Instant Family (Silver Oak Medical Center Book 4)

by Aiden Bates

  "Well, there we are. Now I've informed my attorney that you've forced yourself in here under false pretenses. You should be aware that you're being recorded, too." Brantley fought to keep his breathing normal, and for the most part he won. He couldn't control the way his palms sweated, or the way his heart raced. "I'd like to point out, for the record, that you've been asked to leave more than once and have failed to comply."

  "You don't have the right to record me." Gottlieb scowled.

  "And you don't have the right to be here without my attorney present, so here we are." Brantley cracked his knuckles and folded his hands together. "Furthermore, it's been established that it is perfectly legal to record law enforcement. Now. I'm telling you again. You need to leave."

  "Or what?" Gottlieb sneered and leaned forward. "There's not a damn thing you can do about it. Now you're going to sit there and answer my questions and then we're going to go downtown."

  "I'm not going anywhere with you unless you have a warrant." Brantley's mouth went dry.

  "I have probable cause. I don't need a warrant." Gottlieb leaned back. "Lying to a federal officer is a felony. We're talking serious federal time."

  Brantley forced himself to scoff. "What lie? Is your problem with Black men, Caribbean people, or gay men?"

  "I don't like you, or people like you. It's true. But what I really don't like is people who lie about their relationships. You and that Frye guy? Get real. You suddenly decide to 'go gay' for a guy like that?"

  Brantley didn't have to pretend to be disgusted with his nemesis's comment. "First of all, I didn't 'go gay' for Allen. He's a beautiful man. I'd say you should see him without his scrubs, but I'd have to object. Second, I didn't 'go gay' for anyone. I've been gay my whole life."

  "Fine. Give me a list of the other men you've been with." Gottlieb snapped his fingers, leaned back, and put his feet up on Brantley's desk. "Oh, wait. You can't. There aren't any."

  "I won't," Brantley insisted, "because there's an implication of trust that exists between two partners. If they wanted other people to know their sexuality, they'd have announced it themselves." He could have sworn his throat was closing.

  "Isn't that convenient?" Gottlieb laughed. How could a person laugh and keep that lip perfectly curled? It had to be scar tissue, or maybe brain damage. "You're so full of crap you don't know how to dig your way out. You've never even slept with Frye. Your sheets are all too clean."

  "Okay first of all, people wash their sheets. It's a thing. You might want to try it sometime." Brantley hadn't heard the door open. He'd been too focused on Gottlieb's foul words. Now, though, Allen's sharp rebuke cut through Brantley's panic like a sword. "Secondly, you entered my home without a warrant? Good luck getting that to hold up in court."

  Apparently, Gottlieb hadn't heard the door open either, because he jumped when he heard Allen's voice. His feet, dirty boots and all, crashed to the ground. "So you don't deny we found clean sheets in your house!" he accused, brandishing a finger in the air.

  "I should certainly hope you found clean sheets in my house. I'm not some kind of slob, and I have a baby to consider. And if you don't think I'm going to sue you for admitting, on camera, that you broke into my house without a warrant to go poking around at my bedding like a pervert, it's time to quit day drinking." He crossed his arms over his chest. "Now. I'm pretty sure my boyfriend gave you very specific instructions. I've already contacted hospital security. Do you want them to escort you out of here, or do you want to leave under your own power?"

  Gottlieb's jaw dropped, which made him look a little bit like a fish. "Don't think this is the last of this."

  "Wait until you see the lawsuit, buddy." Allen's grin was vicious. It reminded Brantley of Janine.

  Gottlieb decided to cut his losses and run.

  Brantley turned off his web cam. "Thank you." He slumped in his chair. "That was…"

  "Illegal and horrific?" Allen walked over and rubbed Brantley's shoulders. "Yeah. I'm not kidding about suing. I'm pissed. We should talk to your lawyer."

  "We should. I'll send him the video." Brantley's hands shook as he sent the file.

  "If circumstances were different I'd say we should have sex and send him the dirty sheets." Allen glowered at the door. "I mean honestly, what does he expect? And who the—"

  "Maybe we should." Brantley blurted the words out before he had the chance to stop himself, before he truly thought about them.

  Allen stopped in mid sentence. His eyes bulged in his head, and all of the color drained from his face. "Um, what?"

  "I'm just saying," Brantley said, as fast as he could. He wrung his hands as he spoke. "If we want to prove we're really a couple, maybe we need to actually, you know, prove it. I know it's kind of gross, and sheets are kind of expensive, but I'll buy new ones, it's the least I could do —"

  Allen held up a hand. "It's not about replacing the sheets, Brantley." He dropped his voice to just above a whisper. "It's about you, having sex with me. Is that something you really want to put yourself through?"

  Brantley held his head up. "It's hardly a sacrifice, Allen."

  Allen took a deep breath. "Okay. Okay, yeah. We can do it tonight, I guess."

  Chapter Ten

  They headed home after that, and said goodbye to Alicia. Brantley then called Gupta while Allen fed the baby. Brantley, helpfully, put his phone on speaker for the duration of the call so Allen could participate, or at least so he could participate as much as anyone could while bottle-feeding a baby.

  They didn't tell Gupta about their plan for the evening, simply that they intended to provide Gottlieb with "proof." Gupta didn't ask. If Allen were Gupta, he wouldn't want to know either.

  They ate dinner. Allen managed to do more than pick at it. They played with Alaina, and then they got her to go to bed. They got her to a point where she could be considered to reliably sleep for a few hours, and then Brantley brought him a generous glass of rum. "Might as well relax a little, right?"

  Allen couldn't argue with that. "I won't pretend this isn't a little weird." He managed a little laugh. "I've had sex for a lot of reasons, you know? I've had sex because of uncontrollable lust. I've had sex as a distraction. I've had sex for comfort, and I've had sex to stave off the inevitable. I can honestly say I've never had sex just to prove someone's sexuality to a federal agent."

  "Right?" Brantley gave a little laugh. It sounded half strangled, and Allen couldn't help but feel sorry for him. He should have given Brantley a chance to find someone more compatible to do this with. "I have to say, you were incredible today." He sipped from his drink. "When I sent you that message I didn't expect you to drop everything and come to my rescue. I thought I was just warning you, so you didn't get into trouble."

  "Yeah, well, I thought I'd just be helpful." Allen ducked his head and hid his blush with a sip of rum. "I don't like that guy."

  "I don't think anyone likes that guy, Allen." Brantley grinned. "Maybe Parris. But seriously. You were amazing. You scared him right off. You should have seen him. You made him jump like a scared cat!"

  Allen found he could live with that image. "Yeah, well. I was pissed. He wasn't supposed to be there." He squirmed a little. "And now here we are."

  "Here we are." Brantley looked at him for a long moment. "You know, it could be a lot worse."

  Allen tried not to laugh, or to cringe. He didn't want to be someone's "could be worse." He didn't want to be Brantley's "could be worse." "Of course it could," he said, straightening his back. "We are together. And hey, we don't actually have to do this in front of Gottlieb."

  "Or Parris." Brantley shuddered, and then laughed into his rum. "Can you imagine?"

  Allen made a face. "I'm trying not to." He put his rum aside. He'd probably need it later, when the enormity of having just had sex for no reason other than to prove the reality of their fake relationship hit him like a ton of bricks. For now, he wanted to keep his wits about him. He didn't mind a slight buzz, but he didn't want to lose con
trol of himself. "Am I the only one who's completely creeped out by the fact that they broke into the house and rifled through our bedding, or nah?"

  Brantley made a face. "Yeah well, do you really expect a man who puts his feet up on another man's desk to have basic decency?" He straightened himself up. "Hey, there's an idea."

  "Finishing school?" Allen blinked and tried to follow Brantley's logic.

  "No. Let's sic your mom and your sister on him. By the end of a week, he'll sit up straight, keep his nasty feet on the floor, chew with his mouth closed, eat with a knife and fork, and learn to control that curling lip of his!" Brantley's eyes brightened.

  Allen froze, and then he burst out laughing. "Oh my God, that's hilarious. Yeah, sure. Let's do that." He looked over at Brantley. "I like your sense of humor."

  Brantley's skin glowed a little when he blushed. Allen reached out and dragged a finger across that perfect skin. He would probably never have a chance like this again. He might as well make the most of it.

  Brantley stilled when Allen touched him, and for a moment Allen wondered if he'd gone too far. Then he noticed the way Brantley's eyes fluttered shut, long lashes landing across the plane of his cheekbones like a butterfly on a petal. "Allen," he whispered.

  Allen leaned over and touched his lips to Brantley's. They tasted like rum, on the surface, and like the jerk chicken they'd had for dinner underneath that. His lips were soft, and they were pliant, and Allen could kiss him for days.

  He could, that was, if Brantley let him. When Brantley pulled those perfect lips of his away, though, Allen didn't chase. "We should take this upstairs," Brantley murmured. "I don't want to kill the mood, but I wouldn't put it past Gottlieb or Parris to be peeping in the windows."

  Allen winced and stood up. "Yeah, that's gross." He gave Brantley a hand up off of the couch.

  They headed upstairs, and Allen grabbed a baby monitor. They decided to go to Brantley's room, because Alaina was sleeping in his and some things just didn't need to happen.

  They stripped to the skin in Brantley's room, which was a little awkward for Allen. He usually liked for his partners to undress him, and he liked to undress his partners. It was a good way to help build upon desire that was already there, and to get to know one another's bodies.

  Allen wasn't about to pretend he didn't want to get to know Brantley's body.

  Apparently, Brantley had other plans, and anyway, it wasn't like this was a normal relationship. They didn't need to "get to know" one another's bodies, and if they tried to go slow and draw it out, Alaina would probably interrupt them with the need to get a bottle or a clean diaper or a cuddle.

  Or, maybe, Brantley wanted to get naked faster because his body was just that beautiful. Allen's mouth watered at the sight of him. He looked incredible with his clothes on, the kind of model-gorgeous that turned even a hospital corridor into a catwalk. Naked, he looked like a god. He had just enough hair on his chest to accent his sculpted pectoral muscles, and to draw the eyes downward to his chiseled abs and his sharp pelvic bones.

  And, of course, his lengthening, beautiful cock in its thatch of dark hair.

  Brantley's dark eyes roamed over Allen's body, just as Allen knew he was ogling Brantley. He fought the urge to hide himself. He wasn't a bad looking guy. He was a runner, with a fast metabolism. He wasn't going to have the kind of body Brantley did. It was okay. Brantley was still looking at him like he didn't want to be anywhere else, and Allen knew it was a lie, but he couldn't pretend it didn't feel good.

  He dropped his eyes to Brantley's cock. He only had one chance at this. He knew he should probably take the opportunity to explore, to commit as much of Brantley to memory as he could. He couldn't take his eyes off of Brantley's cock. He loved the shape of it. He loved the size of it. He loved the little curve to the right. Standing there in the half-light of what had once been Allen's guest bedroom, he could only think of one thing.

  He lifted his eyes. "Can I taste you?" His voice sounded hoarse even to his own ears, and he hated it. He couldn't think what to do about it, though.

  Brantley twitched at that. "Of course. Please." He licked those perfect lips. "Please, Allen."

  Allen sank to his knees in front of Brantley. He refused to think about the ICE agents outside his house. He refused to think about the reality of their relationship. It didn't matter that he was only going to be here until the investigation was over; Allen could still enjoy him wile they were together.

  He started with kitten licks up the side, which got little gasps from Brantley. Allen chuckled. Maybe he wasn't the best looking guy, and maybe he wasn't the most exciting. One thing Allen did have going for him, though, was that he was very good at giving head.

  He swirled his tongue around the head and took his time, exploring every little detail in Brantley's beautiful cock. He tongued the slit, too, and just like that Brantley was fully hard. Allen himself was getting harder as he heard Brantley's little moans and crushed-back cries. That came, he was sure, from Brantley's ingrained habits of keeping secrecy.

  He took Brantley deeper into his mouth, bobbing his head and working him deeper until Brantley was poking at the back of his throat. Brantley gripped Allen's short hair and tried to hold on, but it was hard for him to get a grip. "Oh God." Brantley couldn't quiet his voice for that one, or maybe he just forgot to.

  Allen moaned as Brantley rocked his hips, just a little. He didn't seem to be thrusting on purpose, so Allen didn't try to stop him. Instead, he moaned, deep in his throat, and grinned as the vibrations earned him another cry from his lover.

  Brantley didn't let that go on for too long. He gently pulled back from Allen's mouth and guided Allen to his feet. "You have a gift," Brantley gasped. "But we're not going to be able to do what we came up here to do if you keep that up, and I want to be inside of you when I come."

  Allen deflated a little when Brantley referenced the job they'd come here to do, but Brantley referencing coming inside of Allen sent a jolt right up his spine. He nodded and stepped over to the bed. "How do you want me?" he asked.

  Brantley tilted his head. "On your belly, I suppose." He caressed Allen's ass. "Your scrubs don't do you justice."

  Allen blushed, and obediently got into a comfortable position on the bed. Brantley rustled in the bedside table for a moment, and then he paused. "We should be using a condom. I'm not a fan of going bare. It's not safe. But if we do that…"

  "We don't get what we need." Allen sighed. Rational thought wasn't easy to come by, not with Brantley's taste still on his tongue. "Are you clean?"

  "Yes. I was tested just before all of this started. Are you?"

  "Yeah. Same. I guess we'll have to trust each other and hope for the best." Allen returned to his comfortable position. He wasn't quite as hard as he had been, thanks to that little reminder of his own inferiority, but he'd come this far. And after that little taste, he still wanted Brantley.

  Brantley paused, and then he kissed the back of Allen's neck. How could Brantley know that was one of Allen's biggest turn-ons? "I trust you, Allen."

  If Allen's erection had flagged a little at the reminder of their purpose, it picked right back up when Brantley slipped a lube-slick finger into him. Brantley knew what he was doing. Brantley was some kind of sex god. He had to be. That was why he had such high success rates with his patients. It wasn't his medical skill, it was his divine powers that did the trick.

  And Allen got to enjoy all of him. It was just for one night, but he still got to enjoy all of him.

  He let out a loud groan when Brantley entered him. It had been a little while, for him, and he wanted this. He would go so far as to say he needed this. He needed the fullness. He needed the friction. And he needed the connection, this coming together. It wasn't just a physical thing. This thing with Brantley went beyond the mere insertion of one body part into another.

  This was too right, too good, to be anything but a natural connection. Allen lost all sense of time as he opened himself up to Bra
ntley. When his orgasm overtook him he didn't even try to fight it. He surrendered to it and let the wave carry him where it would, and if his vision whited out, then that was even better. He was on a cloud of bliss, and nothing could touch him.

  And then he came back to himself. Brantley was gently pulling out of him. He kissed Allen on the forehead. "You okay?" he asked, meeting Allen's eyes. "I thought we lost you for a minute."

  "You probably did." Allen stretched and rolled over, so he could more easily look at his lover.

  The sheets were a wreck. Oh well. That was what they'd come up here to do, after all. "That was incredible," he said, after a moment.

  Brantley sat on the edge of the bed. "Thanks." He ducked his head. "I'm glad you liked it. I was a little worried." He sighed. "We should probably strip the bed."