Page 222 of Scarlet Wars
My hand slid to the back of her neck, angling her mouth to mine, deepening it until she made a startled little noise and clutched the front of my shirt.
When I finally released her, she was blinking up at me, lips pink, breath thin, Scotch-warm.
Her smile went slow and fond. “I missed you too.”
Christ.
I hooked an arm under her legs and lifted her, ignoring her tiny squeak. She fit against my chest like she was fucking designed for me. I carried her to my bed—the only rightful place for her—and set her down gently. She giggled, attempted to bounce once, then promptly yawned like a kitten and collapsed into my pillows.
I tucked the blanket up to her chin.
“How was everyone?” I asked, sounding as casual as I could manage.
“Good,” she mumbled, eyelids already drooping. “Saoirse couldn’t make it, but Rocco and Emile were their usual brand of unhinged.”
My stomach gave a single, cold thud.
“Why couldn’t Saoirse make it?” I asked, too quickly. Too impatient.
One glassy blue eye cracked open and fixed on me with terrifying accuracy.
“Why do you want to know?”
Unbelievable. The woman was drunk enough to nap mid-sentence, but sharp enough to interrogate me from beneath the blankets like a suspicious house cat.
I forced a shrug, aiming for breezy. “Just curious. Seems odd.”
She studied me one beat longer—one dangerous beat—then sighed and let her lids close again.
“She and Rocco broke up,” she mumbled into the pillow. “Too awkward to drink with him. She’ll nex me tomorrow.”
I let out a breath I didn’t realize I’d been strangling. “You’ll see her tomorrow then?”
One eye cracked open again, suspicion dragging its heels behind it. “Do I need to heal myself sober? Is something wrong?”
I smiled. Couldn't help it. The sharpest mind in any room, even blind-drunk. And she wasmine.
“No, love,” I murmured, brushing a thumb along her jaw. “Nothing’s wrong. Just get some sleep.”
Her lips puckered into a thoughtful pout. “Would be a lot more fun if you joined me.”
A low laugh rumbled out of me. “Is that right?”
“Mhm,” she mumbled, sinking back into the pillow. “Infinitely.”
I shook my head, smirking as I toed off my boots, shrugged off my shirt, and let my pants drop. The mattress dipped as I slid in behind her, fitting against her back like instinct. Like inevitability.
With zero regard for composure or timing, she wiggled back and parked her gorgeous little ass right on my already semi-hard cock.
My eyes shut, forehead dropping to her shoulder.
Jesus Christ.
Whatever web of politics, wars, Chiefs, or fractured futures had been clawing at my brain two minutes ago?Gone. Vaporized. She walked in, and the entire world shrank to the shape of her.
I exhaled, hand sliding over her hip to hold her in place.
“Sleep, my love,” I murmured against the warm skin below her ear.
