Chapter 55 Chapter 55 — Stay Tonight

Chapter 55 Chapter 55 — Stay Tonight

Patrick kisses me slowly, like he has nowhere else to be, one hand steady against my waist while the other slides carefully along my spine beneath my shirt.
The room stays quiet around us, late afternoon light stretching across the bed in long golden lines while everything outside this space fades further away with every breath he pulls from me.
There’s nothing rushed about him.
Nothing careless.
Even now, with his control slipping just enough for me to feel it beneath the surface, Patrick still moves like he’s paying attention to every reaction, every shift, every breath.
My fingers curl against his shoulders as he eases me back against the mattress, his weight settling carefully over me while his forehead rests briefly against mine.
“You’re sure?” he asks softly.
Not because he doubts me.
Because he needs me to have the choice.
“Yes.”
The answer comes easily.
Certain.
Something in his expression softens at that before he kisses me again, deeper this time, slower in a way that makes my chest ache more than anything rushed ever could.
His hand slides along my thigh gently, grounding instead of demanding, and when he finally moves fully against me, the feeling of him settling into me steals the breath from my lungs all at once.
Not sharp.
Not overwhelming.
Just full.
Warm.
Close.
Patrick exhales quietly against my mouth, his eyes closing for half a second like even he feels the weight of this moment more than he expected to.
“There you are,” he murmurs.
The words settle somewhere deep inside me.
I hold onto him tighter as he starts to move, slow enough that every shift of his body feels intentional, every kiss lingering long enough to blur the edges of everything waiting outside this room.
The courthouse.
The SUV.
The watching.
It all fades beneath the steady rhythm of his breathing and the warmth of his hands against my skin.
Patrick keeps one hand laced with mine the entire time.
Like he needs the connection as much as I do.
“You were so strong today,” he whispers against my mouth between kisses. “So fucking brave.”
Emotion tightens suddenly in my throat.
Not because of the words themselves.
Because he means them.
I shake my head slightly, overwhelmed by how carefully he’s looking at me, how much he sees even when I wish he wouldn’t.
“Yes,” he says quietly, brushing his forehead against mine. “You were.”
His movements stay slow, steady enough to pull every ounce of tension from my body piece by piece, and when his control slips again this time, the low sound he makes against my throat sends heat curling through me hard enough to make my fingers tighten around his.
“I love you.”
The words hit harder than anything else has all day.
Not dramatic.
Not forced.
Just honest.
Certain.
Like he’s been holding them back for longer than he meant to.
My chest tightens painfully for a second before I pull him down into another kiss instead of trying to answer right away, and Patrick kisses me back with a softness that almost undoes me completely.
The pressure keeps building slowly between us, steady and consuming instead of frantic, until I’m breathing his name against his mouth, and his hand tightens around mine hard enough to tell me he’s losing control too.
That’s what finally sends us over.
Not force.
Not desperation.
Just the quiet intensity of everything we’ve been holding onto finally breaking loose together.
Patrick buries his face briefly against my neck as he catches his breath, his body still trembling faintly against mine, before he presses one lingering kiss beneath my jaw.
For a while,e neither of us moves.
The room stays quiet except for our breathing, the fading light, and the distant sounds of the house below us.
Then Patrick shifts carefully, pressing another soft kiss to my shoulder before reaching for the blanket at the end of the bed and pulling it gently over me.
“You cold?”
“No.”
His hand brushes slowly through my hair anyway before he disappears briefly into the bathroom.
I hear water running.
Drawers opening.
Then he’s back beside me again, warm cloth in hand as he settles carefully next to me.
“Come here,” he murmurs.
The tenderness of it almost hurts.
I let him pull me closer while he cleans me up with quiet patience, his touch gentle enough that the tightness in my chest softens all over again.
No embarrassment.
No awkwardness.
Just care.
Patrick tosses the cloth aside afterward before pulling me fully against him, one arm wrapping securely around my waist as I settle against his chest.
His heartbeat stays steady beneath my cheek.
Grounding.
Safe.
For the first time all day, my body finally unclenches completely.
Patrick presses a kiss into my hair.
“Stay tonight.”
The words are quiet enough that I almost miss them.
Not a demand.
Not even close.
Something softer.
Careful.
I tilt my head back slightly to look at him. “You want me to?”
His expression shifts at that, something open flickering across his face so briefly I almost don’t catch it.
“Yes,” he says honestly. “I do.”
Emotion pulls low through my chest again, quieter this time but somehow deeper.
I slide my hand slowly across his chest before answering.
“Okay.”
The relief in him is small.
Still there.
Patrick closes his eyes briefly before kissing my forehead once more, his arm tightening slightly around me afterward like he’s finally allowing himself to hold onto something he’s spent too long keeping at a distance.
We stay like that for a while, tangled together beneath the blankets while the light outside slowly fades.
Eventually, I speak quietly against his chest.
“You already had people watching the courthouse before we left this morning, didn’t you?”
Patrick’s fingers pause briefly against my back.
“Yes.”
“You thought something would happen.”
“I thought something might.”
I lift my head slightly. “And now?”
His gaze settles on mine again, calm and unreadable in the dim light.
“Now I know.”
A chill works slowly down my spine despite the warmth surrounding me.
Patrick notices immediately.
His hand slides gently along my back again.
“He’s escalating,” he says quietly. “Which means he’s getting impatient.”
“And that’s bad.”
“Yes.”
The honesty doesn’t frighten me as much as it should.
Maybe because he’s holding me while he says it.
Maybe because for the first time in a long time, I don’t feel alone inside the fear of it.
Patrick brushes his thumb lightly against my side before pulling me closer again.
“Get some sleep,” he murmured. “I’ve got you.”
And wrapped in his arms, listening to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat beneath my cheek, I almost believe him completely.