She registered the chill in the air on her still-sweaty skin. The bed was unmade, the covers half on, half off, partially lumped beneath her. She crawled underneath them, pulled them over her.

At the sounds of the toilet flushing, the water running in the sink, the bathroom door opening, she moved closer to the side she rarely inhabited, to make room for him.

As he rolled into bed and pulled her in close again, she said, “Welcome back.”

“Good to be back.” He ran his hand up her side, over the curve of her waist, down her butt, back again, as if he couldn’t get enough. As he nuzzled up against her neck, he let out a playful, contented growl.

“You seem to be in a better mood than when you got here,” she said, loving the attention as much as the easiness between them.

“How could I not be with this?” He gave her butt a playful squeeze, coaxing a laugh from her.

“My butt is amazing,” she said facetiously.

“Whole package is amazing.”

“You’re not so bad yourself.” In the dark, she rubbed her knuckles gently over his stubble-roughened jaw. “Where were you before you came over?” she asked, still curious about what had upset him.

“My mom’s. Drake got carryout.”

“Family dinner?” she guessed.

“Sort of. Mom was sleeping.”

So just the brothers, which could explain the mood. “Why were you upset when you got here?”

He blew out a breath. “You really want to hear about that?”

“I’m guessing one of your brothers did something?” She was still trying to figure out the North brothers’ dynamics and Cole’s relationships with them. They’d seemed like nice guys at the hospital, in spite of the situation with their mom, but the tension between Cole and them had been palpable, especially Mason.

He rolled onto his back and she watched his profile in the dark as he gazed up at the ceiling. Moving closer, so there was no space between them, she rested her hand on his chest, rubbed it in light little circles, wishing to soothe him somehow. She shouldn’t have brought it up, she realized. She didn’t want to ruin the evening, only make him feel better.

“It’s okay—” she started.

“Mason offered me a job,” he said at the same time, and Sierra felt herself tense involuntarily at the thought of losing Cole on a professional level. Reminding herself this wasn’t about her, she forced herself to relax.

“Wow,” she said. “Doing what?”

“Whatever I want, in theory.”

They were both quiet for several seconds as Sierra processed, tried to imagine him leaving Dunn & Lowell, him working in a corporate office. Her working without him.

“Are you going to?”

He shifted on his side toward her again, pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Nah.”

Okay. She couldn’t deny her relief, though she told herself again this was about Cole and not her.