Steal My Heart

Chapter 16

“GRAN?” brIAN called as he went inside. He let the dogs off their leashes, and they hurried through the house. Gigi’s sharp bark drew him upstairs. “Gran!” he said when he found her on her bedroom floor.

“What?” she asked as he lifted her head.

“You fell?” he asked.

“Yes,” she breathed. “I didn’t break anything, but when I sat up I felt dizzy, so I lay back down and must have fallen asleep. Help me up.”

“Do you think that’s a good idea? Maybe I should call an ambulance.” His heart pounded. He didn’t want her hurt.

“I’m okay. Just help me up.” She sat up, and Brian helped her to her feet. She sat on the side of the bed, breathing deeply, the dogs both jumping up to make sure she was okay. “I didn’t break anything, and I didn’t hit my head. I was just a little dizzy and figured you’d be home soon enough.” He got her settled on the bed and called Hilliard. Once he explained what happened, he was there within what seemed like seconds.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Hilliard asked her, and then asked Gran basic questions.

“I’m fine. I know what year it is and where I am. I just fell down and felt dizzy, so I stayed there.” She seemed annoyed. “I could use some tea, though.”

“I’ll go make it,” Hilliard offered, and he left the room.

“That man is a keeper,” Gran said once Hilliard was gone. “He’s kind, and he cares for you.”

Brian sighed. “I know he does.”

Gran took his hand. “I’m not going to be around forever, and I want to know that you aren’t going to be alone. I want you to be happy, and I want you to have your life back.” She glanced toward the door. “Which it seems Hilliard has made possible, from what I understand.”

“I guess. We still don’t know who committed the burglary,” Brian said.

“That doesn’t matter. There is a confession for who framed you, and that should be enough, with the alibi, to get you off the hook. And that was the goal—to find out the truth and clear your name.” Brian smiled slightly. “So why are you so worried?”

“I don’t know. Hilliard’s uncle is giving him a hard time about the estate, and I keep wondering if he’s going to wake up and realize that his life would be a lot easier and quieter back in Cleveland.”

Gran chuckled. “Please. Who wants quiet and easy… especially in Cleveland? Has he said anything about what he is going to do?”

“Well, I think he wants to stay, I really do, but….”

“Then maybe the two of you need to talk things over. Tell him what you want. You know you have a right to what will make you happy. Let him know how you feel.” Gran tugged him closer. “There are few things more attractive and sexy than a man who knows what he wants and is willing to put his heart out there.” She cleared her throat as Hilliard returned with a mug of hot tea and set it on the bedside table.

“Is there anything more that you’d like?” Hilliard asked.

“No. I’m fine. Why don’t the two of you go on downstairs? I’ll be fine.” She lifted the mug by the handle and sipped slowly. “I’m fine, really. Don’t go turning into a couple of worrywarts. I’m not quite ready to cross the bridge into the great beyond—not yet.” She shooed them out of the room. The dogs stayed with her on the bed, though.

“What was all that about?” Hilliard asked once they were downstairs.

“Gran is worried that I think she’s going to die.” Brian sat on the sofa with Hilliard next to him. Brian scratched his head nervously. “I have something I want to say, but I don’t know how to say it right. So I’ll just say that I really want you to stay.”

“I see.” Hilliard smiled. “Is that all?” He cocked his eyebrows, and his lips quirked a little.

“For now,” Brian said, “that will do. I may come up with more things that I want later. But I hope what I want is what you want. I guess that’s the thing, right? Finding someone you care about who wants the same things you do.”

Brian held Hilliard’s gaze. He had put his cards on the table, and now it was up to Hilliard. Brian’s belly did flip-flops, and he was almost afraid to breathe. Maybe he would have been better off to keep quiet. After all, if he didn’t know the answer, then there was still hope. Still, maybe Gran was right and it was best to know.

“I know we’ve talked about this and that I’ve sent you a lot of mixed signals. So… yeah. I want that too. I have every intention of fighting my uncle, who doesn’t have a leg to stand on anyway. His suit will likely be dismissed for lack of grounds. And I like it here. I like that I can start over and build a new life.” Hilliard leaned closer. “That we can build a life together. I sort of feel like you’re free now.” He swallowed hard.

“And I owe you so much for that,” Brian said.

Hilliard shook his head. “You owe me nothing. I don’t want you to think that we’re keeping score. What I did was because it was the right thing to do, and I’d do the same thing for anyone who asked for my help. And when you and I move forward, it will be because we both want to. No debts or anything like that.” He drew closer. “I didn’t help you because I thought you were sexy or because I wanted to get in your pants. I helped—”

“Because you just can’t stop yourself,” Brian interrupted with a smirk, caressing Hilliard’s cheek.

“And I would have helped you even if you hadn’t been the sexiest man ever to cross my path.” Brian felt Hilliard’s warm breath on his lips and saw the gold flecks dancing in his eyes. “I want to build a new life, and I want you to be part of it. I want to take you for drives up the coast and make love to the beat of the ocean as it pounds the rocks.” His voice grew husky. “There are many things that I want to do, and when I close my eyes and think of them, I see us together.”

“Like what?” Brian asked just loud enough to be heard. He swallowed hard.

“Maybe spring in Yosemite with the falls running full force, walking under trees that have been there for hundreds of years. Swimming in the Pacific, or in lakes warmed during the summer. I want to see all the west has to offer.” He smiled. “Maybe spend the night in a tent where we’re the only people for miles and all we see above is a curtain of stars.”

Brian nodded. “I want that too.”

Hilliard closed the distance between them, his lips touching Brian’s in an electric shock that both made him jump and left him wanting more.

“I know you have to look after Beverly, but come to the house tonight if you can,” Hilliard whispered. Brian nodded, and Hilliard kissed him again, harder and more urgently this time. “I have some things I need to get done, but I’ll be waiting for you.” He stood, first holding his hand, then letting his fingers gently slip away. Then he left, and Brian sat in the still room.

“Is everything okay?” Gran asked as she slowly came down the stairs, holding the railing. “From what I saw, it looked like it.”

“Gran….” Brian sighed. “You don’t need to be looking.”

She shook her head. “Do I need to keep reminding you that I may be old, but I’m not dead? I’m feeling better, and Grant is taking me out to dinner this evening.”

“Gran, you fell!” Brian was aghast.

“And I will hold his arm.” She shrugged. “Oh, and try to find someplace to go this evening. After dinner, we’re coming back here, and I’d like the chance to spend some time alone with him.”

Brian tried not to appear shocked and upset. “Fine, Gran. Hilliard asked me to his place this evening.” He stretched out his legs as she sat down in her chair.

“You look at loose ends,” Gran said. “What’s wrong? It seems like things are going well. You have someone who cares for you a great deal, and we’ve proven your innocence. I know it will take time for the conviction to be vacated, but it will happen.”

“I know. I just…. We visited Violet, and she looked like part of her life had been ripped from her.” He bit his lower lip. “I hate to see her so broken up. Frank really messed up, and the ass is going to jail, but….”

“You have a big heart,” Gran said. “But Frank made his own bed when he did what he did.”

“I know. But I keep wondering who the real thief is. I have some ideas of who it might be, but I don’t know how to prove it or how I can even get close enough to talk to them.” He was really frustrated.

Gran patted his hand. “That part of the case is the sheriff’s job. The old case has completely fallen apart, and they know it. There are going to be prominent people calling to reopen the investigation, including Violet, I’m sure. This isn’t how you and Hilliard should be spending your time.” Her smile was the same one she used when he skinned a knee as a kid.

“Thanks, Gran,” he said gently, hugging her before getting up. He had a job he needed to finish, so he hurried upstairs. After all this excitement, he could use a little quiet.

“I EMAILED Alan,” Hilliard said once he and Brian sat down on Hilliard’s back patio.

“What?” Brian asked, shocked.

“And then he called and we talked.” He sipped his beer slowly as Brian watched him. “I needed a name from him, a contact of his from when we were in law school. I remembered that one of his friends back then had moved out here. He’s a lawyer in San Francisco. Alan gave me his email address.” He sighed. “And we talked a little.” He turned to Brian, his eyes watering. “It was a kind of closure, I guess. There was no drama about him wanting me back or him saying he needed me. None of that stuff. He did say that he had messed up.” Hilliard sipped from the bottle and sat back in the chair, looking up at the sky like he was talking to it. “As we talked, I realized that he and I wanted different things. Well, maybe at first we wanted the same thing, but for different reasons. Do you know what I mean?”

Brian wasn’t sure, but he didn’t want Hilliard to stop, so he nodded a little, more as encouragement than anything. “I suppose you wanted different things out of the firm?”

“Well, that… and each other, I guess. He wanted to be a shark, without a doubt, and I wanted to help people. For a while, that put us on the same path. But then… it didn’t. I was softer I guess, quieter, and Alan wanted someone who….” He chuckled. “I guess I don’t even know what I’m saying. He and I were on different paths, and for a long time they were close enough together that we thought it was just one, but I don’t think it ever was. He said that he loved me and that he would never forget me, but….”

“That must have sucked.”

“Not really. See, I loved him too, but I guess that had been fading for a while.” Hilliard took his hand. “I know that things between him and me are over. They were even before I caught him cheating, and I can see that now. He has the firm, and he’ll go forward with it. My name is off the door. And I’m going to open an office here just as soon as I can pass the bar. Until then, I’m going to get a job.”

“I know a few places that are hiring,” Brian told him.

Hilliard smiled. “I’m not going to work with you. I think that was part of my problem with Alan. We spent too much time together and didn’t have a life that was separate.” He leaned closer. “I don’t want what happened to Alan and me to happen to us, so I’m going to see what I can find to make ends meet for a while until I can take the test. I already applied, and now I’m just waiting until they give it.”

Brian smiled. “So you’ve definitely made up your mind.”

“Yup. This is where I want to be.” Hilliard finished his beer. Brian did the same, and then Hilliard stood, holding out his hand. Brian took it, and Hilliard led him inside and up the stairs into the bedroom.

The windows were open, and the power of the waves a hundred yards away, the wind across the open land, all of it swept inside. Hilliard wrapped him in strong arms and pressed him against the closed door with a thud. Brian’s breath hitched and his eyes widened as Hilliard stared deeply into them. The panels of the door pressed to his back, but he ignored it. All that mattered was Hilliard’s warmth. As he drew nearer, the intensity built until Hilliard took his lips in a bruising kiss that broke the dam holding Brian back.

He clutched Hilliard, grabbing his clothes in a desperate attempt to get at his skin. He needed him as badly as he needed air, and he was tired of waiting. They pulled apart only long enough to get their shirts off. Then they crashed together again, lips exploring as their hands did the same, tugging and pulling at belts and buttons before shoving pants aside.

Hilliard pushed them toward the bed, and they tumbled onto it in a fit of laughter, their pants around their ankles. Brian didn’t care, and Hilliard didn’t seem to either. They did manage to get their shoes off and kick their pants away, and Hilliard pressed Brian against the mattress, kissing him as though the world were going to end at any moment.

“Damn,” Hilliard whispered between breaths. Brian cut him off with another kiss as Hilliard reached for the nightstand.

“I want you… fucking now.” Brian groaned as Hilliard rolled them on the bed, then slipped his hand down his back and over his ass. He whimpered when Hilliard tapped his entrance, a finger teasing the skin. Brian was on fucking fire—he wished Hilliard would hurry the hell up. He didn’t need slow and patient. Tonight he wanted fast and furious. Hilliard humphed, and Brian caught a glimpse of the foil pouch. He grabbed it and tore it open as he sat up and straddled Hilliard’s legs.

He rolled the condom down Hilliard’s long, thick cock and then got into position, slowly lowering himself halfway to heaven. Brian paused, and Hilliard tugged him down into a deep kiss that rocked Brian’s world. Then, slowly, they began to move together. It was intense, with Hilliard breathing deeply in his ear and Brian holding on to Hilliard, afraid he was going to fly into a million pieces at any second.

Pulling away, Brian groaned and cried out before Hilliard tugged him back down into another kiss. He didn’t know how long he was going to be able to take this. He was so full, and Hilliard seemed to touch his heart from the inside and his soul with his eyes. He had never felt so cared for and special. Brian never wanted this feeling to end, so he closed his eyes and sank into himself, letting the sensation wash over him.

For a few minutes, it was easy just to exist outside his own body, floating on waves of pleasure that Hilliard kept building until he pulled Brian right back with him, desire slamming him in the chest hard. Yet they continued rocking together, their movements never missing a beat, like Hilliard knew exactly what Brian needed. When to press and when to back off. “Hill… I need….”

“I know,” he breathed. “I do too.” He held Brian tighter, their movements growing more frantic. Brian held on, letting Hilliard guide the ride. Brian gasped as he slammed his eyes closed, his cock sliding between himself and Hilliard, getting just enough friction to keep him on the edge but not enough to send him over it. “But not yet.” He cupped Brian’s cheeks, holding him tightly, their gazes locking.

“I’m….” His head pounded, and he needed to come.

Hilliard drew his face close to him. “Then come for me. I know it’s what you want, and I want to feel you.” He drove upward, and Brian’s spine felt like it was on fire. He shook as pressure built from deep inside. Unable to control his own body, Brian gave himself over to the sensation, spilling his release between them. Hilliard slammed up into him, holding still as he too came unglued, holding Brian tightly.

Neither of them moved as they held each other, breathing deeply, letting the warmth wash over them. Brian’s brain felt fried, and the last thing he wanted was to try to think. He lay still, holding Hilliard.

Finally he said, “Do you think we can do that again?”

“Yeah… definitely, but maybe not right away,” Hilliard whispered. “I’m going to need some time. Maybe give me ten minutes and we’ll see if we can go for another round.”

Brian snickered and then groaned as Hilliard slipped out of him. “Maybe we’re going to need more time than that.”

“In the morning, then.” Hilliard stood up and took care of the condom before returning. They cleaned up quickly and settled in bed once more. Hilliard rolled on his side, slipping his arm around Brian and pulling him close as the sounds of the night and ocean peacefully invaded the room. Brian was happy, really happy, and he didn’t want to go to sleep because this feeling didn’t tend to stick around for long, and he wanted to enjoy it.