Flinging back the covers, Darius blatantly admired Andrew’s body. “I couldn’t have dreamed of such a perfect man.”
Andrew smoothed a hand over his chest, the hairs tickling his palm, shamelessly displaying himself for his lover. Darius dropped the towel on the bed, spreading it out, and opened his hand to show Andrew a small vial. “I could say I had forgotten this was in my pocket, or some other such tale, but I would be lying to you. If you ever asked me to make love to you, I wanted to be ready.”
The vial contained a pale viscous liquid. Oil.
Darius gazed down at Andrew, smiling. “Do you want to do this? We don’t have to. I’m happy to be with you, to hold you, but I want you very much.”
Swallowing, Andrew nodded. “I want you too.”
Before, when his tutor at Oxford had initiated him, the act had hurt. Even then, he had attained some pleasure from it. From the warmth in Darius’s face, Andrew knew this time there would be no pain. Only pleasure awaited him.
He stretched, hands open, wordlessly urging Darius to come to him.
Darius put one knee on the bed and climbed in, straight into Andrew’s arms.
For a while, they only kissed, touched, and held one another. Andrew glowed in the delight of touching his lover, feeling the honed muscular body under his hands, having the right to kiss him.
After a few long, languorous kisses, he touched his mouth to Darius’s chin and then his throat, planning to work his way down his body to reciprocate the pleasure Darius had brought to him. He had his hand on Darius’s balls, but Darius gently moved it away and shook his head.
“I don’t want you like that. Not this time. I want it all, Andrew.”
Andrew gazed into those blue eyes, lost in pleasure. Nodding, he rolled onto his stomach. His previous male lover had always placed him like that. Darius stopped him before he could complete the maneuver. “No, I want to watch you come. I want to see it.”
He wanted Andrew open to him. No longer afraid, eager to feel Darius’s body in his, Andrew nodded, rolled onto his back, and lifted his knees instead. “I want you to see.”
Darius reached for the vial of oil and pulled out the cork with a slight pop. The faint aroma of roses reached Andrew’s nostrils as Darius poured a small puddle into his palm and used his fingers to bring the oil to Andrew’s rear. He caressed, slid his fingers along the crack between Andrew’s buttocks, before going to work.
He eased Andrew open. The task took some time, not least because Darius paused to kiss and tease, softly biting Andrew’s shoulders and then his nipples. The slight twinge roused Andrew further, and he lifted his lower body, urging Darius to do more.
“Do it.”
First one finger and then two, opening and circling, the very act an erotic joy, exciting every sense Andrew had. Colors were brighter, sensations more acute. Andrew moaned softly.
Darius came back to him. “You’re ready. I’m more than ready. Look at me, love.”
Andrew watched Darius take his cock in his hand and ease it into Andrew’s body. He kept his eyes open. Darius’s pupils darkened so much they became black circles with blue rims. He dropped a swift, hard kiss on to Andrew’s lips and then pushed, taking his lower lip between his teeth as he worked his way inside.
Andrew lifted his legs, clamping his knees to Darius’s ribs, holding his arms by his sides, to retain some measure of control. He pushed up as Darius eased in.
Darius didn’t stop until he was completely inside Andrew.
“Oh, God. You feel wonderful,” Andrew murmured, holding his body steady so he could lift a hand and caress Darius’s beard-prickled cheek. He couldn’t stop smiling.
“Believe me,” Darius said. “So do you. You’re hot, a furnace around me. I’m not sure I can last long.”
Andrew’s cock had risen again, pressing hard and needy between their bodies. Every movement Darius made, every time he thrust, he ground their groins and bellies together, compressing Andrew’s hard shaft.
Gasping for air, Andrew tipped his head back, gulping in cool drafts as Darius took him higher, working him. When he looked back, the fierce determination on Darius’s face nearly undid him. “How are you holding back?”
“Believe me, it’s not easy.”
Darius pushed in again, his drives steady and sure, grazing against the most sensitive areas inside, places Andrew had not been aware of before. His only other male lover had not concerned himself with Andrew’s pleasure. If Andrew came, it had been because he could not hold back. And he had only achieved orgasm with a woman when he’d concentrated on her, closed his eyes, and pretended she was someone else.
Thinking of his late wife did the trick and gave him a little time to enjoy his lover. But he could not think of anything. He rushed toward his inevitable crescendo, when his body convulsed and hot liquid spurted between them.
At the same time, Darius buried his face in the pillow, shouted Andrew’s name as he reached the culmination of their loving. He throbbed, his body jerking as he gave Andrew everything he had.
They lay together, panting, until Andrew cupped Darius’s cheek and brought him close for another kiss. He thrust his tongue into Darius’s mouth greedily, as if ready to start again. But not yet. His body shook with strain, but of the most exquisite kind.
Now it was his turn to care for his lover. Darius had ridden himself hard. That he wasn’t lying in this bed snoring his head off was a testament to his stamina. Or maybe it was his determination and desire.
Andrew got out of bed and found the hot water. They were going to need it.
Chapter 15
Although his love life had taken a considerable turn for the better, Andrew’s professional life was not prospering.
Three days after they had first made love, they were back in London. After greeting his daughter and laughing at her sloppy kisses and enthusiasm for the toy ship he’d procured for her, Andrew went to his office. There he found a number of letters from his country clients withdrawing their business from him.
Although a blow, he felt more resilient. He would come around. Perhaps he should try the Guilds. A number of prosperous merchants were buying property in the country. He could at least keep the wolf from his door by acting for them. Chambers was still closed to him. A note from his head of chambers told him that while still a member, he should perhaps wait for the fuss to die down before he returned.
That hurt. The letter, more than anything else, told him where his heart lay. It was not with land and property deals. That was for sure.
The last note came from General Court, summoning him to his house the next day. “My servants inform me that you have information about my son’s death,” it read tersely.
That could spell trouble. Presumably the men accompanying Court had reported back to his father.
A knock at the office door heralded Darius’s entrance. Andrew’s heart leaped at the sight of Darius, even more when Darius closed the door and came over to kiss him.