hurt you—ever again.”
“I was so scared,” she admits, letting out a deep breath.
My eyes fall to her chest, where I watch it rise and fall beneath my T-shirt she went to bed in. A flash of her lying on the stretcher, not breathing, unmoving, clouds my vision, and I have to lift my gaze before I lose my cool. She’s watching me intently, and I bring her closer, needing to feel her chest moving. Seeing it isn’t enough.
“So was I,” I echo.
Her eyes widen ever so slightly.
“I didn’t think I’d get there in time. Hell, I didn’t get there in time.”
She shakes her head. “You may not have been there, but you made sure the police were. If they hadn’t been there, if they hadn’t started chasing Adrian, who knows what would have happened? I don’t even know what he was planning. You said you’d protect me, and in the end, you did.”
My mouth dries up because I know the truth. Sure, I would’ve been there moments after the cops, but I wasn’t the one who called them. Just chalk that up to one more thing I have to confess to.
“I just want to forget,” she says, staring up at me.
My heart hammers as she slides her hand up my bare chest. With her touch, my nerve endings are on fire, and I wonder if I ever won’t burn for her.
“Make me forget.”
Her hands push my shorts down, and she cups my dick, which instantly hardens underneath her touch. She shifts, arching her back and lining the tip of my erection up with her core. As much as I want her, I pull away.
“No, Brie. Not like this,” I tell her, shaking my head. My heart’s hammering, and my mind’s swimming. I crave this connection more than she’ll ever know, but we have so much unresolved between us. I can’t let our intimacy cloud her judgment. “Not like this. Not after you’ve woken from a nightmare. Just let me hold you.”
Her eyes fill to brim with tears, and I lean down to kiss them away. Before I make contact, she places a finger to my lips and stops me.
“Rafe, you once told me you could erase him. You did, and I need you to do it again. You said you’d give me whatever I need. Right now, I need you.”
“But—”
She pushes her finger into my mouth, silencing me. “Please, Rafe, please. Make me feel safe. Make love to me,” she begs.
The fierce longing in her voice is my undoing, and before I can stop myself, I’m sliding into her depths. I’m nearly overcome with the relief coursing through my veins, almost unable to believe she’s here with me, allowing me to comfort her in the most primal way known to man.
“Yes,” she pants as I slowly rock my hips.
If she wants me to make love to her, I will—until her mind is so clouded with our desire that all her nightmares fade into oblivion and all she can see is me.
Unlike before, her eyes are open—hooded, but still open. It’s a small victory for me, and even though my primeval instinct is to take her hard and fast, this isn’t about me. This is about her. This isn’t just fucking. Hell, it’s not even lovemaking. It’s so much more than that, yet it’s something so simple. It’s me giving and her taking, the way she deserves. The way she always has.
The thought gives me pause, and I don’t even realize I’ve stopped moving until I hear her.
“Rafe,” she whispers, her voice breathy. She squirms underneath me, pulling me in farther until I’m buried so incredibly deep inside her. “Please.”
That one word is all I need to snap out of my thoughts and focus solely on her. Giving. Taking. Offering. Whatever it takes to show her that I can give her so much more than he ever did. That I want so much more than he ever did. That, despite my misgivings, the way I feel for her is genuine and continues to grow every single day.
Slowly. Gently. Softly. Our bodies join together, a tangled web of lips and limbs, soft breaths and passionate moans. In an agonizingly slow fashion, I retreat and surge into her over and over again. A desperate need to claim her simmers just below the surface. The slow-and-steady cadence is nearly enough, and each time I’m close to the edge, I have to retreat, patiently waiting for Brie to get her fill yet still aching for