Chapter Twenty-Five

It was definitely odd to be in Harper's house without him, but Luis assured him it was fine.

"Dude, you're together. Of course you can be here. And let me tell you, I am so damn happy to see it. I was afraid for Harper. I can't say that to him because he refuses to listen, but it's the truth."

"Afraid for him?" He knew Harper had changed from the hard, cold man he'd met months earlier, to someone loving and romantic. But he still didn't like to talk much about the past.

"You see how he is. So overprotective and hovering."

"You mean over David."

Luis nodded. "Now don't get me wrong. David being kept at home was a blessing for both of them. David receives one-on-one care, which he never could in a group setting, and Harper gets the security of knowing David is safe. But it wasn't easy for Harper. He was torn between thinking he had to stay at home with David and leaving him with someone." He brushed at his eyes. "I've been a home care attendant for a very long time, and I've never seen a relationship like Harper has with his brother."

"He feels a heavy weight of responsibility because he's all David has."

"Because he doesn't let anyone in," Luis insisted. "And then he ended up with that Ronnie…I should've known from the start that one wasn't a keeper."

Colson wasn't a gossip, but he couldn't help wanting to hear what Luis—whom he respected—had to say. "How come? I know Harper loved him."

" Pfft . Love. That's not what it was. It was good old-fashioned lust. And I had no problem with it. Harper was wrapped tighter than a second skin. He needed an outlet. But he confused lust with love. Ronnie was never into him for anything other than having a gorgeous man in his bed. He preferred to have David out of the way because he didn't want to see him every time he came to the house."

Colson dreaded asking, but he had to know. "So how do you know—"

"Nah, you're not going to ask why you're different, right? Because you are. You want to fit into Harper's life instead of changing it. You look at him, not past or through him. See, I had someone once I loved more than anything." Luis covered his hand and patted it. "And the way you and Harper are? That's how me and Maria were. Like there's never anyone else in the room but the two of you when you're together. And not only physically. You're in tune with each other. In sync."

"I think so."

"I know so," Harper said from behind them, and he peered over his shoulder to see a visibly tired Harper. "I'm glad you're here."

Luis rose to his feet. "I'll go check on David. He was tired after therapy, so he's taking a nap to make sure he can stay up after dinner with you."

After Luis left them, Colson murmured, "You look like you could use a nap too."

Harper's answering grin held a note of wickedness.

"How about we go upstairs and I give you a massage?" Colson wrapped his arms around Harper and kissed him.

"I think that would be a good start."

Chuckling, they took the stairs to his room, where Harper secured his gun, then kicked off his shoes and shucked his pants, socks, and suit jacket. Colson undid his tie and flicked open the buttons of his shirt, stopping to press kisses along the opening.

"There's something about a man in a suit that does it for me." He pushed the undone shirt off Harper's shoulders and rubbed the muscles. "You're so tight. Come lie with me."

Harper held his arm. "I meant it. I can't tell you how good it feels to come home after a long day and have you here to hold on to."

"I wouldn't be anywhere else. Now get on the bed, Detective. I'm not going to ask you twice."

Snickering, Harper followed his order and lay facedown. He groaned as Colson straddled him and dug his thumbs and fingers into the hard muscles across his back. "Goddamn, that feels amazing."

"Just close your eyes and relax. Or, since I know you're never fully off the job, take a deep breath and let it out slowly."

He worked on Harper's tense muscles, running his hands over the broad expanse of his body. Harper lay still with a sleepy smile on his face.

"You could go into business doing this, although I wouldn't want you touching anyone else."

Colson leaned in and kissed his cheek. "No one else gets this but you. What else do you want?"

"Anything you want to give me."

"That would be everything." With the same slow and gentle touch, he removed Harper's briefs, then his own clothes. Colson traced every inch of Harper's spine with his lips until he reached the swell of his ass. A heavy sigh escaped Harper as Colson blew a stream of air along the dip where his ass rose high and smooth. Harper widened his legs, an invitation to Colson, one he was happy to accept. He licked his fingers and teased inside.

"Oh yeah," Harper groaned. Colson lowered his face to Harper and tongued all around his rim. "You should've let me shower first."

"No, I love it raw and real." To prove it, he spread Harper wide and sucked at his hole. "And this is as real as it gets." Harper moaned and raised his hips higher to reach under him and work his dick. Colson lapped at the outside of his hole, then rubbed his erect cock in the cleft of Harper's ass.

"Fuck, I need in you before I explode."

Colson got the condom and lube. "Turn over." Harper rolled to face him, his thick cock almost flat on his belly. Colson tore open the packet and rolled it over Harper's shaft. He slicked him up and grasped him. "I'm going to ride you, baby."

Harper gripped his hips as he lowered himself onto Harper's rock-hard cock. The head popped through the muscled ring, and he hissed but kept pushing on, needing to be filled, craving to be stuffed with Harper's dick.

"Fuck me. You're swallowing me up like I'm part of you."

"You are. The best part of me. The one that let me love again." Colson leaned down to kiss Harper, and the movement lit him up as the head of Harper's cock rubbed his prostate.

"Oh, goddammit."

Harper flexed his hips and thrust up hard and deep, and Colson moved in tune with him. Colson could feel the swell and throb of his dick as they kissed. Harper grew more demanding, licking into his mouth, tugging at his lip, and sucking his tongue. He wrapped his hand around Colson's rigid shaft.

"Harper, please. Do it. Harder, come on."

He ground onto Harper's shaft as Harper jerked his cock in rough, quick strokes. "Yeah, look at that. You love it, don't you?"

"I-I…"

His climax ripped through him, and he lost the ability to speak. Colson fell forward, and Harper held him close. Harper pumped into him, using his shaking body at a punishing pace, and when he came, his loud groan echoed in the room.

They stayed like that, bodies fitting together, until their hearts settled into a natural rhythm and Colson could find his voice. "Feeling better now?"

Harper kissed his cheek. "The best. And just for the record, you are strictly limited to me."

He smiled against Harper's lips. "Duly noted, Detective."

***

Every day, he would write, his head filled with images of his characters, and the words flowed from his mind to his fingers and the computer. The burgeoning relationship between him and Harper had unlocked his stifled creativity, and with a start, he realized where he used to wake up and want to pull the covers over his head to keep from facing the endless hours of another day, he now couldn't wait to get up and begin writing.

At six o'clock, he would shut everything off and walk over to Harper's. The three of them would have dinner and then watch a movie, a ball game, or he'd read to David, while Harper would lie on the couch with his head in his lap.

Luis would read the chapters he'd written, and while Harper put David to bed, they'd go over his notes and discuss. One thing he never missed was saying good night to David. Colson receiving his kiss had become part of their family routine.

That Friday, after he said good night to David and they left the room, he stopped Harper. "I have an idea. How would you feel about taking a drive tomorrow?"

"Where to?" Harper asked. "You look as though you have a specific plan in mind."

He took Harper by the hand, and they returned to the living room and lay on the couch together. "I have a house—my grandparents left it to me. It's in Connecticut. It's a ranch, so it won't be a problem with David's chair, and it has a pool, tennis courts, and lots of land. When my grandfather had his first stroke, they installed a ramp at the front, so we can use that. I haven't been there since they passed, but I think maybe we should start using it when you have time off. David would love the country. There are deer and rabbits, and we can take him apple picking. He should get out of the city every once in a while, and this is perfect, don't you think?"

Harper played with his fingers. "I never thought of it like that. But you're right. It's bound to be more stimulating for him, and I'd love to see your grandparents' house—I know they meant so much to you. I think it'll be fun."

"We can go after breakfast."

"Perfect."

***

Saturday dawned bright and crisp, with a sky so blue, it almost glowed against the leaves of the trees, which had begun their slow march from green to russet and gold. Colson drove while Harper spoke to David, telling him where they were going.

It had been too long since he'd come to the house. Time slipped away, and what seemed like only days or weeks was in fact months and years. He paid the taxes and had a gardener take care of the property, but the soul of the house had been his grandparents, and with them gone, he had little desire to be there, alone, wandering rooms that held nothing but memories.

They pulled up to the circular drive, and he stopped the van. "This is it."

"Beautiful property." Harper got out and engaged the electrical ramp for David's chair. "I can see why you liked living here."

Lost in thought, he tipped his head to the sky, listening to the birds. "I had no choice. My grandparents were the only ones I could count on."

Harper slid an arm over his shoulders. "Not anymore."

Colson smiled and kissed him. "Let's go inside." He took out his keys and opened the door, and Harper wheeled David inside. Colson peered around. "That's odd."

"What is?"

"I expected the house to be stuffier from lack of air conditioning all summer and no one living here."

"Maybe the gardeners turned it on?"

"No, they don't have the keys. Only I do. Let's go to the kitchen." It had been his favorite room, where as a child he'd sit with his grandmother at the giant island and help her bake cookies. Unlike the sleek, modern, all-white design in his house in Brooklyn, this was more rustic and homier, with gleaming maple cabinets, a marble inset in the island for baking, and copper pots and pans hanging above. No wine fridge or cooling drawers. He cocked an ear, and frowning, strode across the room to the huge refrigerator and opened it. "See, this is strange. The fridge was supposed to be turned off. I remember because it didn't make sense to have it running if I wasn't here. And yet it's on, and there's ice in the ice maker."

Harper, who'd been making David comfortable, frowned. "I think you should look through the house and see if anything's missing."

He agreed. "Anything of value was sold, or in the case of my grandmother's jewelry, I put it in the safe deposit box, but yeah, I'm going to do that. Come with me?"

To his relief, the living room, library, and family room all looked intact, nothing out of place. Harper ran a hand over the huge fireplace. "This must be nice in the wintertime—a big fire while you watch the snow out of these giant windows."

"I loved having Christmas here." He looped his arms around Harper's neck. "Maybe we should think about spending our holidays here. I think it's time to make this house a home again."

Harper's kiss was all the answer he needed.

"The bedrooms are this way. The house seems big, but compared to some in the neighborhood, it's pretty small—five bedrooms and three bathrooms."

"Oh yeah, that's tiny," Harper joked.

He opened the door to his grandparents' room. "This was their room. I haven't done anything with it except donate their clothes."

Harper walked in, and his expression tensed. "Do you smell that?"

Colson inhaled. "Not really, what is it?"

"A woman's perfume."

"It's probably my grandmother's. She always wore Joy—her favorite. It's still on the dresser, see?" He picked up the bottle. "I didn't have the heart to throw it away."

They finished inspecting the other rooms, and he was pleased to see the house hadn't deteriorated at all despite his neglect. They ended up in the kitchen, and Harper gave David a snack of applesauce.

"Well, what do you both think?" He made sure to include David in the conversation. "Would you like to come up some weekends and spend time here?"

"I think it would be great to get away, right, David?" Harper looked to his brother, who smiled and blinked. "Maybe we should drive around and see if there are some farm stands or a petting zoo for David."

"There used to be one about a mile away. Let's go. I know there are country stores to get fresh pies."

They spent the next two hours exploring the countryside and loaded up on farmers' produce, apple cider, and the promised pies. One country market had a little petting zoo attached, and David was able to spend some time watching the pigs and goats in their pens. A few of the locals remembered Colson, and no one was outright hostile, but he did get some odd stares when he introduced Harper as his boyfriend.

"Colson Delacourt. Thought you disappeared forever," Dan Frick, the owner of Frick's Farms, stated as he checked them out. "Saw you started writing gory books." His eyes twinkled. "You have anyone in mind when you think up those murders?"

Amused, Colson chuckled. "Not really. Just a vivid imagination."

"Good to know. What happened?" Dan tipped his head toward David. "He have an accident or something?"

"Yes. He was injured as a boy." Harper's jaw worked, ready for battle. "I'm his brother."

Dan nodded. "My sister's kid dove into a pool and ended up paralyzed from the neck down. Needs a breathing tube and everything. But he's the happiest kid 'cause he's alive, you know?"

The tense lines in Harper's face softened. "Yeah. I know."

"Good on you, keeping him with you. God bless."

"Thanks." Colson took Harper's hand and squeezed it. "I think we are."

"Are you moving home? Gonna stay in your grandparents' place?"

"We're thinking of using it for the weekends. A nice getaway from the city."

Frick hesitated, as if he were about to say something, then shrugged. "Should be nice for you." He handed them their bags.

On the drive back to the house, Frick's behavior nagged at him. "Did you think he acted weird when I said we were planning on using the house now?"

"Weird, how?" Harper's brows drew together. "He asked a lot of questions, but nothing outrageous."

"Not sure. Just a feeling. Maybe they're not going to be happy having a gay couple in town. They aren't the most enlightened bunch."

But Harper disagreed. "He seemed okay with us. Maybe it's your overactive imagination."

Colson smiled. "You're cute. Wrong but cute." They pulled up the driveway and unloaded the car. "Let's put the stuff in the refrigerator and have a snack before driving home."

"Sounds good. Luis made us sandwiches. I have them in the cooler."

They lugged everything in and placed it on the island. Colson opened the refrigerator.

"Harper?" he called out. "Harper come here."

Harper skidded to a stop at his side. "What's wrong?"

"Look." He pointed to two bottles of champagne. "These were not there this morning. Someone was here."

"Or still is," Harper said, his eyes narrowing. "Let me look."

"It's my house. I'll do the looking."

"But—"

"But nothing. Stay here with David, please. You have your gun?"

Harper nodded. "My off-duty weapon."

"If I hear or see anyone, I'll come back here and let you deal with it."

"All right," Harper agreed reluctantly. "But be careful."

He left Harper and walked into the library, then the living room, seeing nothing awry. In the family room he spied high heels alongside a pair of men's loafers. His heart kicked up a beat. What the hell was going on? He kicked off his sneakers, and barefoot, padded to his grandparents' room, where the door was half-open and he could hear moans and groans of people having sex.

"Oh, baby, you make me crazy. Fuck me harder," a woman gasped. "You're so big. Give me that dick." The bed creaked, and a man grunted.

"Such a sweet, hot pussy."

Christ, was this really how straight people had sex?

"What the fuck!" Colson slammed open the door. "Who the hell are you—" His voice caught as he took in the scene. His father's naked ass pumping up and down on top of a very young woman, whose eyes grew wide when they met his. She began to scream.

His father glanced over his shoulder. "Shit." He withdrew and sat on his heels.

Avoiding the sight of his father naked, Colson crossed his arms. "Is that all you have to say?" He winced as the woman continued to wail.

"Shut up, Alicia." Without remorse, his father wrapped the sheet around his waist. "And what the hell are you doing here?"

"Me? You have the fucking nerve to ask me what I'm doing here? This is my house. I don't have to ask what you're doing. How long have you been sneaking over here to bring your girlfriends?"

Alicia had stopped screaming, and apparently unaware she sat bare-breasted, glared at his father. "Hammy, you said this was your house."

"Get dressed, sweetheart. I'll be with you in a minute." His father left the bed and put on his briefs. He stalked outside of the room, and Colson followed. "Why are you here, Colson?"

"The hell you think I'm going to answer to you," he sputtered. "You better get your ass dressed and out of here or I'll call the police."

His father sneered at him. "Do that. Alicia is the police chief's daughter. I doubt he'd want the news spread over town she was spreading her legs for a bottle of Dom Perignon and a trip to Tiffany's." His smile was thin. "And don't think you have anything to hold over my head. Your mother knows I have…friends. She doesn't care. In fact, she prefers it. I haven't shared her bed since shortly after you were born."

He heard the wheels of David's chair, and Harper appeared in the hallway. His father's gaze flicked to them. "Who is that?"

"You are in no position to ask me anything. Get dressed and get out of my house." He left his father to join Harper and David. "My father has been bringing his girlfriends here for God knows how long."

Harper's eyes gleamed. "Oh, yeah? The man who called you a degenerate?"

"Imagine that." His lips thinned and his father turned around and slammed the bedroom door. Less than five minutes passed before he emerged, barefoot and in a sweatshirt and jeans, with Alicia, who clung to his arm. "You left your shoes in the family room."

His father and Alicia swept past them without a word, but Harper was right on their heels. "You must've forgotten to introduce yourself. I'm Harper Rose, your son's boyfriend. I thought maybe Colson was exaggerating how horribly cold you were to him, but I can see now it's worse than I even imagined."

His father slipped his feet into his shoes and waited while Alicia put on her heels. "And I'm supposed to care about your opinion, why?"

"Because this is your son," Harper thundered. "You brought him into this world, and you were supposed to care for him and love him. Protect him from harm. Instead, you were his greatest threat."

"I don't have to listen to your bullshit." He jerked his head. "Alicia, let's go. I've called for the car and it's out front." He strode out of the room, Alicia scampering after him.

"But you will listen because I'm not finished." Harper dogged his steps. "Coward. That's what you are. An old fool who could've had a son anyone would be proud of, but you chose hate instead of love."

"That's rich," his father sneered. "Someone like you, preaching about love."

"Someone like me? What the fuck do you know about me?" Harper planted himself in front of Colson's father. "I'm an NYPD detective, and even now I would save your bigoted ass if I had to. Someone like me takes care of his brother who can't walk or talk because I love him. Someone like me, a gay man, loves your son so fucking much, he'd do anything in the world to make him happy. I'd give him the world, everything…anything I could. Because he is so damn worth it. But you can't see it because you're too blinded by one thing. Sex. You and your kind think everything revolves around what we do in the bedroom, but you have no idea." Harper paused for breath, his chest heaving, and Colson stood riveted. "It's how he makes me feel inside my heart that matters most."

"I'm not interested." His father knocked Harper aside as he passed by him, and Colson could feel Harper's restraint from across the room. Harper followed him, and Colson was torn between staying in the room with David and leaving him to watch the unfolding drama. He chose a middle ground and stayed in the doorway, where he could keep an eye on David, yet still see Harper, who was far from finished.

"Make sure you look at Colson one last time because as long as I'm here, you won't be allowed near him."

The door slammed, and Colson began to shake. Harper rushed to his side. "I'm sorry." He held him close. "I'm sorry."

Colson clung to him. "No, don't be. I'm not. Everything you said is true. No one can hurt us because we love each other."

After reassuring David that everything was fine, Harper kissed him. "And the best thing of all?" He shook with laughter. "Your father left those bottles of Dom. Now we can celebrate in style. On him."

"Every day is a celebration when I get to spend it with you."