ROMAN
The bagsbeneath my eyes are heavier than the one I’m carrying up the driveway.
I stopped looking at the time once it passed midnight. It took all my effort to keep from passing out behind the wheel on my way home, but this is where I needed to be. Spending another night away from Vancouver wasn’t possible with how on edge I’ve been this trip.
The rest of the team is still in Seattle and will fly home together tomorrow—or today, I guess.
It takes me three tries to get my key into the lock before I finally push the front door open. The lights are off, which hopefully means Evie’s asleep. Regardless of whether she wanted me involved or not, I made her an appointment with her doctor tomorrow to discuss whether the medication she’s on is still doing what it needs to. I’m not playing around with my niece’s health, and I don’t give a shit if that makes me overbearing.
Numbly, I shove my shoes off and move through the house as silently as possible. Evie’s bedroom door is shut, so I open it just a crack and peer inside. Thankfully, she’s asleep. The snores escaping her are loud, and if I weren’t so exhausted, I’d laugh.
Once I’ve shut the door again, I start for my room. It’s brighter inside than I’m expecting, considering the time and emptiness. The lamp on the nightstand has been turned on to the lowest setting and casts a soft glow throughout the room. I go from confused to shocked and finally, relieved.
If it weren’t for that, I might have missed the person-shaped lump beneath my black comforter. Not to mention the golden hair that’s splayed out all over my pillow and bathing in the light.
Fuck, this is exactly what I needed.
The heaviness poisoning my muscles depletes for just long enough to allow me the strength to set my bag on the dresser and tug my hoodie off. Taking a seat on the edge of the bed, I softly place my hand on Brielle’s hip. She doesn’t stir, so I keep it there while taking in the sight of her here in my bed. Asleep, maybe even dreaming.
She’s facing my way, and the longer I stare, the more tiny details I find that I’d been careless enough to miss the first hundred times I’ve looked at her. There are a few scars on her cheeks that are clearly old, having faded nearly all the way. She must have had the tip of her ear pierced at one time because there’s a small hole there that hasn’t properly closed yet. It’s nearly in the same place as mine are, yet not quite.
The roots of her hair have grown a bit darker over the weeks since she’s dyed it back to blonde. It’s almost the same colour, yet different enough that I know it must be her true natural colour. I smooth my palm down the small pieces sticking up from her crown before using a knuckle to sweep a few strands off her temple.
Her breathing changes as she makes a low, sleepy noise, and her lashes move. A second later, her eyes are opening just a crack. She blinks a few times, forcing herself awake.
“Go back to sleep, baby. I didn’t mean to wake you,” I whisper, leaning down, my finger stroking her jaw.
She swallows, then wets her lips. “You’re home.”
“I am.”
“Early.”
“It’s late,” I tell her.
“No,” she murmurs roughly. “You’re back early.”
“I needed to be here.”
Her eyes open a bit wider as she tries to focus them on me. One of her hands slips out from beneath the blanket and finds my wrist, holding on to it.
“Why?”
I hold myself back instead of kissing her like I want to. With her staring at me all drowsy and soft, like maybe my being here tonight makes her as happy as it makes me.
“You know why,” I breathe out, nudging my finger under her chin. With a gentle lift, I have her head tipped just enough that I can swoop in to taste her lips.
She shuts her eyes again, smiling into the kiss as I gather her hair in my hand and pull it all toward the top of the pillow, away from her face. It’s beautiful like this, dripping all over my pillow.
“I wasn’t trying to be creepy, crawling into your bed,” she admits sheepishly, breaking the kiss. “Aubrey was going to bring me home, but I just . . .”
“There’s no better place for you to be tonight.”
It could be the exhaustion speaking, or this could be the truth that I can no longer ignore or push aside in hopes of making it go away. Whichever it is doesn’t matter tonight. Right now, the only thing I want is to crawl into this bed beside the woman who I haven’t been able to stop thinking about and fall asleep with her in my arms.
Even if this is the only night I get to experience this, it will have been worth it.
Brielle releases my wrist and flips over onto her back before rubbing the flat blanket beside her. The loopy grin on her face makes my chest fill with fire.
