by AKM Miles
Without even a stumble, Max shifted Derek so they were face to face. Derek held on tight with his legs and Max’s hands moved down to grasp his behind.
“Mmm,” Derek said, against Max’s lips, “that feels good, too.” He squirmed, moving his hips against Max’s waist and his butt into Max’s hands. Max laughed out loud, squeezing and pulling Derek more tightly to him. Standing beside the bed, Max turned slowly in a circle with Derek in his arms. Derek laughed, dropping his head to Max’s shoulder. “I’ve found my heaven,” he whispered into Max’s ear. He followed the words with a soft caress, teeth and tongue moving gently over the lobe.
“You’re one very sexy man, plenty man enough for me, and I like that I can pick you up.” Max turned his head and nuzzled his lips against Derek’s. “Stay here tonight? In fact, stay here with us through the holidays and by then we’ll know if we’re going to take this all the way. Right now I’m feeling pretty much in favor of all the way. How about you?”
“You know how I feel. I want to be with you as much as I can. I love working for you, making your life run more smoothly, and being with Michael. Now, take me to bed, Max. I love that even more. I want you.” Derek ended with a shuddering sigh.
“Mmm, I can tell,” Max said, pulling Derek’s hips closer to him until his hard cock pressed against his stomach. He turned and placed Derek on the bed, following him down.
Derek grunted and mumbled, “Poor planning.”
“Hmm?” Max mumbled, his mouth moving over Derek’s jaw on a clear path to his lips.
“Clothes, too many clothes. Move. Let me get to work here. I’ll make it part of my job description. Get us naked as soon as possible.” Derek rolled out from under him and scooted to the side of the bed. In seconds, he was nude. He stood by the bed, his erection standing high and firm while Max gazed at him with intent clear in his eyes.
“Get busy, darlin’, you look too good to be true. You mentioned heaven before. Help me get there,” Max ordered. Derek went to the bottom of the bed and quickly removed Max’s shoes and socks, smoothing his hands over Max’s feet in a quick massage that drew a hum from Max. Meanwhile, Max unbuttoned his shirt, his eyes on Derek.
Crawling up the bed, his knees on either side of Max’s legs, Derek stopped to unbuckle Max’s belt. Neither could look away as their movements became slow and sultry. Derek opened Max’s pants and slipped his hands inside, drawing both trousers and briefs down, knee-walking backward down the bed to remove them completely.
Watching Max, Derek said, “Take off your shirt.” While Max followed his order, Derek went to the bathroom and got a washcloth and a small towel which he put on the bedside table. He reached into the drawer and pulled out a condom and the lube he knew was there, because he’d bought it and placed it there himself. Just part of his new position, a very special part, not necessarily in the job description.
Max lay with his arms behind his head, his body on full display. Again, Derek had the momentary feeling that Christmas had come early. Just look at what was waiting for him, and with a welcoming smile on his face, too. Derek climbed on the bed, draped himself over Max, and took that smile right into his mouth, relishing the taste and texture of it.
He got busy making Max see angels and feel the softness of heaven’s clouds as he floated in the throes of sexual release. Lofty goal perhaps, but Derek felt up to the task.
CHAPTER SIX
Christmas morning, Max got up after sharing several long kisses with Derek and unlocked the door. Tradition called for Michael to come get in bed with Max this morning for snuggling and talking. Both Max and Derek were wearing pajamas and leaning back against the headboard when they heard a timid knock on the door.
“Daddy?”
“Come on in, Michael,” Max called, giving Derek a quick, hesitant glance. Derek smiled back and they watched the door open slowly. Michael’s head appeared first. His eyes became huge when he saw Derek in the bed.
“Derek! You’re in the bed with Daddy,” Michael exclaimed, stating the obvious.
“Yep, and we’re just waiting for you.” Derek smiled at the little boy who’d stolen his heart as much as his father had done.
Max opened his arms and a small tornado flew across the room and jumped onto the bed. Michael crawled up between them and went first into his father’s arms and then into Derek’s for morning hugs. Lying on top of the covers, Michael crossed his feet and settled in. He moved his head back and forth trying to see them both. Finally he turned over on his stomach so he could look up at them more easily.
“Are you going to live here and sleep with Daddy from now on?” he asked.
“What would you think about that?” Max asked.
“Do you love Daddy?” Michael asked Derek.
After the night he’d spent with Max, Derek was feeling brave and secure. “I love your daddy very much and I love you, too. I’d love to be part of your family. Do you think there’s room for me here?” He watched Michael’s face closely, as he knew Max did, too.
“Yeah, you don’t take up much room. So I’m gonna be like Gracie at school and have two dads?” Michael glanced back and forth between them.
“For now, you have a dad and his partner. We’ll see about the two dads part later,” Max said. “And, by the way, you stole my thunder, young man. I haven’t even told Derek that I love him, too.”
“Well, tell him, Daddy. He needs to hear that. It’s important.” A master of the understatement, Michael was.
“Okay.” Max looked into Derek’s eyes, his features solemn. “I love you, and I’d love it if you lived here with Michael and me. We need you in our lives. Will you?”
“Yes, I would love to,” Derek said, smiling into Max’s eyes.
Michael squirmed to sit up between them. “Aren’t you going to kiss him? I know you all kiss, Daddy.” He sounded slightly exasperated with the slowness of events.
Max leaned over and kissed Derek quickly, and then grabbed Michael and pulled him over on top of him, tickling him until his high peals of laughter made them both grin.
Derek raised his hand to his mouth and gasped. “Michael, isn’t there something special about today?”
Michael’s eyes widened again. “It’s Christmas!” Michael was up in a flash and bouncing on the bed. “Come on, we got you something, Daddy!”
They moved into the living room and to Derek’s surprise, instead of finding a gift for himself, Michael got the one for his dad and took it to him.
“Will you open mine first?” he asked, hopping from one foot to the other in his excitement. Max and Derek made room for him between them on the couch.
“Sure, but don’t you want to see what you’ve got under there?” Max was clearly surprised too.
“I will, but Daddy, this is the first time I’ve ever got to give you one. I want to see if you like it.”
“You got it,” Max said. He ripped the paper off. When he opened the box, his eyes lit up, much as Michael’s had when he saw the pretty shell.
Michael leaned in to say, “If you hold it up to your ear you can hear the ocean in it. You like the ocean, don’t you?”
“I sure do. Let me see.” Max made a big production of listening to the shell and gasping when he heard the sea sounds in it. “Michael, this is perfect. I’ll put it on my desk at work. I’ll think of you every time I look at and when I get stressed out, I’ll pick it up and listen to the ocean. Thank you so much. I love it.” Max pulled Michael to him for a strong hug and loud kisses. Michael giggled.
“Open Derek’s, Daddy. You’ll love it, too.” Michael bounced on the couch in his eagerness to see Max’s response to Derek’s gift. Giving in to the little boy’s desire, Max opened Derek’s present. He let out a little gasp when he saw the covers of the books and DVDs.
“Oh, wow. I can’t wait to look at these. Good job, Derek. Did Michael tell you how much I love the ocean?”
“Well, I’d noticed as much,” Derek said, “but we talked about it and Michael helped pick th
ese out.”
“I think I better show you yours right away.” Max laid the books carefully on the coffee table. He went to the tree and reached behind it for a flat wrapped gift, which he handed to Derek.
“Open it, Derek,” Michael urged. “See what he got you.”
Derek tousled Michael’s hair. “Do you know what it is?”
“No, hurry up. I want to see. It’s awful flat.”
“Sure is. Let me see.” Derek wondered if it was a bonus check. That would be fine, but he was hoping for a more personal gift.
He tore the paper away to discover a brochure for a Caribbean cruise. His mouth dropped open.
“What is it, Derek? That’s a big ship, huh?” Michael pointed to the cruise ship on the cover. Derek opened the brochure to find three tickets along with pictures of the islands where the ship would dock.
“Is this for real?” he asked.
“I hope so. Would you like to go on a cruise with me? Both of you, of course.”
“Wow, a cruise!” Michael shouted, and threw his arms around Max’s neck.
“Yes, yes, yes. Oh, that would be so much fun. When are we going?” Derek was as excited as Michael. The three of them formed a group hug, laughing and toppling backward on the couch.
“I figured we’d go while Michael was on spring break from school. What do you think?” Max moved one hand off Michael’s back and took Derek’s to squeeze it.
“I think that’s perfect,” Derek said. “Now I think somebody has some gifts of his own to open.” He had one more surprise to show them, or rather two, so while Michael opened a new video game, Derek slipped out of the room.
When Derek picked up the kitten very late yesterday, he had been unable to leave its sister there alone. He only hoped Max wouldn’t mind.
Downstairs in his office, he found the kittens just waking in their carrier and looking sleepy-eyed and adorable. One was black with white on her paws and on the tip of her tail. Her sister was mostly white with splotches of black here and there, including one spot on her forehead.
Outside the penthouse door, he took the kittens out of their carrier and placed them both inside his robe, holding them gently in place. He went inside and saw Michael and Max on the couch, their heads together. Quietly Derek came up behind them, took the black kitten out, and set it on the back of the couch.
At the sound of its tiny meow, Michael and Max both swiveled their heads to look behind them. Their eyes went wide, Michael’s almost comically so. He didn’t move except for his eyes, which tracked the path of the kitten across the back of the couch.
In a quiet voice filled with awe, he said, “Daddy, do you see?”
“I sure do, son.”
“Can I touch it? Derek, can I hold it?” Michael looked up at Derek, who was still holding the other surprise inside his robe.
“I think she’d like it if you held her, very carefully, of course.” Derek reached for the kitten and handed it to Michael, who looked like he was being given pure gold. Michael slid to the floor and sat cross-legged in front of the couch.
He brought the kitten closer to him and held it against his chest, his chin grazing the top of her head. Michael looked at his dad and Derek with a sweet smile. “Wow, I’ve got a pet. I can’t believe it.”
Before they could respond, a loud meow came from inside Derek’s robe. “Uh, I have a confession to make,” he said.
Max nodded. “Sounds like you do.”
Derek came around the couch and sat, letting the white kitten poke her head out of his robe. “I couldn’t help it. They’re sisters, and I couldn’t leave her there all alone. They’ll get along well and won’t fight, or I don’t think so, and they can play together when Michael is at school. I’ll help with them…” Derek felt as though he was begging for his life.
Max reached for the kitten and cuddled it. “Relax, it’s fine. Hey, buddy, you have two kittens. Can you handle taking care of both of them?”
Those eyes went big again and Derek just melted, as he was sure Max was doing as well. Michael nodded, unable to speak. Max bent to put the other kitten in Michael’s arms alongside the first one. They each headed for a shoulder to form a kitten collar around Michael’s neck. The boy glowed with happiness.
Max smiled at Derek, nodding to let him know it really was okay with him. Derek let out the breath he felt as if he’d been holding since he walked in the door. Max wrapped an arm around him as they watched Michael bond with his pets.
Michael treated them with care, crooning to them and smoothing their soft fur, and assuring them they would be so happy because he would take such good care of them.
“You’re going to have to name them, Michael,” Max said. “Got any ideas?”
Michael didn’t hesitate. He held out the black one for Max to take. “This one is Betsy.” He handed the other one to Derek. “And this one is Sara.”
Max looked surprised. “How’d you ever come up with those names?”
“Betsy is Betsy Ross.” Michael stood up, leaning his knees on the couch between them.
“You know who Betsy Ross is?” Derek asked him.
“Yeah, she made the flag.”
“And who is Sara named for?” Max asked.
“Sara Lee.”
“Who?” Derek and Max said together.
“She makes pies.”
It was all Derek could do not to laugh out loud. He noticed Max biting his lip, too.
“Betsy and Sara it is, then.” Max smoothed his hand over the kitten’s fur. “Are you happy, Michael?”
“So happy, Daddy. This was the best Christmas ever.” Michael grinned at Derek. “You got what you wanted for Christmas, Derek. You said you wanted something for Santa, remember? You wanted someone to love you, someone who would see you. My daddy sees you, and I do, too. Are you a happy Santa?”
“I can’t believe you remember that. Come here, you.” Derek grabbed Michael in a tight embrace. “I’m so glad my own little elf showed up that day and changed my life.”
Minutes later Michael played with the kittens in his room and Derek popped fresh cinnamon rolls into the oven. A voice behind him made him turn.
“So you wanted something for Santa, huh?” Max enveloped him in his arms.
Derek leaned against Max and smiled. “I was having a whiny moment on my break and thought I was alone. I was lamenting the fact that I was tired of losers and being alone. I was saying I wanted someone to see me and this sweet little voice said, ‘I see you.’ I was a goner from then on. Michael wanted me to help you with your ‘main’ headache, and the rest is history.” Derek hesitated, but couldn’t stop from asking, “Do you really love me?”
“I really do. I was falling anyway, but seeing you with my son makes my heart melt all over again. I want to spend way past forever with you, working with you, making love to you—a lot—and raising my son with you.”
Max pulled Derek away from the kitchen counter and kissed him soundly.
Together they cooked some bacon to go with the rolls. Derek made coffee and Max poured orange juice. Finally Derek glanced toward the kitchen doorway. “It’s been awfully quiet. Maybe we’d better go check on Michael.”
Holding hands, which warmed Derek’s heart even more, they went down the hall to Michael’s room to discover a scene that made them both smile.
Michael lay on the bed with the two kittens beside him. With their tummies full, they had curled into tiny balls of black and white and drifted to sleep in the protective crook of Michael’s arm. When he saw Max and Derek watching, he put a finger to his lips. Max and Derek nodded and motioned for him to join them. Very gently he eased off the bed and ran to his dad. Max caught him up and they went to the kitchen.
During breakfast, Michael asked about Tawna.
“She’s not going to jail, buddy, but she did a bad thing, really bad. She’ll be leaving town to go live with her parents, and the court has ordered her to see a counselor to talk about what she did.”
Michael t
ook this in with a somber expression. “Is that all?”
Max shook his head. “She’ll also have to do community service for a while. That means she’ll be working to help other people without getting paid. The important thing to remember is that she’ll be far away, and she won’t ever be able to hurt you again.”
Michael sat quietly for a few minutes. Then he asked, “Why did she do it? Was it because I was a bad boy like she said?”
Derek bit back his anger at the woman before he said something regrettable.
“Come here, buddy.” Max held out his arms, and Michael slid from his chair and climbed into his dad’s lap. “Look at me, Michael. I want you to understand that you were not a bad boy. She was a mean woman. She wanted me to like her, you know, as a girlfriend, and I just didn’t. And then when I found out how she treated you, I got mad and fired her.”
“She was mad because I took her place,” Derek added. “And then she got really angry when our coworkers told her that I did a better job.”
“Was she mad you all are gay, too?” Michael asked. “I know sometimes people don’t like that. They can be mean. Was she mad because you took Daddy away from her?”
“Derek didn’t take me away from her, because she never had me, Michael. Now, enough about her.” Max put a finger beneath Michael’s chin and tipped his face up. “Before Derek came along, you were the only one I loved. Now I love him, too. Is that okay with you? Like you said, sometimes people are mean about it. What if someone says something ugly to you about us?”
Michael sat up straighter. “They better not. Nobody talks about my two dads and gets away with it!”
Whoa! Derek’s heart turned over. There was nothing he’d love more than to adopt Michael, and be a dad to him along with Max. He stood, reaching for the boy. Michael raised his arms to be picked up. “You do know that I love you to pieces, don’t you, Michael?” Derek asked.
“Yeah, I know. I love you, too.” He giggled, “Daddy Derek.”
Max and Derek laughed at that.
After breakfast, Michael returned to his room to check on his new friends, Betsy Ross and Sara Lee. Max and Derek went to the living room and dropped onto the couch.