Chapter 248

Chaoter 248

Kylie opened the guest room door and stood there for a moment.

Christian was sitting against the headboard, his laptop balanced on his thighs. The screen was filled with lines of code and several open windows, his fingers moving quickly across the keyboard. His attention was so focused that he didn’t notice her immediately.

She watched him for a few seconds.

There was a crease between his brows. Kylie recognised that crease as the kind that appeared whenever he was working on something particularly complicated.

His lips were pressed together, and his eyes moved rapidly across the screen.

Kylie hesitated. "Christian?"

"Hmm?" He didn’t look up immediately. "One second, Blue."

She nodded, even though he wasn’t looking at her. Her fingers curled around the door handle.

"Are you busy?"

Something in her voice made his hands stop.

It was barely noticeable. There was a tiny hitch between the words, but Christian heard it. He lifted his head and looked at her properly.

Whatever he saw in her expression made the crease between his brows deepen for an entirely different reason.

He closed the laptop and set it aside on the bedside table. "What’s wrong, Blue?" His voice softened.

Kylie swallowed.

"Are you busy?" she asked again, quieter this time.

"No, baby."

He pushed himself farther up the bed, settling against the headboard before opening his arms.

"Come here."

Kylie didn’t need to be told twice. She crossed the room, climbed onto the bed, and folded herself into him.

Christian caught her immediately.

One arm went around her waist while the other settled across her upper back, drawing her against his chest. Kylie tucked her face into the crook of his neck, with her arms winding around him as tightly as she could manage.

His palm moved slowly over her back, once, twice, and then again. He pressed his cheek against her hair and tightened his arms around her when she burrowed closer, as though she were trying to disappear into him.

"Hey," he murmured. "Are you alright?"

Kylie shook her head against his neck.

He didn’t ask again.

Instead, he shifted until he was sitting more comfortably, taking her with him. He pulled the duvet over her legs, then wrapped both arms around her, enclosing her in the warmth of his body.

Kylie let out a quiet breath.

It was the sort of breath that came when someone had been holding themselves together for too long and had finally found somewhere safe enough to stop.

Christian felt it against his skin. His hand stilled at the back of her head. "Oh, Blue."

There was so much tenderness in those two words that her arms tightened around him.

He lowered his face and kissed her temple. Then her forehead. Then the crown of her head, lingering there for a moment before resting his cheek against her hair again.

Kylie turned her face further into his neck, her nose brushing his skin.

"Closer," she whispered.

Christian’s heart gave a small, painful squeeze.

He adjusted his position, sliding down against the pillows and drawing her with him until she was practically lying on top of him. One of her legs slipped between his, and her head settled over his heart.

"Like this?" he asked.

She nodded.

He wrapped his arms around her again, one hand resting securely at her waist, the other cradling the back of her head.

"Anything else, baby?"

Kylie shook her head.

Then, after a moment, she whispered, "Just hold me."

Christian’s expression softened. He kissed her hair. "I’ve got you."

She closed her eyes.

He continued stroking her back, his movements slow and unhurried. Whenever she shifted, he adjusted his hold without making her ask. Whenever her arms loosened, he tightened just enough to remind her that he was still there.

Kylie pressed closer.

Christian let her.

She tucked her face beneath his chin, her fingers curling into the fabric of his shirt. He could feel the warmth of her breath against his chest, and could feel the gradual relaxation of her body as she settled into him.

He had a hundred things he could have asked her.

He rubbed small circles over her back and occasionally pressed his lips to her forehead. When she lifted her head to look at him, he brushed a strand of hair away from her face and kissed the tip of her nose.

Her mouth twitched. She gave a small laugh, her first since entering the room.

His mouth curved. "There. I like that sound."

Kylie dropped her face against his chest again, hiding her smile.

Christian chuckled softly and kissed her hair.

A few minutes passed.

Then a few more.

His laptop remained forgotten on the bedside table, its screen slowly dimming. Christian didn’t look at it. He didn’t even turn his head when a notification sounded.

Kylie was tracing absent little patterns over his shirt now, her cheek resting against his chest.

"Christian?"

"Hmm, Blue?"

"Can we stay like this for a while?"

He looked down at her.

There was something heartbreakingly small about the question, as though she expected him to tell her that she had already taken too much of his time.

He tipped her chin up gently.

"Blue, I can stay like this with you all day."

"Don’t you have work?"

"I do."

She gave him a look.

He smiled. "And somehow, the world has continued turning while my laptop sits over there."

"You’re making fun of me." She raised a questioning brow at him.

"I’m reassuring you."

"Badly."

"Then let me try again."

He drew her closer until there was hardly any space left between them, then wrapped his arms firmly around her.

"Nothing on that laptop is more important than making sure you’re okay."

Her expression changed.

Christian brushed his thumb over her cheek.

"And you don’t have to earn a hug from me, Kylie. You don’t have to wait until I’m free, find the perfect words, or convince me that whatever you’re feeling is important enough." He kissed her forehead. "You want me? Come get me. Even when I’m working."

She stared at him for a moment. Her eyes grew soft. "You’re too good to me."

"No." He pressed another kiss to her forehead. "I’m exactly as good to you as I want to be."

Something in her face crumpled, just a little.

Christian pulled her into his chest before she could hide it. "Come here, Belle."