I smirk, leaning away. “I just made you come a fuckuva lot, babe. I don’t think I need help in the super cool department.”

Her mouth twitches.

“But, my lady wants a towel, she’s getting a towel,” I add, kissing her once more before I start to roll over, but Riley’s arms circle my neck and she tugs me back down, taking my mouth again.

“I’m your lady,” she murmurs inside our kiss, voice quick and sounding really fucking happy about being that.

I stroke her cheek, smiling as I look into her heavy-lidded eyes. “Fuck yeah, you are. Always were.”

Riley blinks and smiles back, big and bright. Her dimples showing.

I kiss her nose and the corner of her mouth. “Let me go get you that towel,” I say.

Riley presses her lips to my jaw once more, then releases me, letting her hands fall weightless to the mattress and humming softly in contentment.

I roll over and push off the bed, grabbing my boxers out of my jeans on the way to the bathroom.

After I discard the condom and wash up, I get a towel, dampen it and carry it back out into the bedroom.

Riley’s sitting up now, her back against the headboard and her knees bent beneath the sheet. She’s running her finger over her bottom lip and looking down into her lap, but when I step out into the room, she lifts her head, drops her hand, and leans forward. “You’re walking without your boot,” she observes, glancing at my leg. “That’s great. It doesn’t hurt when you put pressure on it?”

I stop beside the bed. Fuck. I can’t be doing that in front of her. “Nah. It hurts,” I say, wincing when I press down hard on my heel. Harder than I typically would. “I just didn’t think to put the boot on before I got up. It happens. Here.” I climb on the bed and tug the sheet down her body, pulling it to her knees when she stretches out on her back. I clean her up with the towel.

“Can I see your leg?” she asks after I toss the rag onto the floor.

Riley does this a lot. She likes looking at my incision and making sure everything seems to be healing up nicely. And I appreciate her doing it. I appreciate everything she does for me, but right now, I don’t want this to be about my leg, my injury, or anything else besides us, what we just did, and what we’re going to continue doing as much as fucking possible.

“Later,” I tell her.

She cocks her head. “I'm your nurse, CJ. And I haven't looked at it today. I want to see it.”

“Later,” I repeat firmly, watching Riley’s lips pinch together in surrender before she’s giving me a quick nod. “Come here.” I stretch out on my back beside her, then I roll up onto my hip and reach out, grabbing her knees and twisting her toward me so her shoulder’s pressing against my chest and her legs are bent against my stomach. I pull the sheet over us both, giving Riley more of it, then prop myself up to look at her, elbow on the mattress and head in my hand. “I want to make a few things clear before I go heat up your soup,” I say.

Her eyes flick wider.

I interpret that as her being worried about what I’m about to tell her and quickly shut that down. “I know we talked already, but considering how much you don’t remember of Friday night, I’m going to assume certain shit needs to be said again. It’s good shit though. Nothing bad.”

She shakes her head immediately after I finish speaking. “No, I . . . sorry. I just got super hungry thinking about my soup.” Her hands press to her stomach. “I’m excited. I forgot about it.”

I stare at her. She’s serious. Fuck. Laughing, I trail my fingers up and down her arm. “I guess I’ll make this quick then.”

“I’d appreciate you forever if you did.”

I shake my head.

Jesus. If she keeps being this fucking cute about everything, I’m going to end up going through another condom, or three, and she’s not going to be eating anything any time soon.

I cup her face, hold her eyes and get to the point. “Now that we’re here, babe, where you’re giving me this, we’re not ever going back,” I begin, gently moving my thumb over her cheek. Her lips part. “This is the beginning of us, darlin’. I get why you wanted to be friends and why you needed the time you took, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy being with you like that, `cause being with you in any way, babe, is something I’m really going to fucking like, but it wasn’t enough. It’ll never be enough. Now, you said you wanted me and you sure as hell acted pleased as fuck to be labeled my lady, and I hope you know how much I like hearing that. But babe, honest to God, I’ve been seeing you as mine for a long fucking time now. We were never just friends, Riley. Not to me. And I apologize for making you think I was okay with that, `cause I was never okay with that. I was just taking what you were giving me, babe. That’s it. If you’re mad, I’ll understand, but I want us moving forward so I gotta ask, is that something you think you can forgive?”

Riley blinks, her eyes holding all kinds of emotion. A shuddering breath pushes past her lips. “Yes,” she whispers. “I can forgive that. Consider it forgiven.”

“Do you understand what I mean when I say we are never going back to that?”

She nods. “No more just friends,” she offers up. “Not even if something happens.”

She gets it.

I bend down and kiss her then, giving and getting tongue, but it’s gentle. Soft and slow. Her hands stroke my back and slide tenderly through my hair. I’m nipping at her lips and kissing down to her jaw, and when we’re both breathing heavier, I pull away, slide my grip to the back of her neck and roll us so we’re both on our sides, close and facing each other. Legs tangled together. Her body curling into mine.