Our fight was intense. We’ve never argued like that—not in all the years we’ve been married. Not even before, when we were dumb teenagers with no idea how to manage our emotions.
I still feel bruised, tender beneath the bandages I’ve wrapped around my heart, but lighter than I have all week.
That fight needed to happen.
I couldn’t keep swallowing my needs under his for the rest of this pregnancy. Still, it broke me a little at how hesitant he was at bedtime, as if he thought I wouldn’t let him sleep next to me.
I shift, and his grip tightens around me. He pulls me against his chest, as if he’s scared to let go.
“Stay.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” I say, trailing my fingers over his arm. And I’m not. There is no future I can imagine without Jensen in it. I just need him to calm down a little.
“Promise?”
I twist so I can see his face. I hate how broken he looks. So I give him the words he needs, because some part of me needs them too. “I promise.”
His hand flexes against my belly, and he lets out a breath so ragged it sounds like he’s been holding it inside all night.
Then he turns me to face him, his thumb stroking over my hip. His eyes trail over every inch of me, as if he’s expecting to see blood or bruises from our argument.
My fingers thread into his hair, like I can soothe the tension out of him with my touch. He leans into me, like I’m the only thing keeping him stable.
“When it comes to you I don’t think rationally,” he admits, his voice a low rasp.
He guides me onto my back. I’m not sure what he’s doing, but he pauses and flicks his gaze to me. “Can I…”
“Can you what?”
“I want to touch you, but?—”
Oh.
Oh…
Fuck. I hate that he would even question it. “Jensen.”
He lets out a shaky breath. “I don’t want to do anything else to upset you.”
I grab his hand and push it against my breast. “I was mad at you, but I didn’t stop loving you.”
His hand stays on me, like he’s scared to let go. “We’ve never argued like that before.”
“Then it was probably long overdue.”
“I’ll fix it,” he says. “I don’t know how, but I promise I’ll fix things between us.”
“You don’t need to fix anything. You just need to calm down.” I give him a teasing smile. “We can’t both be crazy during this pregnancy. One of us has to stay sane and rational. And since I’mthe one dealing with hormones and growing a literal human, I’m taking that role.”
His fingers knead me through the thin material of my sleep shirt as his lips twitch. “It’s all yours.” He lifts the hem up over my belly, over my boobs, settling it under my chin.
I whimper as he bends low and presses a kiss over my nipple.
“I love you.”
“I never stopped loving you,” I tell him. “You just pissed me off.”
He snorts a laugh, but it’s threaded with emotion that makes my chest ache. “Hardly surprising. I’m sorry I’ve been so intense.”
