Dropping to his knees again, he was eye to eye with the prize, and he gently pushed at Riley’s calves until Riley shuffled them apart. Riley had an ass of steel, and Jack couldn’t resist biting down on the taut cheeks. Riley gasped and Jack soothed the sharp pain. Smothering his hands in lube, he pressed a finger inside Riley and held still when Riley shook and rose on his toes away from the intrusion. He waited until Riley exhaled and relaxed, his feet flat on the floor. In doing so he forced Jack a little deeper and the one finger was enough to nearly tap the P-spot. He’d need his middle finger though, and squeezing out more lube, he pressed the second digit inside while at the same moment he ducked and licked a stripe across Riley’s balls. Riley’s sharp inhalation of breath encourage Jack to do more, and leaving his fingers inside pressing against Riley’s prostate, he licked and sucked Riley’s low-hanging balls and teased the root of his cock.

“Fuck…” Riley moaned. He attempted to move by pushing down, but his hold on the bar and the rope held him unable to force the fingers deeper. Jack sat back and examined Riley’s hole, watching as lube smeared and his fingers, now three of them, disappeared inside. He tried a fourth and it slipped in easily with a throaty groan from Riley.

“You’re ready,” Jack said softly. He stood and stripped, then stepped close enough that Riley would feel him against his back. The logistics of fucking a man taller than him while standing up was a sudden worry. But the judicious use of discarded wood had Jack able to line himself up. He pressed inside, slowly at first, then in a rush at the end until he was balls-deep and Riley was cursing at the burn. He didn’t move at first, wanted to give Riley time to adjust, but then he imagined the words in his head that could fuck with Riley. The same as his fantasy.

“Not gonna wait, Riley,” he said, hard and firm. “Gonna fuck you even if you don’t want me to yet.” He punctuated the statement with strong movements, and Riley shuddered in his bonds. “I want to hear you, Riley,” he ordered.

“Fuck. Jack. More…” Riley spat out. “I want to move.” He pulled on the ropes, but Jack crossed one arm over his chest and the other around Riley’s throat.

“No,” he denied the request. Tightening his hold on Riley, he fucked him hard and pulled him back onto his cock as Riley moved to tiptoes again. Again and again he hammered into Riley until Riley was an incoherent mess of demands. More. Harder. Fuck me. Touch me.

Jack debated pumping into Riley until his lover came untouched, but he wasn’t feeling cruel, he wanted Riley to come over his hand. He moved his hand lower until he could snatch at Riley’s cock as it bobbed and swayed with any small movement. Firmly he grasped it and began to slide his hand up and down in time with his fucking. Sweat rolled down his forehead, and he could feel orgasm building inside him. He was so close.

“Fucking come,” he said with a twist of his hand.

Riley lost it hard with a muffled yell and curse, and Jack felt the heat of come on his hand. It was enough to have him losing it himself. Riley’s channel tightened around his cock, and he fucked into Riley one last time before shooting his load deep inside his husband. He cursed and gasped as orgasm ripped through him and went on and on until finally he leaned against Riley and supported his limp lover. Quickly he untied Riley, then eased himself out as he softened. Riley tensed as Jack pulled out, then fell back on the blankets. Jack fell too and the two men lay side by side looking up at the night sky out of the plexiglass window Jack had fitted into the old roof.

“Gah,” Riley said. He gripped Jack’s hand tight. “I fucking love you,” he said. Jack rolled up on his side and looked at Riley carefully. The ropes hadn’t hurt him, but his wrists looked a little reddened. He was lying with his legs apart and Jack reached for a cloth to wipe at Riley’s ass. Then he cuddled into Riley and rested his head on Riley’s chest.

“I love you too,” Jack said quietly. “So much, you don’t even know.”

Riley hugged him close and pulled a blanket over the two of them. It smelled musty and they wouldn’t be able to stay out here long, but for a while, Jack was safe and secure in Riley’s arms.

“I know,” Riley said softly. “I’ve always known.”

* * * * *

Christmas day was busy with presents and food and family. Riley couldn’t wish for a better day celebrating impending babies and watching his family have fun. Eden was here and apparently Sean was arriving later, but he hadn’t turned up yet and time was ticking on. The exchange of Christmas presents lasted until late into the night. All the children had flopped in exhaustion by ten. Even fourteen-year-old Logan, who went around telling everyone he was too old to go to bed, was found asleep in a garden chair with Hayley asleep next to him.

The remaining grownups sat in a wide circle. Riley had gifted Beth and Steve a vacation for Christmas, after she’d stopped being sick and before she became too big. Just a week with the two of them, as long as the doctors agreed. He’d booked the same island that Jack and Riley had rented, the same holiday that Riley had given Donna and Neil as a present. The place was getting to be a tradition now. Riley leaned back in his chair. Maybe he should buy the island. Then it would be theirs permanently. Somewhere for him, Jack, Hayley, and the baby to go on a vacation. Private, safe.

“What you thinking about?” Jack asked.

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” Riley deadpanned.

“Try me.”

“Buying an island,” Riley answered with a grin. “Y’know, the usual.”

“Idiot,” Jack said fondly. Then, after kissing Riley roundly, he went off to find Beth.

Riley found himself alone with Eden next to the table of snacks and felt like now was a good time to maybe bring up the subject of Sean. After all, they’d been to the counseling and the ranch, and he hadn’t heard that there’d been another incident like the one in the hospital. Eden had assured him that Sean hadn’t been attempting suicide, and the counselor appeared to agree. If it was a call for help then it had certainly worked. How did he go about asking Eden what was up without coming over as an overbearing big brother with control issues?

“Sean didn’t make it, then,” Riley said. He tried to say it evenly, but something in his tone had Eden narrowing her eyes at him. Shit. Had he sounded sarcastic? Or what?

“No,” she said coolly. “Quite clearly he didn’t.”

Ouch. Way to layonthe guilt. “I didn’t mean anything,” Riley started. “I just wanted to ask you—”

“Leave it.”

“Look, Eden, you know where I am if you need to talk.”

She turned to face him. “We went to the counseling, okay? We did what you said, but that doesn’t mean it fixes things overnight. I still love him and you still think he’s bad for me.” She stood up and very deliberately placed her nearly full bottle of beer on the table next to the ribs. “Tell you what, Riley, just because you think you have found perfection in Jack doesn’t mean the rest of us are as lucky. Now excuse me, but I’m going. Sean texted and he’s picking me up.” She stalked out of the circle of light thrown by the patio heaters and lamps and into the shadows. For a moment Riley sat feeling guilty, sad, and just ever so slightly sorry.

“What did you say?” Jack asked as he took the recently vacated seat. He handed Riley a beer, and the concern on his face had Riley grimacing in response.

“I did it again,” he sighed.

“What? The whole Sean isn’t good for you and doesn’t put you first and I’m the big brother so you’d better listen to me thing?”

“Jeez, Jack.”

“You know I’m right.”

“I only commented that Sean hadn’t turned up yet.”