Spark (39 page)

“True.”

“Do you even know what size to buy?”

“King?”

“No. This is a California King. It’s longer so your feet don’t dangle off the end.”

Kevin was laughing at how Hugo was rolling around the bed in nothing but his underwear. He looked like a cat stretching in the sun.

“You were jealous downstairs. Why don’t you take pictures of me on your gigantic bed? I know you have a really good camera.” Hugo raised a brow a few times, trying to entice Kevin. It worked. He rushed to his office and found his camera bag.

When he got back to the bedroom, Hugo had found the iPod and dock and had started some music. Hugo’s pale skin on Kevin’s dark sheets was a beautiful contrast, so Kevin just began to take shot after shot with his digital SLR, getting even more jealous as he saw how Hugo played to the lens. He was taking far too many photos, but Hugo looked amazing on Kevin’s bed in nothing but his tight, pristine underwear.

“Come over here. That’s enough. I need to take my underwear off,” Hugo practically purred.

“And I need to protect your innocence?”

“Something like that. And you need to take your underwear off too. Get over here, you fool!”

Kevin set his camera aside and kissed his way up Hugo’s pale thighs instead, enjoying the feel of the dark hair tickling his lips. He nipped at Hugo’s smooth chest, licked against a dark nipple, and smiled when he felt it respond under his tongue. Extra time was taken to explore Hugo’s biceps and shoulders and armpits—his smooth armpits that were so soft under Kevin’s lips. He kissed and licked and loved the sounds Hugo made as he mouthed at the sensitive flesh. Then he moved on to other delectable spots on Hugo’s body. His collarbones. His neck. His ears. There wasn’t a part of Hugo Kevin didn’t want to know better.

“I love you,” Kevin breathed into Hugo’s ear, earning a strained return of the same words. “I love you so much it hurts. Do you know that?”

“No, I didn’t.”

“I think of you all the time,” Kevin admitted but refused to give up kissing Hugo’s mouth and chest and stomach. He pushed the underwear aside and breathed in the scent of Hugo’s groin, earthy and so perfect he could stay there for hours. “All the time. I think of ways to make you even more a part of my life. How I’m going to come out.” Kevin licked across Hugo’s cock and gave the head a quick suck. “How I’m going to introduce you to people. What words I’ll use.”

“Can we talk about this
after
you’ve sucked my cock? Please?” Hugo’s voice was anguished, so Kevin put his mouth to better use, burying Hugo’s cock as deep in his throat as he could before pulling back and mouthing and tonguing the head like he knew drove Hugo crazy.

Kevin shoved his own underwear off his legs, which were uncomfortably confining, and he took himself in hand.

“No. I want to,” Hugo said, curling his fingers.

They shifted and were soon lying diagonally, head-to-cock, on Kevin’s big bed and doing their best to please each other. It was so good they each lost themselves in overwhelming sensations, their mouths forgetting what to do from time to time as well as their hands.

Kevin withdrew, knowing he was going to come much sooner than he wanted. He wanted this to be about them communicating through touch, not just getting each other off. He twisted and turned again to rest next to Hugo, tracing the shadows of his toned body with a fingertip.

“I don’t want to rush this today,” he shared. “I just want to drink you in and appreciate every part of this.”

“You’re such a romantic, aren’t you?” Hugo asked.

“Maybe.” He thumbed across Hugo’s nipple and leaned in to suck it.

“It’s all your years of experience with women, I think.”

“Is that a bad thing?”

“Not at all,” Hugo said as he pulled Kevin’s chin up for another kiss. “I’m just not used to it, that’s all.”

“I hope you get used to it,” Kevin whispered as he kissed Hugo’s shoulder, speaking against his skin. “You deserve to be treated like this, courted, spoiled, made to feel like the center of the world. Come on now, I think I’m ready for you to fuck me.”

“And the passion begins,” Hugo chuckled.

Kevin found the lube and a condom and laid himself out facedown on the bed. He looked over his shoulder and smiled.

“You sure?” Hugo asked. “This isn’t exactly the most romantic position.”

But Kevin was sure. He wanted the strength of Hugo at that moment. Kevin nodded and felt Hugo hover over him, his chest heating up Kevin’s back. Hugo kissed Kevin’s neck as he started to work his fingers inside him.

“You love this, don’t you?” Hugo asked, and Kevin’s only possible answer was the shifting of his hips and the wanton moan he breathed into the pillow wrapped in his arms. “You loved this from the start, begging me to touch you nearly every time we were alone together.”

“Yeah. I know.” He felt the burn as Hugo added another finger, loving the stretch and the feeling of being filled. With no restraint, he panted and spread his legs farther apart.

Hugo kissed at the back of Kevin’s neck, sucking so there would be a mark. He bit along Kevin’s shoulders, licking him, inhaling his scent. When he got to Kevin’s ear, Hugo asked in a possessive tone, “Did she ever do this? Did she ever open you up, feel your tight heat around her fingers or her tongue? Did she ever stroke you here?” which made Kevin feel even more desired. Intense pleasure spread through him like lightning shooting fire to his toes and fingertips and groin, tightening his nipples to the point of such sensitivity that he had to lift his chest from the sheets.

“No,” he gasped. “No one. Ever.”

“Mmm. That’s why you were so desperate for it at the lake.”

“I’m fucking desperate for it now. Get your cock in my ass.”

Hugo laughed, smacking Kevin on the ass cheek as he withdrew to roll on a condom. A tender kiss was placed at the small of Kevin’s back before Hugo pulled Kevin by his hips toward the edge of the bed.

“I love how you moved from wanting to go super slow to wanting me buried in you right the fuck now,” Hugo said with a smile sounding in his voice.

“You’ve always had me under some sort of spell, Hugo. From the minute I met you.” Kevin looked back and saw Hugo’s face soften, but Hugo moved closer. “I kissed you in the woods because I didn’t want to resist you any longer.”

Hugo’s cock slid slick and smooth over Kevin’s entrance, and he watched Hugo’s face for as long as he could as he eased into him. The slow burn caused Kevin’s eyelids to close and his brows to draw together. But it wasn’t from pain; it was from utter fulfillment. When Hugo pressed his chest to Kevin’s back and started to thrust, Kevin felt held and protected in a way like never before.

There was strength in every stroke, and Kevin loved the feel. He trusted Hugo. He loved Hugo.

Kevin gave all of himself on that bed, easily handing over any control and allowing Hugo to take charge. Hugo reached around and held Kevin’s cock in his hand, stroking him in a rhythm that matched his thrusts. He thumbed across a nipple and drew Kevin closer still, so he could kiss him.

As Kevin started to come, Hugo stroked him through it, pressing his cock in so deep that Kevin felt every part of Hugo throbbing and contracting from the pleasure. Kevin felt whole with this man, like he could finally be the person he’d always wanted to be. He could give over every speck of control, offer his entire body to Hugo, and feel so good about it, so content that it was a complete mind fuck.

Hugo’s body warmth was pulled from Kevin’s back as he thrust to find his own release. It was more intense, but Kevin was all fucked out and loose and willing. He encouraged Hugo with words and outstretched fingers digging into flesh to bring him closer, deeper. Kevin arched his back, and Hugo held on to his thighs, dragging him closer, pulling Kevin onto his dick.

With an unrestrained groan, Hugo came. Kevin could feel Hugo’s cock pulsing inside him, and when Hugo collapsed onto Kevin’s back, he was able to match the pulse of Hugo’s racing heart with the gentle flutter in his ass.

They rested for long, long moments, slowly finding they could breathe normally again. Kevin shifted his legs, and Hugo slid out so he could make a quick trip to the bathroom. He came back with a washcloth and cleaned Kevin up, wiping away as much come from the comforter as possible.

Sheets were pulled back, and they both climbed in, ready for a postsex nap. But no matter how sleepy Kevin felt, he couldn’t avoid looking at Hugo and the flush still covering his cheeks and chest.

“You’re so beautiful,” Kevin whispered as he traced Hugo’s thick, dark eyebrow that had been thin and highly arched earlier in the day.

“You’re not so bad yourself.” Hugo smirked and then kissed Kevin.

North Star Shows the Way

S
EVERAL
weeks had passed since the art fair, and Hugo was no longer busy doing the Fringe Festival. Performances had gone off well, but it was exhausting to direct so much in such a short span of time, not to mention troubleshoot set design issues that inevitably arose. At least Kevin, Brooke, and Finn were able to come and see a performance, but it wasn’t long before Hugo watched the kids’ attention drift. It wasn’t a surprise, considering the material.

For Hugo’s birthday, Kevin bought him a triple-wrap, brown leather bracelet that was bound together with a silver anchor clasp. When Hugo opened the box, he smiled, thinking back to the keychain Kevin had bought him just a few months after first meeting him. Kevin simply bought the most perfect gifts. They ate a cake Kevin had tried to make from scratch, but there was more frosting than cake, which ended up in places where it was fun to lick clean.

Then it was Labor Day, and he and Kevin had decided to spend the long weekend at Green Lake. Erin had the kids for the holiday since she’d missed so much time with them while interviewing in Rochester, so it was just Kevin and Hugo.

They had grilled out, headed to town to play mini-golf, boated around the lake, and had sex in several rooms of the lake house. Overall, it was already a good weekend, and it was only Sunday. They still had Monday left.

Kevin was yet considering how he wanted to come out to his friends and coworkers, and it was often a topic of conversation. Everyone knew Kevin as a straight man who had, on the outside, seemed to have the perfect life prior to his separation from his wonderful wife. Relationships changed, loyalties were slowly revealed over the last year, and Kevin had found out several people he’d considered close friends felt he was totally at fault for the marriage failing.

As they spoke about it once again that weekend at the lake, Hugo thought back to a conversation he’d been allowed to be a part of. Erin didn’t seem to understand their friends’ sentiments and had said as much to Kevin and Hugo as they all sat around the dining room table in Edina on an evening she dropped off the kids.

“It’s not like I’ve said anything bad about you, Kevin. I think the blame is put on you because you were the one brave enough to broach the subject of divorce in a therapeutic setting, basically shocking me after months of you ignoring what I now see were much too subtle hints. I didn’t ever broadcast our marriage problems to any of our friends. Most people had no idea we were even in therapy, so everyone just assumed I was blindsided. But you know I wasn’t. I knew for years things weren’t good, but I was too scared to really do anything about it besides hint.” Erin took a deep breath and released it as a slow sigh. “Our marriage wasn’t awful. After we got to the point where we started talking again in therapy, I guess I was willing to live as roommates. I understand why you weren’t. It’s best this way, even if it’s been hard.” She smiled at Kevin and then looked over to Hugo, who silently wondered if he should leave the room if the conversation was going to continue.

“I wish these people would just mind their own business,” Kevin admitted.

“They aren’t doing it out of spite,” Erin said, sounding empathetic while still attempting to stick up for her friends. “They think they’re being supportive to me, but it bothers me too. I’ll try to be more vocal about it. I don’t want you demonized. It’s not fair, but it’s also human nature for people to pick sides in a divorce.”

“Isn’t that the truth,” Hugo couldn’t keep in as he thought back to previous break-ups and friends he’d lost because of them.

Hugo and Erin were far from chummy, but they did seem to get along, especially once she found out how much he was helping with the kids. She thanked him on more than one occasion for helping transport Brooke and Finn from one place to another. His assistance had allowed them to not have to pick and choose activities unless one was scheduled right on top of another. No matter what, Hugo knew he, Kevin, and Erin were all willing to work together to make sure Brooke and Finn were happy kids.

Despite how well Kevin and Erin got along, Kevin still hadn’t come out to her. “I’m a coward,” Kevin said. Hugo just had to remain patient and allow Kevin more time to adapt to living his life out in the open. It would eventually happen, even if it didn’t seem to be happening fast enough for Hugo’s taste. Kevin was worth the wait.

Kevin had some legitimate concerns. He was afraid of how Erin would react, and he didn’t want her to have a knee-jerk reaction that would result in him losing his kids. They were his greatest focus, and even the thought of them moving to Rochester and growing up without a father close-by was causing Kevin to lose sleep. “I can’t be like my father. I need to be in their lives,” he’d tell Hugo whenever he was worried, and Hugo did his best to ease his mind, reminding him how quick the drive to Rochester was.

“I’m going to cut up the watermelon. Do you want a slice?” Kevin asked, pulling Hugo away from his thoughts of a week ago and bringing him back to the lake.

“Yeah. I’d love some.” Hugo headed toward the lake house and waved at Myles, who was mowing his lawn. Myles waved back and looked about ready to turn off the mower and come over to talk when Hugo slipped in the back door.

Myles had been the first person Kevin came out to face-to-face. Apparently, he’d told Mike’s wife about their relationship over the phone, but telling someone face-to-face he was dating a man was a different experience entirely. Myles had looked back and forth between Kevin and Hugo as if he were utterly confused before saying, “But what about Erin?”