“Goddamn, Blaze. That’s it. Suck me dry. I dream about this sexy ass every second you’re gone.” He muttered more words, but Blaze was lost in the way his body twitched. Then German cried out. Blaze found his face buried in the mattress as German thrust hard, taking the orgasm he wanted. All Blaze could do was moan his way through to the end. Everything felt twice as powerful because this was real. They had a future. Blaze couldn’t wait to see what happened next.
Chapter Seven
Blaze’splacefeltlikehome. German knew Blaze was the reason. They existed together perfectly. Since they became an exclusive couple, they hadn’t truly experienced the living together scenario for long. It was peaceful. Blaze needed rest and recovery. He needed to be fed. German loved being the person who took care of him. That meant lots of home-cooked meals, tons of pampering, and even more sex. German felt their age gap by the middle of the second week. Thankfully, they were on their way to Blaze’s parents’ house. Not that German looked forward to not sleeping together. His back hurt, and he ran on four hours of sleep a night. Blaze looked perfectly refreshed. German missed being young.
The house came into view, and German glanced at the backseat. The model airplane he had bought for Ben waited for him. It was only the tenth time he checked to make sure he hadn’t forgotten it. Honestly, he was surprised at how much he lookedforward to seeing the little guy. German knew Ben wasn’t Curtis. He couldn’t say the exact reason Ben had burrowed his way into German’s heart. Maybe being one of the few people he spoke to made his chest swell. Whatever the reason, he was a little excited to show him the model. German hadn’t built one in years.
When they climbed out of their rented SUV, German decided to leave it behind. He didn’t know if any of the other kids were there, and he didn’t want to risk them seeing him bring a gift to only Ben. He wasn’t trying to be an ass. German just got the feeling Ben got left out a lot. He hated that.
This time, things were a lot less hectic as they came through the door. Only Ruth sat in the family room. She looked up from her cross-stitching as they stepped inside. A bright smile lit her face. Ruth set her project aside and came to her feet. She hugged them as she greeted them.
“There’re my boys. How was the trip? I heard there was a lot of turbulence today.”
“Yeah. I hit my head on the window twice. It was a ride.” He moved toward the kitchen. “What is there to eat?”
Ruth huffed and looked German’s way. They shook their heads and followed him. “You’re in luck. I just had groceries delivered. There’re a ton of snacks in the pantry. I’m not starting dinner for a couple more hours.”
The second Blaze opened the pantry door, a golden retriever scrambled into the kitchen like he wore roller skates.
Blaze went down on one knee and accepted all the excited doggy affection. “Oh, I see how it is. The last time I was here, I didn’t see you all. Now, as soon as you hear the word snack, you’re all over me.”
Ruth chuckled. “He hung out in Dara’s room the last time you were here. You know he hates fireworks. The vet gave us medicine to keep him calm, and he couldn’t stay awake. Plus, you know Jake’s kids. They like to try to ride him and that shit pisses me off.”
Blaze kissed the dog’s cheek and looked German’s way. “This is Sir Licks A-Lot.”
A surprised bark of laughter burst from German at the name.
“We call him everything but that. So feel free to pick a name,” Ruth added.
German chuckled. They were such an apple-pie-life family. A hint of something slowly grew inside him—like a revelation scratching at the back of his brain. He didn’t want to look too closely at the sensation. German couldn’t let himself feel like part of the family. His relationship with Blaze likely wouldn’t last. Everything looked great now, but they hadn’t truly faced the hard stuff yet. Blaze was a star and German was a worker bee. Sooner or later, Steel would send him somewhere else. The time they had spent apart had been hard. He didn’t see Blaze wanting this much longer. Blaze was on the road with all the temptations. German would lose appeal pretty fast the moment Steel had him somewhere they couldn’t see each other. He couldn’t competewith all the young, free-to-party guys. German wanted more than nights at the club. He never thought he would feel this way, but he did. When he looked at Blaze, German saw someone he could love. In fact, he worried he was already more than halfway there.
A small sound, like something scooting across the floor behind him, had German glancing that way. Ben was on his hands and knees, inching into the room as if he didn’t want to be seen.
Ruth focused on Ben too. “Oh, baby. Get off that floor. The dog has been in here all day, running in and out.”
Ben dutifully pushed to his feet, but he kept his chin down.
German’s heart twisted.
Blaze piped in like he, too, felt bad for the kid. “Hey, bud. Where’s your mom?”
Ben moved close to German’s leg and held on to his pants. He whispered something German couldn’t hear.
German didn’t hesitate. He plucked Ben from the ground and held him. “What’s that? I couldn’t hear you way down there.”
Ben twisted his hands and kept his gaze locked on the floor. “She’s sleeping. She won’t wake up.” German’s gaze shot to Ruth. He didn’t know if that statement should worry him, but it sounded like maybe someone should check. Apparently, he wasright. Ruth and Blaze ran from the room. German did his best to distract Ben.
He kept his voice bright. “Did the word ‘snack’ bring you in here the way it did Sir Licks A-Lot?”
Ben smiled. “I call him Stinky.”
German laughed. “Does he smell bad a lot?”
Ben bounced a little in his arms. He leaned close like he had a secret. “He farts all the time.”
German burst out laughing. “Oh. I almost forgot. I brought something for us to do. Do you want to go with me to get it?”
As he made his way through the living room, German picked up his pace as he heard Ruth on the phone with emergency services. He made sure Ben was out the door. The doors unlocked as he approached the rental. German kept up the bright commentary. “I know you like to draw planes, but have you ever put one together?”
