Chapter 34
Chapter Thirty-Four
After dinner—veggie kabobs cooked over the fire—we wander along the shoreline as the sun sinks low. The sky blazes pink and gold, mirrored in the rippling lake. Hunter looks impossibly beautiful in the soft light, cheekbones carved sharp by the fading glow.
His hand is warm in mine, swinging gently with each step.
“Did you know the beaches of Lake Michigan have singing sands?” he asks suddenly, breaking the hush of waves.
I blink at him. “What?”
“Singing sands,” he repeats. He slides his bare foot across the beach, and the sand squeaks—high-pitched and airy, like a whistle.
Curious, I drag my heel across the surface. The grains chirp beneath me, and I stare down, puzzled. I’ve lived on Lake Michigan my entire life and never noticed.
“It’s caused by the high silica content,” Hunter explains, catching the confused expression on my face. He looks away almost immediately, cheeks flushed. “Sorry. I’m rambling.”
I shake my head and grab his hips, tugging him against me and latching onto his lips. His breath stutters into the kiss before relaxing, soft and pliant. When we break apart, his eyes are wide and shining.
“Don’t apologize. It’s sexy when you talk like that,” I tell him.
His throat bobs. “Like what?”
“Like a nerd.”
He scowls and shoves lightly at my chest, but I don’t let go. My hands tighten at his waist, fingers sinking into the soft flesh of his hips.
“You’re such an asshole,” he mutters. “You can’t just call me a nerd and expect me to be okay with it. It’s rude.”
“I also called you sexy.”
He groans, burying his face against my chest. “Shut up.”
“I think nerds are hot,” I murmur against his hair. “I love when you teach me things. Makes me feel so damn lucky.”
A breath shivers out of him. “Mason.”
I’m not sure if he’s saying my name like a plea, a protest, or both.
I coax his head away from my chest and force our eyes to meet. “Talk nerdy to me.”
“Stop making fun of me,” he whispers.
“I’m not.” I press Hunter’s hand against my crotch, where my cock is already stiffening in my shorts. “This is how you make me feel, Hunter. You’re so fucking hot.”
He whimpers, eyes screwed shut. “Mason, please.”
“I need you to understand,” I say, grinding against his palm, “the way you light up when you talk about plants and bees and goddamn silica—fuck, it kills me. Your passion, your brain… it turns me on so much.”
He looks embarrassed, face flushed, eyes half-hooded, but I can feel his cock stiffening against my thigh. He loves praise. He loves being told how smart he is, even if he won’t admit it out loud.
“Tell me more about the sand,” I urge.
His blush deepens, but he obeys, voice shaky. “It’s—um, silica. From quartz. When glaciers moved south from Canada, they crushed the quartz into grains. That’s… that’s why the beaches sing.”
I groan and mouth at his neck, sucking marks into his skin. He gasps, his painted nails raking down my back, tilting his head to give me better access. I kiss him rough and hungry, drinking down his shivers.
“M-Mason,” he stutters, his voice trembling.
“I want you to fuck me,” I mumble against his collarbone. “Will you?”
He freezes, shoulders stiff. “You… you want me to fuck you?”
“More than anything.” My voice cracks with it. “Have you ever—”
“No.” His answer is sharp, almost defensive. “That… wasn’t an option with Travis.”
I nod slowly. “Right.”
His eyes flick up. “You’ve bottomed before?”
“Just once,” I admit. I bite my lip, noticing the panic flashing through his eyes. “We don’t have to if you don’t want to.”
He shakes his head quickly. “No, I want to. I really want to. I just… I don’t want to be bad at it.”
I kiss the curve of his neck, soothing. “You won’t be. I’ll guide you through it, babyface. You’ll make me feel so good.”
His nod is unsteady, but his eyes burn with desire.
I waste no time dragging Hunter back to the cabin, gripping his wrist tight. I shove him through the door, kissing him frantically as we stumble upstairs. Clothes are torn off in haste, littering the stairwell behind us like breadcrumbs.
In the loft, I press Hunter into the mattress, hands anchored to his hips. It bounces beneath us as I clamber on top of him, devouring him with my gaze.
“You’re so fucking beautiful, Hunter,” I murmur, threading my fingers through his silky hair.
His breath stutters, eyes darting over my face like he’s not sure where to look. “I—uh, thanks.” His voice catches as he fumbles for the duffle bag on the floor, movements quick and uneven. “Lube?”
“I got it.”
I fish out the bottle and a condom, then tug his boxers down. His half-hard cock springs free, and I groan at the sight, my eyes slowly raking over his smooth body. He flushes, turning his face toward the ceiling.
“Fuck, I love your cock,” I whisper, squiring lube into my palm. I loom above him as I stroke him slowly. He gasps, hips twitching, lashes fluttering as pleasure overtakes him.
“Look at me,” I demand.
Hunter obeys, his gaze locking with mine as I toy with him, thumb circling the sensitive head. His legs tremble beneath me as I tease his balls with my other hand, rolling them gently.
“Mason—fuck, I’ll come before I even get inside you if you keep that up,” he warns, his voice pitchy and breathless.
“And?” I press as I continue to stroke him.
“I want…”
I smirk. “What do you want, Hunter?”
He growls in frustration. “I want to fuck you.”
I hum smugly and bite my lower lip. “Then give me what I want first. Say nerdy things to me. Show me how much knowledge is in that pretty head of yours.”
He moans as I toy with his balls again. He lifts his hips to rut against my hand, but I quickly grab his waist, pinning him down.
His face flushes crimson. “Wh-what do you even want me to say?”
“Anything,” I murmur, stroking him harder. “I don’t care. Tell me about the trees.”
Hunter’s eyelashes flutter in pleasure as my grip tightens on his erection. His balls grow heavy as his orgasm builds.
“Oh, fuck,” he groans.
“The trees, Hunt,” I repeat impatiently.
Hunter moans as I squeeze him. “Oh, God. Okay. Trees. Uh—the ones around here are mostly paper birch, Betula papyrifera. They’re deciduous.”
“Deciduous,” I repeat cloddishly, and Hunter smiles to himself. I’m sure he would’ve snarkily corrected my pronunciation if he wasn’t so worked up right now.
I abruptly release his cock, and he lets out a desperate whine. I hush him as I peel off my boxers, my dick slapping against my abs, hard and leaking. I flip our positions, placing a pillow under my ass and hauling him on top of me with ease.
God, I love being able to manhandle him.
“Tell me what deciduous means while you finger me,” I command, shoving the lube toward him.
Hunter looks down at me as I spread my legs, exposing myself. He settles between my thighs and gazes down at me, jaw slack and eyes wide, like he’s hypnotized.
“Just do what you normally do to yourself,” I encourage. “Start slow. One finger.”
He nods slowly, applying a large glob of lube to his index finger.
He slicks his finger and presses gently against my entrance, his glittery purple nail polish shimmering in the lamplight.
I shiver at the cool touch as he slowly slides inside, his eyes locked on mine.
It’s tight and uncomfortable, but it doesn’t hurt.
“Hunter—distract me,” I grit through clenched teeth. “Tell me what deciduous means.”
His breath hitches. “Fuck, okay, it means the leaves shed annually, and—”
My gasp cuts off his sentence as his finger curls just right against my prostate. I arch off the bed as he adds a second finger, stretching me with a delicious dull ache. I rock down against him, clenching, taking his fingers deeper.
“Is this okay?” he asks shyly.
“Fucking incredible,” I groan.
His fingers work me open until I’m trembling, desperate. I’d only bottomed once before in college, with Sam, and it didn’t feel anything like this. While I didn’t necessarily dislike it, I didn’t love it, either.
But this feeling is so fucking good—dangerously so.
I squeeze my eyes shut and bite my tongue, terrified that I might do something embarrassing, like whimper. I’ve never felt this vulnerable before. It’s terrifying and exhilarating at the same time.
“How do you want to do this?” Hunter asks.
“Like this,” I say softly. “Wanna see your face.”
His cheeks turn beet red as he nods, pulling out his fingers. He grabs the condom and tries to put it on clumsily, but his fingers fumble with the latex, slipping.
I snort. “Having difficulty?”
“Shut up,” he hisses. “I don’t normally do this.”
“Let me help.”
I lean forward and roll the condom over his shaft. His lashes flutter in response to my touch. Seizing the opportunity, I squirt some more lube into my palm and stroke him, coating his length.
He looks down at me with wide, desperate eyes as I jerk him off. “Please. Wanna feel you.”
“Shh. It’s okay. You can fuck me now.”
I release his cock, and Hunter quickly hovers above me. I hook my legs around his waist, urging him closer until the blunt head of his dick nudges against my stretched hole. His necklace dangles between us, the beachglass pendant brushing against my pecs.
“Ready?” he asks softly.
I nod impatiently. “Yes. C’mon.”
He slowly eases inside, inch by inch. His eyes lock with mine, comforting, like a warm brown blanket draped across my body. When he’s all the way inside, I feel impossibly full, stretched to the brim in the best way possible.
My breath trembles. “Fuck, Hunter.”
“You okay?” he asks, face tender, almost afraid.
I inhale a deep breath before whispering, barely audible, “Kiss me, baby.”
It hits me then that I’ve never called him that before—just baby. It’s always been babyface with a teasing undertone, but this is different. The nickname feels new and fragile.
He smashes our lips together desperately. It’s sloppy and intermingled with Hunter’s breathless moans. He begins to thrust into me, slow and steady, each one drawing a desperate grunt from my throat. I keep my hands on his face, refusing to let him look away.
“You feel so good, Mase. So fucking tight.”
The air is filled with the sounds of slapping skin, wet kisses, and the distant lake lapping against the shore through the open windows. I grind down against him, taking him deeper, drawing a strangled gasp from his lips.
My heels dig into his lower back. “Harder.”
He obeys, his hips slamming into mine, fucking me fast and desperate. As he brushes my prostate with each thrust, my body vibrates with need. Hunter whimpers, his mouth falling open as he rocks into me. He trails kisses on my neck, nibbling and biting the sensitive skin.
His hand snakes between us, wrapping around my cock. My back arches off the bed as I fuck his fist.
“Just like that, baby. Make me come.”
He strokes me a few more times, his length driving deep inside me, and I can’t hold off any longer. With a breathy moan, my release splashes onto my stomach.
He fucks me through my orgasm, fisting my curls. The delicious sting slips through the white-hot pleasure clouding my brain. My entire body trembles beneath him, thighs shaking.
“You’re so good,” I pant. “Come inside me, baby.”
Hunter whimpers, thrusts turning frantic and sloppy until he buries himself fully. He comes with a broken cry, collapsing against my chest. His cock twitches and pulses inside me.
We’re both silent for a moment, holding each other and ignoring the mess between us. I breathe against Hunter’s warm, sticky skin and inhale his scent. He smells like sunscreen and strawberry shampoo.
I peck Hunter’s shoulder, then his neck, and trail up to meet his lips again. I kiss him slowly, fingers laced into his hair.
Hunter turns to break the kiss. “I should pull out,” he sighs.
He eases out of me, and I have to bite my lip to stop myself from whimpering at the sudden emptiness. He peels off the condom and tosses it into the bin next to the nightstand.
I loop my arms around Hunter’s waist and tug him back to bed, pulling him against my chest. He exhales and melts into me, his tension softening as I thread my fingers through his hair.
I press a kiss to his temple. “I meant what I said earlier—your intelligence? It’s one of my favorite things about you.”
His eyes flutter open, hazy with disbelief. “Really?”
“Yeah,” I murmur. “And I wasn’t lying when I said you being a nerd turns me on.”
He lets out a soft snort and nudges my ribs, and I can’t help laughing. The sound feels easy and warm, humming through the quiet of the room.
“But it’s more than that,” I add, my voice gentler now. “I love how you teach me things I never would’ve known otherwise. You make everything feel new.”
A faint blush colors his cheeks. “Thanks.”
I kiss the tip of his nose, and his lips twitch into a sleepy smile.
He yawns and snuggles closer, his hand resting over my heart. “Topping is exhausting. Don’t expect me to do it often.”
I chuckle quietly, smoothing a slow hand down his back. “Fair enough. Nap first, shower later.”
He hums in approval, already half-asleep against me. I stare at the ceiling for a moment, memorizing the weight of him, the steady rhythm of his breathing.
“Hey, Hunt?” I say, barely a whisper.
“Hm?” he replies, his eyes still closed.
I swallow hard. “I just want you to know… this summer was the happiest I’ve been in a long time,” I admit quietly.
Hunter stirs, his voice a sleepy whisper. “Yeah?”
“Yeah,” I breathe, pressing another kiss to his hair. “You make me forget how heavy life can be.”
His lips brush against my collarbone as his breathing slows. “Me too.”
His hand tightens slightly over my chest, and I feel him smile against my skin before he drifts off again—leaving me wide awake, holding him like I’m afraid to let go.