No Filter, page 16
Yours. Mine. Noah had no idea what these words he used so easily did to Indy. The idea that Noah offered himself like that, Indy couldn’t wrap his mind around it. What self-respecting man as big and strong as Noah would volunteer to bottom for a boy like him? Noah had called Indy his, even though they hadn’t done anything other than cuddle. How could he ever satisfy a man like that?
You can’t. He wants your ass, that’s it.
“You don’t think I’m too small?” he asked in a timid voice.
Noah’s answer was swift and definitive. “Fuck, no. I don’t know if it’s because I’ve never bottomed or because I’m unusually tight or something, but taking Josh in wasn't easy for me. Even with the prep we did, it hurt for a long time before we got to the good parts. So frankly, I’m relieved you’re not that big. Seems to me you’ll be able to hit that sweet spot perfectly and make me feel nice and full. Plus, Josh said my ass felt incredibly tight, so you’ve got that to look forward to.”
Indy snorted as the humor of the situation hit him. He tried to hold it in, but a loud chortle erupted, shaking his body.
“Are you laughing at me?”
Was that mock offense in Noah’s voice? Indy let go of Noah’s neck, leaned back a little so he could see his face, make sure he wasn’t offended for real. The sparkling green eyes assured him Noah wasn’t mad in the least.
“Dude, you sounded like a commercial praising your own ass. It was fucking hilarious.”
“Well, I had to make sure you knew the unique selling points of my sweet ass.”
Indy laughed. “Oh, trust me, I’m convinced.”
Noah’s eyes sobered. “Don’t interpret this as me putting pressure on you, because I’m not.”
“I know,” Indy said, dropping a quick kiss on Noah’s lips. He caught himself right after. “Is that okay?” he asked.
Noah’s face softened. “Always. Indy, you can touch me anywhere, anytime. Your touch makes me happy.”
“I don’t wanna be a cocktease.”
Noah cupped Indy’s chin in his hand, made him face his kind eyes. “You’re not, and I would never think of you that way.”
Indy nodded, smiled at Noah’s sweet affirmation.
“Now, my first order for today: I’ll cut off your cast in a minute. What’s the first thing you want to do now that your wrist is healed?”
An hour later, Noah parked in front of a nondescript building a short drive from his house. ‘Adirondack Brazilian Jiujitsu,’ the black and red sign read.
“This is it,” Indy said. He tightened the brown belt on his combo of white cotton pants and a thick, white cotton jacket—it was called a gi, he had explained to Noah. With a careful gesture he tied his curls back and wrapped an elastic band around them, securing them in a ponytail. It made him look even younger, Noah noted with a soft feeling in his belly.
“You ready?” Noah asked. He’d secured Indy’s still-tender wrist in a tight brace to protect it from too much impact. He still wasn’t completely on board with the plan, but he understood how much Indy had missed this.
“Can’t wait.”
When they entered the building, a soft buzzer signaled their presence. They were barely inside when a tall, thirty-something guy appeared. Like Indy, he was dressed in a white gi, though his had a black belt.
Indy bowed. “Professor Kent,” he said, then extended his hand. “I’m Indy Baldwin.” His drawl was back, Noah noted, even though he hadn’t dressed as a woman.
“Blake Kent, good to meet you. You said on the phone you know Matt Fox?”
“He’s my professor,” Indy said, handing Kent a somewhat crumpled and stained letter he’d been holding the whole time. Noah wondered what the letter said. Indy had only explained it gave him the opportunity to walk into any jiujitsu school in the country and schedule a lesson or practice session.
Kent unfolded the letter and read it. His eyes lifted to Indy, studying him for a few seconds. Noah’s body tensed. This guy had better be nice.
“You come highly recommended. Fox is a big name, so his praise means a lot. Have you trained recently?”
“I broke my right wrist, the cast came off today—hence the brace. So I've done little grappling, but I’ve stayed in shape.”
Kent nodded. “Okay, then. I have an hour and a half, so let’s make it count. Follow me.”
He led them into a brightly lit room with wooden benches on opposite sides of a square, thick blue mat. A red padded wall closed off the third side.
“Your friend can wait in my office or watch, whichever you prefer,” Kent said.
“I’ll watch,” Noah said.
Kent focused cool blue eyes on him. “His choice,” he said, jerking his chin toward Indy.
“He can watch,” Indy declared, his voice confident.
Noah lowered himself on one of the benches as Kent walked onto the mat and took a stance, feet planted slightly apart, his back to the padded wall.
Indy kicked off his flip-flops and bowed before he stepped on the mat. He took position across from Kent.
“Twenty jumping jacks, count them out,” Kent ordered and Indy started jumping, his voice announcing the count loud and clear. They continued warming up with lunges, squats, and more. When Kent announced push-ups, Noah winced. He wasn’t sure Indy’s wrist was ready for that kind of pressure yet, but the boy dropped down immediately and gave the twenty requested push-ups, his muscles quivering with the exertion.
“We’ll start with you escaping from several positions, so I can get an idea of your skill level.”
During the next fifteen minutes, they went through a complex series of exercises, all designed to have Indy try to escape from various positions and holds. Noah watched in rapt attention as Indy managed to break free again and again.
“You’re good,” Kent commented when Indy had once again broken his hold, a ghost of a smile playing on his lips. “You’ve learned to take advantage of your size and speed.”
“Thank you, professor,” Indy said, beaming.
“Let’s see if you can take me down in a grapple. Stay within the circle.” He pointed to the white circle in the center of the mat.
Indy nodded and positioned himself in the center of the circle and dropped low on his heels, one foot diagonally planted behind the other, his hands raised to block his face. Kent mirrored his position across from him. Noah leaned forward as the two started an intricate dance of reach and feign, of grab and duck and trying to tackle legs and feet. Indy was fast, Noah noted with pride, managing to stay on his feet despite several attempts to drag him down.
Finally, Kent managed to get a strong hold on Indy’s left arm and he brought him down hard. Indy went with the downward move, his arms and legs coming up in defense as he rolled. Kent dove on top of him, but Indy blocked and rolled and pushed himself off, at one point even managing to flip himself backward to keep Kent off of him. When he attempted another swift move to dive under the guy’s arms, Kent’s elbow accidentally slammed into his nose, and Indy went down with a loud yelp.
Noah jumped up. Indy was on the ground, rolled up in a ball, his hands cupping his nose. Blood rapidly soaked the sleeves of his gi. Noah was on the mat before Indy could say a word.
“Let me see,” he ordered, cursing his prosthesis that prevented him from kneeling on the floor. Instead, he dropped on his ass as close to Indy as he could, then yanked at Indy’s arms until he got the hint and slid closer to Noah.
Indy lowered his hands. Blood was pouring out of his nose. The sight made Noah’s stomach clench, which was weird because he’d seen way more gruesome stuff than a bloody nose. He raised his hands to explore Indy’s nose as tears dripped out of his eyes.
“It’s not broken,” Noah said.
Kent dropped a wet towel and an icepack next to Noah on the mat. “Here.”
Noah acknowledged him with a nod, never taking his eyes off Indy. He wiped the blood off his face, then held the towel against his nose. “Sit for a bit. The bleeding will stop soon.”
He pulled Indy between his legs, letting him rest with his back against Noah’s chest. “You dizzy? Nauseous?”
“No. I’m fine,” Indy mumbled through the towel, his body relaxing against Noah. Noah brushed a loose curl from Indy’s face, then wiped a tear from his eye. Fuck, he hated seeing him like that. He’d ten times rather hurt himself than see Indy in pain.
“You a doctor?” Kent asked.
Noah looked up to find the man studying him with interest. “Physician assistant and before that, army medic.”
Kent’s gaze dropped to Noah’s hands, protectively wrapped around Indy’s slender frame. Noah caught the raised eyebrow and ignored it. Indy was his, and he wasn’t inclined to explain anything to anybody. If that guy had a problem with it, he could go fuck himself.
“I think the bleeding has stopped,” Indy mumbled a while later. He took the towel off. Noah made Indy turn around and face him. He gently cleaned the remnants of blood off Indy’s face, who winced as Noah touched his nose.
“It has. Put the ice pack on.” Noah wrapped the ice pack in a clean corner of the bloody towel and put it against Indy’s nose. He raised his index finger. “Track my finger.”
Indy obeyed silently. His eyes tracked well, Noah concluded with relief. He brushed Indy’s cheek with a tender gesture, earning a soft smile from under the icepack.
“I take it we’re done with the lesson?” Kent asked brusquely.
Indy’s eyes sought Noah’s. “Noah?” he asked.
“I was asking you, not your boyfriend,” Kent said.
Noah’s eyes narrowed. What the fuck was this guy’s problem? Did he have a problem with gays or something?
Indy raised his chin defiantly. “It’s Noah’s decision,” he said, his voice calm and clear.
Heat rushed through Noah. The sheer joy of Indy submitting to him, it was indescribable. Indy had promised to do whatever Noah told him, but the fact that he kept that promise under these circumstances, in front of this asshole, it meant more to Noah than he could ever put into words. Indy wanted to continue, if only to show his professor what he was made of. And as much as Noah wanted him out of danger, this was something he needed to let Indy do. This was where he needed to trust Indy that he knew what he was doing.
“You’re good?” he asked Indy.
Indy nodded. “Yeah.”
“Okay. I’ll wait.”
Indy’s face lit up, and Noah couldn’t resist a quick kiss on his soft curls. Indy scrambled up. For a second Noah sat worried about how undignified it was going to look to get up, but then Indy extended his left hand, braced his body, and allowed Noah to pull himself up. Noah closed his eyes for a second, fighting against the urge to lift Indy up and kiss him silly for the simple gesture that helped him maintain his dignity.
“Thank you,” he said.
Indy’s face radiated with the sweetest smile, which did not help Noah’s fight against his dark urges at all. With effort, he made his way back to the wooden bench.
“You’d better tell your boyfriend to stay off my mat, or he can wait somewhere else.”
Noah whipped around when he caught Kent’s words. Indy didn’t even flinch with the much taller guy inches away from him.
“You make me bleed again, and I fucking promise you: my boyfriend on your mat will be the least of your worries…Professor.”
If Noah thought it was a rush to hear Indy submit to him, it was nothing compared to him claiming Noah as his boyfriend, loud and clear. The way Indy stood there, ramrod straight, his chin lifted to meet Kent head-on, it was an incredible sight.
“You’ve got balls, kid.” There was grudging admiration in Kent’s voice.
“So I’ve been told. We good?”
Kent smiled tightly. “We’re good.”
They continued grappling after Kent got Indy a new gi jacket, Noah never taking his eyes off them. Kent was good, obviously, but Indy fought hard and never gave up, not even when Kent had him pinned to the mat. Kent gave instructions in between, pointing out moves and tricks to Indy, who was focused and seemed to soak every word up. When they were done, Indy’s curls lay plastered against his head and his face was dripping with sweat. He bowed to Kent and stepped off the mat.
They walked to the car silently and didn’t talk until they were almost home. Noah wasn’t sure what was going through Indy’s mind, but his closed-off face told him Indy needed some time to think.
“Thank you for letting me stay,” Indy finally said.
“Thank you for making it my call.”
Noah turned into the driveway, opened the garage door.
“I need a shower,” Indy said, then caught himself. “Is it okay if I take a shower?” he rephrased.
Noah smiled as he shut off the engine. “Care for some company?”
12
Why the fuck did I say yes?
Indy’s stomach sank as he walked up the stairs and into his room. Noah had blindsided him with that question, and Indy had found himself saying yes without realizing it. Noah’s care for him combined with his stubborn indifference toward Professor Kent’s attitude, had made Indy melt on the inside. Kent had obviously had some kind of issue with Noah, maybe because he disliked gays or whatever. Noah hadn’t given a shit and had claimed Indy. Indy had been so grateful that he’d wanted to say yes to everything Noah asked of him. Including this asinine idea of showering together.
Noah had seen his back, but this was different, way more intimate. In the shower, Noah would see everything up close and personal: every scar, every imperfection, everything that Indy hated about his body, including his small dick. Which, of course, would appear even smaller flaccid.
Plus, showering was inviting more, wasn’t it? Kissing, groping, forcing him to do a blow job, bending him over to… No, Noah wouldn’t do that. Would he? Fuck. He was so fucked.
“Change your mind?”
Indy swiveled around. Noah was standing in the door, leaning on his crutches, his prosthetic leg off and buck naked. God, he was magnificent. Breathtaking. So fucking beautiful. The powerful muscles in his chest and arms rippled as he adjusted his stance. Indy had never realized how sexy arms could be, but Noah’s biceps made his legs turn into jelly. How could Indy say no? How could he say yes? It was too much.
“I’m scared,” he whispered.
“There’s nothing to fear, baby. I won’t ever hurt you.”
Baby. It was the first time Noah had called him that. Indy’s heart swelled. Could he trust Noah in this? Maybe he should take a page from his and Josh’s book, bring things out in the open.
“What do you expect of me?” he asked, his heart beating fast and his eyes downcast.
Noah stepped close, his finger lifting Indy’s chin to face him. “Nothing. No expectations. Anything you want or don’t want is fine.”
Indy exhaled. Noah meant it. He hadn’t been lying: Indy could trust him. He could do this. He wanted to do this.
“Okay.”
He followed Noah into his bedroom where Noah disappeared into the master bathroom and turned on the shower. Indy undressed, laying his blood-stained gi, shirt, and boxers on the king-size bed. He shivered with tension, his teeth chattering.
Noah had put his crutches against the wall and was already in the huge shower, holding his head back to let the water fall over his head. The shower had hand rails on all sides, allowing Noah to lean on them for balance. Indy opened the sliding door and stepped in, training his eyes on the floor.
“This is new for me as well, you know. I’ve never showered with Josh. Seen him shower, of course, and he’s helped me a few times when my leg hurt, but never like this,” Noah said softly.
Indy bit his lip. Maybe this was as scary and vulnerable for Noah as it was for him. Noah couldn’t feel all that comfortable with showing his scars to someone else. His were as bad as Indy’s, and he always kept them hidden, except from Josh, but he’d admitted he never even showered with Josh. Was he equally afraid of being rejected? The thought that this big, wicked strong man feared anything was almost incomprehensible.
Indy’s eyes traveled up and found those angry scars on Noah’s legs. He’d shown him once that his wounds didn’t make a lick of difference to him, but maybe he should do it again? Show him how sexy he was? He’d love to gift Noah that, at least. Should he ask permission? No. Noah had said his body was Indy’s, that Indy could touch him anywhere, anytime.
He dropped to his knees on the wet tiles and brought his lips to Noah’s left ankle, kissing it. Noah let out a gasp and Indy looked up to check it was okay. Noah looked down with so much gratitude and affection that Indy refocused on what he was doing. He followed the trail of the scars with kisses, all the way from Noah’s left ankle up to his thigh. The scars were rough under his lips. Fuck, Noah must have been in excruciating pain for weeks, months even. No wonder he’d needed Josh to bring him relief.
He reached out a tentative finger to the stump, brushing the red marks on the bottom. He wanted to make Noah feel better, to ease the pain. His mouth went to the stump, and he dropped kisses there, too. Noah’s knuckles turned white in a brutal grip on the handrail as Indy was caressing and showering his stump with love.
Indy leaned back on his knees and looked up, which brought him face-to-face with Noah’s thick cock. It was halfway hard, a powerful sight that made Indy’s belly quiver. He was uncut, an unfamiliar sight for Indy.
He wanted to touch it. Feel what it felt like in his hand. His mouth. On his tongue. Could he? Should he? Was he ready for this?
Pushing down all logical objections, Indy reached out and stroked the shaft in front of him with one finger. It jumped up, growing harder.
Indy smiled. He caressed it again, dragging his nail all the way from the base down to the crown. It responded with a quiver, stretching and filling even further. The head now peeked out and Indy brought his mouth close, took an experimental lick with the tip of his tongue.
“Holy fuck,” Noah exploded, grabbing the other handrail.
Indy looked up with innocent eyes. “You like?” he asked.
