As usual everyone congregated on the ranch for barbecue and beer, and Riley spent so much time with Eden asking her questions and fussing around her that Jack only had to count down to the moment Eden shoved her brother away. Josh and he made bets that Eden would put up with the attention for only so long. Jack said she would tell Riley to back off “pre burgers” before Josh could vote for that, so Josh was left with “after burgers.”
Jack watched Riley hover protectively around his sister almost as much as Sean hung about her. Any minute now shit was going to hit the fan, and Jack watched, amused, from a safe distance as she turned on them both and said something with a lot of waving of hands.
Riley slunk away immediately; Sean pulled her into a hug.
“Everything okay?” Jack asked innocently as Riley came to stand next to him.
“I was just asking how she felt….” Riley began to defend himself, then smiled ruefully, “I’m taking a step back in fear of my life.”
She had managed Riley until the first burger.
“She’s told him to stop worrying.” Josh announced. “I win.”
Jack had Josh doing a weird victory dance that had Hayley and Lea falling about on the floor laughing. Even Logan joined in. In fact Logan was a different person since their last real get-together. He’d brought Cory with him again today. Jack was pleased to see how settled and at ease Logan was, and that Cory was smiling. Seemed like Cory was ready to forgive Logan, and at the end of the day, that was what it was all about.
They toasted the baby, and when the various children were occupied and happy, with Hayley and Lea in charge, the entire family began to plan the wedding celebration.
Sean was going to each person individually, asking questions and making notes in his book, recording responses. He spent the longest time with Hayley, who seemed to have an awful lot to say.
When Jack casually walked that way, he thought he caught their daughter with tears in her eyes, but when he took a second look, she was smiling. He caught up with Riley on the steps of the porch. Eli sat next to him, and they were looking at something on Eli’s phone.
“More photos,” Riley explained. He turned the phone so that Jack could see. “Tell me that doesn’t look like Elvis.”
Eli snatched the phone back. “That’s me, asshole.”
Robbie walked up with more drinks, passing them around. Jack was on soft drinks tonight, having opted to be the sensible one, because he loved seeing Riley laughing and being generally like an enormous puppy on speed. Talking of puppies, they had tied Toby to the porch on a long leash. He was almost able to reach the food and had begun to grow into his paws, even after these few short weeks. He was walking in big arcs, taking fuss where he could from whoever would dispense it. Max was fascinated by the puppy, and once the initial shock at Toby’s excitability had passed, he and Max were becoming firm friends. Toby calmed when he was with Max, spent a long time just curling into him.
Jack had found the two of them yesterday, in a pile on Toby’s bed, asleep. Max’s Thomas Tank was still in his hand, and Toby was resting his head on a stuffed soft chicken he’d taken from the twins.
“So who’s next?” Robbie asked. He nodded toward Vaughn and Darren, who had joined the party a while back and were talking at length with Donna and Neil.
“Vaughn and Darren?” Riley said. “Nah.”
“You don’t think so?” Eli asked. “They’re a really close couple.”
“Because. Things.” Riley said helpfully before resting his forehead on the upright by the steps.
“Riley makes perfect sense,” Eli said seriously.
Robbie frowned. “Really?”
Eli sniggered and rested his head on Riley’s shoulder. “Nope,” he said cheerfully. “Not at all.”
When everyone left, Jack and Robbie cleared away, ably assisted by Vaughn and Darren. Eli and Riley were of no use to anyone and had long since sprawled in the porch chairs with bottles of beer and bags of chips. Toby had put himself to bed, and the front yard was quiet.
Finally Robbie collected his husband, Vaughn and Darren went home, and Jack stood in front of Riley. He held out his hand. “C’mon, big boy, let’s get you to bed.”
Riley let himself be helped, using the leverage to fall dramatically into Jack and pin him to the rails of the porch. Abruptly he didn’t seem quite so drunk. “I wish Carol didn’t have this weekend off,” he whispered. “Then we could get away with being irresponsible and go make love in the barn.”
Riley’s words sent all of Jack’s blood south in one sweet rush of arousal, and he gripped Riley’s arms. “Jeez, Riley” was all he could say.
Riley in turn held Jack close, then encouraged him up on the strong porch rail. Jack felt reasonably safe but in this new position, he held tight around Riley’s neck.
“Love you,” Riley whispered, stepping into Jack’s spread thighs and nudging them wider until he was slotted in and perfectly aligned.
“Love you,” Jack said back as softly. It was 2:00 a.m., everyone was asleep or home in their own places, and Jack and Riley were alone in the middle of the night.
Riley leaned in and began to gently bite his way from throat to cheekbone, pressing tiny kisses everywhere he tasted, all Jack could do was tilt his head to give Riley more access, then hold on for the ride. They kissed lazily—nothing too hard, soft and searching—and Jack melted inside. Riley had this effect on him. The ability to drain Jack of energy and leave him soft and pliant in his arms. Riley moved a little, away, then back. Nothing too obvious, too pushy, simply the insistent slide of his hard cock against Jack’s. Enough to tease, and with the kisses, enough for Jack to want a whole lot more.
“We should go in.”
Riley shook his head. “You’re so sexy, here, with the moonlight all that I can see you by. All spread for me and wanting.”
“Riley.”
“I could make you come like this, I could rock against you, kiss you, talk about fucking you, and you’d come in your jeans. Wouldn’t you?”
Jack let out a noise somewhere between a sigh and a protestation. He wasn’t going to come in full view of anyone who walked into their yard. He wasn’t a teenager.
But there was something there. The darkness was near absolute, the moon only a thin sliver behind the clouds. Everyone is asleep…. Abruptly everything Riley offered, Jack wanted.
“Make me come,” he ordered brokenly in a heated whisper into Riley’s ear.
Riley chuckled, and Jack could feel the noise rumble through Riley’s body. Together they moved, only small presses and retreats, more kisses, whispered words of want, and he was leaking in his jersey boxers. This was every fantasy in his head come to life. Jack couldn’t do anything except hang on.
“Riley, so close…,” he warned between kisses.
Riley didn’t stop. He continued kissing, and Jack went from close to right-the-fuck-now. Riley pulled back and placed a hand directly over Jack’s cock, pressing hard enough so that Jack’s groan, when he came, was nothing more than a small noise. Jack tilted his head back and allowed the feelings to run their course, boneless and wholly supported by Riley.
“So beautiful,” Riley whispered over and over. “So fucking beautiful.”
Jack felt like the most wanted person in the entire world.
CHAPTER TWENTY
“Eden is clearly on something,” Riley groused. He had managed to escape the kitchen and was hiding in their room with Jack, who had disappeared ten minutes before by saying Connor needed a diaper change.
“She still worrying about flowers?” Jack asked. He sounded as stressed as Riley.
“Dadda up!” Connor ordered. Riley was happy to comply. At least with an armful of little boy he couldn’t be called on to look at patterns and colors, or answer any more questions.