Page 65 of Freedom’s Inferno

I nodded, still catching my breath. “Yeah. More than okay.”

He gave a small, relieved laugh, low and rough, and pressed his forehead to mine before pulling back to look at me. “I don’t have‒” He hesitated, clearing his throat. “A condom. I wasn’t expecting‒”

“I have an IUD,” I interrupted, voice steadier than I felt.

He went still, his gaze flicking up to mine again, serious now. “You’re sure?”

“Yes,” I said. “I’m sure.”

Neither of us moved. The space between us hung suspended, charged not just with want but with trust. Something ran deeper, something that had nothing to do with the heat of the moment and everything to do with the way he looked at me, like I was something worth protecting even now.

“Then get on your knees, Lana.”

The command rolled through me like heat. My skin prickled, every coherent thought evaporating beneath the weight of his voice.

Charlie took control without demanding it. He didn’t give orders; he offered an invitation. Every movement told me I could stop him if I wanted to, and somehow that assurance was the sexiest thing I’d ever felt.

I shifted, my limbs unsteady, the strength in them turned to static beneath the prick of his gaze. Folding forward, I supported myself on my forearms and buried my face in the pillow. Every breath came shallow with nerves and anticipation.

He leaned in until his breath warmed my neck, his body a solid heat at my back. His presence filled the space, a wall of strength that made the air tremble around us. Charlie’s lips brushed my ear, then closed around the lobe with a slow pull of his teeth.

A shudder ripped through me, dissolving every thought.

His fingertips drifted down the length of my spine, a slow, tingling path that left a trail of warmth in their wake. Every inch he covered dissolved another layer of distance between us.

The head of his cock lined up at my entrance. A shaking breath escaped him, rough and uneven, as if he’d been holding it far too long and had to let go. He went still above me, muscles tight with control. A war raged inside him. A battle between desire, and the fear of going too far; he clung to stillness, choosing caution over impulse.

Then, slowly, so fucking slowly, he sank himself into my aching heat. The gradual stretch was exquisite, the way he made me feel every single inch of him. His hands gripped my hips as he guided me back until his length was buried to the hilt.

I moaned. My walls throbbed where they wrapped around him, tiny waves of pleasure rippling through my core.

“Fuck,” he growled, forehead resting between my shoulder blades. He laughed, half-desperate. “I need a second. You have no idea what you do to me.”

“I think I have some idea.”

His lips found my shoulder, a soft press that sent a shiver through me.

Touch was always something I had to brace for, but with him it felt different. The heat of him wrapped around me, every inch of my body aware of the nearness, of the confident strength in the way he held me.

His hands found my hips, strong and steady; then, he moved.

He withdrew, and the loss was startling—a flash of emptiness that ached.

The connection returned with a force that stole the air from my lungs. The depth he achieved from that angle was almost too much, threading pain and pleasure so closely I could no longer tell them apart. The dual sensation consumed me, scattering thought and reason, leaving me trembling with the need for more.

I pushed back against him, fingers gripping the sheets.

He rotated his hips as he thrust into me again.

The noise I made was high-pitched and unrestrained. “Oh my God,” I gasped, the words breaking from me as he punched his hips again.

Charlie slid his arm beneath me, his hand cupping my breast, as he drew me against him.

My back met the warmth of his chest, his breath grazing my shoulder in slow, uneven bursts.

I reached for him, my palm finding the back of his neck.

He was already moving toward me, meeting me halfway. His mouth found mine in a desperate and consuming kiss, as if we were both starved for something only the other could give.