Page 52 of For the Love of the Bull Rider

Matt saw Tim’s face screw up a little before he grinned. “Was he a friend like…” He elbowed Matt in the gut. “Or was he a friend…” He pulled Matt’s face down to kiss him.

As Tim started to pull away, Matt pulled him closer and swept his tongue over Tim’s soft lips. When the younger man opened his mouth to accept Matt’s prodding tongue, the two lost themselves in a needy kiss. No answer was needed to the question Matt made certain. There was nobody like Tim Moran.

Matt thought about Jon Wells’ words from earlier in the day. “You could make things a lot easier on our case by separating yourself from Tim Moran…”

Matt knew he couldn’t do anything of the sort. Tim was too fucking important, and not just to him. He was important to Ryan, and Matt would never do anything to hurt his son. Leaving Tim? It wasn’t an option.

When the bull rider pulled back, he smiled at Tim. “I love you, genius. After we get Ryan to bed, we need to have a little talk. I might need your help with somethin’.”

Tim nodded as he followed Matt into the kitchen to get drinks for the three of them while they decorated the tree. It was shaping up to be a damn good Christmas.

Matt lifted Ryan up, securing the boy on his shoulders. The gold-robed angel they’d purchased earlier that day held firmly in his little hands. “You got it?”

They’d decorated the tree while listening to Christmas music, and Matt couldn’t remember when he’d had a better time.

“Hang onto me.” Ryan leaned forward from his father’s shoulders, settling the angel on top. Matt glanced up to see it was solid, so he stepped back, saying a little prayer to the heavens for the great life he’d been gifted.

“Hey!” Tim called out to the two of them, catching Matt by surprise. He turned, still holding Ryan on his shoulders as Tim snapped pictures with his phone, grinning happily at the two of them.

Tim looked at Ryan, before he placed his hand on the boy’s left shin. “I’ll print one off for you to put in your journal for school.”

Ryan nodded before Matt placed his son on the floor, turning to look at the Christmas tree. He was pretty sure it wouldn’t win any home decorating awards, but it made him happier than he’d been in a long time.

Matt and Bertie had put up a small tree when they were first married, but he’d never felt the joy in his heart when he plugged in the lights as he did that night. It still amazed him how much his life had changed in just a few years.

After drinks and discussions of a visit to Santa, the three of them headed down the hallway to get Ryan ready for bed. After he was tucked in, they read a chapter in their latest mystery book, having a quick discussion about it before they kissed the boy’s forehead and left him to sleep.

“I’m gonna build a fire and grab a blanket for us. Will ya meet me on the couch?” Matt pulled Ryan’s bedroom door nearly closed.

The boy had a night-light, but Matt remembered being his age and how sometimes, the shadows got the best of him in the dark.He wanted Ryan to know he was safe, just like Marty and Jeri had made sure Matt knew the same when he was a little boy. It was important.

Tim nodded before he hurried down the hallway to the bedroom, which was exactly what Matt hoped would happen. They needed to have a talk about the latest shit hitting the fan, but the two men needed to take advantage of the fact they had some time alone. Matt knew they needed to spend time as a couple, and it wasn’t plentiful, so he was going to make sure Tim knew he was special when Matt had the chance.

He went to the kitchen to refill their glasses with two fingers of Jack and three cubes, just as they liked it. He returned to the living room and started a small fire in the fireplace before he turned on some soft music and spread the blanket and pillows on the floor. He slipped down the hall to the bedroom and grabbed a couple of condoms and a bottle of lube to have handy.

He walked into the family room and put the things under the edge of the couch as he heard the bathroom door open. He returned to see Tim in a pair of flannel pajama pants and a long-sleeved T-shirt.

As Tim was trying to slip by him in the hallway, Matt grabbed him to share a kiss. He tasted the minty fresh breath of his lover, and he knew he needed to do a little tune-up of his own before he joined Tim in front of the fire.

“I’ll be there in a minute. Maybe poke the fire a little?” Tim nodded and continued down the hallway.

Matt freshened up and went to the bedroom, grabbing a pair of sweatpants because he’d never worn pajama pants in his life. Since he was in high school, he’s slept naked, but after he and Bertie married, she didn’t like it and he changed his routine, sleeping in shorts so she didn’t bitch. Back then, he’d worn a T-shirt to bed, but with the chance to feel Tim’s soft skin against his, there was no way he was wearing a shirt. He knew the firewould warm him, along with the welcoming warmth of Tim’s gorgeous body.

When he walked into the family room, Matt saw Tim had spread out the blanket and was waiting for him with a tender smile on his handsome face as he sipped his drink. “So, we did a great job on the tree, didn’t we?” Tim turned to take in the sight.

Matt sat down on the blanket and lay on his side, plucking his drink from the coffee table as he looked up to gaze into the face of the man he loved. He stared into those hazel-green eyes and exhaled, feeling his cock begin to chub up in definite interest.

Tim wasn’t tall compared to Matt, but he had a sexy body and carried himself confidently, which Matt admired. The younger man wasn’t bulky, but he had definition. He had an ass Matt was sure was designed by the angels, and the fact it was in the shape of a nice bubble was too enticing for Matt to ignore. It was too fucking hard not to follow the man around with his tongue hanging out, regardless of how fucking humiliating it might be for Matt.

Tim had pale blond hair and Nordic good looks, though Matt didn’t know his ethnic history. His shoulders were broad for his slender body, which was hairless except for the trimmed bush around Tim’s ample cock. It wasn’t unusually long, though it was thick when it was hard, and Matt had learned it warmed when Tim was about to come, along with his sexy balls. Tim had moaned and groaned, enjoying the times Matt went down on him, and he always seemed surprised Matt would do it.

“So, are you going to tell me about your meeting with Jon Wells?” Tim settled next to Matt on the blanket with his head resting on his hand as he stared into Matt’s eyes. The bull rider was quiet, but then he took Tim’s free hand.

“Well, there are a few things we need to talk about, I expect. Right now, I just wanna sip this whiskey and ask you what you want for Christmas. I know you’ve shopped for some stuff forRyan. Maybe tomorrow we can ask Momma to watch him for a few hours so you and me can drive over to Blacksburg Mall. I need to get him some things.” Matt finished his drink and placed the glass on the coffee table he’d moved off to the side, so they’d have room to spread out.

Tim’s face flushed with the most incredible pink as his eyes cast down toward the floor. “I’ve gotyou, Matty. I don’t need anything else.”

It was seared into Matt’s heart that he wasn’t giving Tim up for anything, and he wasn’t going to tell him what Jon Wells had suggested. He didn’t want Tim trying to run away from him for any reason. They’d get through the mess Mona and Bertie were trying to create, together.

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