Page 9 of Not Because You Loved Me

By the time he stood to his full height, I was climbing him like a tree, wrapping my legs around his waist as he pinned me against the smooth tile. When he slid into me, it wasn't just physical. It felt like a conversation without words. Passionate, deep, and heavy with a silent promise. I moaned and gasped, the physical and emotional sensations overwhelming me. Trent swallowed my sounds with a passionate kiss. And as he continued to thrust into me, with languid, long, loving thrusts, I squeezed my eyes shut, holding onto him tightly, convinced that this was his way of speaking when his reserved nature kept him quiet. He loves me, I thought, the realization washing over me like a warm tide. This is how he says it. And when we came apart together, Trent resumed his sweet kisses as he cleaned me off again.

Afterward, wrapped in thick towels, we walked back out into the bedroom.

I sat on the edge of the bed to finish drying my legs, smiling up at him as he pulled on a pair of boxer briefs, his dark hair still damp and curling at the ends.

Trent gestured toward the bed tray sitting on the nightstand. "You didn't finish your food. Or check under your napkin."

I blinked, confused. "Under my napkin?"

"Yeah." His voice was noticeably tight, a nervous edge cutting through his usual calm.

I stood up and walked over to the tray. Pushed to the side, beneath the folded linen napkin, sat a small, dark red velvet square box.

My breath hitched as my hands shook before I even touched it.

I lifted the box, turning around slowly. Trent was down on one knee on the hardwood floor. Hair still dripping, wearing only his boxers, looking up at me with an expression of pure devotion. He swallowed hard, gently reaching out to wrap his fingers around my wrists and grounding my trembling hands.

"Trent..." I whispered, the air entirely leaving my lungs.

"Katerina," he began, his voice thick with an emotion so intense it vibrated in his chest. "You spent your whole life having to be strong. Having to handle everything by yourself, having to build a life on your own. But you don't have to do that anymore."

He reached up, opening the small velvet box to reveal a breathtaking solitaire diamond that caught the light.

"I'm here," he said, looking straight into my eyes, his dark gaze pleading with me to hear him. "You have me now. You have my family, and are never, ever going to be on your own again, Kat. No matter what happens, no matter what comes at us, I will always take care of you. I'm in this for life."

He said everything. Every promise of security, every oath of protection, every vow of belonging.

He said everything… except I love you.

He looked so anxious, his jaw tight, his chest rising and falling as he waited for my answer. I looked at the ring, then at the man kneeling in front of me, a man who had spent the last months showing up for me and treating me like I was the most precious thing in his universe.

My friends' words chimed softly in my head: Some men don't show love with words, Kat. They show it with actions.

He wasn't missing the feeling; he was just a man of action, stepping up to build a home for us because he didn't know how to give grand speeches.

The last wall around my heart crumbled into dust. A tear slipped down my cheek, and a wide, helpless smile broke across my face.

"Yes," I breathed, dropping to my knees right in front of him on the floor.

Trent let out a long, shuddering breath, his shoulders dropping as if a massive weight had just been lifted off him. He slid the ring onto my finger, his hands shaking slightly, before pulling me tightly against his chest.

I wrapped my arms around his neck, burying my face in the curve of his shoulder, smelling the clean soap and warm skin.

"Yes," I repeated, pulling back just enough to frame his face with my hands. I looked into his dark eyes, letting every drop of warmth and trust I’d been holding back spill out. "I love you, Trent."

Trent froze for a fraction of a second, his eyes widening almost imperceptibly before his arms tightened around me, burying his face in my hair.

"You have everything that I am, Kat," he murmured into my skin, his voice tight and heavy. "Always."

I smiled into his shoulder, slipping my hand into his damp hair, completely convinced that I had just secured my forever.

CHAPTER 5

Katerina

December 4

Three days after Trent slid that ring onto my finger, my hands were still shaking every time I looked down at my left hand, but that was also accompanied by a warmth blooming deep within.