the spot was mostly numb, but that didn’t stop him from always pausing to pay a bit of attention to it. It was kind of like he was trying to kiss the boo-boo away the way he had when we were little kids. Like he was trying to kiss away all the bad memories and the years of bad choices etched into that tiny spot on my face.
I pushed his clothing out of the way as he kissed his way down the side of my neck, pausing to nip at the place where my pulse was fluttering erratically under my skin. The bite was a bit harder than it had to be, and I knew it was going to leave a mark. It didn’t surprise me. Huck had been more and more aggressive the closer it came to the day he had to leave. I had little love bites and bruises in the shape of his fingers littered across my skin. Most were only visible when I was completely naked, but there were a few embarrassing ones that couldn’t be hidden. I was pretty sure it was his way of staking his claim, of letting anyone who dared get too close know I was already spoken for. That kind of highhandedness should rub me the wrong way, but I was also feeling my possessive side rear its ugly head knowing he was about to be going to a new school full of new people, all of whom at least shared the same interest in the law as he did. If we hadn’t been to hell and back together, jealousy would eat me alive at the thought of all the new girls who were going to be in his world.
It was a good thing we were fated to be together. I had zero doubts anyone who crossed his path would ever mean as much to him as I did. Our journey was from friends, to enemies, to lovers. We’d been everything to each other, and no one else could ever say that.
Huck lifted his head as he skipped his fingertips across my collarbone, moving to the strap of my tank top, and slowly slid it down my shoulder. His heated gaze skimmed over the curve of my breast, and his lips lifted into a satisfied grin.
“You’re a quick learner when the subject is something you’re deeply invested in.” He grunted out a low, pleased sound when my hand found the rigid length that was pressing between us. He always pulsed excitedly in my palm, and I was still blown away by how soft and hard he was at the same time.
I gazed up at him, surprised that I could still form coherent thought considering his mouth was now moving over the tight, aching point on the tip of my breast. I felt the tug right between my legs and shifted restlessly beneath him.
“Maybe that has more to do with the student than the teacher.” I was always eager to learn when it came to him. His lessons always felt like something I would carry throughout my lifetime. “I’m always shooting a perfect score when we’re together. And I don’t mind having to go the extra mile for extra credit.”
Huck laughed lightly and switched his attention to my other breast. As sad as I was to say goodbye, this way was so much better than the rushed, angry words he’d thrown at me when he left as a teenager. Back then, our parting lingered in my mind like a bad dream. Now, I would feel him and remember his touch and kiss each time I moved.
“Just keep following my lead, Ollie. I won’t lead you astray.” His raspy voice drifted across my overly sensitive skin as his hands moved to strip the rest of my clothing out of his way.
I arched against him and whispered, “I’d follow you to the ends of the Earth and back, Huck.” It was the truth. One I could only ever give to him. No matter how far off the beaten path I might wander, Huck was always the home I returned to.
Just like Goldilocks, who was lost and alone until she stumbled upon an unlikely refuge deep in the dark woods, I magically found the place where I fit in perfectly.
That spot was right next to Huck, no matter how near or far he happened to be.
The End
Keep reading for a preview of Fortunate Son, a next-generation Marked Men novel, featuring Rule’s son and Jet’s daughter.