Her eyes are wide, her expression stunned. "You mean it?"
I nod, my jaw so tight it hurts. "I've never meant anything more."
She stares at me, panic in her gaze. For a minute, I think she might do something reckless, just to prove to herself that she's not as far gone as I am.
To my surprise, she doesn't.
"I'll stay," she whispers instead. "I'll…I'll go to work for you. I'll do anything, just…please…"
I break.
I drop down and kiss her, swallowing every word, every sound, every last bit of fight she has left.
She whimpers into my mouth, melting against me.
I fuck her like I'm trying to fuse us together, like if I can just get deep enough, she'll never be able to leave.
I bury myself in her, every thrust desperate. I can't hold back. The world outside this room doesn't exist, just her and the way she whimpers my name every time I slam into her.
She pushes up on her hands, arching her ass higher, begging with her body for more.
I flatten myself to her back, my hand fisted in her hair, and fuck her so hard the headboard slams against the wall.
"You're not leaving," I say. "You belong to me, Serena."
She shudders, her cunt clenching around me so tight I see stars.
"Say it," I snarl in her ear, my hand slipping under her body to rub her clit in punishing circles. "Say you're mine. Say you want me."
"I'm yours," she sobs, her voice breaking. "Please, Austin. Please!"
"That's my girl," I growl, biting her shoulder. "Fuck, baby. Make a mess on my cock. Let me feel you lose it."
The sound she makes is pure filth, and I know I'm not lasting another second. I angle my hips and circle her clit harder, desperate to feel her shattering around me.
She detonates in seconds, her scream muffled by the pillow, her whole body convulsing.
I let go, coming so hard I can't breathe. I grind against her until we're both shaking, nothing left of us but wreckage, heat, and the way we still can't get close enough.
When I can move, I collapse on top of her, caging her with my arms. She doesn't struggle, doesn't move, doesn't even breathe for a second. She just lets me hold her like I'm the only thing in her world.
After a long minute, she shifts under me. "Austin?"
"Yeah, baby?"
Her voice is small, but steady. "Did you mean it? About me being the most important thing in your life, I mean?"
I hug her tighter. "You're the only thing that fucking matters," I say, my voice so rough I almost don't recognize it.
She sighs, her whole body melting beneath me. "Okay," she whispers. "Okay."
I almost say the words I swore I'd never say to anyone until after I retired…the ones I've been thinking since she asked me if I was concussed in the bathroom at Stu's. But I bite them back, swallowing them.
It's too soon.
If I tell her the truth now, I'll only scare her off, and I can't risk that. I need her on the same page first.
So I roll us instead, turning her in my arms until she's facing me, her expression soft. I can tell she was crying at some point tonight, and that pisses me off. I hate that I've already fucked up with her. The last thing I want to do is hurt her.
