Below the Belt
Page 22
But he wanted it to be special—maybe not public, maybe not a big to-do that both of them would have hated. He wanted an audience of one—wanted Adrian’s dark eyes fixed on him, wanted no one in the world to hear those words but the man he was desperate to marry.
For now though, that could wait. For now, he was being methodically stripped, every inch of him nibbled, and licked, and kissed as Adrian went after every sensitive place on his body. Noah simply spread himself back on the mattress, arms and legs out, pushing into every caress, every graze of teeth or swipe of tongue.
When lubed fingers pressed between his cheeks, he crooked his legs up, arching his hips so Adrian could push deep inside him. Noah nearly lost it, his eyes slamming closed as Adrian’s warm mouth closed around his dick and sucked him into the back of his throat. His hand thrust hard, a finger-fucking to be remembered, and it was by sheer force of will he didn’t come right there.
“Wait,” he gasped. “W-wait. Want you in m-me,” he begged.
Adrian pulled off with a firm suck, letting Noah’s dick dribble precome across his bottom lip as it slipped from his mouth. Noah’s body gave a violent shudder as he watched Adrian’s tongue dart out, licking up the stick trail of clear fluid, and then he lost all sense when he felt the fat, lubed head of Adrian’s cock pressing against his hole.
“D-do it,” he begged.
Adrian took one of Noah’s legs, pushing it up, and wide, then with a firm slide, moved all the way in. Noah gave an animal growl as he lifted his head to meet Adrian thrust for thrust. He felt wild with arousal, with want, like they couldn’t be close enough, like they never would. He wrapped his hands around the back of Adrian’s neck, pulling him in for a biting kiss as he pushed back against the cock battering against his prostate, and he felt his balls pull in tight, his orgasm cresting.
“I’m g-g-g,” he tried, but it was useless.
Adrian understood him—always had, always would. He increased his pace, gripping at Noah’s hips, and without being touched, Noah’s dick swelled and then spilled, dribbling right onto his stomach.
Adrian, who was looking down with hooded eyes, was on the brink. That was all it took to send him crashing over the edge, and he buried his face in the crook of Noah’s neck, letting out a long groan as his dick pumped over and over, spilling inside him.
They came down slowly, Noah petting Adrian’s hair as he slumped over Noah’s sticky chest, and eventually he pulled out and rolled to the side. They were a mess, but it was a perfect mess, something Noah would carry with him for weeks to come, if not forever, depending on the answer that came next.
He tried to sit up, but Adrian pinned him to the sheets, nuzzling along Noah’s shoulder with the tip of his nose. “No, don’t.”
Noah brushed his blunt nails along Adrian’s scalp, then down his defined biceps which were still strained from how hard he’d been fucking Noah. He moved his hand around his back, where the scarring was the worst, and he felt over the hills and valleys like a braille map of his lover. “I’ll just be a second. I need to grab something from my bag.”
Adrian let out a groan of dissatisfaction, but he eventually released his hold and Noah slipped off the edge of the bed. The floors were chilly against his bare feet, but he didn’t have to go far. The ring was in the front pocket of his zip-up travel bag and he pulled it out, holding the box in his palm as he climbed back under the sheets.
Adrian was ready to take him into his arms again, but Noah stayed carefully out of reach as his fingers traced around the edges of the box’s opening.
He cleared his throat, willed his tongue to obey him for this. He knew Adrian didn’t care about his stutter—loved every piece of him no matter how it looked or sounded or performed. But he wanted the words to come alive, without his brain getting in his way, and he made sure he was as calm as possible before presenting the box to his love.
“I’ve wanted to do this for a while, but I realized there’s no better place than here. It’s where we might have gotten our real start, if everything hadn’t gone to shit. Instead it’s become our second chance, it’s the last p-piece,” he stopped to calm himself again. “It’s the last piece to this puzzle, and I’m hoping you might want to start a new one with me as one.” He didn’t dare look at Adrian’s eyes. Not yet. He couldn’t deny it made him a little bit of a coward, but this was the biggest risk he’d ever taken. Flipping the top, he displayed the simple deep black silicon ring which Adrian could wear at all times—even while boxing. It was untraditional and maybe even a little ugly, but the moment Noah had seen it, he knew it had to be the one. “Will you marry me?”
The silence went on so long, Noah couldn’t help but lift his gaze. He wasn’t sure what to expect, but he found Adrian’s watery eyes staring at him. Hard. When their gazes connected, Adrian smiled. “I wasn’t about to say yes without you looking at me.”
Noah’s heart started beating again, though he hadn’t realized it had stopped until just then. His breath came out in a whoosh. “Is that a…”
“Yes,” Adrian said quietly. He reached out and ran a reverent finger down the center of the band. “It’s a yes.”
Noah used trembling fingers to pluck the ring from the soft velvet, sliding it over Adrian’s knuckle and watched it settle into place. It looked so right, it stole all the air from his lungs and his head grew dizzy with it. “I love you,” he managed, because it was the only thing to say.
There was still an entire world out there, an entire universe that had plans, and schemes, and wouldn’t always make things easy. But this—loving Adrian, being loved back—well that he could do. He closed his eyes against the warm palm that cupped his cheek, and he leaned into the kiss, pouring every ounce of adoration he had for this man into that gesture. When he felt it given back, he clutched at Adrian’s hair and smiled into the embrace.
The End
Coming Soon: Ryan and Cole’s story
Baum’s Boxing, Book Two: Fortune and Fate
Release Date- February 2019
Works by E.M. Lindsey
Magnum Opus Series:
Verismo
Tremolo
Serenata
Other Novels:
Time and Tide
Monsters and Men
Endless Forever
In Secret, In Silence
Absolution
Time to Wake Up
Like Water Catching Fire
Forget-Me-Not
About the Author
E.M. Lindsey lives in the SW United States where she’s currently on the Ph.D. track. Her life is family, thesis research, and writing in that order. In what precious little time she has to herself, she reads cheesy romances and binges terrible 90s romcoms on Netflix.
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