3-Ties That Bind (8 page)

“I’m not doing this to punish you for what happened. I’m doing this to stop you from doubting yourself, your choices. None of this is wrong. I’m not letting you up until you realize it.”

Glen howled, part anger, part regret, and he fought too. Might’ve won with a lesser Dom or if his wrists weren’t tied, but luck wasn’t on his side.

Derek’s bare hand met bare bottom again and again with a thwack that reverberated through his soul, and no, it wasn’t the way it had been with John, but it wasn’t the way it had been with Mark either. It was better than it had ever been. Derek was good at this. Better than good, he realized when the measured slaps had him sinking into that place where pleasure mingled with pain, melding into one until he couldn’t see straight.

Until he didn’t care about anything else but the pleasure.

He wasn’t sure when it stopped or when the orgasm shot through him, because that hadn’t been his goal. All the pain, anger, grief poured out of him until there was nothing left but pure, unadulterated pleasure.

And while he was still in the throes of his orgasm, Derek was picking him up, putting him over the back of the couch, bent him forward so he couldn’t move. And still, Derek kept a hand on the back of his neck, tight.

Derek thrust hard, over and over without stopping, giving Glen no time to recover from the constant intense pleasure of his cock jutting against Glen’s prostate.

This sex was dirty. Hot. Hard and fast and slow and depraved. Glen begged for everything he got wantonly. Watched Derek love giving it to him, heard Derek say, “There’s nothing wrong with wanting it like this. Never was.”

Glen was aware that he was yelling—probably nonsense in between groans, and then it was like he blacked out as his cock pumped out come like he’d been celibate for years.

He was aware of Derek helping him up. Murmuring, his breath soothing against Glen’s too-warm skin. Everything ached, including his head, but Derek wasn’t going to push away that easily. Held him, stroked him, until he remembered how good what was supposed to be so bad felt.

When he was finally completely pliant in his arms, Derek took him into the bedroom.

“That’s it…come on, give yourself over to me again,” Derek encouraged as he positioned them in front of the mirror on the outside of the closed closet door, with Glen standing in front of him. Glen let his head fall back, watched them in the mirror as Derek’s hand slid up and down his cock, taking him the way Glen wanted.

Derek’s cock rubbed against him, but he didn’t fuck him again, simply jerked Glen off as Glen gasped and jolted.

“Hold yourself still,” Derek demanded. Glen did, but it wasn’t enough. Not until Derek pushed him to the wall, and Glen held his palms out on opposite sides of the mirror to brace himself. Let Derek pull another orgasm from him, this one making him relax totally. And then Derek had him again, held him up, wrapped him tight. Cleaned them both in the shower as the dazed sleep settled in.

When he woke sometime the next afternoon, he was curled around Derek as if he were protecting the Dom.

Derek didn’t seem to mind, was sleeping peacefully. Glen moved down and took his cock in his mouth—he hardened immediately.

“Beautiful baby,” he murmured as Glen began to worship his body, kissed his way down, nipping and sucking and marking his Dom, making Derek groan when his tongue licked the head of his cock. Glen deep-throated him as Derek’s fingers threaded through his hair.

“Come fuck your daddy,” he said, pointed to his lap. Glen stripped…lowered himself, poised to slide himself down on Derek’s cock. When Derek touched his ass cheeks with his hands, Glen winced, which was good. He’d remember.

“Gently, baby—you’ll be sore,” Derek reminded him, because the sex between them had been hard and fast. But this one would be different. Glen would take the lead and it was soft and slow. He lowered himself gingerly onto Derek’s cock, both of them moaning as he finally took Derek completely inside of him.

And, for the first time since they’d been together, Glen didn’t worry about being bound. Wrapped his arms around Derek’s broad shoulders, held the man the way he’d wanted to while they made love—quiet and intense—even as the storm began to howl around them. It shook the house the way Derek had shaken Glen up.

And it was fucking perfect.

In the aftermath, Derek lay on his back with Glen curled around him again. He stroked his hand along the boy’s naked back. So much baggage put to rest behind them. Today felt like a new start for both of them.

Glen spoke first. “Until last night…I didn’t realize…tying me really gets you off.”

“You couldn’t tell that before this?”

“I wanted to make sure. I mean, you don’t want to be tied or anything?”

“I’m content tying you,” he told Glen. “What you’re doing—what we’re doing—is enough for me. More than. I told you—I’ll tie you whenever and however you need it.”

“It’s one of the only times all the noise in my head stops—the worry, the fear, the stress, the day-to-day shit. Holding me so I can’t move quiets me. Weird, right?”

“No, it’s not. Makes sense.” Derek hugged him. “And I love giving it to you.”

“Even though I’m a complete pain in the ass, right?”

“Fights are a normal part of a relationship.” Derek paused. “I’d like to think that’s what we have.”

Glen nodded. “I guess I suck at it.”

“Sucking is one of your finer qualities.”

“Asshole,” Glen muttered. “You really think you can handle me? Deal with all my shit?”

“I don’t think your baggage is the problem. Just fucking accept that your kink is being tied. From there, the rest should be easy.”

After all the man had done for him, Derek asked so little in return. And Glen still couldn’t bring himself to go to the man’s family for Christmas.

He felt like he was saying no to the relationship, but he didn’t want to lie anymore. “I knew I’d be home for Christmas.”

“I guess you had a really good reason to lie about it,” Derek said.

Dammit, this was hard. It would be so much easier to walk away. “I wasn’t ready to talk about my reasons.”

“But then it walked through the door.” Derek’s gaze was steady.

“Can you blame me?”

“Never. I know I can tell you my family’s not like that and you’re not ready to believe it. I can accept that, but fuck, no one should be alone on Christmas.”

“I’ll be okay. You won’t be gone long. And I want this to work. Don’t want to let you go.”

“Then don’t.”

Glen responded to Derek by kissing him, holding on to the back of his neck like he didn’t want to give the man the chance—or the option—of getting away. Derek let that slide because he really enjoyed the possessiveness in the boy. Shit like that really turned him on…and he had a feeling Glen had that figured out as well.

Chapter Nine

The next morning, Glen felt like his old self. Better than, maybe. His ass was sore and he rubbed it as he got out of bed.

He heard Derek on the phone with the airlines.

“I’ll take anything. Doesn’t matter if it’s connecting.” He paused. “Yeah, no, it’s Christmas Eve. I get it.”

He hung up, ran his hands through his hair, elbows on the table. His back was so tense, Glen stepped forward and began to massage his shoulders. Derek let out an appreciative groan as Glen’s fingers dug in. “No flight?”

“Nothing.”

“You didn’t book ahead of time?”

“I did,” he said quietly and Glen realized that Derek had given up his airline seat to stay with him and nurse him back to health.

“I’m going to drive. If I leave now, I’ll make it by morning,” he said, like it was completely reasonable. And maybe it would’ve been, if a storm hadn’t been ravaging the Eastern Seaboard and promised to continue doing so for at least twenty-four more hours.

“Where is home?”

“Vermont.”

“Jesus, Derek…”

“I’ll be fine,” he said. “But the offer to come home with me still stands. It’s beautiful there. Quiet. Simple.”

“But your parents—”

“My mom and sister. They already know about you.”

“What do they know?”

“That I’m more than halfway to loving you.”

Derek said it so easily, but there was a guardedness in his eyes that Glen recognized. The man didn’t trust him, not fully, not to break his heart.

It was the last thing Glen wanted to do. “I’m sorry—it’s just not my thing.”

“So you’d rather be alone on Christmas?”

“It’s been that way for long enough that I stopped noticing.”

“Maybe I want you to notice.”

Glen paused and then asked, “What did your mother and sister say, when you told them that about me?”

“That they hadn’t heard me sound that happy in a long time.”

He didn’t look happy now. Glen hated to think he was responsible for that. Not when this man had brought him back from the dead in the space of mere months when no one had been able to do it in years. Or maybe ever. “Not going to be an easy drive.”

“I’ll be fine. I like being at home. My mom’s been fighting breast cancer for years. I don’t get to see her enough as it is. She doesn’t complain, but having me home for Christmas…” He trailed off. “It’s all right, Glen. I’m not upset. We’ll talk as soon as I get back, all right?”

“Call when you get there.”

“I can do that.” He packed up his stuff and gave Glen a fierce kiss. “I get it—you’ve had too much parenting for a lifetime. Don’t worry—I’ll be fine.”

Glen watched as Derek cleared snow off his truck—he’d refused to let Glen out to help him. “Not letting you get sick when you’ve just recovered,” he’d said. And finally, the truck was free and clear and Derek backed out of the driveway. Glen remained staring at the empty space where it had remained for days.

Was he really ready to let things end like this? Derek said he’d call when he returned—Glen didn’t doubt that, didn’t think this was some kind of test…but if he couldn’t do this small thing for Derek, what else couldn’t he do?

Maybe he wouldn’t return the call after Christmas. Give Derek the easy way out.

Easy way out for you too. And you’ll be alone again.

That wouldn’t be so bad if he didn’t know that Derek was so right for him. More than anyone, more than John, even, and the fact that he could admit it—mean it—hit him hard enough to make him sink to the floor for a few minutes. He had to force himself to breathe at the enormity of what he’d just realized.

He wrapped his arms around his knees as he curled into a ball. Smelled Derek all over him.

All Derek wanted was, well, something most people could do without a problem. A family visit. But family…

He could fly death-defying things, but the thought of moving forward paralyzed him. And how the hell long could he allow fear to fuck with him?

He closed his eyes and pictured Derek—the night they’d met. The night the Dom had intervened with Mark.

The way he’d taken care of Glen the past few days.

He gave you everything back…why can’t you believe you gave him something back as well?

When he found himself getting up and packing, he realized he just had.

After ten minutes, he had the phone out, called in a favor. While he waited for his friend to drop off his truck with the plow, he showered, then packed rapidly. The last thing he packed was the present he’d bought for Derek on his last mission, and headed over to Derek’s house in his borrowed truck.

He’d caught him just in time, because Derek’s front door was open, a large duffel waiting, the truck on and warming. Sometimes, leaving it in fate’s hands was the best thing, Glen decided. And tonight, fate won.

He beeped twice and got out of the car. Derek met him on the porch as the soft snow fell around them.

“What are you doing here?”

Glen nodded back toward the truck. “I can get you through.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“You stayed behind for me and missed your flight.”

“I did that because I wanted to,” Derek said.

“And I’m doing this for the same reason. Don’t make me put you over my shoulder and drag you out of here.”

“You and what army?”

“Fuck the Army. Navy does just fine on its own.” Before Derek could react, Glen had him over his shoulder and was walking to the truck.

Derek was strong but he’d always known Glen was stronger, in so many ways.

When Glen put him down on the ground by the passenger’s side, Derek pulled Glen to him in a hard kiss. Glen responded instantly.

“I’ll let you drive me if you spend the holiday with me.” Glen didn’t answer so Derek continued. “What—you’ll drive me there and turn right around?”

“I’m not good with family.”

“You’re not good with your family. Give mine a try,” Derek implored, his hand still on the back of Glen’s neck, same as it was that first night they’d met. Except this time, Glen was so much farther along. “Please, baby—I’d never do anything to hurt you.”

“Please let me drive you. Not because it’s tit for tat. But because I want to do it for you. You’re exhausted from taking care of me. I’d never forgive myself if something happened to you,” Glen said, and Derek conceded, because that step was already huge.

“Let me grab my bag and lock up.”

The weather was terrible—even with the truck and chains and plow, it was a white-knuckle trip, but hell, that was Glen’s specialty. Pulling it out of the fire—or ice as the case may be.

Derek tried to fight sleep and lost, curled up in the seat next to him and passed out for hours while Glen blasted his way through state after state.

The house was all white-picket-fence perfect, the way Glen’s had once been. It reeked of happiness, but Glen especially knew that the outside was always a facade, could never be as good as it looked.

Except…he looked at Derek. This man was as good. Glen knew that with his heart and soul, and he was so tired of fighting himself.

“Hey, we’re here.”

Derek shifted. “Shit, you’re like Superman.”

“Quite a compliment coming from a Marine.”

Derek laughed, then stared between the house and Glen. When he spoke, it was with a sudden seriousness that caught Glen off guard. “When we get home, move in with me.”