I was too busy catching my breath to respond, but I loved hearing that. Aiden wanted me. I’d never get tired of knowing that.
“Imagine how much better the sex’ll be in a few months. A few years,” Aiden whispered, running the tip of his nose along the side of my neck, hips barely rocking into me. “When I know every inch of your body like it’s my own.”
Fuck.
How was I supposed to handle thinking about that? I was too busy processing the way his cock felt inside me, thick and full, so much hotter than I’d imagined.
As he moved a little harder, I could feel the piercing, too, putting extra pressure on all the new sensitive spots he was helping me discover one by one, every slow thrust leaving a trail of fire inside me.
I hoped he wasn’t counting on me lasting long.
“Tell me how you’re feeling,” Aiden said. “Is this good?”
I nodded, too overwhelmed for actual words, and grabbed for his hand where it was still stroking up and down my side. Aiden was stronger than he looked, propping himself up with one hand on my shoulder, letting me link my fingers with his like I wanted to, like I needed to.
No one had ever taken care of me like this.
Pressure built in the pit of my stomach as Aiden kept up the same easy rhythm, teasing that he could do this all day. I wanted him to, one day. I wanted to spend long, lazy Sundays in bed with him, kissing and touching and getting each other off for no reason except that it was fun and we liked doing it, none of it feeling like a chore or an obligation or the reason I was being kept around.
Aiden was different, so different, and I could still hardly believe I’d found him.
He kissed his way down my neck as he eased his fingers away from mine, soothing and shushing while he pushed them under me, skimming them over the sensitive skin of my belly until the tips brushed against the hard line of my cock, leaking steadily into the pillow under my hips.
“This feels like it needs some attention,” he said, curling his fingers around it, sweeping sticky precome down the shaft and then up again, thumbing the head to gather more, slicking the way while I jerked my hips into his hand, gasping as his cock shifted inside me when I moved.
Aiden chuckled, nuzzling behind my ear. “You have no idea how hot you are, but you’ll learn,” he murmured, thrusts speeding up. “I’ll show you. I’ll show you every day of your life.”
A sob stuck in my throat as he sped up again, harder, shorter thrusts driving me higher and higher, the sound of skin on skin filling my ears, the confident strokes of his hand around my cock leaving me helpless to do anything but enjoy this.
“Close?” Aiden asked, and it was only one word, but he sounded proud of me for being right on the verge of coming.
“Yeah,” I gritted out, using up the last of my brainpower in the effort. I was so ready to come I could practically taste it, the feeling making the back of my throat tight.
Aiden shifted, nudging my thighs further apart with his knees, pushing me into the mattress by the shoulders, and—
Oh, fuck.
A low groan ripped out of the depths of my chest as he angled his cock so the piercing hit that magical sensitive spot dead on, sending a shockwave of pleasure rippling through me.
Once, twice, three more times and it was too much, a white-hot wave of pleasure searing its way up to the base of my skull and blinding me as Aiden tumbled me over the edge, thighs tensing, belly tight as I started to come, the first thick spurt spilling all over his hand and into the pillow.
Aiden didn’t so much as pause, timing each thrust so it sent another burst of pleasure rolling through me, each stroke setting off another wave of my orgasm until I was a limp mess, whimpering from overstimulation and still coming a little as Aiden shoved into me one last time, his fingers gripping my shoulder hard as he came with a cut-off gasp I’d never forget.
He held still for a long few moments, both of us panting to catch our breath.
Another whimper escaped me as he pulled out, piercing catching that spot again, a final drop of fluid soaking into the pillow below.
My head spun, brain threatening to shut off if I so much as moved right now, completely spent.
The mattress bounced as Aiden flopped onto it beside me, the sound of him catching his breath—and me catching mine—the only ones in the room for long moments.
He was not kidding about ruining me for everyone else.
Aiden grinned at me as I finally gathered the strength to turn my head and look at him, sweat-slicked hair still sticking to his face, glowing in the last few rays of afternoon sun creeping between the curtains.
“Told you I came my brains out,” he said.
I’d believed him then, but I really believed him now. I hadn’t known it was possible to come that hard, let alone ever done it before.
I went to say something, but all I could manage was a grunt.
Aiden reached out, petting my hair again. I was going to invest in some really good conditioner to keep him doing that. Something in a scent he really liked.
A ridiculous smile tugged at my lips as I closed my eyes, happy to let him pet me for as long as he wanted.
I wasn’t sure I’d ever been this happy. Despite everything.
I finally felt like I was the man I was meant to be. With Aiden.
My boyfriend.
“Penny for your thoughts?” Aiden asked, twirling a curl around his finger. “They look like they’re worth it.”
Forcing my eyes open, I felt my heart flutter all over again as I took him in, still looking at me like I was the most incredible thing he’d ever seen.
“Just thinking about how happy you make me,” I said.
Aiden broke into one of those special smiles that were just for me, the ones I was starting to recognize. He smiled constantly, one of the most cheerful people I knew, but this one, this smile was mine.
“You make me happy, too,” he responded. “Proud of you. Both in terms of what you’ve done and how brave you’ve been, and like… proud to call you my boyfriend. If you still want that?”
“Still want that,” I said, pushing my head into his hand subtly so he wouldn’t stop. “No take-backs.”
“No take-backs,” Aiden promised.
“And I think I’m serious about that tattoo,” I added. I even had half an idea what I wanted it to be.
“Take your time,” Aiden soothed, scratching my scalp lightly. “I’m not letting you go anytime soon. And I’m not quitting my job, either.”
“Don’t want you to,” I murmured, just about ready for sleep. “Just wanna look the part.”
30
Aiden
My mom’s smile as Carter came through the door was worth all the crap we’d been through alone.
I’d never brought anyone home for dinner before. Not a boyfriend, anyway. Mom had fed most of my friends over the years and Morgan was a semi-permanent fixture here on Sundays, except when he was doing something else. But tonight, it was Carter.
Next week it’d probably be Carter and Morgan, as long as Devin wasn’t bringing boyfriend-of-the-week.
Morgan would’ve been good for him if only he could pull his head out of his ass, but he’d made me swear never to say anything to Devin. So far, I’d managed to keep my big fat mouth shut.
“Look who’s come back after all these years,” Mom said, pulling Carter into a hug.
He didn’t need his mom. He had mine. Like always.
She was more than happy to welcome him back into the fold, like a long-lost son.
“Hey!” Kieran wandered into the hall, grabbing Carter right after Mom let go of him and clapping him on the back. “Missed having you around the table,” he said, then backed off a pace to look Carter dead in the eyes. “Don’t you hurt my little brother, okay?”
I snorted, but Carter nodded so sincerely it made my heart ache.
Yeah. He was a keeper.
“And you,” Kieran pointed at me. “Don’t you break my best friend’s heart
. He’s family, too.”
“You’re the heartbreaker in this family,” I teased.
Kieran’s serial monogamy had earned him a well-deserved reputation.
“Come over here and say that,” Kieran joked.
“Oh no, if you try anything, I’ll have to stand up for him,” Carter said. “That’s my job. Sorry, man.”
“Oof, split loyalties,” Kieran said, clapping Carter’s shoulder again, making him smile like they were seventeen and not worried about anything more complicated than this week’s biology pop quiz. “That is the correct answer, though.”
The door opened behind us, Devin slipping inside in a ridiculous pair of polarized sunglasses and an oversized beanie.
“Why are we all hovering in the hallway? Hi Carter,” he said, squeezing past without another word, sniffing the air as he walked into the kitchen and making a happy sound.
There was very little in life that Devin loved more than food.
“Aiden’s dating Carter,” Kieran explained as Devin wandered off, moving to follow him as we all started to shuffle inside, Carter shrugging his coat off and hanging it beside my jacket in the hall.
With the badge I’d given him still on it.
“Oh, wow,” Devin said, sitting down in his usual spot. “All that writing Mr. Aiden Kowalski in your notebooks really paid off, huh? You spoke what you wanted into the world.”
Carter turned to look at me, eyes wide, while Devin grinned like the little shit he was.
I scratched the back of my neck as Carter’s face softened, affection shining on it. “Really?” he asked.
“Really,” I admitted, biting my lip.
“I was not kidding when I said he had a crush on you. Never told you because I didn’t wanna make family dinners awkward.”
“I still have some of those notebooks,” Mom spoke up, taking a pot off the stove. “I’ll see if I can dig them up after dinner. For old times’ sake.”
I wanted to sink through the floor out of embarrassment, but the way Carter laughed, so soft and happy, made this worth it.
“Nice to know someone had a crush on me,” he said, reaching out to squeeze my arm. “Ignore them. I won’t look at the notebooks if you don’t want me to.”
“Aww,” Devin mocked.
“Hey,” I said, turning to him. “One day you’ll fall in love with someone who treats you like this.”
“And then I’ll understand and feel bad about making fun of you?” Devin asked, eyebrow raised.
I snorted. “No, I’ll make fun of you,” I said. “That’s what brothers are for.”
“I can solve this by never falling in love.” Devin shrugged.
But he wouldn’t. Devin was ready for someone to swoop in and sweep him off his feet, he just needed the right person to come along.
I was so glad I’d found mine.
“You can look at the notebooks if you want,” I murmured as we all settled at the table, Kieran helping mom bring things over. “I don’t mind. Might be funny.”
“I’d like to see,” Carter admitted. “I think you’re the only person who’s ever wanted me for me.”
“Doubt it,” I said. “And even if I am so far, it’s just because I’m the only person who’s seen the real you. You’re incredible. I’ll have to step up my boyfriend game if I wanna keep you.”
“You really don’t.”
“You’re not interested in foot massages and breakfast in bed?” I teased.
Carter licked his lips. “I didn’t say that,” he mumbled, cheeks glowing.
I loved him.
And sitting here, surrounded by my family—Carter included—I couldn’t remember being happier.
Whatever it took to keep this, I was up for the challenge. It was too good to let go.
“A little birdie told me you were planning on starting with your dad’s company,” Mom said.
I turned to stare wide-eyed at Carter. He hadn’t mentioned that.
He’d been making the trip back here two nights a week and staying over on weekends. I’d offered to travel down to the city for him, but he’d insisted that he was the one with the car, and he needed to get away from the place anyway.
But this was news.
“Oh.” Mom looked between us. “Oops.”
“The little birdie has to be my dad. He’s the only one who knows,” Carter said.
Mom blushed. “His partner is very charming,” she mumbled, helping herself to the potatoes while everyone else was distracted.
There was a better than even chance that she’d intentionally been trying to distract us so she could get to them first.
“Is that… a decided thing, or are you just… talking about it, or…”
“I’d planned to talk to you first. Since, uh. I’ll need a place to stay, at least for a little while,” Carter said, fiddling nervously with his napkin.
Adorable.
Mine.
“I’ll be right back,” I said, standing up from the table and heading into the hall to rifle through my jacket pockets. Which one was it in? I would’ve remembered if I was still wearing it.
I laughed as my fingers curled around what I was looking for, and headed back into the kitchen.
“I was planning on giving this to you later tonight,” I said, holding the tiny object tight in my fist. “But… since we’re talking about it now…”
I held the key I’d gotten cut—in teal, Carter’s favorite color—earlier in the week out to him.
The key to my apartment.
“Wanted you to be able to come and go whenever you wanted,” I said, hoping like hell he’d accept it. “Offer still stands. Whenever you want. My space is your space.”
Carter was still for another moment, gaze burning into the key in my hand. Then, slowly, he reached out and took it from me like it was a fragile antique and not a brass door key.
“This is too much,” Carter said. “I don’t know what to say.”
“I think thank you is traditional,” Devin said.
“Thank you,” Carter repeated automatically, looking up to meet my eyes. “Thank you,” he said again, sincerely this time, so much happening on his face that I couldn’t read all of it. “I am not about to burst into tears over dinner. I won’t.”
He wiped at his eyes, sniffed, and then tucked the key safely into the pocket of the very tight jeans I loved looking at him in. I was a great influence. Carter looked hotter than ever right now.
I kissed his cheek as I sat back down, and he took my hand under the table, squeezing my fingers and then threading them with his own.
“I have never seen you look like that,” Kieran said, awe in his voice, staring openly at Carter.
Carter’s already pink cheeks darkened a few shades.
“I love Aiden,” he said softly. “I like that he wants to keep hanging out with me.”
“Okay, this is actually kinda cute,” Devin said, helping himself to a serving of roast pumpkin. “Stop it, you’re making me want a boyfriend.”
I laughed. “Oh, your day will come.”
“Leave Aiden and Carter alone,” Mom said. “They’re very sweet together and they’re allowed to be. I haven’t seen either of them this happy before.”
“I haven’t been this happy before,” I said, squeezing Carter’s fingers under the table.
This was pretty much as good as it got.
Epilogue
Carter
Two years later…
“Took your dad long enough,” Aiden said, passing me a flute of champagne and sitting down next to me again, looking out at the reception crowd. “But he sure does know how to throw a party.”
“Think that might be why they eventually got around to it,” I said, sipping my drink, letting the bubbles burst on my tongue.
Aiden still looked incredible in a suit. I didn’t get to see it much, and that made occasions when it did happen all the more special.
Seeing it at my dad’s wedding—on the day he’d married the man he lo
ved, who made him so obviously happy it was infectious—was a real treat. I could hardly stop looking at him.
Not least of all because of the weight of the question sticking in the base of my throat.
“You looked great as his best man, too,” Aiden said. “I was so proud of you.”
“Even when I teared up in front of everyone?” I asked.
I was over the embarrassment of that. Mostly.
“Especially when you teared up in front of everyone. Men who aren’t afraid to be in touch with their feelings are hot,” Aiden said.
He still liked me. Against all odds, no matter how many times I thought he had to get sick of me eventually, Aiden was still here. I went to bed curled up beside him and woke up next to him morning after morning, and he told me he loved me every day of my life.
I was starting to think maybe he really was sticking around.
I wanted him to. That much, I knew for sure.
“Dance with me,” I said, knocking back the rest of my glass and standing, offering him my hand.
Aiden’s eyes lit up. He loved dancing with me.
I was as flattered by that now as I had been the first time.
He laughed as I led him out onto the floor, catching my dad’s eye as Trent spun him around under his arm and getting a wink for my trouble.
He and Aiden got along so well I was starting to feel like my place as only son was in danger. Not that I minded sharing my dad with Aiden. They needed each other like I needed Aiden’s mom.
“For the record, this is also hot,” Aiden said, looking up at the twinkling lights above the dancefloor. “What is it with your family and Christmas lights?”
I shrugged. “They’re pretty, I guess? I dunno. I like ‘em, too. Probably some shared memory we’ve all forgotten.”
“I like to think you have a happy memory or two,” Aiden said.
“I have lots.” I smiled at him. “Most of them with you, can’t lie.”
Aiden grinned. I’d never, ever get tired of that look on him. I liked to picture what he’d look like when he was older sometimes, imagine us twenty or thirty years from now. Me greying at the temples, Aiden’s laughter lines carved deep into his face instead of only visible when he was actually laughing.
Troublemaker (Goode Boys Book 1) Page 22