the bed and lifted my shirt.
“I forgot about this,” he said, shaking his head. “The bullshit fights that never ended because they were bullshit.”
“You know where the door is,” I said flatly as Olive began to nurse and the room got quiet.
“Yeah, I’ve already been through that door,” he said, staring at me with his arms crossed over his chest. “Even with the bullshit, it’s better in here.”
His reply completely took the wind out of my sails. Well, shit.
“You wanna argue with me, fine,” he said quietly. “You wanna take your shit out on me because your family is bein’ assholes—do it. Nothin’ I haven’t dealt with before. But don’t tell me to leave, Cec. You’ve only told me that once before, and I listened to you. That’s not happening again.”
“Fine,” I muttered, even though my stomach gave a little flutter.
He sat down on the bed next to me and let out a long breath. “I want to lock us in here and fuck you for a week straight,” he said evenly, though one glance at his hands tightened into fists indicated he wasn’t as calm as he seemed. “But this was a big night for you. Shit, it’s been a massive few weeks. We both know that the minute we fall into bed again, everything’s gonna be so heightened and fucking intense that everything else will fade.”
“Sounds nice,” I replied, making him chuckle.
“Yeah, it does.” He leaned over and kissed the side of my neck. “But you need to figure this shit out with your family, and I’ve still gotta make sure you and Ollie are safe.”
“Do you think she’ll ever be safe?” I asked, cupping her head in my hand. It was so small and fragile that I could see her pulse thrumming in her soft spot.
“Yeah, baby, I do. I’ll make sure.”
We sat quietly while Olive nursed, both of us watching her. It seemed inconceivable that anyone would want to hurt someone so innocent and new.
My eyes were drooping, and I was leaning heavily against Mark by the time Olive was finished. Honestly, even the thought of having to stand up to pull back the blankets so I could crawl in bed seemed like too much work. Mark laughed at me as I groaned.
“Come on,” he said, helping me to my feet. He pulled the blankets down and helped me sit again before kneeling at my feet.
“What are you doing?” I asked tiredly.
“Takin’ off your shoes,” he replied, nodding at my feet.
Tears made my nose sting as I stared at him. It was such a simple gesture because he knew how tired I was, but it felt big. Really big. Down on one knee, big. Because if a guy that’s been up just as long as you have, and is just as tired as you are, still takes the time to kneel down to remove the shoes that you could easily toe-off yourself—you’ve hit the jackpot.
“I still have to run to the bathroom,” I cried, unable to stop my voice from wobbling.
“Aw, sweetheart,” he said reaching up to wipe my tears away as he fought a smile.
“It’s not because I have to go to the bathroom,” I tried to explain through my blubbering as he got me back on my feet. “You tried to take my shoes off.”
“I know,” he said, though he clearly had no idea what I was rambling on about.
After grabbing the diaper bag, I clenched my teeth and stiffened my spine while he escorted me to a bathroom I’d been in a million times before. If we ran into anyone, I wasn’t going to let them see me losing my shit. I reminded myself of that as he gently took Olive from my arms and gave me a pat on the butt to get me moving. When I got out of the bathroom, he was holding a lamp in his free hand.
I looked at him curiously, but didn’t say anything as we went back to the room. Then I almost lost it again when he laid Olive on the bed and plugged in the lamp, throwing a t-shirt over the shade to dim it, before turning off the bright overhead light.
Within minutes, I was back in bed, with Olive on one side of me—closest to the wall, and Mark on the other side, his body lined up perfectly with mine. For the first time in hours, I found myself relaxing.
“Mornin’ is gonna come early,” he murmured into my hair. “Turn that brain off