Noah

There was silence on the other end, and Julian stepped between my legs and placed a hand on my cheek.

"This is serious," he told her, holding my stare firmly. "I apologize for the way you found out, but I wasn’t hiding this because I was ashamed. It's just new. We weren't ready to go public." When I tried to avert my gaze, he didn’t let me. The little fucker. He knew I'd taken a hit, I guessed. "You should look up the photos of us that've been published. Only an idiot would say it's anything but real."

"You don't understand, Julian," Trudy exclaimed. "He can make you believe it's genuine!"

"That’s fucking insulting," he snapped. The fire in his eyes even took me off guard. "What's next? Are you going to say he tricked me into thinking I'm gay, too?"

"Hardly," she replied stiffly. "This may come as a surprise to you, but we know you. We've suspected that for years."

That made Julian pause. He opened and closed his mouth a few times before asking, "Who's we?"

"Your family, of course." Trudy sniffed. "Your parents, me, your grandfather. Do you remember us, the ones who actually want what's best for you?"

I managed to push aside my own crap, and I tilted my head to kiss Julian's palm. This was a good thing. His eyes brimmed with tears, 'cause he was fucking relieved. James and Mia had known—or suspected—and the world hadn't come to an end. They hadn't stopped loving him. They'd accepted him.

It was something I'd known all along—that they wouldn’t have loved him any less for being gay—but I understood the desire to have it confirmed.

"Noah's who's best for me," Julian whispered. He leaned down and pressed his forehead to mine. His eyes fell closed, and he grinned to himself. It made it all worth it. "I'm sorry you feel this way, Grandma. I'm sorry you think poorly of a man who's basically saved me." When he opened his eyes, I mouthed an I love you to him. His smile grew. "Should I assume Grandpa feels the way you do?"

"He's furious with both of you," Trudy answered irritably. "I'm afraid I must be strict here. We love you with all our hearts, Julian. We'll forgive you if you choose to come home. But you're not welcome as long as you let that man manipulate you—"

Julian hung up the phone and threw it somewhere behind me. Before I could open my mouth to speak, he dipped down and kissed me hard.

"I don't care," he muttered. "I don't care."

He did. So did I, but if he needed…this, whatever it was he wanted right now, I'd give it.

"She's wrong." He pushed me back and climbed on top. My mind was fucked, and I couldn’t really keep up, but I let him lead. I'd get there eventually. I hoped.

We lost our clothes and ended up in the middle of the bed. While he mumbled about not giving a fuck, I struggled to process the phone call.

"She hurt you." He left a trail of kisses along my chest as he tried to get me hard. I was a red-blooded male with a hot-as-fuck man on top of me; it wouldn’t take forever. But my priority was his well-being.

"I'll get over it," I said, pushing myself up on my elbows as he went south. "I didn't expect her to call me a manipulative predator—that’s all." I grunted the second he sucked me into his mouth. "Jesus. Shouldn't we talk about this, baby?"

He shook his head, his warm, wet tongue swirling around me.

I gave him an exasperated look. Fuck if what he was doing to me wasn’t making my mind fuzzy. Focus. "This is a big deal. You gotta be upset."

He released me and used his hand instead, my cock thickening and growing harder against my will. "Not at the moment. I will probably fret like I usually do tomorrow, but not right now. I will not let her venom ruin my night. She's so wrong about you—about us."

That much was true. I knew that. I wasn’t a fucking predator. I'd fought my feelings too goddamn long. James's mother wasn’t gonna cheapen anything about our relationship.

"Momentary lapse," I said. Then I cursed. He'd gotten me hard enough to deep throat me. "I'm already feeling better. Much…much better…fuck."

My turn to make him feel better.

*

I was alone in bed the morning after, not counting Blue, but I could hear Julian in the other room. It sounded like he was on the phone, and he was laughing. I got up, took a piss, and pulled on my sweats, then joined him in the living room.

"That’s what I was thinking," he told whomever he was on the phone with. His smile was weird. Almost sinister lookin'. "No, you were right. I should have listened to you. I was nothing to him."