“Kiss me, Ivan,” he invited in a hoarse whisper.
His eyes had darkened from something heated and molten to something promising and cautionary at the same time. I knew if I kissed him then my fate would be sealed.
I didn’t hesitate as I kissed the man I so desperately wanted, swallowing the groans of pleasures emitting from Declan as our kiss deepened and I was lost again.
Declan held me, cradled me as he closed the space between us, until I could feel the physical proof of how much I was desired.
It was Declan who held us afloat when I lost focus, Declan who turned me around and rubbed against me. I swallowed a mixture of water, air, and lust while Declan peeled my swimming shorts away.
I could feel how hard and big he was.
He stopped himself then guided me over to the ladder hanging off the boat. I climbed up as he followed me onto the deck.
Declan disappeared out of view into the cabin before returning with items of preparation for what was about to happen next.
In his hand was a bottle of lubrication, which he set aside, and a condom, which he took a moment to roll onto his length. I observed him like a student, glad to have my first time be with a well-prepared and experienced man.
He closed the distance between us, kissing away my hesitation until I was yearning for more, then he gently laid me on the warm deck, his body over me.
He made use of the lubrication now, slicking up his fingers before his hand headed down between my legs. He kissed me as he gently massaged my rim, sending tingles throughout my body. Just when I started to wonder how it’d feel for him to enter me, he slipped one finger in me. I took in a deep breath, shocked at first, but then oddly entranced by the sensation. I let out a little moan of pleasure, which encouraged him to explore more, his finger slowly loosening me up.
As he massaged deeper, I bit my lip and started thrusting against his finger. Soon it wasn’t enough, and he knew it, sticking a second finger in to further my pleasure.
We went on like this until I was ready—ready for the main attraction. He seemed to know just when I was prepared for him, because then he turned me over so I was on my hands and knees, presenting myself to him.
He lubed up his length then rested his cock between my legs, sending chills through my body every time he brushed against my opening. He distracted me with his lips nibbling at my ear, calming me until he slipped the head of his cock inside me.
He fit so snugly that I feared I wouldn’t be able to take it all. The pain was there, but he took his time until I could take him all in.
There had been no feelings in my life before now that surpassed the pleasure of Declan moving in and out of me in a gradually increasing pace. With one hand, he held me. With the other, he reached around to stroke my cock, making me drunk on a wave of ecstasy that I had never experienced before.
Declan nipped at my neck as I moaned. He sunk his teeth into me and I welcome the assault as I rushed toward release.
The sun was high and the water was crystal clear. Anchored out at sea, we were alone and far removed from all the worries of normal life.
I allowed myself to feel in ways that I never had before as I jerked and came undone.
It was too much to hold back any longer…
The pleasure.
The passion.
The power I felt as Declan shuddered and moaned my name to the world.
For all the things I had ever feared, shied away from or been afraid to explore before now, Declan more than compensated for the half-lie and half-life I had lived before. The emotions overwhelmed me as I came.
There was so much more to explore, so many more things that I wanted to try now that I had finally found the missing piece of myself. And the best part was that I had unwittingly also found a man who was sexy as hell, hung like a stallion, and seemed to want me in the most scandalous manner a man could want a person.
Declan took me again and again, and I was amazed to find the pleasure intensifying each time.
It was a beautiful day for sailing, as I laid flat on the deck and admired the clouds drifting across a painted sky. I knew for the first time that I had found myself and that I could now begin living my life.
A few hours later we watched the sun set in the horizon, now seemingly so much closer than I had ever seen it.
Once the sun finally dipped out of sight, I saw it: the starlit heavens that Declan described to me that night on the beach. I was dumbstruck, without any words to say to Declan. He seemed to understand, and instead of saying a word, he held my hand as he sat by my side, allowing me to take it all in. It was exactly as he described. An unbelievable sight, so many stars like I’ve never seen before.
We ended the evening with a dinner below deck. Declan had cooked a perfectly seasoned meal of our fresh-caught fish on a plate of fluffy rice. As if the day weren’t perfect enough. He was going to have a very hard time topping this date, and I told him so.
He laughed. “Oh, I’m going to have fun trying, Ivan.”
And I couldn’t wait.
Chapter 17
Declan
All this indulging during the weekend had tired me out more than any wildfire ever had. Still, I couldn’t help but grin as I drove Katie to Ivan’s house for the first time. Though he had offered to watch Katie last week, I didn’t want to put Mrs. Gardener out of work without some time to adjust. Now the time had come.
I had to head to work in just a few short hours, and I knew it wouldn’t be easy. After the sexual marathon I had run this weekend, my tank was officially running on empty.
I had never been fond of coffee or energy drinks, but now I wondered if one might be in order. Ivan had turned out to be insatiable, which kept me rather busy. The only thing more energy-consuming than an insatiable man was a man who always inspired me to rise to the challenge. I was surprised to not be sore on top of how exhausted I was.
“Daddy, drive faster,” Katie called out from the back as she pasted her face against the window and tried to guess which house belonged to her teacher.
I had made the mistake of telling her that Hamlet’s cage was in Ivan’s front porch, so now she was on the lookout for it. For every house we had passed since leaving home for the short drive, Katie would look into each porch and let me know that she had yet to spot Hamlet.
I allowed my thoughts to resume their favorite musing as I drove, reflecting on my recent sexual exploits. Ivan wasn’t just a good teacher—he had turned out to be one hell of a student too.
The memory of the look in Ivan’s eyes when I had given up the customary role of being on top and encouraged him to have a go at it for a change…
That fevered look was the sort of thing I saw in my dreams at night, the sort of thing that would make me wake up all hot and bothered for a long time to come. I still remembered the taste of him, the smell of him, the feel of Ivan moving in me as we surged toward the release of pleasure that we had both helped to build.
But to think that Ivan’s cheeks had flushed so slightly each time I had tried to talk dirty to him… I wondered as I pulled up to Ivan’s door if he had yet gotten over his initial embarrassment now that he was a novice no more.
Once I parked, Katie jumped out and ran up the steps to Ivan who gave her a bear hug. She was still super excited about getting to spend her Friday night and Saturday morning with Mr. Davis. And, luckily for me, I hadn’t felt the need to admonish her to behave as she was generally such a sweet child.
Ivan smiled shyly at me.
It was just a smile but I saw the memory of our time at sea printed clearly on his face. Dressed in a black vest and faded blue jogging pants, Ivan looked at home on the porch waiting for us. Suddenly I wished I didn’t have to work so I could go inside and snuggle with him.
But I had work, Ivan had Katie, and Hamlet was sending a nasty look in my direction. I was convinced that somehow Hamlet knew what had transpired between us and didn’t approve. But I wasn’t one to trouble myself with a bird’s
opinion.
I headed up the stairs to deliver Katie’s backpack that she had forgotten in the truck. “Hello, Ivan,” I said, giving him a knowing look. “Fancy meeting you here.”
Ivan rolled his eyes and took Hamlet out of his porch cage so that Katie could bring the bird inside. She expertly held his toes as he perched on her hand before disappearing with him into the entryway of the house.
We watched until she was out of sight, then we embraced one another. I was surprised to see that the previous weekend had done nothing except take the edge off the hunger we both felt. Today it burned hot once again as we shared a kiss filled with desperation.
If Katie hadn’t been nearby, then I knew what would have happened, as I was way past caring if Ivan had neighbors or not.
I wanted him, and the need came hot and fast and had me clenching my fist, but I untangled myself from Ivan and slowly backed away.
“You need to stop throwing yourself at me,” I whispered hoarsely.
“Why?” Ivan asked with a smirk. “You had no complaints about it earlier.”
I closed my eyes and prayed to forget all the memories I now needed to forget. I pictured us back on the boat, our skin wet and gleaming from the salty water, the sun hot on our backs as we had blended together in all the right ways.
Ivan had been so hard for me that the memory was all it took to make sure that I now shared a similar fate.
I allowed myself another quick kiss before abruptly leaving to head for work. It wasn’t long before my fellow firemen started commenting on how distracted I seemed or how tired I looked today, which had me grinning.
It was my secret and the world wasn’t going to intrude and spoil it until we were ready to make things public.
*
I was still smiling when I returned for Katie the next day, and of course she was reluctant to leave. An entire day and night with someone you love could do that to a person, so I didn’t blame her.
What I did mind though was that she had chosen to bestow all her affection on the silly bird who still despised me. While Ivan went to gather Katie’s things so she could return home, Hamlet let loose at me a string of profanities so explicit that I wondered how he managed to keep it clean in the classroom.
Dirty, dirty bird.
I listened to Katie repeat her lines during the ride home, noting that not only had her memory improved but she had gotten the expressions of a grieving queen down pat. I found it highly amusing to say the least. I found it even funnier when she explained that Hamlet had begun learning some of the lines too.
She told me about her Friday night, about how Mr. Davis made them popcorn and allowed her and Hamlet to watch movies until late in the night.
I made a mental note to scold Ivan for being a pushover by letting her renegotiate her bedtime, but then I just shook my head. No harm was done as it had been a Friday night, so Katie was entitled to a little extra time. She seemed lively this morning anyhow, so the late night didn’t have much of an effect on her.
“Mr. Davis is really nice,” Katie continued. “You should see his library. He has a million books and many of them have pictures so we read almost ten bedtime stories.”
Ouch.
Poor Ivan. I wondered if he’d be volunteering to babysit Katie again anytime soon if she really had asked so much of him.
But Ivan had more endurance than I thought, and he kept volunteering to have Katie over for the next two weeks.
At first, I wasn’t sure if Mrs. Gardener would have been offended that she wasn’t getting to watch Katie as much. That was, until I heard from the source itself that Mrs. Gardener had met a gentleman ten years her junior who was keeping her quite busy.
Imagine that.
Sixty years old and even Mrs. Gardener had found love, so what had I waited so long for? It was as if I had been waiting for someone to enter my life for a while now; waited and hoped that I could meet a quality man who could be a part of both my life and Katie’s life.
And now I had.
It really was something.
Chapter 18
Ivan
Dealing with difficult parents went hand-in-hand with my chosen profession, I knew, yet it never ceased to annoy me.
Today the summons to the principal’s office had come around noon. I had known that my day was already in ruins even before I entered and saw Mary’s folks. I felt like a naughty student who had been caught misbehaving, but try as I might to think of a possible reason behind the summons, I came up blank.
“Mr. Davis, please come in and have a seat,” Principal Kenton invited me when I entered.
I smiled politely and did just that, taking the seat farthest away from Ms. Rose and her sister who had come to team up against me, no doubt.
Today both women had dressed in matching bright orange shirts which did little to complement their ruddy coloring or their flaming orange hair. To think that they both lived on my street and could have had a neighborly talk with me instead of making an official meeting out of it… So annoying.
I hated when parents brought backup, people who had nothing to do with the child. Ms. Rose’s sister was no doubt here to jump on the bandwagon and make the complaints even louder. I also hated when parents decided to go straight to the principal to express their concerns before talking to me first, despite me making an effort to keep an open dialogue with all my parents.
So it was no wonder that I felt less than amiable toward the two women who were eyeing me with open hostility now.
“Mr. Davis,” the principal continued. “Ms. Rose came to express concern about Mary’s performance in class.”
I inclined my head to show that I understood but said nothing.
This was the part of teaching that I hated, the part where I somehow ended up being blamed for low grades despite parents not assisting their children at home as needed. Because, unless my memory was fooling me, this was the same Ms. Rose I had contacted at least once a week so far this semester to update her on Mary’s performance and inform her when Mary was inconsistent with her homework.
And the thing that bothered me even more was that it could have all been avoided if I had decided not to give Ms. Rose so many chances before. I could have told Principal Kenton of the difficulties I faced with Mary before it came to this. But now it was too late as Ms. Rose had already run to the principal and colored the story as she saw fit.
“The problem, as Ms. Rose sees it, is that Mary is distracted in class. Ms. Rose believes that the cause of the distraction is your parrot, as his presence in the classroom draws her attention away from learning.”
I raised my hand, having heard quite enough already. “Question,” I began coolly. “Is English the only class that Mary is failing?”
“That’s not the point,” Ms. Rose hurriedly interjected. “She’s failing the other classes as well because even when the bird isn’t there, we know that her mind is still on it.”
Well, wouldn’t Hamlet be pleased to know just how much credit he was getting in this child’s disaster of an academic record. “And I suppose Mary’s delinquency in doing her homework has nothing to do with her discipline at home?”
“Mary isn’t doing her homework?” Ms. Rose asked in a shocked voice. “Why didn’t you tell us?”
Lord, she laid it on thick. “But you did know,” I stated. “I’ve been emailing you every week for the last three months to inform you of such, and all you have ever offered me are excuses and promises that she would do better.”
“That’s a lie!” Ms. Rose shouted, standing to her feet.
“Really?” I asked. “And before you say anything further, you should know that all school emails are saved in our records. Shall we go pull up the emails and read them?”
I smiled as she stuttered and looked from me to Principal Kenton to her sister. The two women were quickly turning as red as beets.
“I’m sure that’s a violation of my privacy,” Ms. Rose eventually snapped after she had quit hanging her mouth o
pen in surprise.
She stared daggers at me. In the past I might have been bothered by it, but ever since Declan came into my life, my job was no longer my whole reason for being.
Before Declan, I probably would have sat here taking these complaints as a personal insult against me and my life’s efforts. But luckily I was in a beautiful place where the mud they were throwing just slid right off, hardly affecting me.
“Well, this is how I see it,” Principal Kenton said. “We all want what is best for Mary. So for now let’s agree that Mr. Davis will stop bringing Hamlet to school for the rest of this semester and see if he really is the problem. But I must warn you that if there is still no improvement in Mary’s grades by the holidays, then after school programs will most likely be in order. You may even want to hire a tutor for her.”
I recognized the look of triumph Ms. Rose shot at me as she shared a smile with her sister, but I wasn’t bothered.
At the end of the day, I knew for a fact that Hamlet wasn’t the problem and Mary’s grades weren’t likely to change even with the parrot gone. Then by the next semester I could bring Hamlet back and continue on as normal.
That didn’t mean I wasn’t silently fuming about the unfairness of it all, but a compromise had to be made to prove a point. I just wondered how I was going to break the news to Katie. She was bound to be heartbroken, and I prayed that she had gotten to a point where she could now stand on her own in class without Hamlet’s presence. I would hate for her to revert to her former shy demeanor.
I excused myself and left the meeting, trusting Principal Kenton to handle the rest. It was a short walk back to class where I found Hamlet waiting and Katie sitting nearby prattling away as she did her homework.
She looked so happy sitting there in her Peter Pan-green outfit and matching ribbons in the customary ponytails that she wore. My heart clenched at the thought of saddening her, but it had to be done.
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