The following is a complete work of fiction.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

This is the 3rd story of my "X Universe" series. Dan's story began in "Resolutions" and this part is running parallel with book 2, "Ties That Bind." Please read the first book, and through chapter 5 of "Ties That Bind" before starting this one; things will make more sense that way.

Disclaimer:

The following story may contain erotic situations between consenting adults. If it is illegal for you to read this please leave now.

Any resemblance between the characters and any real life person is completely coincidental. Please do not copy or distribute the story without the author's permission.

The characters of this story are the exclusive property of their original authors, publishers and production companies. No assumption of copyright has been made in this work.

Important -

If you enjoyed this chapter, you can find more of my art and writing at http://mybistories.livejournal.com.

If you would like to be updated of new stories and chapter releases, please join my yahoo group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/artistic_biguys_library/

Please feel free to send any feedback or comments through the writing journal or you can send it directly to artisticbiguy[at]aol.com. Please just remember to add something in the subject line so I know it's not Spam. Enjoy!

X Universe - Book 3

I Promise Forever - Chapter 1

I sighed as I felt Jeff's body moving against mine. I don't know why I was ever scared about being hurt; Jeff would never hurt me. He'd proven his love so many times, even when we'd just been friends. If I ever needed to feel safe, being in his arms was enough. My love for Jeff had so little to do with his good looks and gym honed body. Of course, the fact that I was married to any gay-boy's fantasy was just icing on the cake. Oh god, those muscles moving against my back were almost as incredible as that non-gym muscle that was filling me in ways I'd only dreamed of. He was so strong, possibly too strong for safe play with a normal guy. When your man can bench press over a ton, the dynamics and safety of being intimate changes dramatically. Fortunately, I wasn't as frail as I looked; even if my leg braces argued against that truth. Of course, I didn't have them on and they were the furthest thought from my mind. The only thoughts I was having involved the incredibly erotic sensations my lover was bringing to life in me and that this was going to be my second, no third, release of the evening.

Lips were caressing my ear as the pressure climbed. "Almost there," he whispered, and I was squirming.

"I know," I gasped between thrusts, I was so close, "me too."

Jeff chucked and whispered to me. "That'd be difficult to explain at customs."

My eyes flew open. I was trembling and a little disoriented; my pants were straining and I could feel my underwear was really damp. We were on the plane to Greece, about fifteen minutes from landing. I moaned under my breath. "Damn..."

I felt his hand slide down and softly rub against my aching shaft through my pants as he whispered into my ear, "I'll fulfill your dreams after we're on the ground, Mr. Watkins."

Trembling, I turned into his lips and melted. Mr. Watkins, Mr. Daniel Patrick Watkins; that was my name. Not only had I married the love of my life, but his parents had officially adopted me. With all the horrors we'd been through to get to where we were, life felt so much like a dream. Sometimes I wondered if I really had died and gone to heaven; or maybe I was still stuck in the coma, and this was my internal reality. What ever it was, reality or fantasy, I'd never been so happy.

Jeff's eyes burned with a dark, warm desire. Oh yeah, I should mention, he loved me as desperately as I loved him. That made all the pain and struggle of recovery bearable. The nightmares weren't too bad any longer. We'd survived enough of those; I had no desire to keep reliving them in my mind. If I'd been a little less prideful, I'd have gotten help from Brandon; but in addition to my redheaded temper, I was as stubborn-Irish as they come.

"Oh," Jeff seemed to snap out of his love induced trance and he reached into his pocket. He pulled out his wallet and smiled. "Dad had a few more wedding presents for us."

I groaned. The wedding, the honeymoon, arranging for us to fly to London after our honeymoon so we could find a place to live, not to mention their adopting me; I didn't think I could survive very many more gifts. I'd grown up living with all I needed, but nothing of excess. I didn't marry Jeff for his family's money; I married him because I couldn't live without him. I watched dubiously as Jeff pulled out three platinum cards and handed them to me. "Dad told me to wait till there was no way you could refuse them."

I looked at the cards; a Visa, MasterCard, and American Express. They all had my new name, Daniel Patrick Watkins, on them. My eyes filled with tears. It was so hard to believe it was reality. When I looked back at Jeff, he was grinning that shit-eating-grin of his and held up a pen. "You've got to sign them."

For a moment I thought about handing them back. Not out of spite, or lack of gratitude, but because Norma and Jack had already given me more than I could ever repay. My resistance crumbled when Jeff's eyes pleaded. "Please Dan; for Mom and Dad."

Mom and Dad, that thought almost had me bawling. The only thing that stopped me was thinking about how horrible a skinny, buttermilk skinned, freckled, redheaded stick of a guy would look with puffy red eyes. I wasn't much to look at, but there was no reason to make it worse. I took the pen, dropped the table-seat, and signed. I'd been practicing my signature all week. As silly as it sounded, I wanted to do the name justice. I really was proud of being a Watkins. I grinned as I handed back the pen. "This doesn't mean I'll use them."

"True, but at least you acknowledge you're part of the family." His smile was enough to light Broadway.

I looked away; he was just too beautiful to me at times. "Yeah, yeah... whatever."

His aura stroked me, and I nearly jerked out of the seat. Oh fuck, I was trembling and hard again. He knew I couldn't deny him anything; the bastard. I shot him an evil look. "I thought you said 'that' would be hard to explain to customs."

Jeff leaned in again and nuzzled my neck with his nose. Ok, that sounds silly, but I always thought it was precious. He called them "Eskimo kisses". I certainly wasn't going to object. "We could always join the 'mile-high' club," he whispered huskily.

I laughed, and pushed him back into his seat. Thank god we were in first class. Jeff was totally comfortable with public displays of affection; but even after two years together, two fights for survival, nearly dying, and saying "I do," I still got nervous and cagey when he would do it away from family and friends. I suppose old fears died hard; it wasn't like we couldn't defend ourselves. Being a spell casting, gay, mutant, witch was a daunting combination. Don't piss one off; you'd regret it.

The seatbelt light came on before he could press the matter further. I thanked the Gods for that; if he'd pressed, I'd have been crammed in a small airplane bathroom with the hottest guy on the planet fucking me to nirvana. And everyone would know it... neither of us was quiet.

Jeff gave me a playful pout after we made it through customs. I'd never been to Greece, so I had no idea what he could be pouting about. "What?"

"I was kind of hoping to 'join the club'." He gave me his best, hurt-puppy eyes. For once, I didn't buy it.

"Just because George managed to seduce and screw the first class steward when he flew 'Virgin' to England, doesn't mean we have to follow suit and try out 'double occupancy' in the restrooms." Jeff's older brother gave being gay a bad name. Ok, so maybe not a 'bad' name, but he really promoted the whole "easy sex, hotter than life" stereotype. Jeff did a good job holding his wounded, pouting, puppy-dog look, but we both knew I wasn't falling for it. Being a living lie detector made it fairly difficult to tease me with fake hurt; of course, it also made it hard to hide the fact you were hurting but trying not to show it.

"Ok, fine, I can see where this marriage is leading to." He sighed dramatically and headed for the baggage carrousel. "I'll get the bags."

I grinned and shook my head. Though I'm a chest and arms man, I had to admit that Jeff's ass looked awfully good as he walked to our belt. As with all things "international," the bags were taking forever to get off the plane. After thirty minutes, Jeff was exasperated. "Where the hell are our bags? I think they've loaded two other flights on since we got here."

I grinned. I'd gotten fed up about ten minutes ago, and had located our bags. The only reason I hadn't told Jeff was, well, I guess I didn't have a good reason. Something about standing around, with nothing to do but wait, and being beside my husband with his arm around my waist was appealing. I could have stood there forever. I faked a few moments of "distant gaze", which is what the guys described my look when I tried to expand my awareness, and smiled. "They're on the wrong carrousel. I think one of the luggage trolleys must have pulled up to the wrong offloading ramp." I nodded over at carrousel six.

Grumbling, Jeff let go and jogged around to the belt. I didn't see any reason to rush. Our flight to Mykonos wasn't leaving till two in the afternoon, and it was eight in the morning. Not to mention, no one would have been able to snatch our bags; once I had them in my awareness, they weren't going anywhere I didn't want them to go. As was usual, Jeff just started pack-muling the bags. Sometimes he forgot the fact that no normal human could carry all that stuff.

I grabbed one of the luggage carts from the abandoned area and walked over. Naturally, I got a few odd looks; a guy in leg braces gets them no matter how fluidly he moves. I couldn't wait to be rid of the damn things. "Here."

Jeff looked at me like an alien. "Why would I want one of those?"

I leaned over and whispered in his ear, "Because we aren't advertising for Xavier's School?"

Sometimes, Jeff just missed the obvious. It was one of his endearing qualities, actually. He grinned at me and blushed. "Oh, yeah."

He loaded up the cart, and I started pushing it toward the main terminal. Jeff frowned at me. "You know, I can do that."

I shrugged. "Gee, Jeff, so can I." I kept pushing. Though we'd made progress in the last month, Jeff still thought of me as broken and frail. I was neither; I wasn't going to let him treat me like an invalid. "Don't make me prove how 'capable' I am of doing this, Jeff."

He pulled the cart to a stop and looked at me. I frowned down at him, feeling more than a little defiant. Did I mention something earlier about Irish stubbornness? Yeah, I probably did. I was still getting used to the fact I was taller than him. To me, Jeff was larger than life.

"I know you are, Dan." His eyes were filled with such painful longing that my heart hitched. I didn't know if he'd ever forgive himself for what happened in France; I sure hoped he would.

I sighed. "Sorry. I've just got to do some things for myself." I stepped back and let him have the cart. "You're still my White Knight you know." His smile returned as I let him have the cart, and we continued on our way to our honeymoon.

Thank the gods that Mykonos had a large enough airport for commuter jets. If I'd had to take one of those damn prop-puddle-jumpers like they use from Miami to the Bahamas, I'd have been a basket case. To a normal person, the vibration and noise of a prop was annoying; to me, it was maddening. I smiled wistfully from the balcony of our room at the turquoise waters of Ai Giannis Harbor. Appolonia Bay was a beautiful, if modest, hotel. For once I had to remember to thank George for knowing "everything" about gay life.

My eyes drifted to the pool area. There were a several couples lounging about, and half of them were same sex. I smiled. "At least he didn't send us to a gay-sex resort."

Jeff laughed at my comment as clothes floated from the suitcases to the drawers and closet. "Dad contacted a few travel agents about the places George recommended. You don't want to know about the first three."

I couldn't help but laugh. At twenty-three, George was still as horny as a sixteen year old on ecstasy. "So how did he even hear about a place like this; gay friendly and -not- a meat market?"

"Two of his friends got married last year in Vermont, and then came here for their honeymoon." Jeff wrapped his arms around me from behind and rested his chin on my shoulder. "He says they are a lot like us. Since they raved about this place, he thought it would be just our speed: boring."

I leaned back against him and felt the solid warmth of his body wash through me. All that really mattered was the love we shared, but damn it was nice to be in love with a guy built like a Latin Adonis. All he got was a red-bristled broomstick out of the deal; hopefully my other talents made up for the fact that I wasn't much to look at. "I could be bored like this for the rest of my life."

The touch of Jeff's lips to my neck sent shivers down my spine. "Yeah," he breathed into my ear as hugged me tighter, "so could I."

"Keep that up, Mr. Watkins, and we won't be boring for very long." A moan escaped from me as his lips teased my ear.

He rocked his boredom against me, making my interest throb. "What a shame."

Ok, so we weren't exactly prudish. I felt the leg braces unsnapping as Jeff pulled me back into the room. Damn he was getting good with his aurik powers. The doors closed on their own while he turned me to face him and made my brain melt with another of his incredible kisses. It just wasn't fair. He had the looks, the personality and I was certain some pheromone or saliva mutation that made him impossible to resist. Well, at least impossible for me to resist.

I wasn't able to think clearly until I was on my back and he was slowly sinking into me while staring into my eyes and whispering, "I love you so much."

Gods, why had we waited so long? I knew why, and I didn't regret it, but I was still amazed at how it made me feel. As he began to move in me, reminding my body of the depth of our connection, I marveled at the fact that only a month before, I had doubted we would get here at all. My mind went back to the point at which I was feeling the least certain and the most determined not to let go.

My mind was still trying to work through Ben's advice. He was such a cool guy. I was kicking myself for taking out my issues with Jeff on him. It wasn't his fault they were so similar that just spending time with him had me ready to scream. I'd fucking died. I'd died, and they'd brought me back. At this point the only reason I had to live was to be with the guy I loved enough to die for in the first place. Unfortunately, that guy was too scared I would break to give me what I wanted.

I made it back to the room and groaned inwardly as I watch the play of Jeff's back muscles as he pulled off his workout shirt. My senses had become even more acute since my "return." I could smell him even before I'd opened the door. His aroma was musky, pungent, warm, and could make my stomach melt to butter. All I wanted to do was cross the space between us and breath him in while tasting the salt from his skin.

He looked over at me as I shut the door. "How was the training?"

I shrugged and struggled not to look embarrassed. "Ben's improving fast."

He tossed his shirt in the hamper before plopping down on the bed and untying his shoes. "The twins are pretty cool, but Brandon needs to loosen up a little."

Loosen up? That's the pot calling the kettle black. I frowned but didn't say what I was thinking. Gods I wanted him to put his money where his mouth was. Hell, I'd just have settled for the mouth. I itched absently at the brace straps. The constant pressure of those things left my skin sore.

"You ok?" The honest concern in his eyes both melted my heart and made my blood boil. I knew he loved me. I didn't doubt that for a minute. I had simply begun to wonder if that was enough.

"Damn braces rub even through the jeans." I could feel his discomfort. I think a part of him wanted to come over and fix it while another part was warning him not to push. I wished he'd pushed. "I've probably got a rash."

Finishing with his shoes, he stood. "That's going to suck. You've got to wear those things for what, two months?"

I rolled my eyes. Hank was paranoid about my deteriorating by using my powers over doing the physical therapy to recover. "That's if Hank is -satisfied- with my progress."

His eyes met mine and my heart sank. I knew what was coming. "Dan, we could..."

"NO!" Every time he brought up the idea of postponing the wedding it felt like a part of me died.

"But..."

"I'm not an invalid, Jeff. You aren't going to have to look after me!" I could feel myself losing it. Damn I hated losing control. Bad things happened when I lost control. I glared at him through my tears. "Do you want out?"

You'd have thought I'd kicked him. He looked at me slack-jawed, and couldn't seem to form words. I couldn't take it. I stepped past him into the bathroom and slammed the door. The damn thing didn't latch; it just bounced against the frame and slowly floated open as I sat on the john trying to unsnap the damn braces. I hated them. I hated them more than the wheel chair. It was easy to get out of the wheel chair. The damn braces were bitches to fasten and even worse to unfasten. I could more easily obliterate them than actually make the clamps obey me.

I was struggling with the third snap when Jeff sank down on the tiles in front of me. I stopped, took a deep breath, and met his eyes. He was crying. "I love you. We said forever, and I meant it."

I choked. "So did I."

He pressed up and captured my lips. It was only for a moment, but it melted me. He pulled back and eyed the braces. "Want some help?"

"Yeah..." I watched him as he popped the clips without any difficulty. Of course, his aurik abilities gave him leverage my fingers didn't have. I sighed as the last band was released and he slid the things from my legs. If legs could breath, mine would have been gasping for air. "Jeff?"

He looked at me, his eyes still glistening. "Yeah?"

"I only had one reason to come back." Leaning forward, I brought my forehead to his and held it there. "I died to save our family, but I came back for you." My voice was trembling so much that I could hardly form words. "Please stop pulling away; it's killing me."

He pulled me off the seat and crushed me to him. His body shook as he buried his face in my neck and cried. If it weren't for my enhanced senses, I wouldn't have been able to understand what he said. "I'm so fucking scared."

I pulled his face up and held his eyes. "We've both been through hell and back, Jeff. We survived because we had each other. You aren't going to lose me, and I'm not letting go." I captured his lips and didn't pull back until the need for air was undeniable. Jeff was gasping a little as I let him breath. "I'm not broken and I won't break." My voice cracked as I leaned back in. "Please don't make me wait any longer."

Though his heart may have been screaming that we should take it slow, I think his libido had finally gotten the message. He was hard and pulsing against his workout shorts as we pressed back against the tiles. "Dan..."

"Please..." I leaned in and did what I'd wanted to do the moment I'd made it back to the room. My tongue lathed his nipple and I tasted his salt. "Trust me..."

Jeff moaned, but he didn't fight me as I floated off him for a moment. Yeah, mutant powers were kick ass at times. I was so needy that I couldn't even work the zipper of my pants. I didn't care any more. I shut my eyes and flexed my will, imitating how his aura could be strengthened and used, and my pants literally ripped off me. Not just my pants, but my shirt, socks, shoes and underwear were also torn to shreds. Jeff was covered with bits of cloth and thread as I sank back against him while pushing his shorts and jock to his knees.

He grunted as his cock snapped free of the elastic and slapped against his abs. Gods he was beautiful. There wasn't an inch of him that wasn't perfect. His uncut length was just the icing on the cake. He chewed on my ear as I rubbed against him. "God, Dan..."

I stirred his aura. I knew it was cheating, but I could feel him tensing up. He was going to try and stop what we both knew we wanted. Jeff cried out and arched up. His hips and shoulders pressed against the tiles while his fingers tried to dig into the floor. He blew in seconds. It was all I could do not to follow him. Just the sensations from his orgasms were enough to trip me.

Jeff panted and gasped below me, his eyes glazed, as his brain struggled to reboot. It was now or never. I scooped up his cum, taking a moment to lick a taste before I rubbed it into my twitching hole. He was still hard as steel as I tilted him back and impaled myself. I'd been scared it would hurt, and it did, a little, but the feeling was too incredible for me to keep quiet. I moaned as I took him in.

Jeff's hands gripped my hips as I began to rock my way down his shaft. "Dan..."

I groaned, and kept rocking my way down onto him until I felt his balls brush against my butt. Leaning forward, I slid up him just a little before pressing down again. "Too late," I sighed, and looked into his eyes. "Do you want to take over?"

I didn't have to ask a second time. On the bathroom tiles was not the place I'd envisioned losing my virginity, but it didn't matter. Jeff had me on my back and was taking slow, long, loving plunges into me as he braced himself on his arms and sought out my lips. "Don't let me hurt you," he gasped, his movements continuing smoothly between his pleas, "please."

I groaned as he rubbed against something in me that made my toes curl. "You'd never hurt me..." He did it again, and with almost each plunge after that. "Gods, please don't stop."

If you have ever watched one of those cheesy porn flicks, then you know how it went from there. I'm embarrassed to say we're both loud and foul-mouthed when we fuck. I never thought I'd say shit like that, but when Jeff's pounding me to middle earth, my vocabulary seemed to be reduced to curse words and trashy language. I was vaguely aware of some odd crunching noises and a steadily growing ache between my shoulder blades, but I didn't pay any attention to it. I had the hottest guy on the planet claiming me and losing his self in me at the same time. I was in heaven.

As close as he kept me to the edge as his tempo increased, I still didn't trip. I'd heard about guys blowing just from being fucked, and I wanted to desperately, but it just wouldn't happen. Then Jeff went stiff, and trembled, and my senses went nuts. I'd experienced his orgasms before, but it was so much more intense when he was connected to me like he was. I tripped, screaming out my release as we left reality for a moment.

When we came back, my back was itching like mad, sort of burning but feeling raw all at once. Jeff was still over me, slowly lowering my well used ass back to the tiles as his breathing began to slow. He lowered against me, his sweat and my cum making some rather unpleasant noises as we pressed together. The movies never cover this part of sex. Sure, we see it, but the squishy, wet, semi-flatulent sounds that come about from two sweaty bodies being rubbed together with only cum as the barrier were edited out. The third time it happened as he shifted to kiss me again I started to laugh.

Jeff pulled back and looked at me like I was insane. "What?"

His incredulous expression only made it worse. I tried to bite it back, but I kept giggling until it was too much, and I just started coughing from the conflict. "You never hear those sounds in the movies," I gasped out between giggles. Clenching my eyes shut didn't help remove any of my perceptions; I just had too many senses to dampen down so easily.

I felt Jeff begin to laugh, and we lost it. We were clutching to each other and laughing for a good five minutes. When we stopped, Jeff smiled into my eyes and asked, "How are you doing?"

I grinned. Mr. Worry-wart was back, but at least he was a sated, happy worry-wart. "Other than the burning feeling between my shoulders, I'd have to say 'when are we going for round two'?"

He leaned in and kissed me, pulling my lower lip out between his teeth before letting go. "After we wash up?"

I wrapped my arms around his neck as he stood up and pulled me with him. "Good answer."

His eyes went wide as he lifted his hand from my back. "Oh shit." I was confused as he spun me about and gasped. "God, Dan..." his voice was shaking, "why didn't you tell me it hurt?"

I looked back at him puzzled. "What? I'm a little sore. No biggie."

He held up his hand while, with the other pointing at the floor. His fingers were red with blood. I looked down at the spot where I'd been pressed against the floor, and the tiles were shattered. It looked like someone had killed a chicken with a sledgehammer on the tiles. They were fractured and broken and covered in blood. I turned to look at my back in the mirror. I looked like I had road rash from just below my neck to the bottom of my ribs. "Wow."

Jeff had to sit down, his face stricken with shock. "I hurt you..."

I sank to my knees and grabbed his face. "Look at me!"

He did, but I don't think he was seeing me. I slapped him. That snapped his attention back to me.

"I'm OK. I'm not hurt; I'm just cut up a little."

"Dan..."

"NO!" I think the force in my voice surprised him. "You gave me exactly what I wanted; what we wanted. Let's get in the shower and get my back washed off. A paper cut can bleed enough to make it look like you cut off your finger." I held his eyes with mine. "Everything is okay."

He nodded, but didn't say anything more. We rinsed off, and I had to admit that the water stung like hell. I tried not to flinch too much as Jeff made sure my back was clean. When we got out, I looked at myself in the mirror again. "It isn't that bad. I bet guys who have sex with women with nails come out worse."

"Dan..." Jeff was not sounding all that reassured.

I looked at him, exasperated. "Does it really look -bad-? I'd have had worse landing on my back on the blacktop while playing ball."

Jeff looked at my back's reflection and nodded reluctantly. "Yeah, I guess."

"So we go down to the infirmary, blush our way through an explanation as to why I'm cut up, and get it bandaged." I shrugged and took his hand, lacing my fingers with his. "If having you do me means I have to stock up on bactine and bandages, I'll do it." He looked perplexed as I leaned back in and rested my cheek against his shoulder. "I really, really want round two."

Jeff lifted my chin and studied my eyes. There was no doubt there for him to find. After a moment, he swallowed and grinned. "That good, huh?"

"You're that good, Jeff. I'd want it even if we needed safety equipment." I grinned back. "Let's face it: when a guy can bench over a ton, uninhibited sex gets a touch more complex."

"It doesn't scare you?"

I smiled. "Hell no. I wasn't even trying to protect myself, and I apparently was able to transfer most of the force of our sex to the floor." Pulling him into the bedroom, I went for the dresser. "Imagine what would have happened if we were on the bed?"

Jeff eyed the bed and then me dubiously.

I laughed, and tossed him some boxers. "It'd have sucked to have our first time interrupted with the damn thing collapsing."

That, at least, made him laugh.

The curtains were turning a beautiful shade of salmon from the light of the setting sun. My back was sore, the bed was a wreck, and I was in desperate need of a bath. I couldn't think of a time I was more content. Jeff was curled against my side, his head pillowed on my chest, and he was dozing after several hours of passion. The warmth of him, the smell, the touch, the sound, the sight, and the spiritual need all held me there and kept me from slipping into oblivion.

I could still hear it, the nothingness, calling to me. Unlike other people who "came back", I wasn't quite sure if I'd completely made it back. At times, late at night, I'd find myself clinging to Jeff and being afraid to let go. It wasn't that oblivion scared me, if anything, I found the call enticing. I just wasn't ready; there was so much I had left to do.