Chapter 26

Chapter Twenty-Six

KYLEN

"Can we talk?" Kylen knew how those words sounded, so he wasn't surprised to see Dallas go a little pale. He didn't mean them that way though. At all. He did just want to talk.

Things were slowly getting back to whatever normal meant after the whole incident with his family. He wasn't speaking to them, and he'd blocked their numbers. He'd gotten a report that his mom had tried to have his gran discharged from her facility, but as she had no rights, she'd been turned away.

His life felt chaotic, and he kept waiting for more shoes to drop, but the one steady thing had been Dallas. He'd given Kylen space when he needed it and held him close when he didn't. He gave him a group of friends that had welcomed Kylen without reservation, with open arms and love in ways Kylen wasn't used to.

It would take time for him to trust, to lay down his cards because it had been far too long since he'd been around people who were genuinely good, but he could immediately tell they were safe. It had been like that with Dani. The moment they'd met, he knew she'd be special to him.

He just hadn't realized how.

He'd been on a cross-country flight all day, and he was exhausted, but coming home to find Dallas at the house with Flora, cooking dinner and singing songs from their upcoming kindergarten choir performance, Kylen realized this was it.

This was entirely it.

This was home. This was his family. His happily ever after.

He waited until Flora was down for the night, and then he'd found Dallas in the kitchen doing dishes, and the words had slipped out. "Can we talk?"

Dallas looked like he wanted to throw up.

"Before you panic, I love you," Kylen added.

Dallas's shoulders sagged. "Don't do that to me."

Kylen couldn't help a laugh as he snagged Dallas by the waist and pulled him close. "Sorry. I wasn't thinking. I do want to talk, but it's not bad. Well, I don't think it's bad. I hope it's not bad."

Dallas took in a breath. "Can you just rip the Band-Aid off because I'm freaking out here."

Kylen met his gaze and was surprised at how steady his voice was. "I want to move in together."

Dallas was silent. Which he was expecting, so he didn't worry. But then the quiet dragged on, and the little voice inside his head that second-guessed everything started getting louder. You fucked up. He doesn't want you like that. You're moving too fast.

Dallas cleared his throat. "Here with you or in my place? Because mine is kind of small, and I don't want Flora to lose everything she's comfortable with, and… "

"Here. With me," Kylen said. "We can take it slow. I know it hasn't been long, and I don't want you to give up your house or anything. I'm a realist. I know sometimes things go sour. But I'm madly in love with you, and…I don't know. I don't feel like playing on someone else's timeline. This is our life." He touched the edge of Dallas's jaw, then kissed him. "No one gets to decide what's right except us."

"When are you thinking?"

"Well, your brother's coming to live here, so maybe he could take your place, and you and Audra could be here with me. That way, he doesn't have to scramble to house-hunt while also starting up his practice again. And that means when I reach for you in the middle of the night, you'll be there."

Kylen watched Dallas's face journey. His eyes widened, lips parted on a soft breath, cheeks pink, brows raised, then lowered. He ducked his head after a moment and asked, "I won't be too much?"

Kylen almost laughed, but he knew the question was genuine. He knew Dallas would always fight with himself over whether or not he'd be enough, or too much, or worth it. Their relationship would be different from anything Kylen had ever pictured, but that was the beauty of it.

That's what made it perfect.

"You will never be too much," Kylen said. "Now, kiss me like you mean it."

Dallas was glowing when he leaned in, cradled Kylen's face, and did as much as he was asked. And then a little more than that. His tongue slipped against Kylen's, hot and wet, both of them needy and possessive. He backed Kylen into the wall and rocked against him. Kylen's breath left him when he realized Dallas was hard.

"Now? Tonight? "

Dallas broke the kiss and looked at him. "If you want."

He wanted. Oh, he wanted. It had been a long, long while since they'd been intimate with each other. Not just for sex, but at all. There had been distance every time they curled up together, and they'd spent more nights apart than wrapped in each other's arms.

But Kylen wanted to change that. He needed to change that.

"I want. Please."

Dallas groaned softly as he stepped back, pulling Kylen with him. It was a short walk to the bedroom, and they were both profoundly aware of how little time they had before Flora was up and searching for them both. It would have to be quick, and Kylen hated that a little because Dallas deserved more.

But he didn't seem to be in the mood to drag it out. Not with the way he was pulling at Kylen's clothes, and the way he couldn't stop kissing him, and the way he was still rock hard and trembling with need.

Kylen wanted to get fucked—desperately. He wanted to be filled. But first, he wanted to taste. He helped Dallas with his shirt, then worked the button on his jeans, then the zipper. Soon enough, he was naked, his cock thick and hard, a little wet at the tip. Kylen gave him a single stroke and watched him shudder.

"Sit on the edge of the bed," he ordered.

Dallas backed up and lowered himself down, and Kylen couldn't help but watch the way his muscles rippled. His own cock thickened, and he palmed himself as he shuffled over and dropped to his knees.

"Shit," Dallas murmured.

Kylen looked behind him to make sure one of them had locked the door. They had. Which meant for that moment, Dallas's body was his. He rose high on his knees, dragging his palms over Dallas's thighs, watching them jump beneath his touch.

He leaned in and took a deep breath of his scent. It was heady and rich—and perfectly him. He parted his lips and guided the tip inside, giving a soft suck as he slipped past Kylen's teeth.

"Christ," Dallas said, his voice thready and weak. "I'm not going to last long."

"That's okay," Kylen said, pulling off for a second. "I just want you to feel good. Tug on my hair if you want me to stop." And then he got to work. He swirled his tongue around the head, then lowered down, fighting off his gag reflex as Dallas's cock brushed the back of his throat.

It was wet and messy as he pulled back, sucking hard, and his hand searched until his fingers found Dallas's balls. They were fat and heavy, and he rolled them gently in his hand as Dallas groaned and fucked his hips forward.

"You feel so good. Holy shit, baby. You feel so fucking good." He sounded startled, full of wonder, and Kylen knew why.

It hadn't ever been like this for him either. He'd had hot sex. Sex in forbidden places. The thrill of almost getting caught. It had been animal, a mindless tearing at clothes and scratching at skin. But it lacked the one thing he'd always been missing: wild, incredible, powerful love. He glanced up at Dallas, who was staring with wide eyes, and he dipped his tongue into his slit as he stroked him.

Dallas grunted and gripped Kylen by the shoulders. "I want to come in your mouth. I want to watch you swallow it." He brushed this thumb down the front of Kylen's throat.

Kylen nodded and began to suck him in earnest. He knew it wouldn't take long. Dallas was wound up, and Kylen was used to chasing his pleasure quickly. He bobbed his head, choking every time Dallas hit the back of his tongue, and he felt when he thickened.

"I'm…it's…"

He was coming. Kylen braced himself, and he began to swallow when Dallas grunted, and then he let go. His come was salty and hot, spilling thickly, and it was more than a mouthful. A little bit of it dribbled from the corner of his mouth, and he felt Dallas reach down and clear it up with the edge of his thumb.

It was so strange, but Kylen suddenly wanted to cry at that tiny, thoughtless, caring gesture. He caught Dallas by the wrist and cleaned up his mess with the swipe of his tongue. Dallas was still breathing heavily and red in the face, but he pulled Kylen onto his lap.

"Do you want to fuck me?"

Kylen shook his head. "Just want to rub off. Can I?"

"Let me," Dallas told him. He hitched Kylen closer, taking all of his weight, and then he licked his palm and gripped his dick with the perfect amount of pressure. He began to stroke like he was going to war for Kylen's orgasm, pulling it out bit by bit with each pass of his hand.

Kylen's vision went foggy, his moan trapped in his chest, and he almost lost it when Dallas's free hand came up to pinch at his nipples. He was so sensitive all over. "Not gonna last," he grunted.

Dallas leaned in and nipped at his neck. "Good. Lose it, baby. Let go. Come all over me."

Kylen groaned, probably too loudly, but he couldn't stop himself. His hips met Dallas's rhythm, and the edges of his vision went white as he let go. His orgasm was a slow burn, not as strong as he normally had, but the relief he felt as he let go far outweighed the pleasure .

It wasn't just coming—it was coming home. It was knowing this could be his forever—because Dallas wanted it as much as he did. He shuddered as the aftershocks hit him, and he basked in the warmth of Dallas's naked chest as he was held close.

Dallas nosed against his temple, breathing deeply, and Kylen smiled against his skin. "You're perfect."

"For the first time, that doesn't freak me out," Dallas said.

Kylen leaned back, then pawed at his nightstand for wet wipes. "What do you mean?"

Dallas took over, pulling out a few to clean them up, and his brow stayed furrowed in thought. His silence lingered, but Kylen knew he was just searching for the right words. "For years, when…when she would compliment me during or after sex," he started, "I hated it."

Kylen tapped Dallas's chin and waited for him to look up. "You can say her name, you know. It doesn't bother me."

Dallas huffed a laugh as he tossed the wipes in the little bin and then eased back onto the bed. Kylen pushed the blankets back so they could nestle together under the covers. "It's not that. It just feels weird to talk about her when we're like this."

"I get it. But it's okay," he assured him.

Dallas paused to kiss him, then settled his arms around Kylen's middle, tucking his back to Dallas's front. "She used to heap compliments on me whenever the sex was good. She'd call me amazing, and perfect, and wonderful. Everything I was desperate to hear outside of bed, you know?"

Kylen didn't know, but he understood. His heart hurt for this man. "Yeah."

"I don't think she meant it that way—at least, not at first. And after a few years, she stopped saying stuff like that at all. But…but it always felt like she was trying to train me, you know? Like, associate all those compliments with sex so if I was feeling emotionally needy, I'd fuck her in order to get what I wanted.

"Baby," Kylen murmured.

"Maybe I'm just reading too much into it. I don't know. I don't think she's a monster. But I didn't think I'd ever be able to hear something like that in bed again without it making me feel the same way."

Kylen stiffened and turned his head. "If I'm doing something that triggers you?—"

"No, that's just it," Dallas said. He leaned in and kissed Kylen soft and slow, letting the touch linger for so long Kylen almost forgot they were talking about something heavy. "It doesn't trigger me with you. Because I feel like that all the time here. You make me feel whole as I am. I'm not scared that I'll have to initiate sex like this again with you in order to be close to you."

"Never," Kylen vowed.

"I know." Dallas buried his nose against the back of Kylen's neck and held him even tighter. "Moving in with you should scare the shit out of me after everything I went through in my marriage. But it doesn't. I close my eyes and see the rest of my life with you and our kids."

Our kids. Christ, that sounded amazing.

"So I'm in. I don't think my brother will be mad about it at all. He's not used to sharing, and honestly, the only person I want to share with is right here in this room."

Kylen couldn't help his grin. "So that's a yes?"

"Didn't I say yes before?" Dallas asked.

Kylen snorted a laugh. He couldn't remember now in the haze of his euphoria. He nestled backward. "Tell me again."

Dallas kissed his neck, his shoulder, then lifted his hand and kissed his fingers. "Yes," he murmured. "I want to live with you in this house. I want to have this life. I want to be with you for the rest of it."

"I love you," Kylen said. He didn't think he'd ever get tired of saying those words.

"I love you too."

And yeah. He'd never get tired of hearing them either.