Jackets in hand, we headed outside, and instead of just pulling hers on, she wrapped her arms around me at the bike and hugged me tight. That I could, do so I tucked her in close and closed my eyes. It had gotten late while we’d been inside, and the sun had gone down. The sound of traffic in the distance accompanied the sound of the cicadas and the hum of an air conditioner.
A sigh escaped me, and I tightened my arms around her. I hadn’t actually realized how much I needed this hug. “Someone is looking after me,” I said after a long moment of soaking it up.
“Mmm-hmm, deal with it,” she teased and rubbed her hand against my back. “You did wonderful in there. But now you look wiped.”
I kind of was, a little. “Not tired so much as…” I looked for the words. “I don’t know her as well as I do you,” I admitted. “I think it would be easier to make sure I wasn’t pushing her more than she can take, and yes, that was why Richard was there too, but…”
“You worried,” she murmured, and I pressed my lips to her hair. Yes, I had, and she got it. “I thought you were wonderful. Thank you for letting me watch.”
I laughed and pulled back some. “You sure you weren’t bored? It was a lot of tying and untying then retying…”
“You get this crinkle right here…” She ran her finger between my brows. “When you’re very focused. You do it when you’re working on music too. Every time you worked on a new knot, you did it, and I could almost see you trying to figure out what order to do it in next, how it would play when you worked it into the bigger piece.”
“You liked that?” Curiosity filled me as I studied her. Under the street lamps, she had a warm glow to her skin, but it left her eyes a pair of shadowy pools.
“I loved it. Because I know you’re going to put it all together in this wonderful piece that I get to enjoy. Now, if you’re up for it, would you mind if we hurried to get home? I’d very much like to strip your clothes off and ride your dick if you’ll let me.”
Let her…
Real laughter burst out of me before I kissed her soundly. She’d managed to comfort, encourage, and tease me all in the same set of sentences. “Let you?” I said against her lips. “Just for that, I might make you lay there and get yourself off for me while I watch.”
She shivered.
“But you were being sweet, and you were exceptionally good tonight.”
“So were you,” she insisted, and I sighed as she bit my lower lip gently. “I love you, Ian, I love all the care you take. I’d also love it if you’d let me take care of you.”
“Jacket on,” I murmured, then kissed her once more before taking her jacket and holding it so she could slip it on. Then she snagged mine off the bike where I’d set it and held it up for me. “You’re going to brat it up some, aren’t you?”
“I think I’ve earned it,” she remarked, and I turned and let her help me into the jacket.
Fair enough.
“I think you have too.”
“Yay,” she said, letting out the little cheer, and I chuckled. I straddled the bike and held out her helmet to her, but she had her phone in her hand. “One sec. I’m making sure the bedroom is clear.”
I snorted. “You give Coop enough warning, and he’ll accidentally wander in.”
“Not tonight, I want you all myself.”
“You always have me, Angel.”
Chapter Eight
All We Are
Frankie
The whole ride home, I clung to his back. Funnily enough, just like the ride in, he took us back around the lake. The darkness was soothing and the air cooler. Honeysuckle bloomed in a thick patch, and I swore it fisted around my heart. The longer we wound around the lake, the more I realized Ian needed the soothing as well, so it didn’t surprise me when he pulled off to a rest area. We didn’t talk, just drank in the sight of the moon, the water, and the swaying trees. There were lights visible across the lake. Life going on. When he touched my hands, I tightened my grip, and he got the bike started again.
At the apartment, he pulled into the slot next to my new car. I still couldn’t believe they’d gotten me a Tesla. The other car was now stored at Archie’s until Trina needed it. Even after we moved, the house would remain here. Closed up for the time being, but here, and there would be groundskeepers looking after it.
When we came down to visit the guys’ families, Archie and I would probably stay there. Apparently, his mom had signed the house over to him, so it wasn’t his parents anymore. So much to do before we moved—
Moved.
I blew out a breath as I slid off the bike, aware of Ian’s gaze before I’d even tugged the helmet off. He studied me for a long moment. “It’s hitting you, isn’t it?”
“After the conversation about Manhattan and Brooklyn? And the ride around the lake and the fact that we’re ordering boxes to start packing up the apartment?” Somewhere in all of that, I thought it had already sunk in, but tonight? Yeah, tonight it hit me. “It’s hitting you too.”
The corner of his mouth kicked up as he turned off the bike and dismounted. “Yeah, I was thinking about the lake. About the first time I kissed you out there…”
“And our helmets clacked together?” I grinned.
He chuckled, tucking me under his arm to walk together up the short set of steps into the apartment. Only the light in the kitchen was on. Ian helped me out of my jacket and then hung both of them on the hooks they’d put up behind the
