ModelLove (6 page)

Ian gasped. The foreskin slid over his glans, giving him a
whole new kind of pleasure. He grabbed Temaru’s hip, clenching onto him, and
found himself unable to move. His body was too consumed by the sensation. With
each motion, Ian felt Temaru’s foreskin edging him closer to climaxing.

Temaru licked along Ian’s bottom lip. “Still feel good?”

Panting, Ian fought to get a few words out. “So good.
So…fucking…good.”

Temaru bowed his head, kissing Ian’s neck down to the curve.
“I want to feel you come with us together.”

“It won’t be much longer.”

Temaru moved his hand slightly faster.

The added speed pushed Ian’s climax to the surface. He dug
his fingers into Temaru’s hip, a loud moan leaving him as he came.

Temaru’s breath rushed from him as Ian’s hot fluid filled
his foreskin inside. He released it, the force of Ian’s climax pushing it back.
He groaned low in his throat, stroking them both as he added his cum to Ian’s.

Ian stayed still, savoring the high of climaxing and the
pleasure still spreading through him. He leaned toward Temaru, meeting him in a
tender kiss. He looked at their cocks, both of them and Temaru’s hand covered
in cum. “That was so fucking good.”

“Agree.” Temaru delivered a deeper kiss, languidly moving
his tongue over Ian’s.

As they eased apart again, Temaru stood and turned,
collecting one of the towels. He cleaned Ian, then himself and offered a hand
to Ian to help him up. Ian stood. Rather than put on the wetsuit again, he
stepped into his swimming shorts, Temaru doing the same.

Ian moved behind him, wrapping his arms around Temaru’s
waist. He kissed Temaru’s shoulder and dipped his fingers into the front of
Temaru’s swimming shorts. “Now I’m starting to think I should’ve let you cancel
with your customers.”

Temaru laughed softly. “If I cancel now, it’ll be rude.
We’re already going to be late getting back.”

Ian caressed along Temaru’s inner hip line. “Since I don’t
want to be bad for your business, I guess I’ll find some way to make it until
dinner tonight.”

Temaru turned his head toward him, kissing Ian’s cheek with
smiling lips. “And tonight we can take our time.”

“I like the sound of that.” Ian looked toward the sail. “Can
I help you get ready to sail back?”

“Sure. It’ll be good for you to know, since I hope we’ll do
this a few more times.”

Ian drifted his fingers down Temaru’s back. “So do I.”

Together, they prepared the skiff to sail back to Temaru’s
shop. Temaru had Ian man the rudder and sat next to him, his arm stretched
around him with his hand resting over Ian’s to help him guide the boat.

“How long are you going to be staying here?” Temaru asked.

Ian’s voice came soft, he didn’t want to think of when he’d
be leaving. “We’re only here another ten days.”

“That’s not very long.” Temaru tipped his head down and
kissed Ian’s shoulder. “We’ll have to maximize your time here. Did you and your
friends have any special plans?”

“No. They’re mostly here to relax and get some shots of
Jared. They want to shoot me too, but that’s not going to happen.”

“Why not?”

“Because I don’t think I’m good enough to do it anymore.”
Ian’s breath caught as he said the last word. Was that the honest answer of why
he didn’t want to model? He’d said it so quickly, without thinking. Since he’d
walked away from modeling, he forced himself not to think about what he’d had
and what could’ve been. But here with Temaru, he said something that went so
much deeper.

Temaru moved his hand off the rudder to embrace Ian around
his shoulders. “Why do you think you’re not good enough?”

“I’m not in the condition I used to be…”

“But that’s something you can get back.”

Ian gazed over the water. Temaru saw through his smoke
screen as if it were clear glass. The true answer floated closer to his mind.
“I don’t…have the confidence like I used to. All through my career, I had
Aiden, my brother. Even when we didn’t work together, we were still there for
each other and supported each other. I don’t know if I can do it alone.”

“What about your friends? Wouldn’t they give you support?”

“Yeah, but it wouldn’t be the same.”

“No, it never is when we lose someone dear to us. But maybe
the thing to do is to not look to others to give you the same things your
brother did. Rather, look to them to give you what they’re able to, the things
that are unique to them. No one could ever match Aiden. And it’s not really
fair to others to think they could come close. Don’t you agree?”

Ian nodded thoughtfully. “I never thought of it like that.”

“It’s taken me a long time to think of it that way myself.
Ten years ago, when I was eighteen, I lost my grandfather, my mom’s father. I
became very depressed. I’d lash out at everyone who tried to comfort me, for no
other reason than they weren’t him. He and I were very close. I was actually
closer with him than I was with my father and looked to him to be a father to
me. And he was.

“My mother tried to tell me I needed to let my anger go, it
wasn’t right of me to snap at people who only wanted to be close to me and I
needed to stop pushing people away. I went into a rage, screaming at how she
didn’t know what the hell she was talking about.”

Temaru lowered his gaze. “I’m still embarrassed and ashamed
of how I acted. But I think it’s what I needed to do to wake myself up, because
as I was yelling at her, I didn’t recognize the person I was. Even more, I knew
the person I was being wasn’t someone who my grandfather would’ve been proud
of. He had always told me, ‘accept people for who they are’. I never fully
understood what he meant by that. I had always thought he meant accept people
of other races, ethnicities, religions. And he did mean those things, but I
think he meant it deeper too. He wanted me to accept people for who they were
inside, to not compare them with others and to love and respect them for their
individuality.”

Ian sat quiet for a long moment, absorbing what Temaru had
said. “Your grandfather sounds like a wonderful man.” He placed a tender kiss
on Temaru. “Thank you. I know it’s probably not easy to talk about him.”

“It used to be hard, especially back then. But now I enjoy
talking about him. I get to relive my memories and by sharing his words and his
memory, I feel like I honor him.”

“That’s a good way to think of it.”

“But it takes time to get to that point.” Temaru squeezed
him. “You’ll know when you’re there. You’ll smile without realizing it when
thinking of Aiden and feel comfortable and glad to talk about him to others.”

Ian nodded. He wrapped his other arm around him, pulling
Temaru close and resting his head against him.

Comfortable silence fell over them. As they neared the dock,
Temaru took over, guiding the skiff in.

A young man and woman stood outside Temaru’s shop, the
honeymooning couple, Ian guessed. With the boat secured, he and Temaru climbed
onto the dock, the couple approaching like they were ready to jump on the boat
and go.

Temaru took Ian’s hand. “What time is good for dinner?”

“How about six?”

“That works. Where are you staying? I’ll meet you there.”

Ian gave him directions to the beach house.

Temaru cupped Ian’s cheek in his other hand and leaned
forward, giving him a chaste, sensual kiss. “I’ll see you tonight.”

“I’m looking forward to it.” Ian stepped away, letting his
hand linger in Temaru’s until he was forced to let go. He passed the couple,
the husband’s eyes wide as if shocked by their intimacy, the wife smiling at
him. He gave them a grin and a nod and walked off the dock. Glancing back to
Temaru one more time, he saw Temaru was watching him. He faced forward, knowing
he would be smiling for the rest of the day.

Temaru sat at his computer and opened an Internet browser
window. Ian had told him when he got home to do a search on his name. He
couldn’t deny he was curious about Ian’s old modeling shots, but he also didn’t
want to stumble on anything about Ian’s past, that’s why he went directly to
the image search. He knew if he did a keyword search, he might see articles
about him and things that he’d rather Ian tell him when he was ready. He wanted
to give him that respect.

In the search bar, he typed in Ian Eldridge. He hovered his
cursor over the button. He didn’t know why he was hesitating. What could he see
from just pictures? And Ian asked him to look. Temaru shook his head at himself
and clicked the search button.

It took only the span of a blink before his laptop screen
was filled with images of Ian and some incredibly sexy ones. A shot of Ian
sprawled on a bench in a garden wearing small Armani briefs. Another of him
rising out of the water, droplets rolling down his sculpted body, with a bottle
of cologne in the corner of the ad. Ian strutting down the catwalk in an
elegant black suit, the jacket open, white silk shirt unbuttoned at the top.
That picture caught the flash of other cameras that had been snapping shots of
Ian.

Temaru stared at the images, not sure what to think. This
was more than looking at ads, editorials and fashion shoots. This was looking
at snapshots from the life of the man whom he’d spent the afternoon with. Whom
he’d kissed, held, pleasured. He understood, though, why Ian had said he’d be
surprised and that he wasn’t the same man as he’d once been. Ian
did
look different.

Yes, Ian’s body wasn’t as conditioned as in these photos,
but the change was deeper than that. It was in Ian’s eyes, in the careworn
lines now etched on his face.

Temaru opened the image of Ian in the suit to full size. He
leaned closer to his computer screen, looking into the younger Ian’s eyes,
studying his face. There was a confident shine to Ian’s smoky gray eyes, the
hint of an arrogant—and sexy—smirk on his lips. Ian had said back when he was
modeling, he was all attitude. He could see it in him. This Ian was a man who
was used to getting his way.

He wondered what he would’ve thought of this Ian. If he
would’ve been as attracted to him as the Ian he was now getting to know.
Physically, yes, without a doubt. But it took more than a hot body to entice
him. He’d spent his share of nights with men who had those but not much
underneath. He liked a man with substance, depth to his personality.

Ian was certainly that type of man now. It was probably
pointless to speculate on what he would’ve thought of him back those years ago.
This man who looked like he hadn’t a care in the world wasn’t who Ian was now
and he’d never get the chance to meet him. What had happened in Ian’s life that
took him away from modeling had changed him.

Temaru closed the picture, scanning the others. He scrolled
down the page and froze, letting out a shocked cough. Two Ians! He blinked and
looked closer. Was this the brother Ian had mentioned, Aiden? In the
black-and-white shot, they were both artfully laid out with one up on a
concrete ledge, the other below, facing in opposite directions. One wore black
Gucci briefs, the other white.

He studied the picture closer. The man on the ledge was most
definitely Ian. His gaze pierced the camera with the same intensity as many of
the other pictures. Aiden had a softer look about him. Ian hadn’t mentioned
that Aiden was his twin, but this had to be him.

Curiosity taking hold, Temaru clicked on the picture to go
to the original page. There was a headline under it,
Ian Eldridge (top of
concrete wall) and Aiden Eldridge for Gucci
.

His gaze stayed on Aiden. Sadness crept through him. It was
such a strange thing to look at the picture of him and know he was gone. So
young, such kind eyes, a gentle spirit shining out of them. What had taken him
from this world? Illness? An accident? He knew a simple search on Aiden’s name
would tell him and yet he held off. It might be public knowledge, but it was
also Ian’s personal life and he didn’t want to intrude on that until Ian was
ready to welcome him.

Temaru closed the Internet browser and shut down his
computer. He’d seen enough. What Ian looked like in the past didn’t matter. Who
he was today, did.

Lifting his gaze, Temaru looked to a photo of his
grandfather hanging on the wall. He rose, crossing the small family room of his
bungalow to the picture. It was the last photo taken of his grandfather, out in
his old rowboat, surrounded by gold kissed waters, reflecting the rising sun.

Temaru touched his fingers to the glass on his grandfather’s
shoulders. “You continue to help people, Papi. I think sharing about you and
your words gave Ian something to think on.”

He hoped all he shared with him had helped Ian realize he
wasn’t the only one who’d struggled with grief. It was something that touched
all people at some point in their lives. And yet despite that unity, no other
emotion could make one feel more alone.

He hoped Ian knew or at the very least was beginning to
sense he wasn’t alone now. Maybe it was because he’d lived through that
life-changing grief himself he was drawn to Ian. He’d never been one to believe
in chance encounters. All people came into another’s life for a reason. It
could be Ian came into his because Ian needed help.

Another thought of why Ian had come into his life whispered
through his mind. Temaru refused to let the thought get any louder. No matter
how much heat and passion he felt when kissing Ian, no matter how much he
craved Ian’s hands on him, it was far too soon to give that thought a louder
voice.

Temaru turned from the picture, walking toward the short
hall and his bathroom. He needed to shower and get ready to meet Ian for
dinner. The images he’d seen of Ian continued to play through his mind. Ian was
right. He wasn’t the man in those photos anymore. But he liked the man Ian was
now and he wanted to make sure Ian knew that.