A Change of Pace (15 page)

Chapter 15

Love is a many splintered thing.

Ridge Huntington

At that one word, Drew felt his cock harden even further, the head leaking pre-come, dripping onto the comforter below.

“Holy shit.” He swallowed with difficulty. This man was his for the taking. God, he wanted to fuck Ridge so badly. He was shaking with it.

“God, the way you look.” He marveled at the sexual feast laid out before him. “I could... I need... God, you’re amazing. I have to--”

Ridge whimpered as Drew pulled back abruptly.

Drew scrambled to find a condom. “I know, shhh.” God, Ridge was burning him up. His blond lover was panting and moaning.

Suiting up in record time, Drew quickly lubed his dick with two swipes, then repositioned himself, using a hand to widen the spread of Ridge’s legs. “Keep them up.” He pushed one knee, then the other, up toward Ridge’s chest. Lowering his body, he lined up. He could feel the burning heat against the head of his dick. With a breathy moan, he began pressing inward, and he groaned, almost with a pained sound, as his dick passed through the tight ring guarding Ridge’s ass.

Gusting a sigh, he lowered his weight, one elbow at a time, then dropped his head to kiss Ridge as he slid further inside.

Just before their lips touched, Ridge whispered, “I love you.”

Shocked to his core, Drew could only stare helplessly. The tightness was back in his chest and he couldn’t breathe. His cock pulsed and throbbed as he hung there, frozen.

Ridge watched him with a tiny smile, pretty brown eyes searching.

He finally dropped his head to Ridge’s shoulder, hiding his face in the smooth skin there. “God, Ridge, I... I don’t... I need...” Just what in the hell was he supposed to say to that?

His cock knew what it needed though, as his hips began moving again, dick seeking relief. “Sweetheart, I... I really, really, need to be inside you right now.” He knew what to do for that. “I need to fuck you so bad,” he mumbled.

Ridge spread his legs, opening himself more. “It’s okay. I need it, too.”

Was Ridge comforting
him
? Shaken, Drew covered his man fully with his weight and slowly began driving his cock forward and back, balancing on his elbows, his thighs spread below Ridge’s. He felt Ridge’s hands slide down his back, caressing him, encouraging him to move faster.

One hand slid to his ass, the fingers feathering over his opening.

Drew couldn’t even find it in himself to tense up, though no other man had gained entrance there.
Ever
. He actually spread himself further, giving Ridge more access. He raised his head and met Ridge’s gaze, letting his lover know he was opening himself in every way.

“Drew.” Ridge responded swiftly by gathering him tighter to the lean body, then brought one hand up to Drew’s mouth, resting one finger against his lips.

Drew breathed in sharply through his nose before slowly relaxing his lips and opening up. His hips paused their motion. The lone finger pressed inside, and Drew sucked on it, watching Ridge as he did so. Then Ridge pulled out, that hand again sliding down his back to his ass. That wet finger pressed against his hole and, in a deliberate motion, stepping past his fear, Drew lifted his ass into the pressure, wanting Ridge to breach his hole.

His hips started to move again as he fucked Ridge, but now his ass was pushing back toward that finger on every stroke. His belly clenched in excitement at what he was doing, and he kept fucking helplessly as that finger slowly pushed inside him, opening him up.

When Ridge twisted it and hit his prostate, he screamed hoarsely and shot his load into the condom, jerking and groaning. His hole clamped down on that finger, and Ridge kept massaging his prostate all the way through his orgasm. Drew shuddered and moaned continually, his face buried once again in Ridge’s shoulder.

He tried to keep moving, to bring Ridge off, but he was held immobile by the pleasure cascading through him. “I can’t...”

Ridge pulled his finger out and used his other hand to grab his own cock, yanking rapidly. “Just -- just, God, right there, right there!” Panting, he kept pulling, while Drew tried to push deeper.

Sweating, head hanging just over Ridge’s face, Drew gritted his teeth and shoved one last time. When Ridge froze and grunted repeatedly, his ass spasming, Drew sighed gustily, dropping his full weight on Ridge, his strength completely gone.
Christ.

***

Late the next morning, Ridge was still smiling when he woke. His body felt well used but replete; his mind was floating. They’d gone at it twice more during the night, Drew waking him up again to take him, this time from behind, and, just before dawn, Drew had awakened him with a blowjob. Drew. Giving him a blowjob. The mind boggled.

He was spread-eagle on the bed, the midday sun shining on his face and the cool air from the ceiling fan wafting over his naked body. He rolled his head to the side to search for Drew.

He didn’t see him, but he could hear pans banging in the kitchen. He arched his body in a stretch, groaning in pleasure as his ass moved on the bed.

“God in heaven.” Had he really blurted out how he felt? “That was either the dumbest thing I’ve ever done... or... I don’t really know what could be dumber.”

Sure, the sex was great -- okay, maybe monumental, not that he’d been such a player that he had a lot to compare. But still, was he now the world’s biggest idiot?

What was he going to see when he found Drew? The other man could be so unpredictable. “Makes me kind of wish I had a back door.”

Last night, the emotions from Drew had run the gamut from jealousy to anger to need -- to vulnerability. The whole night had been a first for Ridge.

“He was pretty much on the ropes last night.” He contemplated Drew and vulnerability -- the two didn’t seem to go together. “Well, maybe now they do.” He was going to be positive about it. “You don’t ask, you don’t get.” Ridge had definitely learned that life lesson.

I mean, really. The man let me in last night -- in more ways than one.
How else could he describe the way Drew had looked at that moment when all the camouflage had fallen away and he’d seen the real man?

Convinced he was on the right track, Ridge rolled to his side and sat up, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. He paused a moment, feeling twinges everywhere, his body reminding him of just how acrobatic they’d been the night before. Allowing himself a satisfied smirk, he sat a minute or two, absorbing the quiet and the sunshine of the summer morning before he pushed himself to his feet and headed to the bathroom. Ridge groaned again at the feeling in his ass; the ache and the memory of why it ached sent a tingle to his balls. His breath hitched for a moment.

Walking to the shower, he reached in and turned on the water before stepping over to use the toilet.

When the water had warmed up, he pulled open the clear glass door and stepped in. He turned under the hot spray, soaking his hair and lathering it up with shampoo. He couldn’t be bothered to move too quickly, so his fingers slide slowly back and forth on his scalp, massaging. Finally turning to rinse his hair, he grabbed the loofah and poured gel onto it.

Desultorily scrubbing his chest and arms, he lingered over his sensitive nipples, lightly teasing them with the loofah, rubbing carefully over his ring. He washed his legs and buttocks before switching to a washcloth. Soaping it up, he gently ran it over his cock and balls, loving the feeling as he lifted and rolled his balls with the soapy cloth. His head dropped back and he groaned in delight as he continued to pleasure himself.

“Mmmm, good morning. You surely are something else.” The gruff voice made him smile even as his eyes remained closed.

He felt Drew move into the shower behind him and gently take the washcloth from his hand. Taking over the intimate chore, Drew pushed the cloth behind his balls and gently rubbed his taint before sliding around to his crease. The cloth pushed down into it, rubbing gently over his well-used hole.

“How does that feel this morning?” The words were whispered in his ear just before his lobe was sucked into Drew’s mouth. “Are you sore at all? I went at you pretty good.”

Ridge gently pulled his head away and turned around. Their eyes met. “I could say the same about you -- but it wasn’t your ass I went after, it was right here.” He tapped one finger on Drew’s chest, right over the suddenly thumping heart.

There. He’d said it again.

Drew swallowed roughly as the words hung there for a moment. His hands fell away, the cloth dropping to the floor of the shower. He pressed against his own chest, rubbing.

Suddenly, the only sound was from the water pouring down and the faint hum of the exhaust fan. Light bounced around the room as the sunshine reflected in the large mirror over the sink. There was nowhere to hide.

Drew opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out.

Ridge regarded him knowingly. He brought his hand up, laying fingers across Drew’s lips. “Don’t even go there... you and I both know what happened last night. You and me -- we were both in the same place.” He... just knew it. Deep inside. The memory of Drew submitting, letting Ridge go where he instinctively knew none had been. That had to mean something. Something big, right?

His fingers moved around to the back of Drew’s head, bending it down a little more toward him. He stared into the turquoise eyes unrelentingly, waiting quietly.

Just then the water began to cool. Ridge calmly rinsed himself, still watching Drew as he did so. “Why don’t we get out of here?” He pushed open the door and stepped out, leaving Drew to finish up. Slinging a towel around his shoulders and drying himself, he watched out of the corner of his eye as Drew quickly washed, then shut off the water. Ridge slung a towel around his waist, and picked up his toothbrush.

Drying off, Drew moved up beside him at the vanity and grabbed a toothbrush, squeezing paste onto it as their eyes met in the mirror.

“I made coffee.”

Recognizing it for the peace offering it was, Ridge smiled briefly as he finished up, wiping his mouth with the hand towel hanging to the side. “Okay. I’m going to get dressed. I’ll see you in the kitchen.” With that, he turned and walked into the bedroom, making sure his ass swayed under the towel.

He walked to the dresser and grabbed a pair of jeans, slinging them on. Barefoot, he slid a comb through his hair before heading out to the kitchen. On his way, he had to sidestep around the dogs where they lay at the foot of the bed.

A few minutes later, Ridge was at the range just starting the bacon in the frying pan when he heard Drew walk into the kitchen behind him.

A knock sounded at the door just as he turned to face his lover. That brought the dogs barreling out of the bedroom, barking hysterically as they raced to the door.

“I’ll get it.” Drew turned back around. “Henry! Elsa!” He moved over to corral them, shoving the two canines to the side as he went to the door. He stopped dead as he saw who was on the other side. “You’ve got to be kidding me
.
”

Drew slowly opened the door. The dogs, still woofing, shot outside to greet the newcomer. “Paul. What are you doing here? Where is he?”

“Who is it?” Ridge was looking over the breakfast bar, eyes narrowing as a strange guy in a suit pushed past Drew to enter the apartment. The stranger’s eyes roved around the main room and zeroed in on Ridge, in the kitchen. The man then started to walk into the bedroom.

“Hey! What’re you doing?” Ridge hurried toward the bedroom to find out who the hell was in his house, but was stopped dead by Drew’s next words.

“Hi, Dad.”

Chapter 16

Holy fuckerballs.

Drew Cunningham

“Hello, son.”

Ridge spun around as he heard that deep voice speak behind him.

“Holy shit, the mayor of Chicago is in my living room.” He mumbled the words to himself, then caught Drew with a look of consternation on the whiskered face.

Shit. Neither of them had bothered to shave.

Walking forward, knowing only that he needed to stand next to Drew, he came to a stop behind his lover, watching as Charles Stratton --
the
Charles Stratton -- walked into his home. The mayor held the door open for another visitor.

“Mom!” Drew’s voice went up an octave as that one word popped out.

Still wiggling in excitement, the dogs sneaked back in as the security man stepped past the newcomers, nodding respectfully to the mayor along the way.

Ridge watched the flurry of greetings as Drew shook his father’s hand and hugged his mother.

The very lovely woman, who looked too young -- and too stylish -- to be Drew’s mother, squeezed her son’s broad shoulders, then leaned back to look into his face. “Your father was worried about you, and he insisted we come to see you.”

“She means
she’s
been missing you and had to see where you were living and what you were doing.” Charles’ voice was filled with humor. The mayor was dressed somewhat casually, in a black sport jacket and crisp jeans, with a cream-colored, button-down shirt. His signature black crew cut was a little longer than it had been in the last photo Ridge had seen.

Rolling her eyes slightly, Yvonne stepped back and looked around the apartment. Her collar-length auburn hair was held off her face with a headband, and it caught the light as she turned. Her gaze stopped at Ridge, and she smiled. “Good morning.” She moved forward with arm extended. “I’m sorry to invade your home without warning.” She shrugged, hazel eyes dancing. “Chuck and I just had to come out and see what Drew was finding so fascinating about North Carolina. I’m Yvonne Stratton.”

Ridge shook her hand helplessly, feeling the surprisingly firm grip, unable to keep from smiling in return. “Good morning, ma’am. I’m Ridge Huntington. Welcome to North Carolina.” Geez, she was pretty.

Charles came up beside his wife, his eyes narrowed. Ridge felt himself flushing slightly. Should he run and get a shirt on?

“Good morning, sir.” He held out his hand to the mayor, holding his breath as the older man looked down at it before reaching out to accept.

They exchanged a solid handshake as the mayor said, “I’m glad to meet you, Ridge. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

Head turning, Ridge stared at Drew in surprise. The look on his lover’s face would have made him laugh in any other situation. Right now, he was feeling a little nauseous.

Drew shoved the dogs outside and slowly pushed the door shut, successfully avoiding Ridge’s eyes as he stepped forward. “We were just going to eat. Are you hungry?”

Ridge caught Charles and Yvonne sharing a quick look.

“We’d love to join you. We left O’Hare at the crack of dawn this morning to make our connection, and we’re starving.” The mayor smiled at them both.

Yvonne swiftly seconded that. “Yes, we’d love to join you. But first, if you don’t mind, may I please use your bathroom?” She pulled her lacy sweater off her shoulders and draped it over the back of the sofa, then laid her purse on the floor next to it. She looked inquiringly at the bedroom doorway. “This way?”

Ridge jumped to assist her. “Oh! Yes, ma’am. Sorry.” He jolted forward to lead the way, then halted abruptly in embarrassment as he spotted the unmade bed. The sheets needed changing. Jesus, was that a wetspot stain?

He was mortified. “Uh, um... I’m sorry, please excuse the mess.”

Hurrying to the bathroom, he pushed the door open all the way and did a quick visual check to make sure it wasn’t a mess. He heaved a sigh of relief. Thank God Drew had picked up the towels.

“Thank you, dear.” Yvonne breezed by him, closing the door between them.

He jumped into action, grabbing a T-shirt from the bedroom chair and yanking it on over his head. Then he raced around the bed. Throwing the comforter off, he jerked the sheets loose, then tossed them on the floor. Taking hold of first one pillow, then the second, he popped them up and down, trying to force them out of the cases. “Come on, come on!” He kept one eye on the bathroom door.

Finally, the second pillow popped free, and he breathed a sigh of relief. He gathered up the sheets and pillowcases, wheeling around to dump them in the hamper in the closet, just as Yvonne came out of the bathroom. He stumbled to a halt, a sheepish look on his face as he met Yvonne’s twinkling gaze.

His lover’s mother chuckled. “Don’t worry about housekeeping, Ridge. We’ve surprised you on a Saturday morning. God knows, if people visit me without calling, I figure they deserve what they get.” With that, she headed back into the living room.

Behind her, Ridge shrugged with a grin and tossed the sheets into the closet, then pulled the door shut. Brushing off his hands, he strolled after her.

***

Drew watched his mother and his man head into the bedroom together.
Jesus. What next?

“If you could see the expression on your face right now...”

Great. His father’s sense of humor was a little warped, and he’d been the butt of his dad’s jokes on more than one occasion.

Charles slipped off his sport jacket and dropped it over the back of one of the living room chairs. “I’m sorry we surprised you, but I know how you are... you’d have made us wait quite a while before an invitation was issued.” He rubbed his hands together as he walked to the range. “Looks like the bacon needs rescuing...” Charles grabbed the tongs on the counter and deftly flipped the bacon. “Hmm, looks okay. I don’t think we lost any of it.” He moved over to wash his hands, speaking over the sound of the water. “What’re we eating?”

Jarred out of his introspection, Drew followed his father. His dad made himself at home, finding and pulling down coffee mugs from the cabinet above the coffee maker. Unable to think of anything else to do, Drew dropped into a seat at the table. “Uh, I was thinking of either omelets or BLTs.”

“Great! I haven’t had a good BLT in a while.” Charles pulled open the fridge door and found the lettuce and mayo, bringing them over to the counter near the sink. He reached over and pulled a chef’s knife out of the knife block. “Hmmm, good knives.”

“Dad, what are you doing?”

“Huh? I’m getting these tomatoes ready for the sandwiches. Speaking of that, will you pull out the bread?”

“Forget the effing sandwiches! What are you and Mom doing here?” Drew heaved a sigh and leaned an elbow on the table, tapping his fingers on the wood.

Sending a look over his shoulder, Charles turned off the burner, then began removing crispy bacon from the pan. Grabbing the paper towels that were nearby on the counter, he laid strips out to drain as he spoke.

“Drew, I’ve talked to you about five times since you got here. The first time you did nothing but gripe about this town, your job, and the reporters who did this to you. The second time, you still bitched about the reporters, and you might have mentioned the new barn for your horse, but that was about it. The third time, all you could talk about was how beautiful it was here, how nice the people are, how much you liked this place where you’re staying -- and I thought to myself, who
is
this person I’m talking to?”

Drew swallowed at hearing that. He watched his dad in silence.

Finding the cutting board near the sink, Charles rinsed the tomatoes and began slicing them. “Your mom and I haven’t heard you that enthusiastic about anything in a long, long time. And given how pissed you were about leaving Chicago, I decided we needed to find out what had changed so quickly.” He turned around to face Drew. “Where’s the toaster?”

“Dad!”

Charles eyed him, brows raised slightly. “Son, I need the toaster if I’m going to get these sandwiches ready.”

“Whatever.” Throwing up his hands, Drew gave up and went to the cabinets, yanking open a couple of doors before finding a toaster. Slapping it onto the counter, he shoved the plug into the wall and stomped back to the table. He ignored his father’s smirk as he plopped back down.

Charles went back to his sandwich assembly. “How about some plates and whatever else you want to eat?”

As Drew sighed loudly and pushed away from the table again, stalking to the cabinet next to the sink and grabbing plates as his father continued his explanation.

“I don’t think you realize it, but the last couple of times we talked, you mentioned Ridge quite a few times.”

Drew stopped what he was doing, one hand holding a plate above the table. His eyes swung up to meet his father’s gaze.

“Now, unless you’re bunking on the couch here, I think my suspicions were correct.”

At that, Drew stood up ramrod straight and crossed his arms over his chest. “Just what do you mean by that? What suspicions?”

Charles turned to face Drew fully, matching his body language. “That you’re in love with this boy.”

Sputtering, Drew started to deny that. “What? No way!” He waved his hands for emphasis, just then noticing that Yvonne and Ridge were standing just outside the bedroom, watching him and Charles.

“Really?”

Uh-oh. Ridge sounded a little ticked.

“What was last night about, then?” Expression disdainful, Ridge moved to the kitchen threshold, and Drew’s mother came right up behind.

Feeling cornered, Drew started to get angry. He blustered, but a glance from his old man stopped him in his tracks.

“So now that your mama and daddy are here, you’re going to deny it? You’re going to hide?”

Christ, the bastard could sound unfriendly. “I’m not hiding. I don’t hide!”

“Uh-huh. Now, why don’t I believe you?” The Carolina drawl was really deep now. Cornpone territory. And that was definitely a smirk on the sexy face. “You’re hiding in plain sight right now.” Ridge walked over to stand next to Charles. The whiskey-brown eyes stared at Drew, daring him to deny it.

His father decided to weigh in again. “If it’s still that Danny character who’s bothering you, son, you’ve got to let that go.”

“Dad!” Christ, Danny was a million years ago.

“My mother used to say, the best way to get
over
somebody is to get
under
somebody,” Yvonne chimed in. She jerked her head in Ridge’s direction and rolled her eyes toward him.

“Mom!” Nearly strangling on the word, Drew stared at his mother in shock. He could hear suspicious coughing coming from both his father and Ridge, and he whirled to stare at them with the evil eye. “I do not give a red rat’s ass about Danny!

His father’s brows went up at that.

“I don’t give a rat’s ass about him, either, so we’re making progress, then. What do you think, Mr. Stratton?” Ridge nodded companionably at Drew’s dad, then brought that determined gaze back, those damned eyes lasering in on his discomfort.
Shit.

“Call me Chuck, son. I think we’re going to be close, don’t you?”

Ridge’s gaze let go, turning to meet Charles’ amused look. “Thank you, Chuck. As we say here in North Carolina, that’s right neighborly of y’all.” He pushed out his lip in a smirk as he turned back to Drew.

“Unbelievable.” Drew watched his father and his lover unite against him. And his goddamned chest was tight again. One hand came up to rub the muscles there, and he pressed hard, trying to ease the restriction. He swiveled his head back and forth between the two men and over to Yvonne before coming back to Ridge. “I... you... he--” He lifted his hand up as if to offer an explanation, but dropped it in resignation. He backed up until he felt the banquette behind himself and dropped down into it, defeated.

***

Ridge caught Drew’s parents exchanging a knowing glance, and that confirmed what he knew in his gut. Moving over to the table, he slid into the other side. “It’s okay to be scared.” Lord knew he was, underneath it all. He ignored the scoffing noise Drew released under his breath. The dumbass wouldn’t look at him. “You think you’re the only one?” Hands raised, palms up and fingers spread, Ridge stared at Drew in exasperation.

That got him some attention. The turquoise eyes lifted, and Drew stared at him. The expression on the rugged face was half cranky, half uncertain.

Ridge nodded, one hand waving in emphasis. “Yeah. You scare me. At least...” He paused, some of his bravado sliding away. “Uh. Well. I know guys aren’t supposed to talk about feelings.” He rubbed at a tiny mark in the matte finish on his kitchen table, then looked at Drew again. “You know, you’ve completely up-dumped my life here. My sister thinks I’m going to cause trouble for us with Tony, my woodworking schedule is all over the map -- and then, to top it off, I find out my lover’s dad is famous!” He tipped his head to the side, sending an apologetic grin to Charles. “Or should I say infamous?”

The mayor just smiled and shrugged, pushing his hands into his pants pockets. With a smile of her own, Yvonne linked an arm with her husband’s.

Sliding off the bench seat and coming around the end of the table, Ridge caught Drew’s hand, pulling him upward. “How about we go talk about this?”

Drew eyed his dad, who took the hint. “We’ll head downstairs.” Charles wrapped an arm around his wife’s shoulder. “We’ve got to check on Paul and Howard, anyway.”

***

Once the door had closed behind Drew’s parents, Ridge tugged Drew into the living room, pushing him down onto the sofa. He straddled Drew’s lap, making himself at home. Linking his arms around that strong neck, his thumbs rubbed the silky hair on the back of Drew’s stubborn head. His belly was churning, and he kept his voice calm with an effort.

“You’re going to have to decide what you want, Andrew Cunningham.”

The pretty eyes met his.

“You think you’re the only one who’s mixed up and confused? Try growing up gay in North Carolina.” He smirked ruefully and was glad when Drew responded with an amused grunt. “Jeez, you came into my life like a hurricane, picking everything up that was normal and tossing it around. I was minding my own business, not getting into trouble -- much.” He did have to clarify that, to be truthful. He and Shelby did have their share of silly boys’ nights out. Still... “I had no man in my life. Then you came along.” He blew out a big sigh.