Finding You: The Complete Box Set (a contemporary MM romance series)

by Ana Ashley

  “Come on,” I said, “let’s head in. I need to get you naked.” I placed a soft kiss on his lips and pulled him toward the house.

  “Wait.” I stopped, suddenly realizing he was traveling too light. “You haven’t got bags.” Panic settled in my stomach; what if he had nothing because he was going back to Portugal? No, he couldn’t go, not yet.

  “Max.”

  “What?”

  “Look.” He pointed toward the house where, sure enough, Joel, David, Dorian, and Jean-Paul were standing on the deck high-fiving each other.

  “My bags are inside. Joel picked me up from the train station.”

  The whoops and whistles became louder as we approached the steps of the deck leading to the house.

  They all came around us for a massive group hug.

  “Hey, hands off!” Isaac shouted.

  “Sorry, baby,” I whispered in his ear. “That was me.”

  “Sweetheart,” Joel said to David, “don’t we have to go back to the supermarket to get the ingredients for that thing you were making?”

  “Oh, er, the thing, yes.” David grabbed Joel’s hand and pulled him away without even looking back.

  “We’re coming, too,” Jean-Paul said.

  “Yes, there are a few things we need to get for our trip,” Dorian added.

  I pulled Isaac closer but said to the guys, “I love you all. Thank you.”

  “Just remember that at Christmas,” Dorian said.

  We went up to my room via the kitchen where I made us hot chocolate with marshmallows and prepared something light for us to eat.

  I placed the drinks and food on the bedside table and walked around Isaac to lock the bedroom door. Then, I walked toward him and put my hands on his waist, grabbing the hem of his sweater to take it off. I couldn’t wait to feel Isaac’s soft, warm skin against mine.

  He held my wrists to stop me but didn’t remove my hands.

  “Max, we need to talk first.”

  “Can’t we talk naked?” I pouted.

  He smiled but shook his head while he pulled me toward the two chairs facing the window on the other side of the room.

  I sighed. This conversation wasn‘t going to happen in bed then.

  “We need to talk because I turned up out of the blue, and if we don’t talk properly, we’ll end up in bed before we have a chance to figure out if we’re on the same page.”

  “Baby, if we’re naked in bed, we’re on the same page. Hell, we’re on the same book.” I tried to give him my best puppy eyes, but I knew he was right, we needed to talk.

  We’d virtually ended our relationship at Lisbon airport, agreeing to be just friends. But the moment I saw him on the beach, I’d forgotten all that and attacked his mouth like I hadn’t spent the last month trying to come to terms with the fact that I wouldn’t be with Isaac in the way I wanted.

  “How long are you staying?” I asked.

  “Until Dorian and Jean-Paul come back from France. I’m covering the running operations of Liberty Center while they’re away.”

  It made sense now. That was the reason they had kept all details of their absence under wraps and hadn’t asked for my help. Which also meant they’d known Isaac was coming and kept quiet about it.

  “That’s it. They’re off my Christmas card list,” I said. “Wait, you’re here for two months?” My brain had just caught up with that part of the conversation. “Where are you going to stay?”

  Isaac blushed and looked down at where our hands were interlinked.

  “That’s why we needed to talk. I was, er, hoping I’d be able to stay with you, you know, try the relationship thing, and figure out what to do when the two months are up. I want to stay here, Max. With you.”

  I was so sure I’d heard it wrong that I didn’t say anything.

  “Oh,” he said. “I… we don’t have to. I mean, Joel and David are going back, so I can stay—”

  “Fuck no, you’re staying with me.” I pulled him off his chair toward me so he didn’t have a choice but to straddle me.

  “Are you sure?” He seemed uncertain.

  “Of course, baby. I’m sorry. I’m just trying to get my brain to catch up. I’ve spent all day trying to come up with some kind of strategy to keep busy so I’d stop thinking about you so much. And now you’re here, you’re staying, and—”

  His lips were on mine before I could finish my thought.

  “We can get naked now,” he said breathlessly between kisses.

  All I could think was fucking finally. I resumed where I’d stopped earlier by ridding him of his sweater and then grabbed mine by the back of my neck and took it off, too.

  His position made him the perfect height for me to lick and suck on his nipples, so I did just that. He cursed but didn’t tell me to stop.

  We were both hard and grinding against each other, trying to find some kind of friction despite the two layers of underwear and jeans between us.

  “Too. Many. Clothes.” I put my hands on his ass and got up, carrying him with me to the bed.

  The rest of our clothes went flying across the room as we removed them as fast as we could before we settled with me on top of him fully naked.

  “Show me how much you missed me,” Isaac said.

  “We’ll be here a long time.”

  “I’m not going anywhere.”

  27

  Isaac

  I woke up surrounded by Max. Literally. He had one arm under my head serving as a very uncomfortable pillow with the other arm around me, keeping my back against his broad chest. One of his legs was wrapped around my leg and the other was stretched out with his foot under mine.

  He couldn’t have been comfortable, but since he was fast asleep, there wasn’t much I could do without waking him up, and there was no way I was ready for that yet.

  I was still coming to terms with everything that had happened in the last four weeks since I’d seen Max go through the airport departure gates.

  Alex had been the one to suggest calling Dorian for advice.

  Before I’d even had a chance to ask Dorian for advice, he jumped in to say he needed my help running Liberty Center while he and Jean-Paul went to Paris. He’d sounded so relieved as if I was doing him the biggest favor in the world. It was only when he’d caught his breath that he’d asked why I was coming to New York.

  I’d been honest and said I was in love with Max and wanted to be with him, hoping to get the sympathy vote.

  “I fucking knew it. Jean-Paul owes me a whole month of naked weekends.”

  “What? How did you know?”

  “First of all, there was the day after the fire. I got that he wanted to make sure you were okay, but even Max isn’t nice enough to follow up with a tour of New York for just anyone. He also told me you’d bumped into each other in Lisbon in the summer and it didn’t go well, although he didn’t give me any details. Then he comes back this time, and he’s refusing to talk to us. I knew something had happened while he was with you. I just hoped it was a good thing.”

  “It was a good thing, Dorian. Really good.”

  “I’m thrilled for you guys. Jean-Paul is going to flip, and he’s going to want to make this into a thing.”

  Jean-Paul had advised against telling Max I was coming until I was absolutely sure that my work visa would come through. Then he’d found out from Joel that Max was coming to his grandmother’s house this weekend and planned the rest.

  Max stirred slightly behind me. His breath was warm against the back of my neck. He inhaled deeply, so I thought he was waking up, but all he did was tighten his grip on my chest and call my name softly.

  I really could’ve got used to this for the rest of my life. It felt so right to be here in Max’s arms. He’d come through on his promise to be here for a long time. Here meaning in bed, and a long time meaning the whole weekend.

  We’d gone out to join the others for meals, but as soon as everyone settled in watching TV or relaxing, he’d pull me back to the room so we
could have time alone.

  Last night, Dorian and Jean-Paul had told everyone why they were going to Paris for such a long time. They’d been trying to adopt for a while and were on waiting lists both in New York and in Paris, where Jean-Paul was originally from, hoping it would increase the chances of having their own family soon.

  The agency had found them a baby daughter named Stephanie, so they were going to meet her, and once the adoption went through, they were going to stay in Paris for a few weeks so Jean-Paul’s mom had a chance to spend time with Stephanie.

  Lying here in Max’s arms, I couldn’t help wondering if we’d be as lucky one day to start our own family.

  As soon as I’d had the thought, I realized I didn’t even know if Max wanted children. It dawned on me that I didn’t know much about Max. I wanted children, and I wanted to get married one day. What if Max didn’t want that? What if we didn’t agree on the important things?

  My bladder demanded attention, and I also needed some fresh air. I was overthinking things as usual, but my thoughts left me unsettled. Disentangling myself from Max wasn’t easy, but I managed to not wake him. I looked at him as I was putting on my jogging pants and saw him cuddling my pillow. We’d been up until very late last night talking, so I wasn’t surprised he was still in a deep sleep.

  Jean-Paul was in the kitchen making coffee as I walked in.

  “Good morning, Isaac. Did you sleep well?”

  I looked at the two mugs of coffee in his hand. He still had his pajama bottoms on, so I was pretty sure he and Dorian had been up as late as we were.

  “Yes, thank you.”

  “Everything okay?” Jean-Paul spoke excellent English, but I loved when his French accent came through.

  “Yeah, just couldn’t sleep anymore, that’s all.”

  He nodded and turned to leave.

  “Jean-Paul,” I called.

  “Yes?”

  “How did you know you made the right decision?”

  He smiled at me. He knew what I was asking; Jean-Paul, too, had decided to stay in New York to be with Dorian.

  “I’d been Dorian’s best friend for many years before we were together, but even then, it was the scariest thing I’ve ever done. Admitting my feelings for him, choosing to be with him here in America, and leaving my mom all the way in Paris.” He sighed. “I was the happiest person on earth because I finally had Dorian, but I was sad because I was so far away from my mom.”

  “I know the feeling. But how did you know it was right?”

  “Because I’d tried a life without Dorian by my side.” Jean-Paul looked down at the coffee cups and shook his head, and then he left the kitchen.

  I had a feeling I knew what he hadn’t said. He didn’t want to not have Dorian in his life anymore.

  There was still enough coffee left in the pot, so I filled up two cups, grabbed a small box of cookie dough from the fridge, and went back to the room to wake my sleeping beauty.

  Max was putting his clothes on like something was on fire when I walked in.

  “What’s the matter?” I asked, putting the coffee and the cookie dough box on the bedside table.

  He came around the bed and didn’t stop until his lips crashed against mine. He was demanding but gentle. His tongue probed the inside of my mouth like he wanted to make sure I still tasted the same.

  The morning semi I’d managed to conceal under boxer shorts and jogging pants was now at full mast and being freed by Max’s exploring hands. He took me out and stroked my length, twisting his hand and applying additional pressure every other stroke.

  Between his kisses and what he was doing with his hand, I was struggling to breathe, think, and muster the will to pause and ask him what was going on.

  When kissing had become too much, I pulled away and leaned against him. My legs were shaking, and I wondered what would come sooner, my orgasm or the buckling of my knees.

  Max kissed, bit, and sucked the skin on my neck and shoulders. He had a firm hold of my curls, and him pulling them tight between his fingers was my undoing.

  My orgasm came hard and fast. I shouted his name against the crook of his neck, and then I really couldn’t stand up any longer. I let myself fall on my back on the bed with Max next to me. My jogging pants and boxers were around my knees, and I got rid of them so I was fully naked.

  I looked at him. His hair was a little longer than it had been four weeks ago and it was standing at odd angles, but he was still too slim. His eyes were dark and full of desire. He hadn’t come. I’d been so overwhelmed by him I hadn’t even thought of reciprocating.

  When I moved to touch his hard cock, he turned and straddled me, pinning me on the bed. He rocked against me as his mouth made love to mine. Heat spread in my groin, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to come again so soon, so I let him take his pleasure while I relished in his hard, heavy body on top of mine.

  “Want to tell me what that was about?” I asked when he came down from his orgasm. He tried to get up, but I stopped him, running my hands across his face, trying to read his expression.

  “I had a dream. You were here, and you said you were staying forever, but then when I reached out for you, you were gone. I ran to look for you and saw you as you walked toward the water and then you disappeared.”

  I stroked his face gently, cleaning away the small tear that had escaped his eye. “It’s okay; I’m here.”

  He sighed. “When I woke, I was hugging the pillow. I thought the dream was real.”

  “Baby, look around the room. Does it look like you were on your own?” There were clothes strewn everywhere. Every time we’d gotten dressed during the weekend, we’d soon got undressed again and lost in each other.

  He chuckled. “Good point. You’re a slob. We’ll need some ground rules at home.”

  My heart skipped a beat, and I couldn’t hide my smile.

  “Oh yeah? What are the rules?”

  “You’re not wearing clothes indoors. If you’re naked, then I won’t have to undress you, and there won’t be a mess all over.”

  “I hear winter in New York is quite cold.”

  “I’ll keep you warm, baby.”

  I loved it when he called me that. We always went between speaking to each other in Portuguese and English, but he always called me by the same term of endearment.

  David had confessed that Joel used the same term for him, and while he couldn’t get used to using it himself, he loved it when Joel did.

  “Shall we start a shower?” I suggested. “You stink of sex.”

  Joel had said the best time to travel back to the city was just before lunch, so we took our time in the shower and then packed and cleaned the room.

  With David and Joel going back to Portugal soon, I wasn’t sure I’d have the opportunity to speak to David alone, so while the guys were tidying up, I joined him in the kitchen.

  “Can we talk about Mário’s brother?” I asked.

  “Sure.”

  “What do you know about him?”

  “Not much. My uncle hasn’t seen him since he was twenty-one when he ran away from the hospital. He never got in touch with anyone again.”

  “You mentioned he was caught kissing someone. Could that be a boyfriend?”

  “Maybe, or a hookup, who knows. In those days, it was all very secret because of the obvious repercussions.”

  “Does Mário have any photos of Vítor?”

  “Yeah, I think he might have some. I’ve never seen them, though.”

  “David, how do you know Vítor will have information about your dad?”

  “I don’t.”

  I wasn’t sure we would have any success finding Vítor and told David as much.

  Maybe Fred could help with his police connections.

  “Tiago is looking after the center while I’m here. I’m hoping he’ll be ready to either take over for me if I end up staying or join me as co-director of the Foundation.”

  “That’s great news!” David grinned.

&n
bsp; “Yeah, I’m excited for him. To be honest, I think I should have done it a long time ago.”

  “Why didn’t you?”

  “He always said he wanted to focus on finding his brother, so I didn’t push, but with me being away, I hope it gives him something else to focus on.”

  We were both silent for a moment. We knew how long Tiago had been looking for his brother and the chances of finding him were slim to none after all these years.

  “Isaac, I don’t want having to find Vítor to add to his workload.”

  “He offered. He already has loads of contacts. Maybe you could meet up with him when you get back? I just wanted to tell you because I’m going to be in Manhattan for the foreseeable future.”

  “Thanks, I appreciate it.”

  David finished up the omelets and took them off the stove, plating them up for the hungry men that kept popping in to check on the progress of breakfast.

  “Isaac?”

  “Yeah?”

  “What you have with Max is special, isn’t it?”

  “We’re in love, David.” And that was the absolute truth.

  “In the past, I’ve seen you push people away. Don’t push him away, okay?”

  “I thought I was going to get the big brother talk from Joel, not you,” I joked.

  “Well, technically Max is the eldest of us all,” he teased back. “But seriously, he’s a great guy, and I think you are good for each other. Just follow your heart this time.”

  “That’s why I’m here. I followed my heart.”

  “I love you, you know that, right?” he said.

  “I love you, too.” I hugged him tight; wondering how we’d got here. We were both so lucky.

  “No, no, no,” Max and Joel said at the same time as they came into the kitchen.

  David and I smiled at each other as we were pulled apart by Joel and Max.

  I stopped caring about what they were doing when Max planted a hot kiss on my lips.

  “You’re cute when you’re jealous,” I whispered.

  “What? I’m not jealous,” he said with his eyes open wide.

  “Oh really?”