Cartography for Beginners (11 page)

Stuart, on the other hand, was willing to volunteer. If he were honest with himself, and about this sort of thing he tended to be, he'd been attracted to Leo for a long time, but had done nothing about it because of Adam.

But Adam had simplified things by leaving and now it was a matter of convincing Leo how right Stuart was for him. And the most straightforward way to do this was to keep kissing Leo back, and if possible, keep Leo from thinking about it.

Talking about it would make Leo think about it. He had that horrified at himself look already. "I wasn't," he said, trying to back away, but Stuart kept hold of his waist and didn't let him move. "I don't know why I keep doing that."

"Because you need to be kissed and your body knows it -- often, for long periods of time, and preferably by me." He rubbed Leo's hip with his palm, feeling the warmth of Leo's body through the wool trousers. "Don't think. Kiss me."

Leo looked down at him, fingers kneading into his shoulders. Leo was always saying Dune got his looks from Frances, but in Stuart's opinion Leo's wise, lined, dreamy face was as beautiful as his square-jawed son's. He cupped Leo's cheek in his hand and ran a thumb over Leo's cheekbone, and Leo closed his eyes, with an expression of such longing that Stuart's heart clutched.

"You need to be kissed," Stuart repeated and did just that, and when Leo didn't pull away again Stuart slid his hand around to hold the back of Leo's head and kiss him more deeply. Leo held Stuart by the shoulders and let most of his weight rest against Stuart's chest.

"You're right," Leo whispered as Stuart kissed down his throat. "I need this." His fingers wove into Stuart's hair and he tilted back Stuart's head to kiss him with no hesitation. Stuart loved that about kissing Leo -- he kissed fearlessly, like he knew he would always be welcome.

"I'm always right," said Stuart. He ran his hands over Leo's chest, the dress shirt smooth and warm. Leo tugged at his tie, making an impatient noise, and then yanked it over his head without undoing it. They kissed as Leo unbuttoned Stuart's shirt, light and swift, and then deep again as Leo touched Stuart's chest and worked the shirt off his arms. He stooped to kiss Stuart's chest, fiercely and with teeth. Stuart hardly blamed him -- if no one had touched him for over a year, he'd be dying for some contact, too.

Stuart lay back and let Leo ravish him until he was gasping, and then pushed Leo up. "Naked," he said, and slid off the couch. Under Leo's hungry gaze Stuart slowly unbuttoned his cuffs. "I feel like I should have striptease music."

"Name it and you'll have it." Leo's tongue darted out to moisten his lips.

Stuart laughed. "I have no idea." He scratched his stomach lazily, noting the way Leo's eyes followed his fingers. "Something sultry."

"I know the perfect song," said Leo and climbed off the couch to go to the stereo. Stuart draped himself over Leo's back as he hunted through CDs, and got in the way by kissing the back of his neck and stroking his chest through his dress shirt. "Micah says I'll have it better organized if I go completely digital, but I'm still reeling from giving up vinyl," Leo said and turned back his head for a quick kiss.

Stuart kissed him as requested. "I don't mind CDs."

"The notes don't have the same texture... Ah, here it is." He dropped a CD into the player and pressed play. The grin he gave Stuart was positively wicked, and as soon as Stuart heard the opening chords he understood why. Everything about this song, from the low notes of the acoustic guitar, to the growled vocals in a whiskey-rough woman's voice, to the rhythm of the drum, screamed sex.

If this was what Leo wanted, it was what Stuart would give. He stepped away from Leo and started to move to the beat, his shoulders at first, then his hips, hands and feet. Leo sat on the floor, at the foot of the stereo cabinet, and leaned back on his hands as he watched Stuart with unabashed delight. Stuart couldn't remember the last time he'd danced for someone to tease them, and he wondered why it had been so long -- it was fun to mouth the words, to move his body, to give Leo heated looks from under his lashes as he eased off his shirt. He licked his lips slowly and Leo audibly swallowed.

Stuart ran his hands over his stomach and down his thighs, smiling to himself when Leo muttered, "Christ, Stuart." He stepped out of his shoes and pulled off his socks hastily, and held Leo's gaze with his own as he unbuttoned his trousers. Leo was enthralled, judging by his focus on Stuart, and when Stuart pushed off his trousers -- the song sounded like it was almost over -- Leo closed his mouth and swallowed hard. "More?" Stuart said as he pushed his hand under the waistband of his boxer shorts. Leo nodded, so Stuart pushed the shorts down his legs and stepped out of them.

"God," Leo breathed and Stuart basked in the feeling of power and pleasure. "You're too beautiful for me, Stuart."

"Nonsense," Stuart said, still feeling the music in his heartbeat. "Take me to bed, gorgeous creature."

Leo rose and put his hands on Stuart's hips. There was a moment of hesitation, but only a moment, and then he kissed Stuart, slow and deep, almost reverent. They kissed through the next song on the CD and into a third as they stood in Leo's living room, as Leo touched Stuart's shoulders and arms and hips and Stuart pushed his hands into Leo's thick curly hair and ran his hands over Leo's still-clothed body.

Had it been anyone else, Stuart would have taken off his lover's clothes at once, but with Leo it didn't seem necessary. With his eyes darkened and his cheeks flushed, his lips swollen and wet, Leo looked glorious, like an object of worship as much as an object of desire. The nubby rough texture of his suit was so sensual that Stuart wanted to rub against him, every inch of skin to every inch of cloth, until they both came apart.

"How sturdy is this cabinet?" he whispered instead, moving Leo back a few steps.

"I wouldn't try to climb it," Leo breathed, his head tipped back. Every lick of his lips sent another shiver through Stuart's body.

"Right. No climbing." He pressed Leo against it and pinned Leo's hands over his head against the glass doors. Leo's eyes closed as Stuart stooped to suck his nipples through his dress shirt. He heard Leo's head hit the glass, and Leo clutched at him, knees buckling.
Oh, my darling, it has been a long time for you,
Stuart thought as he got down onto his knees. He mouthed Leo's cock through his trousers and Leo dug his fingers into Stuart's shoulders in response.

Stuart unzipped Leo's trousers and took out his cock, not even pushing his trousers down his hips. He gave it a few hard strokes until Leo dug in his fingers again, and then looked up to meet Leo's eyes as he opened his mouth and licked the head, and slowly ran his tongue down the shaft.

Leo's head hit the glass over and over as Stuart licked him. His fingers kneaded into Stuart's shoulders, and he sighed happily, hips rolling in Stuart's hands. Stuart tugged on them, encouraging the movement, relishing the feel of steely flesh passing over his lips, the look of absolute bliss on Leo's face.

He thought as he licked Leo's cock if it were anyone else he'd stop the blowjob eventually to do something else; but like Leo needed to be kissed often, deeply and well, he needed this. He needed attention lavished on him.

Stuart wasn't accustomed to being selfless, but now and again, it wasn't bad. Certainly not when Leo clutched at Stuart's hair and shoved desperately into his mouth, not when he came with a yell. He fell back against the stereo cabinet, gasping for breath, and his fingers slowly unknotted from Stuart's hair.

"Sorry," he murmured and petted Stuart's head. "Usually I have better manners."

Stuart kissed the inside of his wrist. "Quite all right."

Leo bent and kissed Stuart's mouth, taking special care to lick the corners. He tugged Stuart to his feet. "I'll make it up to you, any way you want."

Stuart wrapped his fist in Leo's tie and took hold of his cock in the other. Leo inhaled but didn't protest, watching him. "Bed," said Stuart and gave his tie a tug. "I want to go to your bed and I want to take off your clothes, and after? Let's improvise."

"I've always been good at improvising," Leo said and let Stuart drag him by the tie to his bedroom.

***

Don't think,
Stuart had said, so Leo was trying not to -- trying not to think about how strange it felt to have new hands on his body, even if they were Stuart's, and how it felt to kiss an unfamiliar mouth, or even how Stuart's skin felt under his fingertips.

He thought instead about Stuart's body, which was magnificent. There was no other word for it, unless they were variations on the same thing. He reminded Leo of statues of Zeus, mature and powerful, like he could raise continents with one gesture and topple civilizations with another. He even had the profile of a god, noble and beautiful. While Leo was -- if he was a god he was more like Hephaestus, only without the lame leg. More like some mortal companion, though of course Zeus only chose the most beautiful to be his companions so the analogy didn't quite work...

"Leo," Stuart said in a patient tone. "Come back from wherever you've gone, please."

"Sorry," said Leo. As promised, Stuart had helped him out of his clothes, kissing and praising him, and had been leisurely exploring him until Leo stopped paying attention. "I was thinking I'm no Ganymede."

Stuart leaned his head on his hand.

"Ganymede was the cupbearer of the gods and one of Zeus's lovers," Leo explained.

"I know the story. I studied classical art too. I don't see what that has to do with us, though."

"I was thinking you're like Zeus, since you're magnificent and everything--"

"Oh, magnificent. I like that."

"Yes, magnificent. So if you're Zeus then your companion should be Ganymede, and I'm a far cry from Ganymede, and stop looking at me like that," he finished because Stuart was pressing his lips together as if he were determined not to laugh.

"How am I looking at you?" Stuart said and tapped Leo's forehead with his fingertip. "I told you not to think."

"I got bored. And you're looking at me like you think I'm ridiculous."

"Firstly," said Stuart, "I'm not looking at you like you're ridiculous, I'm looking at you like I think you're adorable, which you are. Secondly, I'm not Zeus, thank you for the comparison, very kind. I'm just Stuart. Not anything like a god of thunder. Thirdly, if you're bored, then you must be rested and we can get on with things." He smiled crookedly.

Leo kissed him. "Yes, you're right." Leo rolled him onto his back to kiss him slowly. Stuart exhaled and ran his hands down Leo's back to cup his ass. He pushed up his hips as he pressed on Leo's, and Leo dropped his head to gasp against Stuart's neck.

Oh, it would be heaven to stay here and let Stuart rut away against him. Stuart's cock was leaking already, enough that Leo wrapped a hand around both their cocks and gave them both rapid, firm strokes that left Stuart groaning, a hand over his eyes. "Beautiful," Leo said and kissed his stomach. "You even smell good. Like the air after rain."

Stuart chuckled and touched Leo's face. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Leo said, mimicking Stuart's polite tone, and then kissed over his body, determined that the next time Stuart spoke it would not be polite. Stuart had to be ruthless in his self-discipline -- there was no spare flesh on him anywhere, even where time and gravity said there should be. Even so, he trembled under Leo's mouth, his perfect control slipping as his eyes squeezed shut.

Stuart's hand joined Leo's, his other hand in Leo's hair as Leo mouthed over his chest and the square bones of his pelvis. Leo nipped at the taut skin and then pressed open his thighs. He looked down at Stuart's body, at the lazy rhythm Stuart's hand took as he stroked himself, at the strong legs that sprawled open at Leo's touch, at the smooth muscles and soft pink opening -- and met Stuart's eyes. "I did say anything."

"Whatever you like," Stuart replied, his voice soft. "I want you to do what you want."

Leo studied his face a moment. Stuart had found Leo's lube when Leo was still coasting in a post-orgasmic haze, so Leo picked up the bottle and dripped some onto his fingers. "I want to make you lose control," he decided and pressed a finger into Stuart as he took the head of Stuart's cock into his mouth.

Stuart opened his legs wider as Leo worked his first finger into him. He said, "Leo, yes, oh,
Leo
," in a voice that was starting to show some strain. Leo sucked Stuart as he stroked inside, his other hand wrapped around Stuart's thigh to hold him steady. Stuart planted his foot on the bed so he could rock his hips, and Leo slid his hand down Stuart's leg to feel his toes tense and curl.

He pulled back to squeeze more lube on his fingers, and then worked in two, getting another, "Oh,
Leo
," in response. Leo watched Stuart's face, how Stuart sank his teeth into his lip, how the muscles in his neck tensed, how his eyes looked dark and drugged when they met Leo's.

Fingers still twisting inside Stuart, Leo licked his cock, mouth open wide so Stuart could watch. Stuart's hands clenched and his eyes grew enormous, and he shouted, "Leo!" as his powerful body arched and shivered and come spurted over Leo's lips.

Leo let his fingers come to rest and wiped his face. He kissed Stuart's chest, and when Stuart wiped his lips with a thumb Leo kissed his mouth as well.

***

It was still dark outside when Leo heard quiet sounds from the kitchen, and the other side of the bed was empty. He sighed and rubbed his face, pulled on a pair of pajama pants and went out to find Stuart dressed and brewing a cup of tea, his suitcase waiting by the door.

"Good morning," Leo said.

"Good morning," Stuart said. "Sorry to wake you. I tried to catch the kettle before it whistled."

"It's fine," Leo said. "I think I was listening for you."

Stuart's expression flickered. "Would you like some tea?"

"The tea's mostly for you," Leo said. "I prefer coffee." He sat at the kitchen bar and scrubbed a hand through his hair. There were several conversational openers, he supposed, but none of them quite expressed what he wasn't sure he was feeling right now, anyway. "If I come to London with the boys, I'll tell the boys they can forget the 'find me a distraction' plan."