But as I curl into Nate’s side under the blankets, his hand drawing lazy patterns on my hip, the fire crackling low in the other room, I can’t help thinking:
Whatever happens when the snow melts… Whatever we decide when the roads clear…
This?
Naked snow angels and shower sex and laughing into each other’s mouths like we were always meant to get here?
This is ours.
And no one can take it away.
CHAPTER 9
Nate
Ally’s tucked into my side, the duvet a warm, shifting weight over both of us, with her thigh draped across mine like she’s claiming territory. The fire is low, the room honey-dark, and her fingers trace slow, idle lines down my stomach in a way that’s putting my nether regions on standby.
“Nate?” she murmurs.
“Mmm?”
She hesitates, and that alone makes me look at her. Ally hesitating is always the beginning of something interesting and honest.
“Earlier,” she says softly, “when you… You know. When you went down on me.” She flushes, eyes flicking away. “You really like doing that, don’t you?”
Something in my chest loosens. “Understatement of the century.”
She searches my face, like she’s trying to read the space between my words. “Why? What is it about that that you enjoy so much?”
I could tease her, but she’s asking sincerely. There’s vulnerability in the question, and I respect it.
“Well. It makesyoufeel good,” I say. “That’s half the appeal.” I brush a stray strand of hair from her cheek. “The other half? It’s… the honesty of it. No performance. No pretending. Just you, and a direct line to how your body responds to me. I lovebeing that close to you, and knowing you trust me enough to let go. And to be honest, even if getting eaten out did nothing for you, I’d still beg you to let me do it anyway. It’s just… my thing. I’ve always been this way, since I knew going down on a woman existed as an act. It’s just pure fucking joy to me.”
Her breath catches, a subtle, beautiful shift. “So it’s not just-”
“It’s not a kink about control for me,” I cut in gently. “Though again, that’s a factor, getting to deal out your pleasure to you in my own time. But mostly, it’s a devotion thing.” I swallow, my thumb tracing her bottom lip. “Pussy worship, like its name suggests, is always gonna be about worship, yeah. But not in some weird, pedestal way. More like… I think you’re incredible. And I want you to know that. With my mouth. With my hands. With all the time in the world.” I kiss her lips gently. “It’s like kissing your soul.”
Her cheeks flush, but she doesn’t look away this time. Instead, she holds my gaze as she quietly asks, “Would you… do it again?”
The question is like a jab to the solar plexus. The best kind.
“Fuck, yeah. Any time you like. Come here.”
Ally shifts, slow and deliberate, lying back against the pillows the way I’ve pictured a hundred thousand times since the moment we met. The firelight glows along her skin, turning every inch of her warm gold. I move between her knees with a reverence I don’t bother hiding, not now that she knows what this act does to me. She watches me at first, with curiosity, nerves, anticipation all mixed together in her eyes. But when I press a kiss to the inside of her knee, she exhales like I’ve released her from bonds.
“I want you to tell me if anything feels too much,” I murmur.
“I will,” she whispers. “Just… stay with me.”
Always, if you’d let me.
I kiss a path along her thigh, not rushing, letting her feel the intention before anything else. When I finally lower my mouth to her, I do it the way I told her: slow, steady, and reverent. Not devouring, not frantic, just present. Giving her space to feel. Givingmyselfspace to feel her respond, to me, and to know this act I’ve wanted all my adult life is really happening.
Her back arches gently as her breath stutters. “Nate…” she whispers, voice breaking open.
I look up at her from where I’m settled, breath warm against her, and say quietly, honestly, “You’re beautiful. Let me show you.”
And she does.
