Page 15

The soft glow of the Alaskan sunrise shone into our hotel room as I watched Preston sleep. His footie pajamas covered his body from neck to toe, and he was absolutely adorable. His chest rose and fell in a peaceful rhythm that was practically opposite of how I was feeling.

It had been ten days since arriving in Alaska, and the drama Preston had been dealing with at work was finally doused enough for him to head home.

I brushed a lock of hair from his forehead, and his eyelids fluttered. Preston stirred awake and rooted around for the warmth only I could provide. His lips found my skin, and he began to suckle as he slowly woke up.

Watching him against my skin was the biggest turn-on. My cock was already hard, but the visual of him nursing put me in danger zone for spontaneous eruption.

"Good morning, little one." The endearment came naturally to me because it perfectly encapsulated who Preston was to me. He was my little boy. Innocent, precious, mine.

He moaned and pressed his morning wood to my thigh before pulling off my chest. “Morning.”

I felt his breath against my skin and was instantly in the role of Daddy, not that I ever fully left it with Preston. Even the way I cradled him to my body spoke of the protection and care I wanted for him.

Nurturing wasn't just a calling to me. It was my purpose. Preston was my purpose.

We settled into the quiet routine that had become our morning ritual. His head rested against my chest, while I wrapped an arm around him and rubbed his back. Then we would rock against each other’s body, either dry-humping while we kissed or I’d enter his warm channel and make love to him until we had puddles all over the bed.

"We’re going home today, Daddy." Preston was present enough to speak against my skin, but his eyes were mostly closed. “I’m so glad.”

"Back home to Aspen." A twinge of sadness at the thought of leaving our haven filled me, but Aspen wasn't just the place we’d met. It was a community we both loved and where we both agreed we wanted to stay. Going home together, fully committed to our dynamic, was the best kind of promise to start a relationship with.

"Home is anywhere with you." Preston had a note of wonder in his voice as if the idea was still settling in and taking root in his heart.

"Always with me." I knew the truth of those words down to my bones. We were bound by more than circumstance or need. We were tethered by the invisible threads of destiny that had drawn us together, making it impossible to imagine a life apart.

Despite any past pain he’d felt, I promised again and again that I would never hurt him. I knew Preston wanted to believe that, but only time would prove to him that I meant every word I said to him.

His grip tightened on me in a silent plea to hold on just a bit longer. He liked to drag out the moments we had in bed before facing our inevitable reality.

Of course, I obliged. I would give him anything, everything.

Time seemed irrelevant as we basked in the warmth of our connection. Eventually, Preston released his hold and his gaze met mine with an intensity that stole my breath away. In his eyes, I saw the reflection of my own emotions. Hope, desire, and something that had been growing between us for weeks, nurtured by whispered confessions in the dark and laughter shared under the endless sky.

"I love you, Otto." The words were simple but held a universe of meaning behind them.

My heart swelled as the sentiment echoed through every fiber of my being. "I love you, too, Preston." It was both a relief and a homecoming to say those words out loud. They’d been building from the start, but it took the forced disclosure of our identities in Alaska to fully begin the process of combining into a single soul.

It had been there from the start in every touch, every glance, every moment spent entwined in each other's arms.

The words that had taken us a while to accept hung between us—not as an end but as a beginning. They were a vow that whatever the future held, we would face it as one. Our journey hadn't been conventional, but then again, nothing about us was.

Alaska had been our temporary refuge from the world. One of the first chapters in our story, but it was time to flip the page. Aspen was the blank page waiting for us to fill in with memories, laughter, and love.

It was our chance to build something special, and real, and lasting.

"Ready to go home?" I stroked his cheek with the pad of my thumb, soaking in the softness of his skin.

"Only if it's with you.” His smile broke through any lingering doubts or fears that had been trying to sneak into my mind.

"Then let's go start our forever." I sealed the promise with a kiss that held all the tenderness of sunrise, all the passion of a storm, and all the quiet strength of the mountains that surrounded us.

It was a new day, a new beginning, and as we packed up our little sanctuary in the snow, I knew that we were going home and would be there together. Forever.