by Honeymoon Their Way [Dreamspinner, States of Love MM] (retail) (epub)
Before Chad could collapse onto the carpet, Raudel gathered him in his arms, then laid him on the bed as he settled across Chad’s body. He stared into Chad’s eyes briefly before descending on his mouth, pushing his tongue past the seam of Chad’s lips, the kiss salty sweet. The exchange remained languid, even though the throb of Raudel’s erection pressed to Chad’s belly told him that Raudel was very much in need.
“I want to make you feel good.”
Raudel’s lips held a soft smile as he brushed Chad’s sweaty bangs off his forehead. “Soon. But you still haven’t had your cake yet.”
Raudel reached across the short expanse of the bedspread to pluck another cupcake from the package. He brought it to his mouth, then licked up a ridiculous amount of the icing. Before Chad could wonder what would happen next, Raudel had painted Chad’s lips with the frosting then pushed the rest of it into his mouth.
Chad sucked Raudel’s tongue greedily until Raudel took over, taking back the control as the kiss built in intensity. He sought out as much of Raudel’s naked flesh as he could, questing with his hands, then grasping the gorgeous backside he’d admired ever since Raudel arrived.
Since he came back to be with me.
His husband was right; Chad had stiffened right back up, and he didn’t see any reason why he couldn’t come a second time with proper motivation.
Raudel’s dick in my ass seems like an excellent option.
As if reading his mind, Raudel paused their love play. With one quick peck on his lips, he rolled off Chad. “Let me get you ready.”
Chad nodded shakily, his body thrumming with excitement and nerves. “Should I…? Uh, what should I do?”
Raudel fetched the necessary items from the grocery bag. He glanced at Chad. “We’ll start on your stomach with a pillow underneath you. I can peg you better that way.”
“Oh. Okay.” Chad moved to get in position, then paused. “Start?”
Raudel approached the bed. “I want you on your back when you come, so I can see your eyes.”
He’s gonna kill me with adoration. Chad only hoped that he could somehow express his love to Raudel half as well as Raudel did to him.
Once he’d turned onto his belly, Raudel helped Chad to stuff a pillow beneath his body. His ass tilted higher, and he started when Raudel grabbed his cheeks, parting them. Chad curled his toes and fingers, biting his lip as Raudel swiped his tongue up his crease, teasing his hole with the tip. Embarrassing mewling sounds poured out of him from the overload of new feeling.
Heaven. Amazing.
The first press of Raudel’s finger to his entrance made him clench involuntarily.
“Let me in, mijo. I’ll be very careful with you, I promise.”
“I know. I trust you.”
The sound of the condom package tearing made Chad jump, and he mentally chastised himself. Relax. His breath hitched at the cool sensation of lube as it drizzled onto his sensitive skin. Raudel rubbed the moisture around his opening, gradually increasing the pressure until he’d popped past Chad’s rim. Chad hadn’t used the dildo in years, not entirely giving up on his quest to get laid but not seeing the point until there was a decent prospect in his locale. But he’d fingered himself on occasion to get off, so what Raudel had done so far with his finger had been right in keeping with what he was used to.
Raudel pushed in farther, the touch deeper than Chad had achieved on his own. He gasped as Raudel skated over his gland, another thing that had been very awkward to accomplish for himself. He’d been somewhat successful with the dildo, but it wasn’t the same as this. Not even close.
Raudel added a second digit, pegging him again. Chad whimpered and groaned, writhing on Raudel’s fingers, the burn and stretch better, more pleasurable than he remembered. Raudel pulled his hand away, leaving Chad empty and achingly hard as he rutted against the soft pillow covering. The fabric gave him a zing with each pass, but he wanted the feel of Raudel’s hand instead.
He tensed. The soft steel of Raudel’s cock as it nudged his hole was both welcome and frightening. His rim stretched, spreading impossibly wide as Raudel slowly pushed his way in. One hand grasped Chad’s shoulder as Raudel used the other to guide his long prick deeper into him. He opened him up, speared him until his body rested flush with Chad’s.
Then Raudel stilled, resting on top of him. “Okay, mijo?”
Raudel whispered it against the back of Chad’s neck, curling his body around Chad’s torso, pressing his forehead to his skin.
“Totally okay.” His heart raced. The sensation of being joined with another human being—joined with Raudel—was almost too much for him to bear. “I love you.”
“Love you. So much.”
Raudel reached up one hand to twine his fingers with Chad’s. He clasped them tight, then moved his hips, slowly exiting Chad’s body before pushing back in. With each stroke he moved faster, fucked harder as he placed small bites and kisses across Chad’s shoulders. Chad rocked with him, not only accepting the intrusion but encouraging it, meeting Raudel with each punishing thrust.
Chad yelped at the sudden loss of Raudel’s flesh inside of him. Raudel rolled him forcefully, the pillow snatched from beneath his body and tossed across the room. He quickly spread Chad’s legs, then lifted them to his shoulders, shoving his cock back into Chad’s hole almost simultaneously.
A deep scarlet flushed Raudel’s face, his expression twisted in the struggle of pleasure and need as he plunged repeatedly into Chad’s pliant body. No longer able to meet each of Raudel’s thrusts, Chad lay on his back, impaled and helpless, desperate for release. Drops of sweat fell on him as Raudel reached between them, tugging harshly on Chad’s dick. A pulsing in his ass, along with one final twist of Raudel’s hand, was all it took for Chad to come hard.
Cum pooled between their already slickened bodies, and before Chad passed out, one more declaration of love from Raudel—from his husband—reached his ears.
“I love you, mijo. With all my heart, I do.”
CHAD FOUGHT the rising panic threatening to render him helpless as they drove back to the rental. “Shit. Shit, shit, shit.”
“Mijo, I promise you, everything will be okay.”
Chad clutched Raudel’s hand for his very life. “I should’ve called. Why didn’t I call?”
“I’m sorry. It’s just as much my fault.” Raudel squeezed his hand back as if in reassurance. “I was lost in you, lost in us. But I don’t want you to worry. I’ll do the explaining.”
“Explaining? How can we explain that we disappeared—with the precious tuxes, I might add—for almost twenty-four hours?”
They couldn’t tell anyone the real reason. He didn’t want to deal with the nuclear-sized fallout if Lindsey discovered that he’d not only stolen her thunder but also her best friend. He couldn’t even begin to imagine how everyone else would react.
“We’ll tell them that we had too much to drink while waiting for the tuxes to be ready, so we decided to stay in town.”
“So we weren’t able to sober up enough after six o’clock to make it back last night? We had the early-bird dinner special, then went to bed?”
Bed. Oh boy. No way to hide that.
Raudel gave a sly grin. “I doubt they’ll think we went to sleep.”
Chad groaned. “Lindsey’s going to be so pissed.”
“You’re right, she will. But we’ll get there just in time for the photos, and we can spend the rest of the week making it up to her.”
“She’ll torture me because of this for the rest of our lives. I’ll be in the nursing home, and she’ll hide my bedpan. Then she’ll steal my tapioca pudding and make me eat the broccoli.”
Raudel laughed. “Then I’ll sneak in chocolate pudding for you.”
Chad turned his head, observing Raudel. Light crinkles decorated the corner of his eyes, and his lips had curled into an easy smile. His body wasn’t tense in the least, his shoulders relaxed as he drove with one hand on the steering wheel, the other claspi
ng Chad’s. It was odd, but he could picture it. He could totally picture Raudel making sure he had chocolate pudding if Chad was a bedridden senior.
“Okay. I can do this.”
He had to keep telling himself that. He also had to make sure he ignored the seventeen increasingly frantic texts and five phone calls that had popped up on his phone once he’d plugged it into Raudel’s car charger. Raudel had shut off his own cell before the ceremony and then didn’t turn it back on. As soon as Chad had seen the messages and finished having a meltdown, he’d texted that everything was fine and they’d be back soon. Then he’d shut off his phone again.
No reason to get ripped to shreds via text when I still have the in-person shredding to look forward to.
“So we were drunk and lost our phones. That’s our story?”
Raudel shrugged. “Misplaced. But in general, yes.”
“Right.” Raudel really would have to do all the talking. Chad couldn’t say that excuse out loud with both his mother and Lindsey staring him down. He glanced at the gold band on his finger. “Double shit. We need to hide our rings.”
“The bag from the jewelry store is on the floor in the back.”
Chad turned to locate it and Raudel sighed. He stretched out his arm to nab it.
“What’s wrong?” Chad worried that Raudel had decided they were both screwed after all.
“I don’t want to take it off.”
Chad considered his ring again. He didn’t either, but he also didn’t see any way around it. They could tell everyone they’d gotten married after Lindsey’s wedding day had passed, but not before. After all the trauma she’d been through to get to the finish line, it simply wasn’t fair.
After popping open the little blue box, Chad accepted Raudel’s ring, kissing it before he placed it in the tiny slot.
“I saw that.”
Chad flushed, but he’d heard the pleased tone in Raudel’s voice. He twisted the band on his own finger, but it barely moved, pulling harshly on his skin instead.
“Ow.” He tried again with the same result. “Ow. Damn.” It wouldn’t budge.
“Is it giving you trouble?” Raudel kept flitting his gaze back and forth between Chad and the road.
“Fuck. This is beyond trouble. This is…” my final doom. “Remember how you wanted to get our rings engraved? Mine will have to be done on the outside of the band.”
“Ah, mijo. A jeweler can get that off for you.”
“Know any between here and—” Chad gulped. “Hell?”
Raudel turned right onto the dirt road leading to the rental. Raudel gathered up Chad’s hand, the one with the wedding ring embedded in the flesh of his third finger. He kissed the band before setting Chad’s hand down again, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
“In that case, could I have my ring back, please? You can put it on my finger before we get out of the car.”
Yup. Let the shredding commence.
CHAD’S FIRST act upon entering the rental to face the Wrath of Lindsey was to step on the bottom of the plastic bag that contained his still partially pressed tux. He face-planted as it ripped open, his balled-up blue wedding shirt spilling out at the feet of his family, who’d lined up in the entryway. They appeared united in their intent to interrogate him upon his arrival.
Raudel gasped loudly as he grabbed Chad’s arm, helping him to his feet, then exploring his body as if checking for broken bones or spurting arteries. “Oh, my mijo. Are you hurt?”
Subtle. That whole wedding ring issue seems to be a moot point.
“Mijo? Did you just call him ‘mijo’?” The force of Lindsey’s gasp put Raudel’s to shame. “And what’s that?” She pointed at Chad’s dress shirt as if it were a snake. She then lifted her gaze, her eyes widening as she stared at their hands.
Chad shoved his behind his back, but Raudel gently extricated it before lacing their fingers together. His stomach clenched as he took in everyone’s slack-jawed, bug-eyed expressions.
“Oh. My. Fucking. God.” Lindsey threw her hands in the air before letting them drop to her side, tears glittering in her eyes. “Those… those rings. Did you…? Are you guys…? Did you…?”
Chad almost pissed himself as Lindsey’s piercing scream filled the room. She’d undoubtedly cleared entire flocks of birds from the neighboring woods with the sheer force of her outcry. Chad reached for her, opening his mouth to beg her forgiveness, but she recoiled. Without another word, she whipped around, then ran from the room.
“Knock, knock.” Everyone turned their heads to the source of the voice. “I believe I have an eleven o’clock appointment to shoot some wedding photographs?”
CHAD STOOD alone in the kitchen as he stared mindlessly at the digital display on the built-in microwave. He clutched an unopened can of Bud Light, knowing he didn’t want to drink it, but somehow feeling that he should. Something Raudel had said the day before came filtering back to him. Something about having what he wanted.
He pushed himself off from the counter where he’d been leaning, then opened the refrigerator door.
“I’ll take that.”
His dad’s voice made him jump right as he was about to set the beer on one of the glass shelves. Without looking his way, Chad handed it to him, then reached for the milk jug. After kicking the door closed, he sighed the sigh of the damned, then retrieved a glass from the cupboard. He still couldn’t make eye contact with his dad.
As Chad poured his milk, his father popped the tab of the beer and then took a noisy sip. “Seen your mother?”
“No. But she’s probably in the shed.”
“There’s a shed?”
“In the backyard.”
“Oh.” His dad took another noisy slug of the beer. “Haven’t been out there since the first day.”
Chad considered the remark. Other than the stealth-ninja fountain mission in the middle of the night, he hadn’t been back there either. It was probably gorgeous. That thought sparked the memory of the day before when Raudel had proposed to him as they sat eighteen stories up with the beauty of the lake as a backdrop.
“So.” His dad set the can on the tile of the counter with a clink. “You’re really married, huh?”
Chad wondered if he could grab Raudel from where he sat in the living room entertaining Grandma by playing Go Fish, jump in the Honda, and disappear with him forever. All he wanted was his husband by his side and for his family not to hate him. If he couldn’t have the family thing, he at least wanted Raudel.
With another agonized sigh, he faced his dad. “Yup. I really am.”
“Are you happy?”
“That I married him?” Because he wasn’t so happy with anything else. “Extremely.”
His father nodded, then took another healthy swallow of beer. “Always thought he was a good kid. Smart too.”
“Yeah. I’m really lucky.”
“You love him?”
“Yes, sir. Very much.”
“And you guys had a wedding with a ceremony, wore your tuxes, got the rings, had cake….”
Chad’s face heated. He didn’t want to be reminded of frosting with his dad standing right there. “Yeah. We didn’t want to go through anything like—” He swallowed. “—you know.”
“Yeah. I know.” His father finished off the beer, then almost crushed the can in his fist, wincing in pain before giving up. “What about the honeymoon?”
Chad snorted before he could stop himself. “Oh, we…. Well, no trips to Hawaii or Caribbean cruises. We might hang out here or maybe drive through Yosemite and take the long way home when we leave to get my stuff before I—” He paused. There hadn’t been much talk about the future with his family. So far things had fallen more under the heading of damage control. “I’m moving to LA to be with Raudel.”
“I figured. You married the kid.” His dad reached into his pocket, then pulled out his checkbook. “Here. I have something for you.”
“Dad, you don’t have to. We sprung this on everyone,
even though that wasn’t our plan, but I don’t want you guys to feel like—”
“Shut up, Chad. I’m not upset. I’m glad you’ve found someone who makes you happy, and I’ll be eternally grateful to you for not forcing me to relive this fucking nightmare.” He waved a hand around in the air as an indicator of said nightmare, then ripped the check from the rest and handed it to Chad. “This is what your mother and I saved for your college education. You’ll be needing it to start your new life with Raudel.”
Chad sucked in a sharp breath as he gawped at the amount. Ten thousand dollars. How many beers has he had? “B-but… I’ll never be able to pay you back.”
His father had the fridge door open and was rooting around it. “It’s not a loan. It’s a gift.”
“B-but….”
“You sound like a motorboat. Now where the hell is the beer?”
Chad couldn’t stop staring at the check. “In the shed.”
His father growled. “I knew it.”
Chapter Nine
“IT NEEDS to be you, mijo.”
Raudel nuzzled his neck, taking occasional nips at his skin as they sat together on one of the twin beds in their room. They’d had to eliminate the blankets. Their shared body heat from sleeping wrapped up like puppies had been too much.
“She hates me.”
“She loves and needs you.”
“No. I’m pretty sure the stink eye directed my way during the photo session yesterday was hatred.”
Fortunately they’d been able to reschedule the photographer to give Lindsey’s swollen, red eyes a chance to recover from the crying jag induced by Chad and Raudel’s unintentional marriage announcement. It still hadn’t made up for the complete annihilation of the itinerary, however, and no amount of Wite-Out in the universe could repair the damage of Chad’s betrayal. They’d merely taken care of the most essential things: Lindsey’s drunken bridal shower, the photos, and the rehearsal dinner they’d just returned from. He frankly couldn’t understand why they hadn’t simply done that in the first place and spent the rest of the time enjoying the fucking lake.