Metamorphosis Read online

  Hunter looked over at her now and lifted an eyebrow. Amanda met Hunter’s gaze and took the phone in her hand. “Scott?”

  “Hello Amanda. How are things?”

  “Good. And with you?”

  There was a short pause, then, “Can I come home?”

  Home? She was surprised to hear him call it home. “Of course, but … what’s wrong?”

  “It’s too hard with Ciel. The therapist thinks it might be better if we separate for a while.”

  “Does Ciel know?”

  “Not yet. I’m waiting for him to get home from the university.”

  “You know there’s always a place for you here,” Amanda said, but her heart sank as she said it. Ciel was not going to be happy about this.

  “I’ll see you soon. Thanks.”

  “Of course,” she replied. “’Bye.”

  “What happened?” Hunter asked.

  “I’m not sure. The therapist recommended that Scott and Ciel separate for a while. Scott’s coming to stay here.”

  * * * *

  Scott paced the living room floor. He had already packed. His suitcase lay open on the bed. His session had gone particularly badly today. His therapist was urging him to conjure up many things from his childhood, things he’d thought best forgotten. “You’re still expressing anger in the place of sadness, Scott,” she’d told him. “And you’re not reaching.”

  “Maybe I don’t want to fucking reach!” had been his response. At that point, he’d told her how every time she pushed him to recover some ugly memory, he went home and took it out on Ciel. “He’s going to hate me soon. It’s not fair to him. None of this is his fault.”

  “Are you saying he’s not supportive?”

  “He’s very supportive, but it’s hard on him. We don’t have sex. I’m angry all the time. I don’t want to talk, or I scream at him for no reason. And I wake him up in the night with bad dreams.”

  “The dreams … well, that’s your subconscious talking to you.”

  “Ciel needs his sleep. He’s finishing university this year. He works double shifts at the restaurant. He’s supporting both of us. He can’t keep being bombarded by my Goddamn sub-whatever-it-is every night.”

  “Have you considered separating while you’re in therapy?”

  Scott blinked. “Leave him? I already did that, remember?”

  “But it’s different this time. You have to concentrate on you. You can’t be worried about his feelings all the time. You may need some space.”

  Space. Did he really need space from the only man he’d ever loved? No, it wasn’t about space. It was about punishing Ciel for something he had nothing to do with. It was time for it to stop. He just hoped he could explain it to him in the right way, in a way he’d understand.

  When the door finally opened, Scott took a deep breath. He paused, waited.

  Ciel walked into the room and threw his keys on the table. He didn’t move to kiss him. These past few weeks, Scott knew Ciel had been cautious around him, walking on eggshells. The strain showed on his face, and so did the lack of sleep. “Hey baby. How did it go today?”

  Scott suddenly wanted to cry. He swallowed it. “Tough.”

  Ciel nodded silently. He leaned against the doorjamb.

  Scott ran his eyes over him, his beauty never ceased to have the same impact … his balls tightening, his cock jerking slightly. He licked his lips, images of the way they used to make love bombarding his senses. It seemed as if it had been years since they’d touched each other that way. The thought of it sent shivers up his spine, shivers of pleasure mixed strangely with trepidation. “I need to get out of here for a while.” The words just came out like that, causing Ciel’s black eyes to widen.

  “What? Get out of here? What are you talking about?”

  “My therapist thinks a separation would be good for us, especially during these early months when…” His hands were shaking.

  The expression which crossed Ciel’s handsome face was one of hurt. There was no mistaking it. “Why would you want to leave me? Haven’t I been supportive? I thought we were in this together. I thought…”

  “It’s too hard,” Scott groaned, his heart pounding in his chest. “It’s not fair to you and…”

  “Bullshit,” Ciel accused. “This isn’t about me. This is about you. I want to speak to your therapist. Get her on the phone.”

  “No, Ciel.” He shook his head. “Let it go.” He turned his back. He couldn’t look at him suddenly. “I’m going to Amanda’s for a while.”

  “That figures.”

  Scott turned around. “Where would you like me to go? And don’t blame her. She had nothing to do with this.”

  “Run away, Scott. Go ahead.” Ciel threw up his hands.

  “What do you want with me anyway?” Scott snapped, losing his temper now. He tried to hold back, but once he started, the words ran out of him like water from a broken dam. That’s the way it had always been. “I don’t give you anything. I don’t bring any money into the house. I barely talk to you anymore. I don’t even fuck you. So, why do you keep holding onto me? What in hell do you want from me?”

  “I love you.” Ciel met his eyes. “Oh, yeah,” he sneered. “You don’t believe me. I forgot. You don’t believe anyone can love you.”

  Scott lowered his head. “I can’t worry about how this therapy is hurting you. I have to concentrate on me. Can’t you understand that?”

  He shrugged and looked away. “I’m afraid,” Ciel whispered.

  “Of what?” Scott moved closer to him.

  “Losing you.”

  Scott reached out his hand.

  Ciel took it. Their eyes met.

  “You won’t.”

  “But I want to be the one to help you through this. Why won’t you let me?”

  “No one can help me through this, Ciel. I have to do it all on my own.”

  Ciel released his hand. His voice suddenly sounded cold as ice. “Do what you have to do.” Ciel picked up his car keys and left the room.

  Chapter Two

  It was almost ten o’clock at night when Hunter opened the front door to find Scott standing there. “Hey man. Amanda wasn’t sure when to expect you. You okay?”

  Scott walked in and put down his suitcase. “Fine. Where’s Amanda?”

  “She had a headache. She went to bed. She wasn’t sure what time you were coming. I said I’d wait up.”

  “I thought you’d be gone,” Scott said, leaving his suitcase by the stairs in the hallway and walking down the corridor to the living room.

  Hunter eyed him. “Did you want me gone?”

  “No, I didn’t mean it like that,” Scott said, reaching for one of the glass decanters sitting on top of the bar. “Wanna drink?”

  “No, thanks.”

  “Is Ramsay still here, too?”

  “Nope.” Hunter walked over to one of the couches and threw himself down on it. “He’s back at the Agency.”

  Scott took a sip of his drink and turned to look at him. “I’m sorry. That sucks.”

  “Why’d you leave Ciel?”

  “Because I’m an idiot.” He laughed harshly. “Why would anyone in their right mind leave Ciel? Would you leave him?”

  “No.”

  Scott laughed and drained his glass. “Okay, you made your point.”

  “So?”

  “So what? Let it go, okay? Let’s agree not to talk about fucking Ramsay or fucking Ciel.”

  Hunter laughed. “I wasn’t going to ask you what it was like fucking Ciel, but if you want to give me details…”

  Scott gave him an ironic look. “Funny guy. Ha, ha. You know damn well what I meant … and as far as fucking Ciel, well, I really can’t remember.”

  “That I don’t believe.”

  “It’s been a while.”

  “You don’t want to fuck him anymore, or he doesn’t want you?”

  “It’s me. Everything is me. I’m a disaster,” he muttered, turning back to the bar to p
our another drink.

  Hunter stood up. He walked over to him and reached around to take the glass out of Scott’s hand. “It doesn’t help. Believe me, I’ve tried. It just gives you a hangover on top of a heartache.” He held onto Scott’s hand. It was shaking. He wrapped his arms around him and pulled him back against his chest. “Let it go, man,” he whispered against his cheek. “It’s all right. No one will know. There’s just you and me here.”

  Scott’s hand tightened in his. He heaved once, then lowered his head. Hunter held him as he cried, his own eyes filling with tears as an image of Ramsay flashed into his head. He pressed his lips against Scott’s cheek and rocked him slightly as if Scott was a small boy.

  When Scott turned around in his arms and unabashedly pressed his groin against his, something stirred in Hunter’s gut. Hunter grunted as Scott reached up and grabbed his hair, pulling his mouth down on his. Scott’s lips seared his, then his sweet mouth opened, his tongue delving deep, seeking Hunter’s. All rational thought switched off as Hunter’s hands moved over Scott’s luscious ass, yanking him closer, practically lifting him up off the floor.

  Hunter felt Scott’s fingers tear at his hair, as his erection rubbed frantically against his thigh. He was kissing him feverishly, desperately devouring his mouth, his hands moving now over his shoulders and pulling on his shirt. Suddenly Scott tore his mouth away and moved his eyes downwards. The force of Scott’s fingers tearing at the material of his shirt had caused several of the buttons to pop, leaving the shirt wide open now, revealing his naked torso. Scott pulled it off his shoulders and let it fall to the floor. He reached for Hunter’s pants.

  Hunter let his head go back. He closed his eyes, his heart pounding in his chest. Yes, yes, yes. His body craved this now, required it. He needed to turn off all thought and just feel, and as Scott’s hands pushed his pants down over his hips and gripped his cock, a surge of electrified pleasure shot through his loins.

  “You’re beautiful, Hunter,” Scott growled. He gave him a slight shove backward. “That little twerp Ramsay is a goddamned fool.”

  Hunter licked his lips as he found his way to the sofa. He stretched out on it, watching as Scott hastily removed his clothes. “Don’t talk,” Hunter breathed, his voice almost pleading. He didn’t want to think about Ramsay anymore. He only wanted to let his thoughts linger on Scott’s perfect ass and what being inside of it would feel like.

  Scott trailed a hand down Hunter’s chest. “Okay,” he said softly. “No more talk.” He went down beside him on his knees, his tongue darting out to lick one of his nipples, as his hand reached down to play with his cock and his balls.

  Hunter arched his hips upward, sucking in some breath, as Scott’s mouth moved from his nipples to his swollen cock. His tongue was doing incredible things to his cock, too incredible, so incredible that if he didn’t stop, he was going to come right there. Hunter reached out, but before he could touch Scott’s head, it lifted. He knew. He smiled slightly. “Got lube? It’s been a while.”

  Hunter swallowed. “Upstairs.”

  “Let’s go,” Scott said, jumping to his feet.

  The act of sitting up brought Hunter face-to-face with Scott’s erect cock. He stifled a moan and got off the sofa. He grabbed his clothes and moved down the hall. He could feel Scott at his heels, hear his breathing, heavy and steady. At the top of the stairs, Hunter turned around. “Amanda made up your bed and…”

  “Let’s go to your room,” Scott said, reaching out to hook his hand around Hunter’s neck and pull him in for a kiss. It lasted too long, and Hunter found himself pressing Scott against the wall, his hands exploring his chest, his stomach, pausing to fondle his cock. “Um, Hunter, please,” Scott gasped. “I can’t wait much longer.”

  Hunter took his hand and pulled him down the hallway to his room. He closed the door as Scott went to lie on the bed. He fumbled in his night stand for lube and condoms while Scott lay there looking at him, his gorgeous body glistening with sweat, his sex tilted up.

  As Hunter approached, Scott turned over, scrambling to his knees. “Don’t hold back,” he grunted, as Hunter squeezed lube onto his fingers and scrambled onto the bed behind him.

  “That’s something you don’t have to worry about,” Hunter responded, inserting a lubricated finger up inside of him, then tearing open the condom and rolling it onto his cock. With both hands, he seized Scott’s hips.

  As his cock inched deeper into Scott’s ass, Hunter let his head go back, roughly pulling Scott’s hips closer to his groin. His eyes closed, and some air released through his teeth.

  Scott let out a cry which sounded like a mixture of ecstasy and pain, then swore. “Ciel,” he moaned.

  Hunter began to pump. He rode him hard, reaching around to roughly handle Scott’s cock.

  As Hunter came, he slowed his pace, moaning out his pleasure as Scott’s cock pulsed in his hand.

  Hunter let himself fall back on the bed. He squeezed his own cock for a moment, prolonging the sensation, letting his tongue move over his bottom lip. It dawned on him after a few seconds that Scott had called out Ciel’s name, but that was okay. The entire time he’d been thinking about Ramsay. What a fucking pair they made.

  Scott rolled over. He was looking at him now. His eyes were red, probably from crying downstairs, or maybe he’d cried again during sex. Hunter decided not to ask. “You okay? Was it good?”

  Scott smiled faintly. “It hurt like hell, at first. It’s been a while, like I said.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “No, no, don’t apologize. Once you got a rhythm on, it felt damn good. You were holding back, though.”

  Hunter raised an eyebrow. “You think?”

  “Yeah.” He nodded. “I heard you were rough trade.”

  Hunter laughed. “I can be when it’s profitable. Is that what you really wanted?”

  “I don’t know what I want,” he said softly.

  “Yes you do.” Hunter met his eyes.

  “Yeah, but I may not be able to have it.”

  “He loves you, doesn’t he?”

  “Probably, but I need to totally believe in that love, and I don’t. It’s not fair of me to punish him. There are so many men out there who could treat him the way he deserves to be treated.”

  “But he doesn’t want those men out there.”

  Scott reached over and touched Hunter’s thigh. “Thanks for saying that. Ramsay is a…”

  “Ah-ah, remember?”

  “Not talking about him won’t make it hurt less, Hunter.”

  “Psychobabble?”

  “Maybe,” Scott laughed. “But that boy is in for it. He’s going to get burnt, and then he’s going to realize what he gave up. He’ll come crawling back, you’ll see, if only for that incredible cock of yours. You really know how to use that thing, too.”

  Hunter smiled faintly. “I might not be here when he comes back, just like Ciel.”

  “Ouch,” Scott winced. He slid off the bed. “I’m going to my room now. I want to sleep.”

  Hunter scrambled after him. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. I can’t compare what you and Ciel have to me and Ramsay. It’s not the same.”

  Scott turned around and met his eyes. “There are a lot of shouldn’t haves tonight, honey. We can’t live our lives wallowing in regret. All is forgiven. See you tomorrow.” He winked at him and left the room.

  * * * *

  If it hadn’t been for Roberta, the new maid, who reached out and caught her, Amanda might have broken her neck the next morning when she came downstairs. Scott’s suitcase was sitting smack dab in the middle of the floor at the bottom of the stairs.

  “Madame Amanda,” she said. “Are you all right?”

  Amanda swore under her breath. “Whose suitcase is that?”

  “Scott’s,” a voice replied.

  She turned her head to look at Hunter.

  “He showed up last night after you went to bed. Come have some breakfast. Roberta here is a great c
ook.”

  Roberta smiled at him. “Thank you, sir.”

  “Bring Amanda some of that French toast, and I could eat another plateful.” He took Amanda’s arm and led her into the dining room.

  Roberta scurried off to the kitchen.

  “You’re up early,” Amanda mused, hugging him to her. “And cheerful.”

  He grinned and released her arm. He pulled out the chair for her, then took a seat himself.

  “What’s gotten into you?”

  “What? Can’t I be polite? You do intend to groom me for high society, right? I might as well start practicing.”

  Amanda reached out for the carafe of coffee and poured herself a cup. “You’ve decided then?”

  He sat back in his seat. “It would be fun to make the old man uncomfortable, but I don’t want…” He broke off.

  “You don’t want what?”

  “I don’t want to hurt his family. His children are my blood, Amanda. Something like this could shatter their entire world.”

  “Then you don’t intend for them to know about you … that you’re their brother?”

  “They’re only kids. What good would it do? I’d never be allowed to spend any time with them. When they grow up, they can make up their own minds about me.”

  “Okay,” she said, sipping her coffee. “We do it just to make your father aware that he can’t throw you away with yesterday’s garbage.”

  “How eloquent, Amanda.”

  She laughed, then made a sound of appreciation as Roberta set down a steaming plate of French toast in front of her and another in front of Hunter. “You are right, this is to die for,” she announced after eating a few bites. “How was Scott?”

  “He’s going through a hard time,” Hunter replied.

  “Did he say anything?”

  “We didn’t talk … much.”

  Amanda poured herself some more coffee. “I’m expecting a call from Ciel. He’ll probably blame me for this.”

  “Why blame you?”

  “He just will.”

  “So, what does this preparation for high society involve anyways?”

  “Some tweaking.”

  “Tweaking?”

  “A manners coach, a dancing instructor, some brush ups on the stock market and politics. It wouldn’t take much. With the right haircut and the right clothes…”