Savior:A Tattered Club Story(28)

“You’re so talented.” Ethan moved closer as if he could walk into the tranquil scene. “Did you use spray paint?”

Niko slipped under the blanket and rolled onto his side. “Yeah.

Ethan kept his gaze on the slipping waves, one melting into the crest of another. “I love it. My dad took us to California once when he was traveling for business. While he stayed in San Diego, my mom rented a convertible for a couple of days and took my brother and sister and I on a trip up the coast. This reminds me of that evening we stopped at a restaurant in Huntington Beach. You know.” He turned to see Niko watching him with his head propped in his hand, up on one elbow. Ethan drew back the sheet and sat on the edge of the firm mattress. “Like the restaurants on the pier where you sit over the water? I ate so much shrimp, I got sick that night. It was worth it, though. That was the last time my dad took us with him on a business trip. Mom thought he was having an affair. I don’t know. I think he was just a cold, heartless asshole.”

Ethan fingered the edge of the sheet, avoiding Niko’s stare.

“I like your dog. He’s cute. How long have you had him?”

“Ethan?” Niko grumbled and yawned. “Lie down. I’m not Charles. You can sleep in whatever in the hell you want and I have no intention of standing over while you do it.”

Thunder banged and the room glowed with a streak of lightning. Ethan scurried under the covers acting the part of a squeamish queer. He didn’t care. He was cold, exhausted, and, yes, scared.

The soft pillow cradled his head as he closed his eyes.

“Casper usually takes a pillow by morning. Don’t let it freak you out.”

Ethan smiled through the darkness. “So, you’re saying you’ve got him kind of spoiled?”

A flash of white scattered through the room. Ethan tugged the blanket up to his chest. Niko’s soft laugh drifted through the hushed sound of the rain pattering on the large window. “You could say that. I like to spoil things that mean a lot to me. I never had anything or anyone close enough to do it before.”

Ethan felt the smooth sheet shift.

“I have no fucking clue why I talk so much when I’m around you.”

The faint stroke of rough fingertips explored his lower stomach. Ethan flexed his abdomen, trying not to breathe too fast, but the air felt cluttered with his thoughts. “Maybe you’re finally comfortable with someone.”

“Yeah,” Niko whispered, so close. So close, his breath heated Ethan’s cheek. “Maybe.”

Slowly, back and forth, the warm fingertip moved up. Up? Up? This wasn’t the way his fantasy played out. Niko sighed, the kind of exhale burdened with a past and bogged down with an unsure future.

The feathering stroke slid across the large scar on his stomach making Ethan press his ass against the mattress. The reminder every time he looked in the mirror was enough. The man he was infatuated with touched the evidence of his weakness. Everything had become overwhelming.

“Niko, please don—”

“Go to sleep, Ethan.”

The slow back and forth climbed higher. The fingertip rode the narrow line, first up then down to cross the scar. “Jesus, Niko, you don’t understand.”

The warmth when Niko flattened his palm sent Ethan into a stratosphere where his thoughts went deep into the void and his breaths lingered, one after the other, patiently lulling him to sleep.

“That’s it,” Niko calmly coaxed as each rigid nerve uncoiled.

The soft press of lips against his neck sent a thread to his cock. Lengthening, filling, growing heavy with anticipation. Since the first time he’d turned around to see the swirls and hues painted on Niko’s skin, he’d wanted everything.

“Calm down there, skinny jeans. It’s just a kiss.”

Just a kiss? Who the hell was he kidding? That kiss sent an email to his dick to flip Niko over and lick the line between his cheeks. God, he’d only done that twice, but he’d love to do it again.

Ethan fisted the edge of the sheet and snuggled into the pillow where Niko’s face rested. He again closed his eyes, let the sultry heat from the man’s rough palm spanning his stomach remind him that tomorrow was a new start. A new apartment. A new job. A life he would own.



*****



Shit...holy fu— God damn.

“Hold still.”

What are you doing? Fuck, that feels so good.

“I’m going to go slow. Tell me you want me to stop.”

“What the fuck!” Niko rolled onto his hip almost knocking Ethan off the mattress. “What the hell do you think you’re doing? Jesus, Ethan.” Niko slipped his hand down his face, trying to erase the remnants of what he thought was a dream. But, it wasn’t. This was real. Like—real fucking real.