The door slides open and bare feet pad over the wood, unhurried.
Then warmth flows through me. Tyler’s arms wrap around me from behind, solid and unyielding. I go willingly as he draws me back against his chest, lifting me slightly until my breath catches and my heart stumbles.
“Hey,” he whispers against my neck, his voice rough, weighted from everything he doesn’t say out loud.
The blood coating me doesn’t faze him, he’s showing me without telling me that he sees the destruction in me and I’m still worth loving, every single part of me.
I let myself fall into it. Into him.
The darkness recedes a little more, retreating beneath the steady weight of Tyler’s presence.
“You checked out on me,” he adds attentively.
“I’m right here,” I confess.
His arms draw me closer, as if he knows that’s only part of the truth.
“I know, I just like having you closer.”
I tilt my head slightly, just enough to give him better access to my neck. His lips find the spot just below my jaw, and a shiver works its way through me.
“Careful,” I murmur, a hint of need threading through my voice. “You’ll distract me.”
A quiet huff of amusement. “You caught me.”
I let my hands come up, resting over his forearms where they’re locked around me, feeling the strength there.
For a moment, I don’t feel like I’m standing on the edge of something dark.
I only feel love.
Of who I was, who I became and who I am.
Then my gaze drifts back out into the night.
The mission. The names. The blood that is still owed.
His hands find my waist, firm and possessive, and in one fluid motion, he lifts me off my feet and into his arms.
“Tyler.”
My words falter as my body presses fully into his, heat sparking through the thin space between us.
“Mm,” he hums low in my ear, already guiding us back inside the house. “Let me take care of you.”
The way he says it, rough, certain, sends a delicious flutter between my legs.
“You don’t have to,” I murmur softly, but there’s no real fight in it.
“I know.” His grip shifts, one arm tightening under my thighs, the other tucking me closer against his chest. “I want to.”
My breath stutters.
My arms slide around his neck without thought, pulling just a little closer, my lips brushing near his jaw as he carries me inside.
“Easy there,” I whisper, the hint of a smile ghosting my mouth. “You’re getting a little controlling.”
He chuckles.
