Heartsville 01 - Bookmarked (Piper Vaughn) (10 page)

Spit dripped down his taint to his balls and Mark was a moaning wreck, his cock throbbing and leaking a steady stream of precum, by the time Shep delivered a hard bite to one of his asscheeks and pulled away.

Shep knew where his supplies were, so Mark didn’t move from his position. They hadn’t used the condoms yet, but they’d nearly demolished his bottle of lube. There was enough left for this, though, and thank fuck for that. Right then, Mark didn’t have the mental capacity to search for a latex-safe substitute.

He heard the tear of the foil wrapper. A few seconds later, the blunt head of Shepherd’s cock touched his hole. Mark fisted the blankets as Shep breached him with one slow, insistent thrust.

When Shep bottomed out, Mark could’ve cried with relief. It felt so good to be filled, stretched. All thoughts of last night and his pain over Bookmarked fled as Shepherd moved, withdrawing until only the tip remained inside, then pushing in deep.

Mark flailed a hand back to clutch Shep’s hip. He gripped tight and kept it there to anchor himself as Shepherd’s pace sped.

He lost himself in Shep’s rhythm, his mind hazing. Somehow, without him being quite sure how it happened, Mark had sprawled onto his stomach, one leg drawn up and out. Shepherd was draped across his body, grinding in with shallow jabs that forced strangled cries from his lips.

Mark’s balls churned as his orgasm became an urgent, desperate need. He clenched around the column of Shepherd’s cock, making Shepherd groan and falter. Shep shifted sideways, taking Mark with him. Their bodies slid together, both of them drenched in sweat. Mark ended up facing the ceiling, his back to Shepherd’s chest. Jagged gasps tore from his lungs as strong fingers gripped his thighs to pull his knees up and apart. He felt stretched impossibly wide as Shepherd banged into him, his crown bumping Mark’s prostate on every upward shove.

Mark let his head fall back on Shepherd’s shoulder, giving himself in to Shepherd’s manhandling, not bothering to touch his own dick. He didn’t want to have to think. Didn’t want to have to move. In that moment, he existed solely to be used however Shepherd wanted, to be slammed onto Shepherd’s thick, persistent cock until, with one last brutal thrust and an incoherent shout, Shep froze and came.

Mark moaned softly when Shep withdrew. “Wanna come,” Mark said, or at least tried to say. His voice was so ragged it was almost unintelligible.

But Shepherd understood. He moved to kneel between Mark’s spread thighs, shoved two fingers inside Mark’s well-used hole, and dipped his head to slurp Mark’s cock into his mouth.

Garbled noises spilled from Mark’s throat as Shepherd sucked him. They might’ve been words, but even to him, they didn’t make sense. Mindlessly, Mark undulated his hips, rocking up into Shepherd’s mouth, then pushing down onto his fingers.

His orgasm rose with a speed that left him gasping. “D’un stop,” he slurred, sex-drunk. “Please. S-swallow. Swallow my cum.”

Shepherd hummed around his cock. An agreement, an encouragement—Mark didn’t know, didn’t care. The vibration was more than enough to push him over.

He keened as his orgasm tore through him, the sound seeming to echo as he came. And came. And came some more.

Shepherd only pulled off his cock when Mark shoved at him, too far gone to be polite.

Mark knew he needed another shower. The sheets clung to his back, damp from their combined sweat, but he hadn’t been so relaxed in what felt like ages. Nothing but a fire or natural disaster could’ve forced him from the bed.

Dimly, he sensed the mattress shift as Shepherd got up. Mark mumbled something that might have been “thank you” or “good night.” If Shep replied, Mark didn’t hear him. Like a light being switched off, he was out.

****

As a rule, Mondays tended to suck. This one had the potential to be truly terrible. Mark woke already dreading the thought of dealing with the insurance company to have the window repaired. Then his stomach practically concaved when he got a call from the police saying they’d found the teenager who’d vandalized his shop and would be bringing the kid by to speak to him before noon.

Mark spent the morning debating whether or not to press charges. He supposed it would depend on what the kid said. He had a feeling he knew exactly who the cops would be dragging through his door.

Turned out, he was right. A familiar, gangly blond teen shuffled in behind a uniformed officer just after eleven o’clock. Mark asked Angie to cover the registers and led the way to his office. This was a discussion he didn’t want to have within earshot of any customers.

Once they were seated around Mark’s desk, the cop held out a hand. “Mr. Werner, I’m Officer Pratt. I called you earlier.”

Mark nodded and accepted the handshake.

Officer Pratt indicated the kid beside him. “This is Ian Shenk. He’s admitted to vandalizing your shop.” Pratt cut Ian a look. “Actually, his parents heard about the damage and had reasons to suspect he’d been involved. They brought Ian to the station this morning.” Pratt turned his attention back to Mark. “We’re certain he didn’t act alone, but he’s being loyal to his friends at the moment.”

Ian’s only response was a stubborn jut of his chin.

“Ian,” Pratt said. “You told me you wanted to apologize to Mr. Werner.”

Ian’s jaw tightened. He averted his gaze, staring at some point on the wall above Mark’s head.

For several long seconds, they sat in tense silence. Mark was tempted to squirm, but he held himself still by gripping the arms of his desk chair. Mentally, he cursed himself. He was almost thirty years old. He refused to be cowed by some punkass kid. Or at least he refused to let the kid see his discomfort.

Finally, Ian cleared his throat. “Sorry,” he mumbled.

Officer Pratt reached out and squeezed his shoulder. “I’m sure you can do better than that.”

Ian shrugged off Pratt’s hand with a snarl. “Don’t touch me!”

“Okay.” Pratt made a placating gesture. “But I’d appreciate it if you showed both me and Mr. Werner some respect. Remember, your fate is in his hands. Mr. Werner might be swayed not to press charges if you own up to your actions and give him the apology he deserves. And perhaps an explanation.”

Ian frowned. Then he sighed, long and low, and grudgingly met Mark’s eyes. “Look, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for it to go so far, okay? You just pissed me off, always telling me to throw shit—” He broke off and coughed, his gaze darting to Pratt. “Um… stuff into the recycling bins. I only planned to egg this place, but we’d had a few bee—” Another nervous look at Pratt. “I mean, we were kind of wired, you know? Just hyper. Too much candy or whatever.” He waved a hand and cleared his throat again. “My friend, he had the spray paint, and yeah, I’d said what he wrote a few times, but I didn’t do it, okay? And I didn’t mean for the window to get broken either.”

Mark inhaled slowly, gathering his thoughts. Pratt looked like he wanted to speak, probably wanting to encourage Ian to give up the names of his friends, but he held his tongue, apparently waiting for Mark to break the silence.

“You know,” Mark said, “I’ve had that word used against me since I was a kid. Fag, queer, pansy, I’ve heard them all. I might be an adult now, but it still hurts. And it hurts to see it on my shop.” He released the handles of his chair and flexed his fingers, working out the cramps that had formed while he gripped them tight. “I know that sometimes things get out of hand, and peer pressure can be brutal. It’s hard to stand up to your friends, especially in high school, but, Ian… someone has to be the voice of reason. Someone has to say, ‘Hey, this is wrong. We shouldn’t do this.’ And I hope that next time, if you find yourself in a similar situation, you’ll be that person. You’ll be the guy who says ‘Enough.’ It’s about more than money and the damage to my store. It’s about doing the right thing. Do you understand that?”

After a moment, Ian nodded. “Yeah.”

“Good. Then I accept your apology.” Mark exhaled and made a decision. Maybe it was rash, and maybe he’d regret it later, but…. He looked at Officer Pratt. “And I won’t be pressing charges.”

Officer Pratt smiled slightly. “Well, I’m sure Ian is glad to hear that. His parents will be too, but regardless, they’ve stated they’re willing to pay for your window to be replaced and any other expenses you may have incurred as a result of Ian’s actions.”

Mark’s mouth dropped open. “Seriously?”

“Yes. I have their contact information right here.” Pratt withdrew a card from his pocket and extended it to Mark. “Mr. Shenk said to call him as soon as you have an estimate for the window repair.”

Mark took the card with a disbelieving laugh. Good thing he hadn’t called the insurance company yet.

“Also, and I’m sure Mr. Shenk will speak to you about this himself, but if you choose to accept their offer to pay for the damages, they would like Ian to work for you to repay his debt. You and Mr. Shenk can work out the details, if that’s acceptable to you, but I wanted to mention it.”

Mark peeked at Ian, who was looking surly again. “All right. I’m sure we can find plenty for him to do around here. I’ll discuss it with Mr. Shenk.”

“Great.” Pratt stood. “I have to get Ian home, but you have my number if you need anything else.”

“Yeah, thanks.” Mark went to open his office door.

Pratt tipped his head as he walked past Mark into the hallway. Mark expected Ian to breeze by him without a word, but the kid stopped unexpectedly when he and Mark were face-to-face.

Ian held out a hand and tipped up his pimpled chin. “I’m sorry. I… I know it’s probably hard to believe right now, but I like this place. I didn’t really want to hurt it. I just… I hope you don’t mind if I want to come back sometimes, even when I’m not working for you.”

Surprised, Mark clasped Ian’s hand and shook it. “I don’t mind. Though I’d take it as a personal favor if you left your friend with the spray paint behind.”

Ian nodded. “Cool. Thanks.” He started to turn.

Mark squeezed Ian’s fingers lightly, stopping him from pulling away. “But Ian?”

“Yeah?”

“When you’re here, I expect you to throw your trash in the right bins. Okay?”

“Okay.”

Mark dropped his arm. “The power is yours.”

Ian let out a startled laugh at the
Captain Planet
quote. He gave Mark a look of grudging respect, and with a mock salute, he stepped into the hallway. “Go Planet!”

It was Mark’s turn to laugh, and he smiled as Ian and Officer Pratt disappeared toward the front of the store.

Well… that went better than expected.

Maybe Mondays weren’t so bad after all.

Epilogue

By the start of December, the broken window had long since been repaired, and somehow Ian had gone from simply working off the debt he owed his parents to helping out even when he wasn’t scheduled. Mark couldn’t seem to get rid of the kid, so he finally embraced it and offered Ian a few paid hours a week. Funny how life worked sometimes, but with Christmas approaching, Mark needed the extra hands. And thanks to an increase in sales over the last month, he could actually afford to take on a new employee.

Maybe the upswing was just a result of the upcoming holiday season and the influx of NaNoWriMo authors throughout the month of November, but Mark liked to think it was a sign of things to come. He still had concerns; Bookmarked was nowhere near being in the clear. Yet no matter what happened, he’d survive. More than that, he’d find a way to thrive, even if it meant starting a new adventure. Because sunshine-and-rainbow-fart Mark was back… and for the first time in nearly a year, he was hopeful. Hope could be a powerful thing.

“Ready to go?”

Mark turned away from the mirror where he’d been checking his bowtie. Shepherd stood behind him dressed in a blazer over a button-up shirt and dark-washed jeans. His Grumpy Cat expression was firmly in place, but after nearly two months of dating, Mark saw through it to the nerves underneath.

Shep was anxious about spending time with Mark’s friends. He’d already met a few of them, but they’d never spent any real time together. Tonight, he and Mark were double dating with Adam and his new boyfriend. First, Italian food from Bella Rosa. Then a comedy act at the Oasis, the community theater.

For the first time in years, Mark was taking a night off. He’d more than earned it. But he wanted Shep to enjoy himself too.

Mark smoothed Shep’s lapel and leaned in to kiss him. “Don’t worry. They’re going to love you.”

Shep’s mouth took on a sardonic tilt. “You’ve spent, what, a couple of hours around Brandon? You can’t know if he’ll love me.”

“He will. You’re insanely loveable.”

“I’m sure only you and my family think so,” Shepherd said with a laugh.

“Britt and my dad too.” Mark considered for a moment, then added, “And your agent, probably.”

Shep snorted. “I’m sure Tasha loves the money I bring in, if nothing else.”

Mark slapped his chest lightly. “Well,
I
think you’re loveable, and clearly, mine is the only opinion that matters.”