Chapter Twenty-One

 

Culhwch

 

2 months later

 

The wedding preparations are really coming together. The butterflies in my stomach get more and more each passing day. I can’t wait to be Mr. Culhwch Lee Wainwright. The pure excitement I feel radiates out of each pore.

Sophia won’t give anything away about my stag night, and I can’t persuade her to find out what Alex has in store for his brother.

So far, we have managed to order the cake, sort out tuxedos, choose the flowers for the boutonnières. The Bellevue is booked for the wedding and reception and will be decorated to compliment the pastel purple colour scheme we chose. We’ve chosen the menu for the sit-down meal: a three-course meal cooked by one of the best chefs in town.

I believe we have everything organised down to the last little detail, and I’m praying we haven’t forgotten anything. If we have, it’s most likely too late to sort it now.

“The girls are going to look so beautiful in these,” Houston says as he looks at the dresses hung in dress bags on our wardrobe door.

“They really are. We’re keeping them here because with Sof being my ‘best woman’ the girls will be coming here on the morning of the wedding to get ready together. And the little posies they’ll be carrying are white lilies like our boutonnières. Neither one of them wanted to be a flower girl. In fact, neither of them wanted to wear dresses,” I reply as I laugh at the thought of my little tomboy goddaughters Maisie and Pepper.

“Let me guess—you bribed them?”

“I might have said that I’ll only dance with them at the reception if they’re in dresses.”

“Typical,” he replies with a wry chuckle.

“Hey, it worked.”

“Do I get to see Sophia’s dress ahead of time?”

“You most certainly do not. But just you wait until you see her in it. I’m telling you, if I was straight, I’d give your brother a run for his money.”

“Baby, you are extremely handsome, but you can’t deny my bro has the Wainwright cheekbones and jawline.”

“He does, but he’s nowhere near as painfully handsome as his brother.”

I wrap my arms around him and pull him flush to me, slanting my lips over his. His tongue demands entry, and I’d love to deny him just to drive him crazy, but that would only serve to drive me crazy too.

His phone chimes and he breaks the kiss with a sigh.

“It’s Lawrence,” he says as he answers the phone.

Well, that’s my bubble well and truly burst. I will my budding erection to disappear as I go to make a pot of coffee.

I’ve just added the milk and sugar when Houston walks into the kitchen.

“Hey.”

“Hey,” he replies as he takes the mug I’m holding out.

“What’s up?”

A frown mars his handsome features.

“Oh nothing, just finalising details for the benefit gig.”

“Oh.”

Now I understand the miserable look.

“I can’t let the charity down, but I feel like I’m just going through the motions now.”

I place my mug on the island and take his to do the same, before wrapping my arms around his waist and nestling my head in the crook of his neck.

“It just feels so empty now. A hollow gesture, you know?”

“I know baby, but look at it this way,” I say as I draw back to look him in the eye, “the charity will benefit from it and that’s the point, right? I know you were doing this in honour of Denny, and that was a wonderful gesture, but the money was always going to charity, so it’s still a great thing to do.”

“I know,” he says with a long sigh as he scrubs a hand over his stubble, “it’s just that I feel so… so… ugh, I don’t even have a word to sum it up.”

“Numb?”

“Exactly.”

I slide my hands up and place my palms on his chest.

“I can’t pretend to know how you feel because I’ve never been in your shoes, but I can empathise. And I’m always here if you need to talk.”

“I know, baby.”

He ghosts a kiss over my lips before reaching for his coffee and gulping it down.

“There’s nothing I can do in this situation to make it better, but cancelling the benefit gig wouldn’t help anyone would it?”

“I just wish I’d never arranged to do it. The boys already didn’t understand why it was important to me—I never told them about Denny and now I never will—but now there is no reason for it to be so important.”

“If they ask, tell them it’s just about wanting to give something back. Say you wish you could do more charitable works.”

“But why specifically The National Kidney Foundation? It seems an odd choice to an outsider looking in.”

“Tell them that someone close to you—someone who wishes to remain nameless—suffered from kidney disease and the charity helped them get their life back.”

“Good thinking, Batman.”

“Thanks. Does that make you Robin?”

“Hell, no. I’m Iron Man.”

“He’s Marvel, not DC.”

“Marvel is better.”

“So, you call me Batman, who is DC, in other words meaning that you are better than me?”

“You can be Aquaman if that helps?”

“Okay, Jason Momoa is fit, I’ll give you that. But you’re still calling me crappy DC.”

“Aquaman is one of the two best DC films. That and Shazam are the best we’ve seen from DC in a long time. So, it’s actually a compliment.”

“But still, you get to be Iron Man. You’re such a dick.”

“Okay, I give up. Who do you want to be?”

“Oh, I’ll gladly be Aquaman, he’s awesome. It was just your assumption that DC are shitty compared to Marvel.”

“I can see this is going to be a bone of contention,” he replies with a chuckle.

“I might feel better if you made it up to me?”

“And just how do you suggest I do that?”

“Hmm…” I pretend to ponder it for a moment, “I can vaguely picture something with you on your knees… maybe in the shower…”

“Now that’s something I can do. Right now. Let’s go.”

He grabs me by the hand and hurries to the staircase. His T-shirt hits me square in the chest as he throws it over his shoulder.

We leave a path of clothes in our wake, and as we get to the bedroom door, we’re both completely naked.

Turning the water on, Houston steps into the shower and squeals as the cold water hits him.

“You squeal like a girl, you know that?” I tease.

“I was trying to be kind by getting in first so that you didn’t get the cold water.”

“You could have waited until it warmed up.”

“Just get your ass in here, will you?”

I happily oblige, and it only takes Houston a second to switch places with me. The hot water rushes over me as he gets down on his knees.

I brace one hand against the tile wall and the other against the glass shower door as he works me over with his hand.

My knees nearly buckle as he licks my tip before sucking it into his hot, wet mouth.

Jesus. Fucking. Christ.

His hand and mouth work in tandem to work me into a frenzy. Whoever saw fit to bless this man with the skills he has, fuck I’d offer them a prayer right now if I could summon the energy.

I feel his free hand cup my balls and begin to massage them. I suck a deep breath in through my teeth as his finger traces its way forwards. It edges closer to me and I feel my balls begin to tingle.

I let out a gasp as he pushes his finger inside. A delicious warmth consumes me like wildfire.

My breathing hitches as he pushes deeper inside me. He’s trying to push me to the limit, and I won’t lie; it’s working.

“Houston,” I whisper, my voice husky.

He doesn’t answer. Instead, he continues to lick and suck my rock-hard cock as he toys with me.

My toes curl and the hairs on my arms stand on end. I climb higher and higher, not wanting to reach the end, but knowing that I must.

The abyss is waiting for me. Houston knows that I’m on the precipice, just waiting to freefall.

“Fuuuuuuck,” I shout as my orgasm tears through me.

All the oxygen is stolen from my lungs as my body crumples. Big strong arms catch me and hold me close.

The water rushes over us, the warmth relaxing my muscles. Houston lowers us to the floor before claiming my lips in a soft and tender kiss.

“I fucking love you, baby,” he says as he breaks the kiss.

“But do you love fucking me?” I ask with a chuckle.

“Hell, yes.”

“Then what are you waiting for?” I ask as I stroke his cock up and down.

He’s on his feet in a flash, pulling me up with him, and I barely manage to turn the shower off as he hurries us into our bedroom.

“Bend over,” he says in as commanding a voice as I have ever heard him use.

Of course, I comply. I brace my hands on the end of the bed as he comes up behind me. He rubs his cock over my puckered flesh, sending a tingle down my spine.

A firm hand grips my hip, his fingers digging into my flesh, as he uses the other hand to align himself with me.

“I’m warning you now, this isn’t going to be pretty.”

The gruffness of his voice does something to my insides. I can’t help but squirm.

“I don’t need hearts and flowers; I need raw passion.”

“That’s a wish I can grant.”

He slowly pushes inside me, pausing as he allows my body to stretch to accommodate him. He’s lulling me into a false sense of security by being gentle. I know from this moment on, he’ll be anything but. My hands grip the sheets on the bed as he sinks deeper inside me.

Looking over my shoulder, I see a shit-eating grin on his face.

My head falls forward as he slams inside me. I knew it was coming, but fuck if it doesn’t always surprise me how powerful he is.

His muscular physique showcases raw power and he exudes this air of confidence, bordering on cockiness. He’s an Alpha male alright. There’s no mistaking it.

He draws back slowly before slamming back home once more. My breathing is ragged, and my cock is growing hard again.

As if sensing my budding erection, Houston reaches around me and palms my cock. He grips it firmly, pumping it up and down.

My head falls to my chest; I no longer have the strength to hold it up. A moan reverberates through my chest as he fucks me. In and out, in and out. Each time he buries himself inside me, a moan escapes me.

Houston builds a punishing rhythm. The only sounds that can be heard are our breathy moans and the slapping of flesh against flesh.

I feel my eyes roll to the back of my head as he pounds relentlessly in and out. This man owns me, body and soul. My heart is his, and I can only hope he holds as much love in his heart for me.

“Fuck, Cul… I–I need…”

“W–what, baby? W–what do you need?”

“You.”

His rhythm begins to falter, so I push myself back against him. My hips match each thrust and Houston seems to recover his rhythm long enough to slam home one last time as he yells my name and comes inside me.

Exhausted, I collapse to the floor. Houston rests on his knees behind me. It seems neither one of us can summon the requisite energy even just to climb onto the bed.

“Fuck, that was intense,” I say when I recover the ability to form words.

“I think that was the biggest fucking orgasm I’ve ever had. Jesus, I’m surprised there’s anything left of me. It tore through me like a tsunami.”

I burst out laughing, which causes Houston to look at me before joining in.