Page 34 of When You're Home
“There’s water and painkillers on your side, V. You better drink up if you want to avoid a headache tomorrow,” he suggested. “I’m going to go turn off the car and lock up.”
“I already turned the car off,” she said, tossing the keys of the Prelude onto the nightstand.
“Thanks, beautiful.” He reached for his keys, still intent on making sure the car was actually off. He trusted her, but he didn’t trust the two Blue Moons she had consumed. He just wanted to make sure everything was taken care of before they turned in.
She had, in fact, turned the car off. She had closed the trunk and locked it, too. Maybe she wasn't quite as far gone as he’d thought. Rhett moved quietly back through the cabin, checking to make sure the coffeemaker had water in it before flicking off the kitchen light and finally heading to their bedroom. His body was humming at the prospect of having her all to himself for the weekend.
When he walked back in, he found Tori already under the covers, spread out in the middle of the bed, sound asleep once again. He quietly peeled off his shirt and swapped his jeans for joggers before climbing in to join her. She had managed to change into their new Karta Stella shirt—and nothing else. He also noticed that she had drank half the water bottle he left out for her and that the pills were gone.Good, he thought to himself. Hopefully she wouldn’t feel too crappy in the morning.
As excited as he had been to sleep with Tori tonight (especially after all her antics during the show), he felt just as satisfied to cuddle up beside her and actually sleep. He moved as quietly as he could toward the center of the bed, closing the space in an effort to eliminate the distance that they had used as a safeguard for the last six weeks.
He adjusted his pillow and buried his face in her hair, inhaling the scent of peppermint and rosemary that still lingered from her shampoo. He spent several seconds just breathing her in, letting himself pretend that this was his reality, that he could have her this way, every day, forevermore. He didn’t want to think about all the reasons why this couldn’t be his life. He wrapped one arm around her and closed his eyes.
Although she wasn’t awake, she subconsciously responded to his touch, shifting her hips backward and pulling his arm tighter around her body. The way she melted into his form scratched all the happy places in his brain. This is all he wanted, for the rest of his life: to hold her, to love her. This is where she belonged.
“It’s always been you,” he divulged for the second time that night.
“It’ll only ever be you,” she replied so quietly he almost didn’t hear it.
He bristled at her words, then froze in place. An inky darkness settled in his gut as anxiety flared in his body.
“Tori?” he whispered into the darkness. His question was met with silence.
“Tori?” he tried again, his voice a little louder and a little more desperate this time.
The Tori he knew wouldn’t have let his words linger—hell, he wouldn’t have even said them had he thought she was awake. She would have pushed back, snapped him back to reality, and put him in his place. He so rarely found a flaw in her emotional armor. Yet here she was, in his arms, not only allowing him to share the depth of his feelings, but also reciprocating his affection.
“Tori?” he tried one more time.
Her only response came in the form of a soft snore and the stirring of her hips into his crotch. Rhett sighed, accepting that she was really asleep, and that she may not have even been awake when she replied to him moments ago. The echo of her words would have to be enough for now.
Chapter 21
Tori
Torikepthereyesclosedasherbodydriftedawake.Shetookadeepbreath,testingherresolvetoactuallywakeup.Shewascuriousastohowshewouldfeelafterindulgingthewayshedidlastnight.Aquickassessmenttoldhershehadfaredbetterthanexpected.Theonlyremindershehaddrankalotcamefromtheurgetopee.
She slinked out of bed, trying not to wake up Rhett. He had spent so much time driving in the car yesterday, first from Easton to Hampton, then from Hampton to Ann Arbor, then finally from the concert to the cabin. He could use a little extra sleep. She made her way to the en suite, desperate to relieve herself.
Tori lingered at the sink as she washed her hands. When she scanned the countertop, she spotted her toothbrush and her toiletry bag. Rhett must have unpacked for her last night.
Last night.
There weren’t even words to describe the bliss she had experienced last night. The set list was better than she could have even imagined. Feeling Rhett next to her, behind her, practically on top of her as they sang along to the songs they had been listening to together for a decade… she couldn’t remember ever being happier than she was last night.
Last night would live in her memories as one of the best nights of her life. Rhett had thought of everything. He had planned the perfect night. She had felt so alive. To feel so loved, to feel so cared for… it was all deeper than she usually allowed. But something about the last six weeks without Rhett had left her empty. She wanted more of him. She needed to feel more deeply connected to him. After years of pushing him away and keeping him at arm’s length, all of a sudden she couldn’t get enough.
Letting her hair down and letting herself feel everything was a new experience for Tori. She felt different this morning—lighter somehow. It was like being in the front row of a roller coaster, hovering at the top of the first hill. The accompanying stomach drop was inevitable, but the anticipation of free falling was worth it.
As amazing as last night had been, she had passed out on Rhett on the drive home. She remembered making her way into the cabin, and she remembered being excited to sleep in the huge master bedroom. Beyond that, she knew she hadn’t been great company. She was determined to make it up to him this morning.
Tori brushed her teeth, then swiped on the vanilla peppermint lip balm she had stashed with her toiletry bag. She quickly ran a brush through her hair and pinched her cheeks for a bit of color.
She snuck out of the bathroom and climbed back into the canopy bed they had shared last night. She shimmied to the middle and cozied up to the gorgeous man she adored. He looked so peaceful as he slept: younger, despite the dark stubble along his jaw, and totally at ease. So often these days, Rhett looked like he was holding back or worrying about something whenever he looked at her. His words were reserved, his eyes filled with trepidation. She knew he was walking on eggshells. Things had nearly unraveled the last time they were together. She felt an acute heaviness from being the cause of his pain the last time he was home.
But there was no pain between them right now. In fact, there was nothing between them at all, except for the black Karta Stella T-shirt she had slept in last night and the light grey joggers that hung low on his hips.
Tori brushed her fingertips across the planes of his chest. She loved the hardness of his body, the way it contrasted against the gentleness of how he cared for her. She had had a front row seat to the way his form had grown and hardened over the years. As much as she adored the lanky Rhett she first fell in love with, as well as the athletic Rhett from high school, it was this version of him that fueled her fantasies now. He was all man with his defined features and easy confidence. He was just so sturdy and solid and strong.
