I grinned, cocky and smug. “I figured.”
Her fingers curled into my sides, her nails dragging lightly down my ribs. Not enough to hurt. Just enough to remind me she was still conscious. And still had the sass that I loved, even if it drove me up a wall sometimes.
I stroked my hand through her hair, rubbing slow circles against her scalp. My other arm locked around her lower back, pulling her even closer, and she melted into me without a fight, her cheek resting right over my heart as she belonged there. And fuck if she didn’t.
We lay there like that for a while—sweaty, breathless, and wrecked. I didn’t give a shit about the sheets, the time, or anything outside the four corners of that room. The world could’ve burned down around us, and I wouldn’t have moved.
I kissed her again. Jaw. Cheek. Hairline.
Her breathing evened out, and I lay there for a bit, just soaking up the feel of her body against mine.
“Don’t run from me again, baby,” I whispered, my voice scraped raw, arms tightening just a fraction. “You’re mine. And I’m keeping you.”
Before I fell asleep, the words tumbled out of my mouth like they just couldn’t be caged any longer. “I love you, Rylin.”
I knew she didn’t hear them, but having them out there, in the universe, loosened a knot in my chest.
13
RYLIN
Iwoke up slowly, enjoying the weight of the muscular arm draped across my waist. When I shifted slightly, Micah’s hold on me tightened as he pulled me back against a solid wall of heat.
A soft sigh escaped me before I could stop it. My legs were tangled with his, my cheek was pillowed against his broad chest, and his breath stirred my hair each time he exhaled.
I’d never woken up feeling so safe and wanted. Or content in a way that made my throat go tight.
I tipped my head back just enough to look at him. His eyes were closed, lips parted slightly, expression unguarded in sleep. For someone who could flatten a grown man with one tackle, he looked almost boyishly peaceful right now.
I let myself admire him for another heartbeat. Yesterday had been a lot. But we’d come through it even stronger, all because of his certainty when mine had fractured.
And the way he’d claimed me had been everything I never knew I needed. I barely remembered the ride back to his place with how my body had felt like it’d been wrung dry, literally and figuratively.
I’d never been as vulnerable with anyone else before. Physically or emotionally. But Micah had more than earned my trust, he’d claimed every part of my heart along with my body.
As though he could hear me thinking about how and when I should tell this amazing man that I’d fallen head over heels in love with him, his eyelashes fluttered. A moment later, his blue eyes blinked open. “Morning, baby.”
“Good morning.” My voice caught at the end when he dipped his head and pressed a slow kiss to my shoulder, right where the sheet had slipped away.
His hand slid from my waist to my hip, his thumb brushing back and forth like he needed the contact. “Feel okay?”
“Yeah.” I shifted to face him fully. “This very bossy football player managed to get my head screwed back on straight.”
“Good.” He stole a kiss—just a gentle brush of his lips over mine. “I’m driving you to work today.”
I blinked. “Micah, you barely slept. You need to rest.”
“Nope.” He kissed me again, firmer this time. “I need to take you to work.”
A laugh slipped out of me. “You’re impossible.”
“And you’re beautiful in the morning,” he countered.
“Thank you.” He meant every word he said, and I was starting to see myself the way he did. Little by little. “I need a shower before we do anything else. Let’s see how much we can fog up your bathroom.”
He flashed me a wicked grin at my suggestion before sweeping me out of bed and into the bathroom, where we put his tankless water heater to good use by staying in there long enough to get clean after dirtying each other up again.
Two hours after we woke up, Micah’s hand stayed warm and steady at my back as he walked me inside The Tight Line, his presence a quiet anchor while the morning prep buzzed around us. A couple of servers waved, one cook called out a greeting,and I sighed in relief over how normal it all seemed. Until Micah steered me toward the office he and Raiden used. My pulse picked up when he knocked once and pushed the door open.
