đĽ After Closing đĽ
An Exclusive Bonus Scene from After Hours
Thank You for Reading! đŽ
You made it to the bonus contentâwhich means you’ve experienced Jason and Marco’s journey from strangers to forever. Thank you for giving their story a chance.
This exclusive scene is our gift to dedicated readers like you. It’s too spicy for Amazon, so you’ll only find it here.
⨠BONUS SCENE: After Closing â¨
An After Hours Exclusive
This scene takes place six months after the epilogue.
â ď¸ Content Warning: Extremely explicit sexual content. This scene is intended for readers 18+ who have finished the main novel.
The apartment was quiet when Marco got home.
Not their old apartmentâthe new one, the one they’d found together three months ago. Two bedrooms (one converted to an office), a balcony that faced the sunset, and a kitchen big enough that they could actually cook together without elbowing each other in the ribs.
It was theirs. Really, truly theirs.
Marco dropped his keys in the bowl by the doorâa habit he’d picked up from Jason, one of a thousand small ways they’d shaped each other over the past six monthsâand listened. The shower was running. Which meant Jason had beaten him home, which meantâ
A slow smile spread across Marco’s face.
He toed off his shoes and padded toward the bedroom, shedding his jacket as he went. The bathroom door was cracked, steam curling into the hallway, and Marco could see Jason’s silhouette through the frosted glass of the shower door.
Six months, and the sight still made his mouth go dry.
He stripped off his shirt, then his pants, leaving a trail of clothes behind him. By the time he reached the bathroom, he was down to nothing, his skin prickling with anticipation.
He didn’t announce himself. Just slid the shower door open and stepped inside.
Jason turned, water streaming down his face, and his expression shifted from surprise to heat in the space of a heartbeat.
"You’re home early," he said.
"Pat let me go. Said I’d been working too hard." Marco stepped closer, into the spray, letting the hot water wash over them both. "She doesn’t know what hard work looks like."
"No?"
"No." Marco’s hands found Jason’s hips, pulling their bodies together. "But I’m about to show you."
Jason’s laugh was low, rough. "That was terrible."
"You love it."
"I love you. The jokes, I tolerate."
"Tolerating is just love with standards."
"That doesn’t even make sense."
"Shut up and kiss me."
Jason shut up and kissed him.
Six months had taught Marco a lot about Jason Chen.
He’d learned that Jason was ticklish behind his left knee but not his right. That he made a specific soundâhalf gasp, half groanâwhen Marco kissed the spot just below his ear. That he liked to be in control until he didn’t, until the pleasure built high enough that he surrendered entirely, let Marco take over, trusted him with everything.
Marco had learned how to take him apart. Slowly, methodically, with the same patience Jason had taught him in those early days when everything was new and terrifying.
Now, in their shower, with the water turning their skin slick and sensitive, Marco put that knowledge to use.
He kissed Jason deep and slow, tongue sliding against tongue, tasting him. His hands roamedâshoulders, chest, the hard planes of his stomach. Lower, until his fingers wrapped around the evidence of Jason’s interest and squeezed gently.
Jason groaned into his mouth.
"Bed," Marco murmured.
"Here."
"Here’s good." Marco stroked, slow and deliberate, watching Jason’s face. "But I want to take my time. And if I take my time here, the water’s going to go cold."
"Good point." Jason’s voice was strained. "Bed."
They stumbled out of the shower, barely pausing to turn off the water, definitely not pausing to dry off. Marco pushed Jason toward the bedroom, kissing him between steps, hands refusing to stop their exploration.
They hit the bed in a tangle of wet limbs, and Marco pinned Jason beneath him, looking down at the man he loved.
Jason’s hair was plastered to his forehead, droplets of water clinging to his eyelashes. His chest was heaving, his pupils blown wide, his whole body taut with need.
"You’re staring," Jason said.
"You’re worth staring at."
"You’ve used that line before."
"It keeps being true." Marco dipped his head, pressed a kiss to Jason’s sternum. "I’m going to take you apart now. Any objections?"
"None whatsoever."
"Good."
Marco worked his way down Jason’s body.
He took his timeâkissing, licking, biting gently at the spots he knew drove Jason crazy. The hollow of his throat. The curve of his ribs. The sharp jut of his hipbone. By the time Marco reached his destination, Jason was trembling, his hands fisted in the sheets, every muscle drawn tight.
"Marcoâ"
"I’ve got you."
He took Jason in his mouth, and the sound Jason made was worth every second of anticipation.
This was Marco’s favorite part.
Not the act itselfâthough he loved that too, loved the weight of Jason on his tongue, the taste of him, the way his hips jerked involuntarily when Marco did something particularly good. But what he loved most was the surrender. The way Jason let go of all his control, all his walls, all the armor he’d worn for so many years.
In these moments, Jason was completely open. Completely vulnerable. Completely his.
Marco worked him slowly, drawing out the pleasure, backing off whenever Jason got too close. He wanted this to last. Wanted to prove, again and still, that Jason was worth savoring.
"Please," Jason gasped. "Marco, pleaseâ"
"Please what?"
"I needâ"
"Tell me what you need."
"You. I need you. Inside me. Now."
Marco’s self-control cracked.
He pulled off, scrambled for the nightstand, grabbed what they needed. Jason watched him with dark, desperate eyes, and when Marco finally pressed inside himâslow, so slow, giving him time to adjustâthe sound Jason made was something between a sob and a prayer.
"Okay?" Marco managed.
"More than okay. Move. Please, move."
Marco moved.
There was nothing in the world like this.
The heat of Jason around him, the grip of his hands on Marco’s shoulders, the way their bodies moved together in a rhythm they’d perfected over months of practice. Marco lost himself in itâin the pleasure, yes, but also in the intimacy. The trust. The knowledge that this man, this beautiful, guarded, complicated man, had chosen to let Marco see him like this.
"I love you," Marco said, the words punched out of him between thrusts. "I love you so much."
"I love you too." Jason pulled him down for a kiss, messy and uncoordinated. "Don’t stop. Don’t ever stop."
"Never."
Marco reached between them, wrapped his hand around Jason, stroked in time with his movements. The effect was immediateâJason’s back arched, his breath stuttering, his whole body tensing.
"MarcoâI’m going toâ"
"Do it. Let go. I’ve got you."
Jason came with a cry that echoed off the walls, his body clenching around Marco in waves. The sensation tipped Marco over the edge, and he followed seconds later, burying himself deep, every nerve ending on fire.
Afterward, they lay tangled together in the wreckage of the sheets.
Marco’s head was on Jason’s chest, rising and falling with each breath. Jason’s fingers traced lazy patterns on Marco’s shoulder, the touch absent and affectionate.
"We ruined the sheets," Jason said eventually.
"They’ll wash."
"We’re still wet from the shower."
"We’ll dry."
"The mattress is probablyâ"
"Jason." Marco lifted his head, smiling. "Stop trying to solve problems. Just… be here. With me."
Jason was quiet for a moment. Then his expression softened into something so tender it made Marco’s chest ache.
"I am here," he said. "With you. Always."
"Promise?"
"Promise." Jason pressed a kiss to his forehead. "You’re stuck with me, Reyes. For good."
"Funny. I was about to say the same thing." Marco settled back against his chest. "For good."
They lay in comfortable silence, the evening light fading to dusk around them. Somewhere outside, the world kept turningâthe mall closing down for the night, the parking lots emptying, the cameras cycling through their endless rounds.
But here, in their apartment, in their bed, there was just this: two people who had found each other against all odds, building a life one day at a time.
Marco closed his eyes and let himself drift.
He was home.
They both were.
The End
(For real this time.)
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Don’t miss the next book in the series:
Ryan Brooks will have to confront everything he’s been running fromâand Evan Cole will have to decide if he’s willing to risk his heart on someone who might never be ready to catch it.