Page 58 of Newly Tied

Having crawled after him, I enjoyed seeing the flush on his skin, the sweat, and see his body trembling with slight aftershocks. Mine was doing the same, the twinges of release still tumbling through me. “Since when do you sleep naked?”

“Just for tonight,” he rumbled. “Get the lights, and then come here.”

Reaching over to flip off the lamp on the nightstand, I was surprised how dark it was in the room until I realized the blinds were drawn.

Once I was under the covers, I rolled to my left so we were face-to-face. “Comfy sheets,” I complimented him.

“They should be,” he grumbled, reaching out to touch my hair, my cheek, and finally rest his hand on the side of my neck. “The bed’s nice too, isn’t it?”

“Much better’n mine, no question.”

“Good. I’m glad you like it because you’ll be in it a lot.”

“Will I?”

“All the time.”

“Yeah?”

His resigned whine made me smile. “Can you just agree and not banter?”

“You like banter.”

“Not about stuff like this.”

“Stuff like what?”

“Us stuff.”

I chuckled. “Us stuff?”

“Stop. And agree.”

“Fine.”

He sighed deeply, like me giving in made him happy.

I took a breath. “Did I hurt you?”

“No. That being said, I will be sore in a new way tomorrow than I ever have been before, and look forward to being so again.”

“You do?”

“Screaming your name should clue you in that you’re good in bed.”

“So are you, my friend.”

He grunted softly.

“It’s probably gonna take me a minute when we get back to work to not touch you inappropriately when we’re together.”

“Please. I’ve seen Redeker turn to Callahan to get something wiped off his lip when they’re eating lunch with all of us. I think we’ll be fine.”

“Okay, good,” I said with a sigh.

“And besides, the only thing anyone really cares about”—he yawned—“is something happening and we can’t be partners anymore.”

“But that couldn’t happen.”