Real World, page 13
“Fuck that. Life’s short and you’re hot as a forest fire. Get over here.” Weldon wiggled, balls rocking, hole exposed and glistening with the lube.
Horny little shit. That was hot and cute somehow—which were two words that didn’t seem to go together.
Dan grinned, feeling it stretch his cheeks, before muscling up between Weldon’s legs. “Okay. Gonna ride, babe.”
“I can take it. Let me feel every fucking inch.”
Dan nodded, his body so tight he wanted to shout, but that would wake the whole house, right?
Interruptions were not on the top of his list right now. In fact, they were on the bottom, above only house on fire.
Right now he needed inside that hot, perfect grip.
Pressing the head of his cock to Weldon’s opening, Dan pushed, rocking his hips a tiny bit for leverage. He stopped as soon as the tip popped in, both of them panting as they tried to adjust.
“Are your ears ringing?” Weldon asked him.
“Like bells,” Dan said.
“Oh, good. I’d hate to be alone in this.”
“Never.” He couldn’t stop saying shit like that. He began to move, gliding in as far as he could.
His hips were cradled against Weldon’s ass, their bodies sliding with the heat they created. Dan had never been closer to heaven in his life.
Weldon’s body gripped Dan’s cock, and his eyes rolled back in his head. Oh, sweet fuck. Yes. He thrust faster, finesse too much to ask for at this point.
“Dan! Dan, I….” Weldon grabbed hold of him, rocking into him, their skin slapping together.
“Yeah. Yeah, I got you.” Dan leaned on one hand, balancing so he could grab Weldon’s hard cock with the other and stroke.
It was like he’d touched a live wire to Weldon’s shaft, the way the man jerked, ass working his cock like nothing going. They slammed together, both of them grimacing with the amazing sensations.
Dan managed to get himself bent over, tonguefucking Weldon’s lips in a kiss. He moved as much as he could in time: tongue, hips, hand….
Pure heat poured over his fingers, slick and wet.
Oh. He stopped, staring at Weldon as Weldon came. That clench of muscle around him made Dan grit his teeth, holding on as long as he could.
He wanted to make Weldon shoot again. He loved a challenge. Dan had already come, right? He could do this.
As soon as Weldon’s eyes focused, Dan started thrusting, his fingers tight around Weldon’s cock, encouraging it to stay hard.
Weldon jerked, eyes going wide. “Dan?”
“Stay with me, babe.”
“Oh, damn. Right here. Right. Fucking. Here.”
Attaboy. Dan nodded. “I got you. I want to see you come all over again.”
“You got faith in me, man.”
Shit, he had faith in himself and in the chemistry they had. Weldon affected him like no one else ever had. He thought it was at least partly mutual.
Weldon squeezed, body dancing and working his cock like a fist.
Dan stroked and thrust, sawing back and forth, knowing Weldon was with him. They worked together, Weldon meeting him, using their strength as one. God knew, they were hitting hard, creating enough friction to start a fire.
The bed never even creaked, the frame solid as stone.
The sheer joy Weldon took in touching him shone through, those rough fingers stroking his chest and belly. Generous, sexy, focused….
And fuck, the stamina. Dan would hold those abs against any soldier’s. Weldon was holding himself open, rolled up just enough to take Dan easily, and Dan was feeling the burn in his muscles, but Weldon seemed easy in his skin.
“No fair,” he muttered. Weldon offered up a curious noise, but then they shifted and he sank in, that much deeper.
His breath left him in a rush, and Dan knew he had to get Weldon to the edge before he tipped over too far. Good thing Weldon was obviously with the program, cock leaking in his grip again, the head flushed dark reddish purple.
“Yeah. Weldon. Soon.”
“Uhn.” That was a yes, right?
He sure hoped so, because Dan was roaring down to the finish line and there was no turning back now.
Weldon surged up, smashed their lips together, and gave it up for him. Dan felt it when Weldon shot for him again, the wet heat of it, the clamp of muscles along his shaft.
His shout rang out even when he tried to bite it off.
His bones rattled with his orgasm, his body shaking. Dan held on, Weldon clinging to him in return, until the spasms ended. Then he took one more kiss, this one long and slow.
“Damn.” Weldon blinked at him, obviously dazed.
Dan had just enough left in him to deal with the condom before he flopped down on the bed and pulled Weldon close for a good snuggle. They fit together, hand in glove, and Weldon seemed to agree, wrapping around him, head on his shoulder.
He wanted to say something deep, but all Dan could do was crack a big yawn.
“Mmm. Stay a bit.” Weldon tugged the blankets up, cocooning them both.
“Fuck, yes.” Dan was so comfortable he might never move again.
“Good deal.” Weldon melted into him with a soft grunt.
They snuggled in tight, Dan holding Weldon close.
Damn, but this felt fine. Scary, but fine. He had no idea where it was going to go, but he was willing to find out.
Chapter Twelve
“DADDY! KENZIE is throwing up!” Maddie pounded on the bedroom door, sending Weldon straight up in bed.
“Coming! Get her to the bathroom!” He searched blindly for sweatpants, then dragged them on and sprinted out for his baby girl.
“I’m trying!” Maddie was gagging now, so it had to be bad.
“I’m on my way.” Oh, damn. Oh man. That was… his poor wall. MacKenzie could strip paint….
“Daddy!” Now MacKenzie was wailing. “I wanna go to schoooool.”
“Let’s work on getting cleaned up, honey. Maddie, back to bed. Wash your hands.”
“Thanks, Dad.” Maddie hurried off, heading to the other bathroom down the hall.
Kenzie was burning up. He grabbed her up and headed for the bathroom.
“Dad?” Jakob asked as he went by.
“Just stay out of the hall. You’ll have to get Em ready for school. Sleep as long as you can.”
“’Kay. She okay?”
How the hell would he know? “She’ll be fine. She’s got a bug. That’s all.”
“Ew. ’Kay.”
Jakob disappeared, and Weldon started the whole process of stripping Kenzie down and getting her into a tepid shower. She fussed and cried throughout, threw up her Tylenol twice before she kept enough down, then wanted “to sit with Daddy.”
Christ.
“Honey, I have to clean the hallway up.”
“I got that.” Dan’s voice came from outside. “Do you need more towels?”
“Yes. Please.” God, what a way for a lover to wake up.
“On it.” He could hear the military in Dan’s voice, the snap-to-attention wakefulness.
“Daddy? My tummy hurts bad.”
“Are you going to throw up again?”
“No.” She looked up at him with huge blue eyes, then promptly barfed on his chest.
Ah, parenthood. So fucking classy.
He counted to ten, grabbed a towel, then started the cleaning process. Again.
By the time Weldon got her fever down and got her to sleep, Jakob had the other two off to school with him, and Caleb was with Dan, who was a super trooper.
“Hey, buddy. How’s it going?” He opened his arms, and Caleb flew into them.
“Daddy! Kenzie puked!”
“Indeed.”
“Is she going to die?”
He was going to kill Emma. “No, son. She just wishes she would a little bit.”
“Ew.” He wrinkled his nose. “Dan-Dan helped me pick my clothes.”
“Dan is a nice man. You want a cup of coffee? I swear, I bathed everything.”
“Sure.” Dan smiled, the lines around his eyes deepening. “I’ve got time for one, for sure.”
“Good deal.” He had one of those fancy-assed pod coffeemaker deals. The kids had gotten it for him for Christmas. He still wasn’t sure it was a good deal, but the kiddos sure liked to experiment with it. Coffee was pretty fast with it.
Caleb clung to him while he made up two cups, one Irish cream for him, one Kona something for Dan.
“Thanks.” Dan chuckled. “That was a hell of a wake-up call.”
“Yeah, I hear you. Poor baby girl, she’s feeling puny.” He tried for a sympathetic smile. “It wasn’t how I wanted to wake you.”
“No?” Dan’s smile warmed up about a hundred degrees. “Ah, well. I’ve had worse.”
“I bet.” His life was super normal, barring the whole bi-dead-wife-blind-kid part. Hysterical laughter bubbled up, and he managed to keep it to a snort, but Caleb grunted when Weldon squeezed him too hard.
Dan only nodded, then sipped his coffee, but Weldon saw the wheels turning.
“I do appreciate your help with Caleb this morning, Dan. Honestly.”
“Not a problem. I wasn’t gonna leave you in the lurch.” There was a but coming. A big one. Weldon knew Dan well enough already to see it.
A nicer man would give Dan an out, but he wasn’t a nice man. Weldon was a dad first and foremost, and if Dan wanted to opt out, even with the heat they had between them, well, he could just man up and do the deed. Weldon liked Dan too much to make it easy.
“Thanks, honey. Honest.”
Dan nodded easily.
“Caleb, what do you like to do in the morning?”
“I go to Granny Mel’s house, and we watch toons and do puzzles.”
“You do. In fact, she’s pulling into the driveway, so go get your coat, buddy.” He’d texted her, warning that there was at least one sickie in the house and Caleb may be a barfing Typhoid Mary.
“Okay.” Caleb went easily, humming some odd tune.
He helped his boy bundle up and handed him his little backpack. Mel was standing at the gate waiting and shaking her head.
“How bad?”
“High fever. She’s sleeping.”
“We’ll run to the store for Sprite and Jell-O and bring chicken soup over for supper. Wash everything.”
“God yes. Everything. Love you, Mel.”
“Love you, kiddo. Come on, Caleb. Granny is on a mission.”
“Missions!” Caleb hollered, running to the closest thing to a mom he’d ever known.
Weldon watched him, smiling, before turning back into the house. By the time he got to the kitchen, Dan was all dressed and washing up the few dishes the kids had left in the sink.
“You hungry?” He could fix something, no sweat. He sure didn’t want to hear what Dan was fixin’ to say.
“I think I might not want food again for a week,” Dan said. “I haven’t seen that much puke since the bad-clam-chowder incident at Bragg.”
“Yeah, it was prodigious. She’s running a fever, though, so I don’t think it’s food poisoning. I think it’s the plague.”
“I’ll wash up a zillion times.” Dan sighed. “You know what I’m about to lay on you, right?”
“Yeah.” He knew. Country still didn’t mean dumb. “I like you well enough, and you’re a good guy, but….”
“I like you a lot more than that.” Dan frowned. “I like your kids. I just—it’s a lot.”
“It is.” He got that. Hell, he lived it. He hadn’t gone into five kids thinking he’d be raising them alone. Krista was supposed to get old with him, be a grandparent with him. Travel around the world when everyone was grown and on their own and independently wealthy.
Okay, so that last one was a pipe dream, but still….
Dan came to him, raising a hand to touch his cheek. “I’d hook up anytime you want, but I don’t think it’s cool for your kids for me to stay like I did last night.”
“I’m not the hookup type, but I appreciate the offer. I know it’s stupid, but I’m not. I’m the long-term, monogamous, fall-in-love-for-years type.” Hopefully being self-aware counted for something.
“Yeah.” Dan looked into his eyes with what seemed to be real regret. “I suck.”
“Why? Most guys aren’t me, I get that.” He was so far on the outside of “most” that he didn’t even know how that worked. He gave his family stable and sure and left the rest for God to work out. “Make sure you watch the potholes in the driveway. I have to get them filled soon, and they’re a stone-cold bitch.”
“I’ll be careful.” Dan leaned in and gave him a slow, kinda sad kiss. “You take care of yourself, Weldon. You’re a damned good dad and a good man.”
“I will. I hope you find what you’re looking for.” He needed to get his happy ass to work. He could do paperwork and shit in here today, leastways until the rest got in from school to keep an eye out on Kenzie.
“Me too.” Dan stood there for another long moment, then turned on his heel and left without looking back. That was good. A clean break.
Weldon let himself watch out the window, just until Dan loaded himself into the truck.
“So, Krista, that was the first post-you love affair fuckup. How’d I do?” One of the coffee cups in the drainer slipped, clanking against the plates and making them clatter. He took that as applause from beyond, so he bowed. “You’re welcome. I’ll be here… well, forever, because this is home.”
“Daddy! Daddy, my belly hurts!”
“I’m coming. Grab that trashcan I put by your bed!”
Right. Superdad to the rescue. He had no time for this drama.
Chapter Thirteen
“DAN? IS that you?”
Shit. God save him from blind dudes who heard every noise. Dan had hoped to sneak in and not have any witnesses to his walk of shame.
Not just because he was wearing last night’s clothes, but because he was damned confused and ashamed.
“It is. Good morning.”
“You want a cup of coffee, Bubba?” Dix was wide awake and had one of the Braille books on the table. “I’m ready for a fucking break.”
“Sure. Have you eaten? I could murder some bacon.” Might as well hang out.
“I ate the leftover half of Randi’s english muffin at six. I’m starving. Make enough for Audie. He’ll be back for his second breakfast and coffee soon enough.”
“Cool.” He could make bacon and eggs and toast. He poured a coffee for him and warmed Dixon’s. “I suck.”
His big brother didn’t even pretend not to get it. “I take it last night didn’t go well?”
“It went amazing. I had a ball, and the sex melted my socks.” Dan gave credit where it was due. Always.
“Oh. That’s still good, right? I mean, I’ve been out of the dating game for a few years, but….”
“Yeah.” He got the bacon going. “Then MacKenzie woke up the whole house puking.”
“Oh, poor baby. That’s always so fucking pleasant, and they never do it at a decent hour, do they?”
“Bless her heart, she was burning up. Scared me spitless.”
“Yeah, she’s still young enough that it goes high fast.” Dixon stirred his coffee, eyes closed. “So, was it the vomit? I mean, really?”
“No. No, I can handle that.” Dan wished he could articulate the cold dread that had settled in his belly. “I—It was too much.”
“What was? I mean, seriously, what’s the issue?”
Dan would have snarled if Dixon hadn’t looked so honestly confused.
“The kids. The idea that I wouldn’t ever get to know Weldon without them. That sounds selfish. But it was also what if I got to loving them all and something awful happened? I can’t see me there.”
“Huh. Well, then, you were right to break it off. They’re not going anywhere—Weldon’s a dad. That never stops, not even when they’re grown.” Somehow Dixon’s answer didn’t make him feel any less of an asshole.
“So, what? I’m supposed to feel like less of a man because I’m actually just interested in cock, because I’m not trying to repopulate the universe?”
One of Dix’s eyebrows lifted, a bright red arch over empty eyes.
Dan was glad Dix didn’t see his ears and cheeks flush. “There’s nothing wrong with me.”
“Okay. So you don’t want kids. You don’t want Weldon. You had sex. You were honest. You don’t have to see him again. He doesn’t usually come in when Jakob has his lessons. I’ll tell Audie to tell him—”
“Tell who what?” Audie stomped his boots clean from mud, the wind icy through the door.
“Tell Weldon that he shouldn’t come when Dan is here right now.”
Audie shot Dan a wide-eyed look, then frowned mightily. “Do I need to have a talk with Mr. Weldon?”
“What? No! No, Christ. He was…. It wasn’t even…. Fuck! What am I doing?”
Dixon smiled. “Making bacon. You promised.”
“It’s in the pan.” He just hadn’t turned on the stove. “I won’t let you tell Weldon he can’t come. I’ll be scarce, is all.”
“I can hang with him at his place. What the fuck happened?”
“Kenzie puked everywhere.” Dixon was not helping.
“Oh.”
Like that explained anything.
“No.” Dan slapped the counter with the spatula. “What happened is I figured out that with Weldon I would never, ever come first, and as not fucking fair as that is, I want to be someone’s everything, just once.”
Everyone was quiet for a few seconds; then Audie went to the coffeemaker. “So, I think I’m going to run to the feed store this afternoon. You got plans, Dix?”
“Trying to learn how to read again. Same old, same old.”
“Cool. You can come with me, and we’ll pick the kiddos up from school.”
“Do I get ice cream if I’m good?”
Audie chuckled. “You do.”
“Woo. Okay, I think I want to face my bacon dressed.” Dix rose, using his cane since Boomer wasn’t harnessed yet.
Audie watched Dixon leave, a goofy smile crossing his face. “You need any help?”
“I’m okay.” Dan glanced at him sideways. “Sorry I shouted.”
