13
After the meal, they held hands as they walked the grounds of the restaurant, exploring the narrow flower-lined paths and shallow uneven steps. They took a selfie next to a single wind-bent tree. Then kissed against that same tree until things were about to get messy and they were in danger of missing the ship’s departure.
On board with minutes to spare, they walked down the corridor with their fingers still loosely linked. Marcel didn’t so much as glance at Wayne’s door.
Leo pulled out his key card, fumbling the first swipe. Marcel followed him inside, and the door closed with a very satisfying thud.
Leo turned and framed Marcel’s face in his hands. The careful exploration a couple nights ago was a mere rehearsal for this one. This kiss had been building for days, finally set free. Marcel made a low sound into his mouth and backed him up against the wall.
“Upstairs,“
Leo murmured against his jaw.
“Lead the way.”
The loft was dim and quiet, the bed already turned down by the cabin steward. The view from the windows offered a single slice of sunset going amber at the edge. Leo stopped at the foot of the bed and turned to Marcel.
“We good?“
Leo asked.
“We’re about to be.”
Leo reached for the hem of Marcel’s t-shirt and eased it up and off. Up close, in the slanting gold light, the man was spare and warm, with a sparse amount of hair across his chest leading to a thicker treasure trail. He shivered as Leo ran his palms down his sides, mapping Marcel’s body with a slow reverence that made them both shiver.
Marcel started in on the buttons of Leo’s shirt one at a time, knuckles brushing skin beneath the fabric. He pushed the shirt aside, and Leo’s breath caught in his throat as Marcel traced the dusting of hair down the center of Leo’s chest with his mouth. His hand found the back of Marcel’s head, a gentle pressure.
They undressed each other the rest of the way, taking turns because neither of them wanted to miss anything. When they were both nude, Marcel slid his hands up Leo’s back and pulled him close. Leo felt something slotting into place well beyond the physical. Marcel felt like home.
He guided Marcel down onto the bed. Marcel leaned back into the pillows and pulled Leo over him. For a little while, they just kissed—long, slow, open-mouthed, hands learning each other’s bodies. Leo accidentally found an embarrassingly sensitive spot at the hollow of Marcel’s throat. Marcel returned fire by scraping his nails lightly down Leo’s sides, practically cackling when he discovered that Leo was extremely ticklish.
“Oh, we’re going to fight about that later,” Leo said.
Marcel rolled him over. Leo let him, laughing until Marcel was braced above him on his forearms, looking down with a face Leo had never quite seen all at once before. The real one, in full.
Marcel kissed his way down with the same focused, methodical attention he brought to everything else he did. Leo, who was usually impatient in bed, found himself astonished into stillness, taking in every touch. Marcel’s mouth on the hollow of his hip. Marcel’s hand on the inside of his thigh. Marcel’s breath over his cock. Leo had to close his eyes.
“I need a minute or this is going to be very, very short.”
Marcel pushed himself back up to look into Leo’s eyes and kissed him, amused. Kind.
Leo reached for the nightstand. A thoughtful zippered pouch had appeared on the bedside table as part of Roman’s turndown service the first night, and Leo had been mortified. Now he’d be increasing the butler’s tip. He fumbled a foil square free. Marcel took it from his hand with steadier fingers.
“I’m on PrEP. I’m happy to use a condom if it makes you feel safer or you prefer easy cleanup. I’m vers and happy to either take charge or follow your lead.”
Leo appreciated that Marcel’s directness followed him into the bedroom.
“On PrEP. I’d prefer a condom for our first time, but if this is going to turn into what I hope it does, I’m fine with ditching them soon. I’m also vers, but I prefer to bottom. And I don’t care about assuming roles in bed as long as we’re both satisfied.”
Marcel smiled against his shoulder. “I don’t think either one of us is leaving this bed unsatisfied.”
Leo watched as Marcel rolled the condom down his length, then reached for the lube. Marcel was a thoughtful lover, reading Leo’s signs to speed up or slow down as he took his time preparing him. Soon enough, they were moving together in a slow, unhurried rhythm. Neither one of them wanted to rush. Leo fisted the sheet in one hand while the other splayed wide at the small of Marcel’s back. Marcel braced above him with his head bowed, small sounds breaking loose between kisses.
“Leo,“
Marcel said, ragged, against his mouth. “Leo, look at me.”
Leo looked.
Marcel’s face, stripped of its composure, looked down at him with a tenderness that terrified him for a second. Open yourself up to accepting it.
So that’s what he did.
Leo hooked a hand behind Marcel’s neck and pulled him into a kiss as he came, gasping into Marcel’s mouth. Marcel followed him over a breath after, shuddering.
For a long while afterward, they lay tangled together and tried to remember how to breathe.
“Stay,” Leo said.
“Try to make me leave.”