I slip my arm around her waist and pull her close.I rest my chin on top of her head.She snuggles into me as if it’s a perfectly natural thing to do.She fits like she was made for me.
I inhale the mellow, feminine scent that’s already become familiar to me.I’d recognize it anywhere.It’s Phoebe’s scent.
I feel the rise and fall of her body in sleep, and I allow the relief to flood through me.She’s really going to make it out of this without a scratch.
How that happened, I’ll never understand.It doesn't make the slightest bit of sense to me.
The harsh realities of tactical rescue have been beaten into my head for years.I know how that shit works.She shouldn’t have survived.I didn’t expect her to.
It seemed like too much to ask for.
But I asked anyway.And I received.Part of the miracle, I guess.
I’ll take it.
She makes the cutest little moan and cuddles up tighter against me.Her firm, round ass presses directly into my groin.
There’s no fucking way I’ll be able to fall asleep in this position.But I’ll put a stop to this perfectly normal biological response because I don’t have time for it.
I’m not the type of dude who gives his dick a name and then claims that Captain Blackbeard—that sly old horndog—has a mind of his own!
No thanks.
I already have a mind—the gray matter inside my skull and the consciousness, perception, reason, emotion, and memory it sends out and receives.I’ll stick with that.
Sure, my nameless dick may want what it can’t have.The greedy motherfucker may be moving at flank speed toward the safe harbor of Phoebe Travis, but my dick isn’t at the helm.My brain is.And nobody’s going anywhere.
I let my eyes close.
Phoebe suddenly shifts.She gasps.I feel her slowly twist around in my arms to face me.
“Evander,” she whispers.“You must be freezing.Here.”
I’m not sure why I make the decision I do, but I pretend I’m asleep and keep my eyes closed.Maybe I worry she could ask for something she doesn’t really want, need, or know how to handle.Maybe that’s a conversation better suited for a time when we’re home, safe, and not in such a heightened state of uncertainty.
Perceived danger can make people do shit they wouldn’t normally do.
So I keep my eyelids shut and my breath deep and regular.I’m curious to see what her next move will be.
Phoebe carefully extracts my arm from her waist.
All right, fair enough.Message received and understood.
Then she yanks the blankets from under her body and rises up, carefully draping them over my side and reaching around to tuck them in behind my back.Finally, she brings the space blanket over us both once more.
Three layers of wool no longer separate her body from mine.And I can feel that she’s wearing only her thermal leggings, turtleneck, and my sweater.
She’s still in my sweater.
I like the idea of her sweet, soft body inside my sweater.I like it too much.And I have no business using those four words in the same sentence: inside, sweet, soft, body.
That’s when she throws me another curve ball.She doesn’t choose to spoon with her back to my front.Instead, she stays facing me, reaches for my arm, and returns it to her waist.
She raises her soft, warm lips to where my jaw meets my neck, and deposits a gentle kiss.
“Thank you for being such a good man, Evander.”Her warm whisper caresses my skin.“Sleep well.”
Phoebe snuggles tight to me, burying her face into my chest.“How do you always smell so good?”
