Embracing the Tension Ch. 10

Erik seemed to know everyone there, which felt impossible, given he didn't even live in Toronto. But it was either that or he was one hell of a networker. Ryan just tagged along for the ride, playing the possessive brooding boyfriend and loving every second of it.

The space was impressive. Glass walls and a sloping-glass ceiling made it feel like they were floating out in the middle of the water. To one side, there was nothing but inky darkness over Lake Ontario. The other side was the twinkling lights of the city, with the CN Tower lit in the distance. A dance floor had been created in the middle of the space, and when they first got there, it was empty. But then the drinks flowed, the crowd grew, and the celebrity DJ—whatever his name was—cranked up the music until Ryan felt it thrumming through his body.

Erik took the beer he had been nursing and put it down on a nearby table, using the movement to step in close until their bodies touched.

"Wanna dance?" Erik whispered in his ear, his lips grazing over his sensitive earlobe, and Ryan shuddered against him.

"I don't know how to dance." His hands trailed up Erik's torso, his fingertips tracing the ridges of muscle so clearly outlined by the soft fabric of the shirt.

"Bullshit." Erik pressed himself into Ryan's hands. "I've seen you move."

Erik pulled back just enough for Ryan to look into his eyes and understand exactly what he was thinking. All those nights, in bed, moving against each other in a way that felt like the most natural thing in the world. Ryan had never needed to think about that, had never been conscious of how exactly his body moved. He just moved. Because with Erik, everything worked.

He let Erik steal a kiss. "Just move."

Erik took one of his hands and led them out to the dance floor. But he couldn't just pick a spot near the edge. No, he had to go right to middle of the fucking dance floor where people glanced over their shoulders at them with blatant looks of want in their eyes. Then Erik began to move, and Ryan was suddenly reminded that Erik could move. How could he have forgotten that Erik had been a dancer in a previous life?

Arms raised above his head, Erik rolled his body in time with the deep bass of the music, his shirt lifting up to reveal a narrow strip of skin low across his belly. Ryan stared. That was the only thing he could do. Just stare at the beautiful man who was his boyfriend, his love.

When Erik danced up to him, body parts grazing against each other, Ryan couldn't do anything but stand there. His breathing came in short little pants, each one giving him a little whiff of Erik's musky scent, made all the more potent with the sweat glistening on his skin. The disco ball threw colored light everywhere, painting Erik in shades of red, blue, and green; Ryan was reminded of a time long ago when he also watched Erik dance while lit by the multi-colored lights of a night club. That was a different lifetime. How those early days of skepticism would bring him to today was a mystery that Ryan didn't want to ponder too closely. He just knew that he was here, and Erik was here, and that was enough for him.

Erik grabbed him by the hips and pulled their bodies together, hard chest colliding with hard chest. Ryan automatically tilted his hips to seek out the answering bulge to his own erection. His hands floated up to Erik's chest, feeling the taut muscles under his fingers, just as Erik licked a path up his neck and blew hot air against the wet skin.

"Erik." It came out as a whimper.

"Dance with me." The words were innocent enough, but the way Erik said them, low and raunchy, with his lips brushing against Ryan's ear; Ryan felt debauched, and everything in his body screamed yes!

Ryan reached his arms around Erik's shoulders and buried his fingers into the thick curls at the base of Erik's neck. Then he pressed his face against Erik's and let Erik lead him in what must have been the hottest dance that club had ever seen. At least, that's the way Ryan felt as a fire burned up inside of him. Erik's hands on his hips, across his back, bending him and pulling him closer, their bodies rubbing against each other in a mimic of sex save for the presence of clothing.

Then suddenly Erik spun him around and he found his sweat-soaked chest exposed to coolness. His hips sought out something to grind his erection against, but found nothing but air. Erik's arms were still around him, this time pulling him back until Erik's bulge dug into his ass, and Ryan reversed the direction of his hips to rub his ass into Erik's groin. He covered one of Erik's hands with his own, and his other hand went up to grasp Erik behind the neck.

They kissed. A dance of tongues as their bodies danced.

One of Erik's hand drew up and pinched Ryan's nipples. His body jerked in response. Then the hand drifted up higher until the long, strong fingers closed around his neck, not tight, just there, holding his head at just the right angle for Erik to attack his earlobe. He was done for. The feeling of Erik's tongue on his earring, twirling it in circles was more than Ryan could stand. His knees gave out under him, and the only reason he didn't end up a pile of bones on the floor was because Erik held him up. He bit his lip, trying to muffle the gasping whimpers that fought to escape his throat.

He couldn't take it anymore. He needed to be out of those clothes and feeling Erik's skin on his own. He needed to be pressed down into the mattress by Erik's bigger frame. He needed to scream his pleasure as Erik made his body dance. With a strength that he didn't know he had, Ryan tore himself out of Erik's grasp and dragged him toward the door. Ryan didn't care if Erik still had to meet people; people be damned. They had more important things to tend to.

Ryan wasn't even sure how they made it back home, up the stairs and into bed. He was consumed with touching Erik, tasting Erik, feeling Erik around him. It was only when Erik sank his cock into his ass that Ryan felt that itching, all-consuming need subside. They fucked hard, and yet it was tender. Stinging bites soothed by gentle laps of tongue. And when they each found their orgasms, Ryan felt sure he had reached some state of enlightenment where his mind disassociated from his body and he was about to float away. But then Erik snuggled down into him and kept him grounded.

In the distance, the boom-boom of firecrackers echoed through the midnight. Oh, right.

"Happy New Year."

"Happy New Year."

A new year. If he wished hard enough, maybe they could leave the problems of last year behind.