Sunset Hearts Read online

  “If you’re talking about checking my equipment, you’d better be talking about the equipment between my legs, dude.” Alan sat up, grabbed Jerald’s T-shirt, and dragged him down to the couch. “Otherwise, I’ll tell them to ignore you, that you’re just my worrywart boyfriend showing his ass and his badge to get me back on dry land because the water’s a little choppy. You ready to pay my mortgage on my boats if I can’t work?”

  Jerald’s rugged jaw set in a firm clench. Alan loved the way the older man looked when he got angry. His blue eyes, creased at the edges by years squinting against the sun, his deep tan, his short brown hair sun-bleached almost a reddish blond…

  His protective temper.

  “Maybe I should cuff you to the bed and call Todd at the marina and tell him you’re out sick.”

  “I’ll take the cuffs, you know I love that game. But you try to mess with my charters, you’ll have to figure out a way to keep me cuffed because once I get loose I will kick your ass.”

  Stalemate.

  As Alan suspected he would, Jerald backed down. He sat next to him on the couch and draped his arm around Alan’s shoulders. Jerald, only eight years older than his own thirty-four, sometimes positively acted like his damn father.

  Not that he minded too much.

  “Please don’t go out far.”

  Alan knew he’d won at that point. He leaned in and kissed him. “I promise. I’ll be careful, you know I will. If it’s too bad, or if they wimp out, we’ll come in.”

  “You call me as soon as you’re at the dock.”

  “I will.” He glanced at the time. “It’s almost nine. You staying?”

  “If you want me to.”

  Alan reached for the remote and shut off the TV. “Yep. You know I want you to.” He stood and grabbed Jerald’s hand. “Since when have I ever not wanted you to? You got someplace better to be?”

  “Not really.”

  “Gee, thanks.”

  Jerald’s face broke into a wide smile as he rose from the couch. Alan stood six inches shorter than Jerald’s six-four. Jerald pulled Alan to him. “You know I’m just messing with you,” Jerald rumbled. Then he slanted his mouth over Alan’s and kissed him, hard, his evening stubble scratchy against Alan’s cheek.

  Alan reached down and grabbed the front of Jerald’s shorts. His lover’s hard cock strained against the cotton fabric. “Yeah, and I’m ready to mess with you, too.” Gently tugging on the taller man’s bulge, Alan led him to the bedroom where they both quickly stripped and fell into bed.

  Alan ended up on the bottom, his wrists pinned over his head. “Maybe I should cuff you,” Jerald threatened.

  “Then you’d have to stay here with me.”

  “There are worse things.” Alan tried to kiss him, but Jerald lifted his head out of the way, teasing him. “Sometimes I think you enjoy those games a little too much.”

  “As long as it’s you and not the real thing, I’m fine. I’m always up for a game of Marine Patrol poking the Poacher.”

  Jerald groaned, then laughed. “You’re too fucking much.” He stared down at Alan. “Maybe I should shove my cock in your mouth to shut you up.”

  Alan opened wide, sending Jerald into another laughing jag. He lay on the bed next to Alan. “Get down there, then.”

  Alan grinned as he sat up. “Does this qualify as police harassment?”

  Jerald’s tone sounded light. “Shut the hell up and suck my cock, goddammit.”

  “Such a sweet talker you are tonight.” Alan bent over the other man’s member, which had grown to its full length. With a glance up at Jerald’s hungry expression, he swiped his tongue over the swollen head. “Like that?”

  Jerald groaned. “Don’t tease me.”

  Alan’s own cock throbbed, desperate for release. Alan knew what his lover wanted. He kept his eyes trained on Jerald’s face as he wrapped his lips around his cock. Jerald’s gaze burned as he watched.

  Jerald always loved to watch. And he always wanted Alan to look at him, to never close his eyes while they made love.

  Alan slowly engulfed Jerald’s cock with his mouth, teasing it with his tongue, using one hand to stroke the base of his shaft, the other to palm his sac and gently play with him.

  Jerald moaned. He folded one arm behind his head, supporting him so he could watch Alan going down on him. With his other, he reached down and fisted his hand in Alan’s shaggy hair.

  Working his tongue around the head, Alan teased his lover, his tongue caressing the outline of every throbbing vein as he deep-throated him. When Jerald’s hips started thrusting in time with his mouth, Alan knew he was close. After a few long, sweet minutes, his cock hardened even more, growing slick against his tongue.

  He pressed a finger against Jerald’s rim, not breaching it, but the sensation sent him over. Alan swallowed as his lover’s tangy, hot seed filled his mouth.

  As Jerald’s cock softened, Alan eased up, finally releasing him.

  Jerald’s eyes had dropped closed, his chest still heaving. “Good?” Alan asked.

  Jerald nodded.

  He licked a trail from Jerald’s cock to his chin before he kissed him. “Roll over,” Alan said, his voice deep and husky. “My turn.”

  Without opening his eyes Jerald did, arching his back so his firm ass stuck in the air.

  Alan’s cock throbbed at the sight. He reached over to the bedside table and grabbed the lube. They’d done away with the condoms after six months and getting tested. Neither of them were interested in sleeping with anyone else anyway.

  Alan worked lube into the other man’s tight rim, teasing him, wondering if he could get Jerald hard a second time. After a few minutes of playing, Alan couldn’t stand to wait any longer. He lubed himself and pressed forward, moaning as he felt his cock tightly fisted inside Jerald’s ass.

  “Fuck, yeah,” he whispered once seated all the way in.

  “Do it,” Jerald growled. “Fuck me hard.”

  If he was asking for it hard, experience told Alan seconds would be had shortly. Alan grinned and grabbed Jerald’s hips. “You got it.” He fucked him, hard and fast, the sound of skin slapping skin filling the air. Jerald moaned as he flexed his ass and hips against Alan’s onslaught.

  “Harder, goddammit.”

  “Ooh, someone wants to play tonight.” His balls bounced against Jerald’s ass at the bottom of every stroke. It wasn’t long before he felt them tighten and tense, his climax close. He pounded into his lover, fingers digging into his hips until the final stroke took him over and he buried himself deep, his come flooding inside the other man.

  Out of breath, he propped himself up with one arm.

  Jerald bumped his hips against him. “Get on your back. I want to fuck you.”

  Smiling even as he still panted from his effort, Alan pulled out. He stepped into the bathroom to clean up, then returned to bed.

  Jerald sat up on his knees, the bottle in his hand, his own cock already hard again and slick with lube. Alan lay on his back, knowing what Jerald wanted. He hooked his hands behind his knees and drew them up to his chest. “Like that?”

  Jerald nodded, his large fingers probing and lubing him.

  Alan kept his eyes on Jerald’s, never wavering from his lover. Jerald seated himself, slowly stroking his stiff shaft inside Alan. “How do you make me so fucking horny?”

  “I know what you like and I’m not afraid to give it to you.”

  Jerald leaned forward, pressing Alan’s thighs further into his chest. He hungrily kissed him. “I could fuck you all night long.”

  “Who’s complaining?”

  In the dim light spilling through the bathroom doorway, Jerald’s blue eyes looked dark, like the midnight sky. “I guess if I lived here it would give me more time to fuck you, wouldn’t it?”

  Alan’s heart skipped, his hope blooming. “You could have it whenever you wanted, tough guy. When have I ever told you no?”

  Jerald braced his hands on the headboard and took another har
d stroke. “I could walk in from work and tell you to drop your shorts and bend you over the kitchen table.”

  Alan reached up and brushed his fingers over Jerald’s nipples. “Every night, anytime you want it. But who says I’d be wearing clothes? I’d run around naked if you wanted.”

  Jerald laughed. “You probably would, wouldn’t you?”

  “You better believe it, if it means you living here. You could wake up to me sucking your cock every morning.”

  “Or me sucking yours.”

  “Oh, fuck yeah!”

  Jerald sat up and grabbed Alan’s thighs for leverage. He took long, slow strokes out, followed by hard, fast deep thrusts in. “Maybe I could try it temporarily. See if you still want me after a few months.”

  “I’ll always want you. Now shut the hell up and pound my ass the way you know you want to.”

  Jerald grinned. He liked it hard and fast. The entire bed shook with the force of his thrusts. It didn’t take long for his climax to build. “Oh, fuck yeah! I’m coming!” he cried out as it washed over him. A few minutes later they lay tangled together in a sweaty heap on the bed.

  Alan wrapped his arms around Jerald. “I love you.”

  Jerald kissed him. “Love you, too.” He finally moved, slowly, and stepped into the bathroom to clean up. When he returned they curled together in bed, Jerald’s arms around Alan. He brushed his fingers down Alan’s arm. “I’ve got Thursday and Friday off. I can bring a load of stuff over.”

  “I don’t have any charters on Thursday. I can help.” If he had his way, he’d back a truck up to Jerald’s freaking shit hole trailer and completely empty it before burning it to the ground.

  “Okay. Then we’ll start on Thursday.”

  Alan felt a Cheshire cat grin crease his face. He decided to test the waters. “What do you feel like doing tomorrow evening?”

  Jerald shrugged. “Hadn’t thought about it.”

  “Tom Kelly invited us over. He’s having a barbecue tomorrow night. Invited a bunch of people.”

  Jerald’s face darkened as he looked away. “Go if you want.”

  “I wasn’t asking your permission. It’s an invitation extended to both of us.”

  Jerald let go of him and rolled over, facing away from Alan. “I’ve got things I can do. You go have fun.”

  Alan tried to drop it and couldn’t. After stewing for five minutes, he sat up. “Are you fucking ashamed of me or something?”

  “What the fuck? Where’s that coming from?”

  “Well, answer the question. Are you?”

  “Christ, no! I told you I’ll give living here a shot. What more do you want?”

  “Is it because I’m a guide? Or because I’m a guy? Be honest.”

  Jerald rolled onto his back. When he finally spoke, his voice sounded quiet, unlike his normal rumble. “All right. I’ll go to the barbecue with you. Happy?”

  “No. I want an answer.”

  “I haven’t been out as long as you, okay? There’s still a lot of people who don’t know. I’m not ashamed of you. I’m just…still learning and getting used to this. Okay? Kate fucked me over hard, you know that. It took me a long time to get to the point where I knew another shoe wouldn’t hit the floor with you.”

  That was some of the deepest emotional honesty Jerald had ever copped to in their two-plus years together. Despite being an eloquent man, Jerald rarely expressed his emotions like that. He usually kept them carefully hidden behind a solid fortress.

  Huge breakthrough for the tough guy.

  Alan propped himself up on one elbow. “If you want,” he quietly offered, “we can go tomorrow night in separate cars. I’ll behave myself. Hands off. Just friends.”

  It wasn’t what Alan wanted, but after Jerald agreed to try living together, and then opening up like that, Alan wanted to give ground to reciprocate. If nothing else during their relationship, Alan had learned the fastest way to draw Jerald out was to always back down when Jerald gave ground rather than trying to bully him into something. Jerald always followed him and gave ground of his own when he did that, because then he didn’t feel pressured.

  “We don’t have to go in separate cars. I do want to go with you.” He took a deep breath and slowly let it out before looking at Alan. “How can you be so patient with me? I know I’m a pain in the ass.”

  Alan kissed him. “You’re my pain in the ass, that’s why.” Alan knew he was the only one who ever got to see Jerald vulnerable like this.

  “I love you,” Jerald whispered.

  Alan smiled. “I love you too, tough guy. When you going to let me totally move you out of that shit hole trailer and in with me?” After Jerald’s divorce, Kate had gotten the house and nearly everything in it. Fortunately, Jerald only had to pay her a year of alimony. Financially, he was still recovering from the debacle. Jerald had rented the cheap place south of Bayport from a friend of his. Alan owned his house, which he’d inherited from his parents. Built only seven years earlier, they’d paid it off with the sale of other property they’d owned, taking advantage of the real estate boom before the market tanked.

  “Give me a little more time for that, okay? Let’s see how a trial arrangement goes. I’ll keep the trailer for now, keep my other crap there, my books and stuff. I’ll start bringing my work truck home here. Deal?”

  “I’d like to wake up next to you every day.”

  “You’re going to get sick of me. You just wait and see. I’ll drive you nuts.”

  “That’s a short trip, buddy. One I’m happy to take with you behind the wheel.”

  “I’m set in my ways and a pain in the ass to live with.”

  Alan smirked. “So? You give great head. I’m willing to overlook other imperfections.”

  Jerald laughed. “I’m still waiting for you to come to your senses and get rid of me.”

  Alan sat up and grabbed Jerald’s chin. “Listen to me. I’m not going anywhere. If you want to run away, go ahead. Get it through your head I’m always going to be right here waiting for you to come back.”

  Sometimes Alan wondered if Jerald would ever fully overcome his fear of their relationship. Alan knew Jerald didn’t fear him so much as he couldn’t let go of past heartaches and betrayals. Alan didn’t know a lot about Jerald’s past because the man didn’t want to talk about it. Alan knew only that Jerald’s parents had died violently, and he spent most of his childhood frequently shuffled between distant relatives and foster homes. It was also one of the reasons he’d gone into law enforcement.

  “I know,” Jerald softly said. “I know you are.”

  Jerald kissed him goodnight. Alan closed his eyes, content and happy to know he’d moved one step closer to having Jerald Carter living with him full time.

  * * * *

  After a few minutes, Jerald heard Alan’s breathing slow and deepen, indicating he’d fallen asleep. He studied the other man as he lay in his arms. How did Alan put up with him? He must be in love. Alan was the “what you see is what you get” kind of guy, laid back and easy going. And then him. Barely out of the closet. In fact, standing in the closet doorway with one hand on the doorknob, ready to yank it shut and lock himself inside at the slightest hint of trouble.

  As much as he hated Kate, she did him a favor by screwing around on him the way she had. She made it impossible for him not to embrace his anger, at least for a little while. Then a month after the divorce was final, Alan invited him to go fishing in the Keys for three days. Jerald took the time off and they drove down there towing Alan’s flats boat.

  They’d known each other professionally for a few years before that. He’d chatted with Alan at the dock nearly every day, even had lunch together countless times. Jerald had been out on his boat as a passenger a few times too, when Alan had room, to fill in a paying charter group. He knew Alan always brought in legal catch. Checking his coolers was just a formality to make it look like he didn’t play favorites among the guides. Alan Walker always played by the rules.

  He
’d never found anyone with a bad word to say about Alan. Even the people who didn’t care for him didn’t speak badly of him, other than snide comments behind Alan’s back about his sexual preferences.

  Jerald had known Alan was gay from third party chatter, but nothing in the man’s demeanor ever screamed “flaming queer.” If he hadn’t heard it from more than one source, he never would have believed the gossip. Alan just didn’t show up on his radar one way or another.

  Until the Keys trip.

  All the way down I-75, across Alligator Alley, and down the Florida Turnpike to U.S. 1, Alan let him talk. And talk.

  And talk.

  He knew Alan never spread rumors, never gossiped. Jerald felt fucking lonely and angry and needed to vent to someone. Anyone. He had no close friends and no family. The friends he thought he had were Kate’s, not his. From the way they avoided him after the divorce, even though she had cheated on him, he knew she’d gotten custody of them as well.

  By the time they reached the resort in Marathon that first night, Jerald had done more talking to Alan than he had to anyone else. Ever.

  Alan sat there and listened.

  They went bonefishing the next morning. Jerald still talked. Alan quietly listened as he poled the boat across the flats while Jerald cast when and how Alan told him to. Jerald started drinking beer before lunch, loosening up even more.

  Still, Alan listened.

  By the time they returned to the dock a little before sunset that evening, he saw Alan in a new light. Maybe because of his own beer buzz, or Alan’s shaggy blond hair made even more yellow by the sun. Maybe it was those huge brown eyes, “doe eye,” his momma would have called them. Or the way his tanned and slimly athletic body looked in his baggy guide shirt and shorts, or the way he gracefully moved, like a cat. Even in a pitching boat, Alan never seemed to lose his balance.

  After ordering a pizza for dinner and downing a few more beers, Jerald vaguely remembered staggering into Alan’s bedroom in their rented condo and falling onto his bed.

  “I’m sick of women, and I’m fucking sick of being alone!” he screamed.