I clenched the sheets in my fists and tried to spread my legs wider. He fit against me, thighs rubbing mine, his hand pinning my back, his cock shoving me open, down, wide. Each slow plunge and retreat went farther inside me, but he didn’t break his painfully slow rhythm. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to scream at the glacial pace or fall into it. Squeezing my eyes shut, I pulled in a shaky breath.
That steady, slow rhythm took over my body. My breathing slowed in time. I pressed back and up when he pushed, slumped as he pulled back. We were working together now, building something, a fire, a need, stroke by stroke. Theo bottomed out with a grunt, but he still didn’t speed up. Each long thrust rubbed over me, stretching, rasping, sparking, then finding a home so far inside I was filled to the brim. Again… Again…
“Fuuuck,” I moaned as Theo drove balls-deep. “Fuuuck, Jesus.” I was boneless, mindless, a mess of ass and dick and throbbing balls and an overpowering need to come as he rocked into me, right now, right the fuck now— “Theo!”
My climax hit out of the darkness, one moment slow frustration, the next an explosion. I bucked under Theo, gasping, and he landed his weight on me, biting my shoulder, my neck, as I shuddered and came, my dick tangled in the sheets. Sweet, sweet relief poured out of me in pulse after pulse. Theo pushed up and kept going, fucking me without stopping, stroking load after load out of me. At last, I slumped, shaking and fucked out. Theo paused, then pressed home, grinding hard against my ass, groaning in my ear. I felt his entire body jolt and stiffen. He clutched me and froze, braced over me, dragging in a long, harsh breath.
I reached back, fumbling, and got a forearm across his back, clamping him to me. “Stay there. Just stay. Holy fuck.”
“Gonna land on you.”
“Don’t care.”
He moved his arm and his weight sagged down onto my back, pinning me to the bed. That was fine. Good, even. It kept me from floating away on a weightless tide of feel-good. The heavy pressure on my back and the puffs of his breath against my cheek grounded me.
We lay silently for a while, our breathing steadying.
Theo murmured in my ear, “Thank you. For trusting me.”
Normal me wanted to quip, to joke, to saythanks for the hot fuck. But the me Theo had dicked down into boneless contentment realized he was right. I did trust him.That’s a gift.
“You’re welcome,” I said, because getting too mushy was not my style. But when he shifted and muttered about the condom, I held him in me just a little longer. I wasn’t ready to lose this moment.Best I’ve ever felt in my life.
CHAPTER16
THEO
I wokein the night from uneasy dreams. For a moment, I froze at a man’s bulk beside me, then remembered I’d brought Shane, Mimsy, Foxy, and the puppies home with me. With the power still off in the venue, the puppies needed the warmth, and they were the perfect excuse to keep Shane with me, to feed him a good dinner, get him back into my warm, soft bed, and suck him into oblivion. Which he seemed to have found. Shane lay dead to the world, his face buried in my pillow.
He didn’t stir as I eased out of bed, grabbed my sweats and phone off the dresser, and snuck out, silently closing the door behind me. As I headed down the hall, I heard a thump from the living room, and then Mimsy came trotting toward me. I said, “Shh,” as if a cat was going to know what I meant. But she didn’t meow, just stroked her cheek against my bare shins a few times.
I stepped into the sweatpants and pulled the shirt over my head. I had the house set warm for the sake of the newborns in the spare bedroom, so bare feet were fine. When I cracked open the spare room door to look in, Foxy raised her head from where she sprawled with her babies in a kiddie plastic pool filled with half the towels in my house. I’d laid a tarp over the entire carpet underneath it, and Arthur had helped us set her up with the pool as a whelping box and get her comfortable. Since the power company didn’t seem to be in any hurry to turn on the venue’s heat and lights, there’d been no argument about bringing her to my house. Well, Arthur had offered to take her, but had looked hugely relieved when I volunteered.
I might have to pay to replace the carpet if the tarp didn’t stay put, but to have Shane relaxed and asleep instead of cold, pacing, and freaked out about Foxy? To keep those babies warm and safe? I’d happily buy carpet.
A puppy squeaked and Foxy bent her head to nose it in closer to her. The incision on her tummy looked painful, but she was on meds and letting the puppies nurse. Moms are tough, I guess.
Mimsy butted at my leg, trying to sneak in and see the fun, but I nudged her back and shut the door. The dog and cat didn’t seem to be enemies the way every cartoon suggested, but Foxy probably didn’t want a cat around her babies.
I headed to the living room. The night outside the slider doors looked clear but a chill came off the glass. I debated stepping out, but the comfort of the couch called to me. Slumped into the soft, pristine white cushions, I dialed Jamie via Facetime.
He answered after several rings, yawning, the back of his couch showing behind him as he dropped down on it. “Bitch, why are you dragging me out of my Michael-warmed bed at one in the morning on a work night?”
I hesitated between apology and greeting. “God, I’ve missed you.”
He blinked, looking more alert. “Okay, who died? Well, other than your terrible grandparents two years ago.”
My laugh came out choked. “No deaths.”
“That’s not as reassuring as it might be. Talk to me.”
“I, um.” I wasn’t sure where to start with my confusion. “I’m thinking about staying in Gaynor Beach for a while. Finding a new project here instead of down in the city.”
“You hate Gaynor.”
“I don’t hate the town. I hate the wine showroom.” Although even that emotion was changing, now that building was the place where Shane and Mimsy lived, where I might do good in the world. “I like the quiet. The beach up here isn’t a zoo like in the city, and I can get everywhere I need to go in under fifteen minutes.”
Jamie eyed me. “You never were a real city boy, but there has to be more to it than that.” After a moment when I didn’t achieve words, his eyes narrowed. “Theo Lafontaine, is there a man?”
