Given Time Read online

  Matt kissed the tear as it reached Angel’s jaw and then brushed his lips gently on Angel’s mouth. “Let’s go back to the hotel and down a couple of whiskies.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  The bright lights of the hotel glimmering in the night cheered Angel. Matt’s arm around him as they walked comforted him. He stopped at the end of the street before they crossed to the hotel entrance. He drew away from Matt. “I meant it. I would move for you. I can’t let the chance for love slip away. It feels as if I love you. I’ve never felt what I feel for you before. I don’t know too much about you, but it feels as if I’ve always known you.” Angel gazed into Matt’s eyes. The light of a streetlamp displayed the planes of Matt’s handsome face. He’s beautiful. I hope he loves me.

  Matt held the sheaf of papers carefully rolled up in one hand. He pulled Angel hard against his body with the other arm. “It feels as if I love you, too.” He kissed Angel, slowly, tenderly.

  The kiss made Angel’s cock stir. Desire flared in him. He broke away and they crossed the road.

  The hotel bar was crowded. Angel walked close to Matt. He remembered their first meeting. It seemed a long time ago although it was only a couple of days. They stood shoulder to shoulder, reflected in the mirrored backsplash of the bar. Angel smiled. Matt sure was attractive. He recalled the way Matt had gazed at him in the restaurant and how he’d been hesitant to stare back.

  Matt ordered for them.

  Angel picked up his glass. “Do you want to find a table?”

  Matt’s voice was deliciously low, and his eyes darkened. He leaned close.

  Angel felt the whisper of Matt’s breath against his lips.

  “I’d rather knock back the liquor and go up to bed.”

  Angel’s stomach tightened. A spike of sensation lifted his balls. He needed to be skin to skin with Matt. He drank the pale golden liquid in one go. “Sounds great.”

  ****

  Matt put the sheaf of newspaper cuttings and Rory’s letter on the desk in his suite. He turned to Angel.

  All Angel could think about was having Matt’s muscled chest against his, and Matt’s cock in his hand. His own cock pulsed. He grabbed Matt’s shoulders and pulled him close. He swooped on Matt’s mouth in a kiss so hard, his lover’s lips parted and Angel slid his tongue on Matt’s. He closed his eyes. Words wouldn’t do. He didn’t want clothes between them. He grasped Matt’s jacket and pulled it down his arms. He tore at Matt’s shirt and the buttons flew away, plinking on the hardwood floor. He dotted wet kisses over his mouth as he fumbled Matt’s pants open.

  Matt took his hands and pushed him to arm’s length. He dropped his jacket to the floor and pulled off his shirt. He gazed into Angel’s eyes as he pushed off his pants and shorts, levering off his boots with each foot.

  Angel watched, mesmerized by the way Matt moved, and the sheer beauty of his muscular body. He saw Matt’s cock spring free, huge, and enticing. It spurred him into pulling off his clothes. His breath came in gasps. His thighs clenched. His cock stood away from his stomach as he finished undressing and he sheathed it in his fist, pumping a couple of times, desperate to feel Matt’s hands there.

  Matt’s eyes were dark. He advanced on Angel and grabbed his ass dragging him close. His cock met Angel’s and Angel groaned. He pushed his hands between their bodies, and grasped Matt’s cock and his own together. He used both hands to pull and pump both their cocks, as Matt thrust his hips, and kissed his mouth between moans. Pre-cum slipped on Angel’s fingers. Matt’s cock in his hands, iron hard and yet velvet tipped made him long to fuck. His lust-fogged mind brought him the memory that Matt might not be ready to have a cock in his ass. He slid his hands from their cocks and slipped his arms around Matt’s delicious muscled body.

  “Come to bed.”

  Angel couldn’t help it. He grasped Matt’s cock and led him into the bedroom.

  Matt traced his fingers up and down Angel’s ass as he walked.

  Angel’s cock ached and his balls lifted so high he expected to spill his wad before they even got to the bed. He stopped next to it and slipped his hand in a sexy slide from Matt’s leaking dick.

  Matt pushed his arms around Angel’s neck. His kiss a mix of sex and tenderness, he thrust his lower body on Angel’s.

  Angel murmured against Matt’s lips. “Fuck me, babe. I want it. I need it.”

  Matt left him for a moment and brought back condoms and lube. He dropped them on the bedside table. He pressed Angel down onto the bed.

  Angel bent and kissed Matt’s cock before he lay down.

  Matt gasped at the kiss. He snatched up a condom and tore the foil pack open. Breathless, he rolled the condom on his cock. He took a palm full of lube and leaned over Angel.

  Angel couldn’t think straight. His balls ached. His stomach clenched. Angel was on the point of begging to be fucked, when Matt spread his legs with a strong hand and slid the lube under his sac and into his ass.

  Angel jerked up to Matt’s hand. He dug his heels into the quilt and lifted his ass to have Matt’s fingers lube his entrance. The pleasure forced a long groan from him. He lifted his arms to Matt, desperate to touch him.

  Matt pulled Angel’s hips up and thrust his cock into his ass.

  Angel called out as his cock slapped on his stomach muscles. The double exciting sensation made him desperate to come. He closed his eyes and grasped the quilt in his fists as Matt fucked him.

  Matt stroked his cock in and out of Angel’s ass in rapid moves and then he slowed. He let go of one side of Angel’s hips and grasped Angel’s cock. He jerked Angel off as he slid his dick in Angel’s slick channel.

  The pleasure winded Angel. The nerves in his ass zinged. Every part of his body tingled. His orgasm stormed over him. He groaned trying to breathe, his head thrown back by the force of coming.

  Matt thrust hard into his ass and the pleasure deepened. Some place in his ass and between his legs throbbed with raw sex and joined the waves of his orgasm. He moaned and clutched at the sides of the bed.

  Matt’s pounding slowed. He murmured ragged low sounds. He drifted his fingertips up Angel’s stomach.

  Angel gasped as streaks of sensation leapt up his body. He sagged on the bed. “I want to hold you. I need to kiss you.”

  Matt collapsed over him. Catching himself on his forearms, he kissed Angel and whispered. “You are so fucking sexy. I love it. I love you. Fucking hell, I’ve never come as hard as I do with you.”

  Angel stroked Matt’s back. A film of moisture met his fingers. He drifted his hands along Matt’s muscles and played at the crack of his ass. “Sex with you—it’s intense and addictive. I’ll never get enough of it.”

  Matt smiled on his mouth—kissed him. “I want to limber up and have your cock in my ass. It’s a special kind of pleasure to be fucked from behind as your cock is held in a tight fist.”

  Angel laughed. “I’ll finger your ass as I jerk or suck you off a few times. That’ll loosen that neglected ass up.”

  “You’re making my cock throb.” Matt grabbed his head and kissed him hungrily. He slipped his tongue on Angel’s tongue.

  Matt’s fingertips sent exquisite tingles down Angel’s ears and he sighed with pleasure.

  “You told me you love me. It’s good to hear. It’s exciting and comforting. It’s what I want.”

  “I do love you … I’ll, I’ll get rid of the condom.” Matt moved gently away.

  Angel rolled off the bed and followed Matt into the bathroom.

  “Can we shower? Now I’ve satisfied my rampant lust for you I’d like to cozy up and talk, maybe see your photographs as promised.”

  Matt threw the tissue wrapped condom into the waste bin by the sink, and in an elegant move grabbed Angel by the hand and brought him into the shower stall. He turned on the mixer faucet and as the warm water flowed over them, he kissed Angel.

  The steam billowed around them, enclosing Angel in a bubble of sex and comfort as Matt took the soap and lathered their bodies. A
ngel turned in Matt’s embrace. Water slipped over him. He closed his eyes and soaked up the sensation of having a gorgeous guy who loved him pressed close.

  Matt kissed his shoulder. He moved from Angel and stepped out of the stall.

  Angel turned off the faucet.

  Matt handed him a towel and he dried off as Matt cleaned his teeth.

  Angel looked at the toothpaste. He didn’t have a toothbrush here. His was in the suite he never used. He smiled at Matt. “I should dash to my room and get my toothbrush.”

  Matt raised his eyebrows. “Naked?”

  Angel laughed. “Hell no. I was going to pull on my pants.”

  Matt grinned. “I was kidding. I have a spare. I always carry one. Fact is, it’s not unknown for me to accidently elbow my toothbrush off the sink and into the toilet as I rinse.”

  Delighted, Angel couldn’t stop smiling. “Seriously?”

  Matt nodded. “Oh, yeah.” He fished in the toiletries bag at the back of the hand basin unit and pulled out a long slim pack. He tossed it to Angel.

  Angel caught it, popped the toothbrush out of the plastic bubble, and cleaned his teeth. He looked in the mirror and ran his hands through his hair. Happiness coated him. He felt healed and calm.

  Matt had gone into the bedroom and Angel joined him sitting up in bed. Matt’s laptop was balanced on his quilt-covered knees and Angel looked at the screen. Matt had brought up a slide show of his photographs and slowly clicked through them.

  Angel’s admiration grew with each picture. The shots were poignant, enigmatic, and exciting. “Wow, I’m impressed. You must use them somehow. They’re great, Matt.” He turned to his loved one. “I’m still willing to book the art space. Hell, you can use Rory’s studio if you want. Those are terrific photographs.”

  Matt’s gentle smile made tenderness swell in his heart. “I’ll do some art with them. Not yet, though—maybe I’ll use them when I’m back in Paris. I might do some mixed media stuff. Rory’s bio collage idea has given me inspiration.”

  Angel’s heart thumped. “Back in Paris?” He couldn’t help the tremor that entered his voice.

  Matt gazed at him. “Sorry, I didn’t mean without you. I can make my base anywhere now I’m established. I need to go back to sort things out—put my apartment up for sale, pack, that sort of thing.” He ran his fingertip down Angel’s cheek to his lips and traced over the seam. He leaned to Angel and kissed him.

  Angel’s heartbeat slowed to almost normal. He took the delectable kiss then drew away to look into Matt’s eyes. “I can relocate if you don’t want to.”

  Matt’s eyes held a smile. He shook his head. “You have an office. You employ people. You have a recording and editing studio. It’s time I came back. Yeah, I want to.” He closed the laptop and placed it on the bedside table, pushing a lamp aside. He gathered Angel into his arms and they shuffled down the bed together.

  “I want you to be sure, Matt. It’s a big step.” Angel laid his head against Matt’s.

  “I’m as sure as I can be.”

  Angel gazed up at the dimly lit ceiling. He hoped Matt wouldn’t change his mind, but if he did, Angel would find a way to live in Paris, too.

  “I’ll come with you to arrange things. When the funeral is over…”

  Matt’s voice held a smile. “I’d like that.” He turned his face to Angel.

  Angel kissed his lover. Tenderness overwhelmed him and he held Matt tighter.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Matt slipped his arm around Angel’s shoulders as the ashes settled on the water then floated gently away. The early sun dappled the surface with pretty sparkles and lit the stones displaying fresh green moss.

  They both gazed down into the river.

  “How are you feeling?”

  “Calm, okay, but I think that’s because I have you. It’s as if Rory will be taking his walk by the river always. He loved this place. He never lived anywhere else, and being back here for a while, I understand that. It’s a beautiful place.” Angel tucked the blue stone urn under his arm. “I’m going to put this on the patio with a plant in it.”

  Matt gave him a gentle smile. “I think Rory would like that idea.”

  He’d watched Angel fold Rory’s note into a small square and secure it in his wallet the night before. It felt to Matt as if Angel was capturing the sentiment in Rory’s words to store forever. He took Angel’s free hand in his.

  Angel clasped his hand tight. “So … it’s all over. The gallery office continues under the trust Rory left. Samantha is well taken care of. I guess everyone will simply go on as usual.”

  Matt looked into Angel’s eyes, and emotion welled in him. He experienced a prickle of worry. He didn’t want to go on as usual. He wanted the new life with Angel that they talked about each time they made love and lay in each other’s arms. “Will you live here? The house is all yours now.”

  Angel let go of Matt’s hand and slid his hand around Matt’s jaw. His eyes held love. “I could. The house is big enough to move my personal office and some editing equipment here. Would you live here with me? Could you use Rory’s studio? It will lay idle otherwise—an empty space longing for an artist to fill it with color, light, life. Matt, I want to be with you, but I need you to be happy. We talked about you leaving Paris, but could you really?” He smudged his nose on Matt’s and kissed his mouth gently.

  Matt closed his eyes and held Angel’s shoulders to keep him close for more kisses. He broke away to breathe and let Angel know he wanted to make the decision about what they’d do now. “I’ll be happy as long as I’m with you.”

  Angel grinned mischievously. “Then the two tickets to Paris I booked for a flight tomorrow won’t go to waste. We’ll go pack up your stuff and bring it here. If you want … if that’s okay? I love you. I love the way your stubble feels under my hand right now. I love your sexy dark eyes and that little frown that’s just appeared between your eyes now that you’re surprised. I love your kisses…”

  Matt covered his lips with a kiss. He drew away. “I do want. It is okay.” He laughed aloud as happiness coated him in hope and excitement. He grabbed Angel back into his arms and hugged him tight.

  ****

  Six months later—

  Matt stood back from his painting and considered the shadow he’d painted. The light had changed and he picked up a rag to wipe his brush off before he put it into the cleaning jar. The crunch of tires on the gravel drive below reached him through the open window. Angel’s home.

  He went to look out.

  Angel closed the door of his car with a soft clunk and glanced up at Matt.

  Love flowed over Matt as he returned Angel’s smile. The scent of roses wafted in from the garden. A late summer sun held comfortable warmth. He plopped the brush into the jar.

  Angel burst in through the already open doors. He strode to Matt and grabbed him close, sliding his hands around Matt’s hips to grasp his ass.

  Matt grinned. “You missed me then.”

  “One night away and I couldn’t wait to be with you. I hate being away from you. Is there any chance you’ll come with me next time we have to go somewhere to film a video? Please…”

  Matt kissed him. He ran his hands up and down the sides of Angel’s body. “I don’t know. I don’t want you getting tired of me because we’re always together.”

  Angel frowned. “There’s no way that will happen. Hey, there’s something for you in my back pocket.”

  Matt laughed. “This is a ploy to have my hands on your ass.” He slipped a hand around Angel’s muscled backside. A hard little box shape met his fingertips. He gave Angel a quizzical look as he brought it from the pocket.

  Angel took a deep breath. “It’s a promise. You know I love you. I can’t tell you how much. I figured I’d lay claim to you forever…”

  Matt opened the box. Twin plain gold bands sat in a blue velvet slot. His heart did a weird flip and started hammering. He loved Angel. He didn’t think they needed outward signs of commit
ment, but now that he had some in his hands, tenderness and happiness spread over him.

  He flicked his gaze to Angel’s face. His lovely sea-green eyes were dark and full of hope. Matt kissed his mouth. Angel still held him tight. Matt rested his face against Angel’s face, his mouth a whisper away from Angel’s.

  “Is it okay, babe?” Angel’s soft kiss after he’d spoken thrilled Matt.

  “To lay claim to me?” Matt smiled as he teased Angel, but love swished in his stomach and his heart pounded.

  Angel let go of his ass and took the ring box from him.

  Matt slid his hand along Angel’s jaw. “You know it is. I fuckin’ love you so much it hurts sometimes.”

  Angel pulled the gold bands from the box and took Matt’s hand. “If it doesn’t fit I’ll be so disappointed.”

  Matt helped him slip the ring on his finger and then took the other and slid it onto Angel’s finger. “Perfect.” He couldn’t say anymore because Angel pulled him close and kissed him hard.

  The End

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