Beautifully Complicated (Front Range University #4)

3. Aiden

Chapter three

Aiden

K ier Caldwell is staring at my lips. And he’s been doing it all night.

At first, I thought I was imagining things. That maybe I had something on my face he found distracting, so I licked my lips to remove it. But that simple act only seemed to make him look more . So, I kept playing with them. And he kept staring.

Just like he is right now, as I lick away the stray flavor of whiskey from the drink he just bought me.

“So,” Kier prompts. “Animated movies are a guilty pleasure of yours?”

Guilty pleasure. Why did he have to phrase it that way? Now I feel like a jerk for pretending not to know who he is and for wanting to do more than just flirt with him.

“I wouldn’t say that,” I answer, “but I won’t refuse to watch something just because it’s animated.”

“What classics have I missed because I assumed they were kids cartoons?” Kier’s blue eyes sparkle like he’s teasing me. Indulging me. It’s a playful side of him I didn’t expect but want more of.

“Spiderman Into the Spider Verse. And the sequel, Across the Spider Verse.”

Kier freezes with his drink halfway to his mouth. “You didn’t even have to pause to think about it.”

“Nothing to think about. The animated moves are better than the live action Spiderman movies, in my opinion.”

“Tell me.”

“Well—” I rub the back of my neck while I gather my thoughts “—the characters have more depth. They feel like real people. For example, the Spiderman character doesn’t just get bitten by a spider and become a superhero, he learns that he already possesses the qualities a hero needs, and now he’s capable of building on those qualities at a hero level. And the graphics aren’t overdone. They help tell the story, but they don’t overpower it, so you come away thinking about the story itself and not the images used to tell it.”

Kier’s mouth is parted in a way that usually means I’m speaking above someone’s head, and I mentally berate myself for nerding out on him. Until he blinks and says, “I don’t think I’ll ever look at an animated movie the same way again.”

“Is that good, or—"

“Good. Definitely good.” His smile is part intrigued and part…awed. Like I’ve taught him something he wasn’t expecting to learn, and while that might be my imagination talking, I can’t deny loving the fact I may have opened his eyes.

Speaking of eyes, his indigo ones are locked on mine again, and for the second—or third or fourth—time this evening, I feel like they’re seeing more than just my face. Even weirder, I don’t feel exposed under his intense scrutiny. I feel sort of validated, like there’s something worth seeing.

Why Kier Caldwell would find me that interesting I have no idea, especially considering we’ve yet to talk about the one thing I know we have in common. The one thing he’d have reason to regard me appreciatively for, assuming he found my thoughts worthy.

It gives my battered heart a little spark of hope that I’m not destined to be the guy who’s always the friend, never the boyfriend. Not that Kier would ever see me as more than a friend—he’s too smart and accomplished and out of my league—but that someone could.

Just then Kier frowns, and my happy moment is ripped away. “What’s wrong?” I ask, heartbeat thundering in my ears as I wait for his reply.

“They just announced last call.”

Groaning internally, I briefly wish we were at a club instead of a neighborhood bar, which would give us several more hours together. Of course, that would mean we’d never have met, since I doubt either of us are the club type.

“I don’t want the night to end.” My face heats as the words I didn’t intend to say aloud reach my ears.

Kier Adam’s apple drops down his throat with such slowness it feels like we’re in the Matrix we talked about earlier, where time is relative. Then he brings his hooded gaze to mine and whispers throatily, “Me either.”

Is it possible? Could he see me as more than a friend for just this one night?

Summoning every ounce of adventure I possess, I whisper back. “Take me to your place?”

***

I barely have time to take in the dark-hued room that looks twice the size of my own before Kier has my back pressed against the wall, caged between his arms, body flush with mine.

“Tell me to stop,” he pleads even as he grinds his hips against me.

“No.”

He leans forward as if to steal a kiss, stopping mere inches from my lips. “I’m too old for you.”

“You don’t know how old I am.”

“Twenty-one?” His warm breath skims over my mouth.

“Twenty-two.” I lick my lips, knowing that will speak to his lust.

Kier’s eyes fall shut as he rocks forward, grazing his swollen shaft along mine with a curt shake of his head. “A decade younger than me. Too young.”

“Not by my math. Besides, I’m old enough to know what this is.”

His mouth seems to seek mine again, like a magnet being called to its match, only to pull away at the last second. “What is it?”

“Tonight. Nothing more.” This time when his mouth nears mine, I close the distance, moaning wantonly when our lips finally make contact.

I’m kissing Kier Caldwell.

Kier Caldwell is kissing me .

Am I dreaming?

My mind is abuzz with thoughts that don’t make sense. That don’t seem real. But the faint taste of beer in my mouth isn’t coming from my lips. Nor is the air filling my lungs. It’s all him.

Though Kier’s lips are soft, his kiss is not, pent up need and desire spearing into me with each swipe of his tongue. I kiss him back just as desperately, refusing to break or offer relief or even to breathe. The only thing that matters is that we don’t stop.

Pressed together, the only purchase I can find is on his back. I clutch at his shoulders, the base of his spine, his ass, pulling it to me so our cocks rub together under the denim of our jeans.

“Aiden.” My name is a plea on Kier’s lips as his fingers tunnel through my hair, holding me in place so he can plunder my mouth. Tingles ripple from my scalp to my toes, the simple sound of my name spoken with such want a potent aphrodisiac.

A relieved groan vibrates up my throat as he claims me, turning me to putty in his hands. Hands that claim as well as cradle in their haste to touch every inch of me.

“Tell me to stop,” he mumbles between kisses. “Tell me before I can’t.”

“Never,” I whisper back.

Kier groans, a feral yet tortured sound that goes straight to my dick. In a burst of strength, I grab his ass and haul him up, guiding his legs around my waist. Without breaking our kiss, I walk us to the bed as gracefully as I can given we’re matched in size, following him down as we crash to the mattress.

“Damn that was hot.” He pulls away enough that I can see his heated gaze. “I thought you said you weren’t athletic.”

“You said that. I said I’m not particularly adventurous, but I’m working on it.” I lean down to lap at his lip, earning another soft moan.

“Is this you being adventurous?” he asks as I lick over his neck, tasting a hint of wood and something darkly sweet, like cloves.

Very bespoke.

“This is me being horny.” I nip at the place where his neck meets his shoulder, feeling him shiver slightly beneath me. “Adventurous would be me taking a turn on the bottom.”

“Have you ever—”

“No. But I would.” I save him from having to wonder. “The opportunity just hasn’t presented itself.” I let my weight settle on his and give him a long, lingering kiss. “What about you?”

“Same. In reverse, but same.”

I grind my hips down, pressing our cocks together as I nibble at his lips. “What do you want tonight? Tried and true or an adventure?”

“If we only have one night…both?”

My heart goes still inside my chest. Did he just say…?

“Unless you’d prefer to have that first with someone—”

“No.” I cut him off. “I want it with you.”

Kier sucks in a shallow breath, his bottomless blue eyes locked on mine in a way that suggests something far more profound than a one-night stand. It makes my own breathing erratic as my mind fills with all sorts of crazy ideas about more .

Shifting to his side, I prop myself on one arm and undo the buttons of his shirt with the other, giving him lazy kisses the whole time. The need for urgency is still there, but I’m desperately trying to tamp it down, so I don’t come across as some sort of overly eager cock slut. Plus, knowing we’ll only have this one night, I want to savor it.

Shirt undone, I push it open so I can see Kier’s chest. There’s a smattering of dark hair around his puckered nipples, and another thin stripe that disappears beneath his jeans, but he’s otherwise smooth, showcasing muscles that are toned without being bulky.

Palm on his abdomen, I leisurely glide my fingers over the silky skin while I pull a peaked nipple into my mouth, giving it a gentle suck.

He arches into my mouth, fingers spearing into my hair.

“Jesus.” He pants, and I bite back a smile as I swirl my tongue around the bud and give it another suck. “I feel that in my dick.”

“You say that like you’re surprised.” I switch to the other nipple and give it the same treatment, this time worrying it gently with my teeth and licking up any lingering burn.

“I am.” His hips push upward, seeking friction to soothe the ache I’m causing. “No one’s ever done this to me before.”

Truthfully, I’ve never done this to anyone either, and I’m not sure I’d have thought to if I hadn’t heard Bennet begging for Damien to pinch his one night when they got going faster than I could get my earbuds in. I suppose if one good thing had to come from their fuckery, it’s that I seem to have picked up a move Kier enjoys.

Sliding my hand from his stomach to his pants, I undo them just enough to open the fly and pull out his dick. It’s thicker than I expected given his lean frame, though it’s not so big as to be disproportionate, and as I stroke along its length, I figure it’s got to be pushing eight inches, roughly the same as mine.

I wonder what it’ll feel like inside me.

I’m sort of anxious for that, but not so much that I want to rush things, and not just because of my own desire to savor this, but to ensure Kier does as well.

Using a lax grip, I gently tug on his shaft while biting and sucking his nipples. But when I flick my tongue back and forth over them, Kier lifts his chest off the bed, pushing them into my mouth with a strained groan.

“You really didn’t know these are a sweet spot for you?” I don’t have to ask the question since he’s already given me the answer, but I want to hear him say it. To acknowledge that I found it.

“I had no idea. God why does this feel so good on my cock?” He pushes said cock into my fist, though I don’t grip it with the pressure he wants, and his hips fall back to the mattress.

“No idea. I just know we’ve all got our sensitive spots. Any others you want to tell me about, or should I find them on my own?” I pull a rigid bud into my mouth and lick over it while teasing his dick.

“I… Fuck, I don’t know. My hips maybe?”

Kissing a path down his chest, I give his hip bones the same treatment I did his nipples. It doesn’t seem to be quite as potent, but he wriggles beneath me nonetheless, spearing his cock into my slack fist.

“God, I haven’t been this turned on in years, and you’re barely even touching me.” Kier’s chest heaves as he tries to temper his body’s reaction to my ministrations, though he can’t quite keep his hips still when my hand is loosely wrapped around his dick. “What are your sensitive spots?”

“I’ll tell you when it’s your turn.”

“When’s that?”

“When you fuck me.” My blunt answer has his eyes fluttering shut, and I just know he’s imagining what that’ll feel like, same as I am.

Truth be told though, as much as I’m eager to have him inside me, I’m even more eager about the prospect of being his first bottom .

I don’t have nearly the same hang up he does about the age thing, which at a decade really isn’t a big deal in my mind, but the notion that he’s ten years older than me and a virgin top… Who would’ve thought a guy ten years my senior would have any firsts left to give, let alone consider giving them to a guy he just met at a bar.

Put that way, I suppose I can understand why he keeps asking me to stop him. He’s probably assuming some sort of responsibility for all this because of his age, much like I’m assuming responsibility for making sure he enjoys his first time topping. It’s futile on both our parts, but something I feel compelled to take into consideration.

Kier’s dick twitches in my fist, telling me whatever he’s imagining has him excited. My own pulses painfully behind my zipper in response, but I ignore it as I climb between his legs and work his pants lower, so his beautiful cock is free to stand proudly between his legs.

I circle it with my fist and give it a long, firm tug, loving the way my touch has Kier uttering a strangled moan. Then I lean forward and suck the crown into my mouth.

Kier’s hips buck violently, the shock of my mouth a total surprise since his head was arched back in ecstasy.

“Holy shit,” he cries, bringing his eyes to meet mine. “That was… You… Oh my god.”

“That one really shouldn’t come as a surprise.” I fight off a grin as I swirl my tongue around the head. “Everyone’s dick is a sweet spot.”

“Yeah, it’s not. I just… It’s been a while, and I wasn’t ready for it.”

“It’s been a while since anyone sucked your dick?” I pull it between my lips and gently suckle on the tip.

“Oh, agh.” Kier fights to keep his pelvis grounded. “It’s been a while since…anything.”

“Same.” I borrow the term he’s been using all night as I take him to the back of my throat and pull back with exaggerated care, dragging the flat of my tongue up the underside of his cock.

“Seriously?” He gasps as I lick along his shaft. “I don’t buy that. Your mouth isn’t giving me the impression you’re out of practice, which incidentally, is going to leave you disappointed if you don’t ease up. I wasn’t being polite when I said it’s been a while.”

Feeling empowered, and somewhat awed, I graze the tip of my finger over his balls. “How is that possible? You’re too sexy not to have any offers.”

“I could say the same about you.” He pants, and I freeze with my mouth hovering over his junk.

“Me?” I lick my lips nervously.

“You’re surprised I think you’re sexy?” Despite the lust in his eyes, Kier seems genuinely confused.

“Yeah.” I feel my face heating exponentially, making it pointless to hide the truth. “I am.”

“Aiden, I’ve been fighting a boner since my first glimpse of you, and that was before you opened your mouth, and I learned your brain is just as enticing as your body. And the fact that you , at ten years my junior, aren’t afraid to take charge right now… I don’t even remember the last time I’ve been this turned on.”

That’s possibly—definitely—the nicest thing anyone’s ever said to me, and it hits so hard I swear I feel tears building in the back of my eyes. But I will not be the guy who gets emotional during a one-night-stand, no matter how impactful those words are. So, I force a sly grin to my lips as I give his cock another stroke.

“Let’s see what I can do with this boner then.” Dipping my head, I take him to the back of my throat again, sucking firmly as I pull back to the tip. Kier fists the sheets as his stomach clenches in an effort to hold still, a sight that has me groaning around his cock and causing it to twitch in my mouth.

“Oh my God!” he groans as I do it again. “Oh my God. Your mouth is too perfect. You’ve gotta stop. You’ve gotta stop or I’ll come.”

Pinching the base of his dick between my thumb and forefinger, a trick I learned from the only action I’ve seen recently—porn—I grip hard and suck him down again. And again, caressing him with my tongue as I squeeze him with my throat.

“Aiden. Leanbh . Jesus.”

When the endearment registers, I still, not because I know what it means—I don’t—but because he says it in a way that strikes me as intimate. Worshiping almost. And while that’s probably my mind playing tricks on me, there’s a part of me that wonders if it’s not. If he meant to give me a pet name.

On the off chance he did… I need some space before we continue or else I risk wanting that to be true.

I already admire this man on an intellectual level, if I allow myself to think for even a second that it could be more… That he could feel anything beyond lust for me…

My heart is too fragile to go down that path.

“Condoms? Lube?” I ask, letting go of him entirely.

“Suitcase,” he mumbles breathlessly. “Front pocket.”

Still dressed, I get up and cross the room to his bag, fishing out the items I need and saying a little thank you that he travels prepared even though nights like this are an anomaly for him. When I get back to the bed, I notice his breathing has leveled some, though his cock is an angry purple, which I secretly love.

Standing at the foot of the mattress I pull his shoes off and drag his pants off his legs, pausing to admire his naked form. Long, muscular legs. Trim waist. Sinewy arms. And that gorgeous cock, framed by a thatch of dark hair.

“You’re staring,” Kier accuses.

“You’re incredible.”

He lowers his eyes almost demurely before lifting them to meet mine. “Don’t I get to see you?”

Now it’s my turn to blush. “If you want.”

Kier bobs his head decisively, so I toss the condoms and lube on the bed and reach for my shirt, undoing the buttons from top to bottom, one at a time. It’s a practical way to undress, but Kier’s so engrossed, so utterly enthralled with each flick of my wrist, you’d think I was performing a striptease.

Discarding the undone shirt on the floor, I kick off my shoes as I reach for my pants. The man licks his lips as I pull them down, cock springing free with such force it actually smacks my stomach, leaving behind a tiny bead of precum.

I knew I was turned on, but this is next level.

“Come here.” Kier’s voice has a gravelly quality to it that’s like a siren song, and without hesitation I crawl up the mattress to straddle him.

Our hard cocks brush together as my weight settles on his, both of us biting back shameless groans. Then his hand shoots forward, wraps around the back of my neck, and pulls me to him for a scorching kiss, tongues wrestling for control as we frot against one another.

My toes curl as he licks into my mouth, stealing my breath as though it belongs to him. As though he needs it more than his own.

“Aiden,” he mumbles against my lips. “Fuck me.”