No Safeword: Matte - Happily Ever After (Safewords) by Candace Blevins Page B

and unbuttoned her pants before helping her off with them. Sam was too tired to argue she could do it herself, so she quietly let him help get her clothes off and pajamas on.
    “I think I need some sleep before I try to analyze the people he’s matched with tomorrow. I’ll plan on waking up early to look over what I have on them, and then we’ll let Tom come to the room for me to talk to him about the best way to beat them.”
    She stifled a yawn as she crawled into bed without washing her face or brushing her teeth. “The two of you can go to the arena for the check-in and warmups, and I’ll take a cab and meet you a few hours later. If there’s enough time between his bouts, I may come back to the room and lay down for a bit.”
    Ethan’s jaw flexed, but his hand was gentle as he caressed her cheek. “Today was harder on you than you admitted.”
    “I think it’s a combination of the drive down, and then having to either stand, or sit in uncomfortable chairs. If I can get a few hours to lie down in between times tomorrow, so I’m not upright so long, I should be okay.”
    “What if I run out and buy some kind of folding chair, do you think one of those would be better than the seats they have for us?”
    “I took a pain pill towards the end of dinner, and I’d rather you not leave me here alone tonight, but we’ll see how I feel tomorrow. One of those fabric camping chairs might be better for me to have in the staging area, at least. Those metal benches were a bitch.”
    “I’m going to take a quick shower. This is the first time we’ve slept together since…” He hesitated a few heartbeats and continued, “I’m looking forward to holding you and touching you while we sleep.”
    “I am, too, but the pain pill is beginning to do its thing so I’m not sure I’ll be aware of anything until morning.”
     
    * * * *
     
    When Ethan finished his shower, Sam was sound asleep. He worried she was pushing herself too hard, but the surgeon had said it would be good to increase her stamina as long as she used the sling to keep her shoulder and chest muscles stabilized.
    He would try to talk her into letting him strap her left arm to her body tomorrow. She hadn’t walked or moved around this much in a single day since before she was shot, and tomorrow promised more of the same. 
    He crawled into bed beside her, but soon realized the wedge she slept on still kept her at a distance from him, even side-by-side in bed. After trying to hold her in a variety of ways, he finally gave up and had to be content with his legs under hers. She moaned in pleasure as her cold feet touched his warm leg, and he decided it was enough, for now.
    The next morning, Ethan awoke as Sam was getting out of bed. He wanted to help, but stayed put to give her a few seconds on her own. He watched as she stood and slowly straightened with her arm pulled to her stomach as if in the sling. While she was in the bathroom he looked through her suitcase for the sling she’d brought to wear today. Yesterday’s was tan to match her outfit, today’s was a light denim print.
    “Here, let’s go ahead and put this on, shall we?” he asked as she stepped out of the bathroom.
    “Thanks for thinking of it, but I’m just going to look through some videos on my laptop, and I’m okay using my left arm on the computer.”
    “What can I do to help?”
    “It’s early, Ethan. You don’t need to get up for a couple of hours. I’m awake, and figured I’d go through some footage.”
    “Okay, let me help you get situated and then I’ll pull some veggies out of the fridge and juice them. You hungry?”
    She smiled. “Great idea, bringing the juicer and vegetables. I think I’m still going to want a regular breakfast in a few hours, but a glass of greens now sounds great.”
    Once Ethan had fixed their drinks and cleaned the juicer, he found himself with nothing constructive to do while Sam watched videos and read analysis of the two men Tom would