Chapter 18

CHAPTER 18

Garrison

Back at Alex's apartment, I stepped across the already familiar threshold with the confidence of someone coming home. It had been a hectic couple of days, dealing with the fallout of David Russo's funeral. Many people were furious that Alex would dare go so far as to drug his own family. A quick reminder that Valente had been a trusted ally of the family for decades usually shut them up.

Surely, if Valente could turn out to be a traitor, then drastic measures must be taken to ensure trust and loyalty. Or else the whole family structure might crumble.

As soon as he was back in his own apartment, Alex let out a huge sigh and collapsed on the couch.

"I can't believe that's finally over."

I followed until I was standing over the couch, staring down at Alex's prone form.

"Everything went better than I expected. When Valente grabbed Ghita, I thought we might be in trouble. I'm glad she managed to stay so calm."

Dark eyes looked up at me, bright as beetle shells. "She trusts me." Alex propped himself up on his elbows and tipped his head to the side so his shoulder-length hair fell dramatically over the side of his face. "Do you?"

"Do I trust you?" I repeated. I pretended to think for a moment, hemming and hawing over the question like it was a difficult math problem I couldn't possibly solve.

Alex slapped my leg, careful not to hit my bad knee. "Asshole."

Unable to help myself any longer, I joined Alex on the couch, kneeling over the other man and pinning his wrists to the cushions. "Yes. I trust you."

"Enough to stay?" One of Alex's legs wrapped around my hip. "Even though my life's not in danger anymore?"

I laughed and buried my face in Alex's neck to stifle the noise. "I doubt this is the last time someone is going to try and kill you. You have a bad habit of pissing people off." My laughter died down and I raised my head to look Alex in the eye, close enough to see flecks of green within the black. "But yes, I'll stay. So long as you keep your promise."

Alex's previous vow, that I would never have to harm another child, hung wordlessly between us.

Both of Alex's hands gripped the sides of my head and pulled me closer. "Of course." He pressed our lips together briefly. "And you have permission to smack me if I ever break that promise."

He kissed me again, deeper this time, and we stayed locked together for several minutes. It was a slow, gentle exchange, broken only when Alex suddenly flipped us over so I lay below him.

"All right, enough serious talk. I'm tired of being so boring."

"If you call poisoning a room full of your own relatives boring, I don't want to know what you call exciting."

But I already had an answer to that as Alex started undoing the buttons of my shirt.

We quickly stripped off all our clothes, not in the mood for taking things slow. However, as I tried to reposition us, Alex shoved me back down onto the couch.

"Nope. You stay right there. It's my turn."

It was a large couch, but still not big enough to accommodate both Alex and I. One of my legs hung over the edge of the cushion to rest on the floor, and my head pressed against the couch's arm. Yet, I wouldn't trade my position for anything as Alex spread my legs and slithered between.

The other man even took a moment to press a kiss to the scar on my knee before rutting our hips together in a pleasant exchange of friction.

The arousal that built under my skin felt lighter and more playful than usual. Like champagne bubbles traveling through my veins.

I almost didn't realize what was happening until Alex was reaching down to press one slicked finger inside me. Only when I felt the breach of my body did it hit me. I couldn't remember the last time I took this position during sex. Due to my size, and general demeanor, people usually assumed I'd want to be in charge.

Yet, Alex didn't even hesitate before claiming ownership of my body. One finger was immediately followed by a second, and they worked together to probe and stretch me in a way that few people had ever been brave enough to do before.

To be on the receiving end of that confidence was enough to leave me moaning, even before Alex's fingers struck against my deepest pleasure spot.

The two feelings together had me digging my nails into the cushions to keep from coming on the spot.

"Ready so soon," Alex teased, though his fingers never stopped moving. "You must be eager."

Pulling his fingers out of me, Alex sat back on his ankles and just admired me for a moment.

I tried not to squirm at the feeling of being so closely observed. I was forty-two, damn it. Far too old to feel like a blushing virgin.

"Get on with it already."

Shaking his head and clicking his tongue like a stern librarian, Alex ran one hand up my stomach, mapping the peaks and valleys of my muscles.

"Patience. Isn't that the lesson you taught me last time? But, I guess you have earned it. Saving my life so many times. You deserve a reward."

Alex's hand trailed back down until he found my cock, giving the shaft a few light strokes. The gesture obviously wasn't meant to achieve anything. It felt more like a greeting to get my attention.

Alex then held up a condom between two fingers, still sealed in the wrapper. He didn't even need to ask. A single raised eyebrow was more than enough to convey his question.

I considered it for a moment, truly weighing my options. If I insisted, I knew Alex would use the protection without complaint. Yet, I also knew that we were both clean. Alex had admitted to reading my medical records, and let me see his own as compensation. There really wouldn't be much risk. Certainly, no more risk than the bullets and backstabbing knives we faced every day.

Decision made, I grabbed the condom from Alex and tossed it aside.

Alex's eyes lit up, and he eagerly slicked his own bare cock with more lube. The silver barbell piercings darted between his fingers, and I shuddered as I imagined what they would feel like inside me.

Would they be cold, or would the metal be as warm as Alex's skin.

How hard would they feel?

Would they shift around with each movement?

Alex grabbed my undamaged leg just behind the knee and pushed it upward to open me up even more.

We'd barely lined up when, with one decisive thrust, the head of Alex's cock pushed its way inside my body.

I bit my lip to stifle my moans as I felt my sensitive muscles stretch. A mix of pleasure and pain raced up my spine and set my brain on fire.

Alex moaned and gripped harder onto my leg. "Fuck, you're tight. No one's fucked you in a while, have they, big guy?"

"No one's—" I gasped as Alex shoved in a little deeper. "No one's been brave enough to try."

Bracing his hands on my chest, Alex leaned close enough for our lips to brush. "You're a hard beast to tame, is that it? Hmmm. Challenge accepted."

Another little thrust of his hips pushed him inside just far enough for me to feel the first piercing pressing against the rim of my hole. It was cooler than the temperature of Alex's skin, but not as cold and unyielding as I'd imagined.

"Ready?" Alex asked, carefully watching my face for any trace of discomfort.

Breathing deep, I nodded.

In one steady thrust, Alex pressed the rest of the way inside me. His piercings slipped inside my body one by one, each bringing a little zing of pleasure as they stretched me in new ways.

As soon as he was all the way in, Alex pulled out again, moving faster this time.

I yelped as the piercings dragged against my rim again, this time teetering on the edge between pleasure and pain.

The last piercing had barely left me before Alex plunged back inside. Our hips crashed together, and my vision whited out for a moment. When I came back to my senses, Alex was fucking me in earnest; all the way out, then all the way in, without even a moment to pause in between.

I was a writhing mess on the couch. Alex's cock filled me so perfectly, and the unexpected stimulation of the piercings added a wild thrill. Reaching up, I tangled one hand in Alex's hair and dragged the man down into a heated kiss.

We moaned into each other's mouths, unwilling to part as Alex picked up the pace. The whole apartment filled with the sounds of slapping skin and low moans.

I closed my eyes, listening to the music of our shared pleasure and reveling in the feeling of Alex's repeated invasion.

Higher and higher the sensation built, until I was trembling under Alex's hand, threatening to fall apart with the slightest touch.

A particularly hard thrust seemed to punch deep into my gut. My spine arched so drastically, I lifted Alex off the couch, and my fingers clawed at the cushions as I came. I trembled through the aftershocks that raced along my nerves, feeling my own pleasure spill hot and wet across my belly.

Alex pressed inside me a few more times before following me over that edge. A sudden surge of warmth filled me and I held Alex as close as I could.

In that moment, if I could have melded us together, I would have.

Eventually, we relaxed enough to separate, but Alex didn't go far. He collapsed on top of me, limbs sprawling in every direction as he used my chest as a pillow.

"You know, almost dying was worth it if this is my reward."

I pinched Alex in a sensitive spot just under the ribs. "Don't joke about that."

Alex flinched but didn't remove himself from his position draped across me like a blanket. "What, it's the truth. Besides, what do I have to worry about when you're here to save me?"

Running a hand over Alex's head, I brushed a stray lock out of his face. "Yes, I'll be here, as long as you'll have me."

The smile that Alex gave me was not the sarcastic smirk or the over exaggerated cheer that the man usually presented to the world. No, this was a genuine expression filled with naked joy that Alex unfortunately didn't express very often.

"Great. Then you can start by letting me have you again." He sat up and ground our hips together, obviously eager for round two even before he'd fully finished catching his breath.

I simply reclined back on the couch and ran my hands over whatever bit of Alex's skin I could reach.

"All right. I trust you."

As I looked up into Alex's eyes, I knew we were both thinking the same thing.

" I trust you " sounded a lot like "I love you."