Fuck.
His heartbeat steadied beneath my ear, strong and even. Mine matched it, settling into rhythm.
My brain slowly came back online. Thoughts filtering back in.
We just...
After yesterday...
Holy shit.
But I felt good. Grounded. Human.
Alive.
Movement on my back. Not patterns. Just holding. Like he craved the contact as much as I had.
I should say something. Acknowledge what happened. But what the hell did you say after desperate release-valve sex with a mute fugitive the morning after witnessing double homicide?
‘Thanks for the orgasms’ seemed insufficient.
‘That was a healthy coping mechanism’ was a lie.
Holy shit.
We’d crossed a line we couldn’t uncross.
And I didn’t regret a single second.
But lying here in the aftermath, wrapped around him, both of us still gasping, reality starting to seep back in...
Part of me wondered what the hell we’d done.
And part of me didn’t care.
Because for the first time since that alley, I felt human.
And that was worth whatever complicated mess we’d created.
Reality could wait.
At least a few more minutes.
Arms tightened around me, and I closed my lids.
Yeah. A few more minutes.
Then we’d deal with the rest.
Chapter 12
Xavier
Hot water scalded my hands.
The sensation grounded me. Steam rose in thick clouds, filling the tiny bathroom until the mirror above the sink was nothing but gray fog. My knuckles turned white as I wrung out the fabric of her shirt. Water streamed into the basin, swirling toward the drain.
Domestic. That was the word.
