Page 100 of The King of Halloween
Raj looked at him and moved to join the crowd, but Adam remained rooted in his spot. He gazed up into Adam’s eyes. “Don’t you care about being crowned?”
Drawing his fingers down Raj’s jaw, Adam smiled from his top hat down to his straining toes.
“This year’s King is—”
Adam kissed Raj as the whole world cheered around them.
?EPILOGUE
?
FIVE YEARS LATER
“Happy Halloween,” Raj called to the kids running down the path to leap into their parents’ cars. He rested the bowl on his hip and peered out to check on the rest of the neighborhood. “Looks like things are finally slowing down. And just in time.”
“How many are left?”
Holding the two full-bar Almond Joys in his hand, Raj turned from the dark into the light. “Just these.”
Adam swept forward, tugging one of the candy bars out of Raj’s hand. “So we should get another box or two next year.”
“Or you could get one of those fun-sized bags instead…”
“You’re such a Halloween scrooge,” Adam taunted. He was about to unwrap the last of the candy when his phone rang. “Duty calls.” After holding it up, he answered it while walking away. “Yes? Hello? I can’t hear you. What? What?”
Raj flipped off the porch light and checked on their display. He loved this house. He should, it took them nearly two years to find it. But with the wrap-around porch and huge front yard, it let the two of them go wild for Halloween. They were quickly becoming the house to visit—even without the mythical full bars Adam got his way with every year.
It’s a good thing he’s cute.
Chuckling, Raj took one last check of the haunt. “I think one of the twelve-foot skeletons is stuck in the tree.”
“That Gertrude, she can’t stop fondling the foliage,” Adam said before he returned to his phone call. “No. I wasn’t talking to you. Yes. Okay.”
The door shut on another successful Halloween. Raj took in a deep breath, and the weariness of the long season hit him all at once. He stumbled to the couch and tucked under one of the blankets. Black and white light bathed his face as the windmill went up in flames. Tonight was great and all, but he was coming to look forward to November first more than Halloween.
That was the one day when there were no events, no customers, no guests, no mayors, and no sticky trick-or-treaters. He got Adam all to himself, and he intended to indulge for every single minute.
“Well…”
Raj smiled as Adam glided in. He dropped onto the couch, stretched his arm over Raj’s shoulders, and pulled him to his chest. Once Raj nestled on Adam—both of them below the blanket—he spoke, “That was the mayor with the news about the vote.”
“Who is it this time?”
Grinning ear to ear, Adam plucked the crown off of Raj’s head and placed it on his own. “Long live the king.”
“What? How dare you depose me!”
“Maybe you should have handed out full bars at your hotel, ex-King.” As he spoke, Adam ran his hand up Raj’s chest, playing with the tassels he’d sewn onto his costume.
After that first night at the masquerade, Adam had started up his sewing machine. The costumes went to local plays in the beginning, but—over time—they started flying off the shelves. He’d have both mask unveilings and costume reveal days at his shop. Of course, he always made something extra special for that beloved hotelier up on the hill by the lake.
“Don’t get too cozy on that velvet cushion, my liege.” Raj turned to stare up into Adam’s pleased face. “I’m taking it from you next year.”
Adam bent closer until his lips nearly pressed against Raj’s. “That’s treason. Do you know what we do to treasonists around here?”
Gulping, Raj’s skin trembled as Adam’s gentle touches became deliberate stroking. He wound his fingers over the buttons, threatening to tear Raj’s shirt clean off. “Do you bind them on their hands and knees, blindfold them, then press their jaws open before slowly fucking their wet, hot mouths?”
A flush came over Adam that caught Raj by surprise. “I was going to say they do the dishes, but I like the way you think, Mr. Treasonist. I’ll have to keep you in my bedchambers for a few seasons.” Bending closer, Adam cupped his teeth around the edge of Raj’s ear. A slow breath slipped free, and he circled his palm over Raj’s thigh. “I’ll leave it up to you how tight the chains should be.”
