"I can." Tyler slithered down and pressed his mouth to the bulge in Haris's pants. He breathed through the material and the rush of warm air made Haris groan. Tyler sucked and mouthed him until he was sure his c.o.c.k was going to burst out all on its own.

"That's not playing fair," Haris said with a moan, torn between pushing Tyler away and letting him do what he wanted.

They wrestled and tussled and laughed themselves stupid, and when Wilson opened the back door, they almost fell onto the pavement.

"What have I said about seatbelts, sir? Just because the police can't see into the back of the vehicle doesn't mean you're not going to get caught and I'd-ah, I'll put the car away."

Haris a.s.sumed Wilson had caught sight of the bulges in their pants. As he drove down the road, taking the car to the garage at the rear of the house, they somehow, between kissing and sneaking quick feels of each other, made it to the front door. How he found his keys, opened the door, maneuvered them both inside and shut the door was a blur to Haris. Tyler tumbled over in the hall as he pulled off his boots and Haris ended up on top of him, accidentally on purpose. He toed off his own shoes and wrenched at his coat as they part-crawled up the stairs, mauling each other, kissing, stroking, and stripping off socks as they went.

It turned into a compet.i.tion to see who'd get to the top of the stairs first, Tyler tugging him down and clambering over him, before Haris did the same to him. When Tyler wrapped his fingers around the top step, Haris planted a kiss on the bare skin exposed at his waist and sucked. Tyler squirmed and then Haris was on top of him, crawling over him and onto the landing. He lay panting on his back, trying to catch his breath as Tyler zipped past into the bedroom.

"I won," he shouted.

And for once, Haris didn't care because there were no losers. He pushed up and raced after Tyler, flinging himself on him and knocking him facedown onto the bed.

"Ouff," Tyler gasped. "Elephant alert."

Haris nipped his ear. "Boa constrictor alert."

"They don't bite." Tyler laughed into the bed.

Haris stripped the top off Tyler and then wormed his hand into the back of his tight jeans and squeezed his b.u.t.t.

"I can't play anymore. I need you too badly," he whispered in Tyler's ear.

"I can't move. An elephant's sitting on me and even worse, it's crushing my reticulated python."

Haris smiled and slid to one side. Tyler was naked before he was and reclined on the bed, stroking his c.o.c.k, watching Haris strip. His hip bones jutted out, framing a perfect d.i.c.k. The guy was all long limbs and fluid muscle. His eyes sparkled in the dim light, his lips were kiss-swollen, his smile bright and every time Haris saw him like this, every one of his receptor switches was triggered.

"Are you going to stare at me all night?" Tyler asked.

I could stare at you forever.

"It's that third nipple." Haris crawled onto the bed and Tyler lifted his legs and wrapped them around his hips.

Am I going to be able to let him go?

Haris buried his face in the curve of Tyler's neck and licked the salty depression of his collarbone before he kissed him on the lips. Their c.o.c.ks rubbed together as they rocked their hips. Gentle eventually turned rough and they rutted more fiercely, mouths together, sharing oxygen, breathing into each other's throat.

This was way deeper than s.e.x. Does he feel it too?

As Tyler slid his hand between their bodies and wrapped his fingers around Haris's d.i.c.k, Haris did the same until they were pumping their fists around each other. Haris could have carried on until they both came, but he wanted more. He rolled off Tyler with a moan and reached for lube and condoms from the drawer.

"Can-"

"Just f.u.c.k me," Tyler gasped.

Oh G.o.d. Haris messed up the first condom and had to open another. It seemed hours before he managed to position his c.o.c.k against the entrance to Tyler's body.

"Are-"

"If you don't get inside me in the next two seconds, I'm going to f.u.c.k you," Tyler snapped.

He pushed against the muscle barrier and kept pushing until Tyler's body accepted the intrusion and let him slide the rest of the way home.

"f.u.c.k, f.u.c.k," Haris gasped.

"Are you in yet?" Tyler met his horrified glance and had the nerve to laugh.

"No, not yet. Ready?"

Tyler chuckled and then they both groaned.

"You feel so good," Haris whispered. "Hot, gripping me so tight."

The first pull back and thrust forward just about blew Haris's mind. He yelled Go slow to himself but it was hopeless. He had no choice. The exquisite sensation of dragging his swollen c.o.c.k back and forth through Tyler's nerve-rich channel catapulted him toward completion. Every stroke grew more frantic and his need to come gathered inside him like the roiling clouds of a thunderstorm.

"Hey, hey," Tyler gasped and stroked his face. "It's okay."

Haris pulled himself back from the brink and reached for Tyler's d.i.c.k. Concentrating on that saved him. In moments, he had Tyler writhing beneath him and he began an alternate rhythm, driving into Tyler's a.s.s as he jerked his c.o.c.k. He stared at Tyler, watched him breathing, saw his chest rising and falling faster and faster. He needed another hand. One held up Tyler's legs, the other held his c.o.c.k but he wanted to trail his fingers down the depression between his pecs, follow that dark trail down to where his c.o.c.k rose over his stomach.

Tyler arched his hips off the bed, impaling himself harder as he came apart in Haris's hand, his come splashing them both. Then Haris was there too, o.r.g.a.s.m rumbling through his body like an approaching train, and with a final hard thrust he exploded into Tyler's a.s.s and he knew s.e.x had never been this good.

Arms pulled him down and Tyler kissed him, plunging his tongue into his mouth, gliding it around Haris's until he began to kiss him back. Tyler slid his legs flat and Haris lay on top of him, arms holding him tight.

"Okay?" Tyler whispered.

"I think I got my money's worth."

The moment the words were out of his mouth, he wanted them back. What the h.e.l.l had made him say that?

Tyler gave him a tight smile. "No refunds. I'm shop soiled now."

"I didn't mean-"

Tyler silenced him with a kiss and then pulled him to his feet. "Shower."

Haris barely had the energy to wash up. He collapsed face down on the bed and Tyler settled at his side, dancing his fingers over his back. Then, as though he'd become aware he was following the line of the scars, he stopped.

"Sorry."

Haris chewed the inside of his cheeks.

"Actually," Tyler said. "I'm not sorry. I told you something I've never talked to anyone about before, but you don't want to talk to me about this? It's obvious what happened. Those are whip marks. Is that why you're not into the BDSM scene? Someone went too far?"

"No."

Tyler waited and then glared. "That's all I get? No?"

Haris swallowed to bring moisture to his mouth. "It had nothing to do with BDSM though the holder of the whip was likely a s.a.d.i.s.t. It was a punishment for being what I am."

"What? Good looking, smart, s.e.xy, fantastic body...rich?"

Haris smiled. "Anything else?"

"Sulky, moody. I've never known anyone to sulk like you."

"Why would I be punished for any of those? Apart from being a moody f.u.c.ker, obviously."

"You going to tell me? Or do you want me to guess?"

Haris's mouth curved in a little smile. "I was whipped because I'm gay."

Tyler winced. "s.h.i.t. Is that why you don't have anything to do with your father? He whipped you?"

"Not my father." He pressed his lips together.

Tyler lay alongside him, settled his head closer to his and stared into his eyes. "You don't have to talk about it. I didn't mean to push you. s.h.i.t, I know what it's like to not want to talk about things. I'm an expert, believe me."

Haris bunched his hands under the pillow below his head. "I haven't talked about it for thirteen years but I've thought about it every day."

Tyler slid his hand under the pillow and wrapped his fingers around one of Haris's fists.

He took a deep breath. "No happy ending to my tale either. I was born in Saudi Arabia to a Saudi father and British mother. When I was eleven, I was sent to boarding school in the UK and only went home for the holidays. The summer after I'd done my A levels-I was seventeen, I did them a year early-I returned to Saudi to spend a year working for my father before I attended university in the UK. I'd already had a couple of s.e.xual encounters at school, fumbles in the cricket pavilion and the showers, but in Saudi it's against the law to have s.e.x with another guy. I was caught naked in the arms of a twenty-two-year-old in Riyadh. I'd met him an hour before in a cafe. I was sentenced to a thousand lashes."

Tyler's eyes widened and his grip tightened. "f.u.c.king h.e.l.l."

"That was actually a light sentence for s.e.xual deviancy. The punishment was carried out over a period of weeks. Fifty strokes a session. I counted the first time and they gave me fifty-seven. I was stupid enough to point that out so they gave me another fifty. Well, they said they did. I was unconscious before they finished."

Tyler squeezed his fingers.

"They told me if I screamed, they'd beat me harder, so I used to bite my arm to keep from crying out. Didn't work. It was impossible not to scream. I used to long to pa.s.s out but I mostly didn't."

"What happened to the other guy?"

Haris's cheek twitched. "Four thousand lashes and seventeen years in prison."

"Oh my G.o.d."

"I avoided a long prison sentence because of my age and my father's influence. But that only went so far. Once the punishment had been completed, I was sent back to the UK to Cambridge University, and I'm no longer welcome in Saudi."

"That's barbaric."

Haris nodded.

"Sending you to Cambridge? Cruel and unusual punishment."

Haris gaped and then laughed. G.o.d, when did I last laugh about this?

"I'm not making fun." Tyler leaned over and planted a kiss on his shoulder, then left a damp trail of kisses down his spine. "It's not that bad."

Haris stiffened. "Yeah, it is. I never..."

"What? Never strip in public? Never let anyone see it? Never look at it yourself? Do you even go swimming?"

"I hire a place with a private pool a couple of times a year."

"f.u.c.k it, Haris. It really isn't that bad."

"It embarra.s.ses me."

"I'm much more interested in other parts of you to let the state of your back bother me. But you could get it covered with a tattoo. That would be kind of cool."

"Scar tissue doesn't cover well."

"Have you been somewhere and asked?"

"I read it."

Tyler tsked. "Where? On the font of all knowledge called Wikipedia?"

Haris smiled. "What design would you suggest?"

"Can I draw on you and show you?"

"Can you draw?"

"Hey, I'm multi-talented." Tyler pushed to his feet. "What can I use that will come off when you wash?"

"There are some paints in the study. On the bookshelf. A set of watercolors. A hobby I thought I'd try, but never got around to."

"Great. Don't move."

He listened to Tyler clatter downstairs and then thump back. With the set of paints open beside him and a little bowl of water, he straddled Haris's thighs and ran the brush down his spine.

"Oh G.o.d." Haris squirmed.

"So what do you think? Two little dogs playing in a garden with lots of flowers and b.u.t.terflies and maybe a fish pond with a shark in it. Or I could do the t.i.tanic. The theme is big things going down."

"Is that all the choice I have?"

"Pretty much. Oh, tomatoes. I'm very good at those."

Haris laughed and buried his face in his folded arms. "I don't mind. Do your worst."

He'd thought it would feel wrong but it didn't. He'd thought the brush strokes, the pressure on his scars would remind him of his screams, but they didn't. He hadn't imagined he'd feel much of anything while Tyler worked on him, but he did. He felt calm and happy and...loved. He wondered if he'd fall asleep, but he didn't do that either. Every stroke with the brush healed the one it covered until he forgot why Tyler was doing this.

"Finished yet?" Haris asked.