Forever After (Another Way Book 4) Read online

  Forever After

  by Anna Martin

  www.annamartin-fiction.com

  © 2020 Anna Martin

  All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law.

  Characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author. Any person depicted on the cover of this book is a model and is not affiliated with, nor do they endorse, this story.

  Forever After

  His lips were soft and damp.

  It was raining. That didn’t matter. It always rained in Seattle.

  My fingertips were resting lightly on his jaw and his warm palms held my waist steady as I rose up onto my toes, just enough to get a good angle to slide my tongue against his. Our lips weren’t really moving much, and even so, the kiss lasted longer than it should.

  A drop of rain ran down my cheek.

  Will’s lips parted under my own and caught my bottom lip between the both of his. I lowered my heels, wrapped my arms around his neck and, finally breaking out of the kiss, clung to him.

  “Congratulations, gentlemen,” the officiant said.

  I nodded, my face still pressed tightly to Will’s neck. My husband’s neck.

  “Love you,” Will murmured. Our friends and family were stood back on the deck, huddled under large black umbrellas, still clapping and cheering from the ‘legally wed’ part. I guessed they couldn’t hear what he was saying. “I’ll love you forever.”

  “I’ll love you forever too.”

  He was laughing as he kissed me again, then grabbed my hand and together we ran back up the path, into the sanctuary of our home.

  We were soaked, which I’d sort of anticipated. Someone was taking pictures of us as I shook water out of my hair and laughed.

  “We need to get changed, I’m sorry,” I said, touching Cara, my new mother-in-law, on the arm as we passed her. We were soaked from the rain.

  “You hurry up,” she told me with tears still shining in her eyes.

  We’d bought, rather than rented, new suits for the wedding. Which seemed ridiculous now, since we’d only had them on for an hour before we needed to change out of them. I kept half an eye on Will the whole time we stripped out of our clothes, hanging them over various pieces of furniture to dry.

  “Can I borrow something?” I asked Will as I shook wet socks off my feet and scrubbed my skin dry with a towel.

  “Of course.”

  He shot me a brilliant smile, one that went straight to my stomach and made it ache. Our families were waiting though, I didn’t have time to throw him on the bed and finish what that smile started.

  Will’s shoulders and chest were a little broader than mine, meaning most of his suits didn’t fit me as perfectly as they fit him. Still, we were close enough in height and shape for me to easily slip into his clothes.

  I didn’t borrow from his closet very often. Where Will was dark, I was fair. When the sun shined on his hair it revealed reddish highlights that the familiar northwestern rain so often disguised. As we’d grown older together I’d watched him broaden out, the hairs on his chest spread, his body settle into something solid and familiar.

  I’d picked up the habit of running to stay fit and clear my mind, so my frame was a little slimmer than his. In the past few years I’d let my hair grow out some so the blond curled at the ends, just a little.

  Out of all his suits, I liked the three-piece ones best, since they meant I could wear smart pants and a waistcoat, roll the sleeves of my shirt to my elbows and forgo a jacket altogether. I left the top button of the shirt undone and slipped the forest green bow tie around my neck, leaving it loose over my collarbones. Since it was my wedding day, and I could do whatever I wanted, I put my Chucks on rather than dress shoes. Will noticed, laughed, and pulled on his black Nikes.

  He sat down next to me on the bed to tie his laces. I looked at him and felt my whole world shifting on its axis. He was my husband, now. It would take some time for me to get used to this feeling.

  “Jesse,” he murmured and cupped my cheek in his hand as he kissed me.

  “Are you two done yet?” my sister called up the stairs. I laughed as we broke apart, resting our foreheads together.

  “Nearly,” I called back.

  “Hurry up!”

  I kissed him again, needing to taste him, needing the reassurance that was his lips on mine.

  “Come on,” he said quietly. “Let’s go party.”

  Instead of booking a wedding reception at some fancy hotel, we’d convinced one of our favorite restaurants to close for the afternoon and we’d rented the whole building until midnight. It was a great place, with a balcony upstairs that meant there was space for people to sit and drink and relax, even as the dancing happened downstairs.

  We sat down with fifty or so of our closest friends for dinner, laughing and letting the wine and romance fill the room. It didn’t really feel like a wedding reception, but that was what we had decided we wanted. There had been the small ceremony in our back yard, in the house we’d lived in together on Capitol Hill for years. Then a celebration which centered around wine and cake and fun.

  Lots of cake.

  “We’re not really doing speeches,” Will said after we’d finally got the attention of the room. The restaurant was always fairly dark and atmospheric—that was why we liked it—and the varying levels meant we had to stand on chairs so everyone could hear us. “I just wanted to say, on behalf of my husband and myself….” and of course, we had to wait again for them to stop clapping that, “thank you for coming today. This isn’t the beginning of something for me and Jesse, and it’s not the end. Apart from some jewelry and our names, nothing changes after today, not really. It’s just our way of cementing our relationship, confirming to the world that we love each other and intend to be together forever.”

  I reached over and took his hand, squeezed it, taking over the impromptu speech. “There’s a lot of people I need to thank for helping us make today happen. Mostly all the women in our lives.” Will laughed at that, and my stomach fluttered. “I married my best friend today. It’s been the best day of my whole life. Thank you all so much for sharing this with us.”

  Our friends raised their glasses in a toast, and I grinned as I tapped my wine glass against Will’s and sipped.

  More people filed in as the evening grew on; we told them to turn up whenever and leave when they were ready. The restaurant owners were amazing, easygoing despite our not having a clue what we wanted, and the complete lack of any kind of schedule. There was an open bar—courtesy of Will’s father—and I found myself getting a little drunk. Not horrendously so. But pleasantly buzzed.

  It seemed like I wasn’t able to stray from my husband’s side for more than about fifteen minutes at a time. We weren’t consciously staying close to each other, but there were people who had traveled to be with us for our big day, and I wanted to make sure I took the time to talk to everyone. But after a few minutes of conversation I’d look up, look around, and mentally clock where Will was. Then I went to him and stood, hand on his lower back, until someone stole one or the other of us for more wine, or kisses, or conversation.

  Will’s family had been my family too for a long time now. I’d been adopted by his mother within a few months of us starting a romantic relationship and she’d been a second mom to me for years. She was even more precious to me now, since my own mother had passed away from cancer, leaving a hole in my family that no one would ever be able to fill.

  And from the time we’d spent in Georgia with my dad and sister, I
knew Will felt as close to my father and sister as I was to his family.

  That was important.

  “Jesse.”

  I was pulled out of my conversation with Cara and one of Will’s aunts when his hand slipped into mine, dragging me off toward the small dance floor that had been set up. A local band were playing for us, perfect background music, though I recognized this song. It was one of our shared favorites.

  “Dance with me,” Will whispered.

  How the hell was I supposed to argue with that?

  Camera flashes told me the moment was being recorded as I laughed and stumbled into his arms, a strong arm anchoring my body to his as the other hand searched for mine, and our fingers feathered together.

  “First dance at our wedding,” Will murmured into my ear as we swayed together, managing to not step on each other’s toes—just.

  “You, sir, are a sap,” I murmured back.

  He dipped me elegantly and I laughed again, people whooped, then I spun him around when I’d righted myself. Dancers, we were not, but that didn’t matter. Outside of the two of us, tonight nothing else in the world mattered. It didn’t even exist.

  The house was dark when we stumbled in, kicking off our shoes at the door instead of putting them away properly.

  “Have to check the living room,” Will muttered. He was a little drunk. I was too. “Mom left us something.”

  “No. In the morning,” I said. “Take me to bed.”

  He didn’t argue with that. We undressed sloppily, kissing and touching and just being together, loving each other. That was fine, good, until we crawled into bed. I took a deep breath and felt my head thump.

  Still, I reached for him.

  “Not now,” he said, softly slurring the words. “I only get to make love to my husband for the first time once. Not going to do it drunk.”

  “Mmm… okay.”

  I rolled onto my side, let him spoon me neatly from behind, and kissed the ring on his finger. The one I’d put there.

  “Good night, Jesse.”

  “Good night husband.”

  The next morning I was woken by hazy sunlight spilling into our room around the curtains. Will was softly snoring next to me and I rolled out of bed carefully, trying not to wake him, and went through to the bathroom.

  Surprisingly, I didn’t have a hangover, only the edges of a headache that I chased away with a couple of Tylenol. I looked at my face in the mirror, wondering if I’d changed since the previous morning. I was a married man, now.

  I decided I was stupid and went back to my husband and my bed.

  As I snuggled back under the covers Will rolled over and scooped me back up into his arms. I smiled and sighed, content to lay there for a while longer. His fingers gently stroked over my arms and my belly while his lips brushed softly over my shoulder. I felt him grow hard behind me, his erection poking into my ass through two layers of fabric. I rolled over to face him.

  “Morning, beautiful,” he said in a scratchy voice.

  “Mornin’.”

  His fingertips skimmed over my belly, whisper light. He kissed my sternum, then pressed his lips over my heart. I wrapped my hand around the back of his neck as he stayed there for a long moment, then smiled up at me.

  “I’ve got some oil,” he murmured. “Something different, you know?”

  I gave him a wicked grin. “Sounds good to me.”

  We had our preferred lubricants—oil wasn’t one of them, probably due to the number of latex toys we owned that weren’t compatible. Will pulled a bottle out of his nightstand and slicked up his fingers, then rubbed his fingers in and around mine. It was smooth, thick and slick, the perfect kind of slick for lazy fucking.

  I was so used to his fingers inside me these days, I could pretty much take two at the same time, all the while keeping eye contact with him. As he twisted and turned his hand I took hold of my cock and pulled on it slowly, teasing myself as he helped himself to my body.

  My eyes fluttered closed and I felt Will’s lips dance up the length of my cock, then he sucked the head between his lips and flickered his tongue over the most sensitive part. I moaned, unashamed, and I felt his chuckle as much as I heard it.

  His fingers were gentle as they teased me open, and I decided that oil was definitely going to make a reappearance at some point in the future. Will let go of my cock and kissed up my body, leaving his fingers inside me, and found my lips with his own. He kissed me deeply and I humped the air, riding his hand, then moaned as he nipped across my jaw.

  “You ready?” he asked, his voice a low murmur.

  “Yeah.”

  Will pulled his fingers free and immediately replaced them with his cock, pushing at least half of it into me in one thrust. I laughed breathlessly, arching my back and bringing my legs up to hug his ass, and with the next thrust he was inside me to the hilt, kissing my neck as I pushed my fingers into his hair.

  “Will,” I groaned, wanting his name in my mouth. He replaced the word with his tongue and we kissed deeply as he moved with me, realizing how important it was to be connected everywhere, on every level.

  This was the most perfect, lazy Saturday morning sex. We knew each other so intimately, on every conceivable level. There was nothing awkward, no pain or discomfort, just the peace and unashamed joy of being together. Me and him. My husband and I.

  “Jesse,” he said, and I thrust my tongue back into his mouth.

  My hand curled around the back of his neck and I could feel his smile against my lips as we peppered little kisses on each other’s lips. He thrust hard, angling his cock against my prostate, then laughed as I groaned.

  “Feel good?”

  “Yeah. Amazing. Do it again.”

  Will laughed again and did as he was told, picking up the speed of his thrusts as we both started to chase our orgasms. He slid his tongue against mine, licking deep into my mouth, and when he said my name again I knew he was close.

  We knew each other well enough that when he pressed our foreheads together, I knew what happened next, and pushed my heels into his ass cheeks, begging him to get deeper inside me, to come hard and fast and to fill me—

  “Oh, fuck, Jesse,” he groaned, and the sound and feel of him tipped me over the edge.

  My body curled, pulling him as far as he could go, and we trembled and shook, finding that peak at the same time.

  I held him to me, stroking down the length of his spine, my lips brushing quietly against his neck. When he shivered I kicked the covers up and pulled them to cover his body. It was still cold outside.

  “I’ll move,” he murmured and I shook my head.

  “I’m okay.”

  “I’m squashing you.”

  I kissed his cheek. “I like it.”

  He laughed softly and buried his face in my neck. I wrapped my arms around his back to keep him close, and refused to let go.

  Later, after showers and clothes, we wandered through to the living room with coffee and leftover cinnamon buns. I stopped first, noticing the new addition to the room, and Will nearly stumbled into my back.

  “What’s that?”

  “I dunno,” I murmured. There was a new chair in front of the window. A big, round one. On the seat was a plain envelope.

  I sat down cross-legged on the floor in front of the chair and carefully balanced my bun on the rim of my coffee mug. Will sat down opposite me and took the envelope.

  “Okay, there’s a card.”

  “Read it to me,” I said.

  “Dear Will and Jesse. We know you both said you didn’t want any gifts, but we couldn’t let the occasion of your wedding pass without passing a few things on. The chair is a gift from Jesse’s dad, who says ‘you both always seem to end up sitting in one chair together anyway – at least this one is designed for two’. It’s a loveseat, and should comfortably hold you both.”

  I laughed and picked up my coffee, sipped it. “Who’s handwriting is it?” I asked.

  “My mom’s.”

>   “I love her.”

  “Mhmm. We would also like you to know that your friends and family have donated over five thousand dollars in honor of your wedding to GLBT youth charities. We are so proud that you are our sons.”

  “That’s so amazing.”

  He nodded. “Yeah. Five grand, that’s… wow.”

  We had asked our wedding guests to make donations instead of buying us gifts for the wedding, since we’d lived together since forever and there wasn’t anything we really wanted or needed. The donation was way more anything I could have asked for.

  I shifted on the floor until I could lay my head on Will’s shoulder. Really, not that much had changed. A few pieces of jewelry and our last names—we were both Anderson-Ross, now. We’d had the big, blow out party to celebrate our lives and our families, and it was back to normal.

  Well, almost.

  Will had wanted to spend our wedding night at home, in our own bed, rather than at some sterile hotel where other couples had fucked in the same room. We were the only people who had made love in our bed, and that was important for reasons I couldn’t articulate. We had gotten married on a Friday because it was easier to book the restaurant and the officiant. Will had something up his sleeve for later in the year in the way of a honeymoon—he wanted to take three weeks and go to Europe, but that simply wasn’t possible with his current work schedule. I didn’t mind waiting, and had booked a room for us in a lodge just outside Tacoma for the weekend.

  Our overnight bags were already packed, so once we were done with breakfast we piled into my SUV and headed out toward Snoqualmie Falls. It was a beautiful area, quiet and fresh, despite being so close to the city. A perfect little slice of solitude for the weekend.

  Will sang along to the radio as I drove too quickly and I laughed at him, feeling light and stupid and full of so much love for this man that it threatened to burst out of me at any moment. When we pulled into the parking lot of the lodge it was just before lunch and my stomach was growling, remembering the promised gourmet menus that the lodge offered in their five star lounge and dining room.