Page 70 of To Catch a Firefly

“I don’t know,” I answer. “If maybe you assumed you were straight, then—”

He shakes his head quickly. “Didn’t assume.” He rolls his lips like there’s more he wants to say, so I wait. “Not weird. It’s you.”

There go those butterflies again.

I let out a breath before leaning forward and kissing him. It’s small, chaste, but it’s Ellis, so it’s not so small at all. His stubble brushes against me, his thumb strokes my cheek, and I feel rooted and warmed, sun-kissed and mellow.

When I lean back, I set to work unwrapping the food I brought, if for no other reason than to keep my hands busy and off the man in front of me. At least for now. “Would you tell me about glassblowing?” I ask.

Ellis nods as I plate up our lunch, and like so many times before, we sit and talk and simplyexistin the same space and time. I don’t know how it always feels new, as if there’s more to learn. More to discover.

Ellis tells me about converting the silo. About his rudimentary first attempts at shaping glass. He tells me about a workshop he attended and the first piece he decided to sell. I tell him about work, bits and pieces I haven’t shared before, and how I’ll be going back to Crete to finish up my assignment. I tell him that I’ll have to stop in New York afterwards because the magazine is sending me and Danil to Greenland, and I don’t have the right gear packed. Ellis assures me he understands, but I get the sense he feels the same urgency as me, wanting to make the most of our last day together.

It’s no surprise to me when we end up sprawled out on the blanket, the remnants of our meal pushed aside. I can’t keep my hands off him. Or my lips. We start sitting upright, me on Ellis’s lap. Then he’s lying down. Eventually, I end up under him, all that weight pressing me securely to the ground. He grinds against me, our mouths locked, the two of us battling like horny teenagers.

He never had this, I remind myself. All of this is new for him. It makes it feel new for me, too.

“El,” I groan, my legs around his waist.

He grunts, meeting my tongue.

I can’t speak again until he draws back. “I don’t want you to be with anyone else,” I say, my tone a little harsher than I intended, making my frantic words sound more like a demand than the plea they were supposed to be.

He snorts.

“What?” I ask, my breath coming short as Ellis smirks down at me.

He shakes his head, propped up on one arm, his hand toying with my hair. “How many times?” he says. “Only you. No one…but you.”

I blow out a slow breath, my heart rate calming. “Right. Okay.”

He raises an eyebrow likeyou sure you got it now?

“Yeah,” I say, tugging him back down to me. “Just us.” His erection nestles against my hip, the thick length of him impossible to ignore. “El. I want my mouth on you.”

He goes still before shivering, his lips nearly pressed to mine. He drops his face to my neck, nodding.

“Yeah?” I check, grinding up against him.

He huffs against me, a clear yes.

“Then come on.”

Ellis looks confused as I push him away and stand up, but he follows me without question. Considering it’s still afternoon, I don’t want to risk getting caught out in the open, unlikely as that would be. So I tug Ellis into the field, weaving down narrow rows of corn until we’re decently hidden. Then I turn and drop to my knees.

Ellis’s chest rises and falls as I unzip his pants and pull them down to his thighs. His boxer briefs go next. One day soon, I’m going to savor every inch of this man the way he deserves. I’m going to worship him for hours, again and again until he’s begging me to stop. It won’t be rushed, and it won’t be in a field of dirt and corn.

But today is not that day.

Ellis grunts as I slip my mouth around his cock. I watch his every facial expression, searching for spots that make him soar. I run my tongue along his shaft and cockhead, ring him with my lips, dig my fingers into his thighs and offer a gentler touch to his balls. The blowjob doesn’t last long, but it doesn’t matter. I accept the compliment for what it is, and I hoard the memory that’s offered to me and me alone.

His cock swells against my tongue before he comes. He tries hard not to tug me down on him, but his fingers in my hair tighten, and I can tell he’s losing the battle. I open my throat, letting him do what he needs to as he rides out his orgasm. The sheer size of him towering above me is enough to have me squirming and breathless, knowing he would never harm me, never hurt me. Only protect.

My Ellis.

Wrung dry, Ellis pulls from my lips. “Luck,” he croaks.

“Good?” I ask a little cheekily, wiping the corner of my mouth.

---