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Chapter 25

~Justin

I didn"t understand a lot of what happened with Martin and Royce, and I didn"t care. All I cared about was that Gabe was OK. But after Gabe was out of surgery and conscious, I got to sit with him, watch him sleep for way too long.

I hated being in a hospital, but I wanted to be there when he woke up. He ended up waking when his mom was sitting with him instead of me.

After she left, I got to be alone with him. "How are you, and I don"t mean your wound," I tell him.

"You"re OK so I will be too," he tells me, his voice weak and rasping.

"But what they did..."

"Royce is dead. Martin will be going to prison," Gabe says, but I know that can"t be enough. He"s being strong but it must be hell for him to know that he brought all these awful people into his brother"s orbit.

"I was part of their plan to neutralize you," I say.

"No. They tried to use you and failed. We beat them," Gabe says and offers me his hand. I take it and hold it tight. After being quiet for a while, Gabe shuts his eyes and whispers, "I didn"t lose you. If I had, I couldn"t have survived it."

Gabe is home now and recovering. I"m leaning in the doorway of his office, watching the nurse finish up with him. She makes regular visits to check on Gabe and change his bandages.

After I walk the nurse to the door, I go back and notice Gabe eying me strangely. As he sits sideways on the sofa in his office, his back propped up with pillows, he asks me, "You don"t like her, the nurse?"

"No, she"s nice," I tell him, but I don"t admit that I want to be the only one taking care of Gabe.

He doesn"t make it easy. Gabe still insists on working while he"s recovering. I am enabling him though, playing his office assistant and trying to make sure he doesn"t overdo it. But as he reaches for his iPad, I glare at him. " You can"t just rest for two minutes?" I ask him as I go closer.

"This isn"t exactly hard labor," he says. He doesn"t say that he needs to keep busy so he doesn"t dwell on how and why his brother died. That"s why I don"t try too hard to stop him.

I sigh. "I know I"m bugging you and you"re sick of me."

"No. I"m far from sick of you," Gabe says and sets aside the iPad to take my hand. "I can never get my fill of you. I want you all the time." He kisses my hand and I just stare at him, surprised at what he said. As my heart beats faster, he pulls me down. "Why don"t you help me relax?"

I nod. Wordlessly, I kneel next to the sofa. I undo his shirt first so I can run one hand over his chest while my other hand finds him already hard. Gabe reaches out and cups my face, stroking my cheek. I lean into the heat of his touch, the gentleness, even more eager to please him, to take away his pain, to make him forget everything.

Gabe"s breathing deepens as I run my fingers over his shoulders then down his chest then lower, but stay away from the bandages that cover the wound in his side. The whole time Gabe"s eyes never leave mine.

My hands shaking, I unzip Gabe"s fly. As I free his cock, I moan and lean down. Breathing over his erection, I start licking, feeling every vein on my tongue. When I"m ready for more, dying for more, I suck him down slowly, savoring every inch.

Gabe lets me do it my own way for a while, but it wouldn"t be like him not to take control. First I feel the weight of his hand on the back of my neck as I savor the taste of him, the feel of him against my tongue and how he fills me up when he pushes my head down.

I"m taking him deep and hearing him grunt. "You belong to me and soon I"ll make you mine in every way," Gabe promises as I pleasure him for a long time.

Afterward, I"m licking my lips, feeling satisfied but there"s still this longing for Gabe that never goes away, that nothing physical can satisfy. I"m staring at Gabe as he"s zipping up, or maybe I"m glaring at him because he tells me, "I promise to take some time off. We can take a trip somewhere beautiful."

"Beautiful?" I repeat as I get to my feet on shaky legs.

"I need the perfect backdrop for an important question I have to ask you," Gabe says as he picks up his iPad and stares at it.

My voice sounds tight as I ask him, "What are you talking about?"

"There are some promises I plan to make about us being happy together for all eternity. But I"ll tell you all about that when I ask you that question," Gabe says evenly but I can barely breathe. I can"t be hearing him right.

"Are you trying to drive me crazy?" I ask, my voice cracking, losing my breath on the last word.

"No. Just preparing you so you"re not so taken off guard you forget how to say yes," Gabe says and looks up at me with an infuriating, confident smile.

"I"m going to get started on lunch, and while I"m at it, I think I"m going to poison you," I inform Gabe and he grins at me.

"No, you"re not. I"m the man who"s going to marry you and make you happy forever," Gabe says then hands me the iPad and says, "I lost a file. It"s backed up somewhere but I think it"s mislabeled. It concerns the ARC acquisition. Find it for me, and get me my laptop."

I glare at him but then blink, feeling like I might burst into tears. I"m definitely going to burst into tears. Suddenly Gabe is up on his feet, taking the iPad from me, hugging me so tight I can feel his heart beating almost as fast as mine.

"You need to get back on that sofa right now," I tell him and try to push him away.

He won"t let me. "No, I need to be holding you and marrying you and loving you." Pulling back a little, Gabe frowns. "I think I forgot to tell you I love you," he says and takes my face in his hands and kisses me. As our lips crash together, a rush of emotions sweeps over me and it"s too much. I would do anything for him and I want him so much it hurts and for him to be saying this stuff to me...

His lips are hot against mine and then I"m gasping for breath and glaring at him while I cry. "I hate you. And I love you."

This was the man I thought wanted to throw me away because he was done with me. Now he"s stroking my face, brushing away my tears as he says, "You"re my salvation, my whole life, my everything. I"d kill for you, I"d die for you, and I"ll never let you go."

I want to scream and curse at him for making me feel this way, but all I do is kiss him long and deep, our bodies pressed together, trying to meld into one until I"m so lost in him there"s nothing left of me.

***

It"s beautiful here, just like Gabe promised. We"re standing on a private beach. My eyes are dazzled by tropical sunlight, its rays hot on my skin. A warm breeze is coming off the ocean and the waves are lapping over my feet as Gabe holds both my hands in his and asks me, "Will you marry me?"

I can"t breathe or speak so Gabe thinks I"m hesitating. He gives me a smile that"s meant to be reassuring but it"s also sad. "We"re together, I guess there isn"t any rush," he says but I want to say yes. I just can"t get the word out. It"s terrifying and crazy, I can"t catch my breath. "Justin?"

"I needed more of a warning," I tell him.

He gives me a dismayed look. "You yelled at me for trying to prepare you," he reminds me.

"Yes, the answer is yes," I tell him and throw my arms around him then I cry like a fool, like I didn"t know this was coming. I guess it just wasn"t real until he actually said it.

Gabe hugs me hard enough to crush me then he moans my name in my ear. "Oh, Justin. Until I met you, I was barely alive. I didn"t even look for pleasure or satisfaction. I couldn"t see beyond my grief. But now I know you"re my future, my forever. You made me feel happy and hopeful. I want everything now and I can"t get enough of you. I love you so much. But you are infuriating."

"Me?" I say like I want to argue but I"m quickly falling into a daze of happiness and disbelief as Gabe kisses me.

The privacy of the beach pays off when Gabe strips me and lays me down in the middle of the beach to fuck me like only he can. Getting on top of me, Gabe presses his forehead to mine. "You belong to me and I"ll never let you forget it."

We are there for a long time, letting the surf splash over us even as the sun is beginning to set. Everything takes on a golden glow and the edge of the ocean looks like it"s burning. "I love you so much," I say to Gabe.

"I love you more than I could ever say. I"d do anything to make you happy," he says. I feel the same way. I want to give him everything, deny him nothing, but all I can give him is my whole life.

The End

Stepbrothers: Aiden Nate

Tormented by nightmares, Aiden will need his arrogant stepbrother to save him from a threat that isn"t only in his dreams.

Aiden is vulnerable, always afraid until his new stepbrother moves in and takes over his whole life. Brash and headstrong, Nate is his opposite in every way.

He"s a new, forceful presence in Aiden"s life. With his easy confidence and take charge attitude, he breaks apart Aiden"s life of isolation. But Nate thinks Aiden is just a spoiled, rich kid.

To Nate he might seem standoffish, but that"s not it. Aiden is afraid to trust anyone and plagued by night terrors.

The stepbrothers don"t get along, but their attraction builds and they can"t stay away from each other. When Aiden gets into a situation he can"t handle, Nate comes to his rescue.

Nate doesn"t stop there. He is determined to find out why Aiden was left with such deep, emotional scars.

As they get closer to the truth, the danger intensifies and both their lives are in peril. Can Nate"s tough love chase away Aiden"s nightmares, or will a very real threat be the end of them?

Stepbrothers: Colton Blake

After his father disowns him, Colton is afraid he"ll end up on the street until his stepbrother takes him in. Blake is a hot, bossy, straight roommate. With his insecurity issues, Colton doesn"t know how he"ll cope.

As Blake helps Colton gain some self-confidence, they both give in to their feelings. Will a threat from Colton"s father drive them apart before they can admit their true feelings?

Stepbrother Mine

Julian doesn"t remember Evan as the man who saved him when he was drugged and taken into the back of a shady club. He only knows Evan as his aloof stepbrother, a man determined to bring down Julian"s father no matter what.

Julian may want to shield his father, but Evan is not a man to be denied. He sees right through Julian and knows what he really wants.

When it comes to Evan, Julian is conflicted. He doesn"t want to admit how much he likes it when Evan takes charge. Julian is helpless to resist him, but he also wants to soothe his pain.

In the bedroom, Evan knows what he wants and gets it. His emotions are a different matter. Too many losses have scarred his heart, and unanswered questions won"t let him rest.

In his quest for the truth, Evan is willing to risk his own life, but what about Julian"s? Despite himself, he has become possessive and protective of Julian. Evan can"t face losing him.

The two of them are irresistibly drawn to each other, but neither one of them can admit what they really feel. Will they have a chance to find their way into each other"s hearts, or will their luck run out when Evan"s search for answers takes a dangerous turn?

My Stepbrother

After his mother remarries, Ian Ryder finds himself spending the summer at a beachside mansion. It"s the kind of thing he might have dreamed of, but there is a major complication—his gorgeous new stepbrother.

Tortured by a family tragedy, Lucas resents Ian and his mother. He can"t accept that his father has moved on and remarried.

On top of that, his attraction to Ian is a shock to him. Until he met Ian, Lucas always thought he was straight. But the heat between them is undeniable. He can"t stay away from Ian, and Ian can"t resist him. No matter how rough or arrogant Lucas is, Ian can"t help falling for him.

When their secret relationship is revealed, the fallout sends Lucas back to his old life and Ian is devastated. Will Lucas come to his senses in time, or will he let Ian slip away from him forever?

Wherever You Go

Eric needs a firm hand to help him learn what he truly yearns for. But when desire turns to love, could he lose everything?

Eric Hutchins is a rootless young man running out of money when he arrives on the outskirts of a small town. He finds a job at a picaresque inn, but he also finds trouble with a local bully.

That"s when Mitch Galloway steps in. Haunted by his past, he lives alone by choice. The last thing he wants is to get involved with a vulnerable young guy like Eric.

Stern and physically imposing, Mitch stirs unexpected feelings in Eric. But for Eric, the recent attack has revived memories of an earlier brutal violation. That trauma won"t let Eric admit how he really feels, not even to himself.

Eric doesn"t want to accept the truth, but again and again, his body betrays him. Mitch is just the man to break through his reluctance, but he has demons of his own holding him back. Can he give his heart to Eric despite his violent past?

When Eric"s relentless attacker makes his final move, can he and Mitch find their way back to each other or will their pasts tear them apart?

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