Page 83 of Stranded

Time is slipping out of place.

Alph throws his weight onto me, pressing me into the bed as I run my nails down his back and bare my throat for his teeth. I squeeze tight around his shaft, pushing up against him as he drives into me.

His pace is faster and harder now, losing the rhythm but gaining all the more urgency. Every muscle in my body is so taut I feel like I could snap and go flying across the room—but he’spinning me down, surging into me until I don’t know where he ends and I begin.

My world is narrowing until, at last, it’s just me and Alph, and nothing else.

“Alph…!” I cry out, burying my face in his neck, breathing in the musk of his sweat as he pushes into me and sparks fly with every single goddamn thrust. “Oh, fuck. Fuck, Alph. I can’t—I can’t stop it?—”

“Yes,” Alph pants hoarsely into my ear. “I want everything, you hear me? I want you to cum for me, Ronan. I want to see it all.”

My eyes squeeze closed as I arch off the bed, clinging to him for dear life… and then my muscles quiver and give way. The rhythm between our bodies disappears as frantic need sweeps us up and carries us over the edge together.

I’m lost to the waves of blackness, clenching hard around his cock as the heat sweeps through me. I can barely even tell if I’m crying his name out loud or in my head… but Idoknow he’s moaning mine.

It feels like forever before I manage to open my eyes again. He’s slipping out of me, holding me close, pressing his lips to mine over and over again.

“I love you,” he breathes against my lips, holding me so tight against his body. “God, how I love you, Ronan.” Then he cracks his eyes open and peers at me. “But you don’t need to feel pressured to answer?—”

I giggle so hard I can hardly answer, too breathless with the pure joy spilling out of me—and not just literally. It’s like a light that radiates from every cell of my body.

“Oh, Alph,” I whisper. “I love you, too.”

I know the voyage of a lifetime is only just beginning… and I can’t wait to find out where it leads.

Epilogue

RONAN — NEXT APRIL

“How doesit feel to be a fully-qualified fashion designer?” Alph’s brother, Felix, beams at me as he presses a glass of champagne into my hand.

Everyone keeps asking that, and my answer never changes.

“Amazing,” I breathe out. “So freaking amazing.”

“And,” Alph leans in as if everyone doesn’t already know, “a new permanent employee of XX Gracieux!”

He’s even learned how to pronounce the name. I giggle and swat at his chest, but I can’t lie—I’m proud ashell.

My own brand? Yeah, that’s coming someday—perhaps someday soon. But first, I need to work my way up in the industry. I have a lot left to learn, and a whole lifetime to learn it in.

Alph’s tours have been going well—better and better, in fact—so it’s nice to share our downstairs office space. Together, we’re figuring out all the things we don’t yet know.

With the graduation ceremony over, everyone’s here. Alph’s brothers, and I’m proud to call them my friends now, too. My classmates, who have become frequent visitors to Sunrise Island. Half of Sunrise Island, all crammed into this little room.

And, of course, my family. They never quite know what to make of this place, and they certainly would never want to live here… but they seem to love visiting it.

That’s not all. There’s a guest of honour, who swore she’d only be here for two hours maximum… but Kieran’s beaming smiles and plentiful glasses of champagne seem to have won her over.

“Ronan,” Gabby leans in to whisper. “It’s time, right?” Alph taps a fork on his glass, grinning at me, and the bar goes quiet.

Even though we’ve graduated, I don’t think I’ll ever call her by her first name.

“Professor Meyer. We can’t thank you enough for everything you’ve done for us. Speaking for myself… without you, I don’t think I’d be half the designer—or half the man—I am today.”

“Hear, hear!”

My classmates cheer loudly enough that even Professor Meyer blushes.

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