Tabula Rasa

Chapter 40

Matt lay on his back and slowly dragged his fingers along the length of Calina's bare back.

Up and down.

Up and down.

She'd fallen asleep shortly after they'd made love. Her head was a warm weight on his chest and one of her arms was draped across his stomach. He was bathed in her scent, and the room resonated with the sound of her steady heart beat.

He'd never felt more content.

He stifled a yawn, and held his own slumber at bay - he didn't want to miss a moment of having her in his arms like this, naked and sated and his.

His fingers strayed to the skin beneath her arm and she shivered in her sleep. His smile widened. He wanted to know all of her sensitive spots and the places that made her moan and the ones that drove him wild with her scent. This morning had given him a starting point. But he had a feeling it would take hours, days - the rest of his life - to fully satisfy that need.

Her arm tightened around his waist as she rose back to consciousness. She nuzzled into him, her hair tickling his chest...then she froze.

"Did you forget where you were?" he laughed.

She pressed a kiss to his skin. "No. I was worried it was just another dream."

That admission turned his smile bittersweet. He was glad she dreamt of him - of them - but he hated the idea of her waking alone. He hated the idea of her struggling to sleep, the way he did when she wasn't with him.

And he hated the idea that she would be leaving soon. "How long can you stay?" he asked softly.

She sighed. "I'll need to head back tonight after it gets dark."

He gathered her closer and rolled them over so she was beneath him. Then he tried to put on a smile. "I guess we'll just have to make the most of today then."

He leaned down to kiss her, but she twisted her head away and his lips landed on her cheek instead. "No?" he asked.

"Yes," she said, her head still angled away. "But I need to go brush my teeth first. I should have done that earlier...before."

"I didn't care then, and I don't care now," he mumbled against her skin, his lips painting a path towards her ear.

She giggled. "I do!"

She pushed against his shoulders until he reluctantly rolled off her. She scooted out of the bed and darted into the bathroom while he grinned at the simple domesticity of it all. He could imagine them like this, years into the future, spending lazy Saturdays in bed, teasing and touching while they tried to decide what to do with the rest of their weekend.

He'd never really thought about the future in that way. He'd definitely never pictured that kind of life with Elektra; everything with her had been so rooted in the present - she'd been too unpredictable and volatile to ever think about making long term plans. The brief relationships with Clair and Karen had been just that - too brief to imagine where it could lead.

But with Calina...everything felt possible. It should have scared him, how committed to her he already was. How essential she was to his life now. But it didn't feel scary.

It felt...right.

He just hoped she felt the same. They were in such different phases of their lives, after all...

He tried to banish that thought as she padded back into the room, accompanied by the soft rustle of fabric and the scent of his own cologne and laundry detergent. She was wearing his shirt - the one he'd discarded last night while changing into his Daredevil suit. He sat up and reached for the hem. "You don't need this."