Raspberry Ripple

Sana was mad. Not because of their fight. She had known it wouldn't be long until their first argument came knocking at their door. And this conversation had been branded as argument material before it even began. Sana was mad because this bastard hadn't even bothered to kiss her after he'd returned to her after so long.

She stepped out of the shower in her towel and usually Dax would scoop her off her feet and take her to bed. But there he stood at the washing basin, one glance at her through the mirror before scrubbing his hands harder. Child.

Sana pulled on a pair of shorts and Dax's flannel shirt that hung around her work chair. He watched her from her bed as she did her skincare before slipping into bed and turning off the light. Sana kept to one side of her bed while Dax slept on the other. A few moments of silence endured before Dax asked, "Why are you so far away?"

"You are the one who's mad at me."

He hooked his arm around her waist and pulled her to his side in one effortless motion. Sana rested her cheek on his chest and rested her arm across his waist. Dax smoothed her hair. "When it comes to you and your safety, I lose my mind. I always need to know you're safe. I need to know for it sure, no lies, because it's important to me. You are what's important to me. None of it matters otherwise. Everything is pointless without you, red."

"I can handle a bit of intimidation."

"One meeting with him has turned you into a paranoid woman. That's not you. You are carefree, joyful and your welcome people with warm smiles. Not carry suspicion and caution everywhere with you," Dax said, tracing the cut again. It had clotted, a dark bluish black lining it but it was a mark, nevertheless. "I'm sorry I wasn't there. Did it hurt?"

"It's not your fault. And no, it didn't hurt much. It's just a small cut. You're freaking out over nothing."

"Of course, it's my fault. If you hadn't met me, you wouldn't have to deal with him."

"I don't care. If I hadn't met you, I would've never found love," she said as she slipped her hand underneath his black t-shirt. She traced the ridges on his stomach, feeling the familiar scars under her fingers. Then, she stopped just below his ribs. "What's this? This one's new. You said you weren't wounded at all. Not even once."

Dax sighed.

"You hid it from me."

"I knew you would worry," he said hesitantly, realising that he had just lost their argument.

Sana rolled her eyes. "Do you know what you are? A world-class hypocrite. I can't believe you fussed about what I did when you did the same thing as well."

"Okay, I'm sorry. In my defence, I have nothing," he said, a smile on his face.

"Oh, you devil. Don't you smile like that. Don't you even think for a second that you're getting out of this that easily. I am—"

Dax pulled her in and kissed her. His hand went to her hair, holding her roots as he rolled them over and took her mouth deeper. "I missed you," he said, pressing a kiss on the hollow of her neck.

"Then kiss me like you mean it."

He did. He held her chin and angled her mouth so he could taste her, every inch of her until she grappled for breath. He pressed gentle kisses on her cut before using his teeth on her jaw, her throat, her neck, leaving behind a trail of undeniable evidence proving him guilty of raw hot desire. Dax loved the way her skin dipped around her collarbone and he licked her warm skin, tasting her and biting her. As Sana looked at the ceiling, seeing stars that were invisible to all but her love-dazed eyes, her bottom lip caught between her teeth to trap the noises she was desperate to make and her fingers fisted the bedsheets.