44. Chapter Forty-Four

Chapter Forty-Four

Beck

R oman was adamant that he wanted nothing to do with the investigation into his mom. So, when I get a text from my dad asking me to come to the station because he has information for me, I know I need to get Holden to distract him. Hiding out in the bathroom while I try to pull off hiding something from my boyfriend is less than ideal, but it is what it is. I pull out my phone to text Holden, smirking to myself as I click on his contact.

Me

Hey. Dad has news about Roman’s mom. Can you distract him for a bit so I can run to the station?

His response comes in a few seconds later.

Chaos Twink

Of course. I’ll see if he wants to go to lunch with me.

Me

Thank you.

Once Roman and Holden are off to lunch, I head to the police station to talk to Dad. As soon as I step inside, the grim faces of everyone tell me the news isn’t good.

Dad steps out of his office and waves me over. I follow him and sit down at his desk, bracing myself for what he’s about to tell me. This has the potential to make or break Roman spirits.

Dad slides a manila folder to me, and I raise shaky hands to open it. It’s full of images of bones. “So, is this her?” I ask as I flip through the photos.

“The bones are about the right age. The decomposition lines up with the timeline. We also found a linear fracture in the back of her skull.”

“So it’s consistent with the story Richard told Roman?” I ask, dragging my eyes from the photos to look at Dad.

He nods. “Yeah, we found her about two hundred yards away from the back door in the woods.”

Fuck, so Roman could have easily played on top of his mother’s grave and had no clue. “What do we need to do?” I ask.

“Well, the man’s dead. So it’s not like we can prosecute, and even if he were alive, there’s no way he would be fit to stand trial. We’ll need Roman to submit to a DNA test, so we can confirm with certainty that this is Elizabeth.”

I close the folder and slide it back to Dad. “Does that need to be here, or can I take him to the hospital and do it myself?”

He nods. “You can definitely do it. We’ll just have to have forensics run it once you’ve collected the sample.”

“Okay. I’ll try to get him up there today to do that. No point in putting it off. The faster we can get definite answers, the faster we can all move on.”

I stand, ready to head out and take care of business, my mind singularly focused on getting this taken care of for Roman so he can have some closure when Dad’s voice stops me. “I love you, Beck. I’m thrilled for you and Roman. I know things are tough right now, but they’ll get better.”

His words bring tears to my eyes. Fuck, all I do these days is cry. To be fair, I’ve done a lot of crying over the last ten years in general, but now the tears are full of hope and happiness instead of despair. He stands, holding his arms open to me, and I step forward, letting him pull me into a hug. “You two have always been so good for each other. I’m happy he found his way home, and I’m proud of you for being brave enough to let him back in.”

I let out a wet laugh. I’m not sure if it was bravery or pure desperation to have the love of my life back, but either way, I’m glad I took the leap. True to form, Dad holds me until I’m ready to let go.

When I step back, I wipe my eyes. “I love you too, Dad. Thanks for being who you are. I wouldn’t be half the man I am without you.”

“You grew up alright, I suppose,” he teases with a wink, then his expression turns more serious. “Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you need anything. Also, I expect to meet Holden soon. Bring him with you next time you and Roman come for dinner. Sounds like the young man could use some more family.”

My jaw drops open. “How do you even know about Holden?”

“Your mom’s a gossip, son. What do you expect?”

When I leave the station, I text Holden and ask him to meet me at the hospital after he and Roman finish lunch. I’m hoping this news doesn’t completely derail Roman. He’s been handling everything really well. After he forgave his dad at the funeral, it seemed like a weight lifted off his chest. Honestly, I’ve never seen him look so light, even when we were younger.

I’m standing by the nurses’ station when the two of them finally walk through the front doors. I’m so entranced by the sight of my beautiful man that I don’t even notice Michelle approaching me until she speaks. “So he’s the reason you were moping around, huh?”

I turn to her. “I wouldn’t call it moping.”

She chuckles. “Oh, I’d definitely call it moping. Or would you prefer grumping? You should have seen his face when he thought I was going to take his stitches out. He was hiding the flowers and beef jerky behind his back. I’ve never had to work so hard to be professional in all my life.”

I roll my eyes as Roman and Holden reach us. “Hey Michelle,” Holden says with a huge grin in her direction.

“Hey to you too, sugar,” she replies.

I tune them out and pull Roman toward me for a kiss. “Hey, beautiful. Did you have a good lunch?”

His smile is a little dazed. “Yeah, we did. I’m assuming there’s a reason I’m here, though. I’d like to get it over with.”

I take his hand in mine and turn to Michelle and Holden, who are deep in conversation. I have no idea what the two of them are talking about, but something about Holden’s smug expression makes me think it’s me and Roman. So, I do the only thing I can think of. “Hey, CT, I’m going to take Roman into the lounge and get him up to speed. He can come home with me after. Thank you for bringing him.”

Holden eyes me suspiciously, clearly confused. “You’re welcome?” His voice lilts like it’s a question. “Why are you calling me ‘CT’? I haven’t even worked the last couple of days. I haven’t done any CTs.”

Roman bursts into laughter, catching on instantly, and Holden glares at me. I can’t help but laugh. I give Roman a gentle tug, pulling him along as Holden calls out, “Beck, why are you calling me CT?”

Ignoring him, I keep walking. Roman chuckles. “I can’t believe you still found a way to call him a chaos twink. If he finds out, he’s never going to let you live it down. You know that, right?”

I push open the door to the lounge and usher him inside. “Okay, but how is he going to find out? Are you going to tell him?”

Roman smiles, shaking his head. “No. I’ve got your back. But, I will say this, if he somehow finds out, I will deny, deny, deny.”

I scoff. “Some boyfriend you are.”

He pulls me close, his hands on my hips, and presses his lips to mine. I lose myself in the warmth of his mouth, my body reacting immediately. I know he said all I had to do was ask, and he’d let me bottom again. I hope he means that, because fuck me, that was amazing. And I really may take him up on that, like the second we get home.

But first… I pull back reluctantly. “As much as I love kissing you. We really need to talk.”

He sighs, but sits down on the couch against the wall. “Hit me with it.”

I sit next to him, trying to figure out how to tell him the news. “How much do you want to know?”

“Give me objective facts.”

“They found what they believe are your mom’s remains. You’re here because I need to get a DNA sample so they can confirm. I figured you’d be more comfortable if I did it. They found a fracture in the back of her skull that’s consistent with the type of injury falling backward to the ground would cause. We’ll never know the whole truth, or the circumstances leading up to it, but the evidence points to your dad telling the truth.”

I watch his face for his reaction, ready to step in and comfort him if I need to. He seems to consider the information I gave him for a moment, and then he nods. “Okay, so how do we do the DNA? A swab or blood?”

“A mouth swab will be fine. You sit tight, and I’ll go grab what I need. After we’re done, we’ll run it by the police station. Sound good?”

“Perfect. Can we put up the shelf for the rabbit when we get back?” he asks, a small smile on his lips.

“Of course.” I lean in, giving him a quick kiss before I take off to get the supplies I need.

I wasn’t expecting him to take this as well as he is, but I guess it’s possible he’ll still break down over it later. Either way, I know we’ll work through it together, no matter what.

I turn to Roman with a smile as we both admire the rabbit on the shelf beside our bed. He chuckles. “It looks cute up there, huh?”

“Yeah, it really does. Would it be goofy to frame the notes you wrote me and put them up there, too?” I ask.

He reaches out, taking my hand. “Nah, I don’t think so at all. I still can’t believe you never wrote me back, though.”

I let out an amused huff. “Well, I was losing my mind a bit, honestly. I sat in bed every night reading them. And then you showed back up to get your stitches out and changed my entire world. Again.”

His smile is soft. “Again, huh?”

“Oh yeah,” I whisper, crowding him and tilting his head back to kiss along his neck. He takes in a shaky breath, his throat bobbing with a heavy swallow.

“Yeah?” he breathes, the tremor in his voice making me smile. I push him back until his legs hit the bed, and he topples down onto it. Fuck, I want inside him. I want to feel the heat of his body sucking me in. I don’t know if it’s the security of knowing he’s mine, and he’s not going anywhere. Or if it’s that my fears about sex were wiped out when he topped me, but I’m practically bursting at the seams to make him feel good.

“Yeah,” I whisper, leaning in close. So close I can feel his erratic breathing fanning my face. “Can I make you feel good, beautiful?”

He nods, eyes wide. “You can do anything to me you want.”

“Get undressed,” I say. He does, sitting up so quickly it makes me laugh. His cheeks flush pink, but it doesn’t slow him down. In seconds, he’s fully naked—cock hard, chest heaving, pupils blown wide.

He looks so fucking hot that my cock lurches in my jeans and I groan, palming it to relieve some of the pressure. I strip down quickly, reach for the lube, and climb into bed next to him.

I hand him the lube, and he gives me a puzzled look before taking it. When I spread my legs, his eyes light up in understanding. He settles between them, coating his fingers with lube and probing gently at my hole with them. He takes my cock into his mouth, his fingers slipping inside me at the same time. A groan tears from my chest, and my hips thrust up, my cock hitting the back of his throat. He works me open carefully, his fingers hitting my prostate every few seconds. The way he’s staring up at me, his eyes full of lust, pushes me dangerously close to the edge.

“Enough,” I moan, and he pulls back quickly, sitting back on his heels between my legs. My cock is throbbing so hard I have no idea how I’m going to last. “Straddle my chest.” He seems a little confused but does as I ask, his thighs bracketing my chest, his cock bobbing in my face.

Fuck me, I’ve got to keep it together. I reach for the lube, slicking my fingers quickly before pressing two to his hole. He groans, his head falling forward.

I push my fingers into him slowly, fully aware that it’s been a long damn time for him. His tight channel clenches around them, and I pause to give him time to adjust. But he doesn’t wait. He rocks his hips, pushing back on my fingers. “Easy, beautiful,” I say firmly, not wanting him to hurt himself.

He slows his pace a little, but not much. “More,” he gasps. “I need more.” My cock jerks at the rasp in his voice, and I pull my fingers free to add more lube and a third.

The moment I have three fingers inside him, he starts rocking his hips again, picking up speed as his body relaxes just enough to let me work them in deeper. This time, there’s no mental block. “Fuck, beautiful. Look at you. You look so sexy riding my fingers. Does that feel good? I bet it does.” His hips jerk, his cock bobs, and a string of pre-cum stretches from the tip to my neck. He doesn’t seem able to form words, but he nods frantically.

“That’s it. Keep going. I can’t wait to feel your tight body squeezing my cock,” I whisper, twisting my fingers until I can press on his prostate. The moment I hit the right spot, his eyes fly open, and he cries out, hips stuttering.

“Oh God, you’re gonna make me come,” he says breathlessly.

“No, you can hold off. Just a little more. You can do it.” He whines, thrusting harder onto my fingers. Fuck, I’m not sure I can do it. My cock is throbbing in time with my heartbeat, and I’m desperate to be inside him.

Unable to wait anymore, I choke out, “Ride my cock, beautiful.” He nods, lifting himself off my fingers and sliding backward until he’s straddling my hips. He grips my cock and lines it up at his entrance, then lowers himself onto me in one smooth glide, the wet heat of his body almost too fucking good. “But don’t come,” I add, trying like hell to follow my own command.

“Don’t come?” he asks, incredulous. “How am I supposed to do that?”

“If you want to come inside me , you’ll make it happen.”

“Oh fuck,” he moans, lifting himself and then dropping back down, fucking himself on my cock.

Holy shit, this is… “So fucking good, beautiful. Fuck, you’re so tight.” He groans, and I reach down and grip his hips to help guide him. “Do you want that? Do you want to fuck your cum into me?”

He moans again, trembling as he rides me. Wrapping a hand around his cock, I stroke him slowly, adding a little twist at the end. “I’ll come,” he gasps, voice desperate.

“No, you can do it. Just a little more.”

Just a little more, Beck. You can do it too.

He thrusts into my fist and back onto my cock. “Fuck. Close, close, close,” he chants, and I pull my hand away. His cock jerks as pre-cum pours from the tip, dripping down the side and onto his balls.

The sight is too much. My cock pulses, and I’m so fucking close to losing it, I can barely breathe. “Now, beautiful. Take me now.”

He pulls off my cock, leaving it twitching in the air, then pushes my legs back and buries himself inside me in one smooth motion.

He inhales sharply and stills. “If I move, I’m going to come.”

Fuck, even if he doesn’t move, I’ll probably come. I’m so close, balancing on a knife’s edge. A single thrust or touch to my cock is all it will take. “Good. Fuck me, make us come.”

He pulls out and slams back into me.

“Holy shit,” he groans, as he thrusts into me again, his entire body shaking with his effort to hold back his orgasm. I have no such restraint. My body bows as pleasure explodes through me, my cock jerking as I come hard, spilling between us.

I can tell the second he loses control. His hips lose their rhythm and his body collapses against my chest as he lets out a long, drawn-out moan. That sound alone would have sent me over the edge if I hadn’t just come all over myself.

He gasps, trying to catch his breath. “Holy shit.”

I chuckle. “Are you okay?”

“Uh-huh. You broke my brain a little, though. I forgot how fucking lethal the dirty talk is.”

That makes me smile. The dirty talk. He used to damn near require my praise. It was the only thing that made him feel worthy. But now it’s just dirty talk, and part of me feels like that’s further proof of how far he’s come and how much he’s grown.

“I love you,” he says, nuzzling into my chest.

“And I love you. But we need some ground rules,” I murmur, bringing my hands up to run my fingers through his hair.

He lifts his head, playful curiosity flashing in his eyes. “What kind of ground rules?”

“Rule number one: you don’t get to bottom all the time. You have to share.”

His startled laughter rings through the room, and it makes me light up inside. Is there anything better in the world than a happy Roman? “So I’m not the only one with a blown mind, huh?”

I shrug. “I may have thought you were exaggerating your like of it. And then I thought maybe it was a one-off last time. But yeah, no. It’s kind of fucking everything, huh?”

His gaze softens as he presses a gentle kiss to my lips. “Anything with you is everything.”

“I’m inclined to agree,” I say, leaning in for another kiss.