Desperate Lovers by Adam Carpenter (good beach reads TXT) 📕

and by night he returned to the security of his home, to the waiting, embracing arms of his long-time lover. But Aaron Walters knew this was a mere illusion, the lines of battle were drawn both at home and work, so much so he barely knew who to trust or who to believe. Even within his own relationship with Paolo doubt lurked, and it was that which occupied his free day.

Take for instance the pleasure Paolo had experienced while having sex with Rich.

Aaron couldn’t stop watching the video, an endless loop of film that continued to scroll in his head even after he’d put it away. Viewing that video had been this morning, and now, at noon, he’d taken it out again, his mind’s images locking onto the sweaty duo like Paulo’s legs had done with Rich’s hairy ass. He’d watched his lover being urgently fucked by some other man, and damn if he hadn’t grown hard by the sight of his sexy, hairy neighbor, bucking and thrusting, grunting, pleasuring a man committed to someone else. Paolo had been enjoying himself a bit too much, and Aaron ought to know, their sex life had been lackluster of late.

To see his partner throwing himself into this passionate exchange with Rich, lapping at his thickly haired chest, receiving each plunge of that big cock so wantonly, so heatedly, Aaron had to wonder if he and Paolo would truly survive the latest turns of events. When all was settled on Eldon Court, would they still be a team?

Aaron was determined to make the answer a resounding yes.

No matter who he had to manipulate.

Aaron Walters was playing a dangerous game, neighbor against neighbor, enemy against enemy, and at the moment none were the wiser.

Like with Rich North, throwing Paolo at him had been his decision, and as much as he hated watching his lover being fucked by someone else—and videotaping it for god’s sake!—he had done what had to be done. Sitting in his office, looking at the frozen image on his computer screen of Paolo in the throes of orgasm, he fought the urge to jerk-off and instead thought about the exchange which had occurred moments after Rich had left the hotel room.

“He’s gone,” Aaron had said, “You can open the door.”

Paolo did as instructed, he always did, allowing his regular lover to slip into the room, quickly closing the door behind him. The musky scent of sex pervaded the room, as though proving to Aaron that the sex had been real, it hadn’t been some cheap porno movie he’d been viewing.

Swallowing his pride, he said, “Well done, Paolo.”

“I hate myself.”

“Oh, please. You enjoyed yourself plenty, it’s all on the tape.”

“What are you going to do with it?”

“For now, nothing. But when we need it, we’ll certainly use it.”

“Why, Aaron?”

“Because, even in a seemingly gentle place like Wonderland, you need to look out for number one. Things are changing fast, and no one knows who’s in control,” Aaron said. “I don’t trust that Rich will be looking out for all of us when push comes to shove. He might have rallied all of us on Eldon Court, but he’s got secrets, we all do, and when threatened, he’ll look out for number one too. This tape is our insurance policy. Working here at the Bayside Hotel, I’ve learned a few things from Danvers Converse about customer service.”

“Does this mean we’re okay?” Paolo asked, “I mean, the sex…it was just…”

“It was just business,” Aaron said hollowly. Then he placed a comforting hand upon his lover’s cheek. “We’re going to be fine.”

Days since the encounter, Aaron hoped it was still true. He put away the disk, turned off his computer and made his way to the bathroom for a quick shower. There was much to accomplish on his day off, things to set in motion, and while the morning may have escaped him, he didn’t plan to waste away the rest of the day. After languishing in the hot spray for ten minutes, he stepped out and grabbed for a towel from the rack above the toilet—only to witness a few magazines tumble from between the collection of plush cotton.

“What the hell are these doing here?” a naked, dripping Aaron asked aloud, quickly drying his hand before picking up the periodicals; he didn’t want to get them wet. Trouble was, a few of the pages were wet anyway, or had been. Some pages were stuck together, but even still he knew what kind of magazines he was looking at. Naked, hard men, sucking each other, fucking each other, page after page of masculine, tattooed, hairy-chested, big-dicked men, all of which brought Aaron to an instant hard-on. Christ, he was turned on, even while knowing only one person could have hidden these between the folds of the towels. Paolo.

With the pages sticky from come, Aaron knew that his lover was jerking off, and a hollowness settled inside his heart as the realization hit him. He knew he wasn’t satisfying Paolo, he was looking elsewhere for stimulation and release, and while he had found it temporarily in the form of Rich North the other day, he more often turned to these still photographs to help him reach his orgasms. Probably after Aaron had gone to sleep.

The pictures were sexy, he gave him that. A dark-haired, bearded guy with a rug on his chest was impaling a smooth, pale guy from behind, expressions of ecstasy perfectly captured on their faces. Scenes from a porno, or just staged for the photograph, Aaron couldn’t be sure. All he knew was that his cock was starting to thicken. He flipped a page, saw that same furry guy going down on a huge black cock. Aaron fingered his cock, suddenly staring at himself in the mirror. Did he even recognize himself, the smooth, waxed chest, the emptiness inside his eyes. Danvers Converse had robbed him of not just his sexuality, but his soul, and he failed to see himself in the reflection.

He made a decision right then and there.

No more giving in to Danvers’