“Headache?”
“I tell you.”
I traced the edge of his collar.
“And if I ask you not to stop?”
“I still stop if you are no longer able to choose clearly.”
“That is irritating.”
“Yes.”
“Also correct.”
“Yes.”
I looked at him.
“Now tell me what you want.”
His hand moved up my back.
“I want to take you to bed.”
Heat surged through me.
“I want enough time that neither of us has to chase an ending.”
His thumb brushed the base of my neck.
“I want to touch every place you’ve been afraid of and leave it safer than I found it.”
My breath caught.
“And if tonight ends with nothing but you asleep against me, I want that too.”
I slid from his lap and stood.
The walking pole rested beside the counter.
I left it there.
Not because I hated it.
Because the bedroom was twelve steady steps away, and Reid walked beside me without hovering.
At the doorway, I turned.
He stopped before touching me.
Waiting.
I held out my hand.
“Come with me, Cal.”
His fingers closed around mine.
