Burn this City by Aleksandr Voinov

36

The large bed was unmade, and Jack imagined that Sal had risen from it naked, and that the sheets would smell of him. Whatever his relationship with Enzo was, or that hard-eyed stranger, there was only one pillow on the bed, and maybe Sal had lain there and stroked himself when he’d sent Jack those videos. The shutters were nearly closed, allowing in no more than an intimate gloom that was a whole lot less unnerving for these things than all the light in Jack’s house. Jack also noticed how the gloom softened the cast of Sal’s face, and imagined that his own bruising didn’t look so bad right now.

Sal stood close and placed a hand on Jack’s chest. “No false bravado, okay? If something doesn’t feel good, tell me. I want to do this right.”

That was the most considerate anybody had ever been to him. Jack couldn’t even remember when somebody had last cared what he liked or what he felt. Finding it with a man who posed the greatest risk to his life, and who should be an enemy was mind-twistingly bizarre. Jack touched Sal’s chest in return and felt the man’s steady breath anchoring him. He wore a light woolen sweater, cashmere most likely, and when Jack slid his hands underneath, all he encountered was warm, naked skin. He pushed higher, and Sal helped by pulling the sweater up and finally over his head, to toss it into one corner of the room without looking.

“That’s right. This happens at your pace.” Sal spoke in a low rumble that made Jack want to push him to the bed and do all the things he only knew from watching. What he’d never taken into account when it came to imagining sex was how hard his heart would be beating.

He moved closer to kiss the place between Sal’s collar bones. Sal’s hands on his waist and his smell in Jack’s nose steadied and weakened him at the same time. He kissed Sal’s throat, sandpapery with stubble, then dropped one hand to cup Sal’s groin, feeling his hard cock through the cloth. That gave him more confidence, the fact that while Sal seemed in no rush, he clearly wouldn’t mind if he did push for more.

“Same goes for you,” Jack whispered. “Is there anything you want, or don’t want?”

“I’m kind of into everything to a ridiculous degree.” Sal chuckled. “If you just want to kiss and touch, I’m game. If you want a sixty-nine, I’m game. If you’re heading straight for anal, God, yeah, game. Taking and giving. But don’t let that influence your choices.”

“What are you doing with Enzo?”

“It’s bad form to ask that.” Sal’s eyes sparkled. “But he’s into bottoming.”

“Huh. Wouldn’t have guessed.”

“Neither had he, but that’s how that goes.” Sal shrugged. “I like it either way. I don’t judge.”

“No, you don’t.” Jack shed his jacket and opened the buttons of his shirts. Together, they got rid of his shirt and undershirt, and the next brush of skin against skin was as intoxicating as that full-body contact under the shower. Jack managed to kick off his shoes and pushed them to the side while they shared another, more heated kiss, hands grasping and pulling, bodies flush against each other. Jack managed to gather enough thoughts to open the button of his own trousers and pull down the zipper, and then Sal’s hands were at his boxers, shoving them halfway down his thighs. He looked down when he took hold of Jack’s cock, making Jack shake. “Your turn.”

Trying hard to focus, Jack managed to unbutton Sal’s pants and groaned with frustration when he encountered three further buttons that put up significant resistance before he’d freed Sal’s cock. It felt amazing in his hand, thick and long and beautiful, and his touch made Sal gasp softly. Jack stroked it, but then nudged Sal toward the bed.

Sal sat down, resting back on his elbows while Jack removed the sturdy boots and his pants. He straightened but didn’t quite have it in him to join Sal on the bed.

All of this was completely new territory. He pushed between Sal’s legs, placed a hand around his cock and moved even closer. When his breath hit Sal’s naked skin, the man tensed slightly, but that was nothing compared to when Jack opened his lips and took the tip into his mouth. The heat and taste and the sheer feeling of taboo, of doing the unimaginable, tore through his mind and made him take a little more, and then explore that silky skin with his tongue.

Sal drew a shuddering breath and opened his legs further, so he was definitely doing the right thing. Jack couldn’t imagine how some guys and women got something that size down their throats, but even so, it was shockingly intimate and hot. Based on how Sal’s breathing shifted and the muscles of his thighs tensed, he got plenty of enjoyment out of it.

“If you use that hand to stroke and squeeze my balls, you could make me come,” Sal whispered. “I also like a couple fingers up my ass, but feel free to develop your own style.”

Jack decided that talking was overrated in this case, but glanced up at Sal, and was pleasantly shocked by the heat in the man’s eyes. He pulled back a little and flicked his tongue over the tip, grinning when Sal hissed. “It’s the visuals, right?”

“It’s everything. First, it’s sexy as fuck that you’re trying things out, and I definitely get off on communication, because I don’t know you that well yet.”

Yet.That last word zinged through Jack’s chest like a little electric spark. “I’m getting used to talking about it.”

“I know. You’re doing good. Now do me a favor and put my cock back in your mouth because it feels great, and I think you like it too.”

Do me a favor.Jack grinned and made a point of sucking the tip again, this time speeding up his movements and increasing the suction, noting from the corners of his eyes how Sal’s fingers tightened in the bedsheets. That spurred him on. He moved his hand up and down the thick shaft, and eventually managed to time the strokes of his hand with the movements of his head and tongue.

“That I’m the first person in this fucked-up world to see you like this.” Sal’s voice barely carried, but Jack still noticed the small tremble in it, and he glanced up again as Sal was wetting his lips.

Jack stopped to swallow and relax his jaw, but licked along the shaft, tracing a pulsing vein and following it to Sal’s shaved balls—interesting—and toyed with them, but remembered to continue the stroking. “Andrea would have a fucking heart attack, that’s for sure.”

The vibrations from Sal’s laughter travelled down to his whole body. “Yeah, I was thinking that. But ‘If Andrea could see you like that’ didn’t have the vibe I was going for.”

“Why not?”

“I’m not sure you’re into humiliation.”

The words didn’t hold a sting. The only thing that was objectionable about them was the mention of Andrea. In a remote, purely abstract way, he knew Andrea was attractive—his boss definitely liked to preen and show off—but even in their best, most comradely moments, there had never been any kind of attraction. He’d definitely never pined for, or ever considered Andrea in that way.

“I don’t feel humiliated.” He gently nipped the inside of Sal’s thigh, allowing balls and cock to brush along his cheek. Sal fell back onto the bed and lifted his knees somewhat.

“Fuck, come here.”

Jack shed the last of his clothes before he joined Sal on the bed; he was going to continue with the blowjob, but it seemed he’d done very well, because Sal pulled him closer and into a heated kiss. Sal’s legs closed around his hips, and before Jack figured out angles and how to move, his own cock was grinding against Sal’s slightly sweat-damp belly, feeling the flexing muscles underneath, and running alongside Sal’s cock that was trapped between them.

He only broke the kiss to focus on Sal’s nipples—the bars through them fascinated him and he assumed Sal liked having them played with. He tried twisting them with his tongue and teeth, and sure enough, the man groaned and breathed heavier as he did. That was hot, so Jack alternated between nipples while also sliding his cock against Sal’s body.

Having this man underneath him still felt inconceivable. But Sal was visibly enjoying this—the way he closed his eyes or pressed his lips together. He wasn’t quiet, either—moans and groans and pants taught Jack even more what Sal liked. Still, Sal was holding back, moving both of them further up the bed, and at some point he stuffed the pillow under his neck for support.

“Suggestion?” Sal said between kisses.

“I’m listening.”

“Condom and lube?”

Jack nodded, struggling with what to say. It wasn’t “are you sure?” because Sal was clearly up for it, but still, nerves hit him. He was too aware that he’d never done this before, and while he was eager to learn, it seemed like a huge thing. He’d only get one chance to make a first impression, so to speak.

Sal reached over to the nightstand, and somehow managed to kiss Jack, open the condom wrapper, and slide the slick latex down Jack’s length. “I’d fuck you without one, but it’s good manners with a new partner …”

“Nice. Getting an education with my orgasm.”

Sal glanced at him quizzically, but broke into a grin. “Singular? We have two hours.” He opened the lube and covered the condom with it, then pushed the slippery fingers between his own cheeks. He curved his back more and pulled Jack closer. “See if you like this.”

Jack adjusted his position, and Sal guided him, encouraging him with his legs and nods, until he seemed to be in the right place. Jack laughed with exasperation at his own first attempt. Guys in porn made it look so easy and hot, and no doubt Sal was fantastic at it, but here they were with him fumbling around and self-conscious.

“Relax. Take a breath. Slowly,” Sal said. “No pressure. Except of course I want to feel you.”

“Same,” Jack gritted and pushed, finding that Sal’s body was suddenly yielding to him. But even more astonishing and sexy was how he pushed his head back against the pillow when Jack entered him. “This is the part … where you tell me how big I am,” Jack chuckled, because this was weird and incredible, and it took everything he had to move slowly and savor it.

Sal laughed. “So praise gets you off.”

“Worth trying.”

Sal laughed harder. “Should have tried that, rather than tie you to a chair. Fuck. It could have been so easy.”

Jack had never have imagined sex could be like this; intense, but also playful and funny. It wasn’t common in porn, though he loved the rare couple that laughed or grinned while fucking. Banter was also pretty rare, and he loved that Sal’s sense of humor didn’t even fail when he had his legs in the air. Maybe it was the pure confidence, the way he clearly loved inhabiting his own skin that made him so sexy, and that confidence withstood minor indignities such as an inexperienced lover.

Jack pushed deeper against the slick resistance of that powerful body, and, with Sal’s legs pulling him closer, found himself lodged inside Sal’s body as far as he could go. Sal’s breathing was noticeably faster, muscles tensing with every breath. Despite the condom, he felt every movement inside Sal. Everything was totally new and intense and yet so good.

He shifted his weight and kissed Sal, covering him with his body, then tried thrusting, well, really more rocking into Sal. Careful to keep part of his weight on a hand next to Sal’s head, he grabbed his neck with the other and pulled him up into the kiss while he pushed harder. The way Sal grew more and more breathless, and moved against him as much as he could, winding up tenser and tighter, encouraged Jack. “Like that?”

“Fucking love it,” Sal whispered.

That hadn’t been the question, but Jack didn’t doubt the answer. He focused on his movements, realizing that short, measured thrusts worked best in this position, because they also enabled him to rub alongside Sal’s cock. While sweat and precum gathered between their bodies, Sal flexed around him, and between the kisses and their increasingly harsh movements, Jack could almost feel Sal yield to him. Chasing his own orgasm as he gripped his cock hard and spurred Jack on with bared teeth, Sal panted and moaned. Unlike in porn, where everything was done for effect, none of this was faked. Not Sal’s tension that wound tighter and tighter, and not Jack’s breathless wonder as he got closer and closer.

It was Jack who came first. Coming inside Sal felt incredible—he’d never imagined he’d get to feel so viscerally close to another person, that he could have the chance to experience this at all. Coming had always been the end result, the goal he’d chased, but with Sal devouring his mouth, it was more than a goal now—it was total bliss. He kept moving while Sal chased his own orgasm, because feeling that vicelike squeeze around him wrung a few more spurts out of him, and then Sal collapsed onto the mattress, letting his legs fall open.

He was panting, but the lightness returned almost immediately. Jack rolled off Sal and collapsed by him on the mattress, overwhelmed with the sensation, and definitely the aftermath.

“For the record, it’s not just the size, but also technique,” Sal said.

Jack laughed softly. “Worked for you?”

“Oh yeah. Much bigger, and I’d struggle. Your cock is just right.” Sal flashed him a grin. “Sorry, too breathless to come up with more effusive praise. Gimme a minute.”

“No need for more compliments. You already got me off.”

They laughed together, and Jack stretched out an arm and pulled Sal closer when he took the offer. There was a strange kind of buzzing peace while they both relaxed, but the presence of another person in the same bed kept Jack awake. He’d never imagined how beautiful it was to have another person’s head rest on his shoulder. Sal placed a hand on Jack’s stomach and very lightly stroked the skin there with the backs of his fingers.

“Praise, huh? What’s the story?”

“Really, are we going to talk about that?” Jack shook his head. “I don’t know. I guess I don’t get a lot of it? I didn’t think I needed or wanted it, either. But it felt good when it came from you.”

“Ah, understood.” Sal kissed Jack’s chest. “One sec.” He reached down and plucked the condom from Jack’s cock, then left the bed in one fluid motion and vanished into the bathroom. When he came back, he was barely more than a dark silhouette against the sparse light creeping through the shutters. Now Jack wished the room were lit like an NFL stadium during a game. He didn’t want to miss a thing, and watching Sal move around naked was something he could get used to.

Sal returned to his place against Jack’s shoulder. “I want to apologize again for what I did to you.”

“It’s okay. We’re already joking about it.”

“Yes. Though it’s hilarious that I first put you in your own closet, and then dragged you out of it.”

Jack smiled. “Jacuzzi sex is definitely never going to happen.”

“I don’t know. Could be therapeutic.” Sal’s tone was light enough to suggest he was joking too.

“Tell me about Enzo and you?”

“It’s good friends with occasional benefits. He’s very good at spotting when I need to release some steam with somebody I trust and who knows me. He isn’t even into men, but he’s into getting bossed around, and he’ll let a man fuck him when he’s in the right headspace, which is submissive. His ideal partner is a woman who loves to put a man in his place and peg him until he comes, at least every now and then. I’m sure he could find somebody, but I don’t think he’s even currently looking.”

“Why not?”

Sal drew a long breath and released it. “He’s been too focused on keeping me sane. With everything going on, I don’t think he had the spare capacity.”

“But if he’s straight …”

“Straight-ish. Quasi-straight. Plenty of men who have sex with men would call themselves straight. More common than you’d think. I never pushed him into anything he didn’t enjoy.”

Jack turned his head to look at Sal. “I didn’t think you did. Doesn’t it feel strange to sleep with somebody who’s straight?”

“Just means he’s not romantically available. Neither was I, but once all of this is over …” Sal rubbed over his face. “Once I can allow myself to let it all go, the fucking pain, that rage … once that’s done, I could be open to feeling something more. Something deep. Fuck, I want to.”

Jack’s heart clenched. He was almost sure Sal was signaling that they could have something more, something deep and meaningful. It scared him witless because his own feelings were all over the place, and he wasn’t used to feeling anything so intensely. He’d thought he had his life and job under control and that both pretty much overlapped completely. But ever since Sal had confronted him, the spaces in his mind that had been tidy and well-ordered didn’t feel like that at all anymore. And it all could still go wrong. It was bound to, wasn’t it?

“I don’t think I’m a very emotional person,” Jack said carefully. “Not sure I ever was. I couldn’t allow it. I had to be too careful.”

“Getting past that takes work.” Sal traced the line of Jack’s ribcage with a thumb. “I know just the thing for you. It helped me.”

“What’s that? Getting fucked senseless?” Sex worked. Sex allowed him to stay in the moment, focus on somebody else, and enjoy the sensation.

“Ropes. Specifically shibari. And yeah, it can lead to sex, but it’s also its own thing. It’s hard to describe what it does, but if you ever want to get tied up again, I have plenty of rope.”

Strangely, the thought of Sal tying him up triggered zero horror, even though the skin around his wrists was still somewhat tender from the zip ties and his automatic struggles and movements and jerks. He hadn’t even fought the ties, which was why he wasn’t bruised or chafed, but it had still been enough to make him very aware of his wrists. “You like getting tied up?”

“With the right rigger, yes.” Sal chuckled. “With the right person, I like pretty much anything. Though shibari isn’t something I do casually, or at least not often. It’s too tied up with other things, pun intended.”

All Jack knew about shibari were some artsy black and white photos of rope patterns on skin, and while they’d been attractive in a remote way, they hadn’t hit him deep down. But Sal bringing it up shifted his perspective, and he could imagine Sal’s powerful body trussed up like that, all his energy carefully restricted and contained, and all of that became a tantalizing possibility. And if Sal felt similarly about him, then … “I’d try it.”

“Now?”

Shit. One step forward and he felt like rushing two steps back, but hadn’t he said he wanted to feel everything? And if that was what Sal wanted to do, and he clearly did, then Jack was game.

Shibari isn’t something I do casually, or at least not often.

Weren’t they both in totally unchartered waters here, unable to see coasts or lighthouses, though it all still felt strangely safer and saner than anything else in Jack’s life. “Yes. Let’s try that.”

Sal kissed him and stood. “How are your wrists?”

“Tender.”

“Yeah, I should have used rope instead. But I figured I wasn’t going to waste a good rope on a piece of shit. Obviously, I was totally wrong.”

“If we’d known how that whole weekend would go, none of us would have made those decisions.” Jack sat up and placed his arms around his knees. “But I don’t regret a thing.”

“I do, a little.” Sal opened his wardrobe and tossed a length of white rope onto the bed near Jack’s thigh. “Touch it.”

It was surprisingly soft, almost silky and the thickness of a finger, but no doubt sturdy, solid rope. Sal also placed bandage scissors on the nightstand. “I wouldn’t do this if you hadn’t already proven that you can talk to me, Jack. With this, it’s even more important, because you will quite literally be helpless.”

“Nothing new there.”

“Probably not, but also totally different.” Sal grinned. “Also, this doesn’t have to lead to sex, you can just enjoy the tying. Similarly, if it turns you on, we don’t have to do anything about it, or I can untie you before anything sexual happens. There’s huge variation in how people respond. Some want the tightness and helplessness, others get so horny they’d fuck an army if one were around.”

“What about you?”

“It depends on what I’m bringing to the session and who does it, but yeah, it turns me on.”

“So I could do that to you?”

Sal’s eyes narrowed with speculation, and then darted to Jack’s hands. His lips parted slightly, and he wetted them. “You could be pretty good at it too, considering how smart and methodical you are about everything. I could teach you. Would you like that?”

“Tying you up? Yes.”

A deep, harsh exhale, almost a hiss. “Perfect.”

That was what tipped the balance, and Jack felt anticipation ripple through him, part nerves, part attraction, and he watched, slightly breathless, as Sal returned to the bed, one leg underneath him, and loosened the coil of rope, playfully letting it touch Jack’s skin, but there was no fixed purpose to it. The gentle, conscious way he did this indicated very that the rope was harmless, no more than a toy, and Jack was willing to believe it.

“So what’s going to happen? If I get turned on?”

“What do you want to happen?”

“I’m … expecting you’ll fuck me while we still have time.”

Sal smiled. “I’d like that a lot, but there’s something I want to show you before we take that step. Don’t get me wrong, I want to take more time to teach your body how much fun it’ll be, rather than thrust in and hope you’ll eventually relax enough that it’s not painful. I’m not that much of a bastard.”

You’re not a bastard at all.Jack nodded, feeling some of the tension dissipate. “Did it … did it hurt for you? I feel so fucking weird to even ask that.”

Sal placed an arm around Jack’s shoulders and pulled him into a kiss. “No. Pretty sure Catia understood that it would be the first and only time if she’d have hurt me.”

All right, so more puzzle pieces dropped in place, and Jack wasn’t surprised that it had been his wife, considering what he’d told Jack about her, and how openly he talked about pegging, though he talked openly about everything. “Were you tied up?”

“Like a Thanksgiving turkey.” Sal laughed. He took a length of the rope and scooted closer to Jack, and deliberately let it trail over Jack’s leg. Warm, smooth, light enough to be almost a tickle. Jack shifted his weight, mimicking Sal’s position, one leg up and one down, while Sal almost bracketed his body with his legs from behind.

Jack watched with some apprehension as Sal formed a loop and placed it around Jack’s wrist, and tugged at it, just demonstrating that the rope would and could hold him. Jack nodded, and watched, captivated, how Sal looped the rope around both of his hands—unlike ratchetting the zip ties tight, this felt more like a wrapping, a firm kind of shell that restricted his movement, but felt as soothing as putting on a heavy coat.

While Sal worked quickly with deft hands, nothing felt rushed or forced. If anything, Jack was surprised at how focused Sal was—all his attention was on the rope touching Jack’s skin. From behind, Sal pulled on the rope and took Jack’s bound wrists and lifted his arms until his elbows pointed upward and his hands were behind his neck. Jack felt the stretch in his shoulders and chest, and his focus shifted to his chest and belly that were both exposed and helpless. A tugging on the rope, and one of Sal’s hands came around to rest between Jack’s pecs, more rope tugged into his thumb and a loop dangled down to his belly and brushing his groin.

A slow, deliberate movement looped the rope across his pecs, above his nipples and under his arms, and then a forceful tightening and whisper of rope, and another movement. A knot? Some kind of fastening? What was strange about this was that now every breath made Jack aware of the rope around his chest, and Sal’s strong grip told him that Jack himself was now totally out of his depth, and, yes, helpless. Half kneeling, half sitting on the bed, arms tied back like that, he couldn’t have reached the cutting tool if he’d set his mind to it.

“Woah.”

“It’s basic, but even this gets the job done,” Sal murmured close to his ear, hand on the knot or connection in his back, while his other hand lay flat on Jack’s stomach. “You’re doing really well. How do you feel?”

“Safe. Held. It’s like … some kind of embrace. I know you’re doing this.” Did that make sense? Words were much harder to find and chain together to form sentences. It seemed like too much effort, and he didn’t want to chase away that floaty feeling just to make more of an effort.

“Perfect.”

Another loop across his chest, this time below his nipples, and the tightening now shifted all of Jack’s awareness to his pecs and specifically his nipples. There was no way Sal brushed them by accident—not to turn him on, but to direct his awareness.

“I’d give everything to put you in a harness,” Sal murmured near his ear. “I could show you off like that and everybody would see how beautiful you are.”

“I know exactly what you’re doing with the praise,” Jack shot back.

“It’s not about that at all.” Sal placed a hand on Jack’s throat and bent it back in a gentle movement. Jack suddenly struggled to keep his eyes open, so he closed them and barely noticed the drawn-out sigh that came from his lips. Sal did something else—moved Jack’s leg by pushing gently against the inside of his knee, and then the touch of the rope, slow, gentle, around his ankle, similarly safe and secure as around his hands.

Another tugging and tightening and Jack realized that his leg was now somehow connected to the knot in the back. A different coil of rope slid under the tied leg, and Sal slowly connected thigh and lower leg to each other. Each movement of rope a caress, every knot a tightening and release that began to mirror the tension and then the much deeper relaxation in Jack’s body. Nothing hurt or was unpleasant—even the position of his hands began to feel natural and comfortable, and Sal’s support in his back remained steadfast and dependable.

A loop of rope trailed up from his chest and across his throat, but no tightening followed, instead the rope came up to his face and slid between his teeth, and Jack was almost glad to have something so tangible, so intrusive, that focused him again. The rope in his mouth tightened, and that little jerk travelled all the way through his body, a hot-cold moment of near shock, if shock could be both languid and intense. He felt like he was losing his balance, as his bodyweight shifted, but it was Sal pulling the ropes and holding Jack a little bit off balance.

It washed over him as a tremendous, sensual, full-body release when he came to rest against Sal’s naked skin, so grateful for the man’s presence and strength. Still, Sal kept working on the ropes, adjusting here and there, loosening one loop, while building another one—the one in his mouth vanished and a feather light touch of fingers followed. Sal adjusted the position of his arms and lowered them in front of Jack’s chest, which felt like a bit of a rest, but a loop then appeared around Jack’s belly and around his hips, connected to the ones across his torso.

“How are you feeling?”

“Hard … to say. Turned on, relaxed, and I feel everything, but I’m not sure about time and place.”

“Good. Do you want me to do something about your erection?”

“That question is harder to answer than it should be, right?”

Sal chuckled. “Right.”

What Jack then realized was that the inner voice, the one with which he talked to himself, was completely silent. It was both disorienting and a relief. There was complete silence inside—he felt both empty and hollow, but not in a bad way. As if all weight had been removed, and he couldn’t even be bothered to reach for it and try to reclaim it. The ropes held him as surely as his own muscles and bones held his own soul, his breath and pulse.

“Yes, please.”

“What do you want? I could show you something new, but it’s intense.”

“Yes.”

Again, Sal adjusted Jack’s position so Jack was lying over Sal’s bent leg on the bed, with Sal curled over and around him, but still sitting. He then pushed Jack’s legs apart. Sal’s hand felt white hot when it settled on Jack’s ass, and Jack assumed working the ropes like that was responsible for the heat in his palms. He shuddered when Sal’s fingers slid between his ass cheeks.

A small clicking sound, and something slick and cold dribbled on his ass, with Sal’s hand massaging his glutes and then returning to the place in between, sliding up and down, with enough pressure that Jack tensed a little in anticipation. And sure enough, two fingers rubbed against his opening. Jack gasped when they pushed in a little, to test him, and withdrew, testing and then pulling back.

“Please … do it, Sal. I’m good. I’m really good.”

“I believe you.” Sal shifted his weight, and his next words were barely louder than a breath. “There will be times when I fuck you like this, if you want me to. I’ll fuck you with the rope first, like this, all over, and with my eyes, watching you struggle to hold your balance, and maybe I’ll add some pain so the release will be even better. You’ll become even calmer and sink even deeper into that place where you’re all mine. I’ll make you feel how strong you are and how beautiful, and I’ll keep your need simmering all night. We’ll have all the time in the world, because it’s just us.”

“Just us,” Jack echoed, unable to fathom the depth behind those words, but it was what he needed to hear.

And then something pushed against his opening, something harder and colder than a finger, and slid easily a small way inside, where it touched something tender and sensitive in a shock of pleasure. It also seemed to push against the outside of his body behind his balls, and rapidly warmed to body temperature.

Sal took the ropes and rolled Jack onto his side. The thing moved with him and stayed inside his body, and just this movement felt strange and almost disturbingly intense. Sal moved on the bed, but didn’t break the contact, and that thing inside Jack began to vibrate. It was no more than a very low hum, but the place it touched was so sensitive Jack’s whole body tensed. Then it stopped.

Jack managed to blink his eyes open. “What …?”

“Feel good?” Sal grinned at him.

Jack couldn’t even describe the feeling—it was too strange, too intense to feel good, but his balls tightened when it started up again, and he saw Sal holding his phone. A tap of his finger on the screen stopped the vibration. “Fuck. You control it with …”

“Yep.” Sal put the phone down, then seemed to reconsider. “I’d untie you so you can play with the programs, but this one’s pretty good, so you can relax if you want.”

Making it sound totally optional. The next time, the vibration was a little stronger, and came with noticeable pulses that felt amazing both on the outside and inside. Jack fell back onto his side. He was aware of Sal’s hand on his bound wrists, holding them against Jack’s chest, while the toy vibrated on and off, a little stronger with every cycle, until it grew so intense that Jack could do nothing but pant and writhe in the ropes, surrendering to the feeling until he heard himself begging for release. Sal held him, and then, when Jack didn’t feel he could take even a second more, closed his hand around Jack’s cock and stroked over the tip one, twice, and Jack nearly screamed.

Or actually screamed. He wasn’t quite sure. Sal kept stroking his cock through an orgasm so intense he wouldn’t have been surprised if he’d passed out. Then, calmly, Sal switched the toy off, but kept it inside. He untied Jack’s leg and lengthened it, which was a huge relief, then he shifted his weight and lay down next to Jack. He pushed his cock between Jack’s legs and thrust between them a few times until he, too, came, and then he kissed Jack with one of those devouring kisses.

It was a good thing that the ropes still anchored him. Without them, he might have floated off or turned into vapor, or nothing but light. His mind held no more sharp edges, no guilt, no stress, just an endless floating feeling, and the best thing was that he could just simply bask in it.