by Tinnean
“I’m going to find him,” Martin exploded. “I’ll bring him back. If I have to carry Will back here kicking and screaming. I will bring him back.” With that, he left the house. Mrs. Coleman sat down and waited. Will wasn’t the type to just disappear. He left, but he would be back. Mrs. Coleman had no doubt.
WILL DROVE onto the overlook that Elijah had taken him to the night of their date. He parked his little car and got out. He stood there for an endless period of time, thinking over everything everyone had said and staring at the ranch below him. This was a private spot for private thoughts. Will was desperately, head over heels in love with Elijah Hunter; he knew that without a doubt. Eli was the most irritating, rigid, difficult man on earth, and yet Will loved everything about him. Everything except the games Eli played with him. Although he claimed to be sincere, Will just couldn’t believe that Eli would truly want him the way Will wanted him. What he needed to decide was, should he confront him, should he bare his feelings and take the risk of humiliation and then leave? Or should he just leave? It was just past seven when he finally made his decision.
ELIJAH SAT on the sofa in his study, simply staring at his hands. I could probably catch Will at the airport, but what good would that do? I could force him to stay, but I can’t force him to care about me. A saying from his youth came to him. It was something about if you love something, set it free. If it came back, then it was yours. He smiled ruefully, knowing that he would not be able to do that. He could not just set Will free. He would give him enough time to make it home to Michigan and then he would meet him there. He would have his pilot ready in the morning to fly him to Whitefish Point. Perhaps, if he pursued Will on his own ground, he would be more apt to believe him. Eli wondered where Will was and what he was thinking. Given the time, he’s probably at the bed and breakfast. He has no doubt arranged a flight for tomorrow. Flights out to Helena only ran in the morning. He would have to stay in town overnight.
Eli contemplated going to the bed and breakfast tonight and making Will talk to him. All of these considerations were running through his thoughts when there came a feather-light knock at the study door. He ignored it, not wanting to speak with anyone at the moment. Then he heard the door open, and someone entered. He didn’t turn around; he waited for them to speak. Who has a death wish today? he thought angrily. Only silence ensued, so finally, he turned to see who it was that was brazen enough to disturb him.
“William!” He jumped to his feet and quickly rounded the sofa toward him, but stopped a few feet in front of him. “Where have you been?”
“I needed to think.” He spoke very softly, but Eli heard him clearly in the dead silence of the room.
“What about?” He, too, spoke softly, but his voice was laced with urgency, and Will noticed that he held his hands in tight fists at his sides.
“I thought about a lot of things—you, me, the ozone layer, whether there’s life on other planets.” He leaned back against the closed door, and his gaze dropped to the floor.
“What have you concluded?” Eli took a tentative step toward him.
“I think we’re all pretty much fucked as far as the ozone layer, and I believe that there is life on other planets, not that I’ve met any.” Will forced a weak smile.
“What about you and me?” His voice was hoarse with tension.
He gave a deep sigh before beginning. “As I said before, I know about what you did to John Gerard, and I’m fairly sure that you intended the same treatment for me. But, that being the case,” he said, rushing ahead with his explanation, “I still need to tell you how I feel. I never believed that you really cared for me in the least. I thought it was all a game, right from the beginning.” Will took a deep breath and spoke rapidly. “I fought against my feelings for you. Every step of the way I fought them, because I knew that in the end, they would be my undoing.” He paused for a moment and then finished, “But you won.”
“What do you mean?” Elijah took another step toward Will as his hopes began to rise.
Will stood up straight and looked him squarely in the eyes. “I love you, Elijah.” He never thought he would actually have the courage to say those words, but he did. “I didn’t want to, and God knows I tried very hard to deny it, but I do. I wasn’t going to admit it to you. I was just going to clear out of here on Saturday as quickly as possible with the hopes it would all go away, but what the hell, might as well let you have your fun before I go.” His voice had an edge of defiance, and he never let his gaze waver. “Do whatever it is you need to do for satisfaction.” Will waited for the slam, waited for Eli to turn on him and throw him out. He waited.
Elijah was so shocked by Will’s declaration that he was speechless. His heart was disbelieving what his ears had heard. He stood there staring at him until finally Will turned away from him toward the door, as if to leave, and Elijah was on him in an instant. He swung him around and pinned his back to the door with the heavy weight of his own body. His hands captured Will’s face and forced him to look directly into his eyes.
“Say it again,” he demanded roughly.
Will felt a tremble in Eli’s hands and saw the passion in his eyes. “I love you.”
His voice had dropped to less than a whisper, yet Will’s words echoed in Eli’s heart as if they had been screamed.
“Oh, William, why have you tortured me?” he said before devouring his lips in a crushing, sensually demanding kiss that left Will weak and trembling. The intensity of his emotion was overwhelming. “I love you so much,” Eli groaned against his lips as he swung Will up into his arms and carried him to the sofa, where he sat down, holding him securely on his lap. “I think I fell in love with you from the beginning. I can’t put my finger on exactly what it was or what you said or what I thought. Sweetheart, this has confused and frustrated me as much as it has you,” he declared and then began covering Will’s face with possessive kisses. “I never believed in love… until you waltzed into my life. I wanted you so badly; I thought I was going mad.” He buried his face in Will’s neck and squeezed him close.
Will responded by holding him tightly and telling him, “I wanted you, too, but I was afraid. I never thought it possible that you could love me.”
Elijah groaned loudly and gripped him even tighter. “I am so sorry.” He kissed him long and deeply, drinking in the affection Will was offering. He was his now. William was his. His only fear was that this was all a dream and he’d wake up and be alone. “Say it again, Will, please say it again. I can’t hear it enough,” he pleaded as he continued to show him physically how much he loved and wanted him.
“I love you, Elijah,” Will responded over and over, telling him repeatedly of his love and devotion. Will was touched by Eli’s unabashed need and his openness in showing him his vulnerabilities. Eli truly loved him, he had no doubt about it now.
After a long period of kisses and whispers, Elijah surfaced to ask him one question. “What made you come back? I thought I’d lost you.” He searched Will’s face, seeking confirmation that he was really there. Will supplied it readily with a kiss.
“I was so afraid. After all your games and tests, I didn’t know what to believe. I was afraid to believe.” Will felt him groan, and Eli pulled him so tightly to him that Will thought his ribs would break.
“I spoke with Kathy and Martin, and they both told me to follow my heart, but it was Adam who opened my eyes and convinced me that you were sincere.”
This surprised Eli enough that he actually pulled back from Will to regard him seriously.
“Adam Gerard is my champion?” He sounded stunned.
Will laughed. “Yes, he cleared up the story of your dealings with John.” Elijah cringed when he heard that name. “And he told me that you would tell me the truth if I asked. He told me to come to you and lay it on the line, take the risk, so I did.”
“I like Adam,” Elijah stated with a big smile. “I like Adam a lot,” he restated with enthusiasm, just as he began another torrent of passiona
te kisses. Adam’s business future was secure, Elijah would see to that. Adam had given him what he had fought so hard to attain. Adam had given him Will’s trust. There was no way he would ever be able to repay him, but he would try.
“I have something for you.” Elijah shifted Will to the side and went to his desk, retrieving a manila envelope and a medium-sized wooden box. He handed them to Will, sat back down beside him, and pulled Will up close to him. He kept his arm around him. “I thought you might like to read this for yourself. It will clear up a lot of misunderstandings you carry about yourself.”
Will was perplexed as he took the papers from the envelope and set the box to one side. He had to catch his breath when he saw what it was. Elijah had obtained a copy of his parents’ will. He looked at Eli apprehensively, but Eli held him close and urged him to read it.
“When Martin and I were away last week, I actually spent my time checking up on you.” He looked at Will with admiration. “I spoke with the lawyer, among others. Please read it, William.” With Eli’s support, he began.
He visibly brightened as he completed the several-page document. It felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders.
“They left everything to Katrina because they didn’t want you to spend your whole life taking care of her,” Elijah stated. “They left you what they could not bear to lose.”
“They gave me the property up north and my mother’s jewels that had been passed down through the family for generations.” Will laughed. “They entrusted it all to me because I would keep it in the family. The property was originally settled by my great-grandfather. I never knew that it meant so much to them.”
Will took the key that Elijah offered and opened the box. Inside were all the jewelry pieces that Will remembered from his childhood, along with his great-grandfather’s pocket watch. These were expensive family pieces, and they now belonged to him. They were of great value and would fetch a very good price at auction, but Will would never let them out of his care, never, and his parents knew that. “I will pass these down to my children,” Will stated lovingly.
“I like the sound of that.” Elijah interjected with a soft smile.
“All this time I thought that I had disappointed them in some way; that I had done something wrong. I thought they hated me because I’m gay.”
“They didn’t care about the money or the property in East Lansing, and they didn’t care about your sexuality. They left most everything to Katrina knowing that she would piss it away,” Elijah added. “They loved you enough not to saddle you with Katrina.”
“Thank you for making me read this. I should have read it a long time ago.” Will sighed and laughed and hugged Eli to him.
“I knew there had to be more to the story; no parent could turn their back on someone like you.” He kissed Will thoroughly and drew him to his feet. “There is something that I have been waiting to ask you.”
“What is it?” Will asked, although he had an idea what it was.
“Will you marry me, William?” Elijah got down on one knee and gallantly kissed Will’s hand.
“Yes, I will,” he answered with tears in his eyes. “And I promise, I will always love you.”
“A man can’t ask for more than that.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a simple gold band and slipped it on his finger. “That makes it official.”
“Thank you, it’s beautiful.” Will beamed.
“I’ve been carrying that thing around with me for days, waiting for the right moment. It belonged to my grandfather.”
Will was sick of talking and pounced on Eli, covering his mouth with kisses as he affirmed with his actions how much he was in love with Elijah.
Eli responded in earnest, and soon, Will was backed up against the sofa. With the lightest of touches Will fell backward onto the sofa with Eli above him. He looked into Eli’s adoring eyes and saw all the things that Eli felt for him but couldn’t express in words. He connected again with Eli’s mouth, and they began exploring each other’s bodies with a newfound amazement.
Their other encounters had been born out of lust and need; this was pure cementing of their bond of love. Eli pulled Will’s T-shirt over his head quickly, exposing the expanse of white flesh beneath. Eli then began kissing up and down Will’s neck, eliciting peaceful sighs from Will as he ran his hands across Eli’s firmly muscled back. Will marveled once again at how intimacy had been hard before, but with Eli it was always so natural and easy. This was what he had been looking for his whole life and hadn’t even known it. Eli brought him back to the present by removing his own shirt and exposing his powerful, ranch-honed chest and torso. Will ran his hands over the tanned flesh and found himself completely overcome with desire. He latched onto one of Eli’s already hard nipples and then the other, causing a look of pleasure to play across Eli’s face.
Eli once again took control of the situation and made short work of Will’s jeans and underwear, pulling them off before he went down on Will, taking his cock in his mouth in one fluid motion. Will arched his back and once again found himself moaning wantonly. No one had ever brought this kind of reaction out of him; no one had ever been this good.
Eli let his finger wander down and begin circling Will’s entrance, teasing the outer ring. Will began bucking his hips, begging Eli to enter him. Eli took great pains preparing Will, making sure he was ready. He’d never found himself being so careful with another person, but never before had he loved someone so deeply. Once he was certain that Will was ready, he sheathed and lubed his achingly hard member and began slowly entering Will, completely overcome by the tightness and warmth. They had already done this twice, but each time they would explore each other’s bodies more, finding new ways to bring pleasure. Each time was new and exciting. Will wrapped his legs around Eli’s waist and begged him to move faster, and Eli did so with pleasure. The room was filled with their scent and the sound of their love: skin slapping together, moans and cries of passion, and endearing words of love exchanged, filling the room completely.
“I’m so close,” Eli grunted as he increased the speed of his thrusts. He began quickly stroking Will’s leaking cock, pleading, “Come with me.”
A few strokes later, Will was crying out as he came, spilling out over his chest and Eli’s. Eli came moments later, filling the condom deep within William. Eli collapsed on the sofa to one side of Will and gathered him close to his chest, ignoring the bodily fluids that covered them both.
“I’ve never been so happy,” Eli purred into Will’s ear, kissing his neck lovingly.
“We need to make plans to fly out to Michigan to pick up Todd and some of your things. I have a feeling you’re going to be staying for quite a while,” Eli said with a lovable grin.
“This isn’t another test, is it?” Will gave Eli a sly grin. “I had to ask.”
“No more tests, no more games, no more distrust.” He kissed Will again to punctuate his statement.
“I think we had better get dressed and go find Martin so we can tell him the good news,” Eli said, handing Will his clothing. A few minutes later, he took Will by the hand and led him to the doorway. “But before we do….” Eli pressed Will’s back against the door and whispered, “Tell me again that you love me.”
“I love you, Elijah; more than I ever thought possible,” Will stated, punctuating his words with a passionate kiss.
THE MARRIAGE took place, as scheduled, the following Saturday. No one seemed particularly surprised by the immediacy of the event. “Once he makes up his mind,” Mrs. Coleman told the caterer, “there is no stopping him.”
“I think Elijah started planning this wedding the moment he laid eyes on William,” Martin joked with Adam as they waited outside the small chapel in Boston. Since learning of Adam’s role in returning Will to him, Elijah had turned his former enemy into a lifelong friend. Katrina had even flown out for the wedding, no doubt trying to get into her now-very-rich brother’s good graces, but she found herself almost entirely ig
nored. Only Will was nice enough to greet her and thank her for coming. As much as he despised her, she was still family, and his parents would want them to stay in touch, if only minimally. Everyone cheered when the two men emerged from the large, ornate doors and headed down the walkway to their car.
Elijah held tight to Will’s arm and smiled at the well-wishers. “So, Mr. Drake-Hunter, do you still think this is a trick?” he joked to Will.
“I’m not sure. You could be stringing me along,” Will teased. “I was told you will go to any lengths to get what you want.”
“That, my dear William, is a true statement,” Eli declared. “But all I want is you.”
William looked up at him then, with all his love and trust showing in his eyes. Eli took him in his arms and kissed him, vowing to never let him go.
B.A. STRETKE began writing when a fifth grade teacher told him he couldn’t. That same stubbornness and drive led to the discovery of an actual talent. B.A. spends his days reading, engaging in sarcasm, and plotting ways to trap a rich Canadian husband so he can buy his mother a Lamborghini. He has dreams of being a schoolteacher and a novelist, as well as having a closet big enough to hold his obsessive collection of cardigans. B.A. writes to escape the mundane small town life—that same drive to write the great American novel never dying.
B.A. Stretke lives in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, with two royally spoiled cats and his dear friends and family.
Twitter: @DramaticPause10
Blog: http://www.mypridemarch.net
By B.A. STRETKE
The Art of the Deal
Signed & Sealed
The Final Battle
Published By DREAMSPINNER PRESS
