“They gave me the property up north and my mother’s jewels that had been passed down through the family for generations.” Will laughed. “They entrusted it all to me because I would keep it in the family. The property was originally settled by my great-grandfather. I never knew that it meant so much to them.”
Will took the key that Elijah offered and opened the box. Inside were all the jewelry pieces that Will remembered from his childhood, along with his great-grandfather’s pocket watch. These were expensive family pieces, and they now belonged to him. They were of great value and would fetch a very good price at auction, but Will would never let them out of his care, never, and his parents knew that. “I will pass these down to my children,” Will stated lovingly.
“I like the sound of that.” Elijah interjected with a soft smile.
“All this time I thought that I had disappointed them in some way; that I had done something wrong. I thought they hated me because I’m gay.”
“They didn’t care about the money or the property in East Lansing, and they didn’t care about your sexuality. They left most everything to Katrina knowing that she would piss it away,” Elijah added. “They loved you enough not to saddle you with Katrina.”
“Thank you for making me read this. I should have read it a long time ago.” Will sighed and laughed and hugged Eli to him.
“I knew there had to be more to the story; no parent could turn their back on someone like you.” He kissed Will thoroughly and drew him to his feet. “There is something that I have been waiting to ask you.”
“What is it?” Will asked, although he had an idea what it was.
“Will you marry me, William?” Elijah got down on one knee and gallantly kissed Will’s hand.
“Yes, I will,” he answered with tears in his eyes. “And I promise, I will always love you.”
“A man can’t ask for more than that.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a simple gold band and slipped it on his finger. “That makes it official.”
“Thank you, it’s beautiful.” Will beamed.
“I’ve been carrying that thing around with me for days, waiting for the right moment. It belonged to my grandfather.”
Will was sick of talking and pounced on Eli, covering his mouth with kisses as he affirmed with his actions how much he was in love with Elijah.
Eli responded in earnest, and soon, Will was backed up against the sofa. With the lightest of touches Will fell backward onto the sofa with Eli above him. He looked into Eli’s adoring eyes and saw all the things that Eli felt for him but couldn’t express in words. He connected again with Eli’s mouth, and they began exploring each other’s bodies with a newfound amazement.
Their other encounters had been born out of lust and need; this was pure cementing of their bond of love. Eli pulled Will’s T-shirt over his head quickly, exposing the expanse of white flesh beneath. Eli then began kissing up and down Will’s neck, eliciting peaceful sighs from Will as he ran his hands across Eli’s firmly muscled back. Will marveled once again at how intimacy had been hard before, but with Eli it was always so natural and easy. This was what he had been looking for his whole life and hadn’t even known it. Eli brought him back to the present by removing his own shirt and exposing his powerful, ranch-honed chest and torso. Will ran his hands over the tanned flesh and found himself completely overcome with desire. He latched onto one of Eli’s already hard nipples and then the other, causing a look of pleasure to play across Eli’s face.
Eli once again took control of the situation and made short work of Will’s jeans and underwear, pulling them off before he went down on Will, taking his cock in his mouth in one fluid motion. Will arched his back and once again found himself moaning wantonly. No one had ever brought this kind of reaction out of him; no one had ever been this good.
Eli let his finger wander down and begin circling Will’s entrance, teasing the outer ring. Will began bucking his hips, begging Eli to enter him. Eli took great pains preparing Will, making sure he was ready. He’d never found himself being so careful with another person, but never before had he loved someone so deeply. Once he was certain that Will was ready, he sheathed and lubed his achingly hard member and began slowly entering Will, completely overcome by the tightness and warmth. They had already done this twice, but each time they would explore each other’s bodies more, finding new ways to bring pleasure. Each time was new and exciting. Will wrapped his legs around Eli’s waist and begged him to move faster, and Eli did so with pleasure. The room was filled with their scent and the sound of their love: skin slapping together, moans and cries of passion, and endearing words of love exchanged, filling the room completely.
“I’m so close,” Eli grunted as he increased the speed of his thrusts. He began quickly stroking Will’s leaking cock, pleading, “Come with me.”
A few strokes later, Will was crying out as he came, spilling out over his chest and Eli’s. Eli came moments later, filling the condom deep within William. Eli collapsed on the sofa to one side of Will and gathered him close to his chest, ignoring the bodily fluids that covered them both.
“I’ve never been so happy,” Eli purred into Will’s ear, kissing his neck lovingly.
“We need to make plans to fly out to Michigan to pick up Todd and some of your things. I have a feeling you’re going to be staying for quite a while,” Eli said with a lovable grin.
“This isn’t another test, is it?” Will gave Eli a sly grin. “I had to ask.”
“No more tests, no more games, no more distrust.” He kissed Will again to punctuate his statement.
“I think we had better get dressed and go find Martin so we can tell him the good news,” Eli said, handing Will his clothing. A few minutes later, he took Will by the hand and led him to the doorway. “But before we do….” Eli pressed Will’s back against the door and whispered, “Tell me again that you love me.”
“I love you, Elijah; more than I ever thought possible,” Will stated, punctuating his words with a passionate kiss.
The marriage took place, as scheduled, the following Saturday. No one seemed particularly surprised by the immediacy of the event. “Once he makes up his mind,” Mrs. Coleman told the caterer, “there is no stopping him.”
“I think Elijah started planning this wedding the moment he laid eyes on William,” Martin joked with Adam as they waited outside the small chapel in Boston. Since learning of Adam’s role in returning Will to him, Elijah had turned his former enemy into a lifelong friend. Katrina had even flown out for the wedding, no doubt trying to get into her now-very-rich brother’s good graces, but she found herself almost entirely ignored. Only Will was nice enough to greet her and thank her for coming. As much as he despised her, she was still family, and his parents would want them to stay in touch, if only minimally. Everyone cheered when the two men emerged from the large, ornate doors and headed down the walkway to their car.
Elijah held tight to Will’s arm and smiled at the well-wishers. “So, Mr. Drake-Hunter, do you still think this is a trick?” he joked to Will.
“I’m not sure. You could be stringing me along,” Will teased. “I was told you will go to any lengths to get what you want.”
“That, my dear William, is a true statement,” Eli declared. “But all I want is you.”
William looked up at him then, with all his love and trust showing in his eyes. Eli took him in his arms and kissed him, vowing to never let him go.
About the Author
B.A. Stretke began writing when a fifth-grade teacher told him he couldn’t. That same stubbornness and drive led to the discovery of an actual talent. B.A. spends his days reading, engaging in sarcasm, and plotting ways to trap a rich Canadian husband so he can buy his mother a Lamborghini. He has dreams of being a schoolteacher and a novelist, as well as having a closet big enough to hold his obsessive collection of cardigans. B.A. writes to escape the mundane small town life—that same drive to write the great American novel never dying.
B
.A. lives in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, with two royally spoiled cats and his dear friends and family.
B.A. tweets at twitter.com/DramaticPause10 and blogs at www.mypridemarch.net
Western Romance from Dreamspinner Press
http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com
Signed and Sealed Page 21