Chapter 16
Harris
Iglanced at my watch and cursed, noting the time.
The Winter Ball started in a half an hour and Tyler and I had fifteen minutes to get to the party barn.
Fortunately, it was a short walk and Cade had cleared the snow just a bit ago.
It was supposed to be a clear night, thank fuck, so that should hold.
“Ty?” I called. He’d used the guest bathroom to shower, but I expected him to be getting dressed already. “Baby, we gotta get moving.”
I heard his chuckle, but it sounded far away. A moment later, he yelled back, “I’m almost done. Get your tux on, handsome.”
What did that mean? Was he already dressed?
He must have taken his suit with him when he showered.
But now that I thought about it, I hadn’t seen a suit or even a jacket, pants, and shirt, hanging in the closet.
Oh fuck, I’d told him it was formal, hadn’t I?
No, I definitely had. We’d talked about it.
I couldn’t worry about it right this second.
I had to focus on getting into the straight jacket.
I fucking hated this thing. It made me feel constrained.
But at least it still fit, and it saved me the expense of renting.
As I threw on clothes, carefully so as not to wrinkle, I was glad I hadn’t let Morgan talk me into the French cuffs, stud buttons, and real bow tie.
The shirt worked just like a regular button down, except for the pleats on the front.
I tucked it into the pants, zipped them up, and put the cummerbund on, settling it so it was straight.
Then I wrapped the bowtie around my neck and clipped it closed.
Black socks, stupid shoes, and then the jacket.
I shoved my wallet and phone into the pockets, gave myself a cursory glance in the mirror that didn’t matter because Morgan would fuss over me anyway, and left the room.
“Baby?”
“Waiting by the tree for you!”
I hustled in that direction and stopped dead.
He was wearing his dress uniform. My tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth. I swept my gaze down, then up again, taking him in. I’d never seen Dress Blues up close and personal, and on Tyler, it looked stunning.
“Is my chest candy not straight?” He asked, teasing in his tone.
“How?” was all I managed to get out.
He crossed the room, dress shoes clacking on the wood floor. “I had my parents bring it since they insisted on visiting. I thought you might appreciate it.”
“I really do.” I held out a hand so he would stop advancing because I just needed to keep looking at him.
Tyler chuckled. “While I am in love with the look in your eye right now, we are going to be late if we don’t leave right now. Think you can save it till after? I’ll let you undress me.”
“Oh, that is happening. And if you’re lucky, I’ll finally fuck that tight ass I’ve been playing with for the past two weeks.”
Tyler sucked in a breath, then choked. I went to him but he pushed me away, glaring at me. All I could do was smirk.
“Harris. Jesus fuck. These pants hide nothing!”
“Come on, baby. Let’s go to the Ball.”
He was still having a little trouble breathing, but when I held out my hand, he took it.
I told Cheddar to be good, but he barely opened his eyes.
Then we were out the door and hurrying toward the party barn.
It was frigid, barely above freezing, but neither of us bothered with an overcoat. We’d only be outside for a few minutes.
Morgan and Barrett were already there when we came through the door. Barrett was directing caterers and Morgan was fussing with the lights on the arch. He turned when he heard us, and his eyes lit up.
“Well, Sergeant Galloway. Don’t you clean up nice?” Morgan waggled his eyebrows at him, then turned his smile on me. “Dashing as always, Harris.”
Tyler leaned in to speak in my ear. “You distracted me. You do look amazing. I like the jeans and sweatshirts more, though. Because you, comfortable and confident? That’s my kryptonite.”
He knew just what to say to heat my blood. But I had his number too. “You be a good boy tonight, and I’ll use you as a cock warmer.”
The needy little whine he let out was better than any Christmas carol.
“Look, Bear. You match.”
Barrett ambled over and Tyler stiffened, his right arm twitching. He caught himself and then laughed, shaking his head. Barrett noticed too and he grinned.
“Hard not to salute in the uniform.” Barrett said lazily. He dropped an arm around Morgan’s shoulders and planted a kiss on his head. “Now, love, I know you’re a tag chaser but—oof.”
Morgan elbowed him in the stomach, his face turning red. “Barrett McKinnon.”
“You mean Gunnery Sergeant,” Tyler said out of the corner of his mouth, eyes lit up with mischief.
Morgan opened his mouth, then snapped it shut. He pinched the bridge of his nose and breathed deeply for a few seconds, then turned to me, ignoring the two Marines at our sides.
“It’s probably best we ignore them both. Everything is set here and people will start arriving any minute. You ready?”
“No.”
Morgan laughed and tucked his hand in my elbow, turning me toward the door. “Too bad. Let’s go.”
Morgan’s speech was nice and I would be forever grateful that he’d taken that role and left me out of it.
He talked about the sanctuary, what the donations would be used for, and gave a heartfelt thanks to everyone who came.
He made me sound like a goddamn hero, but I mostly turned that part out. I was just a man who saved horses.
The food was as good as always and the company at the table was fun, minus the Wentzes, The owners of the Marquis, the luxury hotel just outside of town, were pretentious at best. I was pretty sur they only came because it would look bad if they didn’t.
And Christopher and Marianne were all about appearances.
I was missing Luce and Jan something fierce right now, though Tyler never left my side.
I’d have to call them tomorrow and let them know how it went.
Lisa Costa, as always, was the life of the party.
She never lacked for a story to share, and the telling of it was better than the story itself.
Her and Barrett got going about the high school days, and as nice as it was to see Barrett reliving that time with fondness now, it just made me feel even more like an outsider.
They weren’t doing it on purpose, so I couldn’t blame them, but still.
I leaned into Tyler’s space, and even though he was listening raptly to Lisa’s tale, he tilted his head, in tune with me. I smiled and whispered, “When can we get out of here?”
His lips curled and he turned to look at me. “You’re one of the hosts. You tell me.”
The string quartet chose that moment to start up and I held out a hand. Tyler put his palm in mine. “After the dancing.”
We weren’t the first ones on the floor, but we were quickly joined by many more.
I pulled Tyler in, wrapping both arms around his waist. He didn’t hesitate to slide his arms around my neck.
I wasn’t much of a dancer, so what we were doing couldn’t be considered more than swaying on beat, but no one seemed to care.
Tyler certainly didn’t. In fact, judging by what I could feel against my pelvis, he liked it a lot.
I appreciated the hell out of the money this event brought in. I was glad for it and was happy to suffer through. It was a lot of peopling, to use Tyler’s word, but in the end it was a great event that fit well with the festival and helped my horses.
But tonight, more than any before, I couldn’t wait to get home.
Ilasted as long as I could before leaving Morgan to end the night and dragged Tyler back home.
We practically ran, which could have been dangerous in our dress shoes, but we made it back in one piece.
I was ready to maul him right then and there, as soon as I got him through the door.
He was the one that had the wherewithal to remind me Cheddar needed to go out.
Of course, tonight was the night my dog decided to sniff every speck of snow before he finally did his business. It took all my patience not to snap at him, telling him to get on with it already. I was freezing and I had a beautiful, sweet man waiting for me to devour him.
Finally, Cheddar was done. I toweled him off, gave him a treat, and sent him to his bed. He looked sad about that, since he often slept in bed with me, but I had other plans right now. I left my shoes by the door and jogged to the bedroom.
I was greeted by the most beautiful sight. A naked Tyler, spread out on the bed, cock hard and leaking, legs bent and spread. Everything in me slowed then, and after I shut the door, I leaned against it to admire him.
“I’m not mad at this,” I said, gesturing to him. “But I thought I was going to get to undress you.”
Tyler shrugged, a smile playing on his mouth. He slid a hand down his chest, then abs, and grabbed his cock. He stroked lazily. “The uniform deserves respect. Not that you don’t but…figured it was easier if I took it off.”
“Hands off,” I commanded and Tyler instantly let go. “Grab the headboard.”
He did that too, fingers curling underneath the wood. I wouldn’t leave him there for long, but he needed to slow down. This was going to take awhile.
I stripped slowly, not putting on a show but being deliberate. I kept my gaze locked on Tyler’s as much as I could as I peeled off each layer and laid it on top of the dresser. I’d have to get it dry cleaned before it went back in the bag for next year anyway,
When I was naked, I crawled onto the bed, moving at a glacial pace. Tyler’s pupils blew out and he was breathing heavily. He couldn’t take his gaze off me.
“I never ask,” I said, voice gravelly, “because I trust you to handle it. But that was a big meal and this is about to get intense. Are you good?”
He knew what I was asking, and he nodded rapidly. “Even did a finger prick to make sure. Right on target.”
“And your phone is nearby?”