It’s just a room. If she doesn’t like it, we’ll change it together.

The only thing I care about is the frame on my bedside table, the one with the white rose.

I watch her go still as she notices it, her expression slowly crumbling as she blinks back tears, her forehead crinkling as she comprehends what it is.

I told her I saved it.

I will always save it.

“It’s all right,” I reassure her.

We can’t save each other this pain. The tightness in my chest is in hers too. Love isn’t always a gift; it’s a burden, and right now, all I want to do is lighten her load. So, I hold my hand out, asking her to trust me.

She comes, and as soon as I have her, I wrap her up so tightly in a bear hug. Her scent fills my lungs, and I wonder if I’ll have to travel with a bottle of her perfume from now on.

The hug changes, a calm reassurance tightening into overwhelming need. Her breath hitches as she lifts her hands up and turns slowly in my arms. She bends her neck forward, and I understand what she wants as I start to tug her zipper down.

Sweet silence accompanies the slow peel of that zipper. My gaze roves over her slender neck, down to her shoulder blades and bare back. I trace my palm along the length of her spine, my pointer finger running along every ridge.

She shivers, and I lean in to kiss the nape of her neck.

I love you. I love every part of you.

Her dress slips off her shoulders, the sheer beaded neckline falling away. My hands work up underneath the material and I start to push it down further. Lainey helps, stepping out of the full skirt, and then it’s just her and the pink silk panties at her hips.

Oh Lainey.

She moves away from me, fearlessly turning back, all that raw emotion plain to see.

This is all I am, she seems to say, this skin and bones, and if you give me love, I’ll give it back to you tenfold.

There’s almost a smile on her lips, but I can’t return it.

I can’t seem to do anything but stare.

She reaches up to her hair, slipping the pins from her intricate up-do. They clink down on the wood floor, the only sound in the room as she lets her long hair loose. The rich dark strands are wavy and messy. I fist my hands, a way of placating myself for the time being. I’ll touch her soon. I’ll touch every fucking inch of her if it takes me a lifetime.

She arches a brow, almost taunting me.

“Well?” she asks.

The shy girl I once knew is more capable of speech in this moment than I am. Petite souris, who knew you were so brave?

She takes a step toward me with a slight tremble, and suddenly I’m on her like I’ve just been let out of a cage. Tearing at my tuxedo jacket, my shirt, my bowtie—the seams are no match for my impatience, and Lainey helps. Her lips graze my chin as her fingers work on my pants, fumbling with the button. I feel her teeth and almost lose it. My groan sounds like a thousand years of yearning.