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Chapter Twenty-Two

LAIKEN

I wake slowly, my eyes fluttering open. I’m somehow right in the streak of sunlight that peeks in through the crack in my curtains. I couldn’t wake this way again if I tried.

My arms tighten around Lie. His body fits perfectly against mine. Smaller, though not by a ridiculous amount. He’s thinner, lean, and a little willowy. He just has the body structure that lends toward a leaner frame.

Mine isn’t quite so kind. There was a time in my life when I cared more about my muscle mass, but sometime around my thirtieth year on this Earth, my dedication to my body image faded.

Now I describe my body as soft. Not nearly as toned as it once was in my youth.

I’d go so far as to say I could use ten or twenty pounds of muscle mass.

Lie makes me feel hot as fuck though. The way his hands always move over me, how he stares at me, how turned on he gets as soon as I press against his body. Having someone be so attracted to your body alone is a huge confidence boost.

I know it’s more than my body he’s attracted to, though.

My fingers trail down the length of his back, touching on every vertebrae straight down to the crest of his ass. I touch the pronounced globe, skimming over the smooth surface. How round. How perfectly plump.

His skin is so damn soft. I’ve never felt such soft skin. Lotion, he says. He must bathe in it. That’s the only explanation for skin this soft. I could run my hands all over his body for hours, addicted to the soft texture.

His lips curl against my collarbone. Oops. I think I woke him up.

“Good morning,” I murmur.

He grunts. I chuckle. Lie has never been a morning person.

I remember when he was four years old, coming out of his room and grabbing his cup of apple juice from the counter with the grumpiest face.

Without a word, he padded into the living room and plopped onto the floor to stare at cartoons as he sipped his juice.

He remained there until he was in a better, more awake mood.

Nothing has changed except his morning beverage. And maybe his choice in morning entertainment.

Usually, I can get him into a better mood with my cock in that tight ass.

Every night since I knocked on his window, he’s spent the night. Sneaking in after Nason and Miranda go to bed. When he sneaks out, he leaves early to sneak back in. Mornings like this one, he’s told his parents he’s spending the night at Cash’s.

It’s not that he needs to ask permission to leave. His parents don’t treat him like a child. It’s about an alibi, so they don’t look here for him. So there’s no suspicion about him being in my bed.

“I didn’t mean to wake you,” I say quietly, kissing his head.

“Being awakened by fondles isn’t a bad way to wake up,” he says, voice muffled by his lips pressed to my skin.

I grin. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Why are you awake? It’s early.”

“The sun is in my eyes. I feel blinded and like it’s poking me.”

“That’s my dick. Not the sun,” he says, rocking his hips against me, emphasizing that his dick is hard.

My smile climbs. “Sexy, sexy dick. Always hard and ready. I remember being young.”

I can practically hear his eyes roll. His hand slips down and wraps around my hard dick. “What’s your excuse, old man?”

“I need to keep up with my young boyfriend,” I say.

He hums, lazily stroking my dick. I sigh in contentment. I can’t wait to wake up like this every morning. Every single morning until the end of time.

“Until you climbed into my bed, I hadn’t woken up hard this consistently in a while. It’s all you, beautiful. This is what you do to me.”

I love the feel of his smile on my skin. His face turns, rubbing against me softly.

“I’m going to ride you awake,” he says. “I need a shot of cock.”

As if proving him wrong, Lie’s alarm goes off. He whines an exaggerated, “Noooo.”

I chuckle. “You can ride me later,” I promise. “Don’t worry. I’ll still be hard for you tonight.”

He sighs dramatically. “I shouldn’t commit to things in the morning,” Lie grumps as he rolls away. I watch as he pouts, practically stomping out of the bedroom toward the bathroom.

Grinning, I stretch and get to my feet. My pajama pants are still on the ground, so I pull them on, trying to ignore the way my cock throbs.

Knowing my man is naked and wet in the shower.

If I could guarantee that we could be quick, I’d join him.

But he promised Cash he’d go on the boat tour this morning for Cash’s first time running it, and I don’t want to make him late and let his best friend down.

Instead, I grab his water bottle and fill it with ice and water. Then make him some hot tea in a travel mug. Since he’s still in the shower, I whip up a quick breakfast sandwich in the toaster oven and have it wrapped in foil just as he wanders out.

He’s so damn adorable when he’s tired-grumpy. I hand him his drinks and breakfast and kiss his lips. He sighs against my mouth.

“Go,” I tell him. “Cash needs you today.”

Lie nods. “Yes. Okay. See you at the meeting tonight.”

I walk him to the front door. We had a long discussion about whether we should be trying to sneak him in and out. But Lie’s come and gone from my house his entire life. It would cause gossip if we started trying to sneak him in and out. It’s far less suspicious if he just walks out my front door.

And he regularly walks out his own front door too, so it doesn’t look like he’s spending more time with me than he is at home. It’s a strange fine line we’re toeing. Trying to maintain the status quo when we never gave it much thought before.

What constitutes the normal number of visits? Is there a strange or unusual time that he shouldn’t be seen coming or going? I mean, at one in the morning, obviously.

I watch Lie jog down the road toward the ferry until he’s out of sight. Then I head into the spare room. It always had a bed in it but when I painted the walls soft blue gray from bread-crust brown, I haven’t put anything back into the room except the desk and chair.

I’m not sure I know what I want the room to be. I’m not sure if I want it to be a spare bedroom anymore. It’s not like I’ve ever had someone spend the night. Except Lie. Over the years, he’s loved having sleepovers. I’ve had him and Cash too and listened to them laugh and listen to music all night.

But it’s been several years since the last time Lie spent the night. I regret not making sure we kept that tradition up. We could probably pull off a legitimate sleepover if we had.

As I stare at the desk, I decide that it no longer fits. I take a picture of it and then the bed that I have stacked against the wall in the closet and submit them to the residential website listings for used furniture.

The dresser I got rid of years ago. There’d been only a bed and a small desk for a while now. I’m ready for something new, though. I’m just not sure what.

After a few more minutes of finding no inspiration at all, I head into my bedroom to grab my laptop and notebook.

I’m totally old school and still like to hand write notes.

Especially when I’m plotting. I need to get the last dozen episodes of King Arthur’s Camelot finished, so I don’t have to think about it for the year.

Then maybe I’ll work on my current work in progress, a novella that I’m currently calling Breedable. Did I perhaps fashion Iri after Lie? Yes. Considering I began this project right after Lie got home from college last winter, the resemblance between Iri and Lie is… obvious.

Then there’s the fact that I named the breeder Luken… Could I make it any more obvious that I was finding a name close to mine without it being obviously mine?

Clearly, this obsession with Lie was also a bit subconscious since I didn’t name them with any thought behind them, nor did I truly write this story with any intent. They were words that flowed for no reason at all. A passion project. Something to entertain my muse.

When I realized what I’d done, I adjusted a lot of the storyline to give the couple a pack in the end. Just to erase any parallels between Iri and Luken with me and Lie. Besides, it made sense with the storyline. Iri and Luken were always meant to have their pack.

I stare at the screen with my cursor blinking after the previous chapter I wrote. My mind is completely blank. My muse is not talking. After minutes pass and nothing new comes to me, I swap projects and go to King Arthur only to find the same issue.

Okay. Maybe I need to find something else to occupy my time. Like finding inspiration for my spare room. Perhaps it’s time for an actual office instead of sitting at my kitchen counter or on the couch. On the other hand, I also like that I can be anywhere and write.

I spend some time searching for ideas. Making notes on the back of my notebook cover. Bookshelves. A real desk. Maybe a comfortable chair.

I’m distracted from concentrating on my spare room when an ad for an adult novelty store pops up.

When I click the link, it’s not only adult toys but also random shit.

A penis lamp. A comforter with abstract penis designs within the tropical design.

Tons of erotic art and all kinds of little penis figures.

I bookmark the site for Lie, knowing he’ll love it. Then I continue browsing the site. Lie’s birthday is coming at the end of the month. Maybe I can find something that he’ll love.

Which means I need to get him two things because Miranda won’t appreciate the penis gift and will feel it’s inappropriate. Never mind that it’s something Lie will love. I have a feeling the extent of his collection far exceeds what I know about.

I think he’ll love it if I add to his erection collection. It’ll mean a lot to him to know I support whatever he finds interesting.

I’m not sure if Nason would question a dick gift.

He’ll either find it hilarious, knowing that Lie has a collection of cock things hidden in his room, or he’ll find it out of line because Lie is his son.

I’m inclined to believe that Nason won’t care.

He’ll find it funny. He finds all of Lie’s little dick creatures and collection amusing.

You know what? I don’t want to risk it. I’m not upset in the least about purchasing Lie two gifts for his birthday. One that his parents won’t question, and one that’s between us. Hmm. Maybe I can do something more than that.

This is the first birthday we’re together for. His first as my boyfriend.

Okay. I need something memorable. Adventurous. Something semi-private. Surrounded by anonymous people who don’t know us from Joe No-Name is fine, but we need to limit the number of people who could recognize us. Preferably, that number should be zero.

We also need to be somewhere without security cameras, which is actually a difficult task on the guest islands. Kala is all about security and safety.

There are a billion excursions. I just need to find the right one. One that’s romantic, private, and maybe sexy.

I become absorbed in ping-ponging between researching ideas for my spare room, writing when inspiration strikes, and shopping/planning for Lie’s birthday. Time passes quickly, and I’m startled when Nason walks in the kitchen door.

He laughs at the way I look at him. “Watching porn?” he asks.

I roll my eyes. He’s the sole person who knows I’m LIHW, so I don’t bother to close the King Arthur tabs open on my screen. “No. Wanting to crank out the last few episodes of KAC for the year, so I don’t have to worry about it again for a few months.”

“I’m still surprised no one has figured you out,” he says, standing over me.

“You’re telling me. It’s literally my initials.”

“To be fair, not many people walk around introducing themselves with their middle names, Laiken Isaak.”

I wave my head from side to side. “Splitting the syllables of my last name helps too. I still think if someone thought about it long enough, they’d figure it out.”

“Like Lie?” Nason asks. The mention of Lie always makes my heart jump now. Like he’s casually going to drop the fact he knows I’m fucking his son.

“Yep. If anyone is going to figure out the initials, it’ll be Lie. Especially since he loves the shorts. I’ve heard him complain on more than one occasion that they’re so short and clean.” Nason laughs.

I nod absently. “I’ve thought about making the dirty moments available somewhere, but I’m not sure how to go about that. Kind of like an extended edition of the serial, you know?”

“You have enough material for that?”

“Not written, but it wouldn’t take much to go back to the beginning and crank out the dirty parts that I kept to myself. But then what? How do I keep it anonymous? Where do I post them?”

“I don’t know, but we can brainstorm if you want to. I’m thinking you can have a little side hustle and bring in the money. You have the entire island hooked, and if you publish online somewhere, you can open it to a wider audience and bring in some coin.”

“Mmm,” I hum. “Maybe. I do this for fun, but yeah, I won’t say no to more money.”

Nason snorts. “Everyone wants more money. But that’s for another day. We need to head to the meeting. You ready?”

“Ah, yes. I’m dying to see who’s running these meetings now.” I shut my laptop and leave it on the couch with my notebook.

“I’m dying to see if someone is going to address the Taylor situation and what they’re going to say about it.”

“Considering Taylor is part of the Calloway family, I can only imagine. I almost feel bad for him.”

“Almost,” Nason agrees. “When the untouchable get too confident, it’s healthy for everyone to see them taken down a peg. A lesson for them and for those who follow. Not everything lasts forever.”

I know the last words weren’t meant for me, but I feel them like a punch in my gut.