“For what? I didn’t do a damn thing,” he muttered, grinning from ear to ear. “If you want to thank someone,” Curtis nodded toward his mother sitting on the arm of the chair beside him, “she deserves it all.”
True, Ethan thought to himself. Releasing Beau’s hand, Ethan made his way over to his mother and wrapped his arms around her. “I love you, Mama.”
“I love you too,” she whispered back. “And I’m so proud of you.”
Because he knew he was going to break down if he didn’t get out of there, Ethan took a step back, forced a smile and then reached for Beau again.
Beau felt… Hell, he didn’t even know what he felt.
Part of him was numb, but even the slicing pain he still felt from his father’s outburst wasn’t nearly as prevalent as the part of him that felt loved. Leave it to Curtis and Lorrie to right his world in ways his own parents never had.
He’d been appalled to learn that Ben had called them, and he could only imagine what the man had to say. He would have to go on imagining because both Curtis and Lorrie had been tight-lipped. The only thing they told him was that he was welcome in their home anytime. And that they were proud to call him son.
That part had nearly leveled Beau. His own father had disowned him, yet Curtis and Lorrie had ensured he knew he was wanted.
However, he hadn’t anticipated Ethan showing up. And when Ethan had touched him, right there in front of his parents, his world had literally turned upside down. He wasn’t sure he’d ever feel like that again.
Now as he walked through Ethan’s front door, he no longer felt the brutal disappointment that had lodged in his chest after leaving his parents’ house.
Ethan stepped up beside him, wrapped his arm around his waist and pulled him close. “Why don’t you go take a shower while I cook dinner?”
“Why don’t you join me?” Beau asked, not wanting to be alone. “We’ll make sandwiches when we’re done.”
Ethan smiled, and Beau’s body hardened instantly. Just the way Ethan looked at him made everything better.
They made their way upstairs quickly, neither of them hesitating before stripping and getting into the shower together. Everything past that point was a blur. As soon as their bodies collided, Beau knew nothing except for the heat generating between them, the glorious friction of Ethan’s tongue against his, the warmth of his hands as they slid over his body.
“I need you, E,” Beau murmured against his lips.
“You’ve got me,” Ethan responded, pulling back slightly.
Pressing his mouth back to Ethan’s, Beau took Ethan’s hand and guided it around his hips, showing him exactly what he needed. When Ethan pulled him closer, his fingers searching, prodding, Beau moaned against his mouth.
“Fuck me, E,” he begged. “Help me forget for just a little while.”
Beau was grateful for the water because he didn’t know if he could stop the tears that threatened. No matter what he told himself, his heart ached for the loss of his parents. Denial had been much easier to bear than the bitter truth.
When Ethan cupped his face with one hand, Beau leaned into his palm, their lips brushing softly together. With the fingers of his other hand, Ethan began to thrust inside of his ass, their mouths fused, their tongues melding together until Beau’s body was strung tight, his control reaching the breaking point.
Ethan. The man was his everything. All he needed. All he wanted. The very thing that completed him and right there in his arms was the only place Beau wanted to be.
Pulling back completely, Beau grabbed the lube that they’d stored on the shelf in the shower and handed it over to Ethan. He was rewarded with a knowing grin and that gesture alone infused him with an emotional strength he’d been lacking for the last hour.
“Turn around,” Ethan demanded, his tone firm, just the way Beau hoped it would be.
Arm on the wall, Beau bent at the waist and rested his forehead on his forearm, closing his eyes as he prayed Ethan would hurry. He wanted to take him inside of his body, to feel that connection that continued to grow stronger and stronger every day.
With the first thrust of Ethan’s hips, Beau growled, the sensation overwhelming him, his skin tingling as the initial bite of pain morphed into glorious friction, sending him racing toward the precipice in an instant.
“Slow,” Ethan said, leaning over Beau, pressing his chest to his back. “Don’t you dare come without me.”
Beau smiled. He wasn’t sure he was capable of making that promise at the moment, but he would damn sure try as long as Ethan continued to move.
“Oh, God, yes,” Beau groaned when Ethan gripped his hair firmly, pulling him so that he had no choice but to stand straight. Ethan’s other hand gripped his shoulder, holding him firmly as Ethan began pounding into him from behind.