“Uhhhh, fuck,” he moans right before I feel him tense behind me. “Fucking hell,” he says softly as he comes inside me, his breath heavy as he tries to catch his breath.
I’m lying here, completely spent, my limbs heavy, my body humming with the aftershocks of everything we just shared. I feel the bed shift as Esteban leans over me, his lips brushing tiny kisses down my spine, slow and reverent, like he's memorizing every inch of me.
Then he gently pulls out, and even in my blissed-out state, I feel the ache of his absence.
“I can’t move,” I mumble into the pillow, my voice muffled and lazy.
“Don’t,” he murmurs. “Stay right there, princesa. I’ve got you.”
I hear the soft sound of his footsteps as he leaves the bed, and I let my legs fall to the side, sinking deeper into the mattress. My face turns toward the wall, eyes unfocused, still chasing my breath and whatever strength I had before he completely ruined me in the best way.
A few moments later, he’s back. The bed dips again with his weight, and I feel the warm press of a towel between my legs, gentle and slow, his touch as careful as it is intimate.
My brows pinch slightly. “Why are you cleaning me? You used a condom,” I whisper, my voice barely a thread.
He looks up, his eyes locking on mine with something deeper than affection. “Because you’re still soaked from how hard you came,” he says, his tone low, reverent, almost proud.
And there’s something about the way he says it, the way he looks at me while tending to me so gently, like I’m the most precious thing he’s ever touched. It makes my chestache. Not from desire, not anymore. From something else entirely.
With love.
Once he’s done, Esteban tosses the towel aside and climbs back into bed. He pulls me into his chest like I belong there, like there’s no other place I’m meant to be.
His hand strokes slowly through my hair, fingers threading softly from root to tip, over and over again. It’s soothing, grounding, and intimate in a way that makes my eyes grow heavier with each pass. His lips brush against my forehead, then my temple, then the tip of my nose, like he's trying to memorize me with kisses.
The room is quiet except for the sound of our breathing, synced and steady. And just as I begin to drift, sinking into that place between sleep and dreams, I hear him whisper against my hair, voice low and certain.
“I love you.”
I don’t answer, I don’t think I even could. My body is too tired, my heart too full. But I carry those three words with me into sleep, tucked into my chest like a secret meant just for me.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Esteban
Iwake up before the sun, the kind of early that makes the world feel still, like it’s holding its breath. I shift slightly, and that’s when I see her.
My beautiful Eva.
Lying there on her side, one arm tucked under the pillow, her long dark lashes resting softly against her cheeks. Her face looks peaceful, beautiful, almost unreal in the pale morning light. There’s a smattering of freckles across her nose and cheeks, subtle but perfect, like a constellation only meant for me.
I watch her for a few seconds. Okay, more than a few, just breathing her in. She’s got this pout on her lips, like she’s in the middle of dreaming something frustrating and sweet at the same time. It makes me want to lean in and kiss her. Badly.
But I don’t.
Instead, I smile like a fool because damn… how did I get so lucky?
What started as pretend turned into the realest thing I’ve ever felt. I’ve got everything I’ve ever wanted. A business that’s growing, a house I built with my own hands, friends that are more like brothers, and now… this woman. This incredible, stubborn, smart, sexy woman who somehow sees something in me.
Yeah, I’m lucky. Stupidly lucky.
I move carefully, not wanting to wake her. I slip out of bed, throw on some joggers, and head to the bathroom to get ready. When I come back, she’s still asleep, curled on her side, blanket tangled around her hips. Grabbing a notepad from my nightstand, I scribble a quick note.
Sleep in, mi amor. I made you breakfast. Have a great day!
—E
I leave the note on my pillow, right where she’ll see it when she wakes.
