Page 86 of The Unlikely Pair

I feel a puff of air against my skin because, yes, it appears Harry Matheson is laughing as he pulls down my trousers.

“Please don’t tell me I have to coach you through what to do with your mouth and tongue like I did with whistling,” I say.

Harry’s response is to take my cock into his mouth and twirl his tongue around in a way that almost makes me go cross-eyed.

“Okay, so definitely a better technique than your whistling,” I manage to gasp.

Harry pulls off me long enough to give me a grin.

I get a brief moment of “What the fuck?” because Harry Matheson, with his hair sticking at all kinds of odd angles, is grinning at me, his lips already wet and swollen from sucking my cock.

It’s safe to say this definitely wasn’t how I imagined life playing out a few weeks ago.

“At least with your mouth occupied, you’re not spewing out right-wing nonsense,” I say. “In fact, this is really just me taking one for the planet. You know how they say that a butterfly flapping its wings in Iceland can cause a typhoon in China? Who knows what chaos Tory bullshit spouted in the Scandinavian wilderness could do to the world’s weather system?”

He sits back on his heels, tilting his head to the side as he regards me. “I’m so impressed you’ve managed to portray being on the receiving end of oral action as an altruistic act,” he says.

“Well, I am a politician. I can twist anything.”

His laugh unsettles me. Because this is almost…fun.

But all the jokes I could make about the Conservatives in bed leave my head as Harry takes me back into his mouth and proves his ability to give blowjobs is infinitely better than his whistling technique.

And as much as I want to laugh and continue to throw out clever quips, I can’t.

Because, right now, with Harry’s talented mouth and skillful tongue, the world outside simply doesn’t exist. It’s just me, him, and this moment where he’s making me feel amazing.

After Harry has sufficiently proven his technique so I can never doubt the coordination of his mouth and tongue again, it’s my turn to blow his mind.

Then we lie tangled together, our breathing slowly returning to normal. The sun dapples through the trees, casting a warm, golden glow on our skin. I idly trace patterns on Harry’s chest with my fingertips. In this moment, everything feels peaceful, almost perfect.

“Live for the moment,” I whisper.

“What’s that?”

“I don’t know, it’s just something I’ve been thinking about out here. We spend so much time planning for the future, don’t we?” I shift, then settle myself back on his chest. “But being out here, our future is so uncertain. So I’m trying to just enjoy every moment I do get.”

“Why do I get the idea you’re going to use that as an excuse for the amount of sex we’re going to have?” he asks.

“Well, sex is definitely a way to enjoy the moment.” I nuzzle into his neck.

Harry puts his arms around me, his hands splaying across the small of my back, his chin resting on my head. He absently traces the curve of my spine with his fingertips. It’s a simple, unconscious action, and I try not to read too much into it.

It’s part of my strategy for survival. I can’t think too far ahead, or I’ll start to freak out. I close my eyes and focus on the sensation of Harry’s skin against mine, the steady thrum of his heartbeat underneath my ear, and the peaceful stillness of the forest around us. It grounds me in the present moment.

That’s all I’m living for right now.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Harry

It’s another day waking up in Toby’s arms.

We alternate the role of big spoon, depending on who’s keeping watch at night.

I can’t deny that I relish the feeling of Toby in my arms. But equally, I enjoy having his arms around me too. It’s part of me I’ve suppressed for so long, and it seems utterly absurd that the person with whom I’m experiencing this revelation is none other than Toby Webley.

I stretch and extricate myself from his grasp. Toby stirs and then resettles into the nest of pine needles and our coats, his mouth pulled into the little smile he always seems to start the day with.