Chapter 58

58

DAPHNE

I had never been more surprised than I was when I came out of the kitchen to find Sterling and Eric actually talking. Neither of them looked angry or even annoyed, and if I hadn't known any better, I'd have thought they'd buried the hatchet.

I doubted that was the case, though. While seeing them locked in conversation gave me hope for their friendship, I knew they'd have a way to go before things would be back to normal. I smiled as I watched them from the door.

"What?" Eric asked, suddenly looking at me like he'd known I was there all along. "What are you smiling about?"

"You two," I said. "Food's ready and you're both still alive, so I'm assuming it's okay if we all break bread together."

Eric glanced back at Sterling, then nodded as he stood up. "Yeah, it's okay. Let's go, man. My mom was right. I'm starving all of a sudden."

Sterling chuckled, coming over to take my hand again as we made our way to the dining room. I let Eric go ahead of us, glancing up at his friend and my what? Boyfriend? Is that possible?

"How did it go?" I asked instead of trying to figure out what the heck we were to one another.

He glanced at my family as they took their places around the table. Then he brought his free hand to my face and stroked his thumb across my cheek. "I think he finally got the message. He's not happy about it, but he'll live."

"I'm glad." I leaned into his touch for a moment, sending up a silent prayer of thanks that they were both okay and that the events of the afternoon seemed to have knocked some sense into my brother to boot.

Sterling brought his forehead to mine like he'd done the other night, smiling and closing his eyes for a beat. Then he finally inclined his head toward the dining room. "We should get in there."

"We should," I agreed, suddenly aware when we walked in that my whole family had been able to see the tender exchange between us.

Eric's gaze lingered on the longest though, and what I saw in his eyes surprised me. It wasn't quite acceptance, but it might've been resignation. I'll take it.

He didn't say anything about it as we took our seats side by side, and weirdly, dinner went off without a hitch. Eric even shook Sterling's hand when he left after, the plea in his voice genuine as they said goodbye. "Keep in touch this time, asshole. Hopefully, it won't be another five years before we see your ugly face around here again."

"Nah, four and a half at most. I promise," Sterling joked, pulling Eric in for one of those back-thumping bro hugs before they parted.

When Eric was gone, I glanced at his friend, drawing patterns of the inside of his forearm where my hand was hooked around it. "Stay with me tonight?"

"Gladly," he replied, following me to the guest house after we waved goodnight to my parents. He grimaced as we crossed the backyard. "Is it weird that your entire family knows I'm here with you tonight?"

"Nope," I replied immediately. "Even if it is, I don't care. This is the last night I'm going to be able to sleep next to you for a while. I'm not letting the opportunity pass me by."

"We're definitely on the same page about that."

Once we were in my house, I led him straight to my bathroom, where I leaned over the tub, opened the faucets, and added some bubble bath to the water. "Join me? I think we could both use it after the day we had."

"You don't have to ask me twice," he joked, sliding out of his jacket and hanging it on the hook behind the door. "That is the best idea I've heard. Ever."

He started unbuttoning his shirt. My mouth dried up. My gaze dropped to his fingers and followed each one as he deftly slid the plastic nubs through the holes. A dreamy sigh fell out of me when that ladder of abs came into view.

"I'll never get tired of seeing that," I murmured, kicking off my boots and peeling my jeans off my hips.

He smirked as he watched me. "Likewise."

The air between us charged as we undressed. Our eyes ran all over one another with electric intensity burning between us. I didn't stop looking when he was finally naked, starting at his toes and working my gaze all the way back up to his.

Those powerful thighs and the trim hips. His long, thick shaft that curved just a little bit and always seemed hard and ready when he was around me. The broad chest with just a smattering of dark hair at the center and his strong shoulders.

God, I'm going to miss every inch of this man. Simultaneously, I still couldn't quite believe that I'd seen Sterling North naked so often recently. I reached for him then, pulling him to me and kissing him deeply until I had to shut off the water.

We climbed into the tub together, with him sitting down first and pulling me down to sit between his legs. I wrapped my fingers around his thighs, closing my eyes as I rested my head against his chest and listened to the steady beat of his heart under my ear.

"What are we going to do?" I murmured, almost too afraid of hearing the answer but knowing that we couldn't put this off any longer.

"Well, first," he replied quietly against my ear. "I'm going to make love to you until I absolutely have to leave tomorrow morning. Then we're going to talk every day. Call me a hundred times an hour if you want, but just don't go silent on me, okay?"

"Okay," I agreed, wondering just how this was going to work. "Are you going to be seeing other people?"

"No," he said vehemently, sliding his finger under my chin and lifting it until I was looking up into his eyes. "If you decide that you would like to?—"

"No," I said, shaking my head. I stared into those glittering dark orbs that would always fascinate me. "I love you, Sterling. I might not be sure how we're going to do this, but I love you and I want to try."

"Same. I love you, too, baby. We're going to make it work." Sealing the promise with a kiss, he crushed my lips under his own. He got my hair all wet when he lifted a hand to hold the back of my head.

I didn't even mind. Right then, I wouldn't have minded anything other than him breaking away from me. I drank from his lips like he was the only lush, tropical oasis in a desert the size of the whole planet. Eventually I climbed into his lap and sat astride his legs.

He hissed when I lifted myself so my entrance was enveloping the tip of his cock. "We can't, Daph. Don't get me wrong, I want to, but if you get pregnant…"

"Are you clean?" I asked genuinely, easing back enough that I was able to see his eyes.

His brow furrowed, but he nodded. "Yeah, but why? Eric will?—"

"Let's not talk about my brother right now." I caught his face in my hands and slowly pressed myself down on him. "I'm on the pill, Sterling. I've always been on it. I had issues with my cycle, so…"

His eyes widened and his breath caught. He lifted his hips and glided into me with one powerful thrust from underneath. A scream lodged in my throat at the heat of him inside me without anything between us.

It felt so good that my head rolled back and I moaned, sliding my fingers into his hair. With my back arched like it was, he had perfect access to my breasts and he took advantage of it, taking one in each hand and teasing my nipples as we moved together.

My breathing sped up, my heart racing as pleasure sparked through me, my muscles already tightening. In the past, it'd been hard for me to achieve orgasm with a man, but with Sterling, it was like our bodies had been made for the pleasure of the other.

Even the way I fit against his pelvis in this position was perfect, the friction on my clit exactly right even if his hands were on my breasts. He teased my nipples, working me into a state of suspended bliss until I finally couldn't hold back anymore.

It was so much more intense now that he was bare inside me, the heat of him making it feel so much more real. My toes curled and my head dropped forward as the orgasm approached. Then I let go, not even ashamed of letting him see my face while it happened.

Sterling moaned. His thighs tensed underneath mine and his cock swelled inside me. As the waves of bliss dragged me under, I hung onto him. My entire body shook with the pleasure that ratcheted through me.

He came, shooting hot shots deep into my body for the first time. My eyes flew open and I watched with rapt attention as his beautiful features contorted. His hips jerked against mine. It was unlike anything I'd ever felt before, and when it was over, I pressed a gentle kiss to his lips.

"I love you. Let's do that again. As often as we can until you have to leave." My voice was hoarse and breathless, but I made it.

Making love to him had been an unrivaled experience, and since he was leaving tomorrow, I wanted to make the most of the time we had left together. Sterling smiled against my lips. "God, I love you too, Daph. Let's get cleaned up. Then we're going to bed. That was amazing. We're definitely doing it again."

The rest of the night went by much too fast, passing in a blur of moans and sighs, pleasure and moments of brevity in between, where he promised me mounds of dirty texts and suggested other ways of keeping the passion alive. We fell asleep together not long before the sun rose, and when morning came, I woke up to him kissing me goodbye.

"I love you, baby. I have to go get packed and ready for my flight, but I'm going to call you all the time, okay?"

I nodded. My eyes filled with tears as I kissed him back. "I'm going to miss you so much."

"Same," he promised, kissing me one last time, then tucking the blankets tightly around my still naked body. He was already dressed, sitting on top of the bedding. Those eyes hooked on mine once more. "Stay in bed. It's freezing outside today. I'll call you when I land. Love you."

"Love you ," I replied, taking his hand and squeezing it. He held on to me for as long as he could, Then he moved as far away from me as either of our arms would allow before he dropped my hand, blew me a kiss, and left.

A sob rose up from deep within my soul as he disappeared. I choked it back, not wanting him to hear it and feel even worse about leaving. I loved him and he loved me, but my life was here and his was in New York.

This sucked for us, but it just was the way it was. He was flying out this evening, going back to work, and tomorrow, I had to do the same thing. While our lives had changed irrevocably in some ways, the basics were still the same.

As soon as I heard the front door shut behind him though, I stopped fighting the tears, letting them flow freely. I buried my head in the pillow and pulled the covers over me. I sobbed until my stomach hurt and my head was throbbing, but the tears still hadn't dried up.

Eventually, my phone started ringing and I considered ignoring it, but at the last moment, it occurred to me it might be him. I grabbed the device blindly, my vision too blurry to bother checking who it was. "Hello?"

"Hey, you," Rachel said from the other end of the line. "You sound terrible. I'm assuming that means he's gone?"

"Yeah, he's flying out tonight."

"You're letting him go?" she asked after a brief pause. "That's a surprise."

"What do you mean?" I asked, my throat sore after last night and all the crying I'd done this morning. "Why is it a surprise? We all knew he was leaving today."

"Yeah, but I kind of thought one of you would change your minds."

I sighed. "I wish, but no."

"You're really going to stay here when the only guy you've ever loved is in another city?" When she asked the question, it was like she'd pried open that part of me that contained all my hidden desires.

The answer to that question was simple. I couldn't stay here when Sterling was in another city. I'd never wanted to leave Allisburg and I still didn't, but I was willing to make sacrifices for him. At the very least, I was willing to give it a try.

"You're right," I said. "I can't do it. I can't let him go, but I also can't ask him to stay. So I'm going."

She shrieked. "I hate it, but I love you and I'm so excited for you. Let me know how it goes?"

"Of course." My heart was hammering in my chest and my hands were shaking. I ended the call, opened up my web browser, and found a seat on the red-eye to New York tonight.

I held my breath as my finger hovered above the Book Now button. I closed my eyes and hit it. I'd never been in a city anywhere close to the size of New York and I had no idea what to expect, but if it allowed me to be with him, it would be worth it.

Now all I had to do was hope that he'd be happy when I showed up at his door.