Chapter 8
CHAPTER EIGHT
EMMETT
Things were good. Better than good, and that was slightly terrifying because they were in the middle of cutting off their daughter and housing her ex-boyfriend. Things should have been painful and strange. But everything had been turned upside down when Miles confessed to not being straight.
Then they turned inside out when he obeyed even the most subtle commands that Emmett had given him. And had seemed to come alive when it happened.
He hadn’t said anything to Cosimo yet. His husband had cooked and the three of them ate outside. Selene’s name became a ghost in the room—not entirely gone but easy to ignore. Everyone seemed…happy.
Miles’s tiny grins and small laughs were genuine. He sat close to them when Cosimo turned off the lights and started a fire. Emmett knew the other man couldn’t hear the waves, but the brine on the breeze was enough.
It had been nice. Soothing.
Damn near perfect.
Tonight, he was going to take Cosimo down until he was almost nothing before building him back up.
He was going to soften all the sharp edges that were digging into Cosimo’s soul.
Then, the next morning, he was going to sit down and talk to Miles about making something at least semi-permanent.
They had a guest room in the house, and if Miles was willing, he could stay with them.
Emmett and Cosimo had put their dynamic mostly on hold when Selene had been growing up. They could do it for a bit longer for Miles while he was healing.
And if something happened—if something could happen—then…well, at least he’d be close by.
Emmett wasn’t ready to get his hopes up yet, though.
He turned his attention back to his husband who was sitting under the shower spray with a blindfold over his eyes and a ring gag in his mouth. It was currently plugged with a fat dildo he knew touched the back of his throat.
Emmett hummed as he grabbed the shampoo and began to wash the kneeling man.
Then he washed himself before rinsing off.
He could hear the faint buzz of the vibrating plug that was nestled deep in Cosimo’s ass, and he thought about turning it up, but he was going to make him wear it all day while Emmett was out, so maybe he’d be a little kind.
His fingers touched the gag, then he twisted the little handle and gently drew the dildo out. Cosimo gagged a little, turning his head from side to side like he was trying to see what was going on through the soaked blindfold.
Emmett just laughed softly, watching Cosimo shudder at the sound. “Are you ready?”
The noise was something like an affirmation, though it was garbled, impossible to understand.
Emmett watched him a few more moments, then dug his fingers into the back of the strap and unhooked the gag first. Reaching over, he turned the water off, then knelt down beside his husband and stroked a touch over his swollen lips.
“Give me a color.”
“Green,” Cosimo rasped.
Emmett hummed, then took him roughly by the chin and kissed him. “Blindfold is coming off,” he said when he pulled back. He moved slowly, giving Cosimo a chance to come out of his head a little.
It always took him a few minutes to orient himself, so Emmett waited, watching as his husband’s eyes slowly fluttered open. When they were clear and focused, Emmett grabbed a hand towel and used the corner to wipe the moisture off his face.
“Hello.”
Cosimo snorted without smiling. “Hello.”
“What do you need?”
Emmett appreciated that Cosimo took his time doing an assessment. He shifted a little since the vibe was still inside him, rumbling away, but he was more present. “Help me stand up.”
Emmett offered both hands and appreciated the way that Cosimo always kind of towered over him. Emmett had always been tall—the tallest one in the family most of the time. And Cosimo only had a couple inches on him, but there were moments he felt engulfed, and he loved it.
Cosimo cupped his cheeks, maybe sensing that Emmett needed a little aftercare too. He leaned in and took a careful, tender kiss. “My knees can’t take much more of the shower,” he rumbled as he pulled back.
Emmett laughed. They were getting old. He was going to have to start working on positions and techniques that were kind to early arthritis. Not to mention Cosimo’s back. He spent hours in surgeries bent over tiny patients, a hunch in his back that left him wound up and too tight.
And all of this also took a toll on Emmett’s body. They were no spring chickens. Not ancient but heading toward the back end of middle age as they approached fifty.
“What are you doing after this?” Cosimo said. He was walking with a slight limp, and Emmett took pity on him, grabbing his phone and shutting off the vibrator. He hid his smile when Cosimo audibly sighed in relief.
“I’m heading to the office to pick up a couple files that Magnus sent over, and then I’m going to do some shopping for the week.
Text me your list if there’s anything you need.
” Emmett grabbed his briefs and t-shirt from the bed, slipping them on and feeling comforted by the weight of his packer as it rested heavy against him.
He spun and saw Cosimo watching with a look in his eyes that Emmett hadn’t seen in a while: contentment. “I’d like to cook again tonight,” he said after a beat. “I’ll send you my list.” He paused, but Emmett could tell he wasn’t done. “Are you going to take Miles with you?”
He froze. Was he? It hadn’t even been a consideration, but Miles had been there going on a week now and he still hadn’t left the house. Hell, he was barely joining them for a meal.
He wasn’t sure if it was on purpose or if it was because neither of them had thought to invite him out.
He didn’t have a car, so it was probably their fuck-up. Again.
“I’ll go ask him.”
Cosimo looked pleased, and Emmett hated it only because he already had his own hopes up for something. He didn’t want Cosimo getting attached to someone they had no chance of keeping. But he kissed him anyway, then tugged him close and bit down on his earlobe.
Cosimo sucked in a sharp breath.
“Don’t get too comfortable. I will be making sure you’re thinking about me while I’m gone. And tonight, I’m going to see you like the filthy little slut you are.”
Cosimo groaned and turned his face, taking a kiss he wouldn’t be ballsy enough to steal later on. Emmett let him have it, keeping it mean and messy, but still light. He didn’t want to go out with the weight of Cosimo waiting for him on his shoulders.
He loved his husband, but he was even more profoundly aware now that he still needed something for himself.
Miles was lounging on the patio chair when Emmett came out. He didn’t seem to hear him, so Emmett waved in his periphery until he looked up. He still felt the urge to sign while he spoke, but Miles had been so upset about it before, and Emmett didn’t know how to fix that.
“Hey, I’m heading out to do a few things. Would you like to come?”
Miles blinked at him. “Oh, uh…”
“You don’t have much. Maybe we can get a few things for you.”
Miles’s cheeks went pink. “Yeah, I kind of don’t have money, so…”
“On me.”
Biting his lip, Miles glanced away. “I don’t want to be a charity case.”
Emmett dropped down to the lounger and felt a little bold as he put his hand on Miles’s knee.
He jumped a bit, but didn’t pull back or tense up, so he kept it there.
“That’s not even close to how I see you.
” Words danced on his tongue, and he wasn’t sure if saying them would be pushing too far, but he knew he had to try.
“You’ve been through a lot. You should let me spoil you a bit. ”
Miles’s chest heaved like air was trapped in it. Then he met Emmett’s gaze. “I…well…”
“Say yes,” Emmett pressed. “It would make me happy.”
Looking like he might burst into flame from how deep he was blushing, Miles dipped his head in a single nod. “Alright. As long as you promise not to go too wild.”
“I will not make that promise,” Emmett said, then grinned, “but I swear I will try.”
Miles slipped his feet down to the ground. “Why don’t I believe you?”
With a laugh, Emmett pulled Miles close, a light hand on his waist, feeling for any change. But Miles seemed to lean in, not away. “It’s because you’re a very smart man, sweetness.”
Ears now as red as his face, Miles looked up at him. “Not that smart.”
“You don’t give yourself enough credit. Now, let’s head out. There’s a gigantic iced coffee calling my name.”
They were at the university lab and Emmett was a little annoyed that Miles didn’t look very impressed. But then he realized it was familiar to the other man. He was a student there, and it was clear he’d spent time in the physics building.
“You have nerdy friends?” Emmett asked as he unlocked his office door. “You seem to know this place pretty well.”
Miles laughed as he followed him inside. The office had once been a lab that the university had remodeled into three offices. They were very well insulated, so it was quiet apart from their voices.
“All my friends are nerdy, yes. But also, they ran out of space at Carter, so they stuck me and a few other TAs upstairs with the advisors. A couple of the researchers would pop in every few days to make us watch their experiments.”
It wasn’t a surprise Emmett had never seen him.
He’d only just started working at the university the semester before, and he definitely preferred a private lab, so he didn’t socialize much.
But the school had money. And equipment.
And bored students looking to add to their resume, so there was always a lab assistant available for him when he needed one.
It would be odd next year if they ran into each other more.
And potentially tricky if something happened between them. He wasn’t going to bring that up now, though. The day was starting out perfect and he wasn’t going to ruin it by talking about the future.
“I can’t believe you weren’t swayed by the power of science nerds and didn’t change your program to STEM,” he said with a wink as he dropped down to his chair and began to download the files Magnus sent him onto his phone.
Miles grinned and shrugged. “I mean, maybe I’ll get a second doctorate when I have money.
If I get hired on full time so I can take cheap as fuck classes…
” He trailed off, then said, “Except I also suck at math, and I’m pretty sure you need a good foundation of the Devil’s alphabet to make that work. ”
Emmett blinked. “The Devil’s…oh my god .
” He burst into a fit of laughter. He’d heard the phrase before but the way Miles said it with an almost sad disdain was just…
it was adorable, goddamn it. In a way that made him want to pull Miles onto his lap and kiss him until he was writhing and begging for more.
Christ, he needed to stop that now.
“Sorry. I’m not trying to be insulting,” Miles said the moment Emmett’s smile fell.
Pushing up from the desk, Emmett grabbed his phone and shoved it into his pocket before approaching Miles carefully. He took a beat, then set a hand on his waist. Once again, Miles leaned in, not away. God, this was either going to tease him to death, or it was going to be easy.
He could tell Miles was unsure—which of course he was. There was every chance in the world Miles didn’t think this was flirting. After all, Emmett and Cosimo were married, and they hadn’t told him anything about their dynamic.
So yeah. They were going to need to talk.
“Miles, can you do something for me?”
“Mm. Anything.”
Anything? God help him. He took a breath.
“I’d like you to stop apologizing for being yourself.
You’re not a burden. You’re not annoying.
You don’t say insulting things when you don’t spend ten minutes agonizing the words about to come out of your mouth and just blurt out whatever’s on your mind. You’re a good person.”
“I…um.”
“You’re gorgeous,” he said, lowering his tone. Miles swallowed heavily. “You’re so fucking clever. You’re deserving. I really enjoy spending time with you, okay? Like, more than I should say.”
Miles’s eyes went wide. Yeah, he caught that. And he got it. “Well. Um.”
Emmett let the moment hang there, then clapped his hands together. “Come on. I’m starving. Let’s get some lunch. Call it a re-do for that shit-show the other day?”
“You don’t need to do that,” Miles said softly.
Emmett reached up and brushed hair off Miles’s forehead. “I’d like to. Spoiling you makes me feel good.”
Miles sucked in a breath, then let it out and nodded. “Okay. I…yeah. Let’s go.”
This time, Emmett offered his arm, and after only a short hesitation, Miles threaded his through it and hung on. The weight was nice, like a promise of what could come…
If the universe was kind enough to let him keep this.