“It means I don’t want you to stop.”
That’s enough.
I move with intention now, feathering my lips across her torso—slow, deliberate, paying attention to every sound she makes, every shift of her body. When I spread her thighs, she tenses, panic flickering. I still instantly.
“Never had a man… like that.”
“You okay?” I ask without hesitation.
“Yes. But you don’t have to.”
“I want to.”
The choice matters. I make sure she knows that.
Then, my mouth proves it. Fingers tugging the spot where she craves me. Tongue twirling and lapping until her hips chase me. Her hands ball in the sheets. She trembles around me, drawing me in. So close.
So fucking close.
Her breath breaks, her body responding fully now, trust replacing fear. I stay with her through it, through every tremor, until she collapses back into the mattress, spent and glowing, the room quiet except for our breathing.
“No man has ever?—”
“Good,” I say, smiling before I can stop myself.
She laughs softly, eyes drifting to my cheeks. “Love your dimples. You should smile more.”
“Will with you.”
I pull her into my arms, breathing in sugarplums and warmth, letting the moment settle instead of rushing past it.
“How was that?”
“So good,” she whispers, eyes wet—not broken, just overwhelmed.
“I didn’t know,” she says softly, “that it could feel like that… without taking everything from me.”
My chest tightens around the words.
“I don’t want to take anything from you,” I say quietly. “I just want to give you what you ask for.”
Chapter
Fourteen
ALLIE
The fire crackles, golden light dancing over Austin’s rugged features. He holds me like I’m something precious, scruffy beard brushing my cheek, lips feathering over my freckles with quiet reverence.
With Trevor, sex was a transaction. Five seconds of pretending. Then his back turned, the room cold.
No wonder I escaped into books. But now—this quiet, delicious present—feels like the only place I belong.
I stroke Austin’s bearded cheek, etching this moment on my heart.
“What are you thinking?” he asks.
I shake my head, no longer interested in naming my past. Or comparing.
