Page 19

CHAPTER 19

Grayson

These folks weren’t kidding when they said dome. The gigantic, hexagonal glass dome looked like some cross between a spaceship, a greenhouse, and an AirBnB.

And it was entirely exposed, in the middle of the woods. You could see everything.

The attendant who shuttled us to our domes walked us up to the front entrance, and tapped the keycard reader before handing us both our individual keycards. “Now as long as you have this on you, as soon as you come in contact with the door, it will unlock.”

“It’s so...”

“Open...” Henry said nervously.

“Oh, the glass is solar powered. Once the sun starts to go down, the windows turn to shade, which is why we have these—” The man motioned to two lanterns out front on either side of the dome, which were not lit. “Wouldn’t want our guests getting lost in the woods in the middle of the night.” He chuckled.

“Right,” Henry said with a sigh.

“Each dome has its own hotspots with ample WiFi, and is equipped with all the amenities of home. There’s four outlets, two on either side of the bed, plus two extra outlets in the kitchen, which includes an espresso machine and a microwave.”

“This is not camping,” Henry uttered as he stepped inside, looking up at the glass ceiling in awe.

“That’s right, sir. This is glamping. ”

“You got that right,” I said as I strolled in, setting my suitcase down on the left side of the bed. I watched as Henry slowly walked around, touching the sleek surface of the dressers and countertops like they were made of gold.

“I’ll give you time to get settled. The itineraries will be delivered each morning of your stay with the lists of pre-booked activities. Meal times will be in the courtyard, which is about a ten minute walk from your dome. Since you are a party, this section of the woods is reserved and private to just you and your party. Should you wish to make your way back to the hotel, you can call for transport, or it is about a twenty minute hike downhill to the resort itself.”

I nodded as the attendant backed away, leaving through the door.

“If you need anything, and I do mean anything ,” he said, his gaze flashing to Henry with warmth, “My name is Cam, and I’m only a phone call away,” he said, pointing to the in-dome telephone on my nightstand.

“Thank you, Cam, that’ll be all,” I said dryly as I dismissed him.

When the door closed, I turned to see Henry already unpacking, his suitcase sprawled across the sleek, shiny wooden floor.

“Henry,” I said as I approached him cautiously.

He looked up, his face devoid of any emotion. “Yeah?” he grunted.

“I know we haven’t...” I started, feeling at a loss for how to express what I wanted to say.

It seemed the moment I came near Henry, I lost all my faculties.

But I needed to try, if only because I didn’t want the weekend to be awkward.

Or the wedding.

A truce needed to be called.

“I think... we may have gotten off on the wrong foot,” I said.

Henry sighed as he set his clothes out neatly on the bed in careful, organized piles.

“Grayson... we don’t... we don’t have to do this.”

“Yes, we do,” I said firmly. “I know I haven’t given you the best impression of myself. I’m just... this wedding has me coming undone at the seams,” I said as I set to unpacking my things on the opposite side of the bed.

We both worked in tandem.

“Aren’t weddings supposed to bring people joy ?” he asked sarcastically.

I smirked. “Apparently for some, it breeds stress.”

“And you are part of the one percent that gets stressed out by weddings?” he asked, turning to arrange his clothes in the dresser. I watched as he did so, noting the slender curve of his arm, the way his shirt rose just enough to show a sliver of skin.

My cock sprang to attention, and I groaned in defeat.

Maybe this was a bad idea.

But what other choice did we have?

The last thing I wanted was for my sister to start out her weekend on a sour note and be miserable the entire time.

“I sell wedding dresses for a living, if anyone knows the stress of weddings, it is me.”

“That’s an interesting career choice. I would have pegged you for a stock broker or an accountant, or something.”

It was my turn to stock the dresser as Henry waltzed over to the kitchen.

“How judgmental of you,” I taunted.

Henry turned to appraise me with his gorgeous brown eyes, looking me up and down like I truly was some prize pony, and my cock twitched at the sight.

Never in my life had I wanted someone to like me, not the way I wanted Henry to like me. His gaze, his approval, his praise was like a drug I didn’t know I needed.

“Me? Judge you?”

“You did call me a yuppie,” I said, brushing some stray strands of hair out of my eyes as I finished up with the dresser.

“I didn’t...” Henry sighed, and we both stood there, a mere distance apart, staring at one another like it was some sort of standoff.

“I’m just... not good at... this.” Henry huffed, taking a seat in one of the rustic, cream-colored chairs adorned with a shellacked wooden frame. He set his face in his hands as he let out an exasperated sigh of his own.

“Good at what, Henry?” I asked, truly piqued.

“I’ve never been good at... fitting in with people. Mia... she’s always been a chameleon. She can adapt to wherever she is, whoever she is with. And this life... this... traveling and brunch and lake houses and spa retreats... she’s a classic. She fits in. But I don’t, I—” He sunk into his chair, and I watched his shoulders fall.

“I don’t have anything in common with anyone here. With you,” he said sadly. “I’m so out of my element.”

Oh, that’s what this is about.

I pulled up a chair opposite him, crossing my legs. “Henry, look at me, I want to tell you something,” I commanded, and to my surprise, he did just as I asked, without refusal.

So he can be a good boy when he wants to be.

Noted.

“What?” he asked, his lips parted just the slightest. Between his perfect pout, his innocent chocolate eyes, and the look on his face, I knew I was a goner.

Because I’d never felt so compelled to let my secrets out, the way I did when I was with Henry.

“I don’t fit in either,” I whispered.

Henry shook his head. “You’re just saying that. You—”

“I’m the literal black sheep in my family, Henry. They expected me to be the one to run off into the sunset and have three point five children with a house in the Hamptons and an admirable stock portfolio. But what they got was a son who prefers cock, with a praise kink, who’s done nothing but consistently disappoint them, who works a high stress job just so I don’t have to be home and be hounded by my parents about what a damn failure I am.”

Henry’s eyebrows furrowed and he rubbed his knees. “Grayson, I—”

“It’s fine. I’m fine with my choices in life. I’ve accepted that those things aren’t for me,” I said, feeling strangely vulnerable with the onslaught of baggage I’d just unloaded on Henry.

It was like I had word vomit or something.

Except, I did want some of those things.

I wanted Prince Charming to come in and sweep me off my feet, but I’d accepted that probably wasn’t going to happen.

“All I’m saying is, maybe we both shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.”

Henry nodded, pursing his lips. “Right. Fresh start.”

“Fresh start,” I said, just as a knock on the door pulled my attention away.

I rose from my seat, careful to hide my sudden erection as I walked to the door.

Cam stood there, with a cream piece of paper. He handed it to me like it was made of lava.

“What’s this?” I asked dryly.

“This is your itinerary for the evening ,” he said with a grin.

I grabbed the paper, letting my gaze rove over the fancily printed sheet.

Lunch in the courtyard in thirty minutes.

Spa Soak and Reflexology at 1:30.

Walk at three pm.

Dinner in the courtyard, served tableside.

Smores & Campfire following.

I let out a sigh of my own as I dismissed Cam once more.

“Thank you, Cam,” I said, all but shutting the door in his annoying face.

“What was that all about?” Henry asked.

I turned to see him removing his shirt, headed for the shower. I swallowed harshly at the sight of him, his exposed, tanned, trim chest.

I’d been with plenty of muscle in my day, but there was something about Henry’s understated tone, the softness of his hips jutting out from his jeans, that made my already sensitive cock ache with desire.

I shifted my weight, my attention pulled to the beginning of moisture already starting to pebble at my head.

Fuck me sideways.

“Just, uh, our itinerary for the evening. Lunch in the courtyard in thirty minutes,” I said.

Henry nodded as he disappeared through the door to the shower, which wasn’t large by any means, but it was frosted glass, and therefore, at least it gave enough privacy that I wouldn’t have to suffer the sight of a blurred out, naked Henry taunting me and my stiff, leaking cock.

I turned away, grabbing my cock through my chinos as I cursed. Knowing Henry was only a mere feet away, naked was not helping matters.

The sound of water hitting the tile was like a lullaby, and I briefly looked over my shoulder. I couldn’t see him from where I had migrated to, on the edge of the king-sized bed, which meant he couldn’t see me either.

But I still felt a sense of shame and guilt as I unbuckled my belt, unbuttoning my pants. Considering anyone traipsing around outside would have quite the voyeuristic show if they decided to look in. Thankfully, a quick scan of the windowed perimeter was enough confirmation that Cam was indeed gone, and no one else was in sight. Still, the idea of someone—particularly a hot, naked someone I was a mere distance from—catching me with my swollen cock in hand, thrilled me more than I care to admit.

For God’s sake, if I didn’t take care of my unruly cock, I wouldn’t be able to think straight. Especially when Henry came out of his afternoon shower.

All wet, tanned, and...

I let my body fall back onto the bed with ease, pulling my cock free. I glanced once more to make sure Henry couldn’t see me, and I couldn’t see him. I could see the edges of the shower in my vision, the rest of it hidden by potted plants and a rather modern looking partition.

Checkmate.

My feet planted firmly on the ground, my chinos around my ankles, I slipped my hand around my sensitive shaft, using my fingers and thumb to spread the warm, sticky precum over my head, thrusting my hips up against my palm as I began to stroke myself. Despite the fact I couldn’t see him from this angle, my mind filled with images of Henry and his soft hips, his tanned chest.

His pouty, perfect lips.

I let my imagination wander, drawing the lines of fantasy once more. It didn’t take much, as the thought of Henry in the shower, with his own hand wrapped around his cock, was all I needed to cum, hard and fast.

I slid my hand over my head, if only to minimize my mess and hide the evidence of the shameful self-love session I’d just engaged in with the object of my desire a mere feet away. The desire to groan in ecstatic release was prevalent, but I didn’t want to draw attention to my guilty masturbation session.

I struggled to catch my breath, to keep my moans stifled down deep inside, as I stuffed my softening, wet cock back in my boxers, hurriedly heading toward the kitchen—complete with a sink—and washed away my sins, just as the tinkling waterfall sounds diminished, and the sound of the shower door opened.

That was fucking close.

I nonchalantly zipped and buttoned my pants before turning to see Henry, towel around his waist, water gleaming on his bronzed skin, dark, wet hair falling in his beautiful eyes, and I was more than thankful I came already.

Because I was certain if I hadn’t, I would have right there.

Henry truly was a sight for sore eyes.

“Are you... showering before lunch or—” His cheeks pinkened as his gaze roved over me.

I shook my head. “Well, seeing as how we are down to fifteen minutes, I say probably not. Cam said the courtyard is about a ten minute walk, so we should probably leave as soon as possible.”

Henry nodded. “Yeah, of course. I’ll be ready in a sex... I mean sec !”

He spun around, but I didn’t miss the scarlet flushing his cheeks as I let out a laugh.

How he didn’t know he was so very right indeed.