Page 19

Chapter 19

Henry

Lance caught my eye over Hudson and Jack’s heads, a soft smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. Jack had been going a mile a minute since the show ended. The lights had come up, he’d blinked as if he’d been in another world, and then the non-stop chatter had started.

Hudson loved it because he loved talking about his favorite theater shows.

Lance loved watching them rehash the entire show.

And I just loved seeing Jack happy, loved, and protected.

I could love and protect him just fine on my own—and I would, every second of every day—but it meant the absolute world to me that my brother, my dad, and my friend loved Jack like family. Between the four of us, we could give him something he hadn’t had since his mom passed away.

The night air had a bite, but the brisk walk between the tall buildings kept us fairly comfortable. Jack’s sweet voice danced on the cool breeze as he recalled one of his favorite songs from the second act.

Lance lifted his chin toward a little bakery, and I knew Hudson and Jack would both be perfectly satisfied to grab coffee and pie as our nightcap, but I wasn’t in the mood for dessert.

I shook my head, and Lance nodded in agreement while mouthing, “The D word.”

With a chuckle, I steered Jack toward the crosswalk. Grabbing a shower and cuddling in bed with Jack was all the dessert I had on my mind.

Okay, fine. Maybe I wasn’t completely against exploring the various facets of the D word .

We made our way through the silver and glass hotel lobby, Jack and Hudson still going on and on about the show. When we stepped off the elevator and stopped in front of our rooms, Jack paused, glanced around, and blinked. His big blue eyes took in the hallway before landing on me. “I didn’t know we were here,” he mumbled.

Lance and I laughed. Hudson let himself be pulled into Lance’s side. And Jack’s forehead wrinkled with a tiny frown. “No, but seriously, I thought we’d stop somewhere for drinks or something. I didn’t realize we walked all the way back here.”

“We’ll get breakfast in the morning before we head out,” I promised.

As I swiped the keycard, Hudson pulled Jack into a hug. “I’m so glad you loved it. I have a new musical buddy. ”

“Hey,” Lance grumbled with a grin. “What am I? Chopped liver?”

Jack squeezed Hudson back before letting him go and hugging Lance. “We can all geek out over theater together.” His gorgeous blue eyes met mine. “Oh my god, we’re theater kids. There was a group of theater kids in high school, but Joseph would have shit himself if I’d ever asked to join theater.”

I took his hand and brought it to my mouth for a kiss. “Being theater kids sounds perfect.”

“I always wanted to be a theater kid,” Hudson said with a broad grin. “I was into musicals in high school, but we didn’t have a big enough theater department to make it happen.”

We said our goodnights and made our way into our separate rooms.

Just as I pulled Jack into my arms, a knock sounded at the connecting door.

“Go away,” I growled over Jack’s giggle.

Another knock.

“I swear to god, Hudson,” I muttered as I took a step toward the door and flung it open.

My brother, who must have started stripping before the door even closed behind him, stood there in his boxer briefs with a toothbrush hanging out of his mouth. Grinning, wiping away toothpaste, he said, “Don’t forget to get your fill of the D word.”

With a hard hand to his chest, I shoved him and shut the door. His laughter was almost as loud as Jack’s as I locked the door. “How did he undress and get his toothbrush so fast? ”

Jack giggled and fell over on the bed.

“Do you want to watch a movie? Go to sleep?” I asked as I kicked off my shoes and removed my tie while he continued laughing. “Or just lay there and laugh yourself silly?”

Jack propped himself up on his elbows and watched me. All silliness gone, heat blazed in his eyes, his lip caught between his teeth. “Can I shower first?”

All I could do was nod. He rose from the bed, his eyes never leaving mine, and slowly worked every piece of clothing from his body until he stood there in front of me with just a pair of neon purple bikini underwear.

With a deep breath, I spoke barely above a whisper, “You have about ten seconds to get that pretty little ass into the bathroom before I throw you on this bed, shower or no shower.”

Jack’s eyes went wide, and he turned with a yelp of laughter while grabbing his bag. The bathroom door clicked shut a moment later.

While the shower ran, I fished lube from my bag and placed it on the bedside table. I turned down the bed, turned off the lights, clicked the television on, and set it on mute. Busying myself hanging up our shirts and pants, I tidied up until Jack called for me.

Worried something was wrong, I cracked open the bathroom door. “You okay?”

“Just lonely,” he teased, his blond hair plastered to his forehead and a big grin on his face.

Grateful he’d had whatever private time he needed, and there was still enough hot water, I stripped off my underwear and climbed in with him .

The wet heat of his body against mine went straight to my cock. “You just miss me, or did you have something in mind?”

Jack’s mouth met mine in a needy kiss, the taste of him as potent as the sweetest cocktail. “This shower is a lot bigger than the one at home,” he murmured against my lips.

Home.

I loved when he let himself lean into that confidence. Let himself think of Haven Grove and our apartment as home.

“True.” My big hands traveled from his shoulders to his pecs, down his torso to his lower back, and ended the journey with a handful of his perfect ass.

When Jack turned in my arms and pressed his chest against the tiles, my eyes landed on the travel-sized bottle of lube he’d smuggled into the shower.

“We could have some fun in here before we go to bed.” The fiery glance he gave me over his shoulder just about did me in.

But more than the lust and desire burning bright between us, the trust and soul-deep intimacy we shared melted me to the core. This man who had been mistreated, unloved, and lonely for so long had given me his heart. Handed it right over for safe keeping because he trusted me. And in return, he’d stolen mine—just plucked it right from my chest. He owned my heart, owned my soul.

Owned me, from here to eternity if he’d have me.

So, it wasn’t just sex. Wasn’t just fun in the shower—although, I planned to take full advantage of the space. It was the fact the universe had somehow seen fit to drop this gorgeous sweetheart of a man smack dab in the middle of my midwestern postage stamp of a town. And Jack had found his way to me. Why me? How was I so lucky? I didn’t know. All I knew was that I hadn’t been looking for love—really and truly, I’d come to accept that I likely wasn’t going to mesh well with most people when it came to anything outside of acquaintances and the occasional friendship beyond my family—and then BAM!

There he was.

Jack.

A friend I hadn’t known I needed.

The perfect filling for a Jack-shaped hole in my heart I didn’t even know existed.

Jack was my person, plain and simple.

With the steamy air billowing around us, I pressed my chest to his back and nibbled along his jawline, my hands gripping his pecs before traveling down his stomach. “Tell me what you want.”

Jack whimpered and rolled his hips so his ass rubbed against my cock. “Anything. Please, Henry. I just want you touching me.”

First, with soft kisses to the back of his neck and each shoulder, I trailed my lips down his spine as I dropped to my knees. Nuzzling my nose into the little divot just above his ass, I couldn’t help the smile when Jack whimpered and thrust his ass in my face. We’d learned a lot about each other over the time we’d spent together since he came to town, and one of the things I knew best about Jack was that he loved to be rimmed. And he knew I absolutely loved to bury my face in his ass and feast on him.

By the time I’d teased and tongued his hole open, Jack’s knees kept nearly buckling, and his whimpers told me he could come with just my tongue in his ass.

While I’d enjoyed making that happen a time or two, I wasn’t ready for our shower fun to be over just yet. I stood, grabbed the lube, and pressed my body to Jack’s. “What do you want?”

He grunted in frustration. “You inside me. Please, Henry. Make me come.”

“In here or in bed?” I flipped the cap on the lube and coated my cock.

“Yes. Here. Bent over the sink. In the bed. All of it.”

Shit.

Who was I to argue?

With the head of my cock pressing slowly and gently against his entrance, I eased in inch by inch. The tight heat of Jack’s body hugged me, and I worked my way into his body. After several long, slow thrusts in which the angle wasn’t quite right, knees banged the tile wall, hands fought to find purchase anywhere , and skin prickled with goosebumps on the side not getting the hot water, we quickly realized shower sex wasn’t nearly as fabulous as porn made it out to be. We gave it a shot, but Jack giggled as the water turned cooler. “Maybe we mark shower sex off our bucket list? Guess we’re not missing much with a tiny shower at home.”

We stepped out of the shower and dried with big, fluffy towels. When Jack flipped off the bright overhead light and wiped the condensation from the mirror, my dick perked right back up and took notice.

Jack’s beautiful blue eyes caught mine in the mirror, and he chewed on the edge of his towel. Never taking his eyes from mine and keeping the towel between his hips and the solid edge of the sink counter, Jack bent at the waist and propped himself on his elbows.

With his ass spread open for me in gorgeous invitation, I quickly grabbed the lube to reapply. Gripping his shoulders, never taking my eyes from his intense gaze in the mirror, I lined up and slid back into him.

Like coming home.

The way his body opened for me, molded itself to my dick, and held me tight was absolute perfection.

But the love and trust in Jack’s eyes as he stared back at me in the mirror was the truest form of intimacy. Open and bare, we clung to each other. Right then and there, in that sensual moment in the hotel bathroom, and through the trials and pain of our pasts, we held tight, journeying toward our future.

Together.

Jack pushed up on his hands and my arms automatically went around him, bringing his back to my chest and burying my face in his neck as I thrust in and out of his tight heat.

“Wait,” he panted. “Stop.”

I froze. “What?”

“I want to be in bed with you. Want to feel you on top of me, see your face when you come in me.” His hands gripped my forearms.

Gently, I turned his face and brought our mouths together in a slow, needy kiss. “I love you so damn much,” I murmured against his lips.

“Love you too,” Jack whispered.

We made our way to the bed, and Jack stretched out on one side of the mattress. I chuckled and joined him, knowing he was leaving the other side of the bed for sleeping when we made an inevitable wet spot.

“What?” He blinked at me, those big blue eyes trying to look innocent. “No reason to mess up the entire bed just yet.” Then he spread his legs, wrapped his arms around my neck, and kissed me with so much love and trust I thought my heart might explode.

Adjusting his hips so my still-slick cock pressed against his hole once again, I eased into Jack’s body, loving every single whimper and groan he gave me. With his legs wrapped around my waist and my arms anchored under his body, hands gripping his shoulders, I pulled out almost all the way before sinking back in.

Over and over, his tight ring of muscle stretched open for me, our sweaty skin slapped together, and Jack cried out each time I slid deep enough to press my balls against him. The clean scent of soap mixed with sweat and lube, a potent mixture that teased my senses.

Jack held me tight against him, his face buried in my neck as I slowly thrust into him again and again. “Henry,” he gasped. “Oh shit, Henry. Oh my god, I’m so close.”

With my arms under his shoulders, I brought my hands up to cup the sides of his face and pressed my forehead to his. “Come for me,” I demanded, surging deeper into his body to elicit a moan of wrecked pleasure. “That’s it, Jack. Let go, baby. Give it to me. ”

On a final thrust, Jack came apart in my arms, his warm release pooling between our bodies as I held him close. As wave after wave of his orgasm washed over Jack, his body gripping me tightly, I gave myself over to the ecstasy and exploded deep inside him.

When we finally came down from our high, Jack’s cum smeared between us, I eased from him slowly. Losing that most intimate of connections had both of us wincing and shivering, so I kissed him and quickly made my way to the bathroom for a washcloth.

Once we were both semi cleaned up, I gathered Jack in my arms and pulled the blankets over us.

Just as I thought we’d both slip into a well-loved, sated sleep, Jack whispered, “Can I ask you something?” His soft lips feathered over my chest with each word.

“You know you can. Always.”

He took a deep breath and shifted so we were face to face. “Am I making things hard on you? Like in Haven Grove and with your business?”

Like a swift sucker punch to the solar plexus, his question knocked me for a loop. “What? No.” I huffed out a breath and tried to take in another. “What?” I repeated. “I don’t understand what you mean.”

Jack’s eyes sparkled with tears in the dim light from the muted television, and he shook his head. “Like, would it be better for you and the Riggs family if I wasn’t around?”

I propped up on an elbow and cupped his face. “Where is this coming from? Do you want to leave? Is something bothering you?”

Jack sat up, facing me with his legs crossed. “If things were bad because I was there, would you tell me? Would you ask me to leave?”

I sat up and faced him. “I would never ask you to leave.” Some silent part of my heart set off an alarm. Is this Jack wanting to leave? Does he feel like he has to stay? “I’d never force you to stay either. You are free to make whatever choices you want, I hope you know that.”

A tear streamed down Jack’s face. “But if I was making things worse for you, would you tell me?”

I reached for his hands. “Babe, what’s wrong? Why these questions? Did something happen?”

“Would you tell me to leave?” Jack persisted.

“No, never.”

“Even if me being there was a problem for you?”

“You aren’t a problem. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.” I cupped his chin and lifted his face, so our eyes met. “But if there’s something bothering you, you have to let me know. If you need to leave, I’d never hold you back.”

“Do you want me to stay?”

I cocked my head. “What? Of course, I want you to stay.” That alarm sounded again. “But I won’t ask you to stay if it means keeping you from something else, something better.” Brushing a thumb over his cheek, I asked, “Where is this coming from?”

Jack took a shuddery breath. “I’m sorry, I should have told you sooner, but I knew you’d get angry, and I thought I could just keep it tucked away. But his words just keep eating at me, and I keep worrying that he’s right. What if I am making things hard for you? Taking away business? Messing things up for the Riggs family name. ”

A fiery ball of anger torched through my chest. “He who? What who said?” I worked hard to keep the words as neutral as possible. Who the hell would have told Jack he was a problem for me?

The answer punched me in the face even before I finished thinking the question.

Fucking Larry.

“Brother Larry,” Jack started, but he paused when his voice cracked. He took another deep breath. “He said I was making things bad for you and the whole Riggs family; I was ruining you, and I needed to do the right thing for you by just leaving town.”

My blood boiled, and a tightness clutched my chest. That fucking self-righteous piece of shit prick.

“When was this?” I asked, trying my best to keep the low growl from my voice.

Jack shrugged. “That day your dad and I were working on the truck.”

Working to keep my jaw relaxed so as not to grind my teeth into smithereens, I breathed deeply through my nose for a three count. “Did he also tell you that I punched him in his damn face that day?”

Jack’s eyes went wide. “What? That was you?” A hysterical giggle burbled from him. “Oh my god, I wondered why his cheek was so swollen and red. He was pissed about that.”

“Good. Serves him right coming into my business, our business, and trying to tell us what the hell we can and can’t do in the name of his parishioner’s virtue.”

I didn’t think it was possible, but Jack’s eyes grew even wider. “What? What do you mean? What did he say? ”

Shit.

Jack squeezed my hands in his. “Henry, what did he say?”

I sighed. “He said we were causing the good people of Haven Grove to sin and sending out porn.”

Jack wrinkled his nose. “Wait, what?”

“Encouraging alcohol consumption by pairing it with cake, enticing people to sin.”

The frown on Jack’s face—that cute little scowl line between his brows—was so damn adorable I nearly forgot I was pissed. “But that’s ridiculous.”

“Mmhm.”

“And porn? What porn?”

I rolled my eyes. “He’s mad about the newsletter showing up in most inboxes saying Cake and Cock… ”

Jack’s mouth formed a little O. “I told you we should have fixed that.”

Shaking my head, I leaned in to kiss him. “There’s nothing to fix. People either unsubscribe if they don’t like it, or they get a laugh out of it, or they don’t even notice it. It’s something that gets people interested, and interested people are more likely to come see what we’re about.” I nuzzled my nose against his. “Plus, now that I know Larry is mad about it, I feel like we can’t change it just on principle.”

Jack chewed on his bottom lip but nodded. He let me pull him into my arms and ease us back down to the mattress. When he’d tucked himself into my chest, he spoke. “You really wouldn’t ask me to stay?” There was a hint of challenge and a lot of uncertainty in his words.

“There’s a big difference between wanting and asking . I want you to stay in Haven Grove. Want you to be by my side for anything and everything for as long as we’re given.” I kissed the top of his head. “But I won’t ever ask you to stay. It’s not fair to you. I’ll never stand in your way. If at any time you feel like there’s something more out there for you, I’ll step aside and let you go.”

“That’s kinda sweet and kinda sad.”

I smiled and ran my hand up and down his back. “Haven Grove is my home, and I want you to share that home with me forever. But I won’t ever make you stay. Forcing someone to stay somewhere they don’t want to be only leads to regret and heartbreak.”

Jack made a little noise and pressed a kiss to my neck. “So, even if I want to be asked to stay?”

I shook my head again. “Brat,” I teased, and he giggled. “No, I won’t ask. I’ll show you how much I love you every single day. I’ll make living in Haven Grove something you’ll hopefully never want to leave. But I’ll never put me before you and ask you to stay if there’s something more in life you want to experience.”

Jack sighed. “I love you. You’re too good for me, but I’m never letting you go.” He pulled back and kissed my chin. “And if there’s anything in life I want to experience, I’ll ask you to take me there. We’ll travel, we’ll explore, and we’ll always come home.” He sealed his words with a press of his lips to mine. “Together.”

With that, we drifted off to sleep.

Jack’s giggle woke me some time later, and I groggily checked the clock.

Middle of the night .

Then a sound caught my attention, and Jack giggled again as he wiggled his ass against my cock.

What’s a guy to do when he wakes up to a horny boyfriend in his bed and his very vocal brother having sex in the next room? Obviously, I had no choice but to drown out Hudson and Lance.

Jack was completely on-board and eager to help me out.

As Lance drove us the last few miles toward Haven Grove, Jack’s head resting against me while I hugged him close, I couldn’t help the smile teasing my lips.

The trip to the city had been spectacular. Sure, the sex had been amazing, as it always was with Jack. He and I clicked like we’d been perfectly designed for each other. Being with him sexually was one of those things that just made sense after years and years of never really finding the right connection.

But more than the sex, the time away spent with Jack and our friends had been so meaningful. Getting to know my brother as an adult was something I hadn’t known I needed to do more of. Hudson would always be my little brother, but hanging out with him, seeing him happy and in love, it healed a little corner of my heart I hadn’t realized was still hurting for those two little boys who lost their momma all those years ago.

Reconnecting with Lance warmed my soul. That man had been one of the only reasons the Riggs family hadn’t collapsed and blown away like blossoms off peach trees way back then. But it was good getting to see Lance be his true self, and watching him be so head over heels for Hudson was a smile-inducing mixture of kinda strange but mostly heartwarming.

And being right by Jack’s side as he flourished with new experiences, new friends, and a safe place to be himself was quite possibly the most rewarding moment of my life. Even if we’d just been exploring the city as friends, I still would have felt like a proud parent watching Jack blossom. But knowing we were there together because we’d connected on a deeper level than I ever had with anyone in my life meant that the entire trip to the city had been humbling, exciting, and left me with such a warm, contented feeling I was still floating as we neared Haven Grove.

Breakfast that morning had been just one more example of things I hadn’t known I was missing in my life. Gathering around the table with a simple meal of coffee, juice, bacon, and eggs as the four of us laughed, teased, and made plans for future happenings with our family and businesses had warm, comforting hands gently wrapping around my heart. The simple act of a meal with friends—the people I called family—was the soul hug my heart had been desperately seeking for so many years.

Once we’d unloaded the truck and said our goodbyes—although, we were meeting up for dinner with Dad to talk business—Lance and Hudson headed off to catch up on the work they’d missed, and Jack and I tossed our bags on the couch before taking the stairs right back down to the Roadhouse .

A harried Sam met us with a look that told me he was both relieved to see us and irked we’d been gone.

“Shit,” I muttered. “That bad?”

Sam huffed. “It’s not been good. Just made it through the lunch rush. Sent Kayla home throwing up. I need four more pairs of hands if I’m ever gonna to get caught up in the kitchen. The register is one hundred percent off—probably over but could be under. We need more of almost everything, and the truck won’t be here until right around dinnertime because it got a flat tire.” He ran a hand over his face. “Your buddy Larry has been spewing shit all around town trying to convince people to boycott us.” Sam threw a towel my way. “I’ve had to piss since this morning. I’m taking a break.”

As he headed toward the restroom, he pointed at Jack.

“Your cakes are pretty much wiped out. People love those damn things. Better get to baking because all I’ve heard since you’ve been gone is Jack’s cake this, and Jack’s cake that.”

Jack’s cheeks pinked and he pulled the collar of his shirt up to rub it over his chin—I never wanted to change the quirky things that made Jack Jack , but I’d noticed with a happy heart that he’d slowly and surely been easing away from the deeply engrained trauma response.

Sam just shook his head with a good-natured smile and headed for his break.

I pulled Jack close and kissed the side of his head. “I’m a fan of Jack’s cake too,” I murmured.

His giggle was exactly what I needed. Jack turned his head and looked up at me. “I need to get a bunch of ingredients if the order didn’t come in. Can I borrow the truck to head up the road to the store? If I time it right, I can at least have something ready for the dinner rush, and still get everything else mostly restocked for tomorrow.”

Nuzzling my nose against his before brushing my lips over his pretty mouth, I closed my eyes and breathed him in deeply. “Wish I could drive you.”

Jack accepted another kiss and whimpered a bit when we finally broke apart. “I do a pretty good job with the stick shift now.” I huffed out a laugh when he snickered at the innuendo. “Sam will have your head if you leave him again. I’ll hurry.” He batted his eyelashes. “Please?”

I nodded toward the hook where my truck keys hung. “Do not hurry. Be careful.”

“Yes, Daddy,” Jack teased.

I swatted him on the ass as he scurried away.

And then I turned to tackle the mess that had accumulated while we’d been off gallivanting in the city.

Two hours later, I had the register balanced. The kitchen was cleaned up and reorganized. And I’d helped Sam prepare as much as possible for the dinner rush.

I took a break and checked my phone.

No texts from Jack.

I calculated what time he left, how long it would take him to get to the big discount store, shop for ingredients, and get back home.

He could have been back by now.

But he also could have run into traffic, had trouble finding what he was looking for, been lollygagging in the store. Anything, really.

After all, he hadn’t done a lot of solo shopping trips. I needed to just let him have some freedom and be on his own a bit.

Or maybe something was wrong. He could have had car trouble—a flat, overheated, anything. Maybe he was tired and fell asleep. Did he check the gas before he left?

I tapped the screen to call Jack.

No answer.

I texted him. The message was delivered, but he didn’t read it.

A coil of worry and fear wound itself up tightly in my belly.

Maybe he was driving and couldn’t answer. I didn’t want him texting and driving.

Yeah, he was likely just being a safe driver.

Or maybe something was wrong.

I called my dad.

“What’s up?” Dad said in way of greeting.

“Are you home?”

“No, heading back from running some errands. Need something?”

“Jack ran up the road to the store to get some ingredients because our truck didn’t show up on time. He should have been back by now—he also might just be taking his time. But he’s not answering calls or texts.”

“I’ll come by once I’m back in town. He in your truck?”

“Yeah,” I said, the dread in my gut building with each second.

“I’ll keep an eye out. Might have just stopped to talk to Lance or Hudson.”

“Maybe,” I said, not really believing the words. Jack would have answered if he was with Lance or Hudson .

“Try to stay calm. I’ll be there in a bit.” Dad disconnected the call.

Stay calm.

Yeah, right.

But the delivery truck pulled up out back, and I had no choice but to recruit Sam to help me bring in the inventory so we could get finished in time for the dinner rush.

Every beat of my heart, every moment Jack didn’t text back or call, brought bright-hot bombs of fear exploding in my chest.