A Younger Man (23 page)

Grey let his forehead fall to rest against Sirus’s shoulder, and he muttered, “You’re losing what goodwill I have for you, Maitland.”

Noah grinned, even though Grey couldn’t see it. “I just thought you might like to know that Sirus’s face isn’t the first thing I see now when I look at that beautiful, massive piece of carved wood in my entryway.”

That got Grey to look over his shoulder, his eyes widening. “No?”

Noah raised a brow right back. “No.”

“Well, hell.” A shot of laughter burst forth from Grey. “This Zane guy might finally make me start liking you, Maitland.” Dark steam filled Grey’s stare once more. “Now leave.” He slammed the door in Noah’s face, ending the conversation whether Noah wanted it or not.

Sirus shouted “Bye!” to Noah through the door. But just as quickly as he did, a deep needful moan took over, and Noah knew both men had already forgotten about Noah entirely.

As they should.
Noah traipsed down the steps and back toward his cabin, envy filling his being with a painful tug. Only now, unlike before, Noah wished for the trust and closeness the two men shared, whereas a year ago he’d often pined and thought about himself in Grey’s place, wishing Grey would go away. Noah understood now why, so seemingly inexplicably, Sirus had so passionately desired and wanted the contrary, hard-ass Greyson Cole, and so had not been able to give Noah a chance to compete for his heart. Sirus had already known he belonged to Grey. Noah felt the same way about Zane. Noah grinned again, laughing at how much he actually appreciated Grey these days.
Zane is mine, the way Sirus is Grey’s. Zane’s is the body and heart and soul that fit in every way perfectly against mine.

Noah now just needed to find the right way to keep a rein on his control while still staking a claim on the man he so desperately wanted in every way.

Chapter 12

At noon the next day Noah slid a glance—for probably the thousandth time—at Zane. Noah pulled the truck onto the shoulder of the road and through the split in the trees that led to their usual lunch spot. Once again Zane wore a little grin, something so sweet and private the sight of it made Noah smile too. The guy had radiated this light happiness about him all morning while putting in a new sink and toilet at a customer’s home. Any time Noah had teased him about it or asked him what the hell was going on, Zane would shrug and say, “It’s nothing.”

When Noah pulled the truck to a stop, he looked again, and he goddamn swore the little smile had traveled and now twinkled in his sexy man’s eyes.

Noah openly stared, his brow cocked, and in response pink spread across Zane’s cheeks. As Zane opened the door, he grinned bigger. “What?” he said, blushing even harder under Noah’s scrutiny.

“There is something up with you today.” While still watching Zane, Noah grabbed the cooler out of the back of the double cab seats. “I don’t know what it is, but I swear to everything holy it is beaming straight through you.”

“I just like being with you,” Zane said as he lowered the tail door of the truck. “That’s all.”

Letting the cooler fall to the thick grass, Noah grabbed Zane and wrapped him up tight. He loved like hell that Zane automatically closed his arms around Noah too. Noah grazed his lips against Zane’s cheek, always craving the smooth warm skin, and then murmured against his lush mouth, “You make my cock hard and my stomach flutter when you say shit like that, but that is not what has you smiling so much today.”

Looking up at Noah, hands linked at the small of Noah’s back, Zane grinned. “A big part of it
is
just getting to be near you.” Then Zane’s nose wrinkled. “But maybe not all of it today.”

Noah lifted his hands and looked toward the heavens. “Finally, he admits something is up. Tell me.” Noah stepped back, but not before pressing kisses to the backs of Zane’s hands. “If you’re happy, I want to be happy with you and for you.”

A catch in his voice and his eyes watering, Zane curled his hands against his heart. “You really mean that, don’t you?” It wasn’t a question, though; Zane seemed to understand how important he was to Noah already.

Even though he didn’t need to, Noah replied, “Yeah, baby, I do.” Then he licked near the corner of Zane’s eye before a tear could fall.

As if that exchange had lit a firecracker under him, Zane suddenly grabbed the cooler off the ground and thrust it at Noah’s stomach. “Check the cooler.” When Noah
oomphed
at the hard jab to his gut, Zane added, “Sorry.” He still bounced like he had cherry bombs going off under his feet. “But still check it anyway.”

As Noah put the cooler on the back of the truck, he quirked a brow Zane’s way. “What is going on?”

“Look in the cooler,” Zane insisted, pointing at the blue insulated box. “When I got to the job site this morning I put something special in there for us today before going inside to find you.”

With no clue where to begin to send his thoughts, Noah popped the cooler top. He spotted an enormous square wrapped in wax paper positioned at the top.
That ain’t the cheap-ass bologna and cheese sandwiches I made for us to eat today.

“Try it.” Zane nudged Noah with his elbow, everything about him animated and full of joyous spirit. “It’s for you.”

Good Christ, if Noah’s heart hadn’t already pooled itself in a soppy mess around his feet, Zane would have made it happen in that moment.
He made me a special lunch.
Ridiculously choked up, hoping he’d be able to get the food past the thickness lodged in his throat, Noah unfolded the protective paper to reveal thick slices of white bread with mounds and mounds of dark meat nestled between. A tangy scent filled the air and tickled his nostrils, which had to have come from the sauce he could see dripping over the edges of the bread.

After getting a grip on the thick sandwich, Noah leaned in and bit off a huge hunk.
Oh dear Lord.
He chewed, and it seemed like the beef melted in his mouth; it was so tender. The meat was heavenly. But deeper than that, the rub cooked into the edges of each slice of beef sparked spicy warmth on his tongue; the tangy sauce drizzled over the beef had a bite at first taste but chased the heat and tang with a hint of sweetness at the end. Even the bread had the right texture. It wasn’t so soft that it would become soggy, yet the crust wasn’t so hard that it would cut his mouth with each bite taken.

Once Noah swallowed, he murmured, “That is so fucking good, Zane.” Moaning, unable to stop the pleasure from escaping, Noah took another bite and savored every layer of flavor anchored in the beef and basting sauce. He met Zane’s stare over the sandwich and got trapped in the vulnerable excitement lighting the man’s too-blue eyes. Hell, if Zane couldn’t see that Noah was near to having a food orgasm then the man’s sight would have to be professionally examined. “I swear if God himself ate this brisket,” Noah shared, “he would swear on his own name that he’d never had any better.”

Zane grabbed Noah’s forearm and squeezed. “I made it. I don’t mean I put the sandwich together—although I did that too. I mean I made the brisket and the sauce and the bread myself. I changed the ingredients of Mickey’s rub and sauce a little bit. After he stopped roaring in my face for fucking with the brisket for last night’s dinner at the restaurant, he tried it, and he said it was the best flavor on a piece of beef he’d ever eaten.” Pulling on Noah’s arm, Zane looked as if his skin couldn’t contain the buzz hammering inside him. “Do you get what that means? Do you know how good Mickey is and how nobody does anything better with beef than he does?” Zane pressed his hands against his chest and spun in a tight circle. When he came back to Noah, he let out a little squeal and added excitedly, “But he said
mine
was good.”

“No, honey,” Noah corrected gently, his heart nearly exploding in response to just watching the happiness busting out of Zane. “He said yours was
better
.”

A blush filled Zane’s cheeks again, but it couldn’t compete with the light turning his eyes the color of the sky. “I can’t believe it, but yeah,” Zane’s voice dropped to an awed whisper, “he really did.”

“And yes,” Noah took another bite of the delicious sandwich, chewing before saying, “I do know what that means. I’ve eaten at that restaurant plenty of times. I’ve had Mickey’s damn good food that whole time. The flavor infused in this thing,” Noah lifted the piece of sandwich, as if raising a glass in salute, “is better.”

Zane sucked his lower lip between his teeth. “You really think so too?”

With a nod, Noah said, “I do. Congratulations.”

As if he’d been standing on a springboard, Zane launched himself at Noah and flung his arms around his neck. The force swayed Noah back against the lip of the truck, where the sandwich fell back into the cooler. “Thank you.” Grinning, Zane planted a kiss right on Noah’s mouth. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.” Zane pressed kisses over Noah’s face with each thanks he gave. “Thank you, thank you.” Pulling back, he met Noah’s gaze, and his voice went very quiet. “Thank you for understanding my excitement and for being so happy for me.”

“Honey,” Noah grazed a kiss high on Zane’s cheek and whispered at his ear, “it is the easiest thing in the world for me to be happy for you.”

His frame jolting against Noah’s, Zane clenched his arms around Noah’s neck. A high, needy sound escaped him, and he scraped his lips across Noah’s face on a fast trek back to Noah’s mouth. Once there he crushed his lips down on Noah’s, instigating a hard, hungry kiss. Instantly Noah moaned and parted his lips, eager to take the soft thrust of Zane’s tongue. Every time they came together Zane got a little braver and found his own way to match Noah’s ardor with another level of innocence laced with carnal intentions. Zane dug his fingers into Noah’s upper arms, holding on tight, and slanted his mouth against Noah’s to deepen the kiss. He swept his tongue inside, surely as far as he could go, tasting Noah’s throat, and Noah lost his head a little bit more to Zane’s steady climb toward mastering Noah in every way.

With every lick Zane took against Noah’s teeth, tongue, and even the roof of his mouth, Noah felt the flick of contact as if Zane were on his knees servicing Noah’s cock. Noah grabbed Zane around the waist, jerked their fronts fully together, and ground his swelling penis against Zane’s crotch. He tangled his tongue with Zane’s, desperate for a full taste and to retake control.

Slashing his parted lips against Zane’s, Noah kissed the smaller man so deeply and with such aggression it was as if he thought he’d never get the chance to touch Zane again. Only this time, rather than succumbing to Noah’s dominance, Zane clutched at Noah harder, and he bit and thrust past Noah’s lips in return. He strained his whole body against Noah’s, rubbing as if he needed the full contact in order to scratch a deep-seated itch. Zane forced his hands between their bodies to yank at Noah’s belt. With quick-learning, deft fingers, Zane had Noah’s jeans open, his zipper down, and his hand closed around Noah’s shaft.

One gentle squeeze around his painfully sensitive prick, and Noah hissed through gritted teeth.
Shit.
Zane rubbed him again. In accompaniment he flicked his tongue softly against Noah’s. Noah wanted this so badly, but what little element of sanity remaining inside him shouted so loud within it felt like it rattled his brain.

“Wait … wait.” Noah grabbed Zane’s wrist, and he tried to clear the lust from his vision and mind. He rested his forehead against Zane’s and did his damnedest not to think about the man’s hand wrapped around his dick. Exhaling roughly, Noah said, “We should keep this light before we get to a point where all I can think about is tearing off your clothes and shoving you facedown onto the grass.”
Holy hell.
Noah’s cock wept against Zane’s hand then, proving just how much he wanted that very thing to happen. His jaw involuntarily clenched, and he admitted, “I don’t have a whole lot of control when it comes to you.”

“I don’t want anything to interrupt us anymore.” Zane kept locked on Noah; he didn’t waver in any way or stumble. He kept his hand on Noah’s rapidly thickening erection, stroking him with every word he spoke. “And I can’t think of anything better than feeling you inside me for the first time outside,” Zane did tremble then, “under the sun, in the place where you let me know a little bit more about you every day we spend talking and eating lunch together.”

Noah gripped the edge of the cooler. “Your lunch…”

“Will be even better after you fuck me,” Zane finished for Noah, his voice shockingly strong. “Give yourself what we both want, Noah. I’m nervous but I’m not scared of you.” Zane did let go of Noah’s dick then, but only to slide his arms around Noah’s waist and lean fully against him, mashing their bodies together from top to bottom. “I’m excited to know even more of you.” He looked up at Noah, studying him, as if in wonderment, and Christ, the sweet admiration pumped rocket fuel straight into Noah’s bloodstream. “Give me a chance to learn.”

“Fuck, honey.” Noah slipped fully into his need and lowered his mouth to Zane’s. “I think you’re already a master of me.” With that he took Zane with a voracious kiss, one of claiming, one full of every desirous thought and sex-laden dream he’d had about this man from the moment they’d met.

Zane released another of his goddamn needy noises, while clutching and leaning into Noah to receive every lick and thrust of Noah’s tongue. Noah felt Zane’s passion sink into his flesh and shimmer over every nerve ending in his body.

Once upon a time Noah had reconciled himself to never having a man the way he’d always so secretly, desperately wanted. The knowledge that not only could he now mate with another male, but he could with a young, sexy, sweet man who seemed to like and care about him, made pretty much every drop of blood pool in Noah’s cock, pushing his shaft harder against his stomach than he’d ever imagined possible.

With a low groan, Noah muttered, “This way.” Lips still attached, hands still gripping Zane’s hips, Noah started pulling Zane around the side of the truck. He couldn’t bear to part from Zane for even thirty seconds. “I have stuff in the glove box.” He’d thrown condoms and lube in the truck back when he’d first forced himself to go out on dates, telling himself he would do something pretty fast and want to be ready. None of the seals had ever been broken.