“No terminations at the dinner table, boys,” Lydia commands. She turns her focus back on me. “Well, no matter how you met my Cain, I’m so pleased you’re in his life.”
I glance at Cain in time to see a twitch of a muscle in his jaw. I want to hound him for answers about why he seems distant from such a wonderful, loving family.
Soon, Alaric drifts off into the living room with Lydia to watch a Christmas movie, and Isaac goes to work making new cocktail creations that make me shudder. Cain ends up being ordered to the couch to sit on the other side of his mom. He motions me over, but I spot Will sittingin a rocking chair on the back porch alone and slip out to claim a chair beside him.
Will answers all of my questions about what the silos and barns hold, happy to detail out his operations on the farm. His laid back nature and skill with conversation remind me of Isaac.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen my son this content,” Will says. The comment disturbs me because the word content doesn’t really come to mind when I think of Cain. If this is him relaxed, I hate to think how unwell he was previously.
“I believe I have you to thank for that. So thank you, Ezra. From the bottom of my heart. I don’t know how long you two have been together, but it’s been a while since we’ve seen Cain. We worry about him.”
“Because of how he was when he came home from serving?” I question, brows furrowing.
Will leans his head back against his chair as he rocks. “The country gained a hero when he enlisted, but we lost our son. He was such a sweet kid. Quiet and observant. I don’t think he’ll ever get back all the pieces he left out there in the world.”
I’m speechless as that painful ache from earlier returns to my chest, and I come to believe it must be love. I’m in love with Cain. Shit. The very thought of him hurting has me wanting to scream into the chilled night sky.
“Sir, I should be thanking you for raising such a special man. He is so good to me.”
Will sniffles. “That makes me happy to hear, Ezra.”
We sit in comfortable silence until Cain comes out to check on us. Will rises from his chair and claps his son on the shoulder. “Headed to bed. Early morning. You guys are welcome to stay as long as you’d like.”
“Appreciate it,” Cain replies.
As soon as his father disappears inside the house, Cain strides over to plant his hands on my armrests and rocks me forward so he can kiss me long and hard. I’m left breathless, my eyelids fluttering. “They’re smitten with you.”
I snort. “I cried within minutes of meeting them.”
“I ripped their front door off the hinges in a tantrum the last time I came home. They wouldn’t let me leave until I had dessert.”
“They’re good people, Cain,” I say softly.
He gives a little shake of his head. “I don’t know what I did to deserve them.”
I trace light fingers along his stubbled jaw. “Why do you stay away?”
Cain grimaces. “Because I bring dark clouds everywhere I go. Life after my service was tough. There’s a serious lack of education on what to watch for when you come home. How hard those memories can slam into you. How the physiology of your brain has changed. How you might flip your fucking lid in the grocery store or over someone banging on your front door. I just wanted my parents to live in this bubble of happiness without me there to burst it. I assumed that meant I needed to remain out of the picture, at least until I leveled myself out after I lost Aiden. Ma just lectured me about all that, don’t worry.”
I grip the front of his sweater and tug him down so I can kiss him. “Thank you for sharing that, and thank you for bringing me.”
“Always. You make me brave, Ezra,” he murmurs, nipping at my jaw. The tip of his nose traces a line to the hollow behind my ear, causing me to shiver. “Now I think I’d like to take you home and sink my cock into your warm, tight body.”
My heart skips and my breath catches. “Scandalous. I think I’d like that, too.”
Scooping me up, Cain carries me through the house. He tosses out rushed goodbyes to his brothers, his mom already having snuck off to bed.
The drive into the city takes no time at all with his reckless speeding. I might be encouraging the danger with my hand stroking his hard cock through his pants. I even take him out and suck him into my mouth.
“Fuck. You’re naughty.” Cain sinks deeper into his seat. He groans in approval when I hum around him.
I keep him on edge until he parks the car. Then we burst into his apartment, mouths fixed together and bodies grinding in need of release. He hauls me over to the couch and drops me there. “Get naked, Ezra.”
I fling off my sweater and struggle with the tight material of my pants as Cain disappears into the bathroom. He returns, stripped of his clothes. Struck by the beautiful shape of him, I almost miss the bottle he tosses on the couch when he sits down.
“Come here.” His voice is a smooth, seductive rumble.
I waste no time climbing on his lap. The instant our cocks press together, my control snaps. I crash my mouth to his, and he devours me in return. My hands run over the rigid lines of his stomach. When I swipe fingers over his nipples, he growls and thrusts his hips up.
