Chapter Twenty-Two

Denton

I took a deep breath and released it, then did it again when it had no effect on slowing down the beat of my heart at the sight of Victor when he stepped out of the bathroom. It was the first time I'd seen him dressed in a suit and holy fuck did he look hot enough to steam any creases from my suit.

I took a shaky step towards him and stopped for fear I'd do something crazy, like attack him with the hunger that never ceased to amaze me.

I swept my gaze over him once more and drank in the sight of him. He'd gone into the bathroom half-an-hour ago to get dressed for the wedding as neither of us had any restraint when it came to being naked in the same room together.

Not always naked! A snarky voice reminded me. The day of the Pride event hadn't been the only time we'd not been able to control ourselves. Time and time again, I found myself drawn to the man now standing in front of me, nervously chewing on his full, pink lower lip.

"Do I look alright?" he mumbled past the lip.

The dove gray suit gave him the illusion of being taller due to the flattering cut of the material. He'd paired it with a pale pink shirt which, because of the golden glow to his skin from the sun, made it pop. The deep pink silk tie was a nice touch, as were the polished black shoes.

Another step closer and I got the full effect of the aftershave I bought him at the last place we'd stopped. He smelled like a little bit of heaven. The musk scent had some oriental tones to it that smelled divine on Victor. He coughed, and I realized I'd not responded.

"You look beautiful." I came closer and ran a finger down the length of his tie. The thought popped right into my head and came right out of my mouth. "In fact, I wish I was the lucky one getting married today."

A wrinkle appeared between his brows. "You want to marry Leeson?" he asked, sounding confused and more than a little miffed.

A grin tugged at my lips as I shook my head. "No." I brushed my lips against his, holding his gaze. "You. I wish I was the one lucky enough to be marrying you."

His breath hit my face as his lips parted and formed a perfect O.

He stood like that, frozen to the spot, and I enjoyed his stunned reaction, which wasn't an outright rejection of the idea that wriggled its way into my brain and lodged somewhere in my heart. It might not have been intentional, but fuck, I loved the idea.

"So that's not a no?" I asked, feeling the need to clarify what exactly his reply might be.

"You wanna marry me?" he whispered, almost like he was frightened of speaking aloud.

"Yes," I answered without a second"s hesitation. "Maybe not right now," I added when his eyes widened right before me, making them appear huge in his face. "But in the future, after we've lived together, and you know all my flaws." I added the latter to lighten the mood, only Victor's expression never changed.

"You wanna marry me?" he repeated, like the needle had gotten stuck on the record.

"Yes." I added all the weight of feeling I had to being lucky enough to have this man in my life, forever.

"Wow." He ran his tongue over his lips and then my arms were full of a heavenly smelling man as I barely had time to register he'd moved.

His kiss was fervent enough to knock me back a step and barely keep us upright as I clutched at him. Was he saying yes?

Was this a yes?

The thought nagged enough that it was going to give me a headache. "Is that a yes?" I groaned against his lips.

"Yes." He pulled back and my heart melted and landed somewhere between our shoes. Everything I wanted was right here in my arms. There was nothing more that would make me happier. "You can't take it back now."

Laughter rippled through me at the absurdity of the moment and at me wanting to take it back. "Great, ‘cause you can't take the yes back either."

He clung on to me, the smile heartbreakingly beautiful as it lit his whole damn face. "Then that's good, ‘cause you're stuck with me and my faults."

I gave a shudder, really making it so I appeared worried as I asked, "And what would they be?"

His nose ran down the side of my neck, his lips landing on my pulse. "I have to have…" he moved to peek up at me from under his eyelashes in a move that was sweet, "sex. The hot steamy kind where I get to play firefighter with your pole."

Sweet, hell no. His intention was dirty and made a mockery of that look. A look that went straight to my hardening cock. I groaned aloud at the visual he painted so clearly, right as someone hammered on the door.

"You're gonna pay for this," I murmured, stepping back to give him a wicked smile as I adjusted my cock in his line of sight. "Now you have to think about how hard I am as you are Leeson's groomsman and hope no one notices why I'm limping."

"Oh gods," he groaned as I walked to the door, grinning like a fool.

Ollie stood on the other side, looking more than a little flushed with kiss-swollen lips. He didn't wait for me to invite him in. He pushed past like the devil was chasing him. Before I could consider what was going on, Beckett appeared with a glint in his eyes. One I"d seen a time or two in the mirror after I'd gotten hot and heavy with Victor, but something had stopped us from taking things further.

I could do the math easily as I nodded at Beckett, keeping my thoughts to myself. "Is it time to head up?"

"It's time for something!" he growled in Ollie's direction.

The man in question didn't look in Beckett's direction, acting like Victor was the only one in the room right then. "We need to leave, or we'll be late for Leeson's big day," Ollie said in a breathy voice that made him sound like he'd been running.

Victor coughed and hooked his arm through Ollie's. "Come on, Leeson will be ready for us."

He rushed Ollie out of the room, and I followed at a slower pace, eyeing Beckett. "Everything okay?" I asked, keeping my voice low so the men now heading down the busy passageway didn't hear.

"How can a man so beautiful not see his worth?"

I locked the door and turned to face Beckett, who wore a frown as he watched the men disappear. "Ollie has dated a few assholes, from what I've heard."

"Yeah, I gathered that much." He sighed when his attention focused on me. "If it takes my last damn breath, he's going to see that not all men are assholes!"

I slapped him on the shoulder and nodded. "Good, he needs someone willing to do that. Anything I can do to help, then let me know."

"I may just take you up on that when we get back to Sweet Haven."

"Offer stands for as long as you need it." I started down the passageway and Beckett kept pace. "But for right now, I think we need to get moving before Garrett sends out the troops to find us. And by that, I mean Leeson."

~/~/~/~

The rehearsal had been beautiful, yet somehow walking into the beautifully decorated room and seeing Garrett standing in an archway of white roses with a view of the sea behind him, sparkling with scattered cut diamonds across it, amped the visual up a thousand fold.

Gone was the Hawaiian shirt Garrett had worn for the rehearsal. In its place, he'd chosen a morning suit in slate gray with a crisp white shirt. His tan had darkened over the last week and made his teeth appear as if he'd had them whitened as he beamed at us. "It's a good job you got here before Leeson. He would not have been happy to have been upstaged by you two."

The celebrant, a no-nonsense woman with a smile that softened her sharp features, quickly ushered us into place. Garrett and Leeson had decided on everyone to be standing in a semi-circle around them as they made their vows. It felt intimate. Especially when moments later, Leeson appeared in the doorway with Teo and Victor with Ollie flanking them.

Everyone chuckled at once when they noticed exactly what Leeson had on. His suit was also a morning suit, but he'd paired it with his favored Hawaiian shirt in bold blues that complimented the powder blue of his suit. He was sans a tie. The effect was no less impactful with how his eyes gleamed with love when his gaze met and stayed on Garrett as music played and then Kylie fucking Minogue stepped out of a doorway and sang…

Press a petal to my lips

Feels like your kiss

Don"t you know that"s what I miss?

To smell the sweet perfume

Reminds me so much of you

There"s nothing else that I can do

Count the days "til we"re together (One, two, three)

Though it feels like forever (We will be)

Holding on to each other (You and me)

You will be my only lover (Eternally)

That's when the tears started as we converged into place and Garrett took hold of Leeson, kissing him as gently as the petal Kylie sang about. The moment wasn't about the singer but the couple who parted and reached for each other"s hands. Love was there for all to see. To feel. Beautiful and real. No one could mistake their feelings for each other.

When the song finished, Kylie slipped away unnoticed as Garrett and Leeson exchanged their vows. Every man in the room, I'd swear, could feel the love between them and I hoped that one day I'd be as lucky as Garrett and Leeson to show the world just what Victor meant to me.

When I met his shimmery eyes, it was as if he was on the same wavelength as his lips tugged up into a smile that I realized was the one he reserved solely for me. "I love you," I murmured.

Beckett gave me a knock to the ribs with his elbow to draw my attention, but not hard enough to move me. He tilted his head to the couple in front of us as Leeson warbled his way through his vows.

I glanced at him, arching my brows in question before it struck I was supposed to step forward as part of Garrett's family.

Feeling justly told off, I blushed and stepped forward as we'd rehearsed, linking hands with the other men.

"The circle of friendship you all offer today to these two men can be as powerful as the rings they exchange. No love comes without its challenges and these men you have picked will share that burden." She looked at each of us, asking in turn, "Do you offer your support, compassion, love, and guidance if they should need it?

"We do," we all said.

"You might regret that!" Leeson said, causing everyone to laugh.

Garret got a shit-eating grin. "They, my love, didn't agree to clean up the kitchen after one of your disasters."

"Thank god, I know exactly how hard that is," Ollie said under his breath, but everyone heard, and more laughter ensued, making it hard to stick to the plan of what came next when everyone was trying to speak through their laughter. But then it wouldn't have been Leeson's wedding without at least a little hilarity because that man had proven he could indeed create chaos from nothing.