by Con Riley
Aiden stared. He would never raise his hand . . . .
He closed his eyes and nodded, telling Theo that he understood. After Theo left, Aiden leaned against the wall for a while, thinking over what he’d said.
The sound of footsteps approached from the direction of the kitchen.
“What are you doing standing there in this darkness?” Marco’s hand moved to the hallway light switch. He didn’t get a chance to touch it. Aiden got to him first, sweeping him up in a fierce hug. They stood in the dark, holding each other, as the sound of Theo’s car engine gradually faded.
Marco murmured, “Aiden, tesoro mio,” and his lips were soft against Aiden’s neck.
“I would never hurt you.” Aiden mimicked his neck-kissing actions, although his own were quick and desperate.
“I didn’t think that you would.” Marco sounded puzzled. “You couldn’t hurt me even if you tried. Isn’t today proof of that? You really lost your temper, and still you stopped yourself. I promise that if something similar ever happens again I’ll find something tall to stand on so I can kick your ass.”
“It’s not funny.”
“No,” Marco quietly agreed. “But you are a good man who is having a difficult week. I’ve known you for a while now. I’ve seen the way you care for other people. You judge yourself too harshly.”
Aiden pressed his face into Marco’s neck. The way Marco hung on when he kissed there only made him do so harder. Marco’s hands dug into his shoulders.
Aiden copied that tight grip also. Then his hands slipped down, seeking a way under Marco’s belted waistband. He gave up and cupped his ass instead. How long had he wanted to do this? Marco’s ass had been on parade in a tiny Speedo for most of the last month. He got a good hold and easily hefted him upward.
Marco laughed, shouting warnings not to drop him, wrapping his legs around Aiden’s hips as he started walking.
They didn’t cover too much distance.
Aiden turned and pressed Marco’s back against a door, hips instinctively seeking pressure as he squeezed Marco’s ass again. Outside, lightning suddenly flashed, revealing Marco’s face. Aiden didn’t try to keep his words in. “You are so fucking gorgeous.” They lost minutes there—kissing, touching, grinding—until Aiden’s hand found the doorknob. It was just a few steps to the couch, and Aiden knelt in front of it as Marco fell back against the cushions, his legs still around Aiden’s hips.
For a moment, they stared at each other. Marco’s eyes looked so dark now, and Aiden’s chest rose and fell. When Marco spoke, Aiden did as he was instructed.
“Take off your shirt.”
He felt Marco’s hands on his skin before he’d fully gotten the shirt off, quickly followed by Marco’s mouth. Marco kissed Aiden where he could easily reach—his chest, his neck, his shoulders—then stopped and hauled his shirt off too. This time, after another bolt of lightning, Aiden heard a deep rumble of thunder, and the living room lamps all flickered.
When Marco startled at the sound, Aiden told him somewhat breathlessly that storms like this were almost unheard of in Seattle. He bent his head to kiss Marco’s stomach, licking just below his navel—a soft spot his attention had been drawn to for weeks—then made his way up to Marco’s chest. He found a small, tight nipple. When he grazed it with his teeth, Marco yanked at his hair, sounding fraught and breathless too.
“Are you seriously talking about the weather? Get your pants off. Why aren’t you naked yet?” He didn’t wait for Aiden’s answer, already wriggling away, ending up reclining sideways as he shoved down his own pants. “Come on now, Aiden. Hurry.”
Aiden stood and undid his belt, watching as Marco kicked his pants onto the floor. His briefs were already marked with a spreading damp patch. Aiden wanted to lick there so badly.
“You look as if you want to eat me.”
Aiden didn’t know if Marco’s shiver was induced by that thought or by the next crash of thunder, sounding so much closer.
Marco’s gaze fell to Aiden’s hands as they pulled his belt free, then dropped it on the floor beside him. He sat up when Aiden’s hand moved to his fly. “Are you hard of hearing? I told you not to keep me waiting.” He reached out and pressed his palm over Aiden’s dick, smiling as his fingers traced its head, trapped under layers of fabric. Then he braced his hands against Aiden’s hips when Aiden swayed.
“Please . . . Marco.”
Marco took hold of his waistband and pulled down his pants and boxers fast. Aiden’s cock sprang free, level with Marco’s lips. Watching him lick them was like some special kind of torture. Aiden’s hand moved to his dick, gripping it at the base, as Marco knelt on the couch and pushed down his own briefs. His cock looked just right—flushed dark pink and wet-tipped—standing up from a patch of jet-black hair, stark against the only part of Marco that hadn’t seen the sun.
“Let go of your cock now, Aiden.”
Aiden blinked, then looked up from his point of focus to find Marco smiling at him.
“I want to do that for you.” His grip was warm and certain.
Marco pulled him down and shifted until Aiden was underneath him, then pressed his face into Aiden’s throat as he jerked Aiden’s cock. His palm was warm, his fingers twisting on the upstroke. He made Aiden’s breathing stutter when he let go, sinking down so they rocked on the couch together.
“This is going to be fast. Don’t judge me.” Marco braced on his palms, and his expression tightened. “You made me wait for so long.”
Aiden groaned, lost in the roll of Marco’s hips.
“Did you want me too?” Marco sounded uncertain, making Aiden frown.
Had he wanted Marco?
Had he wanted this with him?
Only from the very first time he saw him.
But that want had seemed impossible, and far too tightly tangled up with his old crush on Ben. Aiden held him tighter, then rolled, pushing and maneuvering until he had Marco pressed against the couch back. His cock found the groove of Marco’s pelvis, and he did his best to fuck it while Marco huffed out breathless laughter at the way Aiden said, “Fuck, yes.”
Their movements lacked coordination as they both got closer. Marco shoved his hand between them, jerking Aiden again until he tipped his head back, almost yelling—Jesus, such sweet, intense relief.
“Aiden.” Marco’s voice was a strained chuckle. “Your come-face is scary. You should never do that in front of a mirror. The glass would surely crack.” His whispered insults made Aiden growl before gasping with breathless laughter. Marco’s teasing only faltered once he wriggled free, straddling Aiden’s legs. He licked his palm, and as Aiden watched him start to jack off, all the house lights went out. Lightning lit Marco momentarily when he came too, and Aiden caught him as he slumped.
They held each other as rain struck the window, kissing until Marco moved away. He cleaned them off with some discarded clothing, then lay back down.
Aiden settled on his side, making space, and pulled Marco as close as he could get him. This was different from Internet hookups or club-bathroom blowjobs. So different. In the dark, they kissed and touched and murmured. It was like comparing the moon to the sun—Marco seemed lit brightly from the inside, leaving Aiden’s vision altered.
They lapsed into peaceful silence. It was the calmest Aiden had felt for weeks.
Marco pulled away when the lights came back on. Aiden had no idea how long they had been dozing and was surprised when he saw that it was well after midnight. As he stretched, Marco began to get dressed, saying, “I have to make some business calls. Why don’t you go sleep in my bed? I’ll try not to wake you when I come in.”
Aiden reached for Marco’s hand, then drew it close and kissed his palm. His teeth found the pad of flesh below Marco’s thumb, and he kissed the spot before he bit it, not wanting to let him go. “Don’t start work now.”
“I have things I need to do. People waiting for my calls. I won’t be long. Why don’t you go take a shower and get cleaned up?”
Aiden sat up. “I feel like we’ve wasted a whole lot of time. We could have done this much sooner.”
Marco laughed. “No, we couldn’t, Aiden.” He bent down for a kiss before standing and looking for his shirt. “Coming hard has wiped your memory. You couldn’t stand to be in the same room with me until a few days ago.” He pulled his shirt on, then kissed Aiden again. “No. We couldn’t have done this before today. I think we had to learn more about each other. Now we stand a better chance.”
“Of what?” Aiden’s voice was strange and tight.
Marco looked down at him with warm amusement. “Of being long-term partners.” He picked up Aiden’s pants and dropped them on his lap. “Did you only want a onetime thing with me?” He watched with narrowed eyes as Aiden quickly shook his head. “Good. That’s not how de Lucas operate. Now go, before I forget my good manners and fuck you on our first date.”
He could hear Marco chuckling as he headed for the kitchen. When Aiden finished in the bathroom, he glimpsed Marco through the open kitchen doorway. He had papers spread over the table, and his laptop was booting up. The tapping of his pencil added aural punctuation to the rapid-fire Italian he spoke into his cell phone. Aiden left him to it, feeling guilty that Marco’s workday wasn’t over yet.
He hesitated at his bedroom door before continuing along the hallway. When he emptied his pants pockets onto Marco’s nightstand, his gaze fell on his adoption-contact letter that still lay in the lamp’s pool of light.
Marco’s voice was a quiet, persistent presence in the background as Aiden hit his brother’s number on speed dial. He expected his call to go to voicemail, since it was so late, but instead it was answered right away.
Evan’s first words were a hurried jumble of “Couldn’t you sleep either?” and “I hate it when we fight,” followed by “Joel says we should get our shit together.”
Aiden closed his eyes. He mentally ran through the whole day. How much easier would it have been with Evan to confide in? His perspective could have been useful, instead of being something else to worry about. Evan might have noticed what was up with Levi way before Aiden had. But that would have meant sharing why money worries topped his list.
Not sharing was how he’d protected Evan from a devastating truth. It had shielded him from thinking that their dad hadn’t cared about them. Now sharing that seemed unavoidable.
It was so hard to change his way of thinking—so hard, when he knew how badly Evan needed to feel wanted. He’d already been through too much rejection.
Where the hell would Aiden begin?
In the kitchen, Marco’s laugh rang out—clear and loud and honest.
Aiden looked at the letter in his hand and finally, haltingly, asked his brother to help him.
Chapter Thirteen
It was nearly eleven the next morning before Aiden noticed that Evan was exhausted. He glimpsed his reflection nodding at a customer in one of the store mirrors. Evan’s quiet “Have a nice day” was easy enough to lip-read, but the way his smile quickly faded was what caught Aiden’s eye. He’d arrived looking just as smartly dressed as usual, but now that Aiden studied him, he saw that he looked like crap.
When Evan had first hooked up with Joel, he’d roll into work late on the weekends with shadowed eyes and hickeys only just covered by his shirt collar. He stood the same way behind the register then too—spaced out and completely useless—until Joel arrived to take him out for lunch. He’d return buzzing and distracted, then spend the afternoon looking at his watch, counting the minutes until closing.
If Aiden was completely honest, it used to piss him off.
He’d had to set his brother straight, warning him to get his act together—what if their mom had seen him with kiss-swollen lips and bite marks on his neck? How would he explain that? Did he want to cause another breakdown?
Maybe he’d been too harsh at the time, yelling in the stockroom that Evan shouldn’t come to work at all if he looked freshly fucked and vacant. Evan had recoiled as if he’d hit him—up until that point, Aiden had so rarely lost his temper—but he’d gotten his act together. At the time, Aiden had thought the sudden cessation of Joel’s smiles was coincidental. But perhaps he’d overheard him lose his shit with Evan.
Today, instead of looking tired but happy, Evan simply appeared upset.
When Aiden crossed the store, Evan barely looked up from the small notebook the clerks used to leave each other messages. His chin jutted as Aiden reached over and turned the book around to face him. Instead of the usual notes—we’re running low on black belts, or can you get this shirt in small?—Evan had doodled a picture. That wasn’t too unusual. If Aiden looked back through the notebook pages, he could chart the shifts Evan covered by the buildings that he drew. This time, he’d drawn a cabin in the middle of a forest.
“Is this meant to be Sean’s place?” It sure looked that way, right down to the chickens by the front door. “You forgot to draw all the boxes.” The last time Aiden saw Sean’s place, it had still been a mess. He’d helped clear out Sean’s late father’s paper hoard with Peter, and that’s when they’d first gotten to know each other. When he’d headed for home—or Peter’s, as it turned out—a solid wall of file boxes had filled his rearview mirror.
“No, they’re all gone now. The yard’s completely empty. Joel told me so last night.”
“How the hell does he know?”
Evan closed his eyes for a moment. “He stayed the night with Sean and Peter. He’s there for a few days, and he called to talk about his interview with Vik.” He paused as if waiting for Aiden to show some interest, then gave up and changed the subject. “When did you say Levi would get here?”
“Soon.” Aiden took a deep breath. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap.” He paused, recalling Marco lying beside him that morning, whispering in his ear to have patience with his brother’s boyfriend. Aiden felt his cheeks heat. “I really don’t mean half the things I say about Joel. It’s just that life seemed easier before you two were together. It’s not his fault, I guess.”
“You guess?” Evan tidied the counter, looking anywhere but at Aiden’s face. “Life might have been easier for you, but I felt like I didn’t have one at all until I met him.” He looked up, jaw jutting again. “I don’t mean that you’re not a great brother. That has nothing to do with Joel.” He scrubbed at a pen mark on the counter surface. When he next spoke, his voice sounded strained and tight. “Are you really seeing Marco now? Is it more than a onetime thing between you?”
Feeling weird, like he was telling someone else’s secret, Aiden quickly nodded. Being open was a habit Marco said would get easier with practice.
“Then you must know what I mean.” Evan straightened up, holding Aiden’s gaze.
“Yeah.” Aiden supposed he did. Having Marco in his life now made everything he’d previously compartmentalized seem oppressive and restrictive. He could hardly breathe if he thought too hard about the way he’d run his life. “I didn’t realize.” He shrugged, forcing himself to make eye contact, even though that felt awkward. “I can’t get him out of my head.”
Evan puffed out a huge breath. “So can you imagine how you’d feel if I gave you endless crap about him?” After Aiden’s nod, he added, “And how would Marco react? Do you think he’d put up with me telling you how to live your life?”
“No.” Aiden shook his head. “Not for a single minute.”
“So why do you do that to us?” He sounded so frustrated.
Levi’s arrival was a reprieve. He appeared at the counter and turned the notebook to face him.
“That cabin looks so cool, Evan. Like somewhere to escape to. I wish I could draw something like that, then find a way to go and live there.” His smile was nervous, just a quick flash of teeth. His next words came out in a rush. “Marco called to make sure I came in early. He said that you two have somewhere you need to get to.”
“Yeah.” Aiden sounded pissed off to his own ears.
“Oh,
ignore him.” Evan opened the door to the stockroom. “Go get changed so we can get this over with. The sooner we go, the sooner we’ll get back.”
“No.” Levi turned before disappearing into the back room. “He said you’re meeting him and Paul at the usual place for lunch after you get done. And he mentioned that you might not be back today.” He looked quickly between them—Aiden glowering and Evan white-faced and moody—and then said, “You two can carry on fighting now. It’s just like being at home.”
The door shut, and Evan slipped the notebook full of sketches into his back pocket. “Was that Levi being sassy? He seems very chipper for someone you used to scare to death.”
“I didn’t scare him.”
“Maybe scare is the wrong word. He didn’t know whether to worship you or run away as fast as he could. I used to watch him, Aiden. The kid had a monster crush.”
“Had?” Aiden was only kidding.
Evan pulled his jacket on, then inclined his head toward the stockroom door. “Marco made him laugh. I heard them in the kitchen. You need to watch out.” Evan’s expression was tinged with amusement in a way that Aiden hadn’t seen for weeks. “Maybe he’s set his sights on your boyfriend.”
Aiden narrowed his eyes, heading to the stockroom to retrieve the paperwork he’d brought with him that morning. “I just need something from my desk.” He moved across the crowded room—in a much worse state than usual since Levi’s few days off—and picked up his now well-creased envelope.
Levi had his work shirt over his head, and he struggled to quickly pull it on. He must have come off his skateboard really hard again, Aiden thought. This time his upper arm and shoulder was streaked with mottled purple.
“How did you do that to yourself?” he asked, hesitating when Levi’s movements stilled. “You must have taken one hell of a tumble. Please tell me you were wearing your helmet.”