by Tinnean
WILLS RETURNED home with his father, and I was sorry to see how worn Jack looked.
“Would you like a cup of coffee, Jack?”
“No, thanks.” He looked from JR to Pat. “May I have the use of a room?”
“Sure. You know where the guestroom is.” Wills had taken him on a tour of the apartment, and his father, being an architect, appreciated the details.
“John Robert, Patrick, if you’ll come with me?”
JR gulped and sent a nervous glance toward his brother. From what Wills had told me, the only time JR’s full name was used was when he was in trouble.
Pat was pale, his lips in a tight line, and his Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed repeatedly.
They followed Jack down the hallway to the room that used to be Paul’s but that we used as a guestroom now, although come to think of it, we hadn’t had any guests stay with us.
Wills shook his head. “That’s just sad.”
“What is, babe?”
“Patrick expects Dad to hit him.”
“Wills, I took Pat aside while JR was tidying the kitchen and told him what could happen if he ran again.”
“Oh, babe.”
“I kept it vague, let him think it happened to some kids I knew.” I just hoped he bought it. “Maybe it will scare him into not doing such a boneheaded thing again.”
“Maybe.”
I ran my fingers through my hair. “Is it going to be like that?”
“What, babe?”
“Raising a child.”
“We just won’t let him be friends with another Damien. Come on.”
“Where are we going?”
“My office.”
“Okay.” Normally I’d either ask why or let him go by himself—he was a big boy—but I had something else on my mind. “Can we?”
“What?”
“Wills, you had Michael. JR has Pat. What are the odds our son won’t have a friend like that? What if it runs in the family?”
“God forbid!” He grinned, but it faded when something apparently occurred to him. “Jesus, you might be right. Dad and Uncle Tony!”
“So what will we do?”
“We’ll just have to hope for the best. But in the meantime, we won’t go borrowing trouble.” By now we were in his office, and he touched the mouse. “I’d better change those reservations and cancel yours.”
“Good idea. I’ve got some chicken marinating in the fridge. I’ll make your dad some dinner.”
“Thanks, babe.”
“No need to thank me. You’re my guy, Wills.” I left him there keying away and hurried to the kitchen.
I took the chicken fillets from the fridge and placed them on the grill, then fixed a salad.
JACK, JR, and Pat came into the kitchen.
“I fixed you a light dinner, Jack.”
“That wasn’t necessary. This family has put you out enough.” He didn’t look as annoyed as earlier, but he still wasn’t happy with the boys.
“Yes.” I grinned at him. “But look what you’ve given me in exchange.”
He opened his mouth, then smiled and said, “All right, thank you. I’ll just wash my hands.”
“Uh… Theo? Could we have another slice of your delicious angel food cake?” JR sent a hopeful smile my way.
“I have no problem with that, but you’d better clear it with your dad.”
“Dad?”
“All right. But if it’s as good as this chicken smells, you’d better save a slice for me!”
THE FLIGHT arrangements for the next morning were solidified, and since Wills’s flight was out of National, I’d be driving our guests to Dulles.
Jack had finished his meal, and he brought the plates to the kitchen. I took them from him and put them in the dishwasher.
“Thank you, Theo.” He squeezed my shoulder. “I appreciate this more than I can say.” I knew he wasn’t just talking about dinner.
“It’s been a long time since I had a family to do things for.” I stared into his blue eyes. Their expression was so like his son’s. “Believe me, Jack. It’s my pleasure.”
EVERYONE HAD gone to bed. Miss Su had settled herself in her cat bed beside the hearth.
Wills was in the bathroom, and I was sprawled on our bed. My thoughts couldn’t seem to settle. He was going to be away for a week to ten days, he’d said. I knew he wouldn’t screw around while he was away—somehow the fact that we’d done away with condoms seemed to lift that worry from my shoulders—but he’d come back from a month-long mission only a few weeks ago.
I was going to miss him so much!
The snap of the bathroom light being turned off brought me out of my musings. The bedside lamp was still on, though, and I could see Wills clearly as he sauntered toward the bed without a stitch on, wonderfully, gloriously naked.
“Like what you see, sailor?”
“Yes. Oh, yes!”
“Good.” He had his hand cupped, and I realized he had filled it with lube when he curled his palm around my cock and I felt the warm slickness coating me.
“What…?”
“Shh.” He straddled my hips and brushed my cock back and forth from the sensitive area behind his balls to his tailbone, dipping and then retreating, teasing his hole. I could tell he’d prepared himself.
“You’re making me crazy!” I panted.
“Good.”
“Wicked man.”
“Just for you.” Finally, he dropped his hips down, taking my entire length in one smooth move, and I had to shove the heel of my hand between my teeth to muffle my shout.
He pulled my hand away and brought his mouth to mine, but he paused millimeters away. “I’m coming back, Theo. Nothing else means as much to me as you, and the only thing that could keep me away is death.”
“Don’t say that!”
“I just want you to know that nothing short of the Grim Reaper will keep me from you, and you’d better believe I’d fight him down to my last breath. Promise me you’ll remember.”
“I promise!”
“Good. Now we can get down to the good stuff.” He kissed me, leaned back and wrapped his hand around his cock, and started to jerk off.
“No.”
“What?”
“We do this together.” I covered his hand with mine, and while he rode me, we both stroked his cock.
We’d been lovers for so long now that we could make it last as long as we needed it to. Tonight we needed it to be a very long time.
By the time we couldn’t hold out any longer, my hair was damp with sweat and my lungs were pumping like bellows.
“Theo! I’m—”
“Me too!” And just like that, we both came. He covered my chest and abdomen with his semen, and I filled him with mine.
“I love you, babe.” He collapsed onto me and nuzzled the spot under my ear.
“I love you too, Wills.” I tightened my arms around him, determined to keep him in place all night long.
WILLS LEFT the next morning, and I drove his father and brother and Pat to the airport.
But I knew he was coming back to me.
And eight days later, he did.
Chapter 26
EASTER WAS going to be late this year, but that didn’t matter. Wills and I were going to Cambridge to see his family.
And the following Sunday, we’d fly down to Tarpon Springs to celebrate Greek Orthodox Easter with Ma, Poppa, and Acacia.
“WILLS, THEO! I thought I heard someone!” Alice hurried into the kitchen, carrying a tray with an empty bowl and plate. She was the Mathesons’ cook, since, in spite of her belief otherwise, Jill wasn’t handy in the kitchen. “You’re here early!” She kissed Wills and hugged me. “I’m so glad to see you!”
“It’s good to see you again too.” What a nice woman she was!
“Where is everyone?” Wills stooped and ruffled the ears of the black Labrador retriever who’d hobbled in on three legs. Deety was JR’s dog. I hadn’t had the opportunity to meet her l
ast year, since she’d been at the vet’s with a broken leg. Shortly after, she’d been diagnosed with osteosarcoma. The year Dr. Morse, their vet, had given her was almost up.
“Your father took Marti, JR, and Patrick to church. It’s Good Friday.”
“Really? Shouldn’t Dad be at work?”
“He’s his own boss.” Alice looked mysterious, and Wills… he just looked puzzled.
“What about Jill? She usually does that.”
“She’s lying down.”
“Is she all right?”
“She’s fine.” Alice patted his shoulder at his concerned expression.
“I have to say I’m surprised Patrick’s father hasn’t stopped him and Jar from being friends.”
“Because they took off for Washington last month? He has no idea.”
“Excuse me?”
“Jack told him Patrick stayed with us.” She scowled and muttered something uncomplimentary about Pat’s father under her breath, and I couldn’t help raising an eyebrow.
Apparently Wills didn’t hear, which was probably just as well.
“Why don’t you two take your suitcases up to your room and visit with Jill a bit? Then Theo can help me with the baking.”
“Do I get to lick the bowl?” Wills asked, and when I grinned at him, he blushed. Fortunately, Alice didn’t notice. She was busy examining the Sherpa bag.
“And is this Tiramisu?”
Of course we’d brought her with us. The ladies downstairs would have watched her, but I thought she’d want to see her Momma and Poppa again. I unzipped the front of the carrier.
“Come on out and say hello, Miss Su.”
She poked her head out. “Mrrow?”
“How big you’ve grown! Do you remember me, sweet pea?” Alice bent down and rubbed our cat under the chin. Miss Su slitted her eyes and began to purr.
“I’d say she does.”
“You two go on up. She’ll be fine with me.”
“BABE, WHAT are you worried about?” I asked as we brought our carry-ons into his bedroom.
“Jill. She’s always on the go, and the only time I ever knew her to take it easy was when she was pregnant with Marti.”
“What about JR?”
“I don’t remember. I was twelve and too busy settling into a new school and making new friends to pay attention to adult stuff like that.” He worried his lower lip. “I hope she’s not sick.”
“Hmm.” Could she be…? No, I was sure Jack would have said something when we’d seen him earlier in the month. I just hoped it wasn’t anything serious.
I glanced around the bedroom. “Are we going to make love here?” He hadn’t been comfortable enough last year, so I hadn’t pressured him into doing anything more than making out.
“If I can keep my mouth shut.”
“I’ll find something to put in it.” I gave him a slow, sultry smile.
“Oh?”
I slid my hand around his neck, and he came into my arms and met my lips in a kiss that just about melted my brain.
“Mmm.” The hum vibrated against my lips.
“The feeling is mutual,” I said, and I groped his ass.
“I don’t suppose we have time….”
“Not now, but later, I intend to make it really hard for you not to scream.”
“Is that a promise?”
“You bet.”
“Awesome!” He licked his lips, and I couldn’t resist leaning forward and licking his lips myself. “Theo!” he breathed, and then he shook his head. “We can finish unpacking later. Let’s go say hi to Jill.”
WILLS STARED at his stepmother, his jaw somewhere around his knees. “Pregnant?”
So she was.
“Why didn’t Dad tell us when he was in DC?”
“I think he was afraid of jinxing this pregnancy.” She was lying on the king-size bed in the master bedroom, her feet propped up on a stack of pillows. Princess Kimba and Jad-bal-Ja, her American Bobtails, were cuddled on either side of her.
“But it’s been eleven years since Marti was born!” Wills couldn’t seem to wrap his brain around the mound that was Jill’s belly.
“I know. It was a surprise to us too. Are you… are you okay with this?” She shifted, obviously uncomfortable, but I wasn’t certain if it was physical or emotional.
“Did you doubt it? A new baby… I always wished for more brothers.” And sons? A soft smile warmed his eyes. If he wanted a baby, then I’d move heaven and earth to see we had one. “So when will Theo’s brother-in-law be born?”
“You’re so certain it will be a boy?” Although it seemed Mathesons always ran to boys, Jack Matheson had at least one female-producing wiggler, resulting in Wills’s sister, Marti.
“Yep. Jill? This baby’s birthday?”
“The middle of September.”
He sobered. “Will you be able to come to the wedding?” He blushed when she smiled at him. “Oh, I know it’s just a service conducted by a Unitarian minister, with the reception to follow, but as far as I’m concerned, Theo and I are getting married!”
I cupped his cheeks in my palms and kissed him. “I love you,” I whispered against his lips, and he leaned his forehead against mine.
“Why wouldn’t I?”
“Hmm?”
“Wills. Why wouldn’t I be able to come to the wedding?”
“Two weeks before, two weeks after?”
“Huh?” What was he talking about?
“A baby can be born two weeks before his due date or two weeks after.”
“Well, John Robert was late.”
“And Marti was right on schedule. If you’re going in that direction….”
“I’ll be fine, Wills.”
“We can have the wedding in Cambridge, babe,” I suggested.
Wills looked thoughtful. “We could have it either at the Canoe Club Ballroom in West Bridgewater, or else the Charles Hotel here in Cambridge. Theo, would you mind?”
“Of course not. It’s not legal in either place, and we can fly my family up here just as easily as to Long Island.”
“That’s so sweet of you, Theo.” Jill rested her palm against my cheek. “But I don’t want to disrupt your plans.”
“But that close to term, it’s not a good idea to fly,” Wills fretted.
How did my lover know this stuff?
As if he’d read my mind, he gave me a slightly distracted look and said, “I took a first-aid class one time.”
“Hmm.”
“Jack won’t have any problem driving us all down. He drove me up here when I was about six months along with JR.”
“Yeah, but—”
“Wills, Dr. Jim says I’m healthy as a horse. I’ll be fine. As a matter of fact, your dad’s been wanting to spend some time with Gram and Gramps. We can go down as soon as JR and Marti and Pat are finished with school and spend the summer.”
“Sounds like a good idea. And it would make it a lot easier on my grandparents,” Wills murmured to me, and then he whirled around to stare at Jill. “Wait, what? Pat? Patrick’s coming to my wedding?”
“Well, yes. Considering how many relatives will be there, I didn’t think you’d mind. If this is going to stretch your budget, Dad and I will give you the extra money.”
“No, you don’t have to do that. We’re good.” Wills glanced at me, but I just shrugged. I knew, between friends and family, there were going to be close to three hundred and fifty people there. What difference did one more make? “What I don’t understand is why Patrick would want to come.”
“Wills, Pat is living with us.”
“But I thought his father wanted to take him back.”
“He did.” Her mouth tightened. “With the intention of beating him until he was no longer gay.”
“Oh, fuck! Sorry, Jill.”
“Don’t apologize. I was tempted to say the same thing when your father brought him home from the emergency room.”
“It was that bad?”
“Yes. His arm
is broken, and so is his nose. His father was arrested. Pat would have gone into foster care. You know his mother died six years ago, and he has no other family. We’ve become his temporary guardians.”
Wills walked to the bay window. “Patrick was never a favorite of mine, but he’s my brother’s friend.” His hands were fisted at his sides.
I rushed to him and grabbed his hand. “No.”
“Theo, if anyone had done to Michael what Patrick’s father did to him….”
“No.”
“What?”
“Don’t give me that innocent look!” I whispered. “I know you.” We were both speaking in undertones. The last thing either of us wanted was for Jill to learn what Wills could do.
“Fine.” He hunched a shoulder and stared out the window.
“I’m not kidding! Let the justice system take care of the bastard.”
“I said fine.”
“What are you two whispering about?” Jill asked.
“Nothing,” we said in unison.
“Hmm.”
“Honest. Jill, don’t you want to know what we’re wearing for the wedding?”
“Yes, I do. And don’t you dare say ‘if it isn’t just like a woman, wondering about clothes!’”
“Would I do a thing like that?” Wills gave his best innocent look.
“Scamp!” She patted the spot beside her, and he settled himself there.
“Hey, you’re only ten years older than me! And if Dad hadn’t swept you off your feet, I would have!”
“Oh, Wills.” Her smile was a little watery.
For a moment I remained by the window, but this was my family too, I reminded myself, and I joined them, sitting at the end of the bed with my leg curled under me. Jill grimaced, and I could see the muscle cramping up in her right foot. I took it between my hands and massaged it.
“Oh, you’ve got magic fingers, Theo! If you weren’t marrying Wills, and if I weren’t already married to his father, I’d snatch you up!”
“Sorry, too late.” I grinned and dug my thumbs into the ball of her foot. It was nice to be appreciated.
She gave a relieved sigh, but then she bit her lip, looking concerned. “Sweetie, did it ever bother you?”