With Rina, nothing is easy.
And it sure as hell isn’t forgettable.
I want to take the weight she’s carrying, to strip away the fear and tension bleeding her dry. I want to prove that whatever this is between us, it’s not just desire.
It’s something much deeper.
I slide my hand over hers, my thumb stroking along her knuckles before giving a gentle tug. “Come to bed with me, babe.”
Her brows draw together, suspicion flashing in her eyes. “Oliver?—”
“Not to fuck,” I cut in, my tone steady, threaded with a truth I’ve never spoken to anyone. “I want to take care of you.”
For a long moment she simply studies me. The snappy retort I expect never comes. Instead, she looks at me with uncertainty, a faint crack showing in her armor. That hesitation, that flicker of trust, feels more important than any climax I’ve ever given her.
I lace my fingers through hers before leading her toward the bedroom.
There have been plenty of times when our sex was frantic. Fueled by want, desperation, and the need to lose ourselves in each other. But that’s not what I crave tonight.
With Rina, I don’t want quick or forgettable.
I want to carve every second into her memory.
The bedroom glows in amber light, blurring the edges of everything. I take my time undressing her. My fingers work the buttons of her blouse one at a time, each gentle pop exposing another inch of skin. I lower my mouth and kiss each newly revealed expanse, taking my time to savor all of her—the graceful curve of her collarbone and the gentle rise of her chest—until the blouse slips from her shoulders in a whisper of fabric.
Her bra follows, the clasp giving way beneath my fingers before I slip the straps down her arms.
I drop to my knees in front of her, my palms sliding down her hips to the button of her pants. After flicking it open, I drag the zipper low and kiss her stomach, her hip bones, the hollow just below her navel. She shudders as I peel the slacks down until they puddle at her feet.
“This isn’t about distracting you,” I say against her skin, taking in her delectable scent. “It’s about adoring every gorgeous inch of you.”
Her lashes flutter, and for once, there isn’t a cutting response ready on her tongue. It’s just silence and the weight of her steady gaze.
I ease her back onto the mattress, lowering her with a gentleness that feels almost foreign. Only then do I strip out of my own clothes, tugging the confining material off and dropping it in a careless pile. When I’m just as bare as she is, I climb onto the bed and ease between her thighs until we’re perfectly lined up, as if we were always meant to fit together this way.
In that moment, it hits me all over again. This isn’t about taking. It’s about giving. About holding. About finally finding something worth keeping.
Even before I move, rightness settles over me. The sight of her beneath me, her hair fanned out across the pillow, eyes locked on mine as if she’s trying to decide whether to trust me or run, undoes me completely.
I brace myself on one elbow and cradle her chin with my other hand so my thumb can sweep over the tremble of her lip. Her lashes lower like a curtain as she tries to break eye contact.
“Don’t hide from me, Rina,” I whisper. “Not tonight.”
My cock nudges her entrance, and the slick heat makes my head spin as I sink deep inside her. There’s no slamming or urgency. It’s just deliberate, unhurried strokes that say everything I can’t trust myself to put into words.
Her lips part on a moan, her body clenching around me like she’s trying to keep me close.
“Do you feel that?” I murmur against her mouth. “This isn’t just sex. This is me giving you every fucking thing I am.”
Her hands fist the sheets, then shake as they slide up my arms, searching for something solid to hold on to.
“I’m scared,” she says, her voice breaking. “Everything with you feels so different.”
I kiss her slow and deep, my forehead pressed to hers as I whisper, “I know, baby. I feel it too. But you’re safe with me. I’m not going anywhere. What I’m offering is forever.”
It should terrify me, how much of myself I’ve given to this woman without even realizing it. But for the first time in my life, I don’t want to take it back.
Her nails rake down my back, her body shuddering as release rips through her. Watching her unravel beneath me, head thrown back and lips parted in ecstasy, is the most powerful thing I’ve ever experienced.
