Another ratchet down. Another gentle landing.
Crack.
A low groan.
Crack.
Another flick of her toe.
Two minutes.
Crack.
An almost innocent little “ah.”
I smiled. She was close now—right beneath the threshold, right where I wanted her.
“You did so well,” I murmured, letting my voice guide her back inch by inch. “I’m so proud of you.”
Crack.
A low moan.
Crack.
A wiggle of her hips.
“You’re amazing,” I whispered, warmth threading through the gravel of my tone. “Truly amazing.”
One minute.
Crack.
“I love you.”
My last truth before guiding her back to me.
Chapter 51
***
Emma
Warmth.
That was the first thing I felt.
Not heat, not pain, not the bright sting I knew had bloomed across my skin—just warmth. A deep, enveloping kind that settled deep inside me and spread outward. Like sinking into sunlight. Like floating in a bath. Like someone had poured liquid gold through my bones.
A low hum echoed somewhere—not in the room, but inside me. A bone deep vibration matching the rhythm of my breath. Somewhere in that drifting space—where thought was too heavy and sensation was everything—I heard a voice.
Low.
Rough.
Achingly gentle.
I love you.
