She snorted, buried herself deeper against me. “I want those answers from you too, you know. If we’re gonna bare our souls, I’m not the only naked one.”
Just the mention of the word naked had my body tightening, the need to strip her bare still lingering. But I kissed the top of her head, chuckling as I reassured her. “Yes, Em. We’ll benaked together. Now, let’s put on a show, and I’ll play with your hair.”
The whimper she released had my heart skipping a beat, and despite the shit with my parents, being Miles’s guardian, all those stressors didn’t matter. Em wanted to try with me, and that felt like the biggest win.
19
EM
The smell of coffee woke me up, along with Sassy’s tongue over my face. “Sass, come ooooon.”
Her tail thumped faster, hitting the floor with continuous thwacks. “I know, I’m moving, I’m moving.”
“Em! Ms. Em! I rode three dragons in my dream last night. There were like…eight of them. No, seven. No nine and they were all colors, but I rode the blue because that’s my favorite, and Uncle Noah is orange, and yours is pink, right? I rode the pink one for you!”
Little hands landed on my arm as he shook me awake, and I couldn’t stop my smile. He was so excited it buzzed through him, words tumbling out faster than his brain could keep up, and somehow that alone made the couch worth it. I blinked a few times, trying to orient myself, my hair probably a mess, my face definitely still half-creased from the throw pillow.
“That’s… a lot of dragons,” I said, my voice raspy with sleep. “I feel very honored to be represented by the pink one.”
Miles beamed, clearly pleased with my response, and climbed halfway onto the couch like it was his rightful throne. “Pink is brave,” he informed me seriously. “And fast. And it can breathe sparkles.”
“Well, obviously,” I said, pushing myself up on one elbow. “Sparkle fire is the most dangerous kind.”
Sassy took that as her cue to lick my chin again, tail wagging like she’d personally orchestrated this entire wake-up routine. I laughed and covered my face, trying to fend her off. “You’re both conspiring against me. I see how it is.”
From the kitchen, I heard a quiet chuckle.
I looked up, and there was Noah, leaning against the counter with a mug in his hand, hair still a little damp, sleeves pushed up. He wasn’t crowding the room, wasn’t interrupting the moment, just watching us with this soft, unreadable expression that made my chest do something inconvenient. Our eyes met, and for half a second the world narrowed to that look alone.
It was warm. It was charged. It was very much not subtle.
“Morning,” he said, voice low and very seductive.
“Morning,” I echoed, suddenly hyperaware that I was still half-wrapped in a blanket, hair everywhere, and he was… him. Awake. Real. Looking at me like that.
Miles followed my gaze and grinned. “Uncle Noah! I told Ms. Em about the dragons!”
“I heard,” Noah said, pushing off the counter and stepping closer. “Sounds epic.”
“It was,” Miles confirmed. “You were orange. You were breathing lava.”
Noah raised his brows, glancing at me. “That tracks.”
I snorted, sitting up fully now and tugging the blanket around my shoulders. “Apparently you’re very intimidating in dream form.”
“Only in dreams,” Noah said easily, but his eyes flicked back to mine, something quieter layered underneath the joke.
He reached over and ruffled Miles’s hair, then nudged Sassygently away from my face. His hand lingered there for a second longer than necessary, fingers brushing mine as he did, and my stomach flipped.
Coffee drifted closer, rich and familiar. “You made breakfast?” I asked, glancing toward the kitchen.
“Working on it,” he replied. “Pancakes are… in progress.”
Miles gasped. “With chocolate chips? Because those hitted the spot.”
Miles learned the expression hit the spot a few days ago and had yet to use it correctly. I loved his attempt though.
I laughed, pushing myself to my feet, joints stiff from sleeping somewhere that was definitely not a bed. As I stood, Noah’s hand hovered near my elbow for half a second. He didn’t touch me, but the care in the almost-touch did something just as powerful.
