He pulls back just enough to whisper, “Happy New Year, baby,” against my mouth.
“Your place or mine?” I ask, though I already know the answer. He takes my hand again, and this time, when our fingers intertwine, it feels less like a game and more like coming home.
The crowd parts for us as we make our way to the exit, and I can’t help but laugh at the perfection of it all. It was a fun game. Playing at being strangers while our bodies remembered every touch, every kiss, every shared breath from before.
The cold air hits us like a splash of reality as we step outside, but his hand is warm in mine, and his eyes behind that silver-decorated mask are full of promises I know he’ll keep. We flag down a cab, and as we slide into the back seat, I anticipate what comes next.
The hotel room door barely clicks shut behind us before his hands are on me, and I’m pressed against the wall with a desperation that makes my breath catch. Our masks are still on, this final pretense of anonymity making everything sharper, more intense.
His mouth finds my neck, and I arch into the touch, my fingers scrambling for purchase on his shoulders. Through the window, the city spreads out below us, quiet and snow-covered, but in here, the air is thick with heat and want.
“The mask,” I gasp as his teeth graze my collarbone. “Take it off. I want to see you.”
He pulls back just enough to reach for his mask, and I do the same.
His smile is small and knowing as he removes his mask, revealing those familiar blue eyes I wake up to every morning. “Hey, sweetheart,” he says softly, in that tender tone he reserves just for me.
“Hey, baby,” I reply, taking off my own mask and running my fingers through his hair. “Fancy meeting you here.”
He chuckles and pulls me closer. “Couldn’t stay away,” he murmurs.
Nate kisses me properly, deeply, like he’s trying to taste every moment we’ve been apart, which has only been a few hours since he left for the club before I did so we could play this game properly.
We stumble toward the bed, hands fumbling with buttons and zippers. My fishnets catch on his watch, and we laugh breathlessly as we work to untangle them. His shirt falls open, revealing the chest I know by heart—the scattered freckles, the light dusting of hair, the sensitive spot just below his right nipple that makes him gasp when I brush my thumb over it.
“God, I missed you,” he groans, helping me shimmy out of my hot pants. The fishnet tights follow, and then we’re skin against skin, everything familiar and new at once. His hands map my body like he’s reading Braille, finding all the places that make me shiver and moan.
I arch up as his mouth trails down my chest, my stomach, following the path of my hip bone. “Still perfect,” he murmurs against my skin, and the vibration of his voice makes me tremble.
“Nate.” I gasp as his tongue traces the outline of my cock. “Please.”
He reaches for the bedside table, where supplies are already waiting.
The click of the lube cap is loud in the quiet room. His fingers are confident and careful as they work me open, and I lose myself in the sensation, in the familiar stretch and the way he knows exactly how to curl his fingers to make me see stars.
“Ready?” Nate asks, though we both know I am. I nod anyway, pulling him down for a kiss as he positions himself.
The first push makes us both groan. My legs wrap around his waist, pulling him closer, deeper. His breath is hot against my neck as he starts to move, each thrust precise and purposeful, hitting exactly where I need him.
“Fuck, Nate,” I pant, my fingers digging into his shoulders. “You always feel so big. Fill me up so good.”
“I was made for you, Caspian,” he says and speeds up his pace. The bed rocks beneath us, the headboard thumping against the wall in a rhythm that matches our racing hearts.
I lose track of time, lost in the slide of skin on skin, the perfect angle of his thrusts, the way his hand wraps around me and strokes in counterpoint.
When I come, it’s with his name on my lips and his eyes locked on mine. He follows moments later, face buried in my neck, breathing words that sound like promises against my skin.
After, we lie tangled in the sheets, his fingers tracing lazy patterns on my chest. The city is still quiet below us, and the pretense of strangers meeting on New Year’s Eve has fallen away, leaving us with the truth we’ve both known all along.
He pulls me closer, and I can feel his smile against my shoulder. Outside, the first snow of the new year begins to fall, covering everything in a clean, white blanket. But in here, we’re warm and safe and together, and that’s all that matters.
CHAPTER 38
NATE
The bell above Special Blend’s door chimes as I step inside, and the familiar scent of coffee and books wraps around me like a warm hug. Caspian is behind the counter, his hair slightly messy from running his hands through it all day, wearing that green apron that makes his eyes look even darker.
We’re a few days into the new year, and the whole town is gearing up for the Winter Wishes Festival, including Caspian.
