Authors: S.J. Frost
ModelLove (16 page)
Applause broke out again.
Sergio bowed to his left and right in thanks, then
straightened and held up his hand for silence. “And also, I know this is
terribly selfish of me, with so much happiness being given out today, I want to
take a moment to express my own, because I have a dream coming true as well.”
Ian’s heart beat quicker. His sixth sense knew what Sergio
was going to say next.
Sergio turned on the stage toward Ian and motioned down to
him. “Ian Eldridge, thank you for making my dream come true and giving me the
chance to finally work with you.”
More applause followed Sergio’s statement.
Eyes and cameras trained on him, Ian stood, calling up a bright
smile. He first bowed to Sergio, then lifted his hand in a small wave, hoping
he appeared as humble and grateful as he felt inside. He really owed Sergio. If
his career wasn’t already set to skyrocket, it without a doubt would be now.
Ian sat down again, putting his arm immediately around
Temaru.
Temaru leaned toward him. “It seems to me people still know
who you are.”
“Yeah, but there’s only one who I want to know all of me.”
Temaru touched his fingertips to Ian’s jaw, drawing him to
his lips. Ian met him in a kiss. He knew cameras were still snapping shots of
him and he wanted as many pictures of him with Temaru as possible to show the
world the man he loved and who he really owed this moment to.
Ian closed his eyes, holding Aiden’s urn to his chest. The
boat rocked gently under him, the only noise being the sound of the waves
washing gently against it. He’d said his goodbyes, but he’d also said them so
many times before. Now though, he was ready to fully let Aiden move on. As his
final act of love for his brother, he would let him be in a place Aiden
would’ve loved, the coral reef Temaru had taken him to on their first dive.
Hands settled on his shoulders. Ian leaned back against
Temaru, feeling the warmth of him. The firmness of Temaru’s body reminded him
he was still part of the corporeal and what he held in his hands were only the
ashes of the brother he loved so much. Aiden’s true self, his spirit, had long
since become part of another existence. He knew no matter where he went, no
matter what he did, Aiden would be with him.
Ian gazed down at the urn. Letting go was still so hard, but
he knew this was the right thing to do. His heart and mind were in harmony
about it and he had no second guesses inside him, but the physical act of
actually doing it was difficult. He just needed to let his heart and mind
control his body.
Slowly, he opened the lid. He pulled in a long, deep breath,
his exhale shaky as he released it. Turning on the bench, he leaned over the
boat’s edge and tipped the urn toward the water. As the ashes began to fall, a
soft breeze lifted, spreading them over the water that was brightening with
light as the sun rose.
When the urn was empty, Ian sat back. Tears overflowed from
his eyes, falling too quickly for him to stop them. Temaru slid his arms around
him, holding him around the shoulders and resting his head on Ian’s.
Ian laid his hands along Temaru’s arms. “I didn’t think I’d
cry. I don’t even know why I am. He’s been gone for so long.”
Temaru kissed Ian’s cheek. “Because you’ve finally said
goodbye.”
“Yeah,” Ian said softly, knowing what Temaru said was true.
Instead of trying to hold his emotions back, he fully let them go. When his
tears slowed and he felt as if a great weight he hadn’t realized he’d been
carrying was gone. He relaxed against Temaru, releasing a final sigh that took
that last of his hurt and tension away. “Thanks.”
“For what?”
“For helping me with this. For being there. For loving me.”
“All things that I don’t need to be thanked for, the last
one especially. And as for the first, even though I never met him, I wanted to
say goodbye too.”
Ian nodded and looked toward the horizon, where the sunlight
continued to grow. He and Temaru had returned to Bora Bora two days before.
When the island came into view, he felt that sense of peace come over him that
he’d carried during his previous days here. Of all the places in the world he’d
visited, he knew this was where he belonged. This was home.
He turned his head toward Temaru, and Temaru leaned over his
shoulder, finding his lips in a tender kiss. Ian felt Temaru’s love for him in
the kiss. Above all else, he knew Temaru was who he belonged with.
It wouldn’t be long before his career took off again. He’d
have to travel around the world once more, but he and Temaru had developed a
plan. Temaru was going to hire a couple employees to help around the shop and
to take people out on dives so he could travel with him. It was something he’d
wanted to do for a long time anyway to give himself a day off and to not miss
customers when he went out.
Ian still thought it was an amazing thing for Temaru to do
and with the extra money modeling would bring in for both of them, he decided
he’d help pay the employees. He wanted everything in their relationship to be equal
and all that he earned he wanted to share with him. When he looked into his
future, all he could see was Temaru.
Temaru eased back from the kiss, smiling down at him. “Now
what brought a smile to you all of a sudden?”
Ian lifted a hand to Temaru’s cheek as he looked into his
eyes. “The future.”
Temaru laid his hand over Ian’s. “It’s a beautiful thing,
isn’t it?”
Ian nodded and tipped his head back for another kiss. Temaru
kissed him, deeper this time, his tongue gliding over Ian’s.
As the kiss slowly ended, Temaru spoke softly against Ian’s
lips. “Are you ready to go home?”
“More than ready.”
Ian rose and worked with Temaru to get the skiff ready to
sail. He settled at the back of the boat, his hand on the rudder, now knowing
how to steer it without Temaru’s guidance, though Temaru still sat beside him
simply to be close. He wrapped an arm around him. Temaru rested his hand on
Ian’s thigh, his head on Ian’s shoulder.
Ian guided the boat back toward the island. Reaching the
docks, they secured the skiff and climbed off it. Hand in hand, they walked up
the boardwalk until they came to a set of stairs leading down to the beach.
Both paused to take off their sandals.
Bent forward, Temaru glanced up at Ian. “Since we don’t have
any customers to take out until this afternoon, what do you want to do for the
rest of the morning?”
His sandals hooked over his index finger, Ian rested them
over his shoulder. “Considering how early we got up, I’m thinking we screw,
take a nap, wake up and eat, then screw again and have lunch.”
Temaru stood up straight. “Hmm, not bad plans, but I don’t
think we’ll be able to do them.”
“Why not?”
“Because of your own words a few days ago. You told me to
not go soft on you. That I’m to be hard on you and make sure you don’t slack on
working out. So really, we should run back home, then you should lift a few
weights with that new set you bought yesterday.”
Ian stepped close to him. He curled his index finger over
the top of Temaru’s shorts. “Yeah, about those words. I think there was something
lost in translation there. You know, since English isn’t your first language.
Kind of like the pineapple tool thing. What I
really
meant was all
sexual, like literally don’t go soft on me and put your hard cock on me, in me,
all over me.”
Temaru laughed and gave him a playful shove back. “You did
not!”
Chuckling, Ian caught himself from the push and rebounded to
stand close to Temaru again. “Okay, I didn’t and you had it right the first
time.
But
sex is great exercise and burns tons of calories.” He tipped
his head near Temaru’s, angling to bring the lips together. His voice deepened.
“Especially with the kind of sex you and I do.”
Temaru brushed his lips across Ian, a deep moan rumbling in
his throat. “That’s very true. But do you know what’s even better exercise?”
“What?”
“Going for a run,
then
having sex. I’ll even give you
some incentive.” Temaru wrapped an arm around Ian’s lower back, drawing him
close and pressing their hips together. “You win, you top.”
Ian touched his lips to the curve of Temaru’s lips,
breathing in his coconut-and-flowers scent. “Then if I lose, I bottom?”
“You got it.”
“I guess you better get running.”
“But the point is to motivate
you
to run.”
“And you have. I’m just going to give you a head start,
because I plan on losing.”
Grinning, Temaru took Ian’s hand. “Then we should go,
because I’m already excited about losing.”
Ian touched their lips together in a tender kiss. As he drew
back, Temaru tugged his hand, coaxing him into an easy jog. At the water’s
edge, they ran over the soft wet sand. Ian glanced out to the ocean, the sun
having crested it and sent its golden glow over the water. He looked to Temaru.
His beautiful island god who taught him what happiness was. All around him was
paradise, but it was this man at his side and their love that made the world
vibrant and beautiful to him again.
S.J. Frost is a multi-published author of sweet and sexy gay
erotic romance stories. Contemporary, paranormal, fantasy and historical, she
likes to dabble in a little bit of everything, but her stories always contain
love, passion and romance. She encourages readers to contact her, so do please
feel welcome to send her an email or track her down on the Internet and say hi!
S.J. welcomes comments from readers. You can find her
website and email addresses on her
author
bio page
at
www.ellorascave.com
.
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Ellora’s Cave Publishing
Model Love
ISBN 9781419948534
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Model Love Copyright © 2013 S.J. Frost
Edited by Briana St. James
Cover design by Fiona Jayde
Cover photography by S Photos, Evdokimov Maxim/shutterstock.com
Electronic book publication October 2013
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