Chapter 26
Zeke
I’ve never had control, and I think that makes me crave it more than normal. Seeing Talon become vulnerable like this for me is intoxicating. Hearing him say my name while bearing himself to me makes me feel complete in a way I didn’t know I could.
If I’m honest, part of me was afraid to agree to Talon’s request. Even if it’s not fucking, I was afraid there might be something in me that got off on Talon’s submission the way Derek did on mine. Some switch that got flipped because of all the trauma.
However, being here now, I realize Talon isn’t offering me power over him. Giving himself freely like this makes me acutely aware that he has just as much control over what happens next as I do, and the equality and balance between us repairs so much of my damaged heart.
My submission to Derek was forced. It was stolen from me because it was the only currency I possessed. That’s what Derek craved. To strip me of my humanity, so he could wear it like a cloak to conceal the fact that he had none left.
Slowing my hips, I run my palm up Talon’s spine, eager to feel him everywhere.
I think I could do this. Not tonight, because he needs more prep time than twelve seconds, but soon.
“Please,” he begs. “Let me feel you.”
Angling myself a little differently, I position my cock so it brushes his hole before sliding up his crack.
“Ohmygod, again.” He’s panting now, and I know he’s close.
“Do you trust me?” I ask. I know he does, but I need to hear him say it.
“Yes,” he says without hesitation.
We’ve taken to just leaving the bottle of lube on the nightstand, and I lean over and pump a small amount into my hand.
“Tell me if it’s too much, okay?” I prompt, taking my job very seriously back here. I know what it’s like not to be ready. I know what it’s like to be invaded against your will, and I will never put Talon through that.
“Whatever it is, I’m on board,” he pants, his tone desperate.
I rim his hole with my index finger, and the groan that leaves his mouth has precum pouring out of me.
“Ohholyshit.”
I stay quiet, letting him process the sensation of my lubed fingers dancing around his flesh. When he begins rocking backward, seeking penetration, I don’t make him wait.
“Stay as relaxed as you can. I’ll go slow,” I coach him. He may have explored on his own or with a toy, but having someone else’s fingers in your ass is a different game. The amount of trust it requires naturally makes most people tense.
Starting with my middle finger, I slowly push forward, requesting entrance.
Talon blows out a breath, and I feel him relax.
“You’re doing so good,” I praise him.
“You make it easy.”
It’s not the first time he’s told me that, and I smile. I want it to be easy. It should be easy.
Pulling my finger out to the tip, I gently slide it back in, farther this time. By the fourth time, Talon grows impatient with the speed and impales himself on my hand.
“More. Please, Zeke. I’m fucking dying.”
His hand is still stroking his shaft, but I get the sense that what I’m doing back here is overriding his normal rhythm, and his cock won’t let go until his ass is satisfied.
I add more lube and a second finger. The first entry is slow. The next several are not.
“Ohmygod. Fuck, yes,” Talon whimpers as he fucks himself on my fingers.
The sight has me hard as steel.
With my left hand wrapped around my shaft and the fingers of my right hand buried in Talon’s ass, I angle them down to swipe over his prostate. He barely gets a moan out before every muscle in his body tightens.
“Ah, fuck, fuck, fuck!” The words are thrown from his mouth with the force of his orgasm.
His tightening around my fingers has me coming at the same time.
“Oh, God, Talon, I’m coming.”
“On me!” he yells, startling me.
I remove my fingers from his ass quickly but gently and come on his back. He waits until I’m done, and then his arms give out, and he falls forward onto the mattress, sweat coating his back muscles and the nape of his neck.
Watching my cum drip down his skin has me feeling protective in a way I’ve never felt. Possessive, even, but not in a way that diminishes his independence. I want to be strong for myself so that I can be strong for him as well.
I’ll be damned. I think I’m starting to understand the dynamics of a healthy relationship.
“I don’t know what you just did to me,” Talon says, his voice muffled by the mattress. “But I’m pretty sure that was the best thing I’ve ever experienced in my life.”
My man is a fan of the prostate massage. Got it.
“Trust me when I say the pleasure’s all mine,” I tell him before gently nipping his ass cheek with my teeth.
“Let’s grab a shower and go to bed. My heart is full, and my balls are empty, so I think I’ll sleep like the dead,” he says, making me crack up.
“I need a T-shirt that says that,” I tell him, following him into the bathroom.
“I’ll see what I can do,” he replies with a wink.
“Hey, baby,” Talon says, nuzzling his face in my neck as he steps up behind me at work.
I whip my head to the side to look at him over my shoulder.
“Talon!” I whisper, trying to move to the side. “What are you doing? We’re standing in front of giant windows!” I remind him urgently.
His face falls for a brief second. He tries to recover, but his tone gives away the fact that I’ve hurt his feelings.
“So, we’re still not telling anyone?” he asks sadly, making me feel like shit.
From out of nowhere, Rebecca pops into my line of sight and offers her two cents that no one asked for.
“I mean, anyone who has eyes and pays attention at all already knows you two are together.”
My eyes grow wide as I look at her.
“What makes you think that?!” I shriek, causing her to crack up.
“Because he’s up here all the time,” she says, pointing at Talon. “And whenever he’s here, he’s always here. With you.”
I push on Talon’s chest.
“Go away.”
I don’t remove my hand fast enough, and he traps it against himself.
“No one cares, Zeke,” he says.
“I care,” I correct. Talon winces, and I realize how that came out.
“Look,” I say, looking back and forth between him and Rebecca, practically begging them to understand and not give me a hard time about this.
“I’m doing really well right now. I’m definitely in the best place mentally, physically, emotionally, and financially that I’ve ever been.
If people find out I’m sleeping with not just my boss, but the owner of the entire goddamn resort, they’re going to get petty and ugly.
They’re going to accuse me of trying to sleep my way to the top.
Not to mention, it’s not a good look when a bazillionaire—and that’s a rough estimate—is shacking up with his hourly employee,” I pause and look pointedly at Talon, “who’s ten years younger than him. ”
“Hey!” Talon argues immediately. “Your birthday is before mine, so for a couple of months, you’re only nine years younger than me.”
I purse my lips.
“Will that make a difference when people start talking shit?” I ask, folding my arms and digging my heels in on this argument.
He huffs out a sigh, admitting defeat.
“No.”
“Who cares what other people think?” Rebecca chimes in.
“Did you have a reason for coming out here, Becs?” I ask, now wanting to apologize to Talon in private for the harshness of my reaction. My words were true, but my tone was harder than necessary, and I hate being the reason he frowns.
“Just to tell you that I approved your time off request.”
“What time off request?” I ask, confused as fuck.
“And now we’ve come to why I’m here,” Talon says with a grin.
“Oh, shit. Sorry, Mr. Devereaux. Guess I jumped the gun,” Becs says, starting to back away. “I’ll just let you two carry on then.”
“Rebecca, please call me Talon. And no need to apologize; you were just being efficient as always.”
Rebecca leaves us alone right as a few people step up to the podium to check in for their reservations. I take them through the whole spiel, thankful I could recite it in my sleep because I’m distracted as hell. What is Talon planning?
When I make it back outside after leading them to their table, Talon’s bouncing on the balls of his feet, trying to stay warm.
“Hey, I’m sorry I pulled away,” I say, stepping into his space, sending mixed signals. “I just don’t want to create trouble for you. More trouble for you,” I correct.
“I appreciate that. And I should probably tell my family first anyway. I just get lost in our bubble, and it’s been so nice.
It’s ironic that when I first came out here, I missed New York so badly.
The people, the sights, the sounds of the city.
But now, I think I’ll miss the openness of Montana and the unobstructed views at night. ”
As he talks, a terrible, horrible realization dawns on me. His stay in Montana is coming to an end.
“You’re going home.” It’s not a question.
“Um, yes, but that’s why I’m here. I have to go back in March for our quarterly meeting, and I want you to come with me.
Let me show you New York. I want to experience Broadway with you, and I want my family to meet you.
I want you to eat a hot dog from a street vendor in Central Park. I want my two worlds to collide.”
I stand there, dumbfounded. Frozen in my disbelief. Talon is offering me everything, everything I’ve ever wanted, and the scariest part is that it all pales in comparison to how much I want him.
“Okay,” I hear myself say.
My simple answer makes his face light up, and he lunges at me, wrapping me in a hug before quickly stepping back and looking around.
“Sorry. I’m just so ex—”
I don’t let him finish before I’m grabbing the back of his neck, pulling him toward me, and crashing my mouth against his.
Fuck it. If I’m about to meet his family, and the cat’s going to be out of the bag anyway, there’s no point in making him think I don’t want this as much as he does.
He kisses me back feverishly.
We’re totally lost in each other until a knock on the glass breaks us apart. We’re both laughing nervously as we turn around, but it’s just Hayden. He’s resetting a table with linens, but has paused to give us a thumbs up.
I shake my head, but inside, I’m filled with joy and relief at not having to keep Talon a secret anymore.
New York, here I come!