Painted On My Heart

“You’re already too far in,” Arik said.

This time Gage came out the garage door, walking straight through the football game, disrupting the play, and looking very annoyed.

“You did that on purpose,” he called out to Trent, pointing a finger at him.

“No, I was trying to grab your shirt to bring you with me and things went sideways. I tried,” Trent answered quickly.

“Bullshit. We have a woman in there, clawing her way to the bathroom in order to get some privacy, and you just bailed on her. No way she’ll ever come back here,” Gage said, throwing his hands out.

“Did she get to the bathroom?” Trent asked.

“We’re out of here,” Arik proclaimed, grabbing Kellus’s hand. Not in that unexpected, sweet way he usually did, but in a hurry-up-and-move-it kind of way.

“Take me with you,” Gage implored, following them.

“You’re taking one for the team tonight. Tell them we said bye.” Arik double-timed it toward the car. “Hurry, Kellus. We don’t wanna get trapped.” Arik rounded the hood, clicking the key fob to let him in the passenger side.

“Where are we going?” he finally asked once inside the car.

“Does it really matter?” Arik questioned, turning on the ignition before he closed his door. Reaching for the gearshift, he worked the clutch then peeled away from the house in a fast getaway.

~?~

Music thumped while colorful lights kept time with the beat, and all Arik could do was move in a slow steady sway, keeping Kellus pressed head to toe against his body. They’d found a back corner in the nightclub, actually Kellus had, and they’d been in each other’s arms ever since. After the housewarming party, he needed a distraction from the family meddling and BT pic teasing. He couldn’t think of a better way than to have Kellus rubbing up against him with the mix of heat and music pounding as loud as his heart.

Arik turned his head, intentionally rubbing his slight stubble along Kellus’s neck before whispering in his ear. Okay, maybe shouting to be heard over the loud music was a better description, but he still did it very breathily to help add to the sex appeal. He liked when Kellus shuddered in his arms.

“You’re sexy.” Arik nipped Kellus’s ear and was rewarded with another shudder, making his rigid hard-on happy when Kellus’s equally as hard cock rubbed against him. When Kellus’s head moved, Arik thought he’d be getting a sensual kiss. He licked his lips, wetting them in anticipation. Instead, Kellus moved farther back, looking him in the eyes.

“What’s the story about the pretty boy in the fur coat?”

Arik laughed at the question. He thought he’d dodged that discussion at the housewarming party, but that dream had only lasted a few hours. Wrapping his arms tighter around Kellus, he shifted his own hips, grinding himself against the man. Lifting his head, he moved his mouth closer to Kellus’s ear as he spoke. “He was very limber. He was a former Cirque performer turned model I met while in New York.”

Kellus shuddered against him and tightened his hold around Arik’s waist. He pressed his lips along Kellus’s neck as his guy asked, “How long did you date?”

“We didn’t date. We had sex a couple of times,” Arik explained as he pulled his head back to look Kellus in the eyes.

“But you brought him here.”

“No, he showed up here as a surprise to me. And believe me, it wasn’t a good one.” He saw the questions in Kellus’s eyes, perhaps a hint of insecurity, maybe laced with a small amount of jealousy, but Kellus didn’t say another word, forcing Arik to try to fill in the blanks. “He swiped my entry card the last time we were together in New York. I returned home to find him naked in my bed. I don’t like people in my bed.”

For some reason, Kellus created distance, not only moving his head back, but stepping away as his eyes narrowed. “You didn’t like that?”

“If you’re planning it, please continue. I’d love for you to surprise me in my bed. Him, not so much. I don’t invite men into my bed, certainly not the BTs I’ve met along the way,” he stated and tried to pull Kellus back against his chest. Instead of complying, the man stood firm and just stared at him. Ah, they were back to Kellus being quiet, forcing Arik to blindly fill in the missing pieces with explanation. Great. He could be digging an even deeper hole for himself. “BT—meaning boy toys. Lots of them. I named them like that because it wasn’t always easy to remember their names. Especially after lots of alcohol,” Arik added when he thought that might be the question.

Kellus kept staring at him.

“Are you planning on surprising me that way? We could leave now and make it happen,” he teased.