Page 96 of You, with a View

“Yes,” I whisper.

The give-and-take we have is so good. He knows I can handle what he gives me and throw it right back, and it stokes my craving, that he wants all of me, even the parts that are still broken or healing.

A hungry look curls into his expression as he lines himself up,his chest rumbling out anmmm. He doesn’t see the relief on his face when he sinks all the way inside me, but I do. It’s a secret he doesn’t even know he’s told me.

But I know, as he curls his hands around my shoulders and fucks me until I’m crying out quietly against his skin, it’s also the truth, simply set free.

Twenty-Seven

Jeez, Shepard, I thought you were going to pull out a shiv and stab me in the heart as your grand finale.”

I laugh, winding my arm through Theo’s as we leave the hotel’s on-site tennis court, where we just played three sets. “Would’ve been unnecessary bloodshed. I proved my point when I wiped the court with you.”

He looks over his shoulder to make sure no one’s around, then gives my ass a punishing squeeze. “You barely beat me in the last two sets, and I kicked your ass in the first.”

“Still beat you,” I gloat.

“I’m never going to hear the end of this, am I?” he groans, squinting against the early-morning sun.

“Unlikely. But you can challenge me to a rematch when we get home.” My heart beats hard, and not just from my victory; it’s the first time either of us have talked about specific post-vacation plans.

It’s time to start making them, though. After spending the night in Palm Springs, we’re driving home in just a couple hours,though I’m trying not to think about it. I won’t be wrapping myself around Theo tonight, listening to his heartbeat as I fall asleep, or waking up to him tomorrow morning, getting the sleepy, vulnerable version of him.

“You were on your phone early this morning. Everything good?” he asks as we approach the elevator.

I shake my melancholy thoughts away. “Oh yeah, I got a reply back from The Peaks Resort. They want me in Tahoe as soon as possible, and I said I could come up anytime next week. They confirmed Thursday was perfect.”

Theo’s eyes widen. “Really? That’s quick.”

“I have absolutely nothing else going on, and I get to stay there for free for a night—or two, if I wanted.”

We step into the elevator, and he backs me into the wall, gripping the handrail on either side of my hips. His neck is damp with sweat, cheeks flushed, eyes bright as they move over my face.

“Want to come with me?” I tease.

Storm clouds enter his eyes, chasing away the light. “Uh, I don’t think that’s possible. I’ll be deep in shit next week.”

I tug on the hem of his T-shirt. “No kidding. I’m just daydreaming. I know I can’t ask you to escape real life so soon after getting back to it. They’re probably going to superglue you to your desk.”

“I—” A muscle tics in his jaw as the elevator dings; we’ve arrived at our floor. He looks over his shoulder, and says, faintly, “Yeah.”

The change in his mood is so abrupt that I grab his wrist as we exit the elevator. “Hey, wait.”

“I’m good,” he says, anticipating my next question. “I just...” He runs an agitated hand through his hair, looking at me. “I guess I’m not quite ready to think about being done here.”

My chest goes tight. “I’m feeling it, too.”

“We’ve got close to an eight-hour drive, though, and I don’t want you getting home too late. Let’s get packed up and go.”

“Okay,” I say, but he’s already walking away.

Paul gives us a letter as we settle into the van.

“Remember,” he says. “The story’s not over. We have time.”

Theo hasn’t fully rebounded from our weird elevator conversation earlier. Still, I get a small grin as he leans on his armrest, ready to read the letter with me.

But I’m not sureI’mready. The date of this letter was just days before the one Paul gave us when we started this trip two weeks ago. I sense the end approaching, and I don’t want it to, as surely as I don’t want to drive home today.

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