“I know.” And damn, I meant it. “But I want to.”
His hands cupped my jaw, thumbs brushing my cheekbones. “Dare… I don’t want you doing this just because you’re scared to lose me.”
I huffed a shaky laugh. “I’m always scared to lose you.”
He blinked, stunned by my honesty, and something in him softened—opened.
“But that’s not why I’m doing this,” I added, leaning into his touch. My lips grazed the inside of his thigh and he sucked in a breath so sharp it made my pulse throb. “I’m choosing you.”
Tru’s head tipped back against the pillow. His legs trembled against my shoulders, not in fear but in need.
“You sure?” he managed, his fingers threading tighter in my hair.
I kissed the tender skin just above his knee, working my way inward with teasing slowness.
“Yeah,” I murmured. “Let me learn you.”
His breath stuttered.
“Let me earn you,” I breathed over his sensitive skin.
His back arched, a broken sound slipping from his throat.
“Let me love you,” I finished, voice low, shaking, everything I’d never said poured into those four words.
Tru looked down at me, eyes glossy, lips parted, chest heaving, and for a moment the whole world shrank to the space between his hands on my face and my mouth hovering just where he needed me.
“Okay,” he whispered, surrender and trust and hunger all tangled into one shaky word. “Okay… Dare.”
And when I leaned in, when he tightened his grip and pulled me closer, we both knew?—
This wasn’t about fear anymore. This was about finally crossing the line we’d drawn years ago…
And not wanting to go back.
My breath ghosted over his wet tip, just the tease of warm air, because I wanted to feel the way his whole body jolted. The way his fingers clutched at the sheets. The way he whispered my name like it hurt.
I started slow, testing him the way you test the edge of a flame, not sure how close you can get without getting burned.One small taste of him and heat curled low in my gut, addictive and dizzying. Fuck, he did something to me. His scent, the way he trembled, the helpless little gasp he tried and failed to swallow—it all went straight to my head.
I let my lips close around him, gentle at first, waiting for his reaction.
I didn’t have to wait long.
Tru made a strangled sound—a wild, startled,unprettynoise that would’ve embarrassed the hell out of him if he’d had a single functioning brain cell left. Something between a gasp and a yowl, like he had no idea what to do with the sensation.
I felt his thighs tighten around my shoulders. Felt him try to wriggle away and closer at the same time.
And yeah… I couldn’t stop my grin. Not even with my mouth busy.
His hand found the back of my head, not pushing, just holding, needing the anchor. I gave him more. Taking my time, nothing rushed. The kind of attention he deserved.
Tru’s breath kept breaking around my name, and the sound of it—raw, unguarded, meant only for me—lit me up from the inside out.
And I knew, with the same certainty as gravity that I’d never forget the way he sounded in that moment. Or the way it felt to be the one unraveling him.
I wasn’t graceful about it. Not even close.
My teeth grazed him once or twice, earning these breathless, half-whining sounds from him. I choked on my own enthusiasm at one point, eyes watering until everything got blurry.There was snot, there were tears, there was drool—an absolute disaster of a performance by every technical metric.
