by Lisa Worrall
Finn frowned, his gaze flitting between his brother and his father. “What am I missing?”
“Melissa, that girl he was dating a while back?”
Aiden remembered Finn telling him about Melissa, who had apparently treated AJ like her own personal banker, while running around on him with anyone who crossed her path—until she found someone with deeper pockets than AJ and ran out on him.
“What about her?”
“She had a little girl,” Ben replied. “I think he was more upset about losing her than he was losing Melissa. Not that Melissa was much of a loss. It was pretty rough for a while.”
“And this little nugget of information was kept from me because…?” Finn’s face darkened.
“Because he didn’t want you to worry,” Dan said calmly. “He knew if we told you, you’d catch the next flight out and he didn’t want that. You know how private he is. He felt like a failure, son, and you know how important it is for him to always be the strong one, the big brother. He felt like a failure and he didn’t want you to see him like that.”
Aiden’s heart went out to Finn as his boyfriend’s shoulders slumped in dismay. He wanted to cross the room and take him in his arms, soothe away the pain he felt at his brother’s despair, but he wasn’t sure if it was appropriate in front of Ben and—fuck it. He pushed himself off his chair and crossed the room in three strides, sliding his arms around Finn’s shoulders and holding him close. Hearing Finn’s grateful mumble and feeling his strong arms wrap around him, Aiden knew it had been the right move. Finn’s chin dug into his collar bone as he spoke.
“You still should have told me.”
“Maybe we should,” Dan agreed solemnly. “But you know now, so go easy on him.” He downed the rest of his coffee and put his cup in the middle of his plate, a clear indication to Aiden that the conversation was over. “Ben, you’d better get the dishwasher loaded and I’m going out to spruce up my baby.” He nodded toward Aiden and Finn as he headed toward the back door. “And if you two have finished smooching, I’d make a start on those tables and chairs. I wouldn’t want to be the ones not working when your mother gets back. Oh, and keep the noise to a minimum, Nana’s still asleep and I’d like to keep the old buzzard that way for as long as possible.”
“You do know Nana’s your mom, right, Pop?” Ben asked with a raised eyebrow, looking so like Molly in that moment it took Aiden’s breath away.
“Don’t remind me,” Dan replied with a wave of his hand and closed the back door behind him.
“He’s right,” Finn said, kissing the line of Aiden’s jaw. “If Mom gets back and those tables aren’t set up, she’ll ground both of us.”
Aiden followed Finn into the back yard and paused mid-step. After a few moments of staring around him in wonder, he let go of the breath he hadn’t even realized he’d been holding, on a long whistle. “Oh. My. God.”
“I know,” Finn grinned, the light back in his eyes. “Mom has a bit of a green thumb.”
“A bit?” Aiden gazed at the explosion of color around him. The other side of the steps leading down to the grass from the decking there was a large swimming pool, the water sparkling and clear in morning sunlight. Dotted here and there around it on the paved area were wooden sun loungers, ready and waiting for lazy swimmers to top up their tans.
The lawn stretched beyond the pool, about a hundred feet if Aiden had to guess off the top of his head, and AJ was already pushing the lawnmower over in the far corner by the love seat. But it was the flower beds that had Aiden’s attention. Every color of the rainbow, the different types too numerous to name—not that he could have if he’d tried—the overall effect utterly beautiful. Words failed him as he imagined the years of care and dedication it had taken Molly to get the garden in this condition, especially with three rambunctious boys tearing around in it. Wanting to show his appreciation, all his mind could come up with was, “Wow, Patti would love this.”
Finn smiled and kissed him on the cheek. “We’ll bring her with us next time. I get the feeling she and Nana would get on well. Perhaps too well.” He mock-shuddered. “Maybe we should just leave her in California.”
Aiden chuckled and shoved at him. “Come on, let’s get moving. I’m too old to be grounded.”
V
Aiden swallowed the remainder of his beer and picked absently at the label on the bottle. He made a mental note to have a conversation with Molly about her definition of a cozy little gathering. For him it was ten, maybe fifteen people—not the sixty people milling about the garden or swimming in the pool. AJ and Ben were throwing Kaylee between them in the water and despite the nerves jangling in his stomach, he smiled at the sound of his daughter’s squeals of delight. She had slipped so seamlessly into the family, he wished he was as young and carefree as her, not guarded by his own issues.
At the end of the decking the barbecue was manned by Dan, complete with chef’s hat and flowery apron. He’d been cooking up a storm keeping the masses fed, but Aiden didn’t think Dan objected. Judging by the perpetual grin he wore, Finn’s father was obviously in his element.
Molly held court at the huge table in the center of the decking with Finn’s aunts, and they giggled like teenagers behind their glasses of Chardonnay. Aiden had been introduced to them all, his cheeks had been kissed, his hair mussed and the air hugged out of his body over and over again. Not to mention the slaps to the back he’d received from numerous uncles and male cousins, including one lingering gaze and suggestive leer from Finn’s cousin Tim—much to Finn and Ben’s amusement.
The most uncomfortable meeting had been with several of Finn’s childhood friends. They were obviously a tight-knit bunch by the catcalls they’d greeted Finn with before the four of them wrestled him to the ground. Aiden had stood there, his fingers tightly curled around his drink while the four of them grilled him mercilessly, all but shining a lamp in his eyes. By the time they’d finished with him and decided he could stay, he’d felt like he’d been wrung out and left to dry covered in honey on a fire ants’ nest—his nerves stretched tighter than a Speedo on Shamu.
“Hey.” Finn came up behind him and wrapped his arms around his waist. “Have you eaten yet?”
Aiden leaned back against him, letting Finn take his weight. “Not yet. Still full from breakfast.”
“Liar,” Finn whispered in his ear. “You’ve got to relax. You’ve survived the interrogation, now it’s time for the fun part.”
“Did I?” Aiden rested his head on Finn’s shoulder. “Survive the interrogation I mean.”
“Yes,” Finn hissed and tightened his embrace. “They love you, just like I said they would. So will you relax now?”
Aiden sighed heavily and nodded. “I am relaxed.”
“Not relaxed enough,” Finn replied, nuzzling Aiden’s hair. “But I can help you with that.”
“Huh?”
“Come on.” Finn grinned widely and grabbed Aiden’s hand, pulling him through the throng of people gathered on the deck waiting for the chef to supply them with more food, and into the house.
“What are you doing?” Aiden said, throwing a smile at Jenny, one of Finn’s cousins, as she waved to him as she stood in the line for the bathroom. “Finn, where are we going?” He didn’t have any choice but to try and keep up with Finn as he led him down the hall, past the living-room then turning left in the direction of the bedrooms.
Finn flung open the first door he came to and dragged Aiden inside the room before closing and locking the door behind them. “I told you,” he said, his stride purposeful and his smile predatory as he walked Aiden backward toward the bed.
Aiden gazed around him at the chintzy bedspread, matching curtains and floral overstuffed armchair facing the window, a frown creasing his forehead. “Who’s room is this?” he asked, losing his balance when the back of his knees hit the bed and bouncing onto the mattress.
“It’s just one of the guest rooms,” Finn replied, leaning over Aiden and kissing him.
&nb
sp; “Finn, come on, we can’t, what if someone comes looking for us?”
“Ssh.” Finn popped the buttons on the casual button down Aiden wore, dropping a kiss on each strip of skin he exposed, punctuating his words. “You are… way too… tense and I… am going… to fix… that.” Finn raised his head and grinned up at him as he slid down Aiden’s body, his voice deep and low.
Aiden’s eyes drifted shut and his lips parted on a sigh even as he argued right and wrong with Good Aiden and Bad Aiden, aka The Virgin and Dude He’s Gonna Suck Your Dick. It was pretty much a no contest since while he’d been discussing the pros and cons with himself, Finn had had time to release him from his jean shorts and draw circles around the glans with his tongue.
“Fuck.” Containing his gasp was nigh on impossible when Finn stopped playing and sucked him down, hard and fast. His hips jolted into the moist cavern of Finn’s mouth, the movement involuntary and unavoidable. “Finn… so good… so fucking good.” Finn hummed around his shaft and Aiden whimpered low in his throat. Heat burned through him, so hard it bordered on painful, a delicious red hot border that drove every thought from his mind but Finn.
Of course, he would have liked to say that his willpower alone kept him from coming like a teenager after five minutes, but he’d have been lying. Finn’s wickedly sinful tongue sucked, lapped, laved and stabbed at his throbbing flesh until his hands held Finn in position, fucking up into his mouth, his orgasm tingling in the small of his back and rushing forward with every thrust. When Finn cupped his balls and rolled them together, it was all over. Aiden’s cry was guttural and he pulsed hot and heavy streams of cum into Finn’s mouth, gasping as Finn swallowed around him, the head of Aiden’s cock bumping against the back of his throat.
Utterly spent, he lay staring at the ceiling while his breathing considered returning to normal and Finn kitten-licked his softening flesh until he begged for him to stop. Aiden swallowed hard as Finn tucked him back into his boxers and re-buttoned his shorts. A contented smile blossomed on Aiden’s face as Finn crawled up his body as he had down, kissing each strip of skin before he covered it. Forcing his eyes open, Aiden gazed up at Finn and opened his mouth to accept the kiss he was offered. When they were panting out more air than they were taking in, Finn broke the kiss and said, soft and low, the sound sending prickles of sensation up Aiden’s spine.
“Now when we’re outside, surrounded by all those people, every time you look at me,” Finn’s tongue flicked out to touch the tip to Aiden’s upper lip, “you’ll know I can still taste you.”
“You are pure evil, you know that, right?” Aiden’s complaint was only half-hearted as his dick valiantly twitched in his pants at Finn’s statement.
“Only when it comes to you, baby.” Finn kissed him one more time and reluctantly pulled him to his feet. “Come on, let’s go and have some actual fun. AJ’s setting up the bouncy castle and we promised Kaylee we’d see if we could bounce her to the moon and back.”
Aiden straightened his shirt and kept tight hold of Finn’s hand along the hall and back out into the garden. He had to confess Finn wasn’t wrong—he did feel more relaxed. Finn kissed him on the cheek and pointed further down the lawn where AJ and Ben, together with Finn’s friends, Karl, Mike, Stan and Richie, were trying to inflate the bouncy castle. Aiden shook his head and his own laughter joined Finn’s throaty chuckle at the sight of Kaylee amidst them shouting out instructions. His daughter certainly wasn’t backward in coming forward. She knew what she wanted and she made sure everyone knew it.
Snuggling back into Finn as they leaned against the handrail that ran the length of the veranda, Aiden caught Molly’s eye where she sat at the table next to her sister, Jude. She smiled at him, a soft smile that lit her eyes with the kind of contentment he supposed came with seeing your child happy. It took him a moment to realize he was the cause of that light and he gave the briefest inclination of his head to acknowledge her message was received and understood. Aiden sighed contentedly and covered Finn’s hands with his own where they were looped around his waist. If he made Finn happy, it was only a fraction of how happy Finn made him.
“Boys, help an old lady to her chair, would ya?”
Finn and Aiden turned as one at the sound of Nana’s voice beside them. “Well, it would be our pleasure,” Finn declared, releasing Aiden to drop into a low bow before his grandmother then straightening to take her left arm.
Aiden did the same, then took her right arm and the two of them guided her to the empty chair next to Molly. Once she was seated, Nana patted both of them reverently and settled against the cushions behind her and smiled up at them.
“Did you enjoy your nap, Mom?” Molly handed her motherin-law a glass of iced tea.
“I didn’t get as long as I’d hoped,” Nana replied, sipping her drink. “I’d just dozed off in that big comfy armchair in the guest room, when I was awoken by voices.”
Aiden felt Finn stiffen beside him, his hand gripping his elbow. Glancing up at him to ask him to let go, he found Finn staring at his grandmother with an unreadable expression on his face.
“Really?” Molly said, a frown on her concerned forehead. “That’s odd. I suggested you nap in that room because the noise should have been minimal on the other side of the house.”
Nana shrugged, her gaze flitting to Aiden’s, a smug look in her eyes he couldn’t understand. “Sounded like a lot of huffin’ and puffin’,” she said pointedly. “Maybe it was the boys wrastlin’. I’ll have to talk to ‘em later, one of ‘em made a hell of a noise at the end.”
Aiden frowned, why was she looking at him like that. What was she—Oh holy fuck! He replayed the last thirty seconds in his head. Overstuffed armchair… awoken by voices… a lot of huffin’ and puffin’… made a hell of a noise. He snapped his head to the left and stared in disbelief at Finn, who gazed steadily at Nana. Oh holy fuck! She was in the room while— Finn’s eighty-three year old grandmother had heard— The only sentence his brain could complete appeared to be—oh holy fuck! Which basically covered the whole gamut of emotions he currently found himself experiencing. Things had been going so well. Now he’d have to leave the state. Hell, he’d have to leave the country! His humiliation complete, the silence stretched between them and a thousand different apologies skittered across the surface of his mind, leaving him unsure which one would be sincere enough to keep him from being thrown out on his ear.
Finn snorted first.
Then Nana giggled.
Finn saw her giggle with some kind of splutter-gasp.
Leaving Nana to see his splutter-gasp and raise with a cackle.
Aiden thought either he, or they, had lost their minds.
To his utter amazement the two of them spent the next few minutes working themselves into a state of hysteria the likes of which he’d never seen. Why were they laughing? Why the holy fuck were they laughing? He couldn’t believe it. The only option open to him, as far as he could see, was to dig an extra large hole behind what Molly had informed him, were hydrangeas, lie down and pull the sod up over his head—and they were laughing! Had he been punk’d?
“What on earth has gotten into you two?” Molly said, unable to stop a chuckle or two of her own. “Do you know what’s so funny?” Her soft brown gaze settled on Aiden.
Shaking his head vigorously, Aiden stepped back in his haste to escape the inevitable inquisition and bumped into Richie, carrying a tray full of drinks for the others. “Woah!”
Richie’s cry came too late and Aiden knocked the tray, sending a glass toppling from it to the deck and the others folding in on themselves like dominos, spilling beer every which way. His foot slipped on some of the spilled liquid and he grabbed at Richie’s arm to try and stop himself from crashing onto the glass that had shattered at Richie’s feet. Unfortunately, Richie moved his arm to save the remainder of the glassware and Aiden went down like a felled tree.
In his mind’s eye he saw himself doing some kind of last minute half somersault, triple salko
which sent him landing at the bottom of the decking steps, on his feet like a cat with a confident smile on his face. But he was not Kristi Yamaguchi and this was not the ice capades. Crying out as his knee came down on a large chunk of glass, Aiden managed to narrowly avoid another nasty looking shard entering his hand by snatching it back at the last minute.
“Aiden!” Finn wasn’t laughing now.
Aiden winced and cried out again when Finn’s hands slid under his armpits and hauled him unceremoniously to his feet. He glanced down at his knee and his stomach turned. A chunk of the glass’ base protruded from his skin. Shit that hurts. Is that blood? Oh, God.
“Get him into the bedroom, Finn, he’s going to pass out.”
He didn’t recognize the voice, but Aiden had an idea the owner was right as the world tilted alarmingly on its axis. “Finn, stop—” Aiden sighed heavily as Finn ignored him completely and lifted him into his arms as if he were an injured child. “I can walk,” he insisted as he was carried through the crowd of anxious faces that had collected around him and into the house. “Kaylee?” Shit! What if she’d seen it? What if she’d seen the glass sticking out of his leg, she’d be going frantic.
“She’s okay,” Finn said soothingly against his ear as he walked to the bedroom. “She’s with AJ and Ben on the castle, she didn’t see a thing.”
“Thank God.”
“Finn, slow down, let me get the door.” There was that voice again, but the way Finn had him positioned in his arms, he couldn’t see who it belonged to.
Inside the room Finn deposited him gently on the bed and plumped up the pillows behind him so Aiden could lie back against them. His breath hissed out through his lips as he tried to straight his leg and the glass bit further into his flesh. “Fuck!”
“Baby, are you okay?” Finn fluttered around him and Aiden had to resist the urge to bat him out of the way. Not because he didn’t want his concern, but because he was starting to make the room spin again.