electric, shaking and gritting his teeth as he gasped Wes’s name. “I’m gonna come if you keep doing that.”
“Good. I want to see it.” He wanted to see Justin come apart because of him, spill over into orgasm because of him. Gasp his name and shake apart because of him. He squeezed again, stroked, twisted his hand over Justin’s cock head.
Justin cried out as his orgasm tore through him, heat spilling into Wes’s palm. His body clenched, and then it was Wes’s turn to curse, gasp, almost scream as Justin’s ass squeezed his cock, and he thrust in, as deep as he could, and came with a roar.
After, they lay in a tangle of arms and legs and slow kisses, hands laced together, sweat drying on their skin as the sun rose over Paris. Wes played with Justin’s hair, ran the honey strands through his fingers. Justin traced the line of his jaw, his stubble, the corded muscles of his neck.
I’ve fallen so deeply for you, Justin.
But what’s going to happen now?
Chapter Five
Three weeks was a lifetime, and no time at all.
Days unfurled before Wes, each one bubbling over with new moments. New experiences. The first time he’d kissed a man, the first time he’d made love. The first time he held a man’s hand in public, laced their fingers together and walked side by side down the twisting Parisian cobblestones. He’d tipped his head back and felt the sun, smiling as he closed his eyes.
They were at the Marché d’Aligre, wandering the stalls and eyeing the fresh-baked bread, the wheels and wedges of artisan cheese, the bottles of wine, the produce that looked like still lifes. Everything was brighter, sharper, more alive, as if making love for the first time had unlocked some secret ingredient. Or maybe it was falling in love that made everything seem more incandescent. The world wasn’t perfect, but it felt perfect when Justin was beside him, his shoulder and arm brushing Wes’s, their hips shifting together when they stopped to window-shop at the stalls and booths. Wes stood behind Justin and rested his hand on his hip. He fed Justin a sample, nearly kissing him after he nibbled the caramel-infused cheddar. He couldn’t stop smiling.
At the flower stall, he dug out his leftover coins from the week’s budget and spent two euros on a tiny bouquet of wildflowers tied with twine. The whole thing fit in his palm, and he hid it while Justin had his nose buried in the tulips, then sneaked up on him and teased his cheek with baby’s breath and tender lavender. Justin turned into him, and Wes wrapped his arm around Justin’s waist, holding him close in the middle of the farmer’s market.
Justin tried to pull back. Wes tightened his hold. Justin was so close the brim of Wes’s hat shaded his face. Justin’s brow furrowed, a small line creasing the center of his forehead. “I thought you wanted to keep things quiet. You’re not out.”
“Who knows us here?” Wes let him go but didn’t release Justin’s hand. Instead, he raised it to kiss Justin’s knuckles. People were eyeing them as they passed, smiling at them. Wes’s heart hammered. “We’re just two guys.”
“You stand out.” But Justin smiled, and he squeezed Wes’s hand and didn’t try to step away again. He flushed as his eyes landed on the tiny bouquet Wes held in his fingers. “No one’s ever given me flowers before.”
Again, Wes tickled his cheek with the baby’s breath, then slid the sprig of lavender across Justin’s lips, a kiss of sun-warmed petals. “I’ll have to make a habit of it,” he rumbled.
Justin laid his hand over Wes’s, squeezing before taking the flowers. He inhaled, grinned, and swayed slightly with his eyes closed, a look of bliss on his face that melted every one of Wes’s neurons. Had he made Justin smile that way, look like that? Had he, somehow, made Justin that happy, so joyous he seemed like he was about to float away? Like Wes had to hold on to his hand to keep him tethered to the earth?
He did, lacing their fingers together and holding tight as he set off on an amble down the market’s stalls. Artists were sketching the crowd, and a mime entertained a gaggle of children and photo-snapping tourists. Justin twirled the sprig of flowers beneath his nose, smiling at everything Wes showed him, and when he leaned his cheek against Wes’s shoulder, Wes’s heart skipped a few dozen beats. It