Friends with Benefits
"You're doing it again, Khali. Standing still without a checklist."
"I am monitoring a critical variable," I murmured against her skin, my voice losing every ounce of its professional steel, turning into a deep, gravelly vibration that was raw and unprotected.
"Which one?" she whispered, her lips parting as she turned her head to look at me.
"The depth of my own happiness," I replied softly, my heart doing a steady, beautiful thud against her shoulder. "The data indicates it is currently climbing past maximum capacity."
Atasha
The steel wire around my ribcage had completely turned to dust, replaced by a permanent, radiant warmth that filled every single corner of our new studio.