Then she's kissing me.
It's different from our other kisses. Not angry or desperate or trying to prove a point. Soft. Almost tentative. Like we're both afraid of breaking this fragile truce we've just built.
I kiss her back gently, my hands still cradling her face like she's something precious. She makes a small sound in the back of her throat, her hands coming up to grip my shirt, fisting in the fabric.
"Axel," she breathes against my mouth.
"What do you need?"
"You. I need you."
"You have me."
I pick her up carefully, mindful of her pregnant state even though she's not showing yet. Carry her to the bed like she weighs nothing. Set her down like she's something precious and breakable. Because to me, she is.
"We're going to do this differently tonight," I say, kneeling beside the bed so I'm at eye level with her.
"How?"
"Slowly. No anger. No proving points. No fighting for dominance. Just us."
I start with her pajama top, unbuttoning it with deliberate slowness. She watches me, her breathing shallow and quick, as I reveal her skin inch by inch. The fabric parts, and I push it off her shoulders.
"Beautiful," I murmur, letting my eyes roam over her. "So fucking beautiful."
Her pajama pants come next. I hook my fingers in the waistband, pull them down slowly along with her underwear. Then she's bare before me, completely exposed, and I take a moment just to look. To really see her.
"What?" she asks, sounding self-conscious, her hands moving to cover herself.
I catch her wrists gently. "Don't. I'm memorizing you. Every curve. Every mark. Every inch. I want to remember this moment."
I start at her ankle, pressing a kiss there. Then I work my way up her calf, taking my time, feeling her shiver under my touch. She's trembling, her breath catching with each kiss.
"Axel, you don't have to..."
"I want to." I kiss her inner thigh, feel her muscles jump. "I want to taste every part of you. Make you feel good. That's all I want right now. Just to make you feel good."
My mouth moves higher. She spreads her legs without me having to ask, giving me access. I kiss her hip bone, her lower stomach where our baby is growing, everywhere except where she's starting to ache for me. I can see it in the way she's breathing, the way her hips are shifting restlessly.
"Please," she whispers, the word barely audible.
"Please what?"
"Stop teasing."
"I'm not teasing. I'm savoring every second of this."
But I give her what she wants. My mouth finds her center, and she gasps, her hips lifting off the bed involuntarily.
"Oh God..."
I use my tongue slowly, taking my time, mapping every fold and valley. Learning what makes her gasp versus what makes her moan. What makes her fingers tighten in my hair versus what makes her thighs tremble against my shoulders.
"Axel... that feels..."
"Tell me. I want to hear you say it."
"So good. It feels so good."