Page 84 of Ring Rust

“How long were you in that dirt? Jesus. You’re covered.”

“It was a while.”

“It’s winter! Why weren’t you wearing a coat?”

“It’s hard to get dressed by myself,” Ryan said.

It wasn’t, really.

“Okay, good arm up,” Jasper said, lifting Ryan’s hand.

The washcloth against his skin was divine, from both getting clean for the first time in a while, and knowing Jasper was the one doing it.

The scrubbing moved a little lower down his side, and Jasper used his bare hands to rinse the soap from Ryan’s body. When he moved to Ryan’s chest, the scrapes there from his injury were too sensitive for the abrasive rag, so Jasper tossed it on the floor of the shower. He used his hands again to clean Ryan’s skin more gently. A thumb brushed over Ryan’s one exposed nipple. It stiffened under Jasper’s hand, and Ryan sucked in a breath.

“Behave,” Jasper said, his voice raspier than before.

And Ryan wastrying, sort of, but Jasper wasn’t making it easy. He was so close, so wet, and so all-consuming to Ryan’s senses, that his pulse sped up every time Jasper’s hands slid to a new location. The confidence he’d had in his plan to get Jasper into the shower with him for sexy reasons had faded, replaced by fear that he’d dug himself deeper into this hole of longing if things didn’t go the way he’d hoped.

But then, Jasper’s hand scrubbed the skin below Ryan’s belly button, focusing on the hair that trailed down to his crotch. In doing that, his pinky dipped even lower, brushing the soft skin of Ryan’s cock.

He tried to stay strong, but Ryan was just one man. A heartbroken, touch-starved man currently being manhandled by the love of his life, so he couldn’t help it if his dick was fully hard. He moaned at the contact before mumbling a quick apology.

Jasper’s breathy laugh bounced off the walls of the shower, but his hands didn’t stop scrubbing and rinsing. Now he waswashing Ryan’s hair and scrubbing behind his ears, the feeling of it nearly orgasmic. It was familiar and homey and terribly arousing, and Ryan’s dick grew harder.

“Jas—”

“Keep it to yourself,” Jasper said.

Ryan laughed and tipped his head back so the shampoo could be rinsed out, but the angle was awkward with the cast in the way. A quiet huff left Jasper’s lips before he shifted position, stepping directly in front of Ryan instead.

The move brought them chest to chest and Ryan’s breath caught when his dick brushed against Jasper’s stomach, slick and hot through the water and steam. Heat curled low in his gut as he bit the inside of his cheek, hard enough to muffle any sound that might make Jasper stop touching him.

In front of him, Jasper stilled. Ryan shifted his gaze away from the wall where he’d been staring, pretending he was looking at something interesting and not focusing one hundred percent of his energy on stopping himself from rutting against Jasper’s belly. They locked eyes with each other, and Ryan’s heart sped up again.

He wanted to tell himself he was in control here. That he’d enacted this plan to get Jasper in the shower to fuck him if everything went the way he’d hoped. And maybe it had started that way. But now, with Jasper there, his hands touching every part of Ryan—softly and roughly and everything in between, washing Ryan’s legs and arms and hair before moving to his intimate areas, letting his fingers linger under Ryan's balls before trailing them over his taint and up to his hole, it was obvious the power had changed hands.

Jasper could have told Ryan to bark like a dog or be a living, breathing ottoman, and Ryan would have jumped at the chance.

“Hmm,” Jasper said quietly.

Ryan wasn’t sure how to respond. If he was eager, Jasper might tell him to get fucked. If he feigned confusion, Jasper might get angry. If he ignored it, Jasper might leave. He was desperate to know which one would get Jasper’s mouth around his cock.

“Um. What?” Ryan squeezed his eyes shut at the stupidity of his own response.

“Looks like you’re having a rough time, huh?”

“I guess I am,” Ryan said, trying to keep his voice steady.

Jasper leaned in, so close his warm breaths skimmed Ryan’s lips. He rubbed Ryan’s lower belly and tutted. “Poor baby.”

“Yeah.”

“You need some help?”

“Uh huh.” Ryan’s stomach clenched with anticipation, burning with need. He fisted his hand by his side so he didn’t grab Jasper’s neck and shove him to his knees.

Jasper leaned in even closer and put his lips against Ryan’s ear, his hot breaths making Ryan’s knees weak, and whispered, “Too bad.”