Page 52 of Sunrises & Salvation

ADAM

T he soreness in my ass is a welcome distraction while I text Trent that he and Kian are not invited to come to the cabin, and no I don’t care that Hunter already invited them.

I’m sitting at the island, watching Hunter pace around the kitchen, making us breakfast. I’m in awe of him every day, but especially today, knowing the care and patience he had to make sure last night was good for me.

And it was, so fucking good. Amazing. Life-changing.

My cheeks flame as I think about the dirty words that came out of his perfectly pouty mouth, probably something he learned from all the books he reads.

Hunter turns and smiles at me, his smile wide, pulling his scarred lip.

I stand up and walk over to him, pulling him into my arms to press a gentle kiss to it.

I don’t know what my obsession with it is, and maybe I’ll never know.

But it’s like finding a four-leaf clover in a field of clovers; he has so much tanned skin, and this is the only imperfection I’ve found.

“I love you,” I tell him, the words still surreal coming out of my mouth. I love Hunter, and he loves me. That’s better than any high that can be bought, knowing that this man can look past all my flaws and still choose me.

“You only love me for the crêpes,” he says, but he doesn’t pull away, so I take that as my invitation to pepper kisses across his face, basking in the warm coconut and honey smell of his skin.

“I mean, that’s one of the many reasons,” I say, nuzzling my head into his neck and kissing the soft skin there.

He laughs loudly, the sound echoing and filling the house with his happiness.

“Stop! You know I’m ticklish. And we need to eat and get everything ready for today. Trent and Kian are going to be here around lunch to go out on the boat with us.”

“No,” I deadpan.

“I’m not arguing with you about this. They’re our friends, and they’re coming over.

I already planned what to pack for lunch, and I’m not changing it now.

” Damnit. I know that tone, it’s his my way or the highway tone.

And he’s right, it would be nice to hang out with our friends.

But maybe somewhere, away from here, not at the cabin that I bought for me and Hunter, and we have yet to christen everywhere yet.

They could have at least given me enough time to be fucked a few more times before they came over.

“Okay, if that’s what you want. But they’re not staying the night.” I have to draw the boundaries somewhere.

“Sure, sweetie.” His patronizing tone does not reassure me at all.

He pulls away from me, and as much as I want to stay attached to him, I give him space to finish making breakfast. I prepare an iced coffee for him, grabbing the lavender extract and oat milk to mix together, measuring it out the way the lady from the coffee shop told me to. I want it to be perfect for him.

I pour it into the mug I picked up for him from a little shop downtown, a bright blue handcrafted mug. It has his name written in calligraphy across it. He had been eyeballing something similar online, so the least I could do was support a local business and make my boyfriend happy.

Hunter plates up our food and sits down at the island by the seat I vacated.

I grab myself a bottle of orange juice and his coffee cup, along with a cup of water for him, because he’ll get up and get it himself if he gets thirsty.

Sometimes his mannerisms don’t make sense to me, but as long as he’s happy, I can be happy.

And on the days he can’t, I’ll be here to hold his hand and help him fight his demons.

Hunter grabs a bottle from the medicine cabinet and pops a pill in his mouth, swallowing it down with the fresh coffee.

His anxiety medicine is the most important start to his day.

From the first time I watched him swallow the pill until now, it brings a sense of calm over me to know that he has something to help him with his overactive brain.

He’s never been shy about taking the medicine around me, confident in his mental health and knowing that medicine helps with what he struggles with, and to not let the judgement of other people control him.

While we eat, Hunter tells me about some of his ideas for the bookstore. The festival inspired him, and he wants to branch out and try some different themed nights.

“That’s a great idea, Hunter. Let me know what I need to do.”

“Could you build some wooden decorations? Maybe something like this?” He pulls up an album on his phone and scrolls through it, showing me all of the proposed projects.

When he finishes, he pockets his phone and looks up at me from underneath his eyelashes.

He looks like the ultimate temptress from this angle.

I kiss him on the crown of his head, the longer strands tickling my mouth, but it suits him so much better than the buzzcut he had when he showed up at the restaurant with Trent all those months ago.

I like being able to run my fingers through it, like I used to do when we would lay on my couch in my dorm.

“Sooo?” he asks, and he knows that I’m not going to be able to tell him no. Even if I wasn’t able to do it, I would find a way to get it done for him.

“You already know I’m going to say yes, don’t play coy.” I intertwine our fingers and bring them up to my mouth, pressing a kiss against each of his knuckles.

“Why do you do it?” I pause my mouth, hovering above his warm skin.

“Why do I do what?”

“Spoil me, physical labor, random acts of goodness that you don’t let anyone else know about? Take your pick.” I drop our hands from my mouth and tug him fully into my lap until his back is pressed against my chest, his legs straddling mine.

“I spoil you because you deserve it, if there’s anything I can do to make your life better, I want to do it.” I don’t want you to regret choosing me. I keep that thought to myself though.

“I don’t need you to do that, though. You make me happy just by being you.

” I lean forward and nip the place where his neck meets his shoulder, and then soothe it with my tongue, making sure to leave a mark so when he’s on the boat later, Kian and Trent will know exactly who he belongs to. “Stop that! I’m trying to be serious.”

“I’m not stopping you,” I remark, going back to nibbling on the soft spot on his neck until it’s swollen and red, standing out against his tanned skin.

“Quit marking me like a barbarian. Our friends are dating, need I remind you. They’re not concerned with you marking your territory like a caveman.

Kian will just give me hell about it.” I like how close he and Kian have gotten, it might not make sense to anyone else, but it does to me.

Hunter is my soulmate, the other half of me.

And Kian is the same thing for Trent. We can move past their history because it wasn’t anything but a small blip on the radar. Something easily looked over.

“There are other places I could mark you,” I tell him, reaching my hand around to play with his nipples until they bead. The ridges brush against my fingers while he writhes on my lap.

“Can we make it quick? We have two hours until they get here, and I want to make sure everything is ready before they show up.”

“Deal.”

One shower and a soapy jack-off session later, Hunter is floating across the house, grabbing everything he thinks he might need for the boat.

A first aid kit, check. Three bottles of sunscreen, just in case, check.

Water, snacks, lifejackets, check, check, check.

I watch him in amusement while I put together the ingredients he asked me for sandwiches, four peanut butter and strawberry jelly, four peanut butter and grape jelly, and two ham with mayo between the slices of meat so it doesn’t make the bread soggy.

“How long until they get here?” I ask when he makes his way out of the garage carrying an ice chest. “Wait—” I rush over to grab it from him. “Let me get that for you.”

He rolls his eyes but follows behind me anyway as I carry it out the back door and leave it to the side of the gravel path that leads to the boat dock, where the boat is waiting for us.

“They should be here any minute.” Hunter lifts his hand to shield his eyes from the sun while he looks around. I have some sunglasses in my car; I need to get them before we go on the water so he’s not uncomfortable.

I hear the crunch of tires on gravel and hold back my eyeroll.

It comes from a good place, because Trent is my friend, and Kian is Hunter’s friend.

I just wish we had a little more time with each other before we were bombarded by our friends.

It still seems surreal to know that I confessed my feelings for him last night, feelings that have been brewing for eight, almost nine, years. And to know that he feels the same way.

Repeating his words inside my mind from last night, my stomach flutters in anticipation of our future. He loves me. Hunter loves me. And I’ll do whatever it takes to keep his love.

Even dealing with friends.

I take a deep breath and follow behind Hunter as he goes back up to the house to welcome our guests. His ass looks great in the tight shorts he has on, the material stuck to his skin and showing off the muscular globes.

I have to subtly readjust my dick in my trunks, not wanting to pop a boner in them because it would be painfully obvious.

Hunter embraces Kian when he steps out of Trent’s truck, and I accept a hug from Kian as well. Watching Trent hug Hunter doesn’t affect me like I assumed it would, because Hunter’s mine.

“I am so ready for this, I brought snacks too.” Kian reaches into the back seat and pulls out two bags filled to the brim with plastic bags, rustling while he moves to follow Hunter into the house. I hear them talking about how the bookstore has been doing since we’ve been gone.

“Nice place, how much did it cost you?”