Page 21 of Touch of Innocence
TEN
His heart pulsed in his chest, fluttering around in there like a bird trying to free itself from a cage. In fact, it wouldn’t really surprise him that much if his heart actually came right up the back of his throat, with the sheer terror which had gone through him when he’d seen that jack fail.
Gunner hadn’t been paying attention, not really, when Sam had pushed the jack into place. He’d been too busy with the relief of knowing that he had a job, that he was really safe, for now. Not only that, but he should be able to save up some money. But how would Sam respond to that? Sam was strangely hostile about people attempting to move in on his job. Or so it had always seemed.
The first thing that warned Gunner that something was wrong was the creak and a slight, ominous tilt of the car. He couldn’t be sure what, but something was going wrong. The jack was failing, and a ton and a half of car was poised to come down right on Sam’s head.
There was no time to think. Gunner just acted, hauling Sam out, looking down into the other man’s scared face. Maybe later, there would be anger. The jack must have been used improperly. And if Sam got hurt, it would be Gunner’s brand new job on the line. No one had to tell him that.
And yet, that wasn’t the main reason, or even close to it, why he was so worried. Why he wrapped his arms around Sam and clutched him close to himself like he could somehow keep him safe and in his arms forever.
Then he was being kissed, and it wasn’t like he and Sam hadn’t kissed before, but there was something different to it this time. Some sort of promise that Sam had always withheld before. It had always been like each kiss could be the last, like Sam might come to his senses and end this bizarre relationship, whatever it was between them, in a heartbeat.
It was probably just all of the craziness of the near accident, but right then, Sam wasn’t holding anything back. The barriers between them, for this few minutes, at least, were down, and something was happening between them which Gunner couldn’t really even put a name to, because it had never happened to him before.
He did know that, for the first time, he didn’t feel like Sam was looking down on him. He did know that Sam was warm and trembling in his arms, clinging to him like his life depended on it, that his mouth was eager and willing.
Sam’s hands slid around between their bodies, and then Gunner knew one more thing. He was about to be stripped, right here in this shop, in their workplace. It was going to happen, and Gunner should have been a little bit more alarmed by the thought than he was.
The smell of oil, of machinery, was all around them, and it was one that Gunner had always loved. On top of which, this open communication between their bodies, it wasn’t something that had ever happened before. He might not really know fully what it was, but he did know that he didn’t want to miss out on it.
So he raised his hips enough that Sam could tug down his pants, wondering just how far the younger man would be willing to go. Whatever it would be, Gunner was going to hold on for the ride, let the mysterious, intelligent young man lead the way.
Sam’s hands were a bit awkward, and Gunner gazed down into those eyes, which practically shimmered with little green sparks of desire. It seemed that Sam had a hell of a physical reaction to almost dying because he moved like a man almost insane with lust. And when Gunner pressed his hips down against him, just testing it out, not only did he find Sam very, incredibly hard, but Sam tilted his hips up and rubbed directly against Gunner as soon as he got the chance.
“Sam. You haven’t done this before, have you?” Gunner asked, not trying to start anything, for once. Just wanting to know. It could make a difference.
It didn’t really surprise him when Sam shook his head, and for just a brief moment, Gunner considered taking Sam home. Letting their first time be somewhere safe and private, only the big farmhouse, with all of the people who lived there, could hardly be considered all that private.
So Gunner let it happen. It was a risk, but a calculated one. Mike was gone, and he should be gone for a while, from Gunner’s experience, since he was running payroll and that wasn’t the sort of thing that he was good at. It tended to take him a few hours to get it done, and there was a lot that could happen in a few hours.
“Please. Don’t stop.”
Gunner could hardly believe that the words were coming from Sam’s mouth. He hadn’t actually been completely sure that Sam even knew the meaning of the word please. Any last doubts that he might have had vanished into nothingness, and instead, he started to strip Sam.
Not like Sam was stripping him, though, with eager, rough hands, almost tearing at the cloth in his eagerness. Gunner was more careful, and far slower, about it, slipping cloth aside and kissing and nibbling over the skin as he revealed it. Sam was a virgin, and by the time they went further than they already had, Gunner wanted Sam clinging to him and moaning, wanted him to be so lost in the haze of sweet, desperate lust that he would cling to Gunner and moan as he plunged inside Gunner’s body for the first time.
That was how it should be, Gunner figured. He wasn’t a virgin, but Sam was, and Gunner was more than happy to switch. For this first time, at least, it would probably be better for Sam to top. But when it happened, he wanted to know that Sam really, truly wanted it.
So he set about trying to drive this gorgeous, infuriating, closeted man insane. He suckled at his nipples, teasing them into hard little nubs as he lashed at them with his tongue. His hands skated over those slender, toned muscles, and piece by piece, he stripped him until Sam was just as bare as Gunner was.
The floor of the shop was cold concrete, but Gunner didn’t care, and it didn’t seem like Sam did, either. They rolled together, kissing, hips meeting, parting, and then coming together again, bare, leaking cocks grinding together whenever they could.
Gunner reached out almost blindly, finding his pants, finding the condom that he kept carefully stowed away in his wallet, just in case. He’d always thought it was better to be safe than sorry, and in seconds, he had the little packet out. The foil crinkled as he slid the latex sheath out and started to roll it over Sam’s cock.
The whole time, Gunner watched Sam, ready to stop if he saw even the faintest sign of hesitation. He didn’t. Not even for one second did Sam seem anything but eager, though there were nerves there, too. Of course there were, how could there not be?
“We can go slower,” Gunner told him, though he wasn’t sure how much slower his own throbbing, aching cock would let him go. To his great relief, Sam shook his head, on his back with his sheathed cock pressing against his flat stomach.
“Now,” Sam murmured, his sweet, gorgeous voice deeper than normal and slightly hoarse with his need. Gunner straddled him, pressing his ass down against him, watching Sam’s face carefully.
Even now, part of him couldn’t help but think that Sam might come to his senses, that the connection which Gunner felt would turn out to be false. That Sam would tell him to back off, and Gunner would have to find the willpower to do it.
But none of that happened. Sam’s hands settled on Gunner’s powerful hips, pulling him down, insistent and demanding. Still, despite his own desires, and Sam’s, too, Gunner couldn’t help but take a moment, just a few seconds, to stare down at the beautiful young man spread out under him.
Cheeks bright with color, eyes sparkling, pretty pink lips parted with his rapid breath, Sam’s golden-brown hair was a mess around his face. He was the very image of wanton eagerness, mussed up already from Gunner’s touch but so very eager for more.
“Gunner!” Sam’s voice came out as a soft, urgent little kiss, and Gunner chuckled a little bit. It was hard not to get a kick out of the straight boy giving himself to him, hard not to be proud of himself for making that happen, but there were more important things to think about, to feel.
