The door to the yoga room opened and Kit scrambled away. Matthew sat up with his heart beating loudly in his ears. He needed Kit’s answer, but he also knew it would be no. At least Kit knew now where Matthew stood. He knew Matthew was in this for as long as Kit would stay.
Matthew went through the motions, teaching his class. He tried not to look at Kit too much. There was a real chance he had scared Kit with his question. When the class came to an end, Matthew dragged his feet while cleaning away the mess. Kit seemed to be equally avoiding Matthew as he helped. When they were done and Matthew couldn’t ignore Kit any longer, he turned to find Kit calmly waiting.
“I guess we should go home and shower.”
Matthew tried to hide his nervousness by falling back on humor. “Are you saying I stink?”
Kit looked adorably confused. “No. I just didn’t think you’d want to get married in our gym clothes.”
Matthew blinked, and then he blinked some more. His brain didn’t want to accept Kit’s words. Finally, his mouth took a chance. “I would marry you in anything at all, but I see your point. We’re only doing this once, so we should look nice.”
Kit’s expression was oddly serene, as if he had no doubts. “That was my thought as well.”
A slow smile stretched Matthew’s lips. He wanted to shout his happiness at the top of his lungs. Instead, he quietly took Kit’s hand and brought it to his lips before heading for the door. Matthew had no intention of looking a gift horse in the mouth. Kit agreed to marry him. Matthew wasn’t looking back.
Life felt strangely normal. Kit watched as Matthew locked Kit’s birth certificate and social security card in the safe alongside his and their new marriage certificate. Everything should feel surreal or crazy, but no. Somewhere along the line, they had built this super ordinary life that felt steady and right. Kit had no regrets.
Kit sat on Matthew’s desk, riding the high of his happiness. “How long should we wait to call Zep and Frost?”
Matthew showed Kit how to open the safe a second time, as if he thought Kit would forget. “The code is pretty easy to remember if you need your things. We can call them now if you’d like.”
The longer Kit stared at Matthew, the more the truth sank in. This was his husband. Someone had claimed him as their family. Husband wasn’t a fake title Kit had given him because he loved him. This was real. Those tattooed hands that Kit always craved having on his skin, they were his now. This guy who everyone craved belonged to Kit. A sudden burst of uncontrollable happiness surged through Kit. He climbed to his feet on top of Matthew’s desk and held his arms wide.
“I’m your husband.” The words came out in a loud shout.
Matthew laughed. “You definitely are. Don’t fall.”
“You should come up here with me. We can be on top of the world together.” Matthew had a large and solid oak desk that was way too fancy. Kit wasn’t worried about it holding two adults' weight.
Matthew stood. Instead of joining Kit on the desk, he ran his hands up the backs of Kit’s legs. “I’ve been on top of the world since the day I met you. Today, I’m a fucking king. Come here.”
Kit bent and braced his hands on Matthew’s shoulders.
Matthew plucked him from the desk. The moment Kit’s feet were on solid ground, he dug Kit’s phone from his pocket. After flashing the face Kit’s way to unlock the device, he called Zep on speaker phone.
Zep answered on the second ring. “Hello?”
Kit couldn’t stop smiling. “Hey, sweetie. Do you have a minute?”
“Of course. What’s up?”
“You’re on speaker phone and Matthew is here. We have something kind of crazy to tell you.”
“Okay.” Zep dragged out the word, sounding confused.
“We got married,” Matthew shouted before Kit could say anything else.
“That’s amazing. I’m so happy for you both. I’m a little shocked, but not in a bad way.”
“I’m still a little shocked too,” Kit admitted. “But not in a bad way. You know me, though. I don’t play coy. If I want something, I don’t hesitate.” He held Matthew’s stare. “I wanted this.”
“I can’t tell you how happy I am. You deserve all the happiness in the world. Not to steal your thunder, but I have news too. We had our ultrasound yesterday.”
Kit held his breath. Things went wrong sometimes at ultrasounds, and Zep really wanted more kids. “And?”
“To our delight and surprise, we’ll be welcoming another set of twin girls.”
Kit yanked the phone from Matthew’s hand. “Holy shit. Are you kidding me?”
Zep laughed. “Nope. We’re about to be completely overrun by girls in our house.”
Kit’s throat swelled. “They’re the luckiest kids in the world.”
Zep read too much into Kit’s choked words. “There will always be room for you here too.”
Matthew stared at Kit a little too hard. Kit couldn’t take this much scrutinizing from the only people he loved. “Don’t worry about me. I have a family too now.” He met Matthew’s gaze again as he made the claim. He felt the words all the way to his soul. “I’ll let you get back to the girls. Congrats on the twins.”
“Congratulations on the marriage. Let’s get together tomorrow.”
Kit could barely think with Matthew staring at him with so much possessiveness in his eyes. “Sounds great. I love you.”
“Love you too. Bye.”
“Bye.” Kit set the phone aside.
Matthew massaged Kit’s hips between his hands, drawing Kit closer. “No matter how many times I turn the day over in my head, I still can’t believe you’re mine.”
Kit linked his fingers behind Matthew’s neck. “Like I said, I don’t hold back when I want something. I wanted this marriage.”
“I want you.”
Butterflies stirred in Kit’s stomach. “Then why don’t you stop talking about it and start being about it.”
Matthew backed Kit against the desk. He looked intense as hell. Kit wanted whatever came next. “Take off your shirt.”
Kit took off his shirt.
In one swift move, Matthew lifted Kit from the floor and set him on the desk. “On your back.”
Kit immediately obeyed, stretching out across the desk.
Matthew went to work on Kit’s pants. “This is probably a bad time for a story, especially one that might make you regret marrying me. You’re getting one anyhow.” Matthew peeled away Kit’s pants and underwear. “I’m a recovering addict.”
Kit hadn’t expected that one. His body didn’t care. Matthew set him on fire.
Matthew kept talking while toying with Kit’s body. “A couple of years ago, things had gotten to their lowest point. I walked into a convenience store with a loaded handgun, determined to force the cops to shoot me dead. While I waited for the store to empty of customers, I picked up a magazine.”
Kit was split right down the middle. This was a tremendous revelation. Yet Matthew had him too enthralled by his touch to react.
Matthew bent and kissed Kit’s hipbone. “When I flipped it open, you were inside.”