Page 98 of The Case of the Missing Love Stone

Wes lays her down carefully.

Scarlet’s skirt fans across the quilt before she pulls one knee up and pauses.

“Sore?” I ask.

She squints at me. “You sound pleased.”

“I’m asking medically.”

“You have never sounded medical in your life.”

Wes kneels to unfasten her skirt. “It needs to come off before you sleep.”

Scarlet looks down at him. Her scent warms despite her exhaustion. Then she sighs. “Fine.”

He slides the wet fabric down her legs. I hand her a soft sleep shirt from the chair. She takes off her top and pulls the sleepshirt on while Wes folds the skirt over the chair in the corner.

I set the water on the nightstand and spread the quilt over her.

Scarlet curls onto her side, then looks at us. “Where are you sleeping?”

“Wherever you want us,” I say.

Her eyes move toward the bedroom door, then back. “You said I could choose.”

“Yes.”

“Stay.” The word is quiet but not uncertain.

Wes removes his wet jacket and sets it over the chair. “Bed or floor?”

She studies the space behind her, then the open side of the mattress. “Bed.”

Wes takes the place behind her while I settle on the other side. The mattress is narrow enough that our knees overlap beneath the quilt. Scarlet turns toward me, then reaches back until her hand finds Wes’s wrist. He lays his arm across her waist. I slide one hand beneath the pillow near her face. She closes the distance until her forehead rests against my chest.

Her body releases a long breath, and the room softens around it. Wes’s alpha purr begins low, no longer the controlled frequency he uses on frightened strangers in the field. This one carries fatigue, concern, and the satisfaction of having her safely between us. Scarlet’s shoulders loosen. A sleepy purr answers from her chest. My own beta frequency hums beneath both, quieter but steady.

Wes brushes auburn hair away from her neck. His fingers stop well below the place his teeth hovered earlier.

Scarlet notices even through exhaustion. Her hand closes more firmly around his wrist.

I press my mouth to her forehead. “Sleep.”

She makes a soft sound of protest.

“You can insult me tomorrow.”

“I’ll prepare notes.”

“I expect pages.”

Her breathing evens before she can answer.

Wes’s purr continues through the dark. Scarlet’s purr answers without waking.

I close my eyes with one hand curled lightly around hers, and the house settles around all three of us.

Chapter 23