by C F White
Seb gasped and held a hand to his chest. “I’ll have you know I wore a suit to the Brits.”
“With All-Stars,” Jay cut in.
“Trap shut.” Seb bumped his shoulder to his with a delighted smile.
“Shall we?” Will gestured with his hands to usher them into the building.
To say Seb was awestruck would be an understatement. His father had years of experience and hundreds of property refurbishments to his portfolio. But this was vastly different to anything Seb had seen him develop before. Mostly a restorative project, the eighteenth-century property had kept most of its original features and, as they were shown around each room, from the grand ballroom to the intimate coves, Seb couldn’t not be impressed with the outcome. It was large and majestic. Big enough to host a huge wedding for thousands of guests, and the landscape view from the gardens was to die for. Seb could picture the wedding photographs with that backdrop of the stunning English countryside. It was also perfectly hidden away behind high walls and thick bushes trimmed into ornate shapes and topiary swirls. Had Seb been shown around by anyone but his father he would have voiced his impressions. But he didn’t. He kept up his nonchalance and allowed for Jay to take over many of the burning questions.
Until they found themselves in a private dining area, three spots set at a table and Will offering them a seat.
“Dad, this is…” Seb paused, then grinned through the next two words, “something else.”
“Thank you, Sebastian. That is exceptionally high praise coming from you.”
Jay snorted, then pulled out his chair to sit. Seb followed suit with Will taking the head of the table.
“We have a light supper planned, just a sample of what we can offer cuisine-wise. Then I’ll allow you to retreat to your room for, well, for whatever you need.”
Jay widened his eyes. Seb shrugged.
“What do you think of the place, Jay?” Will directed his question to the person he supposed he could influence more than his own flesh and blood.
“It’s amazing. Beautiful place.”
Will smiled, elbows resting on the table and steepling his fingers over his lips. “See yourself getting married here?” he asked wistfully.
“Hold up,” Seb cut him off. “We said we’d think about. Let you know after the two nights here.”
“Of course.” Will moved his arms for the servers to place canapés on the table between them and filled their glasses with red wine. “I was merely trying to ascertain first impressions. You remember how that works, Sebastian.”
“Yes. So stop playing the game. Let us relax, unwind, enjoy the place.”
“So you are enjoying it?” Will widened his eyes, swishing his glass under his nose.
“Sneaky.” Seb tutted.
“Apologies. Eat. Enjoy.”
The light offerings served, and heady wine guzzled, allowed for conversation to flow freer than Seb had ever known it to. Will asked a ton of questions about football which, in doing so, loosened Jay up. Seb knew he was feeling out of his depth. He always did around Will. They’d had a turbulent start to their relationship and, Seb suspected, it had a little to do with Jay still believing he was a council estate east ender in Will’s eyes. But his father was trying. So Jay was too. Seb doubted Will was taking any of what Jay was prattling on about to do with the Premier League in. Seb rarely did. But Seb had witnessed his father schmoozing many people for a deal before and he could work a room no matter what social class they were from.
Once dessert was finished, and the second bottle of wine polished off with a Cognac digestif taking its place, Jay was looking quite flushed. And adorable. And really quite huggable. Seb hovered the glass to his lips and smiled, his chest rippling and insides a gooey mess of love, devotion and—
“If we were to do it here…”
Until Jay uttered that. Scowling, Seb attempted to kick him under the table but couldn’t reach, so he settled for a stern eyeful instead.
“I said if,” Jay shot to him, then settled his gaze back on Will.
“Yes?” Will’s eyebrows shot up in encouragement.
“What can you do in terms of security? We don’t want a big affair. We want intimate. And this is a big gaff. We get followed around by paps all the time. It’d be nice not to have that worry, y’know.”
“Full security at your disclosure. No one who hasn’t been invited will be able to gain entrance. Any helicopters overhead will be shot down by Bernard.”
Jay flinched. Will guffawed. And Seb widened his eyes at his father having a sense of humour.
“Apologies.” Will swished his glass. “It will be as low-key as you want. Nothing leaked by us. This place isn’t even on any radar and won’t be until after your wedding. Should you choose us.”
“So, say we only wanted a hundred or so. Real small. That’s not a problem?” Jay leaned forward, pushing back his half-eaten plate of decadent cheesecake.
“Of course not. As many or as little as you like. If you only want it to be you, Sebastian, and two witnesses, I’ll cater for that.”
“Why?” Jay asked the inevitable question through a hesitant breath.
Seb held his, and the glass at his mouth, the wrenching bitter spice heating his lips.
Will sat back in the chair, threw his Cognac down his throat, and he addressed the empty glass when he said, “To ensure my presence there.”
Seb dropped his glass on the table, a rush of blood draining from his face at how exposed his father looked right then. A lump formed in his throat and he glanced to Jay for some sort of guidance. He didn’t get any. So he reached across the table to place a hand over his father’s.
“Do you think you wouldn’t be invited to my wedding unless you host it?” he asked, voice light. “Pay for it? Did you do all this because you thought I would shun you?”
“I would deserve it,” Will replied. “I’m aware of my shortfalls, Sebastian.”
“But…you’re family.”
“That still doesn’t mean I’m worthy of being there. I wasn’t for many of your life milestones.”
“Neither was Mum. Even less so. But I’d still invite her.” He ignored Jay’s questioning look. He was more than aware he’d contemplated not doing that.
“Even so. These past few years, as I have been reluctantly entering a semi-retirement, I had not anticipated on the hollow void I have felt at not being part of your life.” He breathed out a sort of mocking, yet sincere, chortle when he followed that up with, “I never expected to so miss my bartering with you, Sebastian.”
There hadn’t been many times that Seb found himself speechless. But if ever there was a moment when his tongue was well and truly stolen and ripped from his thoughts, it had been by his father’s words. His humbling, genteel and earnest words that would stay with Seb forever.
“You didn’t have to do all this,” he finally managed to throw out between choking back the tears. “A simple phone call asking to be there would have sufficed.”
Will gave a melancholic smile. “And therein proves my incompetence as a father. Refurbishing two thousand acres of home and land to present to you the finest establishment for your forthcoming nuptials is a darn sight easier than picking up a telephone to ask for your forgiveness.”
Seb fell back in his seat, sliding his hand away from his father’s. He wiped his hands on the cotton napkin and slammed it onto the table then met Jay’s gaze and he knew what he was saying behind those baby blues.
“We’ll take it,” Seb said.
Jay smiled. Seb smiled back. And Will would have been beaming if Seb didn’t know him better and was hiding it behind his gesture to the server to pour more Cognac.
“You won’t be disappointed,” Will said and held up his glass.
The three of them clinked and Seb couldn’t help feeling as though this was a milestone in itself.
* * * *
Wandering into the bridal suite bathroom, Jay gazed down at Seb lounging in the oversized and overfilled
bath, steam billowing from the almost scalding hot water, acting like he was Lord of the Manor. He kinda was and had taken to his role exceptionally seriously. Especially as he was up to his neck in the whitest of white bubbles that sparkled against the faux candles, wafting delicate scents of jasmine and ginger, and ogled Jay’s body on display as if he was solely there for his viewing pleasure.
“Might want to whip them off if you’re coming in here,” he said, flicking a finger from around his flute filled with Champagne and indicated to the boxers Jay still wore.
Jay dragged the Moet from the ice bucket that had been left in the room—Will had thought of everything— and refilled Seb’s along with one for himself. He then set his glass on the edge of the bath and shoved down his underwear, as if in request of his King, and clambered into the bubbles, sinking down the opposite end to Seb. Water sloshed up to Seb’s chin and slapped down to the heated floor tiles.
“Hey!” Seb griped as Jay shunted him aside to squeeze in.
“Not exactly how we do it at camp.” Jay grinned and reached for his Champagne.
“I’ve told you never to talk about how you bath with eleven other men.”
Jay chuckled. “This is better. We don’t get the bubbles, or bubbles.” He held up his glass and sipped. “I’d much rather share with you.”
“I should hope so.” Seb’s foot found Jay’s hand under the water and Jay squeezed it, offering an underwater massage. “Mmm, nice. Keep going.”
Jay couldn’t help comparing this to the Prince and the Pauper. In his thoughts, that was. Seb didn’t need reminding of his wealth to Jay’s lowly upbringing. He dropped his glass on the side—he’d already had quite a bit to drink anyway—and lifted Seb’s foot to his chest to dig his thumbs in for a massage, conceding to his Prince’s demands.
“You’re good at that,” Seb said with a delicate moan.
“Maybe I’ll become a physio when the playing career’s over.”
“Just my physio.” Seb winked.
“What do you need a physio for? You only use your fingers. And your vocal chords.”
“Which might need a thorough seeing to, later.”
Jay chuckled, kneading the ball of Seb’s foot. “What a day, eh?”
“Could say that. A baby cooking nicely and a wedding venue now booked.”
Jay shoved Seb’s leg aside to lean up, water gushing around his body, and the bubbles trailed up to his neck to drip down the sides of the bath. “C’mere,” he said and grabbed Seb’s ankles to drag him closer.
“Bossy.” Seb tutted but hefted up anyway, draping his legs over Jay’s hips, so they were chest to chest.
Jay kissed him, then with all the cringe of romantic indulgence, he linked his arm through Seb’s, grabbed his glass from the side and they both sipped the bubbles like newlyweds already. Laughing, Seb fell back, water spilling out to slap on the floor.
“You got one thing wrong today, though,” Jay said, remaining where he was and hauling his knees up to his chest to drape his arms over them.
Seb furrowed his brow. “Impossible, but I’ll hear you out.”
“I don’t always prefer to top.”
Seb held his gaze, and Jay allowed the intoxicating mischief to flicker in his eyes and pierce through the steam. Seb hovered his glass at his lips.
“Is that a fact?” he asked in a spellbound purr.
Jay smiled, then reached under the water, sliding a hand up Seb’s leg toward his groin.
“My father will have an aneurism you do that here,” Seb said as Jay wrapped his fingers around Seb’s already thickening dick.
“Your old man set this up.” Jay offered him fluid strokes as much as he could against the friction of water. “There’s even lube in that cupboard.”
Seb lolled back, head hitting the edge of the bath and closed his eyes. “Are you offering me something here, Champ?”
“Not offerin’,” Jay replied, speeding up his slides on Seb’s cock, making waves in the water. “Askin’.”
“Then you better get out of this bath.” Seb peered up, face flushed and rivulets of sweat trailed down from his brow to glisten his skin.
Jay smirked, then let go of Seb’s cock to press the plug beneath him. “Let’s wait ‘til the water goes. Have some fun ‘til then.”
“What’s got into you?”
“Red wine. Cognac.” Jay clambered over, bubbles sprinkling and water sloshing as he landed atop Seb. “And next, I hope, you.”
Seb wrapped his arms around Jay’s neck and kissed him. It was his dirty kiss. The kiss that sent Jay wild and he lapped it up like he had the alcohol he usually forbade over supper. Dinner—well, he was cockney. It was awkward, with limbs tangling, water spilling, and sweat dripping, making them slip and slide within the oversized tub. But neither allowed the kiss to part. Jay was too enthralled in Seb to care about the flood on the floor.
Seb rolled Jay over and slithered on top of him, breaking the kiss to lick along Jay’s nipples that had been freed from the draining water. He explored every inch of him, sliding calloused hands over Jay’s defined muscles and down to his aching cock. Seb peered up, then held his breath to dip under the remaining water and wrapped his mouth around Jay’s shaft.
Jay gripped the edge of the bath watching Seb’s head bobbing up and down between his legs. The water emptied to leave pockets of soapsuds that popped and faded with Seb’s aggressive sucks. Groaning in pleasure, Jay wiped a ball of foam from Seb’s head. Then, because he was all kinds of woozy, he lathered it down Seb’s face. Seb slurped off from Jay’s cock, narrowing eyes up at him. Jay couldn’t help but laugh. Yeah, he was tipsy. But this moment, this carefree moment, had Jay fizzing inside like those indulgent bubbles.
So he dragged Seb up to him and kissed him, tasting salty flesh and soapy skin. It was delicious. Seb was delicious. And Jay couldn’t get enough. He couldn’t ever get enough of this man. He was thrust back to that first time—his first time—when he’d given himself to Seb and had never gotten it back. He never wanted it back. Seb had kept hold of it all this time and he’d cherished it with his hedonistic heart and impassioned affection. Eight years with only this man and Jay’s appetite for him hadn’t waivered.
“Bed,” Seb demanded with a pant. “And get my father’s lube.” He clambered out of the bath, hauling Jay up by his hand. He shook his head. “There’s a sentence I never thought I’d say.”
Jay laughed and fetched the tube from the cabinet, following Seb out to the four-poster bed. Seb draped extra fluffy towels over the thick duvet and, from behind, Jay wrapped his arms around him, clutching him to his chest. He kissed his neck, jerking Seb off from behind until Seb couldn’t take it any longer. He swivelled in Jay’s arms, gripping handfuls of arse, which Jay clenched for Seb’s kneading pleasure, and allowed himself to fall limp. There was no competition on who was the stronger one, but sometimes Jay wanted Seb to take charge. He shed his macho guise to show who he really was for the man he loved.
After laying him on the mattress, Seb prepared him quick and easy, then crawled on his knees, cupping his dick and poked the blunt tip to Jay’s ready and waiting body. He paused.
“What?” Jay asked, peering up through his lashes.
“I just fucking love you.” Seb swallowed, his eyes almost burning. “So fucking much.”
“Come on, then,” Jay breathed out. “Show me.”
Seb did just that. He eased into Jay, slicing him apart, and Jay groaned at each inch that burned inside him. He loved it. Craved that pleasure-pain barrier only Seb could give him. Seb lowered down to kiss him, before edging out and thrusting in, sending Jay sliding up the bed. Jay reached behind him for the wooden rails, gripping the posts in each hand, knuckles whitening. He gritted his teeth as Seb drove his length in and out of him, grunting his pleasure to the ether.
Jay gripped the bed posts, biceps bulging, and kept himself in place for Seb to ride out his gratification on him. His uncontrollable grunts vibrated Jay’s chest and he sp
ed up, taking Jay’s cock in his hand to pump in synch with his vigorous thrusts. His groans ricocheted off the eighteenth-century walls and Jay could only hope they were sound proofed because he wanted nothing more than to scream himself right then.
“Tell me when, baby,” Seb panted.
“Faster,” Jay growled and released a hand from the posts to grip the one Seb had around his dick. He sped him up and the ripple started in his toes, surging through his legs to his groin. “God, fuck, yeah, shit, Seb!” he garbled, then gritted his teeth as his orgasm exploded in an attacking frenzy that splattered in white across his chest.
“Oh, baby,” Seb breathed out as he thrust his hips harder, slamming inside Jay and released his own blissful contentment to garbled cries of, “Fucking love this!”
Then, in stark contrast to how they had started, Seb fell to Jay’s chest and allowed Jay to coddle him.
It was a while before his breath was back and Seb lifted up on his arms to ask, “More champers?”
Jay chuckled. “All right.” He grinned and stroked through Seb’s hair, enjoying the left-over lingering euphoria that fizzed his skin.
Until Seb tried to remove himself and the sticky contents had them practically glued together.
“Should probably refill the bath,” Seb said.
“Crack on, then.” Jay slapped his arse, the smack echoing.
Seb growled, but slid off and clambered over to the bathroom, water trickling and jasmine scent wafting out after.
Jay, hands behind his head, gazed up at the high ceiling, and wondered if, finally, everything was clicking into place and this was the good life everyone always banged on about. The perfect life.
“I’ve just dropped the Campers in the bath.” Seb poked his head out from the bathroom and winced. “It’ll be all right, won’t it?”
chapter Thirteen
Subs Bench
The next few weeks saw Jay working harder than he ever had before. He was juggling both scheduled West Ham games as well as training with the England squad ready for the final qualifier at Wembley. He barely had time for anything other than training, matches, eating and scheduled rest. Seb had to keep him up to speed with everything to do with Ann and the baby. Jay did give her an occasional call whilst laying on Seb’s lap of an evening, but he had to fight to keep his eyes open.