Taking a Knee

by Sean Ashcroft

  “That’s what he said,” Jace responded, unable to resist.

  “That’s what he’s going to say, later.” Noah grinned.

  Jace closed his eyes and leaned forward, bracing himself against the wall in front of him as Noah undid his belt and fly with enthusiasm. A jolt of panic—the feeling of missing a step on the way down a flight of stairs—hit Jace as Noah pulled his underwear down, but it faded in an instant. This was what he wanted.

  “For reference, I can take you being a little rough. I’m a big boy. Not as big as you, but…” he trailed off, leaving Jace blushing at the compliment. He could definitely get used to this.

  Noah breathed on Jace’s cock, and even that was enough to make Jace moan softly. His balls already felt tight, his cock heavy, tension coiling at the base of his spine. It was too much and not enough, all at once.

  The tip of Noah’s tongue was searing hot, wet and soft and so, so good. He licked a few stripes up the underside of Jace’s cock, and then, without warning, took the head into his mouth. Jace’s knees nearly buckled as he swore under his breath, the sudden warmth and pressure of Noah’s mouth around him making him leak precome. Noah didn’t seem to mind, lapping at the head delicately.

  Jace shifted his legs further apart for balance, knowing that otherwise he was eventually going to collapse under Noah’s continued assault. Noah’s mouth was impossibly hot, his tongue wicked and firm against Jace’s cock. He wasn’t shy about this at all, happy to lick and suck and make obscene noises while he did it.

  If Jace had known that sex with other men was this hot before now, he would have tried it a long time ago. It was nice to have Noah as his first, but he’d clearly been missing out.

  Jace dropped one hand to rest on Noah’s head. He stroked through his hair, smiling as Noah made an appreciative noise. Jace’s cock twitched at the sound, the confirmation that Noah was enjoying this, too. It took all his willpower not to rock his hips—Noah had said it was okay, but Jace didn’t want to risk hurting him. The temptation to thrust into the wet heat of Noah’s mouth was too strong, Jace's growing need too great to be sure he could control himself.

  Noah was picking him apart at the seams, narrowing Jace's world down to the pressure of his lips, the texture of his tongue against Jace's most sensitive spots.

  If he wanted rough, he could have it later. An image of Noah under him on his hands and knees, every thrust hard enough to shake the bed, his body eager and pliant and scorching, interrupted Jace’s chain of thought. He let the image linger a moment, closing his eyes to focus on it as Noah closed his hand around the length of his cock, pulling back to lick at the head. Jace bit down on his lip, forcing himself not to come right away.

  “Jesus, Noah,” he gasped out, the gap between fantasy and reality closing fast. This was way better than anything his own mind could come up with.

  Jace finally let his hips rock forward, unable to stop himself any longer. Noah adjusted, stroking Jace’s cock in time with his thrusts, rolling Jace’s balls in his free hand. By now, they were so sensitive it was almost painful to have them touched, but Jace said nothing. This was all too good to stop, and Noah clearly knew what he was doing. Pressure built steadily, the need for release making Jace's thighs ache, his cock feel too tight.

  Noah swallowed Jace’s cock down again, moving easily with each roll of Jace’s hips, sealing his lips tight around the head and letting them slide down as Jace moved. It was all suction and heat inside Noah’s mouth, and Jace couldn’t get enough of it. He was too hot under his clothes, beads of sweat trickling down the back of his neck. The effort of not coming was suddenly too much to bear.

  “Babe, I’m gonna…” he choked out, hoping Noah would get the message. He couldn’t focus on words right now, not when Noah was so warm and willing, everything Jace had ever wanted and more.

  At the last moment, Noah pulled back, pressing Jace’s cock firmly against his belly as he started to come, working it without pause. Jace rode out the wave, his hips arching forward without his permission, thighs tightening hard enough to hurt as he felt himself come all over his own stomach and t-shirt. His orgasm rolled through him in waves and ripples, one peak after another leaving him gasping, breathless.

  The wall was the only thing holding him up by the time he was done, the rest of his body wrung out and exhausted. Noah was good.

  As Jace was thinking that, Noah slid up his body and grabbed his hand. He caught Jace’s lips, hard and needy, and shoved both of their hands into his underwear without hesitation. Jace found Noah’s cock rock hard and leaking, hot and heavy to the touch, strange and familiar in his hand.

  He leaned forward, pinning Noah against the wall again and holding him there. He wanted to make Noah come, too. He wanted it more than he’d wanted to come himself, to give Noah this, to show him how loved and needed and perfect he was, how much Jace meant this, how eager he was to learn what made Noah happiest.

  Noah groaned and wriggled under Jace’s body, his smaller frame no match for Jace’s own without momentum. He could grind and rock and thrust as much as he wanted, and it wouldn’t move Jace an inch.

  Jace loved the weight of Noah’s cock in his hand, the way the soft skin slid over his palm, catching now and then. He loved Noah’s breath against his neck, and the way he gasped and whined into Jace’s ear, making it obvious that he was enjoying this. Jace loved all of it, and wanted more.

  Noah’s hands curled around his shoulders, his fingertips digging in hard. Jace shifted again, this time lifting one of Noah’s legs with his free hand, hooking it over his hip so he could get closer, feel Noah’s hard cock against him.

  “So close,” Noah murmured into his mouth. “So close, Jace, Jace,” he panted, punctuating the sentence with a low, drawn-out moan and a full-body shudder as he spilled all over Jace’s hand.

  They both leaned against the wall, panting for breath for long moments in the silence after.

  Jace had been afraid this would be the moment where reality crashed down, where he’d suddenly realize he was straight after all and be upset or disgusted with himself, but it never happened. He felt as though he was glowing.

  Delighted laughter bubbled up in his chest as he caught his breath, and he leaned in to kiss Noah again, who was soft and pliant and so obviously satisfied that Jace couldn’t help being proud of himself.

  “You’re a good husband,” Noah said breathlessly, letting his eyes fall closed. “Although, babe?”

  Jace laughed. “Do you not like babe? How about honey? Sweetheart? Love muffin?”

  “I swear to god, if you ever call me love muffin again, I will end you.”

  “So that’s not gonna be your new derby name?” Jace asked innocently. “I think it’s got a nice ring to it.”

  Noah slapped Jace’s arm, but nowhere near hard enough to hurt. He’d done more damage with his fingertips earlier. Jace grinned at him, his heart feeling so full it was in danger of bursting.

  “Was it, umm… was that okay?” Jace asked, suddenly shy again. He knew he’d had a good time, but he wanted to be sure it was good for Noah, as well.

  “It was perfect.” Noah darted in and pecked Jace’s lips, leaving them tingling at the contact. Jace wasn’t sure he’d ever get used to Noah kissing him. “You don’t have anything to worry about. I’ll teach you everything you need to know. You’re totally worth the time investment.”

  Jace swallowed. “I love you,” he said. “I don’t think I said so before.”

  “Maybe not in as many words, but I got the hint.” Noah beamed up at him, his whole face glowing. “I love you, too.”

  “So are you my boyfriend now?” Jace asked. He felt as though he was back in high school, asking his crush out for the first time.

  “I am literally married to you.” Noah raised an eyebrow. “But I guess I can be your boyfriend, too.”

  Jace laughed, leaning in for another kiss. They were going to be just fine.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Noah w
oke to Jace curled around him, naked except for his underwear, and dozing lightly. He reached out for his phone on the bedside table, wriggling back to steal more of Jace’s warmth once he had it. Jace made a tiny noise, but sighed and went back to sleep immediately.

  Part of Noah wanted to go back to sleep as well, but he was too awake now to manage it. Besides, he needed to know what had happened when he and Jace had skipped the celebrations in favor of their own version of celebrating.

  A quick glance at Facebook showed him that Rafe had commented on one of the photos of him and Jace kissing, but had been shot down by an incredibly long comment thread that made Noah grin.

  The team seemed to have had a lot of fun in their absence. Noah had half a dozen posts on his timeline—with various levels of drunken spelling mistakes—that gave him an overview of the evening, and reminded him that he absolutely had to attend the end-of-season party, because this was his and Jace’s win, too.

  Brian had left him a note to tell Jace he was proud, which Noah would show him later.

  His email notification told him that his mother had sent him something, and he almost didn’t open it up. At the last moment, though, he noticed that the preview started with I’m sorry, which was such a shock that he had to read it.

  I’m sorry I doubted that you and Jace were the real thing. I should have known better. I can see that he loves you a lot and that you’re happy.

  She went on to say that she was heading home and would love to see them for Christmas, though Noah wasn’t sure Jace would go for that. He laughed at the thought of telling him, the look on his face clear in his mind.

  Perhaps they would go and see her someday. Noah didn’t want to break all ties to the only family he had left. Well, aside from Jace. Aside from the derby team. Aside, presumably, from Jace’s family as well. He’d have to ask about them at some point.

  Jace dropped a kiss on his shoulder and then yawned right next to Noah’s ear. Noah couldn’t bring himself to mind. He would have been happy if every day started with Jace yawning in his ear.

  “Morning,” Jace mumbled sleepily. “How’s things?”

  Noah chuckled. “A miracle occurred while we were asleep,” he said.

  “Diego washed his knee pads?”

  “No.” Noah laughed at the thought. He was confident that particular miracle was a step too far, and he wouldn’t have believed it even if he saw it. Not that he was much better about his safety equipment, but he did remember to air it out once every few weeks or so. “No, but close. My mother apologized to me. That has actually never happened before, as far as I remember.”

  “I told you I was good with parents.”

  “You also told me parents liked you. Although, mom seems to like you now. I guess the trick was to call her on her bullshit.” Noah sighed, then stretched out, wincing at his post-game soreness as he did so.

  “Are you okay?”

  “Sore,” Noah complained. He was looking forward to a nice hot shower, and the possibility that Jace might join him.

  Jace made a sympathetic noise and kissed his shoulder again. “That’s what you get for exercising.”

  “I also have a great ass to show for it, though. It’s worth the trade-off.”

  Jace hummed, settling his arms around Noah’s waist. “No regrets?”

  “None,” Noah said. “Not a single regret. This has all been worth it.”

  “Gimme your phone,” Jace said. Noah handed it over without a second thought. He knew that whatever Jace was about to do, it wouldn’t be anything that would hurt him. They were married, and now they were together for real. Jace was on his side.

  Jace logged out of Noah’s Facebook account, and then logged back into his own. Noah looked away, not wanting to intrude.

  “No, it’s okay. I want you to see this, actually.”

  Noah watched as Jace went into settings and changed his relationship status from single to married to Noah Levesque. Jace didn’t use his account often, but this still seemed important. And it would show up for everyone he knew.

  He didn’t stop there, either, instead opening a new status update and typing away one-handed.

  So for anyone who just saw me update my relationship status, that’s not a joke. I guess this is a coming out, engagement, and wedding announcement post all in one. Sorry to everyone who didn’t get the chance to marry me, but Noah saw me first ;)

  Noah chuckled at the update, and waited for Jace to post it before turning around to kiss him. He loved kissing Jace, now that he was allowed to. He couldn’t imagine ever not wanting to.

  Jace kissed back eagerly, making soft, happy sounds as he did so. Noah was looking forward to getting used to waking up like this.

  “So I take it you want to make this work, and my blowjob technique hasn’t put you off?” Noah grinned at him.

  “I definitely want this to work.” Jace cleared his throat, blushing. “And it was really, really hot. I wanna learn to do that for you.”

  “There’s no rush.” Noah said, running a finger down Jace’s nose and then brushing it over his lips. The thought that they’d look amazing stretched around his cock occurred to him, but there was no way he was going to push it. He had Jace now, and he wasn’t about to scare him away.

  “Brian’s proud of you, by the way. He told me to tell you,” Noah said, having almost forgotten by now.

  Jace laughed. “He was so mad at me for taking so long to tell you.”

  “You got there eventually,” Noah said. “And now, I’m going to make you breakfast for once.” He pecked Jace on the lips and rolled out of the bed, groaning at the pain of moving so quickly after a game, but determined to treat Jace like the prince he was.

  Noah had never expected to be the one to get the boy. That wasn’t usually how his life worked. No one worth settling down with had ever wanted him before.

  Jace was perfect, and Noah was looking forward to settling down with him. After they’d had a little fun, of course.

  He padded to the kitchen with a smile on his face, convinced they were going to have a fairytale ending after all. Whoever said crime doesn’t pay had obviously not tried marriage fraud.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  In the days after he made the post where he’d come out and admitted to marrying Noah, Jace had been swamped with messages and emails from his extended family—some offering congratulations, some expressing confusion. Jace mostly ignored the second category and thanked the first, which seemed like the most sensible thing to do. Anyone who couldn’t congratulate him didn’t deserve a response.

  His sister had been grilling him about Noah all week, asking for pictures, then asking if he had any cute brothers hanging around, and then when they were going to come see her. She didn’t seem even a little surprised that Jace was suddenly married to another man, but it was hard to tell over text. Maybe she was shocked and just being supportive.

  Jace had been a little worried about his parents—they’d always been supportive of him, but he’d never had to come out to them before. He’d gotten an email within an hour, signed from both of them, telling him how proud of him they were.

  Now, they wanted to meet Noah—online, at least. Jace knew he had no reason to be nervous—Noah was fun, and charming, and definitely the kind of person you took home to your parents. That didn’t stop him from sitting in front of his laptop, waiting for his parents’ call, and freaking out.

  Noah took his free hand, squeezing it tightly. “You’re practically vibrating. You wanna take a deep breath, there?”

  Jace paused, and then took Noah’s advice, inhaling deeply and then exhaling slowly. He repeated it a few times, feeling the tension start to leave his body.

  “They’re just your parents,” Noah continued. “And they’re not even in the room, so you can cut them off if you want. All you have to do is close the laptop if you decide you don’t want to talk to them. But they seemed cool. Way cooler than my mom, anyway.”

  “I think your mom’s coming aro
und,” Jace said. She did seem to be getting that Noah was married to someone he liked being married to. Jace had even seen her liking a photo of the two of them together, which they were still posting in case Rafe did decide to do something drastic.

  He seemed to have disappeared, though. Jace suspected Diego had something to do with that. He’d been a good friend to both Jace and Noah. That was the best part of derby. The sense of being a team extended way past game day.

  The incoming call icon popped up, and Jace hit accept before sitting back on the couch so he and Noah were both in view. His parents popped up in a similar position, both grinning and waving into the camera.

  “Welcome to the family!” they chorused. Jace smiled. This was going to be fine.

  “Thank you so much,” Noah said. “I’m sorry everything happened so fast and we didn’t tell you guys. It’s been… weird. Umm, I’m Noah.”

  “We figured,” Jace’s mom said. “I’m Sandra, and this is Don.” She nudged her husband. “But you can call us Mom and Dad, if you want. No pressure. We’re just very excited that Jace has found someone.”

  Jace blushed, clearing his throat. “You wanna go easy on him? I don’t wanna scare him away.”

  “Well, he’s already married to you,” Jace’s dad said. “So he can’t escape now.”

  “I don’t want to escape. You both seem like lovely people, and I’m so happy to finally be meeting you.”

  “So what do you do, Noah?” Don asked.

  “I freelance, in web design. I used to work for a company here in Baltimore.”

  Sandra frowned. “So how do you know Jace?”

  “Did he not tell you?” Noah glanced at him, grinning. “We play roller derby together. I knew it was love the first time I tripped over him at practice.”

  “I remember that incident as you knocking me over and then falling on your ass.”

  Noah shook his head. “You’d definitely fallen over of your own accord. I was innocent.”

  “I believe Noah. He’s got an honest face,” Sandra said.