Mission: Protect the Ex(7)
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“I just… I couldn’t handle it anymore. First, a week not knowing what the hell was going on. You were MIA, but no one would admit to that. I just figured it out because I knew when you were supposed to be back. I just waited around, slowly losing my mind, till you finally made it home.”
“Aiden…”
“Shut up!” Aiden glared and curled his lips in a snarl. “Shut up and listen. After that, I watched you fight to survive for weeks because of that gunshot. You nearly died several times. Days of critical condition and all you could think about when you were discharged from the hospital? How to get back to your stupid team.”
“It’s what I do, baby. It’s my career.”
“Fuck you and your career! And don’t you ever call me that.” Fat tears rolled down Aiden’s cheeks. “No career is worth my sanity and your life.”
Sean opened his mouth to say something, but he couldn’t really argue with that, could he? Nothing was worth the life of the one you loved. Not to the one left behind.
“I’m sorry, Aiden. I never thought of it like that.” He reached out and pulled the sobbing man close, wrapping Aiden in his strong arms and trying to give him some comfort.
“I know I am selfish and that it’s not fair, Sean. That’s why I chose to walk away. I couldn’t ask you to give up the military. I knew it was your life.”
“So you broke my heart into a million pieces instead?”
“Wouldn’t I have done the same if I asked you to give it up?” Aiden whispered, his fingers digging into Sean’s hips.
Sean considered it for a moment. Back then? He would have probably been shattered if asked to choose between his career and Aiden. Now? After living without him for six months? Things were much different now.
“You should have talked to me,” he whispered. “I could have asked for a reassignment.”
“No, you wouldn’t have. You would have been miserable and you would have resented me for it.”
“Probably.” Sean sighed and held Aiden closer. He’d missed him terribly, and he wasn’t going to let Aiden go sooner than he absolutely had to. “And the depression?”
“I thought I knew pain after the hospital and those long days not knowing if you were still alive. Then I pushed you away and it almost killed me. I just didn’t have the energy or inclination to do anything. Food, drinks, work, friends, they were all so bland and unappealing to me.”
“Oh, baby. I’m so sorry.”
“I don’t care about the fear of not knowing if you’re safe anymore. I had to live with that for six months anyway. At least… at least back then you’d call to let me know you were back. Now I have to wait for Tom’s occasional report.”
“Damn it, Aiden!” Sean had had enough. He couldn’t bear another second of Aiden suffering. He placed two fingers under the man’s chin and lifted his face. Sean lowered his lips to capture Aiden’s and kissed him slowly, savoring the taste he’d missed so much.
Aiden seemed to have other plans. He acted like a man starved, straddling Sean within seconds and pushing his tongue between Sean’s lips, trying to control the kiss. Sean moaned and grabbed Aiden’s hips, helping him roll and grind.
He was hard almost instantly and finally thankful for Aiden’s outfit for the night. Those boxers would be easy enough to remove, and then there would be nothing but perfect, smooth, porcelain skin for Sean to taste, touch, and bite. He did just that, splaying Aiden on the coach and proceeding to worship every inch of him. The scent of Aiden’s arousal spurred him on as he kissed and caressed everything from the top of his head to the tips of his toes.
The feel of bones right under skin had Sean worried. “You’ve lost too much weight,” he muttered before returning to his oral exploration of the man he’d missed more than anything.
“I know. I’m sorry.” Aiden sighed and moaned, his hands moving with Sean’s shoulders, keeping him close, as if afraid to lose contact. “I really tried to take care of myself. I did not need to worry anyone.”
Sean knew what Aiden meant by anyone. It would start with Tom and end up with Sean. Well, pretty much what had happened, even if Sean had been worried for the wrong reasons. He stopped for a second and pushed himself up so that he could catch Aiden’s eyes. “Don’t do that again. Don’t choose for me. You have to learn to ask for what you want. What you need.”
Aiden nodded, a wicked smile curling his lips. “Then I want you to fuck me. And be quick about it.”
Sean chuckled and lowered his mouth to bite a small, budded nipple. “As you wish. But that’s not what I meant.”
Aiden threaded his fingers through Sean’s hair, keeping him right where he was, worshiping the small bead inside his mouth. “I know, I promise I won’t do it again.”
Sean bit him then, hard enough to have Aiden yelp. “Good, ’cause I doubt I’d survive it a second time.” He stood and extended a hand to help Aiden up. “Bedroom, now. I want you on that bed, ready for me.”
Aiden flew up the stairs, leaving a chuckling Sean behind. Unlike his eager ex… Wait, he was no longer his ex now, was he? Aiden was his boyfriend again. His. As it should be. Sean slowly followed, taking each stair slowly as he discarded items of his gear and clothing as he went.