Chapter 25 #2
His moans are muffled around my fingers, but he doesn’t stop. He continues to suck, continues to groan as I drag my dick in and out of his tight hole.
He comes first, his teeth biting down on me as his cock releases across his abdomen. The feel of his hole gripping me like a vise has me tumbling over the edge, my cum filling him. I collapse onto his chest, and he stays wrapped around me, holding me so tightly I almost can’t breathe.
It’s everything I needed in this moment.
When I finally slip from him, he rolls over and drags a hand up my chest. Our eyes meet, and I bite my bottom lip to keep all my gushing feelings inside.
‘You happy?’ I finally ask.
‘Yes. I’m so happy.’
‘Same.’
He leans down and kisses me softly, then rests his head against my chest. Right above my heart.
The one that he holds in the palm of his hand.
And I hope he holds on to it forever.
‘My dad wants to meet you.’
I stare at Rome. I knew that, but I’m realizing the way he’s signing that, he means soon. Or, like, now. I clear my throat. ‘When?’
He checks his phone, which is not a good sign. I’m ill-prepared for meeting any parents. We’ve spent the day bringing things from Rome’s storage unit into the house, and I’m sweaty and disgusting and a little stressed because I want him to feel at home here, but my place feels far too small.
‘Two hours,’ he tells me after setting his phone down.
My heart leaps in my chest. I’m nervous, but excited.
Nervexcited?
‘Okay.’
He takes a step closer and ducks his head to catch my gaze. ‘You don’t look like it’s okay.’
I square my shoulders and let out a breath. ‘It is okay. It’s good. It’s fine.’
He huffs a small laugh, the chuckle lingering in the back of his throat as he closes the rest of the distance between us. He hooks a knuckle under my chin to draw my face up, and then he kisses me long, slow, and soft.
By the time he pulls away, I’ve forgotten why I’m so upset. ‘Hi,’ I mouth.
He laughs again and shakes his head. ‘Tell me again you’re okay?’
‘I am. I want to meet your dad. I just thought I’d have more time to prepare, so I’m not some stressed-out loser who—’
“No,” he says aloud, stilling my hands. ‘You’re not a loser. Stressed? Yes. We’ve been working all day. But he is going to love you.’
‘As much as you do?’ I ask.
He hums as he rocks his hips into mine. ‘I hope not.’
Grinning, I wrap my hands around his hips and tug at him so he’s pushed up against me. ‘Is he as hot as you?’
He pulls a face, which makes me laugh harder, and he gets immediately annoyed, throwing me from the spot by the dresser onto the bed. I topple onto the messy covers, and he dives after me, pinning me to the mattress with the weight of his body.
I like that he’s strong. I like that he’s needy and possessive and playful.
It’s a wonder that before I met him, I hadn’t even really noticed I liked men. I appreciated a nice round ass or a washboard set of abs, but I never considered putting my mouth on another guy’s mouth.
Or his dick.
Or his ass, as I have done for Rome twice now.
He’s changed me in so many ways, it’s a wonder I recognize myself in the mirror, which is something I definitely do not mind.
Rome stares at me with a tiny smile, and he taps the side of my head. ‘What are you thinking?’
‘Nothing.’
He raises his brows in a challenge.
‘About you,’ I tell him. There’s very little signing space between us, but I like that it’s tight and cozy. ‘How much better my life is because you’re in it.’
His face softens even as he rolls his eyes. ‘Sappy. Gross.’
‘You love it.’
‘I love you,’ he corrects, then kisses me again. We roll in the sheets for a bit, indulging in each other’s bodies but not really looking for any kind of conclusion. I want him all the time, but it’s easier to ignore that and just enjoy his presence now that we’re doing this.
Now that he’s moving in with me and we’re making a life together.
I thought I hated him once—or, at the very least, thought he was a major douche bag. And he can still be sometimes. He’s fussy and has little patience with most people.
But he’s different with me, and I’m realizing how rare that is.
And how important.
“We need a shower,” he says quietly, my hands pinned above my head by his own. “Together or separate?”
I swallow and lick my lips, and his eyes follow the motion. “Together,” I say.
He lifts a brow. “Will you be good?”
I grin. “Never.”
Rome bursts into laughter, then kisses me until I’m hard before pulling away and ignoring my cry of protest by turning his head so he can’t see my lips.
It’s too easy to follow him and grab him just before he gets to the door. And it’s far too easy to be happily—and deliciously—distracted by his talented hands once we’re under the spray of water.
He takes the edge off all my anxieties, even when the rest of the world is waiting just outside the condo to remind me that life will always be complicated.
After a romp in the shower and then washing up and getting dressed, I feel better. Rome’s dad—Gabriel—has chosen the diner on the edge of town that has signing staff.
Rome doesn’t seem thrilled with it, but only because I know he’s not a diner kind of guy. But he’s always more relaxed when he doesn’t have to rely on me to order for him in hearing spaces.
‘Is there anything I should know about your dad before we go inside?’ I ask, pulling him back away from the restaurant doors.
He taps his chin. ‘Well, he’s a serial killer…’
‘I’m being serious!’
Rome laughs and leans in to steal a kiss.
“Relax,” he murmurs against my lips before pulling all the way back.
‘My dad is a good person. He raised me alone for years. He speaks four languages and signs two. He built his business from the ground up and loves sci-fi and fantasy movies. He grew up with rabbits and sheep, and someday wants to get one of those small, fluffy marshmallow-looking dogs to carry around with him when he officially retires.’
I smile. Clearly, Gabriel is not like Rome at all, but I can absolutely see how a man like that raised the person I’m wildly in love with.
‘He wants me to be happy,’ Rome goes on. ‘And he’ll see that you make me happy. And for that, he will love you.’
I bite my lip. ‘Nerds usually think I’m stupid. HIMBO,’ I spell.
Rome shrugs. ‘Once he talks to you, he’ll know you’re so much more than these abs.’ He reaches down to trace a touch over them, and I shiver. ‘Come on, let’s go.’
I let him take my hand and drag me inside, where I immediately spot him. I’ve seen photos, but nothing compares to how much he looks like Rome in person.
Gabriel is a little shorter and definitely softer around the middle. His dark hair is streaked with grey, but he’s aged like a fine wine, with only a few wrinkles near his eyes and a single line across his forehead.
He’s wearing a button-up navy blue shirt with the sleeves rolled up, and as he stands, I can see he has a raven tattoo on the inside of his forearm.
It’s weirdly hot. I mean, nothing can take my eyes off Rome, but something about Gabriel tells me he’d have to fight people off with a stick if they ever thought he was on the market.
As we approach, the moment is tense as Gabriel gives me a long look, then opens his arms for his son. Rome goes easily, kissing his dad on each cheek before stepping back and presenting me like I’m some gift being offered to an ancient Egyptian Pharaoh.
‘Dad, this is Dex,’ he says, using my sign name that doesn’t mean Sex. ‘My boyfriend.’
Gabriel takes me in again, then holds out his hands for mine. He kisses me on each cheek—more of a brush of his jaw than his lips, but it’s oddly intimate for a stranger. It must be a French thing.
‘Nice to meet you,’ I sign with shaking hands.
He nods. ‘I’m glad you could make time for me.’
We sit, and I fold my hands in my lap as Gabriel and Rome begin to go back and forth. Most of it is asking Rome how he is, and how the office is doing, and what we were up to. Then he looks at me—his eyes almost pinning me to my seat.
‘So. How is living together?’
I was just taking a drink and almost choke to death on a stray ice cube. “Um,” I start aloud, then stop. ‘Fine. Good. I mean, perfect. Wonderful—’
‘Relax,’ Rome tells me and sets his hands over mine for a second and speaks aloud. “It’s been smooth.”
Gabriel’s brows go up. ‘You voice for him in public?’
Rome shrugs, then nods and lets me go. ‘Sometimes.’
Gabriel nods like maybe they’ve had this conversation before, and it makes me feel…some type of way. Some type of big way.
‘I’ve been studying ASL for three years,’ I tell him. ‘After Rome went to Paris.’
Gabriel frowns. ‘Why?’
‘It’s a good language to know. A lot of Deaf here. And my brother’s dating a Deaf person.’
‘Robbie,’ Rome signs, using the horny rooster name.
Gabriel’s lips twitch. ‘Understand.’
I have a feeling Rome probably bitched about Robbie and Thom to his dad more than once. ‘We also have a Deaf trainer. He uses cochlear implants, but he signs and I want to learn for him too.’
‘Not my son?’
I sniff. ‘Your son wasn’t very nice to me back then, so I wanted to learn to tell him off.’
Gabriel stares, then bursts into laughter and nods. ‘I like him. Marry him.’
Rome groans loudly. ‘Finish.’ His ears are red, and he looks nervous, glancing at me like I’m somehow going to jump at the idea of nuptials.
The truth is, I’ve never really given much thought or care about marriage. All I’ve ever wanted was to be happy. But Rome and I can talk about that later.
‘He’s stuck with me,’ I tell Gabriel. ‘I’m obsessed. Like a stalker.’
Gabriel grins a little wider. ‘Wonderful. Love a stalker. We should order food now, or we’re never getting out of here.’
Gabriel is well practiced at Deaf goodbyes, so it takes us nearly forty-five minutes after the meal is over to get to our car and go home. Rome is quiet, and I’m a little nervous, like something went wrong. Something I’m oblivious to.
The looks he steals at me while we’re driving are unreadable, and he doesn’t do more than thank me when I point out red lights or that he’s about to miss our turn.
When we get inside the house, the mood is still strange. He’s fidgety in ways he usually isn’t, and he paces when I drop to the couch.
I let him carry on, but only for a few moments before waving my hand to get his attention. ‘Talk to me.’
He blows out a puff of air, then comes around and sits on the coffee table, practically between my spread knees. ‘Do you want to get married?’
I frown. ‘I don’t care.’
‘Tell me,’ he insists. ‘Truth.’
‘Truth. I don’t care. I want to be with you. Rings or no rings. None of that matters. What matters is I love you. What matters is you’re mine.’
He swallows heavily, then pounces, pinning me to the couch, his knees straddling my thighs as I take his full weight. We sink a few inches, and eventually, I have to push him back to breathe.
‘You were worried?’
He shrugs, then nods. ‘I never wanted marriage.’
‘Okay…’
‘But I’m not sure now. I want to make you happy, so if it’s important to you—’
‘You are important to me,’ I interrupt. I take his hands and kiss each palm before letting him go. ‘Nothing else.’
He relaxes against me, the weight even heavier, but more comforting than I have ever felt in my life. His ear rests against my shoulder, breath puffing along my neck.
“My dad liked you,” he murmurs aloud.
He’s got his eyes closed, so I take his hand and put it over mine when I sign. ‘Sure?’
“I’m sure,” he responds with his voice. “I knew he would, but I was worried. He’s my only family.”
I tap his shoulder until he shuffles back to see me properly. ‘I will spend the rest of my life making you happy. But…’
Rome’s eyes get a little wider.
‘You still owe me an A+.’
He makes a sudden noise of outrage and flips us, pinning me to the couch and kissing the literal breath from my lungs. When he pulls back, his eyes are shining. ‘Just wait.’ The signs are simple, but the meaning behind them is almost like a threat.
But in the best way.
And fuck, I love it.
I love him.