“Oh, man.” Silas blew a raspberry, crossing his arms as he leaned on his vehicle.
“Maybe you could hang out with Dad,” Ivy said in a low voice I didn’t think I was meant to hear.
Silas glanced over at me. “I’m going to Boston this week, but I’ll see what I can do.”
He high-fived each of them, fist-bumped me, and it was time to move on.
Sarah was waiting for us at my truck. She held her arms open for the kids and that was it—the signal that my time was up. I hated this part. I truly hated it.
I’d always thought it would get easier, but it never did. If there was an upside, it was that I’d have a night alone with Silas before he left.
That was definitely something to look forward to.
Silas opened his door and pulled me inside, pushing me against the nearest wall and shoving his tongue down my throat like a man possessed. Or starving.
“Holy shit. I’m fucking dying. Are you dying? It’s been days,” he moaned in between feverish kisses.
I unzipped my jacket and straightened, biting his lower lip and his chin. “Upstairs.”
We linked our fingers and made our way to the primary suite. I had no clear memory of taking off our clothes, but that was inevitable. Soon we were naked under the covers, mouths fused, bodies grinding and gliding, and then I was inside him, moving like thunder.
I marveled that something so new could feel so perfect, so right. I’d probably chastise myself later for romanticizing sex with a closeted man who lived in another state. We were on borrowed time in a borrowed house. Far from perfect and yet, tonight…it was close enough.
We lay half-entwined, gasping for air with sweat and cum cooling on our skin, too spent to worry about comfort.
“Messy.”
I hummed in agreement. “Be right back.”
I disposed of the condom, cleaned up, and returned with a washcloth to find Silas spread like a starfish in the middle of the bed.
“You wrecked me,” he moaned as he rose on his elbows to watch me wipe his stomach. “I was supposed to collect my prize tonight, and now I’m almost comatose.”
I nudged him to his side and rolled to face him. “What prize was that?”
“Your ass.”
I chuckled. “Why didn’t you collect?”
Silas studied me through hooded eyelids for a moment. “I got nervous, and I wanted you too much. I was afraid I’d hurt you and ruin it. I didn’t want that to be the way I left you.”
I opened my mouth and closed it, as surprised by his vulnerable admission as I was by the pain at the thought of him leaving.
I cleared my throat and smoothed his hair from his eyes. “Next time.”
He smiled. “I won’t be gone long. Three, four days tops.”
“Oh. And you’ll be back?”
Silas punched my shoulder lightly. “Yeah, I’ll be back. You didn’t think I was gone for good, did you?”
“I hoped you wouldn’t be, but you’re a busy guy on two coasts now.”
“Not really, and anyway, this place fucking loves me. Did you see them cheering me on?” He modulated his voice to mimic his adoring public, adding, “ ‘Go, man, go! We love you! You’re the best!’ ”
“I thought that was for me. I—oomph!”
Silas pounced, straddling my thighs and raising my arms above my head. “Are you stealing my thunder, Coop? That’s not very nice, you know. I need that praise, I feed off that praise…gimme more!”
