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by Ella Frank
Henri turned his head on the pillow and watched as Bailey slept, his expression peaceful despite all he’d gone through. Henri thought it a testament to Bailey’s parents—despite the tragic nature of how they’d passed—that their boy had turned out to be such an amazing man.
Here was someone who had every right to be angry, bitter, jaded, and yet he’d fought through all of that and come out the other side.
That had to be because of his upbringing. The Seafood Sundays, the baseball in the park, the bright, warm house that he and his family had lived in.
Bailey had been raised with love. It showed in every smile, every touch, every look he aimed Henri’s way, and as Henri stared down at him now, he couldn’t help but wonder what the hell right he had to ask that Bailey love him. A gutter rat from the swamps. A murderer.
Henri gently pushed the covers aside, got to his feet, and headed toward the sliding door. It was a balmy night, and knowing there wasn’t anyone else for miles, Henri didn’t bother pulling his shorts on over his briefs. He slid open the door and stepped outside.
He made his way across the deck and down the couple steps that led out to the private dock, and when he reached the loungers, he sat down and looked up at the sky above.
There were no stars tonight, just the never-ending black expanse that stretched out ahead of him, and Henri couldn’t help but compare it to the gnawing ache in his gut reminding him of the dark secrets he held inside.
What had he been thinking? Convincing himself that someone like him deserved someone like Bailey? Someone so honest, someone so good.
What had made him believe that that could possibly work? That it would ever be a good idea to tell Bailey that he loved him, when Henri harbored skeletons in his closet that he himself had put there?
He’d fucked up tonight, there was no doubt about it. He’d opened his mouth in a moment of vulnerability and spoken with his heart instead of his head. Now here he was, sick to his stomach, because somehow, against all odds, he had the love of a man he knew he didn’t deserve, and the only way that story was ever going to end was badly.
A LANGUID BREEZE drifted into the room and rustled the sheets Bailey lay under, and as he stretched his legs and reached across the mattress for Henri, he was stunned to find the bed empty.
Bailey opened his eyes, saw the indentation in the pillow beside him, and knew Henri hadn’t been gone for long. He rolled to his back and looked over toward the en suite.
When he saw no light from under the door, Bailey’s eyes shifted to the sheer white curtain that had been pushed aside, along with the sliding door that led out onto the deck.
Bailey smiled, imagining Henri outside enjoying the quiet of the night, and snagged up his shorts, deciding to go and join him.
After dinner—and a seriously steamy dip in the hot tub—they’d all but passed out as soon as their heads hit their pillows. As Bailey walked toward the open door and stepped outside, he had to convince himself once again that what had happened before he’d fallen asleep had really actually happened.
I love you. Henri’s words had been on repeat in Bailey’s head ever since he’d heard them, and he still couldn’t get over how three little words could make you feel so incredibly special.
But that was how he felt. Special, cherished, loved.
He’d been so worried that he’d scare Henri away with all the talk about his family and therapy, but when those words had left Henri’s mouth, nothing had felt more right than finally being able to say them back.
It’d been one of the most honest moments of his life, and Bailey would never forget it as long as he lived.
He scanned the deck in front of him, searching for the man he suddenly wanted to see more than he wanted his next breath, and when Bailey caught sight of movement on one of the loungers, he headed down the stairs and toward the private dock.
It was dark out there tonight—pitch dark—but thankfully there were lights along the path. When Bailey came up close behind the lounger Henri was lying back in, he made sure to speak up, just in case Henri had fallen asleep.
“Hey there. Mind if I join you?”
Henri quickly turned his head. His full lips were drawn into a serious line, but when he spotted Bailey, they immediately relaxed into a curve, and he shook his head. “Why would I ever mind that?”
“I don’t know,” Bailey said, and that was when he noticed what little Henri was wearing. Where he’d pulled on a pair of shorts before leaving the bungalow, Henri had come outside in nothing but his black briefs. “Maybe you wanted to be alone.”
Henri shook his head. “I hate to break it to you, officer, but you couldn’t be more wrong.”
Bailey knew it was ridiculous, considering how far the two of them had come in the last forty-eight hours. But hearing Henri confirm that made the tiny part of him that still believed this was all too good to be true go back to the dark shadows from where it came.
“Good.” Bailey grinned, and then walked to the end of the dock to look out at the vastness of the ocean. “I know I’ve said it before, but this place really is incredible. I think I could happily live here forever. No phone, no internet—”
“No people?” Henri chimed in, making Bailey look back over his shoulder. The lights that lit the walkway behind Henri provided enough light for Bailey to see his silhouette clearly, and the sight of his tall, lean body stretched out in nothing but a pair of briefs was enough to make Bailey forget about the beauty and stillness of the night. He instead focused on the raw beauty of the man sprawled out in front of him.
“Well, you’re here.”
Henri shifted in the lounger, re-crossing his ankles, and Bailey couldn’t help but wonder if his attention was making Henri a little bit…restless.
He liked that idea.
“True,” Henri finally said. “Want me to go? Someone once told me that I’m real good at vanishing.”
Bailey chuckled. A couple of weeks ago, that comment would’ve made his stomach sink, but not now. “Oh, I don’t know. You’ve gotten pretty bad at it lately.”
“Are you doubting my skills?”
“Not at all. I’m just pointing out the fact that you’ve acquired a new skill set lately.”
“Oh yeah?” Henri’s voice had dropped an octave or three, and the raspy cadence sent a shiver of anticipation up Bailey’s spine. “And what might that be?”
Bailey ran his eyes down to the small scrap of fabric across Henri’s lap, the prominent bulge between those thick thighs making his pulse race. “Staying.”
Henri reached down between his legs and massaged the heel of his hand over his stiffening cock, and then said in a voice rough with desire, “With you standing in front of me, why would I ever want to leave?”
Chapter Eighteen
CONFESSION
I never thought I’d want to belong to someone.
But when Henri looks at me as though I’m his,
all I want is to make him mine.
DAMN, IT WAS moments like this that Bailey felt like the luckiest person on the planet. How he’d ended up catching and keeping Henri’s attention long enough to make him fall in love with him, he would never know. But he was going to do everything in his power to keep it that way.
Bailey’s eyes fell to what Henri was doing with his hand. Henri crooked a finger. “Come closer.”
Bailey took a step forward until his legs brushed the end of the lounger. Henri’s eyes made a slow path from Bailey’s face down to his shorts. “Strip for me, officer.”
Bailey’s breath caught, his cock throbbing in immediate response, as the idea of losing his clothes out in public rushed through him. After a quick look to the left and right, Bailey focused back on Henri, who said, “It’s just you and me, Bailey. Nothing else for miles. Take off your clothes for me.”
Henri’s voice was hypnotic, and Bailey licked at his lips as he pulled the drawstring of his shorts. As they fell from his hips in a pool of material at his feet, Henri growled with
approval, and Bailey squeezed his aching dick.
Henri widened his legs a fraction. “I swear, every time I see you like this is better than the last.”
Bailey couldn’t help the smug smile that crossed his lips. The way Henri was looking at him, the way he’d slipped his hand inside his briefs, was hot as hell.
“That’s pretty high praise.”
“It’s the God’s honest truth,” Henri said, his eyes roving all over Bailey. “And since I’m the one who can’t keep my eyes off you, I should know.”
“Henri…” Bailey said, then closed his eyes, tipped his head back, and began to stroke himself. “I’ve never had anyone make me feel the way you do.”
“Good,” Henri said in a voice full of gravel and sex. Bailey opened his eyes. “I don’t want you to feel this way with anyone but me.”
Jesus. The intensity in Henri’s eyes was possessive and so sexy that Bailey probably could’ve gotten off from that alone. But no, he wanted Henri’s hands, his mouth, and he wanted to feel Henri deep inside his body, as they fell apart out there in the middle of nowhere.
“Bailey. Come here to me.”
Bailey walked around the end of the lounger. Henri shoved his briefs off his hips and down his legs, kicking them out of his way. His cock was hard as a rock, and when Bailey’s gaze trailed down his body to where it stood at full attention, Henri groaned.
Henri reached for the hand by his side, and Bailey entwined their fingers. But when Henri tugged him closer, urging Bailey to come down and straddle him, Bailey halted at the last second.
“Something wrong?” Henri said.
“No, I—” Bailey once again took in the sinfully attractive man stretched out on the lounger. Then he took a breath, trying to get a hold of himself, because this was important.
“What is it, Bailey?”
“We don’t have the, um, stuff we need out here. Unless…” Bailey let his words trail off, hoping Henri would understand what he was getting at. When Henri tugged on his hand again, Bailey moved down until he was straddled over Henri’s lap.
A pleasure-filled groan left Bailey as he placed his hands on Henri’s chest, and when their cocks rubbed up against one another, he sucked in a breath and dug his fingers into Henri’s pecs. “Oh God, that feels— Ahh.”
Henri’s hands found Bailey’s ass and tugged him up so he was even closer. “I would never do anything to put your life in danger. I’m clean, officer. But if you want to wait until we get back home and get tested, I understand. There are plenty of other things we can—”
“I believe you,” Bailey whispered across Henri’s lips, as he slid his palms up and over Henri’s shoulders. “I’m clean too. I just got my annual testing.”
Henri wrapped his arms around Bailey’s waist and pulled him in until their bodies were flush against one another. He pressed his lips to the base of Bailey’s throat.
“What are you saying to me right now, Craig Bailey?”
Bailey threaded his fingers through Henri’s hair and tugged his head back. “I want to feel you inside me with nothing else in between. Just you and me, naked, like we are out here tonight.” Henri’s body vibrated beneath his, and Bailey lowered his head and whispered, “I love you.”
Henri stared up at Bailey with a wondrous expression on his face, as if he didn’t quite believe him. “I love you too.”
Bailey licked across Henri’s top lip, and just like that, Henri opened as though Bailey was the air that he needed to breathe. Bailey slipped his tongue between Henri’s lips, tangling with him. Henri slid his hands back down to his shoulders, and Bailey shifted up to his knees. The move rubbed the underside of his shaft along Henri’s. Henri slid his hands over Bailey’s ass and up to the small of his back.
Bailey grunted as Henri nipped at his lower lip, and then kissed his way along Bailey’s jaw, dragging his tongue down the length of Bailey’s throat. He was systematically driving Bailey out of his mind, and as Bailey pushed up on Henri’s shoulders and thrust harder for more friction, more contact, Henri grabbed at his ass and bit down into his shoulder.
A harsh shout left Bailey’s throat. Henri said against the skin he’d just bit, “Jesus, Bailey— Ahh. Do that again.”
More than happy to follow that order, Bailey thrust again, shoved his fingers through Henri’s hair, and tugged his head back so he was looking up. “Like that?”
“JUST LIKE THAT,” Henri said, gripping Bailey’s ass.
Fuck, there were so many things about him that were not right for Bailey, Henri knew that—but touching him, loving him, being with him like this wasn’t one of them.
There was something to be said about being the one person another could be free with. As Bailey continued to writhe over the top of Henri, the power he felt from knowing he was that person for Bailey was a high like no other.
Henri wrapped his fingers around both their erections, and Bailey stilled, his chest rising and falling as his breathing increased in pace.
“Henri.” Bailey played with the bars through Henri’s nipples, and Henri slid his fist up and down their hard lengths.
“You like that.” Henri leaned in to nip at Bailey’s lip as he continued the slippery slide, and every time his grip reached the top and the head of their dicks rubbed together, Bailey’s nails dug into Henri’s skin, no doubt leaving marks.
But Henri wasn’t complaining. Hell no. He wanted Bailey to mark him, wanted his cop to use him any way he wanted, and if Henri came out on the other side marked up and scarred for it, he knew it would be worth it.
As Bailey began to grind his hips back and forward, easing himself in and out of Henri’s hold, Henri relished the way their dicks felt against each other. Like warm, smooth steel, and getting hotter by the second. With each punch through Henri’s fist, the head of Bailey’s cock licked Henri’s lower stomach, coating Henri with their pre-cum.
Bailey’s eyes followed Henri’s to the mess they’d made. Then Bailey shocked the hell out of Henri by reaching down and swiping his thumb through the evidence of their joined arousal.
Bailey brought his thumb up to his lips and, without hesitation, sucked it deep inside, swirling his tongue around and sucking the salty sweetness away.
“And how do we taste, officer?” Henri said, as Bailey slowly pulled his thumb free, his sex-drunk gaze locked firmly now on Henri’s mouth.
“Mmm.” Bailey speared his fingers through Henri’s hair and brought his head forward. “Why don’t you find out for yourself?”
Henri didn’t waste any time, closing the gap between them and devouring Bailey’s mouth. He licked, sucked, tasted them on his tongue.
“Bailey…Christ. I need you,” Henri growled, bucking his hips forward in an effort to get closer. He’d never begged to be inside someone in his life, but he had to admit that he would get on his hands and knees and cry to get inside the devastating man who had him trembling and desperate.
With a teasing smile, Bailey rose up on his knees, casting a long shadow over Henri, who took a second to memorize his cop just like that. Henri gripped the base of his cock, holding it at the perfect angle, and Bailey slowly sank onto it.
As the head of his bare dick breached that first ring of muscle, Henri cursed, because damn, sliding into Bailey like this was like sliding into heaven. The connection, the feeling of being one, was unlike anything he’d experienced in his life. As Bailey took him all the way inside, Henri started to tremble at the enormity of the feelings washing over him.
How had this happened? How had he fallen so hard, so fast for a man he’d never planned to spend more than one night with? But as they moved against one another in the open air with the water lapping gently against the dock, Henri knew this was it. Bailey was it for him. There’d never be another.
He kissed his way up Bailey’s jaw to his ear. Bailey wound his arms around Henri’s neck and thrust forward, impaling himself deeper. Henri growled as Bailey continued to move his hips in a way that had Henri’s pulse racing.
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As Bailey rocked back and forth, Henri pulled him down to suck Bailey’s tongue into his mouth as their bodies rose and fell together. Henri could still taste the essence of them on Bailey’s lips, and that only propelled his need to have Bailey come. Henri reached down to stroke Bailey’s cock, and the pace went from sane to madness in the blink of an eye.
“You feel so damn good, Bailey. I’m so close.” Henri circled the head of Bailey’s dick each time he pumped his fist, causing Bailey’s movements to become ragged and uneven. Then, as if the world had faded away and all that was left was them, Bailey raised his head, looked Henri directly in the eye, and began to shake.
Henri ran his hands up over Bailey’s ass and back. Bailey began to rub against his abs, the heat and friction pushing Henri even closer to the edge. He could feel Bailey’s lips warm against his neck, and all of a sudden, it was too much.
What this man did to him was like nothing he’d ever expected to feel. Bailey’s climax slammed into him like a fucking freight train.
“Yesss, that’s it,” Henri said, as Bailey’s hips kicked up tempo and he began to ride Henri through the most intense orgasm of his life. “Come all over me. I want to feel it as I’m coming inside you.”
Henri was shaking as he ran his hands over Bailey’s back, and as his cock pulsed inside its favorite place to be, Henri couldn’t hold back anymore.
With his fingers digging into Bailey’s hips, he finally let himself go and growled, pressing his face against the side of Bailey’s neck.
“Wow,” Bailey said, softly, breathlessly. “That felt…incredible. I love feeling you inside me like that, and the way you look at me when you’re there is… Like I said, wow.”
“And how do I look at you?”
Bailey gave a shy smile that was in direct contrast to what they’d just done. “Like you love me.”