Coda 05 -Paris a to Z

to me, and nobody was going to take him away.
Afterward, as I held him tight against me and we both worked to catch our breath, he said to me, “Thats what I want you to remember, Matt. Every time you start to get jealous, every time you want to punch him in the face, I want you to think about this. And when we get back to the room, you can throw me down on the bed and do it again if you want. As long as it helps you remember that youre the one I love.”
I sighed and held him tighter. I hated to admit that my anger was gone, but it was. My jealousy was lost and powerless in the afterglow of our pleasure. I kissed his neck. “Youre a manipulative bastard,” I said.
He laughed. “I learned from the best.” He rolled us over again and sat on top of me, straddling my hips, smiling down at me. “Are you still mad?”
“No.”
“Good,” he said, “cause that was fun.”
“Did I hurt you?”
“Yes,” he said, but he was grinning ear to ear as he said it, and I knew it wasnt a complaint.
I reached up and grabbed his hair, and he let me pull him down to kiss me. “Suddenly Im hoping you make me jealous a lot on this trip.”
The smile he gave me was one of the sexiest things Id ever seen. “My thoughts exactly.”

Zach…
    A NGELO was completely in love with our suite. Hed never been in any place quite so luxurious, and he seemed halfway afraid to touch anything, as if he might break it. The living room held a couch, several chairs, and a desk. The ceilings were high. There seemed to be curtains everywhere, velvet of a deep, rich red, not just covering the windows, but also between the rooms and draped over the bed. The bedroom held a king-size bed, over which hung a gold chandelier. Somehow that, more than anything, seemed absurd: a chandelier in the bedroom. The plasma TV on the wall seemed terribly out of place.
    Angelo was at the window, looking out. “Cant believe were here,” he said in awe. He pointed out the window. “If we walk down that street over there, well get to the Tuileries Gardens. A to Z says theyre the essence of the city. „Big and bold and precise and elegant and ravishing in their beauty.” He looked over at me, his eyes huge and wondrous. “Thats what it said.”
    “Its winter.”
    That simple fact did nothing to quell his enthusiasm. “I cant wait to see em,” he said as he turned to look out the window again.
I didnt care too much about seeing any gardens, but I loved to see him so happy. I went and stood behind him, and he leaned back against me. We could see most of the square, which was paved entirely with dull brick. The buildings were uniform, flat-faced and gray, with regularly spaced identical windows. Most of the windows had window boxes, but this time of year, there was nothing alive. In the middle of the square was a huge column with a statue on the top.
In my travels in America, it had been my experience that one city looked very much like another. But this was unmistakably not Western USA.
“Whats that tower?” I asked.
“Napoleon put it up after the Battle of Austerlitz. To commemorate his victory. They took the cannons from the other armies and melted them down to make those bronze plates.”
“So thats Napoleon on top?”
“Yeah. Thats not the original statue though. They pulled it down, I think. Not sure why. But later, they replaced it.” He turned his head to look up at me with a grin. “Unless somethin changed since my book was published.”
“Smartass. Remind me to ask Cole these questions from now on,” I said, and he laughed. “What did he say to you?” I asked.
“When?”
“In the lobby.” I kissed his neck, and he shivered. “He whispered something in your ear.” I pulled on his T-shirt, stretching the collar, revealing more of his shoulder. I loved the soft place where it curved up into his neck. I flicked my tongue there, and his breath caught for a second before he answered me.
“He said he was glad you werent freakin out, cause he can only handle one jealous boyfriend at a time.”
I laughed and kissed him more as I slid my hand down his stomach. I started to unbutton his pants. “You dont want him anymore.”
He shook his head. “No.” His breathing was changing, and I took my time, letting the anticipation build. I unzipped his jeans and slipped my hand inside, rubbing him through the fabric of his boxers. Once he was hard, I pushed his shorts out of the way, exposing his cock, but not touching it. I slid my hand down past