better man/worse than nicotine » arthur ketch

ten: i'm only telling you what i see.

wrapped in your arms/i swear i'd die for your love

I wake to Ketch trying to discreetly get out of bed, obviously failing because he jostles the bed so much that it wakes me up. The clock reads 3:04 A.M. when I roll over to grab his wrist, tugging gently in my still-asleep state.

He gives in, leaning down to press a kiss to my lips that has me almost falling into a deep, entranced sleep right in that moment. But I open my eyes, running my fingers through his hair.

"What're you doing up?" I whisper.

He lays down on his side, propping his head up with his elbow. He looks so utterly domestic like this. Like he's not some highly skilled hunter and I'm not some girl who came back from the dead a few months ago. Like we're just a couple on vacation. Like we're just a normal couple.

"I have a hunt to take care of in a few hours," he replies, his voice just as quiet as mine. His hand reaches over to cup my cheek, his thumb soothing the skin underneath my eye. "I was trying to be quiet. I wanted you to rest."

"Okay," I smile. "Be careful."

He smirks. "I'm only going to shower right now, love, but I will be careful later."

The thought of a hot shower immediately has me starting to wake up a little more. "Can I come with?" And when I see the weird look he gives me, I add, "To shower."

"Love," he breathes, "you know if you shower with me, the last thing we will be doing is getting clean."

I can't help the grin that spreads across my lips. "And you don't care, do you?"

He studies my face for a moment, and for a second it does look like he's going to tell me no and that I need to stay in bed. But he doesn't. He's wrapped around my finger just as much as I'm wrapped around his, and he knows it.

"You're right. I don't."

"Mm, that's what I thought."

He raises an eyebrow. "That's awful bold of you to say considering I had to punish you just a few hours ago."

I can't help the small laugh that grows in my chest. "That was fun."

"You're about to fall asleep, aren't you?"

I hate that he's right. But his fingers have been running through my hair for five minutes now and I'm honestly so exhausted.

I nod, humming lowly. I close my eyes, my hand blindly reaching out for his. He grabs it, pressing a kiss to the back of it. A small smile spreads across my lips.

"I'll be back. Get some rest."

+++

Ketch and I stay in this suite for the next three days.

He takes me out to eat, and teases about finding a waterfall to explore somewhere. We settle on a bookstore instead, which I can tell makes him uncomfortable for a minute. He isn't used to any of this romantic stuff, which I understand, but he sure does know how to act like he does.

We sit on the same side of the booth, his arm wrapped around my waist protectively, even as we eat. When I browse the bookstore, he's right next to me, his arm around my waist – or his fingers laced with mine when I want to wander more.

Eventually we find ourselves back in the suite, knocking over things we go because we can't keep our hands off one another. But my phone stops us.

Normally, I will toss my phone aside. But this time it's not Sam giving me a mindless update.

It's Eileen. And she's called three times.