Out of the Shadows

3

* * * * * *

We'd managed to get up to occasional chatter about the news and the weather by the time Rob pulled over to another service station.

"I need a piss, and we could grab some food and coffee while we're here. It'll only take another hour or so to get to the cottage, and then we can relax. In fact, we'd be best to find a supermarket on the way and stock up as I doubt there's anything much there."

I just nodded. There wasn't much to say to that, and I liked the idea of some food, my stomach was starting to talk to me and before long he'd be able to hear it as well. He didn't want us to hang around in the services, so I went to grab some sandwiches and crisps, only then realising I had no idea what he liked. I could do with emptying the tank as well, so I headed to the toilets figuring we could get the food on the way out.

As I went through the door I could hear voices talking and one of them was definitely Rob, although the actual words were fairly quiet. I stayed out of sight and held the door so it closed gently behind me and didn't make a noise, wanting to know what was being said and concerned that there might be some danger ahead. There seemed to be no good reason why Rob would be talking to someone, although it might be about nothing important.

"Come on, leave it. I've told you I'm not interested," I heard Rob say. His voice sounded calm but firm.

"I'm good. I could make your day, and it would make mine to get my lips round that monster."

This sounded less like danger and more like a very interesting conversation and one that I wanted to hear. I heard a sigh from Rob before he spoke again.

"Seriously, I am not looking to get sucked off. I don't care how good you might be, I'm not on the market."

Okay, this was definitely interesting. However, I really did need to pee, and it might help Rob get rid of the guy if someone else came in. I was glad to hear he wasn't going for it, and intrigued at the mention of a monster. I pushed the door open behind me and made sure they heard it before I came around the corner to the urinals. Rob was standing facing me, and his eyes flicked my way showing some relief. The guy who had been propositioning him had his back to me, but his head came round to see who had come in. He was probably a good ten years older than Rob, shorter and a little pudgy round the middle, but not in bad shape for his age. I was expecting him to be some really gross old wino based on his pleading. He didn't hold a candle to Rob but he wasn't half bad.

Both of them had noticed me now, but I decided not to get involved and just went to the nearest urinal, making sure no-one saw my cock. I expected the guy to leave, not to keep trying, but something in the glance between me and Rob had told him more than I had thought.

"So that explains it. Guess if I had someone that cute to suck me I wouldn't look twice at an old man. I guarantee I can do it better than your boytoy though."

I thought I heard Rob growl. "He is not my boytoy."

The guy started laughing. "Must be love. How about we see if he fancies my offer more than you did?"

My head shot up to stare at him. I'd been embarrassed by the discussions about me, but now I was a bit scared. I knew Rob would protect me, but this was still uncharted territory. I zipped up quickly, but Rob was even faster, grabbing the guy's arm and spinning him back around to face him rather than me.

"Touch him and I will break your arm."

The menace suddenly in his voice and face scared even me. It was like looking at him when we'd first met and I'd thought he was dangerous as hell. I felt a shiver go through me, and it wasn't the type I was used to him sending through my body. It was even worse for the guy, he even whimpered before he mumbled an apology and ran out of the room, keeping as far away from me as the walls allowed. He believed the threat and if I didn't now know the nice side of Rob I sure would too. I watched as that side of him faded and his normal expression reappeared, and it was like a mask coming off.

"You okay?" I asked.

"I should be asking you that."

"I didn't just go psycho on a bloke who was offering blowjobs. I got that he wasn't keen on hearing no, but I think I could have handled it."

"Sorry, I did get a bit extreme, but he'd been on at me for a few minutes about it, and when he started talking about you like that it got to me. He's some sad guy desperate for cock and he shouldn't have said those things."

"It's fine. I was surprised, I wasn't offended. Although I don't think I've ever been called a boytoy before."

"Made it sound like I was cradle snatching... er assuming we were together, that is."

What did that mean? We'd both been thrown by that bloke. I didn't want to mention that it was the first time that I had been offered a blowjob or called cute. I felt like I'd be telling him a little too much, and probably fishing for a compliment as well. I didn't want someone random calling me cute, I wanted him to be saying things like that, but without a prompt. Nor was I going to mention some of the other things that had been said, although I was going to be thinking them over.

It was another awkward moment and I quickly changed the subject to what sandwiches he wanted so we could get out of there. At least when we finally got where we were headed I might be able to get away from him for a few minutes and pull myself together. I felt like I was turning into a wreck looking for signs from him and not being sure if I wanted them to be there or not.

* * * * * *

It was about an hour more before we reached our destination as he'd said, although we did stop to get food and supplies at the nearest supermarket, nearly three quarters of that away. By the time we reached the place he had been heading for I didn't have much idea where we were. I couldn't even describe the place as a village, it was just a handful of houses out in the middle of nowhere down tiny country lanes, and even then the house he stopped at was well away from the other properties. I didn't think I'd ever been anywhere more remote than this, but I guessed I understood. You would have to be a well-versed local to find this place, which made it a very good place to hide out from a city gang.

We unloaded the car in silence, working together without any instructions having to be given. He led me into the house and it didn't take long for me to look around, just following him to the kitchen took us past the front room, down a small passageway where the stairs were, and into the back room which was the kitchen but large enough to contain a table for eating at as well. It was old-fashioned décor, and obviously not lived in regularly, but clean and tidy aside from a bit of dust. I put the shopping down on the table and watched as Rob moved around the room putting things away, particularly appreciating the view when he bent down to get to the lower cupboards.

I was unsure whether to hope there were two bedrooms upstairs or just one. He was driving me crazy, and any conversation we had now had me examining everything he said and wondering if there was some deeper meaning. Even in an hour I had lost count of how many times I had been over what was said in the service station toilets, looking for some sign that he was interested in me for something. It didn't help that I knew it was what I wanted, but I also knew I wouldn't brave making any move on him unless I could be sure of a positive reaction. I was obsessed enough before he'd even turned up at my house, but knowing him all the better now I still had no idea whether I could have him but even more sure I wanted to.

My eyes shot up when he finally stood, making sure it would not be obvious I had been admiring his ass for the last few minutes. I even managed not to stare when he stretched up to the ceiling and a strip of his stomach was revealed as his t-shirt rode up, but I was pretty sure if he'd been looking he would have seen my eyes widen for a moment and me swallowing hard. Being here with him was definitely going to be torture, because every move he made turned me on and made me want him more.

"Right, I'd better show you upstairs and then we can get on with cooking something for dinner," he said, heading back through the house.

I followed, picking up my bag of clothes like he did and trying not to get hard when his ass was right in front of my face as we climbed the stairs. I wanted to reach out and put my hands on him, but I clung to my bag tightly to fight temptation.

Upstairs there was a small landing with three doors off it, two open and revealing beds, and the third I hoped was a bathroom.

"This is my room, you'll sleep in there," he said, indicating the rooms, "and that's the bathroom. There is a shower, but it's pretty pathetic, so baths are a better idea unless you're in a desperate hurry. Plus soaking those bruises will do you good."

"That sounds like a very good idea. I'll try and have another before bed. Who owns this house?"

"I do. Well, partly. My grandfather left it to his grandchildren, and we didn't want to sell so we kept it. The others have families now and they hardly ever come here, so it's pretty much become where I head off to if I want some peace and quiet. I hadn't thought of using it as a hideout before, but then thankfully I haven't needed to go into hiding either. It seemed like a good place to bring you."

Another comment I was going to be analysing. This was his family home, and he'd thought of it as a place for us to be rather than the safehouses the police could have provided. I wondered why they hadn't been good enough, or why he'd said the only person who could keep us safe was him. Basically everything he said I was debating further in my mind, and I needed to calm down. There was nothing I could realistically do to make him want me if he didn't, although there were still things I could do to encourage any interest he did have.

"I'm just going to get changed, and then we can get started on some food. Those sandwiches barely filled a hole."

I agreed with him about that. We seemed to have bought enough food to keep us going for weeks, and I really hoped we were not going to be here that long. I wanted time with him even if it might turn out to be frustrating, but I also wanted to get back to my real life sometime. With a sigh I realised that I only really wanted that if he could be there too, and that would probably not be what happened. I might only ever have a few days of friendship and then never see him again.

Wanting to tempt him, just as I had tried the night before, I changed clothes too. My tightest jeans were in order because I knew how nicely they hugged my backside, and a top that was also tight and would show that even if I didn't have much muscle I did have a flat stomach. It hid the bruises well and I hoped that it might spark just a little bit of interest. Christ, I was desperate. I needed the touch of someone. Well, I needed his touch, nothing else was going to do.

I thought I saw a flicker of something when I walked into the kitchen. There was a second, a glimmer of something in his eyes, a quick intake of breath, and then it was all gone, so fast I couldn't be sure I wasn't just seeing what I wanted to see. He seemed a little nervous then, but he was focussed on food.

"What do you fancy?"

The obvious answer was him, but I chose to answer what I figured he was expecting.

"Pizza? We can get some salad sorted to go with it."

"Okay, but I'm cooking properly tomorrow."

"You can cook?" I asked, teasingly.

"Of course I can cook. I don't get the chance often, especially not for someone else. You are in for a treat."

He needed to stop saying things like that, it didn't help my libido one bit. I grabbed the pizza from the fridge and handed it to him so he could sort it out, bending down to get some veg out to chop up. I picked up lettuce, tomatoes and mushrooms to start, straightening up and turning to put them on the table. Rob hadn't moved. He stood with the pizza in his hand, his expression strange, before again he tried to cover, his eyes shooting up to my face and turning away from me quickly. Not quickly enough for me to miss his blush. He'd been looking at my ass but he wasn't going to admit it.

After that there was nothing. He was pretty much silent as we cooked our dinner, and barely spoke while we ate it. Any ease we'd had seemed to have vanished with just a couple of looks. But how could he look at me like that and not do anything about it? I wanted to tell him, just do it, touch me or take me, whatever you want I'm yours, but I couldn't do it. I was too scared I was only projecting my feelings onto him. I couldn't put that out there and have him reject me. If he wanted me he only had to ask, but I had the horrible feeling he wasn't going to.

He must have seen me looking at him, my face probably showing my confusion, but I couldn't help myself from glancing at him through dinner, a couple of times catching him already looking. Then we would look away, neither of us acknowledging the moment. There was so much tension in the room I thought I should be able to see it, but it was just a feeling of discomfort, and certainly on my side unrequited lust. I wished I could read his mind to know what he was feeling.

* * * * * *

Two days later, I was still going just as crazy. He didn't say anything, or touch me, or make a single move, but still things were tense between us and I kept catching him looking at me in a way that sometimes showed he was deep in thought, but other times showed just a glimmer of lust before he turned away. It didn't help me one bit. I tried to resign myself to the fact he didn't want me, but his occasional looks said something different, and when I was alone in my room at night my imagination turned those looks into the start of something else, something that involved the pair of us being naked and pleasuring each other through the night.

He really could cook, and he'd served up some fantastic meals, but I found eating them hard when I just wanted to sit there and stare at him, challenge him somehow so I would know what was going on in his head. So tonight, I sat staring at my plate, shoving the food around with my fork, deep in thought. I was sick of this and there was no end in sight. Perhaps the best thing would be to go back home, or at least threaten it, and be out of the situation one way or the other. Of course one of those ways could well lead to a lot of physical pain when I got another beating, and either would probably cause emotional pain, but being locked away 24 hours a day with the object of all my desires was pretty painful as well.

I let out a long sigh at the depressing thought, and wasn't helped out of it by Rob's deep and sexy voice expressing concern.

"What's wrong? Do you not like the food?"

"No, it's nice. Nothing's wrong."

"It seems to be nice decoration for your plate, you haven't eaten any. You don't want to tell me what the problem is, fine."

I got annoyed at his tone then. "I told you, there's no problem. I'm not hungry," I said, irritated. He'd got no right to know what was going on with me when he was shut up so tight.

I kind of wanted him to snap back at me, but he smiled and started to clear the table. Damn him being so considerate when I was trying to wind him up. I sat staring at the table in the absence of any food to look at, and he left me there and didn't ask anything more. I really was going crazy. That decided, it had to be time for bed. I might not be able to sleep but I needed to get away from him.

I stood and wandered across the room, heading for the stairs. He was in the living room on my way but I didn't think anything of it until I tried to walk past and he stopped me. His hand on my arm sent a shiver through me, but I just stared at it for a moment before looking at his face. He looked confused, but there was something else there when our eyes met, something that made me feel uncomfortable and I wasn't sure if it was in a good or bad way. His voice was soft and gentle when he spoke.

"Please tell me what's wrong Alex. I want to help."

"You can't. I've got to work some stuff out." Understatement, probably, but there was no way I was explaining my real problem.

Our eye contact wasn't being broken, and I was acutely aware that his hand was still on my arm. Not exactly sexual contact, but it was making me nervous. I swallowed hard and I knew he saw it by the look that came in his eyes. There was an intensity there that I'd only seen for brief seconds before, but now it wasn't going away, and his hand started to move, gently stroking my arm. I glanced at it, breaking our gazes, but when I looked back at him his look was even more intense, and before I could get away, or wonder if I wanted to, he changed everything. He kissed me.

I felt his lips on mine and it startled me at first, but I didn't jump away. I needed it too badly to stop him, and when I felt his tongue against my lips I immediately opened up to let him in. It was soft but the intensity of my first real kiss had me shaking, and it was him, the man who had been doing so much to me perhaps even without knowing. I played with him then, making sure he knew I wanted this too, that I was enjoying every moment of us being together like this.

I almost expected things to get frantic, but they didn't despite my need. He kept it slow, but didn't let up, it was pure passion. His arms were around me, and mine round him, pulling each other closer to get more contact and more pleasure for each of us. It was mind blowing, having him hold me and kiss me after all that I had dreamt of, and just as I was able to think straight and realise I didn't want this ever to end, it did.

Rob broke away from our kiss suddenly, depriving me of the best experience of my life. I tried to pull him back towards me but he disentangled himself completely and moved away.

"Sorry. I shouldn't have done that."

My heart sank like a stone, and I knew I sounded annoyed when I replied. "Why the hell not?"

"I shouldn't be thinking with my dick. You're... You deserve better."

"What's that supposed to mean? It was just a kiss."

"That's why I had to stop, before I couldn't and it became a lot more than a kiss."

"I want more than a kiss, dammit. You don't?" I questioned. Being hard and horny was stopping my normal reticence over what I said.

He looked embarrassed. "Yes, I do. But I don't want to take advantage of you or this situation."

"Fuck that. If you don't want me then fine, but just tell me. I don't want cryptic comments."

He took on a serious expression and was clearly up for the challenge.

"Okay. You're young and inexperienced. Completely inexperienced unless I've misunderstood what you've said. I'm older than you and I can't promise you anything at all because I have no idea what tomorrow will bring. We've been shoved together and we're on the run. It's only natural that we'd form some kind of bond, but a sexual one doesn't seem like a good idea. Your first time should be with someone you love who can offer you a future together, not just because we're stressed out and horny."

I went red at him knowing I was a virgin, although I guessed it hadn't been hard for him to work that out, but I got cross with him as he went on with his reasons. I felt like challenging him on every point, but decided to leave out the argument over whether I was in love with him. I actually started laughing when he finished, and it took me a moment to recover enough to tell him why.

"Jesus, you're telling me I'm naïve, and then you come out with that shit about a first time having to be with someone special. I'm not stupid enough to think that. Maybe someday this mythical perfect man will come along, but I've not been sitting at home waiting for someone who wants to marry me. All I've wanted is someone I could trust enough to let myself go, who I knew would care enough to make it good for me and not just use me to get himself off and disappear before I've had chance to pull my trousers up. I trusted you, and before you repeat that stuff about our situation, that was before we got into this mess. You even made my dick twitch when I first saw you in the club. Sure that's just lust, but I don't care. In fact, you trusted me too. That's why you came to me when your flat was trashed."