"He laughed."
"He was being polite."
I roll us so she's beneath me, caging her in with my arms. "You're very mouthy this morning."
"You love my mouth."
"I do." I kiss her to prove it, slow and deep until she's breathless. "Every sharp-tongued word that comes out of it."
We stay like that for a while, trading kisses and touches that don't lead anywhere urgent. This is my favorite part of living with her—the quiet mornings where we have nowhere to be, nothing to prove. Just two people who chose each other learning how to build a life together.
Eventually, reality intrudes in the form of my stomach growling.
Ressa laughs against my mouth. "Breakfast?"
"Probably a good idea before I waste away."
She climbs out of bed with zero self-consciousness, completely comfortable being naked in front of me now. I watch her move around the cabin, pulling on one of my shirts that falls to mid-thigh on her smaller frame. The sight of her in my clothes, in my space, making tea like she belongs here—because she does—makes something warm settle in my chest.
"Stop staring," she says without turning around.
"I can't help it. You're distracting."
"I'm making tea. That's the opposite of distracting."
"You're doing it in my shirt. That's extremely distracting."
She glances over her shoulder, a small smile playing at her lips. "Your shirt is comfortable. And it smells like you."
The casual admission makes my heart do something stupid. "Keep wearing it then. I like how you look in it."
We eat breakfast together at the small table, her feet tucked under my thigh like she needs the constant contact. She tells me about the project she's working on with Saela—some kind of water filtration system that will make the settlement's supply cleaner. I watch her face light up as she explains the mechanics, how animated she gets when discussing something that interests her.
This is the Ressa most people don't get to see. The brilliant, curious woman who survived hell and came out the other side still wanting to build things, fix things, make the world better. She's not broken. Never was. Just wounded in ways that needed time and safety to heal.
"You're doing it again," she says.
"Doing what?"
"Looking at me like I'm something miraculous."
"You are." I catch her hand across the table. "You're the best thing that's ever happened to me, and I get to wake up next to you every morning. That feels pretty miraculous."
Her cheeks flush slightly, still not quite used to direct declarations. "You're going to make me insufferable with all this praise."
"Too late. You're already insufferable."
She throws a piece of bread at my head. I catch it and eat it, grinning at her outraged expression.
A knock on the door interrupts her retort. I groan, already knowing what it means.
"Don't answer it," Ressa suggests. "Pretend we're not home."
"They know we're home. They can probably hear us arguing through the door."
"It was worth a try."
I kiss her forehead as I pass, pulling on trousers before opening the door. Bronn stands on the other side, his expression grim in a way that makes my stomach sink.
