Afterburn Read online

  “Undress me then,” Bas murmured.

  No sooner had the words left his mouth than Ryder’s hands popped the top button of his jeans and slid his zipper down. Cool air from the A/C slipped over Bas’s heated flesh as Ryder tugged the belt loops, yanking the jeans downward. When they snagged at his knees, Ryder growled in frustration and let go to glide his palms over Bas’s sides, pushing his t-shirt up. Bas ducked his head so Ryder could pull the shirt off. Torso now naked, the cool air and Ryder’s hot gaze puckered his nipples. Bas shivered slightly and Ryder leaned in, kissing him quick and hard on the mouth.

  “You’re so fucking hot,” he breathed, his eyes dark blue with lust.

  Bas looked down to find Ryder’s slightly paler hands on his tanned chest, the long fingers tangling in the rough hairs that spread across his pecs. As Ryder caressed him boldly, tweaking his nipples and teasing the sensitive skin over his ribs, Bas toed out of his footwear and shifted his legs in an effort to make his jeans slip lower. When the denim finally drifted to his ankles, he kicked free of them, noting absently that they landed halfway across the room on the pale wood floor.

  “I’ve never seen a man look so good in a pair of Calvins,” Ryder said on a low laugh. “At the same time, I don’t think I’ve ever been so annoyed at finding a man in briefs.”

  Impatiently, Bas shoved his underwear down and kicked them in the direction of his jeans. Ryder hissed in a breath and his fingers folded around Bas’s erection. Heat suffused Bas and he’d never been so grateful for central air.

  “Jeez, Bas. Your cock is beautiful,” Ryder breathed reverently, his one hand drifting down Bas’s chest as he stroked one fingertip along the length of Bas’s from the crown to the base. “I want it now.”

  Backing Bas toward the bed purposefully, Ryder pushed him onto the mattress. Sprawled on his ass, leaning back on his hands, Bas let the younger man spread his thighs. His mouth turned dry as the desert floor when Ryder knelt and touched his tongue to the inside of his right knee. Ryder’s hands found Bas’s balls, cupping them, kneading them.

  “Fuck. You shave,” he moaned, his gaze hotter than a wildfire. “I’ve never been with a guy with such a smooth sac.”

  Bas rather liked how Ryder couldn’t stop touching his scrotum, his fingers kneading the testicles within. It sent heat crawling through his body. Leaning back on his elbows, he stared down his naked body to where Ryder’s tawny buzz cut brushed his thigh.

  “Are you gonna play with me or suck me, Ryder?” he asked huskily. “Cause I want you to suck me. I want to feel your mouth on me and feel your moans vibrating against my cock.”

  An expression of crazed lust settled on Ryder’s handsome face as he leaned forward, mouth open. The instant his soft lips settled around the crown of Bas’s cock, they both moaned. The lips slid downward and Bas tried to get control of his wayward body. The wet heat of Ryder’s mouth sent him spiraling into a world where nothing existed but his swollen cock and the rapturously sucking mouth around it.

  Ryder’s hands caressed his thighs, hips, ribs and abs. Bas wrapped his own hands around Ryder’s head and bracing his legs, began to thrust his cock into the younger man’s mouth, fucking it with shallow strokes. His long dry spell of thirteen months−probably the longest he’d gone without a man touching him−had put him at a disadvantage. He felt his orgasm rise swiftly and came undone, his control gone.

  “Shit! Ryder! I’m gonna come!” He clutched his lover’s shoulders, his fingers digging into muscle and bone as his body contracted.

  Ryder sucked harder and Bas fell into a vortex of pleasure where all he knew was the wet lick of tongue and the hot suck of tight throat around his cock. He shuddered heavily as his semen spilled into Ryder’s avid mouth. Vaguely, he felt like a total dweeb for his loss of control, slightly embarrassed to be firing off like a teenager instead of a man who should know his own body better.

  As Ryder sat back on his heels, his mouth slowly sliding from Bas’s penis, silence settled around them. Bas still struggled to breath, but he stared at Ryder apologetically. Ryder licked his lips and the corners of his mouth, panting slightly. The sexual flush on his body had deepened, almost as if he had a sunburn.

  “I’m sorry. It’s been awhile for me. Didn’t realize I had so little control,” Bas offered weakly.

  A slow smile tugged up Ryder’s mouth. He got up and knelt on the edge of the bed, trapping Bas’s body beneath him.

  “I’m not sorry. I loved your cock in my mouth. I loved you losing control. And most of all, I loved swallowing your cum,” he drawled in a deep, sex laden voice. “And now, I’m gonna love fucking that tight ass of yours.”

  Bas stared at him, eyes widening. He’d never met such a confident man. Ryder’s sexuality didn’t have the taint of arrogance he’d found in men who tried to pick him up in clubs. He just sounded sexy and sure of himself. Ryder’s words and body language told Bas that he was wanted and he found that incredibly arousing. He’d just come and already Ryder had his body stirring for an encore.

  Crawling backward on the bed, scrabbling for pillows to prop himself on, Bas laid himself out for his new lover. Ryder’s eyes gleamed, satisfaction and arousal writ plainly on his rugged face.

  “Are you a bottom?” he asked, following Bas across the bed.

  Bas shook his head. “Switch,” he murmured, his breathing ramping up again.

  Dark blue eyes glittered. “Good. You can do me next time and don’t hold back. I don’t mind a little rough,” he admitted plainly.

  The lightning flash of desire that streaked through him at Ryder’s words had Bas reaching for the nightstand. He pulled it open and Ryder leaned over, looking in. His breath hissed. He stuck his hand in and came out with a tube of lube and a condom, but the expression on his face told Bas his mind was processing everything else he’d seen in the drawer.

  “You and I are going to have a great time with those toys,” Ryder murmured as he uncapped the lube. “Shove those pillows under your ass, Bas. Show me what I want.”

  Nearly shaking with anticipation, Bas shoved two pillows beneath him and spread his thighs, pulling his knees toward his chest and exposing his anus to the cool air of the room. Ryder stared, his throat working silently. Slowly, he reached out and stroked first one, then two fingertips over Bas’s puckered flesh.

  “God, I want you!” Ryder said roughly, his other hand administering the lube.

  The two fingers teased Bas’s ass with the slick, wet lube. Then Bas felt the burn and stretch as first one finger then two entered him. He couldn’t hold back the moans of intense pleasure that rose within him. Ryder finger fucked him for a few minutes and Bas could barely control himself. When one long finger stroked over his prostate, he cried out, his body jerking.

  Ryder pulled his hand free and gripped Bas’s thighs. The thick head of Ryder’s cock pressed for entrance and Bas locked gazes with his new lover. A sharp burn accompanied the breeching of his sphincter as Ryder pushed his cock slowly inside Bas’s body. The long, slow glide of that hard cock filling him had Bas shaking with desire. Ecstasy at the sensation of being filled and drilled by a hot, sexy man−by Ryder Beckett−turned Bas into a moaning, pleading creature of passion. He knew what he sounded like, but he didn’t care. He wanted Ryder to know exactly how he affected him, how crazy Bas was for him.

  Bas clenched his ass on the cock that rode him. Ryder carefully tilted his body so that every stroke hit Bas’s prostate. Already, his formerly spent penis had begun to rise along his belly as Ryder fucked him. Even the sex in his last relationship had never felt this good. Bas recognized it as the best he’d ever had and his attraction to Ryder as the strongest he’d ever experienced. Where things would go after this, he didn’t know, but he did know that the hot press of Ryder’s cock fucking his ass thoroughly was going to make him come.

  Hard muscles rippled as Ryder pushed more roughly into Bas. Eyelids heavy with lust hid most of the jet pilot’s blue eyes, but Bas could still see the pleasure ref
lected there. He ran his hands over every inch of Ryder that he could reach. Occasionally, he stopped to stroke his own straining cock. Ryder balanced over Bas, hips and thighs propelling his thrusts. He brushed aside Bas’s hand and on a long, deep moan, took over stroking the cock that bobbed between their bodies.

  Heat flushed Bas and he knew his orgasm was imminent. He clutched Ryder’s muscular buttocks, feeling the flex of the muscles as the man’s hips moved. The crown of Ryder’s penis slipped against Bas’s prostate and sensation burst through his body. With a shout, he came, his semen splashing out onto his belly and over Ryder’s fingers. With a gruff growl, Ryder’s head dipped and he took Bas’s mouth in a searing kiss, tongues tangling, the flavor of passion crushed between their lips. The body beneath Bas’s palms went rigid and he could feel the pulse of the cock in his ass as Ryder came.

  They collapsed together, bodies hot and sweaty, sticky and scented with cum. Bas’s heart soared higher than a F-16. The man lying on him was amazing. He’d never believed in love at first sight, but Ryder made him want to believe. He rubbed his hands gently over the body atop his, delighted with the hard muscles and angular frame.

  Ryder sighed and raised himself up on his elbows. “I hope I’m not crushing you because this feels fantastic,” he muttered, his breath coming in pants.

  Bas grinned. “It does feel amazing. No one’s ever made me feel quite like this before.” He drew a deep breath and decided to just be honest with his lover. “There’s something between us, a different level of chemistry than mere attraction. I’d like the chance to explore it.”

  A satisfied smile curved Ryder’s mobile mouth. “Thank God you feel it too.”

  “So where do we go from here?” Bas asked, curious to hear the pilot’s answer.

  “My living here on your property will give us plenty of opportunity to get to know each other.”

  Bas raised one brow and a smile quirked up his lips. “So we’re dating?”

  Ryder laughed, the sound full of amusement. “I think we’re past that part. Lunch was dating. By the time you get around to fucking like this, it’s a relationship,” he teased, dropping a kiss on Bas’s mouth. “Look, I’m not interested in just fooling around. I’m too old for that. I’m done sowing my wild oats. I really do want a relationship. What’s sparking between us is way too hot for a casual encounter.”

  The words should have scared Bas but they didn’t. He couldn’t muster up the sense that it was too soon to be talking relationships. Shifting a little beneath the press of Ryder’s body, Bas said candidly, “I understand loyalty and commitment. I gave that to the Air Force for twenty years. I’m too old for furtive sex, for bars and meaningless encounters just to get off. I need more than that now.”

  “At thirty-six, I have to agree that all the casual encounters aren’t cutting it anymore,” Ryder replied. “I’ve got two years left to retirement and a lot of years left ahead of me. I want the stability of a regular lover in my life.”

  Bas frowned and touched Ryder’s mouth with one fingertip. “You realize that we can never be a couple while you’re active duty.”

  Annoyance sharpened Ryder’s handsome features. “I know the policy. I know the risks. And I also know it’s in the process of changing. Maybe it will happen before I retire, maybe it won’t. But I’m not willing to lose a chance with someone who makes me feel the way you do because military policy is made by a bunch of intolerant politicians.”

  To say Ryder had surprised him would be an understatement. “This is a pretty heavy discussion for two guys who just met, not to mention the fact there’s a condom to dispose of and some washing up that needs doing,” he said quietly.

  “Getting rid of me so soon?” Ryder teased with a shift of his body, pressing Bas more firmly into the mattress.

  His lover’s softened penis slipped from his ass when he moved his thighs. The faint residual soreness from being taken so roughly left Bas with a sense of satisfaction. Sexually replete and emotionally fulfilled by their discussion, he shook his head.

  “No. I’m actually about to tell you to go get your stuff. You can stay here until the apartment is ready.”

  The words lit a spark of surprise in Ryder’s eyes and inside Bas too. He’d just met the guy and if he’d been anyone other than a pilot at the testing center, Bas probably wouldn’t have felt comfortable enough to offer. Except that the intensity of the attraction between them probably would have had Bas doing anything not to lose the opportunity to spend more time with the pilot.

  Ryder caught Bas’s chin in his hand. “I know this is going fast, but I know who you are. I knew before I came here. I trust you. Maybe we couldn’t be a couple in public right now, but that doesn’t mean we couldn’t be one at all. And right now, my gut instinct is telling me that you’re the one. So how about, we just take this a day at a time for now with the idea that this isn’t temporary, it’s headed for something more than just physical, and we’ll spend some time hanging out, getting to know each other, and having pretty spectacular sex?”

  Bas couldn’t help but laugh a little. Ryder was like a force of nature. “I’ve never believed in love at first sight, you know.”

  “So? Does that mean it doesn’t exist?” Ryder’s brows rose and he traced Bas’s Adam’s apple with a finger. “Let’s not give it the label just yet. Let’s just enjoy it and each other, okay?”

  When Bas nodded, Ryder pressed another quick, open-mouthed kiss to his lips. Fire burned in Bas’s guts, but he sat up as Ryder rolled off him and stood. He watched the lean muscles of his lover’s thighs and ass ripple as he walked toward the bathroom. His chest ached as if a hand had clenched around his heart, squeezing just enough to make him feel the pinch.

  Swinging his feet to the floor, Bas welcomed the pull of muscles that hadn’t been used in a year. He listened to Ryder cleaning up, the running of water in the sink, the flush of the toilet. Something had changed inside him just in the hours since he’d met Ryder. His last relationship had gone to shit in less than a year despite the fact that they’d hung on for a few more months. Neither he nor the other man had been able to handle having a gay relationship while in the Air Force. When his lover had been deployed to Afghanistan, Bas had been ready to call it quits anyway. Fighting over how to keep their relationship a secret had destroyed whatever attraction they’d initially had for one another.

  Bas didn’t want that to happen with Ryder. Already, in the space of these few hours, he’d become vested in the pilot. If things continued to be this good between them, Bas could be discreet for two years until Ryder retired. The promise of a good, solid relationship drew him like a lodestone. He’d grown damned tired of life spent alone.

  Ryder’s head popped around the edge of the bathroom door. “Is something wrong?” he asked, gesturing to Bas still sitting on the bed. “I thought maybe we could shower together.”

  The quizzical expression in Ryder’s blue eyes roused Bas from his ruminations. He stood and swiftly crossed the room. Stepping into the terracotta tiled bathroom, he grasped Ryder’s biceps and kissed him hard.

  “That sounds like a plan to me,” he said.

  Turning toward the shower, he reached in and twisted the knobs, adjusting the water. He drew Ryder into the spray and reached for the soap.

  “You’re not going to deliberately drop that are you?”

  Bas laughed at his lover’s joke. It dawned on him that he’d laughed more in the past few hours than he had in months. “No. You are.” He slapped the soap into Ryder’s hand and shifted behind him, trailing wet kisses along the shoulders and spine of his lover.

  “How about we hurry this up and I’ll go get my stuff? After that we’ll have the rest of the day and night to get to know each other better,” Ryder offered.

  They showered quickly and afterward Ryder got in his Mustang, headed for the little motel where all his belongings were. While he was gone, Bas picked up his cell phone and hit a number on the speed dial. He needed grounding and he kne
w just the person to do it.

  “Aarons.”

  Colonel Mike Aarons was not only Bas’s boss at the test pilot school, they were good friends as well. Mike kept his finger on the pulse of the base partly because it was his job to and also because he believed in being prepared at all times. And to Mike Aarons, part of being prepared was being informed.

  “Hey, Mike. It’s Bas. I need a favor. Tell me about Ryder Beckett.”

  Mike sighed softly. “How’d you meet him?”

  “He came out here to see about renting the apartment over the garage. He rented it from my dad back when he went through training school.” Bas flopped into the big leather chair in his office and booted up his computer.

  “Major Ryder Beckett transferred in from Langley’s 1st Fighter Wing. He was flying F-22s there. Before that he flew F-15 Strike Eagles for the 455th in Afghanistan. As a natural progression to his career as a fighter pilot, he’s here to test the F-35s.” Mike Aarons drew an audible breath. “He’s a lot like you, Bas. He trained here at the Test Pilot School. I think he was even at the Academy when you were. And I hear he was the lead solo for the Thunderbirds after you left. He got your plane.”

  Bas chuckled. “Yeah. He told me about that. Anything else you want to tell me about him?”

  A note of caution entered Mike’s voice. “He’s not quite the daredevil you are. You have that complete fearlessness that acrobatic pilots have in abundance and you’ve been an F-16 guy all the way. Since your career path was flying F-16s, you’ve spent your life in the desert from Nellis to Hill to Iraq to here. Nowhere that you ever had to do anything except fly your ass off. Everyone knew you were a hot shot. ‘Babe’ Marchetti, the guy who could fly before he could walk. But Beckett’s a smart guy. He didn’t make the lateral moves you made in your career. He did so well with the F-15s they practically begged to have him at Langley for the F-22 program. He spent some time in Virginia then parlayed his sterling record and test pilot training into the slot you left when you retired.”