Faking A Groom (Marital Bliss Book 3)

by DJ Jamison

  “No,” Avery scraped out. “I don’t want a fucking drink.”

  “Suit yourself.”

  His father took another large swallow. “Why would I pull this legislation after the stunt you pulled, huh? Is that your price for coming home and getting back to normal?”

  “No, it’s my price for not going back to the media with the story that you’re supporting legislation that’s bad for the LGBTQ community—”

  “That’s just not true.”

  “—a measure that opens the door for discrimination against LGBTQ individuals who want to adopt or foster children,” Avery continued. “All while you have a gay son you claim to love.”

  “Claim to love?”

  Avery shrugged, heart thumping. “Not feeling the love right now, Dad. Why can’t you do this thing for me?”

  Drake Kinkaid dropped into his seat like a puppet who’d just had his strings cut. He groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. “It’s not that simple.”

  “It is. You can make it that simple.”

  Raking his hands through his hair, his father looked contemplative. “It would take some doing. I’ve made promises.”

  His father was hedging, but it was the first crack Avery had seen in his resolve.

  “The news will come out about it, and it won’t be good for you,” Avery said. “If you get this bill killed, though? It’ll make up for any damage the article about me caused. You’ll be supporting your son.”

  His father snorted. “You’ll make sure the news comes out, you mean.” He didn’t sound angry, almost impressed. “You’ve probably got that blogger on speed dial. You going to call him as soon as you leave here?”

  “He already knows,” Avery said. “He’s waiting for our go ahead on the story.”

  When his father remained silent, Avery sighed and turned toward the door. “That’s all I came to say, so I’ll leave you to your evening.”

  He had the door open before his father responded.

  “I’ll do it.”

  Avery turned back. “You will?”

  “It’s not as easy as saying ‘never mind,’ though, Avery. I’ll need some time to call in some favors and flip some votes. I could pull my support tomorrow, and take a heap of heat, but the damn thing still might pass when it reaches the floor. If you want this done right, I’ll need to handle it carefully. Politics.” He smiled wryly. “You know how it is.”

  “But you can do it,” Avery checked.

  His father looked offended. “Of course I can. But it’s nearly Christmas. Legislature is on a break, and half of them are with their families. Then it’s the new year. I can work on Ford; we’ll be in Aspen together over the holidays.”

  Something in Avery’s expression must have been easy to read because his father added, “Didn’t think you’d be around this year, and Ford just got divorced. He’s depressed. You could join us?”

  Avery thought of Rory, of his warmth. Thought of Rory’s mother and her very kind offer. It would be awkward, maybe, spending the holidays with them, but he wanted to. He wanted to meet Rory’s mother, wanted to spend Christmas with love and family, not old, bitter men on skis. “I’ve got plans with Rory.”

  “The mystery fiancé,” his father muttered. He looked down into his drink, brooding. Then seemed to shake it off. “Do we have a deal? I’ll work on killing the bill, and you’ll call off the attack in the media?”

  “It wasn’t an attack,” Avery argued. “I told the truth.”

  His father waved it off, as if his words were semantics. “So?”

  “Yes. We have a deal,” Avery said, a feeling of surrealness coming over him. He’d done it. He’d actually outmaneuvered the king of manipulation. For once, Avery had the leverage to get his father to bend, not the other way around. “Thank you.”

  “Don’t thank me,” his father said sourly. “You won this round. Sure you don’t want to rethink that future in politics?”

  Avery grinned, pride surging at his father’s words, even though he knew he shouldn’t care. His father had only capitulated out of a desire to protect his own reputation. He didn’t care enough about Avery to do it for him, and that hurt. But he’d finally taken a stand, taken on his father, and he was still standing.

  The world was still turning.

  And Avery wasn’t small, or insignificant, or invisible. He wasn’t weak.

  He was strong. Strong enough to live his life his way. Strong enough to take what he wanted. Be who he wanted.

  With new confidence surging through him, he left, eager to return to Rory. Eager to be the man Rory deserved.

  A man with a backbone.

  A man with courage and integrity.

  For the first time in his life, Avery felt like that man.

  Avery burst into the living room, grinning, taking Rory completely by surprise. After the message he’d miss dinner, Rory had become worried he might end up drinking his pain away, much as he had the night he’d tried to propose to Rory. But Avery was sober and practically vibrating with a manic sort of happiness.

  He kissed Rory hard, then said. “Have you eaten? Sorry I missed dinner.”

  “I did. I can heat something up for you?”

  Avery waved that away. “I can’t eat right now. I’m too fucking happy. I finally talked to my father, and I won, Rory. I bested him for the first time in my entire fucking life!”

  “What, how?”

  “It doesn’t matter,” Avery said, though Rory thought it mattered. What could have transpired between father and son to have Avery this happy after that article this morning? It didn’t seem right. But Avery was kissing him again, his lips smiling against Rory’s, and Rory could only kiss him back, drinking in the joy.

  “I want you to fuck me.”

  Rory’s heart missed a beat. “What?”

  “I’m ready,” Avery said. “I’ve wanted you for so long, and you did promise.” His voice dropped in register. “You said you’d fuck me as hard and as deep as I wanted.”

  A shiver worked its way down Rory’s spine. “I did say that,” he said, his blood already running hot at the images popping forth in his head. “But are you sure you won’t regret it?”

  “I won’t,” Avery said, kissing him again. “I’m man enough to take your cock. Give it to me, Rory. Let me show you that I’m strong enough.”

  “I know you’re strong enough. You’re man enough for me, no matter what we do in bed.”

  “Then fuck me,” he insisted before kissing Rory again, this time deepening the kiss until Rory’s head was spinning. He couldn’t think, much less turn down something he’d been desperately wanting for weeks, if not his whole life.

  “Okay,” he said, hands clenching involuntarily on Avery’s hips. “Okay, I’m a man of my word. I’ll fuck you.”

  Avery made a broken sound and kissed him harder, pressing tight against him, so tight Rory thought they’d fuse into one being if it were possible. He could feel the hard bar of Avery’s erection against his own, and his arousal shot through the roof. Rory didn’t just ache in his cock and balls, he ached in every joint, every nerve ending, deep down inside to the heat building in his abdomen, and all the way up to his tight chest and the burn in his eyes.

  He was so damn proud of Avery in this moment and utterly swept away by his need.

  They tore at each other’s clothes, scattering shirts and shoes around the living room. Rory had imagined all the ways he might finally have Avery this way; he’d pictured a romantic evening, candles, a luxurious bath, plenty of time for cleaning and prep. Now, he didn’t care. Couldn’t imagine waiting another minute, much less half an hour.

  Avery ripped open Rory’s pants, pushed them over his hips, and Rory stepped out of them while Avery finished stripping down. When they were both naked, they stood in the center of his living room, surrounding by clothing, hard cocks bobbing.

  Rory started to laugh, and Avery did too.

  “Should we take this to the bedroom?” Rory asked.

>   Avery grinned, eyes bright. “Race you there.”

  Avery had never felt more certain of himself, more confident. He almost wished he were wearing lingerie so he could tackle all his demons in one day, but he felt too anxious, too eager to have Rory inside.

  Finally.

  Avery didn’t know why he needed this. He’d tried not to want it his whole life, but something about the idea of a man entering him, filling him, possessing him as no one else ever had was enticing. More than enticing. It was thrilling.

  He hurried toward the bedroom, not even caring that he probably looked like an idiot with his hard cock and balls swinging between his legs. Rory was hot on his heels, and the moment Avery’s foot touched plush carpeting, Rory spun him around, kissed him until his head spun, and shoved him backward.

  Avery fell awkwardly across the mattress, bouncing, and Rory crawled over him. He expected more kissing, but Rory bypassed him to grab supplies from the bedside drawer. When he returned with a condom in his hand, Avery swallowed hard, unable to take his eyes off it.

  Rory tossed it onto the bed, casually, as if he did this every day.

  So many times without you, Avery’s mind supplied. Such a hateful thing, his brain. He told it to shut up.

  Rory brushed a cool, wet finger between his cheeks, seeking out his hole, and Avery jerked, legs falling open. He felt more exposed this way than all those mornings in bed when Rory patiently worked him open from behind. This time Avery was looking down at Rory as he spread his legs and pulled them back.

  It occurred to him they hadn’t done much foreplay as Rory gently circled the tip of his finger around Avery’s rim, teasing him until Avery pushed his ass down, silently begging for more. But then, they’d had weeks of foreplay leading up to this.

  “Do it,” Avery said.

  Rory slipped a finger inside him gently, so gently. But they’d practiced this. Avery wasn’t afraid. He wasn’t even that tight. “More,” he said. “Hurry.”

  He felt as if he’d die if Rory didn’t give him everything this time. He felt as if he’d burst out of his skin, so big was his want. His cock was hard, quivering, even though they were both ignoring it. Rory added a second and third finger, stretching him, making him ready.

  “Am I…okay down there?” Avery asked uncertainly, suddenly aware he didn’t exactly follow the gay man’s etiquette of an enema or cleanout. Rory laughed, eyes twinkling. “Better than okay. You’re going to feel perfect around my cock.”

  Avery’s breath hitched. It was really happening. After all this time, he was going to let another man inside him. They’d be joined, connected like puzzle pieces locking into place. He licked his lips and said words he’d never been able to get out before.

  “I want you inside me,” he said. “Please, Rory. I need to feel it. I need to know—”

  Rory rose up over him, silencing him with a long but surprisingly tender kiss. “I’m going to take care of you,” he said softly. “I’m going to make it so, so good for you. I promise.”

  Their eyes held, and Avery felt his heart swell so much he wondered how his chest could contain it. “I believe you.”

  Rory smiled, shifting back, running the knuckles of one hand down the center of Avery’s chest, over his navel, down to his cock, which Rory stroked firmly. Then he released Avery to roll on the condom and slick it up.

  “Put a pillow under your hips,” he instructed. “I want to do this face to face.”

  Avery wanted that too. His pulse began to skitter and race, and nerves assailed him as he positioned a pillow beneath him, which tilted his hips up and made him feel even more exposed. He watched Rory, trying to steady his breathing. He knew Rory wouldn’t hesitate to stop if he thought Avery was unsure. He wanted him, though. He could do this, push past the self-imposed walls and take what he needed without regret.

  Rory’s skin was flushed red, his chest moving a little quickly, as if he, too, was a tad nervous. It had a calming effect on Avery, to know how much this affected Rory. His cock was slender, but it looked big jutting out from such a willowy body. Avery’s hole clenched. “Now,” he gasped. “Rory.”

  “I got you.” Rory pressed against his opening, a blunt pressure. “Breathe out and push. I know it doesn’t seem logical, but—”

  “Just do it,” Avery urged. “Just, please… Oh, God.”

  Rory pushed forward, steadily, parting Avery’s flesh. There was pressure, a faint burn. Rory’s cock must have grown three sizes, because Avery felt him everywhere. Goddamn. But it was incredible too, the sense of fullness. Goosebumps raised to the surface of his skin. He flashed hot, then cold, then hot again.

  So much stretch, so much intrusion to his most private place.

  “There,” Rory said softly.

  “You’re in?”

  “I’m in.”

  “All the way?”

  His lips twitched. “All the way. I’m deep inside you.”

  Avery exhaled, eyes fluttering closed. Emotion overwhelmed him for a moment. He was with a man he loved, and that man was pressing inside him, and it was okay. It had to be okay, because now that he felt it, Avery didn’t know how he’d gone so long without it.

  “Are you okay?” Rory whispered. “Do you want me to…”

  He started to withdraw, and Avery clutched at his sides. “No, wait. Stay.”

  He took a deep breath, his mind still full of wonder, his ass so full of Rory he couldn’t stop feeling him. He wiggled his hips experimentally causing Rory to gasp and pleasure-pain to flare. His eyes snapped open. “I just needed a minute.”

  Rory gazed down at him, his eyes looking full of everything Avery felt, like a mirror image of his own insides. “How does it feel?”

  “Amazing,” Avery said. “Strange…but good.” He hesitated. “It feels right.”

  Rory’s mouth tilted into a smug smile. “Just wait. It’s only going to get better. Are you ready?”

  “I’m ready.”

  Rory rolled his hips, and Avery gasped as sensation overwhelmed him. Wave after wave of pleasure, edged with that slight burn that only intensified the feeling, rolled over him as Rory thrust in and out of his body. Each push in felt better than the last, each tug of withdraw made Avery clutch at him, rock forward to reclaim him. He wanted to pull Rory inside and keep him there forever. Rory adjusted, glancing off his prostate, and Avery gasped out, “Fucking fuck!”

  “Like my cock in you?” Rory asked before fucking him harder, faster. Stroke after stroke, Avery felt him more deeply.

  “Yes,” he gasped.

  Rory slowed his hips, circling, grinding, and Avery felt on the verge of losing his mind.

  “You still think this is wrong?”

  “No,” Avery choked out.

  “Tell me what you want then.”

  Avery’s mind careened in a dozen different directions. “Want you. Want your cock.” Rory stroked in and out so slowly it maddened him. “I want to come!”

  Rory grinned. “Then come and get it.”

  Before Avery could figure out what he meant, he withdrew, rolling over onto his back. Using two fingers, he held his cock upright, an invitation for Avery. “Come take what you want,” he said.

  Avery’s heart quickened. It was easier to let something happen to him than to actively claim it for himself, but he didn’t hesitate to clamber over Rory. He was in too much need to falter now. Braced over Rory’s body, he felt aware of how large he was, how heavy. “I don’t want to crush you.”

  “I can take it.”

  Rory was so effortlessly confident. How could Avery ever think it was weak to be beneath another man? To take his cock, or have his weight pinning him to the mattress? There was a strength in that. There was a strength in taking what he wanted, regardless of what anyone thought.

  Avery crouched over Rory, pressed Rory’s cock against his hole, and felt him slide in. Avery groaned, throwing his head back and flexing his thighs and hips to feel Rory deeper, to get him in that spot that lit up Avery fro
m the inside out.

  Rory grasped Avery’s cock, stroking steadily, and Avery reached the brink of orgasm in no time. “Rory,” he gasped.

  “Take it,” Rory repeated. “Take what you want.”

  Avery slammed his hips down harder and harder, riding Rory, until the sensation inside and outside, in his ass and in his cock, became too much and he burst into pleasure, crying out raggedly, almost noiselessly as breath sawed in out and of his chest. His heart raced as pleasure exploded through him and he shot hot over Rory’s hand and onto his chest. He trembled and shook and was dimly aware of Rory grabbing his waist and powering his hips up hard several times, prolonging Avery’s orgasm to a sharp knife’s edge of pleasure that was almost too much to bear. Then he was groaning, eyes closed, lips parted, and Avery could only watch with wonder the beautiful expression on Rory’s face.

  I did that. I gave him that pleasure, my body, me.

  When Rory’s eyes opened and refocused on him, Avery felt himself blush. Which was ridiculous after everything they’d done. Ducking his head, he peeked at Rory. “Hi.”

  Rory’s lips tilted up at the corners, a bemused sort of smile. “Hi.”

  “I feel like a new person,” Avery admitted, “so I thought we should introduce ourselves.”

  Rory’s smile faltered. “You’re not, though, Avery. Fucking doesn’t change who you are inside.”

  “No, I know,” Avery said quickly. Rory was still inside him, even as they talked, and it was a surreal feeling. He knew soon he’d have to sever their connection, but he wanted to maintain it as long as he could. He felt closer to Rory than ever before. “I don’t mean because of the fucking. Just…I feel new, like someone unafraid to take what they want.” He chuckled, looking down at Rory’s chest, the drying cum, his soft cock nestled against Rory’s skin. “It was a dumb joke.”

  “Hey.” Rory reached up, curling a hand around the nape of Avery’s neck. Tugging, he urged him down into a sweet kiss. “It’s not dumb. I’m really proud of you, Avery.”