Epilogue

 

“Merry Christmas,” Todd said, winding his arms around my waist and kissing my neck.

“You, too.” I turned and caught his mouth. He tasted of toothpaste and smelled of his fresh cologne.

He sighed, pressed into me and pulled me close. The kiss deepened and my stubbled chin scraped across his freshly shaven skin.

“Hey, you two, what did I say yesterday about taking those PDAs to your room?” Gareth yelled.

I broke our kiss but didn’t let go of Todd. “Yeah, yeah,” I said with a grin. “But it’s our first Christmas morning together. Give us a break.”

“More like afternoon,” Joel said, looking at his watch. “I swear, Todd, you could sleep for the USA in the Olympics, never mind hockey.”

He shrugged and reached for coffee. “Sorry, it’s been a hell of a week, and the game against the Vipers took it out of me.”

“Yeah, not the best score in the world,” Colin said. “But I guess the Rangers can take a draw.”

“Sure they can,” Joel said. “They’re points ahead on the table.”

Raymond jumped up and clapped his hands, signaling an end to hockey speak. “Well, now Todd’s awake it’s time to open presents. Come on.” He walked over to the Christmas tree. It was decorated in red, blue and white in honor of the Rangers, an idea Colin and Joel had hatched as soon as Todd had agreed to spend the holiday at Breezy View.

The tall spruce had been set in front of the enormous window that looked out over the ocean, which today was gray and still with a blanket of mist hanging over it making the horizon indiscernible. Beneath the tree was a pile of presents all carefully transported from New York over the last few days as we’d each arrived at the Cape.

“Here you go,” Raymond said, passing a box to Gareth.

“Thanks,” Gareth said, tugging at the blue bow. He unwrapped it to reveal a photography book and a Tom Hanks autobiography.

“Thanks, Raymond, perfect.”

“And for you, Matthew.” Raymond passed me a bottle-shaped gift. “Oh, I feel like Santa, handing out the presents.” He laughed excitedly.

I peeled back the wrapping paper to reveal a bottle of wine called Matthew’s Cellar. “Where did you find that?” I asked, laughing. “That’s brilliant.”

Raymond rubbed his hands together. “That would be telling.”

More presents were handed around. Joel put on Christmas music and tied tinsel around Rufus’ collar. Rufus then chased his tail and barked excitedly when he opened his chewy bone.

Todd gave me a Rangers fleecy jacket with number six embroidered on the sleeve and a bottle of Raw.

“Really?” I said, laughing. “I’m not one of your groupies, you know?”

“Course you are, you’re my number one fan.”

“But I’d be your fan whether you were the best player in the NHL or not.”

“Or if I wasn’t on every billboard and in magazines selling this stuff…” He picked up the bottle of cologne. “By the truckload.”

Todd’s popularity seemed to have, if anything, grown since our relationship had become public knowledge. Not only that, he’d forged the way for future gay players to come out of the closet and now it was rumored that three more were about to, one in the NHL and two in the NFL.

He continued to play spectacularly and be the golden boy of the Rangers. His fan base was expanding all the time on and off the ice. He was happy to give interviews and talk to journalists; it was clear that the strain of hiding his sexuality had dragged him down for years. Now he was lighter and happier for living the life he’d wanted all along.

Butler had been given a four-game suspension for his tirade of verbal abuse, and opposing teams had stacked up goals against the Penguins without him. No other player from any team had dared voice a homophobic opinion since in such a foul way. Digs and banter, yes, but nothing as revolting.

Zhirov was still a dark shadow for Todd on a regular basis, but with the backing of the rest of the Rangers, management and the NHL it was under control. Armani, despite the initial panic, dropped the morals clause fuss when Raw made record sales in the first three months. It seemed the scent Todd promoted was now the cologne of choice for an entire community around the globe.

“Yeah, I’m thrilled your teammates think you can do no wrong,” I said, “and that you’re the face of Armani’s most successful campaign ever. But…” I stroked the back of my index finger down his face and into the groove of his chin. “But I’d love you if you were selling newspapers outside my building or serving burgers at Timmy’s.”

“You’re such a fucking softy,” he said, smiling gently and grazing his lips over mine.

“For crying out loud,” Gareth said. “Here they go again.”

“Ah, shut up,” I said. “I just saw you grope Joel’s ass when he bent to pick up that piece of wrapping paper.”

Gareth shrugged, unremorseful. “Yeah, well, it was there.”

“Come on, Matthew,” Todd said. “Let’s go for a stroll on the beach.”

“Really? It’s pretty dank and misty out there.”

“Yeah, but the air will wake me up. We’ve got a turkey to cook, vegetables to peel and all that.”

He looked awake already but I wasn’t opposed to a Christmas Day beach stroll with the man I loved.

Ten minutes later we were wrapped up against the sharp breeze and the damp air and striding along the water’s edge. Rufus had come the first bit of the way with us, down the wooden steps to the beach, but after a couple of stick throws, he’d run back up to the house. It was too bleak and cold for him.

Despite the weather, my life was full of color and vibrancy. Todd and I were getting closer and closer, our love deepening. We spent every moment we could together and never slept apart if we were both in New York. A night apart was a wasted night, Todd was fond of saying.

He draped an arm around my shoulder and pressed a kiss to my temple, over the top of the beanie I wore—the beanie his father had bought me for Christmas along with matching gloves and scarf. “This is nice,” he said. “Walking with you, here.”

“Yeah, I like it. The Cape has such wonderful light, even on a day like this.”

“Hasn’t brought anyone else out though, has it?”

“Not many people to come out.” I glanced up the beach. It went on for miles and the houses up the steep cliffs were few and far between, their almost vertical steps mostly trodden in the summer, when the weather was warm and pleasant.

“Oh look,” I said, pointing to a real estate sign at the bottom of a long ladder of white steps. “The house up there has been sold. It only went on the market at Thanksgiving. That was quick.”

“Did you like it?” Todd asked.

“Yeah, I looked at the details online. It’s really modern inside, big granite kitchen, fancy wet room. And I like the way it’s set a little higher than the others. It’s really private, even on the balcony.”

“Then let’s go and have a look.”

“We can’t, it’s sold.”

“Come on.”

“Someone might be living there.” I glanced up and could just make out the roof beyond the vegetation on the cliff top.

“No one is living there.”

“How do you know?” I huddled into him as a strong breeze pressed my coat hard against my body.

“I just do.”

Something about his tone caught my attention. I looked into his face. “Todd, how do you know?”

He grinned, the heart-stoppingly beautiful smile that melted a little more of my damn heart every time he flashed it my way.

“Todd.” I grabbed hold of his lapels. Pulled him closer with my fists. “Tell me.”

He laughed. “Okay, okay.” He dug into his pocket and pulled out a set of keys. Dangled them between us.

“What’s that?” I asked, relaxing my grip.

“It’s the keys to the house up there.”

My heart tripped over itself, my mind whirred. “You haven’t bought it, have you?”

“No, I haven’t. But I have put good-faith money on it. To keep anyone else from looking around until you do.”

“Until I do? What are you talking about?”

“Matthew.” He wrapped me in his arms and I leaned into his strong body. “I love you and I want to prove that I’m not going anywhere, and I thought maybe we could do that by buying this house, together, in both our names.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, let’s start putting down roots, have a home to call our place rather than yours or mine. Somewhere we can hang out during holidays and when the hockey season ends. And this place, here, you’re always raving about the wonderful light. It would be perfect.”

My mouth was full of words, happy words, delighted words. But none came out.

He pressed his lips to my forehead. “I just wanna take that damn terrified look out of your eyes.”

“I haven’t got a terrified look in my eyes.”

“You have sometimes, it’s getting less frequent. But occasionally when you don’t think I’m looking I see it.”

I swallowed. He was right. Sometimes I couldn’t trust how happy I was, or how happy Todd made me. It was too good to last.

“And it breaks my heart,” he said. “I want to spend my life with you, make you happy. The last thing I want is to fucking frighten you.”

“Todd,” I said, my damn eyes nipping with emotion. I squeezed them shut so he wouldn’t see how soppy I was.

“Shh.” He kissed my closed eyelids. “I said I’d prove with actions how much I love you, and that’s what I’ve been doing. And this, a home, is just another thing that will bind us together.”

I opened my eyes and stared into his. They were heavy with love and glinted with honesty.

“So shall we go and take a look around?” he asked.

I nodded—quick, sharp movements. “Yeah, come on.”

As we marched up the steps I got a handle on my emotions. The wind battered us, the mist enveloped us, but I felt warm and beyond happy. The thought of having a house of our own, Todd and Matthew’s place, was the best Christmas present I could have ever hoped for.

There were even more steps than at Breezy View and I was a little out of breath when we reached the top. Todd wasn’t, not in the slightest.

“Great view.” He laughed, gesturing to the dense fog.

“Fabulous.” I grinned at him. “I can’t see it but I can hear the ocean.”

“Let’s go inside.”

He unlocked the door, we stepped in and he shut it behind us. I gazed at the large open-plan living space and let the silence wrap around me.

“It’s so big,” I said, my voice echoing. “It must be three times the size of my apartment, at least.”

“It’s awesome.” Todd walked farther in, his footsteps loud on the tiles. “I love this minimalist look.”

I stepped to the side and opened a door. “This is the den,” I said.

He nodded. “It’s got three bedrooms upstairs, the main has a balcony and hot tub.”

“It just gets better.” I moved over to a large white cupboard and pulled it open. “Look, it’s the refrigerator in here.”

Todd grinned. “And here’s a dishwasher, hidden by the sink.”

“Thank goodness, we need a dishwasher, especially if the guys come for dinner.” I paused. “Do you think Gareth and Joel will mind if we don’t stay at Breezy View?”

Todd shrugged. “I don’t see why. It’s cramped with three couples. This will give everyone their space.” He rubbed his hand over the shiny black surface of the breakfast bar. “Besides, Gareth is always moaning about our PDA.”

“He’s just joking.” I walked over to him, admiring the marble work surface his hand was smoothing over.

“Mmm, I don’t know if he could handle this, though.”

Suddenly he grabbed me, slanted his mouth over mine and kissed me hard and thoroughly.

He stole my breath and weakened my knees. I clung to him and allowed my tongue to tangle and twist with his as I felt a familiar hot rush to my cock and a tightening in my balls.

“So is it a yes to the house?” he asked, tugging off my beanie and dropping it on the counter.

“We haven’t looked around it all yet.”

“We don’t need to,” he said.

“We don’t?” He was undoing the zipper on my jacket.

“No.”

“Why not?” I was confused.

“Because once we’ve christened it, it will have to be ours.”

“Christened it?” My coat landed on the floor with a soft swish, two seconds later so did his.

“Yeah, once we’ve fucked in it. It’ll make it ours, we’ll fill these walls with the sounds of our lovemaking and the deal will be sealed.” His cheeks were red, and he was a little out of breath now.

I tilted one corner of my mouth. “What if someone comes?”

“It will just be us coming.” He reached for my belt buckle, tugged it free.

“Todd?” I gasped as he yanked down the zipper on my pants. I loved it when he got all big-bad-dominant hockey player on me and decided it was his turn to be top—because he was so damn good at it, at making me feel protected and adored and a portal for pleasure.

“I’m going to fuck you so good and hard over this breakfast bar,” he whispered hotly. “So you don’t ever forget the first time I shoved my dick up your ass in our new home.”

Jesus, really?

My cock burst free as he pulled my briefs down.

“Turn around,” he said, his mouth hovering over mine. “Turn around and show me your hot, tight tush.”

I didn’t actually have a choice because he physically spun me and tipped me to ninety degrees. I would have gone willingly, but it would have taken an extra second.

“That’s it, fuck it, Matthew, your ass is so fucking beautiful.” He ran his hand up my lower back, bunching up my sweater and t-shirt. The other was ramming my pants down, right to my ankles. I could feel his fast breaths on my exposed butt cheeks and my asshole trembled in anticipation. I’d fucked him last night, when he’d arrived from Florida. But we’d been aware of every little mattress squeak and gasp of delight. Now there was going to be no holding back. I could tell.

I stared out the vast window, at the grayness that hid the sea and sky. My heart was pounding, my dick tapping against the work surface. I could hardly contain my impatience to have him enter me and be able to vocalize my delight instead of biting my lip so hard it bled.

“Ah, ah,” I gasped as a sudden coolness slid over my asshole. “You brought lube?”

“I like to be prepared.”

“Oh God, yes, fuck, excellent thinking…” My words trailed off.

He was busy prepping me, working the lube all around my hole, peeking in and spreading it inside me. Up high and around, leaving no section ungreased.

“You want me in here?” he asked, leaning over me and speaking into my ear.

“Yeah, oh fuck, yeah.” I adored the heavy solidity of his body pressing onto mine, squeezing me into the counter. He could crush the breath from me if he wanted to. His strength and muscles never ceased to turn me on.

“You like having me inside you?”

“You know I do.”

“So say it.”

“I like having you inside me. I love it, please.”

“And you know this is it, forever, me and you. No one else.”

“Yes. Forever.”

“And I’m not going anywhere.” He was making V shapes with his fingers now, opening me wide. The burn stole my breath, whipped like an electric shock and went straight to my cock.

I groaned.

“And I’m not going anywhere,” he said again, tipping his fingers forward and rubbing wickedly at my prostate.

“Oh, oh, Todd. Nowhere, anywhere.” I twisted beneath him. The pleasure he induced in me whenever he did that took me to the very limit of my sanity.

He gave a slightly power-crazed chuckle and pulled his fingers from my ass.

I moved upward but his hand came down hard on my back, pinning me in my bent position. “Here you go,” he said, positioning the head of his cock at my entrance. “This is for you, forever.”

I faced out of the window, but I was unseeing. All I could concentrate on was Todd’s cock easing through my first tight barrier. I consciously made my asshole relax, though it was hard, my whole pelvis was juddering with anticipation, trembling with eagerness to have him sink to the hilt.

“Ah, yeah, that’s it, take me.” Todd was forcing his way in, each tiny increase in his width stretching me blissfully.

I moaned loud and with abandon. Curled my fingers around the counter edge and shoved my ass higher into the air, inviting him to plunge all the way and give me what I needed.

He brought a stinging slap down on my right butt cheek. Just the way he knew I liked. I yelped as the pain mixed with the pleasure. Allowed it all to brew in my cock and build from deep inside.

“I’m taking you now,” he said in a strained voice, then rammed forward.

It was a determined, steely drive that forced his balls to squash up against mine. I threw my head back, cried out and allowed the full feeling to bloom right to my core.

“Ah, yeah, so fucking awesome,” Todd groaned, again leaning forward and dropping his weight. “You’re so hot and ready for me all the time, I love it. I love you.”

He sucked the fleshy lobe of my ear into his mouth and nibbled then wrapped his arms around my chest and began to pound in and out. Burrowing deep, taking me higher and higher with each shove of his cock.

“Ah, ah, yes,” I gasped. “I love you too, I love you, Todd, so much.”

He pulled out, thrust back in. The heat of him was blissful and the filling, shoving, pushing against my sweet spot just what I needed.

He set a fast pace. I pushed back for more as he gave it to me hard and good. Soon I was getting ready to explode and release my desire, my lust. My breaths were ragged, my cock filled to full hardness and the pressure in my balls was almost painful.

“I’m coming,” Todd shouted, straightening and slapping my butt again. “Come with me. Oh, please, Matthew, come with me.” He hit again.

It was a good hard whack, and when combined with the lusty desperation in his voice, my climax detonated. “Yes, yes, yes,” I shouted. I didn’t bother keeping quiet like I had the night before, now I let my pleasure rip from my lungs. As I spurted my first shot I shouted more incoherent words of pleasure. I squeezed my eyes shut and let ecstasy flood my body.

Todd was bursting within me, firing his hot release into my deepest, darkest place. He gave me another thwack on my ass and another stream of semen shot through my cock, bursting free. The sensation of sting and climax together was a wild and rampant tangle of bliss. One I’d never get enough of, not when Todd doled it out.

I’d never been happier or more satisfied. Todd owned me. He had me. From the very first photograph I’d taken of him he’d claimed a piece of me. His beauty, his talent, his perfect soul had been a gift from above.

Todd was the man who made my heart finally forget that it had ever been broken.

Feeling his love and adoration, living with his constant understanding and patience, was more than I ever thought I would experience. Todd was the guy I’d been waiting for and it seemed, all that time, he’d been searching for me, too.

THE END