"I'm sure. I want this. Want you.Please."
Something shifts in his expression. Heat and love and possession all mixed together.
"Then let's take off this dress," he says. "Before I ruin it."
He undresses me slowly, reverently.
The silk dress pools at my feet.
My bra is unhooked with careful fingers.
My panties slide down my legs with deliberate patience.
Until I'm standing naked in front of him, shivering despite the warmth of the room.
Not from the cold.
From what’s about to happen.
"You're sure?" he asks again.
"Yes. I'm sure. I want this. Want you."
He strips off his own clothes with less patience. And then we're both naked. Both vulnerable. Both standing at the edge of something that will change everything.
He picks me up and carries me to the bed.
Lays me down on the sheets with a gentleness that makes tears prick my eyes.
"I've been preparing you for this," he says, settling beside me. "My fingers inside you all those times—that was to make sure you could take me without too much pain. But it's still going to hurt a little. Your first time always does."
"I know."
"If it's too much, if you need me to stop?—"
"I'll tell you. I trust you."
The words seem to affect him deeply. "You trust me."
"Yes. Completely."
He kisses me then.
Deep and slow and thorough.
His hands map my body like he's memorizing every curve, every response.
Finding all the places that make me gasp.
All the touches that make me arch into him.
Building heat. Building need.
Building arousal until I'm wet and desperate and begging without words.
"Please," I finally whisper. "Please, Vaughn, I need?—"
"I know what you need." He settles between my thighs. "But first I need to make sure you're ready. Really ready."
