Page 60 of His Country
Ethan dropped forward, kissing the back of Aiden’s neck as he slammed his hips two more times, gasping as he came. His entire body trembled across Aiden’s oversensitive back, hands digging into his skin so hard they were sure to leave little halfmoon indents.
Aiden slowly dropped until he was lying face down on the bed, his belly sticky with cum. Ethan lay across him, face buried on the back of his neck where he kissed him lazily. His breath came out in little huffs strong enough to ruffle the back of Aiden’s sweaty hair.
They trembled together as Aiden’s body came back online. Like a grid powering up, he began to feel his toes, legs, and arms in sequence. Between the sticky warmth along his back and the weight in his eyelids, he didn’t want to wake up. He was pleasantly sated, body worn out and mind quiet. Even his heart was full. That was so new he didn’t know he was missing it. But now that he’d had it, he didn’t want to lose it.
Ethan let him stay floating, pulling away from him with a huff of oversensitivity before disappearing. He came back with a wet rag, hastily cleaning them off. When he crawled back into bed, pulling the stained quilt over them, Aiden turned to bury his head into his neck.
“Was that okay?” Ethan asked softly, voice rough. “I didn’t…I know sometimes I can be a little aggressive.”
Aiden snorted. He didn’t think it was possible for Ethan to be insecure. Lifting his head, he looked up through his lashes. “I haven’t had a chance to confer with my colleague yet?—”
“Your colleague being your dick?”
“Yes. But preliminary reports all indicate a positive—” Aiden didn’t get to finish before Ethan was smothering him in kisses, even biting his cheek when Aiden had the audacity to laugh at him.
They ended up tangled together, so close it was hard to tell where one began and the other ended. Ethan glanced over Aiden’s shoulder to look at the alarm clock on the bedside table.
“Oh hey,” he said, plopping down on the pillow. “Happy New Year’s.”
Aiden had forgotten what day it was. “You too.”
“You got any plans?”
“Nope. Told Frank I was taking a couple of days. As long as Isaac doesn’t burn down the farm, I’m all yours. If you want me.”
Ethan settled his arm over Aiden’s hip, fingers tracing lazy circles on his heated skin. “I’ve got a few ideas.” He leaned in to kiss him again when they felt the bed dip.
Sugar had her front paws on the bed, glaring at them as if to ask if they were done being gross. Ethan laughed, patting the bed until she jumped up to curl up at the end with a dramatic huff.
“Happy New Year’s to you too, Sugar,” he called to her, but she was already asleep.
Aiden closed his eyes. Between Ethan’s steady breaths and the familiar weight at his feet, he couldn’t think of a single resolution he wanted to make. He already had more than he’d ever thought he could have.
Opening his eyes, he traced the lines of Ethan’s face. The way the light from the TV flickered across the slopes and valleys, and how his lips arced up in a perfect little bow. He’d never noticedthat before. Aiden hoped he’d never stop noticing new things about Ethan.
“I’ve never kissed anyone for New Years,” he admitted, so softly he wasn’t sure if Ethan heard him.
Ethan hummed softly, tugging Aiden closer. “I never want to kiss anyone else.”
Somewhere there were probably fireworks popping. Bright colors exploding against a dark sky as the rest of the world celebrated a new year. Aiden was glad he was missing them.
EPILOGUE
Aiden didn’t go to Everett and Billy’s wedding. Not really. He lingered in the tree line beyond the ceremony, Sugar panting at his side. In the shade of the trees, he couldn’t hear the words the officiant spoke. But he had never put much stock in words. Not when he could see the way Everett and Billy looked at each other.
Dressed in nice suits, they still looked at each other the way they did that first night. Aiden thought at the time it had looked like rain and light, but he realized that was probably what loved looked like.
Standing under an archway draped in lace, the view of Montana wildflowers in the background, even Aiden thought it was a nice ceremony. True to what Isaac said, it was intimate. Only thirty people were seated in white folding chairs, hands to chests and tears in eyes that were trained on the happy couple. Billy couldn’t stop holding Everett’s hand, bouncing on the balls of his feet as his smile brightened with each moment. Everett looked fond, holding Billy’s hand like it was precious.
Resting his head against the bark of a spindly trunk he breathed in the peaty scent. Carol must have blanketed the place in flowers—muted waves of pastels waved in the breeze asthe officiant waxed poetic. Photographers discreetly dressed in black darted back and forth, capturing every moment.
Everett was famous and the world wanted to see him marry the first man of football. No doubt Aiden would see some of these pictures splashed across magazines at the supermarket checkout line.
He still felt a little bit of pain when looking at the couple. But it was a different kind of pain. One born from guilt and terrible decisions rather than bitterness. Aiden hadn’t spoken to either of them since the night Everett confronted him in the paddock. He didn’t know if he deserved to. Or what he would even say. Maybe someday he’d figure it out. Find the strength and the courage. The self-worth. But for now, he was happy for them. Truly, happy for them.
Every eye in the place was on the happy couple. With the exception of a bright pair of coffee-colored irises.
Their relationship would never look like the one draped in lace and wildflowers. Ethan and Aiden’s dates looked more like quiet nights watching bad TV or racing each other across the hills. Aiden reckoned there wasn’t a single trail in the area they hadn’t ridden together. Even Sugar had grown fond of this new person in their lives, appreciating the expensive orthopedic dog beds Ethan had all over his apartment and clinic. He even bought her expensive dog food. Aiden still snuck her bacon.