Chapter 17
seventeen
. . .
artie
We burst into the flat, kissing furiously. Shoes are kicked off, and wet clothes fall to the floor with a splat as hands move, caressing rain-chilled skin.
“I like your flat,” he gasps between kisses as he fumbles with the button on my jeans.
“Name one feature of it.” I moan as he takes my cock in his hand and strokes, the coldness of his hand rapidly heating from my hot flesh.
“You’re naked and in it.”
I laugh, but it fades to a moan as he kisses me and cups my arse, lifting me in one swift move. I wrap my legs around him, rubbing my cock against his as he carries me into the bedroom. He tumbles me onto the bed and follows me down.
It’s fast and furious and full of laughter and groans, but when he’s finally inside me, he slows, stirring his hips as he gazes down at me.
“ You ,” he says, a wealth of wonder in his voice that makes my throat tighten. “Hello, my love.”
I sniff and brush his hair back, my fingers caressing the stark beauty of his face. “Welcome home, Jed.”
I come awake slowly. I’m warm and feel wonderfully sore inside, like I’ve been used well. I stretch and force my eyes open. I’m lying pressed into Jed’s side. One of his arms is around me, my head is cushioned on his shoulder, and his hand is carding absentmindedly through my hair. The other hand is holding a book that he’s looking at intently.
“What are you reading?” I say hoarsely.
He turns, and his smile is tender and so full of love. “You slept well, sweetheart,” he says, kissing my nose.
“That’s because you were here.”
He looks almost shyly pleased, and I lift up for a proper kiss, and he obliges. When he pulls away, my head is bleary, and my dick is hard. I stretch, pulling him down to me, his book tumbling away, forgotten.
He chuckles, and the next few minutes are spent in lazy, sated kisses that soon grow more heated. I groan as he pulls away. “No, stay. I want you.”
He smiles, and it’s a glorious sight. He’s in my bed naked and looking rumpled and so sexy and all mine . “I want to do something.”
“Is it sexual?” I ask hopefully, and he laughs.
“Not yet, and hopefully, it won’t turn sexual as quickly as it usually does between the two of us. I don’t fancy serving a sentence in a German prison for lewd behaviour.”
“Well, now my cock is hard, and I’m curious. It’s an uncomfortable dichotomy.”
He bursts out laughing and kisses me again. “Get up,” he says, bounding out of bed.
I admire his muscular arse, and when he turns, his hair-roughened chest and spectacular abs.
He winks and begins a sexy strut across the floor. “I feel like I should be wearing something you could stuff money into.”
I start to laugh. “Come closer. I’m sure I can find somewhere to put the notes.”
He claps a hand to his cheek. “You’ll make me blush.”
I roll my eyes. “I sincerely doubt that. You’ve done too much in your life to be shy.”
I gasp as he jumps onto the bed, tumbles me onto my back, and drops kisses over my face.
“ Stop ,” I shout, trying not to giggle and failing.
He pulls back, looking suddenly serious. “I may have done a lot, but this between you and me is something completely new to me.”
“Not even with Mick?” I clap a hand over my mouth, horrified I’ve brought his name into this exchange.
But he only smiles at me and kisses my fingers. “I loved Mick, but what we had was different from you and me, and I’m so glad of that fact.” He hesitates. “I have things I want to tell you about him and me, but I don’t want to get into it at the moment.”
“Of course. Whenever you’re ready is fine,” I say steadily.
“It’s not because I can’t bear to talk about him. I don’t feel that now,” he says quickly. “It’s because I don’t want that discussion to intrude on the start of us.”
I smile at him, feeling tears in my eyes at his earnest confession. “Is this really the start?”
He brushes my hair back. “It’s the start of the best part.”
“I like that.” I squeak as he rolls me over and slaps my arse.
“Get this beautiful bum up and showered and dressed. I have something to show you.”
I sit up as he leaves the bed. “It’s probably better for the planet if we save water and shower together.”
He rolls his eyes but can’t conceal the way his cock is stiffening. “Have I ever told you that I find ecological concerns very sexy?”
“I’m a member of Friends of the Earth.”
“Oh my god, you are the sexiest man alive,” he says fervently.
I shout with laughter as I hurry into the bathroom with him hot on my heels.
It takes an hour before we manage to separate, and the sheets are damp when he pulls away. “Dress,” he says, pointing at me. “No more of your sexual wiles.” He pauses. “Do you have some paper and a marker pen?”
“Why?”
He flushes and scratches the back of his head awkwardly. He looks adorable, considering that he’s stark naked.
“No reason. Do you have some?”
“In the drawer in the kitchen.”
He hurries out of the room with a speed that rouses my curiosity. I put on some jeans and an old jumper of his that I pinched and that demands rolling up the sleeves.
In the lounge he’s waiting with my coat. He helps me on with it and bustles me out of the door. We walk for a few blocks, exchanging smiles often, and then he hails a cab. He gives the driver quiet instructions and then helps me into the back seat.
“Where are we going?” I ask as he immediately pulls me across the leather seat and wraps his arms around me. I nestle into him with a happy sigh as we watch the world go by. Christmas lights gleam red and gold, and people are heading to dinner, the bars and restaurants shining brightly in the twilight. The rain has stopped, and everywhere glistens in the streetlights. It’s cold, but here with him I’m warm and safe.
“You’ll see. You asked me what I was reading earlier.”
I blink at the change of subject. “Yes, what was it?”
“I was looking for something,” he says mysteriously.
I take a surreptitious glance at the rucksack by his leg. When he sees me looking, he nudges it out of sight. His fingers are tapping on his jean-clad thigh, and I realise with a start that he’s nervous.
“You alright?” I ask.
“Yes, fine,” he says quickly. He looks up as the cab slows, and the driver announces that we’re here.
I get out and look around curiously while he pays the driver. There’s nothing unusual about the street, but my eyes immediately land on a nearby photo booth. It’s painted blue with stickers plastered to it. A black curtain hides its interior. Charmed, I walk closer.
“I’ve heard about these,” I say in delight as Jed takes my hand. “ Fotoautomat . They’ve got a bit of a cult following in Berlin. You get several photos taken inside and end up with a souvenir strip of black-and-white shots. That’s cooler than colour, isn’t it?”
“It certainly makes you look younger, and I’ll take all the help I can get.”
I nudge him, looking admiringly at his tall body. “You don’t need any. You’re the sexiest man I’ve ever met, and I have a feeling you’ll only get better as the years pass.”
“Do you mind the big age gap between us?” he asks, hand clutching the mysterious rucksack. “I know I said I wouldn’t mention Mick, but I was a lot younger than him, and it created problems.”
“Did it?” I’m curious about that revelation, but I let my nosiness go. He’ll tell me at another time. I’m sure of that now. I step closer, wanting to ease his worries. I love the way he immediately pulls me against him. No hesitation now—just love and warmth in those sexy green eyes of his.
“No, I don’t care,” I say softly. “I think I was meant for you, and you were meant for me.”
He raises a wry eyebrow. “And it’s that simple?”
“At the centre of everything, yes.” I stare at him. “Does it worry you?”
“It should do.”
“But?” I prompt as he falls silent.
“But I don’t care.” He smiles hesitantly at me. “I’ve learnt that being without you is awful, and I want to spend my life with you as long as I’m given.”
“Oh, don’t talk like that,” I say, distressed.
He murmurs an inarticulate endearment and hugs me close. “I just want you to know that I choose you.”
“And I choose you,” I say. “I think I’m older than I should be, and you’re younger, and we meet in the middle, and it’s what I want, and that will never change.” The certainty in my voice seems to settle him, and he smiles at me and drops a kiss on my nose.
“You have to know that you would have been my downfall if you had stopped loving me,” he says solemnly.
“I don’t want that,” I immediately say, my throat tight at the thought that he remembered my words. It’s the way he always remembers things about me. He notices me and takes steps to protect my soft centre, and I now vow to do the same for him. “That won’t happen,” I say sternly. He nods and drops a soft kiss on my lips. When he pulls back, I look at the photo booth again curiously. “Are we here to have our pictures taken?”
“Yes.” He licks his lips. “I want a photo with you.”
I look at him askance. “We could have just taken one in bed and avoided having to get dressed.”
“ Artie ,” he groans reprovingly. “Don’t give me an inconvenient hard-on.”
I snort. “I won’t. I only want to give you convenient hard-ons from now on.”
We step closer to the booth, and when I read the notice on the side, I laugh. “It says to be quiet after eleven o’clock. What the hell do people do in these booths?” I shiver as the wind blows down the street, making my eyes water. “We’re lucky there’s no one waiting. Apparently, there’s usually a queue. The weather must have put people off. Shall we get a picture, then?”
He clutches the rucksack tight and gestures me into the booth. I shoot him a look but obey his urging. The interior is tiny and not meant for men his height, and we break into helpless laughter as we contort ourselves to fit on the small stool together. We finally settle with me in his lap. I slouch down so the camera angle gets both of us.
“Ready?” I ask as he gives me a coin to put in the slot next to me.
He stays my hands. “Wait.”
“Why?”
“I’m going to hold up some papers,” he says, ducking to reach into his bag. He pulls out a sheaf of papers and holds them close to his chest.
“Okay,” I say slowly, desperately wondering what’s written on them.
“And you mustn’t look. Promise me you’ll just smile and not try to read the message.”
“There’s a message?”
He says nothing, pressing his lips together.
I smile. “You’re being very mysterious.” I pinch his cheek affectionately. “But okay.” I hold up the coin. “Ready?”
He swallows hard and nods.
I insert the coin and immediately sit back in his lap as he holds up a piece of paper in front of me aimed at the screen. The first flash still surprises us, and I’m pretty sure we both look startled, as everyone does in these booths.
I snort. “Shit, that’s bright.”
I sit back again as he holds up another sheet of paper, and this time, when the flash goes off, I manage a smile. I probably still look like a startled rabbit, and Jed will look as handsome as ever, but we pose for the rest of the shots, and I keep my promise not to peek.
He pokes his head out of the booth when our time is up. He smiles. “Nobody’s waiting. Let’s sit here while the photos develop. We’ve only got a minute.”
“We can snog,” I offer.
“You have the best ideas.” He pulls me close and takes my lips in a lush kiss. I run my hands over his shoulders and discover his body seems to be thrumming with nerves.
I pull back. “Are you really okay?” I ask.
He smiles at me and then sets me on my feet. “The photos will be ready.”
“Just so you know, you’re being sexily mysterious right now.”
He drops me a wink. “And just think. I’m not even trying.”
We step out. The street is still deserted, but the wind has died down. A string of nearby Christmas lights play over Jed’s face, giving his features a magical cast. There’s a whirring, and I watch as a strip of photos dispenses from the booth’s slot. Jed picks up the strip, hiding it from me as he looks at it. He swallows convulsively, and I step closer.
“Are they bad? I’m pretty sure I’m going to look like a serial killer, and I’m equally sure I’m going to frame it and keep it on my desk at Confetti Hitched.”
Without looking at me, he hands it to me. “See what you think,” he says almost brusquely.
I look down, and as my smile dies, my eyes widen in shock. The photos are actually lovely. My huge grin is alive with love and happiness, and Jed is watching me raptly as if I’m everything he’ll ever want or need. But it isn’t that which stuns me. I can now read the messages on the sheets of paper.
The first photo’s page has one word on it— Will . The second has You , the third has Marry , and the last one has Me .
Will you marry me?
My hand starts to shake. He’s watching me solemnly, his eyes big and dark.
“Will you?” His voice is hoarse.
“We already are married,” I whisper.
He steps close, bending his head to hear me. “Not like we should be. The first one was fake. This is real.”
“I think we were always real.”
He smiles. “You could be right.”
I gasp as he goes to his knees, looking up at me.
“The ground is wet,” I whisper.
“So?” He takes a breath and kisses my hand. “Arthur Campbell, will you take me in sickness and in health, in foolish decisions and in all my stupid stubbornness? Will you stand by my side when dealing with chaotic building apprentices and mad brides and grooms? Will you keep me, despite my complete failure to realise what I had until I lost you?” Emotion is written all over his face, as clear as day for anyone to read. “Will you marry me again?”
“I will,” I say solemnly, pulling him to his feet. And then he kisses me lushly on the empty street, the photos held tightly in my hand.
I’m definitely framing them, because this is the best moment of my life. For now, anyway. Jed Walker will give me many more.