Chapter 16
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
NASH
I felt awkward as fuck the next morning, having unloaded on Forest like that, but when he acted as if nothing had happened, that unease slowly evaporated.
Maybe it hadn’t been as big a thing as I had made it out to be, sharing my burdens with him.
Though it sure as fuck felt big to me, considering I felt so much lighter now, like I’d gotten rid of a weight I’d been carrying that whole time.
After breakfast, we went for a walk on the beach. I took one look at the soft sand, realized that it would be a nightmare for Forest, and lowered myself to my knees.
“What are you doing?” Forest asked
“Climb on my back. I’ll carry you to the shoreline, where the sand is more compact and easier to walk on.”
He hesitated only a moment, but then wrapped his arms and legs around me. Supporting his butt, I rose to my feet, then carefully made my way across the sand. Once I reached the shore, I gently put him down again.
He immediately took my arm, and I held on to him tightly. Even leaning on me, Forest couldn’t walk for long, but when we got back, he had a healthy color on his cheeks and his eyes sparkled.
Of course he fell asleep on the couch right after lunch, but that was fine. I settled on the reading chair close to him with a book, though I ended up spending as much time looking at him as I did at the pages. All in all, still time well spent.
I ordered dinner from a local Indian restaurant that didn’t do delivery, but it was only a five-minute drive to pick it up, so no issue at all. We both enjoyed the chicken korma and tikka masala, served with naan and some lovely vegetable side dishes.
I usually preferred a bit more heat—god knew I’d grown used to that with Bean’s cooking experiments, which had ranged from spicy to I-never-want-to-feel-this-sensation-when-shitting-ever-again—but Forest had said he didn’t tolerate heat very well, so all good.
And even better, we had enough leftovers for lunch the next day.
“I’ll help with the dishes,” Forest said when I started clearing the table.
It was on the tip of my tongue to tell him to rest, but one look at his face made me swallow those words.
His mouth was set in what I’d come to recognize as his stubborn look, the one where he was willing to battle it out.
As much as I wanted to protect him, he did need to learn to set his own boundaries and accept the limitations of his body, so I simply nodded.
The kitchen was tiny, and we kept bumping into each other while doing the dishes, with me washing everything and him drying. There was no room for a dishwasher in the small cottage, but I didn’t mind.
“My grandparents never had a dishwasher,” I said, smiling at the memory. “Even when they became standard everywhere, they refused to get one. They liked doing the dishes together every night.”
“Aw…” Forest smiled softly. “That’s really sweet.”
“They were so in love. They met as teenagers when my grandmother’s parents moved in next door to my grandfather and his family, and according to both of them, it was love at first sight. They got married at nineteen, and when my grandfather died, they’d been married for almost seventy years.”
“Seventy years? God, that’s forever…”
I hummed in agreement as I handed him the next plate to dry. “When my grandfather passed away, I knew my grandmother would follow shortly after, and she did. Only five months later, she died as well, even though she’d been healthy. She just couldn’t live without him.”
Forest sniffled, and when I looked at him, his eyes were a little moist. “That’s beautiful. Isn’t that what everyone dreams of?”
I rinsed a glass and set it down for Forest to dry. “I don’t know about everyone, but it’s made me very aware of what’s possible. They set a high standard and not just in that area.”
“They took you in, right? When your parents…”
“…kicked me out? You can say it because that’s what they did. When I told them I was gay, they gave me the ‘my way or the highway’ speech, and I chose the highway.”
Forest shook his head, his eyes sad. “I will never understand how parents can do that. It’s literally your job as a parent to love your kid no matter what.”
I held up my hands. “Don’t ask me, because I’m with you. Luckily, my grandparents stepped in and showed me what unconditional love is like. I owe everything to them. They made me the man I am today.”
Forest stepped in and lifted his lips to kiss my cheek. “Then they did a remarkable job.”
My hand, wet from the dishwater, flew to my cheek, which immediately grew hot. How could such a simple gesture have such an impact on me? “Thank you. That’s… Thank you.”
We were quiet for a while as I finished washing the last glasses, then cleaned the countertop while Forest dried everything.
“Obviously, I never had a great example of a positive relationship,” Forest then said. “My mother never remarried, though she had a few boyfriends over the years, most of them absolute losers. I love her, but she has horrible taste in men.”
“Do you think that’s influenced how you approach relationships?”
Not gonna lie, I had wondered why he was still single. Surely I wasn’t the only one who found him wildly attractive and super sweet to boot.
Forest cocked his head, his hands stilling as he considered my question. “Probably, but I’ve also never met anyone I was seriously interested in. Not for anything more than hot sex, you know?”
“And now you’re married to me.”
I had no idea why I said that. It wasn’t like he didn’t know, or like I had any right to stake a claim. Our marriage wasn’t like that. It was… I didn’t want to call it a scam, but it definitely wasn’t normal, as much as I disliked using that word.
Forest put down the glass he’d been drying. “So what you’re saying is that I should come to you for hot sex?”
All the oxygen was sucked out of my lungs, hell, out of the whole kitchen. Was that what he had heard? Or was it what he wanted me to say?
I had to swallow thickly before I could respond. “I mean, it’s definitely on the table as far as I’m concerned.”
“Hmm.” Forest cocked his head, his eyes never leaving mine. “You take that whole taking care of all my needs thing seriously, don’t you?”
“I aim to please.”
He studied me for a few beats more, a little thinking frown on his forehead, as if he were weighing a decision. Then he nodded, his mind made up. “Take me to bed, Nash.”
The dishcloth I’d been holding fell out of my hands. “Are you sure?”
“More sure than of anything else in my life right now.”
How could I say no to that? Even if I wanted to—which I didn’t—I was not only unwilling to say no to him but unable as well. When he looked at me like that, with those beautiful green eyes so full of trust, I wanted to pluck the moon and stars from the sky and give them to him.
And so I slid over to him and took the tea towel he was still holding from his hands, dropping it on the counter. Then I folded my hands around his cheeks and kissed him, a featherlight kiss on those plump lips that made me feel like a thousand butterflies had taken flight in my stomach.
He made an impatient sound and wrapped his arms around my neck, so I put my hands under his ass and lifted him in response.
I loved the way he curled his legs around my waist, clinging to me like a little monkey, but I made sure to offer plenty of support so it wouldn’t get too straining on his body.
The kiss grew deeper, more heated, as our tongues found each other in a sensual dance of give and take, of chase and follow, of curling and sliding and teasing until I wanted to devour him.
He was an amazing kisser, and if my body hadn’t made clear that mere kissing wasn’t gonna cut it, I would’ve happily kept kissing him for hours.
“Nash,” he whispered against my lips.
“Yes, sweetheart?”
“Can we move this to the bedroom?”
“I aim to please,” I said again, and he smiled as he put his cheek against mine in a gesture that made my insides go completely soft and mushy.
I carefully walked over to the bedroom, making sure I didn’t accidentally bump into anything, then deposited him on the bed and stretched out next to him. Before I’d even fully relaxed, he’d fused our mouths together again.
His tongue slid against mine, exploring every inch of my mouth with an eagerness that only fueled the fire coursing through my veins.
His hands found their way under my shirt, warm fingers dancing over my stomach, exploring the planes of my chest. I groaned into his mouth, never wanting this moment to end, while at the same time needing so much more.
I wanted to take my time with him, to savor every moment, but the way he was writhing against me, making these needy little whimpers in the back of his throat, was rapidly eroding my control. I tore my mouth from his, panting.
“Let me undress you,” I murmured against his lips. “I want to see all of you.”
He nodded and lifted his arms so I could pull his shirt off over his head. My breath caught at the sight of his pale skin, the smattering of freckles across his shoulders. I traced them reverently with my fingertips before leaning in to press a kiss to his collarbone.
Forest shivered and clutched at my shoulders.
“Your turn,” he said, his voice rough with desire.
But his hands were shaking as they reached for my shirt.
I wasn’t sure if it was from nerves or excitement or his neurological issues, but it didn’t matter.
I put mine on top of his, and together we removed my shirt and then our pants until we were both down to our underwear.
Forest’s hands were on me immediately, eagerly exploring the newly bared skin.
“You’re so sexy,” he breathed, his eyes dark with desire.
“Not nearly as sexy as you, sweetheart.”
He chuckled. “It’s not a competition.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. In the Army, everything is a competition.” I kissed him softly. “Though this is a contest I’m more than happy to lose.”