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Washcloth in hand, I found Mari unmoved. A shower would’ve been better, but she didn’t have the energy to stand long enough, and I didn’t want to force her into a second wind. She needed rest. I washed her carefully, making sure to get every drop of come off her as gently as I could. When she was clean, I put her in one of my shirts, loving the way it dwarfed her frame.
She yawned, her jaw cracking and her eyes drifting shut. Pride surged through me. I did that. I took her stress away. “You ready for bed, baby?”
A soft nod was my only answer. Careful not to fully wake her, I pulled Mari into my arms, kissing her temple as I walked her across the hall to her room.
“Thank you, Dominic,” she said as we stopped so I could open her door.
“Anytime, baby.”
Using my hip to open the door, I let us in, unsurprised to find Greyson reading in their bed. He looked up with a raised eyebrow. “She okay?”
“Just needed a break.” I laid her down gently, tucking her into the sheets and brushing hair off her face. “Hopefully she’ll sleep through the night.”
“Your lips to God’s ears.”
I snorted, pressing one last kiss to her forehead. “Goodnight, mariposa. I love you.”
She said nothing back, of course, too far into sleep to do more than sigh at my touch, but I kept the sound close as I stood. Maybe one day she’d actually say it back. For now, it was time for me to go.
Before I could even climb off the bed, a hand clamped down on my wrist, and Mari’s sleep-drenched voice uttered a single word. “Stay.”
I wanted to more than anything, but she was tired and worn out. I didn’t want her to wake up and regret asking. “I don’t?—”
“You heard her,” Greyson said. “Climb in.”
It was obviously a command, but as much as I tried, I couldn’t get upset about it when this was where I wanted to be. Still, I worried that staying would do more damage than good.
“Are you sure about this?”
“She is. That’s what matters.”
Fair enough. Careful not to jostle her too much, I climbed in next to Mari, boxing her between our bodies. I expected her to go to Greyson, but she wrapped herself around me with a contented sigh that relaxed every muscle in her body. Her cheek pressed to my bare chest, and her fingers dug into my hip like she belonged there. Because she did.
She was in my arms again. My mariposa. Finally.
I wrapped an arm behind her back and pulled her flush against me, dropping kisses anywhere I could reach.
Grey watched her settle, his eyes coasting over Mari with the barest hint of a smile on his lips. “You worked her over well.”
“She needed it.”
“She needs you.”
I didn’t miss the word choice. The idea that Grey was rooting for me, for Mari and me together, made it seem possible again. But whatever the future held was up to her. I’d made my peace with that, even as I hated the possibility of losing her for good. “Thanks, man.”
“Don’t thank me yet. Fuck her over again, and it’ll be the last time.”
“I won’t.” I’d walk away before willingly hurting her again. A tiny kernel of guilt dug at me, but I buried it. We weren’t in the place to share secrets yet, but one day, we would, and Mari would know everything. Then we could really begin.
“Get some sleep,” Grey finally said, clicking off the bedside lamp and settling at Mari’s back with a hand on her hip. We lay in comfortable silence while he fell asleep.
I never did.
Hours passed, and my eyes refused to close, worried that the next time they opened, I’d realize this was all a dream. I didn’t want this moment of peace to end, so I memorized the weight of Mari against me, the seconds between those deep, sleepy breaths that skittered across my chest. The softness of her skin. The feel of her heartbeat matching mine.
I memorized it all. If she woke up and put me at a distance again, I’d always have this night to look back on.
If this was all I ever got, it would be enough.
