by Con Riley
Levi shoved his arms into the shirt and quickly pulled down its long sleeves.
“I’ve had worse than this before.” He followed Aiden out, then asked if they could talk for a moment.
“Now’s not good. I have an appointment in less than an hour, and I need to get downtown.” He gestured toward the store entrance where Evan tapped at his wristwatch, shaking Aiden’s truck keys.
Levi’s words came out in a hurried rush. “Did you mean what you said about the cops?”
Aiden had completely forgotten. He pulled out his phone.
“I’ll leave a message right away.” He typed quickly, showing Levi his text to Drew, stating that he’d been mistaken about his suspected theft, before he hit send. No doubt he’d have to do something official later, but Levi’s relieved expression made Aiden think that was at least a good start.
As he walked away from the store, worrying already about his appointment with the adoption counselor, Evan bumped him with his elbow.
“Nervous?”
“Nope.” He strode on ahead before slowing his pace to match his brother’s. He remembered what Marco had said that morning. “Try not to be an asshole. This is something you should share with Evan.” He took a deep breath and looked in his direction. “Yeah. Actually, I’m feeling kind of sick about this.”
“Don’t. It will be fine. You said that your birth father had made contact? They’ll just want to talk you through your options. You don’t have to decide anything today.” Evan had been so calm about this whole deal. He spoke again before he climbed into the driver’s side of Aiden’s truck. “I’m kind of surprised you wanted me to come with you.”
“Shut up, squirt. Driving me places is all you’re good for.” Aiden knew he sounded gruff. “I’m not doing this without you.”
Evan’s smile, just like Levi’s after he read Aiden’s text calling off the cops, was bright, and wide, and brilliant.
When his phone chimed while they were stuck in crosstown traffic, Aiden read a series of texts that had arrived all at once. His phone was doing this more and more often—holding his messages hostage, then releasing them en masse. Even Marco had commented on how beat-up and basic his cell was, but a decent new one would cost money he simply didn’t have to spare.
MARCO: You should be there by now.
MARCO: I’m in my room, thinking about you.
MARCO: I can smell you on my pillow.
As his brother cursed the stationary traffic, he closed his eyes and recalled how Marco had woken him once he’d finished calling Italy. Very early that morning, he’d rolled onto his back to find Marco getting into bed beside him, whispering, “Close your eyes. You need to catch up on your sleep.”
Aiden’s voice had come out sounding sleep-clogged. “I’m awake.”
Marco had sounded as if he were smiling. “At least close your eyes and rest.”
He’d almost done so, snuggling back into his favored facedown sleeping position. When Marco started to touch him, it had felt surreal and dreamlike. Aiden remembered squirming against his hand when it traced the curve of his shoulder. Then he’d shifted as it smoothed its way down his back. The next time Marco spoke, his voice had sounded breathless.
“I found a beautiful man in my bed, and I thought I must be dreaming. Are you really mine now?” He’d pressed a kiss to Aiden’s shoulder when he’d nodded in sleepy agreement. “I want to touch you everywhere. Will you let me do that, baby? Can I touch you back to sleep?”
His palm had pressed on the small of Aiden’s back, making him flex, then groan into his pillow. That had felt so fucking good, pushing away the tension he woke with every day. When Marco’s hand moved lower, fingertips dragging over the soft fuzz on his ass, Aiden had turned his head to face him.
Marco had been up on his elbow, shadowed in the faint light coming from the hallway. His intent expression made Aiden slowly nod again. Yes had been all he could manage when Marco looked at him that way.
“Good, Aiden. Good. You don’t have to think about a thing now. Let me do this for you.”
That had sounded wonderful.
Usually he woke up with a list of things to do that needed his direct supervision. He had so much to manage, and waking up already tired was something he’d grown used to. But right then, lying next to Marco, seemed like another life entirely.
Marco had stroked his ass again, then shifted up onto his knees and pulled down the sheet. His palms had pushed at Aiden’s legs, encouraging them apart as he’d moved to kneel between them.
Aiden had shivered as he felt lips press on the soft skin behind his knees. Had he ever been kissed there before? When he’d felt Marco lick him—tongue first flat, then flicking as he made his way up the inside of Aiden’s thighs, his whole body had shivered again. Marco’s hands pressed firmly on his ass cheeks, squeezing before he had pushed them apart. His breath there—warm and unexpected—had made Aiden’s own breath come out in a rush.
“Lift yourself up a little, baby.”
Somehow Aiden had, and then he’d slumped onto the pillows Marco shoved underneath him. Marco’s mouth—warm and wet as it dropped kisses along his back—had slowly headed south again, but when Aiden had felt a finger circling his asshole, he’d lurched away from its pressure.
“Steady, Aiden. Steady. Do you need something to hold onto?”
He must have nodded, because Marco crawled up beside him. He’d taken Aiden’s hands and wrapped each around one of headboard’s slats. “Keep them there until I tell you to let go.” His hands had lingered on Aiden’s wrists for a moment and squeezed lightly where his right one was still bruised.
Marco’s voice had dropped to a whisper. “You can let go when you want. You know that, Aiden, don’t you? I am only playing.” He’d pressed his mouth to the inside of Aiden’s elbow, licking there and sucking.
Jesus, how had Marco known all his virgin places?
“But I think you should listen to me, instead of to yourself. Holding on until I tell you means you can let go inside your head.”
Aiden turned his face to Marco, his neck burning from the awkward stretch as he reached for a kiss.
“I want to taste you, Aiden. I want to put my mouth on each centimeter of your skin, and I want you to let me do it.”
Aiden thought he’d made some kind of noise of affirmation, but Marco had repeated his statement as a question.
“Would you like it if I did that? If I kissed you everywhere?” That time, Aiden could only nod.
Marco had pulled in a deep breath. “Then we should hurry and get tested. My last one was recent, but I’d get another. I want you to trust me.” He’d kissed Aiden again, and when he next spoke, Aiden remembered shivering. “I could eat you out for hours. Would you let me?”
Aiden had closed his eyes. Rimming hadn’t ever been his thing. Casual hookups had been more about getting off and getting gone, not exploring someone’s body, and he’d been the one controlling any fucking.
Marco had chuckled at the way he’d quickly nodded and how his eyes had flown open at the click of the lube container’s lid. A wet finger circled Aiden’s hole once more. He hadn’t tried to get away that time, lost in an internal place where Marco promised to fuck him with his tongue, and he went ahead and let him.
“We’ll get tested, Aiden. Then I’ll do it until you make me stop.” Marco had gone on to whisper something in Italian before he pushed in his finger.
Aiden bit the pillow. After the first moments of adjustment, he huffed out a huge breath.
He hadn’t done this since college, and then it had provoked conflicting feelings. Letting someone do this to him had seemed less masculine. Even away from home, his dad’s opinion, ignorant though it was, had made him doubt his own judgment.
Marco’s touch, on the other hand, felt like freedom.
Aiden had pushed back as Marco advanced, pressing kisses onto the small of Aiden’s back as his finger slowly twisted.
The next while was a haze of push and
pull, and of Aiden’s heavy breathing. Marco had seemed in no hurry, moving from one finger to two with whispers of encouragement and some murmured orders.
He’d asked, “Do you know how good you feel inside?” telling Aiden to let go of the headboard with one hand and to reach behind him. Fingering his own ass, with Marco watching, made Aiden groan and shiver.
“Feel how tight and smooth and hot you are. Now, let me add another.” Marco had, twisting and turning, driving Aiden slowly insane from the change of angle, until he’d had to hold the headboard with both hands again just to keep from flying.
“You like that?” Marco asked so many times that Aiden had simply pushed back faster, fucking himself on whatever Marco would give him rather than trying to answer. “Your cock likes it a lot. It’s so hard now, Aiden. Do you feel like you could come yet?”
Every stroke inside had dragged Aiden closer. Marco increased his pace, jerking Aiden’s cock too after Aiden had pushed up to kneeling. Aiden’s back had arched, and he’d groaned loudly, tightening around Marco’s fingers, when he finally shot. Marco’s own warm come had striped his back less than a minute later.
They’d both panted, and Aiden had groaned as Marco wiped him clean of their spunk and lubrication. His eyes had already been closing, but he’d reached out and pulled his lover close, tucking him into his side and holding him there very tightly. Marco’s laugh had been an amused, warm rumble. “It will be easier to pull the sheet up if you let go of me for a moment.”
He’d slumped onto his side, still feeling aftershocks of pleasure as Marco made him comfortable. The sleep that he slipped into then had been deep, and for the first time in more months than he could recall, he’d woken feeling rested.
Marco had brought him breakfast, which Aiden had eaten while watching him move around the room, picking up their discarded clothes and sorting out their laundry. He’d chatted easily as he tidied, acting as if this start to the day was their brand-new normal.
Aiden really hoped it was. Freshly shaven Marco, smelling subtly of cologne and tasting of rich, dark coffee, was the best thing he’d ever woken up to.
Evan’s voice brought him back to the present.
“Wake up, dipshit. You were nearly snoring.”
“I don’t snore. I wasn’t even sleeping.” Daydreaming about Marco had been a good distraction from what was coming next. He rubbed his eyes and peered through the windshield. They were in a downtown parking lot. “We’re here?”
“Yeah. If we hurry we won’t be too late.” Evan chuckled. “Don’t snore, my ass. We used to hear you through the bedroom wall. Joel said you did it just to put him off staying over.”
Aiden bit back his customary dig. Joel staying over used to make him want to kill.
Overhearing his brother’s vocal love life had eventually driven him to move out. He hadn’t understood how passion could make you lose control of your volume, but he was pretty certain he’d yelled helplessly when Marco got him off.
“For fuck’s sake, Aiden. Get out and get moving or you’ll miss your appointment.”
He did, following his brother as they made their way down corridors until they found the right door. Aiden looked at the letter he’d clutched all the way from the store. It was crumpled now, and tattered at the edges.
Evan nudged him with his shoulder. “Ready?”
Aiden shook his head. This was dumb. He had enough on his plate already. “What if this guy turns out to be an asshole?” His words came out in a rush. “We might not even be related.” That was kind of what he hoped. “Why did he wait more than twenty-five years before trying to find me?” That sure seemed like the behavior of an asshole.
“I don’t know, but I’m pretty certain if you ask, someone here might tell you.” Evan shoved Aiden again.
Aiden dug his heels in. His phone chimed, and when he read its message he could almost hear Marco speaking.
MARCO: How is your brother doing?
MARCO: This must be difficult for him.
It must. Aiden puffed out a breath. Evan had no one but him and Mom to call family. No one else would ever try to claim him. Now Aiden might have a whole new family that Evan wouldn’t factor into. His brother feeling sidelined was the last thing Aiden wanted. He cursed, wanting so badly to walk away, knowing that doing so would bug him forever. “I bet he only wants to meet me because he needs a kidney.”
“Jesus, could you be any more pessimistic?” Evan reached up fast and flicked Aiden’s ear, looking so much like the angry kid he’d been when they first met. He sounded more worried than irate though. “You might have a real sibling.”
Aiden turned, seeing what Marco had already guessed.
His brother waited, still expecting to be rejected. Aiden swallowed hard, and when he spoke, he saw his brother’s tension lessen.
“Shut up.”
Aiden pushed open the office door.
“You know I already have one.”
Chapter Fourteen
Later, Marco was waiting for them outside the diner. He leaned against the side wall, one foot flat on the brickwork, and as they turned into the parking lot, he pushed away to join them. Aiden couldn’t get out of the truck fast enough, experiencing a moment of pure frustration when his seatbelt held him back. His brother’s “Oh, for fuck’s sake” sounded faint and distant—as if Evan were very far away instead of sitting right beside him.
The sun—bright again after a few hours of drizzle—meant that Marco wore sunglasses, and Aiden thought he looked insanely hot as he strode through shallow puddles. When he took them off, Aiden wondered if he’d ever seen him quite so clearly.
Marco scanned Aiden’s face through the truck window, worry clouding his expression, but his sudden smile was blinding when Aiden climbed out to meet him. His cheek kisses were fleeting, as was his murmured “Ciao” of greeting. Marco turned to speak briefly with Evan, fingers curled through one of Aiden’s belt loops, as if to hold him steady.
Aiden was vaguely aware of his brother heading for the diner entrance, and of the sound of passing traffic, but Marco stole all his attention. His tug made Aiden step toward him as he repeated a directive.
“I said, get back in the truck.”
As instructions went, it was unambiguous, but Aiden blinked as if he didn’t understand him.
“Aiden.”
He nodded.
“Get back in the truck so I can take my time kissing you.”
That time, Aiden got it. He was belting himself back in out of habit as Marco drove to the far side of the lot. Marco unfastened him again, sliding along the bench seat and practically crawling into his lap. His lips pressed hard against Aiden’s before he backed up. He stared at Aiden’s mouth, and when he next kissed him, he moved slower, making a small sound of contentment when Aiden opened to him.
They kissed until Aiden was almost gasping, and when Marco finally moved away, he was breathing much faster too. “We should be at home now,” he grumbled, cupping Aiden’s face with one hand while adjusting himself with the other. Aiden tried for another kiss, but Marco pushed against his chest. “We must go inside and join the others. I asked your brother to order for us so I could have you to myself, if only for a minute.” His thumb rubbed along Aiden’s cheekbone. “Thank you for texting me back. I thought about you all morning.” He caught Aiden’s hand, pressing his mouth to the palm before threading their fingers together. “I wanted to be there with you, but it seemed like a thing for brothers.”
Aiden nodded. Marco was right. Having Evan with him when he met the counselor had been a godsend. Their shared adopted status meant he could guess all of Aiden’s questions, and he’d talked when Aiden had been silenced by a thin file on the table. Somehow, knowing that it might contain details of his birth father had left him feeling weird and winded. If Evan hadn’t spoken for him, he’d be no farther forward.
“Your texts said that your father had provided all of his details. Does that mean you know where he lives?”
; Aiden shook his head. “I could have gotten his address. He has given his permission, but the woman who talked us through it said maybe it would be best to start things off slow.” Evan had explained that to him after the counselor had left the room to call his father.
“Why was that her decision?” Marco looked put out, as if he’d opened a Christmas present only to find his gift-wrapped box was empty.
“It wasn’t her decision; it was mine. I couldn’t decide how much I want to know yet.” Evan and the counselor had sat and stared at Aiden, waiting for him to make up his mind. He spent his working life making difficult choices, but when faced with taking an address or a phone number, he’d been wracked with indecision.
“She’s done this a lot, and each family is different. In her professional experience, starting with letters or a phone call is better in the long run than suddenly turning up in person.”
The counselor had talked about motivation. Aiden remembered that very clearly. She’d sat across from him, in a bland, utilitarian room, and asked him what had made him finally respond to the contact letters. That had been hard to answer, especially with Evan sitting right beside him.
She was younger than his mother but had a similar warm expression that he recalled from before his mother’s breakdown. She’d prompted him with examples while giving him time to think things over.
“She said some people are looking for something they think they missed out on.” He shook his head as he told Marco, echoing both his and Evan’s reaction. Right up until he’d passed away, their dad had made sure they’d wanted for nothing.
“And she said some people want to apportion blame.” He sat for a while, looking down at Marco’s fingers wrapped around his.
“Aiden?”
He shook his head. Their linked hands blurred until he blinked and shook his head again.
“Aiden . . . .” Marco’s lips brushed Aiden’s ear, then pressed against his temple.
