"Easy," he murmurs against my skin. "We have all night."
But my body doesn't want to go slow. It's been starving for this kind of love for too long. Every nerve ending is hypersensitive, pleasure building faster than I can control.
His fingers work magic on my clit while his teeth and tongue attack my nipples. The dual sensation is overwhelming. I grip the sheets, my thighs trembling around his head.
"Maksim," I groan.
“I’ve got you.”
The orgasm crashes over me, stealing my breath and my sanity. I cry out his name, my back arching as waves of pleasure roll through me. He doesn't stop, drawing it out until I'm shaking and oversensitive.
He stares down at me with wonderment and hunger in his eyes. I love this man. Not a simple love. I love him with every cell in my body. I will love him forever. I will find him in my next life and the one after. He’s mine.
"I could do that all night," he says, crawling up my body to capture my mouth in a deep kiss.
He settles between my thighs, his weight supported on his good arm. I feel him hard against my entrance, and suddenly I need him inside me with an urgency that borders on desperation.
"Please," I breathe. "Maksim, I need you
When he enters me, it's so slow I feel every inch. The stretch. The fullness. The perfect fit of our bodies.
I gasp, my hands moving to grab his firm ass with my nails digging into his flesh. He stills, giving me time to adjust, his forehead pressed to mine.
"Okay?" he whispers.
"Perfect." I lift my hips slightly.
The pace is unhurried. Each thrust is deliberate and measured. It’s designed to draw out the pleasure rather than race toward release. His good hand tangles with mine, fingers interlacing as he makes love to me.
Because that's what this is. Not sex. Not fucking. Making love.
The distinction brings tears to my eyes. After everything we’ve been through, we've found our way back to this. To tenderness. To trust.
"I love you," I whisper against his lips. "I love you so much."
"I love you too." He kisses me deeply as he moves inside me. "Always. Even when I pretended I didn't. Always."
The pleasure builds slowly, a tide rising instead of crashing. I feel it in every nerve ending, every cell. His body moving with mine. Our hearts beating in sync. The life we created together nestled safely between us.
When my orgasm hits, it's gentle. A wave of warmth spreading through me rather than the usual explosion. I cry out softly, my body tightening around him.
He follows seconds later, his own release shuddering through him as he buries his face in my neck. I feel him pulse inside me. I hold him close; my legs wrapped around his hips.
We stay like that. Connected. Complete. One heart. One soul.
Finally, he shifts, careful not to crush me as he settles beside me on the narrow bed. His arm wraps around my waist, pulling me against his chest.
"Thank you," he murmurs into my hair.
"For what?"
"For not giving up on us. For loving me even when I didn't deserve it. For carrying our child." His hand moves to my stomach again, protective and possessive. "For everything."
I turn in his arms to face him. He looks vulnerable in a way I've never seen before. Even when he was at death’s door, he lookedlike he was ready to storm into Valhalla. But this version of him is the boy I fell in love with so long ago.
"We're going to make it through this," I tell him. "All of us. You, me, Anya, the baby. We're going to survive, and we're going to have the life we should have had."
"Promise?"
