“Sit,” Sloane ordered, his voice low and rough.
Dex did as asked, turning to sit up on the bench and spreading his knees so Sloane could kneel between them. Sloane kissed Dex before swallowing down Dex’s cock.
“Oh fuck!”
Dex slipped his fingers into Sloane’s hair and grabbed fistfuls of it. When Sloane stopped moving, Dex planted one hand on the bench, and with the other braced himself so he could thrust up into Sloane’s mouth. Sloane let out a guttural moan, and Dex could feel his orgasm looming.
“You like that? You like it when I fuck your mouth, don’t you?”
Sloane nodded around Dex’s cock, and Dex almost came right then. He grabbed hold of Sloane’s hair again with one hand as he thrust into Sloane’s mouth over and over.
“You look so fucking hot with your lips around my dick.”
Sloane’s tongue was sinful as it did dirty things to Dex’s cock, the tip pressing into Dex’s slit, then pushing against the underside of Dex’s cock before once again moving to work Dex’s slit. His cheeks hollowed as he sucked, his free hand fondling Dex’s balls.
“Oh God, Sloane. I’m gonna come.”
Sloane picked up his pace, the sweet friction building inside Dex as he watched his cock moving in and out between those full lips. A white light burst in front of his eyes, and Dex screamed Sloane’s name, his muscles straining and his body shivering as he emptied himself inside Sloane’s mouth. Sloane swallowed every drop, and when Dex was a boneless mess, Sloane stood and kissed Dex so he could taste himself.
“Holy fuck, babe,” Dex murmured, his knees a little unsteady as Sloane led him back under the shower to wash them again. “I think training just got a whole lot more interesting.”
Sloane chuckled as they finished up and turned off the water. As Sloane dried Dex, he nuzzled his hair, his voice soft, yet full of promise. “As long as I’m the one taking you home and getting you all sweaty in bed.”
Dex turned and slipped his arms around Sloane’s waist. “You’ve got a deal.”
CHAPTER 2
“TWENTY MINUTES,” Dex announced before thrusting a spatula in Sloane’s direction and lip-synching to “Do Ya, Do Ya Want My Love” by Electric Light Orchestra, making Sloane laugh.
“I already got your love,” Sloane said, giving Dex a quick kiss on the lips before placing the groceries he’d just brought home on the island counter to put away.
“Damn right you do.” Dex went back to singing into his spatula and bopping around the kitchen in his Peter Venkman Ghostbusters apron Letty gifted him for his birthday. His wearing it usually resulted in Ghostbusters movie quotes or scene reenactments, with his favorite scene to perform being Venkman getting slimed. Dex’s one-man show included him playing the part of Peter, Ray, and Slimer. It made Sloane laugh his ass off every time.
“Mmm, that smells good. What’s for dinner?” Usually Sloane did the cooking and Dex washed up. Dex was a great cook, but he loved to eat the food more than he liked to make it. He was also very particular about how things should be cleaned and stored, so Sloane didn’t even attempt to do the washing up afterward. Unless it was a lone mug or cereal bowl, he left the cleaning up to Dex. Also, with Sloane doing the cooking, it meant there was always some kind of vegetable on their plate rather than double the carbs.
“Lemon and herb chicken, baked garlic parmesan potato wedges, and parmesan baby broccoli.”
Sloane gasped. “You cooked little trees?” Several months ago, Dex decided vegetables were too annoying to be called by their names and therefore renamed every vegetable to cross his plate. As if renaming them would somehow get him out of eating them. Broccoli was now referred to as “little trees.” Carrots were “veggie vampire killers,” sprouts “shrunken cabbages,” and asparagus “pee stinkers.” The list went on.
Dex rolled his eyes. “Yes, oh love of my loins.” He narrowed his eyes at Sloane, his lips curling into an evil grin. “I baked alive your precious baby trees. Muahaha.”
“And I bet they’ll taste delicious.”
“Did you get dessert?”
“Of course.” Sloane held up a carton of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream in each hand. “Cherry Garcia and Phish Food, as requested.”
“You’re the best,” Dex said, then blew Sloane a kiss before he started washing up the dishes he’d used to prep dinner. Dirty dishes in the sink gave Dex hives. Once all the groceries had been put away, Sloane turned to Dex, momentarily captivated by his beautiful partner. Today’s socks were ninjas leaping and summersaulting—a Christmas gift from Cael. The charcoal gray distressed T-shirt Dex had on with a Nintendo controller on it and the words “Classically Trained” was fitting a little snugger these days, thanks to the muscle he’d put on, and although the black pajama bottoms he wore were loose, they couldn’t hide that delicious ass. The man really was a feast for the eyes.
Unable to help himself, Sloane slipped his arms around Dex, his chest pressed against Dex’s back and his fingers splayed on Dex’s chest, keeping him close. A sweet love song floated up from the Bluetooth speakers in the living room, and Sloane hummed softly, stopping only long enough to kiss Dex’s cheek. He began to sway, head pressed to Dex’s.
“Less than two weeks,” Sloane murmured. “In less than two weeks, we’ll be having our first dance as husband and husband.”
Dex dried his hands on a dish towel before placing them over Sloane’s. He laced their fingers together and joined Sloane, swaying in time to the music. Sloane’s heart skipped a beat at the thought of their upcoming wedding. Part of him was nervous as hell, but the other side of him couldn’t wait to stand with Dex, hand in hand before the whole world, as they exchanged vows. Dex had been prepared to write his own, but Sloane asked if they could keep the traditional wedding vows. There had been no hesitation on Dex’s part when he agreed.
Details like color scheme, type of cake, and venue were all things Sloane left to Dex, and he preferred it that way. It was too much for him. He never thought he’d be lucky enough to find someone who’d love him the way Dex did, much less get married, so he’d never given any thought to what kind of wedding he’d have. Dex, on the other hand, had very specific ideas. For Sloane, making sure Dex was happy was more important than Sloane randomly choosing a certain flavor of cake, which was what would have ended up happening had the choice been his.
When Sloane asked to keep a few traditions, Dex beamed at him. The fact Sloane was asking was enough for Dex to know it was important to him. After the vows, they discussed what other traditions Sloane wanted to keep. The big ones for him were keeping the ceremony traditional as far as vows, music, wedding party, and attire. Together they’d approved the venue, and Tony had insisted on taking care of the rehearsal dinner, since Dex was paying for the wedding. Tony hadn’t been happy about it at first, and he’d been prepared to argue with Dex, thinking Dex was just trying to save him from a huge bill, but the truth was, Dex intended on following tradition and having his parents pay for his wedding.
After John and Gina Daley were killed, their life insurance policies had paid out a huge amount of money. When Dex had added Sloane’s name to the house—a house Dex bought with some of his parents’ insurance money, along with his car—he’d disclosed how much money he still had left. It had shocked the shit out of Sloane. Now, not only had Dex found the perfect use for a portion of that money, but he’d also found a way to include his parents in his wedding day. The three of them had sat in Tony’s living room, not one dry eye among them. Tony had smiled through his tears and agreed it was a wonderful idea.
Sloane closed his eyes, loving the feel of Dex’s warm body pressed to his, how perfectly he fit against Sloane, and the delicious scent that was all Dex. God, how he loved this man. He couldn’t imagine his life without Dex. Without his gorgeous smile, infectious laugh, and his big heart full of so much love. Despite the emotional roller coaster of the last few years, after everything Dex had suffered, he hadn’t lost any of what made him Dex. He still l
aughed at his own silly jokes, wore crazy socks, rocked out to eighties music, and enjoyed driving Ash crazy.
Dex turned his head so Sloane could kiss him. “I can’t believe it’ll be four years since we met. Do you remember?”
“Remember?” Sloane chuckled. “How could I forget? You left me speechless.”
“Yeah, it wasn’t one of my better moments,” Dex said with a laugh, most likely recalling the instant their lives changed forever.
“I’ll admit, when you smacked your head against mine, my first thought was that you were an idiot.”
“I kinda felt like one at the time,” Dex muttered.
“That wasn’t what left me speechless, though.”
“Oh?”
Sloane released Dex and gently turned him so they were face-to-face. Dex’s beautiful smile stole Sloane’s breath away. What could he possibly have done to be so lucky? “It was your eyes.” Sloane stroked Dex’s eyebrow with his thumb and cupped Dex’s cheek. “Four years. It seems like only yesterday, but at the same time, it’s like I’ve always known you.” He brushed his lips over Dex’s, coaxing his beautiful mate to let him in. Dex parted his lips, and Sloane slipped his tongue inside, tasting, savoring the taste of him. Dex stroked Sloane’s right arm where his—as of five months ago—tattoo was. He smiled against Sloane’s lips before pulling back to look down at it.
“I can’t believe you had this done for me.”
Sloane smiled, his fingers brushing along Dex’s own half-sleeve tattoo on his left arm. Calvin designed Dex’s first, which meant when Sloane approached him, asking him to design a matching one, Calvin was able to design it so when they stood with their arms together, the images fit. Sloane’s ship faced Dex’s lighthouse, both sharing the same starry night and swirling sea.
“When you said you were getting one and I saw the design, I knew right away I wanted one too. So you’d always be with me.”
The oven timer beeped, and Dex kissed Sloane before cheerfully announcing dinner was ready. “Grab a plate, sexy pants.” He removed the trays from the oven, and Sloane went to the fridge.
“What are you drinking?”
“Water’s fine.”
That answer would have surprised him several months ago, but Dex was doing a great job in cutting back on the sugary drinks, especially in the evenings. Sloane grabbed them a couple of bottled waters and placed them on the counter so he could serve himself. Once they’d both filled up their plates, they each grabbed their water, cutlery, and paper towels before heading into the living room. They sat on the couch, and Dex turned on the TV and flipped channels until he got to one of his favorite cop shows. It was the only one they watched, not for the realism, but because it was full of action, great banter, and Sloane agreed with Dex that the bromantic lead couple were pretty damn sexy.
As they ate and watched TV together, Sloane realized he was stupidly happy. After all the crazy they’d been through, they had six weeks off, three leading up to the wedding and three for their honeymoon. The thought made him smile like a dope.
“What’s got you all smiley?” Dex asked before chomping down on one of his potato wedges. Potatoes had not been renamed, as they were “awesome and tasty” and therefore not considered true vegetables in Dex’s book—unless Sloane was bugging him to eat more veggies, and then suddenly potatoes transformed into temporary vegetables. Sometimes living with Dex was like living with a Human jigsaw puzzle where all the pieces were the same color.
“Well?”
Sloane snapped out of it. “Oh. I was thinking about spending three weeks with you on the sandy beaches of Curaçao.”
Dex hummed. “You in an itsy bitsy teeny weenie yellow polka dot bikini.”
Sloane laughed. “Yeah, no.”
“You’re right. Mankini is more your style.”
“Mankini is no one’s style. Just no.”
“You know, they make tux mankinis with little bow ties. I think we should totally trade our tuxes in for those. What do you say? Walk down the aisle with me, bare assed.”
Sloane laughed around a mouthful of potato. “That’s just wrong. Besides, then we’d have to get turquoise and tangerine ones for the wedding party. Ash would make sure we never made it to the altar.” A thought occurred to him, and he had to swallow before he choked on his laughter.
“What?” Dex asked.
“I dare you to call up Lou and tell him we’re switching our tuxes to tux mankinis.”
Dex let out a bark of laughter. “Oh my God, yes!” He put his plate on the coffee table and swiped up his phone to call Lou. Within seconds, Lou picked up. “Hey, Lou. Yeah, everything’s great. Listen, so I was thinking about our tuxes for the ceremony, and we thought maybe we’d go for something a little more… creative.”
Sloane put a fist to his mouth so he wouldn’t laugh. He could just see Lou’s face. The poor guy.
“Yeah, we were thinking of, you know, being a little different, and figured why not just go for it? So we decided to go with tux mankinis.”
Sloane waited.
“What’s a mankini?” Dex’s lips twitched, and Sloane could tell he was trying desperately not to burst. “Why don’t you google it. I can wait.” Dex winked at Sloane when a roar of expletives in both Spanish and English came blasting through the phone. They couldn’t hold it any longer and busted into peals of laughter.
“But, Lou, it’d still be classy. They got little bow ties, and—I only understood the word saints. Lou, are you blaspheming right now? Think of your poor abuelita.” Dex quickly moved the phone away from his ear. “Oh, he really didn’t like that.” With a chuckle, he held the phone out to Sloane. “He said your name.”
Sloane shook his head. “No way. He still wants to smother me in my sleep over the color scheme incident.” Dex waved the phone at him, and with a groan Sloane took it. “Hi, Lou.”
“Sloane,” Lou said through gritted teeth. “If your fiancé so much as hints to any ridiculous changes, I’ll be forced to do the unthinkable.”
“And what’s that?”
“I will send my mother to your house.”
Having dealt with few mothers in his lifetime, Sloane wasn’t exactly sure how that was a threat. Dex arched an eyebrow at Sloane, and Sloane shrugged. “He said he’s going to send his mother to our house.”
Dex’s eyes went so wide Sloane thought they were going to pop out of his head. Before Sloane could say a word, Dex dove for the phone and snatched it out of Sloane’s hand.
“Lou, hey. Let’s not be too hasty now. I was just kidding. Of course, I wouldn’t do such a thing. I’ll be on my best behavior. At least until the reception. I promise. Please, please don’t send your mom to our house. Pinky swear. Cross my heart. Do you need me to put it in writing? Sign something? A contract? I’ll do it. Whatever it is, I’ll do it. Just don’t tell your mom!”
Sloane went back to finishing his dinner, amused by Dex’s panicked look. Was Dex really afraid of Lou’s mom? How bad could she be? After promising profusely that he wouldn’t cause Lou any more near heart attacks, Dex hung up.
“Okay. Crisis averted.”
Sloane laughed and placed his plate on the coffee table. “You should have seen your face. You’re really scared of Lou’s mom?”
Dex turned to face Sloane. “You have no idea of the horror. Lou’s dad is Dominican and a chef. Oh my God, his food is to die for. That’s where Lou got his love of good food. Lou’s mom is Cuban. She also makes awesome food, but I swear to you, Sloane, I have never, ever faced a more terrifying adversary.”
“Adversary? You make her sound like some kind of Bond villain.”
“Pfft, amateurs compared to this lady. She’s this tiny little woman with a supersweet smile and a perfect little bob, and holy shit, she will bust your shit up without laying a finger on you. I don’t know how she does it, but she has this death stare. Like Medusa. If you look directly at her, you’re screwed, except she doesn’t turn you to stone, she destroys you with her mom guilt. Like how
can you break her heart? How can you crush her soul? Which is what you’re doing by saying no or disagreeing with her. You say yes, and you fucking run. You run fast, Sloane.”
Sloane was in tears from laughing. He could picture it so clearly. “Are you telling me there’s someone out there who’s immune to your Daley charm?”
“You have no fucking idea. I shit you not. You know how Darla does that Southern ‘I’m smiling, and sweet-sounding words are coming out of my mouth, but I’m actually about to shank you with a spork’ thing? Well this is worse. So much worse.”
Sloane thought about it. “Like Julia?”
Dex shook his head. “I would walk through fire for Julia. No one wants to disappoint Julia. Lou’s mom is more like, if you disappoint her, you’re the biggest asshole to walk this earth and you’re going to hell for causing this poor innocent little lady so much pain. She’s pure evil, I tell you. Evil wrapped in floral chiffon.”
Sloane fell over onto his side, holding his stomach, which started to cramp from laughing so hard. His face hurt. He was dying to call Lou up and have him send his mom over just so he could witness this great feat. He needed to get some tips from the woman.
“I know what you’re thinking,” Dex said with a sniff as he stood with his empty plate. “If you so much as even hint at what you’re thinking, there will be no sexy times for you for the foreseeable future.”
Sloane sat up with a scoff. “Please. Like you would last a day.” He picked up his plate and followed Dex into the kitchen. Dex took it from him and started washing, grumbling under his breath, making Sloane laugh. He wrapped his arms around Dex from behind and nuzzled his temple. “And why would you want to?” He kissed behind Dex’s ear, loving the shiver it sent through his sexy-as-sin partner. “Don’t worry. I wouldn’t subject you to such horrors.”
Dex finished washing up, his lips doing that adorable pouty thing. When he’d dried his hands, Sloane took his hand and pulled him into a twirl before dipping him. Dex let out a laugh, and Sloane planted a quick sweet kiss on those delicious lips, then brought him back up. Dex shoved at him playfully, shaking his head before he turned to walk away.
“Come here, baby,” Sloane said in a low sultry tone that immediately got Dex’s attention. His sexy man turned to him, laughing when Sloane crooked his finger. He bit down on his bottom lip before giving Sloane his hand. Sloane pulled Dex against him, and they danced around the kitchen, through the dining room, and into the living room. Sloane’s heart was ready to burst from how happy he was. This right here, this was what mattered. Whatever happened in their work lives, whatever job they were doing, whatever operation they’d find themselves in, this was what he would look back on, what he would draw strength from. This was worth surviving whatever trials came their way, and hopefully someday soon, they could retire and spend every evening in each other’s arms, dancing, laughing, and loving each other unconditionally.
After dancing, they went back to watching TV before showering and changing into their pajamas. Cael called, and while Dex chatted with his brother, Sloane put some laundry away. Afterward, he was in the mood for some ice cream. They’d gotten so caught up in their being sappy that he’d forgotten about dessert.
Sloane headed into the kitchen and searched the freezer with a frown. Where the hell was it? “Babe, where’s my ice cream?”
“Oh.”
Sloane closed the freezer door and turned to find Dex standing in the middle of the kitchen, spoon near his mouth and what looked suspiciously like Sloane’s Cherry Garcia in his hand. Or rather an empty carton of what was once Cherry Garcia. Considering the carton of Phish Food had also been absent in Sloane’s search of the freezer, he was going to hazard a guess that a certain someone had devoured that as well.
“Um.” Dex dropped his gaze to the carton, then looked back up at Sloane, big blue eyes wide and innocent. “I can explain.”
Sloane leaned against the counter, his arms folded over his chest. “I can’t wait to hear this.” He arched an eyebrow at Dex and motioned for him to proceed.
“The thing is,” Dex began, and Sloane could almost see all the little wheels and cogs working furiously in that sweet little Dex brain. “I, um….” A lightbulb went off somewhere, and Dex met Sloane’s gaze, his expression serious. “Sloane, I didn’t know how I was going to tell you this with everything going on, but….” He sniffed, and Sloane straightened.
“What’s wrong?”
Dex’s bottom lip wobbled, and he let out a shaky breath. “I’m pregnant.”
Sloane’s expression turned deadpan. “Really?”
Dex nodded. “It was a craving. I’m so sorry. I’m eating for two, you know.” He put the spoon and the empty carton in the sink before placing a hand on his belly. He gasped. “Quick, give me your hand. I can feel him kicking.”
Sloane rolled his eyes, and Dex let out a loud, disturbingly long burp. “False alarm. It was just gas.”
“Classy.” Sloane shook his head and walked around the counter as Dex washed his spoon. Dex then dived onto the couch when Sloane sat down. Sloane flipped through the channels, and Dex rolled onto his back, his head in Sloane’s lap.
“Don’t be mad.”
Sloane wasn’t mad, but that didn’t mean he was going to let Dex off the hook that easy. Dex knew better than to eat two cartons of ice cream in one night.
“You ate your ice cream and mine.”
Dex pouted. “I’m sorry. Being half Therian is hard. I’m hungry all the time.”
Sloane scoffed. “Nice try. You were hungry all the time before.”
“Yeah, but now it takes more food to fill me up.”
“Which we buy,” Sloane reminded him. “Admit it. You wanted ice cream, and since you’d eaten all of yours, you thought you’d eat mine and then pretend like I’d finished it.” It wouldn’t be the first time. Sloane knew Dex far too well by now. Sloane rarely ate dessert, which meant his lasted longer, or at least until Dex gave him the sad puppy eyes and Sloane gave in.
Dex threw a hand dramatically over his brow. “I can’t help it, Sloane. I’m weak, and ice cream is so tasty.”