Page 34 of Stained Hearts
“There’s not much to tell. I said yeah, he could come back to my place. I mean, if I had to be his dirty little secret, that was a fair exchange, right?”
“No, it’s not. What happened?”
“He sneered at me. Told me he’d let me blow him, maybe he’d fuck me, but he wouldn’t touch me… you know, there, and he didn’t kiss.” Aiden sucked in a sharp breath. “And I was still ready to say yes. Here I was, twenty years old and a fucking virgin. I would have said yes to pretty much anyone, right? But…. Okay, I said no. Not because I was against it, but because I wanted… I wanted something stupid, and he wouldn’t give it to me.”
“And what did you want?”
His expression went dreamy as he stared out at nothing. “It’s stupid. I wanted my first kiss. I mean, I had to be worthy of that, right? I wouldn’t have cared if he only used me, but I wanted that kiss more than I think I ever wanted anything else. So I said no.”
At that moment, I doubt I could have been more proud of him. “Would you be okay with me kissing you? I don’t want anything else, just a kiss.”
He gave me a sad smile. “But what if I want other things?”
“That’ll come in time, if we both want it to. Right now, I really want to kiss you. Would that be okay?”
He nodded, breathless. I leaned in, and he whimpered as my lips brushed over his. He sobbed again, and this time when he put his arms around me, he mashed our mouths together. He opened for me, mewling like a kitten, and I swept my tongue inside his mouth, licking his teeth, his tongue, and all the while rejoicing in the fact that he wasn’t letting go.
I pulled him onto my lap, and he ground against my cock, rubbing his ass along the shaft. I leaned back. “Hey, you gotta stop.”
“No, don’t make me. I want this.” He ground down harder, letting me know what he was willing to give.
“And do you want it in the park? Do you really want an audience?”
“Don’t care! I want you to”—his voice dropped to a whisper—“fuck me.”
I eased him off my lap, my erection crushed painfully in the tight pants. “I care. You’re more than a fuck. You’re someone I care about, and I won’t take advantage of you like that. You deserve respect, not just a quick lay.”
He looked up, his lashes glistening with tears. “You mean that?”
I leaned in and kissed him again, this time butterfly-soft. “Yeah, I do. And one day, if you still want it, we’re going to get there. But I’m the kind of man who wants to win your heart before he takes your body. Understood?”
He nodded, obviously in awe.
And it became my job—my pleasure—to win his heart, because we both deserved it.
Chapter Nine
NOEL CAMEover to the table and slid into the booth. “How’s he doing?”
I sighed. Being with Aiden, spending the day driving around, talking about anything and everything we could think of was great, but…. It wasn’t enough. Dropping Aiden off at home was harder than I’d imagined it would be. He insisted he didn’t need help to get in, and I was torn whether I should let him go on his own or follow along to make sure he got inside safely. In the end, I told him I was going with him because I wanted a good-night kiss. That perked him up immediately.
Once he was safely inside, I gave him the kiss he demanded, then told him good night. He jutted his lower lip out and gave me some incredible puppy-dog eyes. God, who knew he could pout so well?
“He’s okay.”
“Lincoln told me what happened. That doesn’t sound likeokay.”
I shrugged. “I can’t say anything. That’s up to Aiden to tell if he wants. But he opened up to me and let me in. I’m going to do my best to make things right for him.”
Noel patted my hand. “You’re a good man. Brian would be proud.”
I turned my attention to Noel. “You didn’t tell me he and Brian met.”
Noel leaned back in the booth. “Yeah. It was a night from hell. No table sat empty for more than a few minutes, and Brian came in for us to go to the concert. I asked Aiden and Olivia if he could sit with them until I was done. After Lincoln told me I could go, I came over to Brian and found him laughing at something Aiden had said. That night, he told me how much he enjoyed my friends.”
Knowing Aiden had made Brian laugh warmed me in so many ways.
“I think the two of them would have become good friends. Brian wasn’t afraid to poke Aiden a little, and Aiden? He really bloomed talking about art with Brian.”
