Chapter Twenty-Six
Sterling
The room sat hushed, as if holding its breath, waiting for me to speak. What the hell could I say? I couldn’t fathom the news myself.
“I was hoping this could wait.”
“Wait? You don’t want to tell me?”
There was obviously no sleep to be had in this bed, so I flung back the covers. “It’s my—”
“If you say it’s your problem and not mine, I will spank your ass until you like it,” Denis growled, and I didn’t know whether to be repelled or excited.
Openmouthed, I stared at him for a moment, then hung my head in shame. “I’m sorry. It’s just that I’m used to doing everything on my own, without having to think about the impact on anyone else. No one’s ever mattered like you do.”
Denis left his side of the bed to sit by me. “This has nothing to do with me. It’s all about you, mon c?ur. Because you are all that matters.”
The email had left me shaken, even without any real information. And now that Denis was here, I was grateful for his calm, steady presence.
“I’m not sure what’s happening. All week I was busy preparing for our trip and setting up a time to interview for the cable job.”
“You’re going to take it?”
I allowed a smile. “I have to interview for it, you know. It’s not like I’m such a big deal that they’ll hand it to me.”
“All right.” He nodded, those dark eyes intent. “Continue.”
“This afternoon I received an email from a law firm saying they represented Dahlia Dumont and she had passed. I was a named beneficiary. Before they would release the will to me, they needed me to verify my identity, which required my driver’s license and birth certificate.
I assumed it was a scam, so I called the State Bar and confirmed that this was, in fact, a true law firm and these attorneys were who they claimed. ”
“Aren’t you the smart one? Good for you.”
“I would hope you’d do the same.” I smirked. “Anyway. After all this was done, which took up a great portion of my time, I received another email scheduling me for a video call tomorrow. That’s when I’ll discover what’s in the will.”
Denis’s brows drew together. “So why do we have to cancel our plans? We don’t leave until Sunday.”
“I don’t know. I guess I’m assuming something will come up that will need me to act immediately. But that’s silly. It’s probably a bunch of nothing.”
He put his arms around me. “Either way, your mother has died and I’m sorry. It’s closing a book on a sad chapter that will now never be finished.”
“That’s…a very insightful way of thinking about it.”
His eyes twinkled, and that devilish grin tipped up his lips. “I told you once. I can be deep.”
What would I do without him by my side? And how the hell had this happened? Denis held me tighter, and none of it mattered. He was here—my always and forever. Who was I to question the vagaries of life? I was finally ready to stand there with arms open wide to accept Denis’s love.
My heart swelled, and I leaned my head on his shoulder. “I’m sorry you had such a terrible night, but I’m glad you’re here. I missed you.”
“It’s ended well, though. But you shut me out this week, and I don’t understand why.”
“I’m forty years old, and for as long as I can remember, I’ve always handled everything alone.
” I bowed my head. “I’m not good at asking for help, and I’m not the best boyfriend because I don’t know how to give you what you need.
I know I’ve said it already, but I was wrong to shut you out when things get rough. But I didn’t want you to know.”
“Why? How can I help you if I don’t understand?”
“That’s just it. No one’s ever been there to help me. I’m still learning that not everyone will walk away.”
He kissed me, and I clung to him, never wanting to let him go.
“I walk toward you, mon amour. It’s you and me, together.”
Denis took my hand, rubbing his thumb to my palm, and a remarkable feeling of well-being settled through me. The sadness I carried with me in my bones for so long had dulled to a poignant memory, replaced by the almost unrecognizable emotion of happiness.
“I’m so used to carrying my burdens on my own, I didn’t want to lay them on your shoulders.
Not when your team’s been struggling. You’ll return from the bye week stronger and better than ever because I’ll be there to cheer you on, every step of the way.
You’ve been supporting me with my mother.
Now it’s time for me to be there for you. I know how important hockey is to you.”
His troubled gaze met mine. “Hockey is my job. Yes, I love it, but you will always come first. And my shoulders are broad enough for the two of us. When Gil’s wife, Mary, was sick, he told me he would’ve done anything to keep her from suffering.
I’d often hear him praying, ‘Give me her pain.’ That’s when I learned what loving someone is.
Sharing the bad as well as the good.” He squeezed my hand. “Give me some of your pain.”
How to explain something I didn’t fully understand myself?
“I’ve never told anyone this, but I always thought one day she’d reach out and want to be my mother.
At least acknowledge me, if not to the world, then at least let me know she cared just a little bit.
” Denis held me close, and I shook my head, sniffling.
“Here I am, a forty-year-old man crying for the mommy he never had.”
“We will cry together, mon cher. And afterward, we’ll move on and see what else the world throws our way.”
I didn’t realize how alone I’d been until the thought of all this happening to me without Denis to lean on sent shivers down my spine.
“I love you. Very, very much. I’m so glad you’re here. We should go to bed because you’ve also had a rough night, and you need to recuperate.”
We climbed in again, and this time when I closed my eyes, I slept.
**
I awoke before Denis and slipped out of bed to dress.
I left the apartment to pick up some things, and at my return, he was standing in the kitchen, drinking a glass of water.
His head was thrown back, blond hair streaming past his shoulders, and I watched the Adam’s apple in his powerful throat bob as he swallowed.
Damn, I am a lucky man.
He set the glass on the counter. “Bonjour. Where were you? I woke up, and you were missing.”
Walking toward him, I held up the grocery bag. “I had to pick up a few things I thought you’d need to recover from last night. Your body’s depleted and needs reenergizing.”
A smile kicked up his lips. “That’s what I have you for, mon cher. Let’s go to bed.”
“Nice try, but first you have to drink this.” I took out two small cups, and his smile faded, replaced by a horrified expression. He backed away with his hands up.
“Non, non et non. Mon dieu, c’est dégueulasse.”
I wouldn’t relent and held out his cup. “Do it. It’ll make you feel better.”
“It’ll make me sick. Do you know what this looks like? When spring came and the weather warmed up, all the melted sludge around the edge of the lake where the soil met the water.” He opened the cover, peered inside, and shuddered. “Don’t make me.”
“Do it, and then I’ll give you something else to put in your mouth you’ll enjoy.”
His brows flew up. “You’re not playing fair, using the promise of sex to get what you want.”
“I play to win too, you know.” I lifted my cup of wheatgrass. “Bottoms up.”
We drank, and while Denis moaned and groaned, he finished it all. “I’m waiting.” He tugged at my pants, but I placed my hand over his.
“No. This one’s for you.” I sank to my knees and yanked his briefs off, freeing his rapidly stiffening cock. I needed to taste him. “Put your hands on the counter and spread.”
He chuckled. “Are you arresting me?” But he did as told, and when I ran my fingers along the cleft of his ass, he widened his stance.
I pressed my mouth to his rim and pushed my tongue inside.
“Ahh, mon dieu,” he cried out, along with other words I couldn’t understand.
I sucked and licked, loving how violently he quivered.
His hips rocked, and I knew he was close, so I sat on my heels.
“Turn around,” I whispered, and he flipped forward, his engorged cock huge and wet. I dug my fingers into his waist and took him as deep as possible, until he hit the back of my throat. Almost gagging, I adjusted, and soon began to suck and lick his shaft.
“Sterling, please. Mon amour, oh God, fuck,” he yelled and erupted.
Thick streams of come overflowed my mouth to drip down my chin.
I swallowed, and he joined me on the floor, catching me at the nape and pressing his lips to mine.
“So much better than that fucking wheatgrass,” he murmured and nibbled at my mouth. “I showed you mine. You show me yours.”
He petted and played with my cock until I lay across his lap, gasping. He sucked my dick, the long, silky strands of his hair tickling my thighs. Sparks and pinwheels of light spun behind my tightly closed eyes as his wicked tongue and fingers played the most sensitive parts of me.
“Please, Denis, oh my God.” My climax was long and almost painful in its intensity, but Denis held me as I cried out, then gathered me in his arms and held me like a baby.
“Je t’aime. Je t’aime.”
“Moi aussi,” I replied, and his eyes sparkled.
“Not too bad.” He kissed the tip of my nose. “Now let’s shower and get some real food. Not that green hell-water you like.”
Hours later, we were lounging on the sofa, and Denis was watching a replay of the game the Blades lost. The phone rang, and my heart pounded.
“It’s the lawyer.”
Denis clicked off the TV, and I answered.
“Sterling Forest.”
“This is Louis Jordan, Mr. Forest. I’m handling your mother’s estate. Can we do this by video? I always find it more helpful to speak face-to-face.”
“Let me get my laptop.” Denis scrambled off the sofa, got it from the table, and handed it to me. “All right.”
“Good. I’ll call you right back.”
While I waited, Denis massaged my neck. “Do you want me to leave?”
I clutched the laptop in my sweating hands. “God, no. Please stay right here.”