by Jayce Ellis
“Thank you all for having me here,” he started. “I didn’t mean to intrude on your event but, like you, I’m so proud of what we accomplished in such a short time, and I needed to make one last trip up here and tell you all that in person.
“I don’t pretend to understand the level of camaraderie, the sense of family, that you all have here, but it’s honestly awe-inspiring. Seeing your commitment to the project, to one another, to putting together the best product you can, is something you don’t often witness on my side of the transaction. I sign deals and get products, and I’ve never really been on the front line to see how that happens. Basically, I’ve learned you guys are nuts.”
The crowd broke out into laughter, and Jaq felt his insides warm. This buoyant, joyful Matt wasn’t one he showed in public. Jaq liked it.
Matt held a hand up and waited until it quieted down. “You guys may be a little wild, but I like your brand of it. One in particular.” He cleared his throat and faced Jaq head-on. “JaQuan, you have kicked my ass since day one. You’ve never pulled any punches, and you’ve always made it clear where your priorities are—right where they need to be.”
Jaq wanted to laugh, cry, race up the stage and kiss him senseless, but his body was frozen in place. He managed a smile and quick nod. Tanisha squeezed him, and Matt kept going.
“I’m sorry I didn’t appreciate your dedication, not just to this job, but to your family. I know my insistence on you picking a side may have done that job for you, but you need—no, deserve—to know that I am crazy about you. I want nothing more than to turn the clocks back, to start over and worship you and comfort you and be there for you. I would change it all if I could.”
Matt fumbled then, like he didn’t know how to finish, and that was enough for Jaq. With Tanisha pushing at his back, Jaq’s feet found their movement, and he skirted around the edge of the crowd to the stairs, taking them two at a time. Matt let the mic dangle at his side and opened his mouth to speak.
Jaq didn’t give him a chance, gripping the back of his neck and fusing their lips together. He heard the swell of cheering around him, but when he tried to pull back, Matt tightened his grip and held on for a few more seconds.
“I missed you,” Jaq said when they finally separated for air.
“Same,” Matt whispered. “So much. I’m so sorry.”
Jaq leaned in and kissed him again. “I am too. We need to talk.”
Matt swallowed. “Yeah.”
Jaq tilted his head and nibbled Matt’s ear gently. “Then we need to make up.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Matt opened the door and led Jaq inside the executive apartment he’d rented for his stay. Nichole had offered to let him use the Bernhardt apartment again, but it didn’t feel right. They’d both be gone in a matter of weeks, and he preferred a clean break. Jaq had given Tanisha his keys, strict instructions on when to be home and, with her blessing, had left with Matt. Spitfire beelined for Jaq, his loud meow making Jaq chuckle and scoop him up from the floor.
“Now you can have cat hair all over your fancy suit. I swear that cat’s a damn traitor. Loves everyone but me,” Matt muttered, heading to the kitchenette area to refill Spitfire’s bowl.
“Nah, that’s not true. Spitfire knows you’ll come home to him. It’s everyone else he’s worried about.”
Matt grumbled but let it go. He and Spitfire knew the truth. He filled up the food and water bowls and grabbed two waters from the fridge before turning. “So, hey. That was quite a surprise back there.”
Jaq set Spitfire down and walked to him, taking the bottles and setting them on the counter before wrapping his arms around Matt and pressing in tight. He liked that. “Not as much as you showing up unannounced and laying it all out there for the whole company to hear.” He inhaled deeply and ran a hand along Matt’s cheek before letting it go. “I said some shit things to you at the wedding and I’m sorry. I can blame it on being scared for Tanisha, but it doesn’t matter. You didn’t deserve it, and it wasn’t true.”
Matt snorted. “I’m pretty sure you were spot-on, but thank you anyway. I’m going to do better. I want to do it with you.” He bussed kisses to Jaq’s eyes, cheeks, and jawline, thrilled at the low moan and the way Jaq rocked his hips into him.
“I was coming to you, you know?” Jaq whispered.
The words filtered in and out of Matt’s brain a few times before they made sense, and he pulled back. “You were?”
“Yep. Had it all planned with your ex and everything. Was gonna surprise you at Christmas.”
That in itself was a surprise. “You and Di really get along, huh?”
Jaq nodded even as he licked on Matt’s neck. “She cares about you. Wants to see you happy. Thinks I do that.”
“You do.”
“Same. We done apologizing?” Jaq asked, his voice guttural.
Matt chuckled and tightened his grip around Jaq’s waist. “Yeah, I guess so.”
“Good. Because I’ve been half-hard since I heard your name and I’m tired of talking.”
Just like that, all Matt’s synapses fired in one direction. He ran a thumb over Jaq’s lips and tugged slightly. “Well then, let me give you something else to do with your mouth.” He laid a heavy hand on Jaq’s shoulders and pressed, and Jaq dropped to his knees.
“Take it out. Let me see how hard I get you,” Matt said, fumbling with his own pants.
Jaq freed himself with a hiss, then leaned forward and nuzzled the inside of Matt’s pants leg. Matt paused, even though his dick throbbed with the need to keep going. As much as he was down to fuck anywhere, they’d gone through it to get here. They shouldn’t be doing it on the floor of the tiny space barely big enough for them and a table. They should be in bed, under covers, something emotional that showed Jaq how he truly felt. How much Matt truly needed him. Next time Matt could screw him against the refrigerator.
“Matt?” Jaq whispered, forcing him to look down.
“Yeah?” He ran a hand over Jaq’s head and to his cheek, and Jaq turned his face to kiss Matt’s palm.
“I know what you’re thinking. I want it, like this, right here. You don’t have anything to prove to me.” He licked a stripe up Matt’s cloth-covered dick, then tugged at the zipper. Matt yelped.
When he finally got his pants down, his dick slapped Jaq across the face. He winced, but Jaq groaned and winked up at him before taking a long swipe alongside the underneath of his cock. Matt’s knees wobbled, but Jaq braced him with hands on his hips while he took his time with him.
“You’re fucking killing me here.” Matt punched his hips forward, leaving a trail of precome along Jaq’s cheek. Beneath him, Jaq chuckled, the hot puffs of air against his shaft making him throb.
“I missed touching you.” Lick. “Tasting you.” Lick. “Knowing how much you want this.” Jaq took a final lick across Matt’s slit, then swallowed him down.
Matt bellowed and bent in half, grasping at the counter for support. He held Jaq’s head with the other, pumping a few times until Jaq’s gag reflex kicked in. With a hoarse grunt, he pulled Jaq off him. “Get naked,” he said, kicking off his shoes and pushing his slacks and underwear off.
Jaq wasted no time complying, stripping in record time. Matt pulled him to his feet and tugged him in for a kiss. “Goddamn, I missed you.”
Jaq closed his eyes and inhaled, and when he opened them, they were shimmering. “I missed you too.”
Matt let the words flow through him. They felt good. Better than he expected and he took a moment to just hold on. When he finally sat, he gasped at the feel of the cold wood against his ass, then smiled at Jaq. “Good. Now get on this dick.”
Jaq threw his head back and laughed. Matt joined him even as he grabbed his pants and fished for the lube and a condom he’d taken to carrying even though he hadn’t expected to use them again. Jaq wasted no time rolli
ng the condom down Matt’s length and lubing him generously, then reaching around to prepare himself.
“Let me watch.”
Jaq’s dick flexed at the command but he turned, planting one foot on a nearby chair and leaning against the counter for balance. Matt watched him, the way his eyes closed and his lips parted, the soft grunts he made when he pegged his prostate, until Matt was sure he’d burst if he didn’t get inside him.
“Enough,” he said, reaching out and smacking Jaq one good time on the ass. He spread his legs and beckoned Jaq to come over.
Jaq finished what he was doing and strode to him, straddling Matt. They fumbled for a few minutes until Jaq got in position, Matt holding his dick up while Jaq pressed down. Matt tensed and threw his head back at the pressure. It’d been too long, and Jaq felt too good. Jaq took his time, working himself down on Matt’s dick. When he was fully seated, Matt wrapped his arms around Jaq and pulled him close, not letting him move.
The desperate need to fuck Jaq senseless was gone, replaced by the need to remind himself that Jaq was here, back in his arms.
“You going soft on me?” Jaq asked, a laugh punctuating his words.
Matt tightened his grip and pressed his hips up. “Does anything about me feel soft right now?”
Jaq didn’t answer. His forehead dropped to rest against Matt’s, his eyes closed, a small smile gracing his face. He twisted his head and kissed Matt’s cheek, then whispered, “Fuck me.”
Like Matt could resist. Jaq powered up and down on him, using the back of the chair as leverage, Matt gripping his hips and making sure he bottomed out each time. For a few minutes, the only sounds Matt heard were their combined moans and whispered “fucks” as their bodies slid against each other.
Matt cupped his face and made Jaq meet his eyes. He did, and a small grin quirked up the side of his face. Jaq laid butterfly-soft kisses against his face, that tenderness so at odds with the hard rhythm he maintained.
“Fuck, Matt, I’m gonna—”
Matt reached between them and gripped Jaq’s dick firmly, stroking his length to the head and rubbing his slit. Jaq bellowed and shot between them, but Matt didn’t stop until Jaq pushed his hand away and collapsed against him in a huff. Matt gripped his back, widened his legs, and jackknifed into him until he came with a shout of his own.
They rested like that for a few moments, until Matt softened and slipped out. He reached across the counter for paper towels to clean them up until they could hit the bathroom. Jaq stood and looked down at him. “You really don’t like getting fully undressed, do you?”
Matt barked out a laugh. “It wasn’t my primary thought, no. Besides,” he said, smoothing his hand down the front of his shirt, “you love it when I get too worked up to get naked before I fuck you.”
Jaq paused. “Yeah, that’s one of the things I love.”
Matt’s breath seized. They hadn’t had that conversation, and suddenly words turned liquid in his mouth.
Jaq winked and held out his hand. “Come on, let’s order some food and hop in the shower.”
Matt nodded. That he could do. “Let’s.”
* * *
“You’re sure Tanisha is okay with me?”
Jaq laughed and slowed to a stop at the light. They were on their way to his house, to spend the afternoon with Gran and T. They’d decided this morning to still go to Norfolk and see Matt’s family before Josh and Chandra went on their honeymoon, making this the first Christmas he’d spend away from his girls—Gran included.
Still, he understood Matt’s reticence. After all, even though whatever their daughters had been through together had been short, it’d burned hot and intense and had changed both of them. Jaq cleared his throat. “We talked about it before you showed up. She hadn’t been taking our being together well in the beginning, but she’s come around. Said she felt like the immature little girl Angela accused her of being.”
Matt snorted. “I’m pretty sure Halo didn’t mean a word of that.”
Jaq glanced at him, then started moving again. “Part of me wants to be mad nosy, part of me is like, do what Gran keeps saying and leave it the hell alone.”
“Option two. For the love of all that is holy, option two.”
Jaq laughed again, and they settled into a comfortable silence for the rest of the trip. When Jaq pulled his car up to the curb and turned the engine off, Matt took his hand. He didn’t say anything, just sat there looking at it. After a few moments, Jaq reached across the console with his free hand and turned Matt’s face to him.
“You know we don’t have to do this, right? I can turn the car around and we can do this later.”
Matt shook his head and chuckled softly. “I can’t believe it, but I’m nervous. I haven’t done this since I was eighteen.”
“You’ve already met both my mom and my daughter. None of this is new. And trust me, this’ll go way better than sixteen-year-old me bringing Sara home after we found out she was pregnant. This is a fucking cakewalk compared to that.”
Matt huffed, pulled Jaq in for a brief but firm kiss, and nodded. “Point taken. Let’s do this.”
The door was unlocked when Jaq got to it, and he pushed it open to hear the voices of Tanisha and Gran in the kitchen, Aretha playing on Gran’s record player. Well, the place was spotless.
“Hey, y’all,” Jaq called out. “We’re here.”
Tanisha popped into the hallway and to the living room in record time. “Hey, Daddy,” she said with a kiss, before turning to Matt and thrusting her hand out. “Hi, Mr. Donaldson, it’s good to see you again.”
So polite. Jaq wanted to roll his eyes.
“It’s good to see you too. How’re you feeling?” Matt asked.
“Good. Better. Looking forward to getting back on campus.”
“I’m so glad. You know you can call me Matt, right? You don’t have to say ‘Dad and Mr. Donaldson.’ Makes me feel like a cradle robber.”
Tanisha snorted and clamped a hand over her mouth, but couldn’t stop her shoulders from shaking or her face from going red as she laughed. Matt beamed, his shoulders relaxing, and Jaq shook his head at them both. Gran exited the kitchen to find her granddaughter in a chair, her intermittent giggles having turned to hiccups, and Jaq just knew he and Matt were standing there making googly-eyes at each other.
“I don’t know which one of you made an honest man out of the other, but I like it.” Gran approached Matt and hugged him, and Jaq felt the last remaining tension in him seep away.
Matt smiled down at Gran. “That sounds like something my mom would say. Can I do anything to help?”
Gran peered around him and gave Jaq the thumbs-up, which made him groan and Tanisha burst into another round of giggles. Matt followed Gran to the kitchen, and Jaq took the opportunity for some quality time with his daughter.
“You’re sure you’re okay with this?” he asked, sitting on the couch next to her.
She nodded. “He really likes you, Dad. I can see it now, and you deserve it.”
“You’ll always come first—you know that, right?”
And his daughter had the nerve to roll her eyes at him. “Duh. But it’s okay for you to pick him occasionally.”
She leaned across the chairs and gave him a hug, then Gran yelled at them to set the table so they could eat.
Dinner was the loudest Jaq could remember, and he loved it. Tanisha was genuinely engaging, Matt cared about the answers, and Gran looked like her prayers had been answered. They finished and moved into the living room, and eventually Gran said her goodnights and went to her room, and Tanisha decided to catch up with some friends on campus, pausing to give them both kisses before heading out. It was just Matt and Jaq.
“Will Kendra be okay keeping Spitfire for us for a few days?”
Matt snorted. “He loves her as much as he loves you. Loves everyone but me
. He’ll be just fine.”
Jaq chuckled. Matt’s constant complaints about Spitfire paled in comparison with how he doted on the cat. Spitfire was beyond spoiled rotten, and it had nothing to do with him or Kendra. Speaking of...
“I need to thank her, you know. She was awesome with Tanisha, and with me and Gran. Kept us all from losing it. And I knew she was worried about you.” Jaq grabbed Matt’s hand and brought it to his chest. “She’s a good friend.”
Matt nuzzled the top of Jaq’s head. “She is. She’ll be glad to know you think so.”
They fell quiet for a while before Jaq spoke again. “I think I love you.”
There was silence, an absolute quiet except for the pounding of their hearts together, then Matt squeezed him tight. When he loosened his grip, Jaq pushed up on the cushions and watched a whole series of emotions play over Matt’s face before he broke out into the widest grin Jaq’d ever seen. “Yeah?”
One word, and he sounded like the little boy who’d just gotten every wish he ever wanted granted. “Yeah.”
“I love you too.” He lurched up and grabbed Jaq then, twisting them until Jaq was underneath him, then kissing him with every ounce of passion they’d stirred up, tempered with a tenderness that not even last night had matched.
Matt rolled his hips into Jaq and he pulled back. “I don’t give a damn how horny you are. We’re not fucking in my mom’s house.”
Matt burst out laughing. “Well then, I guess maybe I’ll need to look into getting a place up here.” He winked when Jaq frowned. “Since I’m unemployed and all. Maybe sell the house and get something cheaper. Or maybe find someone to go in with me.”
Jaq closed his eyes. He’d been determined not to worry about distance—Fredericksburg wasn’t that damn far anyway. But maybe now he wouldn’t have to? Maybe Matt wasn’t the only one who got all his wishes granted.
When he opened his eyes, Matt was staring down at him with an absolute calm on his face. Jaq ran his hand over Matt’s head and smiled. “I think you should call Kennie,” he said. “Tell her we might need more than a few days.”