For a second, I do not move.
“You’re a virgin.”
She winces. “I hate how dramatic that word sounds.”
“Kaia.”
“Yes.”
I drag one hand over my face.
Christ.
She watches me carefully.
“If that changes anything…”
“It does.”
Her expression closes.
I catch her chin gently.
“Not like that.”
She looks at me.
“It changes how I touch you.”
Her breath leaves slowly.
“I still want you.”
Something dark and possessive moves through me.
I slide my hand to the back of her neck and hold her there, making sure she sees exactly what this does to me.
“You tell me that while you are naked in my bed, after I have spent months trying not to touch you, and you think I am walking away now?”
Her lips part.
I lower my forehead to hers.
“No, sweetheart. You are mine now, and I am going to take care of every inch of you before I take anything for myself.”
Her breathing changes.
Good.
I brush my thumb over her cheek.
“I am not stopping, but I am slowing down.”
She nods.
“All right.”
I kiss her once, softly, then lay her back against the pillows.
