🌲 Cedar & Ink Bonus Content ✒️

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You found it! This is the exclusive bonus content hub for Cedar & Ink. As a huge thank you for reading, we’ve put together some extra material that you won’t find anywhere else.

Below you’ll find an exclusive bonus scene set three months after Julian and Caleb’s wedding. We hope you enjoy this steamy snow day with your favorite couple!

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✨ EXCLUSIVE BONUS SCENE ✨

Three Months After the Wedding

⚠️ This bonus content contains explicit sexual content intended for mature readers only.

The first rule of owning a cabin in Willowbend, Vermont, was that the weather report was merely a suggestion. The weatherman had predicted “light flurries.”

Julian Thorne stood at the kitchen window, coffee mug in hand, and watched as “light flurries” buried his Subaru up to the wheel wells. It was a complete whiteout. The kind of snow that silenced the world, turning the forest into a cathedral of white lace and heavy pine boughs.

“Well,” a rough voice murmured from behind him. “Guess you’re not making it to the deposition today.”

Julian turned. Caleb stood in the kitchen doorway, leaning against the jamb. He was wearing grey sweatpants that hung low on his hips and absolutely nothing else. His hair was messy from sleep, his beard scruffy, and he looked so thoroughly edible that Julian forgot about the snow entirely.

“The roads are closed?” Julian asked, though his eyes were tracing the line of hair that trailed from Caleb’s navel into his waistband.

“Ranger station just radioed. Route 14 is a parking lot. Town plow is stuck in a ditch near Miller’s Pond.” Caleb grinned, a slow, lazy expression that made Julian’s breath hitch. “We’re snowed in, Counselor.”

Julian took a sip of coffee to hide his smile. “Tragic.”

“Devastating.” Caleb crossed the kitchen in three long strides. He took the mug from Julian’s hand, set it on the counter, and crowded into Julian’s personal space. He smelled like sleep and warm skin and cedar. “Whatever will we do with a whole day off?”

“I have briefs to write,” Julian said, though he made no move to step away. “And we were supposed to install the shelves in the mudroom.”

“Briefs can wait. Shelves can wait.” Caleb’s hands settled on Julian’s waist, thumbs hooking into the belt loops of his jeans. “I, however, cannot wait.”

“Is that so?”

“Mmm.” Caleb lowered his head, pressing a kiss to the sensitive spot just below Julian’s ear. “I woke up and you were gone. It was very rude.”

“I was getting coffee. It’s seven AM.”

“Too early.” Caleb’s lips moved down Julian’s neck, teeth grazing the pulse point. “Come back to bed.”

Julian shivered, his hands coming up to rest on Caleb’s broad shoulders. The muscles shifted under his palms, solid and warm. “I’m already dressed. I’m drinking coffee. I am a productive member of society.”

“You’re a tease,” Caleb murmured against his skin. His hands slid around to Julian’s lower back, pulling him flush against the front of his sweatpants.

There was no mistaking the evidence of Caleb’s morning. He was hard, heavy, and pressing insistently against Julian’s thigh.

Julian let out a shaky breath. The productivity argument was losing ground rapidly.

“Scout needs to go out,” Julian tried, a last-ditch effort at responsibility.

As if on cue, the German Shepherd in question lifted his head from his bed by the woodstove, let out a long, dramatic sigh, and put his head back down.

“Scout is smarter than you,” Caleb said. “He knows it’s negative ten degrees out there. He’s holding it.”

Caleb pulled back just enough to look Julian in the eye. His hazel eyes were dark, dilated. “The shower,” he said.

Julian blinked. “The shower?”

“We spent three weeks building that bathroom,” Caleb said. “Installing the tile. Arguments about the grout color. Remember the test run?”

“I remember we almost flooded the basement.”

“We fixed the seal.” Caleb’s hand slid down, cupping Julian’s ass through his jeans, squeezing firm and possessive. “I want to break it in properly. No rush. No work. Just steam and you and me.”

The image hit Julian with the force of a physical blow—hot water, steam fogging the glass, Caleb’s wet skin against his.

“Okay,” Julian whispered.

Caleb didn’t need to be told twice. He scooped Julian up—literally swept him off his feet, causing Julian to let out a startled laugh—and carried him toward the stairs.

“I can walk, you caveman,” Julian protested, though he wrapped his legs around Caleb’s waist instinctively.

“Faster this way.”

They made it to the bathroom in record time. It was the room they were proudest of—slate grey tiles, a massive rainfall showerhead, a vanity Caleb had built from reclaimed barn wood. It was beautiful.

Caleb set Julian down on the vanity counter and stepped between his knees. He didn’t turn the water on yet. Instead, he reached for the hem of Julian’s t-shirt.

“Arms up.”

Julian obeyed. The shirt went onto the floor. Caleb’s hands immediately replaced the fabric, warm and rough against Julian’s bare chest. He traced the line of Julian’s ribs, his thumbs brushing over Julian’s nipples, making them harden instantly in the cool air.

“Beautiful,” Caleb murmured. He leaned in, kissing Julian’s chest, his mouth hot and wet.

Julian’s head fell back. He tangled his fingers in Caleb’s hair. “Caleb…”

“I’ve got you.”

Caleb made quick work of Julian’s jeans, tossing them aside. Then his boxer briefs. When Julian was finally naked, sitting on the cool granite of the vanity, Caleb stepped back to look at him.

The look in Caleb’s eyes—pure, unadulterated worship mixed with raw hunger—made Julian feel powerful and vulnerable all at once. This was the man who had known him at eighteen, who had welcomed him back at thirty, who had put a ring on his finger and promised him forever.

“Join me,” Julian whispered.

Caleb shoved his sweatpants down and kicked them away. He was fully erect, thick and heavy, veins prominent against the skin. Julian’s mouth went dry.

Caleb turned and twisted the handle of the shower. The pipes groaned—old plumbing never fully lost its character—and then water hissed out. He waited a moment, testing the temperature, before pulling the glass door open.

“In you go.”

The shower was spacious, but the moment the glass door clicked shut, the world narrowed to just the two of them. Steam began to rise immediately, wrapping them in a warm, white fog.

Julian stepped under the spray, groaning as the hot water hit his back. It eased the tension he hadn’t realized he was carrying.

Caleb stepped in behind him. His chest pressed against Julian’s back, wrapping his arms around Julian’s waist. He buried his face in the crook of Julian’s neck, the water cascading over both of them.

“This okay?” Caleb asked, his voice low in Julian’s ear.

“Perfect.”

Caleb reached for the soap—a bar of the sandalwood blend Aiden sold at the shop. He lathered his hands and began to wash Julian, slow, deliberate strokes. Across his chest, down his stomach, over his hips.

It wasn’t just washing. It was claiming.

Julian leaned back against Caleb, closing his eyes. The friction of Caleb’s chest hair against his smooth back, the heat of the water, the slide of soapy hands—it was overwhelming.

“Relax,” Caleb whispered. He moved one hand lower, slipping between Julian’s thighs.

Julian gasped, his knees buckling slightly. Caleb held him up effortlessly, his other arm an iron band across Julian’s chest.

“Caleb, please.”

“Please what?” Caleb teased, his fingers teasing the rim of Julian’s entrance.

“You know what.”

Caleb didn’t tease for long. He poured a generous amount of oil into his hand—he’d stashed a bottle on the shower shelf weeks ago, clearly planning for this—and began to prep Julian.

One finger, then two. Julian threw his head back against Caleb’s shoulder, a whimper escaping his throat. The heat of the water and the slickness of the oil made everything heightened.

“You’re so tight,” Caleb growled, biting lightly at Julian’s shoulder. “Relax for me, Jules. Let me in.”

“I’m trying,” Julian panted. “You’re just… big.”

Caleb chuckled, a vibration that went straight to Julian’s core. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

He added a third finger, stretching Julian slowly, patiently. That was the thing about Caleb—he was a force of nature, rugged and strong, but with Julian, he was always careful. He treated Julian like something precious, even when he was about to wreck him.

When Caleb deemed him ready, he withdrew his hand. He turned Julian around, pressing him back against the cool tile wall.

“Wrap your legs around me,” Caleb ordered.

Julian obeyed, lifting his legs to hook around Caleb’s waist. Caleb gripped Julian’s thighs, lifting him slightly, positioning him.

Then, with one smooth, powerful thrust, he pushed inside.

“God,” Julian cried out, his head thumping back against the tile.

It was a tight fit, filling him completely. The sensation of being impaled, suspended against the wall, held up entirely by Caleb’s strength, was intoxicating.

Caleb groaned, his forehead resting against Julian’s. He held still for a moment, letting them both adjust. “You okay?”

“Move,” Julian begged. “Caleb, move.”

Caleb moved.

He withdrew almost completely, then drove back in, snapping his hips. The water sprayed around them, splashing against the glass, creating a chaotic rhythm that matched the pounding of Julian’s heart.

Slap. Thrust. Gasp.

“Look at me,” Caleb commanded.

Julian forced his eyes open. The steam had fogged the glass walls, isolating them in a white cocoon. Caleb’s face was wet, his eyelashes clumped together, his expression fierce and open.

“I love you,” Caleb said, driving deep. “I love you so much it scares me.”

“Don’t be scared,” Julian gasped, clutching Caleb’s shoulders, his nails digging in. “I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere.”

“Damn right you’re not.”

Caleb picked up the pace, his thrusts becoming harder, faster. He hit that sweet spot inside Julian—the prostate—again and again, with unerring accuracy.

Julian’s world dissolved into white light and sensation. He couldn’t think. He couldn’t breathe. There was only the heat of the water, the slap of skin against skin, and Caleb.

Always Caleb.

“Caleb, I’m close,” Julian choked out.

“Let go,” Caleb growled. “Come for me, baby. Come on.”

He ground his hips, hitting that spot one last, devastating time.

Julian came with a shout, his body bowing off the wall, pleasure radiating through him in electric waves. He clamped down around Caleb, pulsing hard.

That was enough to send Caleb over the edge. He gave three more short, brutal thrusts and then froze, burying his face in Julian’s neck with a guttural roar as he emptied himself inside.

They stayed like that for a long time—Julian pinned to the wall, Caleb holding him up, both of them breathing raggedly in the steam-filled shower.

Eventually, the water started to run lukewarm.

Caleb kissed Julian’s forehead, then his nose, then his lips. “We used all the hot water.”

“Worth it,” Julian murmured, his legs sliding down to find the floor. He felt wobbly, boneless.

“Careful.” Caleb kept a steadying hand on Julian’s waist. “Don’t slip.”

They turned off the water and stepped out onto the bathmat. Caleb grabbed a towel and began to dry Julian off with the same care he’d used to wash him.

“You realize,” Julian said, leaning into the towel, “that we didn’t actually get clean. We just got… stickier.”

Caleb grinned, that boyish, lopsided smile that Julian had loved since he was sixteen. “Guess we’ll have to take a bath later. Tonight.”

“Is that a promise?”

“That’s a guarantee.”

They wandered back to the bedroom, naked and damp and content. The snow was still falling outside the window, burying Willowbend in white.

Julian looked at the window, then at the bed where Scout had predictably claimed the center spot, then at his husband.

“I’m definitely not making it to the deposition,” Julian said.

Caleb tackled him onto the bed, laughing. “Best snow day ever.”

Julian let himself be pinned to the mattress, listening to the wind howl outside and the steady beat of Caleb’s heart against his own, and knew he wouldn’t trade this for all the corner offices in Boston.

“Yeah,” Julian agreed, pulling Caleb down for another kiss. “Best snow day ever.”

💖 Thank You for Reading!

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