He devours me like he hasn’t eaten in a week. His hair is too short to grab, but my hand finds the back of his head to keep him against me, not that he needs to be convinced. As my moans grow louder, he slides two fingers inside me, his teeth grazing over my clit.
I cry out, and my back arches off the couch. Tears stream down my face at the intensity of his words and my orgasm. Ian kisses up my stomach, lifting my shirt as he goes. He takes one nipple in his mouth and sucks me through the fabric of my bra. When he reaches my face, he softly kisses my tears away.
“Beautiful. No tears.”
I sniffle. “They’re happy tears.” I slip my fingers into the top of his pants. “Ian, sit back and let me take care of you.”
He kisses my lips in a sensual way that has me dizzy. “No, this was just for you. You’ve already taken care of me by being by my side today.”
My whole body feels like it’s floating on a cloud as he gives me a lingering kiss on my forehead and lifts me up to hold me against him. My hands grip his shirt at his sides, reveling in the perfection of this moment. All I can hope for is that we get many more like this.
28
Ian
Two weeks later
“Maggie, are you packed?” I call out as I open Maggie’s apartment door, letting myself in using the key she gave me last week.
“Yes! Well…sort of.” Her voice carries down the hall.
I step into her bedroom, and my eyes rove over her space. There are clothes thrown about, covering half her bed and the chair in the corner. I round the bed, where she’s folding a pair of black pants. Taking the pants from her hands, I set them back on the bed.
“Ian, what are you doing? I was folding those.”
I ignore her, wrapping my arms around her and hugging her. She melts into me, and her arms go around my waist. We stand there for a few minutes without saying a word.
Eventually, I murmur against the top of her head, “Be honest, how are you feeling right now?”
Her deep inhale has her pressing closer. “I guess a lot of things. Stressed. Scared. But unbelievably thankful you’ll be with me so I don’t have to do it alone.”
I kiss her hair. “I am, too.” Letting her go, I sit on the edge of the bed, careful not to sit on any of the clothes. “This will fly by, and it’ll be over before you know it.”
She nods, but looks skeptical. I sit quietly and let her pack up the rest of her outfits, answering the occasional question about whether something looked okay or not. Though I’m the last person she should ask since I think she looks stunning in everything. And nothing.
Maggie finishes zipping up her suitcase and pats it once. “Okay,nowI’m packed.”
I stand up, lift her suitcase, and place it on the wheels while keeping any comments about how heavy it is for such a short trip to myself. Rolling it out to the living room, I place it next to mine. When I return to the bedroom, I find Maggie frowning down at her phone. I walk to her side and slip my hand onto her hip. “Everything okay?”
She drops her phone to her side and looks up at me. “Yeah, that was Jenson. He’ll be here in thirty minutes.”
I kiss her forehead before guiding her out of her bedroom and down the hall. “Let’s get you a coffee.”
She sighs, and her shoulders drop an inch. “Yeah, that’ll help.”
I chuckle as I help her onto a barstool, then set about making coffee for her while keeping an eye on her. I’m concerned about her. This is uncharted territory for me, but I’m determined to be the man she needs as she faces these demons. Literally faces them. In court.
She’s sitting silently, doing something on her phone. Ilean against the counter with my arms crossed and just watch her. The last two weeks have been interesting. If we weren’t at work, we spent every minute together. And when I was at work, Jack and Nate worked diligently to ensure that all our employees were aware of the changes in ownership. They also ensured that I felt they took this seriously by including me in things I usually haven’t been, which I appreciated.
The one thing I wish I could’ve done was talk to Pamela. She’s been out of town, first at a conference, then she and her family took an extended vacation.
All the work she and I have done has helped me handle situations in more productive ways, unlike how I did before, which was generally marked by anger and silence. But I still have years of unhealthy coping mechanisms to overcome, and a year in therapy isn’t enough to fix them all. I’ve felt myself slipping back into old habits when the pressure gets too heavy. Maggie has helped pull me back out, even without realizing she was doing it. But it isn’t enough, nor can I use her as a crutch. Especially not right now, while she needs me to be strong for her.
When the coffee is done, I doctor it up the way she likes it and set the cup in front of her. Her tired eyes find mine, and my heart clenches.
“Thanks, babe.”
My lips pull up. No one I’ve ever been with called me anything other than my name. It makes me irrationally happy that Maggie is the first person to use any terms of endearment with me. That’s also a new development that’s occurred over the last two weeks.
