"I like your lips," Batista murmured as they drew back from a soul- searing kiss. "You know, if I didn't know any better, I would say that I've fallen madly in love with you."

"But you know better, right?" Slowly, Jericho's hand circled on the rock hard stomach. "When did you get to be such a romantic, Dave?"

"Romantic!" The sarcasm in the big man's voice quickly gave way to lust as the other man's hand crept beneath his belt and into his Levis. "Oh, yeah," he muttered.

"You'll have to take them off. I can't do it this way. Not enough room." Intently, Jericho began undoing the belt, button and zipper, happy when Batista lifted his butt and slid the jeans down. When he was clear of shoes, jeans and underwear, Jericho kissed him again as he took his straining erection in hand. "That's better," he whispered against his lips.

Batista scooted down to give him better access and closed his eyes as the hand wrapped around his cock began to stroke. "Yeah, that's good, baby," he said, one hand busy playing with the blonde tresses that fell around the other man's face. "If your legs and ribs weren't so banged up, I would give you something even better!"

Jericho beamed at him. "Maybe at bedtime. I think I'm up for it."

"Really?" Batista pulled him in for another kiss. "Because I really want to make love to you," he murmured.

"I love the way you say it," Jericho groaned and hugged him. "You're so passionate! I never expected this from you, but I like it!" Settling into the embrace, he kept rhythm with the stroking. "So, you know better, eh? You know better than to think you've fallen in love, or do you know better than to tell me?"

Batista fidgeted at the question. Leaning his head back on the back of the couch, he assumed a peaceful pose. "One thing at a time, okay? This is too good to screw up with talk."

"Sure," Jericho agreed readily. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to kill the mood." He cuddled against the larger man's body as he pumped faster.

A few seconds later, Batista arched into his hand. "Mmm, that's good," he moaned. "Yeah, almost there! Almost…" And suddenly, with a low-pitched growl, he exploded all over Jericho's hand. Writhing and moaning, the orgasm took him over until his seed was spent. Afterward, his muscles collapsed and he lay boneless, breathing hard and gazing at the blonde with profound affection. "Yeah, that was perfect," he said. "Absolutely perfect. No way could I walk away from you now - no way in hell."

Intimately, Jericho kissed him again. "I never thought this would happen with you," he said. "I thought about it, though. I thought about it a lot! A little while ago, I was sitting here thinking to myself how shitty life is. I was feeling down because of all the people who have pretended to love me. I'm so damned gullible! I fall for it every time! And then, I was thinking of you, wishing that we could be friends, having a few kinky little fantasies, you know. But I never expected this."

"You were thinking of me? But you thought I was the one who assaulted you!"

"I kind of knew it wasn't you. I didn't want it to be you," Jericho said. "You've been talking to me here and there at the shows, so I didn't think you had any reason to want to hurt me. The last few times, you've actually been friendly, sort of. You patted me on the shoulder; you smiled at me, once you even squeezed my arm. I know I'm pathetic, but those gestures meant a lot to me because I've been feeling really unloved lately. I guess I was reaching out for something. I don't know."

"That's not pathetic. If it is, then I'm a classic case." Batista gave him another gentle kiss. "You can reach out for me any time, Chris."

They kissed again, soft and sweet. When they pulled back, need was obvious in Jericho's face. "Let's go take a shower," he suggested, his voice trembling.

Batista shook his head. "Not yet," he said. Carefully, he pushed the other man's sweats down and bent over his lap.

~~

Ready Story #6 of 7 titled Declarations