Chapter 24
Jacob
Jacob wasn’t used to noticing absence; he wasn’t built like that. He didn’t need noise or company to feel steady. Most days, he welcomed being left the hell alone.
The quiet was different this time. It didn’t feel like solitude—this felt jagged and loud. A silence so sharp it echoed in his chest.
It had started the morning after the bonfire.
The shift hadn’t happened gradually or with any grace; it had slammed down like a trap, impossible to ignore.
Liam had been avoiding him like proximity was dangerous, as if being close might ignite something they couldn’t smother.
There were no more soft smiles or easy warmth—in their place was guilt in every glance and silence in every room.
Liam had been twitchy as hell. He tripped over words that didn’t need tripping, fumbled props, and even dropped his damn coffee on the costume assistant. Jacob had watched him unravel these last few days, one nervous glance at a time.
He hadn’t realized how much space Liam had taken up in his life until it was suddenly gone. What scared him was how much it hurt, and how deeply he missed him.
By the fifth night on location, it hit harder than ever.
The crew had once again gathered in the clearing, music leaking from the speakers, and burgers smoking over a grate.
Jacob lasted fifteen minutes before he felt caged in his own skin.
Liam hadn’t shown up again. This time he hadn’t even bothered with some flimsy excuse.
So Jacob left.
He stalked into the woods with no destination in mind.
Just the moon between the branches and the sound of every unspoken want grinding through his chest. He wasn’t angry at Liam.
Not exactly. He was furious at himself for the way Liam’s absence scraped him raw.
Furious that he’d let the boy in so deep that he could hardly breathe without him.
He didn’t know how long he walked, but when he looped back toward the lodge, the main lights were off. People were inside now: talking, playing cards, watching something on a laptop with shared earbuds.
He caught sight of Liam sitting alone on the back steps. His hoodie was pulled over his head, his body folded small, as if hiding might make him invisible.
Jacob didn’t think. He didn’t pause. His body moved before his brain caught up, feet carrying him straight to where Liam sat. He didn’t stop until he was right in front of him, close enough to make him jolt.
“Come with me.”
Liam flinched, eyes wide. “What—?”
“I’m not repeating myself.”
Jacob turned and walked. He didn’t check if Liam followed. He knew he would.
They left the lodge behind them, slipping into the trees.
There were no lanterns here, just the crunch of dry leaves, the whisper of branches, and the pulse hammering in Jacob’s ears.
He didn’t stop until the lodge was only a faint glow behind them.
Far enough away that no one could hear or see them: no curious eyes or interruptions.
He turned so suddenly, Liam almost collided with him.
Jacob’s voice came low and tight. “What the fuck is going on with you?”
Liam blinked and tried to recover. “I don’t—”
“Don’t lie to me.”
“I’m not—”
“You’ve been off for days,” his voice sharpened. “You won’t look at me. Won’t talk. You vanish every time I walk into a room.”
Liam swallowed, his throat working. “I just needed space.”
“No.” Jacob stepped closer. “Try again.”
Liam’s shoulders hitched. “I thought maybe if I pulled back… it would stop feeling like this.”
His eyes narrowed. “Like what?”
“Like I’m not in control anymore,” Liam admitted, sounding defeated.
Jacob stepped closer, and Liam instinctively backed up—one step, then another—until his shoulders hit the rough bark of a tree.
“You think I’m in control?” Jacob didn’t touch him, but he was close enough to feel Liam’s breath falter in the dark.
Liam’s whisper cracked. “We were never supposed to…”
“Say it.”
“…matter.”
Jacob’s reply came dark and certain. “Too fucking late.”
Something inside him broke. He grabbed Liam by the throat—not rough, but enough to own him and hold him still. Liam’s pulse jumped beneath his palm. He leaned in, lips brushing the shell of Liam’s ear. “Tell me to stop.”
Liam trembled but didn’t speak.
“Tell me to fucking stop,” Jacob whispered again, thumb stroking under his jaw.
Liam’s voice broke on the whisper. “I… can’t.”
That was all it took.
He’d built his life around control, the illusion of safety it offered. It was supposed to make him better than the mess he came from. But one look at Liam, and Jacob knew he would break all his rules just to have him now, even if it damned them both.
His mouth crashed into Liam’s—bruising and desperate.
Finally giving in to everything he’d been starving for.
Liam gasped, hands gripping Jacob’s shirt like he didn’t trust gravity.
His lips parted almost immediately, letting him in.
Jacob devoured him, his tongue sliding deep.
He claimed every sound and every stuttered breath, like he couldn’t live without them.
Jacob’s whole body vibrated. He’d never—never—been this turned on. Not even during the messiest, dirtiest nights of his life. This man completely wrecked him with the helpless way he melted into him. He was hunger wrapped in skin, and Jacob was powerless to stop it.
There was no hesitation, no caution, just raw need.
Jacob kissed like he meant to ruin him. Liam whimpered, high and broken, a sound that went straight to Jacob’s cock.
He growled against Liam’s mouth. It wasn’t enough, he needed more.
His hand fisted in Liam’s hoodie, yanking it off and discarding it in the dirt. His own shirt followed.
Liam stood before him, chest rising and falling, hair a mess, lips swollen from kissing. He was so fucking beautiful it hurt just to look at him.
He seized Liam’s mouth again. Rougher now, as if the kiss itself was necessary for survival.
Their naked chests crushed together, sparks flaring everywhere skin touched.
It still wasn’t enough. He dragged his mouth to Liam’s neck—biting, sucking, teeth scraping over collarbone.
Liam gasped and bucked against him with a broken sound that told Jacob exactly how far gone he already was.
He pulled back just enough to rasp: “Last chance to tell me to stop.”
Liam didn’t stop him. He grabbed him instead, dragging him back in. “Please—Jacob—fuck—don’t stop.”
Liam’s begging stripped him of every defense.
“Jesus,” he muttered. He couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think, only chase the taste of him. He bit Liam’s neck hard, making him cry out, his head thudding against the tree.
Jacob growled. “No turning back now.”
His hand was at Liam’s fly in seconds, shoving his jeans and briefs down in one swift motion.
The air between them thickened, every breath charged with something they’d both been craving.
There was no hesitation, just pure need as he wrapped his hand around Liam’s aching cock.
For someone who’d always considered himself straight, this should’ve felt weird. It didn’t.
Liam choked out a cry, his hips jerking helplessly.
“Fuck,” Jacob hissed. “So responsive.”
He stroked him, firm and sure. Liam’s hips snapped forward with every pass of his hand, like he couldn’t control himself. “Shit—Jacob—God—.” His whole body shuddered.
Jacob groaned, deep and wrecked. “You have no idea what you do to me.”
His last restraint burned to ash, his own pants unbearable now. He fumbled them open and shoved them down just enough to free himself. He hissed when his cock hit the cool night air.
“Touch me,” he ordered, voice ragged.
Liam’s hand wrapped around him instantly, shaky and so fucking eager—Jacob’s vision almost went white.
They stroked each other hard and fast. There was no finesse, just frantic heat and rough hands. Liam was already on the edge. Jacob could feel it in the shiver of his body, and in the desperate noises spilling out of him nonstop.
“Are you gonna come for me?” he growled.
“Fuck—yes—please—”
Jacob’s grip tightened, his strokes quick and merciless. “Do it. Show me.”
Liam shattered and came with a wrecked cry, spilling hot over Jacob’s hand. His face contorted in pleasure so raw that it stole Jacob’s breath.
The sight undid him. He thrust a few more times into Liam’s fist, bit down on his shoulder, and came so hard it tore him apart.
They sagged together in the dark, foreheads pressed together, lungs heaving. Their sweat and cum clung to their skin, a sticky mess between them.
“Fuck,” Jacob whispered.
He should have felt guilt or shame. Instead, what filled him was the relentless urge to claim. For the first time, he understood the appeal of possession. Liam felt like his now.
The cruelest truth was knowing that eventually he’d have to give him up—just not yet.
For now, Liam was his.
He knew exactly what that made him: a liar, a cheater, someone he’d once sworn he’d never become. He was betraying his vows, betraying everything he’d promised. But for once, he didn’t care enough to stop.