He’s also addicted to inhaling my scent. To squeezing me tight.
To putting me first.
It’s perfect. It’s all I could’ve wished for and then some.
And today—by the end of it, after my visit to his storage unit—he’ll be able to do it without holding back. He’ll be free to be himself around me.
It shouldn’t have taken me three days to work up the courage to do it, but better late than never.
Sure, I feel bad about dragging him away from his patients. Thankfully, there are plenty of qualified doctors and nurses here to take his place, and in about an hour, he’ll be back in the hospital.
“My favorite thing was what you did”—I hum when he slides his hand from the back of my head to my cheek, his thumb stroking my heated skin—“with your tongue this morning.”
“Was it?” His cock hardens against my belly, his index finger tracing along my lips.
“Yeah.” Dizzy with need, I dart out the tip of my tongue, licking his fingertip without anyone seeing. “It was the best ever.”
A low rumble reverberates in his sturdy chest. I shiver. “Anything else?”
“Hmm. Well, it doesn’t come close, but customers have been trickling in all day.” The full weight of his gaze lands on me when I tip my head up. I have to bury my fingersinto his sides, or else I’ll tear his clothes off. “Hopefully, it means lunchtime will be busy. I hate when it’s boring.”
His wide smile warms me from the inside out.
“What?” I smile back.
“It makes me happy.” Alaric smooths his thumbs over my cheeks. “Seeing how much you love your job.”
The corners of his eyes crinkle. There’s a glimmer in his eyes.
Imagine what it will look like when he knows how thoroughly understood he is.
It’ll be…magic.
“I do, but so do you.” Cocking an eyebrow earns me a kiss on the forehead. “You thrive when it’s busy too.” I lower my voice. “I mean, when your patients aren’t dying.”
“Yeah.” A dark cloud descends over his handsome face. “Speaking of work.”
“Someone died?” Fuck, I’ve crossed a line. A thick, red line. Maybe this is where he snaps. When he tells me he’s done with me. “I’m so sorry. I…it wasn’t a joke, I swear.” Shame has me looking down at an empty table. “Ugh. I’m so, so, so sorry if it sounded like one.”
“Lilith.” His fingers hook under my chin, angling my face toward his.
“I’m sorry.” I snap my eyes shut.
The world disappears. So much so that I don’t hear the rustling of the coffee machine or the light chatter across the cafeteria. I’m only aware of Alaric’s touch and what must be his looming frustration with me.
“I’m the worst,” I whisper.
“Li”—he kisses my lips, a soft, steadying brush of his mouth to mine—“lith.”
Wanting to become as small as possible, to disappear, I round my shoulders and squeeze my eyes shut.
He cups my cheeks. “Look at me.”
At his incredibly gentle tone, I chance a glance at him.
This isn’t a smile I see on his face.
He’s nowhere near upset either.