I shake my head, lowering the waistband a bit more as he delicately skims his fingertips over the pink line. “This could have been really bad. The doc did a good job lining up the edges of your tattoo.”
“That’s Anders for you.”
Between the pleasure radiating from his touch and the sharp want from his intense focus, I have to remind myself to breathe. My pierced nipples are suddenly sensitive to even the barest brush of my T-shirt.
I nod, trying to respond somewhat coherently. “We were trying to protect a little boy. We’d been waiting in the truck and got out to help when they sicced their dogs on us. Bram stood in front of me and the little boy, ready to kill the dogs if he needed to. Thankfully, Hopper got them to back off so the little boy and I could get into the house while Bram helped out the team. I didn’t see it until we got inside and nearly fainted when I saw the blood.”
“I bet it was a lot of blood.”
I scrunch my nose. “It was, and the little boy I was supposed to be saving had to help me into the living room. I lost track of him, and then Bram got so upset when he saw me not doing well. I’m not cut out for the heavy operations, but I do okay when they’re only going in for the rescue.”
Javier narrows his eyes, broadening his hand to cup the bit of belly I always think I’ll work on but never do.
“Don’t dismiss what you do.”
His fingers flex and release, and suddenly I feel like the world’s biggest stress ball. That’s not a bad thing, especially if Javier’s the one doing the squeezing.
“I’m a great therapist. I’m…I’m still figuring out where I belong with the fieldwork. I won’t be a getaway driver, that’s for sure.”
He chuckles, then leans in, whispering in my ear as he continues to work over my belly. “I can’t imagine anything more harrowing than listening to people’s stories, Levy. You do that every day. How do you take in all this darkness and stay so light?”
His lips brush the outer edge of my ear, and I take a deep breath, tilting toward the sensation as I answer his question.
“I keep their stories in a different part of my mind and heart. I know what it’s like to be in a dark place. So I meet them in the dark place, and that’s where we leave their stories.”
His hand, still partially under my waistband, moves to grip my hip, his long fingers grazing the top of my ass. “That’s beautiful and incredibly brave of you,” he says, pulling me close enough that our noses touch. “Do you ever find yourself in need of a release? Do you ever have a hard time letting it go?”
I send him a slow, deliberate nod, finding the desire behind his eyes. “Bram and I spar after a really bad day. If we find it difficult to let go, then we have a therapist we can each see whenever we need to,” I say, my words slowing as his other hand dips below the waistband to grasp my other hip.
His head bobs along with my words. “What kind of sparring do you do?”
“We’re both black belts in judo, but we sometimes mix it up with a little karate or aikido.”
He thumbs my belly from his anchor points on my hips, sliding his nose alongside mine. “And…do you find relief in the more carnal pursuits of the one-night variety?”
I inhale his exhale, nodding.
“Occasionally. I’ve got a Tinder profile. Go into Austin sometimes.”
“Not Grindr?”
I shrug, my heart speeding up. “Been a little too nervous for Grindr. I’m pan, so…”
My words drop off as his hands round my ass, pulling me to him, pinning his hard cock against mine.
“Mm. Do you have a preference?”
“I used to think I didn’t,” I say, my hands sliding up and down his cabled arms. “More and more, though, I’ve been checking out men.”
“Why is that?” he asks, nosing my temple, inhaling my scent.
“I have needed—” I go speechless when his teeth graze the edge of my ear.
“You’ve needed—?”
“To not always be the one in charge. To be the one taken care of for a change. Which, to be fair, there are plenty of women who’ll do that, but I sense what I really need…”
“Is for a man to take care of you?”
