by Trina Lane
“What funeral? The woman abandoned him—he can do the same,” Brandon said.
“While that may be true, she was still his mother,” Mal added.
“Okay, I feel like I have three Jiminy Crickets sitting beside me right now.”
“I have always wanted to wear a top hat and tails,” Brandon said.
“I’ll keep that in mind for the wedding,” Tyler said with a smile.
Brandon choked on a sip of his drink and started coughing. “Excuse me?”
Javier couldn’t help but smile at the mixture of pure terror and longing in Brandon’s gaze.
“You know, Zach’s wedding. The one we’re groomsmen for.”
“Oh…right. Zach’s wedding. Although I don’t really think your brother’s looking to our input for the wedding attire. In fact, I question whether Zach has much input on his own code of dress. If I hear him say ‘as you wish’ one more time to that gorgeous creature who is way too good for him, I will escalate from rolling my eyes behind his back to outright mocking him.”
Tyler chuckled. “That’s a bit of an exaggeration.”
Brandon stared Tyler down. “Really?”
Tyler tilted his head and stared off into the middle distance. “Well, you might be right. But he loves her, so he just wants her to be happy.”
“I know, and they’re perfect together. But it’s still my right as his pseudo brother-in-law to make fun of him.”
“What if we made it not so pseudo?”
Javier’s buzz vanished in an instant and Malaki gripped his leg underneath the table. Was Tyler proposing? Right here? He’d always figured the man would make a big production out of the occasion whenever the time came, but then again Brandon wasn’t exactly one for flash mobs and giant balloon drops.
“Are you fucking with me?” Brandon asked.
“No. Will you marry me?”
Javier found himself holding his breath. Brandon loved Tyler with his whole heart, but Brandon did have a stubborn streak and might fight the notion of marriage not because of their relationship, but simply due to the institution.
“What are the terms?”
“You and me forever. What I have is yours and likewise. I will never prevent you from being your own man, but I’m hoping we’ll find a way to grow together. If you’d like a bit more pomp and circumstance, I can get all the servers over here to sing a song and bring a piece of cake with a sparkler candle.”
“I don’t think that will be necessary,” Brandon said as he dug into his pocket. “but we might need one of these.” He held up a wedding band that glistened in the lighting.
Tyler reached into his jeans pocket. “Or two of them.”
“Seriously, you two?” Javier exclaimed. “You’ve just been carrying those around in your pants? What if you tried to find some change and they fell out? Or you tossed your clothes in the washer, but forgot they were in there?”
“Um, Javi?” Malaki whispered.
He looked over at his partner. “What? You know what I’m getting at. I figured they were going to get around to this eventually, but either they are the worst communicators in the world or share the same brain. Since Tyler asked first, does that mean that Brandon’s proposal is void? Or would they cancel each other out and be right back where we all started when we sat down?”
Brandon and Tyler both started snickering, which turned into outright laughs.
He glared across the table. “What is so funny, you freaking hyenas? This is a big deal even if you want to pretend it’s not.”
“Should we put him out of his misery?” Brandon asked
Tyler slid the smoke-colored ring he held onto Brandon’s finger and Brandon eased the black metal one onto his.
Javier blinked several times. “What is happening?”
“Tyler asked me last weekend. We were coming to share the news with you and our folks.”
“That was why we were already on our way to the city when Malaki called that you needed some cheering up.”
Javier sniffed and tried to hide the fact that his eyes were tearing up for the first time since seeing his mother’s body. “You assholes. I love you.” He raised his beer. “Just because our past didn’t turn out like we wanted doesn’t mean our future can’t be better than we ever imagined. To Brandon and Tyler.”
“To Javier and Malaki,” Brandon added.
Malaki gripped Javier’s hand and held it against his chest. “May we always have happiness to uplift us, trials to keep us strong, success to keep us eager, faith in each other and determination to face another day.”
“Now that I’ll drink to.” Tyler wrapped his arm around his fiancé and planted a kiss on Brandon’s temple.
* * * *
Malaki rolled over in bed and flung his arm over Javi’s waist. His lover’s soft snuffles made him smile. The man hated to admit it, but after getting his drink on there was always snoring. However, Malaki completely understood the need for some alcoholic numbness after the day Javier had had. After they’d left the restaurant, he’d brought Javi home and, while his lover was dead to the world, Malaki was finding the Land of Nod elusive.
Listening to Javier recount his and Cecelia’s talk, then learning about the new level of coldness with which Javier’s mother had abandoned him gotten Mal thinking a lot about family—the family that one was born into and the family one made. He’d been so fortunate that his parents and sister were still an important part of his life. But he could do more to strengthen their bonds. It wasn’t that he avoided the town he’d grown up in, but admittedly he had been rather selfish in not taking the time to go home at least occasionally.
“Hey, Javi?” he whispered.
There was no response. He tapped the sprawled body lying next to him “Javi?” he tried again.
Nothing. Malaki leaned back and gave Javier a good shove. Javier snorted and shuffled over onto his side away from Malaki. He recoiled and tried to act like nothing happened. “Hey, Javi?”
“Bwah?”
“I think we should go to my parents’ for Christmas.”
“Mmkay.”
“Really? You’ll come with me to Everett?”
“I’ll go with you to Mars if you let me get back to sleep.”
He slid his hand around Javi’s hip and cupped his soft cock. “I could let you sleep…or…I could suck your cock.”
Javier stiffened for the briefest of seconds and Mal thought he was about to get the ‘I have a headache’ excuse for the first time in their relationship. It was completely reasonable, but an ache settled in his chest all the same. Then Javi arched into his grip.
He loved the feel of Javier’s cock in his hand, even in its most relaxed state. The weight of his slowly awakening flesh in his palm stirred his blood in a different way than when they came together in a rush. His body responded in kind as he brought Javier to full mast. He used his other hand to stroke Javier’s stomach. The muscles beneath his fingers twitched. He skimmed his fingers over the scarred ridges, but when Mal pressed down, the flesh settled and Javier let out a soft breath.
“What do you want? I’ll give you anything your heart desires,” Malaki whispered.
“I want our lives, yours and mine, to mean something more than just a notation in history that we survived.”
He turned Javier over so he was lying on his back and Malaki could see his face. “Oh, babe. That’s already true. You want to know why?”
Javier nodded and rolled a little closer to Malaki.
“Because when two people share the kind of love that we do, they become more than a footnote in the tomes of history. They change it. We change it.”
He kissed Javier. Kissed him in a way that was more than physical. More than two people expressing their love for each other. His kiss was a soul promise. The promise to both his lover and the universe that this mark in the fabric of time was more than a mere thread—it was the binding that wove two souls together. He and Javier might not be world leaders. They might not perform gr
eat deeds of heroism, but as a unit, the two of them still had the power to change lives for the better, thereby creating a ripple effect expanding to many, far and wide.
He rolled them so that Javier was on top, savoring the feel of his man above him, the heavy weight of muscle and bone pressing him into the mattress. He loved it when Javier used his strong fingers to knead his flesh in a way that sparked thousands of tiny fireworks beneath his skin.
“Methinks it’s actually you who wants to get fucked.” Javier took Malaki’s nipple between his teeth.
Mal gasped and arched against Javier’s mouth. “Yes…please fuck me, Javi.”
Javier sat up, licking his lips. Even in the dark, his eyes looked dazed.
“Get the lube.”
Mal yanked open the drawer and shoved his hand inside, blindly fumbling for the bottle he’d bought just the other day.
Javier maneuvered his way down and took Mal’s cock in his mouth. The feel of warm, wet suction consumed all Mal’s thought process.
“I love the feel of you in my mouth. Love these sparse indigo strands at the base of your cock and the scent of your flesh here on your inner thighs and sac.”
Mal’s balls tightened and he clenched his hands, one in the bedcovers and the other successfully around the treasure he sought in the drawer.
He held up the bottle. “I’m going to come if you keep that up.”
Javier snatched the bottle from Mal’s hand, clicked the cap open and poured a generous amount into his palm. “Well, that is the plan, but I think my cock might be disappointed if it doesn’t get to be part of the game.”
Hooking his hands behind his knees, Malaki pulled his legs up and apart, exposing himself completely. “I want you bare.”
Javier stilled, his eyes wide and his breath quickening. “Are you sure?”
“Never more.” They’d both gotten tested some months ago, but had agreed to wait for this step until absolutely sure it was more than their hormones making the decision. Everything they’d experienced today indicated to Malaki that it was time.
Javier bent over and rested his forehead on Malaki’s stomach. The warmth of his breath was directly opposite to the cool, slippery fingers rimming his hole. Javier pushed his fingers inside him and all higher functioning abandoned Malaki’s brain. “Fucking hell, Javi.” He tried to breathe and concentrate on holding his legs as high up and as far apart as he could. It was only two fingers so far, but felt like so much more. He started to close his eyes, but a quick nip from Javier’s teeth had them flying open.
“I want you to watch me. Watch how the two of us come together. I love how tight and soft you are.”
The way Javier was kneading his sweet spot and working himself into Mal’s ass was slowly driving him mad. He licked his dry lips and tried to speak, but the words came out more like a frog’s croak. “I need more.”
Javier’s effort to hold back was evident from the sweat beading on his forehead. Why was he torturing them both? Javi knew he loved a good, strong fuck. He gloried in the moments when his boyfriend let those toppy muscles flex, just as much as he savored the times when Javier would seek out Mal’s quiet support after a hard day.
Javier leaned down and flicked his tongue across the tip of Mal’s cock. “I can give you more. I’ll give you everything.” The words could have been said in jest, but they carried a far greater weight. He was having trouble remembering how to talk and it wasn’t just because Javier was lighting up his flesh with his magical touch. The dark intensity of Javier’s gaze shining up at him had him hypnotized.
Javier twisted his fingers and moved them apart inside him. “Oh, fuck yes.” He couldn’t hold Javier’s gaze any longer. Malaki stared up at the ceiling of his bedroom. Tiny gasps and groans were all he got out as he tried to articulate the sensations spreading throughout his body.
“That’s it, Mal. God, I love the way you come apart for me.”
Javier had reached deep, twisting and scissoring his fingers as he pumped Malaki’s ass in a slow, steady motion. His prostate sang with each touch of Javi’s long fingers. Mal’s heart pounded and his toes curled. He needed Javier inside him and he needed it now. “Please.”
“Just the thought of sliding into you, skin to skin, has me on the verge of coming.”
Javier swooped over him and claimed Malaki’s mouth in a punishing kiss. He instantly missed his lover’s fingers, and a pathetic whimper may have escaped. Javier sat, picking up the lube. There was a slight tremor in his fingers as he slicked up his rigid cock. He licked his lips as a drop of precum slid down over Javi’s fingers. Javier poised himself at Mal’s entrance.
“Put your legs on my shoulders.”
Javier dropped his gaze, focusing between Malaki’s legs with such intensity it was like another touch. Javier rocked his hips, and the feel of his naked cock pushing inside him had Malaki holding his breath. While the motions might have been the same as countless other times they’d made love, Malaki couldn’t help but feel there was a whole new element to their joining. With an aching slowness, Javier entered him. Mal clenched down instinctively as he realized that nothing separated their bodies.
“Oh, Dios mío.” Javier’s breath hitched. “So hot, so slick. I really didn’t think it would be that different, but holy fuck, you have got to try this. I’ve gotta move.”
Yes, fuck yes, move, move-move-move!
He couldn’t seem to get the words out, so Malaki tried to speak with his body. He wrapped his legs around Javier’s waist and lifted his hips. The movement forced Javier’s cock deeper inside him. Their groans mingled in the darkened room. Malaki’s blood raced, but a peacefulness infiltrated his muscles. Their limbs were tangled and, beneath Malaki’s palms, Javier’s back rippled as he traced the lines of muscles. Javier shifted his weight and the space between their upper bodies became nearly non-existent.
He sought out the tender spot on Javier’s jaw, kissing the pulsing vein. Javier’s arms partially collapsed and his belly rubbed against Malaki’s dripping cock, sending sparks of fire through him. Javier liked to give Mal trouble for living such a clean lifestyle, but his lover didn’t realize that Mal didn’t have any room for any other vices. Javier was the one addiction he couldn’t live without, and he had no intention of seeking treatment.
He slid his hands up Javier’s slick chest. Javier pulled partway out of Malaki’s ass, then shoved back in. The head of his cock hit Mal’s gland both ways, causing him to gasp. “Javi…”
“I’ve got you, mi vida.”
Mal might have been the larger of the two of them, but, in moments like these, it was as if Javier became superhuman. He adjusted his hands and lifted Mal’s hips. Within a few heartbeats, Javier had him moaning and clutching at the blankets.
“I feel you, corazón. Your heat wrapped around me. Every ripple massaging my cock.”
Time slowed and instead of seconds or minutes, Mal marked the progression of each moment by the deep moans that sounded out and the contractions of his muscles. Each drive of Javier’s hips hurled him deeper into the gravitational vortex of ecstasy.
“Mal?”
“I…fuck, Javi…so damned close.”
Javier dropped onto his elbows, their muscles straining as their bodies slid against each other. He clamped around Javier, and with the tiniest change of angle Javier sent Mal hurling towards oblivion.
“I can feel you. Holy shit, I can feel everything.”
His entire existence narrowed down to Javier and the sight of him coming undone, the scent of their desire, and the arousal spiraling tighter and tighter within him. Their bodies moved in a beat only they heard, but the maelstrom of pleasure threatened to consume him. He sought out the sanctuary of his lover, begging the man to lead him to safety. Javier, as always, read him with the authority of a virtuoso. He hitched Mal’s legs up, setting a pounding pace. Mal couldn’t hold off any longer.
He reached between them, stroking his own shaft. Each drag of his hand up and down his cock had
him arching his back and moaning as he pleaded with the universe for that one last sensation that would send him falling into the abyss of pleasure.
Javier shifted his weight, and he shoved Mal’s hand aside. Javi stroked Mal’s cock hard and fast, twisting around the head just the way he liked. He dug into Javier’s sweat-soaked skin, while planting his other hand on the headboard behind him just in time to keep Javi’s powerful thrusts from knocking his head against the metal frame. He stared up into Javier’s eyes.
“Come around me.”
Javier nailed Mal’s gland and his thumb tapped his slit. Mal couldn’t stop the shout as his cock shot a splash of hot liquid on his stomach. His hole convulsed, his insides constricting around Javi’s shaft. Javier’s cry of completion mixed with his own. Javier’s cock swelled and a rhythmic pulse signaled that his lover was unleashing a torrent of cum.
Javier froze for a long moment, eyes closed and breathing rapid, before he collapsed on top of Mal. Malaki wrapped his arms around the man who held his heart in his hands. He pulled Javi close, stroking his back. Mal’s body still strummed with the echoes of pleasure that he’d do everything in his power to experience for the rest of his life.
“So, think you can fall asleep now?” Javier asked.
Mal chuckled. “That obvious, was I?”
Javier scooched up till he nestled his head in the crook of Mal’s neck. “Yes, I could hear you thinking even in my sleep.” He propped his head on his hands. “Did you mean it?”
He loved it when Javi camped out on him like his personal mattress. His lover wasn’t a slight man by any means, but Mal couldn’t think of anything better than the warm weight of Javier’s body against him.
“Mean what?”
“Taking me home to meet your family?”
“One hundred percent. I think it’s time, don’t you? If they hadn’t spoken to you on the phone and FaceTime, they’d probably think you were a figment of my imagination.”
“I’m nervous. I mean I’m excited too, but I think meeting them makes them more real.”
“And let me guess, you’re afraid of losing another family if you really let them in?”