“It’s your bedroom, Beau.”
“I don’t think I’m responsible for the fancy, ice cold sheets on the bed, or the frilly lace curtains that got put up, though. You might as well enjoy them. And I’m not sure how it happened, but my bottom drawer is filled with your pajamas…” I teased.
“You’re always getting the short stick in this deal. I feel bad.”
“Are you kidding me? Knowing you’re upstairs…knowing you're safe in my house. That’s the fucking dream, Birdie. I’ll sleep like a king on the couch. Always do. Come on.” I slid my hand against the small of her back, gently pushing her inside after I’d opened the door.
She took off up the stairs while I made my way to the kitchen, taking her supper out of the oven and dumping it into a container to keep it fresh until tomorrow when she could reheat it. There was a little more cleaning up to do from cooking, but it could wait until the morning. I didn’t want to keep her up with running the shower too late.
Right as I walked in the room, she was stepping out of the bathroom.In my shirtand a pair of her sleep shorts.Fuck.
“Bathroom’s all yours.” She smiled as she pulled back the comforter and got into bed.
“Right.” I cleared my throat, grabbing some clean clothes out of my closet. One five minute shower set on the fucking coldesttemperature I could get it to, and I was towel drying off my hair as I opened the bathroom door, expecting to see her fast asleep in bed.
But she wasn’t. She had every part of her body tucked into the blankets. Except for her eyes. As soon as her gaze met mine, I couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Shouldn’t you be sleeping?” I asked.
“Maybe you could…” Her eyes closed for a second, and I could feel the apprehension pouring off of her. Tossing my towel in the hamper, I padded towards the bed.
“What?” I tugged at the blanket covering her face.
“Can you stay? Can we snuggle?”
She had a tough day. A really tough day, if she was asking me to stay. “Of course I can stay. You want to talk about it?”
“About your cuddles?” she deflected.
“Birdie…”
“No. I don’t want to talk about it. Because you’re going to get all growly and protective, and I’m sleepy and just want to forget about what happened.”
The temperature in the room dropped twenty degrees. Somethingbadhad happened. “I don’t like the sound of that.”
“I’ll tell you about it in the morning. Tonight, I just want to feel safe. I just want to know I’m safe. Please, cowboy?”
“Alright. But in the morning, first thing, we’ll talk about what happened. Promise?”
“Promise.”
I slipped into bed behind her. This was nothing new; we cuddled from time to time. Usually after something upset one of us, but sometimes there was no reason at all. Other than the need to be close to each other. No matter the reason, every time we ended up like that, it felt so fucking special. I was her safe place. And holding her tight, feeling her relax against me, it just served as a reminder that she was mine, too.
My arm moved under her back, an attempt to get her to roll towards me. But as soon as I touched her side, Birdie gasped.
“What the fuck?” The words, drowning in concern, raced out of me. “You’re hurt! Did someone hurt you?”
“It’s nothing,” she whispered, rolling towards me to press her face into my chest.
“Chickadee, you’re crying. It doesn’t feel like nothing. Tell me. What happened?”
“In the morning. Remember? I just need…I just need some sleep. I promise this reaction isn’t because I’m hurt. I’m not. I’m sore, but good. I’m just really tired.”
“Am I going to see a bruise on your side in the morning?” I asked, letting my chin rest on her head.
“Probably,” she mumbled, already sounding like she was slipping towards sleep. “Don’t be grumpy. Sleep.”
Like that was going to fucking happen.I needed to know how she got hurt. I needed to know if there was someone I needed to hurt in return.
