Chapter 36
Ben
Squeals of laughter and the pitter-patter of footsteps running downstairs filtered into our bedroom. Early morning sunrays lit up Tristan’s face from where we hadn’t shut the curtains. We never did, preferring to wake up with the sun.
His eyes remained closed, but the subtle shift in his breathing told me he was awake. Yeah, I was the creep he’d accused me of being, and had spent far too long over the last year watching him sleep, memorizing every inch of his face and every freckle on his cheeks.
“I thought you said your sisters didn’t get up until midday now that they had hit their teenage years?”
“They’re probably hyped up still from all that candy you kept giving them last night,” Tristan grumbled, keeping his eyes shut.
I scoffed. He was right. I’d gone completely overboard with the amount of sweets I’d bought for our Christmas Eve celebrations. In my defense, it wasn’t like I had any previous experience; I didn’t know what was too much. Besides, the girls had fun.
Over the year, I’d become like a second brother to Holly and Ivy.
Holly often confided in me about her feelings for her friend, Carly, and Ivy gave me as much grief as she gave Tristan.
Like him, I adored the twins, but I wasn’t too keen when they referred to me as their brother; a title I was going to rectify, and soon.
“Mom and Dad will make them go back to bed. Go back to sleep,” Tristan yawned.
He still wasn’t a morning person, and I often had to bribe him out of bed with coffee. Or sex. Unlike him, I was a morning person, and even though I’d long since abandoned my 5 am alarm, I’d still squeeze in a workout most mornings before we headed to work.
But seeing as the Crutchens family had stayed at our house overnight, ready to spend Christmas Day here, I wasn’t keen on hitting the gym.
Besides, I could think of a better way to start the day.
Sliding my hand over Tristan’s perfectly sculptured torso, dipping it under the covers, and sliding it further down, one of his eyes cracked open. “What are you doing?”
“Thought you might want your Christmas present. It’s not one I can give to you in front of your parents.”
He opened the other eye, suddenly wide awake. “Oh yeah? What is it?”
I shifted closer, moving my mouth to his ear so he could feel my breath when I whispered, “I want you to fuck me.”
His eyes almost bugged out of his head. We’d switched roles a few times throughout the year, but usually, we got so carried away that it was natural for Tristan to be the bottom. But I knew how much he loved fucking me, and I certainly wasn’t against it.
Without warning, he flipped me onto my back, holding himself up with his muscular arms as he hovered over me. “Best Christmas present ever.”
He lowered his mouth to mine, claiming my lips in a brutal kiss. As he nestled between my legs, I felt his cock hardening against my thigh, making my own cock throb harder than it already had been.
“I thought declaring my love for you last year was the best present ever?” I chuckled, which quickly turned into a groan when he started kissing his way down my body.
“It was,” he replied, scraping his teeth gently over my nipple. “But that was last year. You’ve upped your game.”
I smirked. If only he knew what I had planned for later.
Sliding under the covers, Tristan’s mouth wrapped around the head of my cock before he sucked it, causing my hips to buck off the bed. “Mmmm, Bug. I’ll never get tired of you sucking my cock.”
“Good,” he said, flicking his tongue over my slit.
His mouth got to work, taking me to the back of his throat before popping off and teasing me with soft licks around my crown. Lost in the sensations he was eliciting, I almost forgot that this was supposed to be his Christmas present.
“Bug. Get up here now. I want your cock in me.”
“Yes, boss.”
He’d taken to calling me boss, even though I wasn’t his boss. At least, not out of the bedroom. But he called me it all the time when we were at the office or when we visited one of the properties he was overseeing the renovations for.
It had taken a month to get the paperwork drawn up to bring Rob in as a partner, and we’d changed the company name from Morley and McScroodge Properties to McCrutchens’ Homes.
I’d discussed with Rob bringing Tristan into the business too, something he was on board with, and one evening late January, I presented Tristan with the paperwork showing that he’d been made partner as well.
As he sat there, stunned, I explained that he wouldn’t be managing the rental agreements but was being brought in as a project manager to oversee renovations of every property the company owned. When the shock subsided, he burst into tears.
Since then, the company had gone from strength to strength. Demand to rent a property from McCrutchens’ Homes was higher than ever, to the point where we had invested in three new properties that Tristan was undertaking complete renovations of. He was in his element.
“I might have to start spanking your ass if you keep calling me that,” I growled, finding Tristan’s cock and stroking it.
“Promises, promises,” he winked.
I pulled his mouth to mine, kissing his beautiful lips before asking, “How do you want me, Bug?”
His eyes flashed with heat. “On all fours.”
I could have predicted that before he said it, it was his favorite position, both when he was fucking me or when I was fucking him.
He rolled off me, grabbing the lube from the bedside table as I rolled onto my stomach. Positioning himself behind me, I pressed my chest against the bedsheets as I lifted my ass into the air so Tristan could prepare me.
I hissed when cold liquid drizzled between my ass cheeks, but as he rubbed it over my hole, I bit my lip to stop an indecent groan from escaping. Our bedroom was the furthest away from the room Emma and Rob had slept in, but I didn’t want to risk them hearing us.
Tristan eased two fingers into me, smearing the lube inside me before rubbing more lube over his cock. He lined himself up and slowly pushed inside me, the two of us moaning salaciously together.
“Bug,” I panted, looking over my shoulder at him when he was all the way in. His brows furrowed in concern. It was one of the many things I loved about him; he always made sure I was comfortable. I grinned at him. “Fuck me hard. Don’t hold back.”
A devious smirk crept over his lips as he pulled his cock out, slamming it back in. He threw his head back, a dark chuckle floating into the air. “Merry fucking Christmas to me.”
Despite my attempts to get Rob and Emma to let me hire staff to cook Christmas dinner, they refused, claiming they were looking forward to cooking in my kitchen. I didn’t know why. They’d recently moved into a new house that had a kitchen that rivaled mine.
Still, as they insisted, they took over my kitchen and prepared the most incredible feast anyone could have had.
We sat in the dining room, a room I had never used until I became part of the Crutchens family because I never had anyone to have dinner with. Rob sat at the head of the table, carving the turkey, while Emma sat next to him, plating up vegetables for everyone.
Next to her was Ivy, who continually moaned about how disgusting brussel sprouts were, while Holly was engrossed in her phone, no doubt texting Carly.
At the other end of the table was Bella Matthews.
With a little convincing, she moved back to Henderson and took a new job as Rob’s PA—Poor Alice couldn’t keep up with the amount of work he and I generated.
It took Bella a little while to warm to me, but we were well on our way to becoming firm friends.
On the subject of Alice, she and her husband, Clive, had joined us for Christmas dinner, and I couldn’t help but notice how Clive spent the whole time with a hand resting on her baby bump. It transpired they’d wanted a child for years but had never tried because they knew they couldn’t afford it.
The enormous pay rise I gave her contributed to their family growing.
Finally, Tristan sat next to Alice, and I sat next to him, and while everyone enjoyed the delicious meal, I tried my hardest to keep my nerves at bay, the ring in my pocket feeling like it weighed a ton.
What if Tristan said no?
Emma was certain he wouldn’t. She and Rob were the only two who knew of my plan to propose to Tristan after I’d asked them for their blessing.
Emma had even helped me pick out the ring.
After we’d picked out the platinum band with a black line running through the center of it, she’d pulled me into a hug and told me I was the best son-in-law she could have ever hoped for.
I’d be man enough to admit that I had a little cry at that.
Once everyone had finished their dinner and were ready for an afternoon snooze, I stood, tapping my wine glass to get everyone’s attention. All eyes fell on me, and although I was used to making public speeches, nerves fired through me.
I cleared my throat. “I know you’re all full of food and ready to have a Christmas nap, but I just wanted to say a few words.
” I swallowed, trying to slow my racing heart.
“Until last year, I never knew what it was like to celebrate Christmas with a family, but because of each one of you sitting here at this table, I now do.” Tristan’s hand cupped the back of my thigh, giving it a reassuring squeeze.
I met Emma’s eyes across the table. “Each one of you has given me more than I ever deserved. You’ve given me your trust.” I raised my glass to Emma, who smiled.
“You’ve given me your loyalty and friendship.
” This time, I raised my glass to Rob, Alice, and Clive.
“You took a chance on me when you had no need to,” I said, lifting my glass to Bella, who bowed her head.
“And you’ve given me…” I paused, looking over at the twins.
“Well, you’ve given me lots of grief and taken all my money for the swear jar. ”
“Maybe you should stop swearing then,” Ivy retorted.
I scoffed. “We all know that will never happen, and even if I did stop swearing, I’m sure you’d find another way to spend my hard-earned cash.”
“Probably,” the girls replied together, earning laughs from around the table.
I shook my head, grinning at them. I was a sucker when it came to the twins, worse than Tristan was. He at least made them do chores to earn pocket money. I couldn’t help but spoil them, and I wouldn’t have had it any other way.
The grin slid off my face as I turned to look at Tristan.
This was it. I sucked in a deep breath and sent out a silent wish that he wouldn’t say no.
“And you’ve given me love.” He smiled up at me, his eyes twinkling.
I held his stare, momentarily forgetting everyone was watching.
“Bug, a year ago, you barged into my life and flipped everything I knew upside down. And I’m so damn glad you did.
You helped me more than you’ll ever know, and you make me want to be a better man.
Every day is an adventure with you, and I never want it to end.
” I slid my hand into my pocket, cupping the ring box.
“So, Bug. Tristan.” I lowered myself to my knee, gasps ringing out around the table as Tristan’s jaw fell open.
“Would you do me the honor of marrying me?”
His eyes darted from mine to the ring box and back to mine again, tears filling them. I held my breath, waiting for the rejection. But it never came.
Instead, he cupped my cheek, leaning forward to rest his head against mine, and an enormous smile lit up his face. “I thought you’d never ask.” Happiness like I’d never felt before flowed through my veins as Tristan kissed me before pulling away, and adding, “Yes, baby. I’ll marry you.”