whimper escaped him when Gabriel backed away.
“Up,” Gabriel said.
Ben raised his butt off the bed when Gabriel tugged at his jeans, pulling them and his underwear down his legs and off his body. He lay bare on the bed, staring at a still-partially dressed Gabriel. As if in a trance, Gabriel licked his lips and leaned forward, pressing a trail of slow, teasing kisses down Ben’s chest. Two large hands braced him as another kiss pressed against his lower stomach.
He held his breath…
Waiting.
Hoping.
Warm wetness engulfed him, sucking on him as the firm grip held him in place. He screwed his eyes shut and pushed his head back into the pillow, gasping a breath with each pull of Gabriel’s mouth on him. Fantasy puzzles be damned. Nothing could have prepared him for the blissful battle waging war in his body.
He took a few breaths, mentally backing away from the cliff’s edge, refusing to let this end so soon. Glancing down his body, his heart swelled at the vision of Gabriel’s mouth on him. His fingers itched to touch him…to hold him. He gasped when that heavy-lidded gaze peered up at him, the desire unmistakable. The warm pressure around him tightened. He fell back onto the bed with a groan, surrendering. His heart thundered with Gabriel’s quickening motion. His toes curled as Gabriel stroked him with greater force.
Faster, harder.
The touch on his skin, the wetness and heat surrounding him, and the moans vibrating against his flesh. Everything worked in concert to shove him back to that cliff’s edge. Gasping each breath, he twisted the sheets as his body writhed.
It was too much.
He held Gabriel’s head and thrust his body into his face, yelling his release while everything around him exploded into a white flash of light.
A blanket of calmness enveloped him, evaporating every ounce of tension from his body. His breathing slowed, almost settling to its usual rhythm. He was surrounded by utter peace and perfection, weightless and floating on his back, adrift in pure bliss. Soft strokes through his hair and kisses peppered to his cheeks and temple pulled him ashore. With barely enough strength in his body, he opened his eyes, smiling as Gabriel stared at him.
“If you come like that from a blow job, I can’t wait to see what happens when I’m inside you.”
He turned into Gabriel’s arm, smiling as he pressed a kiss to his warm skin. Gabriel tucked his finger under Ben’s chin and turned his face back up toward him as he spoke. “Get some rest, and then we’ll eat something before I drop you off. Okay?”
He nodded, not even having the strength or desire to sign a reply. He snuggled closer as Gabriel pressed a kiss to his temple and pulled the sheet over his bare body. He couldn’t fight the grin when strong arms wrapped around him and a large hand possessively rested on his ass.
That was one question answered.
Gabriel was definitely an ass man.
After the last check of every corner of the room, Ben returned to the open duffel bag on his bed and zipped it shut. Smiling, he grabbed his small plush bull from the nightstand and tucked it under his arm as he slung the bag over his other shoulder.
He stopped at the threshold and turned, scanning the bedroom one last time. This place, this house, and these men had been good to him. They had welcomed him and given him a second chance, even a third. He owed it to them to not return.
At least, not because he had to.
He whipped around, startled by the tap to his shoulder.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to make you jump,” Calvin said. “Let me take that.” Taking the bag from Ben’s shoulder, Calvin effortlessly held it in his grip as they both headed downstairs.
Ben patted Calvin’s back, not sure of what else to do or what degree of contact was acceptable for a goodbye.
“Did you get everything?” Julian asked as Calvin set the duffel bag on the couch. “Bull should be here any minute.”
Ben set the small plush toy on his bag and nodded, feeling a sudden swell of emotions rise in his chest. Leaving Halfway House a second time was much harder than he had anticipated.
“Everything’s going to be fine,” Matt signed. A second later, Ben was wrapped in Matt’s caring embrace.
He screwed his eyes shut and tucked his face into Matt’s hold. He wrapped his arms around Matt and held on, trying to lessen the burn in his eyes. But Julian’s strong,