At Peace (The War Trilogy #3) (8 page)

~ Chapter Eight ~

~ Dennis ~

I lie next to Tucker, panting heavily after a round of incredible Christmas morning sex. It was rough and aggressive and I fucking loved it. Tucker seemed to love it, too, considering all of the moaning and screaming he was doing. Tucker bottomed again, and I’m thinking maybe tonight, I’ll let him top. I haven’t had him top me in a while.

“Fuck, that was so good,” Tucker breathes.

“Yeah, it was. Merry Christmas.” I snicker.

Tucker chuckles. “Mmm, that was a great Christmas present.”

“Yeah, it was.” I sigh contently.

I turn my head on my pillow to look over at him. Damn, he’s gorgeous in his post-sex glow. His mop of loose dark curls are damp with sweat and all over the place with some stuck to his forehead. His eyes are closed and his plump lips are parted as he tries to catch his breath. His jaw has a shadow of scruff that felt incredible against the inside of my thighs when he teased me before he went down on me. I could stare at him all day.

Tucker pulls in a deep breath and turns his head to look at me, his bright blue eyes staring at me with all of the love and affection that he feels for me. The corners of his eyes crinkle as he smiles at me. I smile back. Damn, I’m so in love with him.

Tucker rolls onto his side, facing me and leans in to kiss me softly on the lips. When he pulls back, he studies my face. His smile fades and his expression turns serious.

“Marry me, Dennis,” he says.

I blink stupidly at him. What did he just say?

“W-What?” I stutter, my heart picking up speed.

Tucker rolls away and opens the drawer of the nightstand on his side of the bed. Taking something out, he turns back and sits up. He holds out a ring to me.

“I love you so much, and I know I’ve fucked up, but it will never happen again. I want to be with you forever. You are it for me. I don’t want anyone else. Will you marry me?” he asks, and I can hear the vulnerability in his tone.

I push up into a sitting position, too. I stare at the ring, dumbfounded. I was not expecting this. I mean, I figured now that gay marriage is legal in all fifty states, we would eventually get hitched. I really never expected one of us to propose. I thought we would just agree to get married, then go and do it. So this is a complete shock to me.

“Dennis?” Tucker croaks.

My eyes shoot up to his face. Dammit, I must have been silent for too long. He looks like he’s ready to break down. The hand holding the ring has dropped to rest on top of his thigh and his shoulders are sagging in defeat.

“Fuck. Yes, Tucker. Yes, I’ll marry you,” I rush to say and grab his face to kiss him.

Tucker half laughs, half sobs against my lips. His arms come around me and hug me hard. “Holy shit, I thought you were going to say no,” he sniffs, resting his forehead against mine.

I look at him and see tears running down his face. “I would never say no to you, Tuck. You know I fucking love you,” I say tenderly and reach up to wipe the tears from his face.

“I know, but after everything I did…” he starts, but I cut him off.

“It’s over and done with. You’ve apologized, I’ve forgiven you, and I want us to get back to the way we were. I want us to be happy together again,” I tell him, giving him another kiss. “You just shocked the hell out of me, I wasn’t expecting this at all.”

Tucker grins. “Isn’t that the point of proposing?”

I smile, give him one more kiss, and then back up enough so that I can fully see him. “True. So, are you going to put that ring on my finger, or what?”

Tucker bites his bottom lip as he takes my left hand and slips the beautiful black ring with its one simple diamond onto my ring finger. It fits perfectly. Tucker then turns and goes back into the drawer, he comes back and holds out his palm to me. Sitting on it is a matching ring. I smile brightly.

“You got yourself one?”

Tucker shrugs sheepishly. “I wanted to make sure that everyone knew that we’re both taken.”

I take the ring from his palm and hold out my left hand to him, he places his left hand in mine and I slip the ring on his finger.

“I love it. Thank you,” I say sincerely, leaning forward to kiss him on the lips.

Tucker gives me a slow, lingering kiss that has my cock twitching back to life. He pushes me back down onto the bed, covering me with his hard body. His hips settle against mine, and his dick, which is also hard again, rubs against mine. Tucker drags his mouth along my jaw and down to my neck.

“Can I have you this time?” he whispers against my neck.

“Fuck yes,” I hiss when he nips at the sensitive skin of my neck just under my ear. So much for waiting for tonight.

Tucker tangles his fingers in my hair as he kisses his way back up to my mouth. Our tongues immediately find each other and fight for dominance. I smooth my hands down his back until I can cup his firm ass cheeks. I give one a sharp smack, making Tucker groan into my mouth and grind his hips against mine.

Pulling back from our kiss, Tucker reaches for the lube on the nightstand. My stomach flutters anxiously as I watch Tucker drip lube onto his fingers. Those fingers then move between my legs to rub the lube around my hole before one pushes inside. I hiss and palm my leaking cock. Tucker works his finger in and out slowly for a minute before adding another. I moan, digging my head back into my pillow as the pleasure rolls over me.

“You, Tuck, I need you,” I breathe.

Tucker makes a noise in the back of his throat and hastily removes his fingers. More lube, then he’s pushing his cock past the tight muscles. He moans long and low and it’s so fucking sexy. I lift my head to look down at his cock disappearing into my ass and I nearly lose it.

When he’s seated to the hilt, he gathers me up in his arms and kisses me softly. I wrap my arms around his neck, letting my fingers sift through his silky, wavy hair. His hips pull back slowly before pushing forward even slower. My breath catches, as the only thing I can do is feel. Feel every hard inch of him work its way inside of me. Feel his muscles flexing against my own. Feel his lips moving against mine. Nothing has ever felt so fucking good in my life.

God knows how long I was lost in all of the feeling when Tucker decides it’s time to move things along. He pushes up to his hands and starts snapping his hips, hard and fast. I cry out in ecstasy, my hands fisting the sheets. Tucker’s hand wraps around my dick and he starts jerking me off in time with his thrusts. My orgasm barrels through me out of nowhere, shooting hot jets of cum all over my stomach and chest. Tucker’s rhythm falters, letting me know that he’s about to come, too. He slams into me two more times before letting out a harsh cry; that’s when I feel his cock pulsing inside of me. Fuck, that’s hot.

I drag my eyes open and look up at my fiancé - wow, that sounds so weird - who has his head dropped back, his hands gripping my hips, and his chest heaving as he tries to catch his breath. He looks glorious.

“Holy hell, that was good,” Tucker pants, lifting his head to look down at me through heavy lidded eyes.

“So good,” I agree.

We both groan as he slowly pulls out. Flopping down next to me, Tucker sighs contently.

“We’re engaged,” Tucker whispers.

I bark out a laugh and roll to face him. He’s lying on his back with his face turned toward me, his eyes are closed but he’s got the biggest smile one his handsome face.

“Yeah, we are.” I chuckle and give him a quick kiss on the lips. “Shower time. You comin’ with?”

He nods. “Be there in a sec,” he says, his voice heavy with sleep.

I smile and give him one more kiss before heading to the bathroom to get cleaned up. He’s not getting in the shower with me. He’s probably already passed the hell out. It’s fine, though; I’ll wake him up when I’m done. He can get washed up, then we can have some breakfast, exchange the rest of our gifts, go see Tucker’s dad for a while then go back to my sister’s for dinner. I can’t wait to tell her I’m getting married and show her this incredible ring. She’s going to be so excited. Hopefully not too excited that she goes into labor.

~ Tucker ~

Dennis fidgets nervously next to me as we stand on the front step of my parents’…my dad’s house. He hasn’t seen my father since my mother’s funeral. He knows that he’s accepted us, but he still seems to be anxious about it.

“Dennis, it’s gonna be fine,” I say quietly.

Before he can answer, my dad opens the door with a large smile on his face.

“Hey, boys! Glad you could make it! Come on in,” he says happily and steps aside to let us in.

I grin and give my dad a hug as I pass him. “Merry Christmas, Pops.”

He sighs contently and claps me on the back a couple of times. “Merry Christmas, Tucker.”

I know this has to be hard for him. It’s the first Christmas without mom. I know my heart aches, so I can’t imagine how he’s feeling. He might be putting on a good front, but I’m sure he’s torn apart inside.

Dennis steps up to my dad and opens his mouth to say something, but my dad cuts him off by pulling him into a tight hug. “I’m glad you’re here, Dennis,” my dad tells him.

Dennis returns the hug and nods. “Me, too.”

As they part, my dad gives Dennis’ cheek a fond pat before turning to shut the door.

“Uncle Tuck!” I hear a cute little voice say over and over from the other room.

My heart leaps in my throat as I hear my little nephew’s voice getting closer and the sound of his little feet running in my direction. He appears in the doorway of the kitchen. He stops for a second, looks at me with his bright blue eyes then smiles so brightly that it lights up the whole room. He runs for me, his chubby little hands stretched out toward me. I scoop him up and swing him around as I hug him to me.

“Max! My buddy! What are you doing here?!”

“See Pop-pop,” he says in his cute little voice.

I glance at Dennis, who looks wary, before looking at my dad with a questioning gaze. He doesn’t get to say anything because Selene emerges from the kitchen, where Max had just come from. She gives me a soft smile. I look at her in confusion before looking behind her to see if my brother is here, too, because if he is, he’s getting his ass beaten.

“He’s not here,” Selene says, noticing why I was looking behind her.

“Really? You came without him?” I ask, a bit shocked.

She nods. “We’re…we’re separated at the moment,” she says quietly.

My mouth drops open in shock. I set Max down and move to stand in front of me. “Selene, please don’t tell me it’s because of me,” I practically beg.

She shrugs one shoulder. “I won’t allow him to use our son as a threat against you. We have other issues, too, so it’s not just you, but I think that’s what tipped us over.”

“Shit, I’m so sorry. I never wanted to cause problems between you two.” I sigh, pulling her into a hug.

“It was going to happen sooner or later, Tucker, so don’t blame yourself,” she says.

I let her go and give her a nod. She says hello to Dennis and gives him a hug. We all move back into the kitchen where my dad has out some snacks on the table. Dennis takes a seat and Max starts to climb up on his lap. Dennis smirks and helps him up.

“Cwacker?” Max says, pointing at the crackers on the table.

Dennis shoots Selene a glance, asking permission with his eyes. She smiles and nods. Dennis grabs a cracker and gives it to Max.

“Tank you,” Max says before shoving half of the cracker into his mouth.

I chuckle.

“So, Selene, are you just here for the day?” Dennis asks.

“We’re spending the night and then going back to my parents’ tomorrow. That’s where Max and I have been staying.”

I go to the fridge and pull out two bottles of water. I set one in front of Dennis before cracking the other one open for myself, taking a long swig. I still feel horrible that Selene and Rhys are separated. I thought they were pretty happy. I had no idea they were having problems; Rhys never said a word to me about that. Apparently, we weren’t as close as I had once thought.

“How is your sister doing, Dennis? Tucker tells me she’s having a baby,” my dad says.

Dennis smiles. “Yeah, she’s ready to go. She has a couple of weeks left and she’s done with it.” He chuckles.

Selene hums in understanding. “I definitely remember that part.”

“Do they know what they’re having?” asks my dad.

“No, baby wouldn't cooperate, plus they kind of want it to be a surprise anyway,” Dennis replies with a grin.

My dad laughs. “Tucker did the same thing to us. We had no idea what he was until he came out and pissed all over the nurse.”

We all laugh.

“So…uh…” I start nervously and glance at Dennis, who knows what I’m about to say. He gives me an encouraging nod and a small smile. “…So, I proposed to Dennis this morning and he said yes, so we’re engaged,” I blurt out quickly.

Selene squeals in excitement and throws herself into my arms. “Oh my God! Congratulations!”