by Jess Bryant
Since then, they’d become friends. He considered Trent a good friend even. He didn’t think just any old acquaintance had been invited to this exclusive, middle of nowhere resort, to watch the country music star say I Do to the small-town deputy that had turned out to be the love of his life.
He only wished he’d been able to attend without his father in tow.
If Chuck had stayed home, Colin might actually have been able to have fun this weekend. He might have even been able to enjoy himself. He might have been able to relax for once in his life but alas, Chuck had somehow wrangled an invite as well. He wasn’t sure how that had happened. He hadn’t asked. It didn’t matter. What mattered was that his father was here and that meant Colin had to be on his toes. He had to be responsible and level headed. He had to play referee if need be and more than likely, babysitter. On top of all that, he had to keep his notoriously loud mouthed and opinionated father from saying anything that might be construed as homophobic.
Chuck liked to insist he was simply old school. He was from a different era. But the truth was he could be a judgmental asshole and that was why Colin hadn’t worked up the nerve to come out of the closet until just recently. Despite having known he was gay since he was a boy, he hadn’t been able to tell his family. He’d worried about the reactions back in Nashville, in a southern town that prided itself on tradition, but he’d worried about his father’s reaction more. He’d only realized just how much worrying about what other people thought of him was affecting his life when he lost the person that meant the most to him and he’d decided from then on out that he wasn’t hiding anymore.
He'd come out. He’d taken his rightful place at the family company. And he hadn’t let his father or anyone else tell him who to be since.
He knew who he was. He was Colin Turner. He was the only son of Chuck Turner. He was Millie’s big brother. He was the rightful heir to the Turner Bell record label and one day soon he was going to take over his father’s position with the company and guide them into the future. And when he did, they’d be signing a hell of a lot more artists that spanned not just the musical scope outside country music but also outside the strictly straight Nashville standards.
“You know what, Dad?” Colin blew out a calming breath and tried for a smile he wasn’t feeling, “Why don’t you head out to the beach for a while and relax. I’ll take care of any business that comes up and I’ll see you at the wedding.”
“That’s my boy.” Chuck winked, grabbed a margarita from a passing waiter’s tray and disappeared towards the sandy beach in the distance.
Colin closed his eyes and breathed deeply. He loved his dad. He did. But he also kind of wished he’d get drunk on the beach, fall asleep and miss the wedding entirely.
“You’ve gotten better at handling him.”
The sound of a deep male voice snapped Colin’s eyelids open. He knew that voice. He’d know it anywhere. It haunted his dreams. He spun around so quickly that it felt like the earth shifted when his eyes landed on the man standing just a few feet away. Colin blinked and then blinked again but the image before him remained the same. The sexiest man he’d ever laid eyes on grinned at him, flashing dimples that triggered memories of tracing them with his tongue, making Colin’s guts clench and his cock thicken. It couldn’t be, and yet… his body had only ever reacted like this to one man, which meant, it was real. He was here.
“Reed?”
No Ordinary Love
Chapter 2
“Hey baby.”
Reed Meyers grinned when Colin continued to stare at him with the cutest look of pure bewilderment on his handsome face. Lord, was it possible the man had actually gotten hotter since the last time he laid eyes on him? Like it wasn’t enough that Colin had been born a Turner, with more money than God and almost as much power, at least in Nashville. He’d also been gifted with the kind of looks generally reserved for Hollywood starlets and more than once Reed remembered pointing out just how much he resembled that handsome hunk in the Divergent movies. Yeah, he loved those movies. Watched them all the time. But mostly it was because the actor reminded him of Colin. With his dark brown hair and equally dark eyes, he looked mysterious and aloof. The high cheekbones and full lips would have been too pretty on anyone else, but not Colin. His face was always so serious. He had brooding down to an art form which was why making him smile had always felt like Reed’s greatest achievement.
“Hey baby?” Colin repeated the words, sounding them out as if they felt funny on his tongue and then his dark brow snapped back into place low over his eyes, “Hey baby? That’s what you’re going to lead with? You break up with me. You move out. You stop returning my calls and texts. Then you show up here and all you have to say to me is, hey baby?”
Reed’s grin widened when Colin’s tone went sharp with anger. God, he was a sick bastard. He loved that he could make this man react to him. Colin with his no-nonsense attitude and professional demeanor always played it cool. He was a master at keeping his emotions in check. But not with Reed. Never with Reed. From the moment they’d met, in a high school debate class no less, he’d known that making Colin Turner’s calm façade falter was what he’d been born for. He’d known then that he didn’t have a chance in hell of not losing his heart to the uppity asshole but that hadn’t stopped him then and he knew even now all these years later, that it still wouldn’t stop him from handing over the bruised and fragile organ again.
“Hey baby. Did you miss me?” He raised an eyebrow, “Better?”
Colin growled, marching towards him, closing the space between them in three long strides and grabbing him by the front of his dress shirt, “No. Not better.”
Reed bit his lip. Colin had pulled him so close their bodies were smashed together. He had to tilt his chin up to look him in the eye. He could smell that distinctly Colin smell, the one he’d tried so hard to forget but had never been able to. His cock went hard but that didn’t surprise him. It was a natural reaction to this man. To the burn of desire that he lit inside Reed’s veins with nothing but a look, that look, the one that said he was pushing his luck and about to be in serious trouble. Yep, he was a total bastard for loving that look just as much as he loved what he knew would come next.
“So you didn’t miss me?” He pouted and Colin snapped.
He slammed their mouths together and Reed groaned at the contact. It was rough, far rougher than any kiss from smooth, polished Colin had any right to be. Colin kissed him like he wanted to punish him and Reed yearned for it. God, he’d missed this. Missed this man. Missed them. Together. They’d always been the only thing in his world that made any sense and leaving Colin had been the hardest decision of his life but it had been the right one, at the time. Now? Now everything was different. Everything but them and this kiss proved it. They were still fire and gasoline. Explosive on contact. They’d always burned so bright Reed worried they’d burn out but he didn’t believe that was possible anymore, not after the messages Colin had sent him after he left Nashville.
Colin’s lips parted and his tongue stroked along the seam of Reed’s lips. He opened, giving him everything. He’d never been able to hold back. Not with Colin. Not when he demanded so much from Reed. Colin’s tongue slipped inside his mouth, tracing a path they both knew by heart. It felt familiar and safe but also new and tempting. When Colin ran the tip of his tongue along the top of Reed’s mouth, he shivered and wrapped himself around him, needing Colin to hold him up as the rest of the world crumbled away and all that was left was the two of them. Together. Again. Finally.
“Wooo-weee!” A loud squeal of delight rang out from far too close, making reality crash back in on them and Colin break the kiss. Reed swayed slightly, his knees actually fucking weak like some romance novel heroine, but luckily his prince held him tight and kept him upright. “Dinner and a show. This is better than that Brokeback Cowboy movie.”
“Gran!” An exasperated male voice admonished and Reed turned his head to see one of the grooms shakin
g his head.
“What?” The little old lady with bouffant burgundy hair gave her grandson a dismissive look.
“It’s Brokeback Mountain, first of all.” Lance Nichols gave Colin and Reed an apologetic look, “And second of all, you can’t say shit like that. It’s inappropriate, Gran.”
“I’m old and I’ll be dead soon, boy. I’ll say whatever shit I like.” The woman shook her finger at her grandson and then looked Reed and Colin up and down, “You two make the handsomest couple and the sparks you’re putting off… whew, this ol’ girl is gonna need a cold shower.”
“Oh my God.” Lance muttered, wiping a hand over his face, “It’s official. I’m going to die of mortification before I ever get married.”
Colin cleared his throat, “It’s no problem, Lance. Really. We should uh… go somewhere a little more private anyway.”
Reed looked up at him, shocked by the words, “Really?”
“Yes. Really.” Colin took him by the hand and all but dragged him down the pathway.
“Bye.” Reed grinned, waving at Lance and his grandmother who both shook their heads as they watched them go. “And congrats on the wedding, Lance!” He spotted something out of the corner of his eye and laughed, “Col, look. Is that cat drinking out of a margarita glass?”
“Hush and come on.” Colin jerked on his hand again, causing Reed to stumble before he righted himself and all but skipped to keep up.
“I’m serious. There was a drunk cat back there.”
“I don’t care.” Colin growled.
“Fine.” He huffed, “Where are we going?”
“My room.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah. Oh.” Colin shot him a dark look out of the corner of his eye that had Reed’s cock returning to full mast. “We need to talk.”
Reed snorted, “Talking isn’t really top of my list of priorities right now.”
“Shut up.” Colin growled, the hint of a smile tugging at one corner of his mouth.
“Glad we’re on the same page then.” Reed grinned and happily tripped his way down the pathway, his fingers intertwined with Colin’s just like they were meant to be.
No Ordinary Love
Chapter 3
Colin slammed the door of his bungalow shut and crowded Reed against it. He couldn’t get enough of the feel of him, the smell of him, the taste of him. It had been too long since he got to hold him in his arms and he’d thought that the last time might be the last time he ever got the chance. He kissed him again, slower this time, holding back the onslaught of emotions that had overtaken him when Reed had teased him outside the main resort lodge. Only Reed had ever been able to crack his hard shell, well, Reed and Millie but his little sister hardly counted. It was Reed that mattered most. He always had. Only Colin had been too blind to realize it until it had been too late.
He eased his mouth back and pressed their foreheads together, staring down into the wide blue eyes that he knew so well, “I thought you left me.”
“I did.” Sadness flashed on Reed’s handsome face and Colin tried hard not to wince.
“So why are you here then?”
“Because Trent invited me. Because a trip to Mexico sounded fun. Because I knew you’d be here and I couldn’t stand the thought of going another day without seeing you.”
Colin’s heart thumped hard and he brushed their lips together again out of pure need. He needed to imprint Reed’s taste back into his senses. It wasn’t that he’d forgotten. It was that over the time they’d spent apart, the memories had started to fade and he needed them bright and fresh and vivid, just like the man they belonged to. Like the man his heart belonged to.
“But why now?”
“I told you why I left. I couldn’t hide us anymore. I couldn’t pretend I wasn’t in love with you every single time your family came over to our apartment, pretend I lived in that other bedroom and we were just buddies that hung out all the time. It wasn’t fair for you to ask me to do that but it wasn’t fair for me to ask you to come out either. So I did the only thing I could at the time…”
“You left me.” Colin’s voice came out rough, cracking with the pain he’d felt when he’d realized Reed was simply gone from his life after the fight they’d had that day in the apartment. “You should have stayed. You should have asked me to come out. Demanded it. I’d have done it. I’d have done it for you because I’d do anything for you. Hell, I did. I came out and I only found the courage to do it because I knew not doing it was why I’d lost you.”
“You came out.” Reed cupped Colin’s cheeks in his hands and smiled up at him. “I heard and I was so proud of you. I am so proud of you, baby.”
“But you still didn’t come home.”
Reed bit his lip and glanced down at the floor. It was one of his tells. Colin had known it since high school when they’d debated each other so hard they’d gotten into a screaming match, and then a shoving match and then a make-out session. Reed was hiding something, something he didn’t want to say, something he didn’t want Colin to see.
“Hey.” Colin tilted his chin back up until Reed had to look at him. “Talk to me. Please. Don’t shut me out anymore.”
Reed’s beautiful blue eyes looked over his face and then dropped again, “We had been together since we were seventeen, Col. High school. College. I even worked at T-Bell with you.”
“You know I hate it when you call it that.” Colin frowned and Reed managed a smile.
“Why do you think I do it?” His smile fell a little, “When I left, it was the first time either of us had been on our own and I thought… well, I thought maybe we needed to see if being together was really what we wanted.”
“And you thought you’d prove that by ignoring me for months?”
“It was one of those, if you love something set it free moments.”
“Reed Anderson Meyers, are you quoting cliches to me now?” Colin shook his head, “I didn’t want to be free of you. I never did. I missed you every single day. I sent you messages every day. I don’t know if you didn’t get them or…”
“I got them.” Reed bit his lip again.
“Oh.” Colin swallowed hard.
“I almost responded a thousand times but then I’d think that if I gave you more time, you’d forget about me.”
“I could never forget about you Reed. I love you.”
“I love you too.” Reed’s eyes were watery now, “I’m so sorry I stayed away.”
“And I’m sorry it took you leaving for me to realize I’d do anything to make you stay.”
“We’re both a bunch of sorry SOB’s huh?” Reed’s smile was watery.
“I guess we are.” Colin stroked his thumbs over Reed’s cheeks and then nuzzled his neck, groaning, “God I’ve missed you.”
“I missed you too.” Reed arched for him, giving him more room to plant kisses down his neck.
“I want you.” Colin’s voice was low, barely a whisper, “I need you.”
“Yes.”
“We don’t have time. The wedding is in half an hour and that’s not nearly enough time for me to love you the way I want to.”
Reed shivered in his arms and Colin smiled against his neck. God, he loved the way Reed melted for him. They were opposites in so many ways. Reed was the outgoing one. He was loud and crass and rough around the edges. But when Colin touched him like this, he went soft and pliant and that was a power greater than any on earth as far as he was concerned.
“We can be fast this time and slow later.” Reed raised his hands and began undoing the bow tie around Colin’s neck. “By the way, you look sexy as fuck in this tux and later, when we go slow, I want you to use this to tie me up.”
Colin groaned and snatched the black tie from Reed’s hands, “We’re going to miss the wedding.”
“I think if anyone would understand it’s Trent and Lance.” Reed smirked as he began unbuttoning Colin’s white dress shirt. “I doubt they’ll even notice they’ll be so focused on each other. We�
�ll show up in time for the reception and karaoke Dolly into the wee hours of the morning and that’s all anyone will remember about us at this wedding.”
“You’ve thought of everything, haven’t you?” Colin groaned when Reed shoved his shirt open and put his mouth on his neck, sucking and licking at his overheated skin. “I thought I was the organized one.”
“You are. I’m just spitballing here because I really, really need you to fuck me, Col.”
Colin groaned at the pure need that vibrated through Reed’s voice and settled deep in his gut. He needed it too. He needed to join them together. Make them one.
He slid his hand into the tangle of blond strands at the back of Reed’s head and pulled, tilting his head up until he had to meet his eyes, “Fine. But I’m not singing Dolly with you no matter how much you beg.”
Reed’s grin might as well have split Colin’s heart in two. He felt so full to bursting with happiness in that moment. He wasn’t sure what his life would have been if Reed hadn’t come back to him but he knew that he’d never have found this kind of giddy joy with anyone else.
“I can make you change your mind.” Reed winked, and then he slid to his knees and unbuttoned Colin’s slacks.
No Ordinary Love
Chapter 4
“Ah fuck.”
Reed grinned when Colin cursed a blue streak. That was one of his favorite sounds in the whole world. Colin losing control. He loved the sound so much he continued to cup Colin’s balls, rolling them in his palm as he licked a long line up the thick shaft of his cock. Colin shivered so Reed did it again, and again, and on the next pass Colin’s hands landed in his hair, tightening into knots as he guided him to where he wanted him. Reed would have smiled at the display of dominance if he wasn’t busy opening his mouth for Colin to shove his dick inside.