Nolan lifts his hand to grip my waist, tugging me closer as his nails dig into my skin. I squeeze his throat and grin against the salty skin of his shoulder as he moans when I thrust all the way in.
“Nolan Hastings, rockstar, known around the world by millions, but he’s only ever on his knees for me, only known by me.” I turn his head so that I can look into his starry-eyed gaze. “I fucking own you, Nolan. You’re mine and no one else's. You belong to me, forever. Right?”
Nolan’s grin is terrifying. My toes curl as he leans his forehead against my cheek. “Shut the fuck up and fuck me, Benji. You’ve owned me for a year now.”
Isn’t that a kick in the head? I take his mouth in a kiss that steals both of our breaths as I pummel into him. He gasps against my mouth, fingers digging into my side, begging for more, wanting all of me. And I’ll give him everything just like I’ve been giving him everything for months, for almost a goddamn year. I curl my arm around his chest to lay my palm over his heart, letting the hard beat of it course right through me as if we were one person.
My orgasm sneaks up on me, starting at the base of my spine, and coursing all the way down to the tips of my toes. I have just enough presence of mind to sneak my hand down to Nolan’s cock. Just as my release rockets through me, painting his insides asmine, Nolan comes with a shout, warm all over my hand. We collapse on the bed together in a sweaty heap of tangled limbs.
Nolan pats my cheek fondly, eyes closed with the force of his orgasm. “You’ve still got it, stud.”
Because traditions can’t be broken, I carefully help him out of the bed and guide him into the bathroom. As I ready the bath with the lavender bath salts I know he’s come to love, I look over my shoulder to find him staring at himself in the mirror. My heart pounds in my chest as he reaches out to touch his reflection. A small smile tugs at his lip for just a moment before he turns to look at me.
“That’s me. The real Nolan.”
“Yeah, angel. That’s you.”
Nolan hums softly, then walks over to join me in the tub. I pull him between my legs, letting his back come to rest against my chest. Burying my face in his neck, I breathe him in, settled in the knowledge that he’s mine forever, and that we belong to one another.
18
NOLAN
MARCH 2028
“You’re really going to stay here? In Clay Springs?” Harper asks with one of his serious little frowns. He’s so cute.
“Why not? I like it here. Benji is happy here. I’ll probably take him on vacation whenever he wants, wherever he wants, but this is home now.” I push my foot on the ground so that the hammock Harper and I are lying in swings a little harder. “You don’t want me to stay?”
“Uhm, pause, I didn’t say that.” Harper reaches down to absentmindedly pat Honey’s head. Her vest is off, so I’d given her a few pats earlier, but otherwise she usually just stays hanging out with us wherever we go. “Just weird that a rockstar would choose to stay in my hometown. I’ve spent so many years thinking of escaping, hard to imagine someone choosing it.”
“You want to leave?”
Harper tilts his head down to look at me. “Not much anymore. Jackson makes it better.”
“Love is crazy, huh?”
“So crazy,” Harper says around a laugh. “How’s therapy?”
“Same old, same old. It’s nice to not wake up and want to kill myself.”
“Well, that is a positive. Have you thought more about the land offer from Beau? They’ve got so many acres they can stand to lose a few. And I’m sure you and Benji would like a place of your own.”
I guess now’s the time to tell Harper. I’m shit at secrets anyway, at least when it comes to him. Who would’ve thought the redhead from that first night would become one of my best friends? But Harper is Harper. He makes me laugh in a simple way that I can’t explain. He makes me forget sometimes that I am who I am. Isn’t that what friends are supposed to do?
“I bought the land from Beau,” I admit, just waiting for Harper’s reaction.
“What!” Harper sits up so quickly in the hammock that we almost fall to the ground.
“Jesus, Harper.”
“Sorry,” Harper says shamefully as we return to a slow rock. “What?”
“Yeah, I bought it. Gave him a two-million-dollar check even though he only asked for five hundred thousand. The guy seriously needs to consult his accountant before just doing things. The land is valued at three million… I felt bad even giving him just two.”
Harper blinks slowly. “I forget you’re rich.”
“You forget I’m a rockstar,” I remind him with a leer.
