Ruben prayed that Ma was right. It was a little scary blending two families together.
The sounds of footsteps at the door made the breath in Ruben’s throat stutter out. He swung around, his heart pounding in his chest, and waited for the door to open. It was probably the longest wait in his entire life. The pale, strained face that walked through was more beautiful than anything Ruben had ever seen.
“Eli,” he breathed out and ran across the room to grab Elijah’s cheeks between his hands. “Oh gods, I missed you so much.”
“Ru.”
Elijah’s arms wrapped around Ruben, his face burrowed into his hair. Ruben could feel him trembling. They just stood there for several minutes, Elijah holding on to Ruben like he never wanted to let him go.
Ruben finally leaned back and looked up into Elijah’s face. “How are you feeling?”
“Better now.”
Ruben smiled. He could feel tears prickling his eyes. “Don’t ever do that to me again. I can’t take it.”
“Not planning on it, babe.”
“The doctor said you were okay?” Ruben was worried about how pale Elijah was. What if the doctor had released him too soon?
“Should you be out of the hospital?”
“I’m fine, Ruben.”
“Well, you look like shit.”
“Ruben!” Ma admonished from the kitchen.
Ruben rolled his eyes. Damn woman had ears of steel.
Elijah chuckled softly. “I’m fine, Ruben, I promise. The ride out to the ranch was just a little rough. I swear Lachlan purposely aimed for every pothole on the road.”
“Did not!” Lachlan exclaimed from the doorway.
It was only then that Ruben realized there were others in the room besides him and Elijah. He nodded at his brother. “Thank you for bringing him home in one piece.”
Lachlan simply nodded.
Ruben looked back at Elijah. “Are you sure you’re okay to be out of the hospital?”
He sighed and leaned into the hand Elijah cupped around the side of his face.
“I’m sure, babe. I just need a little rest. The doctor said I was healing just fine.”
Ruben wasn’t so sure of that considering the paleness of Elijah’s face, but he wasn’t going to argue, not when he had Elijah in his arms again. He wrapped his arm around Elijah’s waist and started escorting him toward the stairs.
“Let’s get you settled in bed.”
“Gonna join me?”
Ruben snorted. “I’ll tuck you in.”
Getting Elijah upstairs was relatively simple. Getting him out of his clothes was something altogether different. By the time Ruben had Elijah undressed and tucked into bed, Elijah’s face was white as a sheet.
“Did the doctor prescribe you any pain pills?” Elijah nodded and pointed to his pants. Ruben reached down and grabbed the pants, searching through them until he found two prescription bottles. “What are they?”
“One is for pain, and the other is an antibiotic in case of infection.”
Ruben felt the blood drain from his face. “Infection?” he whispered. “Is that a possibility?”
“It’s always a possibility with a gunshot wound, but no, right now I do not have an infection or any signs of an infection. In fact, the doctor is quite happy with how well I am healing. It’s just a precaution.”
Ruben breathed out a breath of relief. “Okay. I’m going to go get you some water so you can take these pills. I’ll be right back.”
“No, stay.”
“Elijah—”
“I don’t want any pain pills right now. They make my head fuzzy.
I just want you.”
“You have me.” Ruben could no more deny Elijah than he could cut off his head. He stretched out on top of the blankets next to Elijah and laid his hand on the uninjured side of the man’s chest. Elijah’s hand came up and covered his as he turned his head to look at Ruben.
“Are you still going to marry me?”
“Yeah.” Ruben moved his hand so he could rub his thumb over the top of Elijah’s hand. “Just as soon as you can stand up in front of Brody without passing out.”
“Will you wear my ring?”
Ruben’s eyebrows shot up. “You want me to wear a ring?”
Elijah’s eyes dropped away as if he was embarrassed. “I wouldn’t be against the idea.”
Ruben thought about wearing Elijah’s ring. He searched his feelings to see if he had an issue with it. It would basically be declaring to the world that he belonged to Elijah. Ruben wasn’t surprised in the least when he found he was delighted by the idea.
“I’d be proud to wear your ring.”
Elijah’s eyes snapped up to meet his. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
Elijah’s face flushed, which was a deep contrast to how pale he had been a second before. “I want to wear your ring, too.”
“I’d like that.” Who was he kidding? He’d love that. A symbol of his bond with Elijah where the entire world could see it was a dream come true. “Are you sure that’s something you want to do, Elijah?
Everyone would know.”
“Gods, I hope so.”
Ruben stared then stared some more. “Excuse me?” Elijah chuckled lightly. “I got shot, Ruben.” Ruben frowned, feeling totally confused about what wearing a ring had to do with getting shot. He couldn’t even figure out why they were discussing the two things in the same conversation. “I’m well aware of that, thank you very much. I haven’t thought about anything else for days.”
“I could have lost you.”
“The shooter wasn’t aiming at me, Elijah.” Ruben shuddered as he remembered that night. “He was aiming at you.”
“I still could have lost you, and that made me realize a few things.”
That statement piqued Ruben’s interest. “Like?”
“For one, you and Alani mean more to me than anything in the world. Getting shot when we were supposed to be safe here at the ranch, surrounded by family, made me see that I could lose you whether I’m out of the closet or not. I won’t make that mistake again.”
“Elijah—”
Elijah squeezed Ruben’s hand. “No, Ruben. I’ve made my decision. I’m not going to change my mind. I don’t care who knows that I love you. I’ll shout it to the entire world, take an ad out in the newspaper. Hell, I’ll walk down Main Street with a sign around my neck that says I love dick if it will make you happy. I just don’t care anymore. I love you, and I want everyone to know it.” Ruben felt his lips twitch. “A sign, huh?” Elijah’s face flushed again. “You know what I mean.” Ruben scooted closer and slid his hand down Elijah’s abdomen to the edge of the curly hair above his cock. “No, what did you mean?”
“Ruben,” Elijah whined, his eyes sliding closed.
“What, Eli?” Ruben whispered into Elijah’s ear. “What do you want?”
“You know what I want.”
“Promise not to move?”
“Not a fucking muscle.”
Ruben grinned and whipped the covers off of Elijah, baring his naked body. It was like a feast laid out before him—sculpted muscles, smooth skin, and one incredibly delicious-looking cock pointing straight up into the air as if begging for Ruben’s touch.
“No moving,” Ruben ordered.
“Promise.”
Ruben grinned. He doubted Elijah would be able to keep his word, but maybe he could help. He climbed over and settled between Elijah’s legs, stretching out on the bed below him. He placed one hand on each of Elijah’s thighs then leaned in to lick away the drops of pre-cum glistening on the head of the man’s gorgeous cock.
Elijah groaned instantly and jerked.
“Elijah,” Ruben warned. “I’ll stop if you move.”
“Won’t move, swear.”
Ruben watched as Elijah’s hands fisted in the sheets on either side of his body before leaning in to make another swipe with his tongue.
Tangy, sweet flavor dotted his tongue. Ruben circled the head with his tongue, stroking, licking, devouring each drop that built up. Elijah tasted delicious.
Loving on Elijah was easy. Realizing he couldn’t fuck the man into tomorrow was the hard part. But no matter how hard his cock became or how much he ached to claim Elijah, Ruben knew he’d have to wait.
That didn’t mean he couldn’t enjoy what he was doing, however, or make sure Elijah had a good reason for a nap. Screw the pain pills.
Ruben had his own special brand of medication.
Ruben tortured Elijah, simply licking around the head of his cock then moving down to lick at his balls. He avoided swallowing the man down until he felt Elijah’s hands fist in his hair. That was his clue that Elijah was at the end of his endurance.
Even though Elijah was going against orders and moving, Ruben allowed the man to direct him back up to his cock. Once there, Ruben swallowed Elijah’s cock down until his nose was buried in the man’s curly pubic hair.
Elijah started crying out, small sounds at first, then with increasing volume until the room was filled with his cries of pleasure.
The whole time, Ruben bobbed his head, sucking in his cheeks and using his tongue to lick at every side of the man’s swollen erection.
Ruben shoved two fingers into his mouth alongside of Elijah’s cock and got them good and wet. As he sucked Elijah’s cock back into his mouth, he moved his fingers down between the man’s ass cheeks and stroked them across his puckered hole.
“Ru!”
Ruben grinned around the cock in his mouth. Elijah was close, very close. His balls were drawing up near his body, turning hard as stones. The shaft in his mouth started to swell. Ruben quickly sucked Elijah’s cock down until he felt it hit the back of his throat. As he pulled back, he pushed two fingers into Elijah’s tight opening.
Elijah stiffened and shouted out Ruben’s name. Ruben moved back until his mouth was just around the head and hammered his fingers in and out of the man’s ass. Ropes of hot, tangy cum shot into his mouth, filling it to overflowing.
Ruben swallowed as much as he could and then licked away the rest. He slowed the thrusting of his fingers as Elijah’s body slumped back into the mattress. He pulled his fingers free then climbed up onto his knees between Elijah’s thighs. He reached for his own zipper, fumbling for several moments in his haste, but finally getting his pants undone and his cock out.
Ruben wrapped his hand around himself and started pumping furiously. It wouldn’t take much to make him come. Watching Elijah in the throes of passion was an aphrodisiac unto itself. He raised his eyes to meet Elijah’s heavy-lidded ones.
“Watch me, Eli,” Ruben whispered. “Watch what you do to me.” Elijah’s eyes were like a scorching caress along Ruben’s skin.
Despite having come just moments before, Ruben could still see the desire in the deep-blue depths. That turned him on more than anything, knowing that Elijah wanted him so much.
“See how much I want you, Eli?”
Elijah gulped, and nodded.
“Gonna pound your ass into the mattress the minute you’re better.” Ruben started panting as his orgasm drew nearer. He tightened his fingers, grunting at the slight bite of pain that action caused. He felt so sensitive with Elijah watching him jerk off. He was on the edge of exploding.
Ruben frowned and lost his rhythm when Elijah suddenly moved his leg until he felt it press between his thighs and up against his balls.
He started moving, resuming his strokes on his cock while rubbing off against Elijah’s thighs.
“Oh fuck!” Ruben shouted when his orgasm tore through him. His head dropped back on his shoulders as his strokes slowed. He continued to move his hips, rubbing against Elijah’s thigh until he had milked every last drop of cum out of his balls, then slumped down over Elijah, his face in the man’s stomach. “Damn, that was hot, Eli.” Ruben grew concerned when he received no reply from Elijah. He glanced up then started to chuckle. Elijah was out cold, small little snores coming from him. Ruben shook his head and climbed off the bed. He went to the bathroom and cleaned up then grabbed a washcloth and went back into the bedroom to wipe the cum off of his lover.
He tossed the used washcloth into the hamper and fixed his clothes. After drawing the covers up over Elijah’s naked body, Ruben leaned in and planted a small kiss on Elijah’s lips. Elijah smiled in his sleep and whispered Ruben’s name.
It was enough to make tears come to Ruben’s eyes. He stared down at Elijah for several minutes, wondering how he had ever gone so long without the man in his life, then walked out of the bedroom.
He wanted to talk to Lachlan and find out if there had been any news on whoever had shot Elijah, and then he wanted to make plans to keep his family safe.
Ruben smiled when he reached the bottom of the stairs and saw Yancy talking to Seamus. His brother seemed to be hanging on Yancy’s every word. From the way Yancy was leaning toward Seamus, Ruben was pretty sure that the attraction was returned.
Sheriff Riley, however, was shooting daggers at the two men from across the room. That was an interesting turn of events. Sheriff Riley looked like he wanted to take Yancy out back and pound him into the ground. Maybe bringing Yancy home wasn’t such a good idea after all.
“How’s Elijah?” Lachlan asked as he walked over to stand next to Ruben.
Ruben smiled. “Sleeping.”
Lachlan chuckled. “So we heard.”
Ruben couldn’t even get embarrassed about what he had done. He was too sated.
“Ma heard, too, and I’ll bet anything you’re going to get your mouth washed out with soap for swearing.” Ruben frowned in confusion until he remembered shouting when he had come. His grin grew bigger. “It was worth it.”
“No doubt.” Lachlan wiggled his eyebrows. “But now you know why Asa and I have our own place.”
“I’ve already got the architect working on the plans for the new house.”
“Is Elijah going to move out here then?” Ruben’s mouth dropped open. He pushed his hand through his hair. “I don’t know. We never discussed it. I mean, I assumed he would, but I guess I shouldn’t, right? He has a right to have a say in this decision, right?”
Oh man.
“Calm down, bro,” Matty said as he walked over and patted him on the shoulder. “I’m sure Elijah will understand the need to be out here on the ranch. This is a much better place to raise Alani than in town.” Matty pointed over to where Ma was sitting, gently rocking Alani in her arms. “Besides, out here you have a built-in babysitter.”
“We’ll still have to talk about it.”
“Of course you do. That’s what couples do. They compromise.” Ruben glared at Matty. “When did you become such an expert on couples?”