She could hear his heartbeat where her ear rested over his heart. It was steady now, but earlier… earlier he'd sounded like a man fraying at the edges. Like the moment he saw her on that stretcher had stolen all the air from his lungs.
Nicholas pressed a soft kiss to the side of her face. "You ready to get out?"
Ella nodded against him, though her limbs felt heavy with the kind of exhaustion that burrowed deeper than physical pain. She let him move first, his body rising from the water, droplets sliding down the contours of his chest and arms. He grabbed a plush towel from the nearby warmer, wrapped it around his waist, then turned back to help her.
He held out his hands.
She hesitated again—still shy, still aching—but placed her fingers in his.
