Page 41 of Sugar

But Piper seemed to know, almost like an instinct, because instead of teasing him more, he leaned further over the tub and took Juno’s hard dick into the circle of his fingers. “Like this?”

“Yeah,” Juno breathed. “Fuck.”

“Mm. Definitely plan to do that later. Right now, I want to make you come.” His hand sped up. Water was getting absolutely everywhere. Bubbles flew into his face as Juno rocked his hips, making waves like a miniature sea in a hurricane as his body moved with the rhythm of Piper’s arm.

His orgasm was the eye of the storm. It couldn’t be stopped. He couldn’t delay it. He was powerless to the thunder in his veins as pleasure crashed through him. He had no idea why it was so powerful. He succumbed, his vision whiting out, his ears ringing, his body almost numb save for the ecstasy hitting him in waves and bursts.

He felt himself spill into the water, his dick twitching as Piper squeezed the tip, then dragged his hand to the base to hold him. It was glorious, until it wasn’t. Until suddenly, he realized the water was soiled.

The idea of spunk in the water took him out of the postorgasm bliss with an almost violence. He felt panicked about it, and he pulled himself out of the tub, almost knocking Piper over.

“Hey,” Piper said as Juno scrambled for a towel. “Hey, what happened?”

He didn’t know. He had no idea why that hit him. He was trembling all over, and the moment Piper touched him, pulling him into his lap, he went boneless. A sob lodged in his throat, and he buried his face against Piper’s neck. He didn’t feel like crying, though. He felt like screaming.

“What did I do?”

Juno shifted and felt Piper’s cock against his hip. It was soft now. He’d fucked it all up. “I’m sorry.” His voice trembled in the back of his throat. “I—I don’t…” He took a slow breath and tried to focus. He had flashes of memories—visions of a home he’d been in when he was four. He was forced to share water with four other kids close to his age. One of them had pissed in it.

He cried, but the woman caring for them had told him to quit complaining and wash up. He’d felt dirty for days. He swore he smelled like piss, though there had been plenty of soap to wash himself.

But the fact that he hadn’t been allowed to get clean with fresh water—to actually feel clean—it had tormented him.

He just hadn’t realized how deeply that moment had burrowed into his soul.

“Can we not do that again? Uh. In the bath?”

Piper lifted his chin. “Never again.” He didn’t ask why. He didn’t want an explanation. He just made the vow like it was the easiest thing in the world to do. It hit Juno hard because even his friends would have wanted to know what was going on in his head.

They would have demanded he relive it aloud. They would have called it therapeutic—and maybe it would have been—but he couldn’t face that here.

Piper touched his jaw carefully. “May I kiss you?”

“Yes.” God, yes. He needed that. It was cleansing. Piper’s lips were soft, and his tongue was warm. The kiss had none of the previous demands Piper had laid on him. It was claiming, but it was also freeing. “I’m sorry I ruined it.”

“You didn’t ruin anything,” Piper said. Juno’s eyes cut down to where his ass was pressed against Piper’s crotch, and Piper laughed. “Sugar, I had no intention of coming right now. I plan to save all this up for after dinner. When we’re in bed and I can fuck you properly. Bathtub sex is never fun.”

“Or clean,” Juno said.

Piper lifted a brow, but he said nothing more. He eased Juno off his lap, then climbed to his feet and tugged him close again. “Go get dressed in something comfy. Dinner’s almost ready. The steaks are resting, and I have rice on the stove and veggies roasting.”

Simple fare and exactly what he needed. Small comforts for a small man living a small life. But he liked himself that way. And he couldn’t help but notice that Piper seemed to also.

Dinner was quiet. At first, Juno thought it was because of his freak-out, but Piper was calm and relaxed, smiling and nodding every time Juno spoke. He listened like he wanted to, not like he was obligated, and when they were done, he stacked the dishes and told Juno they could worry about them in the morning.

Juno expected to be dragged back to the bed, but Piper instead pulled him into the solarium. There was a huge sofa with massive, squashy cushions, and the ceiling was glass, like they were in a giant greenhouse.

As Juno got settled, Piper turned off all the lights. Darkness surrounded him almost in a rush, and his heart began to pound. He couldn’t see much of the dark with his left eye. The blind spot was a hazy, unchanging grey fog. And when he looked up at the sky, he realized it was almost impossible to see the stars. Even if he closed his left eye, he couldn’t stop his awareness of the loss.

“Bad idea?” Piper asked as he settled next to Juno.

“No.” His stomach was sitting at his feet with his realization. “I think I can’t see the stars anymore, though.”

“Give it time,” Piper promised.

Juno wanted to be angry at him. What the hell kind of advice was that? But his right eye began to adjust to the darkness, and then he saw them—little pinpricks of light. Most of them were small and hazy, but there were a couple that were bright, like a little tea light out in space.

“Better?” Piper asked.

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