Page 30 of The Tides of March

Ronan nodded drunkenly, his eyes crossing as Tony ground hard. “Yes! Please don’ stop!” His head thrashed on the pillows and Ronan was mindless, bucking and gyrating as he rode Tony’s cock.

“That’s it. Now, touch yourself,” Tony commanded, his voice low and husky. His olive skin glistened and his hair clung to his brow and temples, making him even warmer and more vibrant. He was radiant—ethereal—and enthralling, and he had a damn dirty mouth. “Stroke that big, merrow dick for me, Ronan.”

“Gods, lad!” He had never heard anything as salty and that was saying a lot because Ronan had spent a few decades at sea, negotiating with pirates and sailors, before settling on Pooles Island. But this merrow was helpless, happily under Tony’sseductive spell. “The things ye say!” he panted as he tugged at his length.

Tony made a breathless, but knowing sound. “You love it.” He reached between them and gave Ronan’s sac a firm knead. A long string of pre-cum dripped from the head as heat and pleasure spread from Ronan’s core.

“I do! I love it!” he cried as pressure pushed into the base of his cock.

“Do it, Ronan. Come for me,” Tony said over the loud slap of his hips against Ronan’s ass. “I want to watch you shoot your load and then I want you to feed it to me.”

“Tony!” No one had ever said anything that scandalousto Ronanbefore and the effect was immediate. Heat swept up Ronan’s spine as cum spilled from his cock, landing in thick puddles on his stomach.

“Now, feed it to me.” Tony pumped his hips faster, his rhythm failing as his tongue stretched.

Ronan complied quickly, smearing his fingers through his cum, captivated as he shoved them into Tony’s mouth. Tony moaned as he sucked, loudly blissful as wet heat flooded Ronan’s passage. “Yes!” Ronan’s body arched off the bed, gasping at another tremor of miraculous pleasure. He caught Tony when he fell forward and kissed him gratefully. “Ye should be ashamed. I love ye,” Ronan said with a wheezing chuckle.

“I love you too.” Tony whispered the words as they kissed, setting Ronan’s heart aflame.

“I don’ think I ever knew warmth before I met ye.”

“I thought you preferred the cold.”

“Alone is cold, but I feel like I’m alive when I’m with ye.”

Tony groaned dramatically as he pushed off the bed. “It’s too soon for me to get off again but it looks like I have to blow you now.”

“No, ye don’!” Ronan laughed and chased Tony out of bed so they could feed each other soft-boiled eggs, toast, and sausages for breakfast.

Later, Tony proudly showed off the newly organized bookshelves in the upstairs loft. “Ta-dah!” he announced with a grand sweep of his arm. “All of your nautical books are on that back wall. The bird books are over there and the rest of your books are arranged by author. The alphabet starts downstairs, that way all your favorite Austen and Byron books are easier to reach when you’re drinking your tea.”

“Looks good. I like the way ye tidied me frames too,” Ronan said with a nod at his work table. His paintbrushes had also been gathered into an empty can. Tony had painted the can white and tied a bit of twine around it while Ronan made a batch of scones.

“I was glad to do it! There wasn’t much that needed tidying, you’re so neat.Now.”

“Did that have to include me head?” Ronan had asked as he pointed at himself. He had been skeptical but Ronan finally caved in and agreed to some extra grooming. His beard had been trimmed to the middle of Ronan’s chest and his hair closely cropped. Tony had even plucked his brows and filed Ronan’s nails. “Not bad,” Ronan had conceded when Tony held up the sheet pan. He had polished the underside and kept it on a nail over the sink as a mirror when Ronan wasn’t baking biscuits or scones.

“My cousin, Aria, squared me away when we were in high school and made me promise I’d get my back waxed so I wasn’t a yeti like the other men in my family,” he said, then chuckled wryly. “I always wondered why there were so few men on my mom’s side. I have a ton of cousins, but most of them are girls.”

Ronan nodded slowly. “I think most of the Epona folk were women,” he said, making Tony scratch his head.

“I recall reading that the Roman cavalry were big believers in Epona. They were mostly men.”

“Aye,” Ronan had agreed. “But not in the temples and after the empire fell. It was the priestesses who took the following underground and kept it alive by passing it from mother-to-daughter in secret. Fer some reason, they rarely had sons,” he explained and Tony laughed in disbelief.

“You’ve taught me more about myself and my family than my own mother and you wonder why I don’t want to go back.”

“Bah!” Ronan waved it off as he went to add more logs to the fire so Tony wouldn’t catch a chill. “I told ye: ye take too much of that personally. Yer friend and yer mam probably wanted to tell ye but had better reasons not to. I’ll get more wood. The weather’s turnin’ and it’s gonna be a blustery night,” he predicted.

“You’re right. I’m not the center of the universe and I’m not that important in the grand scheme of things.” Tony wasn’t being facetious or sarcastic. “It just stings to be reminded so regularly.”

“That’s not what I’m sayin’,” Ronan said as he hauled Tony to him. “I can tell ye were the center of yer mam’s universe but that doesn’ mean she had to give up her other responsibilities. Ye don’ know what kind of vows she made or what she was protectin’ ye from.”

“You’re very wise, Mr. O’Sullivan. Did you know that?” Tony stretched on his toes so he could wind his arms around Ronan’s neck. “Let’s get back in bed and I’ll read to you. It’s too yucky out to do anything else.”

“Twist my arm if ye must.”

The pack was happy with a brief tussle in the front yard and did their business before Ronan called them back inside. They settled into their favorite spots by the bed and by the fire whileRonan joined Tony under the covers. It wasn’t long before Tony nodded off, leaving Ronan with his thoughts.

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