The Brightest Sunset (The Darkest Sunrise #2)

“That’s fine. Just think about it. Play this my way today and I’ll prove to you how good it could be if he felt safe to love all of us.”

He cut his gaze over my shoulder and scratched the back of his head. “I’m not the fucking bad guy here. I want what’s best for my son.”

“We all do. And I can assure you, if we all work together, that best will be better.”

Brady stared at me for several seconds before nodding. “Let’s give this toy business a shot. I’m willing to do anything at this point.”

I smiled.

He glared.

But, in the end, we shared an elevator up to the fourth floor.





* * *





Two weeks later…



“What did you do?” I accused into Porter’s mouth as I slipped the bra straps down my arms.

“Nothing,” he mumbled, trailing openmouthed kisses up and down my neck.

My bra hadn’t even hit the floor before he took my nipples between his fingers, plucking and rolling.

Gripping his shoulders for balance, I threw my head back and opened my legs.

His hand slipped down and popped the button on my jeans open. Then he scooped my panties out of the way before his fingers dipped inside.

“Yesss,” I hissed, teetering on the edge of my desk.

It was after hours and we were there to clean my office out, but the moment the door shut and we had the barest hint of privacy, that notion had quickly dissolved.

After much debate, Greg and I had decided that it would be best to take on another doctor at North Point Pulmonology. Travis was still in the hospital, waiting for a heart, and while I definitely needed more time off to take care of him, the fact of the matter was that I was never going back to work.

At least, not in the same way I’d been working over the last few years.

I had a family now. People who needed and depended on me. People who weren’t my patients. I would never give medicine up. I loved it and it was the only thing that had kept me sane for all those years when Lucas had been missing. But it was time for a change.

My job was never going to be nine to five. People didn’t look at the clock before they got sick. But there was such a thing as balancing my professional life and my home life. I’d decided to cut back on my patient load, and if I wanted to cut back on my on-call hours too, we’d need more help.

Dr. Franklin was an amazing addition to our team, but until we could find a new building for our growing practice, she needed an office. And, because I was extending my leave of absence, I’d offered her mine.

Though, given the clench I was currently in with Porter, I was probably going to need to sanitize the desk for her before I left. But I couldn’t bring myself to care. After weeks of passing like two ships in the night, I wasn’t about to delay that moment in search of a bed.

“Fuck, you’re ready for me,” he breathed, gliding his fingers inside me.

I moaned and pressed my lips to his mouth. “So, let me get this straight,” I whispered, sliding my hand down to his zipper and then over his hard length. “Brady just happened to change his motion from full custody to joint custody one day before we’re slated to go to court?”

“Dear God, are you seriously talking about Brady right now?” he rumbled, stilling his hand.

I moved my assault to his neck, kissing my way up before nipping at his ear. “Admit you had something to do with this.”

“I had something to do with this,” he replied immediately. Then he removed his fingers and snatched my pants down my legs.

“I knew it. Have you been talking to Travis about him too? He’s been so much more open to Brady recently.”

Porter groaned. “Woman, I have not been inside you in five days. For the love of all that’s holy, stop talking about Brady and the kids.”

I giggled, but it morphed into a moan as he freed himself from his jeans and guided himself into my opening.

Reclining across the desk, I arched my back and circled my hips as he planted himself deep. And then there were no more words as our bodies took over and relished in the connection we both so desperately needed.

Over the last few weeks, we’d had our ups and downs. Travis was sick of living at the hospital, but his body was too weak to go home. His frustration was palpable, and he’d started taking it out on all of us. We’d been doing our best to keep him comfortable, but come on…hospitals suck.

Hannah was also having a hard time adapting to the disruption in her family. She missed Porter and Travis more than her young mind could express, and it wasn’t long before she, too, started acting out. I felt so bad for Porter. He had two children who desperately needed him, but there was only one of him. And, regardless of how hard he tried, he couldn’t be everywhere. I pitched in as much as I could, but there was no substitute for their dad.

And the kids weren’t alone in their struggles to adapt. Porter and I had both taken turns falling into the lows of fear and worry. But, through it all, we’d leaned on each other.

When I broke, Porter was there to pick up the pieces.

And, when Porter lost sight of the light, I was there to hold him in the darkness.

No questions.

No judgments.

No faking it.

No apologies.

Our lives were far from perfect, but the fact that we were living and not standing still as the world turned beneath our feet made it perfect to us.

Porter came on the muffled groan of my name, and moments later, I followed him down in a crash of ecstasy.

“Jesus,” he breathed, peppering kisses over my face and neck.

Smiling, I raked my nails up and down his back. His skin pebbled and he squirmed as I teased at his sides.

“Ya know…I only promised her an office. I didn’t say anything about there being a desk.”

“Excellent call. We can throw this baby in the Tahoe and put it with the couch from my office. I can see it now. The bonus room could become a shrine for all the places we’ve had sex.”

“That wouldn’t be awkward at all,” I teased.

“I have it on good authority that you like awkward,” he mumbled, begrudgingly pulling out of me as he started to soften.

After a long discussion, I’d finally given in and agreed to move in with Porter. It really did make sense. I was still terrified, but it had been next to impossible to tell him no when I could feel his excitement vibrating in the air between us. Since I had until the end of the month to be out, we’d decided to slowly move my stuff into Porter’s house. But, a few days later, I’d learned that the word slow had a vastly different meaning to him. One afternoon, after I’d come home from the hospital to take a shower, I’d boxed a few things up to start the merger of our lives. I’d given Porter my keys and asked him to pick them up on his way home. The next day, I’d walked through my front door to find a herd of professional movers and a nearly empty apartment.

We’d fought—okay, fine. I’d fought. Porter had just smiled. A lot.

We’d been officially living together for over a week and not once had we slept under the same roof. One of us was always up at the hospital—usually me so Porter could stay at home with Hannah.