“Please,” she breathes, her hips lifting, chasing me until I’m aligned with her center.
I ease forward carefully and push in only an inch. She hisses, her body locking tight around me. I freeze, my every muscle screaming to thrust, but I pull back instead.
“Too much?”
She bites her lip, her eyes glassy as she nods. “A little,” she hesitates. “I’ve only… done this once before.”
Once before.
Everything in me stops.
Not because of jealousy, or anger, but because there’s a sharp, aching awareness settling deep in my chest.
“With me?” I ask quietly.
She nods again, turning her face away like she’s ashamed of the answer. Like she thinks it makes her fragile instead of strong. A tear slips down her cheek, and it guts me.
Fuck.
I catch the tear with my lips, kissing the salt from her skin.
I rest my forehead against hers, breathing her in, grounding both of us. “We don’t have to keep going,” I murmur. “Not until you’re ready.”
“No.”
Her hands clamp onto my shoulders, her nails digging in as she hauls me back down. “I want this. I want you.”
I hold still, letting her breathe through it. Letting her decide.
She exhales, shaky. “I’m so tired of feeling untouchable. Like no one’s allowed to want me. I just—I want to feel you. All of you. Please.”
Our gaze meets, and I see the sincerity behind her words, so I lean down and kiss her like I’ve got something to prove. Maybe I do. Maybe I need to prove that I’m worthy of her and let her feel something.
I kiss her languidly, taking my time, and letting her set the rhythm as her hips rock up against me in tiny, needy pulses.
She whimpers into my mouth, then reaches between us. Her fingers wrap around my cock—hesitant at first, then firmer. She guides me further inside.
“Please,” she begs again. “I need this.”
“I’ll go so fucking slow,” I promise. One last deep kiss, then I brace my forearms beside her head and ease in another inch. Pause. Watch her face. Another inch. Her brows pinch, her lips part on a soft gasp, but she doesn’t tell me to stop.
“You okay?”
Eyes squeezed shut, she nods. “Don’t stop. Please don’t stop.”
I sink into her fully, and all the noise in my head goes quiet. “Fuck, Tiff. You feel so fucking good.” It’s all I manage to get out as I keep my pace slow.
She relaxes under me. Her hands slide from my shoulders to my neck and then to my jaw, like she can’t decide where she needs me most. I kiss her mouth, and she kisses me back with this messy moan that I don’t think I’ll ever forget.
“Nothing has ever felt like this,” I groan against her lips. “You feel like home, baby. You’re the only place I belong.”
I don’t look away, because I don’t want to miss a thing. The way her lashes flutter, the way she breathes me in, the way her hips buck.
Heaven. That’s what this is, and I never want to leave.
My hand slides to her hip, and my thumb traces her skin while my other hand strokes her hair as I gently thrust into her. I can’t stop touching her. I can’t lose this connection.
“You’re perfect,” I tell her, meaning every word. “Every curve. Every mark. Every part that carried our daughter. I love all of it, Tiff. I love you.”