Page 92 of Ring Rust

Ryan shrugged. “The sea dragon was the only other water animal. I was trying to make it feel less alone.”

“This is what you were doing when you fell?”

“Hanging those lights,” Ryan said, pointing at the string lights around the trees.

Jasper grabbed his face, dropping kisses on his mouth and cheeks and nose until Ryan hauled him into his lap. When his hand wrapped around Jasper’s back and waist to pull their bodies together, Jasper melted into him, mumbling into his neck.

“This is unbelievable. I can’t believe you did all this. How? Did Logan help?”

“I will drop you off my lap.”

Jasper laughed. “This is amazing. And I recognize your work, I know it was you.”

“I did a lot of it, yeah. But I hired someone to fix the mechanics.”

“Ryan,” Jasper said, pulling back. “That must have cost a fortune.”

Ryan grinned. “Not for me.”

At first, Jasper laughed at Ryan’s candor, but his expression shifted as he looked around again, taking in the details he hadn’t been able to see until now. The careful painting, the new lightbulbs that were no longer mismatched, even the replaced bridles on some of the animals. All things Jasper cared about and had mentioned.

“You told me you guys weren’t touching the carousel.”

“I lied. Sorry.”

“Very sneaky. This was an elaborate plan just to win me back, huh?” Jasper said it as a joke, but Ryan’s face didn’t show it. He was focused, staring at Jasper intensely.

“It was.”

“Hey, I was just kidding.”

“Well, no, I can admit it was, at first. But then things weren’t getting any easier between us, and I was worried you’d ever want to get back together,” Ryan said, his hands staying where they were on Jasper’s ass.

He felt a quick squeeze.

“Ryan, I?—”

“But,” Ryan continued, “I know how much you love this carousel. And it… Well, it looked like shit. And I wanted to fix that for you, regardless of what happened between us. Because I love you.”

That got a small laugh out of Jasper, dissolving the threads of tension he felt forming when he accidentally called out Ryan’s earliest motivations. “I love you too.”

“And I’m really happy about that,” Ryan said, his whole face softened by his smile.

Jasper kissed him. The sound of the carousel swirled overhead—the tinny, cheerful notes of calliope music—their cat’s namesake. He moved his arms around Ryan’s neck, still straddling his wide lap, leaning to one side to avoid Ryan’s bad arm. Their foreheads pressed together and Jasper breathed him in.

“I’m really happy too,” Jasper said. He shifted, feeling the tension of hard muscle flexing beneath him and a rough hand sliding up his spine to cup his head. He reached up to rub his thumb along Ryan’s jawline, brushing it against the stubble he’d missed so much.

The memories of the last few months, the loneliness and confusion, the wondering if he’d made a terrible mistake, the leftover pain and hurt, had all faded slowly. Now, under the lights Ryan strung on the carousel he’d put back together, being held in place by Ryan’s single working arm, Jasper felt the final flashes of pain dissolve from his body completely.

Their lips met again and they kissed until they had to catch their breath. Jasper was afraid to crush the arm pressed between them, but he felt Ryan’s cock thickening underneath him and lost the last of his restraint. He rolled his hips in a slow grind against Ryan’s lap, the feel of Ryan’s cock sending an shock of pleasure through his limbs. They moaned into each other’s mouths.

“Feels so good. I missed these,” Ryan said, kissing Jasper’s fingers. “The way you touch me. Everything about you.”

Jasper smiled and let his hands roam gently over Ryan's shoulders and down his chest. His fingertips traced the outline of his pecs through his shirt. Ryan watched him, eyes half-lidded and breathing ragged. Jasper wanted to do this forever, memorize the contours of Ryan’s body all over again, feeling the way they’d changed. But then Ryan’s good hand reached underJasper’s shirt and splayed across his stomach, his callused palm warm and grounding, and he needed more.

He whimpered against Ryan’s mouth. “Show me how much you missed me.”

Ryan's fingers dragged slowly down Jasper’s belly, stopping at the waist of his jeans. He popped the button with one hand, drew the zipper down, and slid his hand inside, palming Jasper's cock, achingly stiff and slick with precum.