"I've got you." I position myself at her entrance, meeting her eyes. "I need you to know how much you mean to me."
"Show me," she whispers.
I push inside slowly, watching her face as I fill her inch by inch. Her eyes flutter closed, lips parting on a soft sound. She's tight and warm and perfect, her body accepting mine like we were designed for exactly this.
When I'm fully seated, I pause, letting her adjust. Her hands frame my face, pulling me down into a kiss that tastes like promises.
Then I start to move.
Slow, deep strokes that make her whimper against my mouth. I keep the pace deliberate, worshipful, wanting her to feel every inch of me claiming every inch of her. This isn't just sex. This is commitment. This is choosing each other with full knowledge of what that choice means.
Rachel meets every thrust, her body moving with mine in perfect rhythm. We find a pace that builds gradually, heat coiling tighter with each stroke. I shift slightly, changing the angle, and she cries out.
"There," she gasps. "Right there."
I maintain the angle, hitting that spot with every thrust while my thumb finds her clit. Her body tightens around me, muscles clenching, breath coming in desperate gasps.
She comes apart with my name on her lips, her body clenching around me in waves that drag me over the edge withher. I bury myself deep and let go, pouring everything into her while she holds me close.
Our breathing gradually slows. Bodies cooling but still connected. I shift my weight but don't pull out yet, not ready to break the physical bond.
Rachel's fingers trace patterns on my back, gentle and grounding. "That was different."
"Good different?"
"Very good." She tilts her head to look at me properly. "Less desperate. More... this. Us."
"Yeah." I press a kiss to her temple. "Us."
I finally pull out and roll to the side, immediately pulling her against me. She settles with her head on my chest, one leg thrown over my hips. We fit together like pieces designed for exactly this configuration.
"What happens now?" she asks.
"Now we build something permanent. You and Lucas stay here at Echo Base. It's the safest place for you both. I'll be operational, missions will come up, but this is home. You're home."
"And when missions take you away?"
"I come back." My hand finds hers, fingers threading together. "Every time. I come back to you. To Lucas. To this."
She's quiet for a moment, processing. "I knew what loving an operator meant. Knew it when I fell for you eight years ago. The uncertainty, the danger, the deployments. I'm not asking you to stop being who you are."
"I know. But I'm also not asking you to just accept it without acknowledging what it costs." I tilt her face up to mine. "You deserve more than someone who's always leaving."
"I deserve someone who always comes back. That's you." Her smile is soft but certain. "We'll figure out the balance."
I can work with that. Have worked with worse odds.
We lie there in comfortable silence. Rachel's breathing evens out against my chest, steady and sure.
My comm unit vibrates on the nightstand. Text from Kane:
Hawthorne ready to deploy. Staging area.
I ease out of bed carefully, not wanting to wake her. Rachel stirs slightly but doesn't wake. I dress quietly in the dark, pulling on clean tactical pants and a shirt.
Before I go, I press a kiss to Rachel's forehead. She mumbles something in her sleep and curls into the warm spot I left behind.
"I love you," I whisper. Words I've never said to anyone but Rachel. Words that still feel both terrifying and inevitable.
