bChapter /bb126/bb: /bbLa /bbPOV /b

    35

    Cade tears the condom’s foil open with his teeth as he holds my gaze, then rolls it onto his rigid cock in a slow and practiced move, before crawling back over me so he can settle between my thighs. His weight is afort, not a pressure, and I open my legs for him instinctively, my knees falling apart to cradle his hips.

    “Still okay?” he murmurs, his voice low and raw.

    I nod as I run my hands over the strained muscles in his biceps as he braces his hands next to my

    head, “Still okay.b” /b

    Dipping one hand between our bodies, he grabs hold of his cock and then guides himself to my entrance. His eyes are locked on mine as he pushes forward in a slow, deliberate way, and every inch of his thickness stretches me in a way that’s new and deep and just on the edge of too much. I tense

    around him without meaning to, and he stills immediately.

    “Breathe for me, Sunshine,” he whispers, pressing a kiss to my forehead. “You’re doing amazing. Just stay with me.”

    And I do. I let go of my breath slowly, and the difort begins to melt away, and is reced by a strange, blossoming fullness that makes my toes curl on the nket beneath us. He moves slowly, letting me adjust to this newfound sensation, and when our hips finally meet as he bottoms out, we both exhale–his sounding like a prayer, and mine like surrender.

    He doesn’t rush after that, though. He just pulls out partway, then slides back in with a veneration that makes the stars above us feel like voyeurs. Our bodies find a rhythm that’s steady, intimate, and

    so achingly connected it steals the breath from my lungs. I meet his every thrust with my own, my one hand’s fingers sliding into his hair at the back of his head, my other hand curling over the flex

    of his bicep as he moves above me.

    “Cade,” I whisper, because that’s all I can manage right now.

    “I’ve got you, sweetheart,” he breathes, his voice wrecked. “You feel so damn good.”

    My climax starts to build slowly–a coil tightening low in my belly, winding itself up with every pass of his hips and the quiet encouragement in his voice, My nails dig into his back when the pressure sharpens into something intense, higher, closer.

    Then, without warning, he shifts and his one hand slips between us, his thumb finding my sensitive clit with a gentle, practiced pressure that makes me cry out in pleasure.

    Chapter 126: La POV

    “That’s it,” he whispers as he watches my face. “Come for me, La. One more time.b” /b

    And I do.

    I shatter around him as I moan his name into the curve of his shoulder, my body locking and then

    unraveling in waves that feel like they’ll never end. The world around me narrows to heat and sensation and the overwhelming awareness of ihim/i–inside me, around me, watching mee

    undone because of him.

    35

    And it’s ithat /imoment that pulls him over the edge.

    His rhythm falters, and his hips jerk once, twice, before he stills above mepletely. His breath catches on a ragged gasp, and then he groans my name, “La,” like it’s torn straight from his chest. The sound is rough, worshipful, and raw enough to make my eyes sting.

    And through it all, he doesn’t look away.

    Even as pleasure crashes through him, his eyes stay locked on mine–dark and awed and aching all at

    once. There’s a kind of disbelief in his expression, too, like he can’t quite believe this is real–that

    I’m real. His mouth falls open, and his brows draw tight in an expression so vulnerable and beautiful

    it feels like another kind of intimacy.

    His fingers dig into my hips, grounding himself, and I feel the shudder run through his whole body

    as he releases inside me, pulsing with each breathless beat. And still–istill/i–he watches me. Almost

    as if I’m the only thing tethering him to this moment.

    By the time he copses against me, his forehead brushing against mine, we’re both breathless and

    quiet. But wrecked in the best, softest way possible.

    After a few seconds, he shifts his weight, and it settles next to me gently in a warm and grounding way. One of his arms slips beneath my head like a pillow while the other slides around my waist,

    pulling me towards him and then holding me close. Our breaths mingle in the narrow space between

    us, and it’s still uneven and still catching, like we’re both trying to slow down time.

    For a moment, neither of us speaks.

    I just listen to our breathing as the rhythm of his heartbeat beats against my palm that’s resting against his chest, and it’s fast, steady, real. His nose nudges mine, and his eyes flutter open again, their intensity gentled by the soft afterglow of our lovemaking. He’s looking at me like I’m made of

    constetions.

    Chapter 126: La POV

    “You okay?” he murmurs, brushing his lips across my cheek. “Not just physically. I mean…okay

    okay.”

    )

    b35 /b

    I nod, my heart too full to speak just yet. Then, because he’s still watching me like he’s afraid I’ll

    disappear, I lift my fingers to his jaw and run them over the stubble there as the warmth of his skin radiates against them. “Yeah,” I whisper. “More than okay.”

    A soft smile tugs at his mouth. “Good,” he says, his voice rough. “‘Cause if you weren’t, I was

    prepared to grovel. Like, full–on down–on–one–knee apology tour.”

    That makes meugh, and even though the sound is breathy and small, it’s real. “Pretty sure the groveling window has passed.”

    “Still keeping it in my back pocket should the need arise,” he says, then kisses me again, slow and

    lingering, and not at all rushed. It’s the kind of kiss that says ‘thank you‘ and ‘I’m yours and ‘you

    mean everything to me‘ all at once.

    When we finally pull apart, he shifts our bodies just enough to pull the one corner of the nket up

    over both of us, his one arm still underneath my head while the other is still curled around my

    waist.

    The air is cooler now, but I’m warm everywhere I need to be.

    We lie like that for a long time with our bodies tangled, as our breaths sync, and our hearts no

    longer race but rest easily.

    And in that quiet, in the hush of ate–summer night filled with stars and twinkling fairy lights, I know something with absolute certainty.

    This wasn’t just a first.

    It was ours.

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