If this is a dream? I never want to wake up from it.
Walker’s scent pulls my attention back to the bed.
There he is, perched at the edge of the bed. Wait, no. Not the bed. Not a bed, anyway. Knox is behind him, rearranging our crusted blankets that smell like us and fluffing the pillows he keeps nuzzling his cheek and neck against.
Knox is rebuilding a nest.
Tears crest my eyes.
“There you are,” Walker says as he stands and makes his way toward me in nothing but a pair of boxers. His lean body is on display, and I can’t help but devour him with my eyes. “How’d your bath go with Eli?”
“Good,” I croak out.
“Come on, beautiful,” Walker says, his voice warm and soft in a way I haven’t heard it yet. “Let’s get you settled back into bed. I’ll fix you something easy for your stomach.”
As the sunlight pours through Eli’s bedroom window, it illuminates Walker’s body from behind. He looks almost angelic. Soft instead of distant. Like he’s more open.
Eli helps me settle back into the nest.
He tucks the blankets around me while Knox adjusts the pillows behind my back. It’s a seamless dance the three of them do, with the pillar of the dance being me. They move around me like they’ve done this their whole lives. Like we’ve been together for years and this is just another hiccup in our week.
Walker dips down and kisses the top of my head before heading for the kitchen.
“Want a foot massage?” Eli asks as he perches at the foot of the bed.
Knox hops into bed with me, his arm pressed against mine. “You can lean on my shoulder, if you’d like.”
I do exactly that as I wiggle one of my feet free for Eli. I let my eyes close for a few minutes, but not for long.
Walker comes walking back in with purpose. I can hear his bare feet against the carpet, determined as ever. I smile as my eyes ease open again, watching as Walker perches on the edge of the bed at my other side.
He spears a piece of pineapple and holds it up to my lips.
“Eat,” he says gently, his brown gaze imploring. “It’ll help you regain some of your strength.”
I watch him as I part my mouth to take the bite off the fork.
The first chomp into the juicy fruit is everything. A groan slips from my lips as my eyes flutter closed, and I relish how delicious it tastes.
I’m not one for eating much during my heat. I drink more than anything else. So when my stomach growls for another bite, I don’t even have to open my eyes to find it.
I already feel Walker tapping something against my lips.
“A grape this time,” he says. “Thought you might enjoy the sweetness after all those protein hydration drinks.”
“Thank you so much,” I say, breathless and tired as I take the piece of fruit from him with my teeth.
Eventually, my eyes have the strength to open, and I watch Walker while he feeds me.
“What?” he asks.
I shake my head softly. “Just looking at you.”
“And why’s that?”
I don’t hesitate. “Because you’re amazing.”
Something shifts in his expression. It turns softer. Deeper, like he’s finally ready to show me that he contains multitudes that he’s been holding back.
