Page 38 of Jonathon, After All

And he wasn’t even a real artist yet. Jonathon’s soul shrank as he imagined all the ways he’d be described if people found out about their relationship. They would immediately focus on his age because he was barely twenty and Leo was thirty. And Jonathon was an American. There were few things that could be worse for a man like Leo than dating an American. Maybe if Jonathon was a terrorist and wanted by Interpol, or Russian, or in a rock band.

But the fact that he was a young American and from a family with a disgraceful reputation would be too titillating for the media to ignore and Jonathon was all the more humiliated because he would have nothing else to hide behind other than…

Student artist

Aspiring artist

Wannabe artist

Self-styled artist

Artist-in-training

Amateur artist

He would be the butt of every society joke, on both sides of the Atlantic.

In the beginning, the trains, planes, and ships had all been draining and frightening at times. But Jonathon had grown to appreciate Muriel’s love of travel because he hated New York society. It was one of the few things they didn’t have in common and Muriel refused to accept that there was anything outside of Manhattan and acted like the state of New York consisted solely of that sacred borough and the South Fork of Long Island.

Jonathon’s parents’ reputation and the gossips’ whispers preceded him everywhere they went when they were in the city or the Hamptons. Jonathon had felt like an outcast from the moment he was old enough to understand that his father was a crook and his mother had run off with his best friend, who was also a crook. The only thing that had prevented him from being laughed out of fine restaurants and snubbed at house parties and galas was the sheer force of Muriel’s will.

She was determined that Jonathon’s reputation would not suffer because of his parents and that he would succeed despite them. She had believed that he would gain respect as an artist and possibly marry a wealthy, successful man and that success would be the ultimate redemption for Jonathon. She had believed that together they could put an end to all the gossip about that offshoot of her family once and for all.

Jonathon had certainly blown that plan to smithereens. He was too snotty and queasy to leave his room and had sent his apologies for missing dinner. His plans to hide and cry for the rest of their stay at Schönbühel were interrupted by a swift knock at the door.

“Yes?” he called from the floor, mopping at his face with his sleeve.

“Please open the door,” Leo returned quietly.

“Shit!” Jonathon pulled himself up and quickly let him in. “What are you doing here? It’s still early, someone might see you!”

Leo hushed him, cradling Jonathon’s jaw and exclaiming at his red, puffy eyes and tear-streaked cheeks. “What happened? Tell me?” he demanded as his lips crushed Jonathon’s. His hands were possessive and protective as they roamed Jonathon’s back and sifted through his hair.

“Nothing happened. I talked to Sabine and I reali?—”

“You talked to Sabine?” Leo leaned back searching Jonathon’s face. “What did she say?”

“Nothing, really. Nothing I didn’t already know,” he said, shaking his head. “It was me, I…woke up.” His voice crumbled and Jonathon felt like he was crumbling as he leaned into Leo.

“What are you talking about?”

“I have to let you go soon,” Jonathon choked out and Leo’s hands stilled. He stilled, his heart slamming against Jonathon’s chest.

“No.” he growled, his arms tightening around Jonathon as he was lifted and carried to the bed.

“Leo!” Jonathon threw his arms around him, holding on as tight as he could. “What am I going to do without you? Every time I think about it, I can’t breathe.”

“Stop it,” he ordered, shaking his head as he lowered and laid Jonathon on the bed. “I won’t hear of this,” he said and traced Jonathon’s cheek before straightening and peeling off his coat. It was tossed at the chair and his tie followed.

“You won’t?” Jonathon blinked back tears, trembling as he watched Leo attack the buttons on his shirt.

“You are mine. You promised me.” There was a hardness in Leo’s voice and his eyes as he stripped off his shirt and crawled over Jonathon.

“I did!” Jonathon nodded frantically. “I will always belong to you.”

“You are mine. My Jonathon.” He kissed the words along Jonathon’s jaw, dealing with the zippers and garments between them. Jonathon’s jeans were whisked away and Leo coated his cock with lube before they came together, gasping and swearing each other’s names. “Mine. Forever,” he growled in Jonathon’s ear as his hips pumped at a steady, driving pace.

“Forever! I love you!” Jonathon cried as he used his arms and legs to pull Leo closer and tighter.

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