Lost and Found (Twist of Fate, Book 1) Read online

  “Bennett,” he breathed. His eyes were wide and reverent, and I knew he was completely with me in that moment.

  “Xander.” I moved my hips until the head of my cock pressed into him. The hot squeeze of his body around mine was unlike anything I’d ever felt before.

  Absolute heaven.

  Chapter 35

  Xander

  I was pleasantly surprised at the lack of pain when Bennett’s dick slid into me. He’d relaxed me to the point of a horny nirvana before entering me, and my body stretched to accommodate him with little trouble. He kept mumbling comforting words, reminding me to breathe and push out, but he went so slowly it drove me crazy. His body hovered above me and his eyes locked onto mine. Little divots of worry marred his forehead, and I reached up without thinking to grasp the sides of his face so I could pull him down to kiss away the worry lines.

  “S’okay,” I said with my lips against his skin. “Feels good, baby, but please move, okay? Wanna feel you.”

  Bennett began to pulse his hips, dragging his cock out before pushing it back in again. With every move he made, his length went deeper and deeper until I finally felt his balls brush against my ass. His taut abdominal muscles pressed into my erection, dragging the skin up and down with each stroke into me. My nerves were firing in every direction and I couldn’t focus on what felt better— the delicious slide of Bennett’s stomach against my cock or the complete fullness of his dick inside of me. I felt him everywhere at once and it still wasn’t enough.

  He shifted his hips. “Benny,” I cried out as the new angle caused him to brush against a sensitive spot that had me seeing stars. “Oh god, oh god. Please, Benny. Please do that again.”

  His thrusts sped up until he was nailing my prostate with every stroke and I thought I would come completely undone. Bennett’s face was intense, and I could tell he was close to finishing.

  “Xander, come with me,” he gasped.

  “Go. Want to see you, feel you,” I reassured him. Before the words were out, he was screaming my name and pushing even deeper into me. I felt the warmth of his release and the pulse of his cock as it emptied inside of me. It felt amazing.

  But I still wanted more. It was like he’d ignited something inside of me, and I couldn’t get enough of him. I felt like a caveman who wanted to do nothing more than capture the man and drag him back to my lair. To own him and fuck him and make him mine in every way. Over and over and over again.

  When he pulled out of me, I immediately scrambled out from under him and pushed him down, face-first on the bed. He was half-drunk with the aftershocks of his release, but I was still hard as fuck and lucid as hell. I wanted inside his body with a single-minded focus that drove me to act.

  “Gonna take you, baby. Right now, okay?” I ground out as I shoved his knees underneath him, exposing the tight pink hole in his crease. I groaned and looked away, afraid that one more look at him already well-fucked and laid out for me would push me over the edge.

  He mumbled his agreement, so I grabbed the lube bottle and squeezed out what I needed. I leaned over and ran my tongue from his balls up his crease and back again, stopping only briefly to lick into him with a firm tongue.

  Bennett babbled and groaned into the pillow under his face, and I took a moment to run appreciative hands up and down his spine.

  “Fuck, you’re beautiful, Bennett Crawford,” I murmured. Was I being a selfish jackass by interrupting his post-orgasmic high to get myself off? I began to have second thoughts, even as I stroked lube onto my stiff cock. “Benny, I can’t… I want… I need to—”

  “Less thinking, more doing,” he quipped, and I could tell from the teasing tone of his voice he was not only willing, but happy too. That was all it took.

  I shoved into him with a roar before I began thrusting deep and sure. He cried out and slammed his ass back against me in response, which only served to ratchet up my pace to a fevered pitch.

  Only a handful of strokes later and I was ready to spill into him— jagged shards of shimmering pleasure kicked up from my balls to my cock, and a rough cry fell from my lips against his back. Tears pricked the corners of my eyes, and I knew that I’d never be the same after that claiming. His of me and mine of him.

  It was done. We were together. And it was only the beginning.

  Several moments later, I realized I’d basically collapsed onto his back with my full body weight. I felt him struggle beneath me, and I grunted in response.

  “Can’t… breathe…” he croaked.

  “Shit, sorry,” I said, feeling a little sheepish as I rolled off him. “Guess I got carried away.” I landed on my back beside him and stretched my arms above my head like a cat.

  Bennett climbed on top of me and grinned down at me. The look on his face was fucking adorable as hell.

  “I look forward to you getting carried away again in the future,” he said.

  “That can probably be arranged.” I reached up to brush my fingers through his messy hair until it was sticking up even more than before. “Good morning, gorgeous. Do I smell coffee?”

  “You do. Let me get cleaned off, and I’ll join you for a cup.”

  It was only then that I noticed there were streaks of cum smeared all over his belly and chest. My eyes snapped to the sheets where he’d been lying face down, and I saw they were covered in wet spots too. I quirked a brow at him.

  “You came twice?”

  Bennett nodded and continued his shit-eating grin. “Didn’t I tell you the early bird gets the worm? You must have been too caught up in your Neanderthal act to notice little old me getting off again.”

  I felt my face heat. “Baby, I’m sor—”

  “Are you kidding? It was hot as hell, Xander. And if you don’t believe me, believe the gallon of cum on your bed. C’mon. Let’s get some coffee. While I’d love to lie here and rehash what had to have been sex for the ages, I think we have some things we need to figure out.”

  He leaned back over me to kiss me sweetly, and I brought my hand up to cup the back of his head. After a few moments of enjoying each other’s lips and tongues, Bennett pulled back and smiled down at me.

  “How’s your poor little virgin hole?” he asked.

  I took stock of how I was feeling back there and winced. “Not so virgin anymore. I think you might need to kiss it and make it better later.”

  Bennett let out a laugh. “Gladly. Now c’mon,” he said, climbing off the bed and reaching out for me. “Quick shower, then coffee.”

  When we were finally settled with coffee and half-empty plates of scrambled eggs at the kitchen table, I took a sip of my coffee before asking, “Are the kids with Gary today for the ropes course?”

  “Yeah. Aiden and Jake went to watch. Along with Kimberly and Larry, the other chaperones from the foundation. Why?”

  “Just making sure they’re in good hands. I was hoping to take you with me to meet Aunt Lolly.” I set the mug down and reached for his hand. “But first, let’s talk about Lucky. I know you’re worried about him.”

  Bennett’s eyes found mine, and I felt my heart squeeze. “C’mere, baby,” I said softly, pulling him off his chair and over to the sofa in the main room. I sat down and pulled him into my lap. I wrapped my arms around him and held tight. “I want you to know without a shadow of a doubt that I’m with you. We’ll figure this out together. You’re not alone.”

  His body trembled as I held him. “What if they’ve hurt him? What if I have to take him home to them, Xander? I can’t do it. I won’t.” He looked up at me with defiance.

  I brushed a kiss onto his forehead. “We’ll talk to him tonight to find out exactly what’s going on, and you won’t have to take him home to them if there’s even a hint of abuse.”

  Bennett snuggled back into my chest, and I knew his mind was going a million different directions.

  “Benny, did you ever think about taking in Lucky yourself?” I asked as an idea began to take shape in my mind.

  His eyebrows furr
owed in confusion. “Well, yeah. I mean, I daydreamed about it, but I’m a single guy who works sixty hours a week. That’s hardly a good situation for a kid to come home to. Not to mention the fact I’m gay, and my parents would never accept it. I just assumed it wasn’t even something I could seriously consider.”

  “What if you weren’t single?” My question caused him to turn his head to look at me.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, I don’t plan on losing you again, which means I’m going back to New York with you, whether you like it or not,” I said with a smile. “You won’t be alone anymore. The two of us can take care of Lucky together.”

  Bennett sat up quickly, nearly toppling off my lap with the momentum. I reached out to keep him from going too far from me.

  “You… wait, what? You want us to foster Lucky together? Like a real family?” His eyes had gone wide, as if he was too afraid to hope for what I was suggesting.

  “No, baby,” I said. Bennett’s smile began to fade, so I continued quickly. “I didn’t mean foster him. I meant we can try to adopt him. If he wants us, that is. We’d have to ask him—”

  Bennett launched himself at me with a yelp before squeezing his arms tightly around my neck. I automatically brought my arms around his back to hold him tight. My heart was racing from seeing him so excited, and I wondered how many other times in our lives I’d be lucky enough to see that raw joy on his face.

  “Xander, are you serious right now?” He breathed against my ear. “It’s okay if you aren’t, but I don’t want to get my hopes up if you—”

  “Yes, Benny. Of course I’m serious. Lucky is a great kid, and he deserves a great dad like you.”

  Bennett pulled back to look at me, eyes shining with unshed tears. “Like both of us.”

  My chest tightened. “Think so? I wouldn’t be a terrible parent?”

  “Of course not. You and I learned from the best, after all. Didn’t we?” His eyes were locked on mine, and I knew he meant my dad— the man who’d taken us to see our favorite bands in concert, who’d taken us to Yankees games, who’d taught us how to fish and how to light a campfire. The man who’d loved both of us unconditionally and had taught us the value of hard work and dedication to family. The man who’d let us be together without a shred of judgement. If Bennett and I were able to become good fathers, it would be because my dad had shown us by example. I felt my throat close up.

  “Benny,” I whispered. “I miss him so much.”

  “I know you do, baby. Me too.”

  Bennett leaned in and kissed me softly, letting our lips stay pressed together until I gathered my composure and could speak again. “Lucky needs us. This is the right thing to do. I’ll move to New York. I write freelance content for several outdoor sports websites. I can probably turn that into a full-time job, so I can be there when Lucky gets home from school.”

  “No, Xander. I don’t want you in New York. You don’t belong there.” Before I had a chance to lie and deny his statement, he smiled. “Lucky and I will come here. This is your home and I’m not about to let you give it up.”

  “No. You’re the one with a big important job. There’s no way you can leave the foundation,” I corrected. “I’ll move east.”

  Bennett let out a big breath and turned to face me on the sofa, crossing his legs and taking both of my hands in his.

  “Xander, from here on out, you are my big important job. You, and hopefully Lucky too. I think Haven, Colorado is a much better place for Lucky to finish growing up than New York. You saw how he was in the mountains. He loved it. Can’t you imagine the three of us hiking and camping? Rafting and fishing? Staying in the city isn’t what either of us needs. We need fresh air and space for a new start.”

  God, that sounded amazing. Like a dream come true. I used our joined hands to pull him forward for a kiss. “That sounds perfect. But just know that my new start is with you no matter where you are, okay?”

  “Even if I decide to move to a nudist colony?” Bennett’s eyes twinkled and he couldn’t help but start laughing.

  I narrowed my eyes at him. Maybe my love was conditional after all.

  After a few moments, Bennett settled, and I gently pushed him back so I could look into his eyes. “Last night… you mentioned Jake. Why?”

  His fingers reached out to tuck my hair behind my ear. “It doesn’t matter. It’s not important.”

  I ran my hands up and down the warm skin of his sides as I said, “Everything you think and feel is important to me, Bennett. There’s nothing between me and Jake. Never has been.”

  “He has feelings for you.”

  “What makes you say that?” I asked, surprised by his statement and the certainty with which he’d said it.

  Bennett shrugged. “Just the way he looked at you… some other things. I can’t really blame him,” he said with a wan smile.

  The idea that my friend had been harboring feelings for me and I hadn’t known it bothered me, but it didn’t really change anything. “It’s only you, Benny. It’s always only been you and it always will be. Tell me you know that.”

  His eyes held mine for a moment and then his finger stroked over my cheek as he cupped my jaw. “I do know it,” he finally said, and then he curled against my chest. “Why do you suppose he never told you how he felt?”

  “No idea,” I said. “I didn’t even know he was gay.” I began toying with Bennett’s hair. “He said something yesterday about life being too short not to say what you mean, but I guess he didn’t take his own advice.”

  “You think he’s hiding something?” Bennett suddenly asked.

  “What do you mean?”

  He shifted again so he could look at me. “Dunno. Just seems like he doesn’t quite fit here, you know? The stethoscope, the stuff he said about my injuries… just makes me wonder if there’s something more there.”

  I pulled him back against my chest and ran my hand up and down his back. “Wouldn’t surprise me,” I admitted. “A lot of people who come out here are running away from one thing or another.”

  “Like you?”

  “Yeah, like me.”

  “But not anymore,” Bennett said softly as his fingers fiddled with the fabric of my shirt.

  “No, not anymore.” I dropped my lips to his temple. “Never again.”

  Chapter 36

  Bennett

  On the way to meet Xander’s aunt, I began getting a little nervous.

  “Are you sure this place is called Bare Bottomed Acres?” I asked for the third time.

  “Baby, are you seriously asking me that again?”

  “I just don’t think that sounds right.”

  He turned his head from watching the road and lifted an eyebrow at me.

  “Fine,” I mumbled. “But promise me again they’re not going to make me get naked.”

  Xander took a long moment to run his gaze up and down my body, and by the time he was done, I may or may not have been breathing heavily.

  “Do you want to get naked?” he drawled.

  I do now, I thought. “Shut up,” I said.

  “Because that’s always an option at Hiney’s Hideaway.”

  I glared at him. “See? That. That right there is why I don’t think you’re telling me the real name of the place. So far you’ve referred to it as Moon Manor, Rump’s Rest, and Woody’s Hole. And I swear to god I heard you call it The Jiggle Jungle a little while ago. Which is it?”

  His lips curved into a grin as he turned onto a narrow road. “There’s the sign. See for yourself.”

  I turned quickly to read the sign, but by the time I saw the small wooden billboard, I was staring at the back of it.

  “Motherfucker,” I muttered.

  We pulled up to a one-story stone building that looked like it had seen better days. As we stepped out of Xander’s SUV, I noticed a small hand-painted sign next to the front door.

  Bear Trodden Acres.

  I looked over at the gorgeous jackass beside me, and
he burst out laughing. Just seeing him let go and enjoy himself like that was worth every stupid name he’d called this place. I couldn’t help but laugh right alongside him.

  “There you are,” a woman said, pushing her way out of the building via a screen door. Thankfully, she was wearing a loose-fitting sundress that flowed around her legs as she made her way toward us. “Xander, sweetie, who’s this?” she asked as she pulled Xander into a big hug.

  The woman was slim and tanned. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but there was definitely something about her that reminded me of Xander’s dad.

  “Aunt Lolly, this is Bennett Crawford.”

  At the sound of the name, Lolly’s eyes widened, and she stepped back to take stock of me for a moment before looking back and forth between Xander and me.

  “Your Bennett?” she asked.

  Xander’s face softened as he looked over at me. “Yes, my Bennett.”

  Would that ever not give me stupid butterflies in my stomach?

  Lolly studied me for a moment before her lips curved into a sweet smile and she walked right into my arms. As we hugged, she whispered into my ear, “I hope to god you’re gay because I’ve had three different spiritual healers imply the two of you are soulmates, and I worried that might make things awkward for you if you weren’t.”

  “You can stop worrying,” I whispered back. “And they were right.”

  When she pulled away from the embrace there were tears in her eyes. “Really? You’re not just pulling my leg?”

  I reached out for Xander’s hand. As our fingers threaded together, he lifted an eyebrow at me in question, obviously wondering what his aunt was asking about. I pulled him close enough for a quick kiss on the lips.

  “Lolly wants to know if I’m gay,” I explained.

  “Lolly, Jesus,” Xander said, frowning at her.

  Before she had a chance to respond, I interjected. “I told her I wasn’t originally, but you’d made a compelling argument.”