Light the Lamp, page 23
Chapter Forty
“Harperrrr!” Tanner moaned from the bed. Harper sat at their desk in their apartment. They were supposed to be writing, but their mind kept drifting back to Pietr. At home. Still milking his knee, even though the doctor had assured him the day before that one more week of rest and he’d be good to get back out on the ice. They had taken advantage of the quality time to an extreme. It was going to be hard to have him go back to the grind.
“What?” Harper hit CTRL-S a little harder than necessary and turned their chair toward the bed. “I told you I needed to get some writing done today.”
“You’ve been MIA for ages. I miss my bestie.” He gave them a pouty look.
“I’m sorry.” They closed the lid of the laptop, getting up to stretch out on the bed next to him. “Tell me what’s up. You have my undivided attention. How’s it going with McKinley?”
“Okay. He’s been busy with work. He got me tickets to the game last week.”
“Yeah? Did you take someone with you?”
“He gave me three, so Danny and Colt came with me. It was fun. I don’t understand enough about hockey, but I’m pretty sure he helped Adam make a goal?”
“That’s an assist.”
“Yeah, that. He stole the puck from the other team and shot it over to Adam. Adam made the goal.”
“Yeah, he’s good at that.” Harper folded their hands over their stomach, staring up at the ceiling. “It’s going good though? You two worked out your issue?”
“We’ve still only made out a couple of times,” Tanner sighed. “He gets nervous whenever I try to go further. The dude will rip his shirt off in a minute, but the second I try to get under his pants he redirects me literally anywhere else. Even though it’s obvious how into it he is.”
Harper hummed. “Have you talked about sex?”
“Talked about it? What is there to talk about? I want him to fuck me so hard I see stars, Harper,” he intoned roughly.
“I hear you, but have you actually said that to him?”
“I shouldn’t have to! Should I?”
“You don’t have to tell me what happened at dinner that night when you two finally did what you needed to do,” Harper began, “but think about it. What did you have to do to finally get him to kiss you?”
“He grabbed my face and did it. Finally.”
“Before that?”
“I told him I liked him but I wasn’t sure if he was into me the same way. I didn’t want to waste either of our time anymore if he wasn’t.”
“Right. You talked to him. So, why haven’t you tried it again?”
Tanner sighed. “Why do you have to be so logical?”
“I can’t help it. I am who I am.”
“How’s it going with Pietr? Good, obviously. You’ve barely texted to let me know you’re even alive.”
“Since Pietr got hurt we’ve gotten to spend a lot of time together.”
“Is that good or bad?”
“Good.” They smiled.
“You like him. You like him so fucking much.”
“I love him,” they corrected. “A lot. Like...to a point where it feels overwhelming?” Harper turned their head to look at Tanner directly. “He says he wants to spend the rest of his life with me. Marry me.”
“Holy shit.”
“He’s got a vasectomy scheduled.”
“What?”
“I told him about the PCOS and how I’m on birth control. How, even if I did get pregnant –not that I ever, ever want to, that I might not be able to carry a baby to term. How all of that freaks me out. And he got it. He didn’t question me or tell me that maybe in the future we’d want to try anyway. He understood. Later, he suggested he do it to make sure that it was an even lower possibility. Even though I’ll be on birth control basically forever and neither of us has issues with condoms.” They sighed. “The stress of not having to worry if I take a pill late, or at all. Or if a condom were to break. It’s like a weight lifted off me the minute he said it was something he wanted to do.”
“He sounds like a great match.”
“He is.”
“But?” Tanner prodded.
“No but. I love him. We’re already, in our own ways, planning a future. It’s just...marriage? Really?”
“It works for Bex and Tobey,” Tanner replied.
“Bex and Tobey had the standard heteronormative reasons to want to get married –even if they are both bi as hell.”
“You love each other. Isn’t that enough? And the non-traditional reasons. His job is getting hit by two-hundred-pound guys with sharp skates and sticks in their hands. He puts himself in front of pucks traveling at ninety miles an hour regularly. If he got hurt...”
“He used that argument too,” Harper acknowledged.
“It didn’t work?”
“I don’t want paranoia to be the reason we get married. Especially after only five months! Maybe this is all fake. What happens if he decides I’ve lost too much weight –or when I start regaining and I’m not what he wants anymore?”
“That’s an incredibly stupid thing to worry about. Pietr hasn’t been shy about liking a gal with a bit of meat, but he isn’t going to dump you because you’re shedding some pounds. And if he does, I’ll kill him.”
Harper laughed. “I can’t imagine that at all.”
“I’d do it. For you. If you asked.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
There were a few beats of silence before Tanner cleared his throat.
“So, engagement rings?”
“He said I should ask him when I’m ready.”
“That’s sweet. But I still want in.”
They smiled. “Of course. Should we have dinner soon? Pietr doesn’t go back for another week. We’ve got plans to play a game online with a friend of his tonight, but maybe tomorrow?”
“That would be great.” Tanner wrapped an arm around their middle, squeezing tight. “That’ll give me time to talk to McKinley and I can give you a status update.”
“You’re meeting him tonight?”
“We had plans to meet up. I’m grabbing dinner for us on the way.”
“Tanner, are you a secret boyfriend?” Harper sounded a little surprised.
“I don’t think so.”
“Have you guys gone out? On, like, a real date?”
“Yes,” he nodded, “we got coffee once before he came over to my place.”
“Hold on.” Harper sat up, grabbing their phone off the side table.
[HARPER] Is McKinley out?
[PIETR] What do you mean?
[HARPER] Do people know he likes men?
[PIETR] IDK. Why?
[HARPER] Tanner said they have plans to meet up tonight and it felt weird to me. He says they’ve only gotten coffee once together.
[PIETR] I don’t understand.
[HARPER] Is McKinley keeping Tanner as a secret side piece?
[PIETR] Why are you asking me?
[HARPER] Because he’s your teammate. Has he talked to the other guys about Tanner?
It a took while for Pietr to reply.
[PIETR] Not that I remember, but I haven’t been around.
“Maybe I should be the one to offer killing a lover,” Harper said, looking up at Tanner again.
“I’m confused,” Tanner confessed.
“If McKinley isn’t out, that might be part of why he doesn’t want to go further than kissing with you. He doesn’t want to get your expectations up. Just a theory. Jesus, Tan. You really need to talk to him about it. Don’t let him jerk you around. I say that as someone who likes McKinley. I genuinely don’t believe he’d hurt you on purpose.”
“That’s reassuring.”
Harper let out a breath, looking down at her phone.
[PIETR] Is there trouble in paradise again?
[HARPER] Maybe. Tell you about it later.
[PIETR] Are you on your way home soon? Remember, we are streaming with Isaac.
[HARPER] I know. Talking to Tanner, then I’ll be on my way.
[PIETR] Be careful. It looks like we’re getting snow again.
Harper looked out the small window at the city outside. The sky was grey and bleak. It did look like it could start snowing any minute. Or raining. They weren’t sure which was worse.
“What a pair we are,” Tanner sighed. He flopped back onto the bed once more. “I can’t get a guy to fuck me, and you’re over there with a guy who wants to marry you.”
“I can’t believe it either. I would have thought it would be the other way around, for sure.”
The two friends laughed.
Chapter Forty-one
“Harper! You’re home!”
Pietr was in the kitchen. Heavy EDM music was thumping through the house.
“You’re in a good mood.” Harper moved behind him at the counter where he was transferring an egg-white omelet onto a plate. “Breakfast for lunch?”
“It was easy. Plus, we had those peppers to use, and that andouille sausage.”
“Not the chorizo?”
“I thought about that too. Are you hungry? You can have this one. I’ll make another.”
“No, I’m okay.” Harper pressed a kiss to his shoulder. “Sorry about the texts earlier. I didn’t expect you to know about McKinley. Plus, it’s none of my business. Tanner needs to figure out his own shit sometimes.”
“While I agree, I do understand. Tanner is your best friend. You don’t want him hurt. If McKinley is being an asshole, I’ll take care of it.” He turned in her arms, holding the plate aloft. He pressed a kiss to her lips. “I missed you.”
“I was gone for four hours.”
“I know but I have been so spoiled these last few weeks.” Pietr moved to grab a fork out of the silverware holder. He took a seat at the island. “You have been here for whatever I need you for.”
“Did you need something?”
“After I eat this, we go spend some time in the bedroom? Before we get online for Isaac’s stream?”
“Ah. You’re horny,” she retorted.
“Always.”
Harper smiled. “Okay. Finish eating, then meet me in the bedroom.”
“That was almost too easy.” Pietr’s tone was teasingly suspicious. “What have you done with my Harper?”
“Maybe Harper is horny too?” She sing-songed, making her way down to the bedroom.
“Well, shit,” Pietr swore. “Give me five minutes?”
“I’m setting a timer...”
Pietr dug into his eggs, glad he’d opted for a small late-lunch snack instead of making himself a full meal. Enough to spike his energy a bit. He’d done a regular arm work out and some light treadmill walking. Something to keep up with his training. He had been doing a lot of nothing since his injury. Which, yes, was what his doctor had told him to do, but also...he was used to being active. Having so much free time with Harper meant his active had become sex. Which was great, as far as he was concerned.
He got up, almost dropping his dishes into the sink before he heard Harper’s nagging voice at the back of his mind. He took the extra minute to open the dishwasher and stick them inside, along with the pan and silicone spatula he’d used. Then, he walked steadily toward the bedroom, drawing his t-shirt over his head. His shorts hit the floor as he stepped through the doorway.
Harper was looking at her phone, already naked in bed. A bottle of lube and a couple of condoms sitting on the side table. Why the hell they bothered to even put them away anymore, he wasn’t sure. Other than an attempt at keeping their sex life from Maria, perhaps. Although, considering she was the one who routinely emptied their trash and did their laundry...
“You look so hot.” He got into bed beside her. The need to touch her and make her moan building. “I’m going to make you cum so hard.”
She sniffed, amused as his hand traveled down her side to her hip, her thigh. He pulled, spreading her legs open so he could stroke his fingers along her opening. Already wet, but not as wet as he knew he could get her.
“Wait.” Harper put a hand on his shoulder as he started to lower himself. “Maybe after? You should still be careful with your knee.”
“My knee is fine,” he insisted. He continued moving downward with a one-track mind.
“It’s easier to get you in if I’m not all worked up already.” Her tone made him stop and look up at her as he caught on.
“Oh. Okay. You had something in mind then?”
“Lay back and let me...” She shrugged.
“You don’t want help?” He didn’t try to hide the modicum of disappointment.
“Not yet.”
Harper exchanged her phone for the bottle of lube and one of the condoms. She handed it to him. “Hold this.”
“This seems like a familiar scenario,” he teased. He slid it between two fingers before resting back in the pillows. He crossed his arms above and behind his head. He watched as she settled between his thighs. The bottle of lube was propped against his side. She lowered her head, her tongue making the trip from the base of his balls to the tip of his cock. She didn’t touch him otherwise. Her palms pressed into the mattress on either side of his hips. He watched, arousal growing as she used only her lips and tongue along his length, then went lower to open her mouth and suck one half of his scrotum into her mouth. He inhaled sharply as she let it go, doing the same to the other side. Finally, finally, using her index finger, she tipped his cock away from his stomach to take it between her lips. He moaned, tipping his head back as her hand joined her mouth, working in tandem until he felt the first beads of pre-cum oozing forth.
“Fuck, Harper. You’re getting so good at that,” he teased.
“Hush.” She chided. She held out a hand for the condom. He grunted, unfolding his arms to hand it over. He watched her lick the head of his cock like it was her favorite lollipop one more time before unrolling the condom over his shaft. When she’d settled it all the way to the base, she picked up the bottle of lube, stroking him again before moving to straddle his waist.
“Please,” he groaned, “let me help you.”
“I got it.”
“No, really,” he sat up a little straighter, “I can help. My fingers are thicker. Longer. I’ll open that ass so good.” He pressed his lips to her sternum before looking up at her, longingly. “I have better reach too. You have such short arms.”
Harper smirked. “So this is all about the unflattering angle I have to bend at?”
“Da. Is sexy, but also you look like you will hurt yourself.” He grinned. “Can I?”
“Fine, fine.” She feigned a sigh. She draped her arms around Pietr’s shoulders and kissed his cheek. “Do it.”
He picked the bottle of lube up from the bed where she’d dropped it. He spread the slick concoction across his fingers, before reaching around her. She dropped her hips into a squat and his first slicked finger found her opening. She moaned against his neck as he slid inside. First one, then two. He added more lube, stroking his cock again for a moment before adding the third. Her breath was hot against his skin as she leaned into him.
“Fuck, okay, that’s enough.” She forced herself to straighten up. She reached back, pulling herself apart so he could replace his fingers with his cock. She closed her eyes as she sat back, slowly opening around him. He watched, fascinated by her expression.
The first time they’d done this had been the morning immediately after their first time. The alarm had gone off, but he’d had absolutely no interest in getting out of bed. He was too hungry for more information on how he could make her feel good. He wanted to savor every second together. Hear every sound. Feel every movement. Taste every inch of skin...
“What do you like?” He had asked. “Or something you want to do but have never gotten to do with someone.”
“Honestly? You’re not going to think I’m weird?”
“Nyet,” he had shaken his head, “I am open book. I like big bodies, on top of me. Making me cum. Hearing the noises of their good orgasm...” He had trailed a finger down her arm. “I also like someone, taking me from behind. Making me feel...” he had paused, not sure of the words, “making me feel full.”
“You like being a bottom?” She’d asked, somewhat surprised.
“I like both. I think is switch? Or versatile?”
She rolled her bottom lip between her teeth. “That. I like anal. I find it fascinating. I also think double penetration is interesting –not that I’m suggesting a second. I could get the same sensation with a plug or something.”
“You like toys?”
“Yeah.” Her laugh had been a little too loud, but bright. Genuine. “I’ve been circumstantially celibate for a decade, Pietr. I know my way around sex toys.”
“That’s hot.” He had grinned. “You like to be penetrated from behind? I can do this if you like.”
“Now?”
“Now. Later. Whenever you wish. I like being inside of you.”
And he did. He loved being inside of Harper—every way she took him. Every orifice so willing. He slid inside smoothly and she settled in his lap. He took a steadying breath as she waited, adjusting to the pressure. Then she rose a few inches before relaxing back down. And again. And again. Then she pulled free, adding more lube before repeating. Slicker this time. Easier.
“Fuck.” Pietr groaned as her eyes flicked open. Harper’s mouth met his in a wet open-mouthed kiss as she flexed her thighs, riding him a few inches at a time. He wanted to wrap his arms around her, thrust her under him and buck into her like a rutting animal. He wanted to force her onto her front and take her from behind. He wanted to fuck her so hard that the high-pitched orgasm moan would turn into a silent scream. But he didn’t. He waited, impatient and hard inside of her for Harper to find the most comfortable rhythm. She did and laid her arms over his shoulders again. Her teeth nipped at his jaw, his chin, then his neck as she rode him. He groaned into her mouth as their lips met again, letting her drink in the sound of his arousal. He felt the sweat beading on her skin.
