“Are you quite certain you’re alright?” he asked Noah after they returned home from a quick dinner out after seeing Aurora home.
“Yes, I’m fine,” Noah answered without looking at him as they handed off their winter things to Gardener in the hall.
Beckett didn’t believe him. Something wasn’t right. But things hadn’t been entirely right with Noah for so long that he couldn’t tell whether his concerns were founded.
“Do you want to go to bed?” he asked Noah quietly as Gardener took their coats and hats away, leaving them alone in the hall.
Noah stared at Beckett for several long moments, a kaleidoscope of thoughts and emotions passing through his expression.
“Yes,” he said at last, letting out a long breath. “I do.”
“Good.” Beckett took Noah’s hands and rushed him up the stairs. “Because it’s been too long.”
He would have expected Noah to make some sort of cheeky reply, but he didn’t. Noah simply came with him, holding Beckett’s hand as though he needed Beckett to guide him.
If that was what Noah needed, then Beckett would provide it, now and always.
Beckett started to undress as soon as they reached their bedroom. He wasn’t as careful as he usually was with his clothing. It truly had been too long. He burned for Noah. They’d slept naked together every night for weeks, but he hadn’t paused to enjoy Noah or his body in all that time.
Noah seemed to be just as eager to throw off his clothes, and as soon as both of them were naked and back in each other’s arms, he groaned as if he’d been hungry for Beckett’s touch for all that time.
“I’m sorry,” Beckett said as they tumbled into bed, sliding together between the cool sheets.
“Sorry?” Noah blinked up at him, his hands skating over the Beckett’s sides and hips. “What for?”
“For waiting so long,” Beckett said. He couldn’t resist dipping down to steal a kiss. “I…I wanted to make certain you were ready for this before I mauled you.”
Noah laughed. It still wasn’t the right sound, and his body was filled with too much tension, but it was a start. “Never mind, love,” he said. “We’re here now. That’s all that matters.”
“Yes,” Beckett growled, letting his passion grow as he ground his growing erection against Noah’s. “That is absolutely all that matters.”
“Even if this is the last night on earth,” Noah whispered.
Beckett opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, Noah gripped the back of his head and pulled him down for a kiss. His thoughts scattered at the intensity of Noah’s kiss, and at the way their bodies responded to each other. He’d gone too long without the taste of Noah’s tongue in his mouth or the perfect heat of their bodies blended together. He wanted every part of Noah, wanted to savor his lover, now and forever.
“You are so special to me, Noah,” he said, breaking away from Noah’s mouth to kiss his jaw, his neck, and his shoulder. “You have no idea how much so.”
“And you are everything to me,” Noah said breathlessly in reply.
His hands suddenly went tight on Beckett’s arms, then moved to the sides of Beckett’s head. He dragged Beckett up to look at him just as Beckett had made up his mind to lavish Noah’s nipples with attention.
The serious, almost grief-stricken look in Noah’s eyes immediately had Beckett holding his breath.
“I love you, Beckett,” Noah whispered, his voice hoarse and his eyes glassy. “I…I love you, and I just wanted you to know that.”
Warmth spread through every part of Beckett. Warmth and joy. He hadn’t realized how long he’d been waiting to hear Noah say that. He let out a breath, and it felt as though his long wait were over.
“I love you too, darling,” he said, stealing another kiss from Noah’s mouth. “I’ve loved you for so long, and I will love you for longer still.”
Noah groaned and squeezed his eyes shut. It was almost as though he were in pain, but Beckett knew it couldn’t be that. Not when they’d just finally confessed the love that had been smoldering between them for so long.
“My darling,” Beckett panted as he kissed his way back to Noah’s chest. “I will make you so happy, I swear it.”
Beckett threw himself into making love to Noah with all the passion within him that had suddenly been freed. Noah was his, and whatever his lover’s state, Beckett wanted him. He kissed every part of him he could, sliding their bodies together and making contact with Noah in a variety of imaginative ways. They hadn’t prepared particularly well for the night, so some things were better left until later, but Beckett didn’t care. He didn’t need to fuck Noah so much as he wanted to entwine with him in a sensual dance that would allow them to feel as though their souls were one.
Noah threw himself into their lovemaking with enthusiasm, sliding his hands over Beckett’s body and kissing him whenever their mouths came close. In a way, it was far better than either of them frantically pounding the other as a means of release. Their hands eventually twined together around both of their cocks, and they stroked in unison, gazing into each other’s eyes until first Noah and then Beckett came with cries of completion that brought deep satisfaction with it.
All Beckett wanted to do once they were both sated and drifting in an overheated pile of bliss was hold his beloved close. He spooned Noah from behind, kissing his shoulders and neck as the tension drained from both of their bodies.