That I belong.
But I can’t.
I can’t.
The words wedge in my throat, thick and choking.
Because even as my body throbs from release, my mind is reeling.
What did I just do?
Who the hell am I now?
I stare at the headboard, blinking hard, heart hammering with something I can’t name. Not fear. Not shame. Something deeper.
Recognition.
Of the version of myself I’ve spent my whole life burying.
And Cooper—he saw it. Dragged it into the light.
Not gently.
No.
He fucking claimed it.
And now—now I have to live with the truth.
That I wanted it.
That I still do.
My thighs are shaking. My face is flushed. I feel exposed in a way no locked door or torn clothes could ever replicate.
He hasn’t moved.
His cock still buried inside me, warm and thick, like a tether I can’t untie.
My lips part—but there’s nothing I can say that doesn’t make it worse.
Not: thank you.
Not: don’t stop.
Not: I hate you for this.
Not: do it again.
So I say nothing.
I just lie there. Sex-drunk. Soul-raw.
Swallowed by the weight of what I’ve just given him.
And Cooper?
He shifts. Just slightly. His breath brushes the backof my neck.
