire upper body was a boneless mass of flesh.

“Nice. That’s it. Just relax.”

He closed his eyes and let Nathan do whatever he wanted. So far, so good. Nothing Nathan had done had been uncomfortable.

“Tell me about your parents.”

He cracked open an eye but only saw the top of Nathan’s head. Nathan had moved from his body to the side of the bed and knelt next to him while he massaged Avery’s biceps.

“My mom is a doctor. She’s bossy.”

“Like you.”

“Hmm. My dad is a retired Master Gunnery Sergeant in the U.S. Marine Corps. They met when he was a corporal and have been together ever since.”

Nathan moved from his arms to his legs. “So is that why you joined the Corps? Because your dad was in? Spread your legs.”

Avery tensed but moved his legs farther apart. When Nathan merely rubbed the muscle of his quadriceps, he answered the question. “I guess. I loved being in. Loved being around my kind of people.”

“Oh? And who are they?”

“Rough, unafraid to get dirty, and hands-on. Into physical fitness. I love sports.”

“Yes, you do.” Nathan ran his hands between Avery’s legs, but instead of cupping his sac, Nathan rubbed his groin muscle.

“Fuck, that feels good.”

“You sound surprised. I’m good at this.” Nathan rubbed him some more. “Danielle was a massage therapist. She taught me to deal with touch in a way different than Michelle had.”

“Yeah?”

“Michelle had me build inner shields and taught me to avoid all kinds of unnecessary touch. It made me strong. But when I moved in with my aun—Danielle, she taught me another way. To immerse myself in touch and learn to differentiate physical sensation from psychic sensation.”

“Looks like it worked.” Damn, but Avery’s cock was harder than steel, despite Nathan’s nonsexual massage. “Did Danielle share your abilities?”

“No. She said my dad had it. The guy my supposed mother told me had died right before she had me. Now I’m not sure about anything. For all I know, the fucker is still alive.”

Alive and crazy, Avery wanted to say but didn’t. He couldn’t tell Nathan anything yet, not until he had more to go on. He didn’t want to hurt his lover, and the information would be painful, no two ways about it.

“But we were talking about you.” Nathan smoothed his hands down Avery’s legs and concentrated on his shins and calves.

“Damn, you’re good.”

“That’s what they tell me.” Nathan winked at him, and Avery felt his heart drop at the man’s feet.

Hell. He coughed to cover a groan. “My parents have always shared a lot of love. I was the only kid in the family. Both my parents came from small families and had trouble conceiving after me, so I got my share of attention.”

“I’ll bet.”

“But they didn’t spoil me. My dad made sure I earned everything I ever had in life. Taught me to work hard. I love them a lot.” He sighed into Nathan’s touch.

Nathan paused to put more oil on his hands. “Just like Danielle. She wasn’t easy on me. And it bugged her that people would give in to me a lot. But hell, I’m charming. It’s a gift.”

Avery hissed when Nathan massaged his feet, digging into his arches. “Holy shit, you’re really good at this.”

“I told you I am.”

“And so modest.”

Nathan chuckled, and he looked so beautiful in the dim light of the room. He glanced up, caught Avery looking at him, and froze.

“What?” Avery didn’t like Nathan’s expression.

“Nothing.” He turned back to Avery’s feet and hummed under his breath. “So your time in the PWP? What was that like?”

“Yeah, we didn’t really meet till I came to Bend, did we?”

Nathan shook his head.

“The training was easy. I was only allowed out on three missions; two were with Chloe as lead. You think I have control issues? She’s short, and she’s a woman. She ordered me around like it was Christmas.”

Nathan laughed. “She does that.”

“Yeah, but she knows what she’s talking about. I had no trouble following her. We took down a few rogue psychics. Nothing earth-shattering, but it felt right to do good, you know?”

“Yeah.”

“The drugs they gave me made my visions clearer. And I was able to call them on command. But they still don’t take the shape I want. I mean, I want to know how we’ll take care of Malcolm, but I can’t see it. I see whatever hits me. Sometimes I can use it; most times it’s about someone else.”

Nathan’s hands roamed north again, around Avery’s knees. “So you don’t see your own future?”

“Rarely.” Like his vision of himself and Nathan kissing, and of them smiling together, in the future? The far distant future? He wished he knew.

“Too bad. Then you could see winning numbers on a lottery ticket. Or you could predict which stocks to invest in.”

“So mercenary. Most of what I see revolves around us and our cases. I think it’s because I’m built to protect, so I naturally seek people needing protection.”

“Makes sense.” Nathan knelt between Avery’s legs and spread them wider.

Avery’s cock jumped.

“Now just lie there and relax. I’m gonna take good care of you, baby.”

“Quit calling me baby,” he said, suddenly breathless.

Nathan laughed softly and stroked his hands up and down Avery’s inner thighs. Each time he neared Avery’s cock, he moved in the other direction. And then his thumbs started grazing Avery’s sac.

“Fuck.”

Nathan smiled. “Feel good?”

“You know it does.”

“I hope it does,” Nathan corrected. “But I want you to tell me if it doesn’t.”

“Why? You’ll stop?”

“No.”

The flat-out refusal made him laugh.

“God, I love it when you smile.” Nathan sighed and leaned down to kiss him. In the process, he gripped Avery’s shaft tight.

The kiss seemed to last forever.

“Take your arms and put them by your sides.”

Avery blinked when Nathan moved back. He hadn’t realized he’d put his hands around Nathan’s shoulders. He put them down on the bed.

“No, change that. Link your hands behind your head. And scoot down. I want your hips at the end of the bed.”

Avery had made note of the bed earlier. It sat at the perfect height for fucking. He blew out a breath. Hell. He was really going to do this.

He scooted down, put his hands behind his head, and stared at the ceiling.

Nathan touched his cheek and turned his head. “Baby, it’s okay. Trust me. You’ll love this.”

“If you say so,” he grumbled, not amused when Nathan laughed. But he did grow intrigued when Nathan hopped on the bed and straddled his neck. He angled his cock to Avery’s lips.

“Lick me up. Make me nice and wet.”

Avery opened his mouth and sucked the head of Nathan’s cock. He loved the sighs and groans of pleasure he wrung from the man. Not some faceless banger in a bar. Avery gave Nathan pleasure.

He started to get really into blowing his lover when Nathan pulled back.

“Jesus, you’re getting really good at that.”

“Getting good?”

“Braggart.”

“Pot calling kettle, hello?”

Nathan snickered and left the bed. “Watch me. I want you to see this.”

Avery watched Nathan take a dollop of lube and slick his thick cock with it. He smoothed it all over, then kept a huge bit on his fingers. Knowing what was coming, Avery’s ass puckered, anticipating the cool glide of that lube.

“I’m going to ease it up in you. Relax,” Nathan murmured, his voice silky and deep and just as intoxicating as the rest of him.

Avery tried not to tense as Nathan spread his legs wider and shoved a pillow under his hips.

“Better. Now open for me.” Nathan pushed a slick finger into his ass. The tight burn didn’t bother him overly much, until the finger moved deeper. It was uncomfortable at first, as Nathan continued to prod him. Then he hit a spot inside that made Avery’s entire body tense.

“There it is,” Nathan said, sounding pleased.

Avery had touched other lovers’ prostates before, but he’d never felt that same buzz they seemed to feel. Now he knew. But when Nathan added another finger and began playing with the spot, Avery thought he’d lose his mind. His cock was so hard he hurt, and he wanted nothing more than to come.

“That’s good, baby. You like that, huh?”

“Shit, Nathan. Don’t tease me. Either fuck me or go away.”

“Go away? I have you for another…” He paused to look at the clock. “Eleven hours and twenty-two minutes.” He smiled, a devilish look of mischief. “I can’t wait to make you beg.”

He teased and toyed with Avery for what felt like forever. He used two fingers, then more, stretching gently and then with more force, easing Avery’s ass around his digits. And all the while, he kissed Avery’s mouth, his nipples, his throat. Nathan bit his chest and neck, the love bites so at odds with the gentle pressure in his ass.

The contrasts overwhelmed him, until Avery was a huge wash of sensation. “Come on. Just do it.”

“Inspiring words, Avery. Really.”

The bastard chuckled. But to Avery’s relief, Nathan looked just as hard and uncomfortable as he did.

Good. Let Nathan suffer a little too. “You want to get off. I can see that cum at your tip. Come on. Give it to me.”

“You’re a bit bossy for someone who lost a bet,” Nathan reminded him.

Avery groaned.

“Easy, lover. Just let me do what I need to, and I’ll be in that tight, hot ass soon enough.” Nathan grinned. Then he stopped playing with Avery and wiped his hand on a towel. “Oh yeah. You’re ready, aren’t you?”

“Christ, yes.”

Nathan stood between his legs and stared down into Avery’s eyes. “Mine, Avery. You’re all mine. Only mine,” he added under his breath, but Avery heard him.

The soft look in Nathan’s eyes was replaced by a possessive one, and Avery couldn’t help warming to see it.

His lover put the tip of his very big cock at his entrance and pushed. As wide as three fingers, until he pushed deeper, and then Avery felt split in two. Nathan immediately stopped, breathing hard.

“You are so fucking tight. Like heaven.” He didn’t move and gripped Avery’s hips with bruising fingers. “You okay, baby?”

By sitting there and letting Avery get used to the feel of him, Nathan lessened the burn.

“Yeah. Give me more.”

“Don’t worry. I will.” Nathan inched farther inside him. “Push out, Avery. That’s it.” Nathan groaned as he entered the tight passage.

Avery felt that push on his hot spot, and then Nathan stopped. His balls rested against Avery’s ass, and Avery couldn’t believe he’d finally let a man fuck him.

“You good?” Nathan asked on a gasp when Avery moved.

“Yeah. Man, you’re really in me.”

“Oh, I am. You’re so hot. I can’t believe how good you feel.”

“All the way up to my fucking throat. You’re huge.”

Nathan laughed, then gasped when he slid out. “I have to move.”

“So move. Fuck me already.”

“So bossy.” Nathan surged back in. Little thrusts until he saw that Avery wasn’t fighting him.

Far from it. Avery wanted more. He now knew what his past lovers had been yelling about. Being taken by Nathan was a magic all its own.

“Jerk yourself off. I want to see you come,” Nathan rasped as he fucked Avery harder.

“You going to come in my ass?” Avery asked as he began pumping himself. It wouldn’t take long, not while Nathan kept hitting that spot inside him. “Fuck me, that’s it. Right there.”

“That’s what I wanted.” Nathan changed his angle and hit that spot harder.

Avery nearly lost his mind. “Fuck. More. God, yeah.”

“Come for me. Let me see it.”

Avery couldn’t have refused if he’d wanted to. That sweet cock kept digging into the pleasure center of his brain. He pulled on his cock once more and felt his entire body throb.

Jets of cream hit his belly. As if he hadn’t just come down Nathan’s throat not long ago, he left a huge mess all over himself. And Nathan seemed to get off on it.

“That’s so fucking sexy. Yeah, all that cum, for me. So good, baby.” Nathan pounded into him, the savage need on his face a thing of beauty.

When he yelled out and stilled, Avery couldn’t look away, enrapt in the beauty of his lover.

Nathan groaned and seized, shuddering as he poured himself into Avery’s ass.

The warmth trickling down his crack onto the sheets gave Avery a sense of belonging, a communal tie between them. One that, no matter what happened in the future, Avery would never be able to forget. Or break.

Nathan finally stopped coming and withdrew. “Don’t move,” he ordered in a shaky voice.

Glad he wasn’t the only one affected by their coupling, Avery lay still, covered in a mess and loving every second of it.

Nathan returned moments later and yanked Avery to his feet. Before Avery could protest the twinge in his ass, Nathan pulled him over his shoulder and carried him into the bathroom. The smallness of the room mandated he put Avery down, and he deposited him in the shower.

When Avery would have turned the shower on, Nathan stopped him. “I said don’t move.”

“Ah, okay.”

Nathan pushed Avery back and turned on the hot water. Then he moved into the generous shower stall and proceeded to clean Avery from top to bottom, paying special attention to his ass.

“Easy. You got a workout today.” Nathan gently cleaned him with a washcloth, massaging the tender skin with care. “What we did… It meant a lot to me, Avery.”

Avery glanced down at Nathan, his face wet and clean and so very clear that it took Avery’s breath away. The man looked like he cared. A lot.

“Yeah, well, it meant a lot to me too.” He cleared his throat. “And not just because I hadn’t done that before.”

Nathan’s smile of delight brightened the entire bathroom. “So can I keep calling you baby?”

Avery pulled him to his feet and planted a kiss on his lips. He pulled back with a loud smack. “No.”

Then he shoved Nathan’s head under the water and demanded that his lover wash his own hair.

Nathan’s snarl of denial had never sounded so sweet.

Nathan tried to pretend he wasn’t amused by Avery’s surliness, but he hadn’t felt this good in a long time. Hell, in forever. He wanted to say it was the sex, because shit, nothing had felt as good as coming in Avery’s virgin ass. But to have the man acknowledge that Nathan meant something to him… He was on cloud nine.

Despite the reason behind their pairing in the first place, he’d never felt so alive. The warmth in his mind, body, and soul was for Avery. Was this what he’d been searching for so long? This acceptance, this emotion he wanted, strangely enough, to call love?

Avery dunked his head under the shower and nearly drowned him. “Keep your mouth shut, princess.” He pulled Nathan’s head out of the spray and rubbed shampoo into his hair, and Nathan finally stopped trying to fight the bully massaging his scalp.

Those hard fingers relieved the tension he hadn’t been aware he’d held, and he sighed into Avery’s soothing touch.

“That’s it. Ease your head back.”

Nathan kept his eyes closed and tilted his head to let the shampoo run off. Avery smoothed the water over him, and then he felt the kiss.

Avery, for all his roughness, kissed like a dream. He coaxed and prodded; he never took. When he left Nathan’s lips to suck at his throat, Nathan groaned. “I thought I was in charge.”

“You are, baby.” Avery pinched his nipples and kissed him again. “For the next however many hours of our bet.”

Nathan groaned as his dick, which should have been too well used to perform, spiked again. “You’re such a sore loser.”

“Yeah. Let me show you how badly I take losing.”

Nathan watched him sink to his knees and engulf Nathan in one hot swallow. Avery’s tongue and lips worked him for a while, slowly arousing him to a new climax so the pleasure washed over him like a gentle rain. Ecstasy throbbed, and he felt dizzy as he finished coming down Avery’s throat.

Avery leaned back and looked up at him, while Nathan’s back took the brunt of the shower. The slow smile that lit Avery from within turned Nathan upside down.

“You look tired. So sexy when your eyes are half shut like that.” Avery stood and hugged Nathan tight. “Now is it okay if I try to sleep, or do I need to take your cock in some other untried hole tonight?”

Nathan let out a laugh. “You’re such an asshole. A manipulative, controlling, arrogant—” He broke off as a yawn overtook him. “Bully.”

Avery chuckled. They turned off the shower and dried themselves. Then they walked together to the bed. Avery paused and grabbed a blanket from the closet, then threw it over the bottom sheet.

“I’m not chancing any wet spots.”

“Gross.” Nathan agreed. Then they moved into bed together and gravitated toward each other. Being held by Avery felt as natural as breathing, and Nathan absorbed the affection like a greedy sponge. “Don’t think you won’t still owe me some hours.” He yawned again.

“Sure thing. Put a few on my tab. Now get some sleep. You need it, baby.”

The baby did him in, and Nathan fell into a deep asleep, wishing this contentment would never end.