Page 167 of Affair
“Please,” he said.
Poe fought for composure.
That’s when Gamble was honest.
“I lied to you a month ago,” he said. “I didn’t need to stay. I wanted to stay because I feel like I need to be with you. My path is to you, right now. Please keep me on this path.”
Poe was caught off-guard.
Oh, he suspected, but still.
“Gamble.”
The man wasn’t taking no for an answer. He was so aware of what he was saying next, that Gamble took the leap before he could use it as an excuse.
“You’re fired, Doctor. I don’t need a therapist now. I’m healed.”
And that truth hurt him.
Poe knew he was gone after this, and he had to decide how much of himself he let Gamble steal away. He already knew he was done saving soldiers.
Maybe he’d go back home.
Maybe he could hide in the hillside where he could mourn the time he lost love when that one soldier walked away.
His favorite place to go were the White Cliffs of Dover so he could stare off into the water.
Maybe he’d go there to find some peace if there would ever be any again.
“Please,” Gamble whispered.
Poe knew what he was asking, and while he never did one-night stands, he wanted one with Gamble. They had fought demons, battles, and fought back from the brink together.
Now, he wanted to be selfish and take one thing for himself. It would be the memory of this adventure where they had love.
He said nothing, but found his mouth with his, and they fell back into the kiss.
Poe forgot he had been his doctor.
He forgot they were chased.
All he wanted was to feel.
Gamble held him, and the intensity of the kiss was like nothing he’d ever felt before. He was swamped with so many emotions.
Mostly, he was swamped with peace.
With Poe, it was silent. The voices stopped blaming him for destroying Storm, and causing his daughter’s death. The silence was beautiful, and it gave him that one thing he craved.
A second chance.
With need, he pulled off Poe’s shirt, and only broke their mating of mouths to do that. As he did, Poe did the same thing, pulling his shirt off too.
It was a wild battle to get to flesh, and both men met move for move.
Poe ended up on top, and was in his lap, straddling his body.
“Tell me how to do this,” Gamble said. “I’ve never been with a man before.”
