This is really happening!
Hank stood there in Eliza’s back yard and stared into Dox’s eyes while trying not to cry.
He couldn’t even focus on what Loren was saying. The ceremony was more or less noise to him, quieted only by focusing on Dox’s calmly intense gaze.
There was no going back for him, only forward.
This wasn’t merely a means to an end for him. This was love.
This man truly was the love of his life.
Maddox had seen him at his worst and lowest at various points in his life and still wanted to be there for him.
Still wanted to have his back.
Wanted to protect and love JJ as much as he did.
How could he ask for a better partner than that?
As Loren led them through reciting their vows, Hank focused on Dox, on trying not to break down bawling like a baby, and on the fact that, for the first time in his life, he felt completely at peace.
“Maddox,” Loren said. “You wanted to say something?”
He nodded and squeezed Hank’s hands. “I’ve always been in love with you. I was too chicken to admit it when we were kids. Maybe it’s better I didn’t, I don’t know. I never thought I’d see you again, then you came back into my life. It feels like a series of events conspired to make sure we got our second chance, and I’m beyond grateful for that chance. I refuse to waste it, or to deny what I feel for you. I swear to you that I’ll love you for the rest of our lives, I’ll always take care of both of you, and that I’ll love JJ as my own child.”
Then Dox released his hands. Hank watched as Dox’s hand dipped into the pocket of his shorts and he held up a ring. Hank had to blink back tears as Dox slipped it onto his finger.
“With this ring, I thee wed,” Dox said, looking Hank in the eyes. “I want you to know how serious I am about this, that it’s not a game to me, it’s not just doing you a favor. It’s for life, and I mean every word of my vows.”
It fit perfectly.
That Maddox had actually found time, somewhere, to go out and buy one for him…it meant the world to Hank.
“I-I don’t have one for you.”
Dox smiled and reached into his pocket. “I just so happen to have one.”
Hank chuckled. “You sneak.” He took it from him and had to pause for a moment to corral his thoughts. “I was clueless about how you felt for me when we were kids. I always knew you were my best friend. I can look back on those years and see this isn’t far-fetched. I’ve always followed you around, and you always took care of me. I think it’s only fitting that I spend the rest of my life following you around, because I’ve never been happier than when I’ve been with you.”
He slipped the ring onto Maddox’s finger. “With this ring, I thee wed. I want you to know I will spend the rest of my life trying to be the best husband I can to you, and like you said, working day by day, night by night to make us as strong a family as we can be.”
“With that,” Loren said, “I pronounce you husbands. Feel free to kiss.”
Everyone cheered as Hank leaned in and kissed Dox first, staring him in the eyes as he did.
“Love you, Sir,” Hank whispered.
He could never remember Dox ever looking so happy in his entire life as he did in that moment. “Love you, too, boy.”
* * * *
It was nearly dark when the men finally got out of there, with JJ asleep on Hank’s shoulder as he carried her to the car and strapped her into her car seat. Rusty and Eliza had both worked with her most of the afternoon on basic fighting techniques, with a fake sword and shield, and she was already hooked on it.
One more activity for their little girl that would, as Rusty and Eliza gleefully pointed out, help teach her how to defend herself and terrify boys—or girls—who might want to mess with her.
They wouldn’t argue with that logic. Not at all.
Maddox got behind the wheel. Then he sat there for a moment, a playful smile on his face.
“What?” Hank asked.
“I’m in decent shape, but I’m not sure I can carry you across the threshold when we get home.” He winked.
Hank snorted. “I’ll cut you some slack for that, Sir.” He laid his hand on Dox’s thigh and felt a thrill roll through him when Dox laid his hand over Hank’s and left it there for most of the ride home.
Yeah, this felt…right. No, it didn’t make sense unless he took an honest assessment of himself and his life up until this point, the sum of it and the sum of his relationship with Dox.
Everything they’d done as kids set this into motion.
The trust.
The rapport.
The love.
He never had the right vocabulary for it when they were kids, but it was all there, the whole time.
He wasn’t stupid enough to try to deny it.
Why? Why deny the best thing to ever come into his life, next to JJ?
Why deny how he felt about the guy when the truth was, he was finally happy? They both were.
JJ woke up long enough to get her bath, check her blood sugar, and take her medication, then she fell asleep again almost immediately, worn out from her nonstop play that afternoon.
They stood in her bedroom doorway for a moment, watching her sleep.
“We’re going to have to threaten boys she brings home, aren’t we?” Hank asked.
Dox grinned. “Somehow, I don’t think that’s going to be a problem by the time she reaches that age. Especially if Rusty and Eliza have anything to do with it.” He patted Hank on the shoulder. “Let’s head to bed. I think I know what I want to do next.”
* * * *
In an ideal world, Maddox would have taken Hank to a decent resort on the beach for the whole weekend and holed up in their room, never leaving it until time to check out, spending the entire time making Hank’s head explode from pleasure.
Giving him every reason to celebrate the choice he’d made giving himself to Maddox.
For tonight, they had to be dads. Eliza and Rusty had offered to let JJ stay with them tonight, as had June and Scrye, but the men gently refused their offers because they were, frankly, scared to. They were still worried about JJ’s medication and adjusting the levels, checking her blood sugar—all of that. Maybe in a few weeks, once doctors were happy with her maintenance levels, and JJ had started learning how to take care of that, too, then they’d let her out of their sight for an overnight.
Until then, Maddox was perfectly happy to be an overprotective dad and keep her close at night. It was difficult enough to let her out of their sight during the day while they were at work.
Maddox led Hank to their bedroom—their bedroom—and locked the door behind them. Then he pulled Hank into his arms. “I’m still afraid I’m going to wake up and find out this was just a dream.”
Hank draped his arms over Maddox’s shoulders, around his neck. “If it is, then we’re both having it…Sir.”
He wore a playful smile while he said it.
“Sounds like you’re getting used to calling me that.”
“I am, believe it or not.” His smile faded. “I wish Mom and Dad were here today. And Lois.”
“If they’re able, I’m sure they’re watching us and smiling.”
“I hope so.” His gaze seemed to be searching Maddox’s face. “I’ve spent the past couple of years too deep inside my own head. I know I have. I didn’t have a choice. I had to shove everything way down inside me and hold on tight because I had to take care of her. I was afraid to lose it. I was all she had, and I couldn’t let those fuckers in Cameron’s family have her. I wouldn’t. Especially not after they tried to blame Lois for everything.”
“It’s you and me, boy,” Maddox quietly said. “You and me, shoulder-to-shoulder. You’re not alone anymore, and I won’t hesitate to fuck someone’s shit up if they try to get in our way. Let them try to come after us. We’ll take them apart.”
“And we can sic Eliza and June on them,” Hank playfully added,
a smile once again quirking his lips.
“Absolutely we can. Do that, and then sit back and watch the show.” He pulled Hank in for a long, slow, sweetly gentle kiss. “No Sir and boy tonight, okay? Just us.”
Hank tipped his head forward, forehead-to-forehead with Maddox. It was something they seemed to do a lot, sometimes just standing there for a minute or two like that, taking quiet comfort from each other. It wasn’t…uncomfortable. It wasn’t weird. It felt normal, easy, like nothing was required except being present in the moment and accepting what was.
“What if I want Sir and boy?” Hank asked.
Maddox nuzzled noses with him. “Does that comfort you?”
“Yeah,” he softly said. “It does.”
Maddox turned them so he could sit on the bed. He put Hank on his knees on the floor, between his thighs, cradling his head against him and massaging his scalp for him. A soft moan escaped Hank and it was like he nearly melted into Maddox’s lap.
He smiled, holding him, loving this.
All his fantasies made real.
His life made complete, when he hadn’t realized before how much was missing.
“My good boy,” he said, rubbing Hank’s scalp. “I promise I’ll take such good care of you.”
“Thank you, Sir.” Hell, Hank even sounded like he was in subspace.
Maddox’s heart raced at the feel of Hank actually nuzzling his forehead against his thigh.
Tenderly.
Lovingly.
No, this wasn’t a man reluctantly going along with the events.
This was a man willingly all-in, and Maddox believed him when he said he was in this for real.
For life.
If I’ve got this kind of rapport with him now, how great will it be when we can scene?
After a few minutes, Maddox prompted Hank to stand and tugged his shirttails free of his shorts, pulling it off him, followed by Hank’s shorts and briefs.
The man was fucking gorgeous, there was no two ways about it. Not perfection built in a gym, either. His body was from real, hard, honest work on a daily basis.
“All those times I stood up for you,” Maddox teased, “and now, here you are, the fucking badass.”
Hank looked a little bashful. “You’ll never know how much I appreciated it back then. I could always count on you when I couldn’t count on anyone else. Why did you do that?”
“Because I’ve always loved you, buddy. I wasn’t going to let anyone hurt you.”
Sitting on the edge of the bed put Maddox at the perfect position to have a little fun. Hank’s cock wasn’t fully erect, but he definitely had healthy interest going on. Maddox playfully smiled up at him before pulling him close and teasing him, kissing his way down his treasure trail, nuzzling his lips around the base of his cock but not licking it.
That definitely got Hank’s interest. His cock finished stiffening, his hands settling on Maddox’s shoulders as Maddox leaned in and left a love bite just above his pubes. Hank softly moaned again, his fingers digging into Maddox’s shoulders. “Fuuuck…”
Maddox smiled up at him. “Oh, I plan on leaving all sorts of sneaky marks on you tonight.” He stood and peeled his own shirt off, quickly followed by his shorts and briefs. Pulling Hank’s body against him, feeling the firm warmth of his muscles and skin pressed along his, Maddox knew he was in…
Heaven.
Something else Maddox had stocked up on was lube, because at the rate they were going, they were going to be using a lot.
They’d probably be going through a lot of condoms at some point, too, although Maddox still wanted both of them to get tested, just to be sure. And he wasn’t going to step things up to anal yet, anyway.
There was still way too much fun to be had that they hadn’t even started having yet.
Maddox grabbed a towel and bottle of lube and stretched out on top of Hank on the bed. He started by kissing him, their cocks rubbing together as Hank spread his thighs so Maddox could lie there.
Yes, one night in the not too distant future, hopefully he’d be fucking his boy like that. Or, if it never happened, that was fine, too. They were not lacking for orgasms at the rate they were going.
Right now he wanted to savor the taste of Hank’s lips, gently nipping and sucking on them as they kissed. Taking their time.
Exploring.
“My husband,” Maddox said, unable to help smiling as he did. “I never thought I’d get to call you that.”
“Me, either, Sir.” Hank smiled. “Not complaining about it, that’s for sure.” Hank wrapped his arms around Maddox, his hands settling on his ass and kneading his flesh.
It’d been a while since Maddox had been with another guy, but how perfect that his last guy was Hank?
His last partner hopefully for the rest of their lives.
Maddox planted his hands on the mattress on either side of Hank’s head and smiled down at him as he slowly rocked his body along Hank’s. “You know,” Maddox said, “if there’s ever anything you want to try with me, all you have to do is ask.”
He loved how Hank’s fingers kneaded his ass. “I don’t even know what I don’t know, dude. I’m happy to follow your lead. Seriously.”
Maddox nibbled his way along Hank’s jawline to his right ear, where he nipped the lobe. “By the time you go back to work Monday morning, there won’t be a square inch of your body I haven’t had my hands or my mouth on. You realize that, right?”
Hank deliciously shivered below him. “You don’t hear me complaining, Sir.”
* * * *
Abso-fucking-lutely not, Hank wasn’t going to complain.
He had worried his boss might be a little weird about the whole situation, but fortunately, the guy wasn’t a jerk. One of the guys on his crew had given Hank a hassle when he heard Hank telling the crew foreman what was going on Thursday morning, but then on Friday, the guy wasn’t there. He’d been moved to another crew at the foreman’s request.
Ironically, the guy had been in line to possibly get promoted.
Not anymore.
Because the foreman had a son who was gay, and didn’t put up with that kind of bigoted shit from people working under him.
Neither did Ken Listley.
Hank arched his back a little, trying to gain a little traction on his cock where he was rubbing against Maddox, but the sadist pushed up a little, chuckling into Hank’s ear when he whined in disappointment.
“I’m going to take my time,” Maddox whispered. “This is our first time doing this married. I want to remember it for the rest of my life.”
Come to think of it, he had a point.
Hank had never come close to getting married before.
Maddox started working his way down Hank’s body, kissing and licking his flesh as he did, but not nearly fast enough for Hank’s liking. With every slow bit of progress the man made, Hank’s cock throbbed, aching for more.
Kind of the point, he soon learned. The faster he tried to urge Maddox, the more time he took, until he finally lifted his head to smile at Hank. “You realize the more desperate you are the better I like it, right?”
“I’m starting to realize that, Sir.”
Maddox sat up and grabbed Hank’s hands, pinning them over his head as he stared down into his eyes. “Ask me for it,” he said. “Tell me what you want, boy. Might as well get used to that now, because I’m going to make you beg a lot during our life together.” A sexy smile quirked his lips. “Kind of turns me on.”
Hank swallowed hard as he stared up into Maddox’s gaze. Now he understood what he’d loved about him when they were kids—the single-minded focus Maddox had on him. A lot of things made sense in retrospect, from the way Maddox never brushed him off, to the way he’d playfully made Hank beg for things when they were kids, like taking a break from studying, or to go do something together.
“I want you, Sir. Please make me come.”
Something akin to triumph seemed to light Maddox’s gaze from deep within him. He
slanted his lips over Hank’s for a long, crushing kiss that scrambled Hank’s brain even while it made his cock throb and leak all the more. At this rate, he was going to blow just from eager anticipation. He could feel how hard Maddox’s cock was, too, leaking pre-cum all over him as he ground on him.
Maddox lifted his lips from Hank’s for more teasing, more nips and sucks. “Who do you belong to?” Maddox whispered.
Another of those thills ran through him. “You, Sir. I’m yours.”
“And who do I belong to?”
A lump rose in Hank’s throat. “Me, Sir. You belong to me.”
“Damn right, I do.” Sitting up, he grabbed the lube and drizzled a generous amount over both their cocks. Then he reached down and fisted both of them, resting his weight on his other arm as his gaze bored into Hank’s.
“Hold on to me,” Maddox told him.
Hank wrapped his arms around him and hooked his feet over the backs of Maddox’s calves. Hank let out a moan as Maddox slowly stroked them. The man had fucking magic fingers. Yeah, he was happy to turn over control of his sex life to Maddox. The guy was damned good at it, that was for sure.
“Come with me,” Maddox urged.
Slowly, until he gained a little confidence, Hank started moving with him, thrusting his cock into Maddox’s fist, their cocks rubbing together.
Almost immediately he felt his mind spinning away into a sweet peace where he was happy to turn everything over to Maddox. Nothing else mattered but turning everything over to him.
“There’s my good boy,” Maddox whispered. “You feel it, don’t you? You feel how good it is letting go to me, don’t you?”
“Yes, Sir.” He couldn’t have taken his focus off Maddox in this moment even if he’d wanted to. The man was his universe, his everything.
“For better or for worse, baby,” Maddox told him. “I’ll carry it all for you. All you have to do is give me what I want.”
Their gazes locked as Maddox patiently stroked their meat and Hank found himself actively fucking back against him.
That cocky, triumphant smile Maddox wore looked like no more than fourteen days had passed instead of fourteen years. When Hank’s climax erupted, Maddox practically growled with pleasure when he felt Hank’s cum fill his hand and spill all over them. He started stroking hard, fast, catching up and adding his own load to the sticky mess now covering both of them.
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