Pain

by E. M. Leya

  "Let's go downstairs and debrief." Bryon gripped Dyson's shoulder. "You need one of us to stay, Beau?"

  "No, I got this." Beau didn't look up from whatever he was doing on Xander's shoulder.

  "I'm staying." Faith didn't look away from Xander, who was still looking directly at her.

  "Faith, it's best if—"

  "Let her stay," Xander whispered, sounding tired.

  "Beau?" Matt asked, not wanting her to be in the way, but sure that Faith would argue if he tried to move her.

  "She's fine if you don't mind her staying," Beau said. "She's keeping him calm."

  Matt walked over to Faith, touching her shoulder. "You're sure?"

  She nodded. "The blood doesn't bother me, Dad. I want to watch what he does and help Xan." She continued to run her fingers up and down Xander's arms, not so much tracing the tattoos now, instead just caressing him.

  "Okay, I'll be downstairs if you need me." He hated leaving her alone, but something told him she needed him to trust her. Beau and Xander would take care of her. Neither man would let her get hurt or be traumatized by anything. "I love you both." He reached out and ran his fingers through Xander's hair before kissing Faith on the top of her head.

  "Love you," both Xander and Faith said in unison.

  Matt walked downstairs, realizing his hands were shaking as the adrenaline worked through him. He took several deep breaths. Xander would be okay. He had no idea what this meant for the team, what this meant for the future, but only one thing honestly mattered. Whatever came their way, Xander would be by his side for it.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  Matt stood in the doorway of Faith's room and tried not to laugh at what he was seeing, but it was taking everything he had to hold back and not give himself away.

  Xander sat beside Faith at a small card table they'd set up. On the table were a scattered assortment of play make-up and hair accessories, but that wasn't what had his attention. It was the fact that Faith was leaning close, using some kind of brush to put make-up on Xander's eyelids. It looked like a bright purple, but from the distance, he couldn't be sure.

  Across his shoulder, Xander had a white bandage, but even it had been colored with markers in zebra stripes that oddly went well with Xander's tattoos. In his hair, Xander had two purple bows somehow clipped at the top of his head.

  As he looked closer, he noticed that Xander's fingernails were done in bright red.

  Matt bit his lip as he pulled out his phone and quietly hit the video button. He had the urge to do a Facebook live with the video, but decided it would be better to keep private and use for blackmail when he wanted something Xander didn't.

  His attention had been so much on Xander, that it took him a minute to realize that Faith had also dressed up, only she wasn't in makeup and bows. Across her arms, down her neck, and if he wasn't mistaken, even on the side of her face, she was covered in tattoos.

  He focused the camera on her, watching the screen to get a closer look at what his daughter and boyfriend had done.

  Matt's heart burned with love for the two people in front of him. They were everything to him and he couldn't imagine his life without them. It had been a little over a week since Xander had been shot, and he'd struggled not to baby him once he was home. Although, he hadn't really had to. Faith had taken the role of nurse and made sure he had everything he needed. She'd even gone as far as insisting that Beau teach her how to change the bandages and care for the wound, so he wouldn't have to.

  Beau welcomed teaching Faith, and even joked that by the time she was graduating medical school, he would be ready to retire, and she could take over being the team's doctor. Matt wasn't sure that he wanted Faith in the middle of what the team did, but if she was, being the doctor was probably the best job for her. No matter how young she was, he let her learn and forced back his fears that it would all be too much for her to handle. She'd proven herself stronger than he ever dreamed.

  Keeping the camera on the two of them, Matt walked into the room, finally letting himself laugh. "What do we have here?" He walked around the table, stopping in front of them.

  "Doesn't he look pretty?" Faith put the makeup down and gestured to Xander.

  "He does look very pretty." Matt stared into Xander's twinkling eyes, seeing no hint of embarrassment from the man he loved.

  "And look at Faith. She's got almost as many tattoos as I do." Xander ran a hand over Faith's arm.

  "I see that. In fact, I think I like yours more than I do his." He bent down and ran a finger over the one on her cheek. "Except this one. Did you have to put one on your face?"

  "Yep, it's a heart." She turned her cheek to him.

  Matt laughed. "It is." He pulled her into a hug. "I thought you wanted to be a doctor, now I'm wondering if you will do makeup instead." Matt grinned at Xander over Faith's shoulder.

  "I can do both." She pulled back.

  Matt's eyes went wider. "Is that glitter in your beard?"

  "Yep, he shines now." Faith laughed.

  "You don't like it?" Xander put on a huge show of pouting his lips.

  "Is that lipstick?" Matt didn't even try not to laugh.

  "Yep, give me a kiss." Xander reached out and tried to tug Matt in.

  "Nope, not doing it." Matt laughed as he playfully acted like he was resisting.

  "Come on, Dad. You used to kiss Mom when she had lipstick on." Faith had her hands on her hips.

  How could Matt argue with that? He bent close and gave Xander a lingering kiss. When he pulled back, he wiped his chin, groaning when the back of his hand came back covered in glitter. "You two are going to get glitter all over everything."

  "Yep, and it will make everything pretty." Faith smiled.

  "Well, I hate to break up this little party, but it is bedtime for someone. You need to run and change clothes and brush your teeth." He tapped his finger on Faith's nose.

  "Can't I stay up a little longer? I didn't get to paint his toenails yet."

  Matt looked down at Xander's bare feet, almost thankful not to see bright red polish on them. "Maybe tomorrow, but you're done for tonight." He stood up.

  "Party-pooper." Xander smirked, but reached out for Faith, hauling her onto his lap. "We will finish my toes tomorrow. You need to get a good night's sleep. You have to change my bandage tomorrow, then I think I remember something about Aunt Trish coming over for dinner."

  "But I'm not tired."

  "But I am." Xander faked a yawn. "Remember, I'm still healing. Beau told you to make sure I got a lot of rest, and I can't sleep well if I don't know you're sleeping good first."

  Matt loved how well Xander could manipulate his daughter to get her to do what they wanted.

  "Okay." She hugged him before slipping off his lap, then going to her dresser and pulling out her pajamas. "I'll be right back." She ran off, leaving them alone.

  Matt raised a brow. "I've never seen you look so…." He searched for the right word.

  "Colorful?" Xander offered as he stood.

  "That's one way of saying it." Matt stepped into his arms. "You're going to get glitter all over me."

  "Good, we can shower together." Xander swayed his hips.

  "You're supposed to be taking it easy." Matt slid his hands down over his ass.

  "I can't stand it anymore. I need you." Xander's hardness pressed against his own.

  "I'll take care of you tonight, but you're not cleared for sex yet." Matt stepped back. "Besides, we have to behave until she's asleep."

  That got Xander to take a deep breath. "Fine, but I know what I'm able to do. I don't care what Beau says."

  "Good thing one of us does." Matt shook his head and laughed again. "You look so ridiculous."

  "I look beautiful. Faith told me so."

  Matt nodded, figuring it was safer not to argue with his daughter's opinion.

  "Ready." Faith ran into the room and jumped up on her bed.

  "Did you brush well?"

  "I did." She smiled as if show
ing him her teeth.

  "Okay, then big hugs and kisses." Matt watched as Xander bent down and hugged her tightly. "Sleep well, Princess."

  "You too, Prince." She grinned back as Matt stepped forward. "Goodnight, Daddy."

  "Goodnight." He hugged her and kissed her cheek, still trying to get used to seeing her covered in tattoos. "I love you."

  "I love you too." She pulled the zebra close as Matt covered her.

  Once they'd left the room, Xander was right back to trying to plead his case as they walked into their room. "I don't need to move much for sex. I can just let you do all the work."

  Matt laughed. "Don't I always?"

  "Hey, that's not fair. I'll top if you really want me to." Xander eased down on his pillow slow enough that Matt could tell the shoulder still bothered him.

  "When did you take your pills?"

  "I'll take them after sex." Xander grinned.

  "You're insistent."

  "And you're getting me naked, so you must agree." Xander smiled as Matt worked the button on his pants open.

  "Lift up." Matt swatted his hip before tugging his pants down. "I said I'd take care of you. That doesn't mean we're having sex." He eyed Xander's cock and then glanced back up at his face. "It's really hard to get in the mood when you have bows in your hair."

  Xander reached up with his good arm and pulled the bows from his hair. "Better?"

  "A little." He shook his head at the eyeshadow and lipstick that was still there. "You're getting glitter all over the pillows."

  "You complain too much. Focus on my cock." Xander lifted his hips.

  He was fully hard, the tip glistening, giving away how aroused he already was. "I should use my hand instead of my mouth just because you tattooed my daughter."

  Xander grinned. "She looks badass, doesn't she?"

  "That's one way to say it. How long will those stay on? She's got therapy Monday."

  "They'll wash off in a few days. I promise no one will have an issue if she goes out in public with fake tats all over her."

  Matt crawled over the bed and settled beside Xander, bending in for a kiss as he started to stroke his cock.

  Xander kissed him back, all the playfulness disappearing as the kiss became stronger and needier.

  Matt hadn't undressed, hoping to keep things from going too far, but now his cock pressed tightly against the zipper of his jeans and he wished he'd at least gotten into something more comfortable. He worked his hips forward, grinding his cock against Xander's thigh as he moved his hand faster over him.

  When Xander broke the kiss so they could both breathe, Matt slid lower, replacing his fist with his mouth.

  Xander groaned. "I've missed that."

  So had Matt, and as he slid his tongue around the head, then took him deep again, he wondered how they went a single day without this. He didn't want to think about how close he'd come to losing him. How easily he could have been alone again.

  Xander's fingers combed through his hair as he lifted his hips, feeding his cock to Matt. It wasn't going to take long. They'd both struggled over the last week to keep from touching each other.

  "Fuck, I love you so much," Xander told him as Matt cupped his balls with one hand.

  Matt felt the same way, but was not about to pull off to tell him. He could feel Xander tensing, feel his balls tightening, and he knew by the look on Xander's face that he was close. He tightened his lips around him, working up and down him faster, teasing the base of his head with each pass of his tongue.

  "Urgh…" Xander's hips bucked as he filled Matt's mouth with his release.

  Matt continued working over him, taking every drop that Xander had to give, enjoying the sensitive hiss he got when he hit just the right spots as he cleaned him with his tongue.

  "Fuck, you are amazing." Xander looked down at him with hooded eyes.

  "I love you too." Matt smiled as he licked his lips and moved back up.

  "Your turn." Xander reached for him.

  "Nope, I said I'd take care of you. There was no talk of me."

  "But I can see how hard you are." Xander stared at the bulge in Matt's pants.

  "And I'll take care of myself after." He leaned in and kissed Xander softly.

  "Let me watch you," Xander whispered against his lips.

  Matt groaned, the thought of having Xander watch was more exciting than he thought it would be. How had they gone months without ever watching each other masturbate? "You can't touch."

  Xander sighed. "That's mean."

  "It's the only way I'll do it. You have to get better, and you heard Beau say the muscles could easily tear if you move wrong. The sooner you heal, the sooner you can touch me again." Matt got up and started to undress. He loved the way Xander's eyes watched as he removed each piece of clothing. "Like what you see?"

  Xander licked his lips.

  "You know, that might be sexy if your lips weren't painted bright red." Matt kicked his pants aside before climbing back on the bed. "Where do you want me?"

  "Straddling my hips so I can have you come all over my stomach." Xander ran his hand down his chest.

  "You know, if you weren't injured, those bright red lips would look damn good around my cock." Matt moved into place.

  "You're the only one stopping it from happening."

  "I'm not going to risk you hurting yourself worse." Matt settled over Xander's cock, enjoying the way it nestled against his ass.

  "Then you're on your own. Just aim for my lips when you come." Xander licked them again.

  Matt groaned as he started stroking his cock, focusing on Xander's lips, and imagining his cum dripping off them. He arched his head back and gave Xander a show he wouldn't forget as he worked his fist up and down his length.

  Beneath him, Xander's cock stirred back to life, and Matt smiled as he worked his body so the head slipped just between his ass cheeks. "You feel good there." Matt hadn't bottomed in years, but being like this with Xander made him want to. "When you get better, I want you this way."

  Xander lifted his hip, trying to push deeper. "Why not now?"

  Matt narrowed his eyes at him, but quickly lost his train of thought as his cock throbbed against his palm. Just the thought of all the things the two of them still had to do together nearly pushed him over the edge. As comfortable as they were together, their relationship was still new, and he longed for the things that were still yet to come.

  "Fuck! Open your mouth." Matt stared at Xander's tongue as he licked his lips again.

  "You going to come in it?" Xander still worked his hips gently.

  "Damn right." Matt's fist tightened, and he pushed himself closer to losing control.

  When Xander reached out with his good arm and pinched one of Matt's nipples, he was done. He stroked himself two more times, let out a breathy cry, and gave in to the pleasure. Jerking his body forward, he aimed the best he could for Xander's mouth, but lost in bliss, he missed, coating his face, beard, and chest with his release.

  "That was the sexiest thing I've ever seen." Xander's voice was thick and husky.

  "That's how I felt looking down at you." Matt leaned forward, careful of Xander's shoulder as he kissed him, licking the cum from his face, then smearing it over Xander's lips where he wanted it in the first place.

  "You taste good."

  Matt grinned as he rolled to Xander's side, needing a minute to recover. He traced his finger over Xander's stomach, happier than he ever remembered being. He glanced up at Xander and grinned. "So, are you going to let Faith do your hair when we get married?"

  "If she wan…." Xander's eyes flashed to him. "Married?"

  "I've been thinking about it. Why shouldn't we? I'm not asking officially right now, maybe just testing the idea out on you to see if I should or not." Matt hadn't planned on the conversation, but after seeing Xander and Faith together, then the great sex that hadn't even really been sex, it was where his mind was going.

  "Wow, I didn't expect this." Xander tried to turn toward
him, but his shoulder stopped him. He took a painful breath, easing back down. "So, you really want to? Even after seeing how wrong things can go on a sting, and knowing what could happen?"

  "Even more now. I don't want to waste a minute. If the last year has taught me anything, it's that life is short, and we can lose someone we love so quickly. I lost Jill years ago, then this year, I almost lost Faith. I know you getting shot wasn't a life or death moment, but it could have been. I don't want to risk ever wondering what if we'd done it? What if we had been married? I want to marry you, and hopefully, we'll have sixty or seventy great years together, but even if it's just a year, I want that." Matt paused and stared at Xander. "If you do."

  Xander smiled as he reached over and ran his fingers down Matt's cheek. "I'll ask Faith tomorrow. If she'll have me, then yes, I want both of you too."

  As Matt kissed Xander, he had no doubt Faith would say yes. He couldn't wait to marry Xander and give Faith the family she deserved. No matter what the future held, they would get through it, because as broken as they had all started out, somehow together, things were just right.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

  Xander gripped Faith's hand tightly in his as they walked out of the courthouse. Beside her, Matt was holding her other hand, all of them silent. It had been a long day, and Xander was glad that it was over. He wanted nothing more than to go home and spend a quiet night with the two of them.

  Faith broke the silence as they headed past the water fountains toward the parking structure. "They'll never get out of prison?" She glanced up at Matt.

  "Nope. They were sentenced to three fifty-year sentences. That's fifty years for each of you that they kidnapped." Matt paused and kneeled beside her, turning her to face him. "That means that they will die in prison because fifty times three is—"

  "One hundred and fifty." Faith nodded.

  "Right. And seeing as they are in their forties now, that would make them one hundred and ninety when they got out. No one lives for that long." Matt brushed a strand of Faith's hair back from her face.

  "Good. I don't want them to ever get out." She glanced back at the courthouse. "I was scared seeing them again," she admitted.