Page 128 of Say My Name

My face presses into the warm skin above his collar, and I breathe him in. His hand moves slowly along my back, never urging me closer or turning comfort into seduction.

I almost wish he would. Sex gives me somewhere familiar to hide.

Desire is familiar territory now. We know how to use it to avoid conversations like the one we just had. I know how to surrender my body while keeping the most vulnerable parts of me locked away.

Dominic has stopped accepting only the pieces I can give without fear.

My hand fists in the fabric of his shirt. “Please don’t leave,” I whisper.

His arm tightens around me. “I’m not going anywhere.”

The promise reaches the part of me that still expects people to leave, and I lift my head.

Dominic’s expression is open in a way I rarely see. Hurt fills his eyes. He shows no anger and makes no calculation about how to force me to take back the answer I gave him.

I touch his face. His eyes close briefly as my fingers follow the hard line of his jaw.

“Elena.”

I kiss him before he can say anything else.

His mouth moves carefully against mine. His restraint is so complete it hurts. He lets me control the kiss, lets me deepen it and climb into his lap until my knees settle on either side of his hips.

His hands stay at my waist.

“Tell me why you asked me here,” he says against my lips.

Every lie, every deflection I’ve ever used crowds my mind. I push them all away to find the one simple truth. “You.”

“You have me.”

I shake my head. “I need more than this.”

His eyes search mine. “Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

One hand slides up my back, threading into my hair. “Then stay with me.”

“I’m right here.”

“You know what I mean.”

I do. He wants me without the performance, without sex becoming another controlled surrender where obedience feels safer than honesty.

“Okay,” I whisper.

Dominic stands with me in his arms. I tighten my legs around his waist as he carries me down the hall, my mouth moving over his jaw and throat. He turns his head to catch my lips again, walking through my condo as though he has memorized every step to my bedroom.

Maybe he has.

He lowers me beside the bed and reaches for the hem of my sweatshirt. His gaze stays on mine as he pulls it over my head. My bra follows, then my leggings and panties, each piece removed slowly enough that I feel every second of his attention.

I reach for his belt.

Dominic catches my wrist.

“What?”