Page 42 of The Keeper

Seth landed a hard slap on his ass cheek that reverberated throughout his body. Rueben groaned needily and temporarily ceded control to Seth, who gripped Rueben’s waist and bounced him up and down on his cock. “Fuck, your greedy hole looks so sexy when taking me deep. You were made for me, baby.”

With Rueben’s back to him, Seth couldn’t see the proud smirk on his lips. When it seemed like Seth was about to shoot, Rueben reached between those thighs and gripped his balls with a firm hand. “Don’t you dare.” Then, he rocked and swiveled his hips to push and pull Seth’s slick dick in and out of him. Rueben pressed his ass flush against Seth’s pelvis and worked him over good, feeling his delicious length stretching him wide and filling him deep. The pleasure stole Rueben’s breath but not his determination. He stilled his hips, eliciting a complaint from the man he held captive in a seductive spell. “Say. It.”

Seth’s entire body tensed, and then his cock jerked and emptied inside Rueben. Before his next breath, the big man sat up quickly and maneuvered Rueben onto his knees. Seth guided Rueben’s upper body to the rug with a hand between his shoulders and kept him there with a gentle but firm grip on the back of his neck. “Christ, I’ve never felt or seen anything so damn good,” Seth said as he continued to rut in and out of Rueben. His free hand dipped around Rueben’s waist and worked his throbbing cock. “I won’t say those words to you until I’m no longer forced to keep our love a secret.”

Rueben’s breath caught in his throat as his orgasm swelled to a fierce crescendo, and then the air escaped on a sob with his release. Seth placed tender kisses on his back as he eased free of Rueben’s tight clench and emitted a soft growl as he caressed Rueben’s sensitive opening, smearing cum around the rim. “Mine.”

“Yours.”

Rueben eased down and stretched out on the rug, and Seth curled around him. The first drops of rain landed on the metal roof overhead, a slow pattering that turned into a fast staccato in only a few seconds.

“Want to know the best place to experience a rain shower or thunderstorm?” Seth asked.

Rueben rose up enough to look over his shoulder. “Can we do it naked?”

Seth grinned and sat up. “That would be a first for me, but absolutely.”

“I like the idea of being your first.”

Seth stopped suddenly and cupped his face. “You’ll be my first and only in the most important ways.”

Rueben knew Seth was thinking about their future again. He could almost feel the weight of a phantom band on his ring finger and hear the patter of their children’s footsteps. They’d come a long way in a short time, so much so that it made him both giddy and dizzy. “I can’t wait.”

They shared a few kisses, then did a rush job of cleaning up after sex. Seth snagged a throw blanket off the couch and led Rueben to the screened porch on the back of the house. Dense trees surrounded the property, but the land opened up to offer a gorgeous view of the lake. The skies had opened up, and rain soaked the world around them. The air smelled of earth and wildflowers. High wind whipped the lake water into whitecaps and periodically blasted the guys with a mist of chilly rain, but Rueben was warm tucked beneath the blanket with Seth.

“I think I could sit here forever,” Rueben said.

A blinding white flash ripped through the sky and struck a nearby tree. Bark exploded in the air, and a thick limb crashed to the ground at the same time rolling thunder shook the earth.

Seth leaped to his feet and tugged Rueben with him. “Let’s get inside.”

Rueben leaned against the counter and pressed a hand to his chest. “That was too close. I never knew lightning had a smell. Like hot electricity. I think it singed my nose hairs.”

Seth held him close and kissed the top of his head. “I’ve got you.”

The sentiment calmed Rueben’s racing heart, but it did nothing to quell his doubts. As strong as Seth was, he couldn’t prevent a fallen tree from crushing them both. This wasn’t the first harrowing incident they faced, and it wasn’t likely to be the last. “Yes, you do.”

The storm had nearly swallowed the daylight, so Seth turned on some lights to counter the gloom. They put their clothes back on in case of an emergency, and Rueben resented each piece of fabric that covered his man’s sculpted body. Seth opened a hall closet to reveal a variety of games they could play to take their minds off the lightning and thunder raging outside. Rueben chose Clue and proved that he could be quite the detective when necessary. He bested Seth two games out of three, then washed up to get started on cooking the chicken for the enchiladas.

Seth followed him to the kitchen and scrubbed in too. Rueben mixed a combination of spices and had Seth sprinkle them on both sides of the chicken breasts while the oven preheated. He’d bake and shred the meat ahead of time before turning his attention to making homemade tortillas. It had been years since Rueben had attempted those, but a phone call with his abuela made him feel better about it. Of course, she’d wanted to know who he was making them for, and he’d told her it was a treat for poker night. He hated lying to her, but she wouldn’t understand the truth. Rueben took comfort in the knowledge that she would absolutely adore Seth when he could finally introduce them.

Seth’s phone rang in the living room, and he stiffened beside Rueben. He glanced at his watch and frowned. “I better get that.” Something in his posture set off alarms in Rueben’s brain, but he tried to quell them.

The oven beeped when it reached the preset temperature, and Rueben slid the cookie sheet with the chicken into the oven.

“What do you mean he’s dead?” Seth’s voice was a mixture of confusion and anger. “What the fuck happened?”

Rueben’s body went still at Seth’s tone, but his heart and mind galloped like they were trying to outrace each other. Who was he talking about? Rueben hurried to the living room and found Seth sliding his feet into his boots.

“Daniels, tell me you’re fucking joking.”

Seth stood up, closed his eyes, and inhaled deeply. It felt like time stood still in that moment, but Seth reopened his eyes, and the world resumed. He looked frantically around him while Daniels, whoever he was, rattled on. Rueben couldn’t hear the individual words, but the tone induced instant anxiety. And what was Seth searching for? Rueben’s gaze landed on a set of keys peeking out from under the moved coffee table. He rushed over and picked them up off the floor and extended them to Seth.

“I’m on my way,” Seth bit out as he accepted the keys. “Lock everything down, and don’t let anyone in until I get there.” He disconnected the call, tipped his head back, and yelled, “Fuck,” loud enough to rival the thunderclap that had sent them fleeing into the cabin. Seth’s muscular body trembled with fury.

Rueben crossed to Seth and gripped his biceps. “What’s wrong?”

The color had drained from Seth’s skin, leaving him ghostly pale. He swallowed hard and opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. Seth cleared his throat and tried again. This time, his words came out in a choked whisper. “Mick Carson is dead.”

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