Page 146 of Off Camera
“I told you.” He marks his spot in the book with a long finger and taps my calf with his other hand. “I wanted to help. This is me helping. For the record, I have no problem fucking you on your period. I don’t mind a little blood, and you know I like to clean you up after. But I can tell you’re uncomfortable. You can barely keep your head up, and hanging out on the couch is just fine by me.”
My body heats.
I imagine him on top of me, not a care in the world about getting dirty.
It would be intimate. Messy, and I like that he’d want to have sex with me when I’m vulnerable and not feeling like myself. I like that it doesn’t turn him off.
I stare at him, lost for words, and everything sharpens.
This man.
This man is here taking care of me and getting nothing in return.
This man is reading my romance book and ordering food so I’m fed.
This man brought me a heating pad, for fuck’s sake.
I should be on one knee asking him to marry me.
My breath comes out in short bursts the longer I stare at the hook of his nose. My chest hurts when I see his smile stretch wider.
It feels like a knot in me is pulling tight, some string I can’t see tugging and tugging to the point of uncomfortable.
It’s time for me to acknowledge the thing I’ve been trying so hard to fight.
I like him.
I like him so much.
I’d give him my heart if he asked.
I’d promise to treasure his in return, if he let me.
I think I might be a little in love with him too.
“Hey.” Reid scoots closer to me and grasps my knee. His fingers fold around my leg and his thumb rubs up and down my thigh, a touch that grounds and steadies me. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” I curse myself for being so obvious. “A little bit of pain. That’s all.”
He studies my face. When his eyes connect with mine, Ifeelit.
The worry.
The anxiousness.
The question on the tip of his tongue, ready to ask what else he can do to help.
He’s looking at me like I’m made of stars. Something racing across a midnight sky made of hopes and wishes and wants. There’s wonder when he parts his lips. Joy when I give him a nervous smile. Affection, too, when he moves his hand to my cheek, his touch as soft as clouds.
I’m falling for this man, and from the way my heart beats when he doesn’t let go, I know I’m tumbling head first.
I wake up with a firm body pressing against my back.
I stir and open one eye, taking in my surroundings.
I’m in my bedroom. The window to the left of my bed is cracked and the curtains move in the light breeze. The lamp onthe table to my right is on, a soft glow covering the sheets and blankets.
There’s a heating pad against my stomach. Reid is wrapped around me, his arms resting on my waist and his mouth warm on the back of my neck. It’s like he’s holding me delicately, as if I’ll break if he touches me too hard.
