To remember what it feels like to be this close to her.
To breathe the same air, to feel her skin against mine, to know that for this one night, at least, she's mine again.
"Garrett," she breathes, reaching for me. "Please. I need you inside me. I need to feel you."
I shed the rest of my clothes quickly, not caring where they land, and settle between her thighs.
She's already wet for me—I can feel it when I brush against her—and the knowledge that she wants this as much as I do makes something primal roar to life in my chest.
I reach down between us, needing to touch her first, needing to make sure she's ready.
My fingers find her slick and swollen, and she gasps at the contact, her hips jerking up toward my hand.
"Bloodhound," she whimpers. "Please..."
"I've got you." I stroke her slowly, watching her face, memorizing every reaction.
The way her lips part.
The way her eyes flutter closed.
The way her whole body trembles when I find the spot that makes her moan. "I've always got you, baby."
She's close already—I can feel it in the way she tightens around my fingers, in the desperate sounds she's making.
But I don't let her fall.
Not yet.
I want to be inside her when she comes.
I want to feel her shatter around me.
"Look at me," I command, my voice rough. "I want to see your eyes when I'm inside you."
She meets my gaze, her lips parted, her breath coming in shallow gasps.
I position myself at her entrance, teasing her with just the tip, and watch her eyes go dark with need.
"Garrett," she begs. "Please. I need you. I need?—"
I push into her in one slow, steady thrust, and we both groan at the sensation.
She's so tight. So hot. So fucking perfect that I have to stop and breathe, have to fight the urge to come right then and there like a goddamn teenager.
"Oh god," she moans, her back arching off the bed. "Blood... yes... you feel so good..."
I hold still for a moment, buried deep inside her, savoring the feeling of being connected to her in the most intimate way possible.
It's been so long.
Too long.
I'd almost forgotten what this felt like—the tight heat of her, the way her body fits around mine like we were made for each other.
The way coming home to her feels like the only home I've ever needed.
"I love you," I tell her, because I need her to know. Because I'm not sure I'll get another chance to say it like this. "I've never stopped loving you, Vanna. Not for one second."
