The Pretend Husband: Romance In the City, Book 1

by Declan Rhodes

  Liam took my breath away in his black tux. He was handsome every day, but the formal clothing bumped everything to the next level. When we kissed, Sarah said, “I know you can wait for any more of that kind of behavior until you’re officially married.”

  I married Liam at 4:30 p.m. Music played through a small wireless sound system, and I walked Beatrice into the parlor ahead of Liam escorted by Hubert. Our maid of honor Sarah and our best man Mark stood with us while Pastor Carlson conducted the service. Jason was nearby with Chester’s leash gripped in his hand.

  I don’t remember the details of the vows I spoke, but every word was honest. Liam and I wrote them together two days before the wedding. We were pronounced husband and husband with the punctuation of a single bark from Chester. When Pastor Carlson said that I could kiss my groom, I unleashed one of our most passionate kisses yet. Sarah laughed when Beatrice fanned herself.

  My fantasies always involved a church filled with people for my wedding, but the reality of our tiny Northwoods wedding was even better. It was unique, and it was devoid of drama. We all had the sense that we were taking part in something exceptional that would be a treasured part of family lore forever.

  27

  Liam

  We shared a leisurely dinner with our wedding guests, and afterward, Alex and I retired to the master bedroom suite for our wedding night. The suite was large enough to serve as a medium-sized apartment. It included living room space, and a bathroom furnished with both whirlpool tub and walk-in shower. A private balcony overlooking the lake was attached to the bedroom.

  “Married!” shouted Alex as we closed the door to the suite shutting the rest of the world away. “We’re married, Liam!”

  He threw his arms around me and squeezed me in a tight bear hug. I said, “It was only supposed to be a temporary pretend thing, and now I’m happier than ever.”

  Alex kissed me on the mouth, the cheeks, the neck, and he laughed out loud doing it. He said, “I think I can breathe again, and I know the world’s a good place.”

  I backed him up to a sprawling sofa with lush cushions and giggled when he tumbled backward. I landed on top of him. I asked, “Do you think you can deal with me for the rest of your life?”

  “I hope I can because I don’t want to be without you ever again.”

  The laughter and expressions of our love soon faded into carnal activities. Not only did I fantasize about seeing Alex in a tux at the wedding altar with me. I fantasized about peeling the formal clothes from his body after the ceremony was over. Seeing and feeling Alex half-dressed in the expensive rental tux fueled my passion like throwing lighter fluid on a raging fire.

  My tongue burned as I trailed it down the center of Alex’s bare chest. He arched his back against the sofa and howled in a whirlwind of pleasure. At home, surrounded by the noises of the city, Alex was relatively quiet when we made love. Surrounded by the stillness of the forest and lake at The Timbers, he was loud like a raging beast set free.

  Alex gasped and whimpered in surprise when I took his cock into my mouth. His jacket, vest, and shirt still hung just off his shoulders, and his pants were pulled halfway down his ass behind, but it was enough to reach inside and pull his mouthwatering cock free.

  I wrapped my lips tight around the head of Alex’s cock and tickled it with the light flicking of my tongue while he threw his head back and let out a guttural moan. My cock was rock hard and throbbed as a prisoner in my pants.

  I sucked Alex further into my throat gradually relaxing my choking reflex while I wrapped finger and thumb around the base of his cock. I began to stroke in rhythm with my lips sliding forward and back. Alex mumbled something about, “Liam, you never did this…” and his voice faded off in a cacophony of grunts, moans, and growls.

  Reaching between his legs with a finger slathered in lube that I thoughtfully tucked inside the tux jacket, I penetrated his hole while I sucked and stroked my new husband. I was purposefully pushing him to the edge, but it was going to be a significant period before I let him leap forward and cum.

  “Oh fuck, I’m so close, Liam.” Alex’s hips bucked, and his belly tensed. One or two more well-performed strokes could send him off the cliff, but instead, I held back. He howled in response.

  I murmured, “We’ve only just begun, my love.”

  Minutes later, my husband was finally naked for me, and I pulled him up from the couch and raced him to the bedroom. We fell in a naked heap on the king-sized master bed. I hissed and growled, “Now you’re in for it.”

  “Fuck, I love you like this, Liam. I love you all of the time, but like this, damn, you set me on fire.”

  Alex dug his fingers into my shoulders when I pushed past his ring. His legs were clamped tight around my torso, and I ordered, “Look at me, Alex. Don’t close your eyes. I want to dive into them. Look at me!”

  His eyes fluttered open, and I could see the desperation in them. He wanted to cum so badly. He wanted the orgasm like a sexual athlete desperate to score. He wanted me to explode deep inside his body.

  “Please, Liam, oh fuck, please.”

  I reached down and stroked his thick, substantial cock as I rocked forward and back in his tight, sweet ass. I whispered, “Not quite yet.”

  He whimpered, “Please…”

  “No, not yet. Ride the edge, Alex. Ride it for me.”

  He bit his lip, but he didn’t dare close his eyes. His body jerked beneath me, and sweat dripped from my chest as I thrust harder into his ass. In a powerfully resonant voice, he shouted, “I’m so fucking close, Liam! Fuck! Take me over the edge!”

  I growled, “Now! Together” as I pumped his cock fiercely in my hand and pounded his prostate with my thrusts.

  Seconds later, Alex’s body convulsed accompanied by a wordless shout. It was enough to send me over the edge, too. My body shuddered as the orgasm took over. I was worried I might black out, but I grabbed Alex’s thighs and clung tight.

  Then we collapsed in a sweat-slicked heap of arms and legs. My lips found Alex’s face, and he sucked hard on my tongue. The last waves of orgasmic bliss swept through my body while we feverishly kissed.

  “I’m still shaking,” whispered Alex. “I love you.”

  I tangled the fingers of my right hand into his damp hair and said, “I’m yours forever, my love.”

  I lay flat on my back on the bed and pulled Alex over on top of me. I stared up into his eyes and felt nothing but wholehearted devotion to my man. I giggled when he traced the letters of the word, “Love,” with his index finger across my chest.

  “Can you believe it?” asked Alex.

  “I don’t believe any of what’s happened except that I finally get to be with you for good.”

  He whispered, “I hope I wasn’t too loud.”

  “It’s a big house. If they didn’t want to hear us, they could go to the opposite side of the building or go take Chester for a walk.”

  Alex laid his head on my chest. He said, “I’m so happy that you took pathetic me home with you on the first night that we met. That was so selfless, Liam. I never expected anyone to do something like that for me.”

  I said, “I had a gut feeling, and I couldn’t just leave you to the wolves. You looked tough until you smiled. That big toothy grin reveals who you are.”

  Alex raised his head for a moment and asked, “Oh, who am I?”

  “The sweetest man that I’ve ever met.”

  Alex pinched a nipple lightly and said, “Aww, that is kind of you, but I’m just myself. I think I’m a pretty ordinary guy. Fortunately, I found an extraordinary man.”

  I said, “We’re better than either one of us when we’re together.”

  He kissed my chest and said, “Mmm, I like that. Together we’re the best.”

  It didn’t take long for Alex to start sliding down the bed kissing my chest and my belly. He swirled his tongue around my navel, and then his lips found their way to my still half-hard cock.

  I tangled my fingers into his hai
r while my cock grew fully erect again. This time everything was slower and incomparably sexy. Alex slurped and sucked. He pulled his lips off the head and nibbled the veins that protruded along the shaft of my cock. He sucked first one ball and then the other into his mouth before bathing them with his tongue.

  I was going to deliver another load, and he knew it. While he drove me inescapably toward the edge again, I balled up the sheets of the bed in my fist. I stared down at his head riding up and down on my cock and then threw my head back.

  When I came, I bellowed like a bull, and I rose up onto my elbows. I pounded the bed and yelled out, “I love you, Alex!”

  His answer was to smother me in an impassioned kiss and cover my body in the warmth of his own. I wrapped my arms tight around my man and reveled in everything breathtakingly right about our world.

  28

  Alex

  Liam and I so rarely received any real postal mail that I wondered why I ever checked the box. To my surprise, ten days after our wedding, I received an envelope sent directly to me by Hubert Linton. It was the size and shape of an invitation. When I opened it, the small card requested my presence at lunch with him in a fancy restaurant downtown.

  I responded yes to the RSVP address and waited impatiently as my anticipation grew when the day approached. I asked Liam, “What on earth do you think it’s about? Why did he ask just me and not both of us?”

  All I got out of Liam was a shrug. I wasn’t sure whether he knew more information or not. He said, “If it’s Hubert, I guess that it’s something good. So just have patience, Alex. You can have patience in bed. I’m sure you can have it for this.”

  I grumbled, “You are not helping.”

  Three days before the scheduled lunch with Hubert Linton, Liam and I went shopping, and we purchased dress clothes fitted specifically for my body. I felt exceedingly sharp when the day finally arrived.

  Hubert held out his hand and gave me a gracious smile. He said, “Thank you for accepting my invitation, Alex. I have news, but I also wish to have a pleasant lunch and get to know you better.”

  He arranged the food in advance, and I merely needed to enjoy the wine, salad, and sandwich he picked out for our intimate meal. I said, “This is fantastic. You and Beatrice have been incredibly generous to Liam and me.”

  He smiled and said, “We think you are two very talented young men, and we’re happy to do what we can to help kick off your lives together. Before I share my news, Alex, are there any questions you would like to ask me.”

  I don’t know if he sensed that I had a question, but there was one which intrigued me for weeks. I took the opportunity, and I asked, “Why the change of heart on outsider art? I’ve read your editorial, and you were scathing in the past. Now you support Liam’s work. I’m happy for the change, of course, but I do wonder why.”

  He smiled, sipped at his wine, and said, “I see that Mark has not shared the story.”

  “No, he hasn’t shared any stories that have to do with art.”

  Hubert laced his fingers together in his lap. He said, “I must fully admit now to a thoroughly shallow approach to the outsider art enshrined in our magnificent art museum. As many of my friends and colleagues did, I looked at it only as untrained and unworthy of preservation and display for the public. I admit saying to Beatrice, ‘I don’t understand. Anyone can do that. Someone’s childish home projects don’t belong in a museum.’”

  I grinned and said, “That is harsh.”

  He nodded. “Fortunately, for me, and for the museum, a random event occurred in Door County. Has Mark mentioned his older brother Matthew?”

  “On occasion, but I don’t know much about him.”

  “Matthew is a professor of biology at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. He is also something of an outdoorsman. He likes to sail in Lake Michigan.”

  I said, “That is so different from Mark. He says he doesn’t care much for the water at all.”

  Hubert smiled. “Yes, our sons are like fire and water. If they didn’t resemble each other physically, you would never convince me they grew up in the same family. Anyway, Matthew had an accident sailing off the shore of Door County.”

  “That must have been frightening.”

  “I would think so, but fortunately, an old fisherman was keeping an eye on the waves. When the sailboat capsized, Matthew’s rescuer arrived in a rowboat in less than an hour. Matthew said he could have survived on his own and possibly even steered the capsized boat to shore, but he didn’t need to.”

  “An old fisherman?” I asked.

  “Yes, and in fact, you might be familiar with some of his work if you’ve perused the collection your husband manages for the museum.”

  I was putting the pieces together, but I couldn’t yet believe it. I asked, “A fisherman who is also an artist?”

  Hubert nodded. He said, “When we received the call from Matthew, he insisted that all was well, but Beatrice and I jumped in the car and drove to Door County to check for ourselves. We were greeted by a friendly old man and Matthew at a modest lakeside home.”

  “Hubert, what was the fisherman’s name if I might ask.”

  “Dean Fetterson. Before we could enter the house, I was distracted by the abundant wood carvings that decorated his yard and the side of the house. I waved the rest of them on and said that I wanted to take a few minutes to look at the pieces. Dean stayed outside with me.”

  I said, “He’s a wonderful man.”

  I don’t think Hubert heard me at first. He continued his story. He said, “His work was exquisite. I was mesmerized. It changed my entire view of outsider art. Dean’s work was of a unique quality I hadn’t seen before. In particular, there was one piece that captured my attention and wouldn’t let go. It involved hearts.”

  I said, “I have excellent news for you, Hubert.”

  He stared across the table at me. “You know Dean?”

  I described the trip I took with Liam to Door County and said, “We bought the piece with the two hearts with the money that you donated to the museum.”

  My revelation triggered the most impressive display of emotion I’d yet seen in Hubert Linton. He reached up and wiped a tear from his eye. “That is amazing. Beatrice and I must host a reception when the museum officially adds the piece to the collection.”

  Our server brought our sandwiches, and I eagerly dug into the lunch. Halfway through, I remembered the reason Hubert invited me to lunch, and I asked, “You have news for me, too?”

  “I do, Alex. It’s a teaching position. The high school both Mark and Matthew attended is looking for an instructor in English literature. Do you think you might be interested?”

  29

  Liam

  Our first Thanksgiving was just two weeks away. The trees were bare, but our first snow of the season was yet to come. I said, “I guess we might look like the perfect little family.”

  Alex and I walked Chester down the sidewalks in our neighborhood. I took the morning off from work in exchange for an evening helping host the latest marquee exhibition opening. Alex said, “I think Chester looks even happier when we both walk him to the dog park. Look at him prancing like a proud pony.”

  Alex’s assessment was slightly overblown, but Chester was happy we were both along for the walk. I said, “I think Chester is happy to have two dads now, and he has his Aunt Sarah, too.”

  Alex said, “And Uncle Mark. Guess what Mark said we needed to add to complete our family picture.”

  “I have no idea. I don’t think there’s anything else we need. Is there?”

  “He suggested a baby stroller.”

  I stopped for a moment and turned to Alex asking, “Do you want a baby?”

  “Not right now, no. Let’s just have the world stop spinning fast for a few days or even months and then we can think about adding on.”

  The dog park was buzzing with activity when we arrived.

  Rhonda and Benny were engaged in an animated conversation. Benny wave
d at us over his head, but then he returned his focus to Rhonda. Something was holding their attention in a firm grip.

  Alex squatted down and released Chester’s collar. Chester bounded toward one corner of the dog park and began to sniff at the fence and the ground just beyond.

  I caught Faith’s eye, and she walked in our direction. Her Yorkie was engaged in the same kind of behavior as Chester. I chuckled softly when their noses nearly met while exploring the perimeter of the fence.

  As Faith approached in a red business suit, Alex held up his hand and pointed to his wedding ring. I followed suit, and Faith opened her arms pulling both of us into an affectionate hug. She said, “I knew you were perfect for each other. Let me see those rings.”

  She held Alex’s hand turning it this way and that in the sunlight. Alex said, “It’s official now. He can’t get rid of me. I guess you’ll all have to get used to me here at the park.”

  “Do you think that is something difficult?” asked Faith. Then she turned toward me and asked, “Does yours match?”

  I said, “Of course it does. One of the good things about two men marrying is the need for only one ring design and one style of tuxes.”

  Faith side, “I’m so happy for both of you, and I’m sure you know that you are both always welcome here at the park. Chester is a joy. He never causes trouble.”

  I asked Faith, “Have you talked to Mark recently?”

  She turned away from us and pointed to the far corner of the park. She said, “I haven’t. He seems to be busy these days, and I don’t want to interrupt.”

  Mark was standing in the far corner with an unfamiliar man. They were involved in a lively conversation, and it looked like both had smiles on their faces. Alex asked, “Is that the new boyfriend?”

  Faith nodded and said, “That would be my best guess. You could go over and introduce yourselves and find out.”