“Seriously, you two?” I snap, turning and looking between them like they’ve both lost their minds.
Christian’s chest shakes behind me, his silent laugh brushing against the back of my neck. Even he can feel the crackling, feral energy between the two of them.
“What are we, twelve?”
Violet flips Callan off with both hands, her eyes practically shooting sparks, and he looks as pleased with himself as ever.
“Okay, thank you for bringing him,” I say, tightening my hold on Christian. “I’ve got him from here.”
Violet mutters something under her breath before stomping back upstairs, leaving me in the hallway with my mountain man.
“Can I sleep in your bed?” Christian asks, looking down at me with the most heartbreakingly vulnerable eyes I’ve ever seen. Whatever happened tonight has wrecked him.
“Like you’d be sleeping anywhere else,” I murmur, threading my fingers through his hair, and his eyes flutter closed at the touch. “But let’s get some water in you first. Vi made mac and cheese earlier if you’re hungry.”
“Don’t need food,” he mumbles, pressing his forehead to mine. “I just need you.”
“You good with him, or do you want help getting him upstairs?”
“I’m older than you, little brother. Pretty sure I can find my way to bed.”
“Yeah? Because you could barely find the front door, dumbass.”
“That’s horseshit.”
Callan laughs, shaking his head as he pushes his cap back. “Good luck, Piper. I’ll call you in the morning.”
“See you later,” I murmur, tightening my grip on Christian as Callan pulls the door closed behind him.
Christian sinks into the couch like his bones have turned to liquid, allowing his head to fall back against the cushions. When he opens his arms, I don’t hesitate. I just crawl right into that wall of warmth, fitting myself against his chest. He lets out this deep, satisfied rumble, and I slip my hand through the gap in his button-up, spreading my fingers over his skin and dragging them slowly through the light dusting of hair across his chest.
“This,” he murmurs. “Just this. You. Your skin. Your smell. It’s everything. It’s all I need.” He buries his nose in my hair, breathing in deep.
“Do you want to talk about it?” I whisper against his collarbone.
“Tomorrow.” The word vibrates through his chest. “It’s been… brutal. Right now, I just want to forget everything except how you feel against me.”
“Come on.” I press a kiss to his neck, feeling his arms cinch tighter around me. “Let’s get you to bed.”
He’s quiet as we move, letting me guide him upstairs. I stop in the kitchen long enough to grab him a glass of water, then nudge open my bedroom door and flick on the lamp.
He hesitates in the doorway, staring at the bed like it’s something bigger than just sheets and pillows. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out where his mind has gone, but he brushes it off fast. When you’ve done the things we have, when you’ve broken open the way we’ve broken open, there’s no room left for jealousy about who might’ve been here before.
“Sit down for me, cowboy.” Christian drops to the edge of the bed, and when I kneel between his legs, that familiar smirk curves his lips, and I can’t help but laugh. “Whatever filthy thought you’re having, shelve it. I’m just taking your boots off.” Right now, all I want is to care for this beautiful, hurting man.
“Wasn’t thinking anything, darlin’,” he says, but the lazy, lopsided grin he throws me says otherwise.
I remove one boot, then pull off the other. When I look up, he’s staring down at me with this molten mix of drunk-soft love and pure male heat that makes my insides flutter. Even half drunk and hurting, Christian Crawford can still set me on fire with just a look.
“What’s going on in that head of yours?” I whisper, reaching up to brush my fingers against the rough scruff covering his jaw.
“That I have no regrets.”
“Yeah?” I search his face, looking for any trace of doubt, any hint that he’s not as sure as he sounds.
He nods once, and those big hands of his slide into my hair, fingers tangling in the strands like he can’t bear even the smallest amount of space between us.
“None,” he says again, more firmly this time. “Not a single one.”
