Vince laughed. “Yeah, I wouldn’t consider him a friend either, but we need his rent money so we put up with him.”
Cason swept some more sawdust off the counter into a metal bin. “So, what time tonight?”
“Nine.”
Cason checked the clock. Noon. Damn, he’d been working for a while. If he got moving he could finish the eight inch dildo he was working on, clean up, go get some groceries, and start some dinner.
“What time do you think you’ll be off tonight?”
“Five, hopefully. Six at the latest.”
Just enough time. “How about coming over here for dinner before we go to the bar? I have a cookbook full of recipes my Nana left me. It’s full of excellent down home Southern cooking recipes. Care to give my culinary skills a try?”
“So you’re going to feed me?”
Cason felt his cock stir. “I could,” he said throatily.
“Six-thirty okay?” Vince’s voice was breathy.
“Perfect. I’ll see you then.” Cason ended his call and turned his attention back to the dildo in front of him. He ran his hand up and down along the rings he’d carved down the shaft, testing the edges. He found a few rough spots with this fingertips and set about smoothing them.
Once he finally got it as smooth as he wanted, he set it aside on the felt lined shelf above his work bench. Cleaning didn’t take long, but the store was surprisingly crowded. Finding the ingredients he needed to make dinner took longer than he wanted, but he still made it home by four-thirty.
Flaky salmon, hush puppies, some fried okra and mushrooms. He couldn’t wait to feed slivers of the succulent pink meat to Vince. It was almost six by the time he had everything ready and Cason rushed off to shower. The warm water pounded on his neck as he washed with his back to the showerhead. The slippery soft suds tickled his cock and balls as they slid down his body.
Unable to resist, Cason slid his bare hand down his body, gathering more suds in his palm. He leaned one hand against the wall, closing his eyes. He imagined Vince kneeling on the floor in front of him, tickling his balls as he tongued them before sucking them into his mouth separately and then together.
Cason moaned and started stroking slowly. Vince’s hair would be slicked back but a few strands would hang wet and long over his eyes as he stared up at him. Closing his fist created a slick tunnel Cason could imagine was Vince’s mouth closing over the head of his cock and then sinking down to the base. He started a smooth glide back up, squeezing hard on the head.
“Fuck!”
Pleasure had his balls lifting before he knew it. He hovered on the edge, trying to hold out, prolonging the almost painful edge just before orgasm, gasping for breath in the moist steamy shower. He wanted Vince there in front of him for real. He wanted inside, his mouth, his ass, however he could get him. The need he’d felt to touch Vince, to possess him, was driving him crazy. Marking Vince with his cum wasn’t enough anymore.
Cason needed Vince.
That moment of realization sent him over the precipice and Cason came in shuddering spurts, his hips jerking, deep grunts punctuating each volley of cum as he shot all over the floor and wall of the shower. His hand dropped to his side when his cock became too sensitive to touch and he collapsed against the cool tiles.
CHAPTER TEN
Vince’s mouth closed over the tips of his fingers. If Cason hadn’t jerked off in the shower he would have been instantly rigid just from seeing Vince walk in the door dressed in his leather jacket over a skin-tight T-shirt, jeans that hugged his round ass, and boots. Cason’s cock hadn’t stayed quiescent for long, nor was his control enough to keep his underwear from being soaked with excitement as the smaller man sat on the pillow at his knees with a silk blindfold over his eyes.
They were both quiet for the most part as soft music played in the background while they ate the dinner Cason made. Their connection was humming between them. Cason’s focus was on the sub at his feet but he still enjoyed the flavors of the herb crust on the soft salmon, the crispy outsides and fluffy center of the bite sized hush puppies and the vegetables. Vince took each bite he was given carefully, those lips too tempting for Cason to resist touching and tracing as he chewed.
“I’m full, sir,” Vince said in a husky voice when he let go of Cason’s fingers and swallowed his last bite.
“I see that.” His jeans were tight, and probably uncomfortable on the welt he had to have from the slap on his ass Cason had given him, but Vince had been remarkably focused the entire time he knelt at Cason’s feet. Cason wiped his fingers on his napkin before running them along Vince’s cheek just under the blindfold. Vince pressed into his hand and smiled, those soft pink lips turning up.
“You look amazing. Quiet, happy.”
Vince’s face turned up toward him, even though he couldn’t see. “I am. It’s amazing, because my mind is always moving. It’s always hard to focus, except for when I’m working, but with you… I always know when we’re together that I have your entire attention, and I want to give that back to you. The way you make me feel, even for something like this, is what is really amazing.”
“Come up here.” Cason tugged Vince up and over his lap in the chair. He reached up with both hands and pushed the blindfold off. He needed to see the man’s eyes. Blinking, Vince looked straight at him with those gorgeous gray-blue eyes that reminded Cason of a stormy sky.
“You make it easy Cason,” he said softly. “No one else has ever made me feel it’s okay to want what I want. I don’t have to fight my feelings when we’re playing because you never treat me as anything less than an equal. We’ve only done a few scenes, but you treat my submission like a gift to be valued.”
Cason refused to think about Vince’s ex right then, and the way he’d messed Vince up. There was a new confidence in the submissive on his lap that came out as a stillness and focus that Cason hadn’t witnessed in him before. “That’s exactly how you should be treated. No matter what route you take to offer your submission, it’s a gift a Dom should respect. Trust between a Dom and sub grows from mutual respect. You’ve always deserved to be treated this way. There are Doms out there that know how to take care of a sub, you just weren’t finding them.”
Smiling, Vince leaned forward. “Well I’m glad you found me. Maybe I should thank you.” His eyes were hooded and he licked his lips. Cason’s hands caressed his hips.
The loud blasting ring of his phone made Vince jerk almost completely off Cason’s lap. “Sorry!” He dug it out to answer it; his pants were so tight Cason was amazed he could even get his hand into the shallow pocket.
“Migg? Hey…”
Vince mouthed sorry at him and stood up. Damn it. Cason wanted to growl in frustration. He knew they didn’t really have time to do anything too intense if they were going to get to the bar where Vince had said his friend was going to be playing tonight, but still, the interruption had disrupted the intimacy between them and that irritated Cason.
“Okay, okay, we’re on our way.” Vince tapped his phone on his thigh with a frown. “I’m really sorry, but Migg’s rig isn’t working right again, and he needs the van to haul his kit.”
Cason stood up. He knew how important it was to not let his irritation show; Vince had been cut off from his friends before by the daimon that had been trying to destroy him. As much as Cason wanted to pull that sleek body against his and not let go, he would always do the best thing for Vince. Hard as it was right then, being willing to leave early to help Migg was what Vince needed. “No, I understand. Let’s grab our jackets and head out now.”
“Not quite yet. You made me such a nice dinner and everything has been so great with you. There’s something I was about to do.” Vince walked up and nestled against him, fitting his body into Cason’s with a slow wiggle that brought back some of the urgency that had been lost. Cason knew how that lithe body felt naked against his, and he found himself craving the touch of all that smooth skin against him.
He didn’t wait for Vince to kiss him. Capturing the shorter man with one hand on his lower back and the other cupping the back of his neck, Cason lowered his head toward those barely parted pink lips just begging to be devoured.
By the time he let Vince go they were both breathing hard. Vince blinked slowly. “That was… yeah.” He shook his head.
Cason smiled nice and slow. “We should go.” It took a lot of willpower to step back but he did it.
They headed out to pick up Vince’s tools and then went over to Migg’s. Cason was really surprised when Vince introduced him to his friend. He’d heard the words band and drummer and the image of a long haired rocker had come to mind. Vince had also mentioned that the guy worked at coffee shop, though, so he could have been one of the emo kid types too.
A muscular, smooth shaven bald guy stood outside by a dirty van, blowing on his hands. He looked like he was Cason’s age too, not the young musician Cason had been imagining. Migg was definitely not what Cason expected.
“Hey man, thanks for coming. You’re really saving me, it would take forever to move my kit to the bar with Aiden’s tiny car.”
“Yes, it would. Stand back and let me work my magic so we can get you on your throne on time tonight.” Vince was soon up on a stepstool with half his body inside the engine of the old, dinged up van in Migg’s driveway.
“So, you are?”
“A friend of Vince’s. My name is Cason.” He offered his hand and Migg shook it, squeezing a little hard. Cason barely kept from rolling his eyes when the larger man let go. “He told me you work at the coffee shop next to the garage where he works.”
“Yep. He doesn’t drink coffee, of course, but he loves our sugar free coffee cake and cocoa. He caught me cussing out my van one day after work and offered to take a look. Don’t ask me how he does it, but he always gets her going again. Now I give him free cocoa whenever he comes in, and he keeps my baby from the scrapyard.”
Cason watched Vince’s ass wiggle back and forth as he muttered and then cursed over the broken down pile of Migg’s baby. Metal clanged as he tossed a wrench over his shoulder. “He is very good when he can focus,” Cason agreed. The image running through his head wasn’t the one in front of him, as enticing as Vince’s ass was. He kept imagining the soft smile and heavy lidded eyes he’d gotten after their dinner when Vince was snuggled on his lap, sated and horny.
“Nothing he can’t do.” Migg gestured toward the brick wall next to the sidewalk. Cason followed him over and rested his hip against the edge. He crossed his arms over his chest, even though he knew it would make him look defensive. Next time he wouldn’t forget his gloves.
“So. I’ve never seen you in the coffee shop before but my friend Carrie said you’ve been in a few times with Page.”
Cason nodded. “I met Page a while back; he’s involved with my best friend. We do get together from time to time to talk.”
Migg raised one eyebrow. “Page told me some of what they’re into, you know, submissives and the clubs and stuff. So you’re not… playing with him?”
“With Page or Vince?” Cason laughed at the idea of playing with Page. The bratty man would’ve found himself gagged and shoved into a closet in about two minutes if Cason tried to be his Dom. “No, Page is not my style, at all.”
“But you are with Vince.”
The urge to laugh disappeared and Cason’s voice was downright curt. “It’s not a game with Vince.” He dropped his arms and stood up straight. The sun had gone down and the wind that picked up felt downright arctic, but he barely felt it as anger at his motives being questioned swamped him. Cason hated it when people outside the lifestyle judged.
“Look, I’m sorry if you feel I’m overstepping,” Migg said slowly. “I don’t really understand the lifestyle, but I don’t want my friend to get hurt.”
Cason took a deep breath to calm himself down. He looked the intimidating man straight in the eye. “I wouldn’t hurt Vince. Ever.”
They stared at each other for a minute then Migg nodded once. “Good enough.”
“That’s it?” Cason asked.
“You mean what you say. I can tell. If you’re both happy, and I know Vince is, then I’m not going to judge.” Migg stood up, close to Cason, but that was a technique he knew; he didn’t budge. “As long as he stays that way.”
Migg was trying to protect Vince. Cason had to respect his loyalty, but he refused to be intimidated. “I like that Vince has friends willing to try to protect him. He needs it, but don’t think you have any say in our relationship. Vince is an adult and he won’t let anyone make his choices for him. I already know that much.”
“Aha! Figured you out, didn’t I?” Vince’s triumphant crow was accompanied by the slamming of the van’s hood. “Hey guys, quit trying to intimidate each other over there. I’m freezing my ass off. Let’s go!”
Vince ran inside Migg’s place and washed his hands before they left. “We’ll see you later.” Vince waved and they walked over to Vince’s car. “Hey.”
Cason unlocked the passenger door but Vince stopped him with a hand on his wrist before he opened it. “Thanks for putting up with Migg’s overprotective side. Outside, he can look kinda scary, but inside he’s a big softie. He worries about everyone.”
“Like I told him, I appreciate your friends trying to protect you.” He leaned down and kissed Vince. “Now, can we go? You’re not the only one freezing body parts off.”
The wait outside the bar wasn’t as bad because Cason pulled Vince’s back against his chest and held him close. . He liked how the smaller man reached behind them and tucked his hands into Cason’s back pockets. “Man, Migg’s band is really getting a following,” Vince said as they slowly made their way up to the door and paid their cover charge.
Inside there were tons of people. The dance floor was crowded, but around the edges of the bar the music from the sound system wasn’t too loud.
Vince asked, “How about a beer while we wait?”
Cason nodded and leaned down to speak in Vince’s ear. “Sure.” He smirked when the smaller man shivered. They waited for a space to open up at the bar and then ordered their drinks. Cason slid money across the bar and picked up their beers, and then followed Vince over to a table that had a few empty seats.
“Hey guys!” Vince took his beer and pecked Cason on the cheek, then slipped his arm around his waist. “This is Cason.” He pointed his beer bottle at the four people sitting down in turn. “Cason, this is Mel, Tiffany, Dash and Donovan, some of my friends.”
“Hey,” Cason said. He hadn’t expected to meet more of Vince’s friends, but they weren’t all young, hot, young twenty-year-olds. Mel looked about twenty-five and if Cason wasn’t wrong, Tiffany was his sister. She was tucked up against Dash’s side. Donovan seemed to be the odd one out; he looked really young, which wasn’t helped by the Goth face paint he had going on. Cason wondered if he was even legal to be in the bar.
“Mind if we sit with you guys? We were going to come later when the band was playing but Migg had van trouble again, so I had to perform my magic.”
“Go ahead,” Mel said. “We’re not expecting anyone else tonight.”
Cason expected Vince to sit down next to him but the younger man plopped right in his lap. Cason was surprised, but he liked how casually affectionate Vince was, even in front of his friends, so he wrapped an arm around his waist and pulled him close. Having that tight ass up against his cock, swaying slightly as Vince moved with the music was damn distracting. Cason didn’t say much but he tried to pay attention as Vince chatted with his friends.
“So you work at the college?” Donovan played with the straw in his glass, stirring around the dregs of the melting ice. “I’ve never seen you.”
“I’m a counselor, not a professor.” Cason slipped one hand under Vince’s shirt and traced the skin just above his pants. He traced the dip in the muscle ridges back and forth. “You go to college?”
Donovan laughed. “I get that a lot. Yes, I do. I’m legal to order another one of these too.” He stood up. “Anybody else want anything?” A chorus of orders later, Donovan was on his way up to the bar.
Vince leaned back against Cason’s shoulder, his soft hair brushed against Cason and caught in the stubble pebbling his cheeks. Damn, Cason loved his hair.
“Want to dance?”
“Dancing isn’t something I’m really good at.” Besides, the tent in his pants would be truly embarrassing if he were to stand up. “Why don’t you go? I’ll get our beers and wait here for you.” He spoke in Vince’s ear. “I want to watch you.” His voice was husky, low, and he felt Vince shiver.
“Yes, sir,” he said under breath.
Cason let his hand slide down Vince’s side to his hip as the lithe young man stood up. “I’m going to dance,” Vince told his friends.
Mel hopped up. “I’ll come.”
The pair headed for the dance floor and the crowd of people moving rhythmically to the music. Mel was absorbed into the crowd, led in by a young, blond woman with hair flowing down her nearly bare back to her ass.
The guy she had been dancing with slid up next to Vince and began to mirror the way his hips were swaying. Vince let him dance close, but put an arm on his shoulder when he would have moved closer.
Vince turned and moved away, staying on the edge, letting men and women close but always keeping a little bit of space between his body and theirs. He used them to put on a show for Cason who couldn’t look away. Watching Vince move… he’d done it for months from a distance, but now Vince wasn’t trying to attract someone else; he was trying to attract Cason, and that made all the difference.
Cason gripped the water he’d switched to, taking a deep drink. The icy cold liquid did nothing to cool his arousal.
Crimson lights flashed and strobed over the dance floor before a spotlight lit up the stage. Tables rapidly emptied as damn near everyone surged toward the stage, cheers breaking out as the band came on stage.
Migg’s thick arms beat out a rapid tattoo across the drums and then picked up a deep rhythmic thump. Cason watched with fascination as the rest of the band joined in and the crowd began to move, throbbing with the same beat as the band.
It was like a heartbeat. Cason couldn’t understand all the words being shouted into the microphone very well, thanks to the crowd screaming along, but the energy was amazing.
Vince slid an arm over his shoulders. Cason jerked in surprise. He couldn’t believe he’d lost sight of Vince, but the band was good enough to distract him. No wonder they were getting a following.
“Great, right?” Vince shouted in his ear.
He nodded. “I didn’t know what to expect, but wow.” Cason was happy he’d met some more of Vince’s friends. He didn’t have many, but those he did have seemed to be pretty close knit. He was glad; Cason had to hope that when the inevitable happened and Vince walked away to find someone new he’d still have them, and they’d be just as dedicated to keeping an eye on him as they checked out the next man.
He offered his bottle of water and watched Vince down it, his chest still heaving from dancing, sweat beaded on his forehead and darkened his blond hair where it swept down to his eyes. Vince’s nipples were hard and poking through his damp shirt.
“I know you don’t dance but …”
Cason took the empty water bottle from Vince and set it down on the table. Everyone else had gotten up when the music started. “Let’s go.”
They didn’t go inside the tightly packed crowd close to the stage but stayed near the edges. People were absorbed in the music. Cason stepped up behind Vince, pulling him back until their bodies were pressed together. Bending over his shoulder, Cason ran his nose along his shirt to his neck.