Cole

Tonight was similar to the last time we walked through the woods under the close-aired darkness. Similar yet loaded with difference. We walked hand-in-hand now, not rebelling against our connection but accepting it, cultivating it, sharing it. We didn't need alcohol to loosen our lips and embolden our actions. We knew the path would lead us home, and from there, it would take us to bed—together. It was good, and this was right.

We stumbled down the path—not as a result of liquor, though it had some hand in this—clinging to each other as we broke out in fits of riotous laughter. "I couldn't tell whether JJ was going to hop over the bar and drag us out by the scruff or launch into a slow clap," I said.

"Such an odd moment," Owen said with a chuckle. "Did you see the look Brooke-Ashley gave him? She rolled her eyes so hard they still haven't come back around."

"True story," I murmured. "It was nice of the O'Keefes to drop by and say hello, even if they were a little awkward about it."

"Yeah, they're kind people," Owen replied. "They've had a few tough years, and they've struggled, but they'd still give you their last slice of bread if you asked for it."

I still didn't understand this town or the people in it, but neither were a puzzle in need of solving.

Owen turned, pinning me with a fierce stare. "But I don't want to talk about them anymore," he said.

"Okay," I replied. "That's fine. Maybe you can compliment my ass some more. That's what you're supposed to do on a date."

"I don't want to play pretend anymore," he said, his words quick and sharp. "I want to be real with you now."

"We are real," I said, confused. "Of course we're real. This entire night has been real. We weren't pretending to be on a date, Owen. We actually were on a—"

"I don't want you to go," he interrupted, "when the summer ends."

Boom. Just fucking boom went my heart.

"Say something." He stepped closer, pressing his chest to mine. If his declaration wasn't enough to stun me into silence, his cock, hardening under his shorts, did the trick. "Tell me what you're thinking."

"I—ohhh—yeah," I stammered, widening my stance and arching toward the firm ridge of him. He rocked against me, grinning as I groaned. "I can't think when you do that, baby."

"Try, for me, baby. Try. Promise me you'll stay." Owen's hips were bucking against me in a lazy rhythm. We groaned at that, and I was ready to come all over us. It could have been the friction, but it was mostly his words. "Say something," he repeated, the order taking on an edge of anxiety.

"Yes, I want you," I replied with a needy groan. The dry friction of his clothing-covered dick rubbing against mine made it impossible to do anything other than sink into these sensations. "Of course."

"That's right," he said, growling.

"I want to stay," I continued, the loose tooth of my life outside this town wiggling under these words. "I want to stay here with you. But I should tell you—"

"The only thing you have to tell me is how you want me fucking you," he said as he pushed me against a tree.

A gasp burst from my lips as the trunk bit into my back. With a shaking hand, I reached for Owen's jaw. I canted his face up, wanting to see the wild in his eyes. "Not this time," I whispered.

My hand still gripping his face, I stepped away from the tree. I curled my fingers around his belt and jerked his hips flush with mine. I wanted him like nothing else. So much that it hurt. But I also wanted this—him, us, these woods—and I couldn't bring myself to stop.

"What do you think you're doing, McClish?" he asked.

My eyes drifted shut while I basked in the pleasure of his shaft rubbing against mine. Even through layers of clothing, the sensation was unreal. "Could I make you come?" I asked. "Just like this?"

Owen's hand shifted from my waist to my backside. He held me, squeezing just a bit. "You could smile at me, and I'd fall apart," he whispered. His fingers skimmed down my ass, pressing and rubbing like a dream. "I think you know that."

"I don't," I said, my voice tight as I held back a groan. With all the strength I could gather, I positioned him against the tree, pecked a kiss on the corner of his mouth, and dropped to my knees. "My turn."

This time, I handled both his button and zipper without incident, and yanked his boxer briefs down. He loved it when I played with him a bit, teased, but I'd do all that some other time. Tonight, I was hungry for him. Hungry for a piece to call my own.

Owen's hand skimmed up the back of my neck. "Baby, no. You don't have to."

"I want to," I said, my eyes trained on his thick shaft. With his thighs trembling and flexing under my hands, I dragged my tongue up his cock. He was hot and delicious, and I wasted no time taking him in my mouth.

"Goddamn," Owen hissed.

I pushed a finger inside him, just past the rim, and he howled. Actually fucking howled. His hips jerked away from the tree trunk, thrusting into my mouth. His hands were in my hair and his thigh was stiff under my free hand. He was leaking and twitching in small, quick pulses. Just like waves at low tide.

I kissed down his length and across his sac. "Good?" I asked, glancing up at him.

"Would it be cliché to tell you I love you right now?" he asked. "Because I do. I really fucking do."

My world lit up then, a riot of heat and joy, and a fullness, like being swaddled in a tight embrace. The words were burning on my tongue, but I couldn't offer them in return until I was certain he meant them. Owen wasn't one for hyperbole but I had to be sure.

"No clichés," I replied, smiling against his thigh. "My blowjobs are that good."

"Get up here," Owen ordered, hooking his hands under my arms and urging me off the ground.

When I pushed to my feet, he took my face in his hands and kissed me hard. He nipped at my tongue, bit my lip, and I bit right back. His pants were still tangled around his ankles, and I stole this opportunity to slide my fingers along his seam.

"I want to fuck you right here but I don't think tree sap makes for the best lube," I said.

I felt Owen smile against my neck. "Let's not do that," he said. "The tree sap lube, that is. I quite enjoy natural products, but that's over the line for me. The rest of it sounds great."

I rubbed my free hand up and down his chest, pawing at him. "You want me to fuck you?"

"The answer to that question has always been yes," he said. "Always will be."

After another biting kiss, I turned him around in my arms. My hips rolled against his backside, my cock right between his cheeks while I stroked him. I was cross-eyed and crazy with lust, and this close to spitting into my palm and fucking him raw.

Rarely did I feel the desire to take a man like this, but with Owen, I had a desperate, panting need that I felt rising up from deep within me. I wanted to have him, be with him in every place possible way, brand him as my own.

"That settles it," I said. "I'm taking my man home now."