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“We stop.”

No hesitation.

Her eyes stayed on mine for another second.

Then she shifted beneath me, drawing me closer rather than away.

“I don’t want to stop.”

“Talia.”

“I understand.” Her voice was breathless but clear. “If it happens, we stay like that until it passes.”

“Yes.”

“And I’m choosing to continue.”

The words hit somewhere deeper than the biological response trying to take control of my body.

I kissed her.

Then I moved again.

Her hands tightened against my shoulders.

The rhythm built faster now, harder, both of us already too close to pretend we were capable of patience.

She broke first.

Her body tightened around me, my name dissolving into something without words.

The pressure at the base of my kuvak surged.

“Talia.”

Her eyes opened.

“Don’t stop.”

I didn’t.

My knot swelled as I drove fully into her, locking us together.

Her gasp was sharp, her fingers digging into my back.

I stopped moving immediately.

“Pain?”

She drew in a breath, then another.

“No.” Her eyes widened slightly. “Just…a lot.”

I remained still.

The instinct to move was nearly unbearable.

I ignored it.