Bren leads me by the hand to the bed. Without pulling away from my lips, he lays me down on the bed with care. He only rises off me once, to step out of his jeans and underwear, then climbs back on top of me.
I feel the hardness of him pressed painfully over my mound, and my pelvis pumps upward, searching for him. Bren’s eyes fly open to lock on mine. “Sofia,” he whispers, his eyes searching.
“Bren.”
“I love you,” he says and kisses me again for the longest time. He’s silencing me with his mouth, I can tell, afraid I won’t say the words back, and tears spring to my eyes.Oh, Bren, you fool, I think as he continues to kiss me.I love you too, you idiot. Our tongues find each other, and the taste of Bren sends my toes curling against the bedsheets.
We both gasp for air when he finally pulls away from my mouth. I force myself to look him in the eye when I say, “I love you too.” I need him to believe me.
Bren pulls away briefly to roll on a condom, then wraps his hands around my face, cupping it like something precious, while at the same time positioning his tip at my entrance.
“Say it again,” he pleads.
I oblige. “I love you, Bren.”
It’s been so long, and I’m so turned on, the cream slicking out of me welcomes him as he toys with my entrance before sliding in slowly—inch by inch.
“I need you,” he says gently in my ear, but his voice is so full of emotion; I get the feeling he means so much more with those words than I can possibly imagine.
I fuck. It’s what I know how to do.
I’m good at fucking.
But this...this is making love, and I have no idea how to do...this. I’m terrified I won’t be any good at it—that I won’t be what he wants.
What he needs.
I didn’t know love could be expressed beyond the words that always seemed so shallow to me. I thought maybe gestures—actions—for the one you love were the best way to show said love. I had no idea love could be exchanged through the sealing of naked skin against naked skin—that it could be exchanged like a current between two bodies. With every caress, with every gentle kiss, with every dusting of his lips over my shoulder, my collarbone, my breasts, I come alive under Bren’s touch. It’s more than a physical, sexual awakening. Through our physical connection, Bren reaches deep into my chest to claim my heart as his, and I never want to get it back.
THIRTY-SEVEN
Bren
Isurge into the wet warmth of Sofia and watch her eyes go wide as I enter. Her walls clamp down around me, welcoming me in, and my cock twitches at the sensation. My body wants to go into overdrive, to fuck her like I’ve always fucked her, and for her to fuck me like she always has; quick, rough, and dirty. But I take it slow once I say those three words, and she returns them with sincerity.I love you.
The three words that disarm her for the first time since I’ve known her. Something is different in her tonight, though. With wide eyes, she locks her gaze on mine, like she is doing something she’s never done before. She’s a little unsure with her touch and a little shy with her words, which is so unlike her. For only one second, I think she might be self-conscious of the changes in her body after having a baby, but that’s not Sofia.
So it must be something else.
When her nose turns red and a single tear rolls down the side of her face, she kisses me more sweetly than she ever has, and it hits me like lightning down my spine.
She’s never made love before.
Until now.
I’m the first man she’s made love to, and I can’t fuck this up.
With my thumb, I wipe the tear away, and she turns her head to kiss my hand. I take my time with slow and deep thrusts, pausing and pulling out when I need to before I’m too far gone because fuck, I want this to last forever. Wordlessly, and with our gazes locked, we make love late into the night.
I never imagined I’d be the one to give her a first like this.
I’m the luckiest man alive.
* * *
Sofia Ocampo will never sleep anywherethat is not my bed again, if I have anything to say about it. I watch her sleep, and I hate that I have to wake her up soon because I could look at her all night. But we made love for hours, and we have to go pick up our daughter soon.
I’ll remember this night until the end of my days because tonight was the night Sofia opened up to me. Truly opened up to me. I felt it the moment it happened, the flicker in her eyes as she told me she loves me back.