Ruthless Creatures by J.T. Geissinger

His chuckle shakes me. He runs a hand down my back to
my ass, gently stroking its curve. “I need to put cream on this
peach.”
Frowning into the dark, I say, “Is that code for something
dirty?”
He chuckles again. “No. I meant I should put something
soothing on your poor butt. I went too hard on you.”
I snuggle closer to him, happily sniffing his throat. “I
loved it.”
He murmurs, “I know you did, baby. Me, too.”
We’re quiet for a while, until I remember what I’d been
talking to Sloane about before he crashed through the door.
“Um. I need to ask you a favor.”
He’d been caressing my skin, but his hand falls still.
“What is it?”
“When you’re not here…I’m not sure how to say this
without it sounding like I’m complaining.”
“Say it anyway.”
I exhale a hard breath. “Okay. The thing is, when I don’t
hear from you for days at a time, I worry. You live a dangerous
life. I have no way of knowing from one day to the next if
you’re…if anything has happened to you. And if it had, I’d
never find out. It would be like…”
When I pause to gather my thoughts, he says simply, “Your
fiancé.”
Of course he’d know. He always knows what I’m feeling. I
squeeze my eyes shut, emotion welling in my chest.
“I promise I’ll touch base every day from now on.”
Hiding my face in his neck, I whisper, “I’m sorry. I don’t
want to be a pain in the ass.”
“No, I’m sorry. It’s my fault. I should’ve realized how hard
it would be for you. That not hearing from me would remind
you of what happened with him.”