Rhythm of Us: Book 2 Of The Fated Hearts Series (29 page)

“I’m glad to know that Damien didn’t destroy your life like he threatened to, but, of course, I didn’t know about your badass military career or I would’ve laughed at him with you.” Xavier was trying to lighten the mood so Deacon could see that he was well and truly okay.

“Skills that include breaking and entering,” I added wryly.

“I didn’t
break
anything, just entered,” Deacon corrected. He looked down at his large watch with a grimace. “I seriously need to head to the airport and catch my plane.” All three of us stood up at the same time.

“Won’t you be arrested at the airport?” I asked.

“I’m just a person of interest at this point and a warrant hasn’t been issued for my arrest,” Deacon explained. “I did make arrangements through my lawyer to turn myself in, making it very clear that I have nothing to hide. I will confess to beating the shit out of him, but nothing more. They won’t know about your photos, Xavier.”

“Thanks, Deac.” Xavier gave him a brief hug and I shook his hand before we walked him to the door. “Stay in touch, okay?”

“Sure thing,” the big man agreed. “You guys can go back to your regularly scheduled screwing now,” he said, mimicking the recorded voice you’d hear after an emergency broadcast has ended. He gave us a small wave and disappeared into the dark night.

I shut the door and we just stood there in silence for a few minutes. My earlier thoughts of food disappeared under the weight of all the information I learned from Deacon. The guy went to a lot of trouble to tell Xavier that he was okay, innocent of a crime, and would be turning himself in. He could have easily done that over the phone. It was obvious to me that Deacon truly cared about Xavier’s well-being so perhaps he needed to see for himself that Xavier was doing okay. He probably wanted to size me up and judge my worthiness and that might be why he insisted I come down with Xavier to talk. I reached out and pulled Xavier into my arms and held him tight against my chest.

“Let me fix you something to eat and we’ll head up to bed. I’m ready to be held in your arms all night long.” His hot breath against my neck stirred up a different kind of hunger pain – one further south than my stomach.

“Let’s just skip the food and go straight to bed,” I replied huskily. “Morning will be here in just a few hours and we’ll go out for breakfast.”

“Can we go to Spanky’s or is that too unhealthy for you?” I didn’t miss the hopefulness in his voice.

“I have a cheat day once a week and I’ve been missing you too much to give much thought to food.” I felt him stiffen in my arms and I kissed away his tension. “I’d love to treat you to Spanky’s on one condition.”

Xavier pulled back and looked at me suspiciously. “What?”

“You agree to come to my softball game with me tomorrow afternoon.” I wanted everyone to see that he belonged to me and I belonged to him.

“I’ll agree to go to your game on one condition,” he countered with a quirky smile.

“You’re already getting Spanky’s pancakes. What more can you want?” I was so happy to see the carefree smile on his face and the sparkle in his eyes that I would’ve agreed to anything.

“You come to family dinner with me at Gram’s tomorrow night. I’d like to introduce you to my family as my boyfriend.” He cocked his brow playfully.

“Deal.” We sealed our negotiation with a kiss and then headed up to bed. “How are you feeling?” I asked once he was snuggled against my chest under the covers.

“Perfect now.” Xavier cuddled closer to my chest. “You feel so perfect, Ben.”

“We feel perfect,” I corrected. I blinked my eyes a few times to stay awake. I had my guy back where I wanted him and I didn’t want to miss a minute. Xavier placed his hand over my heart, I started to tell him that my heart already belonged to him, but his soft even breaths against my chest told me that he had already fallen asleep. I whispered the words to him anyway and smiled when he burrowed even closer to me under the blankets. His heart heard me and that was good enough for now. I closed my eyes and let myself fall into a deep, much needed sleep, content that all was finally right in my world.

It amazed me how natural it felt to hold Xavier’s hand in public, give him a victory kiss after the game, and use the word boyfriend when I introduced him to my teammates. I was thirty years old and had my first boyfriend.

Even more amazing was the hand job Xavier gave me on the drive back to my house. I knew he was up to no good when he asked me to leave my cup in after the game. I could tell that he wanted to be the one to remove it, but I wasn’t expecting him to do it while I was driving the damn car. Yet, I didn’t try to stop him when he unbuckled my pants, reached his hand inside, and pulled my cup out of my jock strap and tossed it in the backseat. I could’ve asked Xavier to wait when he pushed my jersey up out of the way, but nah. Oh, I begged and pleaded alright, but it wasn’t for him to stop. It was a miracle we made it back to my house alive and in one piece, especially when he started licking my release off of his fingers before wiping off my stomach with a towel from my bag.

“What are we going to do about that?” I asked, pointing to Xavier’s erection when I put my car in park in my driveway.

“I plan to bury it in your ass while you wear your jock strap.”

Goose bumps dotted my skin and a tremor skipped down my spine. “Can we at least go inside my house so we have more room?” I spotted Mrs. Hernandez loitering around on her porch like she was waiting for me. “And privacy?” I nodded in her direction and made Xavier was aware of her presence.

Xavier untucked his t-shirt, trying to cover up his excitement the best he could. I reached for his hand once we both exited my car and rounded the hood. The devilish look in his eyes promised that I was in for a treat.

“Bennett, why didn’t you just tell me you were gay?” Mrs. H had her hands on her hips and a wry smile on her face. “You could’ve saved us both the embarrassment of me trying to foist my granddaughter off on you.” Mrs. Hernandez looked Xavier up and down then looked back at me. “He’s smoking hot. Don’t strain yourself, Bennett.” She gave us a wink and went back inside her house.

Xavier was on me the minute my front door was shut and locked. “Don’t you want me to take a shower first? I could put on a clean jock for you. I even have a variety of colors.”

“No. Right here and right now.” Xavier fished out a condom and a packet of lube from his wallet.
Whoa! Someone was prepared.
“I’ve been planning this since I watched you get dressed before the game. I’m going to take you right there on those stairs.”

“These stairs?” I pointed my thumb over my shoulder. I was amazed I could even speak at this point. I started stripping out of my sweaty uniform until only my jock strap remained. I turned around, walked over to the staircase, bent over and placed my hands on the steps. As I offered up my ass to Xavier, I couldn’t help but think that this was about to be my personal stairway to heaven. “I’m all yours, baby.”

“DO YOU MIND
telling me what happened with your mom last night at the charity event?” I hummed “over the river and through the woods” as I drove us to Gram’s for dinner. Ben burst out into laughter and I glanced over at him. He was grinning like a loon. “What?”

“Get this! She tried to fix me up with JJ.” This time we laughed together.

“Why the hell would she do that? What redeeming quality would he have as a boyfriend or son in-law?”

“His name,” Ben answered simply. “JJ has become quite the power player in DC and my mom would do anything to associate our names together. Pathetic.” Ben sighed deeply before he continued. “I’m done with their passive aggressive behavior, Xavier. I’m through with them implying that I was lucky to be loved by them. Ha! Loved. They’ve never once told me that they love me. They tolerated me and I’m no longer willing to accept it. All I’ve heard from them my entire life is what a disappointment I was to them. I was the fat kid that no one wanted to befriend. I was the overly emotional gay kid with a chip on my shoulder. I failed to follow the career path they set for me.” Ben’s emotional outburst was followed by a frustrated breath. “Bevan is my family and he’s all I need.”

“You have me and my family too.” It was pretty much an acknowledgment of how deep my feelings went, how strong our brewing connection was. I just hoped Ben believed in those same things.

“That means the world to me, Xavier. Thank you.”

I reached over and entwined our hands together. “Yeah, you might want to hold out on thanking me just yet.”

I showed Ben around the grounds at Autumn Years and he was impressed with how lovely the grounds were with beautiful ponds, landscaping, and paved trails so the immobile residents could still get out and enjoy nature. We entered the dining room and the first thing I saw was Gram’s boyfriend, Lennie, circling a man half his size with his fists up like they were about to go a few rounds.

“Awesome! Rocky 98,” Ben joked.

“Lennie, knock it off,” Gram said casually from her designated dining table. Her calmness implied that Lennie’s fighting was a recurring event.

“I’m going to kick your ass this time, you horny old bastard.”
Whoa.
Lennie wasn’t playing around.

“Jesus Christ.” I jumped into the fray to avoid the fight from escalating further. I wrapped my arms around Lennie and began walking him backwards.

“It’s okay, kid,” the horny old bastard said. “I can take his candied ass. She’s probably let all the air out of his muscles and he’s ripe for a beat down.”

“That’s enough vulgar talk out of you, Edmond.” Gram’s authoritative tone was matched by her rising to her feet. “I’ll whip your ass myself.”

I looked over at Ben and was ready to apologize, but I found him grinning from ear to ear; he was clearly enjoying the show. I guessed my crazy family didn’t offend him after all. Three geezers grabbed ahold of Edmond and drug him from the dining room, warning that he better settle down before he gets tossed out for good.

“I love this place.” Ben smiled and wrapped an arm around my shoulder, pulling me close and kissing my temple.

Gram’s shrewd eyes took it all in, not missing an expression or movement. “You boys look exhausted, but well-sated. I knew the moment I saw you two together that you’d be tearing up the sheets before long.”

“Be nice, Gram.” She waved off my lightly spoken warning. “My boyfriend isn’t used to all of this drama yet. I mean, I bring him home to meet my family for the first time and it’s an all-out brawl for your affection.”

“Not for long,” Lennie said, wrapping an arm around Gram. “I’m going to make an honest woman out of her yet.”

“Boyfriend!” I didn’t miss the fact that Gram deliberately ignored Lennie’s declaration. “I’m so happy for you both. You make such a beautiful couple.” She stepped to Ben first, hugging and kissing his cheek before turning to me and doing the same. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen your eyes sparkle that much. It goes well beyond the physical aspect, am I right?” The last part was whispered in my ear.

“Way beyond,” I whispered in return. I caught Ben watching us and I gave him a reassuring smile.

Ellie showed up a few minutes later. She looked so much better after she entered the second trimester of her pregnancy. Gram and Lennie fussed over her and asked how she was feeling. Everyone was getting excited over the fact that we’d have a new baby in our family by Christmas. I never told Ellie about the stakeout. She seemed as if she had come to terms with being a single mom and I didn’t want to stir up any pain. I was sure she had an inkling of just how bad he was and didn’t need me stirring up painful thoughts.