ADAM slid into bed with Bo still clutching on to him like a monkey. A ridiculously sexy, far-too-clothed monkey. A few of his bruises twinged at the disservice, but he ignored them. The only thing he cared about at that moment was getting Bo undressed. He needed to touch him and feel the warmth of his skin against his own.
Bo clawed at Adam’s T-shirt, panting, writhing, and whimpering. “Naked. Now.”
“As you command, my love.” Adam winked and extracted himself from Bo’s needy grip. He yanked off his T-shirt and reached for Bo’s, giving it a tug before realizing the other man had gone still beneath him. “Bo?”
“Oh, baby.” Bo’s face pinched, and he touched a tentative fingertip to a purple welt on Adam’s ribs. Only one of many. Nothing he wasn’t used to following a full-out fight, but Bo had never seen him this banged up. They wore more protective gear and tended to cut each other a little slack in the practice ring, but it was a brawl to the death in the octagon. Under all those stage lights, surrounded by the roar of a crowd who hungered for blood and pain, no one held back.
Not even a smart-mouthed old fuck who claimed he didn’t want to win. Especially in the face of an angry, ferocious opponent out to hand his balls to the highest bidder. Adam’s natural defenses had kicked in almost immediately, which meant he’d given it his all. Zaragoza’s win had been hard-fought and well-earned.
“I’m fine, babe.” Adam gave Bo’s shirt another tug. “I haven’t had my hands on you in weeks. What I need right now is you. All of you. Don’t you dare hold back or go easy on me.”
Bo laughed when Adam pulled at his shirt yet again. He raised his arms and allowed the piece of clothing to be removed before laying a sober gaze on Adam. “I won’t hurt you.”
Rolling his eyes, Adam hopped from the bed and dropped his drawers. “You aren’t gonna hurt me. I’m the Beast. The Beast eats pain for breakfast.” That, and Adam was used to going about his daily life pretending to be fine, even after a brutal fight. He was used to pushing through the pain.
To rest on your laurels is to admit defeat. It was a phrase his father uttered frequently, and one that had stayed with him all these years. He’d never let Adam rest, no matter the circumstance.
Pleasing his old man, while a ridiculous goal, had always been something Adam strived for. Giving up that stress to be perfect, to perform to his father’s exact specifications, would be one of many benefits to his retirement. The best of which lay sprawled on the bed before him, still unacceptably half-clothed.
“Help a brother out, would you?” Adam gave Bo’s jeans a yank. “Undo the fly. These puppies have gotta go.”
Bo complied, a small smile curving his lips. When he was finally naked, he stretched out his arms and Adam slipped into them. Their bodies molded together like two parts of the same puzzle, cut into jagged, messy pieces made to fit one within the other.
Despite the incessant urges driving him to grind his long-deprived cock against the supple warmth of Bo’s welcoming body, Adam lay still. As did Bo. An unspoken swell of emotion passed between them, and their grips tightened.
“I love you, baby.” The words came out muffled, as Bo’s face was buried in Adam’s neck, but they were clear enough to send a zing of unfettered joy straight into Adam’s heart.
He pulled away enough to give Bo space to tip his head at Adam’s urging. When their eyes met, Adam’s heart swelled even further. Bo blinked at him with tears glistening on his lashes, his glasses smudged and askew. Adam removed the frames, setting them aside before stroking his thumb over Bo’s cheek to collect a single escaped tear. “I love you too, Beauregard Wilkins.”
Bo sighed, smiling drunkenly. “That sounds mighty nice.”
“Mmm.” Adam hummed his agreement, finally rocking his hips to assuage the rampant hunger aching through his groin and belly. “Make love to me. I want our first time, like this, to be special. I want to feel you inside me.”
Bo froze, his eyes widening. “I’ve never… I mean, you’ve never either, right?”
Chuckling, Adam rolled them so he was flat on his back and Bo straddled his hips. “No, I’ve never been the receiver. I’ve never wanted that before, but I’ve dreamed of doing it with you. I want us to be equals—in all things—and that starts here. In bed.” He ran both hands up Bo’s thighs, enjoying the strained whimper that followed. “I want you to claim me, as I did with you in that hotel. Skin to skin, heart to heart. I want to be yours.”
“I won’t last two pumps at this rate.” Bo panted out the words, resting his weight on shaky arms, his palms seated over Adam’s pecs. “Maybe we should wait until—”
“No way.” Adam took Bo’s leaking dick in hand, giving it a few gentle tugs that sent Bo’s back arching and a slew of incoherent mumbles tumbling from his lips. “Unless you’re opposed to the idea—which is 100 percent okay, you can always say no—then I want you buried inside me when you come. I don’t care if it’s three seconds, three minutes, or three hours.”
He meant every word. He’d dreamed of finding that unique connection with Bo since far too early in their relationship. The desire to be filled by another man had never been one to pique his interest, nor had it ever been anything requested of him. Quite the opposite. The Beast was always expected to be dominant and in control.
But with Bo? Adam wanted to give as much as he received. He wanted their love to find equal footing, not follow stereotypes and demands only fit for the outside world. In their little bubble, they could be and do whatever they wanted. And Adam wanted to give Bo the gift of vulnerability. Both his own and Adam’s.
Bo placed a gentle hand around Adam’s wrist and pulled, a delightful little groan toppling from his lips when Adam released his cock following the silent demand. With trembling guidance, he moved Adam’s hand to his own dick, wrapping their joined hands around it and returning the sweet, tormenting favor with a few pointed strokes. When he used his other hand to cup and knead Adam’s balls, Adam clenched his jaw and garbled out a moan.
Smirking, Bo kept up the actions, rocking his hips in time with the movement of their linked hands. “Can you reach the lube?”
Chest heaving as he struggled to catch his breath, Adam nodded. He reached blindly for the nightstand, knocking several items to the floor with a loud crash before finding the handle to the top drawer and giving it a forceful jerk. Thankfully, the lube was on top. He snatched it free and tossed it on the bed by Bo’s knee.
Bo unthreaded their fingers and raised a brow when Adam let his hand fall to his side. “This is gonna be quick, baby. I need you as close to that edge as possible so I stand some semblance of a chance at making you feel good. You keep working toward that goal while I get us prepped.”
Laughter—strained, horny, ridiculous laughter—bubbled up Adam’s throat. If Bo had any idea how much effort he’d put into not coming over the past few minutes, he’d be making much quicker work of that lube job. “Babe, I’m thirty-eight. Not outta my prime yet, but no spring chicken either. Trust me, if you think you’ve got it bad, that’s nothing compared to where I’m at. If I hadn’t been running multiplication tables at the back of my mind for the past ten minutes, that request would be pointless. Trust me, I’m on edge. I’m very, very on edge.”
Bo cracked a grin, his flushed face lighting up like it was Christmas fuckin’ morning. “Well, thank goodness for all the GED prep. I told you memorizing those multiplication tables would be beneficial eventually.”
“Yeah, it’s gone a long way toward increasing the value of my sex life, if nothing else. It’d be a shame if I blew my load before the man I loved got his beautiful dick inside me, now wouldn’t it?” Adam smirked, obliging Bo’s silent request to bend his knees. When that first press of lube-slickened fingers met his ass, rubbing in small, gentle circles, he closed his eyes and hummed with pleasure. “Go ’head. I’m ready.”
There was a low grunt, followed by an increase in pressure as Bo’s fingers slid inside. He worked them slowly in and out while Adam focused on breathing. It wasn’t a sensation he was used to, but it wasn’t an unpleasant one. Especially not when Bo twisted his hand, crooked his fingers, and stroked. A jolt of molten pleasure radiated from somewhere deep within Adam’s groin. “Holy fuckin’ shit.”
Bo chuckled. “Now you see why I have absolutely zero issues with being a bottom. Just wait. It gets better—at least for me—when you’re filled to the brim and getting stimulated from every possible angle. Including these delicious abs grating against my dick.”
When Bo’s fingers trailed over Adam’s stomach, he blew out a breath and gripped his wrist. A hint of desperation he didn’t even try to hide laced his words when he spoke. “Please. Take me. Give me that. Give me everything.”
It was selfish of him to demand such things. To ask Bo to give so much when he had every intention of simply lying there and taking it. But that’s how it worked. The give and take weren’t always equal at first, but they always were by the end.
Bo pulled his fingers free, the empty sensation that followed a strange and needy one. Adam shifted his hips, fisting his hands into the comforter beneath him to stop himself from flipping Bo over and taking what his body so desperately wanted. Because it wasn’t about gaining release wherever his ravenous, rutting cock could find it. It was about the very basics of love, of sharing mutual pleasure, and of cherishing the man who owned his heart.
With shaky, uncertain movements, Bo lined himself up at Adam’s entrance, raised a questioning brow to be sure Adam was ready—which he so fucking was—and pressed home.
Adam released his death grip on the comforter and instead wrapped his arms around Bo, pulling their bodies flush. His bottom lip was split, swollen, and tender—the only reason he hadn’t stolen a kiss and likely why Bo hadn’t tried, either—but when his heart filled near to bursting at their connection, he couldn’t give two shits about a little pain. He slid a palm behind Bo’s neck and brought their mouths together, groaning when Bo opened for him without question.
Then he moved. Sweet, delicious little hip rolls that sent a shock of decadent desire through every nerve ending in Adam’s body. Bo was right. There was nothing quite like the feeling of being filled by the man you love, with every possible pleasure point stimulated in unexpected and delightful ways.
Bo tore his lips from Adam’s. He scrunched his face into a determined scowl. “Crap. I told you I wouldn’t last….”
“Go ahead, babe. Come for me.” Adam’s voice was husky, a testament to his own strained attempt at control. If Bo let go, so could he.
Nodding, his breath coming in ever-shortening gasps, Bo arched his back, dug his nails into Adam’s chest, and cried out as his release shuddered through his body. Adam clung to the edge a moment longer, only enough to revel in the beauty of Bo’s surrender, then fell right along with him.
Bo was the first to move. He peppered kisses over every inch of Adam’s exposed flesh he could reach, then shoved to his hands. He grinned, mirth sparkling in the emerald gems of his eyes. “I’ll make you a deal.”
“Okay.” Adam drew out the word, a smile of his own pulling at his swollen lip. “Shoot.”
“I’ll move my bratty, pain-in-the butt sister into your—no, sorry, our—home. I’ll even let you shell out money to keep me here with her until she’s well enough that I can get another job, but only on one condition.”
Adam’s heart, still struggling to settle to its normal speed, thumped with renewed vigor. “Name it and it’s yours. Anything. Everything.”
Bo’s grin turned wicked. He thrust his hips where their bodies still connected, sending a zing up Adam’s spine. “You’ve gotta let me do that again. Maybe more than once.”
“Oh, babe.” Adam guffawed, drawing Bo back into his arms. “We can do that every time if you want. Anytime you want.”
Bo snorted. “No way. I’m not giving up the pleasures of being a bottom. How about we take turns?”
“Fair enough, but there is one area of concern I’d like to address.” Adam brushed a kiss over the crown of Bo’s head when he simply hummed in question. “While Lulu’s living here, can we relax the rules? At least a little?”
“The rules?” Bo lifted his head and pinched his brow. “What rules?”
Laughing, Adam pressed a thumb over the crinkled V on Bo’s forehead and rubbed it smooth. “The sleeping fully clothed and no sex rules.”
“Oh, screw that.” Bo let his head drop and nuzzled into Adam’s neck. “Like you said, Lulu’s a big girl. She knows what happens between two people who love each other. We can buy her earplugs or a really loud speaker system.”
Adam gave the comforter a tug, pulling the free end over Bo’s back so they were nestled under its warmth. They were sticky and needed to clean up, but that could wait. For now, he was going to enjoy holding Bo close and relish the wide-open brightness of their future. Because together, no matter what life might throw their way, Beauregard and the Beast had already found their happily ever after.