Darwin's Natural Selection (19 page)

Startled and oddly bereft, Tom rolled onto his side, propping himself up on an elbow to see Darwin lying flat on his back next to him, staring at the ceiling.

“Something wrong?” Tom finally asked after a few seconds of silence and ceiling staring.

Darwin’s grunt sounded vaguely like a “no”.

“Sure?” Tom’s nerve was returning. It was hard to be scared of a guy lying on his back with an enormous erection.

The next grunt was affirmative. “Just give me a minute.”

“For what?” As quickly as his fear had arrived, it had dissipated, leaving only his sense of humor and a desperate need to be fucked. Feeling brave and intensely horny, Tom placed a hand on the other man’s stomach. Darwin sucked in a breath and slapped his own hand on top of Tom’s, holding it still.

“Stop,” Darwin ordered, sounding as if he were talking through clenched teeth.

“I don’t want to stop,” Tom admitted, leaning closer. Darwin’s nipples were sharp points standing up on the hard slope of his chest and Tom wanted to suck on one.

Darwin finally looked at him as he flattened the palm of his free hand against Tom’s forehead, stopping his descent toward Darwin’s chest. “I’m just seconds away from grabbing you and fucking the shit out of you, scared or not, so knock off the teasing.”

“But I want you to,” Tom said, still too shy to actually ask him to fuck the shit out of him. He could feel the tense tremor of Darwin’s muscles under his trapped hand.

Darwin stared at him. His face was tense and still, looking strange without his usual easy smile. “It’s getting harder to stop when you get scared.”

Shaking off Darwin’s restraining hands, Tom pushed himself onto his knees and straddled the other man’s stomach. “I’m sick of being scared.” Without letting either of them think anymore or say anything else, Tom leaned down and kissed Darwin.

There was hardly a hesitation before Darwin grabbed handfuls of Tom’s hair, yanking him down harder into the kiss.

The ever-present fear was there but Tom refused to let it stop him. It had been months—years, actually—since he’d wanted someone this much. This was not the time to be acting like a chickenshit.

Instead of withdrawing, as the scaredy-cat inside really wanted him to do, Tom kissed Darwin even harder, biting at his lips.

He tried to slide down, to lick along the other man’s throat, but Darwin held him in place, apparently not willing to give up the mouth-on-mouth action.

Since his mouth wasn’t allowed off the reservation, Tom let his hands explore. He slid his fingers around the other man’s heavy biceps, kneading the solid flesh before stroking his way to Darwin’s shoulders. Tom marveled at the mass of him, the strength that could do so much damage but had only been used to give Tom more joy than he’d felt in a long time—ever, maybe.

He wanted to reciprocate, to make Darwin sweat and shake with pleasure, to wipe away the usual expression of good-humored patience and watch as Darwin’s face turned dark and hard with lust. Tom wanted to give everything to this man, to be filled and possessed and completely and deeply fucked by him.

Determined, Tom pulled back against Darwin’s hold. As the fists clutching his hair refused to yield, Tom felt the rubber band of fear tighten in his gut. Before it could build to panic, Darwin released him with a rough sound, half-groan and half-snarl, and dropped his hands to the mattress by his sides.

Tom grabbed the lube and a condom from where Darwin had dropped them on top of the comforter. Scooting back, Tom caught his breath as his balls dragged along the ridged stomach beneath him. He felt the wet touch of the end of Darwin’s cock on the bottom of his spine and paused with a shiver of pleasure.

Darwin rumbled his own enjoyment and Tom wriggled at the sound, bumping the erection behind him with his ass.

“You have a plan here?” Darwin rasped, grabbing Tom’s hips as his own lifted off the bed. Even with all his gentleness, all his patience, there was a hidden edge to Darwin, one that the terror in Tom responded to even as it made him as hard as a rock.

“Yes,” Tom said, happy that his voice hadn’t decided to give out on him yet. “If you let me go, I’ll put that plan into motion.” The last word went gravelly and Tom had to stop himself from rolling his eyes. What was it about Darwin that made everyday words sound so dirty in his presence?

Darwin’s fingers reluctantly loosened.

“Do it then,” he ordered.

Tom hurried to obey, moving down to straddle Darwin’s thighs. The hard cock in front of him was incredibly tempting. Tom’s mouth watered to taste him again but he had a different plan this time. Fumbling with the foil-wrapped packet, he tore it open and rolled a condom down Darwin’s stiff length.

Even over his own pounding heart, Tom could actually hear Darwin breathe—wild, rough billows, like a person who’d just been pulled out of too-deep water. As Tom began stroking lube along the covered erection in front of him, Darwin’s breathing grew even more uneven.

The power of it, the fact that he was the cause of all of Darwin’s gasps and groans and deep shudders, made Tom brave. He stroked harder and then soft again, playing a teasing game as Darwin’s hips bucked beneath his touch. The lingering fear had been pushed back to a dark corner of his brain and Tom was ready.

Lifting himself onto his knees, he shifted forward and lined up the tip of Darwin’s slick, wrapped cock with the hungry hole between his ass cheeks.

“Fuck me,” Darwin groaned.

Despite his desperate need, Tom felt himself smile. “No,” he said, easing himself down onto the thick cock beneath him.

“Fuck
me
.”

As the head of Darwin’s cock pressed into him, opening him in a way he hadn’t experienced for months, Tom closed his eyes and felt a groan vibrate from the depths of his insides. Darwin grabbed his hips again and Tom braced for a hard thrust, but the other man just held on, his fingers digging into Tom’s flesh.

The stretching ache from Darwin’s cock and the bruising pressure of his fingers just made Tom hungry for more. Being on top, in control, made the actual act so much less frightening than he’d expected. He sank down, burying the thick erection in his ass, loving the pulling pain almost as much as the pleasure.

The sensations swirled together, merging until Tom couldn’t distinguish one from the other.

Tom lowered his body a final inch, until he was fully impaled by Darwin’s cock. He paused for a second, overwhelmed by the incredible sensations. He’d waited so long for this, through all those late-night phone calls and the dates that ended so abruptly, playing tug-of-war with his fears the whole way. Now that he was finally here, connected so completely with Darwin, it was better than he could’ve ever dreamed.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” Darwin groaned.

Tom had to smile. Usually he was the one losing his ability to speak. It was a heady sensation to know he’d reduced Darwin to almost incoherent babbling. He tightened around the cock buried inside him, making Darwin arch and groan. With another smile at the other man’s reaction, Tom began to move, raising and lowering his body so Darwin’s erection slid in and out of his ass.

Although Darwin’s hands still kept their death grip on Tom’s hips, he didn’t take over as Tom found a rhythm, a sequence of slide and grip and slide again. His thighs began to shake a little from the exertion but Tom hardly noticed. The burn of his muscles melded into the full-body flare of intense pleasure edged with pain.

His own cock stood erect, bobbing with each lift and drop of his body. Darwin’s erection felt as if it took up all the room inside him, stroking every surface until each one of Tom’s nerves was vibrating. Unable to concentrate, he lost his rhythm, dropping down to surround Darwin’s cock and staying there, too focused on the throbbing heat filling him to continue.

Darwin took over, the hands on Tom’s hips lifting and lowering him with the effortless strength that was both extremely hot and utterly unnerving. There was no more playing around, like Tom had been doing, no lingering at the tip or the base.

Darwin was determined. Tom could feel that in the other man’s grip and the deliberate strokes of the cock in his ass.

Realizing he’d just lost control to Darwin, Tom braced for the onslaught of fear. A dim spark of panic flared in his belly but quickly fizzled away under a sweeping wash of pleasure. His usual terror was missing. There was too much else to concentrate on, especially the enormous cock driving in and out of his ass.

Compliant in the grip of Darwin’s bruising fingers, Tom let the other man lift and lower him, let him yank his body down on top of Darwin’s cock as they both groaned their pleasure.

With a final hard thrust, Darwin held himself deep inside. Tom watched him come, fascinated. All of the patient, good-humored control was stripped away and Darwin’s face shined with raw need, his jaw set and the muscles in his cheeks pulled tight.

The moment didn’t last long, however.

Darwin surged up, dropping Tom on his back as he pulled out with a suddenness that stole Tom’s breath. Before he could protest, Tom felt lips close around his still-erect cock.

All of his questions and the beginning rumblings of terror were swept away by the glory of Darwin’s mouth.

It had been a long time since Tom had had a blowjob and it was quickly apparent that Darwin was very, very,
very
good at it.

“Fuck,” Tom gasped as Darwin’s tongue swept along the underside of his erection.

“Is your tongue double-jointed or something?”

Darwin chuckled, sending bass vibrations though Tom’s cock and all the way up to shock his heart. He knew just when to tighten his lips, when to stroke with his tongue and even graze, just slightly, with his teeth.

Darwin’s perfect at everything.

That was Tom’s final thought before Darwin swallowed around his cock and everything in his brain dissolved into a swirl of bright colors.

As Tom came back to full consciousness, he realized his fingers were twisted in Darwin’s hair. He didn’t want to let go completely but he did soften his grip so he wasn’t in danger of tugging out handfuls of hair. He stroked the strands between his fingers, loving the silky feel of it against his skin. Darwin was touching his lips to various spots around Tom’s groin, the top of his right thigh, his bellybutton, back down to his left inner leg.

“I love the sounds you make when you come.” Darwin’s breath puffed against Tom’s skin, making him shiver in the very best kind of way.

“That’s good,” Tom said, his voice coming out rusty. He cleared his throat.

“Since I love coming.”

Darwin laughed, a growly, husky, happy chuckle that made Tom’s stomach clench with…something. It almost felt like longing, but why would he need to long for something that was literally in his lap?

Shoving away all thoughts about his scrambled emotions, Tom decided to just enjoy the moment. After all, there were so very many things about the moment to enjoy.

“So…” Pausing to finish his last swallow of coffee, Darwin shot a quick look at Tom.

He knew he ran the risk of ruining the pleasant mood but his curiosity was too strong. “The jury’s been selected.”

All the color left Tom’s face, so fast it looked as if someone had sucked it out with a straw.

“Shit.” Darwin winced. “Sorry. Pretend I didn’t say anything.”

“It’s okay,” Tom said, although the rough edge to his words said otherwise. “I just keep forgetting you know about… everything.”

“I shouldn’t have brought it up,” Darwin said with a grimace. “I’m a nosy bastard.”

“Won’t argue with that.”

Darwin did a double take, eyeing the other man’s face uncertainly until he saw the corner of Tom’s mouth twitch up. The joke convinced Darwin to push a little more.

“Do you have to testify?”

Jerking his head in a short nod, Tom stared intently at his coffee. “I’m scheduled for next Wednesday. I’m the only one of his three…victims,” he made a face at the word, “willing to do it. One of them’s married, so that was never going to happen, and the other one backed out. Scared or something.”

He snorted. “Like I’m
not
scared. We should have a scared-off. Bet I’d win.”

“I could come,” Darwin suggested, reaching across the table to take the other man’s hand. He hesitated before his fingers closed around Tom’s. Even after the previous night, he wasn’t sure how the gesture would be received. “To be there when you testify, I mean. Not to your who’s-the-most-scared

competition,

although that sounds…interesting?”

“You’d come to the trial?”

Encouraged by the hope in Tom’s voice, Darwin nodded enthusiastically. “Sure. It’ll be fun. We can sneak away to a bathroom or broom closet or something and do illegal things, just because it’s naughtier since we’ll be in a courthouse.”

Tom choked on a laugh. Closing the last few inches between their hands, he grabbed Darwin’s, closing his fingers with a hard enough squeeze to express exactly how much desperate gratitude he was feeling.

“Sure,” he agreed, still sounding a little shaky. “It’ll be fun.”

The coffee shop that had seemed so warm and invitingly cozy a few minutes before felt suddenly uncomfortable to Tom —too hot and crowded and close. He tugged his hand free of Darwin’s and stood up.

“Bathroom,” he explained at Darwin’s questioning look.

Winding his way through the tables, Tom made his way toward the door with the “men’s” sign. Just a few feet past the bathroom, there was an exit door. Tom veered in that direction. It was a welcome relief when cold air smacked him in the face, clearing his head almost instantly.

He realized he was in the parking lot behind the row of shops. Although he’d been looking to get away from the crowd, the utter emptiness of the lot dropped him into an instant soup of fear. It didn’t matter that it was mid-morning and sunlight was fighting through a hazy, thin layer of clouds.

His chest still felt like a clenched fist, making it impossible to breathe normally.

Tom turned back toward the door, grabbing the handle and nearly pulling himself off his own feet before he realized the door wasn’t going to open. It let him out but wouldn’t allow him back inside. His fear ballooned into full-on panic.