Warrior's Cross Read online

  It was the simplest, most intoxicating seduction Cameron had ever been exposed to.

  He was dizzy in Julian’s arms as the other man held him close, taking pleasure in the mere touch of their bodies. When Cameron’s grip tightened on him, Julian growled low in his throat and picked him up easily, taking a few steps to press him none too gently against the door again. His shoes barely brushed the floor as Julian’s body supported him.

  Choking back his surprise, Cameron held on tight, even as his back hit the wood. He knew he was smaller and lighter than Julian, but… damn.

  His hands finally began to move slowly, carefully over Julian’s shoulders, arms, and back, feeling the muscles under the dress shirt bunch as they worked. Julian kissed him demandingly, and Cameron gave in easily, wallowing in the way he felt devoured and wanted. He tugged where Julian’s shirt was tucked into his trousers, just below the small of his back. Julian reached between them with one hand just long enough to undo the top button of his pants, and then his hand returned to the back of Cameron’s thigh to support his weight. He hefted Cameron higher against the door.

  Gasping, Cameron sought Julian’s lips once more as he pulled the shirt free and slid his hands under it to stroke smooth, warm skin that bunched under his palms.

  Julian groaned softly into the kiss and pressed closer. “Can we take this somewhere that doesn’t involve gravity?” he panted finally.

  Cameron nodded jerkily. “Bed,” he rasped.

  Julian let him slide slowly to the ground without backing up any more than he needed to. Cameron couldn’t even take a breath as his aroused body dragged against Julian’s, and his eyes flickered toward the other man’s to check his reaction. Julian’s eyes never left Cameron’s face, and far from their usual masked black, they seemed to spark with outright desire.

  Cameron curled one hand around Julian’s. “Come on,” he urged breathlessly.

  He stepped away and around Julian’s coat, where the dogs curled in a pile, sleeping soundly. A few steps later, the condo opened up to a large room with a twelve-foot ceiling. It was furnished comfortably, the big space divided into a living room, a dining area near the kitchen, and a bedroom sectioned off by tall decorative screens. Cameron got halfway across the living room before stopping to look back at Julian, then at the set of panels that hid the bedroom. He felt like he needed to give Julian a chance to change his mind.

  Julian followed, glancing back at his coat when Cameron stopped. “I may need some duct tape for that,” he muttered as he turned back around to look at Cameron.

  The odd comment struck Cameron as funny. He snorted as he tried not to laugh. “Don’t worry. I’ve got about a hundred lint rollers. I wear black to work, remember?” He gestured to his mussed clothes.

  “You look good in it,” Julian assured him in a low voice as he let his eyes travel over Cameron’s body. His lips quirked into an uncharacteristically playful smirk and he added, “You look good out of it too.”

  Cameron’s cheeks flushed, and he dropped his gaze as he plucked at his unbuttoned shirt, pulling it slightly back up over one shoulder. Julian’s frank regard was scorching, and Cameron wasn’t used to it. He indulged in the occasional casual roll in the sheets with someone who turned him on, yeah. But it was never like this.

  Julian prowled closer to him, moving fluidly with a sort of catlike grace Cameron had only caught glimpses of before now. The movement caught his eye and fascinated him. He didn’t want to—couldn’t—look away. Julian caught him up in his arms and yanked the shirt the rest of the way off. His hands traveled over Cameron’s skin, dipping beneath his trousers teasingly as he toed off his own shoes and kicked them away.

  At that point, Cameron didn’t even care about the shirt; he wanted more of Julian touching him, and he started pawing at what remained of Julian’s clothing to help him along. Julian’s pants clung precariously to his hips, but as he moved they came closer and closer to falling. Finally, he shoved at them and stepped out of them as they fell. He stood unselfconsciously in his steel-gray shirt and black briefs and socks, hands working at Cameron’s belt.

  Cameron was far too distracted by Julian’s mouth, and it took a lot of willpower to keep working on Julian’s shirt without just ripping the buttons off. Finally, he pushed it off Julian’s shoulders, his fingers brushing over a thin chain around the other man’s neck. He took a moment to look at the pendant curiously before he was distracted by the jerk of his belt, how it pinched slightly at his waist as Julian tugged on it. He moaned in encouragement and closed his eyes.

  Julian didn’t even bother yanking the belt off when he finally got it loose. He just unbuttoned Cameron’s pants and pushed them down while kissing Cameron’s neck possessively.

  The clinging boxers under Cameron’s pants did nothing to hide how aroused he was. His cheeks heated again as he got his shoes off and stepped out of his trousers. He swallowed hard to make himself focus—Julian’s fingers were very, very distracting.

  “Bed’s there,” Cameron announced in a hoarse voice, tilting his head toward the screens.

  Julian nodded without looking. He slid his hands further under the warm material of Cameron’s boxers and buried his face against his neck. “Nice place,” he murmured against Cameron’s skin.

  “Thanks,” Cameron managed, putting his hands on Julian’s shoulders, unable to resist touching the moving muscles again. He’d never had a size kink before, but he was starting to see the appeal.

  Julian pushed Cameron’s boxers down his hips before sliding his hands back up and placing his palms flat against his back. It seemed to Cameron that Julian could feel the uncertainty in him, and it caused his actions to be more hesitant than perhaps they normally would have been. But Cameron wanted nothing more than for him to take the lead and do what he wanted. He took Julian’s face in his hands and kissed him boldly, hoping to urge him along.

  Julian reacted accordingly, groaning softly into the kiss as he dragged Cameron toward the gap between the panels.

  Cameron gave a pitifully grateful thought of thanks as Julian moved them both. They stumbled through the dividing screens, Cameron turning in Julian’s arms to rub against all that warm skin.

  Julian groaned again and let his hands roam freely over Cameron’s body. He picked him up again without warning, carrying him the short distance to the bed and dropping him down on it. Cameron gulped as he went from vertical by the screens to horizontal on the bed with no effort or warning. Muscles, indeed. He looked up at Julian, for the moment more hungry than nervous as he dragged his eyes down Julian’s body.

  “Sorry,” Julian offered insincerely as he bent over him and began kissing his way down Cameron’s body.

  Cameron groaned, arching up against his mouth. “Yeah, right.”

  Julian slid his hands up Cameron’s sides, holding him there like a large cat would a meal, and he nipped at the tender skin of Cameron’s hip before dragging his nose along his abdomen. Cameron closed his eyes as he let his body move. He pulled up a knee and sank long fingers into Julian’s hair as the other hand gripped the quilt.

  Julian slid one hand under his body and lifted him slightly. He propped himself on that elbow and looked up at Cameron admiringly before lowering his head and licking at Cameron’s cock slowly. He swirled his tongue around the head and used his arm to pull Cameron’s hips upward, forcing him up into his mouth.

  Cameron tensed and bit his lip against a soft cry, his fingers flexing against Julian’s scalp as his cock sank into the wet heat of Julian’s mouth. He opened his eyes to look and practically whimpered at the sight. That certainly wasn’t what he’d been expecting. A man like Julian had Alpha Dog written all over him.

  But Julian bent all his considerable attention toward sucking Cameron off for several glorious moments as Cameron tried and failed to form a cohesive thought. Julian’s hand urged Cameron to thrust up, and his tongue swirled and teased expertly. Finally he looked up, let Cameron slide out of his mouth, and grinned.
r />   Cameron watched him with heated, glazed eyes while he gasped for air. “Jesus Christ, Julian,” he hissed. He was shaking all over.

  Julian didn’t waste any time in bowing his head once more and taking Cameron into his mouth again. He raised Cameron’s hips until he had to arch his back, and Julian began sucking with the sole apparent purpose of hearing Cameron scream. It didn’t take long. Not long at all.

  All the excitement of the evening’s rendezvous had already put Cameron on a hair trigger. His breath hitched as he croaked out the other man’s name, pushing ineffectively at strong shoulders as he was about to lose it. But Julian’s grip tightened and he redoubled his efforts.

  Cameron sucked in a deep breath and gritted his teeth against the wild yell he wanted to loose as he came hard, right against Julian’s moving tongue, more and more until he couldn’t stop a near-sobbing cry from breaking free.

  Julian swallowed with a muffled moan, his fingers digging into Cameron’s skin. He continued sucking until Cameron flinched and writhed beneath him. Then he looked up at Cameron with dark, hungry eyes.

  After a whole-body shudder, Cameron felt those predatory eyes focused on him. Despite the strong orgasm, desire cramped in his belly. He whispered Julian’s name in invitation, enjoying the fact that he could do so freely.

  “Do you have condoms?” Julian asked in a low, heated growl.

  Cameron dragged in a breath and nodded, extending his arm to gesture to the top drawer of a nearby dresser. Julian’s eyes followed the point, and as he moved he once again reminded Cameron of a large, predatory cat—long, smooth body lines, rippling muscles. There was no longer any restraint in the power or speed of his movements. He rolled off the bed and went to the drawer, rummaging hastily through it to find the supplies he needed.

  Cameron kept his eyes on him the whole time. He was well beyond infatuated at this point, and he knew this had been both a brilliant idea and a horrible mistake. It had all the hallmarks of ending badly, but he had no chance in hell of pulling back now. The thought of what was coming made all that seem insignificant, anyway.

  Julian pushed his own briefs down and kicked out of them as he tossed a bottle of lubricant onto the bed. Finally, he found a foil packet, and he tore it open as he turned to openly admire Cameron on the bed. His eyes didn’t leave Cameron’s as he slowly rolled the condom on. Cameron was more than half-hard again as he watched Julian handle himself.

  Julian reached across the bed and grabbed Cameron by the backs of his knees, pulling him across the quilt, tugging him until he lay on his back in front of where Julian stood by the side of the tall bed. He placed Cameron’s legs around his hips and ran his hands down Cameron’s thighs without breaking eye contact.

  Cameron could barely breathe as Julian manhandled him. Julian bent and reached for the tube of lubricant, letting his cock slide against Cameron’s thighs as he did so. “You tell me if I hurt you,” he ordered sternly, his voice low and hoarse with desire.

  Cameron groaned and nodded again, reaching to touch what he could of the other man’s body.

  Julian rested a knee on the mattress, bending over Cameron to kiss him. He pushed one of Cameron’s legs back as he did so, easing it up onto his shoulder as he licked at Cameron’s lips. He teased with one lubricated finger, mimicking the motion with his tongue.

  Cameron slid his arms around Julian’s neck as they kissed, and the now-familiar taste mingled with his own helped him relax. He wanted this more than he would have imagined. Soon, Julian had two fingers inside him, twisting and stretching intently. The bigger man trembled with restraint, but his movements were becoming more hurried and less gentle.

  Cameron loved it. Groans growing louder, he shifted to wrap his other leg around Julian’s calves to tug him forward. “More,” he rasped, making eye contact in the dim light. “C’mon.”

  And that was apparently all Julian needed. He jerked his head to the side and growled wordlessly, then removed his fingers and quickly covered himself with a generous amount of lubricant. He gripped Cameron’s hip with one hand and propped his weight up with the other as he bent over Cameron again.

  Julian kissed him hungrily as he pushed into him.

  Cameron gasped the pain out into Julian’s mouth—he couldn’t help his body’s natural reaction to tense, especially considering Julian’s size—but as for what he really wanted, that he could do. He pushed back as hard as he could, and he was rewarded by the singularly incredible feeling of Julian boring deep into him, making that connection Cameron craved. Julian gasped as well, panting against Cameron’s mouth as he rolled his hips and sank deeper. He muttered incoherently and tightened his grip on Cameron’s thigh as he began rocking against him.

  Cameron murmured encouragement, his body bowing up into Julian’s as the drag of their skin slowly drove him insane. It was incredible to witness such a normally detached, undemonstrative man like Julian become unraveled and passionate because of him. He was certainly spoiled forever, now. After this little adventure, nothing would be the same.

  Julian gasped for breath against Cameron’s ear. “Okay?” he managed to ask.

  Cameron moaned aloud. “Yes. Oh, yes,” he whispered, clutching Julian as close as he could. “Don’t stop.”

  “Hold on,” Julian gasped as his hips moved in a slow, languorous rhythm.

  Cameron moaned again and hitched himself closer to Julian’s hip to rub his cock against heated skin. The sensations arched through him, along with every slide of Julian inside him. Julian lowered himself more, giving Cameron more friction, and he gasped as the angle of his thrusts changed. He cursed under his breath and twisted his fingers in Cameron’s hair as he kissed him hard.

  Cameron lifted his hips mindlessly, over and over, falling deep into the pleasure and ache. Playing into the tight, strung-out wire that yanked at his insides. Julian’s thrusts were hard and rhythmic, starting out slow to enjoy the slide of their bodies, but soon becoming less controlled.

  Cameron held on just like he’d been instructed, wrapping his legs tight around Julian’s waist. Julian clenched his hands, holding Cameron down as he writhed. Suddenly, Julian called out plaintively, lowering his head and pounding into Cameron brutally as he rode out his orgasm. Cameron’s eyes rolled back into his head as Julian took him hard and fast, and he reveled in it along with his own smaller climax, soaking in the feeling of being able to make this man lose control even this little bit.

  Julian trembled and panted as he gripped Cameron’s hips. He kissed him one last time as he carefully pulled out, and Cameron collapsed into a mess on the sheets, arms and legs quivering as he tried to catch his breath.

  “Are you okay?” Julian gasped as he slowly slid to his knees at the side of the bed.

  Pushing himself to his elbows, Cameron dragged his eyes open to look at Julian’s flushed face. “Yes,” he said between jerky breaths.

  Julian nodded and exhaled slowly, then pulled himself up and crawled onto the bed to flop down beside Cameron, who rolled to his side and pillowed his head on his own outstretched arm. His panting slowing, Cameron quietly watched Julian move and settle, admiring his body, wondering what in the world was in the man’s head to give him the thought to hook up with someone like himself.

  Julian returned the look admiringly. “That was fun,” he murmured finally.

  Cameron smiled. “Yeah?”

  Julian mirrored the smile and nodded. He reached out and gently ran his fingers over Cameron’s face, and they lay there quietly for long minutes, enjoying the comfortable silence. Finally, Julian glanced around the room as he pushed himself up. “Washroom” he asked softly.

  Cameron pointed across the room to a door hidden in the shadows, too tired to get up and show Julian the way. The room was mostly dark, lit by subtle lights Cameron left on in the other room for the dogs, but his eyes had adjusted enough that he could see Julian quite well. He was sitting up in the bed, rolling his shoulders back and forth and stretching out hard, toned muscles.


  “Be right back,” he murmured to Cameron before reaching out and snagging Cameron’s hand. He kissed the inside of his wrist again and then hefted himself off the bed to disappear into the bathroom.

  Once Julian was gone, Cameron covered his face with both hands and sighed softly. He let them fall to the side and stared blindly up at the ceiling, noting faintly how the light spilled through the dividing screens to fall over the bed in odd shapes. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d turned on a light in the bedroom, since he usually got home and simply crashed every night. Sighing, he rolled to pull a pillow against his chest and face, feeling the ache when he shifted his hips. His entire body felt languid and sated, and sleep called to him. But he hated to sleep when he had Julian here in his apartment for perhaps the one and only time.