Page 48 of Forever Flames: Padraig & Stevie
He flips me onto my stomach, palms dragging me back by the hips. “Again.”
“Yes.” I brace against the mattress. He drives into me in one brutal stroke. “Do not stop. I want you to be inside me all night.”
The room fills with the sound of skin slapping, broken cries, the creak of the bed under every punishing thrust. One hand on my waist, the other between my legs, fingers rough and perfect until I’m coming again.
“Fuck,Ohmygod—”
Padraig grunts as he pulses deep inside me. When he finally collapses and rolls us to our sides, both of us are wrecked and breathless. His chest presses against my back and his arms wrap around me, locking me in tight.
We stay like that. Raw. Quiet.
His lips find my shoulder. My neck. My spine.
“I’m never letting you go again,” he murmurs.
He turns me beneath him, cradles my face with both hands, and kisses me slow.
“And, don’t fall asleep. We’re not done,” he whispers. “Not even close.”
“I didn’t know it would feel like this,” I whisper against his lips.
“Like what?”
“Home is wherever you are.”
He pulls me closer. “Thank God you feel the same way.”
thirteen
Padraig
Four Months Later
Themorningcrawlsslow.
It always feels this way the night after a tough rehearsal.
I’m thankful for some alone time. It’s rare. Light spills crooked through the bent blinds, slanting across the coffee table, which is littered with empty mugs and guitar picks. A couple of my cracked drumsticks poke out from underneath Liam’s textbook.
I should clean up, it’s probably my turn but I can’t seem to move. My spine is sunk deep into the cushions, my legs stretched out in front of me. Some morning show’s on mute and the remote is nowhere in sight.
I can’t find it in me to care.
Class started thirty minutes ago. Doesn’t matter. I’m not going.
I’m surprised when the door creaks behind me and Liam emerges from his room barefoot, tugging on a sweatshirt. His hair is wild from sleep. He squints when he sees me and smirks.
“Jesus, you look rough.” He heads for the fridge.
I flip him off. “You’re not so bad yourself.”
He grabs a yogurt and a bottle of water, then flops into the armchair across from me. Rests his foot on the coffee table next to the mugs as he peels the foil off the container. “Where’s everyone?”
“Linus must be in class, but you’d now more than me. Stevie’s with her study group prepping for her marketing presentation. Felicity left early.”
Liam snorts. “I thought it was too quiet.”
“It’s fucking heaven.” I stretch out even longer and turn to my side.
