“Wait,” he says softly. “Protection?”
I shake my head. “Not this time.”
“Are you sure? I’m all clear, but—”
“I’m on the pill. It’s okay.”
He whispers my name against my skin, and I pull him closer, feeling the steady thrum of his heartbeat against mine.
When he pushes inside me, it’s so agonizingly slow and gentle. My thighs quiver against his hips.
“Wow, Reese, that’s—fucking hell.” He shakes his head as if he can’t believe how good I feel. I can’t believe it either. We instinctively find our rhythm. Our foreheads touch in quiet communion.
His forearms rest on either side of my head, and I plant kisses along them. His arms tremble slightly, and this small human detail makes my heart flutter. Words feel inadequate now. My body speaks for me, arching into his touch, telling him everything I can’t say.
When our eyes meet, his are soft with wonder. As if he too is amazed by how seamlessly we fit together. How natural this feels. This isn’t like before—not the electric anticipation of first touches or the desperate hunger of reunion. It’s quieter. More certain.
This is love.
Chapter 50
Dante
I’ve never feltanything like this—this overwhelming sense that all of me recognizes all of her so viscerally.
I keep waiting for the familiar disconnection, that sense of watching myself from the outside, but it doesn’t come. It never does with her.
Now, I’m terrifyingly present.
I’m just here, with Reese, feeling everything, and it’s simultaneously the most frightening and most honest thing I’ve ever done.
Her thighs tremble against my back as I work in and out of her, and I kiss her neck exactly where I know she likes it. Her sheets are smooth against my skin, and they smell like her—magnolia and cedar mixed together in a way that gets me high every time.
I’ve never done this. Ever.
Unprotected. Raw. It’s always been a fucking risk.
But with Reese.Fuck.
This is trust.
Trust that makes her feel like she was made for me.I savor each push and pull of my cock in her warm pussy. She runs herfingers through my hair, and I let myself look at her properly. Flushed cheeks, toned muscles, and that gorgeous pixie cut.
I could be with her forever, and it still wouldn’t be enough time.
I want to be with her forever.
She isn’t just part of my future; sheismy future—complete, irreplaceable, essential.
“I love you.” I mutter words I never thought would feel so right before. “I—” Thrust. “Love—” Thrust. “You—” Thrust. “So fucking much,” I groan, picking up the pace despite myself. The sound of our bodies meeting fills the room as I take what’s mine. She tightens her walls around me, and I have to grit my teeth to keep control.
“I love you too,” she breathes, tugging my hair. I let her take control of the kiss, needing her to know how much I want this too.
I run my hands over her ribs, her hip. Fuck, I hope she notices how much she affects me, how each tremor betrays more than desire. It’s fear, it’s awe, it’s knowing I’ve never felt this exposed before.
“I’m never going to get tired of hearing you say that.” I chuckle. My hardness stretches into the deepest parts of her with each thrust. I keep driving into her, feeling her body yield to mine completely.Fuck.
“I love you,” she whispers. “I love you, Dante Hastings. I love you.”
