Chapter 5: Safe Here
462 Words
Tia’s POV
My legs felt like jelly. My brain felt like fog.
Micky caught me just as I was about to slide off the counter, strong arms wrapping around my waist like I was something fragile—even after everything we’d just done.
“You okay?” he asked quietly, pressing a kiss to my temple.
I nodded. “Just... wow.”
He chuckled against my skin. “That’s the goal.”
He carried me—literally carried me—to the couch like I weighed nothing, sat down with me in his lap, and pulled a blanket over our bare skin. I curled into him instinctively, still catching my breath, heart still racing from more than just the s*x.
“You good?” he asked again, softer this time. Like he wasn’t just asking about my body, but something deeper.
I looked up at him, his hair a mess, lips still kiss-swollen, but his eyes—those dangerous, stupidly tender eyes—were all concern.
“I’m more than good,” I whispered. “But I think you might’ve broken me a little.”
He grinned. “In a good way?”
“In the best way.”
He tucked me closer, fingers trailing lazy circles along my thigh under the blanket. I rested my head against his chest, listening to his heartbeat—steady, strong, safe.
We didn’t talk for a while.
Just existed. Wrapped up in each other. Naked, raw, and unguarded.
“Your heart’s beating fast,” I murmured.
“That’s what happens when you have the girl of your goddamn dreams sitting in your lap, wearing nothing but a blanket and my sweat.”
I laughed into his skin. “You’re ridiculous.”
He tilted my chin up. “And you’re perfect.”
I froze. Just a second. Just long enough for him to notice.
He kissed the center of my forehead. “Don’t flinch when I mean it.”
“I’m not used to... this.”
“Me neither,” he admitted. “But I want it. All of it. With you.”
A lump formed in my throat, but I swallowed it. Instead of replying, I reached up and kissed him—slow, lingering, the kind of kiss that didn’t need to lead to s*x. The kind that just said I’m here. I feel this too.
When we broke apart, I leaned into him again, letting the quiet settle over us.
For the first time in forever, I didn’t feel like I had to run from something.
For the first time, I felt like I could fall asleep in someone’s arms and not wake up alone.
Micky held me like he already knew.
Like I was his.
And maybe… I was starting to believe it.
- Writer
