Every piece of clothing that fell away felt significant. A layer of fear removed. A reminder that we were here and free and together.
When we were both naked, I pushed Matteo down onto the bed. Straddled his hips. Looked down at him and tried to memorize this moment. This feeling. This overwhelming relief and gratitude and love.
"What do you need?" Matteo asked. His hands settled on my hips. Gentle. Reverent.
"You. Just you. I need to feel connected to you. Need to know this is real and not something I'm going to wake up from."
"It's real." He pulled me down for a kiss. "I'm real. We're real. This is real."
I kissed him like I was trying to prove it to myself. Deep and desperate and full of emotion I couldn't articulate. Relief and joy and overwhelming gratitude that we were both here.
When I pulled back, I said: "We get to keep this. We get to keep each other."
"Forever," Matteo said again. "As long as you want me, I'm yours."
"I'll always want you." I started to move. Positioning myself. Reaching for the supplies on the nightstand. "Always."
I prepared myself while Matteo watched. His eyes dark and intense. Watching every movement. Every moment of me getting ready for him.
"You're beautiful," he said. His voice was rough. "So fucking beautiful. And mine. And I get to keep you."
"You do. For as long as you want me."
"That's forever. In case that wasn't clear."
I smiled despite the emotion threatening to overwhelm me. "Good. Because that's how long I want to stay."
When I was ready, I rolled a condom onto him with deliberate slowness. Watched his breath speed up. Watched his hands clench on my hips.
Then I positioned myself above him and sank down slowly.
The sensation was overwhelming. Perfect. Everything I needed.
"God, Stefan—" Matteo's eyes closed. "You feel incredible."
"Look at me." I stayed still. Fully seated. Feeling every inch of connection. "Let me see you."
His eyes opened. Met mine. The emotion there nearly destroyed me.
"I thought I'd lost you," he said. His voice cracked. "When the jury went out for three days. When they started reading the verdict. I genuinely thought it would be guilty. That I'd have decades in prison. That I'd be asking you to sacrifice your life waiting for me."
"But you didn't lose me." I started to move. Slow. Deliberate. Making it last. "We get an actual future. We get to have this. Every night. For years."
"Yes." His grip tightened on my hips. "God, yes. Stefan—"
I rode him slowly. Learning the angle. Finding the rhythm that built pleasure gradually. Making this about connection more than just physical release.
Matteo's hands roamed my body. Touching. Claiming. Memorizing. His eyes never left my face. Watching every expression. Every reaction.
"I love you," he said. "So much. More than I thought I was capable of loving anyone."
"I love you too." I moved faster. Chasing the sensation building in my core. "So much it scares me sometimes."
"Don't be scared." He pulled me down for a kiss. "Be here. With me. In this moment. Feeling this."
I kissed him thoroughly. Then sat back up. Changed the angle slightly. Found the perfect spot that made stars burst behind my eyelids.
"There," I gasped. "Right there—"
