Chapter 19 #2
“I thought you liked your freedom.”
“Are you planning to shackle me to your bed? Not that I would object.”
She felt her face go hot at the thought of such things. “You know what I mean.”
He kissed the blush that flamed each cheek. “I do know, and I’ve had a lot of years of freedom. I might be ready to try something else.”
“What if you decide you don’t like it?”
“What wouldn’t I like about flying and hanging out with you the rest of the time?”
“I don’t know. What if we don’t get along when we’re together every day?”
“I’m not worried about getting along with you.” He pressed his hard cock against her core. “We get along just fine.”
“Because it’s new and fun and exciting. What happens when it gets boring and routine?”
“Boring and routine? What do you take me for? I’d never let that happen.”
“Be serious. We both know what happens when the blush wears off the rose.”
“Sweetheart, if I got to hold you and kiss you and make love to you every day, my life would never again be boring or routine. And the blush will never wear off our rose.”
“I worry that you’re not being realistic. We’re not idealistic twentysomethings doing this for the first time, expecting everything to be good times and smooth sailing. We both know better.”
“For what it’s worth, I would be doing this for the first time. And do you want to know why that is?”
Erin nodded.
“Because until I found you, I hadn’t met anyone I could imagine spending every day with.
And after only a few months with you and the amazing time together this week, I can’t imagine my life without you in it.
I’ve waited a long time to take this kind of leap with a woman, Erin, and it’s not something I do lightly.
It’s something I’m willing to do because it’s you I’d be leaping with. Does that make sense?”
Overwhelmed by his words as much as the emotion behind them, Erin blinked rapidly but was unable to stop a stray tear from escaping.
He kissed it away. “Are these good tears?”
“These are holy-cow-you-blow-me-away tears.”
“You do the same for me.”
After that, there were no more words and no more tears as he kissed her and caressed her and made love to her. The thought of being with him every day was almost too good to be true.
He hooked his arms under her legs, opening her to deep, intense thrusts that had her screaming from the nearly unbearable pleasure that overtook her.
“Ah, God, Erin…” He was right behind her, surging into her as he came with a groan.
As they settled after the incredible high, Erin wrapped her arms around him to keep him close for a little while longer. She wanted to bottle the way he made her feel so she could keep it forever. “I can’t believe I just had sex in this room.”
He grunted out a laugh. “If your mom has it bugged, she’s getting a great view of my bare ass.”
Erin pulled the covers over his spectacular ass. “I told you we weren’t going to do what we just did in this sacred room.”
“What can I say? You’re powerless against my charms.”
“Apparently, I am.”
“That’s okay,” he said, flashing a cocky grin before he kissed her. “I like you that way.”
Erin was finding she liked being powerless to resist him. She liked it a whole lot.
“You know,” she said tentatively, “if we’re going to make a go of this, as you say, we might be able to skip the condoms. I’m on long-term birth control, and I’m healthy.”
“I’m kind of skittish about that after what happened way back when.”
“I totally understand. I was only tossing it out there as an FYI. Think about it.”
He pressed his reawakened cock against her hip, making her groan. “Not sure how I’ll think about anything else.”
Erin and Slim returned to the hospital early in the afternoon to find Jenny and Alex sitting with her mother in the waiting room.
“What’re you guys doing here?” Erin asked, shocked to see them.
“We’re on our way to Las Vegas to meet Paul and Hope,” Jenny said. “But I couldn’t go anywhere until I knew that Tom was okay, so we flew through Philly.”
“I can’t believe you’re here,” Erin said tearfully as she hugged them both.
“The second she got your text, she was online changing our flights,” Alex said.
“It means so much that you came,” Mary Beth said to Jenny.
“What’s the latest?” Erin asked her mom.
“He’s still in recovery, but stable and holding his own at last check. They said he should be awake within an hour or two, and we’ll know more then.”
They took Mary Beth to get something to eat in the cafeteria and returned to the waiting room, hoping to be able to see her dad soon. The doctor came in a short time later and said they were moving him to a room in the ICU and that they could visit him two at a time.
“How’s he doing?” Erin asked.
“Better than expected at this point,” the doctor said. “He’s responding to stimuli and squeezing our hands, which are good signs. He has a long road ahead, but I’m feeling optimistic.”
An audible sigh of relief went through the room. The doctor gave them directions to the ICU and said Tom would be there in about thirty minutes.
Erin hugged her mom while Slim rubbed both their backs.
“I’m so relieved,” Mary Beth said, wiping away tears as she hugged Jenny.
They moved as a group to the ICU waiting room, where Mary Beth and Erin were allowed in to see him first. Erin was overwhelmed by the sheer number of machines attached to him as well as the pasty gray color of his complexion.
But when he opened his eyes and looked at them, she could see that the dad she loved was still in there.
“Hey, Dad,” Erin said. “We’re all here, and you’re doing great.” She leaned over to kiss his forehead, working to contain her emotions so he wouldn’t see that she was upset.
On the other side of the bed, Mary Beth held his hand and stared at him intently.
Erin decided to give them a minute alone and left the room to find Slim waiting for her. She stepped into his outstretched arms.
“How is he?”
“He opened his eyes and saw us there.”
“That’s good news.”
“I’m going to give Jenny a turn to see him so they can get going.
” Erin left his warm embrace long enough to get Jenny, and then she returned to him, appreciative of his support during another challenging time.
It wasn’t lost on her that she was becoming dependent on the tender support he offered so willingly any time she needed him.