The O'Brien Way (7 page)

“Close,” Moby cautioned. The fullness of the cock filling him along with the delicious slide of Sean’s body against his cock with each thrust was too much. Four strokes later, Moby shot his seed between them.

Sean braced himself on his arms and watched Moby’s face as he came. “God, you’re something else.” He leant down for a kiss, swiping his tongue against Moby’s before delving in deep.

Moby threaded his fingers through Sean’s auburn curls and broke the kiss. Cheek to cheek he listened to Sean’s ragged breathing as he increased the intensity of his thrusts. “You feel so good inside me,” he moaned.

Sean grunted in reply, his hands squeezing Moby’s ass. With a loud growl, Sean’s rhythm faltered as he buried himself deep. Moby held his lover as Sean’s body jerked with the power of his climax.

Never had he yearned to feel the warmth of a man’s cum inside of him, but to his surprise, Moby wished the heat shooting into the condom filled him instead. It didn’t take a college degree to figure out why. Sean wasn’t a fling as far as Moby was concerned. Maybe his years of dreaming for the right man to come along had finally paid off.

Chapter Five

“You feel like a little shopping today?” Moby asked his mom.

“For what?” she asked.

“I want to pick up a few things for the people at work.” He didn’t mention getting two gifts for Sean or the birthday party he’d already started to plan in his head.

“Why would you waste your money?”

Moby took a deep breath. He didn’t blame his mom for her beliefs any longer. Although it had taken a while to understand, he realised his mom’s thoughts and feelings were basically whatever his father had drummed into her. In many ways, his mom was still incredibly na
ï
ve when it came to the world around her.

“Well, because it makes me feel good to give someone a gift. We both know I’m not comfortable telling people how I feel about them, so giving them a present at Christmas is my way of telling them what I can’t.”

Virginia
said nothing for several moments before nodding. “I’ll get my purse. There are a few things I’d like to get if we have the money.”

“We do,” he assured her. “I’m going to let
Jilly
out,” he told her as she left the room.

“Ready to go out, baby girl?”
Moby scratched the Rottweiler behind the ears before opening the back door. As
Jilly
took care of her business, he pulled a slip of paper from his coat pocket. He’d gone online and looked up O’Brien bars in Boston, coming up with several. Moby had no doubt at least one of them was owned by someone in Sean’s family.

Before he could decide what to do with the information,
Jilly
ran back to the door. “Cold out here, isn’t it, girl?”

He stopped
Jilly
just inside the door and wiped her feet on an old towel, making sure to get at the snow packed between her toes before letting her go.
Jilly
shook the melted snow from her fur, sending a spray of water droplets onto the kitchen floor.

“Now you’re just trying to get me into trouble.” Moby knelt on the floor to mop up the mess before his mom saw it. He heard his mom come into the room just as he finished. Looking up he was amused to see the slight grin on his mom’s face.

“I’m glad I’m not the only one she does that to,”
Virginia
said before turning to walk out of the room.

Moby shook his head as he got to his feet. If he hadn’t already been riding high from the previous evening with Sean, his mom’s acceptance of
Jilly
would have done it.

They left
Jilly
sleeping in her bed beside the heating vent and drove to the local
Walmart
. Moby couldn’t get over the number of cars in the parking lot. It had been a few years since he’d cared enough about someone to brave the crowds to buy a gift. He pulled up in front and let his mom out of the car before finding a parking spot towards the back of the lot.

By the time he reached the automatic sliding doors, his mom already had a cart with her large purse nestled safely in the front of the basket. They slowly worked their way through the crowd. Moby stopped at the jewellery section and picked up a pair of fun but inexpensive earrings for Kitty.

“I don’t suppose you’re buying these for a girl you’re sweet on, are you?”
Virginia
asked.

“Nope,” Moby answered. “I think we both know that’ll never happen. Kitty’s just a friend.”

“Do I have the right to ask who you spent the night with?”

Moby hadn’t brought it up because he didn’t want to make his mom uncomfortable, but since she’d asked. “Sean O’Brien.”

“O’Brien?”
Virginia
’s head tilted to the side. “Does he own the pub?”

“Yep.
And, yes, before you ask, he’s Irish through and through.” He waited for his mom to respond. Bigotry had run rampant in his house growing up.

“Well I would assume so with a name like that,”
Virginia
said. She glanced around. “I want you to look at some sweaters.”

“I don’t wear sweaters,” Moby reminded her.

“Well of course not. You don’t have any.” Without another word, she pushed the cart towards the men’s section.

By the time Moby caught up to her, she had a bulky, cable-knit sweater in her hand.
Just looking at it made Moby sweat.
It was obvious he wouldn’t be able to sway her in her decision of a Christmas gift, so Moby quickly looked around for a suitable alternative.

He found a dark green V-neck in a soft material. “I like this one,” he announced.

Virginia
glanced over her shoulder before eventually turning around. “It doesn’t look very warm.”

“Yeah, but it’ll be thin enough for me to wear to work.” He held the sweater in front of his chest. “Besides, it’ll bring out the colour in my eyes.”

Virginia
smiled. “Yes, it does do that.”

Moby placed the sweater into the cart. “I love it, Mom.” He kissed her cheek, surprised by the blush that crept up her neck.

“I think
Jilly
could use some kind of coat.” As soon as she said it, his mom tried to hide her caring for the large pet. “I can’t have her ruining my house with wet hair when she comes inside.”

Trying to cover a grin, Moby nodded. “Okay. But first there are a couple of things I need to pick up.” After their shared shower, Moby had given Sean a hard time about not having a bathrobe. Sean had explained he didn’t have time to linger in a robe after showering so he’d never had one.

It was important to him to teach Sean there was more to life than work. He wanted to experience a lazy Sunday with the man who had given him so much without even knowing it. He headed towards the sleepwear section with a smile on his face. No matter what, he was determined to make sure Sean had the kind of Christmas he’d always deserved.

* * * *

Sean studied the near-empty room and shook his head. Thursday evening and only a handful of people had dared to brave the storm raging outside. The three tables with customers were almost finished with their food and would soon head out. Although he didn’t have Jay’s culinary skills, Sean had flipped a hamburger or two in his life.

He pushed through the swinging door to find Jay wiping down the grill. “Why don’t you go on home?”

“It’s only seven-thirty. What if someone else comes in?”

“Only a fool would venture out into this kind of weather. Have you seen it outside in the last hour?”

Jay glanced around the kitchen.
“Nope.
My boss isn’t nice enough to provide me with a window office.”

With a chuckle, Sean turned to head back to the bar. “Get your smart ass home before the doors are blocked with snow and you’re here until the
Spring
thaw.”

Entering the pub, Sean noticed only one table of patrons remained. He motioned to Kitty and waited.

“What’s up?” Kitty asked.

“Go on home. I’ll bus the tables.”

“You don’t have to tell me twice,” Kitty said, rushing in the direction of the time clock.

Once the pub cleared, Sean retrieved a large plastic tub from the kitchen and began clearing the tables. He turned off the stereo that piped in cheerful Christmas music, and carried the dirty dishes to the kitchen.

As he loaded the dishwasher, his thoughts strayed to Moby. He couldn’t help but smile. It had been a long time since he felt the excitement of a new lover. Unlike his relationship with Ryan, being with Moby was easy, almost too easy. Although Ryan was incredibly sweet, keeping him happy had been a lot of work.

It was different with Moby. The man was gorgeous, there was absolutely no disputing that fact, but Moby seemed so appreciative of each gentle touch Sean bestowed. It made showing affection even more fulfilling when you were with such a willing recipient.

Sean closed the dishwasher and turned it on before pulling the phone out of his pocket. He walked towards the sheet of paper tacked up beside the time clock and found Moby’s number. With only one day off a week, would Moby resent the call?
Only one way to find out.

The phone rang three times before being picked up.

“Hey,” Moby answered, his voice sounded warm and interested which was a good sign.

“Enough snow for you?” Sean asked.

“More than enough.
I tried to head your way, but got as far as the highway and had to turn back.”

Sean laughed. “I told Jay earlier that only a fool would venture out in this weather, guess I was right.”

Moby returned the laugh. “Yeah, well that’s what happens when I let my dick take the lead. Too bad though because I’ve been thinking about you all day.”

“Yeah?”
Sean liked the sound of that.

“Oh, yeah.
See, if you had a
snowcat
you could come and take me back to your bed for the night. We could
ride
out the storm together.”

Sean pressed the heel of his hand against the hardening cock trapped by his jeans. “If I knew where to buy one this time of night, I might just spend a shitload of money doing just that.”

“Horny?” Moby asked.

“
Gettin
’ there,” Sean answered honestly. “I’m standing in an empty bar, wishing you were here.”

“I could always try again?”

Sean wondered if it was his horniness that drew Moby to risk life and limb or his desire to be needed. He’d given a lot of thought to the tenderness Moby had reacted so strongly to the previous night. Throughout the day, Sean had become more convinced he wanted to be the one to show Moby the attention he’d obviously never experienced.

“As hard as I am, I wouldn’t risk your safety for anything,” Sean admitted. “It’s become pretty damn important to me that you’re still around tomorrow.”

“Oh, no worries there.
I plan on sticking around until you’re tired of me.”

Sean bit his tongue. His immediate reaction was to assure Moby that wouldn’t happen, but it was still too early to show his hand. With his luck, he’d scare Moby away if he started talking about the future. Jumping into a new relationship with gusto had always been a problem. It didn’t take a psychologist to tell Sean why. Affection of any kind had been a rarity in his youth. Although he’d never been mistreated by his father, he’d been kept at arm’s length.

Moby cleared his throat.
“You still there?”

Shit. Play it cool.
“I think I’m
gonna
go ahead and close up for the night. I’ve got some bookkeeping to do anyway.”

“All right.
You sure everything’s okay?” Moby asked.

“Yeah.”
Sean wondered how honest he could be. “I tend to attach myself pretty early on in a relationship. So far my track record with that way of doing things is shit. Guess I just want this one to be different.”

“So, what’re you trying to say? You want to cool things between us?”

“No,” Sean was quick to answer. He sighed and rubbed his forehead. “I just want this one to work. I
wanna
do it right.”

“Okay.”

“I’ve been thinking about asking
Smitty
if he wants to work a couple nights a week for me. I’d really like a chance to spend quality time with you.” Sean hadn’t realised he’d made a final decision until the words were out of his mouth.

“I’d love that. My mom asked about you earlier. I think she might even be ready to have you over for dinner one evening.”

Spending time with Moby’s mother scared him to death, but he’d learned his lesson with Ryan’s mom. It was important to make nice. Like a lovesick teenager, he’d already committed Moby’s schedule to memory.
“Sunday?
I can call
Smitty
in the morning and ask if he’s available. I know you work a half-shift, but you should be out of here by four.”

“Sunday would be perfect.”

“Great,” Sean agreed, trying to sound positive. “Hopefully the crap outside will stop, and they’ll get the roads cleared by tomorrow evening.”

Moby chuckled. “Maybe you can spend the rest of the evening looking into that
snowcat
idea.”

“Right after I pay all the bills. I’m sure I’ll have plenty left over for a
snowcat
.”

Moby laughed harder. “A man can dream.”

* * * *

Moby hung up the phone and stared out of the kitchen window to the yard beyond.
God, I miss the desert.
It wouldn’t be as bad if he lived in
Cattle
Valley
. Not solely because of Sean either. The best thing about working in an all-male revue was being surrounded by quite a few like-minded men.

He heard his mom come out of the bathroom and sighed. She was trying, Moby had to give her credit, but would she ever be self-sufficient enough to live on her own?

“Did I hear the phone?”
Virginia
asked.

Moby glanced over his shoulder to find his mom dressed for bed in her nightgown and robe. “Sean called.” He didn’t want to tell his mom about his conversation. Sean had opened up to him, and Moby took that trust to heart. “Evidently the snow in
Cattle
Valley
is as bad as it is here.”