The truth revealed itself to Aaron with the same, nightmarish deliberateness as a horror movie monster slowly dragging itself from the dark for the very first time. Every new detail was uncomfortable and terrifying, and yet Aaron couldn’t look away, nor could he stop himself from listening. What hid inside of Gage needed to be seen so it could be defeated. Aaron was ready to slay it. He hadn’t been expecting a fight like this, but he wouldn’t let it get the best of him. Gage was the one for him—he’d known it since their first, quiet kiss beneath the porch light of Gage’s parents’ farm house one starry night after coming back from California, when Gage had fit against his chest just right and sent shivers down his spine with a single touch. It hadn’t lasted long—only for a few, timid seconds—but it had drawn Aaron’s attention to the way his heart beat for Gage, and made him wonder if he hadn’t felt that way all his life. And even now, facing the demons Gage had hidden from him for years, Aaron knew that beyond the hurt the news had done him, his heart hadn’t changed.

It never would.

For the last four and a half years, Gage had done whatever it took to shield Aaron from a truth that would forever change his life—but those times were over now. Aaron had come home, the truth had come to light, and there would be no more secrets. For however long it took, and no matter the lengths Aaron had to go to, he would defend Gage in the same way that Gage had defended him.

He would make things right.

The kiss deepened. Gage hummed into his mouth and wrapped his arms loosely around Aaron’s neck. Their bodies were flush, and Aaron detected the stirrings of Gage’s erection against his thigh. The spark between them was still there, electric in its intensity, raising the hairs on Aaron’s arms and tingling in his groin. Chemistry like theirs would never extinguish itself—it was ingrained in who Aaron was, and everything he’d become.

Gage was his, and he would protect him. He’d find a way to make things right. It would take time and effort, but now that he was back, nothing else would come first.

Recuperation would begin tonight.

Aaron’s lips parted from Gage’s, but only so he could kiss his way down Gage’s face, to his jaw, and then all the way down his neck. By the time he’d arrived at the dip behind Gage’s collarbone, Gage was already making small, delighted sounds. He ran a hand through Aaron’s hair and tugged gently, and Aaron glanced up to find Gage looking down at him.

“I love you,” Gage whispered.

The utterance was so fragile that Aaron couldn’t help but cushion it with a reply of his own. “Not half as much as I love you.”

He’d been hurt by what Gage had done, but he wouldn’t let temporary feelings distort what he knew to be the truth. Being in love didn’t mean that they’d never fight or disagree with one another—Aaron knew better than that. He loved Gage not because he was perfect, but because he adored each of his flaws and worshiped all of his imperfections.

“No more secrets,” Aaron whispered. He kissed along the ridge of Gage’s clavicle, then back up his neck until he nuzzled against Gage’s cheek. His stubble brushed Gage’s smooth skin, and Gage whispered a moan and nuzzled back. “No more surprises.”

“None,” Gage assured him. “I promise.”

Aaron nosed his way beneath Gage’s jaw and took in his scent. It was a primal, brutish thing he didn’t often indulge in, but tonight, he felt he needed it. The notes of Gage’s omega were strongest there—light and airy, and reminiscent of the summer they’d spent together as lovers. The scent mingled with the woodsy scent of Gage’s bodywash and made Aaron hunger to discover more of him.

With a hitched gasp, Gage arched his hips, pushing his cock against Aaron’s thigh. Aaron, in turn, pushed down into him in small, subtle movements that didn’t make the couch groan beneath their weight. He was highly aware that Bo was sleeping in the other room, and while noise from the television didn’t seem like enough to wake him up, Aaron figured that it was a familiar sound that Bo’s mind naturally tuned out. A gasp of pleasure and the creaking groan of the couch? Not so much.

There had to be somewhere else to go—somewhere they could do what they wanted without the danger of being discovered by their young son.

The office.

The thought momentarily bothered Aaron. He pictured Gage, naked and shivering, hunched over the arm of his computer chair as he struggled to stop himself from vomiting after his first show. How many tears had he cried in that room? How much heartache had he suffered there?

Aaron couldn’t turn back time, but he could go out of his way to reclaim the parts of Gage’s identity that he’d sacrificed to keep food on the table. Piece by piece, Aaron wanted to fit Gage back together and restore him from the current, fragmented version of himself that he’d become. The broken boy he’d come home to would be whole again. Aaron would make sure of it.

“We need a closed door,” Aaron whispered against Gage’s skin, letting the words tantalize him. “I want to touch you, but I don’t want Bo walking in on us. Will you come with me to the other room, BP?”

“You want to…” Gage trailed off, the assumption unspoken.

Aaron kissed his neck and let the weight of his words speak for themselves. “I want to take you in your office, Gage. Let’s take back that room forever before you leave this place for good.”