Come Hell or High Water - Striker x Reader (18+)

147. Give My Heart Ease

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In the almost two years I'd known him, I had never seen Striker sleep as much as he did while in the hospital. Not that I could necessarily blame him—he was healing, after all, and he needed his rest. And most of the time, he looked completely and utterly exhausted. So whenever he'd drift off to sleep, I would leave him be until either the staff needed him for something or he would wake up on his own.

For a majority of our relationship, he always had to be touching me in some way while he slept, whether it was via spooning or even just holding hands or having his tail wrapped around me, and it was no different in the hospital. Several nights (and days), he would want me to join him in the bed for a well-needed cuddle, but I would usually refuse and insist that it was a bad idea given his injuries, much to his chagrin. So, most of the time, he would ultimately settle for coiling the end of his tail around my arm or leg while I slept on the couch by the bed—at least then he could have the security of knowing I was near while still having his own space.

I awoke one morning, a few hours after the phlebotomist had come to draw some routine blood samples, to the bright red sunlight shining through the window directly into my face. I let out a groan and sat up, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. I tossed the blanket off of my frame, smiling to myself at what I found.

As it had been for the past several nights, Striker's tail was wrapped around my ankle. Its hold on my leg was loose, but still tight enough that he sensed my movements, and I heard him stir quietly in the bed beside me.

Striker turned his head to the side, a soft grunt escaping his throat. Slowly, he peeled his eyes open, his luminous yellow gaze immediately falling on me. A sleepy smile crept across his face.

"Hey," he whispered.

I mirrored his expression and carefully unfurled his tail from my leg, my hand gliding over the smooth skin of the appendage as I stood and approached the bed.

Striker's sweet smile quickly morphed into a playful smirk at the gesture. "Now, darlin', you know what happens when you mess with an imp's tail like that," he drawled, snaking his arm around my hip to clutch a handful of my ass. "Don't make me pull you into this bed and make you regret teasin' me like that."

I folded my arms across my chest. "You'll hurt yourself and end up having to stay here even longer."

"I'm willin' to take that risk," he remarked.

I arched an eyebrow, leaning closer to him until our faces were mere inches apart. "But if that happens, then you wouldn't be able to fuck me like you wanted to for much, much longer," I retorted, dragging out the last few words as I sprawled my hand over his thigh and gave his toned flesh a light squeeze. A smug grin tugged at my lips when I noticed a slight bulge twitching beneath his sweatpants. "And I know just how much you'd love to fuck me senseless the second you got the opportunity."

Striker fixed me with an irate glare, a low growl of annoyance rumbling in his chest. "Touché," he grumbled under his breath, releasing me and swatting away my hand.

I straightened back up and glanced at the wall clock to observe the time. "Breakfast should be coming by pretty soon," I thought aloud. "I think I might head down to the cafeteria in a minute."

There was a knock on the door before either of us could say more, an imp in navy scrubs peeking around the door and looking at Striker, who quickly pulled up the bedsheets to hide the half-hardened member in his pants.

"Hey there," she said. "Are you feeling okay?"

Striker nodded, visibly a little puzzled. "I'm fine. Why?"