420. Chapter 420

“Mine,” Maggie whispers as she fucks her, because the water from Rick Malverne’s entitled sadism almost took Alex from her.

“Mine,” Maggie growls as Alex begs to be flipped over and Maggie obliges, because the guilt from Olivia Marsdin’s careless orders almost took Alex from her.

“Mine,” Maggie promises her, over and over and over again, more the louder Alex whines, the more desperately Alex thrashes, the more raggedly Alex gasps.

“Mine,” Maggie claims her, hard and needy and raw, because the world keeps trying to take Alex from her, and god, she’ll die before she lets it succeed.

“I’m all yours,” Alex whispers as she spreads her legs, because the ghosts of a city being destroyed around her are dancing in Maggie’s eyes, and she has to have something left, and Alex will always, always, be her something.

“I’m all yours,” Alex begs as Maggie demands her color and holds her down, worshiping her body while she slams into her hard, fast, somehow both careful and reckless, because they tried making love, they tried being gentle, being reverent, but sometimes reverence can only come in the heat of desperation.

“I’m all yours,” Alex vows to her, because they’ve both lost count of the number of times they’ve almost lost everything in the past week alone, and she can feel her own pulse raging under Maggie’s fingers, and she can feel Maggie’s breath against the back of her neck, and she arches back into her harder, because something needs to infect their bodies that isn’t war.

“I’m all yours,” Alex gives herself to her, because the world didn’t end and they need to remind themselves, need to remind each other, that they still get that lifetime of firsts.

They’ve rarely been rougher in bed – Maggie’s lips are bruised and Alex has hickeys spread across her chest, across her ass, across her inner thighs, and both of them are going to be nothing if not sore all over in the morning – but they’ve rarely been more tender… after.

Which says something, because they’re always tender after.

After, because there is an after.

There is an after, there is still a pulse, there are still breaths to be taken, still adventures to be had.

Together.

Maggie smooths the sweat-drenched hair off of Alex’s forehead as Alex, still collapsed and naked and panting on her stomach, watches her like she’ll never need to look at anything else.

And maybe she won’t.

“You okay?” Alex asks, because sweat isn’t the only kind of streak on Maggie’s face.

“You’re safe and home with me,” Maggie tells her, like she’s confirming, like she needs to hear Alex confirming for her, because she does, god, she does.

Alex shifts to her side and pulls Maggie close into her chest.

“I’m safe and home with you,” she whispers into her hair, letting Maggie hear the heartbeat that’s been the only thing helping her sleep, helping her calm, since… since him.

And after a long, long moment of arms holding and legs intertwined, Alex chuckles.

Maggie pulls back slightly – not enough to lose contact, but enough to look up into Alex’s face questioningly.

“We’re in my apartment, and you said I’m home with you,” she whispers, and Maggie tilts her head.

“Yeah, is that okay?”

“It’s amazing. You’re amazing. This… this is amazing.”

Maggie can’t help the smile that takes over her features, because god, is she in love.

“Nerd,” she whispers, and Alex’s own smile deepens, because god, neither of them would have it any other way.