by Sean Michael
When they’d all disappeared into the living room, Alex shifted his chair back toward Ryan. “So am I going to get a proper hello anytime soon?”
“Maybe. Maybe not.” He leaned closer. “I missed you, Alex.”
“I missed you too.” Alex leaned toward him, their faces close, their lips almost touching. “So much.”
“Did you? I’m glad you came home.” They breathed together, nice and slow.
“Me too. This trip broke my spirit some. I needed to be here with you and the girls. I needed it.” Alex licked his lips, tongue sliding and warm.
“We need you. I need you.” He let his hand fall on Alex’s thigh.
Alex’s breath caught, and he moaned softly. “I wish I hadn’t fallen asleep on the couch last night.”
“You were exhausted. You needed the rest.” Tonight was going to be a long time away.
“Yeah, I probably did. We need to make sure the kids are tired tonight, eh? That they go to bed early.” Alex made a face. “Does that make me a jerk? That I want them to go to sleep early?”
“It makes you the lover of a man with four kids.”
“Mmm. I am, and I can’t wait to examine every inch of you again.” Alex glanced toward the kitchen door, then pressed their lips together, quick and hard. “Hold that thought for later, okay?”
Ryan sighed dramatically, but it was mostly for show. Mostly.
Alex stole another kiss before he got up and started to clear the table, ass enticing as Alex moved around the room.
Yeah, tonight was a really long time away.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
THE GIRLS were not only in bed by eight, they were asleep too. They’d played games and gone to the park, the day very full. Now they had a little over two hours before Mel came home, and Alex knew exactly how he wanted to spend them.
He sat on the bed and looked at Ryan, grinned as Ryan locked the door. “It feels kind of naughty having to wait until everyone’s asleep and then locking ourselves in.”
“Tell me about it. You’re the only lover I’ve had here. I’ve had lots of friends over the years, but not lovers.”
“That seems kind of lonely.” Of course, he was in the same boat, pretty much. Although he’d not had that many friends, and most of his experiences had been quickies with pickups. He wasn’t home enough for more, hadn’t been home enough for more. He thought maybe he was going to have to figure out how to change that.
Alex shook himself—those thoughts didn’t have any place right here, right now.
“I didn’t notice it until you. Now, can you kiss me and maybe we’ll share orgasms?”
“God, please, yes.” Alex stood and grabbed Ryan’s arms, tugging him close and bringing their mouths together. Oh yeah, welcome home to him.
He groaned as Ryan kissed him back, their tongues battling one another. Alex slid his hands up to cup Ryan’s head, tilting it as he deepened the kiss.
Ryan’s moan was pure sex, and when he grabbed Alex’s butt, Alex answered with a moan of his own. He wanted to take his time, to make Ryan feel precious, but he had a hunch he was going to be really quick off the mark. He could only hope they were going to keep making out after they’d come.
“I need you.” Ryan bit his bottom lip, a little hard.
Alex’s entire body jerked at that, pushing him into Ryan’s heat. “Yes. Naked, bed, now.” Go him—that was actually in the right order.
He pulled Ryan’s T-shirt out of his jeans and shoved it up over his head. Oh God, he’d been fantasizing about those sweet abs. He went for them, fingers sliding on them.
“Sit-ups,” Ryan muttered. “For you.”
“They’re worth it, trust me.” Alex managed to leave those wonderful abs alone long enough to undo Ryan’s belt, the top button of his jeans, then drag the zipper down. Groaning, he pushed the jeans down off Ryan’s hips. Well, he got them down a few inches anyway before he went back to the delicious abs.
“Your mouth….” Ryan spread a little, arching to tighten all those pretty muscles.
Alex wasn’t sure what Ryan was asking for, but he began to kiss his way down Ryan’s torso. He could totally give Ryan a blow job. It sounded like heaven, actually.
“Oh…. Please.”
Hell yes.
Alex sat on the mattress and licked his way along his favorite abs, then kept going down. He had to tug Ryan’s cock out of his undies, but then he was faced with Ryan’s long erection. Moaning, he took the crown in.
Ryan’s hands landed on his head, fingers tangling through his hair, petting him. Encouraging him.
Alex hummed, earning himself a long moan that made him suck harder, his tongue playing with the little slit in the tip of Ryan’s cock. A shiver went through Ryan, and Alex took a little bit more in.
There was nothing hotter than Ryan twisting and rocking, whispering for him. He wanted more of that, so he sucked harder, slowly bobbing his head. He took Ryan as deep as he could before bringing his head back up, sliding on Ryan’s delicious heat.
“I can’t…. You’re driving me crazy, man. I’m never going to last.”
He pulled off. “Me neither, so let’s get off, and then we can take our time for round two?” Please let Ryan be up for a round two.
“You have the best ideas. You want to suck each other off?”
Was there any answer to that other than “Hell yes!”? Alex didn’t think so.
He nodded and started stripping down. “I do. I really do.”
Ryan tore his own clothes off, and they met in the middle of the bed lying in opposite directions. “I’ve never done this.”
“Me either. We’ll figure it out. Just no biting down.” Alex laughed and grabbed Ryan’s hips, taking Ryan’s cock back in between his lips.
Alex almost broke his own rule when Ryan sucked him in, mouth like a brand around him. He pulled off to avoid hurting Ryan and took a couple of panting breaths. Then he took Ryan’s cockhead back in, tongue sliding around the glans. Heat surrounded him, held him, the suction making his eyes cross.
Moaning, Alex tried to concentrate on sucking Ryan, on making it good for his lover. He squirmed, though, Ryan’s mouth working magic.
Alex groaned softly, encouraging Ryan to move with one hand on his hip. Ryan followed him, and they picked up a rhythm, rocking together as they sucked each other. It felt so good, and Alex hoped he was managing to make Ryan feel good too.
Hell, from the sounds muffled around his cock, that was a nonissue.
Alex sucked harder, swallowing every time Ryan rocked in. He reached with his free hand, playing with Ryan’s balls as his own orgasm grew closer, and Ryan spread, so easy.
Alex’s cock nudged the back of Ryan’s throat, and Ryan swallowed. Alex screamed around Ryan’s cock, shooting hard.
Ryan kept swallowing, over and over, his entire body shuddering.
Alex moaned again and began sucking vigorously, wanting Ryan to come too. Then they could slow down and explore each other.
And, a part of him whispered, if the girls woke up or Mel came home early, they’d have already come.
He rolled Ryan’s balls again, wanting Ryan’s orgasm.
“Oh God,” Ryan whispered. “Please. I need you.”
He nodded and sucked harder. He wanted Ryan’s come flooding his mouth, filling his belly.
Ryan pressed his lips against Alex’s thigh, muffling his shout when he came. Perfect. He pulled hard on Ryan’s cock a few more times, drawing more of the salty come into him.
He wanted this. Forever. Daily.
The thought was huge and sure and bright.
He nuzzled his way along Ryan’s cock, licking and cleaning as he imparted pleasure.
“God. You. I love you. Really. Not just because of the sex.”
“I love you too. Partly because of the sex,” Alex teased. He left a kiss on Ryan’s balls, then began to lick his way up.
“Uh-huh. Partially.”
Smiling, Alex moved to Ryan’s right nipple.
He licked it, sucked on it. The little nub grew hard under his tongue, and he loved that.
“You make me feel like—” Ryan stopped.
Alex raised his head and looked at Ryan. “What? You can’t stop there.”
“Like I’m more than a dad.”
“Of course you are. You’re a lover.” He kissed Ryan’s right nipple. “You’re an artist.”
“I’m a designer.” Ryan stroked his hair.
“Uh-huh. Although I have no visual evidence of that. The others I can back up.”
“That’s where the mortgage payments come from.”
He laughed, took one of Ryan’s nipples in, and sucked on it. If they were talking mortgage payments, he had to be doing something wrong. He may not be a sex god, but Ryan wanted him, so he had this.
Alex dragged his fingers along Ryan’s belly, feeling Ryan up as he continued to slide his tongue along those sweet nips. Ryan was the best adult playground ever.
Ryan touched him restlessly, randomly, petting him and encouraging him to do more. He gave it willingly. He moved to sucking on Ryan’s neck, pulled up a mark. Ryan was going to have to wear a shirt with a high neck tomorrow.
Either that or explain hickeys.
That would amuse Mel to death.
Alex smiled against Ryan’s neck, sliding his fingers along Ryan’s ribs, exploring them carefully.
“Feels so good,” Ryan whispered.
“You feel amazing,” he whispered right back. And he kept stroking, tracing Ryan’s lines and mapping them, memorizing them. “Tell me I can wake up to you every morning.”
“Every morning you want to, Alex.”
He wanted them all. Every one. Right now he’d take this night and tomorrow morning.
“Fair deal.”
He pushed into another kiss, both of them sinking into it.
Totally fair deal.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
THEY PULLED into the IKEA parking lot in Ryan’s van.
“Dresser and desk, ho!”
“Are you calling me a ho for furniture?” Alex asked as he undid his seat belt.
“I don’t know, are you?” Ryan was curious about how Alex felt about furniture, styles and sizes and colors.
“Not that I’m aware of. I grew up in a house where everything was perfect and expensive, and I wasn’t allowed in most of the rooms.”
“Really? That sounds… awful.”
“My folks were not the warm and fuzzy type.” Alex shrugged. “It was what it was. Let’s go buy furniture.”
“I’m sorry, honey. I didn’t mean to bring up badness.”
“It’s okay, really. My father was an asshole who made money taking advantage of poor countries. It’s why I do what I do—I couldn’t use the money he left me for anything else. And it taught me that money didn’t guarantee happiness.” Alex squeezed his arm and leaned over to kiss his cheek. “The present is more than making up for the past.”
“I’m glad. Seriously. I want you to know I want you.” That he wanted Alex home.
“Trust me. I’m getting the idea. Come on. I feel weird having a heart-to-heart in the IKEA parking lot.” Alex gave him another quick kiss on the cheek and got out.
“Right. Ryan, seriously, don’t be an idiot,” he told himself as he got out and locked up. “Let’s do this thing.”
Alex took his hand, twining their fingers together as they headed in.
Okay, so maybe he hadn’t fucked up too bad.
The place was huge, and they wandered along, looking for the desks and dressers. There didn’t seem to be any easy way to find what they were looking for—they were just going to have to walk through the entire place. It was a good thing they’d come early.
“So, what kind are you looking for, Alex? Where do you want to set up your office?”
“Hey, it’s your house. You tell me where you want me.”
“Well, is it going to be ours?” That was an important distinction.
“I’d like that, to feel like it’s mine as well as yours, but that doesn’t change the fact that I’m coming in new. I don’t want to stomp all over you and the girls.”
“You can put your desk downstairs next to mine.” There was room.
“I’d like that. I’d like it a lot. And my dresser can go next to yours in the bedroom. Or across the room from it or something. What I’m trying to say is I like that I’m sharing spaces with you. A lot.”
“I like you. A lot.” Because he was a dork.
Alex grinned goofily at him. “Ditto.” The soft giggles wrapped around him. “Oh, look! Desks.”
“Oh. Those are nice….” Ryan didn’t need a new one, but… some of the partner’s desks were appealing.
It looked like Alex was on the same wavelength, because he went right for them. “Look at these! We could totally share. I’d be working and look up and there you’d be, right across from me. How cool would that be?”
“I bet Mel would love the one I’m using now….”
“Yeah, I bet she would.” Alex ran his fingers over one of the partner’s desks, and it was sensual as hell.
“We should, uh, write that number down.” They could play footsie under the table.
“Yeah? You like this one too?” At Ryan’s nod, Alex grabbed his phone and took a picture of the number. “Voila!”
“Huh. That was easy. If you were dressers, where would you be?”
“God knows. I guess we’ll have to keep walking.” Alex took his hand again as they wandered through the seating area—chairs and sofas and stools of every description. The kitchens were next. “Oh wow, look at these.”
“I know. There’s no way I’ll ever be able to afford a remodel.” Ever. That was out of the budget.
“It’s beautiful, though, isn’t it? I like the backsplash. I think Rosie’s going to need us to invest in a better stove one day. She’s going to be a chef, you know.”
“I know. I’m just….” Well, they were a family, right? “I’m on a tight budget, you know?”
“And I’m not bringing anything to the table. I’ll figure something out, I swear.”
“I’m sorry. I don’t mean it that way.” God, Ryan was misstepping a lot today. “Are you regretting not going?”
“God no. Even if it wasn’t for you guys, I needed a break after Chile. It was hard. Depressing. I needed time with you and the girls to get back to center. Besides, I’m not sure Rosie would have ever forgiven me if I had gone.”
“She loves you. She would have.”
“Well, I wouldn’t have deserved it if I’d done that to you guys.”
He didn’t know what to say, so he settled for “Thank you.”
Alex glanced around, then dove in and gave him a quick kiss, right on the lips. “I love you.”
“I love you. Let’s find the dressers.”
“Ooh, the excitement never ends.” Alex waggled his eyebrows suggestively, then ruined the effect by laughing.
“That’s me. Excitement man.” Except not so much.
“I was teasing, but you know you are exciting. You’re different. You’re… I don’t know. You make me happy—don’t put that down.”
“I worry that I’m going to disappoint, that you’re going to be dissatisfied.”
Alex tugged him over to a couch in a corner area and sat. “Until my parents died, I was a bored brat. Since then it’s been going from one disaster to another. How could I ever be disappointed with a man who loves me and his four beautiful girls?”
“I do, you know. I adore all of you.”
“Even the one who leaves at the drop of a hat?” Alex shook his head. “You don’t have to answer that because it’s not going to happen anymore. I’m going to find something that doesn’t take me away for long periods of time.”
“What?” Wait. Where did that come from? “I didn’t ask you to give up what you love.”
“I know you didn’t. Going out into the field is hard work, though. And it takes its toll. I need a break. I wan
t to find something where I’m still helping people but I’m not digging bodies out of rubble. There’s a happy medium out there somewhere, I’m sure. You’re just going to have to be patient with me in the financial contribution area.”
“If I have to, I’ll take on more clients.” He could. He had the time with the kids in school and nighttime.
“I’m not going to let it come to that.” Alex looked very determined. “If I have to, I’ll get a job at the mall until I can find something better that pays the bills.”
“Like you need to do that.” Alex was a hero, a rich man’s son.
“Hell, I might start with getting some of your paintings in galleries.”
“What?”
“I mean it. Your paintings are amazing, and I have a few contacts I can tap, although I don’t think I’m going to need to ask anyone to do me a favor. Once we’re in the door, they’re going to see your stuff and be super eager to have you show with them. The passion in them is palpable. They’d sell like hotcakes.”
Ryan shook his head, but he held on to Alex. “Wouldn’t that be something?”
“It will be something.” Alex squeezed his hand and looked around, grinning. “We should probably move along, eh?”
“We need to find you a dresser, maybe pick out some new sheets.” He felt like he was walking on air. Seriously.
“Something soft and decadent, so I’ll never want to sleep anywhere else. Spoiler alert: it’s not the sheets that make me feel that way—it’s you.”
“I’m glad you’re staying. Glad. I’m… I can’t breathe it’s so right. Are you going to tell the girls? That you’re staying, I mean.”
“I’d like to—if that’s okay with you. I think they’ll be happy to hear it.” Alex squeezed his hand as they slowly made their way through the rest of the chairs, coming up suddenly to the bedrooms.
“I think Rosie is going to be tickled.” But more than anything, Mel would be pleased. Mel needed to believe her daddy was going to be okay.
Alex beamed. “She’s my little mini-me—have you noticed? I feel like she’s adopted me as hers.”
“She loves you a lot. All of them do, but she latched on tight.”
“Yeah, I’m a very lucky man.” Alex laughed suddenly. “You remember our first date? I thought you were crazy to have four girls. I’d never dreamed of having kids in my life.”