With adoration Gage never wanted to forget, Aaron laced their fingers together and pinned his arms above his head. Gage’s wrists sank into the pillows, treated to the softness of their down. Then, with slowly building intensity, Aaron kissed him until he was bothered and breathless. Sweat had already started to bead on his brow and beneath the line of his jaw nearest his neck.

Want, a voice in his head uttered. Want. Want. Want.

The kiss broke. Aaron nudged his nose against Gage’s cheek, kissing the soft skin of his earlobe. “Mine,” Aaron whispered. He didn’t need to speak any louder than that—Gage heard him with startling clarity. “Mine.”

With a push of Aaron’s hips, their bodies rocked together. Aaron’s cock, already hard, slid against Gage’s. Arousal stirred within him, woken by the kiss they’d shared, but invigorated by the way Aaron touched him. All he could spare the feeling was a tiny moan—he didn’t want to be caught. Both Aaron’s parents and his own were in the house, and Bo was sleeping just across the hall. They couldn’t afford to be loud.

Aaron pushed against him, and the bed frame groaned in protest. Hazy with need, Gage turned his head to the side and drew a few, steadying breaths before he spoke. “You have to be gentle. The bed is creaking, and everyone is home to hear it…”

“Let them hear,” Aaron whispered in return. He thrust down again, this time taking one of his hands from Gage’s wrists so he could snake it between their bodies. His fingers closed around their shafts, holding them together. The heat built. Gage wanted to tear off the shirt he was wearing to find relief from it, but with Aaron on top of him, it was impossible. “We’ve already made one baby—it shouldn’t be a surprise to them that we’re trying to make another.”

The words shot to Gage’s cock, and he had to hold back a moan that would have given them away in an instant. He squirmed beneath Aaron, craving more of his touch, but knowing that it would be impossible. They hadn’t come prepared, and Gage wasn’t in heat yet, so he’d have no slick to help Aaron glide into him. All he could do was enjoy the way Aaron’s cock felt when it rubbed against his, and marvel at how incredible the tightness of his hand was.

For a short while, they shared the bliss of Aaron’s palm. Gage arched his hips and squirmed beneath him, letting small sounds of pleasure die in the back of his throat. It was only when Gage started to buck into Aaron’s hand, bolder with his body now that orgasm approached, that Aaron let him go. He sat back on his haunches and looked down at Gage, struggling to catch his breath.

“Aaron?” Gage asked in a curious whisper. He tried to prop himself up on his elbows, hoping he could entice Aaron back to him, but it seemed like Aaron had other plans. He moved down the mattress until he could support Gage’s thighs in his arms, then lifted him up, forcing Gage’s torso to fall back against the bed. With his ass in the air and his legs spread, hole exposed, a chill ran through Gage—a chill that didn’t make sense when the room was so warm and his body burned like a furnace.

Aaron seemed to notice it, too. His eyes widened just slightly before arousal loosened his features. He changed his grip on Gage so he could trace a finger down Gage’s taint and to his entrance.

One touch was all it took. Gage understood what was happening to him, and his cock throbbed at the realization.

His slick had started to flow.

Heat had crept up on him over the last few days, heightening his emotions and driving him to do desperate things out of fear. With everything going on, he’d assumed that his responses were from stress alone, but that wasn’t the case.

That wasn’t the case at all.

“Fuck, BP,” Aaron rasped. His finger moved in slow circles around Gage’s slick hole, teasing him. “I was only going to eat your ass, but look what you’ve given me. How can I resist a gift like this?”

Gage shivered. The first stirrings of impossible need gained force within him and started to override his senses. He knew that they should stop immediately and go find Aaron’s father, Oli, to ask for heat blockers. Gage couldn’t afford to lose himself in an unmedicated heat when Bo was sick and there were so many appointments to attend, but the sight of Aaron between his legs, lust in his eyes, was hard to resist.

How could he say no?

Aaron’s finger traced over his hole, then between his cheeks, spreading his slick in teasing ways. The cool sensation made Gage crave it more, and his cock twitched in anticipation.

“I’m not on birth control,” Gage said. Before they did anything, he needed to make that clear. “If you take my heat, I could get pregnant.”

“If you’re this far along, you’ve already been in heat for a few days without realizing it.” Aaron’s eyes lingered on Gage, then, with nothing more said, he adjusted his position so his head was level with Gage’s hole. Aaron’s tongue lapped in tiny, teasing motions at his rim, and Gage clenched his jaw to hold back a moan that would have penetrated the walls. When Aaron stopped, the moan turned into an involuntary whine that made Aaron chuckle. “We had sex not even twelve hours ago. You might get pregnant even if we stopped right now.”

Why was that thought so goddamn hot? Gage bit the inside of his lip, trying to cling to some semblance of responsibility. Aaron had only just come back home, he’d started a new job, and they had Bo to look after. Could they look after another baby with everything else going on?

But if it’s going to happen anyway, why not have fun with it?

Nine months was a long time—long enough to resolve Bo’s issues and settle into some semblance of normalcy, at least.

“I want this,” Aaron said. He didn’t mince his words—the message was clear and would not be mistaken. “I want to make another baby with you, Gage. I want to be there to dote on you during the pregnancy, I want to be there when the baby is born, and I want to raise him or her by your side. I didn’t think I was ready, but meeting Bo and falling in love with him… I know I am. I want to make a family with you.”

It had to be a dream, but if it was, Gage wasn’t waking up. Aaron dipped his head and ran his tongue over Gage’s rim again, and the dream turned ten times sweeter.

He wanted it. His heart knew it as well as his mind did.

After raising Bo on his own and struggling to get by, raising a baby with a loving, providing partner wouldn’t be an issue, even with everything else they had going on.

No matter what, Aaron would take care of him.

“I want you.” Gage lifted his head, his chin tucked against his chest so he could look up at Aaron. To see him framed between his thighs sent a new kind of chill through Gage that interrupted the building fires of his heat. “I want to grow our family.”

Aaron’s tongue parted from Gage’s hole. He nuzzled against the inside of Gage’s thigh, then adjusted his position so he could run his tongue along Gage’s balls. Desire, thick and rich like molten chocolate, rolled through Gage’s groin and arrested his thoughts. It no longer mattered where they were or who might hear.

He was engaged to marry Aaron, the love of his life, and they were going to expand their tiny family.

Gage didn’t want to wait.

Aaron’s tongue moved from his balls to the base of his shaft, tracing up until he toyed with Gage’s slit. With a gentle push, he teased the opening, then flicked his gaze up Gage’s body to look him in the eyes. Gage’s heart fluttered, and he made a soft, startled noise before he could help himself. Embarrassed, he slapped his hands over his mouth, but Aaron only laughed. He lowered Gage’s body until his cock traced across Gage’s slick, then leaned over him, bracing his weight with one arm while the other held Gage aloft.

“If you change your mind, tell me.” Aaron kissed him, but the contact was too short and tantalizing to be satisfying. “I’ll pull out. I understand if you want to wait.”

“I don’t want to wait.” Gage was certain. The heat hadn’t taken over his mind yet—he spoke of his own volition. “I’m tired of waiting, Aaron.”

“Then I’ll never make you wait again.”

The pressure was sudden, but it was welcome. Gage gasped and closed his eyes, letting his head roll back. Aaron’s thick head invaded him, and Gage wiggled his hips and opened his thighs so Aaron could sink deeper yet. It wasn’t like their time together earlier that night, when Aaron had claimed him ruthlessly and fucked him speechless—what Gage found in him in that moment was softer and gentler, but no less arousing.

Aaron filled him, then left him empty. Again, and again, and again.

“I want your knot,” Gage whispered, doing his best to hold back a moan. The heat had started to spread, and he knew if they didn’t make this quick, it would be too late for blockers to be effective. Like the bud of a flower ready to burst into bloom, Gage’s arousal pushed against the boundaries of his mind and tested his limits. Before long, he’d crack to it and lose himself completely.

He didn’t want that to happen. Not now.

Aaron’s thick shaft plunged into him, pushing upon Gage’s prostate along the way. Gage choked back a cry and let it out as a whispered whimper instead—a sound that made Aaron grin and thrust in exactly the same way.

“Wanna make you come first,” Aaron uttered. He bucked his hips, hitting that spot again and again. All Gage could do to hold himself back was clamp his hands over his mouth and muffle his cries. Here, of all places, they shouldn’t have been having sex, but he couldn’t miss this opportunity. No matter where they were, he needed Aaron.

He needed this.

Another thrust pushed a moan from Gage’s lips so powerful that his hands did little to dampen the noise. He bit his palm instead, squeezing his eyes shut as he fought against the pleasure.

So close.

He was so close…

“Come for me.” They were hot words whispered against Gage’s ear, a sinful command that left Gage eager to submit. “Come while I’m inside you. I want to feel you lose control. I want to be the one to drive you to the edge.”

“Aaron.” Gage trembled. He worked his hips in time with Aaron’s, on the cusp of orgasm. “Aaron.”

“I love you.” Aaron nipped his earlobe. “Gonna give you my knot, BP. Are you ready for it? Prove it to me.”

One more thrust, and there was no going back. Gage screamed into his palm and sank his teeth into the flesh until his hand burned from pain. Orgasm crashed into him, amplified by his heat from something spectacular to something monumental.

And as his body clenched and pulsed, his balls taut as they emptied, another force seized him.

Aaron’s knot was swelling.

“Oh f-f…” The word was muffled by his hand, but the pleasure that had forced it from Gage’s lips remained the same. He bucked and squirmed beneath Aaron, pushing him deeper, until Aaron’s knot had grown too large to permit wild movement. Every now and then, Aaron’s cock twitched inside of him, and Gage felt his cum flood his body.

It was done.

Aaron pulled his wrist aside, separating his hand from his mouth, and kissed him fiercely. Gage kissed back, and as orgasm robbed them both of their senses, he pushed Aaron’s supportive arm out from beneath him and brought them both to tumble onto the bed.

Even though Aaron was locked inside him, he kept thrusting. The short, greedy thrusts milked the last of the pleasure from Gage’s balls and extinguished some of the fire burning inside.

Fire he knew would ignite anew soon enough.

Fifteen minutes later, when they’d exhausted their jaws from kissing and Aaron’s knot had loosened enough that they could part, Aaron smoothed the hair back from Gage’s forehead and beamed down at him. Gage, exhausted and finally ready to get some sleep, smiled back.

“I’ll go get some heat blockers from my dad,” Aaron murmured. He stole one last kiss from Gage’s lips, then carefully pulled out of him. Gage shifted his hips and whimpered, not wanting Aaron to go. “Do you think it’s too late for them?”

“Not yet. In a handful of minutes, maybe. Just… just don’t stick it in me again until I’m medicated, and we’ll be okay.”

“Until?” Aaron wiggled an eyebrow, and Gage grabbed a pillow from the bed and batted him with it. Aaron laughed. He climbed off the bed, pulled on his pajama pants, and headed for the door. “I’m going, I’m going. And when I come back…”

Gage buried his head under the pillow and grunted in frustration. Secretly, he smiled. They weren’t going to get any sleep, and he was sure he’d curse himself for it later, but these were the moments he’d never forget.

Aaron was home, the secret was out, their family was about to grow, Bo would finally get the treatment he so desperately needed, and the future would be theirs.

It won’t be forever. You’re doing this for him. One day, he’ll be back, and your world will be right again.

He’d been right.

The wait was over. The rest of his life was about to begin.