"Aye." I press a kiss to her shoulder, gentle over the mark I left. "Holy shite indeed."
Later, we lie tangled together in her bed.
Properly tangled this time—no covers between us, no distance.
Just skin on skin, her head on my chest, my fingers tracing lazy patterns on her back.
We managed to stumble from the bathroom to the bedroom without separating, without letting go of each other even for a second.
The sheets are cool against my overheated skin.
The basement is quiet, the clubhouse above us having settled into its mid-morning rhythm.
Down here, in our little underground world, time has stopped.
"That was..." She trails off, shaking her head against my chest.
"Worth the wait?"
"I was going to say 'life-changing,' but sure. Worth the wait works too." She props her chin on my chest, looking up at me with those blue eyes.
Her lips are swollen from kissing.
There's a mark on her neck that I should probably feel bad about. I don't. "Where did you learn to do that thing with your tongue?"
I laugh—a real laugh, surprised out of me. "Trade secret."
"Hmm." She traces a pattern on my chest, her finger circling one of my old scars. The ones on the front—smaller, neater, exit wounds from bullets that went through. "These hurt?"
"Not anymore. Just numb, mostly. Nerve damage."
She presses a kiss to the nearest one, soft and gentle, and something in my chest cracks open.
"I have more questions," she murmurs against my skin, "but I'm too tired to ask them."
"Sleep, then." I press a kiss to her forehead. "I'll be here when you wake up."
"Promise?"
The question is light, teasing, but I hear the vulnerability beneath it.
The fear that this was just a moment, just an itch we scratched, and that when she wakes up, I'll be back to being the distant soldier she can't reach.
"Promise." I tighten my arm around her, pulling her closer. "I'm not going anywhere, Dalla. Not unless you tell me to."
"Good." She settles against me with a contented sigh, her body going soft and heavy. "Because I'm not done with you yet."
"That so?"
"Mmhmm. That was round one. I expect at least three more before dinner."
I chuckle, pressing another kiss to her hair. "Demanding."
"You like it."
"Aye. I do."
Her breathing evens out within minutes, her body going slack against mine as sleep claims her.
