Did I really want to stay on this road longer, knowing it was only going to end in devastation?

I love you more than I think I should.

I needed him like I'd never needed anyone.

He sucked some of the rain from my bottom lip, and I felt his mouth smile against mine. He swept my hair aside and kissed me just above the collarbone. He nibbled at my ear, then sank his teeth into my shoulder. I hung my fingertips on his waistband, tugging him closer. Patch buried his face in the curve of my shoulder, his hands flexing over my back. He gave a low groan.

“I love you,” he murmured into my hair. “I’m happier right now than I ever remember being.

I’m going to grab a cheeseburger,” I told Patch. “Want anything?”
“Nothing on the menu.”
I smiled. “Why, Patch, are you flirting with me?

Any happiness, no matter how brief, seemed better than the long, simmering torture of waking up day after day, knowing I could never have him.