by Lucy Lennox
“Excuse me.”
The feedback from the room’s audio system caused me to look over to the stage where Lucky stood in front of a microphone stand that was just a little too high for him. The few people in the crowd still standing slowly sat down, and I saw several of the participants looking around in confusion.
“Young man, that’s not a toy,” my father stated firmly, but the second he took a step towards the stage, I stepped in front of him.
“Stay the hell away from my kid.”
I didn’t care that I barely recognized my own voice as I spoke. All I cared about was my father staring at me like he didn’t know who I was.
Thank fucking god for that.
“Um, you all should give B… I mean Bennett… the money ‘cause he can help a lot of kids with it.” As Lucky spoke, he glanced at me. “Kids like me.”
My heart swelled with pride as I watched Lucky stand there, confidence on full display, the quiet boy he’d once been, a thing of the past. Even in the few weeks he’d come to live with Xander and me, we’d started to see a change in him. I ignored my father and stepped onto the platform, wrapping my arms around Lucky.
“Thank you, Lucky.”
“Love you, B.”
“Love you, too.” I held him for a moment longer and then ruffled his hair. I put my arm around his shoulder as I addressed the crowd.
“I’m sorry, but I need to go. There’s an emergency with my boyfriend’s family, and I need to be with him. But I’ll leave you in the very capable hands of my associate here.” I patted Lucky’s shoulder and then gave him another quick hug before whispering in his ear. “Xander and I will call you as soon as we land, okay?”
Lucky nodded. “Don’t worry, I’ll keep an eye on Bear. And Aiden.”
I smiled and said, “I have no doubt.”
Aiden had moved up onto the platform at some point, and I exchanged a silent message with him. He nodded.
Yeah, he’d keep my kid safe. “Thank you,” I said as I embraced him. “For everything.”
He nodded against my neck. “Go take care of your man, Bennett. We’re good here.”
I stifled the emotion that threatened to consume me. “You’re one hell of a man, Aiden,” I murmured into his ear. “I hope whatever guy ends up snagging your heart sees that.” I kissed his cheek and then I was hurrying off stage. I had to pass by my father who was practically simmered with rage, but when he grabbed my arm, I shook it off and didn’t slow my pace.
Because at that point, he’d ceased to exist.
The only thing that would keep me from being at Xander’s side was goddamned Armageddon.
Chapter 39
Xander
The only thing keeping me from yelling at the people filing down the plane’s narrow aisle as they searched out their seats was the distraction I’d managed to find just outside the window. I’d spent the last ten minutes counting the various pieces of luggage as they went up the conveyor belt and were loaded into the belly of the jet parked next to ours. After I’d dropped Lucky and Bear off with Aiden, I’d been fortunate enough to catch a plane leaving La Guardia for Denver in less than two hours.
Aiden had told me several times to call Bennett, but I’d adamantly refused. It had taken a lot of begging and pleading on my part to get him to promise me he wouldn’t tell Bennett what had happened until after Bennett was done giving his speech. I knew Bennett would be pissed, but he’d understand when he had some time to think about it.
“Okay folks, we’re holding the cabin door for one more passenger. It should just be another few minutes before we’re on our way. Thank you for your patience.”
I wanted to rail at the flight attendant making the announcement to just leave the jackass behind, but I held my tongue. The flight wasn’t overly full, and I’d been lucky enough to get the entire row at the back of the plane to myself, a fact I was grateful for since I hadn’t been able to stem the occasional tear that slipped unbidden from my eyes.
I forced myself to take deep breaths as I watched rain begin to pelt the window. The plane next to us was all closed up, so I began searching for something else to distract myself with.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we’re closing the door now in preparation for takeoff. Please stow your belongings…”
I only half-listened as the flight attendant began going through the rules. I drummed my fingers on the armrest as I watched the rain start to come down in sheets. I hoped the weather wouldn’t mean a delay of any kind.
I felt rather than saw someone drop down in the seat next to me. I barely managed to temper myself as I realized it had to be the jackass the plane had been held for. The jerk hadn’t even sat down in the aisle seat so we could have the middle one open between us.
I reminded myself to take a deep breath before turning to confront the asshat. But before I could say or do anything, warm fingers closed around mine.
Fingers I knew better than I knew my own.
Fingers that had brought me more pleasure and comfort in the past month than I’d ever known in my entire life.
Before I could stop myself, I began to cry.
He’d come.
My Benny had come.
“Shhh,” Bennett whispered as he leaned across the armrest at the same time his hand came out to cup the side of my head so he could tug me against him. I managed to keep my cries quiet as I clung to him. His lips skimmed my temple and he began whispering all sorts of things in my ear.
How much he loved me.
That everything was going to be okay.
That he wasn’t going anywhere.
The plane had started heading for the runway by the time I managed to pull myself together. I lifted my head and Bennett brushed his mouth over mine before using his sleeve to wipe at my face. If the people on the other side of the aisle noticed, I didn’t care.
Because Bennett was here.
“You’re here,” I said softly.
He smiled that sweet, gentle, Bennett smile. “Where else would I be?”
“The kids,” I said.
“The kids need me, not what my father is offering. There are people out there who want to help because it’s the right thing to do, not because it looks good on the company brochure or tax returns. I’ll find those people, and I’ll get them on board and I’ll do it all on my own. But not tonight. Tonight, I need to be with my family.”
I nodded and wiped at my eyes.
“Have you heard anything about Lolly?”
“Yeah, the hospital called me right before I boarded. She’s out of surgery and in intensive care. She’s got a broken leg and lots of cuts and bruises, but they said she’ll be okay.”
“Thank fuck,” Bennett said. “Aiden said they had to operate.”
“A piece of metal got lodged in her chest, so they needed to perform surgery to remove it. It didn’t damage any of her organs, luckily. They said she’ll make a full recovery. She should be awake by the time we get there.”
“Oh, baby, that’s so great,” he said, and then he was kissing my temple. “How are you holding up?”
“Better now,” I admitted as I clutched his hand.
“You do know you’re in deep shit for not calling me, right?” he asked as he tucked my hair behind my ears.
“Those kids mean everything to you, Bennett.”
“No, Xander, you mean everything to me. You and Lucky—you’re my family and you always come first.” He covered our joined hands with his other hand and began massaging the skin by my thumb joint. “Promise me you’ll never doubt that again.”
He was right. There’d been a small part of me that had thought maybe he’d put the kids above me. And it was something I’d been okay with, because the kids needed him more.
But in the hour that I’d had to wait to hear back from the hospital, I’d been as lost as I’d been the night my father had died. And I’d needed Bennett just as badly as I’d needed him back then. I just hadn’t had the courage to tell him that. I knew just by
looking at him that my lack of trust had hurt him.
I clasped the side of his head and pulled him to me until our foreheads were touching. “Never again, Benny. I promise.”
I kissed him and then dropped my head on his shoulder. “How did things go with your father?”
“As predicted,” Bennett murmured. “Felt good to finally tell the fucker off.” I felt him shift and I lifted my head. “And there’s this…”
Bennett unlocked his phone and pulled up a picture. It was of Lucky and an older man with salt and pepper hair. There was something oddly familiar about him. Aiden was in the background, and I chuckled when I realized he was giving Lucky bunny ears.
“What is this?” I asked.
“Turns out our son is quite the charmer,” Bennett said. Hearing him refer to Lucky as ours made something inside my belly flip-flop. We hadn’t talked about whether or not more kids were in our future, but I knew without a shadow of a doubt they would be.
“Aiden said he had the crowd eating out of his hand after I left. On the cab ride to the airport, I got three emails from potential sponsors saying they were in.”
I looked at the picture again. “Wait… is that… the mayor of New York?”
“It is,” Bennett said with a laugh.
“Our kid got the mayor to take a selfie with him?” I shook my head. “Man, he’s going to be a handful, isn’t he?”
Bennett snuggled against me. “He is. I can’t fucking wait, either.”
“Me neither.”
We were both quiet for a few minutes as the flight pulled onto the runway and began rolling forward, quickly picking up speed. I’d never been a great flier, despite having done it so often in my life. I wasn’t surprised when Bennett picked up on it and tightened his hold on my hand.
“Hey Xander?”
“Yeah?”
“Do you wanna build a snowman?” he suddenly sang, loud enough for the people around us to hear.
I began laughing so hard that I barely noticed as the plane bumped along the runway before finally lifting off the ground. And by the time the plane had leveled off, Bennett had quietly sung all of the songs from Frozen in my ear.
Twice.
Epilogue
Bennett
Eight Months Later
“Jesus,” I moaned. Xander pressed me against the cool tile wall of the shower as his cock began slowly gliding in and out of me. His hands covered mine where they were pressed against the wall, and he automatically linked our fingers.
“Nope, just me,” Xander said right before he closed his teeth over my earlobe. His big body was covering mine from shoulder to ass, keeping the water from hitting me. But it didn’t matter because his body heat was warming me in ways no shower or blanket ever could.
“Dork,” I said with a laugh. “Hurry up and fuck me or we’re going to be late.”
His tongue licked the outer shell of my ear as he slowed his strokes even more. “We really need to do something about that bossy mouth of yours,” he murmured.
I shivered as I imagined all the things he could do to my mouth. I turned my head so I could look at him over my shoulder. All thoughts of being late fled as I stared into his beautiful blue eyes. “I know how you can start,” I said. Lust coiled in my belly as he rolled his hips against my ass, driving his dick deeper inside of me and hitting my gland. His lips closed over mine just as I groaned in pleasure.
“Love you so much, Benny,” he whispered against my mouth.
The time for joking fled as he began driving into me in hard, smooth thrusts. With nothing to hold onto for leverage, I was completely reliant on him to keep me upright as he fucked me.
But it was just like with every other struggle we’d faced these past eight months.
We held each other up.
We took care of each other.
We loved each other.
“Love you,” I said as I felt my orgasm charging up my spine. Xander’s breath was hot and heavy in my ear as he held me in the tightest grip imaginable. His body pummeled mine, but I’d never felt safer or more cherished.
“My Benny,” he said softly. The words set off my orgasm and he followed seconds later, his release filling me. I felt boneless as the rush of pleasure began to fade, but Xander kept his arms around me to keep me from falling. He pulled free of me and then maneuvered us so the water was hitting me. By the time he’d finished cleaning me off, my legs no longer felt like jelly, and I managed to turn in his arms so I could give him a proper good morning kiss.
“Morning,” I said between soft kisses.
“Morning,” he responded drowsily.
I reluctantly pulled free of his hold. “Better hurry it up or Lolly will drive herself,” I said. “Remember to knock really loud this time.”
Xander groaned in my ear. “Don’t remind me,” he groaned as he dropped his forehead to my shoulder.
I laughed. Xander had decided to drive up to Bear Trodden Acres the weekend before to surprise Lolly with the fact that we’d arrived in Colorado a few days early. He’d seen her car in the parking lot, so when she hadn’t answered the door, he’d started to worry that there was a reason she couldn’t get to it and he’d let himself into the apartment.
And gotten an eyeful.
Seeing your aunt naked on a frequent basis was bad enough, but seeing her getting pleasured by a sixty-something-year old man on the coffee table was entirely another.
I kissed his cheek and then stepped out of the shower and quickly dried off. I nearly tripped over Bear when I opened the bathroom door. The dog always slept with Lucky, but when it came time for breakfast, he never failed to search me out since I was typically the first one up each morning. The animal sent me a baleful look like he knew what Xander and I had been doing.
“If you still had certain body parts, you’d understand,” I said to the dog as I padded to the dresser to slip on my clothes. Bear followed me from the room, so I fed him first before getting the coffee going. Once I’d let him outside, I hurried to Lucky’s room.
“Come on, buddy, time to get up,” I called as I flipped on the lights and pulled the cover off his bed. I tossed it to the floor before going to the window and drawing back the curtain.
“Too early,” he groaned as he covered his head with a pillow.
“I’m leaving in fifteen minutes. If you aren’t in the car with me, I’ll assume you’re going with Xander to pick up Aunt Lolly.”
“I’m up,” Lucky said as he tossed the pillow aside and sat up.
I chuckled. “Thought so.”
“Hey B,” Lucky called just before I left the room.
“Yeah?”
I stopped in the doorway. Lucky had turned seventeen a month earlier, and I couldn’t get over how much he’d changed. He’d grown taller and filled out, and while he was still lean, the many weekends we’d spent hiking in the Catskills had given him quite a bit of muscle definition. But even though he’d changed physically, he still carried some of the same insecurities that came with the trauma he’d faced as a child.
It hadn’t quite been a year since he’d come to live with us, but there were times where he still seemed to worry that we were going to change our minds about him being ours. It wasn’t so much that he said anything; it was in the way he behaved. He was always on his best behavior, and if he did something he perceived as bad, like breaking a dish or getting a less than stellar grade on a test or report card, there’d be this silent plea in his eyes as he apologized or told us he could do better.
Xander and I hoped it was something he’d eventually outgrow. In the meantime, we did anything and everything we could to remind Lucky on a daily basis that he was loved unconditionally and here to stay.
Lucky fidgeted for a moment. “You think they’ll like me?”
“Who?” I asked as I moved farther into the room.
“Nothing. Never mind… it’s stupid.”
Deflection was another Lucky trademark. I went to sit down on the bed next to him. �
�Who?” I repeated, though I suspected who he was talking about.
When he didn’t say anything, I asked, “You mean the kids out here?”
He nodded.
Even though school didn’t start for a few months, Lucky had been stressing about not making friends long before we’d left New York. While he’d had an okay year at his previous school, he’d continued to feel the sting of losing Calvin. His feelings for the other boy hadn’t waned like we’d hoped they would. Our hope was that some distance would help, and if we were really lucky, he’d meet someone else out here who could take his mind off his first crush.
“I think they’re going to see the same things Xander and I do. That you’re an amazing kid, Lucky. And they’d be damned lucky to be friends with you.”
Lucky nodded. “Yeah, I guess.”
I leaned my shoulder against his to give him a little bump. “Did you see what I did there? They’d be lucky to be friends with you…”
“God, you’re such a weirdo, B,” he said, his voice sounding a little lighter.
I put my arm around him and gave him a quick kiss on the top of the head. I knew he was probably too old for the displays of affection, but as long as he continued to indulge me, I’d keep on doing it. Anything to make it clear to him how much he was loved.
“Get moving, or the only muffins you’ll be seeing this morning aren’t the good kind.”
“Jesus, gross, B.”
I laughed and gave him another gentle shove before I climbed to my feet. After grabbing a cup of coffee from the kitchen, I did my normal routine and went outside to sit on the porch steps so I could enjoy the view. The sight of the morning mist rising over the trees never failed to remind me how drastically my life had changed in the past year. I still cringed whenever I thought of how easily I could have lost Xander forever.
If I’d chosen some other wilderness expedition company to act as our guide for that week.
If I’d lost him to the waters of the raging river.
If I hadn’t had the strength to beg him to give me another chance to prove we were meant to be together.
It had all just been too damn close.