Author's note:
Wow, thank you for all your comments on the last chapter! They really made me happy!
Hutchison12 - thank you for the high praise!
Baladeer - he-he, that's how one knows it's good...
BlowPopJ - right on time, right?
1moeannie - Ryan and Mike will take the stage some more!
To the anons who left comments, thank you!
And now, on to the next chapter!
*****
Chapter Twenty-Five - A Practical Romantic
"Join us upstairs?" Adrian offered Christian, but the blond head shook, and a smile as big as the sun followed.
"I just got out of that boring affair, so I don't plan on hanging out with two old men," Christian replied.
Adrian smirked. He knew that Edward's cousin wanted to give them space to work things out. "What are you going to do?"
Christian shrugged. "Maybe go to a bar, start a fight, cool things like that."
"Christian," Edward said gravely.
The young man waved. "No worries. It's just my first free Sunday in forever. I'm going to spend it wisely."
Adrian had serious doubts about the truth value of that statement. "Well, if you get into any trouble, just give me a call."
"All right, cousin in law," Christian said with a smirk. "You two have fun." He winked exaggeratedly, earning a grin from Adrian and a roll of the eyes from Edward.
Christian waved them goodbye as he sauntered off like a kid who had just heard that the school was out permanently.
"Will he be fine?" he asked Edward.
"He's the smartest young man I know," was the reply. "He knows better than get into trouble." Somehow, Edward didn't sound completely convinced, but maybe that was the thing with that family. They didn't allow their young ones to spread their wings and fly.
Adrian had every intention to change that, at least in regards to one particular representative of the illustrious Hastings tribe. He grabbed Edward's hand and dragged him toward the building entrance.
"Hey," Edward said in a stern voice, but this time Adrian wouldn't have it. "Hey, Adrian, slow down," he added.
"No way. Do you have the slightest idea what you put me through this week?"
Edward fell silent. At least, he could see the errors of his ways. Or so, Adrian hoped.
A young mother with a child no older than five joined them in the elevator. The kid stared for a while until Adrian began making faces at him. The boy snickered and hid his face into his mother's flounce dress.
The woman and child got out on their floor, leaving them alone. Adrian pressed the button and waited impassively for the elevator to move. He still held Edward's hand in his, and he could only hope that the slight tremor he experienced was lost on the other. The adrenaline from earlier had rushed through his system, and now there was room for something else.
Edward followed obediently as they got out on the top floor, and into Adrian's bachelor pad. The door was barely closed when they reached for each other, like drowning men at a rope thrown in their direction by a benevolent hand. Their lips crashed, and for a while, nothing but the fumbling on their clothes being partly taken off, partially ripped from their bodies, could be heard.
Adrian was the first to stop. That was his show, and he intended to run it like he should. He pushed Edward away, although he was sure the hunger he felt was a match for what he could read in the other's eyes. "You," he pointed at his lover, "you stay right there."
The harshness of his words took Edward slightly by surprise, but the light that flashed in the forest eyes burned and turned into a subdued flame. They got each other. They both knew what that was all about.
Adrian went into the bedroom and came back with the object Edward had so quickly discarded the last time he had been here. He gestured, a simple flick of the wrist, and Edward knelt in front of him, head bent in supplication. It was all right like this for a while.
He tugged at the leash and took Edward to a chair. There were no protests as he pushed his lover to sit, and then tied his hands behind using his own tie.
Edward's eyes were burning, but not with defiance, but with a new power that could only be named desire. He repeatedly bit his bottom lip, in an unconscious expression of his repressed want, and his cheeks were a bit flushed. Adrian ran one hand through the wavy chestnut hair, messing it, and then leaned in and pressed a hard kiss on the wet, bitten lips.
They had done a poor job of undressing one another. Edward still had both the shirt and suit jacket on, although they were both open in front, most of the buttons had flown, most probably, in all corners of the room. Adrian grabbed the undershirt and ripped it open, too, allowing smooth skin to show. Edward didn't protest one bit and even helped as much as he could in his position to have his pants and underwear pushed down and dropped around his ankles.
For a while, Adrian moved around Edward, in full circles, as his lover tried to follow him with his eyes.
"You know, this is getting a bit unnerving," Edward said in a hoarse voice.
"As it should," was the prompt reply.
"Oh, I see. You want to punish me."
"You have a mouth on you, after what you did. I would keep it shut if I were you. Or do you want me to gag you?" The last words were of a soft whisper, and Adrian stooped to reach Edward's ears with his lips. The small shudder that crossed the sexy man tied to a chair in his living room was enough for an answer. "Should I gag you anyway?"
"Do as you please." While the words were meant to be snappy, the voice used to utter them was anything but.
"Of course. As I please," Adrian emphasized the pronoun. So far, Edward's behavior was more than satisfactory. And since he had anticipated that asserting dominance over that stubborn man required the right tools for the job, he was more than ready.
He went to the bedroom again, and this time, when he came back, he observed with increased contentment the way Edward's eyes grew wide, and his mouth went slack.
"You can't be serious." A tiny bit of revolt speckled the beautiful greens. And that was fine, too.
