Moving in Rhythm (10 page)

Saturday was lesson day. Lisa was booked from nine o’clock on. Mark worked out, ran with the Belle, washed his favorite jeans, ironed his best black button-down shirt, fed Belle, made dinner for Lisa, showered, shaved, slathered on deodorant, dressed, changed from his black button-down into a gray pullover, changed back, yelled to Lisa that he was going out but to call if she needed him and ran out the door before she could answer.

He sat in the car, staring at the directions Seth had given. It was crazy but yes, he and his hard-on were driving across town to have pretend anonymous sex with the most amazing man he’d ever met. That he wanted Seth was the most natural thing in the world. Everyone wanted Seth. That Seth seemed to want
him
was astounding. Even if all Seth was looking for was a one-night stand with the crazy guy, or to ease Mark’s poor soul into the gay life or whatever else it might be, the fact that Mark had a date with Seth was a fucking miracle.

He turned the key in the ignition and drove through the cool spring evening. Seth lived in a neighborhood Mark hadn’t visited before. Just north of Main Street, it had a funky, hippie ambiance. He imagined houses full of healthy people eating organic produce and saving whales. Seth had said his was an attic studio in an old Victorian. Mark counted down the numbers, his anxiety and excitement playing leapfrog as he neared the address.

Parking, he locked the doors and considered the gingerbread concoction before him. It took him a moment to find the stairs on the side of the house that led up to Seth’s outside entrance. The filigree on the wrought-iron railing indicated the place must have been broken up into apartments sometime in the thirties. Mark climbed the creaking stairs and paused on the landing to let anticipation overcome fear.

He raised his hand to knock and the door flung open. Seth looked elegant and handsome in a long brocade robe and silky blue pants. He grinned and waved Mark in, making an elaborate show of silence.

The panic rose.

Seth’s face softened with concern. He took hold of Mark’s hand and pulled him into the apartment. Mark’s impressions were of classical music and bright colors and then Seth pulled him into his arms.

Seth was enough taller than Mark that Mark could bury his face in his neck, inhaling his scent. He smelled of shampoo and that same fascinating underlying Sethness Mark remembered from Claire’s kitchen. Mark wrapped his arms around him, his hands sliding along the silky robe, stroking Seth’s long, lean back. Then Seth’s long fingers were in Mark’s hair, pulling his head up, and Seth’s mouth found his and it was even better than before. Mark closed his eyes, fell into the taste of toothpaste and tongue.

Mark’s hands traveled down to Seth’s hips and pulled him closer, groaning at the wonder of Seth’s erection pressing into his belly. His own cock surged against the fabric of his jeans so hard it almost hurt. From the sound system Mark registered a symphony playing softly in the background. His previous sexual experiences had been accompanied by the heavy beat of bar music or muffled traffic sounds. Deep hunger overwhelmed him and he pushed himself against Seth.

Seth ground into Mark. The fabric of Seth’s robe fell open, Seth’s warm chest naked against his. Mark slid his hands beneath the robe and touched the ridges of Seth’s ribs beneath smooth muscle and skin. Mark paused, amazed by the heat beneath his fingers. Seth’s heart beat under his hands. Seth groaned into Mark’s mouth, his hands rubbing up and down along Mark’s shoulders and arms. Mark remembered his joke about muscle men and flexed his arms, making the biceps pop.

Seth’s breath caught, and he broke the kiss. “Oh God, I can’t help it. I have to talk. You don’t need to say anything.” He started unbuttoning Mark’s shirt. “Honey, I need to see you naked. I really do.”

Mark smiled and pulled his half-buttoned shirt over his head. Seth stood before him, his robe open to reveal a long, lean torso. Mark let his gaze travel down the length of him. A dusting of chest hair stood out against his pale skin. Mark ran his thumb over one pale nipple, watching Seth’s eyes dilate in response. Seth was stroking Mark’s muscled chest like a blind man, biting his lower lip as he caressed the contours of Mark’s carefully crafted abdomen. Maybe sublimation hadn’t been such a bad strategy after all.

The hunger ate his fear and Mark slid a finger into the waistband of Seth’s pants. It had been so long, but this kind of interaction he could do. He let his knuckles graze the top of Seth’s erection.

Seth hooked Mark’s fly with his finger. “Come to bed,” he whispered, walking backward, tugging Mark across the room.

Mark followed, his attention riveted by the pulsing of his blood beneath Seth’s finger against his belly. A bed, now that was a novelty. He captured Seth’s mouth in a long, deep kiss, Seth’s freshly shaved cheek smooth against his own. He inhaled the smell of his soap. Seth pulled them both down onto the bed, his hands cradling Mark’s ass. Mark slipped his thigh between Seth’s and they ground together as if trying to envelop each other in the kiss.

Finally Seth broke, whispering against Mark’s mouth, “Still too many clothes.” And then that wasn’t true and Mark flopped on his back. Seth leaned over him.

Mark explored the miracle of Seth’s skin, reveling in the sensation of his strong, spare body against his own nakedness. Seth leaned down and took Mark’s nipple into his mouth. He gasped as the warmth of Seth’s tongue flicking against his nipple electrified him, arched into Seth, the rasp of their breaths echoed in his ears. Seth’s muscles rippled firm and hot beneath Mark’s hands.

Mark wanted to taste the sweat forming on Seth’s skin. He turned his head, mouth searching until it found Seth’s forearm. He kissed it, tasting salt and skin, the hair rough against his tongue. Seth’s thigh pressed firmly into Mark’s balls, his hip a long caress of Mark’s cock. Mark pushed up with his own thigh, dizzy with the intoxication of Seth hard against him. Mark shifted so that their cocks brushed against each other.

Seth gasped and kissed him again, his tongue thrusting deep into Mark’s mouth. Mark closed his eyes, mesmerized by the softness of Seth’s lips, the force of his tongue. Need overtook him and he reached between and captured them both in one hand. Seth’s cock felt like him, long and smooth, aristocratic beside Mark’s own thicker, shorter thug of a cock. Excitement bolted through him and he stroked them together. Seth moaned into his mouth, his hands gripping Mark’s shoulder as he thrust into his hand.

He matched Seth’s rhythm, stroking into the slick sweat between them. Heat spiraled through him. He thrust into the surge of Seth’s tongue in his mouth, the sound of his breath, the pounding of his own heart up toward Seth. Toward Seth. Not some random stranger with a nice ass, but Seth. His breath caught. The world shifted and the name exploded from him as he erupted in a sudden long rush.

Seth gasped and thrust and held. Mark felt the pulse of his cock in his hand and another wave of release coursed through him. Another second, and Seth collapsed against him.

Mark lay with his eyes closed, Seth’s warm weight an unexpected pleasure. He hadn’t imagined this postcoital luxury of sustained touch and ran his hand down Seth’s damp back in wonder.

Seth sighed and rolled off him, Mark’s sense of loss another new sensation. Seth slid to his feet gracefully and padded toward an open bathroom door. “I’ll be right back with a washcloth.”

Mark looked down at his glistening belly and chest and inhaled. The bed reeked of men and sex. He ran a finger through a pearl of liquid. Whose was that? The music dissolved to a single violin and a sound from the other side of the room startled him. He turned to see Freddie lying on the couch, his elegant snout resting on delicately crossed forepaws. He’d forgotten about the dog. Under his steady gaze Mark felt all his anxieties return, like a coat he’d momentarily put aside that now engulfed him. Great.

Mark watched Seth’s return with a mixture of aesthetic pleasure and terror. Anyone would enjoy seeing Seth move, his skin a lovely fabric draped over muscle and bone, his movements lithe. But not everyone would watch his approach with dread.

Mark tried to hide his fear but saw Seth slow, the smile sliding from his face as he took in Mark’s expression. Seth’s eyes crinkled with sad compassion. He sat on the bed. Mark lay almost paralyzed as Seth smoothed a warm, wet cloth across his chest and abdomen.

“That didn’t make it any better, did it?” Seth’s gaze traveled from Mark’s abrupt shake of the head down to his chest. He continued in a voice barely above a whisper, “You shouldn’t be afraid. I think you’re beautiful.” His eyes met Mark’s again and this time there was the hint of a smile. “A man could forgive a lot for pecs like these.”

Mark squeezed his eyes shut. It should have been the right thing for him to say but instead Mark’s stomach clenched and any level of comfort he’d felt with Seth dissolved. He lurched up.

“Oh God, what’s wrong?” Seth gripped his arm.

Mark shook his head and stood.

“Please, don’t.” Seth’s hand slid up his arm as he rose beside him. “I’m sorry for whatever I did that spooked you.” He caressed the line of Mark’s jaw with his thumb, making little shushing noises.

Tears threatened and Mark bit his lip as humiliation flooded him. Christ, what a basketcase. His legs twitched with wanting to run from this feeling of nakedness that went beyond skin. Only the kindness of Seth’s hand on his shoulder kept him from bolting.

“Oh, honey, you’re shaking.” Holding his arm with one hand, as if afraid Mark might sprint away, Seth pulled a blanket from the bed and wrapped it around Mark’s shoulders.

He concentrated on inhaling, then exhaling, willing himself to stand still while Seth whispered soothing sounds like he was gentling a horse. Or a frightened dog. Mark’s eyes met Fred Astaire’s. He would have bet money that the greyhound’s eyes hadn’t left him since he entered the apartment, no matter how nonchalant he looked. Wariness, terror’s little sister, companion of damaged souls.

He allowed Seth to pull him back onto the bed and rest his hand over Mark’s pounding heart. Mark closed his eyes and sank into the sound of his soft whispers and the warmth of his touch. He breathed in and out. Eventually the fear receded, leaving behind embarrassed exhaustion.

Seth settled his head on Mark’s chest and Mark’s hand drifted up his back. He had to say something, show him he was more than this rabbitty shell. He croaked, “Sorry I’m so… Thanks.”

Seth propped himself on one elbow and grinned down at Mark. “Are you kidding? It’s been a long time since I had a gorgeous man naked in my bed. Believe me, there’s no need to apologize.”

Mark searched his face, looking for the contempt that must be lurking somewhere. He couldn’t find it. Finally he whispered, “Why me?”

Mark found himself swimming in the ocean of Seth’s eyes as the other man silently held his gaze.

Seth ran a caressing finger along Mark’s cheek and when he spoke his voice was soft and low. “We were on the road. In Seattle, actually. The last night of a two-week engagement. I guess I was tired, I don’t know.” He looked away. Mark studied his profile while he continued. “One minute I was dancing with one of the best traveling companies in the Midwest. The next I was laying onstage, cradling my knee, trying not to scream in pain, everything I’ve worked for my whole life gone.” He looked back down at Mark, his eyes sad blue pools, his slight smile warm. “I see you being so brave, working out of this hungry darkness you have inside, and I think maybe I don’t have to pretend I’m okay all the time with you.”

Mark’s gaze traveled down his beautiful torso and thighs, coming to rest on his uppermost knee. Mark sat and Seth fell back. He looped Seth’s leg over his shoulder and lifted his knee to his lips. He kissed the pale length of the long, pudgy scar.

Seth grimaced and gave a self-conscious laugh. “I know, it’s ugly.”

Mark met his gaze and shook his head. He pressed his lips again to the knee, drew a line from Seth’s knee to his inner thigh with his finger, followed it with his lips. Seth’s thigh smelled of musk. The springy curl of leg hair tickled Mark’s face.

Seth murmured something and his legs fell open. Mark rolled onto his knees. He trailed his tongue along the inside of one thigh and then the other, savoring the sweet-salt taste of Seth’s skin. He settled between Seth’s legs, taking in the sight of Seth’s balls and the rigid line of his cock. Inhaling deeply, Mark grew dizzy with the smell of him. Determined to take his time, he exhaled a warm breath onto Seth’s balls. Seth squirmed, pushing himself toward Mark, who flicked his tongue against the soft skin of his ball sac to the hard ridge of buried cock below.

Mark slid his fingers beneath Seth, holding him like a beggar at a feast. Seth’s breath quickened as he ran his tongue down to the lip of his ass and back and up the shaft of his long, elegant cock. Seth tasted of soap, semen and salt as Mark’s tongue slid across the slit. The taste of precome made Mark hungry for more and he engulfed Seth’s cock, filling his mouth with the shaft.

Suddenly the background music swelled, almost in time with Seth’s breathing. Mark held his breath and suppressed a gag as he buried his lips in Seth’s pubic hair, inhaled the wet, soft, sexy smell and exhaled, sliding back up the shaft, pausing to run his tongue along the underside of the tip. Seth’s hands were strong and warm on his shoulders. Mark wrapped his fist around the base of the penis and began to move, mouth and hand in concert. The cock felt hard and hot in his mouth. His own stiffened in response. Seth’s grip on his shoulders tightened and he thrust into Mark’s mouth. Mark slid his free hand sideways until he could feel the sweet pucker of Seth’s ass.

Seth gasped, his hips bucking into the finger circling his ass. Mark closed his eyes, reveling in the fullness of Seth in his mouth and the wonder of his ass beneath his hands. He tasted a salty tang—Seth was close. He took him deeper and deeper into his mouth. Seth’s breathing was ragged, his harsh gasps the sexiest sound Mark could imagine, his hands rigid on Mark’s shoulders. Mark could feel him coming apart. He took a deep breath and slid the tip of his finger into Seth’s ass and Seth exploded, filling his mouth in a warm rush. Mark milked Seth’s cock, gulping it down.