Beneath me, Isha’s breathing grew erratic and he groaned into my mouth, sweat slicking our skin where we were pressed together. My hands itched to reach between us and jack his cock, but Isha loved to come from being screwed alone, and I loved to watch him. To witness him lose his mind over something so damn fucking beautiful was…I didn’t know what it was. All I knew was that I was deeply addicted to every facet of him, and I’d never give him up.
Isha came with a low cry, and violence that belied the gentle pace we’d been fucking at. He seized and jerked, and hot, wet heat bloomed on my abdomen. Sensation overwhelmed me. Isha tightened around my dick, and orgasm ambushed me, charging through me like a caged animal set free.
I shot hard, burying myself deep with a final drive of my hips. The sounds that tore out of me seemed to come from someone else, and only Isha’s soothing hands tied me down to the world.
A protracted moment passed before I remembered that he was the one with a dick crammed inside him. I pulled myself together and eased out of him. The urge to collapse on top of him was strong, but I checked myself and fell in a heap beside him. “You okay?”
Isha hummed. “Ask me in a week.”
The new, relaxed version of Isha was a sucker for dozing off after an afternoon fuck, something I couldn’t let myself do without risk of throwing my sleep schedule off kilter enough to hurt me. As he settled into a blissful nap, I was jealous as hell, and had to get up before I gave in and joined him.
I took a shower on the second floor, then wandered downstairs to clean up the mess the kids had left behind. Lucy the snake had taken up residence in the kitchen as she seemed to enjoy keeping an eye on things. I checked on her as I gathered stray shoes and toys.
Isha kept stuff like that in a box under the stairs. I drifted to the hallway to be greeted by a soft laugh.
“You know, you clean up so much you should live here.”
I tossed a glance over my shoulder. “I clean up so I don’t kill myself stepping on Lego.”
“Same theory applies.”
The last shoe landed in the box with a satisfyingclunk. I turned to face Isha. He was leaning against the banister, wearing just his jeans, his expression soft with the remnants of sleep. “Is this you trying to get me to sell my house again?”
“No, this is me trying to get you to live with me. I don’t care what you do with your house.”
“Charming.”
“Uh-huh. As is your continued refusal to talk about this.” Isha straightened and made for the kitchen, kissing my cheek on his way past. “Doesn’t mean I’ll stop asking, though.”
I sighed as he disappeared. He’d been asking me to move into his huge house for months now, but I’d never managed to give him an answer. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to spend every night with him, it was more that I couldn’t bear to give up the things that made me myself. My house was small and worth pennies compared to Isha’s, but it was mine. I didn’t want to sell it.
“So rent it out,” Isha said when I followed him into the kitchen. “Or do nothing. Let it sit empty.”
“That’s stupid.”
Isha shut the fridge with a bang. “I know.”
“What about Frances?”
“What about her? I already told you she can live in my office. You said she’d love bird-watching out of the skylight.”
“She does love pigeon porn,” I said absently.
Isha put the kettle on, and then joined me by the sink. “Listen, I don’t ever want to pressure you about anything, but it's not just about me. We all want you here with us all the time. This place isn’t home without you.”
I gazed at him, wondering how we’d wound up in a place where we couldn’t bear to spend a night apart. Where Isha’s ex-wife had become the closest thing to a sister I’d ever have. Where his friends had welcomed me with open arms, and it was as though they’d known about us from the start.
And then there was Tam and Delilah. Explaining our relationship to them had been far easier than I’d feared. Delilah had merely nodded and asked for a snack. Tam thought it was the coolest thing ever. So why the hell was I dragging my feet about making this permanent?
I took a deep breath. “Okay. I’ll rent my house out and pay it straight to you.”
Isha blinked. “What?”
“Don’t start. I’m not living here for free.”
“Jude—”
“Don’t start. I’m not a fucking house husband.”
