Patchwork Paradise(56)

“Can I take yours off too?”

I nodded and let my arms fall to the side. Somehow I managed to still be stuck in my work shirt. He undid it slowly, one button at a time. When he was about halfway, he kissed my temple. I closed my eyes. He kissed my eyelids, my cheekbones, my jaw. He worked his way down my neck, spread my shirt, and kissed the divot between my clavicles. He kissed my breastbone, dropped to his knees, pressed his mouth to my stomach, and hugged me hard, resting his cheek against my belly.

I carded my fingers through his hair and waited. The moment felt loaded and my sinuses began to burn. I blinked so I wouldn’t cry, but my heart beat fast with overwhelming emotions.

“Thomas?” I asked.

He shook his head, pulled me down, stripped me of my shirt, and kissed me thoroughly.

“There’s a bed right therrr— Never mind,” I gushed when my back hit the thick carpet.

He spread my legs and lay down between them. We kissed until my face stung with stubble burn. I was so turned on by the time his hand began to inch toward my belly button, I could’ve waved a peace flag from my dick. And I was also babbling. It’d been so long since I had sex that I’d actually forgotten that was a thing I did.

“Oh God,” I heard myself say. “Yes, please keep going in that direction. Oh jeez, why is your hair so soft, it’s not fair, I really want to lick you all over.”

Thomas laughed against my neck, his breath cooling the path he’d been licking. And seriously, my dick was trapped between my stomach and my waistband now. I needed his fingers . . . one . . . inch . . . lower . . . and then . . . Milo began to cry.

“Gnnnnnoooooo,” I groaned pathetically. Thomas thudded his head against my shoulder three times before he rose to his feet. I spread my arms and legs wide and played dead.

“Oh, man,” he said. “Look at you. I want to—”

Milo cried louder.

I sat up and winced when my pants pinched my cock. “You change his diaper,” I said, resigned. “And I’ll grab two ice packs for blue balls.”

Thomas hauled me up. “You’re really something,” he murmured, and kissed me one last time.



On the upside, I did get my cuddle on the couch afterward. It was only midnight, and we had to be up again in about four to six hours, depending on when Milo decided we’d slept long enough, the little brat. I felt bad for my unkind thoughts toward the teacup human, but my balls really hurt.

“I don’t think this is going to be easy,” Thomas said against my hair. I rubbed the forearm he had wrapped around my chest, playing with the direction of his hairs.

“No, you’re right. Maybe we should ask my mom to babysit overnight one weekend, and we could go back to your place.”

Thomas bit my earlobe, and I yelped. “I meant this thing between us. You’re taking on a lot more than a potential new boyfriend.”

“A potential—” I sat up. “I know this part is new, but we’ve known each other for a long time, and the way I feel about you goes way beyond potential. And I was sort of hoping you felt the same.”

He threaded his fingers with mine as he smiled slightly. “I do,” he said. “I always have. And if it were just me, I’d jump into this with both feet. But it’s not just me anymore. Do you really want a boyfriend with a kid? And what if it doesn’t work out? Milo will become attached to you. He already has a mom and dad who aren’t living together. I don’t want him to lose you too.”

“Why would he lose me?” I asked him.

“If we broke up—”

I squashed the annoyance that threatened to bubble up and took a calming breath. Blue balls and tiredness really did a number on my mood. “Okay. I know you’re being responsible. But I’m not exactly known for my slutty ways.” I bit my lip when Thomas reared back a little, looking stunned. “Shit, I didn’t mean it like that. I mean, why talk about breaking up already?”

“Because.” He blew out a deep breath and wouldn’t quite meet my eyes. “I know how I feel. It hasn’t changed over the years, no matter how I wanted it to. I know I’ve been sleeping around a lot but that was . . .” He shrugged, embarrassed. “When you asked me for a drink and I saw you sitting there with that sophisticated-looking guy, you were so obviously in love. I thought, ‘Yeah, okay, I can get over this.’ But I never did. And I don’t—” His dark eyes found mine. “Sam’s shoes are hard to fill. Why now, Oliver? After all these years, why now? What changed?”

Ah, the question I’d been dreading. I’d have to answer this one carefully—but truthfully. “I was with Sam at the time, and I was deliriously happy and in love, Thomas. I’m not going to deny it. Sam will always be part of me, somehow. If he were alive today, we’d still be together. But I also realized, having Milo here, that Sam never would’ve wanted this. And I do. I think if I had been single when you and I met, we’d have worked out too, and we would’ve been in this exact same position.” I wrinkled my face. “With less blue balls, hopefully. And maybe with a baby we adopted and not one you actually physically conceived.”

He laughed, and I took his hands in mine. I closed my eyes for this bit. “I’ve loved you as a friend and a person for years. I’ve been falling in love with you slowly over the last six months or so. When we talked every day while you were traveling, it was the highlight of my day. I couldn’t wait for you to come home so I could figure out some way to have you whisper in my ear at night for real. And then you met Stephen.”