Falling Bundle Page 3

  He left Arjen there alone, speechless, the silence broken only by the distant thumping bass.

  EDGE OF DANGER

  Like any hunter, Max knew that sometimes the best tactic was to wait. Sometimes the harder he chased people, the more they fled. It was more satisfying when they came to him of their own free will. And Max was very eagerly anticipating the day Arjen came to him.

  So Max waited. The days dragged by in their usual numbing routine. Work. Home. Work. Home. Night after night spent in a cold bed. Always thinking about the moment Arjen would finally crack. Max had planned his fantasy down to the smallest detail—how desperate Arjen would be for him, how Arjen would beg him to finally take him. He dreamed about it idly at work in the gaps between customers; he plotted it out obsessively in the silence of his flat.

  Arjen would come soon. Any minute now.

  Arjen never came.

  In the end, Max went back to the bar where they had first met. It gleamed dark after the rains; the windows flickered with vivid colours. When he opened the door smoke curled around him.

  Max strode inside like before, like he owned the place, like nothing had changed. But as the crowds surged around him and the music crashed over him in a wave, none of it worked for him any more. His anger crackled inside him; he shrugged off reaching hands, ignored people trying to talk to him. He slammed down a tequila thinking it might help his mood, but it didn’t.

  He could pick up somebody else. Fuck them and forget them, get Arjen out of his system. But the simple fact was that he didn’t want to. He craved Arjen with a single-minded obsession. Arjen was maddening. Elusive. Not here.

  Max stared at his empty glass on the bar, and wondered what this hollow feeling was. Why there seemed to be a gap inside him.

  And still Arjen never came.

  Max drank and waited, drank and waited, tantalising himself with the thought of Arjen showing up. He was halfway through a detailed fantasy of what he was going to do to Arjen, including teaching him to come when he was damn well told, when the bartender kicked him out at closing time.

  Outside the rain was falling again, steadily, endlessly. It veiled the million lights of the city far below. Max seethed, hot and fizzing, wanting someone to take it out on. Looking for a fight, looking for a fuck. But there was no point. Because Arjen wasn’t here.

  He stalked home to his empty flat.

  At home, he dug out a half-empty bottle of whiskey. It was beginning to occur to him that Arjen genuinely wasn’t coming. At all. It had been a week since they parted. A week since he had slipped that scrap of paper with his address and phone number into Arjen’s back pocket. He could have sworn that Arjen wouldn’t make it twenty-four hours without calling. He would have been wrong.

  Arjen wasn’t coming. End of story.

  A slow-burning anger kindled inside him. His jaw clenched, his fist tightening on the bottle. He was not letting Arjen get away with walking out on him without a word.

  He was going back on the hunt.

  When Max sobered up the next morning, his day off, he realised he had no idea where Arjen lived. In fact, all he knew was that Arjen was a trainee solicitor. Thankfully Max was not half as stupid as he liked to pretend, so he just googled Arjen’s full name and immediately got a hit from his law firm. Max looked up the firm’s address and went there.

  It was a crisp day. One or two red leaves sailed down from a line of oaks to dust a shining office block. Max waited at the cafe across the street, sipping some expensive coffee with a fancy name. His world had narrowed down into the driving need to see Arjen again. It infuriated him that Arjen had rejected him—nobody did that. And the lack of explanation was making him crazy. He lay in wait all afternoon, keeping himself warm with fantasies, until the door cracked open and Arjen came out.

  The sight of him made Max take a breath, a sudden surge of heat flooding him. Arjen looked sharply professional in his suit, dark-haired and dark-eyed, cool and untouchable. Nobody would know to look at him that a week ago he’d been on his knees going down on Max.

  Max’s fist clenched on the fragile cup and he had to put it down with an effort before it broke. He wanted to slam Arjen down on this flimsy table and fuck him. But he had to stay calm. This was a public place.

  He trailed Arjen toward his car. As Arjen passed, a knot of men in the street turned to watch him. They showed the same sudden interest that Max must have done the first time he’d laid eyes on Arjen.

  Max’s anger kicked off again. Max took several deep breaths and strangled the urge to intervene right now, scare them away and recapture Arjen for himself. He could fuck Arjen up against the wall, prove to everyone with each thrust that he owned him. That need pulsed hot in his blood, his hands curling into fists, his jeans suddenly too tight.

  When Arjen reached his car Max seized his chance. He strode toward Arjen, caught him by a fistful of his shirt and shoved him into the wall. Arjen froze, his hands up to ward Max off. “Max?”

  “Me,” Max growled, and shoved him harder. “Where have you been?”

  Arjen’s eyes narrowed. He tried to twist free; Max wound his hand tighter in Arjen’s shirt. “Let go of me.”

  “Not fucking likely. You were supposed to come to me.”

  “I didn’t want to,” Arjen said, aiming each word deliberately. “Face it, Max. I’m just not that into you.”

  “That’s a fucking lie!” Max slammed him into the wall again, then choked off his fury before it got out of control. “You are such a coward, Arjen. You want me so badly. You’re desperate for me to fuck you. You probably think about me when you jerk off.” Arjen started, then his face flooded with colour, letting Max know that he’d scored a hit. “You’re just too damn scared to admit it. You think if you keep pretending you’re straight, people will actually believe you. You’ll be able to keep living the same lie forever. And nobody will ever see the real you. Like I do.” Max shook him. “Admit it. You want me.”

  “I do not.” Arjen was tense with defensiveness.

  “You know what? I think it’s what happened last time that made you snap. Going down on me. Liking it. I think you can’t face the thought that you get off on sucking another man’s cock. It’s the fucking truth, Arjen, so man up about it. You like cock. Specifically, mine.”

  “That’s not—”

  “Oh, for Christ’s sake,” Max snarled, and kissed him.

  That single kiss ignited a heat that seared through him right down to his fingertips. It was so intense that his hands fisted in Arjen’s shirt as he captured his mouth with a fierce hunger. Arjen gasped against him; Max could feel his chest hitch against his. Max pinned him against the wall, wanting him to feel how hard Max was, to know exactly what he did to Max. Arjen made a small sound of desperation and clutched at Max to drag him closer, his mouth opening, his arms winding around Max’s neck as he stretched up to press tighter. Max could not get enough of him; he felt like he was dying and Arjen was air. He would never get enough of this.

  Max broke the kiss. Stepped back. Nearly staggered. He felt shaken to his foundations. It was unfair and inexplicable that Arjen did this to him; he could not understand why he craved Arjen with every fibre of his being.

  Arjen leaned back into the wall, clutching it for balance. He was breathing in quick gasps.

  “Tell me again,” said Max in an uneven voice, “that you don’t want me.”

  Arjen couldn’t speak. He was staring up at Max, his eyes very dark, the picture of temptation.

  Max pointed at him and made it an order. “You will call me. And when you’re ready, you will beg me to fuck you.”

  The next day Arjen called him at home after work.

  “Hey.” Arjen sounded shaky. Probably nerves.

  This was a fascinating development. Arjen had never called before; he’d never made the first move. And he was doing it only a day after Max had slammed him into the nearest wall and kissed him senseless. Maybe he liked it rough.

  Damn. Max was getting as h
ard as he must be. “Hi there,” Max purred. It must be new and scary for him to call, and Max intended to thoroughly reward him. “What can I do for you?”

  “I was thinking,” Arjen said, and swallowed. “Maybe we could get together.”

  He made it sound so innocent. Like they were getting coffee or something. “Yes, we should.”

  “Great.” Arjen sounded relieved.

  He was getting off way too easily here. He’d only asked to meet up, so whatever Max did to him, however badly he wanted it, he could tell himself it was all Max’s fault. “We should meet at your house.” Max kept his voice low, persuasive. “Cate’s at work, right? That way nobody will disturb us. Nobody will see. You’d like that, wouldn’t you. Being alone with me.” The little hitch in Arjen’s breathing told Max all he needed to know. “Picture it. Go on. I’m on your doorstep. And when I’m right in front of you… what happens next?”

  “I don’t know.” Small voice.

  “Nothing happens? I’m not coming over for nothing. What do I do?”

  “You…” Arjen was starting to sound a little ragged. Max pushed a hand into his jeans and stroked himself, getting comfortable, enjoying this fantasy. “You kiss me.”

  Cute. Arjen clearly liked it when Max kissed him. “And then…”

  “You—you make me kneel.”

  That raised Max’s eyebrows. Max hadn’t thought he’d admit to fantasising about that. “So you’re on your knees,” Max murmured. “Small. Helpless. I’m towering over you. And I…?”

  “You put it in my mouth.”

  “My cock. Say it.”

  “Your cock. In my mouth.” Arjen was panting, probably jerking off.

  “I put my cock in your mouth. I make you suck me off. And I make you swallow me. Every last drop. Do you enjoy it? Do you come?”

  “Yes.” It was just a whisper.

  Wow. Max had been right on the money when he’d suggested that Arjen had really liked sucking him off. No wonder Arjen was so scared. “Good,” Max praised. “That’s good. I’ll be right over. Keep touching yourself. I want you ready for me.”

  Armed with Arjen’s address, it took only ten minutes to drive over. He spent the drive simmering in anticipation, thinking of everything he might be able to tempt Arjen into. He had every intention of leaving Arjen completely blissed out of his mind.

  It struck him as he pulled up what a picture-postcard neighbourhood Arjen lived in. All the houses gleamed with fresh white paintwork, the lawns cut. Across the street was a little park where children played in the sunshine. Nobody had any idea what he was here to do to Arjen.

  When he knocked on the door Arjen answered immediately, flushed with colour, like he’d been waiting on tenterhooks. Max caught him by the shirt and dragged him into a kiss; Arjen froze against him, making a token protest at being kissed in public on his own doorstep, a protest Max was only too happy to drive out of his mind. Max teased his lower lip with a light scrape of his teeth, and Arjen melted into him with a moan.

  Max kissed him until Arjen was pressed up tight against him, willing in his arms. Then he smoothed a hand down the curve of his spine to cup his ass. Arjen seemed to like that, rubbing up against him, so Max squeezed and stroked his ass as much as he liked, enjoying the firm muscle beneath his palm. He was going to fuck this man very soon.

  “Feeling better?” Max murmured to him. He loved how eager Arjen was for him, pressing into him, his breathing ragged. It made Max feel a little better about how badly he wanted this man.

  Arjen looked down, dark lashes brushing flushed cheeks. “Please.”

  “Please what?” He squeezed a little harder.

  “Let me…” Arjen was only half coherent from being so thoroughly kissed. “Let me taste you.”

  Max smiled. He was going to enjoy this.

  He pushed Arjen back into the house and stepped inside. Hallway painted in neutral colours, carpet in a neutral shade. The mirror at the opposite end blazed with reflected daylight. When he kicked the door shut behind him the hall dimmed; he crowded Arjen deliberately. “Undress.”

  Arjen’s eyes were wide and dark. “I don’t…”

  Max ripped off his shirt, pushed him into the wall and trapped him there with his body. Arjen was so hot it was scorching, trembling under him, utterly irresistible. Max reached between them to open his belt buckle, fumble with his trousers, shove everything down; the sight of the pale thighs he wanted so badly to spread sharpened his need to an unbearable edge. His cock throbbed in his tightening jeans.

  Arjen panted in his arms. “Max, I don’t know, I don’t think—”

  Max gripped him by the upper arms, enjoying the muscle there. “You’re safe, sweetling. I won’t do anything that you don’t want. But while I’m here, I’m going to blow your fucking mind.” He leaned in and ground against him, making him feel every inch of his cock, still trapped in his jeans. Arjen’s quickening breaths betrayed his excitement.

  Max lifted him against the wall with casual ease, ignoring his yelp, slid between his legs to press intimately against him. “Max,” Arjen said, a half-hearted protest, but from the way he was clutching at him Max suspected he liked having Max between his legs.

  Max found that racing pulse with his mouth, licked it, bit down. “I want to fuck you so fucking hard you can’t walk for a week.”

  Arjen gasped as Max bit down harder, and tilted his head away to offer his throat. Max turned his face into his tempting throat and growled as he fought for control. It would be so easy to just take him now. “Where’s your bedroom?”

  It was at the top of the stairs. Max dragged him in there stumbling. Arjen had a soft double bed below a tilted window, a square of shining duvet, and Max threw him down on it with a surge of triumph. Max unzipped himself; that got Arjen’s attention so fast that it gave Max a hot shiver. “Show me how much you want to taste me.” Max knelt over him, making himself bigger, stroking himself in front of Arjen’s eyes. “Unless of course you want me to fuck you.”

  For the split second that Arjen hesitated, Max thought for an exhilarating moment that Arjen wanted to be fucked so badly he was going to ask for it. Then Arjen made a sweet desperate sound and went down on him.

  It was so fucking hot. Arjen swallowed him straight down as deep as he could take him, plunging him into the heat of his mouth. Arjen’s fingers tightened around the base, squeezing rhythmically. Mmm. Max loved having Arjen so intent on pleasing him. Arjen must have been fantasising about this all week; it was delicious. And it would be even better when Max made him totally lose control.

  “Spread your legs.”

  Arjen stiffened, trying to lift his head before Max pushed him back down. “Relax. I’m just going to play with you. Spread your legs for me.”

  Trembling, Arjen spread his legs.

  Max had come prepared for this. He slicked his fingers with lube, enjoying Arjen’s twitches as he wondered what the hell Max was going to do to him, then ran a finger down his crack and made him arch up with a muffled yelp. Max tightened his free hand in his hair to urge him back down on Max’s cock. Max teased him again with that finger and felt him shudder, hot and needy.

  This time Max breached him with deliberate, aching slowness. Arjen made such fantastic sounds in his throat, opening himself wider for that finger. Max pushed it deep into the tight clench of his body, savouring the feel of him. The thought of being the first man to do this to him made Max fierce, made him jealous. He wanted to be the only as well as the first.

  Another finger. Arjen squirmed frantically. He couldn’t get enough of this; Max enjoyed tormenting him.

  “Let me show you something new,” Max murmured, and crooked his fingers inside him.

  The first time he pressed down on that sweet spot Arjen damn nearly came on the spot. He jumped, only Max’s cock in his mouth stifling his yelp, and clenched deliciously around the impaling fingers. Max pulled his head up enough to ask him, “What if I wanted to—”

  “Please,” Arjen begged h
im, spread out and helpless. “Please, Max, now, fuck me now!”

  Max took a moment to enjoy this sweetest of triumphs, Arjen begging him at last, then whispered to him, “I’ll fuck you when I’m good and ready,” and pushed his head back down.

  Arjen was still clenching sweetly. Max wouldn’t let him relax, fingering him ruthlessly, teasing hot shudder after hot shudder out of him. Arjen shuddered and trembled and finally arched up into a violent climax, clamping down on his fingers. It was such a powerful moment that a fierce flash of heat ripped through Max and Max came hard in his mouth, gripping his hair.

  Afterward he kept Arjen in his lap while both of them calmed down. Arjen panted, dazed, Max’s fingers still in his hair as they caught their breath. Finally Arjen stirred under his hand. “Did I…” He couldn’t take his eyes off Max’s cock. “Did I do something wrong?”

  “What?” Max laughed. “Of course not. You were fantastic.”

  “I mean…” Arjen nuzzled his cock, sparking a hot pulse of lust. Thankfully for him Max was currently too exhausted to get him all wound up again. “You made me—you made me beg. And you wouldn’t fuck me.”

  “I told you.” Max ran a hand up and down his bare arm. “When I’m ready.”

  “When will you be ready?”

  How adorable. Arjen really wanted Max to fuck him. “When you come to my place.”

  “Why there?” That was definitely plaintive. Why not here, he meant. Why not now.

  “Because it’s my territory. Not yours.” Max ran his fingers through his hair; Arjen murmured, soothed. “So when you come to me, you come to surrender. You put yourself in my hands. You trust me completely.”

  Arjen said nothing, biting his lip, that little sign of uncertainty.

  “You’ll enjoy it, sweetling. Believe me. You weren’t sure if you’d like sucking cock and look how much you get off on it.”

  Arjen shifted in the warm covers. “Will it hurt?”

  “Hurt?” Max took a moment to think about that. His partners had never complained, but he didn’t think he’d ever slept with a virgin before.