Veils of Rivalry Chapter 45

Blaise's POV

Cole stares at me for a beat before silencing the words on my tongue with another heated kiss. But this one is different. The anger is gone. His touches are softer, but if anything, they hurt more. Every stroke of his calloused fingers burns like a cut of his blade, and I love it.

I love him.

Pausing, I breathe heavily. Cole’s weight on top of me, his parted lips, and the way his hair falls over his brow have my heart rate accelerating. I can’t think about anything except how badly I want to make him feel good, to make him fall apart at my touch. I roll us over until I’m on top and stroke his hair away from his forehead. His cock rests against his stomach, hard and leaking precum. “I won’t fuck you yet.”

I see the question he wants to ask as his brow furrows. “You’re not ready,” I whisper instead, knowing Cole is still wrestling with himself on a deeper level, and until he begs me to, I won’t cross that line. Holding his gaze, I kiss a line down his body, my lips grazing his contracting abs. I dip my tongue into his belly button. “Keep your eyes on me,” I say and stroke his dick in a long, slow pull. “Don’t look away.”

His throat jumps. “I won’t.”

“Good boy,” I tease, and his eyes narrow. I swirl my tongue over a bulging vein before he can complain. He sucks in a breath, and I decide there and then that it’s the best sound in the entire world. “You trusted me earlier when I barged in here with a knife. Do you trust me now, Cole?”

The question might seem crazy, but this is us, baring ourselves wholly after sparring back and forth for weeks—months, even. What I’m asking him is more profound than I could ever voice, and I know he feels it, too, when he strokes his fingers through my hair. “I trust you.”

My smile rivals his before I take him in my mouth. His cock jumps, and he pulls my hair to the point of pain. I suck him deep, bobbing in time with my thrashing heart. As I reach up to palm his balls, my phone rings in my pocket—it’s my dad’s ringtone. Maybe I should feel bad for sucking off his wife’s son, but every-fucking-thing about this moment feels right. I’m too drunk on Cole’s moans and groans to even contemplate how this could tear our family apart. I reach up and drag my fingers over his abs, feeling the muscles shift and bunch beneath my touch. He shivers and throws his head back. I love the veins in his elongating neck and how he traps his lip between his teeth. “Blaise…Jesus…” he groans.

I release him with a pop. “Jesus? No, he can’t make you feel this way.” Releasing his balls, I spit on my fingers before reaching down to circle his tight exit. More precum leaks from his dick. Licking him from root to tip, I swirl my tongue through the beads, tasting his saltiness. “You’re an addiction.”

“Do you always talk this much?” he pants, and I chuckle before shifting onto my knees and pulling him to his. Grabbing him by the back of the neck, I press my forehead to his and palm his big cock. A hiss escapes me when his warm hand closes around my length, and we stare at each other’s mouths while stroking each other’s dicks.

Cole wets his lips and frowns like he’s in pain. I pick up the pace, my chest heaving with shuddering breaths. “It feels so damn good,” he whispers.

My fingers slide into the damp hair at his nape, and he mirrors the movement. Fisting the strands tight, I smile. “Good. I want us to come together.”

“I want you to fuck me,” he admits.

My lips pull to the side. “No, you don’t.”

His breathy chuckle wafts across my parted lips. “Oh, I fucking do.”

“Then beg me to fuck you, Cole. Beg me to fill you up with my cock. Beg me, and I might give it to you.”

“Fuck,” he grunts, briefly closing his eyes. “You’re killing me.”

“Are you close?” I ask, staring at his tempting lips. “Please tell me you’re close. I need to feel you come all over my hand.”

“Please, Blaise.” His throat jumps. “Fuck me.”

“Soon,” I reply as I tease the tip of his dick with my thumb. The moment his muscles stiffen and cum rains from our cocks simultaneously, I crush my mouth to his and devour his swollen lips. “That’s it,” I praise between kisses. “You’re coming so hard for me, big brother.” A jet of cum hits me on the throat, and I drive my tongue into his mouth. “You’re delicious. Come all over me, Cole. Fuck me up.”

“Christ,” he groans, his fingers twitching in my hair. “Fuck, I can’t…” His hips stutter. More cum rains over my chin, and I relish it. We breathe hard, staring at each other. Glancing down at my cum-covered chest, I snigger. Cole is no better off. Cum drips down his chest and abs, and some has even made it to his collarbone.

I see the mischief in his eyes before he launches himself at me. “Come here, you fucker. You know you want a hug.” And just like that, we’re laughing and wrestling on the bed. Cole soon gets the upper hand, but not because he is stronger than me. No, I love the victorious glint in his eyes as he pins me to the bed with my hands on the pillow beneath my head.

“I surrender,” I say, swallowing and staring at the racing pulse in his neck. “You win.”

Cole blinds me with his smile as his hair flops over his eyes. I feast my eyes on Cole Carter, naked on top of me, his muscles straining in his arms.

“How come you won’t go to the party tonight?” I ask and regret it the moment the words leave my lips.

Cole’s smile falls, and he climbs off me and flops onto his back. “I’m not in the mood.”

“Is that the only reason?” I ask.

With his arm behind his head, he stares up at the ceiling. I turn over onto my side and push up on my elbow.

“Why are you going?” he asks, not looking at me. “They’re not your friends.”

I have to go to this party for personal reasons. Jackson has flirted with me on multiple occasions, and I know it makes Cole uncomfortable. Something happened between them the morning when Cole picked me up. I’m not sure what exactly, but Jackson’s busted lip tells me everything I need to know.

“I’m gonna talk to Jackson,” I say, and Cole whips his eyes in my direction.

“Why the hell would you do that?”

I can feel him pull away even before he sits up and reaches for his clothes on the floor.

“Dammit, Cole,” I breathe, dragging my hands down my face. “You’re so quick to run away. Just hear me out.”

“Then talk. I’m not stopping you.” He pulls his top on with jerky movements.

I sigh. “This is exactly why I need to talk to him. Don’t you get it? I don’t want to come between the two of you. He’s your friend.”

“Some fucking friend,” Cole mutters, swiping up his pants off the floor.

Sitting up, I place my hand on his shoulder, and he stiffens. That hurts more than the hard look in his eyes. “I’m going to smooth things out with him. It upsets you when I hang out with him, so I won’t do that anymore. But I can’t just ignore him either. I need to have this conversation.”

Cole snorts and rises to his feet, hopping on one leg while he pulls his socks on. “Do whatever the fuck you want.”

“What happened to the threats on the football field? I thought you were gonna snap my legs.” I say it as a joke, but my voice trembles too much, and Cole inhales a ragged breath. “I thought you said you trusted me.”

“I do trust you.”

“No, you don’t.” My jaw clenches tight. “Why are you walking away if you trust me? What is it that has you so worked up? Are you scared I’ll do something with him? You have nothing to worry about. I only want you. It’s okay if you’re jealous, but please talk⁠—”

“I’m not fucking jealous,” he spits.

“Fine…” I climb out of bed and stomp up to him. We’re toe to toe, just like before, but it feels like we’re oceans apart. “If the roles were reversed, I’d be jealous as hell. But I get it… You don’t feel the same way about me.” I turn to leave, but he grabs my arm. As his heat warms my back, I stare at the door.

“I do feel the same way. I’m just…scared.”

How can I not soften when he presses his lips to my bare shoulder? “I’ve never felt like this, and I don’t know how to handle these emotions.”

“What are you scared of?”

His breath drifts over my skin, and he kisses me again, higher up on my shoulder, closer to the curve where it meets my neck. “I’m scared of losing you. That maybe…you’ll figure out I’m not good enough.”

My heart squeezes. “You are good enough, Cole.”

More kisses.

More gentle touches.

“Come with me,” I plead.

He shakes his head and steps back. “No, it’s too risky.”

“Risky?”

Cole walks to the bedroom door and opens it before looking at me over his shoulder. I’m still naked, my dick flaccid. “I might kill him if I see him anywhere near you.” Looking past me to the window, he continues. “You’re right. I need to trust you, but what good does it do when I don’t trust myself around you?”

“So you won’t come?” My shoulders slump with disappointment, and I don’t know why. But a part of me had really hoped he would come with me.

His smile doesn’t reach his eyes. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” Then he slips from my room, and something breaks inside me. Walking up to the door, I slam it shut with enough force to make the picture frames rattle. My eyes land on the creased bedsheets and bloodstains.

Every moment with Cole feels very much like one step forward and two back.