Epilogue #2
Ru’s laugh was bright and sudden. “You know it’s a bad idea, don’t you?”
“It’s appallingly bad, and you love it.” Jake pulled Ru back into another kiss.
The kiss grew darker and hungrier. Jake’s hands roamed over Ru’s slim body, over his light muscles. He pushed Ru’s shirt up, exposing Ru to the warm summer breeze. Ru shivered as Jake’s mouth found his neck, trailing kisses down to his collarbone.
“I’ve never… outdoors I mean,” Ru breathed, his hands finding their way to Jake’s belt.
“There’s a first time for everything, sweetheart,” Jake murmured against Ru’s skin, feeling the rapid pulse beneath his lips.
They undressed each other, or just enough, shirts unbuttoned and trousers and underwear eased down. Jake whipped Ru around, so it was now Ru’s back against the warm rock as they both explored familiar territory made new by the moment.
Ru’s skin was flushed, and Jake took his time, kissing every inch he could reach, feeling Ru respond beneath his touch.
“You’re so beautiful, Ru. So fucking beautiful.”
Ru’s answer was to pull him closer, their bodies pressed tight, both of them groaning at the hot, skin on skin contact.
Jake’s hand slid between them, wrapping around both of their hard, flushed cocks, setting a pace that had Ru’s back arching, his eyes fluttering closed as his damp, red lips parted.
The sounds Ru made, soft whimpers and moans mixed with rough gasps and demands for more, melted into the sounds of the moor, of the distant call of birds, the rustle of the breeze through the heather and gorse.
It felt primal, somehow, connecting them to the ancient rhythms of the earth beneath, and the sun of the new season above.
“Jake,” Ru gasped, his hips thrusting in time to Jake’s strokes. “I want—I need—”
“Tell me,” Jake urged, his voice ragged.
Ru’s eyes opened to meet Jake’s, clear grey turned dark with want. “I need you inside me.”
Jake fumbled in the pocket of his discarded trousers, producing a small packet of lube. At Ru’s raised eyebrow, he shrugged. “Always be prepared.”
“Bloody Boy Scout.” Ru laughed, but the laugh turned to a gasp as Jake’s slick fingers found him, circling, massaging, pressing.
“Think you mean soldier, sweetheart,” Jake breathed against the hammering pulse in Ru’s neck, a dark smile lifting his lips as Ru shuddered and groaned.
Jake swung Ru around, so he faced the rock.
Ru’s hands braced against the rough granite, his body arching in invitation.
He pushed into Ru slowly, gripping and steadying Ru’s hips.
The tight heat of Ru’s body around him drew a deep groan from his chest. He stilled, giving Ru time to adjust, as he pressed kisses to the nape of Ru’s neck, and in the curve of his shoulder.
“Move,” Ru urged, pushing back against him. “Please, Jake.”
Jake obeyed, setting a pace that had them both gasping. The summer heat, already burning, the intensity of their connection not just of skin on skin but of who and what they’d become to each other, all of it shot a ripple of electricity through Jake, making his heart pound hard.
“Yes,” Ru breathed, as Jake shifted his angle, hitting the sweet spot that made Ru’s entire body jerk and thrum with pleasure. “There, right there.”
Jake maintained the angle, each thrust drawing those sweet, sweet sounds from Ru’s throat. His hand snaked around Ru’s waist, to wrap around Ru’s arousal, stroking in time with his thrusts, wanting and needing to bring Ru to the edge with him.
Jake squeezed his eyes closed as the intensity built between them, as the fire was stoked higher, as they chased release together. Jake pressed his forehead between Ru’s shoulder blades, breathing in the scent of him, of sweat and sunlight, and something uniquely and totally Ru.
“Close,” Ru gasped, his body tightening around Jake. “So close—”
“Let go, sweetheart,” Jake urged, his voice strained with the effort of holding back his own climax. “I’ve got you.”
Ru came with a cry that echoed across the empty moorland, his body pulsing in Jake’s hand, and clenching around him. The sensation pushed Jake over the edge, his own release crashing through him in waves as the darkness behind his eyes burst with starlight.
For a moment, they stayed joined, both catching their breath, before Jake withdrew. He turned Ru in his arms, pulling him close for a soft and lingering kiss.
“I love you, Ru Parker.” Something deep in Jake’s heart fluttered. It’d taken time to find the courage to say what had been in his heart, but once he had, a day didn’t go past without the words he meant with every part of his soul falling from his lips.
Ru’s smile was soft, his eyes still dazed with pleasure. “And I love you, Jake Whitby.”
They cleaned up as best they could, both laughing at the improvised nature of it all. As shirts were buttoned, and trousers zipped up, Jake’s eyes narrowed at the satisfied flush staining Ru’s pale skin.
“What?” Ru asked, catching his gaze.
Jake smiled. “Just thinking that I’m a lucky man.”
Ru stepped closer, pressing a kiss to Jake’s jaw. “We’re both lucky.”
By the time they got back to the farmhouse, the summer heat was building fast, and the sun high in a cloudless sky promised a scorching afternoon.
Jake unlocked the door and Monty bounded out to greet them, his entire body wriggling with excitement as if they’d been gone for days rather than hours.
“Yes, yes, we missed you too, but we’re home now.” Ru laughed, kneeling to accept the dog’s enthusiastic welcome.
Deep inside his chest, Jake’s heart clenched hard.
We’re home.
As Jake closed the door behind them, he was struck by the simple truth of Ru’s words. The farmhouse was no longer just a building, no longer the cold and lonely place it had been. It was now a home, their home, full of warmth, and light, and love.
As he followed Ru through to the kitchen, Jake couldn’t keep himself from smiling at Ru’s light and joy filled laughter, at Monty’s antics and excited barking. This was the life he and Ru were building together, and it was the only life Jake wanted.
The wheel had turned, winter to summer, darkness to light. And Jake, who had once believed his life would never thaw and his heart never melt, found himself standing in the full warmth of the sun.