The Trouble With

Two:

Chasing Terence

Penelope Rivers

Amira Press
Charlotte, NC 28227
www.amirapress.com

ISBN: 978-1-937394-90-5

No part of this e-book may be
reproduced or shared by any electronic
or mechanical means, including but not
limited to printing, file sharing, and e-
mail, without prior written permission
from Amira Press.

Dedication

For Noel, who just brightened my life.

Chapter One

The hot Arizona sun caused Martin

Tanner’s sweat to trickle down his back
as he gazed at the medium-sized house
with a blue roof. The door hung open on
its hinges, and Martin’s identical twin
brother, Eli, stood on the threshold, a
huge smile on his face. Eli looked
exactly like Martin, except his blond
hair was now cut short, and he didn’t
have a scar on his nose like Martin did.

Eli stepped out of the house, running a

hand through his sweat-soaked hair, and
grinned at Martin.

A second man came out of the house

who was a little taller and a lot thinner
without Eli’s muscle definition. The

man’s name was Dr. Aiden Brady, Eli’s
life partner and a psychologist. Aiden
had ear-length brown hair, warm brown
eyes, square glasses, and a long, lean
body. He had been in Sophisticated Men
magazine, featured as the sexiest
scientist of the year, and with his
charming face, it was easy to see why.

As Eli turned his head and Aiden

nuzzled his nose and then kissed him
deeply, Martin got a flash of jealousy,
but not because three years ago he had
lusted after Aiden. It was because the
two of them were deliriously happy
together, and it showed in the way Eli
and Aiden looked so lovingly at each
other even though they had been together
for so long.

“Okay, you two,” Martin said.

“Where do you want me to put these
boxes?”

Aiden stepped away from Eli and

walked over to him. Eli followed
behind.

“Sorry,” Eli said. “This will just be

the first time we’re living together.
Buying a house is a new experience.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Martin forced a smile

on his face. “I know. I’m sorry.”

While Aiden walked to the passenger-

side door and pulled out his pet rabbit,
Dakota’s, nighttime kennel, Eli squeezed
his arm.

“Hey, you okay?” Eli asked. “Is it

weird, asking you to help us move? You
never appeared to mind before that

Aiden and I were together. You even
helped get us together to begin with.”

“It’s not the fact it’s you and Aiden,”

he said. “It’s more that I can’t help but
be envious of you two. You have a life
partner that loves you, and now you’re
moving into a house together. You’ve
been together for three and a half years.
I’m thirty-two, and I haven’t had anyone
like that. I’m just envious of your
relationship. Guess I’m an asshole
brother, huh?”

Eli shook his head and squeezed his

shoulder. “No, you’re not. I’ll tell you
what. Maybe you just need to look some
more. Why don’t I go with you to a bar
and be your wingman?”

“Do you think Aiden would mind?”

Martin asked.

“Would I mind what?” Aiden asked,

winding around the car.

“Me being Eli’s wingman at a club

tomorrow night,” Eli said.

“I mind.” Aiden crossed his arms. “I

mind a whole lot.”

With a frown, Eli gave Aiden a scowl

that made him cringe.

“Or . . . I could go with you both,”

Aiden said. “How about that?”

“Okay,” Eli said. “Should we meet at

Aiden’s

office

after

he’s

done

tomorrow? Maybe we can catch dinner
first. It would be stupid to drive thirty
minutes back home for dinner when
we’re in the city already.”

Martin frowned. I’m not sure how

well this is going to work out. If Eli
tries to help me, I could be in real
trouble. He has the relationship
abilities of a five-year-old. Still, Eli
was right about one thing. If he wanted
someone in his life, he was going to
have to start looking. He didn’t have the
right to say a thing about his lack of
relationship if he didn’t try.

* * * *

The next day, Martin walked into

Aiden’s office, which was now located
south of Arizona State University since
he had finished his study on twins. Now
he worked as a psychologist for family
problems on Cherry Wood Drive.

Martin parked his car outside the

small building, got out, and felt the
scorching sun sear his skin. He gazed
into the sun for a moment, felt a trickle
of sweat go down his face, and then he
shook his head and continued forward.
When he opened the door of Aiden’s
office, he was hit by a blast of cold air
that made him stop and take a deep
breath. When he went inside, Trinity,
Aiden’s plump, middle-aged assistant,
waved and grinned at him.

With a smile, he walked over to her.

“How are you doing, T?”

“Oh, you know,” Trinity said, “just

checking the magazines to see if there is
any questionable content. But enough
about me. Aiden tells me you’re going to
a hot bar tonight.”

Grimacing, Martin shook his head. He

knew Aiden wasn’t the type of man to go
blabbing his weekend plans all over the
place.

Somehow,

Trinity

knew

everything about everyone without
having to be told. If he didn’t know
better, he could have sworn she was
psychic.

“I don’t know if a bar is the right

place to look for what I want,” Martin
said honestly.

Trinity nodded with a knowing grin.

“Yeah, I go to bars a lot too. Of course,
they are the perfect place for what I
want. Fun all night and none of the
trouble in the morning.”

Martin chuckled. “I suppose there is

some truth to that.”

Though he wanted the trouble. Even

the way Eli had the power to glare at
Aiden and get whatever he wanted was
appealing.

“Well, if you do want to go out with

someone, I could set you up.” Trinity
frowned at her hands. “Though I don’t
know if now would be the right time.”

He raised an eyebrow. It was unlike

Trinity to be so close-lipped.

“Who is it?” Martin asked.
“My cousin, Terence, is coming to

live in Phoenix for the first time, and I
could set you up with him,” Trinity said.
“He’s an attractive guy. He’s around
your age—thirty-five, I think. He’s an
architect. He pays his bills on time, and
is funny without being a dick, and he’s

smart. I heard from my friend Alice he’s
hung like a horse, but I try not to think
about that.”

It sounded too good to be true. Plus,

he didn’t like the way Trinity had
hesitated to bring up Terence’s name.

“Okay, what’s the matter with him?”

Martin asked. “There is always a but in
situations like this that people don’t say.
He’s really smart, but he’s an egotistical
asshole. He’s sweet, but shows up at
your house and peers into your window
when you don’t answer the phone.
What’s this guy’s but?”

She grimaced. “He does have a but.”
“I knew it.” Martin sighed. “What is

it? Does he light fires to houses? Does
he always make the other man pay for

the check, even though you’re supposed
to split it?”

“I think I’m starting to get the picture

why you’re still single,” she said,
snorting. “Maybe you should stick with
just playing the horizontal limbo.”

Heat filled his face. Maybe she was

right. Maybe he was a bit too picky. The
only man he had met who fit his type to a
T was Aiden, and he wasn’t going there.
Maybe it had to do with the fact his only
serious boyfriend had been an asshole
who had ditched him to study abroad,
and Martin had vowed never to lower
his standards again after that.

“Okay, I’ll tell you Terence’s but,”

Trinity said, tearing him from his
thoughts. “Terence is bi, but he hasn’t

been with a man in eight years. He just
barely got divorced from his wife,
Crystal. He’s coming to Phoenix to
recover from it.”

“Oh

man.”

Martin

frowned.

“Emotional baggage overload.”

“I suppose.” She shrugged. “Crystal

cheated on him, but he didn’t appear
overly worked up about it. Of course,
that’s coming from my sister. It’s hard to
dig up dirt on someone when they’re all
the way in Rhode Island.”

“Uh-huh.”
“So do you want me to set you up, or

not?”

They were interrupted by Aiden

walking out of his office with his hands
in his pockets. As usual, he wore a pair

of black slacks and a blue shirt with gray
tie.

“Is that what you’re going to wear to a

bar?” Trinity asked.

“Yeah,” Aiden said, looking down.

“Is there something wrong with it?”

“That’s not what you wear to a bar,”

Trinity said. “You need a tight pair of
pants that show off your ass, and a T-
shirt that says hello to your abs.”

Frowning, Aiden glanced down at

himself. For a man who’d graduated
with a doctorate degree, he appeared
very confused by the fact he was dressed
all wrong for a club. As Aiden examined
himself, the front door opened, and Eli
came inside. Eli walked over and kissed
Aiden on the lips as if they hadn’t seen

each other in a year. Between Aiden and
his business attire and Eli and his hungry
mouth, Martin had a feeling he had the
worst wingmen ever.

“I think I’ll take that date,” Martin

said to Trinity.

“Good idea,” Trinity said. “The only

thing you’re going to get with those two
around is a headache.”

Chapter Two

When Martin drove to Trinity’s house,

he felt nervous and excited at the same
ti me. Don’t expect too much of this
date. Terence just barely got divorced,
and he’s been with a woman for years.
He’s likely not going to want much to
do with you romance-wise. Still, he
couldn’t help but feel excited. It had
been too long since he’d been on an
actual date.

After Trinity’s house came into view,

his thoughts about the date were driven
from his mind. It was a small two-
bedroom place in the middle of the
suburbs of Phoenix, made from stucco,
with a chain-link fence around it to keep

people out and her massive dog in.

Martin parked his car behind a silver

truck on the side of the road and climbed
out. The front door of Trinity’s house
opened, and a massive mixed-breed dog
with pricked ears and short dark-brown
hair came barreling outside the house.

“Hey, Bailey,” Martin said, walking

toward the fence.

Bailey wagged his tail and sat down,

and Martin opened the chain-link fence
just as Trinity came out the front door
with a shockingly good-looking man
behind her. The man had dark auburn
hair, a thin build, and bright blue eyes.
He wore a suit and black shoes, and
when he smiled nervously at Martin,
Martin saw dimples on his cheeks. Upon

seeing the smile, Martin felt his heart
speed up.

Good Lord, I thought Aiden was

attractive. This guy makes him look like
a hobo. He gulped and walked up to
Trinity. This man had the sort of
attractiveness that immediately made
Martin feel intimidated.

“Hey, Martin,” Trinity said. “Traffic

okay?”

“The traffic was fine,” Martin said,

unable to tear his eyes away from the
gorgeous Terence.

“Good. Well, Martin, this is Terence.

Terence, this is Martin. He’ll be your
tour guide this evening along with . . .
well . . .” Trinity winked at Terence.

Ignoring her, Terence extended his

hand. “Hi, I’m Terence. Nice to meet
you.”

“Martin,” he grunted, grateful his

voice didn’t come out in a pubescent
squeak.

“Well, I’ll leave you two to it, then,”

Trinity said. “Have fun, and be careful. I
won’t wait up.”

Then Trinity sent them a sneaky smile

and disappeared in her house before
Martin could blink.

Now it was just him and Terence in

the front yard. Bailey sat beside him and
started to lick his hand, and he dragged
his eyes away from Terence and petted
Bailey, if only to ease the tension.

“This is awkward,” Terence said.
Martin frowned. “Yeah, it kind of is. I

haven’t really done the blind date thing
before. I usually get my own dates. Not
that I’ve had many lately.”

“What a pair we make, then,” Terence

said. “I haven’t had a date in years. Not
that my wife hasn’t.”

Okay, now it’s really awkward. Why

did he bring that up? But when he
looked at Terence, Martin realized he
wasn’t frowning or upset about things
like he thought. There was a spark of
humor in Terence’s eyes, and Martin
realized he was kidding.

“I’m sorry,” Terence said, because

Martin didn’t laugh. “Trinity said you
might feel awkward that I just got
divorced, so I thought I’d liven the
mood.”

“Right,” Martin said, smiling.
Once again, silence fell.
“Tell you what,” Terence said. “Let’s

go out to dinner.”

“Great,” Martin said. “What did you

have in mind? Chinese, Mexican?”

“I’m new to Phoenix,” Terence said.

“Wherever you think will be good will
be just fine.”

A romantic restaurant that was family

run came to mind. Yes, the place was
small and had a tendency to be
overcrowded because of the good food,
but he didn’t think he would mind
waiting with Terence.

* * * *

Terence and Martin sat in the

restaurant, eating. Martin took a big bite
of his steak, and rich, salty flavor filled
his mouth. Terence, who took a bit
longer unwrapping his utensil bundle,
looked down at the bread and the heap
of linguini smothered in garlic herb
sauce with an eager smile on his face.
With a grin, he picked up his fork, spun
it around in his noodles, and took a big
bite.

A shocked looked crossed his face as

he said, “Mmmmm. God, this is good.”

“It is, isn’t it?” Martin asked.
“It is,” Terence said, putting down

His fork as his eyes glowed brightly.
“Delicious. But nothing beats the food I
had in France.”

“France?” Martin asked, filled with

envy. “You went to France?”

Nodding, Terence grinned at him. “I

love the buildings and the museums. You
ever been?”

“I’ve

always

wanted

live

somewhere in Europe, actually,” Martin
said. “I bet it would be amazing to
photograph.”

“Why don’t you?” Terence asked.

“You could. You’re a photographer and
own your own business. You could sell
postcards. Or you could do weddings or
whatever you wanted. Everybody needs
pictures, and Trinity showed me some of
yours. You’re amazing.”

There was a reason why he never left

the state of Arizona. His family, despite
their dysfunctions, meant a lot to him. He

wasn’t sure he could handle living apart
from them halfway across the world.
That meant no family holiday meals and
no weekly barbecues. Plus, his dad had
a baby on the way, and while he knew
his dad would bring the baby to visit
Arizona, he wouldn’t do that if he lived
in Spain or France.

“Martin?” Terence raised an eyebrow

and then took another bite.

“My family,” Martin said. “I love

them. I have a twin brother, too. Since
you don’t have a twin, you wouldn’t
know this, but we’re really connected in
strange ways. I can’t even describe how
close we are.”

“Mmm,” Terence said. “I never had

that problem. My family has never been

close. We all moved away from each
other as fast as we could.”

“Was it hard for you to move away

from your ex-wife?” he said before
realizing he had made a mistake.

“Nah, that was the easiest move of

all,” Terence said. “We fought for a long
time. She worshipped money, and I
didn’t have any.”

“I thought you were an architect,”

Martin said, surprised.

“I am,” Terence said. “It took me a bit

longer than most to get out of school,
though. I have quite a few student loans.
One hundred thousand dollars’ worth, to
be exact. She wanted to get a boat. I
wanted to pay everything off. That was
the fight that started everything. Next

thing I know, we’re splitting things fifty-
fifty—she gets the inside of the house,
and I get the outside of it.”

Martin snorted. “If you two had such

differences, why did you get married to
begin with?”

“I married her when I was in college.

I thought we were in love, but after we
were actually married, I realized it was
lust instead,” he said. “I think it was the
same problem with her. We were just
being stubborn, sticking it out for so
long.”

“Oh, right,” Martin said. “And . . .”
No, don’t bring up his feelings on

other men now. This is the first date, if
this even is a date at all. Maybe
Terence thinks we’re just friends. He

frowned and stared out the window and
into the street.

“You okay?” Terence asked.
“I’m fine.” Martin smiled at him. “I

was just looking at the bar across the
street. I can see into the window, and it
looks like they’re having a band play.”

“We should go,” Terence said. “It’s

been ages since I’ve seen a band.”

“They could be shitty.”
“Yeah, well, get drunk enough and any

band will sound like the Rolling
Stones,” Terence said. “You with me, or
what?”

A grin crossed Martin’s face. There

was

something

wonderful

about

Terence. His heart pounded faster, and
he nodded.

* * * *

That night, Martin and Terence sat in

a cab on the way home from the bar.
Both of them swayed as the cab moved,
and Martin’s sides felt sore from all the
laughing he had done with Terence. He
smirked and laid his head back.
Tomorrow, it sure is going to be a pain
in the ass getting my car at the
restaurant, but I suppose that’s what I
get for drinking too much.

As the car drew closer to Trinity’s

house, Terence put his hand on Martin’s
leg and slowly trailed it up his thigh.
Martin, shocked, swiveled in his seat
and saw that Terence looked straight
ahead, smirking. This was the first
physical contact he had had all night

with Terence, and it definitely wasn’t in
the “just friends” area. As Terence drew
his hand up to Martin’s fly and paused,
he felt his cock swell and gulped.

Martin turned toward Terence, and

Terence looked back at him. A grin
crossed Terence’s face, and Martin
grinned back. The alcohol had made him
giddy, and he thought, What the hell?
Who cares if I’m getting a hard-on just
because Terence is touching my thigh?
He leaned against Terence, and their
thighs brushed, causing heat and sparks
to flow through him. Suddenly, it didn’t
matter that the taxi driver looked at them
through the rearview mirror. It didn’t
matter this was the first date and he
really should have tried to show some

form of self-control. All Martin wanted
was Terence’s hand in his pants and his
mouth crushing his.

With his heart pounding harder and

his breathing increasing, Martin dropped
his eyes to Terence’s mouth and licked
his own lips. Terence got the signal,
unbuckled his seat belt, and didn’t wait a
second more to answer his silent cry.
Terence’s lips crashed over his own,
hungrily. Martin could taste beer on
Terence’s lips and felt his tongue push
into his mouth roughly. The strength of
Terence’s body drove Martin against the
door, causing the handle to drive into the
small of his back and the seat belt to
lock around him, though he didn’t care.
Terence groaned in want against his lips,

and Martin could feel his hard cock push
against his thigh.

As Terence overcame him, his tongue

massaging Martin’s own and his breath
coming in short, desperate gasps, Martin
ran his hands down Terence’s muscles
and had an urge to remove Terence’s
shirt and let it be skin on skin,
horizontal, forever. He didn’t give a
damn if he was top or bottom, as long as
they were intertwined. In desperation,
Martin curled his hand into Terence’s
hair and gripped, and with his other
hand, he pushed at the bottom of
Terence’s shirt.

Finally, Terence had the sense to pull

away. Martin remembered they were in
a taxi and that they had an audience. He

also remembered it really was a first
blind date and he shouldn’t have
behaved like a straight pubescent
teenager trying to touch his first set of
breasts. Never before, not even with his
first boyfriend, had he acted this way or
felt this sense of urgency, even while
drunk. It made whatever feelings he had
for Aiden feel paltry.

When Terence gazed down at him,

eyes shocked and wanting, Martin
realized Terence felt this desperate
hunger too. When Martin dropped his
eyes, he saw that Terence had made a
tent in his pants he tried to conceal by
putting his hand over it. While Martin
liked the intensity, he was scared of it
too. If he felt this strong about Terence

now, how would he feel about him later?
The idea of feeling any more passion for
Terence was daunting. That would give
him too much power over him, more
power than he liked.

Terence cut through his thoughts,

smiling shyly and showing off his
attractive

dimples. Oh God, those

dimples. Martin could have come after
just seeing them. How could any one
man be so gorgeous?

“Martin,” Terence said, “I know I’m

staying with Trinity until I get my own
house or apartment, so I can’t invite you
over today without feeling awkward
about it, but I think I can get some good
tickets for this Tuesday to see the
Phoenix Suns. Do you . . . Do you like

basketball?”

At that moment, Martin realized

Terence had asked him a lot more than
“Do you like basketball?”

Terence was asking him what he

thought about the kiss, what he thought
a b o ut them. He had to choose now
whether he allowed himself to give in to
these powerful emotions and possibly
get run over by them later, or give them
up now before they had the potential to
crush the heart.

What the hell, he only lived once.
“I love basketball,” Martin said.
Terence smiled so brightly at that

moment, it had the potential to blind him.

Chapter Three

On Monday night, Martin felt both

excited and nervous. Unlike with most
men, he didn’t know what to expect from
Terence with the strong emotions that
coursed through him just upon locking
eyes. Even now, after just one date, it
felt like so much had changed. As Martin
sat at Eli’s dinner table eating steak, he
didn’t feel annoyed at Eli and Aiden as
they held hands and cast each other
affectionate looks across the table.

A relationship like that was now a

possibility for him. Was that what they
felt for one another, the intenseness he
felt for Terence? No wonder Aiden had
chosen Eli over him if he had felt so

strongly for Eli upon the first meeting.
As Martin watched them, Eli finally
turned away from Aiden and glanced at
him in concern.

“You okay?” Eli asked. “You aren’t

cracking up on me, are you? Don’t throw
the dinnerware if you do. We just bought
it.”

Once again, Eli sent Aiden an

affectionate look. Heaven help him if he
destroyed their first “together” set. They
were like a newly married couple. That
thought made him crack a grin he could
have never managed before.

“I think I might be cracking up,”

Martin said, “but in a good way. How
did you feel when you two first met each
other?”

Eli and Aiden exchanged glances

again, but this time their looks were of
confusion.

“Well, I was drawn to Eli, though I

didn’t have any idea why,” Aiden said.
“You two both appeared physically the
same, but I just wanted Eli. But why are
you asking this? You know how it went.”

“I think I may be going through the

same thing.” Martin frowned at his food.
“I think I might be going crazy.”

“Okay,” Eli said. “I don’t know

what’s going on, but I am going to give
you the same advice you gave me back
then, and I hope it helps. Man up and
grow some balls.”

Martin looked up and cracked a grin.

“That helps in a really weird way.

Thanks, Eli. You’re such a good
brother.”

With a confused look on his face,

Aiden glanced from Eli to him and then
back again. Man, it must suck to be an
only child.

* * * *

Martin manned up and grew some

balls. There was no use being nervous
about what he couldn’t control. He had
even managed to distract himself from
the date until fifty minutes till, when he
had to get ready. Now, as he stood at the
stadium and fished his way through the
crowd, he felt his heart thud with
nervousness and yet more excitement.

“Hey, Martin,” said a loud voice.

Terence’s. “Over here.”

Whipping around, Martin looked

through the crowd in the filled parking
lot and spotted Terence lingering by his
car. When their eyes met, Martin felt that
same feeling of hot attraction, and his
mouth went dry. All it took was one
flash of those gorgeous dimples, and he
was gone. Good Lord, it wasn’t fair.

Martin waded his way to Terence,

and Terence smiled at him and stepped
in closer. The smell of Terence’s
cologne, something musky and spicy,
filled his nostrils, and he inhaled and
enjoyed the wondrous smell. Before he
had time to say anything more, Terence
wrapped his arm around Martin’s back
and forced their bodies together so that

way they were hip to hip, chest to chest.

Martin’s breath escaped him as he

gazed up into Terence’s gorgeous,
dimpled face. It was like peering straight
at Adonis.

“I know we have only gone out once,

but I haven’t been able to stop thinking
about you,” Terence said.

“Me either,” Martin said.
Then a wave of that same attraction

hit, and he stepped in, put his leg
between Terence’s, and pushed him
against the side of the car with an umph.
He heard people gasp, but didn’t care.
Instead, he pushed his tongue into
Terence’s mouth, traced his muscular
pecs, and felt his cock grow hot as
Terence dropped his hand and cupped

his ass cheek with his hand and then
gave it a hard squeeze. A moment later,
they broke apart, once again breathless.

“Best hello I’ve ever gotten,” Terence

said, grinning at him and still holding his
ass.

“Just wait until you see my good-

byes.” Martin winked.

* * * *

That night, Terence and Martin sat on

the trunk of Terence’s car in a vacant
parking lot near the stadium. The stars
were out and shining bright, and nobody
was around but the two of them.

“Let me guess,” Martin said. “This is

how you scored with your ex-wife. If
you wanted to get me into bed, you

didn’t have to do the romantic stargazing
thing. All you had to do was just ask.”

Terence silently took Martin’s hand

and pulled it into his lap, massaging the
top of his skin. Finally, he responded, “I
am not trying to try to impress you to
fuck you. I just thought, as a
photographer, you would appreciate the
view. I haven’t been able to sleep much
here in Phoenix. I have a lot to worry
about, what with all the changes going
on in my life. I drove here and saw how
calm and beautiful it was. Want to know
what I thought the first time I came
here?”

“What?” Martin gazed at him with

burning curiosity.

Terence smiled. “I thought, I bet

Martin would love this. You’re a
photographer. I know you have to see the
world as a work of art. I think that’s
amazing. Am I wrong?”

This was the first time somebody

understood. To him, everything really
was a work of art. Every moment was a
possibility to freeze it and capture its
perfection. Just like this. Terence’s
words made him feel like a royal ass for
believing it was a ploy to get him into
bed.

“You’re right,” Martin said. “I’m

sorry.”

“Don’t apologize,” Terence said,

smiling at him.

The look of Terence, so calm and

understanding, had his heart pounding

hard.

“God, how could anyone cheat on

somebody like you?” Martin asked
before he could stop himself.

A slow smile crossed Terence’s face,

and he lay back and gazed upward.

“It really wasn’t Crystal’s fault,”

Terence said. “I cheated first with my
mind. I may have never physically
touched

anyone

else

during

our

marriage, but the honest-to-God truth is,
I knew something else better was out
there. If you’re married to someone who
is supposed to be your always, that isn’t
right. You know what I felt when she
cheated and I knew I would have an
excuse to leave her?”

“What?” Martin asked.

“I felt relieved,” Terence said. “I

should have been the brave one and
ended it before it got that far, but I had to
let her do the dirty work and be the bad
guy. The truth was, our marriage was
over for at least five years. We just were
both stubborn, and she finally gave in.”

“I see,” Martin said, stunned by

Terence’s honesty.

Terence rolled on his side and gazed

at Martin. “Do I disgust you?” he asked.
“I don’t know why I’m blurting all this
out. I’ve never told it to anyone.”

“No,” Martin said. “I’ve thought

things about my brother I . . .”

Patiently, Terence looked at him, and

Martin was stunned by Terence’s ability
to be so calm and understanding. He felt

like he could have poured out every last
fucked-up thought he had ever had and
Terence would just give him another one
of his dimpled smiles. God, he loved
those dimples.

Martin shifted until they were face to

face, nose to nose.

“I love my brother, but sometimes I

loathe him and wish the ground would
suck him up,” Martin said. “Three years
ago, I was interested in his lifetime
partner that he’s with. I helped them get
together, but I still felt so angry. Now,
they’re perfect together. They act like
every second they don’t spend touching
one another is a moment wasted.”

A sad look crossed Terence’s face.

“And you hate him because you wish you

were with his lover?”

“No.” Martin frowned. “Only at first,

until I saw how perfect they were
together. Now I’m angry he has it all
worked out. I am a selfish dick too. I
was always the one who had long-term
relationships and admitted to being
attracted to men, while he slept with
every female in sight and then just
stumbled upon the person he was
supposed to end up with and everything
worked out, even when he ran away.”

“I can understand why that would be

frustrating for you,” Terence said.

“Of course, things were different last

night,” Martin said nervously, unsure if
he wanted to share this information.

“How so?” Terence propped himself

up on his elbow.

“For the first time, I didn’t feel

jealous of how perfect they were.”
Martin propped himself up on his elbow
too. “Instead I felt hopeful. Hopeful that
maybe I had found somebody I could be
like that with.”

Instead of running for the hills like

Martin expected Terence might, crinkles
appeared at the sides of his eyes as he
gave Martin yet another gorgeous
dimpled grin. Sparks flew, and Martin
felt even more hope. Judging by
Terence’s smile, he felt the heat and
magic between them too. He had to have.
It was impossible to ignore, like a raging
fire or a churning ocean.

“What changed?” Terence asked,

though he probably knew because he
cupped Martin’s cheek and caressed it
with his thumb.

“You showed up,” Martin said. “Does

the fact I am that attracted to you after
one date scare you?”

“It’s two dates now,” Terence said

teasingly.

Chuckling, Martin nodded. “So it is.”
Suddenly, Terence became sober

again. “But I’m glad to hear you say that,
because . . . I feel more strongly about
you than I ever have about anyone. Even
my ex-wife, who I married at the drop of
the hat. If you didn’t feel so attracted to
me, then I would be scared.”

Both of them smiled at each other, and

Terence leaned forward and kissed his

lips, hard. Martin drank in the wideness
of Terence’s mouth and the feel of his
stubble on his chin. It felt so good he
shuddered. Without waiting for an
invitation, Terence plunged his tongue
into Martin’s mouth and soothed his
tongue with his own. Martin groaned
against Terence’s lips, unbelieving of
how good it felt to have his tongue in his
mouth.

Martin inched closer and moved so

they lay so close their erect cocks
brushed one another. Gently, Terence
pushed him so he was on his back on the
trunk and then pushed his knee between
his legs and leaned over him so he was
partially on top of him. Once again,
Terence covered Martin’s mouth with

his, and Martin plunged in with his
tongue as he reached underneath his shirt
and raked Martin’s chest with his nails.
It felt so good that Martin squirmed.

Terence broke free and then kissed his

way to Martin’s ear, taking the lobe
between his teeth and teasing it. As
Martin tilted his head to give Terence
more room, Terence kissed his way
down his jawline and then down his
neck, where he nibbled and bit at the
skin there. Martin’s fingers curled in
Terence’s hair as chills of pleasure went
down his spine.

After a few minutes of sucking and

kissing, Terence pulled off him and
removed Martin’s shirt and tossed it to
the ground. Martin realized he wanted to

see more of Terence too and unbuttoned
the front of his shirt. When Martin
pushed past Terence’s shirt, he saw a
pale, freckled chest with a dusting of
bright red hair. Martin looked at the hair
on Terence’s head and then down at the
fine downy hair on his chest.

“I was really redheaded as a child,”

Terence said. “My hair changed and got
darker, but the hair on my chest stayed
bright red. Guess it’s like those people
with beards that are red who have
brunette hair. Is it a turnoff?”

“Nothing about you could turn me

off,” Martin said honestly. At that
moment, red chest hair was in the same
caliber as washboard abs.

With a grin, Martin burrowed his face

into Terence’s chest hair and began to
kiss his way down. His skin smelled
amazing. Martin knew it wasn’t a
cologne or body wash. It was just
Terence. Martin could have bathed in
Terence’s scent and only wished he
could replicate it.

Martin kissed his way down to

Terence’s pants and then tugged at the
fly. Before he could get it open, Terence
grabbed his hand and stopped him.

“If we’re going to do this, let’s move

to inside the car,” he said. “On the off
chance somebody does come, I don’t
want them to see us on the hood.”

“Yeah,” Martin said, heat filling his

face. He had been so lost in the intensity
he had even forgotten they were outside.

At that moment, he could have made
love to Terence in a garbage can.

After sliding off of the car, Terence

walked to the door of the back door of
the car and opened it. He got in and sat
down. Martin followed after him and
peered inside. There wasn’t much room.

“Come here.” With his index finger,

Terence beckoned Martin inside with a
waggle.

“Where?” Martin looked around.
“Right here.” Patting his lap, Terence

grinned.

Once again, Martin was seduced by

those dimples. He climbed on top of
Terence and straddled him.

Terence slammed the car door shut,

and starless darkness overwhelmed him.

All misgivings went away. Why had he
worried about the lack of room? Now,
he and Terence had to be as close
together as possible, and that was just
what he wanted them to be.

Martin bent his head and kissed

Terence, their bare chests brushing,
shoved his tongue into Terence’s mouth
and wiggled his hips so their cocks
brushed against one another. Terence
groaned against his lips and then
fumbled with Martin’s fly. Knowing
there was no way he’d be able to get his
pants off in the position he was in,
Martin slid off of Terence and pulled his
pants and underwear off in the seat
beside him and tossed them on the floor.
Martin’s cock sprung full mast, his

clean-shaven balls the size of fists
supporting a long, full shaft.

Terence stared at him, and Martin felt

self-conscious. He’s been with a woman
for so many years. My body isn’t soft
like a woman’s would be. Maybe he’s
going to back out. If he did, Martin
wouldn’t blame him.

“You’ve got an amazing body,”

Terence said, sounding so awed Martin
knew he meant it.

“Thanks,” Martin said.
Pivoting, Terence got on his knees on

top of the seat and then bent down
sideways over Martin’s cock. Martin
was so shocked he gasped as Terence
lapped at his tip hungrily. Terence
pulled away and turned his head so he

could partially look at him.

“This is my favorite body part,

though,” Terence said.

Then Terence turned his head forward

again and moved his head over Martin’s
cock, devouring him all the way to his
balls. Martin groaned, shut his eyes, and
threw his head back as pleasure filled
his body as he felt Terence’s wet, hot
tongue lick the underside of his swollen
cock. As Terence did this, he massaged
the base of his shaft with his hands.
Martin tangled his hand in Terence’s
hair as Terence bobbed over him again
and again, filling his balls with spasms
of pleasure.

Too soon, he felt as if he were going

to come. Never before had he wanted to

blow so fast. It was probably Terence,
who had the sucking power of a vacuum.
Martin draped his hand over his sweat-
drenched face and shuddered. Just
before Martin came, Terence pulled off
of him and then began to kiss his balls
and thighs, though the only place Martin
wanted him was over his cock again.

Terence pulled away from him and

then unzipped his own fly and pulled his
pants down his legs. He then did the
same with his boxer shorts and threw
them to the floor. It was Martin’s turn to
examine Terence. Like him, Terence
kept his balls trimmed, but there was
enough downy hair left to reveal that,
unlike his chest hair, the hair on his balls
was the color of that on his head. Unlike

his thin body, Terence’s shaft was
abnormally fat.

Reaching out, Martin took Terence’s

shaft in his hand and let out a sigh of
pleasure as he felt the hot, veiny skin. It
felt so good against his hand. Martin
tightened his hold on it and then began to
move his hand up and down over the
shaft as Terence squirmed and groaned
in his seat. A grin crossed Martin’s face
as he continued to pump Terence’s cock
in pleasure.

“That feels so good,” Terence said,

shuddering.

Martin pumped at Terence’s hard

shaft until Terence pushed him away.
When Martin pulled his hand away,
damp from pre-come, Terence panted,

and a dribble of sweat ran down his
face.

“After how we were all over each

other on our last date, I brought
lubricant, just in case,” Terence said. “I
hope that’s okay.”

Nodding, Martin shuddered. “I’m glad

you did. I didn’t dare to hope.”

Bending down, Terence grabbed his

jeans on the floor and fumbled around in
his pocket. He pulled out a bottle of
lubricant.

“Squat in front of me,” he demanded.
Guess that means I’m the bottom. But

Martin didn’t care. He didn’t even care
Terence demanded it of him. In fact, the
way Terence knew what he wanted
made Martin get even more turned on.

Terence obviously was a strong man
who knew exactly how he wanted his
partners, and that had always been a trait
Martin loved.

Martin got up and grabbed the

headrest of the seat in front of him and
bent so his ass was in Terence’s face.
He felt Terence’s hand pull apart his
cheeks, and then Terence traced the
outside of his hole. It’s been a while
since

I’ve

bottomed.

His

hole

immediately tensed in response to the
touch.

“You all right?” Terence asked.

“Your muscles got tight. Do you want to
stop? Or did you want to be the one to
do it?”

“I’m okay,” Martin said.

“Maybe sit down,” Terence said.
Before Martin could ask where,

Terence spread his legs, and Martin was
pulled onto the small space of seat
between them, with Terence’s cock’s
head pressing into the small of his back.
Before Martin could ask what he was
doing, he felt Terence kiss his neck and
then his ears. Terence continued to
soothe his face with his mouth until he
felt completely relaxed.

When Terence’s hand wandered

toward his ass cheek, Martin balanced
on his legs in a low squat, and Terence
slipped his lubricant-covered finger into
his hole. He felt his muscles tighten, but
as Terence moved his finger in and out
of him, he also used his other hand to

soothe his back and scratch him from
shoulder down to lower back. Martin
shut his eyes and laid his head on the
headrest as Terence stretched him out,
bit by bit.

“Here,” Terence said, standing up and

then pressing his cock’s head against
Martin’s hole. In the cramped space of
the car, it felt like the world consisted of
just him and Terence. Even the windows
had begun to fog.

Terence pressed his cock’s head

against Martin’s hole, and Martin’s body
ached as it stretched.

Immediately, Terence pulled back and

then pushed his lubricant-covered finger
into Martin’s hole again, all the while
kissing his neck, shoulders, and ear,

soothing him and making him groan.

When Terence pushed his cock

against his hole again, Martin stuck out
his ass and waited. Terence’s cock
plunged in part of the way, but once
again, it made Martin uncomfortable,
and he grunted.

Terence pulled out at once and began

to kiss his shoulders as he moved his
finger in and out, preparing him for
entrance.

Finally, Terence pushed his cock

against Martin’s hole again, and his cock
slid in past the ring of muscle and then
all the way inside him. Martin groaned
as pleasure filled him, and he had to
grab on to the headrest in front of him for
support. He felt the car move from side

to side as he did this.

“Sit down with me,”

Terence

whispered in his ear.

Terence sat, and Martin eased himself

down, spread his ass cheeks using his
hands, and then steered himself over
Terence’s cock. He felt Terrence’s cock
press against his hole again, and then, as
he sat, it slid inside of him, deeper and
deeper. Once Martin was all the way
down, he shuddered and arched his
back. He began to lose focus on reality
again, but he did notice when Terence
grabbed his cock and then began to move
underneath him.

Shuddering, Martin began to go up

and down over Terence’s cock, the hot
friction making him groan with every

movement. Terence pulled at Martin’s
cock to his rhythm. Soon Martin moved
faster and faster, desperate to have as
much heat inside of him as possible.

Eventually, Martin stopped moving up

and down over Terence’s cock and sat
down again and began to swivel his hips
instead. Terence groaned and wrapped
his hands around his hips, holding him
down hard. Martin shivered, feeling
anticipation build in his balls as he got
closer and closer to coming.

Just as Martin was about to come,

Terence pushed him upward. Shocked,
Martin grabbed on to the headrest in
front of him for support. Terence stood
up behind him, pressed his cock into
Martin’s hole again, and then wrapped

his hand around Martin’s waist and
grabbed his cock once more.

Terence, grunting, began to give fast,

shallow, desperate thrusts as he breathed
into Martin’s ear.

“You’re

amazing,”

Terence

whispered. “So amazing.”

Martin was in the midst of so much

pleasure he couldn’t even come up with
an intelligent reply.

A second before Martin came,

Terence said, “I’m so glad I met you,
Martin.”

Whether it was the words or

Terence’s cock driving into his ass,
Martin felt an explosion occur, and his
cock shot off come and doused the back
of Terence’s seat. Terence was a few

seconds behind him and pulled out just
before he came into Martin. Instead,
Terence shot come all over Martin’s
lower back.

Martin leaned his head against the

headrest in front of him and said, “God.
Oh God.”

Terence sat down in the seat, panting,

and then pulled Martin onto his lap.
Once Martin was there, he swiveled
sideways so he could look into
Terence’s face. In Terence’s eyes,
Martin could see the same adoration that
Aiden and Eli always held for each
other.

“You are so amazing,” Terence

repeated.

“So are you.” Martin pressed his hand

to Terence’s cheek.

The two of them shared a hot, tongue-

filled kiss and then nuzzled one another.
Martin felt like he had enough of an
adrenaline rush to last him a week. The
moment was broken when Terence
chuckled.

Martin opened his eyes. “What’s so

funny?”

“We steamed up all the windows.”

Terence nuzzled him again. “We must be
a pretty hot couple.”

Turning, Martin looked around the car

and saw that every window was covered
in a cloak of white.

He grinned and then leaned his head

against Terence’s shoulder, comfortable
with the idea of remaining there all

night.

Chapter Four

Martin sat in front of the television at

his weekly get-together with Eli and
Aiden, beaming. Eli was getting some
beers and raiding the refrigerator for
salsa, and Aiden sat next to Martin,
watching a basketball game while
appearing as though he would rather
have been enduring an enema. At
Aiden’s side, Dakota, his rabbit, sat next
to Scooter, Eli’s fat cat. It was truly a
family affair.

An allergy commercial played, and

Aiden turned and glanced at Martin.
“You look happy,” he said.

“I am happy,” Martin said.
“I’m glad. You deserve it.”

When Aiden gave him a crooked

smile that once would have made his
heart pound, he didn’t even feel a small
dose of attraction. Sure, Aiden would
always be gorgeous with his chiseled
features, but it was different now. Martin
realized all he wanted was Terence.
Maybe the four of them could double-
date sometime.

“When are you seeing him again?”

Aiden asked, pulling him from his
thoughts.

“Tomorrow night because Trinity is

out of town for the weekend. He wants
me to come with him to look at
apartments,” Martin said. “It’s hard to
imagine we only just met three weeks
ago. It’s too easy to be with him. Like

we’ve known each other for ages.”

Eli padded into the room, holding

beers and a jar of cheese dip and a
second jar of salsa.

“What are you two talking about?” Eli

asked, but Martin noted his gaze was
mostly on him. Martin took it to mean
“You are looking a little too cozy with
my lover, you asshole.”

“Here,” Martin said, scooting so Eli

could sit between him and Aiden.

Relief crossed Eli’s face, and he sat

down and put the dips on the table next
to the chips. Eli lifted his arm and pulled
Aiden underneath it, and suddenly,
Aiden didn’t appear as though watching
a sports game was so bad.

* * * *

The next night, Martin arrived at

Trinity’s house with a bottle of scotch
and a grin. When he knocked on the
door, there was the sound of loud
barking and then Terence said, “All
right. All right. Cool it, girl.” The door
opened, and Terence gazed at him from
inside. He was not smiling, which
caused Martin to pause.

“Hey,” Martin said.
“Hey.” Terence’s voice had a

worried edge to it.

“Is everything all right?” Martin

asked. “You look, well, almost unhappy
to see me.”

“I could never be unhappy to see

you,” Terence said, and then he stepped

out onto the stoop and pulled him into an
embrace.

When Terence tilted his mouth and

covered Martin’s own, Terence pressed
them together so hard it hurt, as if he
hoped to make them stick if he pushed
hard enough. Ouch. What is he trying to
do, suffocate me? Martin shoved at
Terence’s

shoulder,

and

Terence

released him. Martin rubbed his jaw and
then raised an eyebrow at Terence.

“Too much?” Terence asked guiltily.

“I just wanted to show I really am happy
to see you.”

“I’m a fan of passionate kisses as

much as the next guy,” Martin said, “but
that felt like you wanted to cement our
jaws together. Tell me what’s wrong.

There is obviously something up.”

Terence sighed. “I hoped to do this

over dinner, but, well, you better come
in.”

Stepping to the side, Terence allowed

him through the door. Bailey sat beside
him panting, his tail wagging in
excitement. For once, Martin didn’t even
bother to greet him.

With his heart pounding, Martin

walked down the hallway, feeling sick.
Was Terence going to break up with
him? Had he done something wrong? He
wished Terence would have just put him
out of his misery at the threshold of the
door. Then again, Terence had kissed
him hello, so that had to have meant
something, right? As Martin’s thoughts

did cartwheels in his head, Terence
grabbed his arm and steered him toward
the living room.

“In here,” Terence said, pulling him

farther down the hallway and then to the
right.

They entered Trinity’s living room,

which had a fat red couch covered in
dog hair, and a wooden table with a
small television in front of it. There was
a bookcase, but it held books that were
dusty and untouched, as if they were just
for show. Martin padded over to the
couch, ignoring the dog hair, and sat
down. Terence sat next to him and
grabbed his hand, holding it.

“Martin, I’ve got some bad news,”

Terence said.

Oh God, he really is ending it. I

thought we were amazing together. I
don’t understand why.

“Okay,” Martin said, feeling as if

Terence had punched him in the heart,
even though he had yet to say what was
wrong.

“I thought I would be working here in

Phoenix, but I’m being transferred
someplace else instead,” Terence said.

There was silence. He’s leaving?

Martin didn’t know whether this was
worse or better than them breaking up.
He didn’t know whether this was it for
them, either.

“Where?” Martin grunted.
“Denmark,” Terence said. “They want

me to design a building for the U.S.

government. It’s a big deal. I . . . didn’t
expect this to happen, Martin.”

This was familiar. He had endured

this once before, when his boyfriend of
two years had left him to study
mechanical engineering in Chicago.
Chicago had actually been Boston, and
mechanical engineering had actually
been another guy named Craig.

“I see.” Martin glanced down at his

sweaty hands. “Is this it for us?”

Terence squeezed his hand. “I know

this is sudden, Martin. I know we’ve
only been together for three weeks, but .
. .”

“But?” Martin raised an eyebrow.
“Come with me,” Terence said. “My

company will give us an apartment in

Denmark. You can be a photographer
there. I know it is asking a lot for you to
uproot yourself, especially for someone
you’ve only just met, but I want you to
come with me. I just plain want you,
Martin.”

Silence filled the room as Martin

continued to stare at his hands in shock.
Go? With Terence? He thought of Eli,
the brother who was as a part of him as
his own skin. He thought of his mom,
who he went to have lunch with every
Sunday. He had a steady list of clients
here, a house, and his pets, Jasper and
Go-Go. His entire life had been built
around this place.

But that meant he was going to lose

Terence, didn’t it? That meant he was

going to lose the only man who had ever
managed to stir his heart so much so
quickly. The idea made him want to
smash a plate against a wall. It didn’t
feel fair that the universe had given him
a taste of someone he cared for so much
and then yanked him away. Son of a
bitch. He bit his bottom lip.

“I can’t go, Terence,” Martin said. “I

am so sorry, but I have too much here.”

“If you can’t go and I can’t stay, what

are we going to do?” Terence asked
quietly. Martin could hear the sadness in
his voice and knew Terence hated this as
much as he did. That did little to comfort
him when he felt his heart fill with
searing pain, though.

“I guess this will be it for us,” Martin

said, his heart thundering. He couldn’t
believe he was the one saying it, when
his heart screamed it wanted the
opposite. “We can’t be together.”

“No,” Terence said. “I’m not going to

accept that. We can try long-distance.
Let’s just not end it like this.”

“You know long-distance doesn’t

work,” Martin said, his mind filling with
memories. “We’d just end up falling out,
and it would hurt more because we drew
it out.”

“Hurt more than this?” Terence asked.

“I was married for eight years, but I am
sicker about this after three weeks of
dating than I was about my divorce. We
can be something important, Martin.
Don’t give it up just because of

something so stupid.”

“You cannot ask me to give up

everything for you,” Martin said, leaping
to his feet and shaking. “You can’t.”

“It wouldn’t have to be everything,”

Terence said. “You can keep everything
and put it on hold. We can come back. I
just don’t want to lose you.”

“You don’t know what you’re asking

of me,” Martin said, his voice filling
with anger. “You said you never had a
family that cared you left. Well, I do. I
have a twin brother who I love, a mom
who needs me, and good friends that
care. I wouldn’t be the same without
them around. I wouldn’t.”

Instead of fighting back, Terence

stared at him silently.

“Aren’t you going to say something?”

Martin asked.

“It looks like you’ve already made up

your mind,” Terence said. “There is
nothing for me to say.”

Both of them stared at each other for a

moment, and then Martin turned and
headed for the door. When he got to his
car, he was shaking. What did I just do?
This could have been my only chance
for real love.

Chapter Five

Martin sat in his living room on his

sofa and stared at the wall. When was
Terence going to leave Phoenix?
Someday soon? He guessed so. The idea
of Terence leaving made him feel like
punching a hole through his wall, but
what good would that do? He’d have to
call Eli over to fix it, and then Eli would
badger him about what was going on and
tell him to man up. He wasn’t in the
mood.

As Martin stared at the wall, he felt

his phone buzz in his pocket. He pulled
it out and then pressed it to his ear.

“Hello?” Martin asked dully.
“Martin?” Aiden asked, sounding

surprised. “You all right?”

No, I’m not all right. I’m not all

right at all. But he didn’t want to say
that. Aiden had a bad habit of telling
every insignificant detail of his life to
Eli, and he wasn’t sure he was ready to
face Eli yet. He imagined he would say,
“You knew the guy three weeks. Get a
grip on yourself and stop acting like a
teenager in high school.”

“I’m fine, man,” Martin said. “Just got

a cold. That’s all.”

“Okay, I can hear your sadness in your

voice now. Seriously, what’s going on?”
Aiden asked. Maybe Aiden knew him
too well.

Aiden did that horrible thing where he

didn’t say a word, and Martin almost

blurted out the whole story right then and
there. That was the thing about Aiden.
Not only was he direct and always cut
right through to the heart of the matter,
but he also actually listened. Most
people would ask a question without
really wanting to know the answer or
taking the time to listen. That was not
Aiden. It was the reason why he was a
fantastic psychologist but a pain in the
ass to have as a friend.

“I’m really fine,” Martin repeated.
“All right,” Aiden said. “But if you

need to talk, I’m here.”

In the background, Martin heard loud

banging sounds and then heard his
brother say, “Aiden, I’m back. I got your
favorite movie . . . Oh. Sorry. Phone.”

In that moment, Martin felt another

spark of envy.

“Sorry,” Aiden said. “You want to

speak to your brother?”

“No, that’s okay,” he said quickly. Eli

would likely pick up he was having a
problem, too, and badger him to
oblivion. “Why did you call me again?”

“Oh. Right.” Aiden paused. “I forgot.

I can’t talk to you now.”

“What?” Martin paused. “Why not?

You called me, didn’t you?”

“It’s about a certain event on February

second. I need advice,” Aiden said.
“You understand?”

February second was his and his

brother’s birthday. He had forgotten
about it after everything with Terence

going on.

“Okay, Aiden,” Martin said. “Call me

later, when Eli isn’t around.”

“Will do,” Aiden said. “And Martin,

remember that I’m your friend, okay?”

“I know you are, Aiden,” Martin said.

“Thanks.”

* * * *

The next day, Martin didn’t have any

events to take photographs of, so he
spent the day at home, rotting his brain in
front of the television. He had watched
more horror movies that day than he had
the

entire

year,

but

even

the

overdramatic

blood

splattering

screen couldn’t distract him from
thinking about Terence. As yet another

brunette heroine was chased down the
street, Martin’s phone rang, and he dug
around in his pocket and checked it. It
was Terence. He was tempted to answer
it, but wasn’t sure what to say if he did.

I’m a coward. He put his phone back

in his pocket. I’ll call him back later,
when I’m ready to hear him talk about
his trip. The idea made him grit his
teeth.

But now he couldn’t even watch the

television. His eyes glazed over, and he
felt as if Terence had handed him a one-
way ticket to Bad Memory Land. He
kicked himself for not answering his
phone, but when he picked it up again
and stared at the screen, he couldn’t
summon the courage to call Terence

back either. All those years ago, he had
called Eli the coward, but in reality, he
realized he was one too.

Chapter Six

The sound of knocking roused Martin

from his evening stupor as he chopped
vegetables for his stir-fry. He walked
over to the door and opened it, and he
was unpleasantly surprised to see Aiden
and Eli standing outside. He blinked in
shock.

“Aiden? Eli?” Martin was half

tempted to shut the door on them, but
stopped himself because of the ear
searing he would get later for it. “What
are you guys doing here?”

Though Aiden lingered on the stoop,

Eli did the brotherly thing and pushed
his way inside without permission.
Griping, Martin opened the door farther

to allow Aiden inside. Aiden grimaced
and entered the house.

“What are you doing here?” Martin

repeated.

“Cheering you up,” Eli said. “We’re

going out to dinner.”

“I don’t need to be cheered up,”

Martin said. “I’m all right.”

“No, you’re not,” Eli said. “Aiden

told me you were upset when he called
you yesterday. You’re going to come
with us, get drunk until you can’t piss in
a straight line, and then tell us what’s
wrong. Do you understand me?”

Maybe Martin had been wrong.

Maybe he needed Eli after all. Getting
drunk until he couldn’t stand up straight
sounded like a good plan at the moment.

“Okay,” Martin said. “You’re on.”
Aiden glanced from Martin to Eli. “I

don’t think this is the healthiest way to
resolve a—”

Eli shot him a dirty look, and Aiden

grew silent.

* * * *

That night, Martin, Eli, and Aiden sat

at the bar, and Eli was on his seventh
beer, but Martin had hardly touched his
second. Aiden watched Eli with narrow
eyes, but didn’t say anything. Already,
Eli had begun to sway from side to side,
as if he was in a car repeatedly going
over bumps.

“I love these things,” Eli said, holding

up the bar coaster. “They’re just so

flat.”

Aiden rolled his eyes and turned

toward Martin, ignoring Eli.

“Sorry,” Martin said. “Guess you got

the wrong twin drunk. Think you’ll get
lucky tonight with him being so
intoxicated?”

Grimacing, Aiden glanced at Eli, who

still stared at the coaster as if it was a
new invention.

“I’m not sure I want to get lucky,”

Aiden said. “One more beer and he’ll go
from goofy to vomiting. Remember our
anniversary party last year? He hurled
all over the floor. I don’t want him to do
a repeat performance on me.”

“That was pretty bad.” Martin cringed

and reached for the bowl of bar peanuts

in front of him. “I didn’t realize puke
could be pink. What the hell did he eat?”

“It’s still a mystery.” Aiden shrugged.
Both of them were silent. The sound

of loud laughter filled the bar, but it was
not enough to drown out his thoughts.
Aiden’s eyes flickered toward Martin.

“About Terence,” Aiden finally said.

“I know you don’t want to hear this, but
maybe you should have said yes to going
with him to Denmark. I know at dinner
you said it was too soon when you told
us about it, but still . . .”

Aiden’s words were like a punch to

his stomach, but yes, that was Aiden—
direct and honest, but sometimes too
much so. Plus, he felt hurt. He had
always thought Aiden liked him. They

hung out enough, with and without Eli.

“Aiden,” Martin said, “you want me

to leave?”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Aiden said.

“You know I love you. You’re like my
brother now. But you remind me a bit of
myself before I settled down with Eli.”

“I do?” Martin raised an eyebrow.
“Yes,” Aiden said. “When I met Eli,

everything

changed,

remember?

happened fast for me too, but I knew we
were meant to be together. I know
Terence is asking you to give up a lot,
but maybe it’s worth it.”

During that moment, he felt as if his

world stilled. Was Aiden right? Martin
spent so much time analyzing how
perfect they were together now, he had

forgotten how hard it had been for them
to get together in the first place.

“Do you really think so?” Martin

groaned.

“I wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t,”

Aiden said. “Plus, Terence didn’t say
anything about permanently living in
Denmark, did he? You can even keep
your house here because you won’t have
to worry about an apartment over there.
You can still be a photographer. Plus,
you can bring your animals with you.”

Leave it to Aiden to bring everything

into perspective. Underneath his logic,
leaving with Terence didn’t feel as crazy
anymore. Sure, it was still a little crazy.
He had only known Terence for three
weeks, but still . . . His heart pounded

harder as he had flashes of what their
life could be like together—the shared
meals, the hot lovemaking, the laughter.
But what if it didn’t go like that?

He imagined his parents fighting and

cringed. He had seen so much of that.

“What if . . .” Martin sighed. “What if

I go and it doesn’t work out?”

“Nothing comes with a guarantee,”

Aiden said, “but look at Eli and me. We
were a pretty unlikely couple, weren’t
we? And we’re still going strong,
right?”

Martin tilted his head to the right and

saw that, somehow, Eli was still
distracted by that damn coaster. Yes, Eli
and Aiden appeared to be mismatched.
Logical, direct Aiden and hotheaded,

overly passionate Eli. But they worked
out their problems, no matter what they
were.

“Do you think it’s too late?” Martin

asked.

“Not if it’s right,” Aiden said.
As Martin sat there, he felt as if rays

of light illuminated his brain, and all the
depression from the last couple of days
cleared. Did he want to do this? Yes,
yes, he did. And he would.

“I could kiss you right now, Aiden,”

Martin said.

For the first time, Eli tore himself

away from his beloved coaster and
staggered over to Martin with his fist
raised.

“Are you making a pass at my man?”

Eli asked, weaving. “Brother or not, I’ll
put you in your place.”

Martin shook his head, hopped off his

stool, and grabbed his coat, unthreatened
by his brother’s wobbling fists of fury.
Eli took a wild swing, missed
completely, and nearly clocked Aiden on
the head. With a sigh, Aiden grabbed
Eli’s arms and restrained him.

“You got this?” Martin asked, looking

wearily at Eli, who scowled at him. “I
am going to go talk to Terence.”

“Yes, I do,” Aiden said, holding fast

on to Eli. “He’s been drunk plenty of
times over the years.”

“Let me go. I have to fight for your

honor,” Eli bellowed. “Let me go right
now, or I’ll . . . I’ll . . .”

Both of them waited to see what Eli

would do. Unfortunately, with a noisy
wretch, Eli threw up down the front of
Aiden’s shirt. As Aiden swore and
leaped off the stool, Martin made an
escape, thinking, Is that really what I
want?

But even with a zillion vomits, he

realized the answer was yes.

* * * *

Martin sped to Trinity’s house and

pulled to the side of the road. After he
put his car in park and clambered out, he
wound around and walked toward the
front door. Martin knocked with a series
of loud thuds and then paused. There
was the sound of Bailey barking, and

then Trinity appeared at the front
window and opened the door. When she
opened it, her eyes widened, and she
stared at Martin with a shocked
expression on her face.

“Martin,” Trinity said, “it’s you. What

are you doing here?”

“I’ve come to see Terence.” Though

Martin knew it was rude, he pushed past
Trinity and entered the hallway.
“Terence? Terence? I need to talk to
you. Please.”

Grabbing his arm, Trinity managed to

wrangle his attention again.

“Where’s

Terence?”

Martin

demanded.

“He doesn’t live here anymore,

Martin,” Trinity said. “I’m surprised you

didn’t know. He said he’s been calling
you and calling you to tell you what’s
going on. I thought you would have
called him back by now.”

He swayed guiltily and Trinity caught

on at once. Her lips puckered. “You’ve
been ignoring his phone calls, haven’t
you?”

“He’s

really

not

living

here

anymore?”

“Nope. Like I said, he’s gone. Moved

on.”

Martin’s stomach sunk, and his heart

ached. A giant epiphany, for what? To
be left out in the hallway with nothing.
He should have answered his phone. He
should have been less of a coward.

Would Terence still want him now

he’d messed things up so badly? Would
he still answer his phone? Turning,
Martin staggered for his car with his
shoulders slumped and his heart aching.

He was halfway to his car when

Trinity called, “Martin. Wait a minute.”

He turned his head and glanced at her.

A sneaky smile was on her face.

“When I said Terence was gone, I just

meant from my house,” Trinity said.
“He’s renting a condo a few miles south
of here.”

What? Confusion filled him. His heart

pounded harder.

“H-he’s supposed to be in Denmark,”

Martin stuttered.

“Yeah, well, he liked you more than

his job,” Trinity said. “He said he

couldn’t leave Phoenix, and the company
he worked for said that was where they
needed him, so if he didn’t go to
Denmark, he might as well just start
looking for another job. So he quit.
Luckily, he had enough put aside to rent
his own place while he looks. A shitty
place, but still . . .”

Shock, horror, and happiness filled

him. He couldn’t believe Terence had
given up his job for him and was
horrified he had caused him to lose his
job and hadn’t even had the balls to call
him back. Yet he was happy because this
meant Terence cared about him just as
much as he did him. Then he was angry
because Trinity had waited so damn long
to give him this information.

“Trinity, why didn’t you tell me the

moment I opened the door?” Martin
asked. “You knew why I was there.”

“Yeah, I know,” Trinity said. “But I

thought I’d let you hang for a minute,
since you turned my cousin into a
depressed slob.”

“Trinity . . .” Martin ran a hand

through his hair and let out a deep sigh.

“Well, you want his address or not?”

she asked. “If you’re going to apologize
to Terence, at least have the decency to
do it in person.”

Eagerly,

Martin

nodded

and

approached the house again. The only
problem was, he wasn’t sure what he
was going to say to Terence once he
found him.

Chapter Seven

Martin parked by Terence’s condo

and let out a deep, shaky breath. The
condo was small and red brick with a
bad paint job and pale shutters. A brick
walkway trailed upward toward a white
door. In front of the door, there was a
stained welcome mat. Martin cringed.
Terence may have had some money on
the side, but not much. Guess he was
willing to suffer if it meant having his
own place.

That made him feel even more guilty.

He wasn’t sure what he was going to say
to Terence when he got inside. He
wished the pharmacy had a more exotic
array of pills, such as man-up-and-grow-

some-balls tablets or maybe just-shut-
up-you-dumb-prick-and-go-get-your-
man enzymes. Last time he had gone to a
pharmacy, Martin hadn’t seen any in
stock, so he was going to have to live
with himself just the way he was.

Martin opened the car door and

stepped out onto the street. He locked
his car twice, just to make sure. He
didn’t want to take any chances on a
street like this. With his sweaty hands in
his pockets, Martin walked up to the
front door and knocked. There was the
sound of movement on the other side of
the door, and the hall light flicked on. He
felt so nervous he wanted to whip
around and go running in the opposite
direction.

But then the door opened. Too late.
“Martin,” Terence said, his eyes

widening when he opened the door. “I
was trying to call you. I left you a couple
of messages, but you didn’t pick up the
phone. I was worried about you. If you
hadn’t answered by tomorrow, I was
going to come by your place, whether
you liked it or not.”

There

were

bags

underneath

Terence’s eyes, and his face appeared
pale. Martin realized Terence truly had
been worried about him.

“I was a jackass,” Martin said. “I saw

you had called, but I didn’t want to
check the messages or answer because I
was worried about what you would
say.”

“What is so horrible I would say?”

Terence asked. “I care about you. That
wouldn’t change no matter where I live.”

“I just thought you wanted to talk

about your trip and how excited you
were, and even though we’ve been
dating a short time, I would have
realized how much . . . how much I
would miss you,” Martin said.

Terence watched him with wide eyes.

“Do you . . . Do you want to come in? I
think this is the type of conversation we
should be having without the risk you
might get shot. Plus, the house is a little
better on the inside than the out.”

Nodding,

Martin

stepped

into

Terence’s condo and saw he had yet to
get any furniture. In the living room with

ivy wallpaper and a wooden floor, there
were a couple of boxes, but not much
else.

“I didn’t bring much with me from my

old house,” Terence admitted. “Money
included.”

“Maybe you should have stayed with

Trinity,” Martin said. “I haven’t been
sleeping much because of you lately, but
I think that’s going to continue now I
know where you are living. You should .
. .”

You should come stay with me. But he

couldn’t bring himself to finish the
sentence. Not yet, anyway.

“To be honest, I think I would rather

get shot than spend another night with
Trinity,” Terence said. “I love her to

death, but she has the energy of a twenty-
one-year-old, and I don’t. There are only
so many times I can watch shows about
party houses without getting a migraine,
too.”

Nodding,

Martin

turned

toward

Terence, unsure of where to go so they
could finish their talk. I wonder if we’ll
have to sit on boxes. He cringed. This
was it. Somehow, he would get Terence
to leave this place, whether it was via an
apartment in Denmark or his own house.

Terence led Martin down the hallway

and into a dining room that connected
with a small kitchen that still smelled of
cigarettes, though Terence didn’t smoke.
Thankfully, there was a plastic table and
some chairs set up, so he didn’t have to

worry about sitting on the floor. Martin
sat down, and Terence sat across from
him and gave him his seductive but shy
smile once again, which caused Martin’s
heart to thunder in his chest. Once again,
Terence was on his game.

“So I take it you finally checked your

messages,” Terence asked.

“No,” he said, raising an eyebrow.

“Why?”

“When you wouldn’t pick up after the

third time, I told you what was going on
and gave you this address,” Terence
said. “I figured you would listen
eventually . . . or at least, I hoped you
would. To be honest, I started to wonder
whether I gave up my job for nothing.”

Reaching across the table, Martin laid

his hand on top of Terence’s intertwined
ones.

“I didn’t check my messages yet,” he

said. “A friend talked sense into me, and
I realized I would rather give up my life
here and go with you to Denmark than
lose you. I knocked on Trinity’s door
and barged into her house, looking for
you.”

Terence’s mouth fell open. “Are you

serious? You actually decided to give up
everything to go with me? I realized
after you left what a selfish person I’d
been, asking so much of you so soon. It
was one of the reasons I decided to
stay.”

“Yes,” Martin said, “I was fully

prepared to go with you. But you

actually gave up your dream job for me.
I can’t believe that.”

A lopsided grin crossed Terence’s

face. “Real romantic, huh?”

“More like real stupid,” Martin said,

winking at him. “I’m not worth that kind
of trouble.”

“You are worth all the trouble in the

world,” Terence said quietly, the joking
smile leaving his face.

Terence removed his hand from

underneath Martin’s and then placed it
on top instead. Using his thumb, he
gently stroked Martin’s golden skin.
Martin shivered at his touch. He had
actually forgotten how good it felt to
have Terence touch him, even if it was
just his hand.

As the two of them gazed at each

other, Martin felt his heart heal. He
couldn’t believe Terence would give up
his job for him, and at the same time, he
couldn’t believe how much he was
willing to give up in turn. Maybe things
had happened fast between them, but that
didn’t make the intensity any less real.

“Can you still get your job back,

Terence?” Martin asked quietly.

“What?” Terence asked. “Why?”
“I think you should go,” Martin said,

“but this time, I’ll go with you.”

The smile that crossed Terence’s face

was so big Martin felt blinded.

* * * *

That night, Martin unlocked his front

door while Terence gently ran his hand
down the back of his neck. The simple
touch felt as erotic to him as a thousand
hair-raising, tongue-filled kisses from
other lovers. After he got the door open,
he stumbled inside, and Terence stepped
in after him.

“That’s better,” Terence said.
“I won’t have to worry about a rat

crawling on my face while I’m sleeping
now,” Martin said.

The two of them looked at each other

again, and Terence slammed the door
shut behind him, seized Martin by his
collar, and his lips crashed against his.
Martin exhaled a sigh and opened his
mouth to accept Terence’s tongue, and
the two of them roughly explored one

another’s mouths as Martin’s hand
dropped low to fondle Terence’s hard,
muscular ass cheek.

Terence pushed Martin around and

pinned him against the wall by the door
so fast, he gasped.

“I missed you so much,” Terence

whispered.

With a hungry expression, Terence

pressed his mouth against Martin’s
again, hard and passionate.

When Martin put his tongue into

Terence’s mouth, Terence nipped the
end of it, and he winced as pain filled
the tip. The pain subsided to a dull ache
as Terence soothed Martin’s aching
tongue with his own, and Martin soon
shuddered and relaxed against him.

“Let’s go upstairs,” Martin said when

Terence broke away. “My bedroom . . .”

Nodding, Terence stepped away, and

Martin grabbed his hand and led him to
the stairs. Martin went up the stairs,
turned right, and entered his bedroom.
The walls had been done by Eli and
were a dark, stormy gray. There was a
queen-size bed with a canopy, and a
bookshelf to the right of it.

Martin pulled Terence over to the bed

and then pushed his shoulder, signaling
he wanted him underneath him.

Terence understood at once and

flopped backward onto the bed. With an
eager grin, Martin followed after him
and lay on top of him, wedging his knee
in between Terence’s legs. He could

feel Terence’s hard cock brush against
his thigh and shivered in want as his
balls ached. With a groan, Martin
covered Terence’s lips with his own and
then pushed his tongue inside of
Terence’s mouth.

Terence allowed him access at once

and shuddered beneath him before
wrapping his arms around Martin’s
small hips and gripping both of his ass
cheeks with wide, hot palms.

As Martin kissed Terence, his heart

beat faster as the smell of Terence’s
sweet breath filled his lungs. Either
Terence had been drinking wine earlier,
or he just had the sweetest natural breath
in existence. Martin hungrily plunged
deeper into Terence’s mouth, loving his

smell and flavor. The two of them finally
broke apart, and Martin stared down into
Terence’s grinning face.

Before Martin could blink, Terence

had him pinned beneath him on the bed
again. He seized the buttons on Martin’s
shirt and began to quickly open them one
by one. Once his shirt was open,
Terence didn’t waste time and leaned
forward and nipped the top of Martin’s
right nipple as he finished pulling
Martin’s shirt off. Martin gasped at the
pain,

but

enjoyed

the

tingling

aftersensation.

He also enjoyed Terence’s rough

hands running down his abs, and he
shuddered at the touch. One thing
Terence had was power. He enjoyed

how aggressive Terence was in bed,
with or without his teeth.

Martin wiggled out of his shirt and

moved to throw it aside, but instead,
Terence grabbed his wrist and stole the
shirt from him.

“Why do you want my shirt?” Martin

asked, raising an eyebrow.

Instead of responding, Terence moved

Martin’s hands above his head and
pushed his wrists together. He used the
shirt to bind his wrists. Martin looked at
Terence with his eyebrows raised,
knowing full well he could have been
out of the loose shirt within seconds if
he really wanted to be.

“I’ve always wanted to try it,”

Terence said sheepishly.

“Well, hell, if you’ve always wanted

to try it,” Martin said, “I guess it’s
okay.”

“Yeah?” Terence’s grin broadened.
“Yeah.”
“Then keep your hands up, and don’t

move. Keep your eyes shut, too.”

That should be easy. All the sex,

none of the work. Martin shut his eyes
and enjoyed the sensations as Terence
kissed his jawline and then wandered
down to his neck, where he spent some
time nibbling at the flesh to the right of
his Adam’s apple. With a groan, Martin
squirmed in response to his kisses, but
he kept his hands above his head and his
eyes shut, if only for his own pleasure.

Terence began to kiss his way

between Martin’s collarbones and then
trailed downward between his pecs. The
lower Terence got, the more Martin’s
cock and balls ached, and the more he
wanted to unzip his fly and hurry
Terence along. When Terence kissed his
way to Martin’s pelvis, right where his
pants met his stomach, he did not unzip
Martin’s pants like he expected. Instead,
he kissed his way down over the fabric
and hovered over his fly. As Terence
breathed on his fly, making Martin
squirm and groan with want, he began to
rub Martin’s cock just enough to get his
attention, but not enough to relieve any
of the pressure. Martin groaned, lifted
his head, and opened his eyes.

The two of them locked eyes, and

Terence smirked. He knows just what
he’s doing. Martin moved to free
himself by pulling his arms apart, but
Terence pointed at him and said, “Stop.”

Martin frowned and lowered his arms

and then shut his eyes, thinking, This is
going to be a hell of a lot harder than I
thought.

Once Martin’s arms were down,

Terence continued with his teasing,
gently rubbing the top of his jeans with
the tips of his fingers. Martin groaned
again, and felt Terence’s hot breath over
his fly. He thought Terence had just
kissed his cock, but he couldn’t be sure
because he couldn’t see it and could
hardly feel it over his pants.

Finally, Terence unzipped his fly and

tugged Martin’s pants down his legs and
off of him.

He’s going to get to the point at last.

Though Martin expected Terence to pull
down his underwear too, he didn’t.
Instead, Terence began the same teasing
over Martin’s cock, except this time he
did it while he was just in his
underwear.

First, Terence leaned downward and

breathed over his cock, and the heat
made Martin shudder.

After he was done breathing over his

cock, Terence once again began that
tantalizingly slow and gentle caress.
Terence moved his hand over the tip of
his shaft, running a ring over his head,
and then he moved his hand down and

ran his fingertips over his soft balls. In
an attempt to increase the pressure of
Terence’s hand, Martin raised his hips,
but Terence just raised his hand along
with him and gently touched him.

“Will you get to it?” Martin asked, the

light touches just enough to make him
squirm. “You are driving me crazy.”

Terence just chuckled and returned to

gently running a ring around the head of
his cock.

Finally, Terence once again grabbed

the top band of his underwear and pulled
them down. When the air hit Martin’s
cock and it sprung free, he shuddered
and opened his eyes again. This time,
Terence was not looking at him. Instead,
he stared at his cock with an excited

expression. The look on his face was
almost as arousing as his touches.
Before he could get busted with his eyes
open again, Martin tilted his head to the
right and hurriedly shut his eyes before
releasing a shaky but eager sigh.

Terence

reached

forward

and

wrapped his hand around Martin’s cock,
and Martin arched his back, eager for
hard pressure he expected would not
come. He was correct.

Instead

doing

what

Martin

desperately wanted, Terence began to
gently tickle the skin at the bottom of his
shaft up and down, causing his skin to
form goose bumps. Once Terence had
done this five times, he began to gently
trace Martin’s head in a circular pattern

yet again, teasing his sensitive tip and
driving him insane. As he did this, he
used his other hand and tickled his balls,
using only the gentle tips of his fingers.

Martin groaned again. “You fucker,”

he muttered. “Stop it.”

Terence laughed and then kissed the

top of Martin’s cock, as if it was
precious. Martin hoped Terence would
take his cock in his mouth, but instead,
he grabbed him at his shaft and gently
ran his tongue up and down at the bottom
of Martin’s dick. After that, he did the
same thing to his cock’s head and
whirled his tongue around the sensitive
tip, causing Martin to shudder.

With a groan, Terence shifted

Martin’s cock and then licked just the

top from tip to base. Once he had
finished, he backed away from Martin’s
shaft and then began to kiss his thighs
and balls, everywhere but his throbbing
and desperate cock.

“Do you have any lube?” Terence

asked.

Finally, is he going to finish this?

Martin nodded.

“The dresser to the right,” he said.

“It’s the top drawer, the one with all my
shirts. I think it’s underneath the stack to
the very left.”

Terence climbed off of the bed, and

Martin opened his eyes again. Terence
opened his top drawer and dug around
inside. A moment later, he pulled out a
large jar of lubricant and a stack of

porno that caused heat to fill his cheeks.

“Porn?” Terence asked, raising his

eyebrow.

“Like you don’t have any.” Martin

pouted.

Chuckling, Terence placed the porn

back in the drawer. His smirk was not
nearly as annoying as it might have been
normally. Terence could have made him
horny if he was on fire.

“I thought I said to keep your eyes

closed,” Terence said. “If you enjoy this,
we’re going to have to invest in a
blindfold to keep you from peeking.”

Martin hastily shut his eyes, and

Terence hovered over his face and then
gave him a soft kiss on the lips. After
that, Terence kissed him again, this time

harder. He shoved his tongue inside
Martin’s mouth, and Martin groaned
against him, squirming. When Terence
pulled away, the bed moved, and he
heard a soft whoosh and assumed
Terence had taken off his shirt. A
moment later, Terence was pressed
against him again, and this time they
were chest to chest.

As Terence held him close and kissed

him, his hand went lower and lower
until he fondled Martin’s shaft and ran
his hand over the head. Martin
shuddered in pleasure and let out a sigh.
Terence broke away from his mouth and
once again kissed down his neck, his
chest, and then, finally, his pelvis.

Once he reached his cock, Terence

dipped down low and then licked his
thighs and balls. Once Martin’s inner
thighs and balls were damp, Terence
uncapped the lubricant, pushed Martin’s
ass cheek aside with his opposing hand,
and then began to finger Martin’s hole.

Once again, Martin squirmed as

Terence fondled him. He teasingly
looped Martin’s hole with his fingertip
again and again. Finally, Terence pushed
further into his hole and dived inside,
making Martin squirm. As he moved his
finger around inside, he kissed the top of
Martin’s cock and then moved his hand
roughly up and down the base of
Martin’s shaft, making pleasure fill his
balls.

At first, Terence continued to be

gentle, but then his breath increased and
he began to pound into Martin harder
and harder. Finally, Terence pounded
into him so hard it caused his ass and
shaft to ache with pleasure. This was the
pressure Martin had wanted all along.
No, this was the pressure he had needed.
He felt like he was in heaven right now.

Terence

stopped

pumping

and

thrusting into him with his soaked finger
and then pulled Martin’s legs onto his
shoulders. Opening an eye so he could
see,

Martin

squirmed

and

got

comfortable.

Terence began to move forward and

placed his cock’s head against Martin’s
asshole. When Terence pushed his hips
forward, Martin felt burning, and

Terence pulled out. Terence once again
roughly began to pound into Martin’s ass
with his finger as pleasure filled
Martin’s balls. A deep longing to touch
himself to Terence’s rhythm filled him,
but he fought it down. He had to maintain
his self-control and follow Terence’s
orders. There was something erotic
about that. Terence’s orders. Like he
completely belonged to Terence. Martin
could live with that.

“Almost,” Terence moaned as he

continued to work Martin’s asshole.

Finally, Terence stopped thrusting

into him with his finger, moved his hips
forward, and once again pushed his cock
against Martin’s hole. Martin felt the
stretched feeling again, but it was not

overly painful. He felt Terence’s cock
slip past the ring of muscle and inside,
and once again felt full of Terence. It
wasn’t until Terence shifted his weight,
though, that Martin felt pleasure spasm
through his body and knew Terence had
reached his prostate.

With a groan, Terence grabbed

Martin’s cock and began to pull at it so
roughly it ached as he pounded into him.
Martin wanted to move his hands so he
could grab the bed, but he obediently
kept them above his head and kept his
eyes shut. It was like he could feel
everything more intensely, and the
noises . . .

When Martin wasn’t focusing on sight,

he could make out every breath that

Terence dragged in. He also enjoyed
listening to the bed creak and groan
underneath them, loud, whump, whump,
whump. The pressure on his cock and in
his ass made him tingle, and he let out
cries that matched the bed’s as well as
Terence’s. To accompany his cries,
Terence thrust into him harder and
harder, chasing the breath from him.
Every time Terence pushed into him, it
caused his ass to ache with pleasure.

As Terence used his free hand to

massage his thigh, he said, “Open your
eyes.”

After Martin did, he felt his orgasm

build. After all, how could he not come
when he stared into Terence’s broad
grin and gorgeous dimples? He also

could see his own cock bob in Terence’s
grip and watch Terence’s lean hips
thrust in and out of him, making a schlip,
schlip sound. The smell of sweat and
sex filled the air.

Martin cried out, threw back his head,

and came. This time, Terence came right
along with him, pulling out and coming
all over Martin’s lower abs. When both
of them had finished, Terence flopped to
his side and lay on his back, panting.
Martin pulled his hands out of his shirt
and lowered them to his side, moving his
fingers to reestablish the blood flow.

“God, that was amazing,” Terence

said.

“If I wasn’t going to Denmark before,

I would have after that,” Martin joked,

knowing that his happiness had nothing
to do with great sex, though it had been
amazing.

Terence rolled onto his side, seized

Martin’s hand, and then put his palm
against his chest. “I am so glad you’re
going with me,” he said. “No place
would be home without you there.”

Martin smiled and felt like he could

have looked at Terence’s gorgeous grin
all night.

Epilogue

The apartment in Denmark was

medium sized and already filled with
beige furniture.

Martin let his suitcase drop from his

hand and walked over to the wide
window in the bedroom. He gazed out
and looked upon the city streets filled
with

people.

The

streets

were

cobblestone and lined with small, fat
cottages. A grin crossed Martin’s face as
he looked outside, and he almost jumped
when Terence grabbed his arm and held
out his camera.

“My camera?” Martin raised an

eyebrow.

“It’s an important moment.” Terence

nodded toward the landscape out the
window. “You should capture it.”

“It is important,” Martin said.
But instead of taking a picture of

Denmark’s horizon, he stepped toward
Terence, pulled him to his side, and held
the camera aloft. He snapped a picture
and brought the camera to him and turned
it around. The picture was crooked, and
their suitcases were strewn about in the
background, but Martin didn’t care. It
was day one of the rest of their lives,
and he wanted the picture to be there,
hopefully as a lasting testament of
forever.

The End

About the Author

Penelope Rivers is an erotic novelist

of M/M romance novels and short
stories. A hopeless dreamer, she spends
her day thinking about all things fantasy,
romantic and not. It is her view that
when

you

start

choking

the

occasionally dry bread of life, you need
something sinfully delicious to chase it
down with. Currently, she lives in Utah
with an abnormal amount of pets.

Table of Contents

Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Epilogue
About the Author

Document Outline

Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Epilogue
About the Author

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