Page 35 of Curious

Chapter Nine

The rain was pummeling the windshield so that even with the wipers on full speed, Jeremy could hardly see a foot in front of him as he slowly made his way home from the grocery store.

The foul weather had him grinning like an idiot. If anyone could see him they’d think he was crazy, but this storm meant Owen had the whole day off. It also meant that no one was working on fixing his apartment’s roof, so he was stuck with Jeremy for the duration.

The last four days had been good. Better than good. Every day he woke up to Owen making breakfast and every night he fell asleep in his arms. He’d never experienced anything like it before. Never realized how much he craved the closeness, the intimacy, until now.

The night Owen had asked to stay for the week, they’d fallen asleep together on the couch, both too exhausted from their lakeside tussle to finish the evening the way the dominant Finn had planned. They’d woken up around two in the morning and shuffled down the hall to collapse together on the bed, neither moving until the alarm went off four hours later.

Owen had toned down his aggressive demands to top him, and he’d shied away from intercourse entirely since then. If he weren’t so physically affectionate—always finding reasons to touch him when they talked—and if he hadn’t made sure Jeremy came at least twice a night and most mornings, Jeremy would worry that Owen was regretting their time together and pulling away. As it was, Jeremy thought he might still be recovering from the rough sex by the water.

He would never stop kicking himself for losing control.

Even with his concern, this week was still better than any he’d had in a long damn time. They talked—not about movies or sex, but real conversations. Well, Jeremy talked—Owen listened and asked the occasional quiet question. But Jeremy cherished the time, telling him things he’d never been able to share with him before. Like the details of what had happened in the weeks leading up to his father handing him a wad of cash and warning him not to come back or ask for more.

He told Owen about the first time he’d had sex with a man. How he never would have worked up the nerve if Tasha hadn’t dared him to do it. And he finally got Owen to share the story about the girlfriend in college who’d introduced him to the lifestyle.

When he’d asked him what drew him to it, Owen had opened up. He said it was the honesty. The lack of judgment and emotional manipulation. He liked that everything was spelled out in the kink community, said it taught him to rein in his tendency for excess and gave him patience. Taught him how much more enjoyable it could be to give pleasure than to receive it.

The way he talked about it made Jeremy see kink through new eyes. Curious eyes. He’d fought it when Owen got too bossy, and it tangled his stomach in knots when he thought about how easily he succumbed to the man’s commanding ways. But Owen’s conversations about power exchange made him realize that it wasn’t a competition or a struggle for control. Submission wasn’t a weakness.

Last night, after the rain started, Jeremy had been in Owen’s arms and he’d wondered out loud if they could do a little more experimenting. Owen had tensed beside him and then pulled him closer, pressing a kiss to his forehead.

“Tomorrow.”

Today, Jeremy thought, his hands tightening on the steering wheel as his back wheels skidded on the wet surface of the road. Today he was going to give in to his own curiosity, and he was determined to do it with the same fearlessness Owen had shown on his birthday.

He didn’t know if what they were doing would last beyond Owen’s roof getting patched. He hoped, but with all their talking they’d never mentioned anything about the future. Jeremy didn’t want to waste a minute or have a single regret. He loved Owen, and wanted to know every part of him, including Master Finn.

When he finally pulled into the driveway and shut off the engine, Owen was already striding out the front door and drenched to the bone as he came to help him unload the supplies. Water and candles, canned goods and propane for the grill in case the power went out.

“How are the roads?”

Jeremy grimaced. “Not good. I’m glad I went out when I did. I doubt they’ll be drivable until this is over. Do we still have power?”

“For the moment. Come on, let’s get inside.”

He shivered when he stepped into the air-conditioned foyer, water streaming from his hair down into his eyes as he headed to the kitchen with his bags. “I’m sorry it took me so long to get back. Traffic was slowed to a crawl.”

Owen set his handful of bags on the counter. “That’s okay. It gave me time to get ready.”

Jeremy pushed his wet hair back from his forehead and met Owen’s gaze. His heart started hammering in his ears. “Ready?”

“Let’s get this put away first.”

He was clumsy, suddenly all thumbs and shaking hands as they put away the groceries and supplies in silence. He’d asked for this. He wanted it. But when he glanced up toward the living room, he lost his breath.

Owen had been getting ready. He’d moved all the furniture up against the wall and out of the way. He’d also brought out a flat padded bench from the workout room.

What was he going to do to him on that bench? Jeremy’s dick pressed insistently against his jeans and he licked his dry lips. What kind of torture was Owen planning?

A hand covered his and took the can he’d been holding away from him. “That’s the last one,” Owen murmured. “Now let’s take off your clothes so we can put them in the washer.”

Jeremy pulled off his wet t-shirt while Owen unbuttoned his jeans. He kicked off his boots, leaning over to pull off his damp socks before shucking off the clinging denim. Owen gathered his clothes and disappeared into the laundry room for a moment, leaving him standing naked and trembling in his kitchen.

He glanced at the refrigerator. Had it only been ten days since he’d leaned against it and Owen had talked him into opening his pants out of curiosity? How could his life have changed so completely in less than two weeks?

When Owen reappeared he was barefoot and shirtless, but he still had his pants on. He studied Jeremy’s body as if he were seeing it for the first time, lingering on the thick erection between his legs.

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