A thousand lives moving at once.
None of them matter. Not right now.
Not when she’s standing in front of me.
Bare. Still. Breathing like she doesn’t know what she just did to me.
The towel hits the floor, and something in my chest goes tight.
Not just want.
Not just hunger.
Recognition.
Like I’ve been chasing something my whole life and didn’t know it until it was standing right in front of me.
Her.
All of her.
Soft curves and quiet strength wrapped in skin she thinks she needs to apologize for.
I don’t move right away. I can’t.
Because if I move too fast, I’ll ruin it.
And this—this moment—it matters.
More than it should. More than anything has in a long damn time.
My gaze drags over her slowly, deliberately.
Taking her in.
Learning her.
Not missing a single detail.
And when I look back up?
Her eyes are on me.
Waiting. Braced.
“Fuck, Sunshine, you’re so goddamn pretty.”
She shakes her head—it’s subtle.
Like she doesn’t even know she’s doing it.
Like she’s expecting something less than whatever this is that I feel.
That almost pisses me off.
“Why shake your head, linda? You think I look at you and don’t fucking want you? See here how much I want you,” I growl, voice low, roughened by something I don’t bother to hide.
I grab my cock over my pants and her eyes drop as I squeeze my length, showing her what she does to me.