I glanced at him. “Really?”
“Yes.”
After a moment, I said in a quiet voice, “I’m not afraid of it—just… new to it.”
Stefan laced his fingers through mine. “And that is a very good place to start.” He peered at me. “And not that I want to change the subject, but… no regrets about tonight?”
My face was warm. “None whatsoever.” I finished my hot chocolate and set my mug down.
“Then how about I curl up around you and we both try to get some sleep?”
I smiled. “That sounds perfect.”
Stefan switched off the light and moulded himself to my back, one arm under my neck, the other around me.
“This… this is different,” I murmured.
“How so? You and your wife didn’t sleep in separate beds, did you?”
“No, but…” I sighed into the darkness. “She couldn’t go to sleep with me cuddled around her. She said it was like sharing a bed with a giant teddy bear, and that my hair tickled her.”
Stefan chuckled. “Fortunately for you, sleeping with a bear is one of the things I happen to love.” That nuzzle to my neck sent goosebumps crawling over my skin. “Now close your eyes and stop thinking.”
I couldn’t resist. “Yes, Daddy.”
Seconds later, his warm breath ghosted my ear. “I love that word too.”
Stefan
Kieran settled against me more fully after that, his body gradually giving in to sleep, the earlier tension gone from him now. I felt it happen, the slow shift, the way his breathing deepened, steadied. I tightened my arm around him, not to wake him, but more to register the weight of him, his warmth.
The reality of him here, in my bed, in my arms.
For a while, I let myself focus on the physicality of it—the simple presence of another person, the quiet intimacy of shared space. It would have been enough. Itshouldhave been enough, but my mind didn’t settle as easily. It returned, inevitably, to the evening, to everything that had unfolded between us.
His careful, searching, honest questions mattered. He’d been willing to listen to me, and to consider my answers.
I’d met a lot of curious men before, drawn to something they didn’t yet understand, but curiosity alone was not enough. It either faded or recoiled.
Kieran felt… different.
I shifted again, careful not to disturb him, my hand resting more securely against him now.
Three days. It’s beenthree daysif I count meeting him at the airport.
That, more than anything, should have been enough to keep this in perspective.
But it doesn’tfeellike three days.
It felt… established, as if something had settled into place with a quiet certainty I hadn’t anticipated.
I exhaled slowly.
This was where experience should have intervened. I should’ve drawn a line, kept things contained, recognised this for what it was?—
A moment. A finite connection.
He’ll leave.