It was something Gage would never take for granted again.
Tears fell more plentifully than before. They soaked the pillowcase behind Gage’s head and left his skin damp. His sinuses emptied, and he sniffled. Through it all, Aaron was there to hold him and whisper soft, sweet things in his ear that Gage felt he didn’t deserve.
“You are worthy,” Aaron whispered. “You’ve tried so hard for so long, it’s okay to cry. It’s okay to let all of it go. We are reflections of our past, but our current selves are the basis for our future. You don’t have to let who you were define you. Neither of us do. I want to keep growing you with forever, Gage. I never want us to lose sight of everything that could be.”
Unwilling to remain on his back, disengaged from Aaron, Gage rolled onto his side and tucked his head against Aaron’s chest, wrapping his arms around him to hold himself close.
“I forgive you, too,” Gage whispered, hoping that Aaron could hear it. “I forgive you for leaving. I forgive you for being away. I forgive you for being angry about Knot. It’s over now. All of it is over now. We’re going to be okay.”
“And we’re going to make sure that Bo is going to be okay, too.” Aaron stroked his back, following the curve of Gage’s spine. His touch was a comfort made even more soothing by the words he spoke. “I’m back now. I’m going to take care of you. I promise. I love you more than you could ever know, just like I love Bo, and just like I will any other children you bless me with. And all of this? Everything we’ve been through since I came back to America? It proves to me that what I thought all along was true.”
“What was it that you thought?” Gage asked in a small voice.
Aaron pulled away from him then, leaving Gage confused. The bed dipped as Aaron shifted his weight and leaned over the side of the bed. It appeared he was reaching for something—what, Gage couldn’t tell. When he pulled himself back onto the bed, there was something clutched in his hand. Gage looked from his curled fingers to Aaron’s face, seeking answers.
Aaron didn’t speak. He simply opened his hand.
Gage understood.
There, on Aaron’s palm, was a ring. It was of simple design and made of a polished black metal that drew the eye. A pattern had been carved neatly down the center of the band, not garish or overstated, but not subtle enough that it was unremarkable.
“I got it in Germany, before I left,” Aaron told him, “because I was sure that how I felt about you when I left for Munich, and how I continued to feel about you while I was away, wouldn’t change when I came home. And I was right.Ilove you,Gage. I’ve worked hard for us, and I know you’ve done the same. I want to keep making mistakes with you. I want to be there to watch you and our family grow. Will you marry me and let that happen? I want to make you happy for the rest of our lives.”
In the house that had once been his playground, where cardinals came to nest every year, and where he had first met the man he would love forever, Gage said yes.
Outside the bedroom window, birds sang to greet the rising sun. Aaron slipped the ring on Gage’s finger. The kiss they shared in the moment that followed was sweet, but charged with meaning. Gage understood what it meant, and he let that understanding seep into his soul.
Aaron had pledged his life to him, and to their family. They would never be divided again.
32
Gage
With adoration Gage never wanted to forget, Aaron laced their fingers together and pinned his arms above his head. Gage’s wrists sank into the pillows, treated to the softness of their down. Then, with slowly building intensity, Aaron kissed him until he was bothered and breathless. Sweat had already started to bead on his brow and beneath the line of his jaw nearest his neck.
Want,a voice in his head uttered.Want. Want. Want.
The kiss broke. Aaron nudged his nose against Gage’s cheek, kissing the soft skin of his earlobe. “Mine,” Aaron whispered. He didn’t need to speak any louder than that—Gage heard him with startling clarity. “Mine.”
With a push of Aaron’s hips, their bodies rocked together. Aaron’s cock, already hard, slid against Gage’s. Arousal stirred within him, woken by the kiss they’d shared, but invigorated by the way Aaron touched him. All he could spare the feeling was a tiny moan—he didn’t want to be caught. Both Aaron’s parents and his own were in the house, and Bo was sleeping just across the hall. They couldn’t afford to be loud.
Aaron pushed against him, and the bed frame groaned in protest. Hazy with need, Gage turned his head to the side and drew a few, steadying breaths before he spoke. “You have to be gentle. The bed is creaking, and everyone is home to hear it…”
“Let them hear,” Aaron whispered in return. He thrust down again, this time taking one of his hands from Gage’s wrists so he could snake it between their bodies. His fingers closed around their shafts, holding them together. The heat built. Gage wanted to tear off the shirt he was wearing to find relief from it, but with Aaron on top of him, it was impossible. “We’ve already made one baby—it shouldn’t be a surprise to them that we’re trying to make another.”
The words shot to Gage’s cock, and he had to hold back a moan that would have given them away in an instant. He squirmed beneath Aaron, craving more of his touch, but knowing that it would be impossible. They hadn’t come prepared, and Gage wasn’t in heat yet, so he’d have no slick to help Aaron glide into him. All he could do was enjoy the way Aaron’s cock felt when it rubbed against his, and marvel at how incredible the tightness of his hand was.
For a short while, they shared the bliss of Aaron’s palm. Gage arched his hips and squirmed beneath him, letting small sounds of pleasure die in the back of his throat. It was only when Gage started to buck into Aaron’s hand, bolder with his body now that orgasm approached, that Aaron let him go. He sat back on his haunches and looked down at Gage, struggling to catch his breath.
“Aaron?” Gage asked in a curious whisper. He tried to prop himself up on his elbows, hoping he could entice Aaron back to him, but it seemed like Aaron had other plans. He moved down the mattress until he could support Gage’s thighs in his arms, then lifted him up, forcing Gage’s torso to fall back against the bed. With his ass in the air and his legs spread, hole exposed, a chill ran through Gage—a chill that didn’t make sense when the room was so warm and his body burned like a furnace.
Aaron seemed to notice it, too. His eyes widened just slightly before arousal loosened his features. He changed his grip on Gage so he could trace a finger down Gage’s taint and to his entrance.
One touch was all it took. Gage understood what was happening to him, and his cock throbbed at the realization.
His slick had started to flow.
Heat had crept up on him over the last few days, heightening his emotions and driving him to do desperate things out of fear. With everything going on, he’d assumed that his responses were from stress alone, but that wasn’t the case.
