Leander whispers back, “I love it.”
I smile as I adjust my pumps under my blanket.
And when I look up, Erik is watching me with a softness that steals my breath and a look that causes arousal to flow throughout my body.
A look that says, "You're mine. And I’m yours."
I finally understand that the warmth in my body occurs when he touches me. My body reacts to him before my thoughts can catch up. The way safety comes with him feels like being fully seen, held, and chosen.
I’m in love with him. Deeply. Completely. And when his fingers lace through mine under the table…
I know he feels it too.
CHAPTER EIGHT
CLAIRE
The next day…
Dinner is simple for us, as we both desired to prepare tomato basil soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. The soup is simmering, and the wine is breathing, while Erik watches me with that quiet reverence that makes me feel soft inside.
Suddenly my phone'scamera flashes without any physical contact. Everything inside me goes still. Erik doesn’t panic. He moves fast, controlled, and with lethal calm, sliding my phone into a metal breadbox and shutting the lid with a finality that makes my heart stutter.
"It's a temporary faraday barrier,"he whispers. “Whoever or whatever it is won’t get another frame, and I’ll work with my brothers to find out what happened.”
The wayhe says it makes my stomach twist. Now we sit at the table, pretending to eat food that neither of us wants. Thecandles sway. The room feels like a fragile bubble that someone just pressed a thumb into.
“I’m okay,”I whisper, though my hands tremble.
“No,”he says softly, “but you will be.”
My chest aches,not the tender fullness from my milk, but something deeper. Fear curling around vulnerability.
He reaches across the table,palm up. I slide my hand into his. His thumb runs slow strokes over the sensitive place between my index finger and thumb, a rhythm that always calms me.
“Come here,”he says.
I stand.So does he. And then he cups my face with both hands, lowering his forehead to mine.
“You’re safe,”he murmurs. “I won’t let anyone touch you. Not your body. Not your milk.”
My breath shivers out.“I trust you. My body… I feel so full. And this stressor is starting to impact me. What if this stressor affects my milk production?"
“You’re overdue,”he says gently. “We will work together to help you relax and not fear losing what you think you will. We’re in this together, little one.”
I swallow.“What is going on with my phone? What does this mean?”
“That is not your concern.Your phone will be with me moving forward, and I’ll have Ivar give you a burner phone you can still text Grace or me with as well as make phone calls," he says, voice dropping. “You’re the priority, and my job is to keep you safe.”
Heat bloomslow in my belly.
“Come with me,”he murmurs, thumb brushing the corner of my mouth.
He leadsme to the bedroom with the slow certainty of a man who already knows how to bring me back to earth.
Lightfrom the city outside faintly illuminates the bedroom. Curtains flutter at the open balcony door, letting in the slightest of breezes.
Erik sits on the bed,pulling me between his legs as his hands glide up my thighs and pause at my hips.
