FIC - It's still just love... (8/?)
Title: It's still just love… (8/?)
Author: wheelie47
Rating: NC17 for this chapter.
Pairing: Luke and Noah.
Word count: 4,456
Disclaimer: Don’t own characters, am not associated in any way with ATWT, Van and Jake. No offence intended.
Warning: Sexual content. Angst
Summary: Noah Mayer is struggling to make ends meet; trying to keep his garden centre open and desperate to hold onto his research grant from the Institute of Agronomic Research. And he never seems to have time… no time for a life and definitely no time for a boyfriend.
Luciano Grimaldi hates everything about his life and he is so far in the closet where his parents concerned, that he even has a girlfriend, Maddie, to prove it…
AN: This is an AU story based on a French film called “Juste une question d’amour”. Many thanks to hollyoaks1021 for the wonderful artwork. Thanks Sally <3
Noah wasn't surprised when Luke didn't turn up at the garden centre on Monday morning. He was hurt, disappointed and may be even a little angry. But surprised? No… not when Luke hadn't bothered calling since that fateful Saturday morning. He'd lost count of the amount of times, in the intervening period, that his resolve had crumbled and he'd gone to pick up his phone… only to stop himself at the very last minute.
So when Tuesday rolled around and there was still no sign of the blonde, Noah planned to spend an uninterrupted day in his lab; trying to concentrate on his work and not on Luke. Tuesday had always been a quieter day at the nursery, so much so he’d taken to shutting up shop for the day to concentrate on his research. And today was no exception.
Lost in concentration; his eyes firmly fixed against the eyepieces of the microscope, Noah barely paid any attention to the sound of the outer door opening.
When the door to the lab was swung open, he just assumed it was his mom back early from her lunch and shopping trip into town. “Back so soon, Mom! Couldn’t find anything to buy?” he joked, not looking up from his task.
When he didn’t receive the expected reply, the brunette pulled back from the microscope and turned his head toward the door. He had to stop himself from gasping in surprise at the sight that greeted him; Luke stood in the open doorway, his arms hanging loosely by his sides… looking for all the world like some lost little boy.
Noah swallowed hard, trying to keep the sudden rush of his confusing emotions in check. Part of him wanted to shout, yell and get angry at the blonde; demanding an explanation as to why Luke had left him hanging like some lovesick schoolgirl whose affections the other man could just toy with. While another part of him wanted to scramble up from the chair and wrap his arms comfortingly around Luke and tell him that it was OK for him to be open and honest about who he really was. He wanted to tell the other man that it was OK for him to be gay… that he didn’t need, and shouldn’t have to, hide away.
Damn! Why did this guy have to affect him so much?! Noah had promised himself that he wouldn't let another man affect him like this again.
Instead, he settled for turning back to the microscope with a sigh. “You came back.”
Luke folded his arms across his chest and let out a huff of exasperation. While he hadn't expected to be welcomed back with open arms and a kiss hello, he also hadn't expected to be dealt with in such an off-hand manner… so coolly.
It had taken a lot for him to come back here. Why couldn't Noah understand that?! Oh, that’s right… Noah didn’t know the whole truth about the sorry mess that was Luke’s life! He’d almost turned back at the gate. He was beginning to wish he had.
“That's it? That's all you have to say, Noah?!” The blonde's voice rose in irritation and frustration… not just at Noah, but at himself and the whole damn world.
Anger suddenly flared in Noah at Luke’s ‘the world owes me something’ attitude. The brunette pushed his chair back from the table and glared at Luke, crossing his arms over his broad chest; subconsciously mirroring the other man’s body language. “What did you expect, Luke? You can’t just run off and hide when something happens that you can’t… or don’t want to deal with.”
Luke bristled and his voice rose even higher to match Noah’s. “I’m here now!”
Noah had to bite back his retort; he'd been on the verge of saying that maybe it was too little too late. But the thought hit him that the way he’d acted when he was struggling to come out had hardly been a shining beacon of an example to anyone. Noah had waited for his father to die before he’d had the courage to come out.
Perhaps he should give Luke another second chance.
The brunette took a couple of deep calming breaths before replying. “Yes… yes you are. But are you going to stand over there all day or are you going to come and do some work?” he asked with the beginnings of a slow smile forming on his lips. God, he hoped he was making the right decision!…
…
For an hour they worked around each other in the close confines of the lab, an awkward silence surrounding them. Neither man was exactly sure how to get past the most basic of communication involving the research to have a more meaningful conversation.
“Nothing!” Noah blew out a frustrated breath at the lack of positive development in the sample under the microscope. Was he ever going to get anywhere with his research?!
“What makes you think it will work?” Luke asked pessimistically. “Why bother?”
Noah pulled back from the microscope to stare at the blonde. “Who’s the researcher here? Me or you?” His eyes lingered, seemingly unable to break away from the entrancing hazel hue.
“It just seems to me the more you look, the less you find!” Luke's lips began to curl into a lopsided if slightly uncertain smile as he continued to stare into Noah's handsome face.
“Huh?! You don't say!” Noah shook his head in disbelief. “Interns!” he smirked before eventually breaking their gaze and turning back to the microscope.
The brunette was about to lean in to change the slide when he felt the shock of a cold spray of water hit the side of his face. Gasping, he swung back to face Luke to see the other man holding a spray bottle of water and a mischievous grin splitting his face.
“You think that’s funny?!” He couldn’t help but grin widely back at the blonde; Luke’s smile was infectious and hard to resist.
The blonde nodded and chuckled loudly.
“Think this is funny, then?” Noah asked as he twisted around in his chair and grabbed the glass of water he’d been drinking from earlier, throwing what was left of the contents in Luke’s face.
“You didn’t just do that!” The younger man shot up from his chair, the water dripping down the side of his face and soaking through the neckline of his green T-shirt.
Luke turned, frantically looking from side-to-side for another water source. He reached for a large open bottle of water on the shelf to his right and pivoted on the balls of his feet to upend it over Noah’s head.
He dashed out of the lab, across the hall and into Noah’s room to avoid the other man’s retaliation.
“Uh-oh,” Luke muttered, realising too late that he’d backed himself into a corner when he saw Noah stealthy advancing upon him.
The dark-haired man couldn’t believe they were acting like a couple of kids… after all it was only a little over an hour ago they were yelling at each other. Not to mention the fact that Noah was supposed to be a professional and this was his workplace!
But he really didn’t care right now… it felt good to laugh, to get rid of some of the tension and forget about everything for a little while.
“Have mercy, kind sir!” Luke jokingly begged, as he watched Noah eyeing the plastic bowl in the sink.
“It’s a little too late for that, don’t you think?” the taller man chuckled as he dashed to fill the bowl. He managed to soak Luke’s back as the blonde tried to rush passed him to freedom.
They turned to face each other, both now dripping wet and laughing so hard they were having trouble keeping upright.
Noah sobered and stood a little straighter as he noticed just how wet Luke was; the blonde’s hair was dripping down into his eyes, a pool of clear droplets had collected just above the curve of his top lip and the supple full lips themselves were slick with moisture.
The handsome brunette found himself involuntarily licking his own lips as a sudden urge to kiss the other man washed over him. “You’re wet,” Noah murmured as he took at step closer, both hands simultaneously reaching out to grasp the empty bottle from Luke’s hands and to brush the sodden hair out of those gorgeous eyes.
“So are you,” Luke breathed out, his own hands coming up to rest on Noah’s soaked black T-shirt. He could feel the taut chest muscles tremble under his touch and he skimmed his hands down the strong lines of Noah’s torso to bunch the sopping material in his fists; pulling the taller man toward him.
Noah closed the gap between them willingly; his mind full of nothing but kissing the blonde. Luke’s eyes flicked up to met his stare and a lustful, hungry look passed between them before their lips crashed together in a slick open-mouthed kiss.
“Off!” Noah demanded, his breath hot against Luke’s lips as his sure fingers unerringly found the hem of Luke’s T-shirt. They broke their kiss long enough for the brunette to yank the offending, clingy material up over Luke’s head; his brain barely registering the tearing sound from the unyielding fabric.
Their lips urgently sought out each other again as if they couldn’t bear to be parted. Luke groaned into the kiss as Noah’s hands traced a path over his now bare chest, fingertips dragging over the sensitive nipples before heading further down; dancing around his belly button and coming to rest over his belt buckle.
Barely pausing for the frantic nod of encouragement, Noah made short work of releasing the fastening and the zip but struggled to get the drenched jeans down further than muscled thighs.
Dropping to his knees in front of the blonde, Noah doubled his efforts to free Luke from the confines of his jeans.
Luke’s jerky side-to-side movements, in an attempt to help the other man, bought his groin into contact with Noah’s face. The brunette couldn’t resist mouthing the growing hardness of Luke’s cock through the thin material of his black boxer briefs; smirking as the blonde rocked his hips forward in eagerness to increase the friction.
“Fuck, Noah!” Luke groaned from above him and Noah felt urgent fingers gripping his hair.
Urged on by the guttural moaning and his own need, the brunette pulled back. “I’m working on that, Luke!” he grunted through gritted teeth in exasperation, determined that a piece of material wasn’t going to beat him. With a final concentrated effort, Noah managed to tug Luke’s wet jeans and underwear down to his ankles. He hooked long fingers behind each of Luke’s knees in turn, helping the blonde step free.
Standing, Noah grinned in triumph and pulled a very naked Luke to him, crashing their bodies together.
The feel of being naked and pressed up against the handsome brunette; his damp jeans erotically rubbing his sensitive skin, overwhelmed Luke’s senses and he wantonly ground himself harder into Noah’s groin. He wanted to forget everything… wanted to forget the fear and the pain and just wanted to fuel this lust.
“Want you,” he breathed against Noah’s neck as his hands found the hem of the brunette’s T-shirt and pushed the soaked material up over the broad and muscled chest. He stretched up on tip toes and with Noah's eager help, succeeded in relieving the other man of his annoying T-shirt.
Noah reached for his belt buckle only to have Luke's hand cover his. “No… leave them on!” The blonde's voice had reached its seductive lowest and it sent shivers of anticipation shooting down Noah’s spine and pooling in his overheated groin.
Swallowing hard, Noah let himself be pushed backward onto his narrow bed, long legs dangling over the side.
“Gonna make you feel so good!” Luke murmured as he crawled onto the bed, his knees coming to rest either side of Noah's thighs. He leaned down and covered the handsome brunette's lips with his; eager tongue demanding entrance as he traced his fingertips down over trembling muscles to reach Noah's jean clad groin.
He un-clasped Noah's belt, popped the button and pulled down the zip, stretching the material wide. The blonde licked his lips at the mouth-watering sight as Noah's bulging cotton covered cock came into view.
Not wasting any time, Luke curled his fingers into the elastic waistband and eased it down over Noah's hardening length, pulling the material down just far enough so it cupped the brunette’s balls.
“Jesus, Luke!” Noah cried out when the blonde sunk his mouth over his cock, taking him almost down to the root. Luke only smirked around the girth as he used his tongue and lips to bring the other man to his full hardness.
Releasing Noah’s cock with a loud and resounding pop, Luke sat back on his heels and reached for bedside table; where he knew from recent experience the brunette kept his supplies.
Noah watched in open-mouthed lust as Luke drizzled the lube onto his long fingers and prepared himself; thinking he’d never seen a more erotic sight in his life. All the while he languidly fisted his own cock and licked his lips, eager to be buried ball deep in this man again.
A brief flash of something sparked at the back of his brain; a dim recognition that they really shouldn’t be doing this again… not with out talking things through first.
But that thought blinked out as quickly as it had ignited as Luke tore open the condom and worked it over Noah’s hard length. He let out a low groan as the blonde grasped his cock firmly by the base and sank down, inch by inch, until Luke’s ass was fully seated against his thighs.
“Nngh…Noah…uh….” Luke closed his eyes, threw his head back and breathed through the burn. Noah’s hands immediately went out to the blonde. One settling on a jutting hip, lending support, while his other slowly jacked Luke’s cock.
Surrounded by Luke’s tight heat, Noah wanted nothing more than to move… to thrust upward; his whole body screamed at him for that delicious friction. But he didn’t want to hurt the younger man. So, with an impressive display of mind-over-matter, the brunette waited… waited until Luke opened his eyes.
Only after the lust blown hazel orbs focused on him again, and Luke began to shift impatiently against him, did Noah move.
The movements were tentative and unsure at first; their bodies both unfamiliar with each other in this position. But each time Luke rose up and then eased himself back down over Noah’s impressive girth, the rough material of the other man’s jeans brushed against his exposed skin and the sensation drove him wild.
He closed his eyes again and covered Noah’s hand with his; working their combined hands together over his hard and leaking cock, increasing the speed and alternating the stroke… sometimes twisting… sometimes pulling.
“Luuuke… so… hot…. so tight,” Noah grunted as the blonde’s movements became more erratic; the downward thrusts were interspersed by desperate circular rolls of hips as Luke ground himself against Noah… making the brunette thrust up harder… deeper.
Noah’s hand left Luke’s hip and snaked up the sweat damped torso in front of him, stopping to twist and tweak the hardened flesh of the blonde’s pert nipples; making the man groan in ecstasy. “Nooaah… harder. Fuck me harder!”
When Noah’s eyes traced over the almost faded, mouth shaped bruise on Luke’s skin that his lips and teeth had made, he found himself wanting… needing… to mark every inch of the younger man’s perfect skin to tell the world that this man was his. Jesus! Where did that come from?!
Noah’s long fingers gripped the back of Luke’s neck and pulled him down to crash their lips together in a hard open-mouth kiss. Leaving those supple lips, he licked and bit a sensual path down over Luke’s stubbled jaw and over his exposed neck, down to the fading bruise.
Luke gasped as he felt the handsome brunette bite down on his neck. Fuck! The feel of Noah everywhere… all at once… blew his already over-loaded senses and with a cry he came, long and hard, arching high over toned muscles. That guttural, almost primal, sound shot straight to Noah’s groin, and the feel of Luke’s muscles frantically milking his cock had the brunette matching that cry with one of his own as he shuddered his climax deep inside Luke.
“Fuck!” Luke collapsed down onto the other man and blew out a ragged breath hot against the side of Noah’s neck, not caring that he was spreading his cum over their stomachs.
“Yeah…” Noah agreed breathlessly, “…fuck.”
He wanted to stay like this; buried ball deep in the gorgeous blonde as the lay together, chests heaving. But he knew this must be an uncomfortable position for Luke. Stifling a groan, he gently slipped out and rolled the younger man onto his side, before tying off the condom and dropping it to the floor; making a mental note to himself to dispose of it later… before his mom stumbled across it. Finding them in bed and knowing her son and Luke were sleeping together was one thing but finding the residual evidence of it was another!
Shifting his position, Noah leaned over the side of the bed and grabbed the first thing that came to hand to clean them up as best he could: Luke’s soaked and ripped T-shirt. He gently wiped Luke’s torso, then moved the cloth over the blonde’s spent cock; cleaning him with an almost serene reverence.
After a couple of perfunctory swipes at his own body, Noah dropped the T-shirt onto the floor and eased back down onto the bed. Luke's body immediately curled into his and he felt the man's long fingers come up to stroke the side of his face, down his jaw and over his Adams apple, coming to rest in the cooling pool of sweat that was evaporating in the hollow of his neck.
“Do you remember our ecstasy of old?
Does your heart still beat at the sound of my name?
Do you still see my soul in your dreams?”
Luke’s voice came out in a husky whisper as he moved in closer to Noah.
Poetry?! The guy was reciting poetry to him after that?! Noah had never had anybody recite poetry to him after sex… especially after that kind of hard and desperate sex. Actually, nobody had ever recited poetry to him at all. Period. Not that there had been that many men to recite poetry to him in the first place.
Luke's fingers stilled. “Have you ever been in love, Noah? I mean… really… in love.” Luke had never been in love and he didn't really know how to describe what he was beginning to feel for the other man. Sure, the attraction was there. But this was something more. He couldn't seem to stay away; when he was with Noah everything seemed to fall into place and nothing else seemed to matter. But Luke was scared… so scared. And he hated himself for feeling that way.
“Huh?” Luke's question startled him. He'd actually been lost in his own thoughts; wondering why, when they should actually talk, did they always seem to end up in bed together? That couldn’t be healthy, could it? What was it about this blonde that just drew him in?
“Have you ever been in love?” The question came again but more urgent this time and Luke shifted; rolling on top of Noah. The hazel orbs stared at him with an expectant intensity.
Noah swallowed hard. He knew that the question was important to Luke, but a part of him didn't want to answer that question… didn't want to open up old wounds. He sighed, letting out a long deep breath, figuring that at least it was a starting point for them to talk. Maybe it would help the blonde talk about his own situation.
“Yes.” Noah's voice was low; barely above a murmur and Luke had to lean in close to hear. “But being in a couple sometimes means lying and not being honest… keeping secrets from each other.”
“What happened?” Luke pressed his fingers to the side of the brunette's face, thumb gently stroking the stubbled chin. His eyebrow rose questioningly and he could hear the pain in Noah's voice. He wondered if there was more than just being busy with his research and the garden centre that kept Noah from being in a relationship. But at the back of his mind he couldn't help but think of his own situation and wondered if Noah's statement had a double meaning.
“His name was David. We'd been together just over a year,” Noah began as he stared at the ceiling. “I suppose you could've called it… I don't know… my real first love. He was a little older than me and he meant the world to me. I thought… stupidly… naïvely that we would be together forever. That he was it for me.”
The brunette shook his head sadly before taking another deep breath. “We… we even talked about moving in together. He said it was the next step; after all I’d already got a key to his apartment and came and went wherever I wanted to. Only… one day… I guess that little arrangement didn't quite work out for him…” Noah's voice was tinged with sarcasm and hurt, “… I wanted to surprise him and got to his apartment before he was due to finish work. I wanted to cook him a meal… had it all planned… candles and everything. I… I knew the minute I opened the door that something wasn't right. I should’ve turned and ran when I heard those sounds coming from his bedroom. I should’ve turned, ran and never looked back.”
Luke felt sure he knew what was coming next and he tilted Noah's head so he could look the other man in the face. He almost gasped out loud at the hurt he saw deep in the intense blue.
“But I didn't run. Some kinda masochistic need in me pulled me down the hall, to the bedroom door and made me turn the handle.” The brunette blinked back tears, annoyed at himself that even after all this time it still got to him. “I… I don't need to tell you the rest. Enough to say that he’d been lying to me the whole time we were together. I can’t live like that, Luke. I need honesty.” He locked eyes with Luke and they stared at each other for long moments.
Luke stretched up and pressed their lips together. “I’m so sorry, Noah,” he murmured against Noah’s lips. Not only did it pull at his heartstrings to think of the handsome brunette being hurt like that, it also made him fearful about what was going to happen between the two of them… where they were going to go from here. Noah wanted total honesty and no secrets and Luke wasn’t sure if that was something he could give the other man right now.
More silence passed between them before Noah took a deep breath and addressed the elephant in the room. “Luke, do your parents know you’re gay?”
The question hung in the air and Noah felt the blonde’s body stiffen against him before he started to pull away.
Noah held him tighter, drawing him back in. “Do your parents know about you?” Suddenly the answer to that question became the most important thing to Noah right then.
“I don’t see what difference it makes. They have their lives… I have mine.” Luke tried to sound offhand, flippant even. But he knew Noah saw through the charade.
“But, Luke, don’t you see that’s never going to work? I know it's hard… God knows I know it's hard but you’ll only end up getting…” Noah was cut off by the ringing of Luke’s phone.
Luke shifted, trying to disentangle himself from Noah’s embrace.
“Don’t. Leave it… you can call whoever it is back,” the brunette commanded. They needed to finish this conversation.
“I… I can’t. It might be important.” Luke nodded toward his jeans, his phone’s incessant ringing cutting through their words.
The blonde managed to squirm free, and standing, he reached for his phone.
His heart lurched into his mouth when he saw the caller ID. “Dad!” he could barely get his words out for the sudden dryness in his mouth. “Is everything OK?”
“What took you so long to answer, Luciano?” His father’s sure and accented voice questioned down the phone, sounding impatient.
“I… I couldn’t find my phone. Sorry,” the blonde stuttered and turned his back to Noah. His chest pounded and it felt like his father was in the room with them, looking with disgust and hatred at his son standing there naked and with Noah stretched out half undressed on the bed… the unmistakable smell of sex in the air.
Noah huffed out an exasperated breath and slammed his head against the mattress; he’d seen Luke spin around as if he was ashamed.
“Be quicker next time! Where are you? Your mother and I are in Oakdale and we want to take you and that wonderful girlfriend of yours out for an early dinner.”
“I’m at the nursery.”
“I’ll come get you.”
Luke was seized with horror. “No! No… I’ll get a ride into town.”
“Hurry. We’ll meet you at the Lakeside.” Damian ended the call without waiting for a reply.
“Noah!” Luke spun back to face the other man. “I need a ride. My dad wants to take me and Maddie to dinner.”
Noah rose up onto his elbows to look at Luke down his long torso. “What? Why would your father want to take you and Maddie to dinner?” he asked pointedly.
Shit, he hadn’t got time to explain this now! “Please, Noah! I’ll explain on the way… if you’ll just give me a ride?!” Luke begged desperately as he reached for his discarded clothes.
It had been on the tip of Noah’s tongue to tell the other man to go to hell and that he could call Maddie for a ride. But he saw the look of desperation on the blonde’s face.
“OK… OK,” he muttered as he stood and stuffed himself back into his jeans. “But you can’t wear those. We need to find you something else to wear.” Noah gestured to the damp, torn and stained clothes in Luke’s hand.
Fuck! Noah just knew he was going to regret this…
Chapter 9
Back to fic master post
Author: wheelie47
Rating: NC17 for this chapter.
Pairing: Luke and Noah.
Word count: 4,456
Disclaimer: Don’t own characters, am not associated in any way with ATWT, Van and Jake. No offence intended.
Warning: Sexual content. Angst
Summary: Noah Mayer is struggling to make ends meet; trying to keep his garden centre open and desperate to hold onto his research grant from the Institute of Agronomic Research. And he never seems to have time… no time for a life and definitely no time for a boyfriend.
Luciano Grimaldi hates everything about his life and he is so far in the closet where his parents concerned, that he even has a girlfriend, Maddie, to prove it…
AN: This is an AU story based on a French film called “Juste une question d’amour”. Many thanks to hollyoaks1021 for the wonderful artwork. Thanks Sally <3
Noah wasn't surprised when Luke didn't turn up at the garden centre on Monday morning. He was hurt, disappointed and may be even a little angry. But surprised? No… not when Luke hadn't bothered calling since that fateful Saturday morning. He'd lost count of the amount of times, in the intervening period, that his resolve had crumbled and he'd gone to pick up his phone… only to stop himself at the very last minute.
So when Tuesday rolled around and there was still no sign of the blonde, Noah planned to spend an uninterrupted day in his lab; trying to concentrate on his work and not on Luke. Tuesday had always been a quieter day at the nursery, so much so he’d taken to shutting up shop for the day to concentrate on his research. And today was no exception.
Lost in concentration; his eyes firmly fixed against the eyepieces of the microscope, Noah barely paid any attention to the sound of the outer door opening.
When the door to the lab was swung open, he just assumed it was his mom back early from her lunch and shopping trip into town. “Back so soon, Mom! Couldn’t find anything to buy?” he joked, not looking up from his task.
When he didn’t receive the expected reply, the brunette pulled back from the microscope and turned his head toward the door. He had to stop himself from gasping in surprise at the sight that greeted him; Luke stood in the open doorway, his arms hanging loosely by his sides… looking for all the world like some lost little boy.
Noah swallowed hard, trying to keep the sudden rush of his confusing emotions in check. Part of him wanted to shout, yell and get angry at the blonde; demanding an explanation as to why Luke had left him hanging like some lovesick schoolgirl whose affections the other man could just toy with. While another part of him wanted to scramble up from the chair and wrap his arms comfortingly around Luke and tell him that it was OK for him to be open and honest about who he really was. He wanted to tell the other man that it was OK for him to be gay… that he didn’t need, and shouldn’t have to, hide away.
Damn! Why did this guy have to affect him so much?! Noah had promised himself that he wouldn't let another man affect him like this again.
Instead, he settled for turning back to the microscope with a sigh. “You came back.”
Luke folded his arms across his chest and let out a huff of exasperation. While he hadn't expected to be welcomed back with open arms and a kiss hello, he also hadn't expected to be dealt with in such an off-hand manner… so coolly.
It had taken a lot for him to come back here. Why couldn't Noah understand that?! Oh, that’s right… Noah didn’t know the whole truth about the sorry mess that was Luke’s life! He’d almost turned back at the gate. He was beginning to wish he had.
“That's it? That's all you have to say, Noah?!” The blonde's voice rose in irritation and frustration… not just at Noah, but at himself and the whole damn world.
Anger suddenly flared in Noah at Luke’s ‘the world owes me something’ attitude. The brunette pushed his chair back from the table and glared at Luke, crossing his arms over his broad chest; subconsciously mirroring the other man’s body language. “What did you expect, Luke? You can’t just run off and hide when something happens that you can’t… or don’t want to deal with.”
Luke bristled and his voice rose even higher to match Noah’s. “I’m here now!”
Noah had to bite back his retort; he'd been on the verge of saying that maybe it was too little too late. But the thought hit him that the way he’d acted when he was struggling to come out had hardly been a shining beacon of an example to anyone. Noah had waited for his father to die before he’d had the courage to come out.
Perhaps he should give Luke another second chance.
The brunette took a couple of deep calming breaths before replying. “Yes… yes you are. But are you going to stand over there all day or are you going to come and do some work?” he asked with the beginnings of a slow smile forming on his lips. God, he hoped he was making the right decision!…
…
For an hour they worked around each other in the close confines of the lab, an awkward silence surrounding them. Neither man was exactly sure how to get past the most basic of communication involving the research to have a more meaningful conversation.
“Nothing!” Noah blew out a frustrated breath at the lack of positive development in the sample under the microscope. Was he ever going to get anywhere with his research?!
“What makes you think it will work?” Luke asked pessimistically. “Why bother?”
Noah pulled back from the microscope to stare at the blonde. “Who’s the researcher here? Me or you?” His eyes lingered, seemingly unable to break away from the entrancing hazel hue.
“It just seems to me the more you look, the less you find!” Luke's lips began to curl into a lopsided if slightly uncertain smile as he continued to stare into Noah's handsome face.
“Huh?! You don't say!” Noah shook his head in disbelief. “Interns!” he smirked before eventually breaking their gaze and turning back to the microscope.
The brunette was about to lean in to change the slide when he felt the shock of a cold spray of water hit the side of his face. Gasping, he swung back to face Luke to see the other man holding a spray bottle of water and a mischievous grin splitting his face.
“You think that’s funny?!” He couldn’t help but grin widely back at the blonde; Luke’s smile was infectious and hard to resist.
The blonde nodded and chuckled loudly.
“Think this is funny, then?” Noah asked as he twisted around in his chair and grabbed the glass of water he’d been drinking from earlier, throwing what was left of the contents in Luke’s face.
“You didn’t just do that!” The younger man shot up from his chair, the water dripping down the side of his face and soaking through the neckline of his green T-shirt.
Luke turned, frantically looking from side-to-side for another water source. He reached for a large open bottle of water on the shelf to his right and pivoted on the balls of his feet to upend it over Noah’s head.
He dashed out of the lab, across the hall and into Noah’s room to avoid the other man’s retaliation.
“Uh-oh,” Luke muttered, realising too late that he’d backed himself into a corner when he saw Noah stealthy advancing upon him.
The dark-haired man couldn’t believe they were acting like a couple of kids… after all it was only a little over an hour ago they were yelling at each other. Not to mention the fact that Noah was supposed to be a professional and this was his workplace!
But he really didn’t care right now… it felt good to laugh, to get rid of some of the tension and forget about everything for a little while.
“Have mercy, kind sir!” Luke jokingly begged, as he watched Noah eyeing the plastic bowl in the sink.
“It’s a little too late for that, don’t you think?” the taller man chuckled as he dashed to fill the bowl. He managed to soak Luke’s back as the blonde tried to rush passed him to freedom.
They turned to face each other, both now dripping wet and laughing so hard they were having trouble keeping upright.
Noah sobered and stood a little straighter as he noticed just how wet Luke was; the blonde’s hair was dripping down into his eyes, a pool of clear droplets had collected just above the curve of his top lip and the supple full lips themselves were slick with moisture.
The handsome brunette found himself involuntarily licking his own lips as a sudden urge to kiss the other man washed over him. “You’re wet,” Noah murmured as he took at step closer, both hands simultaneously reaching out to grasp the empty bottle from Luke’s hands and to brush the sodden hair out of those gorgeous eyes.
“So are you,” Luke breathed out, his own hands coming up to rest on Noah’s soaked black T-shirt. He could feel the taut chest muscles tremble under his touch and he skimmed his hands down the strong lines of Noah’s torso to bunch the sopping material in his fists; pulling the taller man toward him.
Noah closed the gap between them willingly; his mind full of nothing but kissing the blonde. Luke’s eyes flicked up to met his stare and a lustful, hungry look passed between them before their lips crashed together in a slick open-mouthed kiss.
“Off!” Noah demanded, his breath hot against Luke’s lips as his sure fingers unerringly found the hem of Luke’s T-shirt. They broke their kiss long enough for the brunette to yank the offending, clingy material up over Luke’s head; his brain barely registering the tearing sound from the unyielding fabric.
Their lips urgently sought out each other again as if they couldn’t bear to be parted. Luke groaned into the kiss as Noah’s hands traced a path over his now bare chest, fingertips dragging over the sensitive nipples before heading further down; dancing around his belly button and coming to rest over his belt buckle.
Barely pausing for the frantic nod of encouragement, Noah made short work of releasing the fastening and the zip but struggled to get the drenched jeans down further than muscled thighs.
Dropping to his knees in front of the blonde, Noah doubled his efforts to free Luke from the confines of his jeans.
Luke’s jerky side-to-side movements, in an attempt to help the other man, bought his groin into contact with Noah’s face. The brunette couldn’t resist mouthing the growing hardness of Luke’s cock through the thin material of his black boxer briefs; smirking as the blonde rocked his hips forward in eagerness to increase the friction.
“Fuck, Noah!” Luke groaned from above him and Noah felt urgent fingers gripping his hair.
Urged on by the guttural moaning and his own need, the brunette pulled back. “I’m working on that, Luke!” he grunted through gritted teeth in exasperation, determined that a piece of material wasn’t going to beat him. With a final concentrated effort, Noah managed to tug Luke’s wet jeans and underwear down to his ankles. He hooked long fingers behind each of Luke’s knees in turn, helping the blonde step free.
Standing, Noah grinned in triumph and pulled a very naked Luke to him, crashing their bodies together.
The feel of being naked and pressed up against the handsome brunette; his damp jeans erotically rubbing his sensitive skin, overwhelmed Luke’s senses and he wantonly ground himself harder into Noah’s groin. He wanted to forget everything… wanted to forget the fear and the pain and just wanted to fuel this lust.
“Want you,” he breathed against Noah’s neck as his hands found the hem of the brunette’s T-shirt and pushed the soaked material up over the broad and muscled chest. He stretched up on tip toes and with Noah's eager help, succeeded in relieving the other man of his annoying T-shirt.
Noah reached for his belt buckle only to have Luke's hand cover his. “No… leave them on!” The blonde's voice had reached its seductive lowest and it sent shivers of anticipation shooting down Noah’s spine and pooling in his overheated groin.
Swallowing hard, Noah let himself be pushed backward onto his narrow bed, long legs dangling over the side.
“Gonna make you feel so good!” Luke murmured as he crawled onto the bed, his knees coming to rest either side of Noah's thighs. He leaned down and covered the handsome brunette's lips with his; eager tongue demanding entrance as he traced his fingertips down over trembling muscles to reach Noah's jean clad groin.
He un-clasped Noah's belt, popped the button and pulled down the zip, stretching the material wide. The blonde licked his lips at the mouth-watering sight as Noah's bulging cotton covered cock came into view.
Not wasting any time, Luke curled his fingers into the elastic waistband and eased it down over Noah's hardening length, pulling the material down just far enough so it cupped the brunette’s balls.
“Jesus, Luke!” Noah cried out when the blonde sunk his mouth over his cock, taking him almost down to the root. Luke only smirked around the girth as he used his tongue and lips to bring the other man to his full hardness.
Releasing Noah’s cock with a loud and resounding pop, Luke sat back on his heels and reached for bedside table; where he knew from recent experience the brunette kept his supplies.
Noah watched in open-mouthed lust as Luke drizzled the lube onto his long fingers and prepared himself; thinking he’d never seen a more erotic sight in his life. All the while he languidly fisted his own cock and licked his lips, eager to be buried ball deep in this man again.
A brief flash of something sparked at the back of his brain; a dim recognition that they really shouldn’t be doing this again… not with out talking things through first.
But that thought blinked out as quickly as it had ignited as Luke tore open the condom and worked it over Noah’s hard length. He let out a low groan as the blonde grasped his cock firmly by the base and sank down, inch by inch, until Luke’s ass was fully seated against his thighs.
“Nngh…Noah…uh….” Luke closed his eyes, threw his head back and breathed through the burn. Noah’s hands immediately went out to the blonde. One settling on a jutting hip, lending support, while his other slowly jacked Luke’s cock.
Surrounded by Luke’s tight heat, Noah wanted nothing more than to move… to thrust upward; his whole body screamed at him for that delicious friction. But he didn’t want to hurt the younger man. So, with an impressive display of mind-over-matter, the brunette waited… waited until Luke opened his eyes.
Only after the lust blown hazel orbs focused on him again, and Luke began to shift impatiently against him, did Noah move.
The movements were tentative and unsure at first; their bodies both unfamiliar with each other in this position. But each time Luke rose up and then eased himself back down over Noah’s impressive girth, the rough material of the other man’s jeans brushed against his exposed skin and the sensation drove him wild.
He closed his eyes again and covered Noah’s hand with his; working their combined hands together over his hard and leaking cock, increasing the speed and alternating the stroke… sometimes twisting… sometimes pulling.
“Luuuke… so… hot…. so tight,” Noah grunted as the blonde’s movements became more erratic; the downward thrusts were interspersed by desperate circular rolls of hips as Luke ground himself against Noah… making the brunette thrust up harder… deeper.
Noah’s hand left Luke’s hip and snaked up the sweat damped torso in front of him, stopping to twist and tweak the hardened flesh of the blonde’s pert nipples; making the man groan in ecstasy. “Nooaah… harder. Fuck me harder!”
When Noah’s eyes traced over the almost faded, mouth shaped bruise on Luke’s skin that his lips and teeth had made, he found himself wanting… needing… to mark every inch of the younger man’s perfect skin to tell the world that this man was his. Jesus! Where did that come from?!
Noah’s long fingers gripped the back of Luke’s neck and pulled him down to crash their lips together in a hard open-mouth kiss. Leaving those supple lips, he licked and bit a sensual path down over Luke’s stubbled jaw and over his exposed neck, down to the fading bruise.
Luke gasped as he felt the handsome brunette bite down on his neck. Fuck! The feel of Noah everywhere… all at once… blew his already over-loaded senses and with a cry he came, long and hard, arching high over toned muscles. That guttural, almost primal, sound shot straight to Noah’s groin, and the feel of Luke’s muscles frantically milking his cock had the brunette matching that cry with one of his own as he shuddered his climax deep inside Luke.
“Fuck!” Luke collapsed down onto the other man and blew out a ragged breath hot against the side of Noah’s neck, not caring that he was spreading his cum over their stomachs.
“Yeah…” Noah agreed breathlessly, “…fuck.”
He wanted to stay like this; buried ball deep in the gorgeous blonde as the lay together, chests heaving. But he knew this must be an uncomfortable position for Luke. Stifling a groan, he gently slipped out and rolled the younger man onto his side, before tying off the condom and dropping it to the floor; making a mental note to himself to dispose of it later… before his mom stumbled across it. Finding them in bed and knowing her son and Luke were sleeping together was one thing but finding the residual evidence of it was another!
Shifting his position, Noah leaned over the side of the bed and grabbed the first thing that came to hand to clean them up as best he could: Luke’s soaked and ripped T-shirt. He gently wiped Luke’s torso, then moved the cloth over the blonde’s spent cock; cleaning him with an almost serene reverence.
After a couple of perfunctory swipes at his own body, Noah dropped the T-shirt onto the floor and eased back down onto the bed. Luke's body immediately curled into his and he felt the man's long fingers come up to stroke the side of his face, down his jaw and over his Adams apple, coming to rest in the cooling pool of sweat that was evaporating in the hollow of his neck.
“Do you remember our ecstasy of old?
Does your heart still beat at the sound of my name?
Do you still see my soul in your dreams?”
Luke’s voice came out in a husky whisper as he moved in closer to Noah.
Poetry?! The guy was reciting poetry to him after that?! Noah had never had anybody recite poetry to him after sex… especially after that kind of hard and desperate sex. Actually, nobody had ever recited poetry to him at all. Period. Not that there had been that many men to recite poetry to him in the first place.
Luke's fingers stilled. “Have you ever been in love, Noah? I mean… really… in love.” Luke had never been in love and he didn't really know how to describe what he was beginning to feel for the other man. Sure, the attraction was there. But this was something more. He couldn't seem to stay away; when he was with Noah everything seemed to fall into place and nothing else seemed to matter. But Luke was scared… so scared. And he hated himself for feeling that way.
“Huh?” Luke's question startled him. He'd actually been lost in his own thoughts; wondering why, when they should actually talk, did they always seem to end up in bed together? That couldn’t be healthy, could it? What was it about this blonde that just drew him in?
“Have you ever been in love?” The question came again but more urgent this time and Luke shifted; rolling on top of Noah. The hazel orbs stared at him with an expectant intensity.
Noah swallowed hard. He knew that the question was important to Luke, but a part of him didn't want to answer that question… didn't want to open up old wounds. He sighed, letting out a long deep breath, figuring that at least it was a starting point for them to talk. Maybe it would help the blonde talk about his own situation.
“Yes.” Noah's voice was low; barely above a murmur and Luke had to lean in close to hear. “But being in a couple sometimes means lying and not being honest… keeping secrets from each other.”
“What happened?” Luke pressed his fingers to the side of the brunette's face, thumb gently stroking the stubbled chin. His eyebrow rose questioningly and he could hear the pain in Noah's voice. He wondered if there was more than just being busy with his research and the garden centre that kept Noah from being in a relationship. But at the back of his mind he couldn't help but think of his own situation and wondered if Noah's statement had a double meaning.
“His name was David. We'd been together just over a year,” Noah began as he stared at the ceiling. “I suppose you could've called it… I don't know… my real first love. He was a little older than me and he meant the world to me. I thought… stupidly… naïvely that we would be together forever. That he was it for me.”
The brunette shook his head sadly before taking another deep breath. “We… we even talked about moving in together. He said it was the next step; after all I’d already got a key to his apartment and came and went wherever I wanted to. Only… one day… I guess that little arrangement didn't quite work out for him…” Noah's voice was tinged with sarcasm and hurt, “… I wanted to surprise him and got to his apartment before he was due to finish work. I wanted to cook him a meal… had it all planned… candles and everything. I… I knew the minute I opened the door that something wasn't right. I should’ve turned and ran when I heard those sounds coming from his bedroom. I should’ve turned, ran and never looked back.”
Luke felt sure he knew what was coming next and he tilted Noah's head so he could look the other man in the face. He almost gasped out loud at the hurt he saw deep in the intense blue.
“But I didn't run. Some kinda masochistic need in me pulled me down the hall, to the bedroom door and made me turn the handle.” The brunette blinked back tears, annoyed at himself that even after all this time it still got to him. “I… I don't need to tell you the rest. Enough to say that he’d been lying to me the whole time we were together. I can’t live like that, Luke. I need honesty.” He locked eyes with Luke and they stared at each other for long moments.
Luke stretched up and pressed their lips together. “I’m so sorry, Noah,” he murmured against Noah’s lips. Not only did it pull at his heartstrings to think of the handsome brunette being hurt like that, it also made him fearful about what was going to happen between the two of them… where they were going to go from here. Noah wanted total honesty and no secrets and Luke wasn’t sure if that was something he could give the other man right now.
More silence passed between them before Noah took a deep breath and addressed the elephant in the room. “Luke, do your parents know you’re gay?”
The question hung in the air and Noah felt the blonde’s body stiffen against him before he started to pull away.
Noah held him tighter, drawing him back in. “Do your parents know about you?” Suddenly the answer to that question became the most important thing to Noah right then.
“I don’t see what difference it makes. They have their lives… I have mine.” Luke tried to sound offhand, flippant even. But he knew Noah saw through the charade.
“But, Luke, don’t you see that’s never going to work? I know it's hard… God knows I know it's hard but you’ll only end up getting…” Noah was cut off by the ringing of Luke’s phone.
Luke shifted, trying to disentangle himself from Noah’s embrace.
“Don’t. Leave it… you can call whoever it is back,” the brunette commanded. They needed to finish this conversation.
“I… I can’t. It might be important.” Luke nodded toward his jeans, his phone’s incessant ringing cutting through their words.
The blonde managed to squirm free, and standing, he reached for his phone.
His heart lurched into his mouth when he saw the caller ID. “Dad!” he could barely get his words out for the sudden dryness in his mouth. “Is everything OK?”
“What took you so long to answer, Luciano?” His father’s sure and accented voice questioned down the phone, sounding impatient.
“I… I couldn’t find my phone. Sorry,” the blonde stuttered and turned his back to Noah. His chest pounded and it felt like his father was in the room with them, looking with disgust and hatred at his son standing there naked and with Noah stretched out half undressed on the bed… the unmistakable smell of sex in the air.
Noah huffed out an exasperated breath and slammed his head against the mattress; he’d seen Luke spin around as if he was ashamed.
“Be quicker next time! Where are you? Your mother and I are in Oakdale and we want to take you and that wonderful girlfriend of yours out for an early dinner.”
“I’m at the nursery.”
“I’ll come get you.”
Luke was seized with horror. “No! No… I’ll get a ride into town.”
“Hurry. We’ll meet you at the Lakeside.” Damian ended the call without waiting for a reply.
“Noah!” Luke spun back to face the other man. “I need a ride. My dad wants to take me and Maddie to dinner.”
Noah rose up onto his elbows to look at Luke down his long torso. “What? Why would your father want to take you and Maddie to dinner?” he asked pointedly.
Shit, he hadn’t got time to explain this now! “Please, Noah! I’ll explain on the way… if you’ll just give me a ride?!” Luke begged desperately as he reached for his discarded clothes.
It had been on the tip of Noah’s tongue to tell the other man to go to hell and that he could call Maddie for a ride. But he saw the look of desperation on the blonde’s face.
“OK… OK,” he muttered as he stood and stuffed himself back into his jeans. “But you can’t wear those. We need to find you something else to wear.” Noah gestured to the damp, torn and stained clothes in Luke’s hand.
Fuck! Noah just knew he was going to regret this…
Chapter 9
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