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For once in my life, I don’t overthink. I do what feels right.

Being near Gio quiets the demons in my head, and I finally submit to this torturous game we’ve been playing, the one where I pretend I don’t want him, that I haven’t been dangerously attracted to him from the beginning, and how the challenge of the ever-shifting ground beneath us doesn’t turn me on.

He sees me as a worthy adversary, which means he sees me as worthy. He sees me. It’s the validation I’ve so desperately needed. In his eyes, I’m enough.

Our lips draw closer, the warmth of our breath stirring the space between. Lips finally touch. Wet. Soft. Heated. It’s magnetic. Hypnotic. Electric.

My center presses against his. With one long drawn-out swipe along the hard ridge beneath his shorts, my clit awakens. My eyes sink shut, and I moan against his lips.

Gio catches the sound of my desire and sucks it in like air filling his lungs. “Do it again, goddamn it. Give me more,” he whispers as his tongue slips in and out of my mouth, stroking, tasting, and teasing me. “Sophia, fucking use me. I’m yours.”

I melt against him. His ridges against my curves. His roughness against my softness. With our bodies perfectly matched, I grind against his steely length and come alive and undone all at once. Pleasure unfurls in spirals of colors. Heat blooms and lust descends.

“Oh God. Oh, Gio.”

I’m lost in our connection. His kiss tastes like hope and happiness. In the haze of desire, I believe Gio will take me where I need to go, and he’ll protect me as he does.

Gio lifts the sweatshirt over my head and tosses it aside. My knotted hair falls loose and wild over my shoulders. In this bikini, with my legs wrapped around him, I’m more exposed than I’ve been since my first experience, a moment I’m suddenly eager to rewrite.

Gio fists his hands into my nape as he looks me over, and God help me, growls with approval. He face-dives between my heaving breasts, and I whimper near his ear as he devours me in kisses. His hands touch everywhere. Undulating hips grind over clothing. It’s all so much. So, so much.

“Can I touch you?” he says into my neck as he nips at my skin.

“Touch me. Touch me.” I chant the words like a prayer.

At my hip, he unties one side of my bottoms. The fabric falls away, exposing me. Gio aggressively grabs my V and palms me. The rough play sends me into a new level of delirium.

“Press that perfect little clit into my palm. Ride it,” he demands at my lips.

“Ahh.” I move against his hand, finding the perfect spot, controlling the ideal pressure and speed.

The intimacy, his grip, and my moans create a new kind of liquid heat. It’s molten, tectonic, and building fast. I hiss. My head falls back at the glorious sensation.

“More,” I say with drying lips.

At the same time, he teases the entrance of my pussy.

“So wet. So fucking perfect.” He slips two fingers inside.

I gasp and clench his shoulders tighter when he stretches me. I didn’t know it could feel this good.

“Ah, kitten,” he whispers, “you look so beautiful fucking my fingers.”

I rise and fall, rolling and bucking as he coos words of encouragement.

“You’ve got this. Give me everything. You’re doing so well.”

I dive in for a kiss, and our tongues twist. His fingers curl and stroke my walls, and a frenzy rises. The tension builds into a crescendo.

I’m so close. So close.

And then, when I think I can’t take any more, Gio presses his thumb to my clit and rubs.

“Come for me, kitten,” he says.

My soul leaves my body for a second time. I’m outside looking in for a moment, and I think I’ve lost it again. But then I snap back and climax on a shaky cry.

Unfathomable bliss takes up residence in my mind. And for the first time in years, I remember all I’ve been missing.