Page 34 of Hard Hitter
Before it was even over, Patrick began to curse. Then he moaned and then flattened her into the bed, his big body shuddering against her.
Silence descended a moment later. Patrick rolled to the side, taking her with him. Then he took a very deep breath and eased himself out, shivering once more as he left her. “Fuck,” he whispered. “Now I know how people get religion.”
She let out a nervous laugh. “What religion is this?”
He pulled her against his chest and buried his face in her hair. “Dunno. Can’t string a sentence together right now.”
Ari couldn’t either. She’d thought sexual energy was a concept she’d already understood. But what had happened on her bed just now was more like combustion.
They lay there breathing hard, their limbs entwined. Ari let her thoughts drift out over the Brooklyn skyline, away from the madness of the last week. She relaxed in Patrick’s giant arms and refused to think about anything important.
“So this is a problem,” he mumbled eventually.
The first prickle of reality trickled down her back. “Can’t we put off the regrets until daylight at least?”
“What regrets? I have none,” he rumbled. “The problem is that Ialreadyget boned up on your massage table. Next time you put your hands on me at work I’m gonna start moaning like a porn star.”
“Might have to get out a gag for you,” she teased.
He let out a sleepy groan. “Doubt it’ll work. Probably just turn me into a submissive.”
Now there was a giggleworthy idea. And since when was Patrick O’Doulfunny?Note to self—give a man an orgasm and learn his secrets. She ran her fingers down his spectacular chest and smiled.
ELEVEN
Patrick was not usually a cuddler. At all. But it was surprisingly comfortable to lie with Ari’s head on his shoulder, letting his fingers sift through her soft hair. It didn’t hurt matters that they’d just hadspectacularsex. He felt both relaxed and spent in the best possible way.
This was the first time in years that he’d gotten naked with someone he’d known for more than an hour.Note to self:Fucking someone you actually like is fun. He already trusted Ari, and didn’t feel as though he needed to live up to any weird celebrity expectations with her.
No wonder he didn’t have the usual urge to make an excuse to bolt for the door.
Eventually he had to get up and deal with the condom, though. So he kissed Ari on the forehead and took his tired body into her bathroom for a few minutes. Washing up, he took a look at his bruise in the mirror. A big greenish blotch was already spreading across his eye socket.
Just another day at the office.
When he walked back into Ari’s bedroom, she was sitting up, one hand clutching the sheet at her kissable breasts, watching him warily. “You can stay.” She cleared her throat. “I mean, if you want to. It’s pretty late...”
He settled the question by flipping down the covers on one side of her bed. “Not leaving you here alone, sweetheart. You don’t know if dumbass is going to try to break in again, and it’s too late to talk to the cops.” He climbed in. “So it’s your place or mine. And yours is closer.” He stretched out on his back and closed his eyes. The second he got horizontal again, the exhaustion returned. It had been a long fucking day.
Ari got out of bed and padded into the bathroom. He heard the water running and a toilet flush. Then she tiptoed to her side of the bed and slid in. The bed rustled as she arranged the covers. But she didn’t come closer.
Sleepy now, he reached for her hand, finding it on the sheet beside him. He raised it to his lips and kissed it. Then he fell asleep.
***
“Patrick.”
“Mmh.”
“Patrick.” A warm hand rubbed his chest.
“Mmh?”
“There are cops at my front door.”
His eyes flew open. “Really?”
“Someone’s knocking, and there’s a cruiser out in front.”
