Laurence guidedAlex through the front hall, past the kitchen that Alex remembered so well, and up the staircase to the second floor. There was music playing from behind one of the closed doors—Matthew’s room, most likely. Alex assumed that Laurence had sent him a text to let him know that they were coming home, and Matthew had prepared himself by making as much noise aspossible.
It was a wise move, considering what Matthew had walked in on before, but unnecessary. Tonight, for what felt like the first time since Alex had been on his own, he wasn’t interested in making too much noise, or getting messy, or putting on a show. All he wanted wascomfort.
Comfort andLaurence.
Laurence opened one of the hallway doors and led Alex inside. The bedroom was surprisingly large—it comfortably fit a king-sized bed with plenty of room to spare. There was a luxurious dresser whose back panel rose to accommodate a rounded-top mirror, and an armchair by a glass door that led out to a balcony. The curtains were open, allowing moonlight to spill into the room. It lit their surroundings in gorgeous shades of dreamyblue.
Alex had been in luxurious bedrooms before—rooms even richer than this—whose extravagance had been diluted by the pompous men who slept in them. There were some he’d painted for weekends at a time, savoring their high thread count sheets and deriving pleasure from the experience of their bodies… but no room he’d been in had ever felt likethis.
Peaceful. Reassuring.Comforting.
He’d comehome.
Laurence approached him from behind and slipped his arms around Alex’s waist. He kissed the back of his head, then, quietly, lifted Alex’s shirt over his still-flat stomach, beyond his chest, and over his head. Alex lifted his arms without a word, eyes closed, heart racing. When he’d left his ex, he’d sworn that he’d never open his heart again… and he hadn’t. Laurence, through virtue of being himself, and nothing more, had politely asked Alex’s heart to let him in, and Alex’s heart had said “yes.”
There was no coming back from something like that—no salvation for a heart that had found love. It changed men, made them both strong and weak, and threw lives into disarray at the most inopportune times. Alex understood it now. He wouldn’t fight it anymore. He would accept the yellow with the purple, the green with the blue. Love wasn’t easy, but he cherished what he’dfound.
There was too much to lose for him to let a chance like this slip by thewayside.
Laurence tossed his shirt aside. His hands met Alex’s bare skin, tracing from his hips down across his stomach. Alex expected him to go for his fly, but instead, Laurence’s handstilled.
“You never have to feel sorry about this,” Laurence whispered against the back of Alex’s ear. Alex’s eyelids fluttered shut, and he leaned back against Laurence as Laurence stroked the spot where their baby would grow. “It’s sudden, and it’s scary, but it’s beautiful. You took what I gave you and made life with it. Do you know how incredible thatis?”
There was no need to reply. Alex focused on his breathing, following the slow expansion and release of his lungs. His chest moved, not exactly heaving, but labored in small, excitedways.
“I know that the odds are stacked against us, but I promise, I’m not going to let numbers get in the way. I’m going to take care of you… of both of you.” Laurence stroked his skin as he spoke, lavishing Alex in attention Alex still wasn’t sure he deserved. But it wasn’t the touch of his hand that hardened Alex’s cock and sent his pulse racing—it was what Laurence said. Pretty, genuine words he’d never thought he’d hear. “All you have to do is trust me. Do you think you can dothat?”
“Yes.”
Alex didn’t remember parting his lips, and he couldn’t recall feeling the word lift from his tongue, but his ears heard his response, and his heart approved it. He tilted his head back until his neck was bared, every bit as vulnerable as he was excited. Laurence, who was kind and considerate, lent color to his life like fireworks reflected in an oil puddle—brilliant, vibrant, and unrepeatable. Alex couldn’t escape them. Laurence colored hisworld.
He wanted this. He’d never wanted anythingmore.
“Good boy.” Laurence’s lips brushed against the ridge of his ear. “You don’t have to worry anymore. I’ll look afteryou.”
Wasn’t it what Alex had always wanted, but never allowed himself to have? Reeling from what his ex had put him through, he’d bounced from man to man, indulging in experience and ripping out hearts as he went, but it had never brought him lasting satisfaction. Days, hours, sometimes minutes after, the same hollow, frightened feeling returned, and he collapsed on himself all overagain.
Now the emptiness was gone, and if it ever returned, Alex knew he didn’t have to worry. Laurence would hold himup.
Alex’s lips parted as Laurence’s fingers dipped down to undo his fly. He let Laurence guide his pants down his hips, then stepped out of the legs one by one while Laurence cupped him through his panties. White lace. He’d chosen them specifically, wanting to be pretty for Laurence just as much as he wanted to be pretty forhimself.
“Daddy,” Alex uttered. He pushed into Laurence’s hand, gently grinding himself on the palm that cupped him. “I love that you’re so good tome.”
“And I love that you’re so good to me, baby,” Laurence whispered in reply. He squeezed gently, causing Alex to suck in a breath as his whole body tightened in response. “You take care of me in ways you could neverimagine.”
Alex thought he knew. He’d seen Laurence’s defenses come down, and he’d witnessed fire burn in his eyes where there’d once only been caution. The logical man he’d met had cast his inhibitions aside, if only for a moment, because of Alex’s influence. In return, Laurence had brought Alex’s deadened heart back to life. They rose from each other’s ashes, sparrows on their own, but phoenixes when brought together. No matter what struggles the future would bring, they would riseabove.
Laurence’s hand rose, and his fingers slipped behind Alex’s lace. He pressed a kiss to the side of Alex’s head, barred his free arm across Alex’s chest to hold him in place, then started tostroke.
Purple and blinding white flashed across Alex’s vision. He pushed into Laurence’s hand, eager for more. The warmth of adoration built in his chest and flooded his heart, and for a moment, Alex was concerned he wouldn’t be able to contain it all. How could Laurence make him feel like this? It was real in stunning ways Alex hadn’t been prepared toaccept.
And now, it was allhis.
Pleasure fractured the purple in his vision, blinding whites shattering his field of vision. Rolling excitement rushed through Alex’s groin, and he worked himself into Laurence’s hand as Laurence steadily brought him closer to orgasm. They’d only just begun, but Alex knew he wouldn’t be able to hold out for much longer. He’d built up endurance against taking pleasure for himself, but when it was given to him like this? He washelpless.
“Daddy,” Alex gasped. He strained his hips, legs trembling, pushing into Laurence’s tight hand. “Daddy, I’m gonnacome…”
“Not yet, baby,” Laurence whispered. His arm tightened across Alex’s chest. “Not yet… you’re not ready yet. You know it as well as Ido.”
