Page 95 of The Guy in the Alley

“In the event we break up, I’m the one moving out, and then I gotta pack up my autistic son too.”

Those words went on a loop in my brain, and as much as they stung, I couldn’t fault him for being cautious. A good dad functioned that way. I understood his fears. I understood he wouldn’t risk his son’s mental health. But he didn’t understand what I was getting at.

He’d said I was telling him everything he wanted to hear, right? I clung to that—desperately. Because it meant I only had to work against his fears, not what he wanted.

I closed the distance between us and cupped his face in my hands. “Baby, the patience part will make you trust me. I’m not moving him in here tomorrow. I’m talking about a space he’d like to visit.”

He swallowed hard and closed his eyes.

“A year from now, I think you’ll know I’m serious,” I continued quietly. “Maybe even in six months. I don’t know. All I wanted to show you was my vision. That I’m in this for the long haul and that you’re part of a package deal—and I’m ready to prove it. With time.”

When he opened his eyes again, he almost looked broken. As if I was fighting the last piece of resistance.

“Why are you doing this?”

Wasn’t that obvious at this point?

I smiled. “Because I love you, you fucking dingbat.”

“But—” He exhaled an emotional chuckle, as if the words just now settled, and he rested his forehead to mine. “It’s a big sacrifice.”

“No.” I touched his cheek. “You’re not the only one who’s found something new worth living for. I love the Clover, but I don’t want it to define who I am or take up every weekend.” I inched back so I could look at him properly. “I didn’t meet your family today for your sake, Ben. I scoped them out to see if they would fit in my family one day, and shit’s looking promising.”

He broke out in a tearful smile and hugged me to him. “You little fucker.”

I grinned and?—

“I love you too, by the way.” It was his turn to cup my face in his hands, and he kissed me quickly. “Fuck, do I love you. It feels good to say that.”

It felt damn good to hear it.

A brand-new sensation seeped into me, slowly filling me up, and I could only describe it as a combination of elation and calmness. Fucking harmony. My frazzled nerves healed themselves as we met in another kiss, and this one was slow, deep, and perfect.

“You cut me off earlier,” I mumbled between kisses. “The other room’s for your ma.”

He sighed through a shudder and backed me up against the wall. “You wanna be stuck with me in the front room?”

I shrugged and kissed his jaw, locking my arms around his neck. “It’s big enough, and you can install doors or something.”

Because we needed our privacy too.

He gave me a swift, drugging kiss. “That’s a lot of changes for a young bachelor.”

I hummed. I wasn’t a bachelor anymore, and neither was he. Bring on the crazy. All the changes, new furniture, shit on the walls, life everywhere, complications, beauty, two families merging. I was game.

“Start building,” was all I said.

We were done talking after that.

Ben was…in a hurry. At long fucking last. He kissed me brutally hard and ripped off my towel, and I got with the program and yanked up his tee. He broke away to haul it over his head, and desire bolted through me at the sight of the hunger in his gaze.

Without a word, he spun me around to face the wall, and he sank to his knees and grabbed two fistfuls of my ass. I sucked in a sharp breath and rested my forearm against the wall. The heat from his exhale so close to me made me shiver, and thank fuck he didn’t keep me waiting. He buried his face in my ass and pushed his tongue inside me.

Holy fuck.

I moaned, an onslaught of sensations buzzing through me. Pleasure from the contrast of his soft, wet tongue and his stubble… Honestly, a bit of shock too. I clenched my jaw. So the man could eat ass well. Fuck me, fuck me, fuck me, the way he slid his tongue in and out and around and so fucking shamelessly was gonna make me lose my mind.

“Just like that,” I groaned. “You’re just full of surprises, aren’t you?”

---