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“You have no idea,” Roe whispered as they stepped through the curtain, leaving me with an uncomfortable looking Mia.
I greedily drank in the sight of her, tracking the emotions crossing her expressive face. It had been days since I’d been in the same room as Mia. We may only have the illusion of privacy due to the thin curtain but I couldn’t wait another second to touch her.
“Come here,” my voice was a gruff whisper. She hesitated, her fingers white as she gripped the strap of the purse that crossed her body. I hated that my earlier words had her second guessing my request.
“Angel,” I tried again, reaching for her, palm up. She rounded the edge of the bed and stepped to me, placing her smaller hand in mine. I closed my fingers around hers and pulled her into me, the stress of the day melting away now that she was here.
“Gage, don’t, you’re hurt,” she tried to push her way off my chest but I held her tighter, burying my nose in her hair and taking a deep breath for the first time in days.
“You call me Adam. I missed you,” I spoke into the auburn strands and her body finally released its tension as she relaxed into me.
“I missed you, too, Adam” she whispered.
Moments passed as I held her, enjoying feeling whole again. This was something I’d never had in my life with a woman. The need to be near her was as overwhelming as my attraction to her. I was just as happy cuddling her smaller body as I was sinking into it.
“I hope your pants are on, we’ve got your discharge papers,” Roe called loudly from the other side of the curtain.
“I’m going to kill him,” I released Mia and she stood up with a smile on her face and blushing cheeks, making me think I’d give Roe a pass this one time.
“Ready to go home?” She held her hand out to me in the same way I’d done earlier and I didn’t hesitate in taking it.
Home. Had it ever existed before her? I had a feeling anywhere that had Mia Delgado was my home and would be until I took my last breath.
25
MIA
“Are you sure you don’t want us to leave so that you can have some peace and quiet?”
I scooped another stuffed animal off the floor, making a grand total of five clutched in one arm while the other held two Nerf guns and a pop-up dinosaur book. Miles and I had only been here for three days and we’d completely destroyed Adam’s orderly home.
Adam lowered himself to the couch, wincing in pain when he had to shift to the side and remove an action figure from beneath him.
“Absolutely not, I want you and Miles and all the chaos that brings.” He laughed, tossing the toy on the other side of the couch. “Now stop worrying about cleaning up and come and sit that perfect ass of yours next to me.”
Dropping the toys in an empty corner of the room, I kicked off my shoes and padded over to the couch. I sat down as gently as I could and placed my hands in my lap, keeping my posture rigid so that I didn’t disturb him. Adam made a sound of frustration, wrapping one heavy arm around my shoulders and dragging me into his body.
“Adam, stop! You’re going to hurt yourself!” I gently pressed against his chest but his arm held firm.
“Mia, I’m fine. This is nothing more than a little scratch. Hold still, damnit, and let me cuddle you.”
His words were sweet, instantly melting me into his hold, especially since I was worried that fighting him would only cause him pain. My head rested against his shoulder and I allowed myself to enjoy being in his arms once again. There’d been many times over the last few days where I’d questioned what was happening between us. Miles’ curiosity about Adam was at an all-time high since we were staying at his house. My quick-thinking distractions had momentarily placated him but sooner or later he was going to start wondering what Adam’s place was in our lives and I’d need to have an honest answer for him.
My eyes closed as his warm fingers drifted up and down the exposed skin on my arm. Resting like this was uncommon for me. Normally if I wasn’t at work, I’d be running around the house cleaning, doing laundry or going over homework with Miles. Downtime wasn’t exactly in my vocabulary but the more that Adam and I were together, the more I found myself snuggled up on the couch with him, cuddling in bed or simply letting him hold me in the kitchen while dinner cooked. It was nice…addicting really.
Adam’s breathing evened out and I lifted my head to find he’d fallen asleep. He must have been exhausted; I couldn’t imagine he’d gotten much rest while he was on assignment. Pulling my phone out of my back pocket, I sent a quick text to Liz, double checking that it was all right that Miles spent the night. She sent back a thumbs up, an eggplant and the rain emoji making me laugh and Adam to shift beneath my cheek.
Replacing my phone, I curled my legs underneath me and rested my hand on his lower stomach, careful to avoid the thick bandage beneath his shirt. After the adrenaline rush of not knowing if he was going to be okay and the shock of seeing him stained with blood, lying on a hospital bed, I was completely drained. My eyes drifted shut and I allowed the peace of being with Adam to lull me to sleep.
* * *
I awoke disoriented,no longer on the couch and alone. I was in Adam’s dark bedroom and my head rested on a soft pillow instead of hard muscle. We must have slept most of the afternoon as it was now full night outside.
“Adam?” I called, my fuzzy brain belatedly recognizing the sounds of running water. Assuming he was in the shower, I swung my legs out of bed to go find him.
The bathroom door was slightly ajar, warm steam wafting out. I pushed the door open farther and stilled at the sight that was revealed. Adam…completely naked. He was facing the shower head, hands braced against the tile and his head hanging down between his arms. Hot water drenched his hair and slid down his body in the most tempting way. One leg was bent slightly, giving me a phenomenal view of his toned cheeks and flexing abs. He was incredibly beautiful, albeit in a dark and dangerous way.
My knees shook and I gripped the doorway to hold myself up. My movements must have alerted him that he was no longer alone and his head turned my way, one hand lifting to push wet strands of hair out of his face.
