Rain Storms Ch. 01

"Did you find the place ok?" Dylan asked as he let me in.

"Yes."

He stared at me. "What's wrong, Rain? Are you nervous about meeting my friends? They really don't bite."

"I... No."

"Talk to me," he insisted.

"I know someone who lives around the corner," I said.

"Really? Who?"

"The Ungers," I replied.

"Dr. and Mr. Unger?" he said over his shoulder as he walked through the house. "I know them. How do you know them?"

"They're Eric's parents," I said to his back and he froze mid-step.

He turned slowly. "Eric Unger is your Eric? Dracula?"

I nodded. "Yes."

"Well," he smirked. "I guess it is a small world after all."

"You never met him?" I asked. "He grew up here."

"No. When I bought the house, their son was in college in Boston. He never moved back into the house. He got a place in Downtown," he explained. "They rave about how talented he is all the time. They never mentioned that he's gay."

"Technically, since he habitually sleeps with women, he's not gay."

"But he sleeps with men too," he argued.

"Just the one." I held up my pointer finger. "He doesn't sleep with men. Just with me."

"Then he's gay for you," he smirked.

"Something like that."

"The man loves you," he said.

"Love doesn't solve everything, Dylan."

He sighed. "If he were to get his shit together, and figure out how to open up and talk to you, would you go back to him?"

"In a heartbeat," I admitted.

He frowned. "I can't compete with that, Rain."

"It's not going to happen, Dylan," I sighed. "I love him. I can't change the way that I feel. But he's never going to change and I can't live like that. So does that mean that I'm doomed to spend the rest of my life alone? I'm not allowed to love someone else?"

"No," he replied. "It doesn't. But I..." We both turned at the sound of the doorbell. "I want to have this conversation with you but can we hold off until after they've left?"

"Yes," I nodded. "Get the door. I'm fine."

But I wasn't fine. There was a tempest raging inside my mind and I had checked out. I still functioned in a manner that would pass for normal but my brain was somewhere else. I had spent a majority of my life learning to separate my thoughts from my actions so that my body could be doing what was expected of it completely autonomous from my mind. The talent had developed out of necessity for survival, but now it was getting me in trouble. I remembered enough that I would be able to recognize Dylan's friends if I saw them on the street, but not much else.

I knew one thing for sure; If Dylan was trying to introduce me as just a friend, he had done a piss-poor job. He had invited three couples to join us, two straight couples and a gay couple, drawing the inference that we were also a couple. Then he had stayed close to me all evening. Not touching but not more than an arm's length away either. He was confusing the fuck out of me. Between Eric and Ryan and Dylan, I didn't know how much more confusion my mind could handle before I snapped.

"Where were we?" He sat on the edge of the couch as far away from me as he could be while still sharing the same piece of furniture.

"You were telling me that I'm not allowed to have feelings for you," I reminded him.

"Do you? Have feelings for me?"

"Of course I do," I replied, setting my drink on the coffee table. "I thought I had been pretty clear about that. But in case there's any question about it... You're smart, successful, sweet, handsome, insanely sexy, kind, caring, open, and honest. In fact, I have yet to discover a single thing wrong with you. And trust me, I've been looking. So yes. I have feelings for you. I have very strong feelings for you, which I would love to explore. But I can't do that if you're going to push me away because I've been in a serious relationship before."

"It's not just a serious relationship, Rain. It's love. You're in love with Eric and he's in love with you. It has been that way since I first met you and it's never going to be any different. How can you expect me to give my heart to you knowing that you're going to break it the second that man figures out what an idiot he is for not doing any, and every, thing in his power to keep you?"

"You think he's an idiot for that?" I asked, latching on to the one opening that he'd given me.

"Absolutely," he swore.

"Aren't you doing the same thing?" I asked, quietly. "At least he tried to make it work. He went out on a limb and risked his whole being for the chance. He fought against his very nature to be with me. You don't have to do that. You know who and what you are. You're comfortable in your own skin. I'm offering myself to you. All you have to do is reach out and take it. There are no promises. We may be incompatible in ways that have nothing to do with Eric, but we will never know unless we try. I'm willing to take that risk with you. For you. Take it." I held out my hand to him, palm up.

He hesitated but he did, eventually, slide his hand into mine. I closed my fingers around his and yanked him toward me. He allowed me to pull his body into mine. He was a great deal bigger than me. Not all that much taller. We were about the same height but he was broader and more powerful. I couldn't have moved him if he had resisted, but he didn't. Once I had my arms around him, I threaded my fingers through the hair on the back of his head and kissed him. It was our first real kiss and, honestly, it was awkward and short. He pulled away after only a brief moment.

He stood and straightened his clothes. "If we're going to do this then we're going to do it right." He held out his hand to me and I didn't hesitate to grip it. He gently tugged me to my feet and pulled off his glasses before sliding one hand behind my head and the other around my waist. This time, when we kissed, he led and I followed. He didn't hold back, and fully engaged Dylan was something the romance books always try to capture but never succeed. Fireworks, weak knees, heart pounding, blood rushing in my ears. All of that was there but it was so much more. If this was what the man did to me from a simple kiss, I wasn't likely to survive making love with him.

He broke away long after I was done in and way before I was ready. I groaned and he softly chuckled.

"Like that, did you?" he murmured against my neck.

"Your mouth should be licensed," I husked. "Kiss me again."

He moved those incredible lips up to my ear and I could feel his hot breath as he whispered, "No." He raised his head and locked eyes with me. "Before this goes any further, we need to have 'The Talk'."

I groaned. "Can we play now and talk later?"

He chuckled. "Talking would be pointless after, Rain," he chided. "We need to do this. It's important."

It suddenly occurred to me what he wanted to talk about and I realized that I didn't want to have the conversation. I didn't want to admit what he was going to ask me. If we had only taken this step the day before, I would have been more than happy to talk. Now... What a difference one day, or night, can make. I took a deep breath. "Ok. Go."

He released me and indicated that we should sit. "Have you been tested?"

"Yes," I nodded. "Frequently. I get tested once a month and got my last test results on Monday."

"Jesus," he breathed. "Why?"

"Eric was cheating on me and I don't know how safe he was being," I told him. "What about you?"

"I haven't been tested recently," he admitted. "It's been about eight months. But I try to stay as safe as possible. I don't bareback. I'm willing to hold off on sex if you would prefer."

"If we wait, we'll have to wait six months, Dylan. I don't want to do that."

"Just five," he corrected. "I haven't been with anyone in a month."

"It'll be six, Dylan."

He tilted his head slightly in confusion. "You don't believe me?"

"I believe you," I promised. "It'll be six months for me," I admitted.

I watched realization dawn on his face. "You weren't upset about Eric this morning, were you?"

"I was," I replied. "I was upset about what Eric's phone call interrupted."

"Ahh," he replied. I could tell from the look on his face that he was upset.

"He's the only person that I've had sex with, and he told me that he was clean and I trusted him. But then, I trusted Eric when he told me that he'd be faithful to me too, so my trust may be misplaced," I explained. "We used protection but there is still a risk. I understand that we both have some risk attached but I still want to be with you."

"Truthfully, I'm more of a risk than you are," he replied. "I'm not worried about that. We can be safe. I'm more bothered by the fact that you had someone else inside you less than twenty-four hours ago. I guess I'm jealous. I shouldn't be. I have no right to be. I even encouraged you to go out and get laid. But there it is. I don't like that someone else had his hands on you."

I smirked at him. "I didn't know that you were so possessive alpha male."

He grinned back. "Neither did I."

"If it makes you feel any better, HE wasn't inside ME," I told him with an arch of my eyebrow.

All expression washed off his face but his focus bounced around my face searching... searching. "I thought... I mean Eric..." He took a breath and tried again. "Are you a top, Rain?"

I was confused by his response. He almost seemed excited. I had assumed that he was a top but maybe I was wrong. "I'll be anything that you want me to be, Dylan."

He bolted off the couch and started pacing. "Don't do that, Rain. Don't give me paid escort responses. I want to know what you really feel and like. It will drive me insane if I think you're just telling me what you think I want to hear."

"Dylan, sit," I commanded. He was really upset, and I didn't understand why, but I knew that I had to make it better. I waited until he sat back down to continue. "I wasn't giving you a hooker response. I know that's how it seems sometimes. Honestly, I do fall back on that on occasion. But not this time. I like it both ways. Eric is a top. This guy last night, Ryan, he's a bottom. I don't care if you want to top or bottom. I just want to be with you."

"I haven't bottomed in a long time, Rain," he sighed. "I don't want to be a disappointment to you. I'm worried that I won't be able to please you. It freaks me out that I may not even be able to tell if you're getting any enjoyment out of being with me."

I had a flashback of a previous conversation. It was like being transported back to a twenty year old me telling him that I didn't even get aroused by most of the things that I did with Johns. I knew, without a doubt, that was why he kept me at arm's length for the previous three weeks. He was afraid that I would fake it with him. I also knew that not a single thing that I could say would alleviate his fears. Words meant nothing. I stood up and held out my hand. "Let me show you."

He tentatively took my hand and let me lead him to his bedroom. In his bedroom, like the rest of the house, all of his furniture was made of heavy wood. Everything looked sturdy and, in a way, delicate. But I wasn't noticing the intricate carving of the head and foot boards, or the painstaking craftsmanship that went into the dresser and night stands. All I noticed was the bed.

"That's a big bed, Dylan."

"It's an oversized California King," he explained. "I'm not a very good sleeper. I tend to toss and turn. It could be difficult for someone to sleep in the same bed if there isn't a lot of acreage."

I winced and swallowed at the image of him sharing his bed with other men but I shoved the discomfort down, determined not to let my green-eyed monster spoil the night. Ignoring the bed, and the visions that my overactive imagination brought forth, I turned to him. "Kiss me."

He was still carrying his glasses in his hand, and he set them down on the bedside table before he stepped into my personal space. He tenderly cupped the back of my head and brushed the tip of my nose with his. "There's no turning back from this, Rain." His breath huffed across my face and still smelled slightly of the bourbon that he'd been drinking. It was warm and masculine and sexy. It was a scent that I would always associate with him and it was a huge turn on.

"We can't go back, Dylan," I whispered. "We've been on this course since the beginning. It's just taken us a very long time to get here. Please kiss me."

His lips lightly grazed mine. He was being sweet and romantic and so typical Dylan. I wanted more. I wanted that same dizzy and shaky feeling from before. My tongue darted out to taste him and he took the hint. He kicked it up a notch. He kicked it up about a hundred and fifty notches until my body was trembling and I was clutching at his arms, his back, and my sanity.

"Oh my God, Dylan," I gasped. "I could die a happy man right now."

He chuckled. "Please don't."

"No," I agreed. "I need to be naked with you at least once before your kisses make my head explode."

"I think we can make that happen." He started unbuttoning my shirt and I tried to capture his lips with mine but he backed away. "No. Naked first. Then more kissing."

"Oh fuck yes," I groaned and reached for his shirt but he batted my hands away.

"Let me," he ordered. "I was denied this pleasure seven years ago. I want it now."

"You could have had me then, Dylan," I smirked. "I was a sure thing."

He shook his head. "No. Then you were aloof and untouchable. I could have fucked you. Don't think I didn't consider it. But then I would have been just another John to you. I didn't want that." He got my shirt off and made short work of my pants and underwear. I toed off my shoes and socks. He stepped back and surveyed my naked and aroused form. His jaw set and his brown eyes turned nearly black with desire. "I wanted you rumpled." His voice was thickened by lust. "You're fucking gorgeous, Rain."

He ran his fingers over my stomach and traced the groove of my Adonis belt. His fingertips continued to blaze a hot trail over my body as he caressed and touched with just enough pressure to keep me from bursting into a fit of giggles. I just stood there and let him explore, wanting, craving, and needing to reciprocate until I couldn't stand it anymore. "If you don't let me touch you, my brain is going to leak out my ears and you'll never get your network functional."

He startled, as if he'd been jerked out of a trance, and he started laughing. "Well, we can't have that." He shed his clothes and stood before me. He looked even better than I had imagined, and I had thought about it a lot. He had been starring in my jerk-off fantasies for weeks now. I ran my fingers through the hair coating his chest and it felt amazing. A lot of men have course hair that feels like pubic hair but his was as soft as the hair on his head. The light brown hair was thick but not so thick that you couldn't see his perfect pink nipples. It tapered in around his midsection and formed a thin line that spread out again at his groin.

He was strong and broad shouldered but not ripped. He had a nice soft layer of padding over very dense and solidly packed muscles. He wasn't fat. He wasn't even what would be considered overweight. He was perfect.

"You've got your hands on my naked body," he grinned. "Now what are you going to do with me?"

I shook my head and backed away from him, my body screaming at the loss of contact. "Not thinking," I husked, sliding backwards onto the bed. "Just feeling." I got into the relative center of the huge bed and crooked my finger at him in a come here motion.

He crawled across the bed toward me with a look in his eyes that would have made my knees weak if I had been standing. He was so intense and sexy that I pretty much swooned anyway when he took possession of my mouth and lowered me back onto the bed. He kissed me gently and slowly, as if he had suddenly become timid now that we were naked and in bed. His weight settling on top of me was comforting. My body was relaxed and languid, and I was content with just that for the moment. I enjoyed the sensation but I knew it wouldn't last.

Sure enough, he shifted his lower body and our erections came in contact with one another making me gasp. He arched up a little to be able to look between our bodies. He braced himself on one elbow and reached between us, gripping our cocks together. "You've got a big dick, Rain."

I looked down and he was right. I was longer than him by at least an inch but it was hard to tell from the angle. Girth-wise, we were similar. "Does that bother you?" I asked, nervously. I had no idea what I would do if it did.

He chuckled softly, "No." His hand moved slowly up and down, jacking us both together, and forcing my eyes to roll back in my head. "It's mine, right?"

"Fuck yes," I moaned. "As long as you'll have me."

"I'm going to have you for a long time," he promised.

"Oh God," I moaned. I felt the familiar tightening in my groin and rocked my hips involuntarily. "If you keep doing that, I'm going to come."

"Really?" His voice spiked an octave in surprise. "Hair trigger?"

"No," I panted. He hadn't stopped and I was trying to hold off my orgasm. "It's you. You have no idea what you do to me."

He smirked. "I guess I'm about to find out."

He continued his slow, lazy assault on my cock, and I was teetering on the edge. I needed more but he was straddling my thighs and I couldn't get the leverage that I needed. My fingertips dug into his triceps as I squirmed and writhed beneath him. "Please!" I begged. "Please. Oh God."

"What do you need, Gorgeous?" he crooned. "Tell me."

"Please," I moaned. I couldn't articulate what I needed. I was so close that I couldn't think at all.

He leaned down, sucked my nipple into his wicked mouth, and rolled the nub gently between his teeth. I gripped the back of his head and pulled his face hard against me. He bit down and the small shock of pain shoved me, screaming, over the edge.

I blinked hard as my mind and heartrate returned to something akin to normal functionality. Dylan was on his side, casually drawing mindless patterns through the evidence of my pleasure painted across my midsection. "Oh God," I groaned. "That was fast."

He grinned at me, skimmed his wet fingertip up my chest, and circled my recently abused nipple. "I'd forgotten that about you. Or blanked it out."

"What?"

"That you like pain," he clarified. "That's going to be a problem, Lover. I'm not the kind of person who can deal out pain. I just don't have it in me to hurt you."

"What just happened... That bite... Was that too much for you?" I asked.

"No," he replied. "But it was close."

"I'll never ask for more than that," I promised. "That was enough for me." I looked down at the mess I'd made. "Obviously."

"But, Rain..."

"Dylan," I sighed. "Stop trying to come up with reasons why we can't be together and focus on ways that we can work out our differences. I want to be with you. I want to make it work. I don't need the pain to orgasm. The sharper sides of pleasure just make it more intense. You didn't damage me. You didn't even bite me hard. It was just in a sensitive spot and it was good."

"But, Rain..."

"And you can't seriously still be worried that you won't be able to tell if I'm getting enjoyment out of what you're doing to me, right?"

"True," he chuckled warmly.

I frowned. "But now I'm worried that I'll pop off every time you touch me and I won't be able to please you."

He laughed. "It will please me to no end if you pop off every time I touch you."

"Be serious," I scolded. "You know what I mean."

He squinted at me and scooted off the bed. "Come on." He held out his hand and I took it. We entered the master bath, hand-in-hand, and he turned on the shower. He took his time carefully washing every inch of my body before he handed the shower gel over to me. I took the silent hint and washed him, head to toe. By the time I had finished, we were both hard and leaking pre-cum. He stood over me, looking down and breathing heavily, while I was rinsing the last of the soap off his feet.