“I’ve got you,” he murmured against my lips.
His pace deepened, slow but unrelenting, hitting something inside me that made my breath break into ragged, desperate sounds. I clung to him, my nails dragging along his shoulders, his back, anything I could reach just to ground myself.
Pleasure surged up my spine, bright and overwhelming. My vision blurred.
“It’s okay,” he whispered, forehead dropping to mine, his breath trembling. “Let go for me. I’ve got you. I’ve got you.”
My body arched, my breath shattering into pieces. The tension inside me snapped like a cord pulled too tight, and everything spilled over—light, heat, relief so intense it stole every word from my lips except his name.
He followed me with a ragged groan, burying his face in my neck as he held me tight, his whole body shaking.
For a long moment, neither of us moved.
Our breathing tangled. Our hearts pounded against each other. His weight settled fully over me, grounding me again after the world had blown apart.
Slowly, the tremors eased. The moment came back together. I came back to myself, and his hand swept up my side, gentle and soothing.
I turned my head, brushing my lips against his temple.
When he finally lifted his face to look at me, there was something new in his expression.
It wasn’t want or need or tenderness. It was something deeper. Something terrifying and beautiful.
He cupped my cheek, thumb tracing the corner of my mouth. “Are you okay?” he whispered, voice hoarse.
I nodded, forcing back tears.
His kiss was soft and lingering this time. Precious. When had he become this important to me? So…vital?
Then he lowered his head to my chest, wrapping his arms around me like he was afraid I’d vanish.
I held him just as tightly.
For the first time in my entire life, I felt wanted.
29
Quinn
Iwokeupfeelingwarmand whole for the first time in…maybe ever.
Graham’s arms were wrapped around me, holding me against the hard planes of his body. Part of me didn’t want to move, didn’t want to disturb this perfectly lovely moment. But my stomach rumbled and cramped with hunger.
As if Graham felt the shift in my awareness, he stirred too. His arms tightened, pulling me even closer. My heart strained, pulsing with a new feeling that was almost painful. It scared me as much as it fascinated me.
He kissed my hair at the top of my head, and my chest felt like it was splitting open.
Something had fundamentally changed in me last night, and I wasn’t sure how to comprehend it. The only emotion I could confidently identify was fear, but it wasn’t surfacing while his arms were around me like this.
“Good morning,” he said, his voice impossibly deep and gruff from sleep.
I turned in his arms and looked up into his face. I’d never seen him like this—eyes heavy and listless, cheeks slightly pink from the warmth of our bodies. He gave me a lazy smile, one that melted my insides.
“I think we might’ve missed morning.” I glanced toward the window and the way the light shifted through the blinds.
He lifted a shoulder in a shrug, and I nestled closer. My hands were pressed against his bare chest, feeling his heartbeat. It was steady and calm. Like him.
A moment of silence settled over us before he broke it with a tentative question.
