Something Beautiful (25 page)

Dune played his fingers through Micah's hair, lost in thought. He started when Micah said, "Leo shouldn't be alone."

"You're awake."

"More or less." Micah sat up slowly and scratched his head, blinking sleepily. "But he won't be alone long. He's too great a guy."

"Well, I certainly think so. It's harder for other people to notice sometimes." Dune drew Micah to him. "Go back to sleep."

"I'm awake now," Micah said, but got comfortable against his side anyway. "And Leo's making cocoa. I want to stay awake."

"So what are you going to do while we're on the slopes?"

"I brought some books and my camera and my computer. I've got some computer games to play and some ideas I want to work on of my own. I have plenty to keep me occupied."

"You're going to make games? You haven't done that for a while."

"Yeah, just some Flash stuff. Simple. I've wanted to work on games lately and there's no time like now. I haven't tried the Internet connection yet so I don't know if I'll get around to uploading anything soon, though."

"Jamie says it's pretty much non-existent. It's much too remote up here."

"Oh, well." Micah yawned. "So. Dunie."

"So, Micah," Dune echoed, smiling.

"So I couldn't help but notice there's a lot of rooms with double beds in this place."

"There's a few bunk beds if you'd rather sleep in one of those."

"I don't want a bunk bed. You're in a room with a double bed, and I'm in a room with a double bed, instead of both of us in a room with a double bed."

Dune rested his chin on the top of Micah's head. "I didn't want to assume you'd want to share."

"I want to share. I miss you."

"We've slept together since the surgery."

"Yeah, we've slept. We haven't --" Micah fidgeted with the hem of Dune's sweater. "Snuggled."

"We're snuggling right now."

"You know what I mean." He looked at Dune sidelong. "We haven't -- fucked."

"The more you say it the easier it'll get."

"Shut up," Micah said comfortably. "You know what I mean."

"It's hard to mistake your meaning."

"Dune. Are we sleeping separately or are we sleeping together?" He looked up at Dune, eyes big and innocent behind his glasses.

"Are you sure you're up to it?"

"Are you stalling?"

"I'm not stalling -- I'm trying to ascertain the wisdom of your proposal."

"You're stalling." Micah frowned. "Why are you stalling? You only stall when you think you have to say something you don't want to say."

Dune sighed. "I don't think you're strong enough for sex yet."

"The doctor said I could resume normal activity within limits and to stop if I felt too fatigued."

"Your level of frustration may override your common sense."

"Dune," Micah said, moving to straddle Dune's lap, "both my frustration and my common sense need to get laid." He held Dune's face in his hands and kissed the man sweetly.

Okay,
Dune thought, putting his hands on Micah's thighs and parting his lips,
lack of desire is not the issue.
Dune's whole body was responding -- to Micah's clean, snowy scent, his familiar taste, the warmth in his cheeks from the fire. He whispered Micah's name and slipped his hands up under Micah's layers of T-shirts.

"You don't really want to say no," Micah whispered. "Come to bed with me tonight."

Dune moaned quietly, rubbing the dip of Micah's spine. "But if it's too much for you we have to stop."

"I can handle you," Micah assured him with another kiss.

Dune was about to suggest that they go try out which double bed they'd like right now when Leo came back from the kitchen. "Cocoa's ready -- oh, sorry." He started to retreat.

"It's okay," Micah said, getting off Dune's lap. "You said the cocoa's ready?"

"Yes -- would you like marshmallows or peppermint?"

"Marshmallows," Micah said, and practically skipped into the kitchen.

Leo looked at Dune with raised eyebrows, and Dune smiled helplessly. "It's the energy of youth."

"And we were worried about him keeping up with us," Leo said, and went into the kitchen too.

***

After supper Ben recruited them all to do preparatory work for Thanksgiving dinner: brining the turkey, making fresh cranberry jelly, preparing whipped cream and all the ingredients for pumpkin, chocolate and Dutch apple pies. Tomorrow there would be cornbread, baked yams and mashed potatoes, as well.

Jamie kept abandoning his job to whip out his sketchbook. "How often do you see a kitchen full of men?" he said reasonably and drew them all in dark, rapid strokes, pausing only when Ben came over to claim a kiss.

Finally all the preparation was finished, and the cabin smelled deliciously of spices and sweets. They gathered around the fireplace with cups of cocoa or glasses of wine, talking of this and that until they settled into a comfortable silence, broken only by crackling flames.

"Okay," Ben said at last, putting aside his glass. "If we're going to hit the slopes in the morning we should get some sleep now. Good night." He stood and tugged on Jamie's hand.

"Did you want something?" Jamie asked him.

"Yes. Your ass in bed."

"Who says romance is dead?" Jamie said with a laugh. He jumped up and swept Ben into a kiss before they both hurried upstairs.

Leo put his cup aside, too. "It's that time," he said with a sigh. "Don't stay up too late, you two."

"Yes, Leo."

"Good night, Dad."

Dune stroked Micah's cheek absently, watching the fire burn low. Micah's breathing was slow and even, and Dune thought he'd fallen asleep again. He supposed he could carry Micah upstairs without trouble.

Micah sighed, and Dune looked down at him. "You know, if you're too tired we can just sleep."

"I'm not too tired." Micah pushed himself up from Dune's side to look into his eyes. "Are you?"

"No." He leaned forward to kiss Micah gently. "I'm not tired at all."

Micah sighed into his mouth and then got up from the sofa and held out both hands to Dune. Dune took them and stood, kissed him again and kept his arm around Micah as they went to Dune's bedroom.

Dune pulled back the covers and they sat on the bed, undressing each other slowly between kisses. "I'm nervous," Micah confessed, blushing high in his cheeks as he pulled off Dune's sweater.

"Why?" Micah’s pale, slender body was more beautiful than ever to Dune's eyes, and he ran his fingertips lightly along Micah's ribs.

"'Cause it's been a while. And the scar..."

"It's a small scar," Dune said and kissed it. The area around it was still faintly bruised and tender-looking. "Does it hurt?"

"A little. Not enough to get in the way." He cocked his leg over Dune's hip and combed both hands through Dune's hair. Micah kissed Dune, pushed him onto his back and kissed him again.

Dune laughed quietly into Micah’s mouth, running his hands up and down Micah's sides. "Is that a hint?"

"Um --" His mouth moved down Dune's neck. "Only if you want it to be."

"Not this time around." He pulled Micah's body flush against his and rolled Micah onto his back. Dune licked Micah's chest and sucked on his nipples until Micah was gasping, and then slid further down Micah's body to tug off his jeans and boxer shorts. Micah whimpered and thrust his hand into Dune's hair as Dune's tongue swirled around the head of his cock. His legs sprawled open and his hips arched, and it was obvious he was trying to keep his moans quiet.

Dune lifted his mouth and sucked on his fingers, lowered his mouth again and slipped them carefully into Micah. "Oh, fuck," Micah gasped, cock twitching in Dune's mouth as he sucked and stroked. Micah grabbed Dune's head and pushed him off. "I want to come with you," he breathed and kissed Dune hard. "I want you fucking me when I come."

"You have the filthiest mouth when you're horny," Dune muttered and kissed him back.

"It's all those years of repression." Micah climbed onto Dune's lap and kissed him, holding his face. Dune twisted away long enough to grab a condom from his suitcase and shivered deeply as Micah slid the condom onto his cock. "I love how much I turn you on," Micah whispered.

"You do, sweetheart." He took hold of Micah's hips, pulling Micah down as he thrust up. Micah gasped and he grabbed hold of Dune's shoulders for balance. They leaned their foreheads together, looking into each other's eyes as their bodies moved.

Dune let go of Micah's hip and wrapped that hand around his cock, stroking him as they moved. Micah's eyes closed and his head fell back and his teeth sank into his lower lip to keep from crying out. "C'mon," Dune whispered and licked his neck. "Don't hold back." Dune kissed Micah's lips, licking them open and reaching deep into his mouth.

Micah clutched Dune's head and kissed him desperately, finally breaking it off with a moan he couldn't hold in. "Oh, that's it," Dune whispered and rubbed Micah's cock harder, pleased at Micah's cries. Everything about Micah pleased Dune: the way his thigh muscles trembled and his throat arched and his pale skin flushed pink and his fingers dug into Dune's shoulders as he came.

Dune wrapped his arms around Micah's waist and lowered him onto his back, and Micah raised his legs, locking his ankles together behind Dune's back. Dune watched Micah's face, his thrusts growing fast and hard, his hands planted on the mattress. Micah looked directly back, his eyes dark, his lips faintly smiling, and he framed Dune's face in his hands, slipping his fingers into Dune’s hair.

Dune let his head fall into the crook of Micah's neck, coming with a quiet shudder, and lay still in Micah's arms. Micah combed his fingers through Dune's hair, kissed the top of Dune’s head, and after a moment or two whispered, "Dunie?"

"Yeah, sweetheart?"

"I really love how you feel inside me, but you're heavy."

Dune smiled, lifted his head, and lightly kissed Micah's lips. "Okay."

Micah whimpered a little as Dune pulled out of him. Dune rolled off the bed and went into the bathroom to dispose of the condom and brought back a washcloth to clean Micah up a little. Micah watched him and played with Dune's hair as Dune ran the washcloth over his stomach and between his legs. "You take such good care of me."

"I do my best." He kissed Micah lightly and tossed the washcloth onto his suitcase, to remind himself to wash it later. Micah nestled against him with a quiet sigh.

"Dunie, don't you ever feel like --" He sighed again.

"Like what?"

"I don't know." He drew zigzags down Dune's chest with a fingertip. "I don't want to ask too much from you."

"I don't think you could, to be honest." He pulled the covers over them and kissed the top of Micah's head.

"You'd do anything for me?"

"Within reason. I don't plan to jump off cliffs for you, for example."

"Well, that'd just be dumb."

Dune tweaked his nose and grinned. "Exactly."

Micah wrinkled his nose and settled his head on Dune's shoulder. "Don't start treating me like a kid again -- you just had your dick up my ass."

"I'm not treating you like a kid. I'm having fun with you. Sex doesn't have to be serious. I like it better when it's not."

"Because all your lovers like to bow down and worship you."

"Which is irritating."

"Poor, poor Dunie." He kissed Dune's chest.

"I know, poor me. Go to sleep, little human. It's going to be an early day tomorrow."

Micah turned off the lamp beside the bed and settled against Dune again. "Are you going to miss me tomorrow?"

"Dreadfully. I'm going to count the seconds until we're done. But you're not going to be bored, are you?"

"Oh, no. I'll be fine, and you'll only be away a few hours."

"We'll be gone most of the day Friday and Saturday."