Chapter 7 #2
I kissed him again, and he managed a nod.
“I guess I can do that,” he murmured.
Perfect.
Zero was the number of friends who were surprised to hear about Reid and me the following morning.
If they’d “seen this coming” and “wondered for years,” why couldn’t they have told us? Clued us in?
Whatever. It worked out for the best. Everyone was comfortable, and Reid and I hadn’t made the news, so it was incredibly easy to disappear into another bubble with him, without having to worry about how others might react.
Since this was our last full day in Florida, we made our way back to Naples early. The boat was returned, and we started driving back through the Everglades toward Homestead.
Sam drove our car. We had LC and Joey too, and I was stuck in the middle seat next to Reid. Tired as hell, I leaned against him and dozed on and off on his shoulder.
I couldn’t wait to take a shower.
Reid absently ran his fingers through my hair, and I let out a long breath and looked forward to when I could stretch my legs out properly. A shower back at the house, maybe a nap, and a lot of wandering hands. That was all I wanted.
“So when are you moving back to DC, Sam?” Reid asked.
I yawned and slipped a hand onto his thigh.
“I’ve actually thought about it, but I don’t know,” Sam responded pensively. “I can’t picture myself going back to private military, and I have a solid job at home. Plus, my old man needs me more now that Ma’s gone.”
The reason he’d moved home to Portland, if I remembered correctly. His mother had fallen ill, and she’d passed away a couple of years ago. And rather than returning to the East Coast, he’d joined his father’s logging business.
“Makes sense,” Reid replied. “I’d forgotten you went private after the Army. Where did you work, at UnitySec? The Hillcroft Group?” He mentioned a couple of the many private security businesses in DC.
“Hillcroft,” Sam confirmed. “Sure as fuck not going back there. But I do miss DC at times… We’ll see, I guess. What about you? What’re your plans now that you shut down your community?”
Reid pressed his lips to the top of my head. “I reckon I’m gonna close myself in with this overthinker for a while and make sure he doesn’t get any ideas.”
I smiled and chuckled sleepily. “I think you’re safe at this point.”
I was his. He’d told me.
For once, my mind was at peace, and I wasn’t going to ruin that.
Jesus Christ, the perfect way to wake up.
I scrubbed my hands over my face and did my best to hold back, but he didn’t make it easy for me.
I’d parted my legs for comfort, and he’d seen it as an invitation to slide a finger inside me while he sucked me off, which fucked with my head.
Did I like it too much? Was I a bottom now, because clearly I couldn’t stop moaning?
You and your goddamn labels. Just fucking enjoy it.
Right.
I blew out a harsh breath and returned one hand to the back of his head.
Couldn’t he join me in bed? Did he have to stand there next to it? I didn’t wanna go to the pool anymore. I wanted to stay here and lose myself in Reid.
He hummed around my cock before taking me deep. The head of me pushed against the back of his throat.
“Fuck,” I exhaled. “I’m getting close.”
He flashed me a wolfish look and redoubled his efforts, followed by a second finger that he pushed inside me dry. I cursed at the burn, but I unclenched quickly when I noticed that the sensation only fueled me like it had last night. Holy fuck, that felt incredible.
Within seconds, I was pushed over the edge, and he finger-fucked me hard and fast as I started coming. I groaned, maybe too loudly, but I couldn’t fucking help it. The sensations were so strong that I dug my head into the pillow and nearly arched off the mattress.
Reid swallowed around me over and over, until I was getting too sensitive and gasped and squirmed under him. Mother of… I released a labored breath and collapsed, all but melting into the mattress, and he sucked me clean and carefully withdrew his fingers before easing off.
“I’ll go grab your trunks in the bathroom.” He looked damn pleased with himself.
My heart was still pounding.
“You think I have energy to hit the pool now?”
He laughed from behind the bathroom door and poked his head out. “It’s our last day, darlin’. Get a move on.”
He should’ve thought of that before he’d sucked the life out of me.
That evening, we had dinner on the deck. Reid, Sam, and Shawn had put together one hell of a barbecue, and I had contributed by making sure the brats didn’t run around the grill. In short, Rome and I had tossed the boys into the pool repeatedly.
I’d gotten my annual gym workout.
Once everyone was seated around the big table, we’d barely filled our plates with meats, sausages, and potato salad before Cas asked where we were going next year.
I had no preference and focused on loading up on salad. Reid had so much more energy than I did, so I’d decided to get a bit healthier. I was already planning on spending the night at his place frequently, so I could walk to work or take my bike.
“I reckon we’ve been all over Florida by now,” Sam replied.
“Yeah, but we need the heat,” Amir chimed in. “Where else can we go in November that’s this warm?”
My mouth watered at the sight of the barbecue glaze trickling down from my ribs. The chorizo looked damn good too.
“The Bahamas aren’t far away,” Reid suggested. “We could also rent a boat and sail around the Keys.”
I liked both those options, and so did the others.
Including Sam, though he had another idea as well. “I understand we wanna go someplace warm, but I’m still gonna put this out there. A cabin in the middle of nowhere, semi-close to a ski resort, and chasing down brats in the snow.”
Oh, that was intriguing.
“Oh my gosh, imagine being thrown in the snow when your back is full of welts and bruises,” Shawn said with a shudder.
“Well, now…” Rome grinned.
I exchanged a glance with Reid, thinking how it would feel to add extreme cold to our rough play.
The latter was something I wanted us to discuss either way, because I was kinda disappointed I didn’t have as many bruises as I’d wanted.
A ton of scrapes and red marks from his hands and fingers, but very few purplish bruises.
He didn’t have many of those either. And I wanted marks everywhere.
Starting when we got home and christened his bed.
I smiled a little to myself as I realized the label of sadomasochist had always suited me well. Why had that never been enough? Why had I dismissed it in a pursuit of a lifestyle kind of role?
Did everything boil down to Reid?
I still felt incredibly at ease after last night. I didn’t have that internal war raging anymore. I’d found my place—and I knew who I was, what I was.
“You’re not sayin’ much, Max,” LC noted.
I snapped my head up. Right. I supposed I could dig up two cents to give.
I shifted in my seat and cut into my chorizo.
“To be honest, I don’t have much of a preference, so long as Reid and I get to treat each other like crash test dummies.
” I earned myself some chuckles at that, and Reid gave my thigh a squeeze under the table.
“If there’s one thing I’d like to change, it’s the length of the trip. I’d like to go away for a week.”
With travel time, we only had two full days at this point.
“I wouldn’t mind that either,” Sam agreed.
The chatter continued, both about destinations and how many days we’d need, and I was content to tune out and just eat my food. But I did meet LC’s gaze across the table at one point, and the faint smile playing on his lips did something to me.
I didn’t know what it was, but it felt as if I could suddenly read his mind.
I was usually very involved in where we went.
Previous years, I had been the recipient of plenty of ribbing because of how much research I did before each trip.
I’d been known to make reservations, look up nearby hiking trails, and pack my schedule with activities.
Not for this trip, though.
I’d certainly felt the urge to be more invested, but the closing of Old Town had kept my mind occupied, so I’d apologized in the group chat for not having a clue when some of the brats had asked for restaurant recommendations. But now…I don’t have much of a preference.
LC and I had talked about this when he got together with Joey. He’d smiled and said the destination didn’t matter as much anymore, because the most important part was who he traveled with.
LC tipped his beer in my direction and smiled.
I smiled back.
What a heady feeling.
My chase of all kinds of things was apparently over.
As long as I had Reid by my side, I just didn’t care enough about where we ended up and what we did.