And when his eyes lift to mine, they’re soft. Cracked open. Full of something I don’t think I’ve ever seen before, not even during the scans.
“Hi, baby,” he murmurs.
His voice breaks on the word, and I break with it.
I don’t even realize I’m crying again until he’s brushing my tears away. Not saying anything, just cupping my face with hisfree hand, like it matters. Like he’d choose this a thousand times over.
I shift his other hand against my stomach, and wait again.
There’s another nudge, and he exhales. A low sound, almost a laugh.
“Hi,” he murmurs again. “It’s me.”
I close my eyes and let the moment settle into my bones. Lethimsettle into my bones.
And for the first time in days, the exhaustion lifts.
***
I should be asleep.
The apartment is dark, the sheets warm, and body wash still clings faintly to the air. Reid’s chest is pressed to my back, his arm locked around my waist, his breath even.
But my body isnotasleep. It’s buzzing.
It’s subtle at first, the slow drag of awareness. The heat between my thighs that refuses to cool, all tangled together until wanting him feels less like desire and more like gravity.
I shift my hips, enough that my ass brushes the unmistakable bulge of his cock. Reid exhales behind me, and his hand tightens at my waist.
“You okay?” he murmurs, voice low with sleep and something else.
I nod, even though he can’t see it. “Mm. Just… awake.”
His nose brushes the back of my neck. A breath skitters along my skin, then another as his hand slips lower, palm warm against my stomach. He rests it there, like he’s testing the moment. Giving me time to pull away.
I don’t.
“You’re warm,” he murmurs.
I swallow. “Reid—”
“I thought you were tired,” he says, voice like sandpaper against my skin.
“I am,” I whisper. “But I want you more.”
“Mm. You always get like this after a hard day?”
“No,” I breathe. “Just when I’m next to you.”
His fingertips brush my waistband. “Tell me if you don’t want this.”
I shake my head. “I want it.”
His fingers slide between my legs, and he freezes for half a second, registering just how wet I am.
“Christ, you’re so wet,” he breathes. “You gonna let me take care of this too?”
“Yes,” I whisper, already dizzy with how badly I want it.
