by Witt, L. A.
Levi nodded. “I know.” He reached across Link and touched Carter’s arm. “Look, I’m sorry. You’re right. I didn’t think about whether it was important to you. And I should have.” He drew his hand back. “Carter, I love you. And I know you love me. This has nothing to do with that at all. I just . . . I fucking hate the commercialized shit.”
“So do I.” Carter met his eyes. “But I still like the sentiment. Is it too much to ask for one day out of the year to be kind of special?”
“No, it isn’t.” Levi swallowed. “The thing is, everyone I’ve ever dated has done it out of obligation. I’ve never . . . To be honest, I guess it didn’t occur to me that it mattered to you, because I’ve never been with someone who actually cared about the sentimental side of Valentine’s Day.”
Carter cocked his head. “Really?”
“Yeah. They felt obligated to get me a gift, and they’d get pissed off if I didn’t ‘care enough’ to get them one, or if it wasn’t big enough, or . . .” Levi waved a hand. “It was always about the cards and the obligations. I didn’t think you wanted the sentimental side because I didn’t think anyone ever did. So, I’m sorry for that.”
Carter relaxed a little. “I would’ve said something. But I thought . . . I mean, you hated it so much, and I didn’t want to bring it up. But the closer we got to today, I . . .” He sighed. “I guess it bothered me more than I thought it did.”
“So maybe we need to find a way to balance the day. Celebrate Valentine’s Day without . . . celebrating it.”
Carter shrugged. “I’m fine with anything as long as it’s us. How do we make it different?”
“I don’t know.” Levi thought for a moment. “I mean, it also bugs me because it kind of seems like people pull out all the stops, lay on the romance, and then . . . then they’re off the hook for the rest of the year. I guess I’d rather do small stuff all the time.”
Carter swallowed. “Me too. But I do like this part too. Not the cards and gifts and crap. Just . . .” He shrugged. “Us. You, me, the cats, dinner, and a movie. Like we do all the time, but different and maybe a little special, you know? I’m not completely sure how.”
Levi chewed his lip.
“There is still time to make him remember tonight as an amazing evening instead of the night you guys fought over Valentine’s Day.”
Maybe there was.
Levi’s heartbeat ratcheted up. There was something he’d been meaning to do, and he’d been losing sleep over it for weeks. A few times, he’d almost worked up the courage, but then . . . didn’t. Couldn’t. Chickened out at the last possible second.
But if ever there was an opportunity to make a sincere, heartfelt gesture on Valentine’s Day, this was it. This was his shot at showing that while the holiday didn’t mean much to him, Carter did.
Levi’s stomach twisted into a knot as his nerves threatened to get the best of him. This was even more terrifying and huge than the day he’d asked Carter to move in, but before he could talk himself out of it, he took Carter’s hand. “Let’s go upstairs. I might be able to make this up to you after all.”
Carter didn’t move. “Look, I’m glad we’re on the same page again, but I’m not quite in the mood to—”
“That’s not what I meant.” Levi squeezed his hand. “Come on.”
Carter was dubious and still irritated, but he wanted them to pull this day together. And, hell, how many times had they finished an argument in the bedroom, and felt a whole lot better after they’d fucked, even if neither of them had been in the mood at first?
So he let Levi lead him up to their bedroom on the top floor. The sparsely furnished room was tidy—this part of the house was literally only used for sleeping and fucking. Carter wasn’t keen on either at the moment, and couldn’t imagine what else Levi could have in mind.
Levi let go of his hand. He turned and started riffling around in his top dresser drawer, and over his shoulder, he said, “I think I figured out how we can make Valentine’s Day special for us. You know . . . make it ours somehow.”
Carter shifted his weight. “Mm-hmm. That’s why we’re up here.” He craned his neck, wondering what was in the drawer. Levi had been known to surprise him with crazy sex toys. And that weirdly curved dildo they’d played with a few weeks ago had been pretty awesome; this could get interesting in a hurry.
“Maybe . . .” Levi faced Carter and swallowed. “Maybe we could make it our anniversary.”
Carter’s eyebrows jumped. Shaking his head, he laughed softly. “But that wouldn’t work. We started dating in the spring.”
Levi’s expression stayed completely serious. “I didn’t mean the anniversary of when we started dating.”
“Then what—” Carter’s teeth snapped shut. His heart leaped into his throat. “Are you . . .”
Levi smiled.
“You’re serious.” Carter swept his tongue across his lips. “You want to get married.”
“I’m dead serious.” Levi ran the pad of his thumb along Carter’s cheekbone. “I’ve been thinking about it for a while. We’re perfect together. I’ve been happier with you than I’ve ever been.” He brought up his other hand, revealing a pair of simple gold wedding rings. “And I want to make that official.”
Carter stared at the bands. They were identical except one was slightly larger than the other. Custom-sized already.
He lifted his gaze and met Levi’s. “I thought . . . I thought you didn’t want to get married.”
“I also didn’t want to share my house with anyone.” Levi nodded toward the dresser that was now filled with Carter’s clothes and had a few of his cuff links and baseball caps neatly arranged on top. “Then you showed up.”
Carter blinked.
Levi combed his fingers along Carter’s scalp. “You’re different, so the rules are different. Moving in together is a royal pain with other people. The thought of getting married to someone else made me break out in hives. But you . . .” He smiled. “I can’t think of a single reason not to marry you.”
Carter held his gaze for a moment, then laughed and pulled him a little closer. “You know, for someone who managed to torpedo my subtle Valentine’s Day plans, you do have quite the romantic streak.”
Levi chuckled and might’ve been about to say something, but Carter kissed him instead. Any inkling of not in the mood had evaporated, and suddenly he was done talking and couldn’t get close enough to Levi.
And apparently the feeling was mutual. Levi held him tight. The kiss was gentle, but passionate too. This wasn’t the way they kissed when they were getting playful, and it wasn’t the way they usually kissed when they were making up after a rare fight. Excitement simmered beneath his skin, and he swore he could feel it in Levi too—that delicious tension that hadn’t quite settled on an outlet yet, even though they were quite obviously heading toward one.
He ran his fingertips down Levi’s cheek, tracing warm skin and coarse stubble, and a shiver went straight down to his curling toes. He’d been pretty dubious about Levi salvaging the evening, but sometimes it was good to be wrong.
Levi broke the kiss long enough to reach back and set the rings on top of the dresser. Then he met Carter’s eyes, smiled, and drew him back in.
“For the record,” Carter murmured, “I love the idea of getting married.”
“On Valentine’s Day?”
“Oh hell, any day.” He brushed his lips across Levi’s and wrapped his arms around his neck. “As long as I’m marrying you, the details don’t matter.”
“Agreed.” Levi gathered handfuls of Carter’s shirt in his hands and pulled him closer. “We can get married a year from today, or we can go to Vegas tomorrow for all I care.”
“Hmm, maybe not Vegas.” Carter tilted his head back, and as Levi leaned down to kiss his neck, said, “A Valentine’s Day wedding would be damned cool, though.”
“I agree.” Levi trailed kisses beneath Carter’s jaw. “Go big or go home, right?”
“Absolutely.
” Carter shivered as Levi’s stubble brushed his neck. “You know, as long as we’re up here . . .”
Levi kissed his way along Carter’s throat. “Suddenly in the mood, eh?”
“Aren’t you?”
“I’m always in the mood when you’re here.” Levi pulled Carter’s hips against his, letting him feel the thick erection beneath his jeans. “Was this on your agenda for the evening?”
Carter slid his hands under Levi’s shirt. “Of course it was.”
“Yeah?” Levi let Carter push his shirt up and off, and when their eyes met again, he said, “Did you have anything in particular in mind? Or were you just going to see where the evening took us?”
“I was . . .” Carter closed his eyes as Levi kissed beneath his jaw. “I thought we could—Jesus, Levi.” He’d had a few ideas about tonight. Like a mental porno, this evening had been playing out in his mind for days as he’d tried to covertly make plans, but now, all that was gone. Whatever he’d envisioned paled in comparison to the reality of Levi’s warm lips against his skin, and the callused fingers sliding up his bare back.
“Hmm?” Levi lifted his head. “You didn’t answer my question.”
“That’s because I forgot how to talk.” Carter slid his palm over the front of Levi’s pants, grinning when Levi gasped. “You know how that goes, don’t you?”
“Around you? You’d better believe it.” Their lips met again, and Carter couldn’t have thought of any more banter if he’d wanted to. Levi’s kiss was demanding and desperate, and as it always did, weakened Carter’s knees.
Levi pressed him back a step. Then another. Carter’s whole body tingled—yes, yes, let’s get to the bed now.
Pulling Levi with him, Carter sank onto the mattress, but movement beside him and a startled meow sent him right back to his feet.
“What the—” He twisted around, and there was Link, who’d apparently taken over the bed while Levi and Carter hadn’t been looking. Carter nudged him gently. “Move it, kitty.”
Link didn’t move.
Levi reached past Carter and gave the cat a firmer nudge. “Out, buddy. You don’t need to watch any of this.” Another nudge. “Out.”
Zelda probably would’ve swatted him and let him know exactly what she thought of his dismissal, but Link jumped off the bed and wandered out of the room.
“Now.” Levi wrapped his arms around Carter again. “Where were we?”
“I think we were about to get into bed.” Carter shivered as Levi’s hands traced the length of his spine from his waistband to his shoulder blades. “Question is, what should we do when we get there?”
“Anything you want.” Levi’s breath was hot on Carter’s neck. “Say the word. Anything.”
Carter bit his lip. “Is ‘everything’ too much to ask?”
Levi laughed and lifted his head. “Why don’t you get out of those clothes, and I’ll see what I can do?”
They both stripped down, and Carter lay back across the comforter. Levi got on top, and as soon as he started trailing little kisses past Carter’s collarbone, Carter knew what was in store. By the time Levi’s lips had reached the center of his chest, Carter was squirming and trembling. With every kiss down his abs, Carter’s head spun faster. Those kisses were hot in their own right, but it was the promise that drove him wild—Levi’s lips and tongue were magic. He could give a blowjob like no one’s business, whether it was some long drawn-out foreplay or a quickie just to drive Carter crazy.
And then Levi’s lips were around Carter’s dick, and Carter whimpered. All this time together, and Levi still took his breath away—stroking, squeezing, fluttering his tongue a bit, deep-throating now and then, as if he knew exactly what would turn Carter inside out at any given moment. The best part? Levi loved sucking cock. Sometimes he groaned, his voice vibrating against Carter’s sensitive flesh, and once in a while, he shivered as if he were the one in Carter’s position. His enthusiasm alone was enough to make Carter tremble.
Much more of this and he was going to lose it. And he wasn’t ready for that yet.
“F-fuck me,” he pleaded. “Or else I’m gonna fucking come.”
For a second, he thought that was exactly what Levi was aiming for—the way he swirled his tongue around the head of Carter’s cock didn’t do a damned thing to keep that impending orgasm at bay. Before Carter fell apart completely, though, Levi looked up, and his grin said you’re damn right I’m going to fuck you.
Carter grabbed the lube and a condom out of the drawer. He sat up and handed the lube off to Levi, and went to tear the wrapper so he could put the condom on for him, but then paused, holding the condom between two fingers.
“What’s wrong?” Levi asked.
Carter swallowed. “You know, we live together. We’re engaged now. We’re both clean.” He met Levi’s gaze. “Do you think we still—”
Levi plucked the foil square out of his hand and tossed it on the nightstand. Then he curved a hand behind Carter’s head and kissed him, and as they sank onto the bed again, Carter didn’t have to ask if Levi was on board with the idea.
“Turn over,” Levi murmured. He sat back, and Carter got up on his hands and knees and shifted around. Levi quickly put on some lube and positioned himself behind Carter.
They’d fucked countless times since they’d started dating, but Carter’s breath always caught the moment Levi breached him. And those first few strokes? Slow, easy, careful. Without fail, they left Carter’s head spinning.
Tonight, Levi didn’t pick up speed like he often did. Sometimes he’d grab Carter’s hips and go to town on him, slamming into him until neither of them could move, and holy hell, Carter loved that. Tonight, though, Levi kept it slow and smooth—Carter’s favorite way to be fucked.
After a while, Levi shifted and nudged him down with his body weight, and Carter didn’t resist at all. He let Levi guide him all the way down onto the mattress. God, this was heaven—stretched out on the bed, Levi touching him all over, inside and out, every stroke pushing Carter’s dick into the comforter. He closed his eyes, pressing his forehead into the pillow and gripping its edges.
Levi buried his face against Carter’s neck, and his whole body quivered as he moved slowly—so, so slowly—in and out of him. He kissed beneath Carter’s ear and moaned, “You feel so fucking good.”
“S-so do you.” Carter tried to rock back against him, but in this position, he couldn’t. There wasn’t much he could do except lie there and go crazy while Levi fucked him.
“I could do this all night,” Levi breathed. “Except I . . . Jesus, I want to . . .”
“We have all night.” Carter shivered. “M-might as well use it.”
Levi didn’t say a word. He withdrew, and then thrust in. Deep. Hard. Carter gasped. His vision blurred, and before it cleared, Levi did it again. And again. And again. He was relentless, just like he always was, and Carter loved every second, every thrust, every rush of hot breath alongside his neck.
This, every night for the rest of my life?
Oh yes. Oh yes. Oh God yes.
“Oh God . . .” Carter shuddered.
“Fuck,” Levi moaned, and sank his teeth into the top of Carter’s shoulder, and the faint flash of pain hit those other sensations like a flame to powder. In an instant, Carter was over the edge, trembling and crying out beneath Levi.
Levi thrust even harder, forcing himself deep inside Carter and driving his orgasm on before he, too, fell apart. “Oh my God,” he breathed, and shuddered against him, his thrusts reduced to short, sharp jerks, as if he’d lost the ability to control his own body.
Then Levi was still. So was Carter. Both panting, both shaking, but otherwise, they didn’t move.
Carter swept his tongue across his lips. “We really . . . we really need to have makeup sex more often.”
“No way.” Levi nuzzled Carter’s neck. “I don’t want to fight.”
“Good point.”
Levi withdrew, and they both slid to the floor on shak
y legs. After they’d cleaned themselves up, Levi pulled the covers back, and they climbed into bed together.
Right when they’d both gotten comfortable, Levi craned his neck toward the door. “Incoming.”
As if on cue, Zelda launched herself onto the edge of the bed. A second later, Link joined her. Zelda marched over the top of Levi and onto Carter. Link put his paws on Levi’s arm. Both stared at them with wide, expectant eyes.
“What?” Levi scratched Link’s ears. “Can’t deal with us in bed this early?”
Carter laughed as he petted Zelda. “You’d think they’d be used to that by now.”
“Right? Eh, they’re probably hungry since—”
“Oh shit!” Carter clapped a hand over his mouth. “The carbonara!”
“Relax. I turned off the stove and made sure everything was covered so the cats would stay out of it.”
“Oh, good. Glad one of us was on the ball.”
“We can heat it up later.” Levi gently removed the cat from his arm. “Let me go feed them so they’ll stop being pests. You stay put.”
“Not that I have a choice. I can barely move.”
Levi winked. “Mission accomplished.” He got out of bed and put on his bathrobe, and both cats thumped onto the floor as soon as he headed for the hallway. Carter chuckled as he listened to “If you trip me, you’re not going to get fed” and “Carter will be on the phone with the paramedics, not filling your— Damn it, Link, I’m not kidding!” all the way down the stairs.
Grinning like an idiot, he lay back, lacing his hands behind his head. This night had turned out better than he’d ever hoped. A mix of a surprise proposal, amazing sex, and their mundane domestic life—feeding the cats, keeping the cats out of the human food, and all of the normal, boring stuff he’d come to love about being with Levi.
Though he did feel bad for getting so pissed off about the whole Valentine’s Day thing. Even if Levi had been unreasonable about it, he had made a good point—Carter could have said something.
“Okay, now they’re happy.” Levi stepped back into the room, startling Carter out of his thoughts. “Until they start begging to be fed again in an hour or two.”
