Personal Challenges

by K. C. Wells

  Sophie pointed to the cards. “Daddy, choose a card. I have to do the sign for it.”

  Blake scanned the cards. “Ah, you did transport? How many signs did you learn?

  “Seven. Now, Daddy, pick a card.”

  Will perused the cards and then pointed to the drawing of two feet. “Is that walking?”

  Sophie nodded. She curled one hand over and then brushed her fingers twice over her upturned palm.

  “That’s wonderful. Do another,” Blake demanded.

  Will pointed to the car. “How about this one?”

  Sophie held out her hands as though clasping a steering wheel, and moved them as though turning it. One by one they went through the cards, and each time Will and Blake applauded her.

  Sophie frowned at the end. “That’s not how you do it. Teacher showed us.” She clapped her hands twice and then held them up in the air, waving them both. Then she held up her index finger and placed it against her ear. “That’s how you say deaf in sign language.” She grinned. “What have you learned to say?”

  Blake laughed. “Daddy and I have been learning a different way of using our hands.” They’d been watching videos on fingerspelling, and it had been Will’s idea to turn it into a competition. Yeah, that may have been a bad move.

  “Show me!” Sophie demanded, bouncing on her chair.

  The sound of a car door slamming had Blake rising to his feet. “We can’t right now, because we have a visitor.”

  “We do?” Will gave him a puzzled glance.

  “I was coming to tell you, but you distracted me with Nathan.” Blake smiled and then winked at Sophie. “Uncle Ed is here.”

  “Yay!” Sophie was up off her chair and flying past them out of her room and down the stairs before they could say another word.

  “Wait for us!” Will yelled. “You know the rules.” Sophie wasn’t allowed to open the front door.

  “Then hurry up, Daddy!”

  Blake followed Will down the stairs at a far more sedate pace than their daughter, shaking his head. “I am not that bossy,” he muttered under his breath.

  “Save it for someone who doesn’t know you like I do,” Will said as he reached the front door where Sophie was still bouncing. He let Ed in, Nathan balanced in the crook of his arm. Ed smiled when he saw the baby, but before he could greet Will, Sophie was holding up her arms, clamouring for a hug. Ed scooped her up and gave her a cuddle.

  “Hey, Princess. How’s my favourite girl?”

  Blake chuckled. “One of these days you’ll say that in earshot of one of your other favourites, and then there’ll be hell to pay.”

  “Nah.” Ed kissed Sophie’s cheek. “This little madam ’ere will always be my favourite girl. I was there in the ’ospital the night you were born,” he told her.

  Sophie wrinkled her nose. “Yes, and Papa said you were all dirty.”

  Ed gave Blake a hard stare. “Oh he did, did he?”

  Sophie nodded. “And Uncle Colin.” Ed put her down and she tugged on his hand, pulling him toward the lounge. “Do you know that Nathan is deaf?”

  Ed nodded, the humour leaving his face. “I do, yes, Princess. Your daddies told me an’ Uncle Colin.” For a second his gaze alighted on Blake and Ed gave him a brief nod.

  “Why don’t you show Uncle Ed the sign language you learned at school?” Blake suggested.

  Ed’s eyes widened. “They’re teachin’ sign language nowadays? Blimey. Things ’ave changed since my day. Then it was French or German.”

  “If you think about it,” Will said as they followed Ed and Sophie into the lounge, “you’re more likely to meet someone who’s deaf or hearing impaired in this country, than someone who speaks French or German. Makes perfect sense.”

  “Can I get you something to drink?” Blake asked Ed, who was already on the couch watching Sophie sign.

  “A coffee would be good, if you’ve got any going.” Ed brought his attention back to Sophie. “That’s a plane, right?” Sophie’s delighted squeal was adorable.

  Blake smiled to himself as he went into the kitchen to put on the coffee machine. He could envisage Sophie teaching everyone she knew to sign. Then he thought about it. All their friends had been part of Sophie’s life so far, and therefore would be part of Nathan’s. He didn’t think for one minute that they would balk at the idea of learning a few signs.

  We never saw this coming, but we’re adjusting to our new reality. They had to, if Nathan was going to get the most out of life in the future.

  When the coffee was ready, he carried the mugs through into the lounge. Ed was leaning forward, copying Sophie as she showed him her signs. Will sat in one of the arm chairs, Nathan on his lap, clutching his teddy bear.

  “So, to what do we owe this unexpected pleasure on a Saturday morning?” Blake sat on the arm of Will’s chair, gently stroking Nathan’s head. “You didn’t say anything on the phone.”

  “Didn’t Colin want to come?” Will inquired.

  “Col’s in Edinburgh, but as we speak, he’s hirin’ a car to drive back ’ere. I’m ’ere to pick yer brains, Blake.” He stopped talking when his phone rang. “Talk of the devil,” Ed said with a grin. He answered and sat back against the cushions. “Good mornin’, gorgeous.” His brow furrowed. “Okay, say that again.”

  Blake’s arms came out in goose bumps as Ed’s frown deepened, his expression one of intense concentration.

  “What the fuck? You’re kiddin’. When did you speak to ’im?” A pause. “What, no way at all?” Ed sighed heavily. “Well, fuck. So what are yer gonna do?”

  Will sat up, his gaze flickering to Blake.

  “Yeah, well, I suppose. So when are yer comin’ ’ome?… Fine. I’ll ’ave yer dinner ready…. Yeah, I love you too.” He disconnected and sat there, staring blankly at the phone.

  Sophie giggled. “Uncle Ed said a bad word.”

  Ed blinked and then paled. “Gawd. I forgot where I was. Sorry, guys.”

  Will addressed Sophie. “Sweetheart, Papa and I need to talk to Uncle Ed. Can you go to your room and make some new signing cards for us? We’ll come up in a minute and see them.”

  Sophie beamed. “Yes!” She scrambled to her feet and dashed from the room, calling out, “Don’t be long, Daddy.”

  Blake waited for a minute until all was quiet before clearing his throat. “Ed? Is everything all right?”

  Ed regarded him, blinking. “Sorry, guys. I came ’ere on a mission, only that call sorta makes it null ‘n’ void.” He drank some coffee before continuing. “Okay, I’d better start at the beginning. Col’s ex, Ray, got in contact with ’im. To cut a long story short, Ray ’as lung cancer, an’ a whole load of other things, ’cause he ’as AIDS. Col went to visit Ray twice in Edinburgh, but this second time, it was obvious Ray was in a bad way. Rather than let ’im look for an ’ospice up there, I suggested Col brings ’im back to London, an’ that he could stay with us until a space turned up. I was comin’ to ask Blake if he could recommend an ‘ospice, ’cause I think Justin was in one, right?”

  Blake nodded. His dad had spent some time in a hospice after his stroke.

  “But it seems me plan ain’t gonna ’appen. Colin went to see Ray’s doctor this mornin’, to check on what medication Ray might need, an’ the doc told ’im categorically that Ray was in no state to travel, not even in an ambulance.”

  “Hell.” Will stared at Ed. “So what now?”

  Ed huffed. “Col says he’s coming back tomorrow. After that, he’ll try to get up there every few weeks. It’s not ideal, but given the distance involved, what else can he do?” He took another drink from his mug. “Anyway, that’s enough about me. Tell me what’s new.”

  “If you want to talk about it, you can, you know,” Blake said softly.

  Ed gave him a half-hearted smile. “Nah. It won’t solve anythin’. This is a shitty situation an’ I think we all know ’ow it’s gonna end, right? So all I can do is be there for Col when he needs me. All any of us can do, really.” He
gazed at Will who was holding up Nathan’s teddy bear and making it dance for him. Nathan was smiling and trying to grab it. “Back to you guys. Are you learning to sign too?”

  Blake knew Ed was avoiding thinking about his situation, not that he blamed him. I’ve wanted to run away from our situation more than once. Except of course he wouldn’t do that.

  Will smiled. “We’re learning to spell with our fingers, as well as a few new signs each day. Blake decided it would be good if we made it a little more… interesting.”

  Ed grinned. “Do tell.”

  Blake snorted. “All I said was that every day we had to sign to each other. If I sign and Will understands, I get a point. But if he doesn’t get it because my sign wasn’t clear enough, he gets the point, and vice versa.”

  “I gotcha, a bit of competition.” Ed looked from Blake to Will. “Who’s winnin’?”

  Blake sighed. “He is.”

  Will arched his eyebrows. “It’s early days, right? You’ll get the hang of it.” His eyes gleamed. “I mean, you’ve already improved since you—”

  “Don’t,” Blake warned. Like Will would listen to that.

  Ed cackled. “Go on, one of yer tell me.”

  “We were learning some basic signs,” Will explained, “And Blake did this.” He formed a right angle with his thumb and index finger, positioning his hand at his chin.

  “Yeah? Whass ’at mean?”

  Will’s gaze met Blake’s and his warm, chocolate brown eyes held sympathy. “It was an easy mistake to make. He was supposed to be signing ‘policeman’.”

  Ed widened his eyes. “‘Supposed to’?”

  Will chuckled. “Only one small problem.” He sat his chin in the corner of the L-shape formed by his fingers. “This means policeman.” He altered the angle slightly, reverting to his earlier position. “This means ‘lesbian’.”

  Ed gaped briefly, before bellowing with laughter. “Priceless. Yeah, it don’t really pay to get those two words confused.”

  Blake had known Will couldn’t keep quiet about it, given such ammunition. “Okay, okay. Enough laughter at my expense, I think.” He gave Will a Look that promised retribution when their guest had departed. In fact, he was sorely tempted to save his revenge for when Will was naked and tied up.

  Handcuffs were a wonderful invention.

  * * * * * *

  “You’re not still sulking, are you?” Will asked as he undressed for bed. Blake was already under the sheets, his back facing Will.

  “Who says I’m sulking?”

  Will would have been more convinced if Blake’s words hadn’t been directed toward the wardrobe. “Don’t think I don’t know what this is about. You’re pissed off at me for telling Ed about your little sign mishap.” When Blake didn’t reply, Will lifted the sheet and climbed into the bed behind him, spooning around him, his hand snaking over Blake’s waist to rub his belly. He kissed Blake’s shoulder. “Hey,” he said quietly. “You can’t be good at everything.”

  Blake inclined his head. “No harm in trying.”

  Will nuzzled into his neck. “I’m serious. Do you know what an amazing man you are? I can count on one hand the number of things you’ve attempted in your life and have met with failure. That’s why your staff thinks you’re Superman, you do know that, right? Why do you think they come to you when they need advice? You fix things.”

  “Not everything can be fixed that easily.”

  Will kissed his shoulder again. “Maybe not, but you’ll give it a bloody good try.”

  Blake gave him a sweet smile, and Will’s tension eased—until he felt something cold and hard snap around his wrist. “Blake, what are you playing at?”

  Blake’s smile morphed into a wicked grin. “Payback time.” Before Will could respond, Blake rolled over and pulled Will’s right arm above his head, fastening the other half of the cuff through the headboard. Then he pushed Will onto his belly and sat astride him, pinning him to the mattress. From beneath Blake’s pillow emerged another set of handcuffs.

  Will’s heartbeat sped up. He loved it when Blake got kinky. “Help, help,” he whispered.

  Blake snorted. “Oh, please. We both know you have a huge smile all over your face right now.”

  Will had nothing to say on that subject.

  When Blake had secured both his hands to the bed, he shifted position and gripped Will’s arsecheeks, spreading them.

  “Oh, fuck, yeah,” Will groaned into the pillow at that first touch of Blake’s tongue to his hole. He pulled his legs under him, knees to his chest, and tilted his arse, eager for more. Blake chuckled against his puckered entrance, and went right back to licking so fucking slowly over his hole, even though Will rocked back, letting him know exactly where he wanted Blake’s tongue.

  Blake obviously hadn’t read the same script because he kept up the sensual tongue bath, not once pressing insistently against the tight ring, although Will felt as if his whole body was screaming at Blake to just take him.

  When his hole was penetrated not by Blake’s tongue but by two slick fingers that pushed deep inside him, Will knew the message had gotten through.

  He was about to be well and truly fucked.

  A hot, bare cock slid into him, and he reared back his head to moan at the exquisite pleasure. He ached to touch his dick, but that was out of the question. All he could do was take what Blake had to give. He grabbed hold of the headboard, his fingers curling around the cut out vines and leaves, and waited, his body tight around Blake’s thick cock that filled him to the hilt.

  Blake curved his body around Will’s, his breath hot on his shoulders. “How long do you think it will take me to fuck the come out of you?” Blake’s voice was husky, raw with desire. He eased his dick out of Will, until just the head remained. “How long do you think you can last before you shoot all over the sheets? Five minutes? Less?” Blake grabbed onto his shoulders, his hands firm and warm.

  “Stop talking and fuck me,” Will gritted out, desperate to feel that long shaft fill him again and again. When Blake didn’t move, he craned his neck to stare back at him. “Blake, come on.”

  Blake covered him once more with his body. “I might not be good at everything,” he whispered, “but I’m very, very good at some things.” And with that he thrust all the way into Will, fast and deep, and Will groaned. “And one of those things….” Blake withdrew again, only to spear Will with one long push of hot flesh. “Is knowing what makes your body sing for me.” Another painfully slow retreat. “Knowing what makes you want to cry out my name because I make you feel so good.” Blake filled him, and they both exhaled. “Knowing how much you love it when I bury my cock deep inside you. Knowing I can take your breath away when you take all of me.” Blake began to move faster, sliding in and out of his body, hands anchored to Will’s shoulders. Blake groaned. “God, it feels so good to fuck you.”

  “Please,” Will begged. “Make it last. I want it to last.” He knew the truth, however, with each glide of that long, hot dick inside him. The handcuffs bit into his wrists, only adding to the spiralling heat and passion. The edges of the carved wood dug into his fingers. Blake slammed harder into him, Will’s body jolted by the impact as Blake snapped his hips faster. Every thrust of Blake’s cock brought him perilously close to the edge.

  When Blake wrapped his fingers around Will’s dick and gave it one, two, three hard tugs, that was all it took to have Will cover his hand with warm come. Will shivered, closed his eyes and let his orgasm wash over and through him in a slow pulse of sensual joy. Blake was still inside him, and as the last of Will’s climax ebbed away, he began to move again, quickly building to his former pace.

  “Let me feel you,” Will whispered. “Come on, love.”

  Blake let out a low cry and Will rejoiced to feel Blake’s cock shudder inside him, the tell-tale throb that told him Blake had come. Blake held onto Will, laying a carpet of tender kisses across his shoulder blades, the fierce and impatient lover replaced by the gentle and tender
lover once more. Carefully, Blake unlocked the handcuffs and rubbed over Will’s wrists, all the while still buried inside him. When he eased his dick from Will’s body and rolled Will onto his back, Will held up his arms and Blake filled them. They lay together, bodies slick with come and perspiration, hands still touching, exploring, while they kissed and caressed, Will not wanting to let go of the moment.

  When Blake finally lay still beside him, Will took hold of his hand, brought it to his lips and kissed Blake’s fingers. Then he placed it over his heart and covered it with his own.

  “I am in total agreement.”

  Blake raised his head to give Will an inquiring glance.

  Will smiled. “You are very, very good at some things.”

  Chapter Twenty

  June 4th

  “This is beautiful!” Elena exclaimed as they crossed the wooden bridge into Hever Castle, the placid waters of the moat reflecting the early morning sunshine. Ahead of them was the portcullis, and through an archway lay the main door. As they drew closer, Rick caught sight of a tall, slim man dressed in a dark blue suit.

  “That must be Franco’s friend, Anthony,” he whispered to Angelo. “Damn.”

  Angelo glanced at him. “And what does that mean?”

  Rick widened his gaze. “It means he’s hot.” He stroked Angelo’s back. “I can still look, right?”

  Angelo chuckled. “Of course. Looking is allowed. And you do have a point. Franco has good taste in friends.”

  Anthony smiled and walked toward them. “Welcome to Hever Castle. I’m Anthony Calderfield, and I’m in charge of bookings. Franco might have mentioned me.”

  “He did, yes.” Angelo indicated Elena. “This is my mother, Mrs Tarallo, I’m Angelo and this is Rick.”

  Anthony extended a hand to Elena, and when she held out hers, he clasped it and kissed the back of it. Elena’s face flushed.

  “You may call me Elena.”

  Anthony smiled as he straightened. “So, my first question is, are you aware of our wedding venues, and do you have a preference?”