I knew he was every bit as overcome as I was, maybe more so.
When he was done washing me, he pulled me close, holding me as the warm spray attempted to wash away our nightmare. It wasn’t until the water began to run cool that we parted. He guided me out, gently drying my hair and skin before he quickly ran the towel over his own body.
He pulled the covers back, guiding me to lie down before he slid in beside me, immediately wrapping me up against his warm body. We’d spoken only a handful of words since he’d found me and yet I didn’t think we’d ever understood each other so well.
I pulled away slightly, seeking his mouth. He returned my kiss hesitantly at first, unsure of what I wanted. I snaked my fingers through his hair, pulling him closer, showing him what I needed.
His tongue caressed mine in a beautiful duel as he moved his body over mine. His lips found the shell of my ear, then my neck, his whiskers a delicious tickle as he moved lower toward my breasts.
I let out a low groan, opening my legs so that he could rest his body between my thighs. “Sid. Please.” My voice was full of throaty desperation as I pulled at his hair.
He lifted his head up, his gaze half-mast and full of love. “Baby.” His voice was a rasp, deeper than I’d ever heard, and I couldn’t be sure due to the dim light, but I could have sworn I saw tears in his eyes.
“Sid. I need you,” I murmured, my own voice tight with emotion as his lips moved back up my body, finding my mouth.
He slid through to the hilt with one beautiful thrust and stopped. He stared down at me, our gazes as locked as our bodies. I’d never felt so connected to him and part of me began to heal with the glory that was Sid.
He pulled back and slid home again as I relished the feel of his flesh against mine. We’d never gone without a condom, but no part of me regretted it now.
He groaned. The sound was a low rumble in his throat as he fought for control, his body taking mine as though he owned it—and he did.
When we came together in a rush, I let out a gasp, tears burning my eyes. He rolled to the side, still inside of me, and pulled me in to his body. We were connected in every way.
Then, only then, could I truly let go.
The first sob sounded like a ricochet throughout the quiet room. Then my entire body quaked with them as I let out the terror I’d felt that night.
He held me for a long time, his hand stroking my hair and down my back in a soothing caress that gradually calmed me.
Finally, I pulled away gently, feeling the loss of him as he slipped from my body. We lay side by side, our noses nearly touching as my sobs quieted into small gasps.
“I don’t do a good job of putting out what’s in my heart,” I murmured hoarsely.
“Sweetheart. You don’t have to....” He shook his head.
“No. I need to,” I pressed. “The thought that I could have died with you having any moment of doubt as to how I feel about you is the worst kind of hell I can imagine. Sid. I love you. The words aren’t even close to enough. You’re my heart. My insides. I think it all the time, more times a day than I could count. I hadn’t realized until our fight that I wasn’t saying it.”
His eyes glittered in the dim light as he stared into mine.
“There is nothing I want more than any kind of future I can have with you,” I told him passionately. “When I was stuck in that horrible house, I don’t know if it was a dream or if my brain just needed to escape for a few minutes, but all I saw was you.” A small smile crossed my lips as I remembered the image that had flashed behind my eyes. “I saw you and a little boy with big blue eyes.”
He looked surprised for a moment before a ghost of a smile touched his lips.
“We’ll have any kind of future you want, sweetheart,” he promised. “I can’t....” His speech halted as he fought to continue. “I’ll never get over the feeling of discovering you were gone. It felt like my legs were in quicksand when I ran to my truck. I couldn’t do anything fast enough. I caught your tail. It was a combination of luck and intel from Trav and the guys. I had to circle back with the team. It felt like it took forever for them to arrive but I knew if I went in unprepared, I’d just get us both killed.”
“You did the right thing,” I assured him.
“When we mobilized, you hadn’t been there more than an hour, but it felt like way too fucking long,” he continued, and I wasn’t even sure if he’d heard me, he was so intent on getting it out. “We couldn’t get a clear line of sight. Had to wait it out. I didn’t know how many were in there. Then that one fuck came outside, giving us the opportunity we needed. Finally.” He blew out a breath.