Page 63 of Persuaded

Laughing, Finn walked him backward into the bedroom. Thank God for small houses. Sliding his hand under Josh’s shirt again, he traced the lean span of his back, the flex of his muscles as Josh lifted his arms to cup Finn’s face. God, he felt glorious. But he was wearing too many damn clothes. With a grunt, Finn grabbed both hems and hauled Josh’s T-shirt and sweater up and off in one go, flinging them aside. Josh laughed, his hair sticking up all over the place, sexy and adorable as fuck, his chest and shoulders bared to Finn’s touch.

It had been so long since Finn had felt like this: wild and unleashed. What he felt for Josh—the aggression, the tenderness, the raw power of his desire—set him alight in waysnobody else had ever done. He burned for Josh, he wanted to burn with him.

With urgent fingers, Josh started working on Finn’s shirt—why was he wearing a fucking shirt?—until the buttons came free and they were both bare-chested. They stilled, then, catching their breaths, forehead-to-forehead. Josh splayed his hand over Finn’s chest, over his heart, his sudden gentleness making Finn’s throat close. “My God,” Josh whispered. “I love you so much.”

Closing his eyes against a sweep of joy, Finn kissed him again, slow and deliberate. There was no rush. They had all the time in the world. They had forever. The thought made him smile as he trailed his fingertips across Josh’s waist to the line of his hip peeking up above his jeans. He pulled back enough to look and Josh watched him with a curious smile.

“I remember this,” Finn said, sinking to his knees as he pressed his lips against the sharp jut of hipbone, running his tongue along it and biting lightly. “I remember you.” He kissed the tense muscles of Josh’s belly. “I remember all of you...”

One hand braced against Finn’s shoulder, Josh drew in a shallow breath. “Finn...” He was trembling and Finn hid a smile against the warmth of his belly. Then, with unsteady hands, he began to undo Josh’s belt and the buttons of his jeans.

Josh dug his fingers into Finn’s shoulder, his other hand cupping the side of his face and making Finn look up. His expression when their eyes met was indescribable: love, desire, longing, hope, adoration and wonder. Everything good in the world.

Finn didn’t drop his gaze when he finally got his fly open, nor when he pressed his lips against Josh’s hard length. He loved watching his eyelids flutter, breath stuttering as his fingers clenched in Finn’s hair. Fuck, he looked incredible. Finn could barely tear his eyes away to take him in all the way, running his fingers up the inside of his thighs, feathering lightly across hisballs, teasing and sucking. He knew what Josh liked and he knew it wouldn’t take long. Josh hovered on the brink already and Finn wasn’t far behind.

It had been a long eight years.

“Finn.” Josh gasped his name. “Finn. Finn—OhGod!” He came with a shout, fingers biting into Finn’s shoulder as he arched backward. And Finn took it all, every last drop of him, and still wanted more. He’d never have enough of Joshua Newton.

Carefully, Finn helped him sink onto the bed, breathless and sated, and crawled up to lie with him, kissing his lips, his jaw, his collarbone. Everywhere. Still far away, Josh lifted a heavy hand to drag Finn down and into his arms, drowsy and beautiful. “So good,” Finn whispered against Josh’s lips. “You’re so fucking perfect.”

After a while, Josh smiled and slid his hand across Finn’s belly to his belt. Thank God. He was so hard it was painful to kick off his jeans and briefs, but at last they were both naked and the feel of their bodies together, skin on skin, set a dozen memories running wild.

“I remember this,” Josh whispered, his hands ranging across Finn’s back, slipping over his ass and teasing him until he was crazy with want. “I thought I’d imagined how good it was with you, but I hadn’t. I remembered everything right.”

“Josh,” Finn gasped into his shoulder, cock sliding over his hot skin, captured tight between them. “God,Joshua.” It was perfect, just like it used to be, his body made for Josh’s and Josh’s made for his. He’d never known anything like it, not with anyone, and after a couple more urgent thrusts the tension broke. With an inarticulate shout of joy he flew apart, so hard it left him reeling.

When he drifted back to himself, Josh lay languorous beneath him, fingers idly caressing his back. Finn’s thundering heartknocked against his ribs, and he wondered if Josh could feel it too. He hoped so. With some effort, he shifted his weight so they were side-by-side, Josh watching him with his heart in those beautiful eyes.

Into the intimate space between them, Josh whispered, “That was the best sex I’ve had in eight years.”

“Dude,” Finn laughed. “It was theonlysex you’ve had in eight years.”

Josh grinned. His hair was wrecked, his eyes sparkling bluer than ever. He looked so... Finn’s heart swelled, light with the realization that Josh looked happy—that he’dmadehim happy. Afraid he might do something sappy—sappier—he pulled Josh in so his head came to rest on his shoulder and he could get both arms around him. Pressing a kiss into his fucked-up hair, Finn said, “This is the bestdayI’ve had in eight years. It’s the best day of my life.”

Josh’s fingers stilled where he’d been tracing circles over Finn’s ribs. “I dreamed of this,” he said after a while. “I didn’t dare hope it would happen.”

Outside, the snow kept falling and Finn watched it swoop and swirl against the window. On a table by the bed sat the photo Finn had first seen on Josh’s bookshelf: the two of them, smiling in the summer sun, full of love and each other. Seeing the picture last time had been painful, but this time he smiled; this time his heart stood wide open and its resentments, laid down year-on-year like glacier ice, had melted away until nothing remained but love.

As Josh grew heavy and relaxed in Finn’s arms, the last of the day sinking into dusk around them, Finn gathered him close, pressed another kiss into his hair, and held him while he slept.

Epilogue

Later

Joshua awoke to the sound of gulls high in a bright summer sky, early light streaming through his curtains. He stretched, scrubbed a hand through his hair, and became aware, piecemeal, of the scent of freshly brewed coffee and a soft clattering in the kitchen.

Odd, because Finn wasn’t due to arrive until later that morning.

Yawning, he opened the drapes, shuffled past the packing boxes waiting for the movers, and wandered into the kitchen to investigate.

“Morning, sunshine.” Finn stood propped against the bare counter with a cup of coffee in hand, looking tired but wonderfullythereas he held out his free arm in invitation.

Joshua nuzzled into him sleepily. “This is a nice surprise.”

“Mmm. I ducked out early last night and got the red-eye—didn’t want to wait.”

“For what?”

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