“So why is he behind bars and she’s no doubt driving to brunch with Candace?” Ben said as he started pacing again. Stalking back and forth across the room was all that was keeping him from vaulting over the information desk and going on a Rambo-like search for his man.
“Because he has a criminal record and she went to school with the chief of police, and the mayor,” Seth said glibly.
Ben frowned as he continued crossing back and forth across the waiting room. When the door behind the desk opened, Seth stood as Ben turned. The two brothers were across the room and staring in shock at the small man who stumbled toward them, a plastic bag in his hands.
Ben rushed toward the man and stopped with just inches separating them. “Puma? What the fuck happened?”
Puma looked up at him, one eye swollen closed, the other only able to open slightly due to a fresh bruise on that side of his face. “Later,” he said with a quick glance at the officer sitting at the desk, who never looked up from the magazine he was reading, but whose expression tightened with distaste.
Ben wrapped an arm around the man and helped him out of the building while Seth hung back to get whatever information he could out of the officer.
Once they were both in the car, Ben turned to look at the man. “What happened, wildcat?”
“Your mother and the woman she wants you to marry showed up at the front gate of the estate yesterday afternoon while I was tending the herb garden. We had words, and she slapped me hard and cut my cheek,” he said. He pointed to the side of his face where the well-established bruise surrounded his eye, high cheekbone, and all the way back to his hairline.
“In response, I slapped her back, then retreated back behind the fence. My face was bleeding from where her ring cut me, so I went back to the apartment to clean it up and decided it needed to a few stitches. Instead of going out the front drive, I went down to the beach and walked to the doc in a box at the shopping center. They were just finishing up when two police officers came in. The nurse called them about me being attacked. But instead of taking a statement, they arrested me.”
“Then what happened?” Ben said to encourage the man to finish the tale.
“Your mother was waiting in the jail when they brought me in. She told the officers that she wanted me to learn a lesson about leaving her son alone. They put me in a cell with a crazy guy who proceeded to beat the hell out of me. That’s how I got this.” Puma pointed to the other side of his face.
“Oh, baby, I’m so sorry. I should have come back instead of just leaving a message on your phone. She was at my house when I got back yesterday afternoon and is determined that I marry Candace on Saturday. When I refused and told her to get over it, she made an odd comment and then stormed out. Should we go back to the doc in a box?”
“No,” Puma said. “I just want to go home. I want to take a shower and get some sleep while I figure out how to explain to Sully that I can’t dance for at least the next few days. I just hope he doesn’t fire me. That would be your mother’s ultimate revenge.”
Though he wanted to argue, Ben drove the man home.
Puma moaned as he climbed out, then gasped when Ben swept him up in his arms. “You don’t have to do this,” he whispered.
“Hush, wildcat. I’d hate to drop you and add to the injuries you already have,” Ben said as he walked around to the entrance to Puma’s apartment.
* * * *
Puma took a shallow breath and relaxed into Ben’s hold. The last thing he wanted at that moment was to be dropped. He would allow Ben to carry him, but expected to be put on his feet very soon. He wasn’t as light as his slight build might seem.
Ben surprised him by carrying him around the building and up the stairs without looking like he was straining, or even breathing hard. Only when they reached the bathroom did the man set him on his feet just as a telephone rang out.
“Your pants are ringing,” Puma said with a smile.
The fact that the man’s ringtone was an old-fashioned landline ring amused him, though he wasn’t sure why. After all, Ben was not an old-fashioned kind of guy.
Ben pulled out his phone and swiped it on. “Hang on a second,” he said before holding it to his chest. “Do you need any help?”
Puma shook his head. “I’ve been bathing myself since I was four. I’ll be out in a few minutes.”
Ben nodded and walked out of the bathroom as he lifted the phone to his ear. He left the door to the bedroom opened, no doubt to hear if Puma fell or called out for him.
It took him a few painful moments to turn on the shower and then work his clothes off. After taking an over-the-counter painkiller, he finally climbed into the shower and stepped under the spray. Moving slow, he washed up before turning and standing under the water to allow it to massage his back and shoulders. Finally, with a deep breath, he turned off the water and climbed out. He grabbed a towel and dried off as he made his way into the bedroom. A glance in the mirror showed a few bruises on his body, but thankfully the pain was fading as the painkiller he’d taken kicked in.
Puma stepped into the room and stopped. The towel dropped to the floor from fingers gone numb at the sight of a naked Ben spread across his bed like a delectable feast of man flesh. His cock immediately began to swell as his need for Ben overshadowed the residual pain.
“Hello,” he said, taking a single step toward the bed.
“Hi.” Ben wrapped one hand around the erection that stretched up his belly and began to slowly stroke his hand up and down the length. “How are you feeling?”
“Better,” Puma said as he took another step, and then another.
“See anything you like?”
“Uh-huh,” Puma grunted as he opened the nightstand drawer and pulled out a condom and tube of slick. He then climbed onto the bed and crawled across the mattress to kneel beside Ben’s hips. “Don’t you have to go back to work?”
“No. We’ve only got a few minutes before Seth shows up. But I need you. I need to know you’re all right, and I’ve been told that sex is a great way to take one’s mind off of pain.”
Ben smiled as Puma tore open the condom packet. “Sounds like an interesting theory that we need to check out.”
“I’m all for investigative studies.” Ben grinned then sucked a breath as Puma slowly rolled the condom down his cock.
In the next instant, Puma spread lube over Ben’s latex-covered cock before spearing two lube-covered fingers into his own ass. He quickly stretched himself, the pain sliding away as his arousal grew.
“Ride me, wildcat,” Ben said as Puma swung a leg over his body and moved into place.
Puma pulled his fingers from his ass just a second before the tip of Ben’s cock found his hole. Taking a deep breath, he lowered himself down Ben’s pole, not stopping until he was sitting on the man’s pelvis. Taking another breath, he smiled down at Ben.
“Feels so good,” Ben moaned as his hands came up and wrapped around Puma’s hips.
“I love you, Ben,” Puma blurted out. “I never stopped loving you, even when you broke my heart after graduation.”
“I love you, too, wildcat,” Ben said as he guided Puma up and down his shaft. “I tried to deny it. Tried to convince myself it was over. Tried to make myself love someone else, but it’s you. It’s always been you.”
“Mmmm,” Puma moaned as he leaned forward and rested his hands on Ben’s chest. He began to move faster and harder. He moaned again when Ben wrapped a hand around his cock and stroked it at the same pace that he was riding Ben’s cock.
Just as tingles began racing through his body and gathering in his balls, Ben sat up while pulling Puma closer, until they were nose-to-nose and eye-to-eye. “Marry me, wildcat.”
Ben’s words were the trigger that set off the orgasm that powered through his balls and up his cock to cover Ben’s chest with his seed. Puma kept riding, smiling when Ben’s cock thickened seconds before he stiffened and roared as heat filled Puma’s ass. Only then did he slow his movements,
leaning in and dropping his head to Ben’s shoulder as he gasped for air.
Ben wrapped both arms around him and lay back, pulling him down with him while keeping his cock buried deep in Puma’s ass.
It was several minutes before Puma was finally able to lift his head, look deep into Ben’s eyes, and whisper, “Yes.”
Then he dropped his head back to Ben’s chest, closed his eyes, and melted fully onto the man’s body. The pain of his two beatings receded even further as he thought about spending the rest of his life with Ben.
“What about your mother?” he whispered several long moments later once his brain began working again.
“What about her?”
“She’s not going to like our getting married,” Puma said softly.
“So we won’t invite her to the wedding,” Ben said.
Before Puma could argue that philosophy, the buzzer for the front gate rang out, letting them know their interlude was over and it was time to face the rest of the world.
Chapter Eight
“Mr. Roberts, I’d like to apologize for any injuries you sustained while in police custody. I’m afraid Mrs. Chambers took liberties, and apparently gave false testimony to the officers who arrested you,” Chief Dodd said from behind his desk. “Rest assured, my department will be undergoing extensive additional training regarding the particulars of your case.”
It had been three days since Puma’s painful night in jail, and the chief had finally returned from a trip out of state. Ben watched from the corner while Puma and the chief of police hashed out whether or not Seth would move forward with a lawsuit against the department and the city for Puma’s treatment during the hours he had been in custody. Seth sat next to Puma, the paperwork already prepared to sue the department and the city for several million dollars. Looked like it might not be needed.
Puma took a breath and glanced at Ben. “I really just want to forget that night ever happened. I want to marry Ben and live my life. I don’t want to have to worry about the police, or anyone else coming after me because Ben’s mother doesn’t think I’m good enough for her son.”
Chief Dodd nodded in understanding. “Don’t worry, Mr. Roberts. I’ll be speaking with Mrs. Chambers personally about her actions. I’ve also contacted your probation officer and explained the situation to him. As far as he is concerned, nothing happened to warrant any changes in the conditions of your probation.”
“Thank you,” Puma said. “Well, I guess if you can keep Ben’s mother away from me, and away from our wedding next month, I’ll let things go.”
“Are you sure?” Seth asked, sounding disappointed.
At Puma’s nod, the attorney shook his head. “And here I was hoping to sue the pants off these guys.”
“Down, boy,” Puma said with a smirk. “Maybe you can sue your mother for damages and mental stress.”
Seth shook his head. “Can’t. Conflict of interest. Can’t sue my own mother, even if it is for a client.”
Puma shrugged. “Then I guess we’ll just have to ignore her, and if she comes after me again you can file for a restraining order against her.”
“You got it, buddy.”
With the conflict resolved, the mood in the room lightened tremendously. In the next minutes, the men stood and shook hands. “Now, if you’ll excuse me,” Puma said, “I have to get to class.”
“College?” the chief asked as he escorted him toward the front door.
“No, stripper pole. I’m hoping that by the time all these are healed”—he waved his hand around in front of his face to indicate the bruises that were slowly healing—“I’ll be ready to be a featured pole dancer at Sex Gods.”
Chief Dodd’s eyes went wide, and then he blinked and started to smile. “Let me know when your first show is. My wife and I would love to come and watch.”
That had Seth and Ben staring at the man in shock.
Puma’s smile grew and he shook the chief’s hand. “I’ll be sure to let you know.”
With that he walked out of the building with Seth and Ben following, still looking shocked. In the parking lot, Puma laughed at them. “I’m actually surprised there isn’t a bigger female attendance at the club. Women love gay men. The chief will probably get really lucky after bringing his wife to the show.”
When Ben’s phone rang, he pulled it out of his pocket, looked at the screen, and pulled a face. Swiping one finger across the screen, he hit speaker. “Hello, Mother. What can I do for you today?”
“You can come by the house and get your tuxedo,” his mother answered sharply. “I went by the cleaners and picked it up for you.”
“Why would I need my tuxedo? I’m not getting married until next month, and our wedding will not be a black-tie affair,” he said flatly.
Before his mother could respond, he swiped his finger over the screen again and hung up on her. Looking at his brother, he waited.
Seth’s phone went off at that moment. The man checked the screen and then silenced it before putting it back in his pocket. “No sharing any information on the wedding. I’ll send her pictures for her photo albums after you guys leave for your honeymoon.”
Ben grinned. “Thanks. For everything.”
Ben escorted Puma to his car, and they headed to the club where Puma’s stripper pole waited. Ben had brought his laptop and enough work to keep him busy while his man had his first official pole dancing lesson and then practiced. Just before the club opened, they would go back to Puma’s apartment and spend the rest of the evening looking for a house for the two of them to start their future in.
* * * *
“What are we doing here?” Puma asked as the limo pulled into the Sex Gods parking lot. “I thought we were going to that new stripper bar in Jacksonville.”
They were having his bachelor party, and his co-workers had gone all out. They were all dressed in suits with no shirts under their sequin-covered vests and bow ties around their necks. Puma had been shocked when they picked him up at the estate in a stretch limo, but with the amount of alcohol flowing it made sense that someone else do the driving.
At least he wasn’t getting married for two days, so he would have time to recover from all the drinks he’d consumed during dinner and the first club they’d stopped at.
Puma frowned when the limo stopped right in front of the porch. There he could read the sign “Closed for the Evening” that was taped to the front door. He frowned when Sully opened the door and his friends began to pile out of the car like excited puppies. He sat where he was, not sure what was going on, and not sure he wanted to be involved in breaking and entering the club.
He was still sitting there, more than a little drunk and slightly befuddled, when Sully leaned back into the open car door. “Come on, Puma. You’re going to want to see this,” he said with a grin.
It was a grin Puma had seen before. That grin meant Sully was about to get his dancers swept up in a brilliant new idea, most of which got the married men in trouble with their more grounded and much larger husbands.
Puma was not sure he wanted to be in trouble with Ben, at least not until at least a couple of years after their wedding. After all, the man had walked away from him once before. He didn’t want to chance it a second time.
“What’s going on, Sully?” he asked, not sure going into the club was such a good idea. Maybe he’d just curl up here and take a nap while he waited for the others.
Yeah, a nap sounded like a pretty good idea.
“This is the next stage of your bachelor party,” Sully said, his grin growing even broader. “Now come on. They can’t start until you come inside.”
Still not sure if this was such a good idea, Puma exited the limo and took Sully’s hand. The stage manager pulled him along, past the “Closed” sign and into the building. They stopped just long enough for Sully to lock the door behind them. Then he continued pulling Puma through the lobby and into the club.
Their fellow partiers had already set up a long table close to the
stage. Sully and Puma joined them, taking seats in the center of the table. There were all sorts of naughty goodies spread across the table—penis-shaped lollipops, chocolates, and keyrings—as well as buckets of ice filled with bottles of beer. A table behind them was piled high with gift-wrapped boxes.
When Sully opened a beer and handed it to him, Puma accepted it, but did not drink until Toby offered a toast. “To the groom and groom—may they be as happy in their marriage as the rest of us are in ours.”
“Here, here,” the other men agreed as they clinked the necks of their beer bottles.
Puma clinked bottles with the men around him and took a sip just as the lights in the room went down, and the lights focused on the stage grew brighter.
A moment later, a song started and Puma began to smile. It was the song he and Ben had chosen to dance their first dance to. Taking a deep breath, he couldn’t help but grin when Ben stepped into the opening between the slightly parted curtains. He was dressed like Puma, except his glittery vest was gold and Puma’s was bright red.
The man walked to the center of the stage, then began to dance. It took Puma a moment to tear his gaze from his husband-to-be and notice that there were four other men on stage. The husbands of his closest friends were all up there trying to dance as their audience began to hoot and holler, laugh and clap.
Puma’s gaze returned to Ben, and his grin was so big that his cheek muscles hurt as the man shrugged out of his jacket and tossed it behind him. He then danced in a small circle, wiggling his ass as he did, which had Puma’s cock standing up fast and hard.
Leaning closer to Sully, he asked without looking at the man, “This was Ben’s idea, wasn’t it?”
“Yep. He talked the others into it by promising to prepare their taxes for them,” Sully said. “Oh, and he’s agreed to take over the club’s accounting, and he and Dylan are talking about expanding Ben’s business to include another CPA and investment manager.”
“Uh-huh,” Puma said as Ben’s tie went flying, followed quickly by the tearaway shirt.
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