“Concerned?”
He leaned closer — lips brushing my ear.
“You don’t ever have to be concerned about anything,” he murmured. “Just tell me what you want... and I’ll make it happen.”
His gaze dropped slowly before rising back to mine.
“Shall we start here, Elena?”
His lips brushed lightly against my chest — deliberate, teasing.
A soft giggle slipped from my lips despite myself.
I swatted his chest.
He laughed — deep and genuine — the sound vibrating through his chest and into mine.
It was the laughter of two people who had survived war zones — literal and emotional — and still found each other intact.
He pulled me closer, sliding his hand to the back of my neck.
His lips brushed my collarbone.
Slow.
Intentional.
His kisses moved along my skin, warm and possessive but gentle.
His hand slipped under the hem of my sundress — teasing.
Not rushing.
Just reminding.
“I love that you still respond to me like this,” he murmured against my skin.
I shivered slightly.
“You’re insatiable,” I teased, arching slightly as his fingers traced slow patterns along my waist.
He smirked against my skin.
“Says the woman who climbed on top of me at dawn and whispered ‘again’ directly into my ear.”
I laughed softly, brushing my lips over his jaw.
“You loved it.”
His hand slid to the back of my neck, pulling me closer.
“I love you,” he corrected, his voice lowering into something raw and unfiltered. “And that’s not the same thing.”
His thumb brushed along my cheek.
“I love you more than I ever thought possible.”
They weren’t said to impress.
