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He tapped her butt playfully and drew in enough breath to say, "You wouldn’t have had to be quiet this time if you’d waited"

Kisses on his chest, up his throat, along his jaw "Are you sorry?"

"I just had an orgasm that almost killed me, and I have naked Grace for a blanket Yeah, I’hter, more kisses, eyes that shiht that his choice to share his deepest vulnerability had shifted soiven her what she needed to trust him on this level It embarrassed him to think how he’d fallen apart, but he could deal with it if this was the result Still - "It wasn’t a pity lay, was it?"

Pushing up so she could look down at his face, Grace glared at him, then slapped his chest "Yes Absolutely

That’s es with anyone who looks sad Did I tell you about the engineer who broke his favorite tool the other day? I had to strip right there and - "

He shut up her rant by the expedient of a laughing kiss that had fe his chest "Sorry," he said when those claws dug a fraction deeper in warning "I’m male I had to ask"

A shake of her head but her lips curvedthen she ducked her head "I wanted to crawl all over you the first time we met"

His wolf preened "I wouldn’t have stopped you" He continued to pet her luscious body, his own very enthusiastic about the fact she was snuggled up so close "God, it ood to have you here" A pause "Where you belong"

Her gaze lifted to his again, a little shy, but not afraid in any sense "I guessI just needed to know you needed me on some level" It was a painfully honest state - my wolf understands a submissive’s important role in the pack but couldn’t coive you, how I could be your partner" A hand cupping his cheek "Now I know it isn’t about power, but about heart, about loving"

His hand shook as he brushed her hair off her face "I will always need you - you’re strong and brave and godda own my heart" And he needed her inside that heart, needed her to accept thebond, couldn’t understand why she hadn’t already

Especially when tears shimmered in her eyes, as she said, "I love you, Cooper"

His resistance broke He tuain, and this time, it was slow, full of whispered promises and caresses, a dance so beautiful it shattered his every re defense

Maybe that hy he fell asleep curled around her afterward

He’d never knooke hi position to see it was just after four thirty am Since Grace continued to sleep, he hadn’t screaht, he went to the door Grace had sleepily asked him to pull ajar as a safety precaution before they slept, and used the hallway light to check the portable air gauge, confiro into the tiny shower at the end of the corridor to wash and take a few deep breaths

Diego’s and Elizabeth’s doors were ajar, too, and he heard snores fro of sleep from the other He checked on the olves as well, heard their sleepy whuff s as they resettled their bodies

When he returned to the sleep cubicle, Grace had shifted to face the roo with as much stealth as possible, he found his jeans, pulled theht, heto leave both his phone and his vehicle behind for Grace

"Cooper?" A drowsy question "Is ita seat on the bed, he brushed tangled strands of hair off her face, then indulged himself in one last stroke of her curvy body, her skin ht ood "Storm’s past and even the rain’s stopped I better start my run down, help with the post-stor back to sleep, Grace frowned and struggled up into a sitting position, pulling the sheet to her breasts "You’re leaving ht you’d want to staya while longer, anyway" Her hurt tone was an arrow to his heart "The stors I’ll stay to ti in her head "You’re always out in the dark, have far ht shifts than you should, and it’s clear you don’t get enough sleep Why?" His wolf paced, looking for a way out and finding only closed doors "I take the shifts no one else wants" He shrugged and got up, then realized there was nowhere to go in this tiny space

"Just being a good lieutenant"