Page 85 of Yours to Keep

The man was a work of art, every toned muscle flexing and releasing with every move he made. That strong jaw clenched with need as our eyes locked together and he reached for me.

I took his hands, our fingers twining tightly together. He lowered himself over me, his knees settling between mine as he claimed my lips for another searing kiss. I wrapped my legs around his hips, still encased in his slacks, moaning at the friction of the material against my aching clit.

“Sullivan.” His name fell from my lips in a quiet whisper that sounded more like a plea.

He reacted immediately, letting go of my hands and rolling to the side. A few seconds later, his belt was undone and he rolled his slacks off while I pushed his boxer-briefs down with them.

With every inch of his beautifully tanned skin on display, I drank him in. He caught me staring, but there was no smirk this time. All I saw on his features was an expression so tender that it made my heart skip again. It didn’t look at all like it was only lust.

This seemed deeper and purer, but I refused to even try to name it, instead just immersing myself in the moment and letting myself feel all those things I shouldn’t have been feeling. He crawled over me again, resting with his knees between my legs as he claimed my lips for a long, slow kiss.

As frenzied as we had been before, he started taking his time now, moving his lips over my neck, to my breasts, and my stomach. I sucked in a breath, my fingers wrapping around his shoulders to bring him back to me.

Immediately complying, he moved back up, eyes never leaving mine. He reached for a condom in the drawer of my nightstand where he’d stashed some before. He kept his eyes on mine as he rolled it on. He took my hands again and in one smooth stroke slid all the way into me. We both moaned, watching each other’s faces as our fingers tightened around one another.

It had never been quite like this before, but as he thrust into me, my hips rose up to meet him every time, and all the while, our eyes remained locked. Intimacy suddenly got a whole new meaning to me, the term making complete sense for the first time ever.

We moved together in hypnotizing rhythm, climbing higher and higher until my back arched and I clamped down on him, my toes curling and my fingers digging into his hands. Pleasure surged through me and I shuddered, moaning and writhing as the orgasm sent sparks of bliss flowing through my veins.

My climax triggered Sullivan’s and he tensed above me, finding his release on a groan that catapulted me into a series of gentle aftershocks. I held on to him through it all, my eyes closing. I stroked my fingers through his hair in the aftermath.

“That was awesome,” he murmured lazily, and I felt him smile into the crook of my neck. “Ten minutes and we’ll go for round two?”

A soft, breathless laugh came out of me, my head resting against the side of his. “Okay, Superman. Let’s talk in ten minutes.”

“You got it.” We lay there together until we both caught our breath. Then he finally pulled out of me and went to take care of the condom.

When he came back to bed, he pulled me closer to his side, a relaxed grin on his lips. He lay with me like he belonged here, in my bed. With me. Every night.

A comfortable silence fell between us, but even as I heard his breathing evening out, my mind was still whirring. The room was quiet except for the soft hum of the ceiling fan and Sullivan’s steady breathing.

He was sprawled on his stomach, one arm thrown lazily across my waist. I just stared at the ceiling, tracing the faint crack in the plaster above his head and feeling his warm breath ghosting slowly across my ribs. He slept hard these days when we were together, completely out in a deep, unguarded way that made me think he trusted where he was. Trusted me.

I knew he’d had trouble sleeping before we’d met, and he’d mentioned once or twice that he’d never slept as well as he did when he was with me. That knowledge was what was currently keeping me from drifting off.

Maybe I’m being too hard on him. What’s the worst that can actually happen if I tell people we’re dating?

I snorted softly to myself, already knowing the answer and also knowing it wasn’t the end of the world. Saint Raphael’s ran on caffeine, gossip, and questionable romantic decisions. Half the staff there had either dated or hooked up with each other at some point and the other half were either married to someone else or in an active situationship with someone there.

Not me, of course. But that was mostly because I’d only been there just over a year since starting my fellowship and I’d been running at full speed that entire time. Before him, my social life had basically consisted of collapsing face-first into my pillow after twelve-hour shifts and occasionally remembering to text Ellora back.

Still, people would talk. They’d definitely talk. They’d probably also think I was the enemy, a traitor who’d crawled into bed with the billionaire who was turning their hospital upside down.

I glanced at Sullivan’s sleeping face, the hard lines he carried during the day gone now. This was just him, slightly rumpled, sandy hair falling over his forehead and his mouth parted faintly against the pillow.

This was the man who showed up with flowers and takeout on an ordinary Wednesday. The man who crossed oceans just to be with me without having to hide. The man who would probably burn down the world for his sister without even blinking.

I would have to be a fool to throw away the real affection I had for him just because of what other people thought. Other people who would judge me no matter what. There was always someone ready to hand down a verdict about someone else’s life.

While I couldn’t say I loved Sullivan, the truth curled quietly in my chest, stubborn and impossible to ignore. I didn’t love him yet, but I was already falling hard in that direction and the thought scared the hell out of me.

But those are tomorrow’s problems.

Sullivan shifted in his sleep. I turned toward him, careful not to wake him as I pressed closer until my cheek rested against his chest. I listened to the slow, steady thump of his heartbeat beneath my ear and let myself sink into him.

Curling up against him, I breathed in the clean, familiar scent of his skin and my eyelids finally grew heavy. Tomorrow could deal with judgment, consequences, and complicated realities.

Tonight, I just let myself hold him until I finally fell asleep.