Her hand drifts to settle over my heart. "I know." She smiles, soft and certain. "Because of you. You make me feel precious. Chosen. Like I matter more than contracts or heirs or family blood. But that doesn’t mean you can’t have a relationship with your brother."
She takes my hand—the one still wrapped around my cock—and gently pulls it away. Then she replaces it with her own.
I hiss at the heat of her touch. Her delicate fingers are softer than mine, her grip lighter, her touch curious and exploratory. She strokes experimentally, watching my face.
"Let me." Her voice drops to a whisper. "I want to give back. I want to taste you. I want to have my first everything with you and I want to start here."
First everything? I hold in a gasp when she tightens her grip. "You don't have to?—"
She shifts slightly and when her eyes come up to meet mine the air between us changes. "I know I don'thaveto." She leans down, her breath warm against my shaft. "Iwantto. I've wanted to for a while, but I was scared."
My hand traces circles on her smooth thigh. "Of what?"
Her brow raises. "Of not being good enough. Of doing it wrong." She looks up through her lashes. "I've never done this before, Drake. There’s a million things to be afraid of. Not being good enough is highest on the list."
The vulnerability in her confession makes my chest ache. I weigh that against the attack on my senses. It’s hard to focus when the curve of her hip, the promise of what she wants to do with those sweet lips and the heat of her skin against me all fight for my attention.
"You could never do it wrong," I counter when I can finally find my voice again. I cup her face in my palm. "Not with me. Not ever."
She holds my gaze for a heartbeat longer. Then she lowers her mouth to my cock.
The first touch of her lips nearly undoes me. Soft. Warm. Tentative. She kisses the thick tip, testing, learning. Her tongue darts out to taste the moisture gathered there, and she makes a small sound of discovery that vibrates through my entire body.
"Like that?"
"Fuck. Yes." The words come out strangled. "Just like that. Whatever you want."
She takes me deeper. Slowly, inch by inch, her mouth stretching around my girth. Her hand wraps around the base, grippingwhere her lips can't reach. She's clumsy but eager, her technique unpracticed, and somehow that makes it better than anything I've ever experienced.
Something primal unfurls inside me and makes my hunger for her grow.
Because it's her. Because she chose this. Because she's giving me something she's never given anyone else.
I guide her gently, my fingers tangled in her hair without pushing. "That's it, baby girl. You're perfect. You feel so good."
She moans around me, and the vibration sends sparks up my spine. Her head bobs faster, finding a rhythm, growing confident with every stroke.
The need to release coils low in my body. My cock thickens and the little sound she makes nearly sends me over the edge right then and there.
I'm close. Too close, too fast. I've been wound tight for so long, and having her mouth on me after the day I've had is more than I can handle.
"Katriana." I tug at her hair. "I'm going to?—"
She doesn't pull away. If anything, she takes me deeper into her mouth until the tip of my cock hits the softness of her throat.
“Fuck, baby girl. Don’t–”
It’s too late. I flex my hips as I hold her head in place and sink a fraction deeper. My orgasm crashes through me. I groan her name as I spill into her mouth, my hips jerking, my vision whiting out. She swallows around me, taking everything, and the feeling prolongs the pleasure until I'm shaking.
She releases me slowly, licking her lips, her eyes bright with triumph.
I haul her up to lay beside me. I wrap my arms around her and hold her body to mine. Our breaths mingle. Our eyes hold each other and then my lips are on hers, tasting my release on her tongue. She fists a handful of my hair and eases me closer and I give her what she wants. I’ve been starving for this. Not with just anyone, but with Katriana. My hand slides beneath the shirt and I skim my hands up her back, the physical contact of skin on skin grounding me to this moment. To this woman. My woman.
"Why?" I ask against her mouth when we finally break apart. "After everything you saw today? Why did you pick this moment? Please help me understand."
She pulls back to meet my eyes. Her hand touches my face again, gentle over the split lip.
"Because I understand now. More importantly I see where I fit into your life now." Her voice is steady, certain. "I'm not just a contract to you. I'm not just a person who can fulfill an heir clause or promise. I matter."
