“Because I need you to be sure,” I explain, my tone low and steady. “Not running on adrenaline. Not trying to prove you can handle it. Sure.”
Her mouth opens, then closes.
I take one small, careful step closer. “I’m not going anywhere, Jane. This isn’t a deadline. You don’t have to prove anything to keep me here.”
Her throat tightens. Her voice comes out small. “What if I change my mind?”
“Then you change your mind,” I say simply. “And that’s okay.”
Something in her expression cracks as if she didn’t expect that answer.
Jane’s chin trembles once before she locks it down. “I want you.”
“I know.”
“And you want me.”
“Yes.”
“Then”—she lifts her hands, frustrated, palms up—“why are you stopping?”
Because I want this to be something you choose, not something that happened to you.
Because you deserve better than a man who takes when you’re overwhelmed.
Because I’m not going to be another person in your life who didn’t wait for you to be ready.
I don’t say any of that.
Instead, I reach out slowly, palm hovering near her cheek like a question. “Can I touch you?”
She exhales a shaky breath. “You already did. Why are you asking now, after what happened out there? After we?—”
“Because now,” I say quietly, “it matters even more.”
Her breath hitches as she looks up at me, confused.
“What we did out there was instinct. Heat. Want. And yeah, I wanted you. I still do.” I keep my voice steady, even though everything in me wants to pull her closer.
“I’m not saying no,” I continue. “I’m saying notall the wayyet.”
Jane looks confused. “So… what then?”
I let my thumb trace her lower lip, slow. “We can do other things. Things that feel good. Things that let you explore. No pressure. No pain. No crossing lines you’re not ready for.”
Her lashes flutter as her eyes widen. “Like what?”
“Like me taking care of you like I did earlier,” I explain. “And you learnin’ how to take care of me. If you want.”
A pause.
Then her breath leaves her in a shaky exhale. “I want.”
The words are small but certain.
My control slips a fraction.
I lean in and kiss her, slowly, deliberately. She melts into it immediately, her hands gripping my shirt like she needs something solid to steady her.
