Rough Canvas (Nature of Desire 6)

"Wait, wait. " Thomas was gasping. He grasped the edge of Marcus' open shirt. "I want. . . I know you're supposed to wait. But fuck it. I want to do it now. " Marcus' mind, in a whirl from lust and emotion, didn't follow him until Thomas retrieved the pair of rings from his discarded jeans. He sat back on his heels, suddenly speechless as Thomas reached out.

"Please, Master," he murmured. "Your hand. "

Marcus put it out there and watched a million expressions cross Thomas' face as he fitted the silver ring on Marcus' finger and slid it home.

Reaching for the other ring, Marcus took Thomas' hand to do the same with the gold. He gave a half chuckle at everything welling in him. So ridiculous, so perfect. "I'm fucking nervous, can you believe that?"

Thomas' eyes were suspiciously bright. Just the two of them in the dim living room, their clothes half on, half off.

"Thank you, Thomas," Marcus said at last. "For saying yes. "

"It was the easiest and the hardest thing I've ever done. " Thomas' gaze fastened on Marcus' hand, the silver ring, the way it shone. What it said.

"Can I get back to fucking your brains out now?" Thomas grinned. "You forget how to be a Master? Why are you asking?" He dodged the tackle, but Marcus caught him. As his Master took him to his knees, pushed him to an elbow, he brought Thomas' left arm back, holding it against the small of his back. It was a restraint that made Thomas even harder, particularly when Marcus linked hands with him and Thomas felt the metal of the two bands brush each other, clink.

Marcus' free hand cupped his ass, took a firm hold of Thomas' right buttock. Bent and teased him with his tongue, licking up his rim in the way that drove Thomas insane. The chain loop dug into his cock as he thickened and grew. He writhed, struggled, cursed and then groaned when Marcus drove in deep, still holding him fast with that arm pulled behind his back.

"You wait until I give you the command, pet. You can't let go until I say you can. " I'm never going to, Master," Thomas managed. "Never again. "

Epilogue

As Lauren helped Thomas with the cravat, she decided she'd been overly blessed with the number of beautiful men in her life.

"Marcus looks gorgeous, doesn't he? God, I'm going to pass out when I see him and make a total ass of myself. "

She tugged on the silk, thought about decking him as he shifted and ruined her second attempt at it. To quell the urge, she reminded herself of the cardinal rule. The bride could do no wrong on her special day. Wisely, she tucked her tongue into her cheek and kept that thought to herself.

"You look gorgeous, Thomas. Now hold still or I'm going to choke you into a faint so I can do this without you moving around so much. I'm a professional doctor, I can do it. "

"Is Josh helping Marcus do this?"

Lauren snorted and cursed, chuckling as she ruined it herself this time. Seeing Thomas grin, she narrowed her gaze at him. "You did that on purpose. I had to tell Josh not to wear gym socks with his dress shoes. The only way Marcus would let Josh touch his cravat is if he was passed out. Ah, hell. Julie, go get Tyler. He knows how to do this stuff. Third row from the back. He'll be sitting with a stunning woman with white hair. "

Julie slid off her perch on a nearby chair, gave them a brilliant smile and disappeared.

"He's here with his mother?"

"Hardly. I said white, not gray. She's his wife. " She gave him an arch look. "I should have really fixed your ass and told you Josh was giving Marcus one last quickie before he's off the market. " She reached out and ran a hand down his lapel, straightening the white rose in the buttonhole. "But the truth of it is, he's even more nervous than you are. "

She raised soft eyes to him, registering his astonishment. "You and I know about this stuff, Thomas. Love, commitment. It's really new territory for him. He's been so afraid to give his whole heart to anyone, and he's given it to you. " After a brief pause, her lips tightened. "How did things go in Iowa? I still can't believe you insisted on a visit there before you did this. "

Thomas sobered. "I wanted him to know that he didn't have to hide anything about who he is, or who he was, from me. It went about as he told me it would. " He shook his head. "His mother said she couldn't see him right now. We left after about an hour. "

But Thomas had gone back in for just a minute, while Marcus spoke to his brother outside about his mother's financial arrangements. His mother stood isolated, alone at the kitchen counter, slicing a tomato into the tiniest pieces Thomas had ever seen in his life.

He came within three steps of her, studying her housedress, so like the ones his mother wore in the morning, the smooth gray of her hair pulled into a barrette at her neck. Her husband had probably liked her hair long. He knew he liked Marcus' that way and suspected the thick, healthy strands had been inherited from her. She didn't turn around when he spoke, but she stopped cutting. That was the only acknowledgement he needed.

"Your son asked me to spend my life with him. To marry him. " He made himself say it, though he knew many people thought wanting to commit their whole lives to someone spiritually was only a heterosexual person's need. "I know it would mean a lot to him if you attended, but even if you don't, I wanted you to know. He's always going to have someone looking after him. I'll be there to hear his good news when he's excited about something. If something makes him mad, I'll help him work through it, because he has a hell of a temper. "

"His father had that," she said, then pressed her lips together.

Thomas nodded. "So he comes by it honestly. If he's sad, I'll be there too. I'll do whatever needs to be done to help him be happy. He's not going to be lonely. I'll spend the rest of my life wondering how I got so lucky, even though he tells me he's the lucky one. So. . . I just want you to know that. Being his mother, I'm sure knowing someone's going to be looking after him is important to you. " Then he turned and left.

"Doesn't he remind you of Marcus?"

Lauren's whispered question brought him back to the present, and the reality of finding himself face-to-face with Tyler Winterman.

He also found he had to agree with her. A hundred percent sexual Dominant in a six-four frame, Tyler had an easy confidence and authority. While he wasn't as pretty as Marcus, he certainly held him toe-to-toe in charisma, enough that Thomas found himself a little fumble-handed and tongue-tied around him, despite the fact Tyler was obviously, solidly straight.