He began to thrust. Shallow at first, then deeper. Finding his rhythm as he watched from above. Watched in the mirror from the side—our eyes locked in the reflection.
“You’re so beautiful like this.” His voice was wrecked. “On your knees for me. Taking me so well. Do you know how many times I’ve pictured this? Jerked off, thinking about your pretty mouth?”
He moved faster. Deeper. His grip in my hair tightened just enough to sting perfectly.
“I’m getting close.” His thrusts grew erratic. “Do you want me to pull out?”
I shook my head, hollowed my cheeks, and sucked harder.
“Fuck!” He shouted.
I swallowed everything he gave me. Licked him clean as he trembled above me.
He pulled out gently, then hauled me to my feet, and Cupped my face in both hands.
“You’re mine.” He declared.
“I’m yours.”
“Forever, Sunshine. This wasn’t just sex. You know that, right? This was me claiming you. Showing you what you are to me.”
I nodded, tears pricking my eyes. Happy tears.
“Good. Now let’s get you in bed. Because round three is going to be slow. I’m going to worship every inch I was too impatient to properly appreciate.”
As he led me to the bedroom, I caught sight of us in the mirror one more time. Flushed. Satisfied. His arm around my waist.
Perfect.
49
HE WENT FROM SPANKING ME TO KISSING EVERY INCH LIKE I’M MADE OF STARLIGHT. #SLOWBURNTOSLOWLOVE
DAKOTA
The walk to his bedroom wasn’t urgent or desperate. Something softer. Something that made my chest ache with tenderness.
Axel’s hand engulfed mine as he led me through the doorway, and moonlight spilled through the windows, painting silver streaks across his king-sized bed with its dark sheets.
He turned to face me, cupping my face in both hands. “You’re still trembling.”
I was. Not from cold or even from the aftermath of what we’d just shared. From the magnitude of what was happening between us. The walls we’d both demolished. The future stretching out before us, uncertain but somehow exactly right.
“Axel,” I whispered, searching his eyes, “earlier, when you … when you held my stomach, you looked at me like …” I trailed off, unable to finish the thought.Like you were imagining it swollen with your child.
His thumb traced my cheekbone with infinite gentleness. The tough, commanding man from earlier had melted into something softer. Vulnerable.
“Like what?” His voice was careful, waiting.
“Like you were seeing something. A future maybe.”
He was quiet for a long moment, his gaze holding mine. “I’ve never imagined my future the way I do when I think of you.” The admission fell between us like a stone into still water. His palm found my stomach again, resting there with deliberate tenderness. “Never thought I’d want … more.”
His expression shifted into raw emotion that he didn’t try to hide.
“And now?” The question barely made it past my lips.
His voice came out rough. Honest. “Now I see things I never let myself see before. A different life than the one I’d resigned myself to.” He leaned his forehead against mine. “With you, I want … God, Sunshine, I want everything. Things I was too scared to even name before.”
