Page 129 of Bully for Sale

Ezer waited, feeling the cool breeze from the ocean on his hot skin. “I love you,” he said without turning around, the familiar stride comforting as Ned came up behind him. “It’s not just the heat talking. You believe that I love you, don’t you?”

Ned turned him around, lifted his chin and peered into his eyes. “I believe it. But why did you wait so long to tell me?”

“It was selfish of me.” Ezer felt a splinter of shame over the truth. “It was a cruel test. I was afraid you’d stop striving for me.”

Ned’s mouth quirked. “I’ll prove myself to you until we die.”

Ezer leaked slick at the declaration. He was close now. The heat was going to be on him very soon.

“I can smell how ready you are.”

“A few more minutes. Just us by the sea.”

Ned wrapped his arms around Ezer, and they turned to look at the waves together. The infinite-seeming churning of it, the unknowable depths. The future had no promises for them. The past had already taught them that.

From bully to beloved. From coerced to freely chosen.

The one thing they’d earned that meant more than any other was trust. Between the children, the sex, the home, the grudges, and the laughter, their hard-won trust was the most beautiful thing they shared. It encompassed everything.

“The heat is coming now. It’s getting stronger.”

“I can take care of you.”

“Yes. You can.” Ezer took a deep breath, the pinpricks of heat rising beneath his skin. “I’m ready.”

“About time.”

THE END