Sleight of Hand by Charlie Cochet

Epilogue

Two months later.

“Are you trying to choke me?”

Joker glowered at Gio, but there was no real heat in his words, as evidenced by Gio’s laugh. He finished fastening Joker’s bow tie, then took a step back to run his gaze over him.

“There. You look gorgeous.”

“This is stupid. Why is it always fucking tuxedos?” The damn penguin suits needed to die a fiery death. This was Florida. In August. Were they out of their minds?

“It’s a wedding, love,” Gio replied, turning to the dogs.

“It’s a beach wedding. Outdoors. On the beach,” Joker reminded him. “I can’t believe you got the dogs matching tuxedo bandanas.”

“It was the only way they could attend, and I’m not going anywhere without Cookie, and if Cookie goes, Chip goes.”

Joker let out a heavy sigh. Gio was adorable. “Come here.” He pulled Gio into his arms and kissed him. As much as Joker hated tuxes, he couldn’t deny Gio looked incredible in them. The tailored tux accentuated his broad shoulders and trim waist. He oozed elegance, while Joker just appeared uncomfortable. “What if instead of going to the wedding, we stay here and wreck each other in bed all day. I mean, we have our own beach. We don’t need to use anyone else’s.”

Gio chuckled against Joker’s lips. “As tempting as that is, we promised King we’d go.”

Joker’s groan was loud and petulant. Having friends was overrated. Stupid promises. “There better be good food is all I’m saying,” Joker grumbled.

They had some time before they had to leave, so he would make the most of it. He kissed Gio, loving the feel of Gio’s arms around him, his lips on Joker’s, their tongues moving together. Gio’s subtle cologne filled his nostrils, and Joker groaned. God, he loved the way his man smelled.

A little sigh escaped Gio that made Joker smile. Yeah, Gio was more than a little crazy about him. It was as if he couldn’t keep his hands, or mouth, off Joker, whether it was a discreet hand against Joker’s lower back while they were out, or their fingers laced together as they strolled down the beach in the evenings, or when their limbs tangled as they had sex. Not that Joker was complaining, especially since he was the same. How could he not want his hands on all that sleek muscle and soft skin?

“Are you trying to distract me?” Gio asked, sliding his hands down Joker’s back to his ass.

“Is it working?”

“Always,” Gio said, his smile wide. “Cookie, Chip, go with Saint.”

The dogs trotted off, leaving the bedroom. Gio left Joker and closed the door, then turned, the wicked gleam in his eyes sending a shiver through Joker. He motioned to the end of the room. “Hands on the glass.”

Joker groaned and hurried to do as he was told. He placed his palms against the one-way glass windows in their bedroom and spread his legs. Anticipation had him thrumming with excitement and need. When it came to Gio, Joker was insatiable. The need to have Gio fill him, to feel Gio’s come running down his legs… was enough to make him whimper.

“Please, baby.”

Gio didn’t waste any time. He unfastened Joker’s dress slacks and shoved them down his legs along with his underwear. When he disappeared, Joker grunted a protest. The drawer to the nightstand opened, and a heartbeat later, Gio was back, his slick fingers stretching Joker.

He arched his back and pushed his ass against Gio, moaning at the ripples of pleasure as Gio prepped him. “Fuck, that feels so good.” Gio crooked his finger, hitting that particular spot inside Joker, and he cried out, “Fuck! Yes, just like that. Fuck yeah.”

“You’re going to be thinking about me in your ass the entire time you’re sitting there, remembering that burn is from my cock filling up your tight hole.”

Joker groaned. He wasn’t going to last long. He let his brow fall against the glass as Gio lined himself up and slowly pushed inside him, Gio’s wide girth stretching him, the pain soon giving way to the most delicious pleasure. Gio stilled, completely buried inside Joker, their bodies pressed together, Joker’s back to Gio’s front.

“You feel so amazing,” Gio murmured against Joker’s temple. Slowly he pulled out, then snapped his hips.

Joker cried out, then demanded more. With every one of Gio’s thrusts, Joker met him with a thrust of his own until Gio was pounding his ass, their bodies smacking together as Gio claimed him. Gio shifted his angle, and Joker threw his head back with a loud groan. His body was a mass of thrumming energy, ready to take off like a Fourth of July firecracker. Every inch of him lit up from the inside out, and he grabbed his dick, stroking himself off in time to Gio’s thrusts.

“That’s it, sweetheart. Come for me.”

Joker’s orgasm exploded through him, and he came all over his hand and the glass just as Gio’s hoarse cry filled the room, his come coating and warming Joker’s insides. Their panting breath was the only sound in the room as they stood, bodies remaining joined together. Joker’s knees wobbled a little, and Gio carefully slipped out of him. He kissed Joker’s cheek.

“Don’t move.”

Joker did as he was told, his eyes on the blue waves sparkling beneath the sun’s bright rays. His heart was whole, his soul soaring in a way he’d never experienced before, all because of the love he had. He’d spent so many years avoiding getting his heart involved, and in the end, this sweet, sinful man had somehow skillfully stolen Joker’s heart right from under him. He smiled at the tender stroke of the washcloth between his legs. When Gio had finished cleaning him up, Joker pulled up his boxer briefs and pants. He sorted his clothes out and kissed Gio. It was a silly thought, but after what they just did, knowing that he had Gio to come home to every day made him feel like he could take on the world.

“Ready?” Gio asked, kissing the tip of Joker’s nose.

“If I gotta,” Joker grumbled. “You got the lint rollers?”

Gio held up the black designer duffel that contained folding cooling mats—in sand color—pop-up water and food bowls for the boys, some water bottles, a couple of dog bones to keep them busy, treats, kibble, and several lint rollers because black tuxedos and golden retriever fur were mortal enemies.

They got the dogs secured in the back seat of the SUV, then climbed in after them. Joker had never been more grateful for air conditioning. The walk from the front door to the car alone had him sweating. Damn ceremony better be short. At least the reception afterward was inside the hotel.

The beach hosting the huge-ass wedding was behind a luxury hotel less than half an hour away. They walked through the lobby, guests gasping and cooing at Chip and Cookie trotting along in their matching tuxes. Gio had gotten Cookie a black service dog uniform so it would match the tux. Again, ridiculous. A huge ornate sign at the far end of the lobby near a pair of floor-to-ceiling glass doors announced the wedding, and they approached the two women standing behind the table beside it. Gio handed over their invite, and they were escorted outside onto the stone veranda and a set of wide steps that led down to an expansive patio and then the beach. They spotted their friends seated several rows down near the front and walked through sand to get to their seats. Well, “seats” was a strong word. Joker stared down at what Ace and Colton were sitting on.

“What the every-loving-fuck is that?”

Ace grinned up at him. “Well, good morning, sunshine.” He patted the space next to him.

“Don’t call me that,” Joker said through a grunt. Only Gio called him that. He pointed down to where someone expected him to park his ass. “I repeat, what the fuck is that?” Several of their coworkers were already seated around them, and they snickered at Joker.

“I believe it’s driftwood,” Ace replied, looking too damned happy for his own good.

Joker took a seat with a heavy sigh while Gio put down the cooling pads in the sand next to the end of the… dead tree or whatever the fuck it was they were sitting on. The dogs lay down and settled, though if it got too hot, he’d take them inside. He wasn’t going to let his dogs get overheated because one of the grooms was an asshat.

The rest of their friends arrived, and Joker glanced around “their side” of the aisle. Pretty much the whole of Four Kings Security was here, along with a few people he didn’t know—he assumed they were friends of groom number two.

“Why the fuck are we here again?” Joker asked, shifting uncomfortably in his seat, and had to catch himself before he toppled over. Whoever the fuck thought giant pieces of driftwood in the sand made for good seating needed to be smacked in the head. Not only was he sweating balls out here, but his shoes were full of sand. Who asked people to wear tuxes to a beach wedding? Again, in fucking Florida.

“We’re here because King asked us to be here,” Ace said, checking his watch for what seemed like the hundredth time.

Joker hated weddings. He especially hated themed weddings. The only exception he made where weddings were concerned was if it was someone close to him. Although he’d met Gage Kingston on occasion, Joker wasn’t friends with the guy. King’s cousin ran with a different crowd, and Joker had yet to meet someone who didn’t immediately dislike the man’s boyfriend after meeting him once. The guy was a total douche. He darted his gaze at the sea of people across the aisle. That’s right. King had asked every available body at Four Kings Security to attend the wedding because Gage’s asshole fiancé had thrown a tantrum when he realized he had ten times the number of guests as Gage, making the seating “uneven” and “sad.”

Gage and King didn’t strike Joker as being very close for some reason they knew nothing about. The guy was rarely around, but King was ready to call in the cavalry for Gage, so that had to mean something. Gage had been in the Navy—which had taken balls, considering the Kingston family was an Army family, but Joker never remembered what it was Gage had done in the Navy, only that he’d fulfilled his contract and then got out. The rest of their crew arrived, taking up two… trees. Leo took a seat next to Colton, and King sat beside him on the end.

Not long after, it looked like everyone had arrived, but the wedding had yet to start. Chip started panting, and Gio removed two of the pop-up dog bowls and filled them with water. As soon as Chip had some water, he was fine, but Joker didn’t want him out here too much longer.

“Wasn’t the wedding supposed to start, like, fifteen minutes ago?” Colton asked worriedly.

The priest stood at the end of the aisle beneath a massive archway also made of driftwood decorated in seashells, starfish, and… seaweed? It looked like seaweed. The wedding wasn’t just on the beach and beach-themed; it was seashell-themed. There were seashells on everything.

“I think the groom is getting antsy,” Jack said from behind Joker, leaning forward to speak quietly.

“Is that what we’re calling it?” Joker murmured, studying the lanky blond man with wild hair. He was some kind of artist or something.

Lucky tapped Ace on the shoulder. “Bro, did he just pull out his phone? At the altar?”

“Yep, it would seem so. I’d also like to point out that his phone case has a giant seashell on it. How did that even fit in his pocket?”

“What’s he doing?” Gio asked. “Is he on a video call?”

“I think he’s filming himself,” Jack replied.

“What’s his name?” Leo asked, and Ace handed Leo the wedding program containing all the information about the grooms.

Leo tapped away at his phone. “He’s talking to his social media followers. Yikes. That’s not very nice.”

“What’d he say?”

Joker cringed. That was King’s not-happy voice.

“He’s pissed off with Gage and saying how selfish he is, and how can he do this on his wedding day.”

Joker frowned. His wedding day? Last time he checked, weddings involved two people. “Why is your cousin marrying this guy? He doesn’t seem like Gage’s type.”

“I don’t know, to be honest.” King let out a weary sigh. “They’ve been on and off again for a long time, and every time I thought Gage was going to move on for good, his boyfriend would reel him back in.”

A ginormous older man in a white linen suit approached the groom. He had to be the father, because the two had the same blond hair, blue eyes, and cat’s-ass sour lips expression. Glancing around the space, people started to murmur and whisper among themselves; some of them glared in their direction. Joker narrowed his eyes at one guy who’d made the mistake of glaring at him, and the guy quickly darted his gaze somewhere else.

It was probably best if Joker didn’t look over there. He leaned into Ace. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For having a wedding with solid ground and no dead sea trees for seating.”

Ace chuckled. “You’re welcome.”

“My ass is getting numb,” Lucky muttered.

“Um, Ward?” Leo tugged on King’s sleeve. “I think your cousin is trying to get your attention.”

Joker turned, along with the rest of them, and sure enough, Gage was frantically waving at King from the small white tent on the patio. What the hell was going on?

Ace craned his neck. “Is Gage wearing a suit made of… seashells?”

“What the fuck?” Joker had to press his lips together to keep from laughing, because if he started laughing, he wasn’t going to stop.

“I’m very concerned,” Gio told Joker. “I hope the shells have been cleaned out properly.”

Ace tapped Joker’s shoulder. “Um… is it just me, or does that look like a claw?”

“Where?”

“By his crotch.”

“Why are you staring at his crotch?” Joker teased.

“I wasn’t staring at his crotch. Something dark moved, and it caught my eye. It happened to be in the vicinity of his crotch.” Ace squinted. “I think it’s a claw.” He turned his attention to King. “Wait, doesn’t your cousin have one of those weird aversions to crustaceans?”

“Really?” King grumbled. “You can’t remember to order normal sticky notes at work instead of neon pink, but you remember my cousin’s aversion to crustaceans?”

“It’s not that I can’t remember; I just choose not to.”

Before King could reply, Colton smartly jumped in. “King, maybe you should go check on your cousin. Make sure he’s okay.”

King stood and made his way toward the tent, then disappeared inside with his cousin. Something had to be going on. The wedding should have started by now. Maybe Gage was having wardrobe issues. Who the fuck knew? Maybe if Gage’s fiancé went to talk to his soon-to-be-husband instead of ranting on social media, this whole thing would resolve quicker and they could get to the eating and drinking part of the day.

What seemed like a lifetime later, King returned, and judging by the look on his face, it would be an interesting day.

“What’s going on?” Ace asked.

“There’s a bit of a situation.”

Shit. Were they going to need equipment? Was it a security issue? “What is it?” Joker asked, ready to spring into action.

King met his gaze, his expression somber.

“We’ve got a runaway groom.”

* * *

Wantto know what happens with Gage? Preorder Aisle Be There, book one in the new Runaway Grooms series on Amazon.

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What happenedduring Joker and Gio’s bachelor auction date? Check out the bonus scene here.