Page 64 of Written in Scent

A small smile tugs at my mouth as I think about how real it feels, almost like she’s actually in the room with me right now.

My fingers pause on the keyboard.

Before I can even turn around, a small body wraps around me from behind. Slim arms slide over my shoulders and a soft chest presses against my back. I jump slightly in surprise, heart jolting, before my body recognizes her and relaxes all at once.

I pull my headphones off and set them on the desk. When I turn my head, there she is.

Elodie comes around the chair without a word and climbs straight into my lap, straddling me. She nuzzles into my neck, pressing her face against my skin and scent marking me with deliberate movements that send warmth rushing through my chest.

It’s not lost on me that she’s wearing my t-shirt. The fabric falls loosely around her thighs and the sight of her in my clothes makes something deep and instinctual tighten inside me. I wrap my arms around her small frame and hold her close, breathing her in.

Elodie stays curled against my neck for a long moment, her breathing a little uneven. Then she pulls back just enough to look at me, her blue eyes wide and earnest in the low light of the lamp.

“I couldn’t sleep alone in the nest,” she barely whispers, her voice tenderly vulnerable. “But I’m not ready to ask anyone to come into it with me yet.”

She pauses, fingers tracing a small circle on my chest over my shirt. “Can I sleep in here with you instead?”

A wave of pure relief and warmth floods through me so fast it almost makes me dizzy. I have to fight the grin that wants to break across my face because I don’t want her to think I’m laughing at her. Instead I tighten my arms around her waist and nod.

“Of course you can,” I say soothingly.

We stay like that for a little while, talking in quiet voices that feel like they belong only to us. I gently tease her, brushing a strand of her vibrant hair behind her ear. “Sneaking into my room in the middle of the night, huh? Bold move, Elodie. I am impressed.”

She huffs a small laugh against my collarbone, the sound gentle and sleepy. “I feel safest with you right now,” she admits, so hushed I almost miss it. “I don’t know why, but I do.”

The words land deep in my chest. I press a kiss to the top of her head and hold her a little closer. “You can always come to me,” I tell her, meaning every single word. “Whenever you need to. Day or night. I mean it.”

She relaxes against me completely after that, and I feel something click into place inside my heart.

Eventually I stand, lifting Elodie with me, her weight an easy burden. Her arms loop around my neck and her legs wrap around my waist without hesitation, like she has done it a hundred times before. I carry her across the room to my bed, one hand supporting her back, the other curved under her thighs.

I lay her down gently in the middle of the mattress. She looks up at me with sleepy, trusting eyes, her hair spilling across my pillow.

I turn quickly and switch off my computer, then click the desk lamp off. The room falls into darkness broken only by the faint glow from the hallway light.

I climb into bed beside her and pull her straight into my arms.

Elodie snuggles into my chest, tucking her head under my chin like she was made to fit there. Her breathing evens, each exhale warm against my skin, and I feel her body relax completely against me, every small tension melting away until she is languid and heavy with sleep.

A profound sense of peace and contentment settles over me as I hold her, something I didn’t know I was missing until right now. I press one soft kiss to the top of her head, breathing in the sweet strawberry lemonade scent that clings to everything.

Then I close my eyes and fall into the deepest, most restful sleep I’ve had in a long time.

I groggily stir to the sound of concerned voices and the sharp bang of a door opening. My head throbs the second I move, a dull ache blooming behind my eyes from last night’s poor decisions.

The bedroom door swings wide and Chase barges in mid-sentence, his large frame filling the doorway. “Have you seen—” He stops cold when his gaze lands on me. I am sprawled completely across Jamie, one leg thrown over his hips, my head on his chest.

Chase’s eyes widen for half a second before he quickly looks away, turning his head toward the hallway. Heat floods my face as I realize my borrowed shirt has ridden all the way up and my ass is completely exposed. I yank the hem down frantically with one hand, cheeks burning.

Jamie stirs beneath me, blinking slowly awake. His hands tighten instinctively on my waist and the back of my thigh, warm and possessive for a sleepy second before he seems to remember where he is.

“Everything’s fine,” Chase calls gruffly into the hallway, voice tight. “Elodie’s in Jamie’s room.”

He glances back at us, still carefully avoiding anything below my shoulders, and his expression softens into an apology. “We saw the door to the nest open and thought you had left. We were worried about your safety.”

I groan and burrow deeper into Jamie’s chest, hiding my embarrassed face against him. My head pounds in protest.

“My head hurts,” I mumble miserably.