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FORTY-TWO
Patrick
Ilisten to her come, my name ripping through her throat triggering a smaller, second orgasm that has my dick twitching and jerking in my hand. When it’s over, I open my eyes.
I’m still standing in the small entryway of my Backbay loft. Shoulders pressed against the front door. I'll be lucky if my neighbors don’t call the police.
Right now, I don’t care about any of that.
“Cari.” I say her name quietly, leaning my head back against the door, letting it drop with a muffled bang. “Cari?”
“Mmmm,” she says, more of a sigh than an actual word.
“Are you okay?”
“Umm hmm…” Another non-word. “You?”
I laugh, staring up at the ceiling. “Better than I was fifteen minutes ago.” Sighing, I peel my hand off my cock and tuck it back into my pants. “Are your panties still pulled down?”
I can practically hear her blushing over the phone. “Yes.”
“Pull them up for me.”
“Okay.” I hear the soft slide of cotton against skin as she pulls her boy shorts up her thighs. “Patrick?”
“Hmm…” Eyes closed, I listen to the rustle of her sheets as she settles into bed.
“Are you still mad?”
“No,” I tell her. “It was stupid to think I could stay away from you. Even stupider to try.”
“Because you love me.” She whispers it softly.
“Yes. Because I love you.”
We’re quiet for a while. I imagine her drifting off to sleep. Me, beside her, pulling her into my arms. Holding her. Keeping her safe. Keeping her forever.
“I wish you were here.”
Her voice weaves itself into my fantasy, and I feel a smile break over my face. “Good.”
She laughs, the sound of it soft and sweet. I love making her laugh. “Such a jerk.”
My smile stretches into a grin. “You love it.”
“Maybe…” she says, teasing me. “When will I see you again?”
I want to tell her I’m on my way. That I’m coming back and that it’s for good. Forever. But I have work in a few hours. The mess with Declan and Tess to sort out. Conner to pacify. Family to contend with.
“Tomorrow. I’ll call you, okay?”
“Okay…” I can hear the smile in her voice. “When you come back, will you stay?”
I shouldn’t. I should tell her no. Stick to my guns.
But I can’t.
Not with her.
I never could.
“Yes.”
She sighs. Sounds content and I wish more than anything that I was there with her right now. “Goodnight,” she murmurs, her words heavy with sleep.
“Goodnight, Cari—dream of me.”
“I always do, Patrick,” she says softly. “I always do.”