Page 101 of Revival

“Hang tight, gorgeous. I’ve got you.”

Lips press into the side of my hair. My heart soars at his tenderness.

I don’t even want to remember the last time someone cared for me like this.

Sebastian never did. My migraines were an inconvenience. Once he realized he couldn’t cajole me into pretending it didn’t hurt, he left me alone to deal with them myself.

Before that, I had Oliver to care for, so I did my best to muster through the pain for my little boy.

A sharp ache rockets through me when I think about the fact the last people who cared for me so deeply were my parents after they took me in.

And my brothers.

As I grew older and had a son of my own, I stopped letting them see this side of me. I got used to pretending I was fine. I could handle anything. I put on my cape and turned into the super mom I never had, not until Nancy, never letting my little boy or my family see me falter.

Suspended weightless in Spencer’s arms injects me with feelings I have no business feeling.

Mainly how nice it is to let someone else take control.

With Spencer’s history of leaving, that might not be a good thing. But at least he’s here now.

Spencer sits on the edge of my bed with me still in his arms, careful not to crush my feet behind him. His biceps tighten for a second, as if he’s not ready to let me go, before they release, and he eases me into bed.

“Be right back.” He lays the duvet over my chest and exits the room.

I must drift off, because seconds later, the bed shifts from the other side.

“Would it be okay if I lay with you?” The tenderness in his voice untangles some of those cobwebs in my chest.

“Please.” I reach for him. Warm fingers grip mine before he presses a prickly kiss to my knuckles. His five-o’clock shadow provides a much-needed distraction.

He settles with his back to my padded headboard and rolls me half on him. My head lands around his abs with an arm thrown carelessly over his hips, thigh cocked against his shin.

“I just want to hold you if that’s okay.” His fingertips work magic on my head and neck.

I nod against him. Some of the pain begins to lessen under his ministrations.

“Let me know if this is too much.”

I sigh at the sharp cold spreading across my forehead. Spencer wrapped some ice in a cloth he found somewhere between here and the kitchen. He runs the freezing bundle across my heated skin.

“So good,” I mumble. “You know you don’t have to stay. This isn’t first-date material.”

“I want to,” he says. “We can have our first date tomorrow.”

“I can take care of myself.” Even as I put up a fight, my arm tightens around him.

“I know you’re hurting, and it’s probably hard for you to be seen like this.” He lifts the hair away from the back of my neck and moves the ice there. “But I’m here now. And I plan to be here for a long time. You’re used to doing it all, but you don’t have to be strong anymore. You’ve got me now to pick up the pieces you drop.”

That sounds nice,I want to tell him. It can wait until later. When my head quits pounding and I can think straight.

For now, I soak in his silent strength and the peace he brings me by being near.

My body settles against him, and I sink into sleep.

Mom?Are you home?

Mom?

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