by CJ Bishop
“You’re…boyfriends?”
“Yes.” Devlin nodded. “Well, fiancés, actually. We’re getting married this weekend.”
“Most of our family is made up of gay couples,” Abel told him. “Are you okay with that?”
Noah shrugged. “I don’t care,” he said quietly. “I didn’t like Jim thinking I was gay, but only because I was scared of what he would do to me if he really started to believe it. But…it doesn’t bother me that you are.”
“I’m glad.” Devlin smiled. “And it shouldn’t. The only difference between gay people and straight people is who they’re attracted to, nothing else.”
“I don’t know who I’m attracted to,” Noah murmured.
“How old are you?” Abel asked.
“Almost fifteen.” When Abel looked a little surprised, Noah said, “I know I don’t look it. Everyone thinks I’m younger than I am. I think that’s why Jim thought I was gay, because I was small for my age and…and not very athletic.”
Abel shook his head. “So, of course, he equates your small size with being gay. Typical. Maybe he should take another look at Clint.”
Noah’s eyes widened a little. “The cowboy is gay?”
Devlin chuckled. “Very. And I pity the bigot who gives him flack about it.”
“Does he have a boyfriend?”
“Indeed.” Devlin nodded. “His name is Axel, and you will love him. A very sweet young man—with a puppy.” Devlin chuckled.
“I love dogs,” Noah smiled, then saddened a little. “I could never have one, though.”
“Well, we have two puppies in our extended family so far,” Devlin said. “Something tells me that number will continue to grow.”
“Especially if Jules has anything to say about it,” Abel laughed.
“Jules?” Noah looked at them.
Abel grinned. “A little four-year-old tornado that sweeps through everyone’s lives—and doesn’t know a stranger. So be prepared to be his best friend the instant you meet him.”
Noah laughed softly. “Okay.”
Devlin gazed at him. “At almost fifteen, you don’t know which gender you’re attracted to?” That seemed unusual.
“I never really thought about it,” Noah told him. “I didn’t have very many friends in school before the accident. I just stayed to myself, didn’t pay attention to the other kids. I never met anyone I liked. Boy or girl. So…I don’t really know.”
Devlin patted his leg. “That’s okay. You’ll figure it out.”
“He’s right.” Abel nodded then smiled and wrapped his arms around Devlin’s neck and kissed his cheek. “But I got to say…there’s just something awesome about crushing on a boy.”
Chapter 2
Dane tucked away his cell phone. “The earliest flight back is tomorrow morning.” He lay down on the bed. “Guess we’re stuck here overnight.”
“Well…” Angel smiled softly and straddled Dane’s body, rubbing his hands up his chest. “It doesn’t have to be time wasted.” He kissed Dane deeply and sank down against him as he stroked his fingers through his thick, dark hair. The veiled anguish in Dane’s beautiful eyes broke Angel’s heart; deep inside, Dane had been hoping against hope that his parents could just accept and love him for who he was. Though Dane hadn’t expressly said so, Angel knew that Dane had brought him along to show him off, because of how proud he was of his soon-to-be husband, and how honored he was by Angel’s love for him. And his parents hadn’t only rejected Dane—but Angel as well. Angel suspected that their rejection of him maybe hurt Dane the worst.
“No, it doesn’t.” Dane smiled though his eyes remained saddened. He wrapped his arms around Angel and pulled him into another kiss. “To hell with them,” he whispered thickly. “You…our family back home…that’s all I need to be happy. I should’ve known nothing here would have changed. People like that will never understand the true depth and meaning of love.” He kissed him again. “As we understand it.”
Angel stroked his hair and kissed him between the eyes. “I promise,” he said softly. “To make you happy all the days of your life.”
Smiling, Dane caressed his back. “And cater to my every whim?”
“Absolutely.”
“Do you know what whim I want catered to right now?”
“I think I can figure it out.” Angel kissed his lips, his neck, and slowly slid down his body, plucking open his shirt buttons as he went, pressing kisses to his chest and stomach.
“Mm,” Dane moaned. “I love how you read my mind.”
Angel laughed softly as he rimmed Dane’s navel with the tip of his tongue. “Not so hard when you’re always thinking the same thing.”
“True,” Dane chuckled, his stomach muscles quivering beneath Angel’s tongue.
A deep groan escaped Dane when Angel palmed his crotch and gently massaged his hardening cock, his free hand working to open his pants. Dane shuddered and sank into the pillows, his body relaxing as he surrendered every part of himself to Angel.
“Oh God…” Dane swallowed thickly when Angel dragged his slacks off his hips and down his thighs, revealing his skimpy black underwear; see-thru and leaving little to the imagination as his growing erection stretched the ultra-thin fabric.
What would Dane’s parents have done if they’d known he was still a stripper? That those he considered family were mostly strippers as well? And the “father figure” of said family was the owner of the gay strip club that they called home?
Angel imagined they might both be charred corpses in the town square about now.
♦
The kid was sleeping when Clint passed through the bedroom to use the bathroom. He paused and stared at the boy; his longish bangs hanging in his face across his closed eyes. Oddly, the boy reminded him of Jonah when he’d first brought the pup to Axel; injured and helpless…and eager to be loved.
What would Axel think if you brought him another “gift”?
Clint shook his head to dispel the thought; where the hell had that come from? He left the kid sleeping on the bed and entered the bathroom, closing the door behind him.
When he emerged a few minutes later, he glanced quizzically at the boy, perplexed as to why Noah was having such a profound effect on him. It startled him how quickly and easily he imagined the boy spending time in his and Axel’s home…sharing their daily lives.
Just because he reminds you of Jonah doesn’t mean he’s a lost puppy to take home. If he “belongs” to anyone, it’s Abel and Devlin.
How amused would the others be if they knew his thoughts? The bad-ass cowboy gangster going all soft-hearted over an orphan boy. Maybe his “bad-ass” days were coming to an end. The thought didn’t set well with him and he rejected it as a false premonition when he considered how close he’d come to crushing that motherfucker’s hip with the heel of his boot. Had Abel given the word—a bullet in the brain would have been doable as well.
Clint cast the boy another glance, started for the bedroom door, then shifted and stepped over to the bed where he lightly brushed the kid’s bangs from his face. He withdrew when Noah stirred and slowly opened his eyes.
“Sorry,” Clint mumbled. “Didn’t mean to wake you.”
The boy blinked and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. “Are we there?”
“No,” Clint said. “Soon.” He dragged his hand over his mouth. “You should get a little more rest.”
Noah scooted up on the pillows. The slight pinch in his face as his bad left shifted beneath him again convinced Clint that he should’ve wasted the bastard for causing Noah such unnecessary pain.
“Thank you,” Noah whispered tentatively. “For helping us. Jim…he can get real mean. I was scared he might hurt Devlin or Abel.”
Clint nodded. “That’s why I tagged along,” he murmured.
Pursing his lips, Noah lowered his eyes. “I wouldn’t have cared,” he said quietly with a slight tremor in his voice. When he looked up again, his eyes were damp. “If you’d hurt him.” He swall
owed thickly. “Does that make me a bad person?”
Clint chuffed. “If you’re looking for a moral answer, kid, you’re asking the wrong man.”
“What’s the moral answer?” Noah asked.
“I don’t know,” Clint said. “Maybe that if you didn’t care if they got hurt or you wished them harm, then you were no better than them.”
Uncertainty filled Noah’s eyes. “Is that true?” he whispered unsteadily.
Clearing his throat, Clint muttered, “No. It’s bullshit. The bastard abused you, made you believe you were the cause of your mom’s death…nothing you feel about him makes you a bad person.” He stared at the boy. “Nothing, you got that?”
Noah nodded as relief masked his face. “Yeah.”
“Good,” Clint said. “Now, you should get some more rest.”
Noah smiled and nestled into the pillows. “Will I see you very much…after we get back?” he asked quietly…hopefully.
The corner of his mouth curving up, Clint tipped his hat as he moved toward the door. “I’ll be around.”
♦
All thoughts of bigot families and rejection exploded into nothingness as Dane’s throbbing member slid into Angel’s hot, silky-soft mouth. His eyes closed and he combed his fingers through Angel’s hair as the boy did things to him with his sexy, sensual mouth that reminded him all over again why he loved being gay and wouldn’t wish it away for anything or anyone.
By the time he was squeezing into Angel’s tight body, nothing existed at that moment but him and Angel, the world outside their motel room erased and forgotten.
Angel faced the wall, palms pressed flat against the painted surface, his beautiful petite ass arched at just the perfect angle for maximum penetration. He pressed his forehead to the wall between his hands, his breath quick and uneven. “Yes…” he moaned as Dane pushed in deeper. “Oh fuck, baby…give it to me.”
“Uuhh…” Dane squeezed his slender hips, fingers sinking into his hot skin, and gently pulled him onto his cock as he thrust further in. Angel swiveled his ass on Dane’s shaft, loosening up his inner muscles. “Fuck, yes…” Dane choked and gripped tighter as his member stretched and thickened inside his lover. “Oh my God, baby…I’m so fucking hard. I want to fuck you so hard.”
Twisting his head, Angel pressed his cheek to the wall, looked at Dane from the corner of his eye, and smiled as he began to slide his ass up and down Dane’s cock.
“Ah—fuck.” Dane shuddered and remained unmoving for a moment as Angel fucked him, his strokes quickening, growing harder as he began thrusting back on Dane’s dick with greater momentum until he was rocking them both on the bed.
“Uuuh!” Angel gasped and shoved his hands firm against the wall, his arm and shoulder muscles straining as his back curved sensually and his hips rotated smoothly, pumping his ass back and forth. “Oh fuck, baby,” he whimpered. “Fuck me, Dane…fuck me!”
Dane flattened his hands over Angel’s, laced their fingers, and thrust hard, burying himself balls deep.
“Uh! Yes…” Angel cried. “Harder, baby—fuck me harder!”
“Fuck, I love it when you say that,” Dane growled and sucked his neck as his hips pumped harder, faster, steadily shoving Angel up against the wall as the pillows bunched around their knees.
“Oh fuck—fuck—yes!” Angel squeezed Dane’s fingers fiercely. “Yes, baby, yes! Fuck me…don’t stop!”
Dane’s body was flush with Angel’s as he fucked him wildly with short, forceful thrusts, punching Angel’s prostate mercilessly.
“Oh my God!” Angel wailed. “Oh God—I’m gonna come! Oh fuck—don’t stop, baby! Don’t stop-don’t stop!”
Every muscle in Dane’s body knotted and strained as he pounded Angel’s ass, his breath puffing hard into the young man’s dampened hair. “Uuh! Fuck, Angel! Oh fuck, I wanna come!” He released Angel’s right hand and reached down, grabbing the boy’s rigid cock, slick with cum juice, and stroked him furiously as he fucked him madly. “Oh fuck-fuck-fuuuck!”
Angel yelled and shoved back against him, thrusting erratically on his dick. “Uh-uh-uuhh! Oh fuck-fuck! I’m coming, Dane!” Angel’s shaft swelled in Dane’s fist then burst, squirting loads of cum onto the wall. “Uuh! Fuuuck!”
Dane scooped his arm around Angel’s small waist and held on tight, fucking him wildly. “Oh fuu-uuck!” His hips jerking hard, Dane filled Angel with his hot seed. “Oh my God!” He gasped forcefully then hugged Angel with both arms, clinging to his fiancé with all his might, his face buried in his neck. “Fuck, baby, I love you,” he choked. “I love you so much. So fucking much.” An unexpected sob stuck in his throat and his eyes burned. “Fuck anyone who tells us this isn’t right, that what we feel is filthy and wrong.” He squeezed Angel tighter. “Fuck them all, baby. We don’t need them. We just need us.” He turned Angel around and kissed him long and deep as they sank down on the bed. “Just us, baby.”
Angel stroked his face, tears in his clear eyes. “Yes,” he whispered and softly kissed Dane on the mouth. “No one can tell us not to love each other. They don’t know what’s in our hearts.” He cupped Dane’s face and kissed him again. “And you, baby, consume my heart. And it’s the most perfect feeling I’ve ever felt.”
Sliding his fingers through Angel’s warm, damp hair, Dane pressed his head to the boy’s heated brow. “And you, my Angel, are perfection personified.”
Angel smiled. “You think I’m perfect?”
“I know you are.”
“You’re perfect, too.” Angel hugged his neck and laid his head on Dane’s shoulder. “Can I confess something to you?”
“Of course.”
Angel was silent a moment, then murmured, “When your dad said that you weren’t a good and decent man…I wanted to punch him in the mouth.”
Dane smiled and kissed his hair and hugged him tighter, his heart swelling with love and pride. “Thank you.”
Chapter 3
Cole and Gabe listened in as Max explained to Savannah and Maddy about the newest member of their family who was returning to New York with Abel and Devlin. The two kids were both intrigued as well as saddened by the details surrounding the boy.
“Clint was there, too?” Gabe asked.
Max nodded. “He agreed to go out there and make sure things went smoothly.”
“You sent Clint to keep things smooth?” Cole chuckled. “Did Abel’s dad make it out with a pulse?”
“Yeah,” Max laughed softly. “Barely. Horatio said that, according to Devlin, Clint seemed pretty eager to put some hurt on the man.”
“When isn’t he eager to do so?” Gabe grinned.
Savannah interjected. “Is Noah going to be staying with us?”
“I assume so,” Max said. “He is yours and Abel’s stepbrother. Although, Horatio says he seems to have taken quite a liking to our cowboy.”
Gabe chuckled. “Not so long ago, I wouldn’t have taken that ole crotchety cowboy to ever be a kid person. Hell, I hadn’t even known he was capable of falling in love. Sometimes it’s nice to be wrong.”
“Amen.” Cole nodded with a smile.
“When will they be back?” Maddy asked.
“Within the hour,” Max told him. “Noah is making a huge adjustment in a very short amount of time, so we’ll wait until he’s settled in before we throw him a ‘meet-the-family’ party.” He laughed softly. “Some of our members can be a tad overwhelming when you’re not used to them.”
Cole smirked. “You wouldn’t be referring to a certain quad of boys, now would you?”
“Our brat pack?” Max smiled. “Now why on earth would you think I was talking about them?”
Shaking his head, Cole grinned. “Can’t imagine.” His cell phone chirped and he dug it out of his pocket, read the text, then stood. “If you will all excuse me.” He smiled. “I got a date.”
“Um…” Gabe held up a finger. “Excuse me?”
“Yes?”
“A date?” he cocked an eyebrow. “
Will you be bringing home leftovers?”
“Well, now,” Cole chuckled. “Considering whom my date is, there’s definitely plenty to go around.”
Leaning back on the sofa, Maddy looked at Savannah. “It’s a good thing we aren’t innocent children.”
Max laughed. “You two just pretend you don’t know what he’s talking about.”
Maddy snorted. “In this family? Yeah, right.” Savannah buried her face in his shoulder, her laughter muffled.
“Wish me luck.” Cole wiggled his eyebrows and headed for the door.
“Just make sure you bring something back for me,” Gabe called after him with a smirk.
Savannah drew back and wiped her eyes. “He isn’t really going out on a date…”
“Apparently.” Gabe nodded. “I heard him make the call for dinner reservations. And as you can see, it wasn’t for me.”
The girl stared at him, an uncertain smile on her lips. “Huh-uh…he wouldn’t go out on a date with someone else.”
Gabe shrugged and sighed. “Tell him that, darlin’.”
“You wouldn’t let him.” Savannah smiled.
“Not sure I could stop him,” Gabe chuffed. “The guy’s a beast. I mean, don’t tell him I said this because it’s vital secret information, but he could probably kick my butt.”
Maddy nodded. “Yeah, I’d put my money on Cole.” He laughed.
Scowling, Gabe mumbled, “Thanks a lot, little brotha. Just for that I ought to kick your butt.” He sighed and chuckled. “But these days, not sure what my chances are there, either.”
♦
The ride from the airport had Noah sitting tensely against the rear passenger door of the limo, gazing anxiously out at the city. His hands rested on his legs, fingers absently raking his jeans. Abel and Devlin sat next to him and, opposite Noah, Horatio and Clint took up the other seat facing him.