Page 93 of Bully Beatdown
“Does the bear save the day?”
“Yes, he saves his boy. He’s the boy’s hero.” Angel glanced at me and the rosy tint to his face made me want to eat him up. “It’s not a very original story. There’s a problem. There’s a hero. There’s an ending.”
“I already read it. Your artwork is beautiful. It’s not the standard superhero story, and I noticed some elements of us in it. I love it. The reviews online when I checked were amazing.” I gave his ass another good squeeze. “You need to do the next one. People want more.”
Angel ducked his head and hid his face against my neck, but I’d seen that he was smiling. “It’s barely the start of the story. I don’t even have an end for the arc in mind yet.”
Humming, I set down the comic on the table again so that I could hug him. “That’s good. That means I get to imagine all our future adventures.”
“You’re pretty sure you’re Bear.” He tilted his chin and narrowed his eyes, and the gleam of mischief in them had me kissing him. We made out for a while like no one else existed in the world, and I lost myself in the taste of him—sweet coconut—which let me know he’d raided the desserts from the freezer inside already.
I pulled back and tapped his nose. “That little punk is definitely you.”
“Are our adventures going to be exciting?” Angel asked, a wistful note in his tone.
I tilted my forehead against his and couldn’t get over how much he’d changed since I met him. He’d been going to therapy all this time, and every week he seemed to shed more of his shyness. He’d even been making hints that he might like to fuck me, and I loved the confidence blooming in him. “Yes, of course.”
“And full of love?”
“Yes, of course.”
He squirmed on top of me. “And smutty, smutty sex?”
“You bet.”
He sighed and leaned his cheek against my chest. “I already did book two, but it needs to be cleaned up some before I submit it to the editor. I’ll let you see it when we get home, if you want.”
My heart flooded with happiness and I kissed the top of his head. “Why didn’t you let me see this one before you sent it out? Why did you make me sneak around and ask Kyle, of all people, where to buy it?”
He smiled and hid his face. “I don’t know.”
“Will Bear marry Boy at the end of the story?”
“He’s a real bear.”
I jiggled him.
“Yes.” He laughed. “Fine.”
“And how many books is that away?”
He hesitated. “At least ten.”
“I’ll marry my little brother much sooner than that. I’m so proud of you.” I stroked my hand along his spine, and even though we were both hard, it was nice to relax in the sun and simply enjoy each other.
“Love you, Casey bear.”
“Love you, cutie.”
“God, don’t you two ever stop sucking face?” Creed asked as he swaggered back out on deck. He wore a black tank top and swimming shorts that didn’t hide his semi. He tapped his sunglasses farther up his nose. Merit was nowhere in sight, and I rolled my eyes at him. I’d have to ask what this particular argument had been about later. They were the only two people I knew who could find something to fight about on a vacation where our only goals were to tan and drink.
Angel snickered and moved around, closing his legs, as Creed plopped down into an empty chair nearby. I realized Angel was trying to hide the fact that we were both hard by lying on me, but the way Creed lowered his sunglasses and smiled, I knew it was a lost cause. It didn’t matter anyway. The sultry air of Tahiti begged for sex.
On the island side of our anchorage, music started up, an instrumental version of “Fools Rush In,” probably from another beach wedding. They went on nearly all day long here. The sun sank slowly toward the glassy waves. Angel began to hum along.
I’d never been happier.
