I slide inside her in one deep stroke, and we both go still.
Home.
The word pounds through me with every beat of my heart.
Her arms lock around my neck.
“Missed you,” she whispers.
“I’ve been here all day.”
“Still.”
I understand that.
I miss her with my hands on her.
I move slow enough to keep the bed quiet, deep enough to make her nails bite into my skin. Her mouth finds mine. Her body opens under me, warm and wet and mine in every way that matters.
Because she chose me.
Because she keeps choosing me.
“Love you,” she says.
It hits like the first time.
Every time.
“I love you too.”
I bury my face against her throat and let go with her name in my mouth, shaking hard, holding myself over her so I don’t crush her, failing at being anything but hers.
After, I pull her against my chest. Her breathing evens out against my skin.
The cabin is full.
Alive.
Ours.
I kiss my wife’s hair and close my eyes.
I spent half my life getting people out.
Reina was the one who brought me home.
THE END
***