Page 154 of What We Brave
"What time is it?" she murmurs.
"No idea. Don't care."
"Reid's going to be back eventually."
"Let him." I press a kiss to her shoulder. "He knew what he was leaving us to."
"We should probably at least put clothes on."
"Nope."
She laughs. Tips her head back to look at me.
"You're very demanding, you know that?"
"You like it."
She hums. Neither confirmation nor denial.
I reach past her to shut off the water. Grab a towel. Wrap her in it like a burrito.
"Blake." She's squirming. "I can dry myself off."
"Don't want you to."
She stops squirming. Looks up at me with something soft in her eyes.
"You're different," she says quietly. "Than I expected."
"Bad different?"
"No." She reaches up. Touches my face. Her fingers trace my jaw, my cheekbone. Careful, like she's memorizing. "Good different. Really good different."
I lean into her palm.
Don't cry. Do not fucking cry, Moore.
"Come on." I clear my throat. It doesn't help. "Let's get you dried off and fed. You burned a lot of calories."
She grins. "Whose fault is that?"
"Mine." I grin back. "And I'm not even a little sorry."
30
REID
Tony's daughter is fucking adorable.
I held her for twenty minutes while Tony complained about sleep deprivation and his wife laughed at both of us. Claire's so tiny she fits in the crook of my arm, all soft and warm and making these little snuffling sounds that are terrifying, but also the cutest thing I've ever heard.
God, she smells good.Do all babies smell like this? Like laundry and milk and something that makes your brain go quiet?
My brain doesn't go quiet for much.
"You want one of those someday?" Tony asked from the couch, dark circles under his eyes, burp cloth draped over his shoulder like a fashion statement.
"Yeah. Maybe. Someday."
