Page 74 of Pining for Pierce

He moves closer, cupping my face with his hand. “Where’s this coming from?”

I swallow hard, leaning into his touch, hoping to gain some strength from it, and then whisper, “Do you really want me here?”

His frown deepens. “You know I do. I’ve told you over and over, I can’t live without you. I don’t ever wanna let you go. What do you need me to do to prove that to you? Whatever it is, I’ll do it. Just tell me…”

“You don’t have to do anything,” I say, feeling silly now.

He tilts his head, staring into my eyes. “Oh, I think I do.”

He takes my hand, pulling me to my feet, and drags me toward his bedroom. “Pierce… I can’t. Not after this morning…”

He turns, chuckling. “I wasn’t bringing you in here to take you to bed,” he says, surprising me.

“What are we doing, then?” I ask as we cross the threshold.

“We’re gonna find somewhere to put your underwear.”

“Right now?”

“Yeah.”

“But what about the sandwiches?”

“They’ll keep. This won’t. You might not have said so directly, but I think you need some reassurance, and I’m not gonna make you wait for it.”

I pull back and he turns to look down at me. “How did you know?”

“Because I know you, babe… better than you think.” I smile up at him and he dips his head, kissing me, before he glances around the room and murmurs, “Now, let’s find a home for your panties.”

Chapter Sixteen

Pierce

I don’t know where that moment of insecurity came from, but thankfully it was short-lived, and by the time I’d cleared a little space, and Harley and put her underwear away, she was much happier… and so was I.

This is where she belongs, and I need her to feel at home with me, even if we haven’t moved all her things in yet. Whatever the cause of her self-doubt, I think we’re both on the same page now. It feels that way, anyway.

We spent the remainder of the afternoon curled up together on the couch, both of us appreciating the opportunity to rest and watch some moreReacher. I made pasta for dinner, and while we ate, we worked out a plan for this morning, knowing Harley would have to get up early for work. Her day starts before mine, and while we both knew it would make sense for me to let her get up and shower by herself, I had other ideas.

“The store doesn’t open until ten,” she said, twirling spaghetti onto her fork.

“I know, but I still wanna get up with you. We can shower together, and I can fix the breakfast while you’re dressing.”

She smiled. “You’re sure?”

“I’m positive.”

We finished eating and cleared away together, exhaustion and our growing aches and pains getting the better of us. Sleepbeckoned, and we’d only been in bed for about ten minutes when I felt her breathing change. I held her closer in my arms, glancing over at the closet and smiling as I recalled that moment in her bedroom. I’d returned from her bathroom to find her standing by her dresser.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, wandering over to her. She was still naked, and I put my arms around her, kissing her shoulder and neck, pulling her body hard against my chest.

She shuddered just slightly. “I’m trying to decide what to take… and whether to change my clothes.”

“You can do that when you get back to my place. As to what you should take, I guess you’ll need things for work, mostly.”

“And things I can change into afterwards,” she said, twisting around in my arms and looking up at me.

“Really not necessary, babe,” I whispered, kissing her deeply.

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