Page 51 of For the Rest of Forever

“Yes, yes, just like that.” Allen hissed out a short breath and lifted both hands to rest on Greg’s thighs as Greg started to stroke them both together. “Faster though. Just a little.” His hands ran up to Greg’s hips and then around to grip his backside.

Then everything started to blur together as Allen let himself go, let himself be pleasured by his husband. It was warm and hot and bright, every stroke bringing him closer and closer to that edge. He was vaguely aware of Greg’s free hand coming to rest on his chest and then over along his side as Greg leaned in and covered Allen’s lips with his. It was a messy kiss, but one filled with love too, and Allen let out another low, rough moan as he arched his back, needing to relieve the pressure and tightening. Needing his release. His hands moved to Greg’s hips, and he flexed his fingers into Greg’s skin as he felt everything start to converge.

Greg sat back up, his hand settling on Allen’s hip, applying some type of counterpressure, and Allen moaned and arched again, then thrust up into Greg’s hand.

“God, I—I can’t—I’m so close. Ahh, Greg, are—are you too?”

Greg grunted, his rhythm faltering slightly, and his hand pressed into Allen’s hip again. Then his breath was hot against Allen’s cheek. “Yes, yes, my love. Come now,” Greg murmured. “Come with me now.”

The whispered words sent a final jolt of heat and tingling through him, and Allen cried out Greg’s name with his release. His shaft stiffened and pulsed hard, and a wet, sticky warmth hit his stomach. At the same time, Greg’s movement stilled on top of him as Greg muffled a groan into his shoulder.

He was spent and out of breath, his chest rising and falling rapidly as he tried to steady himself. But also, he was completely sated, his body buzzing and trembling and full and relaxed.

Greg seemed the same, breathing hard but unable to move, his hand still wrapped loosely around their shafts. Greg was the first tospeak, his lips brushing against Allen’s neck. “Mmm, ahh, you...” He paused and kissed Allen’s skin, lingering lazily for a moment. “...you’re so perfect. So beautiful. Mmm, I could just...” Slowly, Greg released them, his hand caressing down Allen’s thigh as he shifted to settle on the bed, his weight still partially over Allen. Kisses feathered on Allen’s neck and then up to his jaw and his lips and his cheeks. “I could just stay here with you forever,” Greg whispered. “Just like this. You and me. Forever.”

Allen couldn’t respond except to hum in agreement. God, he just felt... so, so good. He closed his eyes and turned his head slightly, and just as he’d wanted and hoped for, Greg’s lips found his again. The kiss was longer this time, deepening briefly before Greg pulled back and rested his forehead against Allen’s.

“Let me help you clean up, darling? We can take a quick shower together, and then I’ll hold you so you can rest?”

“That would be perfect,” he said, and though the words were confident, his voice still seemed to tremble. He finally opened his eyes and looked up to see Greg’s soft, kind expression, and he lifted a hand to cup Greg’s cheek. “I love you. Thank you for today, for tonight. For always.”

Greg blinked slowly as he gave a small nod and a half-smile so full of love. “Thank you for being here with me,” he said quietly. Then he pressed another kiss to Allen’s lips, and when they parted, Allen swore he saw tears glistening in Greg’s eyes.

Chapter Twenty-One

Greg

Sometime in the middleof the night, Greg had gotten up to open the window and let some fresh air in the room. He’d then crawled back into bed with his husband, and they’d cuddled more until they’d fallen back asleep.

It was early morning when he woke again, this time to the sounds of birds chirping in the forest outside and Allen’s quiet snoring next to him. He lay there for a few minutes just listening, feeling so content in the normalcy and peacefulness of the moment. Then he shifted onto his side to face Allen. Allen slept calmly, as he had all night long, and even though Allen was facing the other direction, Greg could see the lack of tension in his husband’s back and shoulders and the way his breathing was slow and steady and deep. And that knowledge brought him a small measure of hope.

He was desperate to know he’d made the right decision in bringing them here. By all accounts, the way the previous afternoonand evening had gone, he should be feeling a resoundingYes!And he was hopeful. He really was.

But evenwiththat hope, he couldn’t forget all the ups and downs of the past couple of weeks, including the lowest lows he and Allen had probably ever had together. He couldn’t forget all of the anxiety, the panic, the depression. Their argument. Allen’s confession that there were times he didn’t want to be alive anymore.

All of that really tempered the hope wanting to burst out.

Still, as he let his eyes wander across his husband’s back, down to where his backside disappeared under the comforter, a fullness bloomed in his chest. Yesterday really had felt amazing. The relaxing dinner, the night out under the stars, s’mores, dancing, making love... Allen had seemed to have sort of given himself permission to be taken care of, permission to be whatever he needed to be, and Greg had loved being there for him—therewithhim in every moment.

In fact, the whole day yesterday had only further solidified his decision about cutting back on work and solo travel and challenging hikes. Any lingering doubt he’d had about how much hemightmiss doing those things just... wasn’t there anymore. Instead, he was feeling a renewed sense of commitment, an even deeper love for his husband, and he couldn’t wait to find out what this new phase of their lives had in store for them.

He also couldn’t wait to share all of this with Allen.

Greg scooted a few inches closer. He yearned to reach out and touch his husband—to trail his fingertips lightly over Allen’s skin and make him shiver. Then kiss him. Everywhere. Do whatever would make Allen feel good. Hell, Greg wouldn’t even mind just staying here in bed all day. Just touching and cuddling and talking. Just being together.

But he also didn’t want to wake Allen up yet—he wanted Allen to get as much sleep as he needed. So instead, he moved to the opposite side of the bed, careful to not make the bed shift around too much, and crawled out from under the covers, watching Allen the whole time to be sure he didn’t wake. Quietly, he sifted through the clothes Darryl had picked up for them, setting aside a simple gray T-shirt and a pair of black joggers for Allen and selecting similar clothes for himself. After he dressed, he grabbed his phone and headed out into the kitchen to make himself a cup of coffee.

Greg spent the next half hour or so checking and responding to text messages from Joe (Beans was completely worn out from playing with Poppy in the backyard for hours on end), Annabeth (the city council had already reviewed Allen’s proposal at their meeting Thursday morning and had tentatively approved the additional funding Allen had requested), and a potential client (would Greg have his regular booth at Issaquah’s Salmon Days Festival next month? and could he bring a medium-sized print of “Misty Mountain Sunset” from his Mount Rainier National Park collection?).

Just when he was about to get up and go check on Allen, he heard quiet footsteps padding down the hallway to his left. He glanced up as Allen emerged, barefoot and yawning, his hair still ruffled from sleep, and an immediate warmth bloomed in Greg’s chest.

He cleared his throat and set his phone down. “Good morning, darling. Did you sleep well?” he asked, pushing his chair back and standing.

Allen didn’t answer except with a small smile and a nod, but he closed the rest of the distance between them and settled right into Greg’s embrace. Greg wrapped his arms around his husband and inhaled deeply, humming with content as he pressed a light kiss to Allen’s cheek. He loved this—this moment, his husband,this moment with his husband. And it just made him feel all of his earlier convictions even more strongly.

“I’d love to make you breakfast, if you’re up for it,” Greg said quietly, resting his cheek against the top of Allen’s head. “Something simple, maybe? A toasted bagel with cream cheese and strawberries?”

He could feel as Allen smiled against him and buried his head deeper into Greg’s chest. “You know that’s my favorite. But, I, um... Darryl got all of that?”

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