Chapter Eight
Saturday Night
Post Party
T he whole thing was a hit. Everyone had a good time at the party, and the two grooms did too. There was so much love there, that they couldn’t help but feel so damn lucky. In life, they had people who hated them because they were gay, but they had more who loved and would protect them.
That was a gift.
One they were blessed to have.
So, as Emma and Greyson shoved them into a limo, and sent them on their way, it was time to begin their honeymoon. In the back of the long stretch limo, Steele was lounging against his husband.
“I can’t believe we’re married,” he offered as he stared down at the rings on their fingers.
Dante laughed. “It took me forever to get you to commit. I’m the one who can’t believe it.”
He turned his head for a kiss.
Dante was waiting for this moment. He had to trust that Emma had gotten Steele to relax. He really wanted a memorable wedding night.
As in sex.
With Steele.
In the penthouse.
Their lips met, and there was the heat there that always surfaced when they came together. Dante wanted him in the worst way, and he tugged him into his lap until they were chest to chest.
Their mouths moved over each others, teeth, tongue, and lips worshiping the other.
As the limo hit a bump, Steele pulled away. “That was pretty amazing.”
Hell yes, it was.
“I can’t wait to get you naked, Mr. Croft.”
Steele loved hearing that title.
“I can’t believe I’m Mr. Croft.”
Dante kissed him again. “Well, you can be Mr. Bentley in our bedroom, if the name thing is confusing.”
He laughed.
“I think I can handle it, but I do have to tell you something.”
Dante stared into his eyes. “What, babe? You can tell me anything.”
“I was afraid to have sex tonight.”
Oh shit.
Here it came.
“And?” he asked. “You realize I won’t hurt you, right? I’ll be gentle, and if you can’t…”
What?
Dante needed this.
He knew Steele did too.
“I know you’ve been patient, but I’ve been worried that I’m not attractive down there.”
Dante had to let him work this out. Steele wouldn’t shower with him, he wouldn’t sleep naked, and he’d done everything in his power to avoid letting him see his man parts.
It worried him.
“Well, honestly, the male sex organs aren’t really attractive to begin with if you think about it,” he teased.
Steele laughed.
“I know you’ve been wondering.”
“I have, but I have to let you do this in your time. I just pray that it’s tonight, because I’m really horny, as you can tell from sitting on my lap.”
Steele laughed. “Emma checked for me.”
His mouth dropped open. “Pardon? Checked what exactly?”
“Well, she has sex with Greyson, which I imagine is like having sex with you. I needed her to give me a passing grade. So, she gave it a look.”
Dante didn’t know if he should laugh or be really jealous about that.
“So, my sister saw your junk, but I haven’t been allowed anywhere near it? Why do I feel like I should be outraged by something?”
Steele laughed and kissed him. He wrapped his arms around his neck. “She passed me. Tonight, you get to see my junk.”
He snorted. “I was hoping for more than ‘seeing’ it. I actually wanted to take it out for a spin.”
Steele took Dante’s hand and placed it on the bulge in his dress pants. “I’m horny too,” he offered. “I’ve missed being with you,” he admitted. “I’ve missed that intimacy. I know you said sex doesn’t matter, but it does. It brings two people together and binds them.”
Dante’s heart skipped.
“Are we talking like tying up binding, or was that a metaphor? I’m having a hard time focusing here,” he teased, only he was dead serious.
“That was more of a metaphor, but I know where your mind is heading, and I like it.”
Dante couldn’t help himself. He gently rubbed the bulge in his husband’s pants, and he got harder.
“Well, you’ve still got a dick, so we’re good to go.”
“I’m missing some stuff.”
It took Dante a second.
“Oh, shit! Then we can’t get pregnant?” he asked, being his normal sarcastic self.
Steele laughed. “Yeah, you can skip the condom.”
There would always be this. Sex or not, Steele got him, and Dante was blessed.
They both were.
So, as Steele was sitting there, he figured he should be productive. He began playing with Dante’s shirt.
Dante didn’t move as it was being tugged from his pants. This was something he’d dreamed about, and it was happening. This was the man he fell in love with before his abduction and torture.
He was back.
“Do your worst,” he whispered, as Steele tugged off the bowtie and tossed it over his shoulder.
“You won’t need that.”
“Hallelujah.”
Clumsily, he tried to open his buttons. “Can you help me?” he asked, his fingers weren’t cooperating.
Dante yanked, and the buttons popped off.
Steele laughed. “Well, I could have done that.”
“I wish you would. I’ve missed making love to you. I’ve missed the feel of us pressed together. I’ve missed the heat. I want you back. You didn’t come all the way back to me, Steele, and I miss him.”
Tears filled his eyes. “I’m sorry.”
“Just tell me you still love me like you once did, and what was done to you didn’t destroy what we had. I know we’re married, but I want you to want me—not be afraid of me touching you. I’m not them.”
He got it.
Dropping to his knees, he let his mouth wander down Dante’s body. They left a trail of heat, right to the one part of him he’d missed too.
Pulling open his dress pants, Steele took him in his warm palm.
Dante moaned. “Jesus, I’ve missed this.”
“I’m pretty sure Jesus would like to stay out of this,” he teased.
Dante laughed, as he looked down his body at his husband. “Put your mouth on me.”
Steele stroked him.
He wanted to recreate that first time they’d made love. It was forever burned into his memory.
It started just like this.
In a car.
He took Dante into his mouth, sliding him into the warmth. With long, slow strokes against his tongue, he showed Dante what he’d missed.
“So good! Don’t stop,” he whispered, as he ran his fingers through Steele’s black, silky hair. At the back of his head, he grabbed a handful of that hair to direct his motions.
He needed to be in control. Dante wanted to make sure Steele knew he wouldn’t let him get hurt.
It must have worked, because Steele was back, and he was working him into a fevered pitch.
Dante was breathing heavily as his husband drove him insane. He wanted to cum in the worst way, but he held on. He prayed for intervention as the man he loved sucked him off, on their wedding night, in the back of a limo.
It was surreal.
Then the vehicle came to a stop.
Dante let Steele continue for a few seconds. “Babe, we have to go,” he moaned, as his lower body shook.
He popped out of Steele’s mouth, and the man grinned wickedly. “Let’s go up to our room.”
Dante tucked himself back into his pants as fast as he could. He didn’t want to miss this.
When he opened the door to get out, there were camera flashes as a few reporters got pictures of them exiting the limo toward the elevator.
Steele knew how much he loved this man.
He was trying to protect him from their shouts. At the door of the elevator, they had to wait for it to open.
Steele took the chance.
He kissed Dante.
He didn’t push him away, but instead, he held him against his body as his mouth moved over his. Dante even grabbed a handful of his husband’s ass.
They both moaned as more cameras went off. This was going to be one hell of a story in tomorrow’s paper.
Even through the kissing, he could hear them shouting questions about the wedding.
Clearly, they saw the wedding bands.
When the doors to the elevator opened, they practically tumbled inside. Dante had intended to be in control, but that wasn’t happening.
Steele was the one leading the way.
It was his return back to the living, and Dante was going to let his husband drive the sex bus. He was willing to do anything, including crawling, to have Steele’s hands, and mouth, all over him, so he would try to be patient.
As Steele orally assaulted him in the elevator, Dante stood there with his legs spread and Steele between them. They didn’t have to worry about anyone seeing them—not that Steele cared—clearly.
“God! I missed this,” Steele said, his body finally coming back alive. All it took was his family, a wedding, and this man.
He wasn’t broken.
He was just dormant.
One touch from Dante, and he was back to life again.
Dante moaned as Steele left bites down his neck, across his throat, and to the other side. As he was tormenting him there, his hands were on his bare chest, leaving a trail of fire there too.
This was perfect.
His husband was perfect.
“You didn’t miss it as much as I did,” Dante muttered, as Steele rubbed him through his pants. They were standing dick to dick, and he couldn’t wait to get him upstairs, naked, and on their bed.
He was going to die if he didn’t consummate this wedding, and the return of his mate.
When the elevator opened, it opened feet from the penthouse door.
Dante pulled his husband out and down the hall. He blindly tried to open the door without looking.
“Hurry,” Steele begged as someone’s zipper hissed as it was being lowered.
Somehow, Dante got it open.
They fell in.
Literally.
With his foot, Dante shoved the door closed. The second it closed, Steele ripped his pants open.
“I think we started something in the limo,” he said, sliding down to take Dante’s erection in his mouth.
His body bowed.
Someone wasn’t being gentle.
Well, that was fine with him.
“Steele!” he moaned, as his body shook. His husband was on a mission. It included making him cum in the foyer of the penthouse.
Coincidentally, he was good with that. He had so much pent up frustration, that he could do this about twenty times tonight.
Steele worked him hard.
“Jesus! I’m going to cum! You need to…”
He didn’t get to finish. Steele did that thing he loved so much with his tongue that he was done.
He came so hard, his guttural shout was likely heard back at the house.
As he poured down his husband’s throat, he couldn’t help but smile.
And the sexual fast was over.
When he looked down his body, Steele was grinning up at him.
Dante was up, and he tugged Steele to his feet.
He was NOT taking his new husband on the floor. He had more things planned.
Dante tossed Steele over his shoulder like he used to do, and carried him toward the bedroom.
He felt his ass being grabbed by two hands.
Yeah, his husband was back.
“You had better hurry,” Steele said, as he hung upside down.
Oh, his ex-soldier husband was sexier than sin.
Once in the bedroom, Dante lowered Steele to his feet. He was about to jump him, when Steele saw it.
He stared.
The place was filled with roses, candles, and romance.
“I love you, babe. Happy wedding night.”
Tears filled his eyes.
He couldn’t believe this.
Why was he shocked? Dante always showered him with romance and love. He’d just assumed they’d roll around, get sweaty, and have at it.
Only, his husband had other plans.
He was going to woo him.
“There are days when I think you can’t see into my soul, and then you do something like this,” he said, “for me, and I know you see everything.”
“I know you, Steele. I was born to be your husband, and you mine.”
“But all this for me?”
He was staggered as he picked up a velvety soft rose and sniffed it. The scent was exotic and delicious.
It screamed wedding night.
“Of course it’s for you. I love you, Steele Croft. You’re my husband.”
His heart skipped.
“I promise to go slow and be gentle. Let me make love to you,” Dante offered.
Steele nodded.
Dante went into romance mode. He wasn’t thinking about getting off, since Steele took the edge off. Now he could focus on making love to him. Dante wanted to make sure tonight was one he’d never forget.
Gently, he helped him out of his suit jacket, and then began unbuttoning his shirt. He did it with such love and care.
“Dante,” he whispered.
He kissed him softly on the lips. “Just feel. I’m going to make everything alright. I swear. Trust me.”
He did.
“I’m yours.”
He absolutely was, and that was the best part.
When his shirt was undone, Dante pushed it off his shoulders, so it would fall to the floor with his suit jacket.
Then his hands went to the button and zipper on his dress pants.
They fell.
Dante looked down.
And grinned.
“You bought me these on our second date,” Steele said, as Dante reminisced.
“You already know that I wore mine too. We match. Great minds think alike,” Dante admitted.
Steele was at peace.
“We always did match,” Steele said. “From that minute I saw you in the morgue, and you tried not to check me out. I knew.”
“The minute I saw you, do you know what I fell in love with first?” Dante asked, as he tugged his boxers down.
“What?”
“Your sexy eyes. They are this deep blue-green. They aren’t as aqua as Dimitri’s eyes. They are like falling into warm, water in the Mediterranean. I fell into them, and I never got away. You are my everything.”
“That’s what you noticed first?” he asked.
“Well, and I checked out your package in scrubs. I’m a perv. Sue me. Scrubs do nothing to hide the goods, and for that fact, I’m grateful.”
Steele laughed. “I hope you still want to see my package,” he offered.
Dante took that second to look down.
He knew his husband. If he tried to pretend there was nothing wrong, he’d feel anxious.
Dante had been avoiding this, too, in a way. As long as he didn’t have to see what had happened, he wouldn’t have to face the reality of how close they’d really come to losing him.
Steele only survived by a miracle.
Dante still had nightmares.
While he’d seen the medical reports, and Emma told him what had happened, he was still in denial.
He hadn’t saved his partner.
Dante had let him down.
Steele watched his eyes for his reaction as he stepped back. Dante scanned his body, and finally, he saw the damage done to him.
The response was immediate as he looked at the scars across his thighs, one long one down his erection, and the missing testicle.
Steele saw the anger, the pain, and even the love.
“I want to kill them all over again for what they did to you,” he whispered. “They hurt my husband. They took what was mine and marked him up.”
Dante wanted to say a million more things. With gentle fingers, he reached out and touched Steele’s flesh. He caressed that scar that ran down his erection. The puckered scar was horrible. No wonder his husband had struggled.
Dante felt the need to share tenderness.
He dropped to his knees and left warm, openmouthed kisses across every scar he saw—with a gentleness that only a husband could have.
Steele watched him.
His heart filled with love.
There was no disgust, fear, or revulsion in Dante’s eyes. Oh, he could see the anger, but that wasn’t directed at him.
As Dante lavished his healed wounds with love and attention, Steele reassured him.
“I’m okay, Dante. He can’t hurt me anymore. Dominic paid with his life. Greyson killed him for me.”
That’s when he dropped the bomb.
“Dimitri killed him,” he admitted. “My brother couldn’t pull the trigger. He was still a Fed. He wanted to, but a part of him wouldn’t let him, so Dimitri took his life.”
Tears filled Steele’s eyes.
That mattered so much. The family had protected him, and he owed Dimitri so much.
“I thought…”
“Everyone thinks he did, but he didn’t. I wanted to do it, but Dimitri handled it. When he was no longer a Fed, Greyson and I hunted down the two men who helped him do this to you. We each killed one. We all have that blood on our hands, Steele. We took their lives in repayment for what they took from me. You were vindicated, and I won’t tell you the details, but they suffered at our hands for each mark they put on you.”
Steele loved him, Greyson, and Dimitri even more.
“I don’t know what to say.”
“Say that we can have sex, because I’m really dying here. I missed you,” he said, running his hand across Steele’s erection. “I think you missed me too.”
Oh, he had.
Steele was up.
Erect.
And the man before him was exactly what he needed.
“I missed you. Come with me,” he said, taking his hand and pulling him to his feet so he could lead him to the bed. “You’re overdressed.”
It didn’t last long.
He was naked in seconds.
Then, he was on Steele, as they fell onto the bed.
They rolled around, until Dante was on top. “I want you to close your eyes, relax, and let me show you what we share. Later, you can take a ride on your sexy soldier.”
Oh, he would.
Dante began working down Steele’s chest. There were healed burns from cigarettes, and tears filled his eyes. This man suffered to keep them safe.
He may have been the soldier, but Steele…he was the strong one. So many equated him to the ‘woman’ in their relationship, just because he was soft-spoken and more gentle, but he was tough. Steele’s name was appropriate for him. He put him to shame when it came to tenacity.
This was the proof.
He survived.
As his mouth left kisses over each wound, offering healing the only way he could, a peace settled over both of them.
Gone was the fear.
Gone were the nerves.
Steele was good. He was in trusted hands.
As Dante got to his erection, he licked him from base to tip.
Steele shook.
Then he took him in his hand and gently began stroking him. He was already rock hard. He left kisses down the scar that Dominic’s men had left on him.
They wanted to destroy him, torture him, and ruin him, but they didn’t.
He was perfect this way too.
He was his.
His mouth healed, as he worked him in and out of his mouth.
“Jesus! You’re too sexy for your own good,” Steele muttered, as Dante worked him hard enough to make him want more and more.
Dante wanted to make him cum, but he knew what obstacle they had to overcome.
He set him free.
Steele was breathing heavily.
“I want to be buried in you, but you have to decide if you can do it.”
“I want to but…”
Dante was willing to take one for the team.
Baby steps.
“I really need you in me then. I miss feeling that,” he said, staring into his eyes. “Can you just fuck me so I can feel you taking me?” he asked.
Steele nodded.
“I got your present. It’s here,” Steele said, pulling the nightstand drawer open.
“Strawberry lube.”
Dante laughed. “It’s my favorite flavor. We’ll sleep in the pajama bottoms later. I have other pressing things to work on,” he said, flipping the cap open on the lube. He dumped a shitload onto Steele’s erection.
Then he licked him.
“Mmmmm.”
Steele shook.
“Where do you want me?” he asked. He knew his husband liked to face him. It was all about the tattoos and the position for him. For Dante, he liked the control of being behind him.
“Face to face.”
Some things didn’t change.
Dante dropped back, pulling him with him. They were mouth to mouth, chest to chest, and dick to dick.
“I love you,” Dante said, as he could feel the tentative nudge of his husband.
Their mouths met, and he slid home.
They both moaned.
Dante let Steele take control, as he wrapped his legs around his hips. Steele pushed off his body, so he could stare into his eyes. Then he began moving.
It was slow at first. As his erection slid in and out of Dante’s ass, he was filled with so much pleasure.
With one hand, he took Dante’s erection and began stroking him as he fucked him.
Dante was struggling not to cum.
AGAIN.
The visual, the feeling, and the way his husband was taking him…it reminded him of all the times they’d made love. Gray eyes met that aqua-y green.
That’s when Steele got more forceful. He began thrusting harder into his husband’s body, still never looking away.
“I love you. You’re perfect,” Dante said, as he moaned in pleasure.
Steele was close.
The pleasure was unbearable.
He’d missed this.
As he thrust home, one more time, he exploded apart at all the pleasure. Dante held him as he collapsed onto his body.
Steele’s breathing was the only sound in the room.
Dante ran his fingers up and down his back to soothe him. He wasn’t sure what the storm would bring. It had to be on his time, his decision, and his pace.
Even if the love of his life couldn’t offer more, there was still intimacy there, and he would still take it.
Love was worth it.
“I didn’t think I could ever do that again,” Steele finally admitted to his husband.
Dante didn’t move.
Steele was still buried in his ass, and it was comforting to have that connection.
“I knew you could. I believed you’d be back once you worked through it in your mind.”
Yeah, he’d been right. Even with that being said, Steele knew what was next.
It was his turn.
Here was where he was scared.
Dante could feel his heartbeat thumping against his body. He knew Steele was worried.
“If you can’t, tell me. I will love you no matter what. I’ll be your sexy boy toy,” he teased. “You’re the king of oral sex.”
And he was.
Steele lifted his head.
“Promise you won’t leave me if I can’t do this,” he said, staring right into his eyes.
“Babe, you were raped and abused. If you can’t do it, you never have to do it. We can have this. This is more than enough for me.”
And it was.
“I want to try. Please be gentle.”
That set the pace.
Dante rolled with him. Normally, he’d take him from behind. He was an ass man.
This time, he needed to be less man, more lover.
Dante began kissing him.
His mouth moved over his, as he gently stroked his own erection to get rock hard.
When he grabbed the lube, he poured so much on him, he was glossy.
“This bed will have to be burned,” Steele teased, trying to get though his nerves.
Dante laughed.
“Who was your first time with?” he asked, trying to distract him.
“My college roommate. We got drunk, we had sex, and he never spoke to me again,” Steele said. “He was embarrassed that he’d done it with a fag.”
Dante laughed. “I had sex with a girl. I’m the one who should be feeling the shame.”
Steele snorted. “What was it like?” he asked.
“Gross. That’s how I knew I wasn’t into women. Here was this gorgeous girl, who had been chasing me for months, and she was all breasts and pussy.”
Steele laughed. “Poor you.”
“Well, we get naked, and in my brother’s car, may I add. He was deployed, and I ‘borrowed’ it. So, she climbs on, and she awkwardly slips me into her.”
Steele was watching him.
“I didn’t enjoy it. I don’t really get the whole breast thing.”
“Right?” Steele said. “What do you do with them? It’s like having too many things to play with on the field. You need a stick and a ball, not all that other stuff.”
Dante was laughing. “She kept hitting me in the face with them, and all I kept thinking was…what the fuck is my studly brother thinking?”
Steele laughed.
“I’d fuck your brother…oh wait, I kinda am.”
Dante bit him on the neck. “Stop thinking about Greyson, or I’m telling Emma.”
Dante stroked himself. “Anyway, she was a virgin, and so was I. It was a mess. She got all weepy, and I wanted to freak out. It was the worst experience.”
“Who was next?” Steele asked.
“Her brother. Now, that was hot. Not as hot as my husband, but sixteen-year-old boy hot.”
Steele laughed. “What happened?”
“He was a virgin. I was gentle. I didn’t hurt him. We screwed around a lot after that.”
“There’s a message behind this, isn’t there?” Steele asked.
“There is. I won’t hurt you. I didn’t have much control then, but I didn’t want to hurt him. With you, I’d die before hurting you. Picture me, picture us, and focus on that. It’s going to hurt,” he said. “If you can’t, stop me. If you can, let me show you what I’ve missed.”
He nodded.
“Wait.”
“What?” he asked, freezing.
“I have to be honest.”
“Um, okay.”
“I made out with Dimitri today.”
Dante stared at him. “I’m sorry, but what? I know you’re not telling me this to turn me on, so…”
He explained.
Dante got it.
“Okay, well, now I have to know. Was it hot?” he asked, wiggling his eyebrows.
“Well, it wasn’t you, so it was more about torturing my mother. I figured you’d appreciate that.”
And he did.
His words also gave him butterflies.
“You’ll be the only man I’ll ever kiss again, Dante, and that’s why I’m telling you. When we put on these rings, I found the sexiest man ever.”
He grinned. “I love you.”
Steele stared up and into his eyes. “And I love you. Make love to me.”
Dante got into position. With the tip of his erection, he rubbed it gently against Steele’s ass.
Then he pulled out the lube and added more. Leaning over his body, he stared down at him. “I’ll tell you a secret,” he offered.
Steele looked up at him, and there was fear in his eyes.
“What?”
“I’ve seen Greyson naked. We look identical,” he offered, painting that picture for him.
Steele was focused on that.
Dante took that moment to slowly begin the slide into his husband’s body.
Steele tensed.
He found his mouth and kissed him. Their tongues did battle. It was a hard fought one too. They’d really damaged him. There was so much scar tissue, that Dante wanted to cry.
Not for him.
For Steele.
Before he knew it, he was all the way in. He set his mouth free.
“Are you okay?”
He nodded.
“Talk to me.”
“Are we talking exactly the same, or is that poetic license?” he asked.
Dante laughed. “The same.”
“Awesome. Fuck me. I’m having my own sexy fantasy.”
He snorted. “I hope it’s me you’re thinking about,” he teased.
Steele took his face in his hands.
“It’s only you. Ever. When they were hurting me, I was thinking about you, and how they couldn’t destroy me even as they taunted me.”
Tears filled Dante’s eyes.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t there to save you. I would have taken your place.”
His husband was sweet.
“Make love to me. Make me forget.”
He did. Slowly, he began moving in and out of his body, making sure to fill Steele with so much pleasure. He was hard again, and he didn’t think he was in pain.
“More,” Steele begged, as they were chest to chest.
Dante gave him everything he had. In fact, he could tell he was close to cumming again as he stroked him in time to his body sliding in and out of his.
Steele was rock hard.
Dante needed to catch up.
“Wait for me!” he ordered, picking up the speed. Dante pumped his hips, and with each thrust, Steele begged for more.
He gave him all he had.
“I can’t wait,” Steele muttered, as his husband jerked him off as he fucked his ass.
It was too much.
He exploded again, getting them dirty.
Dante was close. The way his body reacted, he knew it was coming.
Two more slides.
Steele looked up into his eyes.
“Fill me!”
He did.
The eruption was so fast, so hard, and so explosive, he couldn’t stay upright. He collapsed onto his husband’s body, and let the orgasm wash through him.
After a while, he slipped from his body, and rolled to his side.
“You okay?”
Steele cuddled against him. “We’re a mess.”
“But are you okay?”
He kissed him. “I’m happy. I’m back to being okay. I’m not broken, Dante. I’m not broken.”
Then the tears came.
Through them, Dante did want every good husband would do.
He held his spouse and loved him through the storm. He wasn’t there for him before, but from that moment on, he’d be the one to protect, love, honor, and cherish.
They were forever bound.
They were now one.
And nothing would stop that.
Steele Bentley had found his way home, and he was now a Croft. In the end, that was his salvation.
Because the family would always protect its own.