2017 Top Ten Gay Romance

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

“A cleaning service?”

Chase flashed me a grin as he smoothly downshifted for the turn into the parking garage. I loved the easy way he handled the vehicle, no aggression, just a gentle confidence that made me want his hands on me instead. I swallowed hard and tore my gaze from his profile as he lifted his fob to the RFID reader. The bar lifted, and Chase maneuvered forward.

“Is that so hard to believe?” he asked.

“No. It’s just not something I’d have thought of you doing. What made you decide to open a cleaning service?”

Conversation had been so plentiful during dinner that it surprised me we hadn’t talked about what he did for a living until now. I stared in silence for a good minute as he parked in his designated spot. He turned off the engine, then touched my arm.

“Stay there a sec.”

Without waiting for a response, he pulled the keys from the ignition, then hopped out of the car. He came around and opened my door before I could even work out what was going on. His chivalry touched me, and I took his hand when he offered it. Chase didn’t let go once I stood beside him. Instead, he laced his fingers through mine. His palm was warm and I could feel a callus on the flesh under his pointer finger.

“I worked for one in high school.” Chase’s deep voice sounded out of place in the hush of the garage, and it took me a moment to realize he was answering my earlier question. I leaned into him as we walked toward the entrance to the building and he gave a content rumble before continuing.

“I needed something I could do nights and weekends, you know? And I sure as hell wasn’t cut out for retail or fast food. I’da been fired in a week. So when I found the job cleaning office buildings, it was perfect. Of course, we weren’t treated that great. But I realized I really liked cleaning stuff. Got satisfaction from it, you know?” Chase used his fob, then pulled open the door with his free hand. He managed to usher me in first without letting go of my hand.

“Mr. Brenner, Mr. Prinsen. Good evening.”

“Hi, Sam. How are you tonight?” Chase greeted the front desk security guard with a big grin. “And I’ve told you, you can just call me Chase.”

“I’m doing well. Thanks for asking.” Sam gave Chase a pointed look, but he softened it with the barest hint of a smile. The firm I’d hired to handle the security here and at the shelter and youth center was the best of the best. The respect the guards showed had sealed the deal for me, and I was glad to see it in action.

Sam turned his attention to the monitors in front of him. “Have a great night, sirs.”

Chase opened his mouth to say more, but I tugged him toward the elevator before he could. I liked that he wanted to talk with the guard when so many would have ignored him or treated him like the hired help. But I selfishly wanted all of Chase’s attention tonight and I wasn’t above stealing it from others.

Chase shot me a questioning look, but I didn’t have an answer I was willing to give. Instead, I redirected his attention back to our conversation. “So how did you go from working as a cleaner to opening your own service?” I asked as we entered the elevator and I pushed the button for my floor. I almost always used the stairs, but I wanted to be able to talk with him, and we couldn’t do that if we huffed while climbing flight after flight.

He squinted for a minute, then his expression eased into that perpetual half-smile he always wore. “Well, I had no clue what the f**k I wanted to do with my life. But I knew I could be happy cleaning places, as long as it was done right and the boss didn’t act like an asshole. So I figured I could do it myself. I got my associates degree in business so I’d know what the hell I was doing with the paperwork and s**t, hired a couple of people, and started getting contracts.

“It took a couple of years to establish a reputation, but now the business is doing great and our clients are happy. I have fifteen employees, a full-time office manager, and I split my time between the f*****g paperwork and a few choice clients. It’s good.”

Hearing the pride in his voice made the same emotion swell in my chest. He’d figured out what he wanted from life and had made it happen. Few could say the same. Hell, it wasn’t even until after I’d received Grandpa Joe’s money that I’d been able to do something worthwhile with my life. Chase, however, had made it happen on his own.

The elevator dinged and the door slid open. I stepped off, suddenly realizing that I’d pushed the button for my floor without considering what Chase would want to do now. The thought made my heart pound. What would happen next? Would our time together end once he saw me to the door? I didn’t want it to end. I would have happily sat and talked with him all night.

Just then, Chase let out a small laugh. When I looked at him, he grinned and shook his head. “Want to hear something weird?”

“Sure,” I said, relieved he was still talking. I moved toward my front door and didn’t bother to remove my fob from my pocket. Leaving it tucked away meant there were still possibilities for the evening.

“Usually it takes me a while to warm up to people, you know? I don’t spill my guts all over a person I just met. But you? Hell, I was telling you I was bi about seven seconds after I met you, and that’s the thing I keep closest. What is it about you that makes me want to tell you everything?”

I froze, just staring at his beautiful face. Hadn’t I thought nearly the same thing? I hardly ever shared my personal life with anyone, never mind someone I just met. But Chase had inspired confidence in me that I couldn’t explain. To know he felt it, too, made my heart pound and my breath catch.

“Eli?”

“Same.” The word didn’t make much sense and I could tell from his furrowed brow that Chase didn’t get it either. I managed a rough breath, then another one that came easier. Reaching out, he met me halfway, wrapping his fingers around mine. “What I meant was, I feel the same way. I don’t usually open up either, but then you make me want to.”

Chase’s breath hitched and he took two quick steps into my space. His gaze zeroed in on mine, intense and steady, his pupils dilating. He licked his lips. “That’s gotta be good, right? That we both feel it?”

I nodded, unable to speak, totally caught in those hazel depths.

One more step and Chase stood no more than an inch away. He shifted his hold on my hand, pulling me a fraction closer. He lifted his other hand, and ever so slowly, placed it against the side of my neck. He traced the edge of my jaw with his thumb. I felt the smooth skin and the small callus and didn’t bother to fight the shudder.

His eyes darkened. “Can I kiss you?”

I didn’t answer with words. I threw myself at him, lifting onto my toes to bring my mouth into alignment with his. It was fierce, the pent-up emotion pouring from my lips. Chase seemed to understand, to feel the same, because he gave back as good as he got, pulling me impossibly closer. He fit one thigh in between mine, pushing and pressing, and I rode that friction, whimpering into his mouth.

Chase took control, cupping my head and tilting until he sealed our lips together even tighter. He thrust his tongue inside my mouth as I acquiesced, melting against him and spreading my thighs wider around his. He controlled everything, and I let him take. A wanton whine left my throat when he ground against my balls.

With obvious effort, he suddenly pulled back, and if he hadn’t immediately grabbed my ass and hoisted me up, I would have protested. I wrapped my legs around his waist and pushed my erection into his rock-hard abs. Chase pressed sucking kisses against my neck as he backed me against the door.

“Eli?” His words vibrated against my Adam’s apple, and I shivered. “Baby, I want to come in and f**k you. Will you let me?”

The whimper that escaped me was all lust and made him chuckle. “Yes. God, yes. Please.”

Chase hitched me a little higher and turned me sideways, and for a second, I couldn’t figure out what he was doing. Then he pressed my hip against the wall and I heard the click of the lock disengaging. I laughed even as I rained kisses on his face. He’d gotten the fob in my pocket in front of the reader so we didn’t have to let go of each other to deal with silly things like doors.

Chase gave me a wicked grin, then backed through my front door while I held onto him for all I was worth.

Normally I was cautious and careful, and I never had s*x with a guy until I was sure there was trust between us. But with Chase, it was different. I wanted him in my bed, in me, and I didn’t even worry about the rest. Because for reasons I couldn’t even begin to process, I already trusted him. And so I was more than eager to get him into my bedroom.

It wasn’t hard to find my room since the door was standing open, and Chase crossed the threshold without lifting his lips from mine. He made a beeline for the bed, and dropped me onto it, following me down and pressing my body into the mattress with his. He panted, and I could tell it wasn’t just from the frantic kissing.

“You should have let me walk,” I murmured against his throat while he breathed heavily into my ear.

He chuckled, then shook his head. “No way was I putting you down. You feel too good in my arms.”

If he hadn’t already charmed me, that would have done it. I arched up, pressing my lower half into his stomach. I could feel him, hard and eager, and it made me want him more. I grasped his head, pulling his mouth back to mine, needing to kiss him. To devour him. I was so intent on that, so caught up in tasting him, owning his mouth, I didn’t even realize he was slowly and methodically divesting us of our clothes. That his caresses were intermittent because he was undoing snaps and buttons. Only when he pulled away to tug his shirt over his head did I notice my own was undone along the front, and my pants were halfway down my legs.

My wicked grin made him laugh, and I quickly shoved off the rest of my clothes into a heap on the floor. In my three or so seconds of inattention, Chase had gotten naked, too. When I looked at him, my breath caught. He was so insanely gorgeous, from his beautiful, heat-filled smile to his strong shoulders. From his cut abs to his massive thighs. And his c**k was so perfect, I could write sonnets about it. Long, straight, and just thick enough, I couldn’t decide if I wanted him in my mouth or ass more.

Chase took the decision out of my hands when he asked on a panting breath, “Lube?”

I reached under the pillow and pulled it out with a flourish. He chuckled, and pounced, once again pinning my body under his. He kissed me, deep and hard, then broke it to trail his lips along my jaw. I lifted my chin up and to the side so he could have all the access he wanted.

“You got a condom hiding under there, too?”

The vibration of his words against my ear made me shiver in the most delicious way, and I wrapped my arms and legs around him, pulling him tighter. “Do we need one?”

Chase went utterly still. For a long minute, I heard only his breathing. I didn’t try to rush him. I knew what I was asking.

He pushed himself up just enough to look in my eyes. “I’ve never done it without one,” he said, his voice low and soft.

“Me, either,” I responded in the same tone. “And I get it if you don’t want to. But…” I took a deep breath to relish the scent of him, all spicy cologne and fresh laundry. “I can show you the results of my last test so you can see I don’t have anything.”

“Me, too. I mean, I can, too.”

I nodded, looking into those hazel depths and fighting not to get lost only because of the serious conversation. “I want you inside me without anything between us. I want to feel your heat and your skin and your c*m. I want it all.”

It was Chase’s turn to shiver. He rocked his hips, his slick c**k dragging over my stomach. He kissed me, fast and hard, and with his lips against mine, whispered, “f**k, I want that, too.”

“Then just you and the lube.”

He went still again, then looked at me, checking. “You trust me?”

“I do.”

It was all he needed to hear. His face broke out into a heart-stopping grin, then he found the lube where I’d dropped it. His lube coated fingers were at my hole a moment later, and I held onto him as he stretched me. The burn felt so good. He played with me, rubbing and tugging on my rim, pushing in deep and pressing on my prostate, slicking the way until I begged and whimpered.

When Chase removed his fingers, I actually whined at the loss. His low, wicked chuckle made me moan. He shoved a pillow under my hips, then kissed me long and slow as he moved into position. I was only a few inches shorter than him, so it took only a bit of contorting until his blunt c**k touched my hole. I hung onto his shoulders, making sure he didn’t stop kissing me. But he lifted his head anyway so he could see my eyes as he sought entrance into my body.

His first thrust was tentative, but I planted my feet and pushed up as he pressed in on a second pass. He growled my name as I strained to accommodate him. Chase let me get used to his size, seeing both the need and the discomfort on my face. He didn’t rush, even as he fought to keep still.

It was sweet and I appreciated it, but it wasn’t necessary.

I wiggled, then pressed upward. Chase’s eyes went wide and he growled, a dark sound that sent a thrill through my body. He took over then, adjusting his position and setting a steady, hard rhythm. His body pounded into mine and I took it, angling my hips so his c**k hit all the best spots.

“You’re so hot and tight,” Chase said, his voice strained. “f**k, you feel good.”

I nodded. Then I grabbed his head and brought his mouth to mine. I needed his taste on my tongue while he pounded my ass. He certainly knew what he was doing. He had the angle, tempo, and force just right.

“Oh, God,” I groaned after far too short a time. “Oh, God. Chase. I’m gonna come.”

“f**k, yeah. Do it, baby.”

I shook my head, hanging on so tightly my fingernails pressed into his flesh. I didn’t want to come yet. But his d**k banged my sweet spot and my abdomen tightened with my impending release.

Chase didn’t break his rhythm as he shifted his weight onto one arm and grabbed my c**k with his free hand. After a few strokes of his talented fingers, coupled with several short slams directed against my prostate, I screamed his name as c*m flew from my d**k. Chase didn’t stop, didn’t even pause, just kept pounding away as I writhed on his c**k. Just as I finished, he pushed in so hard I thought he’d leave bruises on my ass, and his hot c*m flooded my passage.

I whimpered again, clutching him tightly, needing him closer.

Chase held me as snugly as physically possible, his c**k still lodged in my ass.

A long moment later, when our harsh breathing began to slow, Chase looked me in the eye. “You okay?”

I smiled dreamily. “So, so okay. That was the best thing ever. Don’t pull out, okay?”

“I won’t,” he assured me. He kissed my sweaty temple and sighed contently. He slid his hand down my back so he could touch where we still joined. “This was way f*****g hotter than I ever thought. You wanna know why?”

“Why?” I asked automatically, snuggling closer.

“Trust. You trust me. That’s the sexiest thing ever.”

I smiled, then wiggled just a little so I could feel us still connected.