“Asher, you’re missing it.”
A smile bloomed across Asher’s face, and his eyes looked golden in the growing light. “No, I don’t think I am.”
This time when Asher tugged Simon’s scarf down, it wasn’t for a quick kiss. He tilted Simon’s head back and licked into his mouth, holding him close enough that Simon couldn’t even feel the cold air, could only feel Asher’s warmth surrounding him.
Feelings, Simon thought. And then, Oh.
He opened his mouth to Asher’s kiss, as daylight covered the landscape around them and lit up the entire world.
I think I’m falling in love with him. The panic that he expected to feel from that revelation never came. Instead, heat flooded Simon’s body, as though the distant rays of the sun were making the entire world warmer. He pushed up on his toes, pouring his passion and his joy into the kiss, and Asher wrapped an arm around his waist to hold him there.
When Simon finally pulled away, the entire world looked different.
“Asher,” he began.
“Will you come back to my room with me?” Asher ducked his head, biting his lip.
Simon wanted nothing more than to kiss him again, and again, until the sun had sunk back beneath the horizon for the day.
“Yeah,” he said. “I’d really like that.”
With one last glance at the sunrise, Simon and Asher turned to head back to the truck. Asher held his hand the entire way, tangling their fingers together once the cab warmed up enough to take off gloves and mittens. Every chance he’d have, Asher would glance over and meet Simon’s eyes, then smile.
And then they were back in Asher’s dorm room, stripping off their cold weather gear in between pressing kisses to chilled skin. Simon rubbed his thumbs over Asher’s cheekbones before following the path with his lips, and Asher cupped both of Simon’s hands between his own, kissing the fingertips.
“That was amazing,” Asher said.
“It’s my favorite part about winter down here.”
Asher smiled shyly. “I wasn’t talking about the sunrise.”
Simon had never been with anyone like Asher, someone who flirted so sweetly, who was adorable and nerdy and not a little awkward, but who wore every emotion on his sleeve. He blushed, embarrassed and charmed.
“I’ve seen three sunrises now, and this one was by far my favorite,” he said. “Because I got to see it with you.”
Asher kissed him again, then took Simon’s hand and led him to the bed.
If Simon had enjoyed his fair share of fantasies about what Asher would be like in bed, he knew by now that the reality was drastically different. But the Asher that loomed over him now was untamed, overflowing with passion. He used his strength to push Simon down onto the mattress and pin him there, straddling Simon’s waist with massive thighs that strained his leggings, showing off toned muscles.
Simon shivered even as heat rushed through him and his cock started to harden.
“When I was in Iceland studying the auroras there,” Asher said, “they had a tradition to celebrate the first sunrise after the long winter with pancakes. But since we don’t have pancakes, and we’re not in Iceland, I thought maybe we could celebrate a different way.”
Asher’s way apparently involved skin, and lips and teeth and low, throaty moans that echoed in the dorm room. He stripped them both without any teasing, letting their base layers fall to the floor, forgotten, so he could tangle their tongues together and run his hands over every inch of Simon’s exposed body that he could reach.
Sex between them was nothing new, but there was a different tone to it today. Asher had opened his curtains that morning, and while the sun had already set once again—though tomorrow it would stay up for longer than an hour, and the day after even longer, until Mainbody when it was above the horizon 24/7—the room was flooded with soft golden light.
It made everything feel magical.
And Asher was brimming with energy, visibly quivering with it. His eyes were bright, and his fingers skipped across Simon’s chest, his stomach and sides, his thighs and down to his knees. A caress here, a teasing hint of nails there. Simon returned the favor, getting one hand around the back of Asher’s neck and twining his fingers in the short hairs there, tugging playfully while his other hand wrapped around Asher’s cock, stroking loosely.
“Yeah, Simon.” Asher’s breath hitched as he spoke.
Simon kissed him; or, rather, Simon pressed their lips together and then groaned with Asher immediately took control of the kiss, licking into Simon’s mouth until they were both panting.
“Asher,” Simon whispered when they finally parted. “Please.”
Asher didn’t have to ask what Simon wanted. He shook, a full-body shudder that Simon could feel reverberate through him, and nodded.
Simon keened a little when Asher pulled away, mourning the loss. But the view made up for it, Asher’s powerful form moving off of the bed, muscles flexing as he walked, naked with pale skin lit up golden in the twilight, across the room. When he returned a minute later, it was with condoms and lube in his hand. He set them on the bed next to Simon’s hip, and there was a hint of hesitation in his eyes when he met Simon’s gaze.
“C’mere,” Simon said, holding a hand out to pull Asher back to him.
With a soft sound, Asher went, crawling back onto the bed and over Simon, curling around him so they could kiss again. Simon kissed him, slow and soft, until Asher was relaxed once more.
“If you don’t want to do this,” he said, lips brushing along the soft skin beneath Asher’s ear, “we don’t have to.”
Asher exhaled. “I want to.” He turned his head, so they were forehead to forehead, sharing the same breath. “I want this so much.”
Simon could hear the worry in his voice, though, and the unspoken words. I want this too much. “Me too,” he said, and smiled when the last hint of tension vanished from Asher’s body.
Things quickly turned hazy, heat building between them as Asher’s confidence returned. Their kisses grew needier, more desperate. Asher worked his hands across Simon’s body with a level of intimacy that Simon had never experienced with a partner before. He knew exactly where to press to elicit a gasp or moan, and what spots to linger over to make Simon shake beneath him.
He knows me. And again that word teased at the back of his mind. He loves me.
Asher hadn’t said the word, and Simon wasn’t sure if he was ready to say them back yet, but Asher’s actions spoke loudly enough for both of them. He didn’t treat Simon like something fragile, but he treasured him all the same. Simon caught Asher’s gaze, held it, and didn’t look away.
“Please,” Simon begged.
He ran his hands down Asher’s arms, lingering over the thick muscles of his biceps, the soft skin on the inside of Asher’s elbow, the bones of his wrists, before finding Asher’s hands where they were resting on the sheets to either side of Simon, holding himself up.
“Please,” Simon said again.
Asher swallowed, throat working as his eyes fluttered shut before opening again. “Yeah.”
Simon didn’t pull his gaze away from Asher’s face, but he could feel the flex of Asher’s muscles as he sought out the bottle of lube, could hear the click of the tube opening. Then Asher’s hand was wrapping around Simon’s cock, slick and hot and perfectly tight. Asher didn’t look away either, their eyes locked as he jacked Simon a few times, until finally Simon had to break their connection as his eyes fell shut, hips rising off the mattress to push into Asher’s grip.
He didn’t cry out when Asher’s hand pulled away, though a disappointed moan did escape him. But then Asher’s hand was on him again, and he was settling between Simon’s legs, pushing his thighs apart so he could run his fingers along the crease of Simon’s groin, then further down.
The first press of Asher’s finger against his hole was perfection. Asher only hesitated for a second before slipping the digit inside. Simon groaned, exhaling and relaxing into it. With his ey
es closed, everything seemed magnified, as though he could feel every callus and whorl on Asher’s finger.
Asher’s hand withdrew, then reappeared, more lube dripping across Simon’s balls and coating the inside of his thighs as Asher teased over the sensitive skin. This time he slid two fingers inside Simon with no hesitation at all, and Simon arched off the bed as the thick digits filled him.
“Asher. More.”
Asher laughed, a small sound of delight, and then his fingers slid out, thrusting back inside and curling and dragging, lighting up Simon from the inside out as they rubbed over his prostate.
Simon was distantly aware that he was saying something, nonsense words escaping him—cries for more, Asher’s name, groans, and pleas—but he couldn’t process anything beyond Asher’s fingers inside him, fucking him now and hitting his prostate over and over. After another minute, Asher added a third finger, stretching Simon even farther. The sensation was amazing, almost perfect. Almost.
“Si.” Asher’s voice still sounded amused. His nose brushed over Simon’s ear, lips catching along the shell. “You feel so good around me. Want to be inside you, so badly.”
“Yeah. Yes, Asher, please.” Simon pried his eyes open. He was surprised to find his eyelashes wet as he met Asher’s calming green gaze in the rapidly darkening room. “Fuck me, please.”
He didn’t even mind this time when Asher pulled away, because he could see as Asher found one of the condoms and tore it open with slippery fingers before rolling it over his long, hard cock.
“Like this?” Asher asked, pressing forward so the head of his dick rubbed over Simon’s ass. “Might be easier if you—”
“No,” Simon interrupted. “This is perfect.”
Like this he could see Asher, and he could wrap one arm around Asher’s shoulders to hold him close, his other hand drifting down to find Asher’s cock. Without speaking, Asher drizzled lube across Simon’s hand, and Simon used it to stroke Asher slowly, coating him until he was panting and every exhale was mixed with a tiny groan.
“Simon.”
Simon tilted his head to the side, pulling Asher down on top of him to press lips to his neck while he blindly guided Asher’s cock to his ass. He sighed when the head brushed against his hole again, then tilted his hips up as Asher’s teeth dug into his neck and Asher slid inside him.
Oh, fuck. Simon was so full now, body riding a sharp line of pleasure. It was almost too much, but Simon loved it, loved the sensation of Asher filling him completely while his body surrounded Simon’s.
Asher’s hips snapped forward, once, twice, tiny abortive thrusts. He groaned, burying his face in the crook of Simon’s neck and working a mark on the skin with frantic desperation.
“I’m good,” Simon said. “It’s good. Fuck me, Asher.”
Asher didn’t need any further encouragement. He pounded into Simon, hard enough that Simon’s entire body came off the bed and the frame rattled against the wall. Asher fucked him with every bit of energy and passion that Simon had fantasized about for so long. Simon dug his nails into Asher’s shoulder, encouragement and also a tether to ground him to reality. He wrapped his other leg around Asher’s waist, pressing his heel into the small of Asher’s back and using the leverage to meet each thrust.
Then Asher got a hand under Simon’s thigh, hitching his leg up so he could fuck deeper, body coated with sweat and gleaming in the dim light of the room, powerful muscles flexing with every thrust. The new angle meant he was nailing Simon’s prostate directly with every drive forward. It wasn’t long before Simon was reduced to wordless moans, mouth slack as Asher fucked him and pleasure crashed over him in wave after wave.
His orgasm crept up on him, so gradually that it was a bit of a surprise when it crested and flooded through him. Simon had just enough presence to pull Asher to him and kiss him hard, messily, before he was coming between them.
“Simon, Simon,” Asher chanted. His own eyes were nearly closed, the green a tiny sliver as his hips worked forward, grinding up into Simon.
“Yeah,” Simon said, biting Asher’s lower lip and tugging it gently before releasing it. “Come on, babe. You’re so fucking gorgeous like this, Asher, so hot, god, you’re filling me so good right now.”
Asher groaned again, the sound vibrating against Simon’s lips. He snapped his hips again, then gripped Simon’s thigh and held himself there, bottomed out in Simon’s ass as his entire body shook.
There was heat and slick between them, sweat and cum making their skin slippery as Asher slowly released his hold on Simon and sank down onto the bed, a heavy, comforting blanket of muscle. Simon sighed beneath him, turning his head to find Asher’s mouth again, kissing him while aftershocks rattled through Asher’s body, his cock grinding up and rubbing against Simon’s prostate. It was too much, Simon’s body oversensitive and well-used, but it felt good. His cock gave a feeble twitch, but then Asher was pulling back, letting his soft cock slip free, and fell to his side to cover Simon’s body with his own.
“That was amazing,” Asher whispered. He sounded sleepy as he pulled Simon against his chest, wrapping an arm around Simon’s waist to hold him close. His breath came out in hot puffs against the side of Simon’s neck.
Simon laughed. “The sunrise, or the sex?”
Asher’s lips brushed against the top of Simon’s spine, a silky caress. “Still talking about you.”
Love, Simon thought, and let his eyes flutter closed with a smile still on his face, sinking into the warmth that surrounded him.
They fell back into silence, and Asher’s breathing deepened, until it was slow and steady against Simon’s skin. Simon thought he’d fallen asleep, was ready to slip off into a nap of his own, when Asher spoke again.
“I really like you, Simon.”
There was something in his tone that gave the words more weight and made Simon’s heart beat faster.
“I really like you too,” he said softly.
“I know we both still have ages to go before we leave here. I mean, the first flight hasn’t even come in for Winfly yet, so maybe I’m jumping the gun a little, being hasty, but—”
Simon bit his lips so he wouldn’t laugh aloud again. “Babe, it’s okay.”
He could practically feel the heat from Asher’s blush at the endearment as Asher rubbed his chin on Simon’s shoulder.
“I just… I want to keep seeing you. After Winfly, after Mainbody starts and we fly back to the States.” Asher sounded so tentative that Simon wanted nothing more than to turn around and face him, wrap his arms around Asher’s shoulders. But he stayed where he was, torn between his own panic… and his own desire.
I want that too, he almost said.
Asher kept speaking, interspersing words with barely-there brushes of his lips against any inch of bare skin he could reach. “And I’d even come back here again next winter if you planned to winterover then. I could continue my research and be with you.”
Simon pressed his eyes closed until bright white starbursts flared behind them. “Asher,” he began, then stopped.
He must have been silent for too long, though, because Asher’s arm around his waist vanished, and the larger man pulled away—as far as he could on the small bed, at least.
“Sorry.” Asher’s voice was rushed, full of dismay. “I was moving too fast, I know. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”
“No, Asher.” Now Simon did turn around, grabbing Asher’s arm and using it to help him maneuver in the small space until he was resting on the pillow with his head only inches from Asher’s. He slid one leg over Asher’s thigh, pulling himself in closer. “This is so new to me. You—I didn’t expect you. I didn’t plan for this, and now I just need some time to process.”
Asher still looked upset.
Simon tilted his head and kissed him, slow and wet, tangling their tongues together until Asher started to relax again.
“It’s like one of your science discoveries, right?” Simon asked. “When you come up with s
ome brilliant new idea, you need time to evaluate it, to understand it. That’s what this is. It doesn’t mean I’m saying no. It just means I need a chance to understand. You kinda turned my entire world upside, Asher Delaney…. Just give me a little bit of time to get used to it.”
Finally Asher exhaled, the tension draining from his body. “Yeah, okay.” He returned the kiss, green eyes bright as they met Simon’s. “Take as much time as you need.”
Simon smiled. Love. Aloud he said, “Thank you,” and let sleep wash over him.
SIMON FLOATED the entire next day.
He was aware that he was acting like a newbie, completely fumbling the basic tasks, zoning out and moving like he had no idea what he was doing. The chefs laughed and called him toasty, thinking he was exhausted and spacing out from the stress of a long season. Even Miranda fondly joked about how clumsy he was when he spilled his cup of orange juice during breakfast.
But Simon didn’t care. He couldn’t stop thinking about the day before, the afternoon spent with Asher in his dorm room and then the rest of the night that they’d spent together after. They’d talked for hours, in between trading lazy kisses… and another round of languid, decadent sex that Simon could still feel the following morning.
And he kept remembering the revelation he’d had, standing up at Arrival Heights with the sunshine lighting up the world around him.
I’ve never fallen in love with anyone before.
That thought boosted him for the rest of his shift, through lunch and his afternoon off. It carried him back to his dorm, where he lay in bed and recalled the feel of Asher inside him, the way Asher had kissed him so tenderly and held him like he was something precious while wringing the most amazing pleasure from Simon’s body.
It was so new, and so fast, but Simon had always been a little impulsive. You had to be, in some way, to jump at the chance to pack up your life and move to the most inhospitable environment on earth. And that impulsive nature was telling Simon that he wanted to say yes to Asher.
“Yes,” he said aloud, testing the word in his mouth while staring up at his ceiling.
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