Fic:Rewards
Written for Round 2 of the Fanmedia Challenge - inspired by the picture of the Cameo brooch
Marcus hurried across campus towards the theatre where Cottia and her bunch of budding actors were rehearsing their latest assault on the works of Shakespeare, her coat in one hand, her bag in the other. No other woman he knew could go somewhere and forget both their coat and their bottomless bag of whatever crap women carried around, but then Cottia had never been like other women. She would be the perfect girl for him if he liked girls.
He ducked into the theatre foyer just in time to avoid the downpour of rain and made his way to the stage where he knew Cottia would be holding court.
“Marcus!” she shouted when she saw him. “You have no idea how much I love you for this.”
“You better, disturbing my exciting night in front of the tv.”
“You should get out more,” she said as she ran down from the stage and stood on tiptoes to give him a peck on the cheek before grabbing her coat and bag.
“What, and miss the frantic phone call from my surrogate little sis begging me to bring her stuff over?”
“You can stay and watch the rehearsal if you like. It’s coming along really well.”
“Yeah, ok.”
Marcus took a seat at the end of a row so he could stretch his leg out - the rain really played havoc with it, why couldn’t he have decided to do his PhD somewhere sunny instead of staying in his adopted English home? - and settled in to watch Cottia in full Theatre Director mode. She hadn’t even made it halfway up the steps to the stage though before she stopped dead.
“Where’s my cameo brooch? Marcus, where’s the brooch?” Her voice was part panic, part threat of impending death. His death.
“No idea.” He struggled out of his chair so he’d have a better chance of running for the door if he had to. The brooch was always pinned on her coat. She loved it. Marcus thought it was hideous.
“It’s gone.” She pointed the coat at him. “I know it was there earlier. Did you drop it on the way over?”
“Shit, maybe, I don’t know.” Cottia glared at him, one of the looks that frequently reduced the student actors in her plays to gibbering wrecks. “Ok, ok, I’ll go look for it. Don’t freak out. I’ll find it.”
“You better or I’ll be forced to make a replacement piece of jewellery from your balls!” she shouted after him.
Marcus didn’t doubt her.
~~~~~~~~~~
He didn’t find it, not in the theatre, not on the route he’d taken across the university campus, not at the house he and Cottia shared. Marcus retraced his steps several times that night and the following day but to no avail.
No cameo brooch.
For a moment or two he hoped it had fallen down a drain never to be seen again but then Cottia’s image had floated before his eyes, his balls pinned neatly onto the lapel of her coat, and he came up with Plan B.
“I can’t believe it’s gone.” Cottia pushed her lunch around the plate as they sat in their kitchen. “That brooch was a piece of history. It was ancient!”
“It was made in the Sixties,” Marcus reminded her, smiling at her as she channelled her inner drama queen. “It wasn’t unearthed in a dig at Silchester or anything.”
“Well, I know but I really did love it.”
“I know, babe. Which is why,” Marcus produced his laptop and the poster he’d made with a flourish, “I made this! Wanted dead or alive, have you seen this cameo brooch, the children are devastated and just want to know it’s ok, you know the sort of thing.”
“Swish.” Cottia grinned at him. “You’re the big brother I never had.”
“And you’re the little sister I never wanted.”
“You should offer a reward,” she added as she got up from the table. “People will actually look for it then.”
Marcus rolled his eyes and picked up the laptop to begin making amendments.
“What do I offer as a reward?”
“Just put that there’s a reward, don’t specify. That way you can tailor it to the person who finds the brooch. Money, lifestyle advice, a shag, whatever.” She disappeared out of the door. “I know you can do this, Marcus,” she called back. “I have faith in you. And be a darling, put your number down for them to ring, I’ve lost my phone.”
~~~~~~~~~~
“Hello?”
“Is this Marcus?”
A northern accent. Nobody Marcus knew.
“Yep,” he answered. “Who’s this?”
“Em, my name’s Esca. I think I found that brooch you lost. There was a poster up on campus with your name and number on it.”
“Shit!” Over the last couple of days, Marcus had been so engrossed in the latest research for his thesis that he’d forgotten about the missing brooch. “You found it?”
“Think so.”
“That’s great. I could meet you sometime today if you’re free,”
“Yeah, ok. How about 5pm outside the library?”
“Ok, I’ll see you there. Thanks, eh….,” Marcus searched around in his head for the guy’s name, “Eric?”
“Esca.”
“Right, sorry. See you at 5.”
Marcus ended the call and then realised that he had no idea what this Esca guy looked like. Hopefully it wouldn’t be too busy at the library today.
~~~~~~~~~~
Thankfully there was only one guy waiting outside the imposing 19th century building, leaning against the wall and swaying in time to whatever was playing on his i-Pod, and Marcus allowed himself the luxury of taking a good look as he walked across the courtyard towards him.
He was younger than Marcus, probably an undergraduate, a little on the short side but wiry and, on closer inspection it was obvious he worked out because those arms looked as if they could do some damage. The bottom of what looked like a tribal tattoo design poked out from under the right sleeve of his t-shirt and Marcus couldn’t stop himself from wondering if there were more tattoos anywhere, like on that promising-looking arse currently encased in a pair of dark blue skinny jeans.
“Hi,” Marcus tapped the kid on the shoulder to get his attention. “Esca?”
“Hi.” Esca pulled the earphone buds out of his ears; ears that were slightly too big for his face. Nothing wrong with that, Marcus thought, they’d be something to hold onto while he was……
“I’m Marcus.” They shook hands and Marcus was pretty sure that Esca gave him a quick once-over followed by a slight quirk of his lips. Interesting. “So, have you got the brooch?”
“Can you describe it?”
“What?”
“I’m not giving it to just anyone.” Esca cocked his head to one side. It made him look even cuter. “You need to prove it’s yours.”
“I put up a poster asking for it back! How much more proof do you need?”
Esca shrugged.
“It could be someone else’s brooch.”
“Because there are a lot of cameo brooches around these days! Are you always this suspicious?”
“It’s not suspicion. It’s practicality.”
Marcus huffed out a laugh. He couldn’t really argue with that and besides, he wasn’t in the mood for arguing, he was more in the mood for enjoying the view in front of him.
“Fine,” he said. “It’s an ugly stupid brooch with an ugly stupid woman’s head carved onto it and it looks like something my grandmother would wear.”
“Is it your grandmother’s then?”
“No, I was being sarcastic. It belongs to a friend. I lost it, she threatened to rip my nuts off if I didn’t find it.”
“Well you definitely owe me a reward then.”
Esca reached into his shoulder-bag and after rummaging around for a while, pulled out Cottia’s cameo. Marcus smiled gratefully at him and stashed the brooch safely in the breast pocket of his shirt.
“About the reward,” he said, after he’d sent a quick text to Cottia giving her the good news. “It’s nothing much, I’m kinda strapped for cash right now.” Which wasn’t strictly true but he didn’t want to get fleeced and the whole reward thing hadn’t even been his idea.
“Hey, I’m a student,” Esca grinned at him, shifting from foot to foot as if he found it hard to stay still for long. “I’ll be happy if you give me a can of beans.”
Marcus pulled out his wallet.
“£20 and I’ll buy you a beer.” At least if he offered Esca a beer, he could spend some more time with him. And he really, really wanted to spend some time with him.
“Two beers,” Esca replied brightly. “One for finding the cameo, one for letting you keep your balls in their rightful place.”
It could’ve been Marcus’ imagination but he swore Esca took a good long look at his crotch.
“Deal.” Marcus held his hand out again and Esca shook it. “You free now? I know a great pub down by the canal.”
~~~~~~~~~~
They took their beers out into the garden at the rear of the pub and sat at a table beside the water where they could watch the occasional brightly painted narrow-boat glide past.
“So,” Esca said as they settled in, “this friend whose brooch you lost. Is she your girlfriend?”
“Nope. Friend of the family, known her since she was tiny. When I came here to do my PhD we decided to share a house off-campus. That way I get to keep an eye on her and she gets to boss me around.”
“What’s your PhD?”
“Archaeology. You?”
“Celtic studies, second year.”
Marcus nodded and was going to ask whether Esca enjoyed his course when Esca took the first drink from his pint of real ale and ended up with a foam moustache. He swiped his thumb along his top lip and slowly sucked the foam off it.
Marcus was temporarily dumbstruck.
Four hours later they were still in the pub garden, having covered every subject from family to politics to history to which Muppet was their favourite. They’d got through several beers, two burgers and an unspecified number of packets of peanuts, all of which Marcus had insisted on paying for. Esca’s £20 note was still intact, snuggled in the left front pocket of his skinny jeans and Marcus had never been so jealous of a piece of paper before.
“If you’re around sometime next week with nothing to do,” he said, hoping Esca would realise he was asking him out, “my friend’s putting on a production of Titus Andronicus at the theatre. She has a thing for Romans. You should come.”
“Thanks,” Esca nodded, “I’d like to. I can use the £20 to buy a ticket, unless you’re going to use your contacts and get me in for free.”
“Consider it done.”
“I would’ve given you the brooch back whatever, you know, you didn’t really need to give me anything.”
“The money was worth it, the beer was a last minute idea.” Marcus chuckled as he remembered Cottia’s words. “If I’d listened to my friend’s advice, I might have offered you a fuck.”
A slow smile crept across Esca’s face as, without hesitation, he reached into his pocket and took out the note, then leaned forward and slid it across the table towards Marcus.
“Don’t I get a choice?” he asked, his voice low and already a little husky.
Marcus swallowed hard as he felt his skin start to prickle with anticipation, his eyes locked on Esca’s.
“I guess it would be rude not to offer.”
“Thanks.” Esca let go of the £20 and sat back. “I’ll take the fuck.”
~~~~~~~~~~
They walked back to the house Marcus shared with Cottia, still chatting and laughing as if they’d known each other for years, not just a few hours. The house was empty and as he shut the front door behind them, Marcus crossed his fingers that Cottia wouldn’t be home for a while.
“You want a drink or anything?” he asked, just to be polite.
“Nah, I’m good.”
When Marcus turned around, Esca was right there in front of him, looking up at him with piercing grey-blue eyes that were just begging to be fucked. Marcus was only too pleased to oblige.
He reached around and squeezed Esca’s arse while Esca’s hands slid under Marcus’ t-shirt and stroked his abs.
“Nice.” A wide grin split Esca’s face. “Very nice.”
Marcus grinned down at him.
“There’s a lot more I’m hoping to impress you with.”
He gave Esca’s arse one last squeeze and then took hold of his head, kissing him slow and deep. Esca let out a little groan and kissed back, pressing himself against Marcus’ body and rubbing against his erection until Marcus felt like he was going to come in his pants like a teenager.
“Bedroom’s upstairs.” Marcus pulled away from Esca, grabbed his hand and started to drag him up the stairs.
“You’ve got stuff, right? Condoms. Please tell me you’ve got condoms.”
“I was a boy-scout. Ever ready, or whatever the motto was.”
“Be prepared.” Esca laughed.
“Who the fuck cares!”
They reached the bedroom, pulling at each others clothes in between rough, hard kisses that made Marcus’ head swim. If he’d thought Esca looked good in clothes, it was nothing compared to how good he looked out of them and Marcus wanted to touch and taste every inch of his pale, smooth skin. He pushed Esca back onto the bed and crawled on top of him, hands roaming everywhere as they kissed each other breathless.
“How do you want this?” he mumbled against Esca’s mouth, groaning out loud when Esca thrust his hips up and ground his cock into Marcus’ groin.
“Any way you want to give it to me.”
Esca sounded as desperate as Marcus felt and already Marcus knew this wasn’t going to be the slow, steady exploration of a new lover; this was going to be hard and fast and more than likely, loud.
They could be slow and steady next time.
It wasn’t long before he was buried balls-deep in Esca, pounding into him, grunting like a demented farm animal while underneath him, Esca hung onto the wrought-iron headboard like his life depended on it and made noises that would make a porn star proud.
The tiny part of Marcus’ brain that was still registering conscious thought agreed with itself that although this was The Most Amazing Fuck Ever, it wasn’t going to last long. He gave Esca’s cock another vicious twist with the hand that he wasn’t bracing himself against the mattress with, and suddenly Esca was coming, howling like a banshee, his body tensing so tightly around Marcus’ cock that Marcus could do nothing more than shout “oh god” several times and come harder than he’d ever done before. He slumped on top of Esca then remembered how much bigger he was so he gently pulled out, tossed the condom and lay down beside him, breathing heavily.
“Wow.”
“Wow indeed.”
They turned their heads to look at each other and smiled.
“You’re still taking me to your friend’s play, right?” Esca asked when he could string more than a couple of words together. “I mean, you were asking me out weren’t you, before my dick took over and decided it couldn’t wait an appropriate length of time before getting to know you up close and personal.”
Marcus leaned over and kissed him sloppily.
“I was.”
“Cool.”
Somewhere in the house, a door slammed.
“Marcus? You home?”
“I’m busy!” he shouted. “Go away!” Too late. The door to Marcus’ bedroom flew open and Cottia swept into the room, bouncing onto the end of the bed. “Jesus, Cottia! What the fuck are you doing?”
“Where is it?” She didn’t bat an eyelid when she noticed Esca. “Oh, hi.”
“Hi.” Esca raised his hand in a half-hearted wave. He looked rather shell-shocked but at least he was still smiling.
“I can’t believe this,” Marcus grumbled as he reached down to pick his shirt up off the floor and retrieve the cameo. “Here’s your god-awful, old woman’s brooch.”
Cottia squealed.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
“This is Esca,” Marcus continued. “He’s the one who found it. Esca, this is Cottia. Cottia, Esca. Ok, introductions over.” He threw a pillow at Cottia’s head. “Now get out, this is really embarrassing.”
She blew them both a kiss and was gone.
“Sorry about that.” Marcus rubbed a hand over his face. “She’s a law unto herself.”
Esca laughed and turned on his side, laying his head on Marcus’ shoulder and snuggling in as Marcus hugged him closer.
“Don’t worry about it.”
“Can you stay? I’ll make you breakfast in the morning.”
“Yeah, ok.” Esca smiled against Marcus’ skin. “I’m glad you lost that brooch.”
Marcus shut his eyes and rested his chin on Esca’s hair, grinning like a goon.
“I’m glad you found it.”
Marcus hurried across campus towards the theatre where Cottia and her bunch of budding actors were rehearsing their latest assault on the works of Shakespeare, her coat in one hand, her bag in the other. No other woman he knew could go somewhere and forget both their coat and their bottomless bag of whatever crap women carried around, but then Cottia had never been like other women. She would be the perfect girl for him if he liked girls.
He ducked into the theatre foyer just in time to avoid the downpour of rain and made his way to the stage where he knew Cottia would be holding court.
“Marcus!” she shouted when she saw him. “You have no idea how much I love you for this.”
“You better, disturbing my exciting night in front of the tv.”
“You should get out more,” she said as she ran down from the stage and stood on tiptoes to give him a peck on the cheek before grabbing her coat and bag.
“What, and miss the frantic phone call from my surrogate little sis begging me to bring her stuff over?”
“You can stay and watch the rehearsal if you like. It’s coming along really well.”
“Yeah, ok.”
Marcus took a seat at the end of a row so he could stretch his leg out - the rain really played havoc with it, why couldn’t he have decided to do his PhD somewhere sunny instead of staying in his adopted English home? - and settled in to watch Cottia in full Theatre Director mode. She hadn’t even made it halfway up the steps to the stage though before she stopped dead.
“Where’s my cameo brooch? Marcus, where’s the brooch?” Her voice was part panic, part threat of impending death. His death.
“No idea.” He struggled out of his chair so he’d have a better chance of running for the door if he had to. The brooch was always pinned on her coat. She loved it. Marcus thought it was hideous.
“It’s gone.” She pointed the coat at him. “I know it was there earlier. Did you drop it on the way over?”
“Shit, maybe, I don’t know.” Cottia glared at him, one of the looks that frequently reduced the student actors in her plays to gibbering wrecks. “Ok, ok, I’ll go look for it. Don’t freak out. I’ll find it.”
“You better or I’ll be forced to make a replacement piece of jewellery from your balls!” she shouted after him.
Marcus didn’t doubt her.
~~~~~~~~~~
He didn’t find it, not in the theatre, not on the route he’d taken across the university campus, not at the house he and Cottia shared. Marcus retraced his steps several times that night and the following day but to no avail.
No cameo brooch.
For a moment or two he hoped it had fallen down a drain never to be seen again but then Cottia’s image had floated before his eyes, his balls pinned neatly onto the lapel of her coat, and he came up with Plan B.
“I can’t believe it’s gone.” Cottia pushed her lunch around the plate as they sat in their kitchen. “That brooch was a piece of history. It was ancient!”
“It was made in the Sixties,” Marcus reminded her, smiling at her as she channelled her inner drama queen. “It wasn’t unearthed in a dig at Silchester or anything.”
“Well, I know but I really did love it.”
“I know, babe. Which is why,” Marcus produced his laptop and the poster he’d made with a flourish, “I made this! Wanted dead or alive, have you seen this cameo brooch, the children are devastated and just want to know it’s ok, you know the sort of thing.”
“Swish.” Cottia grinned at him. “You’re the big brother I never had.”
“And you’re the little sister I never wanted.”
“You should offer a reward,” she added as she got up from the table. “People will actually look for it then.”
Marcus rolled his eyes and picked up the laptop to begin making amendments.
“What do I offer as a reward?”
“Just put that there’s a reward, don’t specify. That way you can tailor it to the person who finds the brooch. Money, lifestyle advice, a shag, whatever.” She disappeared out of the door. “I know you can do this, Marcus,” she called back. “I have faith in you. And be a darling, put your number down for them to ring, I’ve lost my phone.”
~~~~~~~~~~
“Hello?”
“Is this Marcus?”
A northern accent. Nobody Marcus knew.
“Yep,” he answered. “Who’s this?”
“Em, my name’s Esca. I think I found that brooch you lost. There was a poster up on campus with your name and number on it.”
“Shit!” Over the last couple of days, Marcus had been so engrossed in the latest research for his thesis that he’d forgotten about the missing brooch. “You found it?”
“Think so.”
“That’s great. I could meet you sometime today if you’re free,”
“Yeah, ok. How about 5pm outside the library?”
“Ok, I’ll see you there. Thanks, eh….,” Marcus searched around in his head for the guy’s name, “Eric?”
“Esca.”
“Right, sorry. See you at 5.”
Marcus ended the call and then realised that he had no idea what this Esca guy looked like. Hopefully it wouldn’t be too busy at the library today.
~~~~~~~~~~
Thankfully there was only one guy waiting outside the imposing 19th century building, leaning against the wall and swaying in time to whatever was playing on his i-Pod, and Marcus allowed himself the luxury of taking a good look as he walked across the courtyard towards him.
He was younger than Marcus, probably an undergraduate, a little on the short side but wiry and, on closer inspection it was obvious he worked out because those arms looked as if they could do some damage. The bottom of what looked like a tribal tattoo design poked out from under the right sleeve of his t-shirt and Marcus couldn’t stop himself from wondering if there were more tattoos anywhere, like on that promising-looking arse currently encased in a pair of dark blue skinny jeans.
“Hi,” Marcus tapped the kid on the shoulder to get his attention. “Esca?”
“Hi.” Esca pulled the earphone buds out of his ears; ears that were slightly too big for his face. Nothing wrong with that, Marcus thought, they’d be something to hold onto while he was……
“I’m Marcus.” They shook hands and Marcus was pretty sure that Esca gave him a quick once-over followed by a slight quirk of his lips. Interesting. “So, have you got the brooch?”
“Can you describe it?”
“What?”
“I’m not giving it to just anyone.” Esca cocked his head to one side. It made him look even cuter. “You need to prove it’s yours.”
“I put up a poster asking for it back! How much more proof do you need?”
Esca shrugged.
“It could be someone else’s brooch.”
“Because there are a lot of cameo brooches around these days! Are you always this suspicious?”
“It’s not suspicion. It’s practicality.”
Marcus huffed out a laugh. He couldn’t really argue with that and besides, he wasn’t in the mood for arguing, he was more in the mood for enjoying the view in front of him.
“Fine,” he said. “It’s an ugly stupid brooch with an ugly stupid woman’s head carved onto it and it looks like something my grandmother would wear.”
“Is it your grandmother’s then?”
“No, I was being sarcastic. It belongs to a friend. I lost it, she threatened to rip my nuts off if I didn’t find it.”
“Well you definitely owe me a reward then.”
Esca reached into his shoulder-bag and after rummaging around for a while, pulled out Cottia’s cameo. Marcus smiled gratefully at him and stashed the brooch safely in the breast pocket of his shirt.
“About the reward,” he said, after he’d sent a quick text to Cottia giving her the good news. “It’s nothing much, I’m kinda strapped for cash right now.” Which wasn’t strictly true but he didn’t want to get fleeced and the whole reward thing hadn’t even been his idea.
“Hey, I’m a student,” Esca grinned at him, shifting from foot to foot as if he found it hard to stay still for long. “I’ll be happy if you give me a can of beans.”
Marcus pulled out his wallet.
“£20 and I’ll buy you a beer.” At least if he offered Esca a beer, he could spend some more time with him. And he really, really wanted to spend some time with him.
“Two beers,” Esca replied brightly. “One for finding the cameo, one for letting you keep your balls in their rightful place.”
It could’ve been Marcus’ imagination but he swore Esca took a good long look at his crotch.
“Deal.” Marcus held his hand out again and Esca shook it. “You free now? I know a great pub down by the canal.”
~~~~~~~~~~
They took their beers out into the garden at the rear of the pub and sat at a table beside the water where they could watch the occasional brightly painted narrow-boat glide past.
“So,” Esca said as they settled in, “this friend whose brooch you lost. Is she your girlfriend?”
“Nope. Friend of the family, known her since she was tiny. When I came here to do my PhD we decided to share a house off-campus. That way I get to keep an eye on her and she gets to boss me around.”
“What’s your PhD?”
“Archaeology. You?”
“Celtic studies, second year.”
Marcus nodded and was going to ask whether Esca enjoyed his course when Esca took the first drink from his pint of real ale and ended up with a foam moustache. He swiped his thumb along his top lip and slowly sucked the foam off it.
Marcus was temporarily dumbstruck.
Four hours later they were still in the pub garden, having covered every subject from family to politics to history to which Muppet was their favourite. They’d got through several beers, two burgers and an unspecified number of packets of peanuts, all of which Marcus had insisted on paying for. Esca’s £20 note was still intact, snuggled in the left front pocket of his skinny jeans and Marcus had never been so jealous of a piece of paper before.
“If you’re around sometime next week with nothing to do,” he said, hoping Esca would realise he was asking him out, “my friend’s putting on a production of Titus Andronicus at the theatre. She has a thing for Romans. You should come.”
“Thanks,” Esca nodded, “I’d like to. I can use the £20 to buy a ticket, unless you’re going to use your contacts and get me in for free.”
“Consider it done.”
“I would’ve given you the brooch back whatever, you know, you didn’t really need to give me anything.”
“The money was worth it, the beer was a last minute idea.” Marcus chuckled as he remembered Cottia’s words. “If I’d listened to my friend’s advice, I might have offered you a fuck.”
A slow smile crept across Esca’s face as, without hesitation, he reached into his pocket and took out the note, then leaned forward and slid it across the table towards Marcus.
“Don’t I get a choice?” he asked, his voice low and already a little husky.
Marcus swallowed hard as he felt his skin start to prickle with anticipation, his eyes locked on Esca’s.
“I guess it would be rude not to offer.”
“Thanks.” Esca let go of the £20 and sat back. “I’ll take the fuck.”
~~~~~~~~~~
They walked back to the house Marcus shared with Cottia, still chatting and laughing as if they’d known each other for years, not just a few hours. The house was empty and as he shut the front door behind them, Marcus crossed his fingers that Cottia wouldn’t be home for a while.
“You want a drink or anything?” he asked, just to be polite.
“Nah, I’m good.”
When Marcus turned around, Esca was right there in front of him, looking up at him with piercing grey-blue eyes that were just begging to be fucked. Marcus was only too pleased to oblige.
He reached around and squeezed Esca’s arse while Esca’s hands slid under Marcus’ t-shirt and stroked his abs.
“Nice.” A wide grin split Esca’s face. “Very nice.”
Marcus grinned down at him.
“There’s a lot more I’m hoping to impress you with.”
He gave Esca’s arse one last squeeze and then took hold of his head, kissing him slow and deep. Esca let out a little groan and kissed back, pressing himself against Marcus’ body and rubbing against his erection until Marcus felt like he was going to come in his pants like a teenager.
“Bedroom’s upstairs.” Marcus pulled away from Esca, grabbed his hand and started to drag him up the stairs.
“You’ve got stuff, right? Condoms. Please tell me you’ve got condoms.”
“I was a boy-scout. Ever ready, or whatever the motto was.”
“Be prepared.” Esca laughed.
“Who the fuck cares!”
They reached the bedroom, pulling at each others clothes in between rough, hard kisses that made Marcus’ head swim. If he’d thought Esca looked good in clothes, it was nothing compared to how good he looked out of them and Marcus wanted to touch and taste every inch of his pale, smooth skin. He pushed Esca back onto the bed and crawled on top of him, hands roaming everywhere as they kissed each other breathless.
“How do you want this?” he mumbled against Esca’s mouth, groaning out loud when Esca thrust his hips up and ground his cock into Marcus’ groin.
“Any way you want to give it to me.”
Esca sounded as desperate as Marcus felt and already Marcus knew this wasn’t going to be the slow, steady exploration of a new lover; this was going to be hard and fast and more than likely, loud.
They could be slow and steady next time.
It wasn’t long before he was buried balls-deep in Esca, pounding into him, grunting like a demented farm animal while underneath him, Esca hung onto the wrought-iron headboard like his life depended on it and made noises that would make a porn star proud.
The tiny part of Marcus’ brain that was still registering conscious thought agreed with itself that although this was The Most Amazing Fuck Ever, it wasn’t going to last long. He gave Esca’s cock another vicious twist with the hand that he wasn’t bracing himself against the mattress with, and suddenly Esca was coming, howling like a banshee, his body tensing so tightly around Marcus’ cock that Marcus could do nothing more than shout “oh god” several times and come harder than he’d ever done before. He slumped on top of Esca then remembered how much bigger he was so he gently pulled out, tossed the condom and lay down beside him, breathing heavily.
“Wow.”
“Wow indeed.”
They turned their heads to look at each other and smiled.
“You’re still taking me to your friend’s play, right?” Esca asked when he could string more than a couple of words together. “I mean, you were asking me out weren’t you, before my dick took over and decided it couldn’t wait an appropriate length of time before getting to know you up close and personal.”
Marcus leaned over and kissed him sloppily.
“I was.”
“Cool.”
Somewhere in the house, a door slammed.
“Marcus? You home?”
“I’m busy!” he shouted. “Go away!” Too late. The door to Marcus’ bedroom flew open and Cottia swept into the room, bouncing onto the end of the bed. “Jesus, Cottia! What the fuck are you doing?”
“Where is it?” She didn’t bat an eyelid when she noticed Esca. “Oh, hi.”
“Hi.” Esca raised his hand in a half-hearted wave. He looked rather shell-shocked but at least he was still smiling.
“I can’t believe this,” Marcus grumbled as he reached down to pick his shirt up off the floor and retrieve the cameo. “Here’s your god-awful, old woman’s brooch.”
Cottia squealed.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
“This is Esca,” Marcus continued. “He’s the one who found it. Esca, this is Cottia. Cottia, Esca. Ok, introductions over.” He threw a pillow at Cottia’s head. “Now get out, this is really embarrassing.”
She blew them both a kiss and was gone.
“Sorry about that.” Marcus rubbed a hand over his face. “She’s a law unto herself.”
Esca laughed and turned on his side, laying his head on Marcus’ shoulder and snuggling in as Marcus hugged him closer.
“Don’t worry about it.”
“Can you stay? I’ll make you breakfast in the morning.”
“Yeah, ok.” Esca smiled against Marcus’ skin. “I’m glad you lost that brooch.”
Marcus shut his eyes and rested his chin on Esca’s hair, grinning like a goon.
“I’m glad you found it.”