Page 115 of The Unlikely Pair

I’m woken hours later by Toby shaking me. “Harry, Harry.”

I sit bolt upright. “What is it?”

“Come outside. You need to see this,” Toby says.

Oh God, are there wolves? A bear? What unknown factor is the Scandinavian wilderness hurling at us this time?

But Toby is smiling, extending a hand to pull me up. I grab my jacket on my way out of the cabin.

I’m only two steps onto the porch before I suddenly stop, staring transfixed at the sky.

The horizon is lit up with an otherworldly glow. Vast curtains of luminescent green fill the night sky, shimmering and undulating as if given a life of their own by some unseen force. I’ve seen photos and videos of the northern lights, but nothing comes close to seeing them in person.

I watch as tendrils of electric purple and pink shoot through the shimmering veils of green.

“Aren’t they amazing?” Toby whispers. His somber mood from earlier seems to have dissipated, and now there is simply a look of wonder as he watches the sky.

When I remember this night in the future, I know it won’t be the northern lights I remember. It’ll be Toby’s face. His beautiful face turned up towards the sky, the lights reflected in his eyes.

I try to swallow, but my throat is dry.

I move closer to him, and he angles his face towards me, and we share a look of awe.

Then, somehow, his lips find mine. We kiss like it’s the most natural thing in the world to kiss in the face of such beauty. Trying to match nature’s spectacle with beauty of our own.

Because Toby and I are together, and we’re alive, and I get to touch him right now, and that’s all that matters.

Right now, I’m not just living for today. I’m living for this moment when Toby’s mouth is on mine, where our kiss feels imbued with everything I feel for this man.

When we pull apart, I’m breathless, my heart pounding. The lights dance above us, but all I can see is Toby.

“There is no one else I’d prefer to share this moment with than you.” The words fall out of my mouth before I can censor them, before I think through the ramifications of saying those words to Toby.

Toby’s mouth drops open. He looks nonplussed, his lips parting as if to speak, but no words come out. I’ve never seen Toby Webley speechless.

But I don’t recant my words or diminish them with an explanation. I leave them to sit between us as the silence ticks on.

Toby’s eyes are wide in the dim light. He glances at the flickering northern lights for another long moment.

“Yeah,” he says finally, swallowing hard but meeting my eyes. “Same for me.”

His voice is quiet, barely above a whisper.

Then, suddenly, Toby is standing, tugging my hand, leading me back inside the cabin.

Inside, the heat of the room hits us like a wave after the cold outside, but I hardly notice it. Because it’s nothing compared to the heat between Toby and me as we start kissing again.

Our kisses are frantic, urgent, as if we’re trying to pour all the unspoken emotions between us into this physical connection. Toby’s hands are everywhere, tugging at my clothes, exploring my skin with a fervor that leaves me gasping. I’m just as eager, my fingers tangling in his hair, tracing the lines of his body like I’m trying to commit them to memory.

I push him back towards the bed, my hands making quick work of his clothes. He looks up at me, his eyes dark with desire, his chest heaving with each ragged breath.

I take a moment to drink in the sight of him, this beautiful man, before lowering myself onto the bed beside him.

I go to stroke his cock, but he puts his hand on mine and guides me further back.

My breath stalls. This is something we’ve never done before. Toby frequently tops me now, but I’ve held off attempting to top him because of my inexperience.

“Are you sure?” My voice is so low it’s barely audible.