“I missed you,” I breathed, even though we’d spent the night together. “Is that crazy? To miss you even when you’re right here?”
“No,” he said against my skin. “Because I feel it too. Like I’m trying to make up for all that lost time.”
His hands were gentle as they moved over me, reverent in a way that made my chest tight. He treated me like I was breakable, like I was something to be cherished, and after so long of being invisible, of being nothing to anyone, it still overwhelmed me sometimes.
Soon the two of us had shed our clothes, letting our shirts and pants fall to the floor to be dealt with later.
“Dain,” I said softly, stilling his hands with my own. “I’m not going anywhere. You don’t have to hold me like I might disappear.”
Something flickered in his eyes, old pain, old fear. “I know. But knowing it and feeling it are two different things.”
I understood that. Goddess, did I understand that. There were still nights I woke up in a panic, thinking I was back in that tiny apartment, alone and terrified. Nights where I reached for him and my heart didn’t settle until I felt his warmth beside me.
“Then let me prove it to you,” I said, pulling him closer. “Let me show you I’m here, that I’m yours, that I’m not going anywhere.”
His eyes darkened with desire and something deeper, something that made my omega purr with satisfaction. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
This time when he kissed me, it was different, slower, deeper, like he was trying to memorize every inch of my mouth. His hands slid up my naked chest. I arched into his touch.
We took our time, relearning each other, whispering promises between kisses. Our hard cocks rubbed against one another, and I reached a hand between us and grasped his cock. I stroked, sliding my hand up and down his velvety length while we kissed.
He hissed in a breath every time I stroked my thumb over his cockhead. My own prick ached with the need to cum, and I used both hands to stroke the two of us together.
It didn’t take long before we released ropey white strands of cum between us, capturing our moans in each other mouths.
It felt like coming home.
Afterward, we lay tangled together, my back pressed against his chest as his hand rested protectively over our baby.
“I talked to your dad about taking time off when the baby comes,” Dain said quietly. “And about cutting back my hours in general.”
I turned my head to look at him. “You did?”
“I’m not missing this, Nym. I’m not missing any of it. The late-night feedings, the first smile, the first steps—I want to be there for all of it.”
My throat tightened with emotion. It was the second time he’d said such a thing. It was important to him. “You mean that.”
“I’ve never meant anything more.” He pressed a kiss to my shoulder. “I’ve spent years dedicating everything to work because I didn’t have anything else. But now I do. I have you, and I have our baby, and that’s what matters.”
I laced my fingers through his over my belly. “We’re really lucky, you know that? To have found each other.”
“I’m the lucky one,” he murmured. “You’re everything I didn’t know I needed.”
I smiled and snuggled deeper into his embrace. Outside, I could hear the distant sounds of the manor—voices, footsteps, the life of this place that was becoming my home.
“So when do you want to start moving my things?” I asked.
“How about now?”
I laughed. “Now? We’re naked, Dain.”
“Good point.” His hand slid lower, teasing. “Maybe in an hour or two?”
“Maybe tomorrow,” I countered, turning in his arms to face him. “Because I have other plans for the rest of today.”
His grin was pure wickedness. “Oh? And what plans are those?”
