Hearsay (33 page)

"Do you mean that?" Derrick whispered, exposing his throat to Roman's lips.

"God,
yes
," Roman moaned, sucking on the side of Derrick's neck.

He was more than ready to fight for his life. To learn every trick in the book that would keep him from giving his virus to Derrick. To get to a place where there was nowhere to go but forward, and, ideally, together.
 

Roman wanted to settle down with his boyfriend of two days and meet his family and friends. He wanted the commitment, the cohabitation, and the kids, and he wanted it all immediately.

He had to do everything before he ran out of time… before Derrick changed his mind.

"Do you have condoms and lube?" Derrick panted, thrusting himself against Roman's stomach.

Roman froze.

"Not for that," Derrick rushed to clarify. "I don't want to have intercourse until we feel it'll be relatively safe…" He reached back, grabbed Roman's hands, and dragged them down to his butt. "But I want you to finger-fuck my ass."

Roman let out a deep, almost animalistic growl as he lifted Derrick off his feet and carried him to the shower. "You were right," he growled in Derrick's ear as he started lathering up Derrick's cock. "We can do scalding hot without getting burned."

They kissed and touched, but they didn't linger in the shower. It took Roman for-fucking-ever to find a box of condoms, as that was an item he hadn't needed since he was diagnosed. But once he found it in an old travel toiletries bag, all bets were off.

For the first time, Roman let go of his fears and shut the door on the sense of doom that followed him around no matter where he went.

He didn't allow himself to feel guilty for succumbing to his own desire. He didn't warn himself to not get too attached, in case Derrick woke up from his denial stupor. He didn't think about what a mood killer it was to have to put on a condom just so that he could touch his man's cock with his own, and most of all he refused to believe this wouldn't work.

He concentrated on the moment. Nothing else existed other than mapping out Derrick's body with Roman's tongue and worshipping him from head to toe. He used his hands and lips to administer soft, goose bump-inducing touches on Derrick's face, abdomen, and legs. Then he used his tongue and teeth to lick, suck, and bite on Derrick's neck, nipples, and down his back.

His pert ass got the whole treatment. It was so perfect, so tempting, that Roman could spend hours kissing, sucking, and biting the round globes. He used his fingers to trace his ass crack, and, ultimately, his hands to spread the reddened cheeks and finally expose his puckered hole.

He heard Derrick whimper, and Roman watched in total fascination as he clutched the bed sheets, got up on his elbows and knees, and spread his legs, completely exposing himself.

Roman lost his mind. He wrapped himself over Derrick's back, grabbed his jaw with his hand, and devoured his mouth. "Can I eat your ass?" he groaned. "That's safe, right?"

Derrick pulled Roman closer and licked the side of his face. "I thought you'd never ask." He gave Roman a wet kiss before gently pushing his face away.

A happy, satisfied smile spread across Roman's face at Derrick's silent command.

For years he had thought he wouldn't mind being Derrick's slave, and now he realized he already was.

He slid down to the edge of the bed, spread Derrick's ass cheeks, and pressed his nose against the dark pink hole. He almost came. "
Fuck!
" He squeezed his cock and looked up. "This is going to be a quick one," he said in a hoarse voice.
 

"I'm not worried about it," Derrick half-said, half moaned. He undulated his narrow hips, spread his legs even wider, and jerked his cock. "We have a few more hours before we have to go. I'll get my turn to blow your mind."

"You're so fucking hot." Roman might've whimpered. He didn't care. "And shameless…" He licked his lips. "Don't ever change," he growled, then thrust out his tongue and went to town.

Roman was held in a vise of blinding sensation. Not because he'd missed being with a man, but because he was rimming
his
man. He loved it. The smell, the flavor, and, more than anything else, the sounds Derrick made.

Roman's muscles tightened with the effort of resisting the need to cum, but he knew he wouldn't last. He started patting around the bed in search of the condom and the lube. Derrick had requested to be finger-fucked, and Roman wanted to do that to him before it was too late. He mentally cursed when he couldn't find the lube or the condoms.
 

He squeezed his cock in an attempt to give himself at least a couple of minutes before he came. He swiped the bed with his hand, squeezed his cock again, and slid the tip of his tongue into Derrick's hole.

"Oh, fuck
me
," Derrick gasped, face-planting the bed. "This is too fucking much…" He turned onto his back a second later, gulped some air, and then he got up on his knees. "Come here, you sexy man."

He wrapped his arms around Roman's shoulders and wreaked havoc on Roman's self-control with his velvety lips. Roman's hands roamed Derrick's waist, his hips, his ass, then back to his waist again… he couldn't stick to just one spot, he wanted to touch him all over.

"Your tongue is magic," Derrick whispered, placing a hand on Roman's chest. "It blows my mind…" He brushed Roman's neck with his lips. "Lie down, babe."

Roman placed his hand on Derrick's thigh and leaned back slowly, gasping for breath, frightened at the intensity of the feelings gathered in his chest.

Derrick lowered his torso and covered Roman's mouth with his own. Moving slowly, he ran his hand over Roman's chest and rubbed Roman's puckered nipples between his thumb and index finger. His tongue flicked against Roman's, raspy and insistent. His hands abandoned Roman's chest in favor of… Jesus! He shuddered violently when Derrick rolled a condom down his sensitive cock. He opened his eyes just in time to see Derrick straddle his hips.

"This is what we're going to do," Derrick said in that seductive tone of his that made Roman's toes curl, as he touched his ass to Roman's crotch. "You're going to hold the condom in place with your fingers," he instructed, licking his finger and using it to wet Roman's nipple. Roman did as he was told with shaky fingers. "And I'm going to grind on your big, fat cock." He licked his lips, pinched his nipples, and fisted his own cock. "Then I'm going to jerk off…" He arched his back and gave Roman a lazy smile, "…and we're both going to blow."

"Fuck!" Roman shouted at the first full roll of Derrick's hips. "This is… I'm going to..." He squeezed Derrick's thigh. "
Fuck…
"

Force of nature… contortionist, and now professional lap dancer. This man was everything Roman could've ever wanted.

The pressure on Roman's cock felt amazing, but what really did it for him was watching Derrick chase their mutual pleasure. He worked his hips like he was getting paid for it and fucked his fist with increasing speed.

Roman lifted his hips from the bed. Derrick pressed his down. They found their rhythm almost immediately, and they moved faster and harder, until they both lost it.

Roman groaned as he started filling up his condom. "Don't stop moving," he begged. "Keep going…"

"Oh, baby," Derrick moaned, coating Roman's chest with his spunk. "Holy
fuck
." He took deep, ragged breaths, then leaned forward and ravaged Roman's mouth. "That was fantastic," he whispered, snuggling into Roman's chest.

"That was the most erotic experience of my life," Roman whispered in turn. "I think I've died and gone to heaven."

"Hopefully, you're feeling as wiped out as I am," Derrick said contentedly. "'Cause that was really,
truly
, amazing..."

Roman smiled at his bedroom ceiling. "We need to get cleaned up," he said, giving Derrick a nudge."

"No,
we
don't," Derrick slurred. "
I
did most of the work. You clean up." He kissed Roman's chest and snuggled closer. "I'm going to take a nap now," he announced, not giving a thought to the spunk gluing them together from chest to stomach. "Wake me up in half an hour for round two."

Roman gave him a one-armed hug and kissed his sweaty head. "I'm going to marry you some day," he said quietly, tears burning in his eyes. Probably a delayed reaction to the incredible bonding experience they'd just had.

"I know that." Derrick patted him on the shoulder. "Let's do it soon, okay?" He sounded almost asleep, but he added, "I want ironclad rights to conjugal visits in the event DA Lovett succeeds in sending me to jail."

"That's not going to happen," Roman said, moving his hand up and down Derrick's slightly sticky back. He was right to demand Roman take over clean-up duties. Derrick had most definitely worked hard for their orgasms. "You know you trust Noah to get you out of this mess. Plus, I'm going to be right there with him in case he needs advice."

Derrick's only answer was a deep sigh followed by a snore.

Roman didn't wake him up. He worried Derrick needed to eat something, but, considering the gravity of the situation he'd been dragged into, Roman decided Derrick needed to get some rest more than anything else.

Mindful of sudden movements, he removed his condom, tied it off, and threw it in the garbage can next to his bed. He held Derrick tightly against his chest as Roman turned him on his side, then he gently rolled Derrick onto his back. Roman took a deep, shuddering breath when he heard Derrick mumble his name.

Heart thudding and skin tingling from watching Derrick sprawl out on the king size bed like it was his personal domain, Roman slid out of the bed to take care of clean-up duties.

He washed up in the bathroom and then gave Derrick a quick sponge bath. Derrick didn't even stir as Roman took his sweet time drifting the washcloth over Derrick's chest, his abs, his soft cock, and his balls. Under different circumstances Roman would've taken exception to that, but, at the moment, he was happy Derrick was out like a light.

Roman put on a pair of sweat pants, and, after covering Derrick with the duvet, made his way to the kitchen and got himself a cup of coffee. He, too, needed to get some rest, as the past week had been incredibly taxing for him. He was ready to pass out, but there were several things he needed to do before he could lie down with his man and let sleep help recharge his mind.

First he called his friends. Dani was back in her office after releasing a brief preliminary statement to the press. Alan and Sergio told Roman the police had finally vacated the premises, but urged him to put on the news. Roman wasn't surprised to see some of the headlines had the vulgar tone favored by tabloids, but his jaw hit the floor when he saw a particular network reporting that
"the sex offender is an employee of mega global law firm Acosta, Bradford, and Chadwick. It's been inferred the managing partners have been instrumental in helping Mr. Swain elude the authorities. Sources confirmed Derrick Swain is now considered a fugitive."

"Libel and slander," Roman muttered under his breath as he sat behind his desk. "Hope all of you disreputable investigative reporters are ready for it, because it's coming."

He booted up his laptop and opened his email program. As suspected, he'd received hundreds of emails from professional and personal contacts. Roman read and replied to the ones sent by close friends and important clients, and saved the rest for later.

Next he replied to text messages and called his mom to let her know Derrick was here in his house, safe and sound. She'd fallen in love with Derrick Saturday night and was worried out of her mind.

Talking to her made him realize he hadn't had the chance to read her daily message yet, so he pulled it up after ending their call.

"They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself."

Andy Warhol

"That is
so
true," Roman said, closing out the message. "Life can be completely different if we dare to make changes and take a chance."

Roman's current emotional state was living proof of that.

He could've been enjoying Derrick's love and company for months had he not been so consumed by fear and shame. The past year would've been completely different if only Roman hadn't doubted Derrick's capacity to stick by him, even after finding out he was HIV positive.

"I should've known, though," he muttered under his breath as he typed an email to Noah Goldstein. "He worships his dad for being there for his mom, and his favorite movie is
The Notebook
." He sent the email and started another to Robert Sampson, the Democratic candidate running for Attorney General. They hadn't run into each other for a couple of mouths. It was time to catch up.
 

"Why are you here talking to yourself instead of in bed with me?"

Roman glanced up from his computer at the sound of Derrick's voice. "What are you doing up already?" A soft, slow smile spread across Roman's face as he looked Derrick up and down. "I was getting ready to join you."

"What do you mean, already?" He sauntered into the library, looking adorable with his bed hair and fucking hot with only his gunmetal boxer briefs on. Derrick had a weakness for sexy underwear that Roman totally supported. "I took a long nap, went to the bathroom, called Papa, Malena, Jerome, Tashana,
and
my neighbor to ask her to take care of Lumière." He stood behind Roman's chair and kissed him on the head. "It's been almost two hours, and you were supposed to wake me up for another make-out session."

Roman twirled his chair around and pulled Derrick into his lap. "I lost track of time." He kissed Derrick's chest. "I'm sorry for that."

"Hmmm…" Derrick's minty breath fanned Roman's cheeks when he said, "I'll forgive you…" He kissed Roman's lips. "But only if you get me something to eat."

"What would you like?" Roman was relieved to hear that Derrick had changed his mind about eating something. He'd need all his energy in the upcoming days. "Something simple or do you want to order out?"

"I'll just have a sandwich and maybe fruit if you have any." He took Roman's hands and pulled him up from the chair. "Do you mind if I use your laptop to check my email?"