The Mistletoe Experiment (13 page)

out his hand and Lance gripped it as he bent down to

embrace him. Magnus slid his arms around him, buried his

face in his neck and held on as if his life depended on it.

“I love you.” Lance was whispering so they wouldn"t be

overheard.

“I love you too.” Magnus didn"t care who heard.

He wasn"t going to let go. He had his
älskling
finally

back in his arms and that was all that counted.

“Come on, let"s get you to the hospital so we can both

get some rest.” Lance stood up, but didn"t let go of his hand.

“A very good idea.” The nurse held out a hand for Lance

to shake. “I"m Veny and in charge of getting your fiancé into

hospital.”

The Mistletoe Experiment |
Serena Yates

99

“Nice to meet you, Veny.” Lance shook her hand briefly

but looked straight back at Magnus when he was done. “The

ambulance is outside, I"ll lead you to it.”

When they reached it, Veny assisted the paramedics in

getting him inside. Man, it was good to lie down. Lance

climbed in and sat right beside the gurney. The paramedics

didn"t even bat an eyelash. Lance had clearly managed to

impress someone in charge with the importance of getting

what he wanted.

No, what they both needed.

“Have a safe trip, and good luck with the leg.” Veny

waved goodbye, the doors were closed, and it was just the

two of them and their chaperone paramedic.

Magnus didn"t even mind. He only had eyes for Lance

one way or the other, and his fiancé wasn"t looking anywhere

else either. Now that they were reunited, everything was

going to fall into place.

The Mistletoe Experiment |
Serena Yates

100

Chapter Nine

MAGNUS opened his eyes slowly. He looked around the

room, realizing that he was in his parents" house and that

today was his wedding day. Sunrays tickled his nose, and

the open window let in the cacophony of birdsong that

characterized the first few hours after sunrise. Which meant

it was probably still the middle of the night, but he didn"t

care.

Today couldn"t start early enough.

He grinned and turned onto his side so he could watch

Lance sleep. His soon to be husband had finally gotten used

to the very short nights. Magnus hoped he would have less

trouble with the equally short days in the coming winter.

The last three weeks had been hard work in a sense that

Magnus had never before appreciated. Quitting his job had

been relatively easy. They"d said they were sorry to see him

go, but in truth, they were probably relieved in the context of

the budget cuts.

No, the real issue was that he"d always taken his health

and fitness for granted. Having been hurt like he had and

struggling just to be able to walk at his own wedding had

been much harder than he"d anticipated. All the

professionals had told him what amazing progress he"d

made, but he didn"t feel it. The bottom line was that he was

impatient.

The Mistletoe Experiment |
Serena Yates

101

But his struggle had been worth it.

Lance mumbled something in his sleep and reached out

for him. Magnus took his lover"s hand in his and held it,

careful not to squeeze too hard so Lance wouldn"t wake up

too early. He needed his beauty sleep.

“Baby?” Lance opened one eye, quickly followed by the

second in the half-light of the sunshine penetrating even the

dark curtains.

“Morning,
älskling
.” Magnus moved closer to his sleep-

warm lover and took him into his arms.

“Do we have to get up yet?” Lance snuggled into him,

one leg between his thighs and his head in its customary

spot on his chest. This being his favorite position for falling

asleep, it looked like he wasn"t quite ready to get up yet.

Magnus checked the alarm clock to make sure.

“No, we"ve got a good two hours before Jakob is likely to

burst in here to remind us of our duty to be on time.”

Magnus chuckled. “I don"t expect him to be any less bossy

today than when we put him in charge of the rehearsal last

week.”

“That was a stroke of genius, by the way.” Lance put a

line of hot kisses along his chest, slowly making his way

toward his nipple.

“What, letting him boss us around?” Magnus shifted so

Lance could reach more easily. He was nothing if not willing

to be helpful.

“No, making him feel included and important.” Lance"s

mouth finally reached its target and he licked the nipple for

The Mistletoe Experiment |
Serena Yates

102

a few moments before looking up through his dark

eyelashes. “It"s going to be hard for him to have us both leave

for the honeymoon tomorrow, so feeling a part of this today

will be good for him.”

“Do you think we made a mistake, taking that first week

for ourselves before he joins us?” Magnus had really wanted

some time alone with Lance, though, and it was their

honeymoon after all.

“No, I think he"ll be fine. He understands we want to be

alone as well as with him.” Lance smiled and moved even

closer, pressing his hard cock against Magnus"s thigh. “And

I"m selfish enough to want you to myself for a week. We"ve

had some alone time since you"ve been back, but I don"t

think I"ll ever grow tired of spending time with you.”

“Thank God.” Magnus grinned and ran his hand down

Lance"s back to cup an ass cheek and squeeze it. “I was half

afraid you wanted to cancel our date with the sun, the nude

beach, and the cabana boys—the latter for decoration only,

of course.”

The reminder that they were headed for a nude beach

increased the heat between them, and the need to have

Lance touch his aching cock suddenly became almost

overwhelming. Definitely urgent. Lance seemed to

understand this and moved his leg from between Magnus"s

thighs to the other side, still careful of the healing wound

there. Lance moved up until he straddled Magnus, their

cocks firmly touching each other as he bent forward and

started to move his hips.

Magnus moaned and pulled his sexy lover down for a

kiss. The sensual massage of cock against cock drove his

The Mistletoe Experiment |
Serena Yates

103

arousal higher so quickly that he was about to come after an

embarrassingly short time.

Lance didn"t seem to mind, his frantic movements

indicated that he was almost there as well.

“Fuck, you feel good.” Lance ground their cocks against

each other with all he had, making them both pant.

“Shit, I"m gonna….” Magnus stiffened as his orgasm hit

him, making him shake with the force of it as his cock

released spurts of hot semen that joined Lance"s to make a

delicious mess between their bodies.

“God, that was good.” Lance grinned as he slid a finger

through their combined essences before slowly licking it off.

Magnus"s cock twitched at the sight of his lover cleaning

them up this way. There was only one thing he could do, so

he joined in the effort and made sure that Lance"s mouth

was cleaned as well once they were done. He loved kisses

that tasted of both of them, and Lance"s enthusiastic

wriggling on top of him confirmed that his lover felt the same

way.

After a much too short nap, followed by the predicted

urgent banging on the door from Jakob, they got dressed in

their informal clothes to go downstairs for breakfast. The

entire house had been decorated with more flowers than

traditional for the solstice celebration, and Magnus"s mother

had made a mini buffet of food for them.

They enjoyed the last few hours in relative peace, with

Lance"s parents, Katie and Adam, and his parents all getting

along well. When the caterers started arriving, everyone went

back upstairs to get dressed.

The Mistletoe Experiment |
Serena Yates

104

He was certainly impatient for the ceremony to start.

They"d chosen two p.m., since that had been their family call

time while he was at the polar station. He took Lance

upstairs so they could get dressed. By the time they were

done and Jakob came to pick them up, the officiant who was

going to perform the legal ceremony had arrived. He took a

last perfunctory look at the wedding paperwork, which had

been a total nightmare to complete, and they were ready to

begin.

Everyone else was assembled in the garden when the

music started.

This was it.

He took Lance"s hand, and they walked across the lawn,

down toward the festively decorated gazebo. Remembering

how he"d proposed to Lance in that same spot, exactly a year

ago, and how close they"d come to losing each other, was

almost overwhelming. He squeezed Lance"s hand and was

rewarded with a very tender look and a squeeze back.

They stood facing each other, holding each other"s

hands. He was so focused on Lance that he missed most of

what the officiant said. Lance in a tuxedo was sexier than

he"d thought possible. But what really got to him was the

love in Lance"s eyes. It was clearer today than on any

previous occasion, and it totally mesmerized him. He tried to

put everything he felt for Lance into his own gaze, but he

wasn"t sure that was even possible. His feelings were too

overwhelming, his love almost too big to even fit into his

body.

The Mistletoe Experiment |
Serena Yates

105

“Do you, Magnus Carstens, take Lance Rivera to be your

legally wedded husband?” The officiant"s voice sounded

louder than before.

“I do.” Magnus held his breath.

“Do you, Lance Rivera, take Magnus Carstens to be your

legally wedded husband?”

“I do.” Lance"s voice rang loud and clear, as sure as the

look that accompanied his words.

“You may now exchange rings.” The officiant stepped

back and let Jakob take over.

Magnus took the smaller ring from a smiling Jakob.

“I love you, Lance, and give you this ring as a token of

my everlasting love.” He slipped the simple gold wedding

band onto Lance"s finger. “I promise to support you, listen to

you, and to never go on anther expedition if you can"t come

with me. You have made my life worth living by bringing

more joy into it than I ever thought possible. I vow to be true

to you as long as we both shall live.”

Lance smiled and took the slightly larger ring from

Jakob.

“I love you, Magnus, more than I can say. I give you this

ring as a token of this everlasting love.” Lance slipped the

ring onto Magnus"s finger and caressed it before withdrawing

his hand. “I promise to stand beside you in all we do, provide

a loving home for you, and to go on expeditions with you

whenever I can. You have shown me how wonderful life with

you can be, and I vow to be true to you as long as we both

shall live.”

The Mistletoe Experiment |
Serena Yates

106

“I now declare you husband and husband.” The officiant

smiled at them before stepping back again.

Magnus took Lance into his arms, and to the cheering

and applause from their families and friends, he kissed his

new husband for the first time. It was nothing like the kisses

they had shared before. This was a kiss filled with love,

tenderness, and their mutual promise that their lives

together were going to be better than their lives alone could

have ever been. It was the kiss that confirmed the vows they

had just taken, and added a physical dimension to their new

status as married men.

He never wanted it to stop.

THE party was amazing. Lance hadn"t had so much fun at a

social function in years, if ever. The food was excellent and

plentiful, the people were all family and good friends, none of

them currently fighting with each other, and the music was

just perfect. He danced with every single guest, male and

female, before snatching his slightly resistant husband and a

giggling Jakob into a family hug and a protracted, if slightly

awkward, waltz.

They decided cake would be the best way to revive their

spirits, and they went to cut it, all three of them together. It

was a chocolate cake, based on his recipe that he"d given to

the baker. People frowned at first; a chocolate wedding cake