“I fuckin’ needed you to push back,” Travis said through clenched teeth, his emotions getting the best of him.
“I know.” Gage grunted, reaching back and gripping Travis’s thigh.
He didn’t push him away, didn’t pull him closer, just held on.
While Kylie was his shelter in the storm, Gage was his lifeline, the one he depended on to reel him in when necessary. He hadn’t realized how out of control he truly was until he realized Gage wasn’t there to catch him.
“I need you,” Travis whimpered, biting Gage’s shoulder, trying to hold on as he continued to slam his hips forward again and again.
“You’ve got me, Travis. I’m not goin’ anywhere.”
A sob tore free because he had needed to hear that more than anything. The thought of losing his family … it wasn’t something he could accept but he knew he put them through so much. Especially at times like this when he couldn’t keep himself under control.
Travis stopped moving, lodged to the hilt inside Gage while he breathed in, out, in again. He took a moment because the storm wasn’t raging anymore.
He dislodged from Gage’s body, tugged his jeans up so he could walk, then took Gage by the arm and led the way to his office. Once inside, he closed and locked the door, flipped on the light, and began removing the rest of his clothes.
“On the couch,” he said, not looking at Gage while he retrieved the lubricant from the top drawer of his desk.
When he joined Gage, he was calmer, more focused. Enough to realize that he needed this man more than his next breath.
So he took him again, this time slower, deeper. With the lights on. Face-to-face.
Travis took his time sliding in deep, retreating slowly. Their gazes remained locked, so much being said without a word spoken. And when he knew Gage was close, Travis heaved himself up, using Gage’s shins for leverage as he began pumping his hips faster.
“Stroke yourself. I want you to come with me.”
He saw the flash of heat in those dark brown eyes and it was a solace that he’d been missing for too long now. Sex might not be the answer, but for them it was what soothed, the current that connected them.
“God, baby,” Travis groaned, his hand gripping Gage’s legs tighter. “I’m gonna come. Fuck.” He groaned and growled, fucking Gage harder, faster while he watched Gage’s hand piston over his cock, stroking in rhythm to Travis’s thrusts.
When it became too much, when his release barreled down on him, Travis ground his teeth together and waited. And when Gage’s eyes slammed shut and his cock erupted, Travis threw his head back and groaned, doing his level best not to wake the entire house with the energy he released.
Completely spent, he fell forward, crushing Gage beneath him as he sought the man’s mouth with his own. The kiss was gentle, reverent, Gage’s hands warm and reassuring as they slid over his back.
“I’m sorry,” Travis whispered. “So fuckin’ sorry.”
Gage wrapped his arms around him and held him close, giving Travis the time and privacy he needed to let the rest of the emotions drain out of him.
He had no idea how long they remained like that, but he didn’t move until Gage said, “Let’s go to bed.”
“Where’s Kylie?” he asked, pulling back from Gage and scrubbing the tears away with his hands.
“She’s there waitin’ for us.”
A few minutes later, after a quick shower for both of them, Travis was in their bed, too, spooned up to Kylie while Gage was pressed up against his back. It didn’t take long for Kylie to find him in the dark, turning so she was facing him.
And then there he was, right where he needed to be.
At least for a little while.
