Haunted by Chuck Palahniuk (best time to read books txt) 📕

him that within this place, he could not rush. He looked over the rim, shocked that no more than ten feet separated where they stood from the spring. Marek took his hand and held it out under the fall with his, and Colin gasped as the first shock of chill turned his fingers icy.

“Shit.” A little shiver rocked through him. “That's colder than I expected.” Colin kept his hand under the thick stream, though, held in the strong grip of Marek's.

“But not that powerful, you'll notice,” Marek pointed out. “The storm last night didn't end up producing rain heavy enough, and it didn't last long enough to give it a true thundering rush. It wouldn't surprise me if this one goes away by evening.”

“It sounds loud enough to me.”

Marek took their hands out from the flow of the fall but left them linked together. “It doesn't happen often, but there are times when the water is coming down so fast, and there's so much of it, that when you stand here you can feel it vibrating through your whole body.” Excitement brightened Marek's eyes and enthusiasm fused his voice. “When you leave, it takes a good part of your trek back down the mountain to reacclimatize to varying degrees of sound. It's really something incredible to experience.”

Marek's passion crackled between them, and Colin couldn't help smiling. “You obviously come up here a lot.”

“Yep, I do.” Marek leaned in and planted a quick kiss on Colin's lips. “And one of the things I learned is that right now”—he let go of Colin's hand and pulled off his T-shirt, revealing too much perfect, gorgeous body—“it is just right for a jump and a swim.” He backed away from the ledge and stooped down to unlace his boots. “Come on.” Pausing with one boot almost off, Marek glanced up. “Start getting naked.”

Jump off the shelf? Colin took another peek down, and with a sense of tunnel vision, the pool suddenly looked a whole lot farther away. “Jumping doesn't seem entirely safe.”

“It's fine. I've done it at least a hundred times.” Marek finished with his boots and socks, stood, and went for his belt. “I didn't bring you up here to sit down and dangle your feet over the side.”

“Still…” Colin knew the ledge cleared the side of the cliff by a good number of feet, but he had this image of himself whipping backward, cracking his head open, and bleeding to death. “I don't know.”

“I promise I'll hold your hand the whole way down.” Marek held his unzipped pants at his hips, keeping them from slipping farther down and revealing more than the base of his penis. He looked up at Colin with playful heat burning in his gaze. “If you do it, I might even give you a blowjob afterward.” He stuck his hand down the front of his underwear and clearly stroked his length, moaning once before letting his pants and underwear hit the floor. He stood before Colin naked, and his dark cock jutted with the beginnings of an erection.

Colin swallowed the rush of saliva filling his mouth and tore his focus off the enticing view of Marek's half-hard prick. “You'll give me a blowjob anyway.” Marek started stalking him the scant distance; Colin's heart rate sped up, but he kept his chin angled high and held his ground. “You like sucking cock.”

Marek kept coming and finally ended up standing so close that his body heat swirled around Colin like a blanket. “I certainly like yours.” He slid his hand around Colin's waist and skimmed a kiss against his temple. Holding there, he said, “Now undress and let me see it.” He dipped lower, right to Colin's ear. “Sweetness.”

Colin shivered at the name. “Now who's the tease?”

Groaning, Marek nipped Colin on the shoulder, but pulled away and rubbed his arms in a comforting pattern. “All right, in all seriousness, I can feel your nervousness. Where is your hesitation coming from? I don't want you to be scared and intimidated; I want you to try it because you think it'll be fun.”

Okay, so maybe I don't really think I'm going to crash into the mountainside. Still, Colin couldn't ignore the butterflies in his stomach. They were as familiar to him as the scars on his body. “Just give me the basics,” he shared, “so I'm not surprised by something unexpected when I hit the water.”

A shadow crossed Marek's eyes right then, but with a blink, it was gone, and Colin wondered if he had imagined it.

“I can do that.” Marek went to unbuttoning Colin's shirt as he talked. “It's cold right where you jump, but the rest of the pool is warmed by the heat and sunlight because, remember, the fall isn't always flowing.” He drew Colin's shirt down his arms and tossed it to land in the pile with his clothes. Then he led Colin away from the ledge and dropped to his knees to undo Colin's shoes for him. “The water feels really funky against your skin when you swim from the deep point where the waterfall hits to the shallower areas on the edges, and you can feel the temperature slowly shift from cold to warm with each stroke you take.”

“Sounds interesting.” Colin planted his hand on Marek's head, steadying himself as Marek removed both of his boots. “You swear you won't let go of my hand?”

“I promise.” Marek pressed a kiss right above the line of Colin's belt and looked up at him from his kneeling position. He darted his tongue into Colin's belly button, making Colin tremble. He worked the belt open and finished, “But I also know you're going to want to do it on your own the second time around.”

“One step at a time.” As Colin said that, he couldn't help thinking he'd dived headfirst into getting to know Marek again at about step ninety-three out of one hundred. Fuck. I'm already in so deep. The proof? Colin now stood naked behind a waterfall