Page 83 of Last Boy

He is my family. He has been since we were scrawny little kids. And as long as we have each other, it’s all going to be all right.

“I love you,” I whisper. “I can’t wait to watch you take the ice here. In your brand-spanking-new uniform.”

His lips find my ear, the stubble of his face tickling my cheek and making me squirm. “And I can’t wait to fuck you in my new jersey after every game.”

Stepping back, he holds his hand out. “Come on, Poppyseed. Now that I’ve had the tour, let me show you around.”

Georgia might have been where we grew up, and Brooks might have brought us back together. But there’s something about Maine that feels like…home.

It also feels like a fresh start. For both of us. And maybe that’s exactly what we need.

24

Walker

Poppy stares out at the Atlantic, her beanie pulled down to her eyebrows as her long lashes peek out and almost curl around the fabric. It’s cold today. But not the cold that chills you to the bone, making it hard to breathe. Though I’m sure we’ll experience plenty of those days once we live here full-time. But right now, it’s sort of refreshing.

The waves roll in, crashing along the rocky coastline before they get pulled back, only to do it again, over and over. It’s a perfect, synchronized motion. I swear I hear the saltwater making a fizzling sound, and when I blow out a breath, it turns to white smoke, drifting into the air.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” she calls over the sound of the churning waters by Portland Head Light, Maine’s oldest lighthouse.

Apparently, everyone in Portland is too busy finishing their Christmas shit for tomorrow because we’ve got the whole place to ourselves.

“It is,” I say, keeping my eyes on her as she closes her eyes, dragging in a deep breath before opening them again.

I could watch her forever like this—content. I’ve loved her when she’s been sad, angry, and hurt. But right now…she’s happy.

She’s at peace, which isn’t something either of us can say has always been the case. But right now, she is.

“Have you ever, like…been somewhere for the first time and you just…” She pauses, her voice growing thick with emotion. “You just know that it’s where you’re meant to be? Like…it’s all completely new, but it feels like you’ve been here a thousand times before?” Her nose sniffles, and she glances at me. “Maybe it’s because you’re next to me. Maybe I’d feel this way in, like…freaking Arkansas.” She looks at the water again, watching the turning tide as the corner of her lips turns up. “But this place, it just…feels like home.” She nuzzles her body against mine.

“It feels like our home,” I murmur, kissing the top of her beanie. “I think Arkansas, or hell, even Idaho, would feel like home if you were with me. But this place, Poppyseed? This feels right.”

“Our first Christmas…actually together,” she says, peering up at me, “and we get to spend it here.”

“We do.” I slide my hands down her body, burying my face into her neck. “And we get to spend it in a sweet place that overlooks the harbor and the boats. Oh, with a Jacuzzi, where I plan to have you naked by the end of the night.”

She giggles. “Sounds nice, but what if some horny fisherman sees me?”

I narrow my eyes at her before nipping the skin of her neck, which I have to work to get to because she’s bundled like we’re at the North Pole. “You should know by now that I’d make sure they sure as hell didn’t,” I growl before bringing her mouth to mine. “Actually, I’m not sure I can wait that long. Our condo is a fifteen-minute drive from here, and my cock is straining against my jeans so hard right now that it hurts.”

Her head turns to look at me, eyes wide. “Wait, what? Where?”

Jerking my chin up, I nod toward the lighthouse, and she gasps.

“We couldn’t. That would be, like…so bad. You can’t even get inside of that thing.”

“Who said we needed to?” I growl low before lifting her and tossing her over my shoulder.

Poppy

When he finally sets me down, my back is pressed against the lighthouse’s exterior. And even though we’re no longer in the sunlight to warm my skin, at least being tucked in this crevice blocks the wind.

“You can’t be serious?” I whisper as he gazes down at me like he’s about to attack. “What if there are cameras?”

“There aren’t,” he says quickly, narrowing his eyes. “Do you want my cock inside of your tight, greedy pussy, baby? Or are you going to keep pretending like you aren’t a whore for my dick?”

My thighs squeeze together, and despite the temperature, my body warms as he steps closer, sliding his hand to my neck and gripping it gently.

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