28. Chapter 28
Chapter 28
Julien
B y the time Brad pulled back into the driveway, it was well past midnight. Julien’s arm ached, he was exhausted, and guilt slithered down his spine like a snake whenever he thought of the night’s events.
He sat holding the iced cold mug of hot chocolate Hailey had made everyone hours ago. Every sound made him worry that Rossi or his family would come after them. The Ashfords didn’t deserve that. They had nothing to do with him or his mistakes.
The family had all gathered and listened as Julien explained what happened. He told them the story of his mother’s cancer, the loan for treatment, how he lived under Rossi’s thumb, and how Tyler had finally offered him a way out, even if Tyler hadn’t known at the time. Julien admitted wanting to leave to get Rossi the money. But stayed because he was selfish and had developed real feelings for Tyler .
Nothing he could say would take back what had happened, but the Ashfords just brushed it away. Mrs. Ashford told him that they could still get the police involved if he thought, even for a moment, that Rossi would retaliate. But Julien assured him he trusted Lou enough to know he wouldn’t let Anthony bother him again. He hoped, at least, because he had done their bidding for too long.
Mrs. Ashford worried because she figured sending them back to Pittsburgh with the family so far away might be dangerous. Hailey was already online looking up apartments in Connecticut for Tyler to move into.
The thought of going back without Tyler weighed on Julien’s mind. It twisted in his gut until he realized he was head over heels. Now, he sat in the dark, in the armchair, with no idea how to make anything work.
Tyler was curled up next to Hailey and Wally on the couch while Cece and Brad spooned on the floor with Kelsey. Owen curled up with his grandparents on the other sofa. Julien sat in the armchair, staring at the muted TV showing A Christmas Story .
His eyes drifted from the doorway to Tyler, then to the Ashford family. He put them in real danger today, and now he was taking up space in their home as if he wasn’t the cause for ruining their peace of mind, as if he wasn’t the one who had caused Tyler to have a gun pointed at him.
“Want to go up?” Tyler whispered once the credits rolled for the movie. He slipped out of the blanket he shared with his sister and leaned toward Julien.
He nodded. “Yeah. I guess.” He rose and, without thinking, laced his fingers with Tyler’s. When he went to pull away, Tyler tightened his grip and led Julien upstairs, grabbing Julien’s bag on the way up.
The door of Tyler’s room closed behind them, and Julien sighed, unsure what to say or how to say it.
“Are you alright?” Tyler broke the silence first and tossed the bag in the corner. He moved his hand to rest over Julien’s heart and looked up at him with so much genuine concern it made Julien’s chest ache.
“I’m fine. I’m sorry. I never thought this would happen. I shouldn’t have come. I should have figured something else out,” Julien said.
“Stop it,” Tyler said. “Seriously, you didn’t know this would happen. It’s not your fault or my fault. It’s just something that happened. No one blames you.”
“They should.” Julien scrubbed his face and stepped away from Tyler. “I don’t know how you or any of your family can stand me being here.” He sat on the bed and rested his elbows on his knees. “Someone could have died tonight.”
Tyler sat next to him. “Rossi shot at you . Julien, I thought he literally was about to kill you. But he didn’t. Right?”
“You shoved me out of the way,” Julien said. “You’re such a fucking idiot, Tyler. Why would you do that for me?” But his words held no heat. The truth was he still couldn’t wrap his head around Tyler pushing him out of the way of a bullet, Tyler’s family turning into some mob to chase Rossi off, or how much he worried about these people as if they were his family.
“ You’re an idiot, Julien.” Tyler draped his arms around Julien’s shoulders. “I wish you would have told me. Maybe we could have stopped all this from happening. I could have helped you. ”
Julien didn’t know how Tyler could stand touching him, but he craved it, too. He pulled Tyler into his lap and rested his head on his shoulder. “If I had told you, you would have wanted me gone.”
Tyler laughed, a confusing sound. Julien’s brow furrowed as he saw the curve of Tyler’s lips and the squint at the corner of his eyes. “Yeah. Maybe at first,” he agreed. “But now?” He glanced away. “Julien, I know this was all supposed to be fake, but I have real feelings for you.”
The words didn’t come as any shock to Julien. He didn’t think he deserved Tyler’s feelings, but things had stopped being fake days ago. “Are you sure it isn’t trauma bonding?” Julien asked and chuckled a little, but he captured Tyler’s lips.
Tyler kissed him back but pulled away after a moment. “Do you think when we go back home, you’d maybe want to, kinda sorta, try being my real boyfriend or something?”
“I’ve never actually been anyone’s boyfriend,” Julien said.
“Neither have I. But I think you’ve done a pretty good job so far.” Tyler leaned in to kiss him again. This time, more heat was behind it. His tongue slipped into Julien’s mouth, causing Julien to moan in appreciation.
How could he say no? He didn’t want to say no. He wanted the chance for this to be real, for them to be together. Julien pulled his mouth away.
“Why wait til we get home?” he asked. “If you think I’m allowed to stay even after what happened.”
“You’re allowed,” Tyler told him, chasing his mouth to claim another kiss. His cold hands slipped under Julien’s shirt, making goosebumps all over his skin. “You have to. Because I would be too sad if you left me now.”
Julien pulled Tyler down next to him onto the bed and began his exploration. His hand slipped under Tyler’s sweater, his thumbs moving to his stiff nipples. He was rewarded with a breathy gasp that went straight to his groin.
“I don’t want you to be sad,” Julien said as he moved his mouth to Tyler’s neck to press open-mouthed kisses against his skin. He ran his hand down, sliding it into Tyler’s pants so he could grip his half-hard dick.
Tyler pressed his hips upward at the touch, biting his lip. “Then just keep doing that,” he huffed out.
Julien stroked him slowly and enjoyed the feeling of him growing harder under the touch. After a moment, Jules pulled his hand away to undo the buttons of Tyler’s pants.
Tyler sat up, shimmied out of his pants and took off his sweater. His hands ran across Julien’s chest before his fingers stopped at the bandage visible under the short sleeve of his T-shirt. “Are you sure you’re up for this? I mean, you got shot.”
Julien growled and pulled Tyler’s naked form against him. He slid his hand down his side and gripped his ass without gentleness. “I’m good. It doesn’t even hurt,” he lied.
He had no intention of stopping if Tyler wanted to fuck. Julien’s cock already ached with need.
“Good,” Tyler said, grinding up against him.
Julien pressed and ran his finger between Tyler’s butt cheeks, groaning as he got the first feeling of his tight hole. “I want to fuck you bad, Baby.” He shifted to sit up .
In a swift movement, Julien spun Tyler around and laid him face down on the bed. Even Ty’s shoulder blades seemed to blush, and Julien leaned in and ran his tongue along his spine before sucking at the dimple at the small of his back.
“W-where did you put the lube?” Tyler stammered.
Julien murmured against Tyler’s skin, “In my luggage,” he said, recalling how he had hastily packed the entire bag. It seemed inconvenient now when he could have put them on the side table where he wouldn’t have to move too far away from this beautiful boy squirming under him.
Tyler groaned when Julien pulled away but rolled over onto his back, watching him as he dug into his hastily packed bag and pulled out the condoms and lube.
Julien tossed them on the bed, kicked his boots off, and took off his shirt with a hiss. “Fuck,” he said, checking to make sure the bandage hadn’t pulled off at the action.
“Be careful.” Tyler got to his knees to inspect the dressing on his wound. “You shouldn’t move it so much.” He pressed a kiss to Julien’s collarbone and worked on undoing the buttons on his jeans quickly .
Julien shook his head and pulled his jeans off, followed by his boxers. “Don’t think about it. I’m not,” he assured Tyler.
He pressed his stiff cock against Tyler’s and rut against him. Julien claimed Ty’s mouth in a bruising kiss. There were so many things he wanted to do to make him moan and shudder. Jules wanted to go fast and hard until they were both grunting and crying out each other’s names. He wanted to make Tyler beg to be fucked and squirm with need. Jules also wanted to slowly make love to him until they both fell asleep intertwined with each other.
However, Tyler always seemed to know what he wanted and what should be done. Why should that be any different now?
“I should ride you. So, you don’t put too much pressure on your arm,” Tyler said, so matter of factly, it shouldn’t have been sexy. But the tone, mixed with the suggestion, had Julien panting against his lips.
“Fuck, you literally drive me insane. I don’t know what I did to deserve you.”
The truth was, he did nothing to deserve Tyler. But for the first time in his life, he didn’t just feel like a complete fuck up and failure, waiting for the next bad thing to happen. He thought he could grow and prove to Tyler why he didn’t need some CEO or country club loser.
Right now, though, he would start by proving to Tyler how good he’d feel inside him.
Julien patted around the bed until he grabbed the bottle of lube. Without moving his mouth away, he fumbled with it and opened it.
He squeezed some over his fingers, and once they were slick, he pulled Tyler’s legs apart, pressing the tip of his finger against his hole.
“Oh god,” Tyler moaned, biting his bottom lip.
Julien would give anything to see Ty let loose, but with his entire family in the living room, he didn’t think tonight would be that night. Next time, Julien would make sure he didn’t let Tyler muffle his cries of pleasure.
Tyler’s hands moved over his back, gripping with such care Jules knew he was worried about hurting him, even as he panted and rocked his hips .
Julien made firm circles around Tyler’s entrance, enjoying the way Tyler’s eyes glazed over and the needy way he pushed against his finger as if silently to silently beg Julien to enter him.
Without warning, Julien pressed his finger inside and moaned out when he felt the digit plunge into the tight, hot hole. Julien could tell that Tyler would feel perfect around his cock.
Julien focused on Tyler’s face as he worked on opening him up and ignored the way his stiff prick ached with a fierce need for some attention.
Tyler looked relaxed and unashamed. His mouth was slack, his cheeks as pink as ever. He looked good enough to fucking eat.
“More, fuck , I’m literally dying,” Tyler complained, as needy as ever.
Julien wouldn’t have him any other way. “You’re so dramatic.” Julien obliged and pushed another finger into the hole, twisting them and bending them to get him stretched.
He panted at the shameless sight of Tyler squirming beneath him already. He couldn’t wait to replace his fingers with his dick and fuck the guy senseless.
When he crooked his fingers, Tyler gasped and grabbed Julien’s wrist. “If you keep doing that, I am going to come all over you right now.”
“We can’t have that, can we, Baby?” Julien grinned. He would absolutely not be mad if that happened, but he would prefer to feel Tyler come all over his dick instead of his fingers.
He kissed Tyler again, licking sloppily into his mouth with all of the need he felt. Eventually, he pulled his fingers out, and Tyler gasped against his lips.
“You still want to sit on me?” Julien shifted to bite Tyler’s earlobe while he grabbed his own cock and gave it a much-needed stroke.
Tyler gave a lazy grin. “It’s for the best that I do.” He propped himself up. “Lay back, let me do the work, Baby.” He grimaced. “No, it still doesn’t work. ”
Julien shook his head and sat with his back against the headboard. He opened up a condom from the pack and rolled it onto his erection.
Tyler picked up the lube and drizzled some all over Julien’s cock, before taking his shaft in hand and slowly, gently moving his fingers to coat him thoroughly.
“You are such a tease,” Julien whined. His hips bucked forward as he sought out more touch, pressure, anything .
Tyler’s blue eyes were wide and innocent as he straddled Julien’s lap. “Me? Never.” He grasped the base of Julien’s cock and lined him up with his hole before carefully lowering himself down.
Julien groaned out, not even bothering to mask the noise, as his dick was surrounded by the heat of Tyler’s body. “Oh fuck, you feel incredible.”
Tyler looked between their bodies, his chest flushed, his eyelids heavy. “You’re huge, Jules. God.”
He continued to lower himself, rocking slightly on Julien’s cock until he settled entirely on Julien’s lap.
Julien pulled Tyler in to capture his lips and kiss him hungrily, biting at his lips, sucking on his tongue.
He grabbed Tyler’s hips and moved him slightly, not wanting to hurt the man as he adjusted to the feeling of Julien’s cock inside him. But Julien needed it.
As much as Julien would have pegged Tyler as a pillow princess, as soon as Julien held his hips, Tyler braced one hand on the mattress and the other on Julien’s chest and began to ride him with urgency.
Tyler was full of surprises, and as much as he came off as cautious, he knew what he wanted when it came to this…when it came to Julien .
Julien thrust in time with the pace Tyler set and focused on kissing him, sucking at his neck, squeezing his thighs and ass. He couldn’t get enough. Every bit of Tyler’s soft skin was delicious. He wanted to bite whatever he could get his mouth on.
“Yes, yes, yes,” Tyler chanted in time with their movements.
Julien couldn’t even form words by this point. He felt his orgasm building as their pace grew faster, more feverish, but as much as he wanted to let himself go, he also didn’t want this to be over too quickly. He needed to feel Tyler coming while he was still inside of him.
He reached down and took Tyler’s weeping cock in his grip, stroking it as Tyler rode him with increased erratic motions.
Tyler moaned, his brow furrowed with tension as he leaned back, moving his hand from Julien’s chest to twist around and use his leg for balance. “Fuck,” he whimpered. His pale thighs trembled under Julien’s grasp.
Jules pumped his cock purposefully, waiting on the edge for the moment that Tyler came undone on top of him.
It didn’t take long before hot jets of spunk spilled onto Julien’s fist. Tyler went still, spasming over Julien as he jerked his hips. “Yes, Jules ,” he whimpered as his entire body tensed around Julien, enveloping him in white-hot pleasure.
Julien milked Tyler until he was spent but did not stop his thrusts up and into Tyler. As Tyler’s muscles tightened around him, it was only a few more movements before Julien let himself go.
He leaned forward as he pulled Tyler down more firmly on top of him, biting his shoulder with a groan as he emptied himself. One day, he wanted to leave his cum inside of Tyler and watch it drip out as he withdrew.
Both of them panted, trying to catch their breath. Julien ran his clean hand over Tyler’s shoulder blades as Tyler leaned in and peppered his jaw with feather-light kisses.
“That was great,” Tyler finally said, going limp and nestling in the crook of Julien’s neck.
Julien hugged him close and felt more content than he had in ten years. “You’re amazing.”
Tyler hummed a laugh and rolled his head to look up at Julien. “So are you,” he said with such affection Julien’s eyes ached.
Julien felt a lot of emotions and words bubble up, forming a lump in his throat. Instead of speaking, he leaned in and kissed Tyler before carefully allowing his soft cock to slide out .
Tyler groaned but scooted off Julien’s lap and laid back, limp, his eyes slid closed. “Where are you going?” he asked in a nervous tone.
Julien rose from the bed on wobbly legs and headed to the bathroom. “We’re both covered in your cum. I’m just grabbing a towel, Baby.”
He washed his hands and disposed of the condom before taking one of the hand towels back into the room.
Tyler was nearly asleep by the time he settled back on the bed, and Julien had to clean the cum and lube off of Tyler himself.
“I was just thinking,” Tyler said, surprising Julien because he was almost convinced he was sleeping. “We didn’t even realize it’s Christmas.”
Julien laughed as he settled under the blankets and curled up around Tyler. He pressed a kiss to his cheek and nuzzled against him. “Yeah, I guess it is. We should go to sleep before Santa skips us.”
Tyler elbowed him weakly. “I was about to say that we should make fucking into a Christmas tradition. You know, make sure I ride your dick every year or something. For the holiday spirit.”
“You and your holiday traditions.” Julien chuckled. “Sure, Baby. We’ll only fuck on Christmas.”
“No way. You wouldn’t be able to keep your hands off me for a year,” Tyler murmured before giving Julien one last kiss.
In almost no time, his breathing evened out, and Julien smiled to himself in the darkness.
The suggestion that they would be together for other Christmases made Julien want to crawl under Tyler’s skin and live there. He wanted that more than he could express, and for the first time, he thought he might get what he wanted.