Page 74 of From the Ashes
His eyes flash to mine like he’s about to argue, but I clamp my hand over his mouth.
“You want me and I want you. Stop making this more complicated than it needs to be.”
He nods and I remove my hand.
Tracing his initials in the ink on my side, he looks up at methrough his lashes. “Fine. But now that you’re mine, I don’t plan on letting you go, so we need to talk about what happens next.”
“We will, but not today. Today, I want to celebrate finally being whole again.” I press another kiss to his lips and wiggle my hips just to feel him beneath me, simply because I can.
“What is it about Knox’s boat that makes everyone so damn horny?” Hudson yells from the water.
“What are you talking about? Who else has spilled their fucking seed on my boat?” Knox quips incredulously.
“You don’t remember when Jake literally launched himself over the side of the boat to jerk off in the water when Dylan was singing that Bieber song?” Hudson asks, laughing.
“No,” Knox replies, “but at least he had the decency to do it in the water.”
“You knew that’s what I was doing?” Jake asks, whipping his eyes to Hudson.
“Bro, of course I knew what you were doing. I’m not gonna lie. I don’t even like dick and I was almost right there with you. Not to make it weird,” he says, looking over at Dylan, “but you’re pretty much everyone’s type.”
Jake makes a face like he’s sucking something out of his teeth. “Are you guys ever going to stop hitting on my husband?”
A chorus ofnoandprobably notfills the air…with Phoenix chiming in, “Never.”
Dylan gives a hearty laugh. “You guys are good for a man’s ego.”
“And terrible for a man’s sanity,” Jake adds before kicking his float right next to Dylan’s, grabbing him by the back of the neck and kissing him to mark his territory. When he breaks away from Dylan, he turns to face the boat again as I uncap a bottle of water for Phoenix. The last thing I need is him sobering up later, regretting this entire thing and hiding himselfup in his head. “Phoe,” Jake says with a slight edge of anger in his voice. When Phoenix doesn’t answer, Jake shouts louder. “Phoenix!”
“What?” Phoenix asks, half asleep, now stretched out on the bench seat of the boat. His cock still half-hard in his swim trunks, making my mouth water.
“You didn’t think to mentionyoulike dick when I was going through all that shit with Dylan? I could’ve used someone to talk to, you asshole.”
At this, Phoenix sits up. “First of all, you were practically engaged to Cora before you toldusthatyouwere gay. And second of all, me coming out to you would not have helped you as much as you think because I hadn’t hooked up with a guy in years. I could barely stand watching you and Dylan as it was.”
You know, five minutes ago, I would’ve sworn Phoenix was drunk off his ass. And now…he sounds as sober as ever.
“Which reminds me,” I say, cutting in, reaching out a hand for Phoenix and nodding my head for him to follow me into the lake. I’m hot and sticky and that water is going to feel so perfect. “Can we talk about how you haven’t been with another guy in those eight years?”
Phoenix and I climb down the ladder carefully and share the only float left…which, thankfully is a pool noodle andnotthe poo emoji inner tube Hudson currently has his ass planted in.
Phoenix and I drape our arms over the noodle, letting our feet dangle freely in the murky water. I notice Phoenix’s gaze dart to my injured wrist, but he bites back any warning about being careful that he wants to give.
Finally, he heaves a sigh. “I mean Iwantedto hook up with guys again. There are things a guy can offer that a woman can’t, but every time I tried…fuck,all I saw was your face and I was hit with a mix of anger, remorse, and longing so fucking bad itknocked the breath out of me. The one time I got close to closing the deal, all I could think about was the last time I was taking an ass, it belonged to you, and I’d been the only one there.”
His answer fuckingwrecks me.
As I try to figure out how in the hell I’m supposed to respond to that, I notice the rest of the guys have struck up a new conversation, leaving Phoenix and I to hash the rest of our shit out semi-privately, which I appreciate. They’re honestly the most solid group of guys I’ve ever met, and already, they feel like family.
When the time comes to go back to Texas, I’ll miss more than just Phoenix. A lot more. But missing him will be bad enough, even if we’re technically still “together” when I go.
I slide across the noodle to be closer to him and kiss his shoulder.
“If I had known that night was going to mess with you that much, I never would have told you it was my first time. I hope you know that. I was just so in shock that you were coming on to me, and I didn’t want to miss out on everything that night could have been…on everything that nightwas.I needed you to know it was important to me. That’s all I was trying to tell you with that note.” As my words hang in the silence, I hastily add, “It’s not an excuse, though, and I really am sorry. Looking back, I can see how that, along with mymistakenindifference, could mess with you, butGod, Phoenix,you were perfect.”
Phoenix finally turns to look at me and I’m waiting with baited breath for him to shut me down, call this off, yell,something.But what I’m not prepared for is his left hand to leave the noodle to grip my hair and bring my face within an inch of his.
“I’m just really fucking glad I got to you before you got to that pistol.”
