Page 99 of In Step

I shook my head. “Same. Do you think we can leave it ajar for now? Not closed, where we’d go our separate ways. But not fully open either, which is where we’d try long distance.”

“Hmm. So, kind of like you’re just letting a draught in? Keeping the possibility there?”

I nodded. “Yeah. But reinstate the moratorium so we keep ourselves in check, no expectations, no promises, but still keep contact. You’re gone about six months, right? Three in New York split between two companies, and then four to five weeks in Berlin?”

He nodded, watching me carefully.

I shrugged a shoulder. “Enough time to see how deep this runs.”

His mouth curved up in a slow smile. “I would think.”

“So, door open?” My heart held its breath.

He nodded. “Door open.” He reached behind to the bedside table and waved a condom in my face. “Now, can we move on to the part where I get your cock down my throat? I’m sure that’s in the fine print somewhere in our freshly signed Door Open contract.”

I grinned against his lips. “I just added it as an addendum.”

“You move fast. Let me just initial that right now.” He licked into my mouth and rolled me onto my back.

“There’s one final thing.”

“Mmm?” He nibbled down my throat. “What’s that?”

I groaned and turned my head to the side. “I’ll require a minimum number of billable hours to deem the contract fulfilled.”

“Is that so?” He nibbled at the slope of my shoulder, making me shiver. “Then let me get right on that.”

He ran his mouth down my body, taking his time to map each centimetre like he was fixing every curve and angle into his memory one by one, sucking on my nipples and nibbling my hips, taking a minute to roll the condom in place before sliding his fingers into my still-slick arse and alighting on my prostate to shoot stars behind my eyes. And then with those fingers still buried, he swallowed my aching-hard cock—the scratch of his scruff on my sensitive skin driving the sexy right the hell up—and sucked me until I couldn’t remember my name and pleasure rode my spine like a lightning rod.

I shot long and hard with his mouth a hot clamp around my dick, my body unravelling with a rumbling groan while my fingers fisted his hair. And then I fell back on the pillow as he got to his knees and jerked himself until he unloaded all over my chest before straddling my body to lick every centimetre clean. Then he collapsed with a grunt at my side and we lay in silence, staring at the stars on the ceiling caught in an early spark of sunlight, with too much to say and not enough time left to do justice to any of it.

“I have this fantasy.” Abe’s fingers traced circles on my chest. “Of finally getting to taste you.”

My gaze jerked to his. “Really?”

He nodded. “I want to so bad, but I know you won’t let me, not yet, and I respect that. But maybe someday... if we walk through that open door and it’s just you and me—”

I covered his mouth with mine and stole the words, which offered far more hope than I could afford to hold. Then I pulled back and brushed our noses together. “Maybe.”

He held my gaze for a long second and then sighed. “Turn around so I can spoon you.” He waited as I rolled over and then snuggled in close, wrapping his arm around my waist to anchor me. “It’s way too early to be awake. I want to lie here with you as long as I can.”

Me too.I relaxed into his embrace.

“I love you,” he breathed against the back of my neck.

“I love you too.” My heart flopped in my chest, the ache of impending loss already starting to bloom.

* * *

I spent the day savouring each and every second with Abe—memorising every look, every smile, every kiss. The tone of his voice, the shape of his body, the feel of his skin under my hands.

I’d initially resented the idea of sharing two hours of Abe at the Madden family lunch, but as it turned out, I loved it, even though I was all kinds of nervous when we first walked in. And I stayed that way until Judah arrived, sent me a quick smile, and then pulled me aside to ask how I was doing. When I’d answered I was fine, in a voice that sounded like a can of marbles, he’d pulled me into a hug and kissed my cheek, and I was still recovering from the shock.

“Leroy says he’s giving you tomorrow off, right?” Judah’s eyes were soft and full of concern.

I nodded, barely able to keep the tears at bay as it was, without adding a conversation about what was looming.

“Well, I’ll be home all day,” he said in a matter-of-fact voice. “As per Morgan, I’m on home detention for the next week, to recover. He’s even threatening to ping my cell phone to check compliance, the arsehole, so come see me if you need a shoulder or a coffee or someone to yell at. I could do with the distraction. Failing that, Terry over there—” Judah waved a hand at Terry who lifted his beer in salute. “—says he’ll be available all day if I’m not your number-one pick.” He shrugged, but I appreciated his honesty and the offer more than I could say.

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