Fortunate Son by Jay Crownover

Bowe

I BLINKED MY eyes open as the hard, warm surface I was using as a pillow suddenly shifted underneath my cheek. I didn’t remember falling asleep, but Ry’s deep, rumbling voice was soothing. And we talked for a long time about a variety of things after I opened the door for the possibility of us being together in the future. He told me about his conversation with Aston and seemed genuinely offended that the other girl wasn’t even the slightest bit heartbroken over their split. I was taken aback when he mentioned that she appeared to be very aware that he and I had something going on between us. When he told me that she mentioned she was just borrowing him until we found our way back to each other, I found it very hard to believe. If he was mine, I never intended to share him with anyone. I would be jealous enough for both of us if Ry decided to show an interest in someone else. I told him I wanted to have my own conversation with Aston. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to say to her, but I felt like I owed her an apology of some kind, at the very least.

Ry’s chest lifted and fell under my cheek, and I heard him let out a quiet sound of pain. He’d spent the hours we were hashing out our differences alternately rubbing and rolling his shoulder. He switched from an ice pack to a heating pad at some point, but I could tell he was having difficulty getting comfortable. Having me sleep on his injured side for however long we’d been out couldn’t have helped the situation at all. I don’t know why he didn’t shake me off or scoot free instead of lying prone, trapped beneath me. It was a very Ry-type situation. He was determined to suffer silently if it meant I wasn’t going anywhere, and he could keep me as close to him as possible.

Now that neither of us was running from the other, we had to catch our breath and rest before we started chasing after the next butterfly. There seemed to be a million different ones, in all shapes and sizes, fluttering around our heads. All were beautiful and bright, but the number was overwhelming. It was hard to know where to look or which one to grab. All those twirling images represented a different opportunity and challenge we had to face head-on.

I put a hand on Ry’s rock hard abs and pushed myself into a sitting position. He gave a small grunt, but the muscles barely twitched under my fingers. I looked down at him, but his pale gaze was trained on the spot where the end of my long, colorful braid was dragging across his bare skin.

“How does your shoulder feel?” I reached out a hand and rubbed the furrow between his dark eyebrows that indicated he was still in a considerable amount of pain. I wondered how badly he got hurt during his actual games if he was this banged up after playing around with one of his teammates for fun. I could see that he was starting to bruise. The skin on his collarbone and around the curve of his shoulder had taken on a faint bluish tint.

Ry shifted so he could stack his good hand behind his head. He gave me a lopsided grin and wiggled his eyebrows up and down suggestively. “It still hurts. I think you should kiss it and make it better.”

I rolled my eyes at him and lifted my arms above my head to stretch the rest of the sleepiness out of my limbs. “Are you so bad at flirting because you’re so good looking you never had to learn how to do it?” He’d always had girls running after him. It wouldn’t be too surprising that he never had to go through the awkward phase of figuring out how to talk to the opposite sex the way most teenagers did. From what I remembered of him when he was younger, he never really had that stage of being caught between boyhood and awkward teenager. He seemed to have gone from a cute kid to a dangerously attractive young man overnight. And now, well, he was a man who was very aware of his appeal and knew just how easily he affected others.

“We all have to be bad at something. I guess you finally found my weakness.” His voice dropped even lower than it already was and turned a touch raspy as I leaned across his arm. I softly dropped my mouth so I could place a light kiss on the darkened skin that indicated where his injury was. “But I’m a quick learner. Feel free to teach me everything you know about flirting, Bowe.”

I kissed my way across his shoulder. I felt his abs flex under my fingers where I was still propped up against him to keep my balance. I moved my lips to the side of his neck and started kissing my way up to his ear. I felt him shiver under the gentle exploration of my mouth, and when I cast a look down the length of his strong body, I wasn’t surprised to see that there was a noticeable bulge stretching the black fabric of his nylon basketball shorts.

“You have enough of an advantage with that face and this body. You don’t need to know how to flirt effectively on top of all of that. You’re dangerous enough as it is.” I caught his earlobe between my teeth and gave it a tiny tug. He exhaled a deep breath and tilted his head to the side to give me more access as I used the tip of my tongue to trace the shape of the outer curve of his ear. I was surprised to find out how sensitive he was in that spot. As always, it was the bits and pieces of him that were vulnerable and tender I liked the best—the points where he couldn’t hide his response and how his entire being reacted. “Besides, I’m already here. You don’t need to flirt with me to get me into bed.”

I kissed the high arch of his cheekbone and dropped a quick peck on the point of his nose. His eyes tracked every single move as his big body grew increasingly rigid underneath me.

“I might not need to flirt to get you into bed, but what if I want to make sure I get to keep you there? Isn’t that going to require every single skill and trick I can get my hands on?” He lifted his head off his good hand, and reached out to catch the end of my braid in his hand. He used his hold on my hair to tug me down until I was sprawled across his bare chest. I did my best to keep my weight off his battered shoulder as he guided my mouth over his.

Before he kissed me breathless and rendered my mind a mess of desire and need, I whispered against his lips, “What’s going to keep me here is truth and honesty. As long as you don’t bring that guy you pretended to be with everyone else around me, I’m not going anywhere.” I didn’t need him to be flirty or pretend to be someone he wasn’t to keep me with him. I didn’t want him doing what he thought would make me happy. I wanted him to ask, to learn, to know what it was that I really wanted, and act accordingly, just like I planned to do for him. I didn’t want to guess what made this boy tick anymore. I wanted him to be honest with me about what he wanted, and I hoped he trusted me enough to know I would do my best not to let him down.

“I don’t want that guy anywhere near you. He nearly ruined everything. If you see him, let me know, and I’ll do my best to get rid of him. He’s been a part of me for so long, I’m not sure how easy it will be to ditch him entirely.”

I kissed him hard and fast. “He’s part of you, Ry. Not my favorite part, but he served his purpose. Hating him won’t do either of us any good. If I see him, I’ll remind him that he isn’t who I want to be with.” Hopefully, that would be enough to keep the real Ry present and engaged. I wanted to be enough to keep the real him around.

Ry nodded and wrapped the rope of my hair all the way around his fist, so I couldn’t move my face away from his. He held me still and kissed me senseless. Who needed to be flirty when the way he kissed and touched was enough to make a girl forget her own name? I sent my hands sliding across his bare skin and felt his heart race against mine. There were a lot of areas where we clashed, but the way our bodies aligned and responded to each other was never one of them.

I kissed him back, letting my tongue tangle with his as soon as he parted his lips and let me into the damp heat of his mouth. I flicked the tip of my tongue along the inside curve of his upper lip and felt his body shudder in response. I skimmed a hand down his ribs and used my thumb to trace the sexy indent that arrowed down the curve of his hip and disappeared into the waistband of his shorts. There wasn’t a single part of him that wasn’t a testament to his hard work and dedication. His efforts had definitely been rewarded.

And so was I.

My leisurely study of his body took my gliding hand to the part of him that was so prominent it wouldn’t be ignored. Even when he wasn’t aroused, the material of those athletic shorts left little to the imagination. His hips shifted restlessly, and his mouth moved eagerly against mine when I let my fingers crawl under the elastic at his waist. I felt his teeth sink into the flesh of my bottom lip, and his hold on my hair tightened. His cock was hot and hard as it filled my hand. It pulsed excitedly as my palm slid along the velvet length.

Ry pulled his face away from mine as he breathed out a soft, “Damn.” His light eyes flared with sudden heat, the bright blue burning through the rest of the wintry colors that always made him seem so cold and unreachable.

I grinned at him and bent my head so I could kiss along his prickly jawline. The little bit of stubble looked good on him, but so did being clean-shaven. When you were blessed with a face like his, there wasn’t much that didn’t look good on you. The one and only time I hadn’t liked looking at him was when he tried to convince me we weren’t right for each other. Deception wasn’t a look he wore well, so I was glad he finally decided to drop the mask he constantly hid behind.

I kept kissing across his face while my hand moved up and down his heavy erection. Ry’s breath grew ragged, and he finally released my hair so he could work his hands under my clothing. I felt his thumbs rub against my waist as he spread his fingers out and drew my t-shirt slowly up my body. I pumped the throbbing flesh that filled my hand until I felt a silky drop of moisture gather at the tip. Ry’s whole body tensed as I used the tip of my index finger to drag through that bit of moisture, painting the sensitive head of his cock with his own excitement.

He practically growled my name as I brought my now-glistening finger to my lips and swiped my tongue across the damp remains. Now, Ry’s eyes were glowing like the blue inferno found at the base of a flame.

After he had my shirt and bra stripped off my top half, he moved as if he was going to reach for me, but as soon as he tried to use his arm on his injured side, the expression on his face switched from one of anticipation to one of pain.

He fell back on the mattress with a groan and used his good hand to cover his face. “I can’t flirt, and I can barely participate. This isn’t how I pictured what the two of us finally confessing our feelings would be like. I wanted to blow your mind.”

He seemed genuinely distressed by his current predicament, which I found ridiculously cute. I reached down to hook my thumbs in the stretchy fabric of his shorts and asked him, “Why do you have to be the one in charge of blowing?”

I was perfectly capable. I mean, he was the only one with whom I’d ever had any practice, but he’d never had any complaints before. And now I was more confident and understood there was an inherent power in being the one who controlled just how much pleasure the other person experienced. I wasn’t as hesitant and consumed with worry over what he would think of me once his cock was no longer in my mouth.

I also knew now that I could enjoy the act of giving as much as I enjoyed being on the receiving end. When we did this before, I was still so shy about my own body and reactions. I wanted to focus only on him and how I was making him feel, but this time, as I kissed my way up the inside of his strong thigh, his sharp gasp, and the way his stomach muscles tightened, made the sensitive spot between my legs flutter excitedly. Heat pooled warm and low in my stomach, and my skin started to prickle with anticipation. I dragged my fingernails down the inside of his other thigh, and heard him moan low and loud. His hand caught my braid once again, and he used it to tug my head closer to the pillar of flesh that was straining, tall and proud, in front of me. Maybe I would’ve been intimidated with all he was working with if I had anything to compare it to.

I was glad he was the only one, and for now, the best one as well. With any luck, he’d manage to hold onto both titles for the foreseeable future.

As soon as I lowered my head and licked across the engorged and slippery tip, Ry mumbled my name and lifted his hips to chase the sensation. I put a hand on his hip to hold him still, and slowly lowered my head so I could engulf his throbbing length with my mouth. There was too much to cover all the way, so I had to use my hand to cover the thick base. I felt the heavy vein that ran along the underside pulse against the flat of my tongue as my throat convulsed involuntarily around him when the tip hit the back. Ry’s legs shifted restlessly on either side of me.

I felt my body react with each of his heated responses. My nipples tightened into painful points, and my thighs clenched together. My scalp tingled with a twinge of pain when Ry started to pull on my hair a tad more forcefully than I bet he meant to. The room filled with harsh sounds of our breathing and the sound of our naked skin rubbing together. Ry let out another low sound of pleasure when I used my tongue to flick across the sensitive little slit that was leaking salty fluid. It was hard to remember he had a roommate a few doors down, but I still had enough wits left to shush him slightly after he swore loudly when I used one of my hands to test the weight of that hidden, delicate spot drawn up close to his body.

He dropped my braid in response and started to claw at the blanket under his back. I watched him bite his lip to hold back whatever sound that was trying to escape, and decided this might be my favorite look on him to date. He was always a guy who was in control and in charge. He should let go more often. He looked really good when he was on the brink of release.

I swallowed him back down, sucking hard enough on his erection to hollow out my cheeks. I felt his cock kick in response, and a rush of salty fluid suddenly touched my tongue. I could tell he was close to coming undone without him saying a word, so I slowed the up and down motion of my head, and rolled his balls around in my palm as my body clenched tightly with my own pleasure.

Knowing he was on the verge of release, I let go of his tight sac and let my hand drift between my legs as I squeezed his base. I brought my lips down to touch my fist and felt Ry’s body kick in response. My fingers slipped through the wetness between my legs until I found the quivering bud of my clit. I wasn’t sure there was anyone in the world I would ever be so bold in front of, but I had no inhibitions where Ry was concerned.

“So good.” The broken words sounded like they were ripped from the center of his chest, and he was no longer still underneath me. Pleasure must have beat out pain because I felt both his palms clasp either side of my face as he lifted his hips and rocked forward enough that his cock hit the back of my throat. I made a sound that was caught between desire and distress, which triggered Ry’s release. A little warning would’ve been nice, but I managed to swallow the flood of satisfaction down before pulling my mouth off of him to catch my breath.

He kept his hands on my face as I tossed my head back, spreading my legs shamelessly so he could watch as my fingers moved faster and faster. Each stroke was playful and light as I strummed my own body with the same skill I used when I held my guitar. Ry watched as I pleasured myself, his face flushed and his breathing ragged.

When I worked myself up to the point of no return, Ry suddenly reached for me and pulled me back down across his body with his good hand. Our lips collided just as I felt my body start to quiver and quake as I crested over the peak of ultimate pleasure. He forced my mouth open and used his tongue to mimic the motion his hips would follow if we were connected and grinding together. The orgasm rolled through me, leaving no part of my body untouched. It was languid and hot, taking my breath and making my limbs feel heavy and weak. I collapsed on top of him, rolling to the side, so my weight didn’t land on his bruised shoulder.

I blew out a breath and snuggled into him. I barely lifted my head when he quietly asked, “Is it just me, or have we gotten way better at being together? And I’m not only talking about the sex.”

The question surprised a snort out of me. I moved my hand so I could use my finger to trace the lines that delineated his stomach muscles. “I think we used to only focus on each other, but now we know we can focus on ourselves as well. That makes for an all-around better experience. However, I’ve never been one to shy away from practice. There’s always room for improvement.”

Ry chuckled and shifted so he could kiss the crown of my head where it was tucked up under his chin. “You know how much I strive for perfection.”

It seemed like a long shot we would ever be perfect together, considering all our differences. We would always have to work to make sure we could give each other what we needed. As long as we kept that up, imperfect would work just fine for us.