She bites her lip, nodding.
“You’ll get it. Be patient with me,” I say, erupting in long spurts.
If my cum takes root inside of her and she swells with my baby, defeating the odds, then I will embrace my wife carrying my legacy. With her by my side, I can achieve anything, become everything—even what I fear most, a father.
I brace against the wall, breathing harshly, and close my eyes for a moment. When I open them, she smiles brightly enough to compete with the sun. Fuck, how I missed that spark lighting up my damn chest.
I place a tender kiss on the top of her head, and she turns around, wrapping herself around me.
“You’re serious?” she asks, her soft voice thick with emotion.
I brush my knuckles along her cheek, gazing into her eyes. “There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you. Nothing.”
“Thank you. We have time. There’s no hurry,” she says softly, assuring me we’ll take things easy.
I palm her cheek, and she leans into my touch. “You’re perfect, you know that?”
Something like guilt flashes in her eyes before she clears her throat and kisses me. “Now what?”
“Now let me wine and dine and show my wife the city.”
“That sounds perfect.” She beams. “But I want to spend our weekends at the beach house.”
“What changed?” I whisper above her lips, the need to know her from the inside out driving me.
“This war will only lead to casualties. Life is too precious, Tristan. I am done.”
29
VIVIANA
Loving someone doesn’t come with conditions. It is deciding to take him as he is and give him the time he needs. I don’t want to pry him open, bleeding him out, but rather gently peel his layers, kiss every scar, soothe every wound, love him with everything in me so he feels safe.
I throw my arms around his neck, the need for him overpowering me.
After months of feeling lost, angry, and sad, happiness pours in, sealing the wound.
A lifetime together. That’s what I wish for because he’s my home, the only man I’ve felt truly myself with—my safe space where I can grow.
“I’m sorry,mo run. I thought once you knew who I truly was, you’d reject me,” he says as he carries me to the bed.
“I know.”
The truth feels liberating. Loving him comes naturally.
“No more hiding, please.”
He nods, taking my mouth into another passionate kiss that leaves me breathless, but not for long. Inhaling him in, he fills my every crevice. It’s not a matter of letting him in. He hasalways been present as if our souls fused together long before our bodies met.
In bed, he lies on his back, and I plaster myself over his chest, my fingers brushing along his side to trace every inch of his sculpted body.
“Why did you come home early?”
“Missed you,” I whisper, smiling at him.
A contented sound vibrates in his throat as he caresses my spine. I close my eyes, savoring the intimacy floating between us—this familiarity that transcends reason.
He grins, his features relaxing, making me feel so proud that he’s only like this with me. “Is that so?”
