Epilogue

EPILOGUE

TOBIAS

A ll my life, I had seen otters floating on their backs in the ocean. Some would hold hands with another otter so they wouldn't be separated. Some would bob along while having a meal on their bellies. Some would keep their sleeping babies safe on top of them.

It turned out that one thing Halaby had been dying to do with me was float along with me resting on top of him. I'd thought it was silly at first, but then… Aw, man, laying on him in the warm waters of the Caribbean was the best way to relax. He was a giant cozy floaty, and I could completely pass out knowing he would take care of me.

I could've done that all day long if it wasn't for the fact that I needed to keep up on my sunblock applications so my pasty skin didn't burn to a crisp. Of course, reapplying lotion all over my body usually led to the two of us ignoring laws about public indecency. Any day now, the resort was going to kick us out—and yet we couldn't seem to stop.

"Don't stop," I begged as I writhed on top of him. He was jerking me off inside my swim trunks with his fat cock up my ass. He'd split the seam without a second thought, and I'd taken to carrying lube everywhere I went. Being in the water didn't give either of us any leverage, so I was doing what I could by rolling my hips. "Yes. Yes . Yes!"

I came hard, lost in my own bliss and gripping fistfuls of his fur. Blinking up at the perfect fluffy clouds in the exceptionally blue sky, I hummed in continued pleasure as Halaby pressed his big hand against my lower belly and shoved his cock just that little bit deeper inside me. He came a lot quieter than I ever did, just a sharp grunt and a low moan before he sighed.

I couldn't help laughing a little as he swam us to a different part of the lagoon while also getting his cock back into his orange Speedo. Halaby seemed to think that, if we left the area of our latest indiscretion by even a few meters, then no one would suspect what we'd done. I was pretty certain that location didn't matter one tiny bit, but holding onto him while he swam was a lovely way to come back down, too.

Floating again and feeling incredibly lazy, I started talking so that I wouldn't fall asleep. "How's the school coming along?"

"Hmm? What do you mean?"

I snorted. "I saw you checking in after breakfast. It's either India, China, or the school. I picked the school."

"Well, you're right." He kissed the top of my head. "They broke ground this morning and everything's progressing very well."

I patted his hands on my chest. Of course everything was going well. Ireland had been thrilled to host a new school to train people from all over the world on how to manufacture the nanobots. When it was finished, an entirely new career would be available to thousands of people and humans would be one step closer to controlling our own health and wellness. Those vocal few who'd claimed the Norlons could take the nanobots away from us soon wouldn't have anything to screech about.

"China and India are also coming along nicely," Halaby said a bit sheepishly .

I chuckled at him. "I'm sure they are."

He wasn't supposed to be worrying about the real world for these two weeks of our vacation, but I knew he couldn't help himself. Ever since he'd quit being ship's doctor last year, he'd been so much happier in his work. Some people tried to say he was like that because of me, but I knew how much he loved his job. Even with his new assistant, Efia, who could delegate work like a boss, Halaby still couldn't resist taking care of everyone and everything around him. Now that he was less stressed, it was a really adorable quality in my opinion.

"India agreed to seventeen more distribution centers," he said proudly.

"Fantastic! I knew you'd convince them." They'd only wanted them in the major cities, but Halaby's team had been working on getting centers in the more rural areas, too.

"And China's first centers will open in two weeks."

"Do you want to go?"

"Oh. Well…"

I smiled and rolled over so we were chest to chest. "I'm happy for you to go."

"Only if you go with me."

"Of course! I'd love to go to China with you." I scooted up and kissed him. "I'll go wherever you go."

"Then we should also visit India and Ireland."

I laughed at him, and Halaby poked me in the sides to make me flinch and laugh more.

"I'm not the only one doing business on vacation," he said with an arched brow. "How did the sale go, hmm?"

"Okay, yes, I did ask Pabbi how it went, but it was a couple of texts and some celebratory gifs. I didn't look at a single spreadsheet."

He poked me again. "And?"

"We got enough for a twenty percent profit," I said with some pride. "The next batch should earn even more. We're going to do just fine."

Ever since Pabbi embraced change last year, he'd been advocating aquaculture to those who'd been as stuck in the past as him. No one tried to trawl the harbor anymore and a few of the people who'd left Svalnorland had returned. And my father, who couldn't be bothered with the internet for anything, was now making videos where he interviewed workers at the farm to understand every little thing they did and share it with the masses like a reporter on a mission. I swore the recognition of his work there had been what drove our profit. He said it was just good business to raise everyone up.

"Congratulations on the sale." Halaby pulled me in and kissed me like he meant it to praise our achievement, but that didn't last long. His wily tongue soon had me rocking my hips against his stomach.

"I want you again," he whispered against my lips.

I grinned at him. "Let's go inside."

He hugged me against him and put his feet down as I wrapped my legs around his waist. I probably hadn't walked under my own power once between the lagoon and our bungalow, but I wasn't complaining. That Halaby could so easily tote me around was a wonderful thing.

He set me down on our little porch and set about unfurling the drapes. They were gauzy panels that moved in the breeze, so it was hardly concealing, but we did make an effort. Sometimes. While he did that, I dropped my trunks and decided I wanted to blow him. "Sit there," I directed when he was done with the drapes.

Halaby shoved down his Speedos, and I got them the rest of the way off him as he sat down with a smirk on his face. Kneeling between his spread thighs, I took a moment to admire his upthrust cock with all of its stimulating ridges. I leaned in and slowly licked up the peach-colored length of him, earning a moan from him and his hand resting on the back of my neck. He tasted like the saltwater behind us and smelled like his own delicious musk. Closing my eyes, I gave myself over to sucking him deeper and deeper into my mouth.

I loved doing this for him. I'd thought I was pretty decent at it before, I got the job done and whatever. But with Halaby… Everything about having his cock in my mouth turned me on. And then that was amplified even more by the low sounds he made and the tiny prick of his claws on my skin. The way the ridges circling his cock bumped across my lips had me moaning because they made me so sensitive. My own cock hung stiff and heavy between my legs, and I couldn't help humping the air when Halaby started rhythmically pulling on my hair.

Suddenly, he grabbed my hair hard and his hips hopped up. That was all the warning I needed before he came in my mouth, and I sucked it all down. Grunt, groan, and sigh. I released him and looked up to find him staring down at me, panting, and with the tiniest smile on his lips.

Before I knew what was happening, he'd grabbed me under my arms and hauled me onto his lap. But he didn't stop there. Hands on my waist now, he thrust me up onto my feet to stand on the chair beside his thighs. The move brought my cock level with his head. I gasped and eagerly bent my knees to fit my cock into his waiting mouth. I couldn't even begin to be quiet as he sucked me with enthusiasm, his fingers biting into my ass. Leaning over him, I had to brace my hands on the wall to keep myself from clutching at his head.

I'd been on the edge before this acrobatic move, so it wasn't long before I was wailing at the ceiling. I couldn't even tell him I was close, and then I was suddenly coming. Halaby hummed and swallowed like I was the best thing he'd ever tasted. My knees buckled as I whined, and he lowered me down to sit on his lap.

Exhausted even more than before, I wiggled in close for a kiss before collapsing against his chest with my head on his shoulder. I moaned weakly as he wrapped his arms around me, my entire body feeling like it crackled with sensation.

"I love you," Halaby whispered and kissed my forehead.

That wasn't the first time he'd said it in the last year, but every time still felt like the first. I hoped it always would.

I nuzzled into his neck and sighed. "Love you, too."