“Okay. I’ll be here when you getback.”
“And you’re gonna stay here at thecabin?”
“Yes, I told you I would, as long as the weather’s not awful. It’ll be easier to take care of Honoria and She-Ra outhere.”
“And after I getback?”
Julian lifted his head to look at me, a frown on his face. “What?”
“After I get back. Will you stay here then, too?” I swallowed. “I mean, we could move to your apartment. But there’s more room for the animals here. Or we could just alternate, I guess. Or maybe it’s too soon and you want to table this for a little while. I’m fine with that, if you need more timeto—”
“Daniel?”
“Yeah?”
“You’rerambling.”
“Oh.” I ran a hand over my face. “Guess I was.Sorry.”
“It was very cute,” Julian said, prying my hand down so he could press a kiss into the center of my palm. He pushed his toes into the mattress and pushed himself further up the bed, so his lips hovered over mine. “I like to think I’ve rubbed off onyou.”
I snorted. “You’ve rubbed off on meplentyof times,baby.”
Julian bit my lower lip, then released it quickly. “That was a terriblejoke.”
“And that was a terrible punishment, if that’s what you intended,” I said breathlessly. “It’s not exactly a behavior deterrent ifyou—”
“Daniel.”
“Yeah?”
“Shutup.”
Julian kissed me, rubbing his half-hard dick against my hip, knotting his fingers into the hair on either side of myhead.
With a moan, I skimmed my hand down his back and over the curve of his ass. He sucked in a breath that was not quite pain, not quitepleasure.
“Tender?” Iasked.
Jules shrugged. “Not too bad,” he said, but I was pretty sure he was underselling it. “Besides, you’ll be gone tomorrow. I want to still feel you tomorrow night when I’m in this bedalone.”
My heart lurched a little at the strain in his voice that he tried to hide, even as my cock jumped at theimagery.
“What about me?” I countered, holding him firmly againstme.
“Huh?”
“What about me, tomorrow night? You’ll have the animals to keep you warm, but I’ll be in bed at myparents’ house, for God’s sake. All alone.Cold…”
“Your parents’ house in the Hamptons isn’t heated?” he asked dryly. “Did you want to borrow ablanket?”
“Cold in a spiritual, emotional sense, Julian,” I said, rolling my hips just a little, so Julian’s cock rubbed against my stomach and hehissed.
“Oh.” His voice was syrupy thick now. “Not sure how I can fix that for you, unless you want me to come to Long Island withyou.”
It was tempting.Godwas it tempting. Having Julian beside me would be like donning a Kevlar vest, making me impervious to anything my parents had to say. But then, I was going there partly to make myself vulnerable, to try to set things right. Showing up with my boyfriend in tow would only distract from that purpose. They’d be rude to him—far, far ruder than Angela had been to me on Thanksgiving—just to needle me, and I wouldn’t be able to handleit.
Sadly, this was something I had to tackle on my own, just thisonce.
