The Big Picture; Chapter 8
Chapter 7
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Luke doesn't stay mad for long. NC-17
Chapter Eight
“You were never going to tell me. Why?” Luke felt a tear betray him as it slid down his cheek. “Does anyone know?”
Reid balked. “Of course, people know. Everyone I trust and care about knows exactly who I am.”
Luke hung his head. He couldn’t stop his thought as it escaped in a defeated whisper. “And I’m neither.”
“Luke-”
“No. It’s fine. Why would I be?” Luke gathered his clothes. “Could you go?”
Reid placed his hand gently on Luke’s shoulder. “No. Not until you understand.”
Turning his head until he could rest his chin on Reid’s fingers, Luke reacted calmly. “I understand that you don’t trust me. We’re just getting to know each other, but I guess I’m just naïve enough to think you cared.”
Reid stepped lightly until his chest came in contact with Luke’s back. His nose nudged at the hair laying on Luke‘s neck. “Don’t you get it? I do care, Luke. That’s why you’re dangerous.”
Goosebumps riddled Luke’s skin as he felt the soft kiss Reid laid on the back of his head. He shut his eyes against the battalion of tears threatening to storm the gates. Upon hearing Reid leave, Luke crumpled in a chair and hugged his knees. He had never felt more confused, or less dangerous, in all his life.
Rain had moved in. Luke found it rather appropriate as he sat as far from Reid as the back of a town car would allow. A cloud hung over them now. The thing about clouds is that they pass. Eventually, rays of sunshine warm your face and the world is right again.
Oddly, this infuriated Luke even more. He wanted to stay angry, but in the silence, his senses were focused elsewhere. In the corner of his eye, he could see Reid’s hand making the slow crawl across the seat between them. Luke’s fingers mutinied against his brain and spread wide until contact was made.
Reid’s thumb skimmed the skin on the back of Luke’s hand as their fingers meshed. He knew it was a momentary truce. Luke loved words too much to forgo further discussion. That didn’t mean he wasn’t grateful for it, this bridge that gave him a way back to Luke. It also didn’t mean he wasn’t scared as hell.
Luke entered the house first. He headed towards his room before Reid caught his forearm. He didn’t look back for fear that his resolve would melt. “We’ll talk. Later.”
Reid didn’t push the issue. As desperately as he wanted to get this over with, he didn’t want a fight. He wanted understanding, or that’s what he should be thinking. What he really wanted was for Luke to kiss him. Not Ragan. Not Reid Oliver, movie star, but Reid Oliver, the man. When their lips met next, he wanted Luke to know the difference.
Later is a bullshit time frame. Reid had made himself a sandwich. He even delivered one to Luke which the young man accepted with a small smile then promptly shut him out again. He read a magazine, threw in a movie, flipped through infomercials. Still no Luke.
Deducing that tomorrow or even the next day was still ‘later’, Reid tossed the remote on the coffee table. If Luke could lock himself away and not climb the walls, Reid could handle it as well. Wiping his sweaty palms along his thighs, he stretched before heading to bed.
He hesitated outside Luke’s door. Reid’s hand was poised to knock. Every fiber of his being told him to do so. Instead, he placed his palm flat against the wood and turned away.
Reid followed his nightly routine. After a quick shower, he slid into a pair of scrub pants that he had stolen from the set. He brushed his teeth and, under advisement from the hopeful bit of his heart, he cracked open his door before laying on the bed.
Laptop open, Reid scanned photos Katie had sent of Jacob. He couldn’t believe how much he missed the tiny snot factory. Not giving himself a chance to second guess, Reid typed a name in Google. He inexplicably felt a need to visit the only other time in his life he thought about kids.
“What are you looking at?” Luke, too timid to enter, stood in Reid’s doorway.
Reid tried not to smile too brightly or look too relieved. He simply motioned for Luke to join him on the bed. “I want you to see something.”
Luke folded his legs beneath him and sat on his knees. “I remember this. It’s the cover when James Mathis came out.”
Reid gazed at the photo fondly. James had been a beautiful man. Sandy blonde hair, iridescent hazel eyes, strong jaw and gentle smile. Perfect build for an action star. “We used to date.”
Luke’s eyes widened. “No way. Are you still in touch?”
Biting his lip, Reid shook his head. “I haven’t talked to him since the day that picture was taken.”
Lost in nostalgia, Luke switched his weight to his hip and stretched his legs. “Me and my friends watched every movie he was in. You could guarantee anything with car chases, explosions and James Mathis was going to be a good two hours.”
“You know what he’s doing these days?” Luke didn’t have a response. “Neither does anyone else. Two more movies came out after that article. They both tanked.” Reid closed the computer and slid it under the bed. “Does this mean you're ready to talk?”
Luke curled into the fetal position facing Reid. His golden locks fanned out on the pillow. “Do you think you‘ll ever do something like that?”
“On the cover of People magazine?” Reid chuckled. “That’s not coming out of the closet, Luke. That’s blowing the door off the fucking hinges.”
“So, never?”
“Not like that.” Reid evened his position on the bed, eye to eye with Luke. “I’ll probably get caught living my life. Walks on the beach, holding hands at a dinner for two.” He reached out and let a strand of Luke’s hair slip between his fingers. “You know, the dangerous stuff.”
Luke captured Reid’s wrist and held his hand to his face. “I still owe you some humiliation for what happened on set.”
Reid closed the distance between them. “Think we could be one of those business couples who keep arguments at work from coming home with them?”
“Couple?” Luke’s eyebrows shot to his hair line.
“I couldn’t think of a better word.”
“For them or us?”
Reid snaked his arms around Luke’s waist. “Shut up and kiss me.” Luke blushed and looked painfully shy. “What’s the matter?”
“Nothing.” Luke averted his eyes for a moment. “It’s just I’ve never kissed you before. Not really.”
Hovering just above Luke’s lips, Reid whispered. “You’ll get used to it.”
The instant their lips touched, Luke knew he was right. No matter how many times he had been in this very position, he had no idea what it meant to kiss Reid Oliver until now. His quickened pulse was evidence of that.
Reid brought Luke over him as he rolled to his back. His hands bunched the fabric of Luke’s t-shirt under his arms. Luke was visibly shaking when he sat up and removed it. “Do you want to stop?”
Gaining control over his nerves, Luke ground his ass against Reid’s cock. “I don’t want to stop. By the feel of it, you don’t want to either.”
Luke lifted to his knees and hooked his thumbs inside the waist of his sleep pants. It may have been anxiety. It’s possible that it was the unwavering gaze of his captive audience. Whatever it was, the confidence that had gotten him to this point had evaporated and he froze in his position.
Reid waited patiently, rubbing his hands along Luke’s thighs. When Luke made no attempt to continue, Reid lifted his own hips and removed the scrubs. The corners of Luke’s mouth lifted at the sweetness of the gesture and he shimmied his pants down his legs.
Feeling skin on skin, need to aching need, Luke’s vision went dark. He swayed forward, crashing against Reid’s chest. Labored breaths mingled between their open mouths. Their slick tongues seeking each other elicited a long moan from deep within Luke’s throat when they met.
Reid shifted his legs causing Luke to fall back. He rummaged through the bedside drawer before kissing his way over the rise and fall of Luke’s chest to his navel. Lids heavy with desire, he watched Luke lick his lips and nod emphatically. Wrapping his palm around the base of Luke’s leaking manhood, his mouth crept slowly down the shaft.
He collected the nectar that Luke gave with a swipe of his tongue across the slit. Reid suckled, his mouth folding around the contours of Luke’s cock. Writhing beneath him, Reid held Luke’s hips to the bed. “Patience, Luke. We haven’t even gotten to the best part.”
Popping the top on the bottle of lube, Reid wet his digits and gave Luke a preview. Sliding his finger past the ring of muscles, Reid closed his eyes and allowed the heat to envelope him. Luke winced at the addition of a second finger. When the pain subsided, Reid swallowed Luke completely, bobbing with fervor while brushing a knuckle against Luke’s prostate.
“God!” Luke moved without thought, forcing himself down on Reid’s hand. Yanking hard on his lover’s hair, Luke begged for Reid’s kiss. “Fuck me, Reid. Fuck me now!”
“Luke.” Reid struggled to get the word out. Luke nipped at his lips like a starving man and Reid was the only nourishment he needed. “You have a choice to make. Let me have my hand back or…”
Luke snatched the condom from Reid’s hand. As he rolled it on, he was struck by the fact that every fantasy he had would be altered. The dread that what he had built in his mind would far outweigh the reality frightened him.
Reid had seen this look before. He grinned confidently. “I know you’ve thought about this. Believe me when I tell you, you’re not even close.” Reid scissored his fingers and bit gently on his neck. “I am so much better.”
Luke had to stave off the urge to come almost immediately. He relished the stretch Reid’s girth demanded. Reid filled him so completely.
Soft, choked sounds escaped Luke’s lips each time Reid drove into him. “Reid, I won’t break.”
That was all he needed to hear. Reid pounded Luke with abandon. Never a very vocal lover, he couldn’t quiet his chant. “Fuck, Luke. Fuck, you feel so good.”
Reid reached between them and fisted Luke’s swollen dick. Luke’s eyes were unfocused, but the rest of his body knew exactly what to do. He wrapped his legs around Reid’s waist and rocked with all the strength he had left.
Staring deep into Reid’s baby blues, a hint of a smile danced across his lips. He felt Reid tense, his muscles quacking. Luke would not be alone in the rapture this time. “Come, Reid. Come with me.”
As he cried out with Luke’s name on his lips, Reid felt Luke’s release splatter against his stomach. They clung to each other, chests colliding with each heavy breath. “Don’t let go of me, Luke. Not just yet.”
Luke ran his fingers through Reid’s hair, massaging lightly. “I won’t. I’ve got you.”
Planting a feather-light kiss on Luke’s shoulder, Reid laughed. “Yes, I’m afraid you do.”