Page 80 of Pansies

And he did. No hesitation at all, crossed at the wrists, waiting for Alfie to lift them. Which he did. Over Fen’s head, cradled against the palm of his hand so the rough edges of the stone wouldn’t hurt him.

Fen’s shuddery sigh echoed in the cave until it seemed to be everywhere around them. All his pleasure and trust and wanting.

“So the first lifeboat,” Alfie whispered, “was actually designed by some bloke called Lionel Lukin in 1780-something, but nobody gave a fuck.” He got in close, bringing their bodies together, and kissed his way along the curve of Fen’s jaw.

Fen turned his head to give him better access, writhed a little, and moaned.

“But there was this massive shipwreck in like 1789, I think? This ship—theAdventureit was called—was stranded off the coast of South Shields really close to shore, but nobody dared go out in the storm to rescue the crew.” He followed the tendon down Fen’s neck to the soft, sleek places below, licking salt and the taste of Fen from the hollows above his collarbones.

Fen’s cock was pressing hard and hot against Alfie’s leg even through two layers of clothing. “I can’t believe I’m letting you do this to me while you’re talking about shipwrecks.”

“It’s educational.”

“I…I probably won’t remember any of it.”

“You’d better. There’s going to be a test later.” Alfie took a leisurely journey back up to Fen’s lips and lingered there awhile, kissing the edges of his smile, learning the texture of the crevices, the tender corners of his mouth. “So after the shipwreck…”

“You’re really doing this, aren’t you?” Fen fell back against the pillar with a groan that was half torment, half laughter, his body all surrender.

Which didn’t do much to help Alfie retain his grasp on local history. “Shit,” he muttered. “You’re so gorgeous.”

Gorgeous, and somehow, miraculously,his. And suddenly, there was a knee gliding purposefully up the inside of his thigh. He gave an undignified yelp, every nerve in his body jumping to attention, his cock at the head of the parade.

Fen smiled at him sweetly. “What was that about a shipwreck?”

“Fuck the shipwreck.”

Alfie tried to kiss him, but Fen jerked away, hiding his face against his arm. “No, no, Alfie Bell.” He sounded pretty muffled and also like he was laughing. Cheeky little bastard. “Do tell meallabout lifeboats.”

“Had competition,” Alfie growled. “Wouldhave won. Or maybe Greathead. Nobody sure. The end.” Since it was all he could reach, he nuzzled into Fen’s cheek.7

“Wait.” Fen turned so fast their mouths nearly collided. “You’re seriously telling me the lifeboat was built by two guys called Wouldhave and Greathead?”

“Yeah.”

“They should have fought crime.”

Whatever dodgy sex and local history–based game he’d accidentally started, Alfie was pretty sure he was losing. Fen seemed remarkably comfortable for a man standing on one leg in the middle of a cave with his wrists trapped above his head, and any second now, Alfie was going to rub off against him like a teenager, and probably come like one too.

It had never been like this with girls—he’d always been so gentlemanly and considerate. Which probably said a lot about being gentlemanly and considerate, now he thought about it. Except it hadn’t been like this with Greg either. He was fun and sexy and liberated to the point that Alfie sometimes wondered if maybe he could do with being a bit less comfortable, but Fen was…Fen had thismagic. It wasn’t just that he was pretty—because while he would definitely have launched a few rowboats, a thousand ships would probably have been pushing it—it was just sort of everything. How his sharp eyes got all soft and sultry in pleasure. The scent of his hair and the taste of his skin, the salt and the sweetness of him. The way he offered his mouth and throat and hands to Alfie. The trust of it.

Right. Control. Alfie had that. Somewhere. He gently nudged the trespassing knee out of the way, and shoved his own between Fen’s legs, spreading them wide. Some of Fen’s mischief fled, and he made a soft, helpless sound. Just like at the hotel room, only this time there were no secrets, and the past was less important than now.

Fen’s hips stuttered, pleading and demanding at the same time, and Alfie reached down to caress the length of his cock where it pressed against his jeans. That made Fen gasp and squirm, and Alfie didn’t know if he was trying to pull back or get closer.

Probably Fen didn’t either.

“Alfie…someone could…someone could come.”

“That’s the plan.”

A strange noise, caught between a laugh and a moan. “I can’t believe you went there.”

“Look, there’s a pillar in the way and nobody for miles. I won’t let anyone see you.”

“They’d probably call the police…Oh.”

Flicking open the button of Fen’s jeans, Alfie carefully tugged the zipper down.

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