Francis Sennen Cove
FRANCIS
Sennen Cove
“Dad, there you are at last!” I greet my father, reluctantly pulling my lips away from the soft, perfect ones of my little fox.
As I move towards him, I keep one arm firmly wrapped around Jack’s shoulders.
I know he’s doing this for me, and I can feel how tense and uneasy he is, but I fully intend to show him he’s safe here, and that my family, though blunt at times, are genuinely good people who are more than willing to welcome him.
My father, who suffers from a neurodegenerative condition, approaches us in his wheelchair. He can still manage short distances on foot, but the effort often leaves him so exhausted that, when we have guests, he prefers not to take the risk.
Although he’s had access to excellent medical care since the onset of his illness, his condition isn’t curable.
The medication he’s on helps to ease the symptoms and delay the kind of deterioration that, otherwise, would likely have already set in.
But Nick Starkey has never been the kind of man to give up. While my brothers now handle most of the work at the boatyard, he and my mother, alongside Kiara, still take care of the books and, more generally, manage the entire administrative side of the family business.
I lean down to hug him and, even if his strength isn’t what it used to be, his arms around me are still firm, solid. When they pull me close to his chest, just for a moment, I feel like a child again.
When I introduce him to Jack and the two most important men in my life lock eyes for the first time, I know I was right to bring my boyfriend here.
On the surface, they couldn’t be more different, one broad, weathered and grounded, the other slight and delicate, with that almost magical air of something not quite of this world.
And yet, between the two of them, while they chat as if they’ve known each other forever, there’s an instant, unspoken connection.
A quiet thread of understanding I can’t quite explain, but it fills my chest with such a deep, unexpected warmth that by the end of the evening, I feel like I might burst.
After an afternoon spent with my brothers and their families, during which Adele was passed patiently from one set of arms to another, we all sat down to dinner, enjoying Mum’s lamb stew and her famous apple pie.
Now that all the kids, mine included, are starting to show unmistakable signs of sleepiness, it’s finally time to say our goodbyes.
The old room I used to share with Luke on the ground floor has long since been turned into a study, and the one I usually sleep in when I visit my parents would’ve been far too small to fit the three of us comfortably.
When I told Mum yesterday that I’d be arriving with my boyfriend, she made sure to prepare one of the larger double bedrooms for us, where we also had plenty of space to set up Adele’s travel cot.
By the time we take her upstairs, I barely manage to change her nappy and help her brush her tiny teeth before she’s out like a light, falling asleep the moment her head hits the pillow.
“She had the time of her life with her cousins, didn’t she?” Jack says, sitting beside me on the edge of the bed and looking at her with a gaze I wouldn’t hesitate to call adoring.
Honestly, I don’t think he cares for this little girl any less than I do, and that’s one of the reasons, though certainly not the only one, why I’m falling in love with him.
It’s not the right time to talk about these things.
If anything, I know it’s far too early to even think about them.
But I can’t help it. I know what I feel, and I know I want Jack with everything I have.
I want him in my life for the long haul, in every way imaginable. But I can’t risk scaring him off.
He deserves the chance to make his own choices, in his own time, in the way that suits him best.
There may not be a huge age gap between us, but my little fox, clever as he is, has no real experience of the world yet, and he’s far too trusting for his own good. The very least I can do is stay close and take good care of him. And I’ll admit, lately that feels surprisingly easy.
“Come here,” he whispers, placing a hand gently on my cheek and turning my face toward him, then crashes those velvet-soft lips of his against mine, kissing me slowly, languidly.
I kiss him back, feeling my whole body flush with heat.
And when I part my lips and finally start exploring his mouth with the tip of my tongue, I catch a faint taste of something sweet.
I can’t quite tell if it’s apple pie or just pure, undiluted Jack.
I’m leaning towards the second option, but I’m far too wrapped up in the delicious sensations to analyse it properly.
When we break apart to catch our breath, Jack stares at me with that wicked glint in his eyes, lips kiss-swollen and curved into a grin that turns into one of his signature laughs, the kind that ripples through his entire body and even makes his shoulders shake.
A throaty, barely restrained sound, bright and clear like spring water.
I’d recognise it anywhere, even with my eyes closed.
“You know, you really deserve a punishment, Starkey…” he says, raising an eyebrow but keeping his tone light.
“What have I done this time?”
“What you’ve done?” he hisses, clearly scandalised. “You kissed me like that in front of your entire family! I nearly got hard right in front of your dad!”
“Not my fault I’m irresistible,” I reply, winking at him.
“Starkey! You’re impossible,” he groans, right before tackling me and pushing me flat on my back onto the bed.
Then he straddles me, and we start play-wrestling and kissing, trying to keep as quiet as possible so we don’t wake the baby, but the second we hear a little grunt from her cot, we freeze.
We’re both out of breath and undeniably turned on, but we know this is where we have to stop.
“Sorry…” Jack murmurs shyly, “I didn’t mean for things to go that far, I know Adele’s in the room and…”
I stop him with a kiss. I’ve learned that it’s the quickest way to pull him out of those little spirals of worry he sometimes falls into, as if my touch, my presence, could anchor him more firmly to the here and now.
“You’ve got nothing to apologise for, sweetheart…
” I tell him, cupping his face in my hands and looking into his eyes, through the thick curtain of lashes.
I swear I’ve never met anyone with lashes like his.
As I gently brush one with the tip of my finger, I add, “I’m heading down the hall to our bathroom to take a shower.
If you feel like joining me, I’d love that.
Just bring the baby monitor with you so we can make sure Adele’s still fast asleep. ”
When the little fox realises what I’m actually suggesting, his eyes go wide and his mouth falls open in that typical surprised way of his. I hurry to clarify: “Only if you want to. No pressure, okay?”
Then I shoot him a quick wink, grab what I need, and head out of the room towards the bathroom.
I’m not really expecting him to follow. So once I’m under the scalding water, soaped up and ready to take care of my erection myself, I’m completely caught off guard when I hear the shower door slide open, and there he is. Jack.
For the first time, I see him fully naked, and I’m left utterly speechless by the sight of his slender, exquisitely shaped body.
His smooth, creamy skin is dusted with freckles, just like his face, and under the steady spray of water it almost seems to glow.
Every part of him looks perfect and breathtaking, even his cock, which is slender, proportionate to his body, and genuinely adorable.
It’s framed by a soft tuft of reddish hair, and the tip curves ever so slightly to the right.
Despite the boldness of his gesture, Jack glances up at me from beneath his lashes, flushed, partly from the heat, partly from embarrassment.
I take his hand and gently draw him closer until our bodies are pressed together.
Then I brush a strand of hair from his face and whisper in his ear, “You’re stunning, Jack.
The most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.
It’s an honour just to touch you, but remember, we don’t have to do anything you’re not ready for, alright? ”
“But I… I want to feel you, Francis,” he replies in a low, husky voice I’ve never heard from him before, while beginning to grind himself slowly against me.
Unable to hold back any longer and wanting to give him exactly what he’s asking for, I wrap my hand around both our erections, stroking them together with a rhythm that quickly grows more intense.
It only takes a few thrusts before Jack collapses against my shoulder, biting down to muffle a cry as he comes in my hand, completely giving in to me.
I follow right after, coming against him and feeling a surge of pleasure more intense than anything I’ve ever known.
When he finally lifts his head, our eyes meet, stunned, breathless, and then, true to form, we both burst out laughing.
“Oh my God, Starkey! I didn’t think it could be so… so…”
“Good?” I finish for him with a smug little smile.
“No… yes. I mean, it was good - actually, it was amazing. But what I meant was… I didn’t expect it to be this intense, this… overwhelming!”
“You haven’t seen anything yet, little fox…” I pull him closer and press a kiss to the top of his head.
“Ever the modest one…” he laughs, then suddenly looks up at me, a flicker of worry crossing his face. “I’m sorry I bit you. I didn’t realise what I was doing, I swear. I hope… I hope I didn’t hurt you.”
He stares at the small mark he’s left on my shoulder with such concern that I feel the need to reassure him straight away.
“Don’t worry,” I murmur. “You didn’t hurt me. If anything, it was actually quite erotic, if you really want to know.”
“Really?” he asks, sounding surprised, as he traces the tip of his finger gently over the faint mark he left on my skin.
“Really,” I confirm, then begin carefully lathering him up.
I take my time, working from head to toe. soap first, then shampoo, and he lets me do it, humming quietly in pleasure as I use the excuse to run my hands over that utterly perfect body of his. There’s no lust in my touch now, only the quiet desire to show him how much he means to me.
Once we’re dry, we tiptoe back to the bedroom, baby monitor in hand, careful not to wake Adele, who’s fast asleep, peaceful as ever.
We slip under the covers, wrapped around each other, already half-asleep, when Jack rests his head on my shoulder and whispers, in a voice so vulnerable it almost breaks me in two, “Fran, do you… do you think your dad liked me?”
Oh, Jack. My Jack.
How on earth am I supposed to survive him?
I close my eyes and pull him even closer.
“He adores you, sweetheart. He’s absolutely smitten.”
“Really?” he replies at once, his voice turning bright with excitement.
“Really,” I confirm without the slightest hesitation.
And in that very moment, with the same certainty I have that my father truly does adore him, I realise I’m not falling in love.
Because I already am.