Page 114 of Fish Out of Water

“Then let’s leave.”

“What?” Robbie perked up a bit. “Right now? It’s so early.”

“You want to feel free, don’t you?” Jake stood up and took Robbie’s hand, guiding him to his feet. “Well, come on, let’s go do just that.”

“Okay, but where are we going?”

“Home, Robbie. We’re going home.”

29

FAMILY BUSINESS

The house was dark when Robbie and Jake arrived. Boxes still sat in the living room and the hallway, and Jake pushed them aside with his foot as they passed. Soon, Robbie would have his own things—whatever didn’t count as an heirloom back at the old Eaton Manor, which probably wasn’t much—but until then, they were stuck with the bare bones Isabel had left behind. It would have been funny if they’d even bothered to stop and take stock of the quiet little world around them.

But there was no stopping Jake and Robbie now.

Robbie’s kisses left a trail of fire in their wake. Jackets and ties came off, then shirts, buttons pulling as fervent hands yanked them out of their buttonholes. The sharpzipof trouser flies punctuated the silent house, along with the quiet gasping and the sound of skin against skin.

Jake hadn’t made his bed that morning. He hadn’t found the energy, but now he regretted it deeply. Robbie would have made his bed, even if he wasn’t expecting company in it. But Robbie didn’t care whether Jake’s bed was made or not. He fell on top ofit, with Jake on top of him, a whimper escaping his lips as Jake sucked tenderly on his neck.

Tonight they weren’t fucking in the back of a bookstore or making out in a dark alley. They weren’t nestling into Robbie’s king-sized bed either. They were just two people, together and in love, reuniting in the place that they finally got to call their own.

Such a simple life had never felt so good.

Robbie scrambled out from under Jake enough to get the lube out of the drawer. Jake was ready to climb off of him, allowing Robbie everything he had tried not to fantasize about during those dark, sleepless nights, but Robbie handed the lube to Jake, hooking his legs around Jake’s hips to keep him locked in place.

“Your turn.” He smirked.

“You little…” Jake shook his head, but he’d already wasted enough time. He wasn’t about to finish that sentence and waste even more precious seconds.

He settled into place, pushing Robbie’s knees closer to his chest. He slipped a finger inside Robbie, giving him time to get used to the pressure. He’d long since given up on the idea that he could fuck Robbie, and he stopped wanting to at some point, too. Having Robbie inside him was enough. But they were partners now, giving equally to each other in their newfound balance. This was how Robbie wanted it, Jake could tell as much by the way he gazed up at him. This was how it needed to be.

Jake entered Robbie with a quiet groan. A puff of air escaped Robbie’s nostrils as he bit his tongue, holding back a whimper. He waited until Jake gave his first gentle thrust to let it go. Jake shuddered at the sound.

Robbie had always been hot to him, even when it was in an obnoxious way, but now that they were together with the promise of a thousand more nights like this—or mornings orafternoons or whenever they wanted, really—it was almost too much to bear.

He was the luckiest man in the world.

He thrust in again, moving rhythmically in motion with Robbie’s hips. They worked so well together in moments like this. They had always worked well together; Jake was just too stubborn to see it.

Robbie whimpered again, the small plea escaping his lips almost without intention: “More.”

More. Jake took a breath. More of him. He dipped his head, catching Robbie in a hard, passionate kiss. That was his answer, and Robbie took it gratefully.

Somewhere out there, people were partying. They were getting tired, maybe, or they were only just getting started. Time had blurred into a haze. It had slipped away from Jake, still passing, but only noticeable in the ways that Robbie changed beneath him, or in the tension that was building inside of him.

It was the string of saliva that pulled between their lips as Jake broke away. It was the next thrust, and the next. It was the creak of the bed every few seconds when the shifting of weight was too much for it to take in silence. It was the ticking of the clock on the wall that had always run a bit too fast.

A strangled mix of a breath and a moan slipped between Robbie’s teeth. Jake knew that sound well by now; he was close. As if to confirm this, Robbie’s fingers dug deeper into Jake’s flesh, pulling him in harder.

“Please, Jake,” he breathed. “Make me come.”

Jake didn’t have to be asked twice. He lowered his head again, locking Robbie in another kiss that he held until Robbie shivered, and then stilled, his moans muffled by Jake’s mouth. He let Robbie go, his head falling back softly against the pillow that had moved half off the bed in their feverish motions.

Jake pulled out, squeezing his cock in his hand as he sat back, getting off of Robbie so the man could breathe. He climaxed in a fraction of a second, squeezing his eyes shut tight as the sensation overwhelmed him, brief and all-consuming.

He fell back in bed next to Robbie, his stomach sticky and his forehead damp with sweat. He let his hand fall onto his chest as he stared up at the ceiling, still trying to catch his breath. Robbie reached his hand over, resting it softly on Jake’s arm, and Jake smiled up at the ceiling, his eyes closing as the weight of their exertion finally caught up to him.