RR-CDA (7 page)

Cole slid his gaze away as Owen beamed at the group. He was even more handsome when he smiled that way. It was the same look he’d give people when he was behind the bar. Cole used to think he was flirting, but that wasn’t it at all. Owen had a warmth that brought something extra to everything he did.

“We’ll head back upstairs to the showroom where you can purchase any of our beers from the cooler. We also have a few limited-edition brews that you might be interested in for the holidays. You won’t see them again until next year.”

The group moved back to the stairs while Xander came over to where they stood. “I’m glad you two were able to come.”

Owen put his hands on his hips and grinned. “Are you kidding? I love checking out what you’re doing next. I’m always amazed at how far this place has come. Xander started this up with his cousin right out of college.”

“I realized that my hobby of drinking beer was a good education for making my own. Somehow the bank agreed and gave me a loan.”

It was strange being on the outside of what was a long-lasting friendship. Cole had no reason to be jealous of the ease with which the two men spoke. He really didn’t know Owen all that well, and while he had a certain amount of unrequited lust for the bartender, that amounted to nothing.

So why the hell did he want to punch Xander?

He forced his hand to relax. “I’m looking forward to buying some of your beer. I have to admit, I haven’t tried it before now.”

“Speaking of that.” Xander narrowed his gaze at Owen. “Now that your old man isn’t in charge of the bar, we need to talk about getting Steel Anvil on tap there. I want to expand out more in Toronto, and you’re the natural first stop.”

Cole didn’t know if this had been a long-standing issue, or if there was more to it, but the second Xander mentioned the bar Owen stiffened.

“Dad didn’t really get the whole microbrew thing. But you’re right: it’s long past due. I’ll give you a call on Monday and we can have a chat.” Owen turned to Cole and smiled. “We better get you upstairs before all the good stuff is gone. You need to get some of their Barking Beaver stout. Amazing stuff. It’ll put hair on your chest.”

Cole might be a bit thick when it came to romance, but he knew when someone wanted him to get them out of an awkward situation. “Sounds good. I want some of that IPA as well.”

They left the brewery with arms full of paper bags containing what Cole hoped was good beer. Xander had thrown in a Steel Anvil Brewery T-shirt on their way out the door. Cole doubted he’d ever have an occasion to wear the gray shirt with the cartoon beaver holding a hammer over an anvil, but it was free. He liked free.

It had started snowing while they’d been inside. The sidewalk was slick and slushy, making the walk to the car challenging. Owen was being surprisingly quiet, and Cole didn’t have a clue what was wrong.

“I’m parked over here.” He led the way to his car, walking around to the trunk. “Thanks for today. I never realized how much of a process there was to making beer. Makes me appreciate it that much more.”

He’d placed the bags into the trunk and slammed it shut when Owen spun him around and pressed his ass against the car. He opened his mouth to complain about the inevitable salt stains this would leave on his coat and pants, but the words died on his tongue.

Snow clung to the tips of Owen’s hair and eyelashes. His cheeks had already reddened from the cold and his brown eyes were fixed on Cole’s. Owen flexed his hands, and despite the thickness of his coat, Cole could feel the pressure on his arm.

“Owen?”

“I promised myself I wouldn’t take advantage of you.” He licked his lips, and his gaze dropped for a moment. “While you’ve been coming into the bar for a while now, it’s not like I know you. It’s wrong and messed up that I want nothing more than to strip you naked and fuck you into next week.”

“I want to fuck you too.” A rush of desire and surprise mixed in Cole’s body. His previously hard cock took that opportunity to make itself known again. Yes, sex was an excellent idea. “This doesn’t have to mean anything. No commitments.”

“Sex as a way to forget?” Owen cocked his eyebrow. “It’s a terrible idea.”

“I know.” It was strange, he’d had an almost identical conversation with Steven when they’d first gotten together.
Today the part of Steven will be played by Cole.
“I don’t care. I want to feel something other than this pain in my chest that doesn’t want to go away. I’m tired of closing my eyes and seeing Steven at the airport, the look on his face as . . . I just need something tangible. You are very tangible.”

Owen growled. “I’m going to kiss you. Then I’m going to get in your car and we’re going to your place. Or my place. Whichever is closer.”

“My condo is by the bar.”

“I live above the bar.”

“What are we going to do about your car?”

“I live above a bar. I can walk home later and get my car tomorrow.”

With each heartbeat, Owen drifted closer. His mouth hovered above Cole’s for a moment before he leaned in and claimed him. Cole’s breath hitched at the gentle contact, the soft slide of their lips, the hot touch of Owen’s tongue. His pounding heart echoed in his ears, blocking out all other sounds. Owen slid his hand up and cupped Cole’s cheek as he deepened the kiss.

Fuck
.

He pushed Owen away. “Your place. Now.”

Owen didn’t remember much of their drive to the bar. If he’d been thinking, he would have driven himself home, or suggested they come together in the first place. He hadn’t thought to ask Cole where he lived before inviting him out, which was a clear indication of his state of mind. And here they were now, going back to his apartment to fuck.

Cole was just as quiet as Owen was on the drive through Toronto traffic. Owen made sure to keep his hand on Cole’s thigh, rubbing and squeezing, needing to feel the connection. This might not be more than sex for either of them, but having the best possible sex was high on the list of things he wanted to give him.

He needed this distraction as much as Cole did.

Seeing Xander normally didn’t bring up much in the way of old feelings. They’d been friends longer than they’d been lovers. Xander would always hold a special place in Owen’s heart, being the first man he’d ever slept with. But they’d been horrible as a couple, despite their mutual love of beer and bars. They’d argued more times than he could count about where their relationship was going, getting Steel Anvil into his dad’s bar, and hockey, amongst other things. Things were better when they could walk away from one another and not have to worry about who would sleep on the couch.

He hadn’t had a serious relationship with a man since Xander, only the occasional partner. Owen didn’t know why, but he’d just assumed that while he enjoyed fucking a man, he wasn’t wired to get into a long-term relationship with one. But seeing Xander standing beside Cole did strange things to him. Especially when he caught Xander checking out Cole’s ass. That had sent an irrational rage whipping through him that wouldn’t have ended well.

“Almost there.” Cole slid his hand over where Owen was gripping him.

Owen didn’t normally invite people to his place for sex. It was his safe haven, the spot that he’d claimed as soon as he’d been able to afford a place of his own. His dad had bought the building ten years earlier, but Owen insisted on paying rent regardless. Now that he was running the bar full-time, he went rent-free as part of his payment.

He wanted to see Cole there. Wanted to push him against the wall, rip his shirt off so he could sate his curiosity about the other man’s chest. He wanted to see him spread out on the middle of his bed, moaning and begging for Owen to suck him off, to fuck him.

Shit, he couldn’t wait.

At the next red light, he slid his hand up Cole’s thigh and cupped his cock through his jeans.

“Fuck.” Cole bucked up, his body restrained by the seat belt. “What the hell?”

“The things I want to do to you.” He gave the shaft another squeeze. “I’ve been hard since we left the brewery. I have this porn movie of things . . . positions and noises, playing in my head.”

“Stop.” Cole groaned. “Please, I need to drive.”

“You can’t multitask?”

“Not with your hand on my groin like that.”

Owen had always had a bit of an evil streak in him. Without looking, he found Cole’s zipper and began to tug.

Cole swallowed. “What are you doing?”

“Helping you improve your multitasking abilities.”

“You’re going to cause an accident.”

“We’re almost there.”

“Oh my God.” Cole’s breathing caught. “We’re going to die. I’m going to die in a car accident with my cock out.”

His fingers finally found what he was looking for: the soft brush of cotton and the hard press of flesh. There wasn’t much room for him to move, so he simply flexed his fingers around the head of Cole’s cock.

“I hate you,” Cole muttered through his clenched teeth.

“I promise to make it up to you.” Owen pushed his fingers down as low as they’d go, trying to tease Cole’s balls. “You’ll love it.”

They turned into the parking garage to Cole’s condo—God, he really was close to the bar—and Owen held back until they pulled into a parking spot. The second Cole threw the car into park, Owen released their seat belts, leaned over, and yanked down Cole’s underwear as far as he could manage.

“You have a nice cock.” He sucked the tip into his mouth.

It had been a long time since he’d given head, but there were certain things a person didn’t forget how to do. Sucking cock was one of them. The angle was awkward, the restriction of the car and Cole’s clothing frustrating, but he didn’t care. Now that he had his mind set on giving a blowjob, nothing was going to stop him. Careful not to catch Cole with his teeth, he began to bob up and down, teasing every bit of skin that he could touch.

Cole’s hand found its way to the back of Owen’s head. Tentative at first, he stroked his hair. The harder Owen sucked him, the more aggressive Cole’s caresses became. Finally, he tugged on the short strands, encouraging him. “Harder.”

He was only happy to oblige.

The smell of Cole’s arousal filled his nose and made his mouth water. Using the tip of his tongue, he teased the nerve bundle of Cole’s cock. He wanted to be able to play with his balls without restriction, tug on them until Cole was begging for release, but that would require stopping, moving, things that he didn’t want to do. Not yet. He continued to work Cole’s shaft, licking what little of the skin he could see. Cole began to set a steady pace with his hand. Up and down, nice and slow, just the way Owen liked to go.

“I can’t come like this,” Cole groaned. “Let’s go in.”

“No.” He nipped gently at his cockhead.

“Come on. My place is just upstairs.”

“No.”

“Owen,
please
. I need you to fuck me. Hard. I need to feel something, something raw.”

Oh. That sounded good. Careful not to trap Cole’s cock with the elastic of his underwear, Owen sat up. “I hope to God you have condoms.”

Cole’s face was flushed and his breathing was coming in shallow puffs. “A whole box. Unopened.”

That was all Owen needed to hear. He was up and out of the car before he gave himself time to reconsider. Cole took a minute longer, no doubt needing to recover. Good to know that he hadn’t lost his touch.

Owen patted the trunk of the car. He might as well bring the beer up. They’d hopefully need it to quench their thirst once they were done. Cole popped it before he staggered out of the car.

“I’ll carry this.” Owen winked at him. “You don’t look too steady on your feet.”

“I hate you.” He adjusted the front of his pants, doing his best to shove his cock in safely.

“No, you don’t. Because in ten minutes I’m going to have you stripped naked and your cock down my throat so far I’ll gag. Then if you’re lucky, I’ll fuck you senseless.”

Cole groaned, grabbed him by the arm, and dragged him to the elevator.

The reality was it took closer to five minutes for them to wait for the slow elevator and make their way through the building to Cole’s condo. In any other situation, Owen would have taken the opportunity to admire the amenities. It was certainly a nicer place than what Owen could afford. But he didn’t give a shit about building security, the nice foyer, or the smell of chlorine from what must have been a pool. All that mattered was getting naked, quickly.

Cole fumbled with his keys, needing two attempts before he could slide them into the lock. The second they crossed the threshold, Owen set the beer on the floor, and tore his coat off as he kicked free of his boots. Cole mirrored his actions, and within moments he had Owen pressed against the wall, his mouth covering his.
Yes
, this was what he’d wanted, what had been missing from his life. The bar and his dad’s health had consumed him for so long he’d forgotten what it was like to simply let go and live his life. Cole had his own demons to exorcise. Owen couldn’t imagine why Cole’s boyfriend had left him, but he was more than happy to let himself be used if it would help.

Wrapping his arms around Cole, he flipped them so the other man was now pressed against the wall and he was in a position to do what he’d promised. Placing a final kiss on Cole’s lips, he slipped to his knees and quickly worked the front of Cole’s jeans open. After all, he was a man of his word. Not being as careful as he should, he shoved the jeans down until they caught on Cole’s thighs, before leaning in and capturing his cock in his mouth.