Nobody has ever called me beautiful while touching me. A knot forms in my throat.
“I want you,” he says. “All of you.”
“Same.” That’s the only word I can manage.
“You’re giving me a special gift. I’ll make it good for you.”
“You already have.” The words push past my lips.
He grabs his jeans on the floor. Removes something from his wallet and tears the foil packet. He rolls the condom, handling it with steady hands, his gaze on mine. Jace lays me back on the couch and settles over me, bracing on his forearms. His voice is thick with effort. “We can stop. Anytime.”
“Don’t stop.”
He goes slowly, rubbing around my clit, and it’s all I can do not to hurry him along. Then he moves to my entrance. “This might hurt.”
“Please.”
He enters me. Slow. Inch by inch.
The sharp edge takes my breath. He stays still. Arms shaking. Every muscle in him tenses with restraint.
“How are you?” he whispers.
The sharpness fades. “Move.”
He moves shallow, giving me time. I grip his shoulders. The fullness. The weight. The heat of his body covers mine.
“Jace.” His name is a different word than it was earlier.
“I know.” His hand cradles the side of my face. “I’ve got you, sweetheart.”
He adjusts when I gasp. Slows when I tense. Goes deeper when I pull him closer. He reads me patiently, taking his time.
I follow his lead. Clumsy at first. Until our bodies move as one. I gasp. His mouth is on my neck. My fingers dig into his shoulders. The creaking couch and the howling wind drown our sounds.
His hand grips my thigh and pulls it higher. The angle changes. An unexpected sound comes from me.
“There.” His forehead drops to mine. “That’s what I want. Tell me you’re here with me.”
This wanting, soul-deep, is everything. “I’m here. Right here.”
“You feel…” He blows out a breath. “Jesus. Rosalind.”
“I know.” Tears burn my eyes. “I know.”
I come apart with his eyes on mine and his hand in my hair. His body tenses, his face pressed into my neck, and he makes a guttural sound.
My arms are around him, my fingers in his hair, his weight settling heavy and complete. I don’t want to let go.
He gets a warm washcloth and cleans me. Then he settles beside me on the couch and pulls me toward him.
A dizzying shock. To be wanted, truly wanted, in a way I’d never believed possible. Tears blur the warm landscape of his chest. I can’t stop them.
His expression fractures. “Did I hurt you?”
“No.” I wipe at my eyes with the back of my hand. “It was… everything.”
He holds me tighter. His heartbeat is rapid under my cheek. He presses his mouth to my hair and breathes me in.
