Page 131 of Say My Name

Each confession presses harder against the answer I refused to give him.

“All those years, I told myself it was because you’re the best person in the room,” he says. “Then I started finding reasons to be in rooms where I didn’t need you at all.”

My voice is barely a whisper. “You never said anything.”

“You worked for me. You’re Cliff’s little sister. I was trying to be a decent man.”

His pace remains slow, each stroke pushing me closer while keeping me painfully present.

“What changed?” I ask.

“You gave me a contract that planned our entire future but had no room in it for us.”

My throat closes, and I have to swallow before I can speak.

“I signed because I wanted whatever you would give me.” He kisses me, soft and lingering. “I’m asking for more now because pretending this is enough would be a lie.”

The confession is too much, too raw. My gaze drops to the space between us, and my body goes still around him.

Dominic stops moving. His hand comes to my cheek, but he waits until I look at him again.

“Stay with me.”

“I’m trying.”

“I know.” His mouth brushes mine. “You’re so damn brave when you let me see you afraid.”

“I don’t feel brave.”

“You told me the truth anyway.” He thrusts slowly, holding my gaze while every inch of him drags through me. “You asked me to stay. You let me touch you after showing me the part of you that expects care to become leverage.”

His hand slides over my ribs, gentle despite the tension shaking through his arm.

“You never have to earn being cared for, Elena. You don’t have to give me the right answer first.”

The words dismantle a belief I’ve held for years: that care is conditional.

He says it too plainly for me to turn this into something only physical.

I hook my leg higher over his hip. “I want you closer.”

His grip eases at my hip. “Tell me how.”

“Hold me tighter.” I slide my arm around his shoulders. “I need to feel all of you.”

Dominic groans as my body closes around him. “I love hearing you tell me what you need.”

He kisses me again, and his control begins to slip. His thrusts grow harder, his breathing rougher against my mouth. I lift my hips to meet him, taking everything he gives me and pulling him deeper.

Even when his thrusts turn rough, one hand stays cradled beneath my head while the other holds my hip. Every uneven breath against my cheek tells me how much restraint this costs him.

I drag my nails down his back.

“Fuck.” His hips snap into mine. “Do that again.”

I do, and the sound he makes turns my entire body liquid.

Dominic has spent years hiding how much he wants from me. I feel it now in the tremor of his arms and the increasingly uneven rhythm of his body. He is just as exposed as I am, even if he still acts like he has this under control.